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SOAPnet's bubble has finally burst.
On Dec. 31, Walt Disney Co. will pull the plug on the cable channel it created 14 years ago to squeeze extra life from its popular daytime dramas.
But like all great soap opera characters, this one didn't go down without a fight.
Disney announced three years ago its plan to fold SOAPnet to make space for Disney Junior, a channel for toddlers. That channel launched in early 2012, but cable and satellite TV operators weren't ready to give up SOAPnet. They didn't want to risk legions of vocal soap opera fans getting into a lather, or worse, moving to a rival service.
So, for nearly two years, the Burbank entertainment giant has provided programming for both channels, including the one it doomed long ago.
"SOAPnet had a great run," Ben Pyne, president of global distribution for Disney Media Networks, said in an interview Friday. "It served an audience of super-soap fans. And when given the opportunity, all of our affiliates kept the channel up and running."
In the end, SOAPnet was a casualty of a shift in corporate priorities for Disney — and technology.
The channel, which launched in January 2000, was created to give working women the opportunity to catch up on their favorite soaps — "General Hospital," "All My Children," "The Young and the Restless" — at night after work. Other soaps were brought back from the dead for a second run, including "Ryan's Hope" and prime-time dramas "Falcon Crest" and "Knots Landing."
The channel became a big moneymaker, allowing Disney to boost profits through additional runs of soap episodes, which brought in new viewers and advertisers, and programming fees from cable operators. Programming costs were modest. In 2010, its peak year, SOAPnet threw off $111 million in cash flow, according to consulting firm SNL Kagan.
"When SOAPnet launched, it was back in the videocassette-recorder days and you really could only record one episode at a time and you had to deal with all those cassette tapes," said Ed Martin, a soap opera expert and editor at large of the independently owned site MediaPost. "SOAPnet made it easy to follow multiple soap operas at the same time."
But the digital video recorder changed all that. Instead of the VCR hassles, it became easy for viewers to record multiple shows and watch the episodes at a more convenient time. Now nearly 50% of all homes with pay television have DVRs, according to Nielsen. Soap fans were among the earliest adopters, using the device to record and quickly watch multiple soaps by fast-forwarding through commercials.
The shift in consumer behavior made soaps less profitable for the networks. Audiences dribbled away, and advertisers migrated to other platforms.
Now only four soaps remain on the broadcast networks: "General Hospital" on ABC, "The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold and the Beautiful" on CBS and "Days of Our Lives" on NBC. ABC ended the long runs of "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" nearly two years ago, and independent producers have struggled to remake the pair into shows for the Internet.
"I think SOAPnet also helped contribute to the decline in the ratings for soaps on the broadcast networks," said Linda Marshall-Smith, founder of the website Soapdom.com. "With SOAPnet, people didn't have to watch the shows during the day, they could watch them at night. And now, with all of these second screens, you can see the shows any time."
SOAPnet is still available in 66 million homes. But in recent months, Disney has notified cable operators that it will no longer provide programming for the channel after Dec. 31.
The company stopped charging distributors a fee for SOAPnet months ago, as programming on the channel dwindled and programmers focused more attention on Disney Junior.
To fill the empty hours, SOAPnet ran reruns of old network shows, "Gilmore Girls," "One Tree Hill" and "Beverly Hills 90210."
"Our company has been very strategic and thoughtful in how we use the networks we have," Pyne said. "We want the programming we put on the air to be impactful."
Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger, in an earnings call with analysts this week, sang the praises of replacement channel Disney Junior. The channel has been No. 1 for preschoolers since Nielsen began reporting its ratings in April, he said.
"Retail sales for Disney Junior products exceeded $1.8 billion in fiscal 2013, more than double the year before," Iger said. "Going into the critical holiday season, Disney Junior toys are prominently featured on the retailers' hot toy lists, and our top four retail partners are planning to double Disney Junior shelf space compared to last year."


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An Eventful Day
The dismissal bell rang shrilly and resounded throughout the entire school. Students streamed out of the building and made a beeline to the school gates. Friends were talking animatedly as they swapped anecdotes of the happenings of their day at school.
The blazing sun shone mercilessly. Thankfully, shady trees and fluffy white clouds provided respite from the strong rays. A comfortable breeze danced playfully and played with my uniform mischievously. I was feeling lethargic after a long day at school and was thankful to head home for a quick energising nap, a scrumptious lunch and an invigorating and exhilarating round of DVDs of the recent blockbusters. With a spring in my steps, I ambled along the tiled pavements to the bus stop. As I sat down on one of the benches, I watched vehicles zooming and honking relentlessly. Suddenly, I heard a loud bang. I spun around and what I saw made my eyes widen and my jaws drop…
A car collided into a bicycle! The cyclist groaned in pain and was clutching is right arm and blood oozed out of his head. My hands became cold and clammy and my heartbeat quickened. My legs turned jelly and butterflies flittered my stomach. Petrified, I galvanised into motion.
I called for the ambulance. In a few minutes the ambulance arrived and placed the injured man on a stretcher before driving off. The driver of the car came out and apologized profusely to the injured man. The driver had been talking on his hand phone and was not watching where he was driving. The driver agreed to pay the hospital bills. I went back home and recounted to my parents about the happenings. It had been an eventful day indeed.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Thank you for visiting the new online home of Miss Sharon's Daycare! Miss Sharon's has been serving the families of Isle of Wight County, Suffolk, and the Peninsula for over 20 years.
Have a look around the site or give us a call and set up an appointment to see if Miss Sharon's is right for your child!
For those of you who are already part of the Daycare family, find and "like" us on Facebook!
Our house in Rescue!


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The Thank You Pillows
My friend Rebecca (CLICK HERE to see her blog) just started sewing a few weeks, but if you saw her blog you would think she's been sewing for years. She has already made curtains, clothes for her children, a Halloween costumes (the lion tamer), recovered chairs, made pillows, monogrammed anything in sight (napkins, table runners, dresses, ornaments) that she is complete inspiration to me!
*Pillow Tutorial coming soon...
She made these in 2 days!
Sock Monkey Pajamas! HOW CUTE!?!
To know someone with that much talent never gets old! She's always surprsing me with her new ideas. And to top off that talent, I call her, "The most Southern person I know." She's from Birmingham, has a love for pearls, hosts great parties, cooks amazingly and her house is always immaculate!
Well if that isn't enough, she's super sweet! My fabric bins in my sewing room were overflowing with fabric. I had leftover fabric from projects that wasn't enough to make a skirt for my little girl but too much to throw away. Well last week I cleared out the bins and purged so much fabric that it felt great! Well since Rebecca loves sewing and appliqueing I gave it all to her. She thought it was like Christmas came early! And as a Thank You she made my sweet Catherine two rose pillows using this gorgeous rose fabric. Aren't they beautiful?
They sit on the chairs by Catherine's table in her room where we have tea parties. Ladies have to be comfortable when we sit and play!
Isn't Rebecca the best? How great of a Thank You is that!?!
And now Catherine's room looks even sweeter.
Time to play!
As Catherine says, "Thanks Miss Becca!"
Pillow Tutorial coming soon...
Pillow Tutorial coming soon...


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Working Paper 94-65 February 1994
By Andria Jacobs
This paper was written in conjunction with the Fall 1993 Natural Resources and Environmental Policy Seminar of the University of Colorado Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate Program in Environmental Policy. All ideas presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Consortium or the University. For more information, contact the Conflict Resolution Consortium, Campus Box 327, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0327. Phone: (303) 492-1635, e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com.
© 1994. Andria Jacobs. Do not reprint without permission.
As we approach the 21st century, it is becoming increasingly clear that native biodiversity and ecosystems are vanishing at rapid rates. The current rate of extinctions is hundreds of times greater than those of previous extinctions in the geologic record (see Soulé, 1986, Ehrlich and Wilson, 1991, Noss, 1990). This unprecedented loss of plant and animal species has been termed the "biodiversity crisis" (Grumbine, 1992). In their relatively short tenure on the planet, humans have managed to seriously threaten the integrity and health of ecosystems and species all over the globe through unchecked resource extraction and pollution. In North America, the survival of nearly 1000 species is considered to be either endangered or threatened over all or most of their historic ranges.
The northern gray wolf (Canis lupus, also known as the timber or tundra wolf) is one of many species native to North America that is in danger of extinction due to anthropogenic (human-caused) changes. Unlike many endangered species on this continent, the survival of the gray wolf has not been threatened so much by destruction of its critical habitat as by the policy of systematic elimination carried out by the federal government and the Western states in the first third of the 20th century. Since wolves compete with humans for top predator position on the food chain, humans have long viewed wolves as deadly enemies. With the settlement of the West, conflicts between wolves and humans were destined to arise. Agricultural activities like cattle and sheep ranching suffered occasional livestock predation by wolves. The threat to livestock and livelihood posed by wolves was seen as untenable and the federal government obliged the ranchers by sending in hunters to "control" the situation. Since public attitudes toward wolves resembled those reserved for vermin like rats and mice, extermination of the American gray wolf population was nearly entirely successful. With the exception of some remote pockets of the country, wolves vanished from the continent.
Today, however, the return of the wolf to its native range is viewed by many as a desirable outcome and the public policy debate has shifted to respond to a growing awareness of the wolf's importance, in terms of preserving both biodiversity and our national wildland heritage. Yet because of the historical power possessed by agricultural interests, wolf recovery and restoration is perhaps one of the most highly charged and contentious conflicts facing the West. Agricultural interests oppose wolf reintroduction and they are a powerful lobby in Washington. Western Congressional delegations have traditionally supported the cattle and sheep growers by opposing federal wolf recovery efforts.
Wolf reintroduction is not just about wolves. The issue symbolizes a deeper debate over the future direction of public lands policy and life as it is known by rural Westerners. The traditional way of managing the lands is being challenged by new scientific discovery and changing public values about the appropriate role for humans as co-inhabitants of the planet. The current trend in public lands policy and management favors a more holistic, ecological perspective. Ecosystem management, the new administrative paradigm now being touted as the future of public lands management (see Agee and Johnson, 1988, Salwasser, 1992, Keiter, 1988, 1989, 1990), considers the impacts of development activities using ecosystems as the unit of analysis. Although the concept of ecosystem management is still in its infancy, the shift in the debate nevertheless represents a significant departure from the traditional viewpoint of the land management agencies. In some ways, wolf reintroduction is just one example of the emergent changes in the nation's values and ecological awareness. This threatens traditional ways of life with obsolescence and it is this fear of loss that makes the conflict so potent and so bitter for some Westerners.
The wolf recovery and reintroduction debate primarily concerns the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE),(1) central Idaho and northwestern Montana.(2) On the surface, it seems strange that the mere suggestion of reintroducing wolves could cause such a stir. Yet, a lot more is at stake than just wolves and understanding the policy process in context of wolf reintroduction helps to examine the larger natural resource policy dilemmas facing the United States. This paper will describe the history and current status of the conflict and will analyze the ongoing wolf policy process to better understand how environmental policy is made in a highly contentious arena based upon differing values and worldviews of the participants. Finally, the conclusion is made that unless deeper societal changes are imminent, wolf reintroduction will not become successful public policy.
For millions of years, the gray wolf roamed North America along with the bison, lynx and elk. It is only in the last half a century that wolves have been eradicated from most of their historic range. Though healthy wolf populations still inhabit Canada and Alaska, the lower 48 contiguous states have been devoid of thriving wolf packs since the 1930s, as a result of massive wolf exterminations.
The wolf's predatory nature makes it hated and feared by humans. Since the Middle Ages, the wolf has been reviled in Western history as a symbol of wickedness, greed and fraud. The wolf has been associated with the devil and all manner of evil doings (Lopez, 1978: 203-211). Myths, legends and fairy tales like "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Peter and the Wolf" portray the animal as deceitful and wicked. Deep seated, age-old fears have enabled humans to commit horrible acts against wolves. Barry Lopez, author of Of Wolves and Men, recounts such gruesome methods of wolf slaughter that one wonders about the humanity of some Western settlers and their federal henchmen.
Aside from mythic fear of wolves, humans have a more concrete reason to desire their riddance. Wolf researcher Ed Bangs, who is in charge of the gray wolf Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) currently in preparation, sums up the wolf-human conflict:
As humans greatly expanded their niche through agriculture, conflicts with what were once "brothers in the hunt" led to extreme competition for the forage base. Agriculturists killed wild ungulates both for food and to reduce competition with their domesticated animals. Large predators responded to the disappearance of wild ungulates by killing livestock. The stage was set for conflict between rapidly expanding human populations and wild animals. The battle between man and nature reached its highest intensity with the persecution of large predators (Bangs, 1991: 7).
As early as 1877, wolf hunters used strychnine-poisoned ungulate carcasses to kill wolves in Yellowstone National Park (Weaver, 1978: 7). Federal efforts to eradicate the wolf escalated to such a degree that an estimated 80,000 wolves were killed in Montana alone between 1884 and 1918 (Dawidoff, 1992: 40). By trapping, poisoning and shooting, Animal Damage Control, the federal anti-wolf hit squad, was able to wipe out virtually every wolf native to the United States in a few short decades.
However, wolves have proven themselves to be resilient critters and their numbers are now on the rise. Wolf packs have reestablished themselves in northeastern Minnesota, the one place from which they had not been completely eliminated, and on Isle Royale in Lake Superior.(3) A nascent wolf population comprised of individuals from Canada has migrated south to an area in northwestern Montana adjacent to Glacier National Park and appears to be in healthy condition (Bangs, 1991). Wolf sightings have also been increasing in frequency in the Cascade Mountains of Washington and in central Idaho.
As wolf numbers increase, so has interest in reintroducing the wolf into its historic range. The rise of environmental activism in the late sixties and seventies spurred efforts to recover wolf populations in the lower 48. Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973 and five years later, the gray wolf was listed as endangered. The ESA requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to complete recovery plans for all listed species. After years of delay, the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Plan (Recovery Plan) was completed in 1987. The Recovery Plan considered wolf recovery efforts for three zones in the West: northwestern Montana, central Idaho and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. It suggested a high probability of natural wolf recovery in northwestern Montana and a moderate probability of this for Idaho. The remoteness of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) from established wolf packs made it unlikely that natural recovery would occur there, thus reintroduction of wolves from Canada into the park was proposed.
The National Park Service (NPS) director during this time, William Penn Mott, strongly supported wolf reintroduction to YNP. He felt that the wolf's presence in the park was essential to the character of Yellowstone. The region is noted for its nearly perfect representation of native diversity; the wolf is the only species indigenous to the GYE that is missing. John Varley, a wolf researcher in Yellowstone, remarks, "This would be the only place in the lower 48 states that would have all of the flora and fauna it had when Christopher Columbus stepped ashore. Why can't a society as rich as ours set aside one place like that?" (quoted in Rauber, 1991: 34). Reintroduction of the wolf would enhance the natural values of the park, the preservation of which are part of the Park Services' statutory mandate.(4) Mott also sensed a shift in public opinion that favored wolf recovery in Yellowstone. "People are talking about wolf reintroduction, and it seems to me that there already has been some shift in what once were the most rigid public attitudes" (UPI, June 1, 1987). Public opinion polls and surveys taken in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho generally support Mott's contention . A master's student from the University of Wyoming conducted a survey which showed that a majority in all three states favors wolf reintroduction (Bath 1987a, 1987b, 1987c, 1992).(5) Another poll, this one taken of Yellowstone visitors, showed that most park visitors felt that the presence of wolves would enhance their park experience (UPI, September 6, 1987).
Predictably, the topic of wolf reintroduction sparks a lot of sound and fury from ranchers and farmers in the Yellowstone area. They claim that depredation of livestock by wolves will surely ruin businesses across the region. Compensation for livestock killed by reintroduced wolves remains a major concern of agriculture interests. Perhaps more than depredation, ranchers fear the power of the Endangered Species Act and the potential land-use restrictions and regulations that might occur as a result of restoring an endangered species to YNP. Cattle and sheep growers(6) want to know how wolves that stray outside of designated recovery zones will be managed. If the wolf retains its full "endangered" status, then ranchers would be powerless to kill stray wolves that depredate livestock. Since it is quite likely that wolves, given their willful disregard for human boundaries, will migrate beyond designated areas, ranchers are insisting on assurances that wolf management rules and regulations will accommodate this eventuality. The ESA also brings restrictions for development activities like timber harvest, mining and motorized recreation. Clearly then, ranchers and other conservatives would like to see the wolf removed from the endangered species list to allow for more management flexibility.
The Wyoming Congressional delegation (Senator Malcolm Wallop, Senator Alan Simpson and Representative Dick Cheney) and a coalition of agriculture groups strongly opposed the NPS' embrace of wolf restoration to Yellowstone. Senators Wallop and Simpson claimed that reintroducing the wolf would adversely affect the management of YNP by hurting grizzly recovery and ravishing the ungulate populations of the park. Rep. Cheney vehemently urged Mott to drop pursuit of the issue, but Mott remained firm in his support for wolves. He continued to push for the initiation of an EIS, the next logical step after completion of the Recovery Plan. In order to suppress the debate on wolf reintroduction, the Wyoming delegation repeatedly blocked funding for an EIS despite evidence that public opinion supported the Park Service reintroduction idea. Mott contended that the issue of wolf reintroduction would eventually be decided by public opinion and that an EIS represented a useful mechanism for bringing the issue to public light and for gauging public attitudes. Rep. Cheney cited as the reason for opposition his distrust of the FWS' ability to manage the wolf both inside and outside the park as well as his dislike of the agency due to previous "bad experiences" (UPI, August 20, 1987). National environmental groups like Defenders of Wildlife and the National Wildlife Federation, which advocate wolf restoration, seized the opportunity to tell Wyoming voters that their Congressmen were out of touch with their constituencies. A hard-line stance against wolves was portrayed by environmentalists as a sign of special interest domination of Congress and a failure of political leaders to seek common ground between participants in the conflict.
For their part, in 1987 the FWS was not as enthusiastic as NPS about wolf reintroduction. Though FWS had completed its recovery plan, the agency stopped far short of beginning implementation. The reason, FWS claimed, was that recovery plans are only conceptual documents, not implementation plans. FWS director Frank Dunkle was displeased with Mott's outspokenness and claimed to need more research on wolves in Montana before making any recommendations on the Yellowstone plan. Dunkle asserted that his agency's stance on wolves was based on the need for more data and not because of Congressional opposition to the plan. However, Congress is not the only concern of the FWS. The traditional FWS constituency is comprised primarily of game hunters and outfitters, thus the Service's reluctance to explore wolf reintroduction is likely tied to the hunting communities' contention that wolves will kill game species coveted by sportsmen.
The pressure on Mott and the Park Service from the Reagan administration and certain Congressional leaders finally had the desired effect. In August of 1987, Mott abandoned pursuit of the EIS. However, by 1988, Congress began to give indication that it heard the public's wishes on wolves and a Senate-House Interior Appropriations Committee conference report noted the desirability of wolves in Yellowstone. The Committee directed NPS and FWS to author a joint report on the restoration of wolves to the park. The report was to address the major issues of wolf reintroduction, including options for wolf management both inside and outside park boundaries, the potential prey base for wolves inside the park, the effect of restored wolf populations on large ungulates (e.g., elk, bison, bighorn sheep), and the effect of wolves on other large carnivores like grizzlies.
Around this time, Rep. Wayne Owens (D-UT), frustrated by Wyoming's intransigence over initiating an EIS, introduced a bill into the House that would jump-start the EIS process through legislative mandate. The Owens bill never stood much chance of success in Congress since it was immediately directed to the House subcommittee on parks and public lands, a body that included Rep. Cheney, Rep. Ron Marlenee (R-MT) and Rep. Larry Craig (R-ID), all prominent nemeses of wolf reintroduction. In opposition to the Owens bill, Senator James McClure (R-ID) introduced a competing bill. McClure's bill represented an interesting compromise. It called for the reintroduction of three breeding pairs of wolves in central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park, yet demanded that the wolf be removed from the endangered species list, thus revoking its federal protection. As noted, the real fear is not necessarily wolves themselves, but the iron fist of the ESA. The reintroduced wolves would be designated as "experimental, non-essential" populations under the ESA §10 (j), which means that wolves straying from recovery areas can be destroyed. All wolves other than those reintroduced would be managed by the states. Tying the fate of wolf recovery to relaxation of ESA provisions was shrewd political maneuvering on the Wyoming delegation's part. Allowing problem wolves to be controlled outside park boundaries amounts to a lessening of the ESA's regulatory power, which clearly alleviates some of the ranchers' fear of inflexibility in wolf management.
In May of 1990, FWS and NPS provided their joint report to Congress. The study, entitled Wolves for Yellowstone?, found that reintroducing wolves into Yellowstone would not significantly reduce the biomass of the park, nor would wolves significantly depredate livestock (see Varley and Brewster, 1992). The researchers estimated that elk numbers would only decline by 10-20% of their average summer population (nearly 30,000 elk). The projections were similar for bison, moose and deer. They claimed that wolf reintroduction would not impact the recovery progress of grizzlies either. Some depredation of livestock was predicted, but on a small enough scale to allow individual compensation for growers. Predation data from Minnesota, northwestern Montana and Canada showed the average losses in Minnesota and Alberta to be between 0.12 to 0.87 cattle/1000 available, while Montana averaged a loss of 0.04 cattle/1000 available. The numbers for depredated sheep were shown to be 5-10 times higher than for cattle, though the overall number remains relatively low (Mack and Singer, 1992). Using these figures, FWS and NPS researchers made similarly low estimates for the Yellowstone area.
In December of 1990, the issue was handed over to the Wolf Management Committee (WMC). The ten-member committee was comprised of individuals from FWS, NPS, Forest Service, the fish and game departments of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, two environmentalists and two representatives of agriculture and economic interests. The WMC was charged with further research into the issues already mentioned in an effort to resolve the conflicting wolf bills. After lengthy debate, the WMC came to a similar conclusion as had Senator McClure. By an 8-2 vote, the committee recommended that wolves be reintroduced as "experimental, non-essential" populations in designated areas of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Wolf management outside these areas would be assumed by the state fish and game departments. The two environmentalists on the committee had cast the dissenting votes. The compromise was viewed bitterly by wolf advocates. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department still lists the wolf as a predator, while the Idaho state legislature has prohibited any money from being spent on wolf recovery (Cohn, 1990a: 632). The wolf has few friends in state government institutions, which did not bode well for its recovery in the event that this proposal became public policy.
The recommendations of the WMC were not well received by the House and the issue remained unresolved. Eventually the McClure bill passed, though not in its original form. The upshot was the initiation of the EIS process conducted by the FWS. In July 1993, FWS released its Draft EIS (DEIS), consisting of five alternatives, including the alternative preferred by FWS. The alternatives range from natural recovery to a no-wolf option to an option resembling the McClure proposal and the WMC recommendation. The latter (alternative #1) is the FWS' preferred option. Fifteen wolves would be introduced annually into Yellowstone National Park and a few not-yet-determined areas in central Idaho as experimental populations. Wolves outside these areas would lose ESA protection and management of these animals would be administered by the states.
The relaxation of the ESA is such a major concession to the ranching community that their opposition to the plan has softened considerably. In fact, natural recovery of wolves is now less desirable than reintroducing them because naturally recovering animals would fully retain their protection under the ESA. Environmental groups are understandably split on the results of the DEIS. The Idaho Conservation League, the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, fears the states' intervention in wolf recovery for the reasons stated above and oppose the experimental designation on the grounds that it subverts the ESA. Others like Renée Askins of The Wolf Fund, a very active Wyoming wolf advocate, Defenders of Wildlife and the National Wildlife Federation, support the designation because it represents a significant step towards wolf recovery. Askins believes the support of the livestock community is very important to successful wolf reintroduction. "Here we have an opportunity for the conservation community to show that people are part of the conservation equation and that the concerns of the people around the region can be addressed" (quoted in Barker, 1993). Conservationists feel that without local cooperation, wolf recovery won't be successful, no matter how many wolves are reintroduced.
At the time of this writing, the FWS has ended the public comment period for the DEIS and the final EIS (FEIS) is in progress. The expected date of publication of the FEIS is sometime in 1994. Meanwhile, searches for established wolf packs are ongoing in central Idaho and Yellowstone. If naturally occurring wolf packs (not lone wolves) are found, the rules of the game are altered slightly. The "experimental, non-essential" provision of the ESA requires that the introduction of an experimental population must be done outside of the current range of the species. If wolf packs are already living in Idaho and Yellowstone, as many people claim, reintroduced wolves cannot be designated as experimental and the wolves would maintain ESA protection.(7) In any case, once the FEIS is completed, FWS will make its recommendation the Secretary of the Interior, who will then make the final decision.
Public lands policy in the United States is a particularly contentious arena. As the lands continue to diminish in both quantity and quality, the debate over the appropriate use of the nation's natural resources has become especially intense. The environmental movement that began in the 1960s has matured considerably and poses a significant challenge to nearly every public lands policy and management decision made, due in large part to the strong environmental laws passed more than two decades ago. The conflict over wolf reintroduction stems from deeply differing values among the participants. It is the same value conflict that characterizes the larger policy arena of public lands and natural resources. The philosophical split between the conservationists and the preservationists has continued from the time of Gifford Pinchot and John Muir to the present; it is an integral part of the national political culture. The issue of wolf reintroduction is not very different from a whole host of other natural resource issues; environmentalists feel that special interests have dominated policy for so long, imperiling the national resource base and destroying the country's wildland heritage for future generations while the livestock growers feel they have a right to raise cattle and sheep for a living, to use the land for human betterment and profit, without fear of losing their livelihoods. The clash between greatly differing world views here is tremendous, yet both sides have valid claims and concerns.
If viewed objectively, however, one must come to the conclusion that public lands policy making has traditionally closely resembled the iron triangle theory of policy formation. Though subsequent research in political science and policy analysis has shown that the iron triangle concept is deficient in some ways and has been expanded upon, I believe it remains a useful way to understand the history of the public lands policy process. The direction public lands policy has taken for two hundred years results from the cooperation between agricultural interests in the West, sympathetic Western Congresspeople who often sit on key committees and subcommittees, and land management agency bureaucrats.(8) The process, until recently, has been solidly closed against environmentalists or other members of the public who disagreed with policy decisions.
As documented in the wolf reintroduction policy conflict, public lands policy and management still remains largely controlled by special industry groups, who are able to influence Congress and the agencies. Although the livestock community is increasingly challenged by both national and local environmentalists and although Congress has begun to respond to the growing opposition to the status quo, the entrenched power of the iron triangle can still prove to be a significant obstacle to reforming or changing policy directions. For example, although Wyoming's deadlock on the EIS process was eventually broken, the outcome of the DEIS hardly represents a major break from agricultural interests. FWS recommended a fairly unprogressive wolf alternative, one that satisfied the growers so much that it is hard to see where the compromise was made.(9)
From an environmentalist perspective, there is little reason to trust the land management agencies since they have a notoriously bad environmental track record. Yet distrust of the bureaucracy is not limited to the environmental side alone. Hostility also exists between the livestock interests and alternately the FWS, NPS, the Forest Service and the state wildlife agencies, a situation somewhat remarkable given the historically solid opposition of the these institutions to wolf reintroduction. The Idaho wool growers dislike the Idaho Fish and Game Department for failing to allow livestock operators to kill marauding animals fast enough, while other natural resource industries are generally wary of the motives of the FWS or the Forest Service regarding wolf reintroduction. This is a clear example of how perspectives vary greatly among conflict participants. Wolf advocates would swear that the agricultural community still commands wolf policy outcomes despite the inclusion of environmentalists in the policy process. Wolf opponents feel they can't trust the state and federal agencies because of the latter's involvement, however reluctant, in wolf reintroduction planning. Essentially, there is an utter lack of trust between all primary participants in the wolf policy debate. Building the trust between ranchers and environmentalists is a tricky process, but a number of wolf advocates are attempting this through regional wolf education campaigns. The purpose of The Wolf Fund run by Renée Askins in Wyoming and the Wolf Recovery Foundation's proposed Wolf Center of the Northern Rockies in Idaho is to educate the livestock community and others about wolves in the hope that more education will lessen deeply instilled hostility and fear toward the animal. Though many ranchers remain unconvinced, others have joined the wolf advocacy camp, proving it is possible to convince wolf skeptics that the wolf is not evil incarnate. Building trust between both camps and government institutions remains another problem unto itself.
The EIS process supposedly provides a mechanism for public participation in the formation of environmental policy by allowing for public comments and hearings. Often, however, the affected publics are simply informed of decisions or assumptions already made. For example, the WMC held public hearings during its deliberations, yet little preparation was made for actually incorporating the public's comments into the decision process. Information was given to stakeholders, but not received (Thompson, 1993: 167). For public participation to be truly participatory, stakeholders must be involved directly in choosing and defining the issues for debate from the beginning of the process and throughout, not simply after the fact. Otherwise, it is likely that the results of any government analysis will not be understood or accepted by stakeholders on either side of the conflict.
Despite the illusory nature of citizen participation in the EIS process, the ranchers appeared mildly pleased with the preferred alternative in the DEIS while the environmentalists split on their support of it. While awaiting the FEIS, at least one environmental group, the Biodiversity Legal Foundation in Boulder, CO, has advised that it will legally contest the "experimental, non-essential" designation for the central Idaho sector of the plan, based upon evidence that proves the existence of reproducing wolf packs there.(10) If this is established as factual, the section 10 (j) designation will be illegal. Environmentalists are not the only parties who are concerned with what the DEIS portends for the wolves' future. Conservation biologists argue that the plan has very little scientific grounding. Conservation biology, a relatively young discipline, incorporates theory from organismic and population biology, evolutionary biology, landscape ecology and island biogeography into a framework for the conservation of biodiversity, from the species to the landscape to the biospheric level. Nothing in the vast and ever-growing conservation biology literature suggests that fifteen wolves confined to a relatively small land area will become viable enough to warrant the wolf's removal from the endangered species list.(11) Either the FWS is not up to speed on the latest scientific information or the agency has chosen to entirely ignore it. In the case of wolf reintroduction, the problem is not so much that the scientific and technical information is too complex to be of any use, but that science which supports the environmentalists' positions is simply not incorporated into the policy process. This presents another possible legal challenge because the ESA mandates the use of the "best scientific and commercial data available."(12) The Fish and Wildlife Services' total disregard for the cutting edge of conservation science warrants further attention in this policy process.
Failing to incorporate conservation science and meaningful public participation into the wolf policy process and bending the legal definitions of the ESA heightens the conflict because it opens the door for litigation or other adversarial actions. Carpenter and Kennedy (1988) describe a "spiral of unmanaged conflict" that usually goes through eight steps as it escalates from a problem to a crisis. These steps are: a problem emerges, sides form, positions harden, communication stops, resources are committed, conflict goes outside the community, perceptions become distorted and a sense of crisis emerges (pp. 11-17). One academic described the wolf reintroduction as being close to the top of this spiral (Thompson, 1993: 175). As alluded to previously, wolf reintroduction is really an indicator of where public lands policy is heading in the West in general. Yellowstone tends to serve as a testing ground for public lands policy, thus this issue continues to be watched extremely closely by all parties. As a result, all issues surrounding wolf reintroduction also have become highly politicized. This adds to a sense of crisis, further escalating the conflict. Hostile political environments tend to result in "compromise solutions that are not in anyone's best interest (Thompson, 1993: 177).
However, I am not sure that the compromise resulting from the DEIS was not in anyone's best interest. From my perspective, the ranching community gained a tremendous concession and while they are still dubious about the presence of wolves, they admit that their needs have been largely answered by the preferred alternative in the DEIS. The lessons of conservation biology, however, would indicate that the needs of wolves have hardly been addressed, which frustrates many environmentalists. The DEIS represents a political compromise -- the ranchers get to destroy wolves that so much as harass a cow or sheep and the environmentalists get wolves reintroduced into the West -- yet from a biological standpoint, very little progress actually has been made toward recovering the wolf from the brink of extinction. Theoretically, the democratic policy process has been successful; all parties were heard, the federal government played the role of facilitator, a middle ground was sought and a compromise forged. The result should be successful public policy. However, I would argue that the policy conflict will continue because the formation of good policy requires not only good process (disregarding for the moment the procedural deficiencies in wolf policy-making thus far) but good substance.
If what conservation biologists are saying is correct, then the wolf will not recover under the current prescription. Thus, environmentalists and wolf advocates will continue to pursue this goal through whatever means necessary and wolf opponents will dig in their heels. The conflict will be prolonged and the policy process will remain adversarial and bitter. One analyst suggests that a conflict management plan be implemented to facilitate the policy process (Thompson, 1993). He contends that with the help of conflict resolution experts, the possibility for a win-win situation between livestock operators and wolf advocates exists. For example, he suggests if a local economic recovery and diversification program were implemented in conjunction with an ecosystem management (wolf management) plan as part of the management solution for the GYE, gains for both sides occur. While I think professional conflict management for the wolf reintroduction policy process could aid in the search for common interests and the development of certain win-win alternatives, it seems that this approach just scratches the surface of what underlies the conflict. This does not mean that conflict management is in any way irrelevant to improving the policy process, but that wolf reintroduction can really be best understood in context of the larger human problem of how to live on the land and conduct a relationship with the earth and her bounty that is sustainable.
The conflict over wolf reintroduction represents the death throes of a traditional way of life in the West. The reason livestock depredation is such an issue is because so many ranches operate in the financial margins that a loss of two cows or five sheep represents a major loss to the business. Many ranching operations hover abysmally close to failure. Yet few people ask the question Why is the livestock industry in such dire shape? Could it be that it is becoming less and less economic to raise livestock? Changes that have less to do with wolves and more to do with larger societal transformations are underway and many individuals and communities stand to lose a way of life known to them for generations. Pain and hardship lie ahead for these people and their plight should be addressed. An economic disaster similar to the one caused in urban African-American communities as a result of the manufacturing sector's decline should not be replicated in rural Western America. Yet society is in a constant state of flux and we must be alert enough to recognize the signs of change and wise enough to adapt to them.
If we ever become committed, as a nation, to preserving and restoring biodiversity and ecosystems for a sustainable future, the debate over wolves will become nearly insignificant in light of the other, radical changes that accompany a national agenda for sustainability.(13) The level of a society's natural resource consumption indicates much about the lifestyles and values of that society. Industrialized nations, America leading the way, consume far more resources, energy and food than the remaining three-quarters of the global population (The Group of Green Economists, 1992: 16). Unless we begin to conserve much more, the economy will falter as the non-renewable resource base is depleted. The changes in consumptive practices necessary to arrest the trends in ecosystem disintegration and species extinction will reverberate throughout the entire social structure. Assumptions made by Americans about the way the world functions will have to evolve into a new, ecological framework very different from the dominant paradigm of our first five hundred years on this continent. Conflicts like wolf reintroduction are encompassed in these larger dilemmas, though it is rare to hear policy analysts or other policy observers discuss the subject within this context. Though policy makers in power now may not have to deal with them, future generations of American citizens and leaders will certainly have to. It seems that by failing to consider the connections that the wolf reintroduction conflict has to the fundamental questions and dilemmas facing a decaying industrial power, we are falling into the very trap of mechanistic thinking that biodiversity and other ecology advocates warn us to avoid.
The wolf policy debate is as contentious as most other public lands policy issues. The conflict has reached such proportions as to warrant the incorporation of a conflict management plan into the policy process, serious reform of the procedural mechanisms for public input and participation and much more rigorous attention to the science of conservation biology. Yet these improvements to the policy process will probably remain of temporary utility until mainstream American society is ready to challenge its underlying philosophical and epistemological assumptions. Wolf reintroduction does not promise to be successful until greater consensus occurs in the United States about the proper policy choices to make for ecological sustainability. For the wolf's sake and for ours, I hope that day arrives sooner than later.
A National Park Cries Wolf. 1992. Newsweek, August 24. p. 69.
Agee, James K. and Darryll R. Johnson, eds. 1988. Ecosystem Management for Parks and Wilderness (hereinafter Ecosystem Management). Seattle: University of Washington Press.
Bangs, Ed. 1991. Return of a Predator: Wolf Recovery in Montana. Western Wildlands 17(1), Spring. pp. 7-13.
Barker, Rocky. 1993. Newest wolf plan is a step toward compromise. Idaho Falls Post Register, July 14.
Bath, Alistair J. 1987a. Statewide survey of the Wyoming general public attitudes towards wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park. U.S. National Park Service, Mammoth, WY. 94pp.
_____ . 1987b. Attitudes of various interest groups in Wyoming toward wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park. M.A. Thesis, University of Wyoming. 124pp.
_____ . 1987c. Countywide survey of the general public in Wyoming in counties around the park towards wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park. U.S. National Park Service, Mammoth, WY. 97pp.
_____ . 1992. Identification and documentation of public attitudes toward wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park, in J.D. Varley and W.G. Brewster, eds. 1992. Wolves for Yellowstone? A Report to the United States Congress, Volume IV Research and Analysis. NPS, Yellowstone National Park, WY (hereinafter Wolves for Yellowstone?. 750pp.
Carpenter, Susan L. and W.J.D. Kennedy. 1988. Managing Public Disputes. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Cohn, Jeffrey P. 1990a. Endangered wolf population increases. BioScience 40(9), October. pp. 628-632.
_____ . 1990b. The Politics of Extinction. National Journal, October. LEXIS/NEXIS database.
Dawidoff, Nicholas. 1992. One for the Wolves. Audubon 94(4) July-August.
Ehrlich, Paul and E.O. Wilson. 1991. Biodiversity Studies: Science and Policy. Science 253. pp. 758-762.
Gallagher, Winifred. 1990. Return of the Wild. Mother Earth News, September-October. pp. 35-41.
Grumbine, R.E. 1992. Ghost Bears: Exploring the Biodiversity Crisis. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.
Keiter, Robert B. 1988. Natural Ecosystem Management in Park and Wilderness Areas: Looking at the Law, in Ecosystem Management.
_____ . 1989. Taking Account of the Ecosystem on the Public Domain: Law and Ecology in the Greater Yellowstone Region. University of Colorado Law Review 60(4): 923-1007.
_____. 1990. NEPA and the Emerging Concept of Ecosystem Management on the Public Lands. Land and Water Law Review 25(1): 43-60.
Lopez, Barry Holstun. 1978. Of Wolves and Men. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
Mack, John A. and Francis J. Singer. 1992. Population models for elk, mule deer, and moose on Yellowstone's northern winter range, in Wolves for Yellowstone?
Mech, L. David. 1970. The Wolf - The Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species. Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press.
Noss, Reed. 1990. From Endangered Species to Biodiversity, in K. Kohm, ed., Balancing on the Brink of Extinction. Washington, D.C.: Island Press. pp. 227-247.
Rauber, Paul. 1991. Still a long way from home. Sierra 7(5), September-October. pp. 32-36.
Reintroduction and Management of Wolves in Yellowstone National Park and the Central Idaho Wilderness Area. 1991. A Report to the United States Congress by the Wolf Management Committee. 31pp.
Salwasser, Hal. 1992. From New Perspectives to Ecosystem Management: Response to Frissell et al. and Lawrence and Murphy. Conservation Biology 6(3) September.
Soulé, Michael. 1986. The Millennium Ark: How Long a Voyage, How Many Staterooms, How Many Passengers? Zoo Biology 5. p. 102.
The Group of Green Economists. 1992. Ecological Economics. London: Zed Books.
Thompson, James G. 1993. Addressing the Human Dimensions of Wolf Reintroduction: An Example Using Estimates of Livestock Depredation and Costs of Compensation. Society and Natural Resources 6. pp. 167-179.
UPI. August 20, 1987. LEXIS/NEXIS database search.
UPI. June 1, 1987. LEXIS/NEXIS.
UPI. September 6, 1987. LEXIS/NEXIS.
Varley, J.D. and W.G. Brewster, eds. 1992. Wolves for Yellowstone? A Report to the United States Congress, Volume IV Research and Analysis. NPS, Yellowstone National Park, WY 750pp.
Weaver, John. 1978. The Wolves of Yellowstone. Natural Resources Report Number 14. National Park Service, USDI. 38pp.
Williamson, Lonnie. 1992. The Big Bad Wolf? Outdoor Life, November. pp. 57-58.
(1) Strictly speaking, Yellowstone National Park and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem are different entities. YNP lies mostly in Wyoming, with its westernmost portion in Montana, while the GYE lies in both these states as well as in Idaho. The GYE is comprised of YNP, seven national forests, two wildlife refuges and some privately owned land. In context of wolf recovery, the distinction between the two is not always clear. I will try to clarify where possible.
(2) The issue is also becoming more relevant to Colorado and New Mexico.
(3) The entire island of Isle Royale is a National Park and the wolves there live under the protection of the National Park Service.
(4) 1916 National Park Service Organic Act.
(5) A series of studies conducted by this researcher concluded that counties nearest YNP opposed wolf reintroduction while those farther away from the affected area supported it. He also suggested that those with more education about the wolf fear it less and tend to favor its recovery and reintroduction. Finally, one survey indicated that even if all the concerns of the livestock community were answered, a large percentage of ranchers would still oppose wolf reintroduction.
(6) This includes groups like the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, Wyoming Wool Growers Association and the Wyoming Farm Bureau. Agriculture in Idaho and Montana is organized similarly.
(7) From a biological perspective, knowledge on existing wolf packs is vital information for the reintroduction plans. Wolves are extremely territorial and if a new wolf pair is introduced into existing wolf territory, the newcomers are likely to be killed.
(8) For one recent example, the initial grazing reform proposal of the Clinton administration died in Congress almost immediately. Western Senators of Clinton's own party made sure that a grazing fee hike on the public lands failed to pass. Progressive environmental reform in the West is a very hard thing to accomplish because of the iron triangle like power structure.
(9) It is often noted that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which is the law requiring completion of an EIS for any federal land development activity, is only a procedural statute rather than a substantive one. Although it is an extremely important and strong environmental law, there is nothing in its language that compels an agency to pick the environmentally sound alternative once a range of alternatives has been decided upon.
(10) Based upon personal conversation with Jasper Carlton, director of the Biodiversity Legal Foundation, January 12, 1994.
(11) The literature on conservation biology is very pertinent to wolf reintroduction, though it is not the purpose of this paper to really review it. I would like to mention, however, that population viability theory suggests that wide-ranging, low-density (per acre) carnivores require vast areas and possibly hundreds of individuals to become viable.
(12) 16 U.S.C. § 1536 (c).
(13) I am not suggesting that such an agenda exists in the mainstream American consciousness yet, however, there is a discernible movement on the part of progressive scientists, philosophers and citizens toward actualizing a biodiversity agenda. Even Congress is debating national biodiversity protection legislation, but this proposal has already run into opposition from certain Western delegations.


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Our Mac production lab has a wide variety of software for you to use in your media project. Software available at each workstation varies by the type of workstation. See availability and reserve now.
- 1 Video Room
- 1 Whisper Room for vocal recording
- 3 Audio Recording Rooms (with Blue Spark Digital USB Microphones and full-sized USB keyboards)
- 8 Video Workstations (with minDV deck, analog-to-digital media converter, TV Monitor, and VHS/DVD player)
- 8 Graphics/Web Workstations (with scanners – 3 letter sized flatbed, 2 tabloid sized flatbed, 1 letter sized sheet feeder, 2 letter sized with film/negative scan capabilities)
- 1 Large-format scanning station (PC)
Software List
Tinker Tools
The Studio's Tinker Tools are meant to encourage exploration and innovation. Students can explore new technology such as virtual reality, 3D technology and more!
Additional Equipment
This equipment is not assigned to a specific workstation but can be checked out to use on any of our workstations. This equipment is not available for use outside The Studio.
|3 Pop Filters
|2 Card Readers
|3 USB Mic and Mic Stand
|1 Wacom Pen Tablet
|2 XLR Mic and Mic Stand
|Various analog equipment such as reel-to-reel audio players
|Apple USB SuperDrive


text: May is the month of gardenia in Lebanon. This fragrant, fleshy white blossom is our sweetest herald of the spring. The Lebanese don't talk much about gardenia, not the way they may tell and re-tell other customs. One day, suddenly, the flowers are just there, and then you wonder just how many people around the city quietly grow beloved gardenia bushes, because the blossoms are in every living room (they stay fresh for several days if floated in a cup of water), in people's cars, on their clothes. Women can wear them in their hair and men keep them in hand without looking odd. These bushes are generous, bursting with buds that tun into several flowers ready to be picked a day, and they are too lovely and ephemeral to be hoarded: I know of no other flower or thing that is given away so actively, for no ritual or social reason, but purely out of a desire to share this movingly delicate beauty. As children, we (and others) brought our daily pick to school to share them with students and teachers, who always tolerated the presence of the blossoms on the otherwise strictly-business school desks. As grown-ups, we take them to work, or elsewhere – I met up with a friend at a café and she had brought one for me. The day I walked around defaced Hamra, looking somber, a security guard pulled one out of thin air as I passed by and put it in my hand. The giving a gardenia is done without comment, without bringing attention to itself, just as if we had all agreed in advance that in May, gardenia blossoms would go out into the world with their scented magic, and we would all just be the messengers.


text: Hi Martin, > Of course, the less active fraction of Python contributors may not > notice, since they just chose to not contribute (which, of course, > is fine). However, asking me to work twice as much as I want to > on the project to keep two branches alive is just unfair. Totally true. Actually as an end-developer I'd say that python 2.x series from a programming perspective is quite good. It doesn't need the addition of a lot of new features imho. So for me, I think too much time spent there would be not yield great benefits. > This has nothing to do with pushing 3.x, but all with managing > available manpower and still providing quality software. Well, we all know your work is super quality. :-) That's not being contested. However, Quality can be measured different ways and it can be assessed in different ways. Quality itself is a subjective thing. The point I'm only making is that if a piece of software doesn't have "new" things added over time, then users can get a reverse impression of a lack of quality. We've all seen where 'internal' quality can increase and user perceptions can decrease. It could be things like improved graphics and things readily apparent to the user. At the moment, I would say that the "internal" quality of the python 2.x series is super high. "external" quality issues such as the packaging dilemma give the user the opposite quality experience. But people are working on that as best they can elsewhere. I'll leave it at that. > This has nothing to do with pushing 3.x, but all with managing > available manpower and still providing quality software. Python 3.x needs more carrots. >From an ordinary (perphaps ignorant) user perspective there is nothing. Yes, we know if we actually will start programming then we will like it more. But my wishes to Santa Claus would be allow the free flow of PEPs for Python 3 packaging. Even encourage it. As an end developer, here's what I'd like from Santa in 2010 to get me to swap to python 3: * get all the packages on pypi tested for python 3 * put a web based package manager in python 3. This would perhaps be based around PIP (keep many people happy) and would look much like the built in web-console that you get with a $200 router. * Incorporate SCM based end-user software installs by adding to python3-stdlib the SCM support packages (cvs,bzr,svn,hg). This would *really* help in the scientific community. * put a web interface on distutils also so that we don't have to use a command line interface. (I want a pic of a smiley girl to great me when I build something - "Are you ready to build now Honey?"). ok - I joke. But the point is made. So, ok, maybe these things aren't about 'code' quality. But rather user experience. Things like these do count also as "quality" via the technical term "perception of quality". If the PEP process is as unblocked as the documentation implies, implying that anybody can contribute to Python 3. Then there shouldn't be any issue. David


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KENNEWICK, Wash. - The First Thursday Art Walk in downtown Kennewick is now an award winning event.
On the first Thursday of every month, local artists, jewelers, musicians and vendors meet up to give the public an opportunity to enjoy the arts.
The Kennewick Arts Commission recently awarded the art walk a Heritage Award for its consistent support of the local arts community. And Thursday night is your change to check it out.
"Since we were recognized by the Kennewick Arts Commission," said the art walk coordinator, Brooke Yount, "I do think that that has upped our game, and we have to continue to bring in new entertainment. It's just a matter of coming down to see what First Thursday Art Walk has to offer."
This month's event has three featured artists. Nicholas Corcimiglia is showing his iPhone photography company, Smaller Perspective. You can purchase his work here. Angie Tyree will show acrylic paintings, and the Kennewick High School photography classes will show their photos.
The First Thursday Art Walk in May is on May 2nd, from 5 PM to 9 PM. Just go to You & Eye Framing & Gallery at Benton and First Avenue in Historic Downtown Kennewick, and follow the colored balloons.


text:
The International Protective and Security Academy® (PSA-Academy™) is private, independent educational institute was established with the purpose of providing professional training for defence and security personnel in all areas of society.
The founder and the instructors are fully commited to the cause and worked for a long time as highly trained, internationally recognized security and anti-terrorist professionals, experts, consultants, and trainers.
The goal of PSA is to train protective specialist, high leaders and instructors, whose not only accomplish their tasks but due to there high level of training and live experience they can organize and coordinate different security duties and can think in complex protective system.
Whose attend our special courses and seminars will receive up to date, and modern practical and not only theoretical knowledge, furthermore there own practical experience will help there future employer, and due to there high level of skills they can also be employed to the governmental and also the civil sector.
Our clients include both government agencies involved in a broad range of national security issues (law enforcement, intelligence, defense, homeland security) and private sector corporations, who either work in these same fields or who are interested in improving the capabilities of their analysts in general.
This example includes the Security Managers, employed by governmental agancies or private firms, Private Investigators, and VIP'S Bodyguards and others special areas.
PSA-Academy™ offers one of the best cutting edge of reality based training system as well as the high level of knowledge and skills for those seeking for professional studies to upgrade their professional abilities and the effectiveness function at their organization.
For more information please take a look around on our website.


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OSWEGO – The H. Lee White Maritime Museum is proud to present Oswego's second annual "Waterfront Open House" to be held along the west pier in the Historic Maritime District on May 20 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
The main purpose of this event is to help promote fun activities on Oswego's waterfront and kickoff National Safe Boating Week.
This free event will allow families to visit the Museum, experience a dragon boat up close, get the feel of sitting in a kayak, try out a virtual boat training simulator provided by the U.S. Power Squadron and check out small sailing craft that are part of the museum's sailing program.
These are just a few of the opportunities visitors will find at this event.
After a long winter the museum's vessels will be open for visitation.
In recognition of the start of the 200th anniversary of the New York State Canal, a new exhibit titled "Derrick Boat 8: Service on the New York State Canal" will be unveiled as well as a new National Register information sign for this historic canal boat.
The sign is provided by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation.
New this year, will be flare demonstrations conducted by the Sodus Bay Maritime Captains' Association and weather permitting, boat trips to the Oswego Lighthouse will be offered for a separate fee.
Search and rescue demonstrations will be conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard Oswego station using its 45-foot rescue boat.
The Oswego Fire Department's Fire/Rescue vessel "Marine One" will be on hand as well.
"Wear It! Oswego" personal flotation device information will be available at the Oswego Fire Department's display.
This program allows the public to borrow life vests for fishing in Oswego's waters.
Paddle Safety information will also be on location during the event.
The USCG Auxiliary mascot "Coastie" will be on hand for photo opportunities with children and visitors of all ages.
In addition, the Auxiliary will offer free vessel examinations in the public lot near the USCG boat house.
"Oswego has the good fortune to be surrounded by water, whether it is a Great Lake, a spectacular harbor or a fish-filled river, which is also part of the greater New York State Canal system. This is a great opportunity to learn and experience all the waterfront has to offer. We call it a putting your toe in the water and see what you might like to do to have fun but didn't know where to start opportunity." said Mercedes Niess, Executive Director of the Maritime Museum.
There will be displays for each partner organization as well as demonstration opportunities and information on upcoming water related events.
Members of the Sea Scouts will be on hand to talk about youth opportunities through its scouting program.
Visitors will have an opportunity learn more about the Oswego Lighthouse Restoration project.
This event is a partnership of the Maritime Museum, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S.C.G. Auxiliary, Oswego Expeditions, Oswego Dragon Boat Club, Oswego Police and Fire Departments, the U.S. Power Squadron and the Sodus Bay Maritime Captains' Association.
The museum and Treasure Chest Gift Shop are open every day from 1-5 p.m. with expanded hours July and August from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
For more information, call 315.342.0480 or visit www.hlwmm.org.


text:
Comprehensive Guide to a Professional Blog Site: A WordPress Example
This document was prepared by Michael Bergman of the Web Tools Company in September 2005. He is the author of one of the most popular Internet search guides and the original discoverer, researcher and educator on the Deep Web, another resource I have added to my resource project. This free 80-page PDF Guide links to 80 additional sources and covers more than 100 topics and how to tips ranging from installing software and plug-ins to design, styles and templates, and to organizational and effectiveness techniques (Boswell, 2007). The guide deals with approximately 100 individual "how to" blogging topics and lessons, all geared to the content-focused and not occasional blogger (Bergman, 2005). Overall this guide represents a very good guide into how to create and maintain a professional blog site. Information is clear and consistent within the entire article. It is a very comprehensive report hence why it is 80 pages long. It covers most issues associated with blogging, and I recommend as a good read for anyone interested in creating or maintaining a blog site.
Boswell, W (2007). Free Comprehensive Guide To Blogging Released By Michael Bergman. Retrieved January 23, 2007, Web site: http://websearch.about.com/od/pressreleases/a/bloggingguide.htm
Bergman, M (2005). Comprehensive Guide to a Professional Blog Site: A WordPress Example. Retrieved January 23, 2007,from http://www.mkbergman.com/wp-content/themes/ai3/files/BlogGuide/BlogGuide050919.pdf
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
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New Delhi, Aug 13 (IANS) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday spoke with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over phone and discussed the flood situation in the state.
"Spoke to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and discussed the flood situation in the state," the Home Minister tweeted.
Rajnath Singh said the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had already reached the flood affected areas and the Centre was rushing additional NDRF teams to Bihar to help in the ongoing rescue and relief operations.
According to the Home Ministry, river Mahananda at Dhengraghat in Purnia district is flowing at a level of 37.6 metre — 1.95 metre above the danger level.
The current level of the river is 0.49 metre less than its previous high flood level of 38.09 metre on August 15, 1968, the ministry said.
Post Source: Ians feed


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Stephen Shapiro, the founder of Mayer Brown's U.S. Supreme Court practice, was shot and killed at his home in a northern Chicago suburb on Monday night, according to police.
A suspect in what police said was a domestic-related shooting was taken into custody about three hours after the incident. That suspect, who has yet to be identified, fled Shapiro's home in Northfield, Illinois, and barricaded himself in his apartment in nearby Winnetka. His arrest occurred following a brief standoff with a SWAT team, according to local reports, and police said they expected charges to be filed against the suspect.
"We are shocked and saddened to learn of the death of Steve Shapiro, our friend and colleague," a Mayer Brown spokesman said in a statement from the firm that noted Shapiro's role as "one of the most accomplished appellate lawyers" in the U.S. "Our thoughts are with Steve's family at this difficult time," Mayer Brown said.
A Cook County Medical Examiner's report released late Tuesday said the cause of death was a homicide due to multiple gunshot wounds.
Shapiro, 72, once served as U.S. deputy solicitor general during the Reagan administration. He is also credited with founding Mayer Brown's Supreme Court and appellate practice. In front of the country's highest court, Shapiro has argued 30 cases and personally briefed more than 200.
Shapiro joined Mayer Brown in 1972 and made partner in 1978. He then left to serve in the Solicitor General's Office. Shapiro rejoined Mayer Brown in 1983 to start what was possibly the first private practice in Big Law dedicated to arguing before the nation's highest court.
"He was certainly one of the creators of what has now become a much more specialized Supreme Court bar," said Sidley Austin chairman emeritus Carter Phillips, who overlapped with Shapiro in the Solicitor General's Office and competed with him as a veteran Supreme Court practitioner.
Phillips said Shapiro was respected for his "sheer determination and energy," producing "awe-inspiring" amounts of quality work product.
"He would make changes on the brief before the last possible second when you'd have to say, 'Steve, this has got to get printed, we can't make any more changes,'" Phillips said. "He was a great lawyer."
Shapiro's death was greeted with an outpouring of support among appellate lawyers on social media and elsewhere.
"Our appellate community is a small and tight-knit group of highly specialized practitioners," said Ian Heath Gershengorn, chair of Jenner & Block's appellate and Supreme Court practice. "We mourn Stephen Shapiro's loss. He was a giant in the field and we recognize his many important contributions to the appellate profession and community. Most importantly, our hearts go out to his family and friends, and especially to our colleagues at Mayer Brown."
Shapiro was joined at Mayer Brown in 1986 by Andrew Frey and Kenneth Geller, who also came out of the Solicitor General's Office. The group went on to form one of the largest and busiest Supreme Court practices in the U.S. Reuters reported in 2014 that Mayer Brown had more petitions granted at the nation's top court than any other major firm between 2004 and 2012.
Shapiro was also known for his work as the author of the treatise "Supreme Court Practice," which is now in its 10th edition and has been referred to as "the Bible" of Supreme Court practice by justices themselves.
Timothy Bishop, a Mayer Brown partner in the firm's Supreme Court practice who worked two offices down from Shapiro, said that his former colleague had recently handed in his chapters for the 11th version of that treatise.
"If I've ever worked with a lawyer who deserved the description of genius, I think it was Steve," said Bishop, who worked with Shapiro on a daily basis beginning in 1991.
Shapiro said in a 1997 interview that his preparation for cases involved reading the entire record of a new appeal. He was helped in that endeavor by teaching himself to "speed read," Bishop said. Within two days of receiving a new matter, Bishop said Shapiro would begin sending out "a barrage" of memos on the relevant cases and most pressing arguments.
"I know when I started I'd always be thinking, 'Well, no one could get into a case that quickly,'" Bishop said. "Then you'd go back at the end of the case and look at the emails and realize he'd captured the winning arguments right from the very start. I still don't understand how anyone could do that. He just had a very accurate and rapid grasp of what would win that appeal."
Bishop said the death of a mentor whom he'd worked with for three decades would be a "deep personal loss." But he credited Shapiro for fostering a collaborative environment among the appellate team at Mayer Brown.
"Steve always said he founded the practice, but he wasn't the head of the practice in anything other than title," Bishop said. "This was a practice of equals."
Shapiro's self-described strategy for building the 60-plus member appellate unit at Mayer Brown was to replicate the Solicitor General's Office for private clients. That involved hiring the most talented lawyers out of that office in addition to prominent academics and focusing on specialization of substantive areas of law. His views on specialization showed why he encouraged young lawyers to seek out new practice areas.
"I see young lawyers today developing specialties in the law that give them tremendous name recognition, [and] that create tremendous client demand," Shapiro said in 1997. "Their judgment on very big issues becomes vital to businesses and other clients while these individuals are still very young and it is precisely because they have specialized and studied a narrow but important field of law."
In one of his more recent Supreme Court appearances, Shapiro argued on behalf of the Mayo Clinic in a case that resulted in a 2012 unanimous ruling against Prometheus Laboratories Inc. The closely watched case involved patents on laboratory tests.
Shapiro's last oral argument occurred less than two weeks ago. On Aug. 2, Shapiro argued on behalf of Whirlpool Corp. before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in a long-running case involving a retiree benefits dispute.
It was a final example of a long-running irony of Shapiro's corporate-focused legal practice. He was the grandson of a labor organizer and politician in Chicago and his late father, Samuel Shapiro, was a union lawyer.
Shapiro is survived by his wife, Joan Gately Shapiro, and daughter, Dorothy Shapiro Lund, a former Sullivan & Cromwell associate who is now an assistant professor at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. A son, former Chicago comedian Michael Shapiro, died in 2015.
A memorial service for Shapiro will be held at 4 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 20, at Christ Church in Winnetka, Illinois.


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The first trailer for the big screen adaptation of Lois Lowry's 1993 Newberry-winning dystopian novel The Giver is finally here. I say "finally" because this film has been a long time in the making. Jeff Bridges (who originally envisioned his father, Lloyd, in the title role that he's now playing) has been working for some two decades to get this film made. I haven't been following the development quite that long--only since 2006.
I love this story with its themes of failed utopia, euthanasia, freedom, individuality, the value of human life, and the power of memory and choice. My husband and I read it aloud to each other when it was published, and many of the images in the book still haunt me.
So, I was particularly keen to know how closely the film follows the story--and it turns out, there are some significant differences. In a Christian Science Monitor article, Bridges is noted as saying that film "is taking a lot of licenses." In particular, the CSM article notes that Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) has been aged to 16 (he was 12 in the book) and the role of Chief Elder (Meryl Streep) has been expanded.
In addition, the role of Rosemary (Taylor Swift), the Giver's daughter who died before the novel begins, seems to have been expanded as well. Some changes noted by others include that the entire film is in color, which plays an important role in the novel, where most characters see in black and white. Also, a romance has been fleshed out and hovercrafts seem to be the norm of the day.
Yes, this gives me and other fans of the story pause. Apparently, however, Lowry worked closely with the film, which Bridges says in an EW interview, maintains "the spirit of the story." In addition, I've been following the producers on Twitter, and there seems to be a lot of excitement and passion for the story poured into this adaptation.
The Giver is one of the good stories, the kind that reveals some key truths about the world we live in, the people around us and ourselves--the kind that causes us to reflect on our own lives, why we believe what we do, and even lead us to change the way we see and act in the world. If this film gives us the spirit of Lowry's Giver, then like the novel, it'll be a story worth telling.


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Photo by ambages via Flickr, used under the Creative Commons License.As a naturopathic doctor and a small business owner, I am always looking at ways to build my practice. As a permaculture enthusiast, I also search for ways to incorporate more sustainable practices into my life. An exciting find that does both is Time Banking.
As we face these difficult times, Time Banks can help build community, empower people of all ages and skills, and reduce our overall environmental footprint.
Time Banks were created in 1980, during a time of serious funding cuts for social services. With less money available for social programs, civil rights lawyer Edgar Cahn created a system where one hour spent helping someone else earns one Time Credit. People can earn a Time Credit for every hour they spend helping others or building community, and spend one Time Credit for every hour for which they receive help. I help you, you help another, and that person helps someone else down the line.
There are hundreds of Time Banks all over the world, in 33 countries and 36 states. The IRS has ruled that Time Banks are tax exempt, since it is not the same as the barter system, and a Time Credit does not have any attached cash value. Services exchanged are those that help build communities and healthy societies: homework help, housecleaning, oil changes, gardening, driving to appointments, cooking, office assistance, and naturopathic medical care.
The implications for the profession of naturopathic medicine are clear: help build community, increase awareness of how we improve health, treat those who otherwise might not receive care, and receive the services you need in return. People feel empowered because they are converting their own personal time into purchasing power by helping others and sharing their skills and talents. The effects of this system are beyond self-help – they are system change. The reasoning is simple: any efforts to address major social problems with social programs are more effective when they enlist and engage the target population as contributors and co-producers. Time Banking enables people and even organizations to create connectivity, reciprocity, trust, and informal support networks that remain even after the paid intervention is over. Regardless of services offered, whether it be childcare, eldercare, juvenile justice, housecleaning, auto repair, landscaping, family preservation, health care, or community development, programs and service professionals continue to be convinced that when participation from the clients is absent, initiatives fail to realize their true potential. When those who would normally be clients are moved into partners and co-producers, they not only earn the service, but also validation and empowerment as important contributors to society.
Naturopathic medicine has always been community medicine to me. It is more cost effective and empowering. It makes sense that communities will find it to be the most positive and sustainable form of health care available. Any effort to build relationships builds a stronger community and certainly a stronger practice. While I do not mind being absent from the game of insurance, I have often wished that there were a way to treat the people with limited income. Time Banking moves from the difficult systems of sliding scale or barter into one which will not only achieve the goal of opening the health care system, but also keeping the patients involved as partners in their health and in the building of their communities.
Thanks for help with Time Banking information to Anita Smith and http://www.timebanks.org/.


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One of my favorite food blogs is White on Rice Couple. Their recipes never let me down and, even more than that, I get a little bit addicted each time I make one of their recipes. I'll do a trial run and cook or bake their recipes for Andy and myself and then I'll usually bust it back out within the week for guests (as seen here and here).
This is no exception.
When I read their recipe for Apple Spiced Coffee Cake I let out an audible "yessss...", probably confusing my office mates and then I hastily added a few items to my never ending grocery list and emailed myself the recipe to make later.
I didn't plan to blog this so the pictures aren't well thought out but with a delectable, seasonal coffee cake like this, I don't think I need pictures to convince you how badly you need try this. Just look at the ingredients, you'll know what I mean.
A crumbly, nutty, sweet crust on top of moist, spicy apple cake. I won't be shocked if you're at least thinking "yessss" right this second.
I was half way through preparation and was being blown away by the grated apple and aroma of the dry ingredients so this is where I started snapping. Post its on my printed out recipe and all. Lists are my strength and my weakness :)
If you've been reading my blog for a while you may notice how pretty my countertops are now. Or maybe you didn't but please look at them. Our kitchen got a face lift!
Here she is before:
And after!!!!
We kept the cabinets and the stove (for now) because it works and we have a baby on the way so we have to prioritize! We just knew we wanted to updated our kitchen and we renovations are often on the list of "Things we wish we did before having kids." (Another one obvious one is "Travel" so we managed to squeeze in France and Italy in the less than 12 months, woo hoo!)
With this renovation we:
- Replaced the countertops with quartz
- Added a subway tile backsplash
- Replaced the tiny, awful kitchen sink with a sink tub stainless steel under mount sink (Yipppeeee! Our wok and 10 qt stock pot can fit at the same time, WHAT?!)
- Upgraded the terribly low, sort-of-broken kitchen faucet with a Kohler Sensate Touchless Kitchen Faucet that we're both deeply obsessed with, I highly recommend splurging on this
- Tossed the microwave that we never used and replaced it with a 400 CFM Zephyr hood. We can now cook bacon without smelling up the whole house - some may argue this is a bad thing ;)
- Installed under cabinet LED dimmable lighting. Some mood lighting if you will. They make night time kitchen photography possible.
Which brings me back to this Apple Spiced Coffee Cake, which I made and photographed at night.
Topped with a butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and pecan crumble...
"My pans are too full" I thought, as I was filling them up and just brushed off my hesitation. And they definitely baked over! So I scooped up the overflow in the middle of the bake time and put it in the middle of the cake. Not the prettiest decision but that crispy overflow was out of this world, caramel-y, chewy, sweet and nutty...yum!
Apple Spiced Coffee Cake
(Just slightly) adapted from White on Rice Couple
Topping Ingredients:
1/3 c flour
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
a pinch of kosher salt
6 tbsp cold, unsalted butter, cubed
1 c pecans (or other nuts)
Cake Ingredients:
1 1/2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground clove
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 c unsalted butter
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 c plain greek yogurt
2 c peeled and grated apples, drained (about 3 medium apples)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and prepare spring form baking pans with unflavored cooking spray (one 9" pan or 4 minis).
In a food processor, add the first 5 ingredients for the topping. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add your nuts and pulse until nuts are mostly chopped. Don't over mix, you don't want a paste!
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the first 7 ingredients for the batter (the dry ingredients) and set aside. In an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium high until light and fluffy, you'll see some bubbles. Beat in the eggs until combined. Add vanilla and greek yogurt and stir for a few rounds, then mix in your drained grated apples until just combined (or do this part by hand).
Mix in the flour mixture into the wet mixture until just combined. Add to your spring form pans. I would hold back on using all the mixture if it is too much, don't fill your pans more than half way, reserve the last bit for a second round to bake later. (A fifth spring form pan would come in REALLY handy - I actually might need to buy one soon!)
Tap your pans down so the batter smooths out and top with the crust mixture - don't hold back on this part! Bake for about 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake. Allow to mostly cool (I like to eat when it is still warm!) and remove from the pan.
Enjoy your festive coffee cake with a glass of milk or cup of tea, ahhh you're going to love it!!!


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MySpace Moves to Give Parents More Information
Web Site Popular With Kids Offers to Monitor Names, Ages; Will It Repel Biggest Users?
In a bid to appease government critics, News Corp.'s popular Web site MySpace.com is planning to offer free parental notification software -- a move that risks alienating its young users.
Parents who install the monitoring software on their home computers would be able to find out what name, age and location their children are using to represent themselves on MySpace. The software doesn't enable parents to read their child's e-mail or see the child's profile page and children would be alerted that their information was being...


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We are thinking of getting an iPad but have been put off by the suggestion that we need to have a Mac or Windows PC. Our system is Ubuntu Linux on a desktop PC, with no wireless router. Since the iPad would only be used out and about for reading e-books and emails, is it true that we can't proceed with our current set-up?
Hartley Heard, by email
It's useful but not essential to have a PC or Mac to partner an iPad, but as far as emailing, web surfing and downloading e-books on the move is concerned, they are completely unnecessary as you can connect to the Internet through wireless hot spots or dig a little deeper and get the 3G-equipped iPad. However, I suspect that you will eventually want to use the iPad at home, so get a Wi-Fi router (around £30 online), which connects to your broadband modem.
There is no doubt that iTunes is handy for managing an iPad's media library or for transferring photos and files so on but there isn't as yet a version for Linux. All is not lost, though and there are ways around it. You could, for instance partition your PC's hard drive and install a copy of Windows or if you want to stay with Linux, and know what you are doing, try a free utility called PlayonLinux (free from http://goo.gl/fSj0). This allows iTunes and a number of other popular Windows applications to run inside Ubuntu.


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Basic information about the Mecklenburg County
The Mecklenburg County is located in the state of Virginia. This county occupies 680 square miles, with 55 square miles being water areas. There are 32.727 inhabitants living in the county according to the 2010 Census. As for the racial makeup of Mecklenburg County citizens, the 3 largest groups are White (59.95%), followed by Black or African American (36.82%) and Two or More races (1.46%). There are 13.495 households in the county, while 65,55% of them are family households and 34,45% represent non family households. There are 11 cities and towns in Mecklenburg County. The most populated city is South Hill town and the smallest town or village is Baskerville CDP.


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01751 467104
Once upto a time we use to simply use our websites to promote our businesses online.Now however we have social media. A very powerful tool to put our business right under customers noses. This is why social media marketing has become a core part of promoting our businesses online. We handle a vast amount of our clients social media accounts. We can do more than simply post. We can run competitions, polls, prizes and much more. Discover what can be achcived by speaking to a member of the team about either taking your business into the world of social media or handle your current accounts.


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The 2014 All-State softball teams have been released, and Washington finds two girls on the list for 4A.
Ashley Rausch and Grace Redlinger were both selected for third team All-State for the Demons. Rausch hit .353 for the season with 30 RBI's, two homers and 16 doubles. In the circle she was 13-10 with a 1.80 ERA, 168 strikeouts and opponents hit .185 off of her.
Redlinger led the team in batting with a .383 average, 22 RBI's, two homers, two triples, 17 doubles and 24 runs scored. She also had just 15 errors at short stop this year, cutting last years numbers in half.
Washington fell in the sub-state championship game.


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New Max Payne 3 gameplay
Ryan Martin / 7 years ago
Max Payne 3 is coming in March 2012 which is still another 6 months away but Rockstar Games has graced us with some more screen shots from the game and by any means it is looking pretty good. Along with those they gave interviews to GameSpot and IGN which you can read here and here. Taking a brief look at the images the above images, The first image shows Max Payne dual wielding an SMG with a Handgun like gamers were able to do in Max Payne 2 but not Max Payne 1. In the second image you can see Max Payne involved in some hand to hand Melee combat, it appears they have given Max the ability to Fly kick his enemies. And Finally in the 3rd image shows Max putting that dual wield into action as he fends off enemies with his dual wield combination.
It's all looking pretty good so far, if you have missed anything to do with it catch up on the Rockstar Games website here and remember only 6 months left now for all those loyal fans out there.


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The secret to good outcomes with people in pain ...
People who have learned to manage their pain speak about the therapeutic value of their trusted relationship with their GP and primary care providers. They speak about high levels of partnership, a level playing field and a GP who helps them understand their chronic pain.
In 2012 we ran the "Painful Truths" workshop
at Parliament House Canberra. It was attended by 80 participants. The audienc was predominantly clinicians concerned with the problem of chronic pain. Guest speaker was Professor David Morris, author of "The Culture of Pain". The analysis of the conversations of the day revealed:
What GP's took away for immediate use in their practice:
- focus on the value of the patient's story "Take greater care in eliciting and discussing a patients' story"
- greater use of standardised patient pain assessment tools in management of chronic pain
- starting to implement the TEAMS approach discussed by Dr Chris Hayes
What GP's would like to implement in their practice but what is difficult
- Employ practice nurse to help with triage and working with patients in pain
- Spending more time with people to elicit stories
What GPs identify as the barriers exist for the above
- Funding issues – unpaid time required
- Time poverty
- Creating the business model to accommodate the changes
- Lack of available services - Lack of available allied health or nursing staff
Challenges for GPs: Identifying patients that require and benefit from opioids vs those that are drug seeking
According to GP Dr Caroline West, practitioners are now seeing more and more people living with chronic pain. Doctors are used to "fixing" a medical condition whereas chronic pain is much more like a chronic disease where you treat it more like diabetes and focus on the patient's quality of life. Dr Caroline speaks about it:
Resources for health professionals
The NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) has developed a kit of resources for clinicians working with people living with pain.
you can find this kit here: http://www.aci.health.nsw.gov.au/chronic-pain/health-professionals/management-of-chronic-pain


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Rovio may have just released Amazing Alex a few weeks ago, but it's committed to bringing more levels to its Angry Birds franchise that continues to be popular. In an update released today, the original Angry Birds game for iOS got 15 new tropical levels that sees the "piggies continue their beach vacation", that is, until the birds show up.
Today's update also sees the addition of four power-ups; King Sling, Birdquake, Super Seeds, and Sling Scope.
- King Sling upgrades your slingshot for "maximum power and velocity"
- Birdquake will bring the pigs' defenses "crashing to the ground"
- Super Seeds will turn your bird into a "pig-popping giant"
- Sling Scope lets you use laser targetting for "pinpoint precision"
Upon launching the update you'll get 20 free uses of a power-up and each day you get one additional use. But of course, if you can't wait that long there's a bunch of in-app purchase bundles to give you more uses of those power-ups, ranging from a 5-pack of any power-up for $1.99, 10 uses of a single power-up for $0.99 or you could go all in for 125 power-ups for $20.99.
A little side-note, Rovio has now (finally) brought full retina support for the iPad 3 so you can enjoy the game on the wonderful Retina display.


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Of all the reasons to control dust including mess and irritation, the most important is to avoid health concerns. Dust is the culprit behind a variety of diseases, not the least of which are respiratory issues. Not only can your company's dust emission affect your employees, but also anyone who dwells in close parameters to your workplace. Because of the potential risk, administrations such as OSHA exist to enforce regulations for dust exposure. In order to meet these regulations, you will want to be assisted by an industrial dust control service.
As we've discussed, industrial dust control services are a necessity due to the many health risks associated with dust exposure. It is important to recognize the gravity of these risks in order to understand the importance of industrial dust control service for your company. Here are a few of the most prominent issues attributed to dust.
3 Health Risks That Can Be Avoided With Industrial Dust Control Service:
1. Lung Diseases: Those with existing lung concerns are more susceptible to further aggravation from dust exposure. On top of this, those with no known lung issues are also vulnerable to acquiring a number of lung diseases including pneumonia, asthma and emphysema.
2. Asbestos: Dust that comprises asbestos is particularly harmful. Although many building products used to contain asbestos, it has since been banned because of the discovery of its harmful effects. Asbestos can cause a deadly disease called mesothelioma and can be fatal for some with just limited exposure. Thus, you cannot take the risk that comes with failing to call an industrial dust control service.
3. Fine Respirable Particulate: Many sorts of manufacturing and combustion processes can emit fine respirable particulate. This particulate has been established as potentially fatal and thus is something that must be eliminated from the air with which anyone would come in contact.
With so many significant health concerns tied to dust, you're probably on your way to call an industrial dust control service. Look no further than Imperial Systems. Imperial offers top-of-the-line dust control systems and pieces of equipment that boast high efficiency and long lifespans. Our systems can be customized to fit your location and your needs. If you have an existing system, but are looking for upgraded parts such as cartridge filters, Imperial can take care of you. With the highest quality dust control equipment and a commitment to excellence, you can be sure you will avoid any risks with Imperial.