DEADLINE: Until Filled
STARTING DATE: ASAP
HOURS: 60% FTE

SALARY: Competitive salary, plus benefits including family health coverage (medical, dental, vision) and 3 weeks vacation to start
JOB CONTROL: Clinical Supervisor


Duties and Responsibilities:
1. Provide wellness and recovery oriented psychiatric treatment, clinical case management and employment services for severely and persistently mentally ill adults; Services to be provided in the out-patient clinic, clients’ homes and community settings;
2. Provide mental health, drug & alcohol and dual diagnoses assessment, crisis stabilization for Alameda County’s API community members with psychiatric challenges;
3. Provide phone or walk in screening to API communities; provide relevant mental health information; determine level of care based on Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services (ACBHCS)’ criteria; make appropriate referrals; make follow up calls to assist or ensure enquirers get connected with referral agencies;
4. If need is apparent and to the extent resource permits, provide assertive outreach, engage and assess persons with mental illnesses who refuse or are reluctant to seek psychiatric treatment; this includes providing linguistic and technical assistance to ACBHCS’ Mobile Crisis Unit;
5. With solicited input from community members, consumers and family members, strategize and conduct community outreach and presentations to make known the services availability, and reduce stigma of mental illnesses in the API communities;
6. Collaborate with county departments, community agencies and primary care clinics in coordinating referrals and ensuring continuity of care for clients;
7. Provide translation services and cultural consultation to other providers;
8. Maintain timely and accurate documentation of outreach & engagement activities; screening, referral and all client service contacts in accordance with agency, county, state guidelines and quality assurance standards;
9. Meet the standard of monthly required service contacts;
10. Participate in agency committees to improve service delivery and assist in developing and implementing treatment programs as assigned;
11. Participate in staff meetings, trainings, peer review meetings and supervision sessions; and
12. Other clinical, administrative and operational duties as assigned by the Director of Behavioral Health Care Services.

Minimum Qualifications:
1. Master’s Degree in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology from an accredited college or university;
2. Fully bilingual and bicultural in Korean required. Additional language skills or active involvement in API communities a plus;
3. Two years of experience in providing intake, assessment, treatment and case management services for severely mentally ill and dual diagnoses clients;
4. Demonstrated competency in DSMIV, crisis stabilization and brief treatment with severely mentally ill, dual diagnoses clients;
5. Demonstrated knowledge of mental health service system and community resources in the Alameda County a plus;
6. Ability to maintain effective and professional working relationship with clients, community members and providers; embrace recovery principles of working with the mentally ill;
7. Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing, organize and make presentation in public events;
8. Ability to work independently, exercise good judgment and adhere to the legal and ethical standards of social work field;
9. Valid California Driver’s license, auto insurance with bodily injury liability limit of at least $100,000/300,000 and access to use of an automobile; and
10. Support and implement the mission, vision and values of Asian Community Mental Health Services.

Email cover letter, resume and two-page job application to hr@acmhs.org or mail to ACMHS, 310-8th St., Suite 201, Oakland, CA 94607. Fax to 510.268.0202. Please see our website at www.acmhs.org for the application form.

ACMHS reaffirms its policy and well-established practice of recruitment, hiring and promotion in all job classifications without regard to race, color, age, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status or any category protected by law. Consistent with this policy, individual qualifications (skill, ability, prior experience and/or performance, education, etc.), are used as the basis for selecting the best applicant for employment.

Presidio Graduate School is a learning community dedicated to developing business and civic leaders with the competencies and courage to implement their ideas for creating a sustainable future. Driven by this mission, Presidio has become a successful and innovative graduate school, helping to define and expand the field of sustainability with our distinctive MBA, MPA and Executive programs. With an integrated and outcome-driven curriculum, Presidio’s programs emphasize active learning, integration, and a focus on sustainability in each course as well as across the entire curriculum. All programs are designed for working adults with delivery split between in-person and online learning systems. Our staff is a group of highly self-motivated individuals who value teamwork, care, humor, resilience, and a strong commitment to the mission of the school.

Currently, Presidio Graduate School is seeking an Academic Operations Manager to manage and oversee the daily academic operations of all degree and non-degree programs, including quality control of academic communications, course material preparation, copyright clearances, and alignment with programmatic curriculum. This position is responsible for ensuring overall quality control, consistency, and integration of each academic program to the mission of the institution.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Manage the daily operations for MBA and MPA programs, including compiling required book lists, creating course and attendance rosters, reviewing course syllabi, obtaining copyright permissions and requesting desk copies of required texts, processing guest speaker payments, and coordinating the course evaluation process
• Process transcript requests for verification of faculty and staff's post-baccalaureate degrees, update faculty contact list, and arrange travel accommodations
• Coordinate the recruitment, hiring, and orientation process for all faculty
• Manage schedules and course materials for faculty; oversee the setup and note-taking for faculty meetings
• Facilitate academic communications and coordinate the evaluation and development process for faculty
• Hold oversight for academic budget accounts, including authorizing expenses and maintaining systems for tracking expenditures
• Facilitate and oversee the process for yearly updates to official publications, including the course catalog and faculty handbook
• Manage the process for reviewing academic performance of students, including completing degree audits and tracking students against satisfactory academic progress standards
• Manage the operations of Executive and Continuing Education programs, including creating faculty contracts, ordering course materials, preparing academic workbooks, drafting and sending formal communications to students, and processing payments to faculty
• Provide assistance to the Accreditation team as needed

Qualifications

Required
• Bachelor’s degree
• Minimum of 1 to 2 years administrative and project management experience
• Ability to be resourceful and work independently with little outside direction
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• High commitment to detail and quality control
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize, and meet deadlines
• Excellent writing and verbal communication skills
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office programs and email
• Available for occasional evening and weekend work as well as travel within the Bay Area

Preferred
• Understanding of handling confidential information
• Familiarity with LMS tools and other academic databases
• Academic and/or non-profit experience

Presidio is an equal opportunity employer who offers a competitive salary and excellent benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) with company match, and tuition assistance for employees and family members. To apply, please email your resume, cover letter, and salary history to careeropps@presidioedu.org. For more information, please visit www.presidioedu.org.

Field Supervisor Contract Security

San Diego, California

Construction Protective Services & eCamsecure
Please see our website at: www.ecamsecure.com

Total Security Solutions

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS POSITION, PLEASE FOLLOW THE LINK: http://tbe.taleo.net/NA7/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=CPS&cws;=1&rid;=367

Constuction Protective Services & EcamSecure is a progressive security company looking for an Field Supervisor who has the dedication and commitment to manage our sites and people. Our business differs from other security operations in that we offer three types of security options, and combinations, that compliment each other, either on the construction site or in the boardroom. We are searching for a talented individual who has a proven track record in managing situations and people.

JOB SUMMARY: (Not limited to)


The Field Supervisor is a front line quality assurance position responsible for facilitating the success of security officers in delivering excellent customer service. Primary duties include the active supervision and on the job quality of life support of hourly and trailer security officers including professional conduct, on the job training, safe and supportive working environments, and emergency scheduling, conducting site surveys and officer inspections.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: (Not limited to)

-Directly supervises security officers. Motivates and ensures that subordinates deliver high quality service
and are punctual, alert, comprehend and follow post orders, and display professional appearance and conduct.
-Conducts unannounced post inspections to investigate complaints, ensure proper attendance, appearance,
report keeping and vehicle operation.
-Verifies assigned duties and rules of conduct are being
followed.
-Evaluatesservice quality, reinforces good performance and initiates corrective action including retraining
and progressive discipline in a timely manner.
-Refers problematic issues to branch management and
makes effective recommendations. May immediately suspend a subordinate from duty for reasonable suspicion
of significant misconduct (e.g., sleeping, post abandonment, intoxication) or at client request. May not
terminate an employee except at the direction of Branch or other authorized manager.
-Comprehends, applies and documents positive reinforcement, coaching, and progressive discipline
as appropriate.
-Acts as branch manager's representative outside of normal business hours.
-Safeguards confidential phone
lists, schedules, keys, access control and credit cards, and other equipment.
-Provides regular on-going training for security officers in post, operational and safety topics.
-Meets with branch management and client representatives to review status and address perceived problems.
-Inspects client sites as assigned to reinforce officer safety rules, adequate coverage and security supplies
and equipment, security signage, and compliance with post orders; visits client representatives to
ensure satisfaction with services provided; knows post orders for all accounts.
-Responds to calls for assistance, reports of accident or injury, and significant incidents reported by
security officers.
-Schedules open shifts as required, personally stands vacant posts when necessary to ensure
contracted coverage is provided.
-Conducts and reports a site survey whenever site security conditions change significantly; if there is an
incident that requires it; on a recurring schedule as directed, and if so directed by the Branch Manager or
Safety Department.
-Provides support during account start-up. Provides input to security planning, assessments, site surveys,
and loss reports. May be assigned to write and revise post orders. Trains officers on post orders. Also
reviews post orders and communicates requirements and changes to affected personnel.
-Communicates and coordinates with responsible branch staff regarding scheduling, staffing, equipment,
record keeping, and related matters, to ensure smooth delivery of client security services.
-Notifies and keeps branch management informed of emergencies and unusual
circumstances.
-Responsible for ensuring appropriate reports are completed. Provides thorough investigation and
documentation of events and completes incident, loss prevention, site survey, accident, worker's
compensation and other reports as necessary. Completes supervisor's daily log, client visitation log, vehicle
and fuel logs, corrective action notices and other paperwork assigned.
-Ensures that security officers complete Daily Activity Reports (DAR) or Guard Shift Reports (GSR),
incident reports, vehicle and fuel logs, time sheets, alarm response logs and other reports as appropriate.
Ensures required reports are delivered to client. Diligently collects CPS copies on a daily basis for branch
filing and invoicing support.
-Installs, programs and trains officers and clients in use of guard tour systems. Downloads and audits
reports. Routes reports to appropriate parties. Takes appropriate action in response to audit failures.
-Investigates and audits trailer officer alarm responses. Performs spot inspections in field. May
conduct unannounced surveillance at branch manager's direction.
-Presents alarm response reports to trailer officers for verification and signature. Investigates discrepancies
with officer and obtains sufficient information to correct as necessary. Distributes, collects and returns to
branch office on a bi-weekly cycle for timely payroll input.
-Responsible for assigned company vehicle and compliance with the company's safe driving program.
Informs the trailer maintenance staff and branch manager of the need for regular maintenance of assigned
vehicle. May be required to ensure routine maintenance and repair is performed. Maintains cleanliness of
assigned vehicle. Inspects and documents condition of vehicle prior to use. Ensures assigned vehicle is in
good operating condition daily, including oil, water, tires and body. Returns vehicle fully fueled.
Immediately notifies branch manager and documents any damage when it occurs. Assumes full responsibility
for any damage unreported at commencement of duty shift.
-Inspects motor vehicles, carts, generators, cell phones, guard tour systems and other equipment assigned
to client sites to ensure correct and safe operating condition, appearance and regular maintenance
performed. May be tasked to inspect and report on CPS Mobile Surveillance Units (MSU). Reports
maintenance and repair needs using appropriate forms. May review and audit fuel usage reports. May
be responsible to ensure repairs and maintenance or replacement is
performed.

Benefits: This position comes with paid vacation days and holidays, medical and dental, 401K, AFLAC, life insurance, credit union, etc...

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS POSITION, PLEASE FOLLOW THE LINK: http://tbe.taleo.net/NA7/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=CPS&cws;=1&rid;=367

EOE/M/F/D/V

Do you know what consumers buy? What consumers watch? Nielsen Knows! Nielsen is the world’s leading marketing and media information company. We’re passionate about measuring and analyzing how people interact with digital and traditional media, and in-store environments-locally and globally. Businesses worldwide use our services to better manage their brands, launch and grow product portfolios, and optimize their media purchase mix. Nielsen knows...great minds don’t think alike! Diversity is key to our success in providing clients with information they need to succeed. We encourage and reward creativity, fresh thinking and a blend of diverse and complementary perspectives. We are constantly striving to improve our clients’ understanding of their consumers in everything they do - from buying detergent to buying a car, from going to the movies to surfing the web. The Nielsen Company is privately held and is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in New York.

Nielsen's Telecom Practice Group, the world's largest provider of syndicated consumer research to the telecom and mobile media markets, is seeking a Client Services Analyst to join a multi-million dollar, national wireless carrier account.  This is an ideal position for someone who wants to be a part of dynamic mobile communications industry by helping our clients make key strategic decisions based on insights from our data.  Good analytic and communication skills are important.  Successful analysts in this role have typically gone on to attend top-tier business schools or been promoted intoother roles at the company.
 
Responsibilities
 
- Answer up to the minute questions such as the impact of the iPhone 3G or what ringtones or mobile games are successful
- Work closely with Account Managers to provide added value to the Nielsen Mobile Marketing products through insightful analysis and by developing a deep understanding of the mobile industry
- Become an expert with Nielsen Mobile's marketing products (online survey, subscriber share, games/internet/download reports) including data collection, processing and quality control, tools for accessing the data, and how the data can be used to improve clients' business performance
- Work closely with Nielsen Mobile product management to tailor products to our customers needs
- Conduct client training on information methodologies and applications
- Support Account Team presentation development

- BA or BS from a top tier university with a minimum GPA of 3.5

- 2 years of work experience with data analysis, consulting, quantitative problem solving

- Strong analytical and data manipulation skills

- Experience using MS Office

- High attention to detail; solid organizational skills and rigorous documentation routine

- Strong interpersonal skills, team player, highly motivated, strong orientation toward customer service

- Excellent oral communication and writing skills

- Interest in market research and/or the wireless industry

Presperse introduced a new active ingredient for sebum control called Panadoxine P, which is pro-vitamin B6.   Vitamin B6 plays an important role
in skin health: deficiency of Vitamin B6 causes skin inflammation, swelling, misbalance in metabolism of proteins and fats. However, Vitamin B-6 is
extremely photo-unstable and cannot be used in topical formulations.
 
According to Presperse, Panadoxine P has superior stability, overcoming the photo-stability issues of Vitamin B6, making it an excellent choice for skin
care formulations. 

 
More info: www.presperse.com

Please see note below

There is natural tension between the State and the public on the question of transparency. Authoritarian states by definition limit access to information. In democratic states, democracy manifests itself as elections, which reduces incentive for routine oversight (to delay judgment) and in case of ruling government’s culpability, creates a disincentive for transparency. In addition, democratic states necessarily follow a capitalist model of development, either by choice or obligation (IMF, World Bank, Free Trade Agreements). While the premise of a democratic government is at least partly altruistic and redistributive (in addition to security and maintenance of law and order) thereby deriving the moral rationale for taxation, the premise of capitalism is the pursuit of self-interest and maximization of profit for a small group of people.  Internally as well, corporations aren’t democratic – divergent interests are resolved not by open discussion but by pure might (preferential ownership; bulk of the share holders don’t have voting rights). With increasing size of private corporations and increasing privatization of governance, democratic states are adopting corporate ethos of opacity, consolidation of power and growing authoritarianism. This authoritarian tendency is in the true sense of the phrase, not “politically correct” and in the past fifteen years, sixty countries have passed laws to facilitate public access to state information. However institutional reticence to transparency is evidenced by the fact that only a fraction of these countries have a whistleblower’s law[1]to protect the individual who exposes institutional corruption from reprisal. When the institution in question is public, states with whistleblower’s law frequently undermine their own legislation[2] by blocking publicity, investigation, and counter intuitively pressing criminal charges on the whistleblower! The last is aimed at deterring future whistleblowers, and stems from the desire to retain control – of fragmentary transparency and hence accountability – to release only that information, the consequences of which can be accommodated in business as usual, and to calculatedly deploy state infrastructure against the will of the people.

There are obvious limits of a state legislated and managed RTI/FOI regime: first and foremost, the State defines the categories of exempt information. Security and intelligence agencies are both outside the ambit, with good rationale though increasingly less defensible given their disproportionate contribution to instances of human rights violations. Exempt categories are further susceptible to spurious classification, where information is withheld not to preserve the integrity and/or security of the State but its machinery and/or functionaries. Second, there are many ways of subverting the spirit of the act through shoddy implementation (conveniently transferring culpability to a frontline official from the institution). In India, this manifests itself as lack of information management, ignoring Section 4 (proactive dissemination), harassing applicants, convoluted processes, high pendency[3] etc. Lastly, since the application for information is initiated by a beneficiary, there are two drawbacks: the disadvantage of being an outsider who cannot know of the universe of relevant information; second, a David and Goliath scenario pitching an individual against the might of the State to obtain information of public interest but without the force of the citizen collective.

An independent website, Wikileaks (launched in 2006) aims to fill this gap. “WikiLeaks is a multi-jurisdictional public service designed to protect whistleblowers, journalists and activists who have sensitive materials to communicate to the public. […] WikiLeaks information is distributed across many jurisdictions, organizations and individuals. Once a document published it is essentially impossible to censor[4].”  Notable publications of the website include a report on toxic dumping in Africa by Trafigura, a US military video that shows American soldiers killing eighteen people in Baghdad including two Reuters photographers, Climategate emails, and tax evasion by American citizens in connivance with Swiss bank, Julius Baer. In India, Wikileaks published the UIDAI approach document in November 2009. It’s interesting to note that the respective state apparatuses had blocked public access to this information:  UK ordered a super injunction[5] against the publication of Trafigura report; Reuters tried unsuccessfully to obtain the Baghdad video for three years under the American FOIA; Julius Baer succeeded in temporarily knocking down the Wikileaks website after obtaining a permanent injunction against the website and domain registrar in a California court; and allegedly numerous RTI applications had been made to get more information about the UID project. Julian Assange, one of the founders of the website says, “Open government is strongly correlated to quality of life. Open government answers injustice rather than causing it (plans which cause injustice are revealed and opposed before implementation). Open government exposes, and so corrects, corruption. Historically, the most resilient form of open government is one where leaking and publication is easy. Public leaking, being an act of ethical defection to the majority, is by its nature a democratising force.” There are some features that make Wikileaks or a similar concept of a private leaking system worth consideration:

1. Establishes global accountability: Freedom of information laws often mandate citizenship of the country. However, in a globalized world, states are accountable not to just their citizens, but to the global citizenry.  America’s “war against terror” has changed the global landscape; the financial crisis of 2007-2010 has had global consequences; global warming affects us all. The need for concerted global action makes global transparency imperative. For instance, one classified CIA report on shoring support in Europe for the war in Afghanistan states “public apathy enables leaders to ignore voters” and goes on to discuss the different ways to manipulate the public in France/Germany to support their country’s continued presence in Afghanistan. The report is an indictment of the unilateral nature of America’s battle in Afghanistan and its disdain for democracy.
2. Ensures anonymity of the whistleblower: States are increasingly crushing dissidence through draconian laws and their application.  Obama despite campaigning on a platform of transparency is aggressively pursuing Bush-era whistleblowers, all of who exposed high-level illegal activity. In India, the government has cynically used TADA, POTA and UAPA essentially classifying the right to dissent in a democracy as terrorism. In this situation, not only is it impossible for the whistleblower to use formal mechanisms to trigger correction but there’s also a high probability of reprisal against the individual. India’s most famous whistleblower, Satyendra Dubey was murdered in 2003[6] after writing to then Prime Minister, Vajpayee about high-level corruption in the NHAI (despite widespread outrage, India has not passed a whistleblower’s law). Further anonymizing the individual’s identity in no way detracts from the substance of the leak, and also reduces incentive to publish information for personal profit. Wikileaks operates a series of complex technological and other measures to protect sources, and claims that no source has been revealed in the three years of its operations[7].
3. Circumvents state: A question worth asking is whether the state can be held accountable through state legislated and controlled mechanisms. History is replete with examples where the State has used the police, investigative agencies and even the judiciary for its own ends. In India, the two main anticorruption agencies, CBI and CVC lack independence and frequently close investigations with questionable conclusions[8].  Governments also prevent public mobilization with the use of gag orders[9], not only to suppress and censor information, but also the fact that the information has been suppressed!
4. Uncovers spurious classification into exempt categories: The history of leaked classified documents reveal content kept secret not to protect the security/integrity of the State but to protect the might/authority of the State machinery. This brings into the public domain unconstitutional/unethical means adopted by the Government and hidden from its constituents through false classification.
5. Exposes state hypocrisy: Even though China has a Freedom of Information Act, it blocks all URLs with the word “wikileaks” in it[10]. The US, which can’t censor so obviously commissioned a counterintelligence report to take down Wikileaks, perversely citing China’s blanket blocking as justification.
6. Expedites timelines: In India, publishing the UID document online forced the Chairman, Nandan Nilekani to release the document as well, leading to increased media coverage and public discourse on a government project of great public interest. In a less direct measure, the publication of the Baghdad video and report on Afghanistan will decrease domestic and international support for US occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan increasing pressure for disengagement.

While the purpose of such institutions is to promote transparency and accountability in large corporations, the integrity[11] of such institutions themselves is internally policed and inextricably linked with the integrity of its executives. Opacity is built into the Wikileaks model (understandably given the many attempts to take down the site) however this lends itself to unaccountable discretion to filter information – what is received, what is put out, how and when it’s put out. Legitimacy of democratic state institutions is contingent on, inter alia, equal treatment of all citizens and constituencies through due process of law – citizens voluntarily give up some freedoms to the state under this very assurance – however private institutions are not obligated to neutrality. For Wikileaks to serve as an alternative/complement to legislated freedom of information regimes, it must evolve mechanisms to ensure (both in implementation and appearance) that its internal bias is not reflected in the information put out. Finally the sticking point with both Wikileaks and Freedom of Information laws is that information does not exist in a vacuum. Merely making information public will not necessarily catalyze social change – information must also be accessible (understandable). Moreover for information to have meaning, corresponding mechanisms must be developed to force (and sustain) state accountability. Institutions have longevity that often transcends the people who direct it, and while ad-hoc embarrassing information may have consequences at the personal/party level, institutions will remain unaffected without an active inquisitive citizenry.

Note: Bulk of this piece was written before the arrest of Bradley Manning for being the alleged source of the Iraq video and also the Garani massacre in Afghanistan.  Bradley apparently initiated a series of chats with former hacker Adrian Lamo and revealed his identity. Based on the heavily edited chat transcripts put out Wired, it is evident that Lamo baited Bradley in these chats, asking him incriminating questions with the full intention of outing him (there is also the disturbing question of when government officials were involved and their complicity in eliciting confession). In the fallout, Wikileaks is under attack and founder, Julian Assange hunted by the US DoD. Even three weeks after arrest,Bradley Manning has not been chargesheeted.  Bradey, Julian and other Wikileaks members are all on the right side of history, and deserve our support. To learn more, please follow Wikileaks on Twitter or visit the Wikileaks site and follow links from there

---

[1] A whistleblower brings to the public notice an act of institutional wrongdoing by an employee, and is therefore a natural complement to freedom of information laws.

 

Countries with existing/draft whistleblower laws: UK (Public Interest Disclosure Act, 1998); US (Whistleblowers Protect Act of 1989, 1994); South Africa (Protected Disclosures Act, 2000), Australia, Norway, Canada, South Korea, Argentina, Russia, Slovakia, Mexico and Nigeria

[2] Obama’s pursuit and escalation of Bush era whistleblowers; Super injunctions in UK

[3] A recent Delhi HC judgment struck down single benches as unconstitutional ruling that all information commissioners should pass judgments together. This will increase pendency further

[4] Wikileaks .Org– About Us

[5] Gag order in the UK, which prohibits publicizing even the fact of gagging

[6] Satyendra Dubey’s case was closed in March 2010 by the CBI, which concluded that the murder was the fall-out of a botched robbery and not connected to the alleged criminal nexus at NHAI

[7] Bradley Manning was recently detained by the US military for being the alleged source of the Iraq video and also the Garani massacre in Afghanistan. Note: Bradley revealed his identity himself in a series of online chats with former hacker Adrian Lamo.

[8] Lalu Yadav, Mayawati, Shibu Soren etc

[9] US: Patriot Act National Security Letter; UK: super injunctions

[10] Wikileaks hosts multiple cover sites (mirror sites with different names) to allow access even from China. These cover sites change frequently, and current names can be googled outside of China

[11] Some comments by Julian Assange on the financial and attribution integrity of Wikileaks

1. Our funds audited according to German, Australian, Swedish, French, Swiss and US law and most of our funds are even blind to us to prevent donor influence.
2. There has never been a documented case of WikiLeaks misattributing a document. We have a perfect record over three years of publishing. Compare this record with any other publisher of political materials.
3. In the US a lot of the anti-wikileaks propaganda comes from military apologists attempting to undermine the strength of http://collateralmurder.com/ by attacking its messenger. However, read that website carefully and all statements made in the video itself. You will see that even after other details have come to light, none require corrections. Why? Because we fact checked–to the degree of sending people to the most dangerous part of Baghdad during election time to do it. Who else has such demanding standards?
4. We push the ideal of “scientific journalism” — all primary sources for every article made available. It’s our invention because we love fact-checking and want others to check our facts to prove our good work.
5. On the balance issue. You’re right. We don’t believe in “balance”—we believe in accuracy and fairness. That is an important difference and a higher standard. The truth is not revealed by balancing the lies of competing powergroups–that is a job for politicians. We, as servants of the historical record, have a higher standard.

I do not wish to provide a job location, 8736JKADevelop Motor Control Algorithms for our benchmark organization…SEE VIDEOCLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEOJob Description:Developing motor control algorithms for induction, permanent magnet and switch reluctance motorsDeveloping control algorithms for active front-end convertersSimulating control algorithms and implementing on various development systemsConducting research to solve or improve p

A temporary, tented town had sprung up in the fields to accommodate the thousands who had travelled far to be there. People were on the move, in search of friends and family they’d become separated from, checking that the children – free to roam safely for once - were still OK, that the queues were not too long for the food outlets. Standpipes had brought water to the site for those with bottles to refill. It was hot. There was shade on the cool grass in the lee of the tents. Flags and banners fluttered in the breeze and the atmosphere was buoyant. People’s journeys had brought them to a place where they could find their own kind, where they were safe and where life, far from the daily grind, was free of strife.

It was the Hay Festival. Over ten days at the beginning of June, 200,000 people gathered in the tiny Welsh town – usual population 1,500 – to hear writers talk about their newly published books. In one of the darkened tents, filled to capacity with hundreds of listeners, was a man who had come to tell them good news. The UK’s worried middle classes could, for this hour at least, have some respite from their concerns about climate change, carbon footprints, and the recession and public spending cuts that were laying waste to their wealth, jobs, and public services.

The prophet had come to tell them that they could stop worrying about overpopulation.  Ever since 1798 when a young English clergyman, Reverend Malthus, raised the spectre of the world’s poor breeding prolifically and outpacing food supply, ideas about overpopulation - and all that goes with it, disease, famine, migration - have had a powerful grip on thinking about the world. Even though the history of the past 200 years has proved Malthus wrong, this is still the orthodox view. It gave rise to the 20th century’s population control movement and became associated with coercive eugenics and racial supremacy.  In the 21st century we have come to believe that the growing populations of countries like China and India, added to climate change and water shortages, are leading the world to a runaway environmental crisis that threatens human survival. Once more, fear of overpopulation and of migrants fleeing poverty or environmental crisis is driving popular opinion and policy, often despite realities that contradict this vision of cause and effect.  

The cautionary voice in the darkness of the Hay tent was that of Fred Pearce, talking about his new book Peoplequake: Mass Migration, Ageing and the Coming of the Population Crash in which he sets out a different narrative of population trends, migration, women’s autonomy and – the real cause of our problems – consumption by the few.

‘Environmentalists have a doomsday scenario they want to play out,’ said Pearce when we met after his talk. Sure, the world’s population at nearly seven billion is four times what it was a century ago. Sure, there will be a couple of billion more by 2050, but UN projections  show that the world’s population will then tail off.  ‘Neither the population NGOs nor the environmentalists want to say we are already defusing the population time bomb. The poor women of the world are fixing the problem themselves,’ he said. ‘It does not require draconian government population control programmes.’  Pearce says that half the world’s women are now having two children or fewer and not just in rich countries but in Iran and parts of India, Burma and Brazil, and South Africa. Elsewhere birth rates have fallen dramatically - in Bangladesh, South East Asia and across Latin America – in Mexico, Cuba, El Salvador, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Venezuela and Peru. ‘Like the mobile phone and TV, contraception is a near-universal technology. Only the most bizarre and patrician regimes try to withhold it’, he writes. ‘Contraception is overwhelmingly women’s business. Less than a tenth of the world’s men take responsibility for contraception, mostly using a condom’.

Although we are yet to reach peak population, Pearce says the environmental problem is not one of headcount but of consumption. The developing world, for all its billions of people, uses far less of the earth’s resources than the developed. Figures from Stephen Pacala, Director of Princeton Environmental Institute, show that 7% of the world’s population are responsible for 50% of CO2 emissions and 50% of the population for 7% of the emissions. 

Pearce’s argument is all about demographics.  More people survive infancy and live longer worldwide and the bulge of the post-war baby boom in the west is still pushing population totals up. In some countries, half the people are under 16, so there are lots of babies still to come, but overall, populations are ageing because the proportion of older people is rising. The majority of people in the world will soon be over 50. Fewer babies are being born. All around the world women are choosing to limit the number of babies they have to the extent that the birth rate in many countries is already below replacement rate, a world average of 2.3 children per woman. There are still some places with high birth rates, where patriarchy and religious ideology hold out, such as very rural countries like Yemen, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and Catholic countries in the developing world like the Philippines. But other countries with falling birth rates may become dependent on migrants to maintain their populations and meet the needs of the bulge in older, non-working citizens. 

New perspectives on migration are needed. ‘With our fertility rates we are going to need a lot more migrants so we had better get used to it. There is a lot of talk about snakeheads, of people smugglers, but most people migrate with their eyes open for economic reasons,’ he said. ‘We need to help them complete their journey to becoming part of society and plan for it and manage the allocation of resources like housing better. We shouldn’t marginalise them, because then they fall out of the tax system, they get exploited and push down wages, and it’s just shooting yourself in the foot.’

Pearce’s ‘Peoplequake’ is happening because the world’s women have begun to emerge from their hitherto historic fate of continual childbearing, to have fewer babies and become better educated and economically active.  So could women face a backlash given religious fundamentalism? ‘Religious fundamentalism is spectacularly ineffective in persuading women to have lots of children’, said Pearce.  The lowest fertility rates in the developed world are in Catholic countries like Spain, Italy or Poland. In developing countries like Brazil where religion is strong but urbanisation is growing women are having only two children. ‘Some of the fastest falls in fertility are in Muslim countries like Jordan, Tunisia, Turkey, Algeria and Morocco,’ he said. ‘In Iran, Ahmadinejad is saying women should go back into the home but in less than 30 years the average number of children Iranian women are having has gone down from 8 to two.’   Could the rise of the right, spurred by recession, put pressure on women to have more babies? According to Pearce ‘The history of economic recession is that it reduces fertility rates; the post-war baby boom came with rising livings standards.’

Pearce’s book is a plea for a clearer-headed view of what is needed in response to these population changes. ‘I never thought I’d be writing a feminist tract, but what matters is not talk of population control but women’s reproductive rights. We need to complete the feminist revolution and make it easier for women to combine working with having children.’

Perhaps these are the tasks now of the baby boomer generation - who’ve had it so good - in the last decades of their lives.  To help complete the feminist revolution so that the world’s young women can earn their own living and raise the small families they want; to lead the way on reducing consumption so that climate change challenges can start to be met; and to welcome migrants, in the realisation that our own interests mean we are going to need them to keep the show on the road.

Young mothers, migrants, and grey-haired baby boomers could be in the vanguard of a revolution, but they pass unremarked in the streets. Pearce’s Hay audience may look at them with new eyes now that they are home again, back in the daily grind, with his book by the bed and the tents gone from the fields. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sideboxes

Related stories: 

Migration: development on the move

Migration policy: from control to governance

Migration: the rise of the radical right

Migration and global justice: realistic options for here and now

Immigration: control vs governance

Immigration and the politics of resentment

The following events took place between 7PM- 10PM at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, host to Strikeforce: Live event. 

6:54P.M.  People are beginning to pour into an increasingly active Nokia Theatre.  I don’t plan on holding my breath waiting for this place to fill up.  Not because the previously scheduled main event was axed, but because we’re in Los Angeles, folks.  The main bout starts at 8, Expect the house to be filled by 9:30PM. 

7:02- The evening’s festivities are slated to begin with the preliminary fights.  The media kit stated that the fights were to begin at approximately 7PM.  They’re right on schedule. 

Hugo Sandoval (1-2) from Riverside California, is introduced followed by Marcus Kowal (2-0).  Marcus hails from Los Angeles, CA, is undefeated and is walking out to “Let Me Clear My Throat” by DJ Kool. 

What’s not to love? 

I don’t need to read any more of the comprehensive scouting reports given to members of the media prior to the fight.  For the previously mentioned reasons, I’m taking Kowal. 

7:08-  The fight stats.  Our hero Marcus Kowal took some leg kicks early but quickly gained control.  Sandoval is on his back.  Kowal is looking to pass guard, but Sandoval is hanging tough and working hard from the guard position.  After a attempted Rampage Jackson-like slam, Kowal was hurt by an illegal upkick to the eye.  Referee Herb Dean penalized Sandoval one point after a having a few choice words for the Riverside native. 

7:14-  End of round one.  Nothing spectacular, however Sandoval’s desperation has picked up after being penalized as he unleashed an onslaught of leg kicks and punching combinations before the fight went to the ground for the second time. 

7:15- Sandoval scores with an impressive knee to the head to start the second round.  Sandoval delivers a nasty left hook to the chin.  Fight over.

Winner- Hugo Sandoval , at :43 of round two.  I think we’ve all learned a valuable lesson about picking fights based on theme music have we not? 

7:19- The first of what should be many live commercials airs for EA’s MMA.  That game looks terrible.  Think Street Fighter EX in an octagon.  The saving grace will be a cool marketing slogan.  How about:  EA Sports…It’s in the Pain! 

7:21- Jeremy Umphries, from Los Angeles, CA, is announced (4-1).  The always inconspicuous Dan Hardy is cageside and in Umphries corner.  Not quite sure what he contributes to the camp, but there are some “wrestling coach” jokes going around the press section.  Umphries is followed by RJ Clifford (3-1), also from Los Angeles. 

Never mind what music they walked out to. 

Clifford is wearing a Lakers foam fingers in tribute to the anxious Laker faithful who are on pins and needles less than 24 hours from game seven.  Cute

7:30- End of round one.  A lot of grappling in this round.  T.J spent the majority of the round on the defensive.  After struggling through clinches and mounts at the hands of Umphries, Clifford scored a late takedown and got a few punches in on the ground before the round came to a close. 

7:31-  Umphries comes out aggressively just as he did in round one and scores an early takedown.  Umphries’ gameplan seems to be to hold on for dear life and squeeze the decision out of Clifford.  When they stand, Umphries uses the cage to clinch.  When the fight goes to the ground, Umphries is able to mount the opposition. 

Umphries manages to float over into a rear-naked choke while on the ground, getting Clifford to submit.

Winner- Jeremy Umphries at 2:27 in round two.   

7:54- After slowly combing through an inexplicably enormous line in the concessions stand (The main card is in ten minutes!), I quickly retreat back to my seat.  Upon getting acclimated to the live scene, I noticed a couple things.

Thing One.  Not a lot of women watch MMA.

Thing Two.  The ones who do are insanely hot. 

The highlight of this failed attempt to get a water had to be a comment from a blond accessory in a black dress who impatiently asked when halftime was?

8:00-  The obnoxiously loud house music signals the start of the evening’s main card festivities.

8:06-  Mauro Ranallo appears on the big screen to preview the fight along with Pat Miletech and Steven Quadros, who looks more and more like Kevin Bacon every day.

8:08- Connor Heun (8-3) is introduced followed by KJ Noons (8-2).  Heuns’ wrestling is nothing to play with and is more than enough of a reason to put this fight on upset alert.  As the fight is set to begin I can’t help but notice Bill Goldberg on the floor with Herschel Walker.  Goldberg is almost having too good of a time. 

8:19-  End of a fantastic round one.  The two started out by standing and trading.  Just as I begun to question Heuns’ apparent game plan of of standing with Noons despite a superior ground game, Heun took KJ down and dominated.  KJ slipped out and knocked Heun down just before the round came to an end.  The crowd is loving it. 

8:25-  Round two concludes as the combatants stood and traded again for nearly the whole round.  Aside from two or three lethargic takedown attempts from Heun, this was a certified Strikeforce strikefest with KJ hungry for the knockout on the back end of the second round.  At one point, KJ was swinging like an angry Celtic fan does on his wife following a loss.

Heun countered an attempted body kick from Noons with a takedown.  This needs to happen quite frequently in the third if Heun wants to pull off the upset.  

8:31- The fight concludes with another round that saw an intense amount of brawling.  Heun more than held his own trading with KJ for the majority of the fight as he seemed too tired to go for a serious takedown attempt. 

Heun noticeably pooped out towards the end of the fight as KJ Noons exacted a series of strikes and knees.  This one’s gonna be close.

Winner:  KJ Noons by split decision.  Hmmmm. 

8:41-  The bout between Tim Kennedy (11-2) and Trevor Prangley (22-5-1) has started.  This round saw three total takedowns (two by Prangley, one by Kennedy) within the first two minutes.  Kennedy seems to be in control of the fight despite telegraphing two early takedowns.  As Prangley attempts to stand with Kennedy on his back, Kennedy scores with a rear naked choke and the win. 

Winner:  Tim Kennedy at 3:30 of round one.  

8:48-  The lights dim and a promo airs for next week’s, um, showdown between Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum.  At one point, Fedor is sitting on a throne.  Cute.

In the obligatory fair-weather moment of the night from the Los Angeles crowd, not a single person reacted during or after the dramatic promo. 

Or was it a fair-weather moment? 

Perhaps this was an MMA fan moment, where true MMA fans were showing their disapproval for the lack of prestige in the opponent for “The Best Fighter in the World”.  Perhaps…

Okay, I’ll stop.                       

This promo is followed by an underwhelming interview with Fabricio Werdum, who appears to have mastered the broken English language.

8:52-  Evangelista Cyborg (17-13) is introduced wearing nothing but shorts, gloves, tattoos, and an i-pod.  Referee Mark Coleman is trying to tell him something, but he’s just wasting his breath.  It’s hard to tell where the tattoos stop and the skin begins with this guy.  He has more tattoos than the starting five of the Lakers combined, which will explain the gasps of horror heard throughout the crowd upon the removal of his shirt.    

Mrs. Cyborg (Strikeforce Women's Featherweight Champion Cristiane Santos) is cageside as expected.  She’s making a bunch of weird noises.  Don’t quote me here, but I think she just said “I love you” in Cyborg.   

8:54-  Marius Zaromskis (13-4) is introduced next as the crowd goes wild. 

For Dan Henderson.  He was spotted amongst the crowd and blasted on the big screen. 

 8:59-  Round one is stopped at 2:51.  This is the best round one of any fight on this card to this point, and that’s saying a lot.  After some fierce leg kicks and quick striking by Zaromskis, Cyborg uses Zaromskis' own momentum against him when he catches him on the chin with a right as Zaromskis was going up for a leaping knee. 

This looked very similar to Fedor’s knockout of Andrei Arlovsky back in Affliction. 

Mrs. Cyborg picks raises him in the air like he just won the Superbowl and the family Cyborg share a moment in the cage.  Cute. 

Meanwhile, Goldberg is standing in the front row, screaming to one of his associates who is located in the adjacent section where I am seated. 

Something about a poker match.  One of his lackeys hands him a full cup of beer.  Not sure if that’s a great idea.

Former WCW Champion and co-star of The Wrestler Ernest “The Cat” Miller is sitting on the aisle two seats from Goldberg.  He looks lost. 

9:05-  Strikeforce shrewdly uses screenshots from the upcoming EA: MMA game to illustrate how the main event between Robbie Lawler and Babalu Sobral will play out. 

Have you ever accidentally tripped someone and tried to hold them up only to ultimately fall down with them? 

That’s what the takedowns on this game look like.

9:07-  Babalu Sobral (35-8) makes his way to the cage.  Former and current WWE stars Dave Batista and Chavo Guerrero show up with what appears to be Jay Glazer just in time for the main event. 

Goldberg gives Glazer and Batista very enthusiastic bear hugs with a big ole smile on his face.  The scary thing is he’s not even halfway finished with that beer.

Sobral is followed by Robbie Lawler (17-5).  The crowd seems to have plenty left in the tank for an already exciting main event after back to back stoppages. 

9:14- End of round one-  After some steady action early, the fighters went through a feeling out process for about a minute and a half.  Babalu scored with a takedown and a sweep of Lawler who seems tentative.  Round one definitely went to Sobral.

9:20-  “King Mo” Lawal, who could be spotted running up and down the aisles cageside for most of the night, momentarily settles down to give a quick interview.  He picks “his boy” Babalu Sobral to win the fight. 

9:21- End of round two.  Lawler came out much more aggressively, yet still took some serious shots from Babalu.  Lawler is getting tired, noticeably dropping his hands less than two minutes into the round.  Sobral became the aggressor for the majority of the round with a quasi-stunned Lawler lethargically fending off his attack. 

In a microcosm of this fight, audible “Babalu” chants break out, followed by a haphazard smattering of “Lawler” chants. 

Lawler won this round in terms of moral victories as he withstood an onslaught of headkicks and strikes from Babalu but remained on his feet throughout.  However I’ve got Babalu winning this fight two rounds to zero.  

Lawler may need another miracle knockout (like the one he gave Melvin Manhoef) to get out of this one victorious. 

9:28-  End of Round Three.  Robbie Lawler may have won this round based on some stinging desperation jabs and left hooks, however it seems to be too little, too late.  The crowd definitely seems to have already decided who was victorious.

“BA-BA-LU!”  

Winner:  Babalu Sobral by unanimous decision.

We get the “tough fight to score” line from the otherwise infallible Mauro Ranallo.  That’s just play-by-play speak for “these guys don’t know what the hell they’re doing”.

All in all, this was a good card.  The fights that were stopped featured great finishes, and the fights that went the distance were intriguing throughout.

This is the type of fast-paced, action packed card that will bring in more casual viewers to the sport who won’t feel like they need to know what a Gogoplata is in order to enjoy the art form that is MMA. 

The house was packed (by 9:00), which is an encouraging sign for Strikeforce considering their future star Bobby Lashley’s fight was scrapped due to a knee injury he sustained in training.

The ubiquitous problem of questionable judging in MMA once again reared its ugly head, however this is a problem that will work itself out as this sport continues to evolve. 

Consider Strikeforce: Los Angeles was a success.  If it were an article on Bleacher Report, I’d give it a “Like”.       

***

Follow Big Nasty on twitter at twitter.com/Bignasty247

Another season of The Ultimate Fighter comes to an end as season 11 finalists prepare to do battle. This is a card loaded with present and past TUF alumni. It should be a good night of fights. Who will be the next Ultimate Fighter? The time has come to find out.

I encourage you to read my breakdowns to see why I made the predictions that I made. At the end of the breakdowns, I will have my official picks listed. Thanks for reading. Enjoy the fights!

Court McGee Vs. Kris McCray

Key Victories :

McGee (DaMarques Johnson )

McCray (Igor Almeida )

Forecast

Disappointing is an understatement when The Ultimate Fighter Season 11 comes to mind. The show is starting to feel like a perpetual pump of reality induced television without any true new talent to show for it. Seasons 1-3 have given us more authentic talent than all other seasons combined.

I understand people want “great TV personalities”. Maybe I was mistaken in thinking this show was about the fighters and producing new MMA talent. Anything else is basically a rendition of MTV’s Real World or Jersey Shore. During the season, I fully expected Jamie Yager (Kid Goku) to turn Super Saiyan and destroy the competition. My assumption was quickly proven wrong as even Jamie’s massive fro couldn’t cushion the fists of Josh Bryant.

When the dust settled, we were left with two unlikely finalists. Whether either guy becomes the next breakout MMA star remains to be seen. Who will win a six figure UFC contract and become The Ultimate Fighter? Well, that question will be answered this Saturday night when Court McGee takes on Kris McCray.

Fighting out of Layton, Utah, Court McGee was the dark horse of this season. People often joked about him not fitting the mold of a “modern day warrior.” At first glance, McGee may resemble a lad who’s experienced the Rumspringa and never looked back.

His appearance proved to be deceptive on TUF 11. McGee defeated three other opponents to make it to the finals. He was selected on the show as Chuck Liddell’s sixth pick. After the show, McGee has continued training with Liddell and John Hackleman at The Pit.

Kris McCray was selected by Tito Ortiz as his third overall pick. McCray is a member of Team Gold Medal Grappling. He is primarily a wrestler. On the show, it was revealed that he set the record for total fights competed in during a TUF season (five). According to Dana White, McCray fought every Tuesday in the house.

Keys to Victory

McCray will have the size advantage in this fight. McGee has to avoid getting caught under the bigger man. He needs to establish a good distance. Stay on the outside and work McCray with short combinations and kicks. He has to wear McCray down and force him to make a mistake. As the fight wears on, McCray tends to get really sloppy with his punches and take-down defense.

McGee is a solid grappler in his own right. He has to take advantage of what McCray gives him. McGee has to be scrappy in his defense. If pressed against the cage, he has to fight for the under-hooks. If taken down, he has to keep an active guard by creating space and looking to explode to his feet.

Kris McCray has to be the aggressor in this bout. During the TUF season, he did a great job of using his superior size to wear on opponents and secure take-downs. This fight should be no different. McCray needs to use his size to wear McGee down. He should try to push McGee against the fence, work short strikes and snag the take-down.

Stamina was a huge issue for McCray on the show. That could be attributed to having to adapt to the crazy TUF experience. Whatever the reasoning, McCray has to avoid getting wild and conserve his stamina. There is no shame in losing to the better man. There is shame in losing because of poor conditioning.

Prediction

It’s hard to judge these new guys coming off the show. The whole TUF experience can be overwhelming and actually hurt a fighter’s performance. Mixed Martial Arts is a sport that requires full dedication and preparation.

In the house, fighters have to overcome the following: alcohol in a party-like environment, reality TV cameras and late night antics, living with opponents, staying injury free, adjusting to a new coach in a short period of time and little rest between fights.

The fighters who show up on the finale are a better indication of where these guys are actually at in their MMA careers. With that said, I have to go with what I’ve seen so far. When the fight begins, the Billy Goat Gruff mean muggin’ will be on.

McGee will get the better of the exchanges on the feet and avoid the majority of McCray’s initial take-down attempts. A desperate McCray will overextend on a combination and get dropped in the second. I expect both fighters to look better than they did on the show.

Matt “The Hammer” Hamill Vs. “The Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine

Key Victories

Hamill (Mark Munoz, Tim Boetsch, Reese Andy)

Jardine (Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Brandon Vera, Wilson Gouveia)

Forecast

While Matt Hamill hasn’t lost a bout since 2008, Keith Jardine hasn’t won one either. It’s becoming hard not to go into every Jardine fight expecting him to get dropped violently and go into exorcism-like convulsions. He’s extremely lucky to still be headlining a UFC event. We’ll see what happens in this battle of TUF alumni.

Matt Hamill is a member of Team Punishment. The team features fighters like Tito Ortiz, Rob McCullough and Justin McCully. Hamill’s style consists of Freestyle Wrestling, Greco-Roman Wrestling, Boxing and BJJ. In the 2001 Summer Deaflympics, he took home a gold medal in Freestyle Wrestling and a silver medal in Greco-Roman.

At the Rochester Institute of Technology, he was a three-time NCAA Division III National Wrestling Champion. In his last bout, he was awarded the victory over Jon Jones after a disqualification for illegal elbows. That fight wasn’t going anywhere near Hamill’s way from the beginning.

Keith Jardine is a black belt in Gaidojutsu (Wrestling and Judo combination) under Greg Jackson. He trains at Jackson’s MMA with GSP, Rashad Evans, Jon Jones, Shane Carwin, Nate Marquardt, and Andrei Arlovski. Out of his last five bouts, Jardine is 1-4. Inconsistency has been a problem for him in the past, but this is the first time we’ve seen him rack up consistent losses. Jardine’s style consists of Boxing, Kickboxing, and Gaidojutsu.

Keys to Victory

Matt Hamill has to stick to what he’s good at. Jardine’s primary weakness is his chin versus explosive fighters willing to aggressively engage. Hamill doesn’t possess the punching power of a Thiago Silva or Wanderlei Silva. That doesn’t mean he lacks power completely. Hamill is very good at cinching the clinch and wearing down opponents with his dirty boxing. Instead of aimlessly throwing punches, he needs to close the distance and do some clinch work.

Jardine has nasty leg kicks. Defense will be very important for Hamill. He can’t sit there and take kick after kick. He has to be ready to check them. With Jardine being the better striker, Hamill may struggle in the exchanges and snagging the clinch. If this happens, he may have to revert to his Freestyle roots and initiate outside take-down attempts. This could throw Jardine off his game as this is something we don’t see often from Hamill.

Distance, kicks and clinch defense should be Jardine’s motto heading into this bout. He doesn’t want to give Hamill any hope of grabbing a leg or utilizing the clinch. He needs to stay on the outside and work Hamill with kicks and punches. There has to be snap behind everything that is thrown. Hamill doesn’t mind eating punches to clinch his opponents and begin the dirty boxing onslaught.

Jardine has to be careful in the exchanges. The time has come for him to get back to the basics in his boxing defense. Like “The Running Man” and “The Cabbage Patch”, Jardine’s “Old Man Houseshoe Shuffle” is played out. There should be no more talk about his “unorthodox” standup. That “unorthodox” standup has gotten him KTFO’d four times in the UFC. Come on now…he has Greg Jackson behind him. Let’s see some improvements.

Prediction

Jardine will stick to a sound game-plan. He will batter Hamill on the outside with kicks and punches. Hamill’s inability to check the kicks will be his downfall in this fight. In the third round, Hamill will be unable to continue from the multiple leg kicks. Jardine can rest easy. He should escape being highlighted in the next Ultimate Knockouts DVD, for now…

Chris “The Crippler” Leben Vs. Aaron “A-Train” Simpson

Key Victories :

Leben (Mike Swick, Patrick Cote, Jorge Rivera, Jorge Santiago, Alessio Sakara)

Simpson (Ed Herman, Tom Lawlor)

Forecast

Fighting out of Oahu, Hawaii, Chris Leben trains at Icon Fitness MMA. He is a Boxer, Wrestler and BJJ artist. Out of his 19 wins, 10 have come by KO. Before losing to Anderson Silva, Leben had racked up five straight victories and was on the verge of a title shot. Since the brutal loss, he has been an inconsistent 4-4 in the UFC.

Leben is quickly finding himself being pushed by mid-carders to the bottom of the Middleweight totem pole. If not careful, his inconsistency and problems outside of the cage could soon land him his walking papers. At UFC Fight Night 20, Leben defeated Jay Silva by unanimous decision.

Aaron Simpson won four wrestling state championships at Antelope Union High School in Wellton, Arizona. He went on to compete at Arizona State and was a two-time NCAA All-American. When the WEC dropped its Middleweight and Light Heavyweight divisions, Simpson made his UFC debut in April 2009.

With a perfect 7-0 record, he has finished six of those bouts by KO or TKO stoppage. In his last bout, he took fight of the night honors and a split decision over Tom Lawlor.

Keys to Victory

We need to see a more methodical Chris Leben in this fight. It was interesting seeing him choose wrestling over brawling in his bout with Jay Silva. While he isn’t the better wrestler, he can confuse Simpson by mixing up his offense. Leben has to keep a low base. Simpson will undoubtedly be looking for take-downs of his own.

On the feet, Leben needs to work his boxing and avoid getting greedy. It’s almost a reflexive action for a reeling wrestler to shoot in for a take-down. Unless Simpson is seriously hurt, Leben should land what he can and get out. If taken down, Leben needs to be aggressive in his search for submissions and opportunities to explode back to his feet.

Aaron Simpson has to avoid being baited into a battle of "rock ‘em, sock ‘em robots." He needs to be patient in every aspect of this fight. Leben tends to overextend and throw slow combinations and kicks. If patient, Simpson may get a gift take-down courtesy of an overaggressive Chris Leben.

On the ground, Simpson shouldn’t underestimate Leben’s submission skills. Leben isn’t anywhere near a Demian Maia, but he still has competent ground skills. Simpson should use his ground and pound to chip away at his opponent. This could be a grinder. Leben is as tough as they come.

Prediction

Stylistically, this isn’t a good fight for Chris Leben. Aaron Simpson is the better athlete and stronger grappler. Look for Simpson to repeatedly drag a frustrated Leben to the ground. This won’t make for the most exciting fight as Leben’s underrated guard will keep Simpson from transitioning. Simpson will control and grind out a unanimous decision.

Spencer “The King” Fisher Vs. Dennis Siver

Key Victories :

Fisher (Thiago Alves, Sam Stout, Jeremy Stephens, Caol Uno, Matt Wiman, Aaron Riley)

Siver (Paul Kelly)

Forecast

Spencer Fisher is known for his explosive standup and putting on exciting performances. I can’t remember a boring Spencer Fisher fight. Sporting a style of Boxing, BJJ and Muay Thai, Fisher is a natural southpaw. He currently trains at Team Sityodtong. The MMA school is known for fighters like Jorge Rivera, Marcus Davis, Stephan Bonnar and Patrick Cote. At UFC 104, Fisher was stopped in the second round by Joe Stevenson.

Fighting out of Mannheim, Germany, Dennis Siver is a Sambo, Kickboxer and BJJ artist. He is a purple belt in BJJ and currently a member of OC Fight Team. Like Fisher, Siver is also known for good standup and putting on exciting performances. Who could ever forget Siver’s TKO victory over Paul Kelly via spinning back kick. In his last bout, he was soundly picked apart by Ross Pearson in a unanimous decision loss.

Keys to Victory

Fisher needs to be the aggressor in this fight. Siver really struggles against boxers who are efficient and aggressive in their standup. Despite possessing solid offensive standup, Siver is severely lacking in the countering department. Fisher should exploit this weakness by pushing the pace and extending on his combinations. He has to be weary of take-downs and submissions. Siver has a ground game that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Siver has to stand his ground in this fight. When pressed, he needs to counter or look for the take-down. With Fisher being the better boxer, Siver will have to set up his offense. He should use his kicks and feints to open up his standup and take-down opportunities. For Siver to win, he will have to put on a well-rounded performance. He has to keep Fisher guessing.

Spencer Fisher and Ross Pearson have similar styles. This is somewhat of an advantage for Siver. It gives him an opportunity to dissect his mistakes and try to rectify them against a similar opponent.

Prediction

This fight should mimic Siver’s bout with Ross Pearson. Fisher will avoid take-downs while getting the better of the exchanges. This should be a fight of the night candidate as Fisher takes the unanimous decision.

 

 

Official Picks

Court McGee By Round 2 KO

Keith Jardine By Round 3 TKO Stoppage (Leg Kicks)

Aaron Simpson By Unanimous Decision

Spencer Fisher By Unanimous Decision

 

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• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively (written and verbal) with all levels of management, customers, coworkers, vendors, technical support
staff.
• Must have superb organizational, leadership, ethics, and time management skills


Key areas of responsibility:
• Support Mobile Scanning devices
• Support business applications (will train but must be quick learner)
• Control, monitor and update Task Management System
• Alert all necessary parties of any issues that may result in service failures
• Support multiple OS platforms
• Stay informed as to relevant skill and qualification levels required by staff for effective performance, and circulate requirements and relevant information
to the organization as appropriate
• Insure proper security measures, according to company guidelines, are in place and enforced at all times
• Knowledge of technologies used to insure efficient and accurate company service levels (will train on our technologies)

Term of employment: Full Time

Qualifications:
• At least 3 years active experience in a help desk / tech support position
• MCSE (2008) preferred or MCDST
• Familiarity with networks, routers, switches, VPN
• Knowledge of Oracle preferred
• Familiarity with Linux
• Basic script writing
• Must know VI
• Familiarity with SQLPLUS, C#, HTML
• Minimum associates degree
• Strong people skills – ability to communicate with various levels of staff, customers and vendors
• Commitment to assist others in finding solutions
• Multi /bilingual a plus but not required

Please submit your resume and salary history with the subject of your email as Technical Support

EOE

Send Resume to:
Contact: Human Resources
Email: itcareers@4sameday.com
Phone: 310-524-1825
Fax: 310-321-6576

I have 5 girls 9.7.6.4,15mo my youngest daughter 15mo is 45 lbs she has been ill recently diagnosed with asthma which runs in my family i have it mineis controlable i know what sets it off my other girls had it my 7 yr old still has it. i took my baby to the dr when she was 3-4mo old for an ear infection and wheezing we got a nebulizer she had rsv also antibotic for the ears. she didnt get better so i took her to see the dr again more meds for the ears same thing nothing happen so we seen another dr for tubes mean while breathing was getting worse so we set up an apt for a lung dr in themidst of it all she still isnt getting better so i take her to the er they give more meds said she still had rsv 2wks later still isnt better and i take her out of town to another dr where they diagnose her with swine flu(in the middle of all the dr s they suggest that i only give my baby at the time 16 oz of formula a day no juice (by now she is 6mo) and watch what i feed her) so i get the meds to treat her she is better for bout week long enough to get her tubes and see the lung dr he gave her singular to be taken everynight and albuetorol 4x aday pulmocort 2 x aday with nebulizer ok no problem i do this (week after the tubes she has ear infecion i took back to dr to get antibiotic) 2-3 weeks later i can get her to sstop wheezing and she has another ear infection so i take her to the er the admit her for the weekend they couldnt get her wheezing under control it took 24-32 hours of her being on a diff steriod to treat her wheezing. the dr prescribes ear drops fro the ears 4drops 2 x aday still not better after 2 weeks i take her to another dr in another town they told me to use the drops 4x aday instead of 2 ok she is getting better (mean while nothing bout her weight is ever mentioned thru out that whole time but that once.) Then i have a woman show up at my door telling me that im the reason my daughter has medical problems because i over feed her thats making her not beable to breath . My baby walks she runs she is where she is suppose to be developmentally and she is happy. the only time she wheezes is when she is out side in the cold air or when she is in really hot weather and around allergy season . im founded of child neglect of medical attention b/c she is morbidly obese the drs say and its my fault they say. Do you think that 15mo at 45 lbs is extermely obse ? what is your opinion? normal day this is what my daughter eats 8oz 1% milk in morning with about tablespoon of fruitloops most of the time there on the floor then thru out the day she drinks water in a cup or bottle lunch time she has a chicken leg small she never finishes it then 8oz 1% milk for nap time sometimes when she wakes up she gets a couple cheese doodles til dinner then she eats what ever we are eating could be chicken strips then she'd eat a hlaf of one the night time she has 8oz !% milk thru the night she drinks water . she is very active and really doesnt eat alot ?

Every mother I know understands all-too-well the ways her body and brain change after she has a baby. Of course, it’s virtually impossible not to notice changes in, say, the form and function of your breasts after junior is born.

But did you know fatherhood changes men biologically, too, and in a good way?

It’s true: Research shows that after the birth of their children, men go through a lot of the same physiological changes that women experience during pregnancy. Some of this research has been on mice and monkeys, but these changes have been documented in humans as well. Care-giving fathers see “cognitive enhancement”—growth in their brain structures—that makes them better planners and decision makers, better at forging for food (that’s the mice), and better at processing emotions.

Here’s another surprise, at least to those of us who assume mothers are more connected to their children: Dads are equally good at interpreting their infants’ needs, such as knowing if cries indicate their babes are hungry or tired. And they are as good as mothers at picking their infants out of a group when blindfolded, just by feeling babies’ hands.

But fathers, at least in the U.S., parent differently than mothers, and kids seem to benefit from these gender differences. For example, fathers spend more time playing with children than mothers do. This is probably in large part due to the current social division of labor; mothers spend more time taking care of the basic needs of children, and therefore have less time to play. Although division of labor may have a detrimental effect on the well-being of mothers, all that playing has positive benefits for kids, encouraging them to take challenges and physical risks that boost their development.

Although not all children (and mothers) have an involved father around, it is clear that kids “who have stable and involved dads are better off on nearly every cognitive, social, and emotional measure researches can devise. For instance, high levels of father involvement are associated with children who are more sociable, confident, and self-controlled and less likely to act out in school or engage in risky behaviors” as teenagers, writes journalist Emily Anthes in a review of the scientific literature on the subject.

For example, a new study shows that teens actually behave better—they act out less—when they feel connected to fathers who are involved in their lives. While father involvement and connection is most strongly linked to decreases in kids’ negative behaviors, mothering is more related to how optimistic and hopeful children are about the future.

What influences whether or not a father will be involved? Personal values, certainly, but also social factors external to the father himself. For example, workplace policies about paternity leave and work hours can markedly increase fathers’ involvement with their young children. Fathers who spend more time caring for newborns, for instance, tend to remain active participants in their children’s care throughout childhood. And it is workplace policy that in large part influences how much time he spends caring for a new baby.

Mothers are also, of course, extremely influential in this arena. When we mothers roll our eyes at how out-of-touch a dad is, we increase the odds that he will distance himself from his children. But when we encourage fathers by telling them how our children are thriving in their care, or by asking them for their opinion on things, men tend to up their involvement with kids.

It is worth reporting that mothers who don’t let dads get as involved in caregiving tend to have lower self-esteem than mothers who give dads more control. This is another reason why we are better parents when we take care of ourselves first; trouble with our own self-esteem can reduce father involvement, and father involvement is good for kids’ happiness. Incidentally, dads also need to take care of their own happiness first: Depressed dads are less involved with their toddlers, and this affects their children’s development.

Turns out that changes in our expectations about how involved fathers will be bring good news all around. Involved fathers make for happier kids, happier marriages, happier mothers, and healthier dads: New research shows that men in traditional breadwinner/homemaker households tend to be less healthy than those in families where men do more caregiving and women bring home more bacon.

So this Father’s Day, consider fathering itself a gift to dad—maybe one that could have a more positive affect on everyone than that new golf club or fishing pole.

Christine Carter, Ph.D., is a sociologist and happiness expert at UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, whose mission it is to teach skills for a thriving, resilient and compassionate society. Best known for her science-based parenting advice, Dr. Carter follows the scientific literature in neuroscience, sociology, and psychology to understand ways that we can teach children skills for happiness, emotional intelligence, and resilience. She is the author of the new book Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents and of a blog called Raising Happiness. Dr. Carter also has a private consulting practice helping families and schools structure children's lives for happiness; she lives near San Francisco with her family.

References:

Anthes, Emily (2010). “Family Guy,” Scientific American Mind, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=family-guy

Day, Randal and Laura Padilla-Walker (2009). “Mother and Father Connectedness and Involvement During Early Adolescence,” Journal of Family Psychology, Vol. 23, No. 6, 900-904.

Gaertner, B., Spinrad, T., Eisenberg, N., & Greving, K. (2004). “Parental Childrearing Attitudes as Correlates of Father Involvement During Infancy,” Journal of Marriage and Family. Vol 69 (4), pp. 962-976.

Knoester, C., Petts, R., & Eggebeen, D. (2007). “Commitments to Fathering and the Well-Being and Social Participation of New, Disadvantaged Fathers,” Journal of Marriage and Family. Vol 69(4), pp. 991-100.

Nepomnyaschy, L., & Waldfogel, J. (2007). “Paternity Leave and Fathers’ Involvement with Their Young Children,” Community, Work & Family, Volume 10, pages 427 – 45.

O’Brien, M., Brandth, B., & Kvande, E. (2007). Community, Work & Family. Special Issue: Fathers, work and family life. Vol 10(4), pp. 375-386.

Springer, Kristen (2010). “Economic Dependence in Marriage and Husbands’ Midlife Health: Testing Three Possible Mechanisms,” Gender & Society 2010; 24; 378.

Smith, Jeremy Adam (2009). “The Daddy Brain,” Greater Good, http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_daddy_brain/.

Tanaka, S., & Waldfogel, J. (2007), Effects of Parental Leave and Work Hours on Fathers’ Involvement with Their Babies, Community, Work & Family, Volume 10, pages 409 – 426.

Real Salt Lake striker Robbie Findley is confident he will continue to improve at international level after competing in his first World Cup match.

The 24-year old, who only represented the USA a handful of times prior to South Africa 2010, was impressive against England with his pace but did lack control with his first touch and finishing. However, he feels he did well and can see a strong partnership blossoming with fellow forward Jozy Altidore.

"I thought it went well," he told the Washington Post. "I was active, held the ball up. Jozy [Altidore] and I tried to connect on a few plays. We were looking for each other; the chemistry is building there.”

Findley added that it was a great moment to compete against the top-class England players, many of whom he watches regularly on TV.

"I saw a whole bunch of guys that I have been watching,” he said of the match. "I took it all in."

Ready to do more business and have the wind at your back? Maybe it’s time for a dramatic change for the better!

At Capstone business is great: we just opened a new office in Wilsonville to add to our Johns Landing office on the Willamette River, and our Vancouver WA office is opening later this summer.
2010 is almost half over and we have a great business plan in place for the rest of the summer (and beyond). If you are an active agent who recognizes the importance of listings in our industry but had fewer than 6 closings in the last year, you should seriously consider our listing program. We employ a focused, practical approach to real estate that emphasizes the vital importance of pursuing and taking listings.

Best of all, at Capstone we provide everything that you need to succeed:
Business cards, signs, post installs, all listing and marketing materials, personalized website, mentoring, coaching, education, etc. If you want to get control of your business and your income, now is the time to get going! You may be complacent or even happy at your current brokerage, but maybe it’s time to take control of your income and your destiny.

Matt Morse 503.351.9006 (Johns Landing office)
Ron Holbrook 503.218.2654 (Wilsonville office)

Two major meetings, possibly affecting American gun owners' rights, will occur at the United Nations (UN) in New York over the next several weeks. They are the Fourth Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms in all its Aspects, ("BMS4") June 14-18, and the Arms Trade Treaty Preparatory Committee ("ATT Prep. Com.") July 12-23. The NRA will be fully and actively involved in these meetings.

The BMS4 is a continuation of the so-called "Programme of Action" (POA) adopted by the UN at a conference in 2001. Anti-gun groups saw the original POA as a vehicle for UN gun bans, registration schemes and other radical proposals. The U.S., through the efforts of Ambassador John Bolton, forced the removal of provisions targeting privately-owned firearms from the POA. It was not able to stop the POA itself, and the UN holds "Biennial" meetings every two years to keep the POA alive. Heavily-funded anti-gun groups will again attempt to get the UN and its member states to target the right to arms at the BMS4. A Mexican diplomat will chair the meeting and Mexico, which blames its crime problems on the U.S., is now pushing for more gun control in America. Anti-gun, anti-U.S. measures could well be on the table.

The ATT Prep. Com. is the continuation of a process started years ago and scheduled to end in a four-week international conference in 2012. There is no draft treaty at this time. However, anti-gun groups see the ATT as a means to impose worldwide gun control through the treaty process. If ratified, a treaty has the force of law in the U.S., so anti-gun groups could score major victories without going through the usual domestic political process. Treaties do not trump the Constitution, but interpretation of the Constitution is in the hands of federal judges and justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, where the Second Amendment had only a one-vote margin of safety in the 2008 Heller decision.

No pro-gun organization in the world has been more active at the UN in defending gun owners' rights than the NRA, which was a major force in stopping anti-gun proposals at the 2001 and 2006 BMS Conferences. The NRA is an official UN Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and is consistently present at every important UN small arms and ATT meeting. NRA members can rest assured that their rights are being defended in all venues -- both national and international -- where they are threatened. For more information on NRA's efforts in this area, please visit http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=5843.

Copyright 2010, National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action. This may be reproduced. It may not be reproduced for commercial purposes.

Strikeforce: Los Angeles
June 16, 2010
Nokia Theater
Los Angeles, California



Robbie Lawler vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral

Luke Thomas: Sobral should look for the takedown and work damage on top to create scrambles where his superior positional grappling and submission hunting style will overcome the defensively limited Lawler. If he tries to bully Lawler standing with volume punching, he's getting KO'd. Not sure what to expect, but I lean Babalu. Sobral by submission, round 2.

Kid Nate: Lawler's shot is pretty good and Babalu has a bad track record of getting KTFO'd if he can't get the fight to the ground. Sobral also looked old and spent against Mousasi. But I think Babalu will be the bigger and stronger man by a considerable margin here and he'll finish Lawler on the ground. Sobral by submission.

Brent Brookhouse: I don't know that Sobral can ge the fight to the ground, and if he can't get the fight to the ground he gets stopped.  Robbie Lawler by TKO, round 1.

Mike Fagan: This really depends on who gets caught first. I think Lawler's a little more likely to stop "Babalu" than vice versa, but I think Sobral gets the nod more often if it goes the distance. Coin flip. Renato Sobral by submission, round 1.

Chris Nelson: I'm going to pick Lawler's sprawl and punching power over "Babalu's" size and ground advantages. Lawler via TKO, round two.

Nick Thomas: If Lawler can stop the takedowns, he ends this on the feet. Lawler by TKO.

Leland Roling: Sobral looks pretty good at 185 from the training photos we've seen, so we'll see how he does in the striking department. I think Lawler will ultimately stuff takedowns and outstrike Sobral on his way to a stoppage. Lawler via TKO.

Jonathan Snowden:  I really like Robbie Lawler.  As a fighter, he's explosive and always entertaining. As an interview, he's always a source of awkward and unintentional comedy.  Too bad that Babalu is a worst case scenario matchup for him. Anyone have a good reason this will be appreciably different than the Shields fight? Babalu via Submission.



Marius Zaromskis vs. Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos

Luke Thomas: Zaromskis is faster, puts combinations together with hands and feet, uses movement and has enough experience to attack or retreat with more optimal timing. Santos is tough, but I don't really know what to make of the cut. It has little to do with the attack Zaromskis presents. Zaromskis by TKO.

Kid Nate: This is exactly the kind of fight I want to see in Strikeforce. Neither of these guys is a world-beater, but they both put on a great show. Cyborg is cutting too much weight to win here IMO. He's being fed to Marius to rehab "the Whitemare" after Nick Diaz damaged his brand. Zaromskis by KO.

Brent Brookhouse: I don't even care who wins because this is going to be stupid fun.  Still, I think it'll be hard for Santos to keep pushing forward for 3 rounds at 170.  Once Cyborg starts to fade it will be Zaromskis that takes him out.  Marius Zaromskis by TKO, round 2.

Mike Fagan: I'm still not sure how "Cyborg" makes this cut. I really don't think 170 is the right weight for him. Marius Zaromskis by TKO, round 1.

Chris Nelson: "Cyborg" looks sucked out at 170, and I'm not sure I could pick him even if this was at a catchweight. Sorry, Luke. Zaromskis via TKO, round one.

Nick Thomas: As Santos slows down in the later rounds, Zaromskis takes this. Zaromskis by decision.

Leland Roling: I'm going with the consensus vote. Zaromskis is by far a more powerful and dynamic striker, but Santos can surprise. I don't think he has the skills to keep Zaromskis pressed in the cage, and Zaromskis has decent takedown defense. Zaromskis via TKO.

Jonathan Snowden: It takes giant cajones to marry a woman just as tough as you are.  Not that we had any doubt about Cyborg after seeing him slug it out with Melvin Manhoef. But Cyborg's best days are past; Zaramoskis has yet to see his best day.  Marius via decision.



Tim Kennedy vs. Trevor Prangley

Luke Thomas: Prangley has the best ability to hang on for a guy who gasses from round two on. He'll use his resources to hold on to Kennedy in round one, only to get gassed by a fresher Kennedy in round two and take a beating in round three. It'll be close, but I see this one going for Kennedy by decision.

Kid Nate: Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see Kennedy being the better wrestler here and without his top control game he'll be a fish out of water. Prangley by grinding decision.

Brent Brookhouse: Man, I kind of forgot what a good card this is.  I can see a lot of ways where Kennedy gets beat by Prangley's top game.  I still have to go with Kennedy though based on being a little more aggressive and outworking him for a very close decision.  Tim Kennedy by decision.

Mike Fagan: This looks like a showcase for the Army ranger. Tim Kennedy by submission.

Chris Nelson: Really like this fight, and I think it's a close one to call. I've got to give it to the more active and experienced South African. Prangley via decision.

Nick Thomas: Great fight here. Prangley will score takedowns and pressure Kennedy with his size. Prangley by close decision.

Leland Roling: I think the improved Tim Kennedy uses his increased skills to put a peppering on Prangley standing while Prangley picks his shots and scores a bit. I think Kennedy can be a bit more dynamic on the ground, but Prangley is such a survivor. Tim Kennedy by decision.

Jonathan Snowden: This is a really good fight. We've often wondered how good Tim Kennedy could be, if only he was able to train full time.  Well-that's happening. Put up or shut up time for the former Special Forces operative. A few years ago, I would have picked Prangley by way of a sleep inducing wrestling attack. Not today. He'll make a mistake and Kennedy will make him pay. Kennedy via Knockout.



K.J. Noons vs. Conor Heun

Luke Thomas: I'd be very surprised to see Heun win here. A rubber guard player who tries to brawl for entertainment purposes against a boxer-wrestler type with superior hand speed and punching power? Yikes. Noons by TKO.

Kid Nate: Too bad Noons won't get to avenge himself on Krazy Horse, but Heun should be a comparable showcase for what Noons can do. He's a remarkably accomplished striker by MMA standards and I hope he has a good run in Strikeforce. He's one fighter I would love to see move up to the UFC. Noons by KO.

Brent Brookhouse: It's always fun to watch Noons.  His boxing is fantastic (relative to MMA fighters) and this will be a good fight to showcase it.  K.J. Noons by TKO, round 2.

Mike Fagan: I don't see anyway Noons loses this. K.J. Noons by TKO, round 1.

Chris Nelson: Noons will out-work and out-box Huen, but don't expect "The Hurricane" to make it easy. Noons via decision.

Nick Thomas: Heun won't be able to take Noons down. Noons by decision.

Leland Roling: Heun could press Noons hard to the clinch, but Noons' speedy strikes are the difference. KJ Noons by TKO.

Jonathan Snowden: This show is shaping up to be something special. Too close to call here, but calling it is my job. Noons via decision.

 

In at least three U.S. states, it is illegal to film an active duty policeman:

The legal justification for arresting the "shooter" rests on existing wiretapping or eavesdropping laws, with statutes against obstructing law enforcement sometimes cited. Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maryland are among the 12 states in which all parties must consent for a recording to be legal unless, as with TV news crews, it is obvious to all that recording is underway. Since the police do not consent, the camera-wielder can be arrested. Most all-party-consent states also include an exception for recording in public places where "no expectation of privacy exists" (Illinois does not) but in practice this exception is not being recognized.

Massachusetts attorney June Jensen represented Simon Glik who was arrested for such a recording. She explained, "[T]he statute has been misconstrued by Boston police. You could go to the Boston Common and snap pictures and record if you want." Legal scholar and professor Jonathan Turley agrees, "The police are basing this claim on a ridiculous reading of the two-party consent surveillance law -- requiring all parties to consent to being taped. I have written in the area of surveillance law and can say that this is utter nonsense."

The courts, however, disagree. A few weeks ago, an Illinois judge rejected a motion to dismiss an eavesdropping charge against Christopher Drew, who recorded his own arrest for selling one-dollar artwork on the streets of Chicago. Although the misdemeanor charges of not having a peddler's license and peddling in a prohibited area were dropped, Drew is being prosecuted for illegal recording, a Class I felony punishable by 4 to 15 years in prison.

This is a horrible idea, and will make us all less secure. I wrote in 2008:

You cannot evaluate the value of privacy and disclosure unless you account for the relative power levels of the discloser and the disclosee.

If I disclose information to you, your power with respect to me increases. One way to address this power imbalance is for you to similarly disclose information to me. We both have less privacy, but the balance of power is maintained. But this mechanism fails utterly if you and I have different power levels to begin with.

An example will make this clearer. You're stopped by a police officer, who demands to see identification. Divulging your identity will give the officer enormous power over you: He or she can search police databases using the information on your ID; he or she can create a police record attached to your name; he or she can put you on this or that secret terrorist watch list. Asking to see the officer's ID in return gives you no comparable power over him or her. The power imbalance is too great, and mutual disclosure does not make it OK.

You can think of your existing power as the exponent in an equation that determines the value, to you, of more information. The more power you have, the more additional power you derive from the new data.

Another example: When your doctor says "take off your clothes," it makes no sense for you to say, "You first, doc." The two of you are not engaging in an interaction of equals.

This is the principle that should guide decision-makers when they consider installing surveillance cameras or launching data-mining programs. It's not enough to open the efforts to public scrutiny. All aspects of government work best when the relative power between the governors and the governed remains as small as possible -- when liberty is high and control is low. Forced openness in government reduces the relative power differential between the two, and is generally good. Forced openness in laypeople increases the relative power, and is generally bad.

Ok so i got my period the month of july on the 13th to the 16th (i keep track) then in march on the 15th to the 19th, april i didnt keep track but i got my period that month, then in may i got my period the 4th to the 8th. Ok this is where it gets weird, i got my period that same month on the 28th to the 31th, so that was only like 3 weeks after. And this period i got the 28th of may was really light i remember. Anyways its june 16, i still havent gotten my period, when should i start to worry? Im sexually active, im not on birth control but we use condoms. Please help to reassure. Thanks.

GA-Gainesville, Quality Control Director:Essential Duties and Responsibilities:Ensure a high level of internal and external customer service. Investigate (and correct) customer issues and complaints relating to quality.Maintain active communication with customers, including follow-up on customer issues and complaints.Supervise workers engaged in inspection and testing activities to ensure high productivity and hi

Be a part of one of San Diego's best companies! Some of our most recent accomplishments are:

• Recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in San Diego by the San Diego Business Journal
• Grand Prize Winner - Workplace Excellence Award by the Society of Human Resource Management
• Top 50 Companies for Diversity® List four years in a row (’06, ’07, ’08, ‘09)
• Torch Award Finalist for Marketplace Ethics from the Better Business Bureau
• A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau

Cox offers an outstanding benefits package including discounted cable, telephone and internet service, tuition reimbursement and a fitness facility. We also offer competitive compensation and an opportunity for professional growth and advancement.

APPLY AT WWW.COX.COM/COXCAREER (Job ID 33987)

Promotes customer loyalty and reduces churn by providing excellent customer service while resolving challenging situations. Promotes revenue growth and bundled services by differentiating between Cox and competitors products.

1-Provides excellent customer services to meet and exceed established goals and performance levels in customer retention and sales.
2-Actively promotes RGU generation (bundled services) and retention of services, and ensures customer satisfaction and loyalty by assisting and resolving a wide variety of customer telephone/telecommunications requests, inquiries and complaints both verbally and in writing.
3-Handles "downgrade and disconnect" inbound calls for multiple systems effectively and efficiently through the use of proactive customer service and retention skills, call control and selective sales techniques.
4-Generates and retains RGUs through the acquisition of and retention of customers by using Cox trained skill sets, programming and technical expertise, and makes the appropriate recommendations for services using consultative sales and retention skills.
5-Builds customer loyalty by effectively resolving any/all customer issues and differentiating Cox products from those of our competitors and communicating those differences effectively.
6-Continuously collects, updates and improves competitive knowledge and mindset across all services offered by Cox Communications.
7-Takes ownership of customer's issues/problems. Acts as primary contact to insure follow-up and resolution that meets and exceeds the customer's expectation.
8-Seeks and understands all Cox processes related to resolving customer issues. Utilizes effective resolutions for out-of-the-ordinary circumstances while also reinforcing established company policies regarding customer contact to ensure consistency with other departments.
9-Understand and promotes all relevant/current marketing campaigns with the goal of retaining/adding all products and services (completing the bundle).
10-Identifies and tracks appropriate information regarding why customers are downgrading/disconnecting services.
11-Minimize product churn by actively resolving concerns/issues efficiently and effectively through the use of active listening, personalizing techniques and by focusing on adding/building value.

Typical Training / Experience
HS diploma or GED Required.
2 years of customer service experience required. 3-5 years of experience in a call center environment preferred.
Bi-lingual Spanish/English Proficiency a Plus

APPLY AT WWW.COX.COM/COXCAREER (Job ID 33987)

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Consumer interaction, streamlined manufacturing, strategic investment and a strong business culture is Yerecic Label’s recipe for success. Danielle Jerschefske reports

Truly understanding its customers is a core value at Yerecic Label. Communication with the consumer is key and the number one requirement of a label on a package, especially for suppliers in the time-sensitive perishable food market. These suppliers depend on converters to produce a label that will instantly embrace consumers in order to sell product swiftly.

Art Yerecic Sr founded Yerecic Label because he believed in the merit in educating consumers with on-pack labeling. Forty-one years later his son, Art Yerecic, continues this purpose with the support of a strong business culture that no doubt, too, was initiated by Yerecic Sr. Yerecic Label has realized considerable growth in recent years by specializing in the production of interactive labels for perishable foods, consumer packaged goods and grocery retailer foods. The typical customer demands short lead times, speed-to-market and on-time delivery; product expiration is unacceptable.

To meet these requirements, Yerecic Label uses an impressive cellular production model throughout its business. Customer management cells in the office consult clients from the start, leading them competently through cellular label production, final shipment and application. Tight monitor and management of its supply chain support the ability for this streamlined set-up. And the addition of a Mark Andy Performance Series P7 press has given the converter the newest technology to further tighten its belt while increasing quality.

Communicating to consumers

‘Nothing in our world happens without testing and then the subsequent results to quantify the claims,’ president Art Yerecic says. Yerecic Label regularly participates in research programs and in-store testing to rate shopper responses. It published its first Protein Labeling Study I in 2004, and more recently the Protein Labeling Study II in March 2010. Both assessments were completed in cooperation with the Pork Checkoff and the Beef Checkoff, leading US meat trade associations dedicated to promoting its members’ interests and to educating consumers.

In response to the results of these particular studies, Yerecic Label features its premier line of Easy Fresh Cooking (EFC) labels. Research reveals that consumers prefer a picture of a finished dish on their label and cooking directions, making the buyer feel more comfortable preparing fresh meats, fish and poultry.

The Easy Fresh Cooking labels are a triangular shaped, two-ply system that when pulled, reveal a convenience cooking chart that assist the user in food preparation. The labels work on a hinged system with one perforated side allowing the top layer of the label, with the recipe, to be removed, while the cooking details and nutritional information remain on the package. The top layer of this peel back technology has the ability to sit down neatly once it’s been pulled, keeping the package clean and ‘not tampered with’ for every shopper.

Easy Fresh Cooking labels have proven to increase sales by as much as five percent. ‘Our label products sell more products,’ says Yerecic. ‘We’ve achieved this by working together with our customers to better understand their businesses.’ The company has adapted many of these features to ScaleAPeel labels. These labels are similar in concept to the EFC labels, yet have a thermal facesheet for use in a weighscale printer.

‘Research shows us that consumers are open to messages in the outer aisles from brands that they trust,’ Yerecic explains. ‘They respond well to instant savings on complementary products that make a purchase cost competitive.’ For this the company produces AdImpact! labels that match a perishable perimeter product with a well-known brand found in the packaged goods aisles. ‘The capability to produce this type of label gives clients a compelling reason to buy from us.’

Additionally the converter offers YottaMark’s HarvestMark solution bringing consumers the ability to use 2D barcodes in combination with variable data text, barcodes and human readable code to track a product to its origin.

Start to finish streamlined production

Work cells have been a part of the production process on the shop floor for over a decade. Implemented to increase efficiencies in the label manufacturing process, each of the cells includes a Mark Andy press and a slitter, and the majority includes a KTI turret rewinder. Each cell is manned with three people – a press operator, a helper and a finisher.

Every unit is a self-sufficient production area that includes set-up room, sinks, anilox roll cleaning systems and tools that are needed for each job. All are arranged similarly for ultimate flexibility.  ‘We picture the cells like a race crew pit station,’ says Brian Hurst, VP of operations. ‘We attack the press from all sides, get it up and running, then head back to our positions.’ Plates are mounted within the cell and each will soon be equipped with a computer connected to an AVT inspection system. Within about 70 feet, raw material is converted into finished labels on the skid ready to ship.

The cellular concept, or Zone of Responsibility, was introduced to the front end of the business a few years following the execution in manufacturing.  Management realized that a bottleneck in operations more often than not stemmed from a hold up in the office. Designs, job details and approvals were simply not keeping up with the shop floor.

The Zone of Responsibility brings together the key account manager, customer service representative and graphic artist to best support customers at the beginning of the ordering process. This structure has greatly improved speed-to-market and has increased on-time shipment of labels. Yerecic says, ‘It’s an extremely lean process all the way through.’

The managing cell links the front and back end of the business. It’s physically located between the two areas and is home to production and pre press leaders which lends to an open flow of communication. Zones are grouped by geography or by product line. Yerecic comments: ‘The key opportunity with this set up is that it enables turn and talk. All of the answers can be found in one room. It is especially supportive for any of our cross-merchandising projects.’

Cellular configuration equally complements the company’s strategic and conceptual selling method that immerses the sales team into the industry that it serves. Yerecic says, ‘If the teams know our customer’s business, then they’re better equipped to service their needs.’ A part of this selling method is educating the customer on the value that research-based, shopper approved Yerecic labels can bring to their brand. The converter’s R&D leader works closely with the sales department to support their consultative efforts. Testing label endurance, application systems and new materials is all part of customer service.

Supply chain management

‘We are in an economy where we have to deliver value,’ explains VP of purchasing and administration, Linda Ciuca, who oversees the company’s annual bids for raw materials. Yerecic Label partners with its vendors through the bidding process where only the best are invited to partake. Ciuca insists that delivery be timely: ‘If it’s not then we cannot meet our customer’s demands.

‘The most highly desirable supplier is one who is familiar with the company’s ordering pattern and performs extremely well on both the service and technical side. Service is never given up for price.’ For this year’s bid, Ciuca worked with her purchasing manager to establish truckload deliveries to reduce cost and the company’s impact on the environment.

Ciuca and Hurst work closely together as the directors of purchasing and production. The pair over see a KanBan card system that serves as a semi-automated ordering process for raw stock material. Cards are attached to each roll of material once it’s checked into the plant. When the press team loads the new roll onto the unwinder, the card is removed and dropped into the designated KanBan card box. Every morning, the purchasing manager picks up the cards at each press and places orders accordingly.

A similar card system has been adapted for plate cylinder organization. When operators select the cylinders needed for their job, they insert press cell cards into the empty units which notify their colleagues of where the missing cylinders are located. Hurst says, ‘It’s a simple way to ensure the right cylinders for the press are ready and available when it’s time to changeover.’

Improvement initiative and investment

Yerecic Label gains strength from its annual Improvement Initiative Process. The process is a system to create a list of opportunity-based, explicit initiatives. The board of officers develops this list, sets monetary goals, establishes dates and communicates the purpose to the company. Each year the process is reviewed and employed corporate wide.

Management assumes the work within their respective areas and empowers each associate to assist in defining the Yerecic Label purpose. For example, reorganizing the cylinder rack with its new effective design was an initiative given to the second shift manager under the goal of lean improvement. All associates have five targets that they focus on daily. Success is the ultimate responsibility of the executive team.

This Improvement Initiative Process and capital investment are directly related. Often times, new capital equipment is required to achieve the goals set for improvement. Yerecic travels en masse to many seminars and tradeshows so his team is able to conduct an effective post-evaluation together. He says that Labelexpo is an important place for the decision making process. ‘We take 10-12 decision makers to the event because all of the equipment suppliers bring depth in staff, allowing us to enhance our analysis. It’s the one place where everybody showcases their best and brightest.’  Yerecic Label’s 2008 Labelexpo attendees included three third generation Yerecics – Art C, Mike and Josh.

After a thorough investigation of the latest press technology offered by the world’s leading manufacturers, Yerecic Label was one of the first converters in North America to install the Mark Andy Performance Series P7 flexographic press launched at Labelexpo Europe in 2009. The company purchased a 12-color, 17” P7 and is extremely pleased.

The P7 is capable of running up to 750 ft/min and features a newly designed, fully servo driven multi-axis print head with auto registration control. ‘We bought the press because it’s helping us do what we already do better,’ Yerecic explains. ‘We’re using it to produce more of what we specialize in not to break into a new market.’ The open architecture of the P7 suits the company’s needs very well, giving it premium flexibility, and shorter web paths that increase uptime and reduce waste. Mark Andy’s dependable service played a role in the company’s decision, as did the ability to print on unsupported films.

‘We’ve already seen a glimpse of the results that we intend to consistently achieve,’ says Yerecic.  ‘Eventually we expect to have throughput that is 2.5 to 3 times what our 10” presses are currently achieving.’

First shift, lead P7 press operator Josh Yerecic says, ‘The printing that comes off this press is beautiful; the color really jumps out at you. And the ability to easily access the web is outstanding.’ All printing plates are manufactured in-house using analog equipment. Management is keeping its eye on the digital technology, but will refrain from investment for the time being since the current machinery works effectively.

Quality, training and environmental stewardship

‘Do It Right the First Time’ is the constant message delivered by the quality assurance department. The company’s long-term goal for quality is to have zero defects, reducing the number by half regularly until the goal is achieved. It has created its own Ten Commandments of Quality, focusing on the cost of quality. Hurst says, ‘We’ve found that quality is hard to quantify. But, when it’s put into a lost dollars amount it becomes easier to analyze.’

Training is conducted in-house using both a handbook and on-the-job training conducted by the training manager. The company’s HR manager has developed an effective eleven tier system where employees obtain certifications for their achievements. Based on a developed set of best practices, the system works well for retention because associates can see what actions must be taken for promotion. The Yerecic leadership team is actively involved in TLMI and has recently applied for TLMI’s Project LIFE certification.

Outlook

Educated, focused, communicative and team are all ingredients that come to mind when recalling the Yerecic Label recipe. The company will always work along side its customers to better understand their evolving needs, and will remain active participants in consumer-focused studies.  Its rooted purpose will long endure as a valued tradition.

This article was published in issue 2 of Labels & Labeling

Click here for more stories about Yerecic Label on L&L.com.

Which is the right motion sensor system for you

With the unveiling of both Kinect (nee Natal) and PlayStation Move at E3 2010, all three big video games console players are into the motion control business and, if you'd always quite admired what the Nintendo Wii could do, you might suddenly find yourself in a quandary as to which is the right system for you.

As ever, we at Pocket-lint don't like to leave you stewing in your own juices for long - juicy as you are - so here's a brief run down of what to expect from each of the three companies and a little insight as to who each one might be aimed at.

Video Camera

Kinect
The camera is key to Kinect as it's the fundemental of how the whole system works. The Kinect bar has an array of three of them lined up which are able to track a staggering 48 skeletal points of the human body, meaning that it can sense motion down to the level of individual finger movements.

It can track four users at the same time, it includes face recognition software, runs at 30fps and can be used for video chats over the internet with other Xbox users as well as those on Windows Live on their PCs too.

Move
The PlayStation Move controller relies on working in tandem with the PlayStation Eye USB camera in order to provide tight gesture tracking and control. There's just the one lens running at 120fps at a resolution of 320x240px or 60fps at 640x480px but you can still capture video and stills as well as edit what you store as well.?

Wii
No video element to the Wii at all, so you'll get no video chats and no image capturing either.

Voice Control

Kinect
Details on how it works and how many audio sensors there are, are light but, yes, there is full voice control with Kinect for in-game and menus and, of course, the microphone system can be used in the video chat as well.

Move
The PlayStation Eye accessory that's needed to make the system work has a four-way microphone array that's able to ignore background noise and focus in on speech as well as cancel out the effects of echoes. It claims voice recognition but whether that's at the level of detail of specific individuals is not known yet. What Sony has said is that you can hold conversations with up to 6 people at the same time - presuming that you actually have that many friends, of course.

Wii
Talk all you like but the Wii isn't going to listen. You can, of course, buy a microphone for specific voice games but neither the Wiimote nor the machine itself have any built-in.

Controllers

Kinect
There are no controllers needed for Kinect, or rather, the only controller you need is you. That's the magic of it. If you want to drive a car, you put your hands on an imaginary steering wheel. You want to shoot a gun, you make like you used to with your finger when you were in the playground. You want to do the Funky Chicken...you get the point.

Of course, that does mean that you actually need to run furiously up and down on the spot in athletics games. Have fun with that.

Move
The PlayStation Move controller is more an evolution of the Wiimote than something entirely ground-breaking in its own right but that's no reason not to be impressed. Looking rather like a toy microphone or baton for guiding aeroplanes, it consists of a grip with the four PlayStation buttons, a single Move button, a trigger button, vibration feedback, and an LED sphere, the top of which you can change the colour.

The exact size and lighting of the sphere is known by the PlayStation Eye and so the machine can easily track the position of the controller with high levels of accuracy and low latency. The Move itself contains two three-axis motion sensors - one an accelerometer for speed of movement analysis and the other a rate sensor for gyroscopic measurements - as well as a magnetometer for a reading of your position relative to the surface of the Earth.

It runs on a Li-ion battery which you can charge by a USB cable connected to the main machine and it sends its sensory input to the console over Bluetooth. You can connect four Move controllers to any one PS3 at a time.

As with the Wii, there is a?supplementary?controller for the off-hand known as the Navigation controller. There's no glowing orb on top but there's both a d-pad and analogue stick added as well as the X and O PS buttons and the L1 and L2 triggers too.

Wii
The Wii Remote has two-axis motion detection and a gyroscope for picking up rotational movement. It connects to the main box via Bluetooth and requires AA batteries to keep it running. For the non-motion games, it also has a full Nintendo d-pad controller and buttons on each one and you can extend the functionality with the Nunchuk which adds an analogue joystick and off-hand motion sensor.

Accessories

Kinect
It's hard to accessorise for a controller that doesn't exist in the first place but what probably passes for Kinect's version of this is the object recognition facility. There's little that's been demonstrated on this front as yet but we know that you'll be able to use real word objects and bring these "magic objects" into your virtual play.

Move
Sony has announced it will be offering a PlayStation Move charging station that will let users charge up to two PlayStation Move controllers. The charging station will become available concurrently with the motion controller launch in each region at a RRP of 29.99 euros and US$29.99.

As well as that, for Socom and Killzone 3 players, there will be a PlayStation Move shooting attachment "shooting attachment", designed to place the PlayStation Move motion controller horizontally, will allow players to hold the motion controller as if they are holding a gun and to easily aim at an in-game target. ?The trigger on the attachment is interlocked with the motion controller T button and will enable users to intuitively play the game, not only limited to shooting games but also on games that may require precise button input and control. The?"shooting attachment"?will become available starting this autumn in each region at a RRP of 14.99 euros and US$19.99.

Wii
Like them or loathe them, the Wii has bags and bags and bags and bags and cupboards absolutely dammed up to the hinges with gaming controller accessories. If you want bowling balls, rifles, skateboards, dumbells and all sorts of other bits of plastic lying round your house, then the Wii is most definitely the one for you.

Cost

Kinect
There's nothing official from the 'Soft just yet but word on the street is that the Kinect add-on will be around ?100 in the UK and $150 US. If you happen to need a console as well, then you may as well pick up the Xbox 360 Slim to go with it giving a total price of ?299 or $449.

Move
SCEE in the UK has yet to announce a price for the Move controller but we do know that it'll set you back?$49.99 with the optional navigation controller at $29.99. In Europe it will be €39.99 euros and €29.99 respectively.?It will be sold with a Sports game as a pack for $99.99 but, of you need a PS3 as well, then the whole lot will bundle up at $399.99.

Wii
Prices might well come down in the face of the competition but, at the time of writing, you're looking at around ?160 for a Wii console with WiiMote, Nunchuck and WiiSports game. Perhaps not as advanced as the other systems but certainly the least expensive.?

Compatibility

Kinect
There's no need to buy a new system especially to get Kinect to work. So long as you have any old kind of Xbox 360, then you can plug the accessory in and get it running. The only difference is that you'll have to plug the Kinect camera into a wall socket as well as your Xbox if you don't own one of the new Slims. There just isn't enough power running the older machines to supply the Kinect as well.

Move
Again, Sony has been shrewd enough not to make Move an expensive or elitist product, so anyone with a PS3 of any kind - slim or otherwise - will be able to use the new motion controllers without a problem.

Wii
There might be someone out there who's somehow managed to hack a SNES, 64 or a Cube to work with a Wiimote but the quick answer here is no. Buy a Wii and use it like a Wii.

Availabilty

Kinect
Microsoft has confirmed that the launch date for Kinect in the US will be 4 November with the UK release "to follow shortly". At a guess, that'll be no more than a week or two later but, to be on the safe side, let's just say well in time for Christmas.

Move
This time it's those across the Pond who'll have to wait with launch of the PlayStation Move on 15 September in the UK and 19 September in the States. Either way, of course, you'll be getting your hands on it well in advance of Kinect. Will the head start be key to its success?

Wii
Just in case you've been living in a cupboard in darkest Peru for the last three years, the Nintendo Wii has been out and available for quite some time. There's a hat full of reviews you might want to take in before you buy but, naturally, the only one that counts is this one.

Games

Kinect
There have been 15 games announced as Kinect compatible so far. They are:?Adrenalin Misfits, Dance Central, Dance Masters, Deca Sports Freedom, EA Sports Active 2, Game Party In Motion, Kinect Adventures, Kinect Joy Ride, Kinect Sports, Kinectimals, Motion Sports, Sonic Free Riders, The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, Zumba Party, Milo and Kate, Child of Eden, Fable 3, Forza Motosport and the crowd pleasure that was a mystery Star Wars title where you actually get to take on Darth Vader mano a mano.?

For a closer look at each, head over to our hands on with Kinect at E3.

Move
Games so far announced that require the Move system are: SingStar Dance, Start the Party, Brunswick Pro Bowling, Sports Champions, Heroes on the Move, TV Superstars, Sorcery and The Shoot. Those that can feature the Move if you wish are: Socom 4, Thje Fight: Lights Out, EyePet, Time Crisis Razing Storm, The Sly Collection, LittleBigPlanet 2, Kung Fu Rider, Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition, Tiger Woods 11 and Heavy Rain.

Wii
We're not going to list all the titles available for the Wii. You've probably got a pretty decent idea of what's out there for Nintendo's machine but, if you don't, this should give you some idea. Suffice to say, there's plenty.

Gameplay

Kinect
From our hands on time with Kinect at E3, we very quickly discovered how much fun Microsoft's new toy is. At the danger of spoiling what what's written below, it's everything the Wii is only more accurate and without all the dated plastic junk that goes with it. There's an obvious and highly enjoyable magic about controlling the game in thin air and it's the kind of thing that'll wow mums, dads and even grandparents in the comfort of your own front room.

Move
There are two words that will go over and over in your heads as you use the Move and that's "precise" and "exact" or colloquial variations thereof. Because of the controllers in your hand, it doesn't have the magic of Kinect but there's no lag and the handling and proper gameplay is excellence itself. It's everything the Wii just isn't any more.

Wii
The nails are rather in the coffin of the Wii now that, particularly the Move, has arrived. It's reasonably good at executing your will on screen but the cursor has always been a touch laggy and slightly shaky as well. When Nintendo upgrades the system, doubtless the gameplay will improve as well but, right now, it's just a much older console?

Conclusions

Sony has been quite open it its criticism of Microsoft and Kinect but rather than take this as saying that one system is better than the other, it's really more of a highlight as to the different market that the two companies are hoping to corner, for better or for worse.

With only a four-year-old console to do battle with, it's a little cruel to include the Wii in this contest. Yes, it was the daddy on the motion controlling front but the Move simply teaches it a lesson in precision, accuracy and gameplay excitement for the while - at least until Nintendo ups its ante, which doubtless it will at some point in the future.

Interestingly, it's Microsoft that seems to have picked up the Wii's mantle rather than Sony, despite, perhaps, the closer connection that the Move system has with Nintendo's.

Pricing is relatively similar across the board but Kinect seems more focused on the fun, family market while Move is aimed at the more hardcore gamers. The precision accuracy and exact control of the latter lends itself to in-depth shooters and action games whereas the magic of the no-hands Microsoft Kinect suits multiplay amusement and a thorough thrill of enjoyment.?How they cope with the same third party title, though, might be the real test to wait for.

For a closer look at our hands on first look at E3 click Kinect or Move?and until they've all arrived for us to have a proper play with, what are your thoughts? Which one are you going to go with and would you consider switching systems from the one you already have?

Related links:

• Feature - Xbox 360 Slim vs Xbox 360
• News - E3: Gamers hit start on show coverage
• Review - Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360 - First Look review

Tags: Gaming Microsoft microsoft kinect Playstation Move Nintendo Wii Nintendo PlayStation Features E32010

       

Microsoft Kinect vs PlayStation Move vs Nintendo Wii originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:51:07 +0100

It's peak time for the financial reform debate in Washington DC, as the conference committee is right now hammering out a deal between the House and Senate.

The Washington Post now reports that eight House members are under investigation by the Office of Congressional ethics over fundraisers that they held conveniently close to the vote.

The Congressmen include both Republicans and Democrats.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex)

Bio: Congressman Jeb Hensarling is a life-long conservative dedicated to advancing the principles of faith, family, free enterprise, and freedom. An outspoken advocate for limited government and unlimited opportunity, Jeb has fought to control spending, keep taxes low, defend families, strengthen our homeland security, and support our troops.

As a testament to his leadership during our nation's economic crisis, Jeb was appointed during the 111th Congress to serve as Vice Ranking Member for the House Committee on Budget and as the top Republican on the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. As one of the most active Republican members on the House Financial Services Committee, Jeb has been a consistent and outspoken proponent of consumer choice, competitive markets and smart regulation in our financial markets. Jeb served on the Congressional Oversight Panel for the $700 billion TARP program until December 2009.

Source: Hensarling.house.gov

Top 5 Contributors, 2009-2010, Campaign Committee:
First State Bank: $12,500
American Bankers Association: $10,500
Rent-A-Center: $10,350
AT&T Inc: $10,000
KPMG International: $10,000

Source: Opensecrets.org

Rep. Melvin Watt (D-N.C.)

Bio: Melvin L. Watt ("Mel") was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina on August 26, 1945. He is a graduate of York Road High School in Charlotte.  He was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1967 with a BS degree in Business Administration and was the president of the business honors fraternity as a result of having the highest academic average in the Business School.  In 1970 he received a JD degree from Yale University Law School and was a published member of the Yale Law Journal.  He has been awarded honorary degrees from North Carolina A&T State University, Johnson C. Smith University, Bennett College and Fisk University.

Source: Watt.house.gov

Top 5 Contributors, 2009-2010, Campaign Committee:
Promontory Financial Group: $13,760
Intl. Brotherhood of Electrical Workers: $10,000
KPMG International: $7,500
American Association for Justice: $7,000
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp: $5,000

Source: Opensecrets.org

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA)

Bio: Congressman Tom Price is recognized as a vibrant leader in Georgia and a diligent and tireless problem solver in Congress.

First elected to Congress, representing the Sixth District of Georgia, in November 2004, Price was re-elected with broad support in 2006 and 2008. Prior to going to Washington, Price served four terms in the Georgia State Senate – two as Minority Whip. In 2002, he became the first Republican Majority Leader in the history of Georgia.

In Congress, Price's priorities include reforming the tax system, strengthening health care and education, keeping American families safe, ensuring enforcement of our immigration laws, promoting a 21st century energy plan, and finding transportation solutions for Atlanta's residents and commuters. Congressman Price serves on the important Financial Services Committee as well as the Committee on Education and Labor, in which he is the Ranking Republican Member on the Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee.

Source: Tom.house.gov

Top 5 Contributors, 2009-2010, Campaign Committee:
Unvailable, but looks like Price has lobbied on behalf of Chesapeake Energy before.

Source: Opensecrets.org

Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND)

Bio: As North Dakota’s lone representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1992, Congressman Earl Pomeroy has earned a reputation as an independent-minded leader who brings North Dakota common sense to the debate over issues that affect our nation.

Pomeroy was born in Valley City, North Dakota on September 2, 1952. He earned undergraduate and law degrees from the University of North Dakota before returning to his hometown to practice law for five years.

During his time in Congress, Pomeroy has made the concerns of North Dakota his top priority. Called “articulate, cheerful and sincere” by the Almanac of American Politics and a “billboard for North Dakota values” by the Bismarck Tribune, Pomeroy’s leadership and hard work earned him a spot on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. This post gives him influence over key policy decisions on taxes, trade, Social Security and Medicare issues.

Source: Pomeroy.house.gov

Top 5 Contributors, 2009-2010, Campaign Committee:
American Council of Life Insurers: $11,500
Doranco Inc: $10,600
American Crystal Sugar: $10,550
American Federation of State/County/Municipal Employees: $10,000
American Health Care Association: $10,000

Source: Opensecrets.org

Congressman John Campbell (R-CA)

Bio: Congressman John Campbell represents California's 48th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. He is a fourth generation Californian, and has lived in Irvine, California for over 30 years.

John has quickly earned the reputation as a dedicated fiscal conservative, and he continues to be a vocal advocate for sensible public policy, lower taxes, and more freedom. As a member of the House Committee on Financial Services, he has taken an active part in addressing the country's top economic issues, including mortgage lending, corporate governance, banking reform, and insurance regulation.

In September 2008, he was an active participant on the Economic Rescue Plan Working Group. In January 2009, he has been an active member of the House Economic Stimulus Working Group led by Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA), where he helped craft policy alternatives designed to help more Americans keep their homes, businesses, and jobs.

Source: Campbell.house.gov

Top 5 Contributors, 2009-2010, Campaign Committee:
Allianz: $11,300
PricewaterhouseCoopers: $10,250
New York Life Insurance :$10,000
Kilroy Realty: $9,600
McCarthy, Cook & Co: $9,600

Source: Opensecrets.org

Congressman Frank D. Lucas (R-OK)

Bio: Congressman Frank Lucas is a fifth generation Oklahoman whose family has lived and farmed in Oklahoma for over 100 years. Born on January 6, 1960 in Cheyenne, Oklahoma, Lucas graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1982 with a degree in Agricultural Economics. He was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in a special election in 1994, and is currently serving his ninth term as a Member of Congress.

Prior to his service in the U.S. Congress, Lucas served for five and a half years in the Oklahoma State House of Representatives, where he tirelessly defended the rights of private property owners and focused on promoting agriculture issues.

Frank proudly represents Oklahoma's Third Congressional District includes all or portions of 32 counties in northern and western Oklahoma, stretching from the Oklahoma panhandle to parts of Tulsa, and from Yukon to Altus in the southwest. It takes up almost half the state’s land mass and is one of the largest agricultural regions in the nation. Lucas has been a crusader for the American farmer since being elected to Congress in 1994 as well as working to protect Oklahoma values.

Source: House.gov/Lucas

Top 5 Contributors, 2009-2010, Campaign Committee:
New York Life Insurance: $10,000
USA rice Federation: $10,000
Farm Credit Council: $9,000
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association: $9,000
Fio-Sun Inc: $8,500

Source: Opensecrets.org

Congressman Christopher Lee (R-NY)

Bio: Chris Lee brings to Washington two decades of experience in the private sector, where he gained a first-hand understanding of the tough decisions businesses face every day and helped create hundreds of good-paying jobs for Western New Yorkers. This is his first term representing New York's 26th Congressional District.

Chris’s priorities in Congress include strong constituent service, putting Western New Yorkers back to work, holding Washington accountable for every dollar it spends, protecting our national security, and seeking out long-term solutions for our energy and health care challenges.

A day after being sworn-in, Chris was appointed by House leaders to serve on the influential House Committee on Financial Services. Chris fought for a seat on the sought-after panel to ensure Western New Yorkers were represented on the front lines of efforts to create jobs, protect taxpayers, aid homeowners and right our economy.

Source: Chrislee.house.gov

Top 5 Contributors, 2009-2010, Campaign Committee:
American Society of Travel Agents: $10,000
Every Repuvlican is Crucial PAC: $10,000
Freedom Project: $10,000
Honeywell International: $10,000
New York Life Insurance: $10,000

Source: Opensecrets.org

Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-NY)

Bio: Congressman Joseph Crowley was first elected to Congress in 1998 and is serving his sixth term representing New York’s 7th Congressional District. The 7th district includes parts of the Bronx and Queens, including Co-op City, Soundview, Pelham Parkway, Morris Park, Van Nest, Allerton, Parkchester, Throggs Neck, City Island, and Silver Beach in the Bronx, as well as Sunnyside, Woodside, Jackson Heights, Maspeth, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst and College Point in Queens.

Congressman Crowley is a well-positioned, effective advocate for his district. He serves in the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives as a Chief Deputy Whip – making him the highest-ranking New York member in the leadership of the House Democratic Caucus. He also sits on two prestigious committees in the House – the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Source: Crowley.house.gov

Top 5 Contributors, 2009-2010, Campaign Committee:
Blackstone Group: $16,800
Ernst & Young: $12,000
Montefiore Medical Center: $11,100
Oaktree Capital Management: $10,300
American Association for Justice: $10,000

Source: Opensecrets.org

Speaking of reform, here's how one Congressman says we can prevent housing bubbles:

Rep. Bill Foster Presents A Dead Simple Way Of Preventing A Housing Bubble From Ever Happening Again ->

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Regardless of college major or professional experience, nearly 100% of our full-time employees start out in our Management Training Program. This allows everyone to learn our business from the ground up and understand how they play a significant role in seeing it succeed.

 

Once you've completed your initial orientation and training, you'll be assigned to a branch office in your home area and the hands-on training begins. You'll learn valuable business skills from capable mentors who were once in your shoes. Nearly 100% of all our managers and corporate executives started out as Management Trainees.

 

During your first year, you will actively participate in everything from sales and marketing and customer service to operations and finance. As you progress, you will be tested and evaluated to determine your proficiency in these areas. Successful completion of these tests and evaluations will result in rewards, pay increases and the opportunity for continued promotions.

 

As you progress, increasingly more opportunities will become available to you. You can choose, as most people do, to continue your rewarding ascent within our Rental Operations managerial track or you can explore one of many other exciting options including Fleet Services, Human Resources, Car Sales, Accounting, Marketing and more.

 

As a Management Trainee, you are empowered to make business decisions that greatly affect your career as well as the bottom line. You'll gain responsibility for developing new business and maintaining current relationships. You'll be responsible for understanding cost control, reading your branch's P&L statement and understanding what it takes to run a profitable business. You will also learn how to deliver superior customer service. We will teach you how to effectively communicate, influence and interact with all types of customers, vendors and co-workers. You'll learn proper sales techniques to problem solving and conflict management. Those skills will provide you with the opportunity to market to local business partners and build solid, long-lasting relationships with key business decision-makers. In your development to become a successful manager at Enterprise, you'll learn how to mentor, train, develop, manage and promote a staff of your own.

• Bachelors degree required.
• • Will consider 4 years or more of active duty military experience in lieu of a bachelors degree (with a high school diploma or GED).
• Must have participation or work experience in any of the following: work experience in a customer service, retail or commission sales environment, OR participation or leadership in athletic/team activities, OR membership or leadership in community, social or academic organizations, within the past 5 years.
• Must have a valid drivers license with a good driving record and no more than 2 moving violations and/or at-fault accidents within the last 3 years.
• No drug or alcohol related convictions on driving record (DUI/DWI) in the past 5 years.
• Must be authorized to work in the U.S. and not require sponsorship now or in the future.
• Must be at least 18 years old.
• Must be willing to accept first year compensation between $33,700 and $36,000.
• Must be available to work an average of 48 hours per week.
• Must be living within a reasonable commute of no more than 1 hour to New Rochelle, NY or be moving to this location within 30 days of application.

If interested, please apply online at http://track.tmpservice.com/ApplyClick.aspx?id=922597-1806-6389

The Research Analyst is a full-time position responsible for conducting and managing research activities. The bulk of research activities involve issues concerning the following topics: foreclosure crisis, housing, market and demographic conditions, and access to goods and services. In addition, the research analyst will also be responsible for discovering new and/or more accurate data providers, importing raw datasets into Social Compact´s system, monitoring datasets, providing quality control, automating data aggregation, cleansing and standardizing processes, and providing technical assistance to other staff members in and outside of the research team. The research analyst will be under the immediate supervision of the Director of Research and will also report (as necessary) to Social Compact´s President and CEO and Chief Operations Officer.

MAIN DUTIES INCLUDE:
 Conduct, and to a certain degree coordinate, research activities with focus on innovation and product development
 Create solutions for different clients using statistical methods, clustering, prediction methodologies using SAS, R, SPSS or other tools
 Management and design of the data integration process – aggregating diverse datasets in complex and creative ways to build alternative market and demographic indicators across multiple cities
 Close collaboration with municipal and proprietary data providers
 Act as a research liaison and consultant to external clients that require customized tools and applications
 Pro-actively develop reporting solutions for staff
 Extract, transform, and Load (ETL): Import, standardization/cleansing, geocoding, and aggregation of large, disparate data sources to create standardized data tables for DrillDown market studies and other projects
 Identify appropriate data sources to expand the indicators and improve reliability
 Active participation in community/economic development research
QUALIFICATIONS:
 Master´s degree in one of the following and/or related fields: computer science, operations research, urban planning, and public policy
 Expertise in advance statistical modeling and data analysis (at a minimum 1 year experience)
 Strong analytical skills, quantitative research experience and knowledge of statistical analysis
 Competence in spatial analysis (at a minimum 1 year experience)
 Two years experience with computer programming, preferably including VB and VBA
 Proven expertise with ArcGIS, ArcView, ESRI Business Analyst
 Proficiency in data management and data visualization
 Demonstrated proficiency in SQL
 Experience in web development technologies (LAMP stack or similar, Javascript, HTML/CSS) a plus
 Expertise with SAS Enterprise Guide, Data Integration Studio, Enterprise Miner, and SAS Data Step coding a plus
 Expertise in ETL processes, data cleansing, and data mining
 Ability to work both independently and as a team-member within tight deadlines
 Familiarity with Federal Government Development programs and the importance of demographic indicators in development is not mandatory but would be valuable
 Interest in issues related to urban development and planning, community economic development and poverty alleviation
The Social Compact, Inc. is a DC-based nonprofit organization launched in 1990 by a coalition of business leaders who came together to promote successful business investment in undervalued communities for the benefit of current residents. This is largely done through the Neighborhood Market DrillDown, a pioneering market analysis model built on innovative sources of dependable, business-oriented data that reveals the hidden strengths of traditionally undervalued communities.

Cities such as Baltimore, MD, Houston, TX, Los Angeles, CA, Miami, FL, New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, and Washington, DC have partnered with Social Compact to conduct DrillDowns. DrillDown findings have been used by cities and businesses to provide quality financial services, encourage property development and attract retail - all vital building blocks in prosperous, healthy and sustainable neighborhoods and cities.

Social Compact is a casual work environment where staff collaboration and innovation are welcome. Staff are encouraged to initiate and lead research projects and are provided opportunity to pursue research interests as they pertain to the organization’s mission.

Salary is commensurate with experience. Interested parties should submit a resume and three references to jobs@socialcompact.org

i have iexplorer 8 ,i have downloaded flash 10 several times ,but still browser cant play youtube videos and other flash content , it is not appearing in manage add ons ,neither is activex and shockwave appearing , it is downloading but not playing ..

note: i accidently removed flash ,active x ,from control panel ,but now have downloaded again but...??
please give solutions.:)

Twitter is no longer a start-up with a service that many assumed was a fad that would quietly disappear, along with the company. Its user base is growing at a rate reminiscent of Facebook; it has a strong developer community and a nascent business model. All this is promising, but Twitter still has its work cut out.

It needs to show that the business model stacks up and generates margins for future growth. It must do more to nurture its developer community and produce a stronger roadmap for how it intends to keep the service fresh and compelling, in order to differentiate from rivals with their eyes on its crown.

Is Twitter the new Facebook?

Twitter is changing before our eyes from a start-up to a grown-up business. This transformation has been particularly visible in the past couple of months as Twitter acquired Atebits, the company behind the popular Tweetie iPhone app and announced Promoted Tweets, its first foray into an advertising model controlled by the company. This flurry of activity culminated with Chirp, Twitter’s first ever developer conference, held in San Francisco in mid-April. During the conference, Twitter finally revealed hard facts about the business that were impressive and encouraging. It has close to 106 million users, with 300,000 new users signing up every day, plus 180 unique visitors every month. Twitter is still smaller than Facebook (around 450 million users) and is not exactly a social network, but its popularity, size, and growth are putting it in the same league as Facebook.

Twitter is also generating high volumes of traffic. In 2007 users were tweeting 5,000 times a day, and by 2008 the number had increased to 300,000, reaching 2.5 million per day in January 2009. One year later, in January 2010, the figure had risen to 50 million tweets per day, climbing to 55 million in April 2010. There are 600 million search queries on Twitter per day, which bodes well for the Promoted Tweets sponsored keyword search advertising program.

Time for Twitter to up the ante on service development

Twitter’s service evolution has been steady rather than spectacular, characterized by a drip feed of service and feature enhancements rather than any major step change. There has been more activity to enhance Twitter since the end of last year and this is accelerating. In April 2010 Twitter previewed @anywhere, a set of web tools which enable partner to easily integrate Twitter functionality into their own websites.

Mobile has always been an important part of the Twitter proposition, and at the Chirp developer conference in April the company revealed that 37% of active Twitter users connect to the service via mobile applications. Mobile applications are clearly a growth opportunity and Twitter means to make the most of it by launching its own applications for smartphones. In April 2010 Twitter launched an in-house application for BlackBerry smartphones, which since launch has accounted for around 7–8% of new signups. It also acquired AteBits in April, the company behind the popular Tweetie iPhone application. It is now working on its own Twitter application for Android devices.

But without alienating the developer community

Twitter’s move to develop/acquire its own smartphone is creating unease among third-party developers that will now have to compete against Twitter. Twitter needs to be very careful not to alienate the developer community as they drive innovation for the service and also traffic, essential for Twitter’s long-term health. In April 2010 Twitter announced that there were 100,000 applications for Twitter – very strong growth over the four months from December 2009 when the company reported 50,000 Twitter applications. Third-party applications deepen user engagement and are also proven to increase traffic. Applications account for 75% of all tweets – significantly more than generated by the actual Twitter site. High traffic volumes are in turn attractive to advertisers – particularly search-related activity – and this is core to Twitter’s advertising play.

The building blocks of a business model – but still a lot of work to do

Twitter’s strategy to date has been focused on building the user base and the application ecosystem that supports it (just like Facebook) and on both counts it has done well.  But what Twitter has lacked is a viable business model that will make it profitable. Twitter is acutely aware of this and has been thinking long and hard about its monetization strategy. It has formed partnerships with Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! to integrate Twitter feeds into their search results. It is looking at ways introduce paid-for services for corporate users, although this is still at an early test stage. And then in April this year it took the wraps of Promoted Tweets, company-sponsored advertising tweets that will appear at the top of the page when a user searches on related keywords.

The basic model for Promoted Tweets is the same as Google Adwords, which is a profitable, well-understood approach. Twitter is coupling this with a quality metric called “resonance” that is based on user interactions across a range of parameters such as re-tweets and avatar clicks. If Promoted Tweets do not score well on Twitter’s resonance metric, then they will disappear. The Promoted Tweet model has potential, given that there are 600 million search queries on Twitter per day. There are also good opportunities to scale Promoted Tweets across third-party applications. During the early stage, Promoted Tweets are confined to the Twitter site, but the company says that it will go wider later and that developers who participate in the program will get a 50:50 revenue share with Twitter. This is good news for developers as it gives them another potential revenue stream.

Promoted Tweets face a number of challenges

Twitter’s new advertising platform will inevitably have an impact on existing, independent Twitter advertising specialists, many of which are in start-up mode and will not be able to compete directly with Twitter. To survive, independents will need to ensure their advertising solution has a different proposition than the one provided by Promoted Tweets. For its part, Twitter has said it will not block external advertising networks but will look at revising terms of service, although at the time of writing this report (April) the company had given no indication of what this will involve.

Another question is whether or not brands and agencies will be prepared to pay for Promoted Tweets when they can already interact with Twitter users for free by virtue of their own micro-blogs and followers. No doubt some will not want to pay and will be content with their existing level of interaction. However, we think a good proportion of brands will find Promoted Tweets attractive as a way of interacting with users in a more targeted fashion, while the prospect of incorporating geo-coding will add a further layer of value.
Although Twitter is being careful with how it positions Promoted Tweets, they are nonetheless overt and sit prominently in the service, and as such could irritate users. The flip side of Twitter’s immediacy is that if advertising messages are not very carefully positioned, users can hit back at brands in real-time, and brands will have little control over this. There is no doubt that some users will be against the introduction of advertising on Twitter, almost out of principal, but that resistance will subside once people realize that the new resonance metric means they actually have measure of control over ads and can in effect determine whether they stay or disappear.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Here's What Huge Brands Have Learned From Twitter
• Your Small Business's Twitter Account Is About To Get An Upgrade
• Nice Timing: Florida Launches $25-Million Clean Beaches Ad Campaign, As Oil May Hit By Friday

Filed under: Fashion, News, Designers & Brands

Liz Claiborne's life was recently celebrated by her husband, Arthur Ortenberg, in a love letter of a book titled "Liz Claiborne: The Legend, The Woman" (Taylor Trade, $24.95, April 2010).

It's not exactly the collection of hearts, flowers, and insidery stories you'd expect. Instead, it's the tale of an always-in-control, strong woman living with a disease -- cancer -- that she had no control over and that ultimately killed her. Ortenberg, her partner of 50 years, chatted with StyleList about the book, the woman, and her fixation with red.

StyleList: What were you trying to convey with this book?
Arthur Ortenberg: As Liz was dying, the last six weeks in the hospital, I realized everybody's objective had become blurred. I was doing anything I could to keep her alive. I use the book as a penance for almost, in a way, forcing her to live.

I marvel at the fact that the photograph on the cover is such an active, vital Liz. And I show you such a different Liz - a Liz not in control of her body functions. I'm sorry about that, I really am. We had a beautiful life while she was alive. If I had to do the book over again, I'd concentrate probably a little bit less on the end and more on the joy.

SL: When you met, was it love at first sight?
AO: I met Liz in the early '50s. She had been married to another gentleman, and I had married unwisely and young. I was running a dress division for a large, inexpensive manufacturer of clothing at a time when the country was going sportswear. I needed a designer. I contacted this designer, whose name was Liz Schultz. She had just had a baby and when she came in for the interview, love was born. In my eyes, she was absolutely gorgeous. I really never even saw her sketches. She was hired immediately.


SL: How did it feel to be married to an icon?
AO: It felt absolutely marvelous. She herself said, "Art always said I would be the driver of the car. The team would be in the pit to change my tires and wheels and get me back on the field faster than anyone. I would drive, and he would carry the banner." And I did.

SL: Liz Claiborne, Inc. was revolutionary because it was led by a woman in a time when that was rare. How did that change the way things were done?
AO: Liz managed through example, through kindness, and through silence, rather than any criticisms that would be hurtful.

SL: You say in the book that after you both left the company, you stayed on the board but should have made more of a clean break. Do you regret not having done that?
AO: I think we did the right thing, in terms of appearances. Liz did not want the company to feel abandoned. We made some mistakes, in terms of the people selected to follow us. Neither of us had the willingness to play games at the board meetings, and get involved in the typical wrestling for power.

SL: You talk about her red nails quite a bit. How did that red become her signature?
AO: I guess she came out of the womb with that in her DNA. She just hated reds that had blue in them. And little by little, she gravitated toward tomato red. Her nails were tomato red, her glasses rims were tomato red.

She was buried in an urn at Triple Eight Ranch, in Montana, that was Liz red. I [recently] moved the urn, and it [had turned] very blue. I had the local auto-body shop scrape it, blast it, and re-lacquer it. Liz is now buried in the world's most beautiful Liz-red urn.

In related news, read about a book celebrating another female icon: Wonder Woman.

Liz Claiborne 'Was Absolutely Gorgeous' Says Husband Arthur Ortenberg originally appeared on StyleList on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Last night at 11:30pm Architect Samar Ali Khan was arrested on Khy-e-Shamsheer for standing up against the VIP protocol blocking the road for Minister Zulfiqar Ali Mirza. After dropping a fellow architect home after dinner, Samar was proceeding home when at Khayban-e-Shamsheer a road block in front of the house of Minister Zulfiqar Mirza totally irked him, as a very active member of civil society in Karachi Mr. Samar Ali Khan, stepped out of his car and voiced his objection, he was able to walk up to the gate, rang the bell and demanded to speak to the owner [which was Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Mirza. The police escort immediately started pushing him around, naturally things got a little infuriated and a tussle broke out. Samar was arrested and taken to Darakhshan Police Station, where he spent the night and is being taken to court for a hearing, the family has still to know what charges have been levied against him

The PPP cadre and Mr Mirza is pushing the news in the media that he was enraged and out of control attacking, but witnesses say the entire provocation later was by the minister and his guards. A few people who met him barely two hours later at the police station say that Samar was generally ok, no major bruises, a little apologetic to have created all this fuss in the heat of the moment, but there is no doubt he was in high spirits

Either way, ever since Mr. Zulfiqar Mirza has moved onto the house on the main street of Khy-e-Shamsheer two speed breakers have gone up around his house and a convoy of police escort remains surrounding the area ready to block off traffic to allow the free unrestricted movement of the Minister. I personally have been caught up on that street once too many times and it might be possible that a fuse may have sparked within Samar to let it all go.

I feel it is a proud moment, for someone in Pakistan to have the gutts to stand up against this hegemony of VIP movement. Samar Ali Khan, what you did was right, we are proud of you and may this serve as an example for others to challenge this idiotic VVIP movement trend so common of our elected leaders

Apparently, sales of UFC Undisputed 2010 have fallen short of THQ's expectations, but the publisher is working on a new entry in the franchise anyway. In an E3 analysts meeting held yesterday, THQ announced UFC Trainer, which is, according to GameSpot, "a more combative take on the fitness genre than the likes of Wii Fit or EA Sports Active."

Apparently, the game will actually train you to be a mixed martial arts fighter, and it's going to use motion control tech -- PlayStation Move, Kinect, and, uh, the Wii -- to do it. The game isn't at E3 because THQ doesn't want to show it off until "it's the coolest fighting thing in the world," "tuned to perfection without lag," said Danny Bilson, the company's executive vice president of core games.

UFC Trainer is slated for release on January 1, 2011.

UFC Trainer hits Kinect, Move, Wii on January 1 [GameSpot -- thanks, Joe!]

The EA event is going on and they’re showing of EA Sports Active 2 for Wii, PS3, and Kinect on 360. The game has a heart rate monitor and is totally wireless thanks to motion control. Also, all of your workout data will automatically upload to easportsactive.com, where you can monitor your progress and share [...]

5 Vote(s)

Tuesday was E3 2010's first full day. Without further ado, here's my rundown of the wins and fails among the big reveals. First, the wins ... #### [1]Photo by Matthew Swain I cannot overstate how impressive the Nintendo 3DS is. This is a device that, upon first impression, feels unbelievably ahead of it's time. Some of the technology demos Nintendo is showing off are very surprising in their graphic fidelity and impressive 3D effects. It's literally as if an image is hovering in the space before you, framed by this little box. The 3DS still features a touch screen, like older DS models, but its top display is formatted for widescreen and when looked at straight on for the first time, the most common response I witnessed is disbelief. Unfortunately, Nintendo was strongly discouraging photography of the screen. Like the original GameBoy, if looked at from the wrong angle the image breaks apart into fuzzy mess. I'm sure this is something that will be eliminated with a second generation revamp of the 3DS, which should be expected given Nintendo's treatment of its current handheld. I played the Ridge Racer tech demo, which felt kind of sluggish and was not as pretty as some of the other real-time renders, but it did allow for basic interaction. I didn't get a chance to check out Star Fox 64, which is probably the one I'd most like to see, but the demos for Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater and the original Resident Evil property Capcom is developing were absolutely shocking. At their press briefing, Nintendo said the 3DS was a more capable system than its predecessor, but they did not specify how much. I can see now why there were rumors circulating that it could be as powerful as Wii. The Resident Evil real-time demo was every bit as buttery smooth as Resident Evil 5 on Xbox 360, with the added amazement of glasses-free 3D. Same for Metal Gear: a little prettier than Snake Eater on PlayStation 2, with some really cool effects and excellent 3D. They also announced a number of major 3D content partners in Hollywood and featured 3D film trailers on the show floor. I also spotted old-school NES Zelda and Metroid in a pseudo-3D, where some elements on screen were offset while others stood out, yet the gameplay remained intact. I can imagine Hundreds of old games being mined for 3D gold on this system. And if that weren't enough, the device includes a 3D camera. I remarked to a colleague earlier that Nintendo's inclusion of a 3D camera, if it's of decent quality, could prove to be as significant as Bluray on PlayStation 3. Decent digital 3D cameras can be quite pricey and most consumers don't have the computer hardware to display their images. Nintendo is putting both in their hands. There's no release date just yet, but if they can hit a sub-$300 price point with the 3DS, expect big things. #### [2]Photo by Matthew Swain The Nintendo media briefing was like a big, wet kiss to anyone who loves video games. It was, my opinion and those of at least 10 other professional industry-watchers I spoke with, the company's best E3 showing Ever. Not only did they have a new console, the big N showed off numerous huge franchises, but they got right into the big one first: The Legend of Zelda. Link's return looks to fit a visual style somewhere between Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, with a brightly colored world and a hint of cell shading, but an adult link who uses his sword in very different ways. This is where Nintendo's genius in pioneering Wii motion controls has begun to shine. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword puts players in direct control of the Master Sword, utilizing the Motion Plus attachment to provide highly accurate movement. This wasn't apparent during the briefing, as famed Nintendo producer Shigeru Miyamoto suffered the same fate as Apple's Steve Jobs during a recent iPhone presentation, when wireless interference wonked out a video chat demonstration. Similarly, Miyamoto had difficulty aiming the Wii cursor and controlling a flying weapon. When I tried the game for myself, none of these problems were apparent. Link seems to inhabit a watercolor-infused world this time around, and a trailer featured him jumping from a cliff and plunging into thick clouds. Controlling the hero is rather simple, but fighting with true sword movement takes a moment for adjustment. Like all Miyamoto-produced games, it seemed to ease players through the mechanics with a series of natural gameplay moments, teaching as it entertained. At this moment, it's my game of the show ... But that could definitely change over the next two days. #### [3]Photo by Matt Swain [4]Photo by Matt Swain The Sony media briefing was not that interesting. There weren't many surprises and it dragged on. As a friend mentioned, the Nintendo conference flew by in an instant, but Sony's got boring and seemed to run on like a Best Director-winner full of Oscar hubris. (Speaking of which, in one of those odd, only-in-LA moments, Steven Spielberg literally bumped into me at the Nintendo booth. Go figure.) Still, Sony was not completely without love for their most loyal fans. The room full of gamers erupted into cheers when Portal 2 and a Twisted Metal reboot were announced. I'm for one most excited about Twisted Metal because they're finally letting the series' creator, David Jaffe, just do his own thing. And while the Portal announcement was important due to Valve's rather public panning of the PlayStation 3, what I think got overlooked was their plan to utilize their Steam digital download service on Sony's console. It was only briefly mentioned at the briefing, so I'll try for more information later. And all of this is good news for Sony, which really did not impress me. #### And now, the fails... #### [5]Photo by Stephen C. Webster Oh PlayStation Move ... I'd mock you if a photo weren't mockery enough. This contraption is ugly and expensive: $49 for the Move wand with the glowing ball (some games require two), another $29 for the analog attachment (some games require this as well), then you've got to buy a PlayStation Eye, which is another $40. When Sony announced the price for PlayStation Move was just $49, everyone at the briefing collectively gasped. When they announced their scheme to collectively nickel and dime everyone remotely interested in trying one of their flagrant Wii ripoffs, the room reverberated with groans. I went to the booth and tried it out, right after spending some quality time on Zelda. There is no question: Sony is may have more processing muscle and is rather boastful that the Move is "more precise" than Wii's remote, but I couldn't tell the difference or see how Move is even preferable. I ran through some archery, worked up a sweat on their street brawling game and played with a virtual pet. While the graphics were beyond Wii's range, the motion controls were not and all of Sony's working concepts have been done and done better by Nintendo. Move is little more than a ripoff, and a seriously clunky one at that. It has a greater chance of success than Microsoft's Kinect (ugh), but they're effectively splitting the market by not including it with all future PlayStation 3 units. #### [6]Photo by Stephen C. Webster Sony's 3D presentation during the briefing and on the show floor failed to impress me. I own a 3D-capable PC and a pair of active shutter glasses for gaming, so this is tech that I'm quite familiar with as a consumer. Sony's 3D comes up short on depth of field, where an impressive range is very important. During the briefing, they showed off Killzone 3 in 3D. While the company hopes it will be a "benchmark" for their 3D experience, I'm just hoping they can show depth a little further out than just the targeting cursor. For all their hype about "innovation," making me wear a pair of polarized 3D glasses at the presser and active shutter glasses to play Gran Turismo 5 was a little disappointing. And seriously, Killzone looked like another generic shooter. Adding "jetpacks" does not make me want to spend $60. I spoke to a Sony rep about how their stereoscopic 3D will work and was told that PlayStation 3 will display 3D on any 3D-compliant display: meaning, 120HZ monitor owners (like me) are in luck. It's supposed to work with any 3D shutter glasses as well, but when I inquired specifically about NVidia's 3D Vision glasses he couldn't say if they're supported. The Sony rep also did not know if the user will be able to adjust the 3D effect, which seemed to be stuck on minimum. Sure, the small depth of field looks cool at first, but not so much if you've ever played Need for Speed: Shift or Burnout Paradise on a proper 3D Vision gaming PC. There, users have the option of a scroll wheel that turns image separation up or down. "Maybe that's in the firmware?" the Sony rep pondered. "I don't know." Still, to game in 3D on PlayStation 3, consumers are looking at a significant investment of time and money: first on research to find a good 3D display, then on figuring out which active shutter glasses to buy. Better (or worse?) yet, one pair of shutter glasses means only one person can appreciate the effect. Add a few more pairs and you're up to $1,000+. At that price, it's just not worth it, and won't be for a long while. #### If I had to rate the console-makers' initial E3 offerings, Nintendo easily comes out on top with, let's say a 9. Sony definitely turned in a strong second: even with all their Wii mimicry, Move has a shot at success if third party developers rally behind it. Microsoft, on the other hand, has been almost universally ragged on this year for their bizarre Sunday program, surprisingly lame Kinect demonstrations and the absurd ploy to buy-off the press with free consoles, but I'll give their booth a shot to win me over before passing judgment. [1] http://trueslant.com/stephenwebster/files/2010/06/3DS.jpg [2] http://trueslant.com/stephenwebster/files/2010/06/miyamoto_zelda.jpg [3] http://trueslant.com/stephenwebster/files/2010/06/ps3_twistedmetal.jpg [4] http://trueslant.com/stephenwebster/files/2010/06/ps3_portal2.jpg [5] http://trueslant.com/stephenwebster/files/2010/06/sony_move.jpg [6] http://trueslant.com/stephenwebster/files/2010/06/sony3d.jpg

The Future Is Here

And it sounds exactly like the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

The car stereo has long been one of the human male’s most effective means of display. To potential partners in courtship, it loudly announces “I’m here! I have resources to spare!” In this way, it is like the peacock’s tail, or the puffy, crimson butt cheeks of whatever those monkeys are that have the swollen red rears. Is it baboons? Well, whatever it is.

To would-be rivals for territory and mates, the car stereo signals a warning. “This is my turf!” it says, “and I’m totally into Megadeth!” Weaker males can hear this message all the way up and down their block, making the car stereo a much more effective show of machismo than getting a neck tattoo, which a person has to be right up close to you to even see.

This particular Alpine stereo does all that—and more. It also loudly proclaims its owner’s qualities of sophistication, and of being up-to-date with the latest trends. And not just by blaring Owl City, but by integrating seamlessly with his fancy new impressive iPod or iPhone. If you’re not quite cool enough to have an iPhone, don’t worry. The Alpine IXA-W404 has a regular old USB connection too. And owning this car stereo will probably make up for your lame other phone anyway, whatever it is.

(Then again, if you ever do get an iPhone, but Apple capriciously changes the dock connectors on them again in the meantime, that USB connection will mean you can still hook it up. So you’re set.)

This Alpine system also boasts a fancy touchscreen interface unlike anything your lowlife friends have ever seen, so even though it’s extremely easy to operate, maybe they’ll be just intimidated enough by it not to try, and keep their greasy fingers off, and not mess with the soundtrack you’ve painstakingly curated for this particular trip. They should be glad you’re giving them a lift to Del Taco at all; they’re crazy if they think they’re entitled to radio rights too. Driver chooses the music, that’s the rule.

Ooh, and the accessories! Alpine makes enough add-ons for this system to keep your online shopping tooth satisfied in perpetuity. And if you’re a Wooter—which, if you’re reading this, you apparently are—you get a special sweetheart deal on them. See how it pays to know us?

“But hang on,” we hear you whine. “Aren’t car stereos a pain to install? Even if owning this thing boosts my perceived manliness, won’t that boost be canceled out when it turns out I’m too mechanically inept to hook it up?”

It might be, if we weren’t hooking you up with a sweet deal on a pre-paid installation card over at Deals.Woot.

Uh, yeah. You’re welcome.

Authorized for SquareTrade Extended Warranty

Warranty: 1 Year Alpine

Features:

• Touch-screen control interface for iPod/iPhone in your car
• Equipped to add on additional media sources to enjoy services like HD Radio, Satellite Radio, DVD Changer, and other auxiliary sources
• Dedicated media station that provides seamless control of your iPod, iPhone and many other popular digital devices right from your dash
• No additional cables needed to get your iPod or iPhone connected
• Compatible with the steering wheel remote controls available in many vehicles. You can take out your factory radio, put in the Alpine, and still have the convenience of operating your sound system from the steering wheel (Additional wiring and installation cost may be necessary)
• Dimensions 2-DIN (L x W x H):  7.5" x 6" x 4.5"

Dedicated for your iPod/iPhone:

• Access and control of all the songs from your iPhone right from the head unit
• Meets the specifications for “Made for iPod” and “Works with iPhone” compatibility
• Control all search options of your iPod directly, via Playlist, Artist, Album, Song, Genre, Podcast, or Composer
• Large music libraries are no problem with QuickSearch featuring Alphabet Search, you can easily to scroll through long lists of music by skipping through the letters of the alphabet

Additional Photos:

• Alpine IXA-W404 Head Unit
• Alpine IXA-W404 Box
• Alpine IXA-W404 with iPhone Connected (iPhone Not Included)
• Alpine IXA-W404 Multi Info Display
• Alpine IXA-W404 Rear View of Unit

Multi Info Mode Views:
Select 4 panels of info to show on your screen from the following

• AV Info: Album Art plus abbreviated song and track information
• AV Control: Fast forward, Rewind, Play/Pause from your screen
• Sound Control: Adjust your treble, bass, and sub levels
• Clock: View the current time and up to 4 more times in different time zones around the world
• Calendar: View the current calendar date
• Calculator: Access to a handy calculator

USB Connection:

• Securely connect MP3 players like the iRiver Clix, Creative Zen, or Toshiba Gigabeat, using the MTP protocol
• Connect USB memory devices like thumbdrives and USB hard drives
• Song lists on USB devices are displayed in alphabetical order, and allows eight levels of file / folder search capabilities
• Will find music files while ignoring other file types on the device

Optional Media Accessories:
Accessories Sold Separately

NVE-M300 GPS Navigation Drive Sold Separately

• Large, intuitive graphics help you quickly make selections via touch screen and advance each menu with the touch of your finger
• Pre-loaded maps of the U.S. (including Alaska and Hawaii), Canada, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
• Highway Exit Information,view up to three of the next upcoming exits and places (POIs) that are near each exit
• Turn-by-turn voice guidance can aid you on your trip
• Shows extra details like the average speed and driving time onto your Alpine monitor

KCE-250BT Bluetooth Interface Module Sold Separately

• Enable your Bluetooth wireless technology compatible cell phone to sync up with your head unit
• Full on-screen control and full hands-free functionality
• Powered by Parrot for expanded compatibility for many Bluetooth wireless technology enabled cell phones
• Active Echo Cancellation technology ensures the highest-quality, noise-free sound when you’re on the phone
• Display of Phonebook, Received Calls, Missed Calls and Dialed Calls varies from phone to phone and by your service provide

HCE-C105 Rear View Camera Sold Separately

• Increased safety and convenience, view what’s behind you, right from your dash
• Added safety and back out of parking spots with ease
• Can be installed on the rear bumper by the license plate of your SUV, truck, or car
• High quality, color picture projected right onto your Alpine mobile media station

KCA-SC100 Sirius Satellite Radio Plug and Play Interface Sold Separately

• Satellite radio is a new way to listen to your favorite music, sports, news, talk – commercial free, clear-digital quality, and wide range of programming
• Supports the SIRIUS Replay function, so you can pause, rewind, and replay live broadcasts – up to 44 minutes. Listen to your favorite programming again at your convenience
• Control your SIRIUS plug and play device right from your head unit. Use Quick Search to browse all artists and songs currently playing on all channels
• Displays a text message if your favorite teams’ games are being broadcast. Jump to that broadcast with the push of a button so you can listen to your game play by play
• Get the latest score updates while you listen to other broadcasts

TUA-T550HD HD Radio Tuner Box Sold Separately

• Delivers FM radio with CD sound quality and AM radio with FM sound quality
• Displays artist name and song title and local news, sports scores and school closings
• Free service giving you crystal-clear reception of new music and sound
• iTunes Tagging, Hear it. Tag it. Download it. Never forget it. With iTunes Tagging you’ll never have to write down a song’s name or artist again
• The next time you connect your iPod to your iTunes account, a new “Tagged” playlist will appear
• New extra FM multicasting from HD2 and HD3 multicast channels above and beyond the main station channels

In the box:

• Head Unit
• Power Cable
• Mounting Sleeve
• 2 Bracket Keys
• 6 Flush Head Screws (M5x8)
• 8 Screws (M5x8)
• Remote Control
• 2 AAA Batteries
• Face Plate
• AUX Pre OUT Cable
• AV Extension Cable
• USB Extension Cable
• USB 3OP Cable
• Remote Cable
• Owners Guide

"My name is Bill W and I'm an alcoholic."He was born in East Dorset Vermont. Full name, William Griffith Wilson.When he was in his teens, his father left on a "business trip" and never came back.Later, his mother left the family to study osteopathic medicine.Being alone to take care of his sister, thrust into a situation he couldn't cope with, left Bill W in a serious depression— something that stayed with him intermittently throughout his life.Eventually becoming an alcoholic, Wilson had an experience that changed his life.According to him, while lying in bed in bed in despair, he cried out to God for help, had a sensation of a bright light, and a feeling of ecstasy.A doctor told him,” Something has happened to you I don't understand. But you had better hang on to it."Hang onto it he did; he never drank again.After recovering from his own alcoholism, Bill W came up with a 12-step recovery program that was later turned into a book, called "Alcoholics Anonymous."What he had "hung onto" gave drunks, as he called them, the courage to stand up in a smoke filled room and admit they had a problem.Founded in 1935, in this week, Bill W. with the help of an Ohio physician, Dr. Bob Smith, AA began.It celebrates approximately 27, 375 of those days this year.Members join on a first name basis that cuts across sex, class, race and religion.AA, to this day, has no dues, bylaws or officers.Bill W realized that giving up alcohol seemed impossible, but most drunks could give up drinking for just a day.Over the course the years, what he started with Dr. Bob had grown into a worldwide fellowship with millions of active members.The organization has been attacked for being a cult, a religion, promoting "shame" and replacing one addiction for another.Maybe part of that is true.It's not perfect. There are heart breaking relapses. Some quit the meetings instead of alcohol. But it’s about the only thing that does work. There are versions of it, even in hospital directed measures, to control this insidious addiction.As there are versions of the 12 step program to treat other addictions. Drugs. Gambling. Overeating. Smoking.And in helping entire families cope in Ali Anon, which Bill’s wife, Lois Wilson started.In 1999, "Time Magazine" declared Wilson to be in the top 20 of the Time 100: Heroes and Icons who exemplified, "courage, selflessness, exuberance, superhuman ability and amazing grace" in the 20th Century.Amen.

Continue reading this post

Potomac Fusion’s Software Engineer will develop C++ software for Microsoft Windows in Visual Studio, primarily real-time VOIP and socket-based control and status software for audio distribution systems. Potomac Fusion software engineers work in a fast-paced, rapidly changing environment.

Basic Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship with the ability to obtain a US government security clearance
• BS in Computer Engineering/EE/Computer Science (engineering degree preferred)
• Minimum 5 years experience in software design and development using C++
• Solid programming experience with Microsoft Visual Studio and Visual C++
• System knowledge and programming experience in Unix/Solaris/Linux
• Extensive experience with multithreaded real-time environments
• Expert skills with TCP/IP network programming and protocols
• Full understanding of Object-Oriented design and development
• Experience with software development methodologies
• Ability to interact well with others and communicate effectively within a team
• Product-based experience (i.e., start-to-finish product development and delivery)

Preferred Qualifications

• MS in Computer Engineering
• Hands-on experience with Trusted Solaris or SE Linux
• Understanding of VoIP technology and protocols such as RTP and H.323
• Experience with Windows XP Embedded
• Active security clearance of at least Secret is highly desirable

Kuwait City (UPI) Jun 15, 2010
The uncovering of a purported Iranian spy cell in Kuwait, a key U.S. military logistics base, and the apparent assassination in Syria of an Iranian general linked to covert operations has exposed Tehran's clandestine activities across the region.

Kuwaiti authorities were sufficiently alarmed by the spy cell disclosures made by the daily newspaper Al Qabas on May 1 that they slapped a news blackout on the reports in the local media.

But Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian officials have confirmed the al-Qabas report and diplomatic sources in the emirate said that at least 11 people, all Shiites, have been arrested since April 29.

They include six Kuwaitis, including members of the emirate's military, two Lebanese and at least one Bahraini. The Lebanese financed the cell and carried intelligence concerning U.S. and Kuwaiti military installations back to the Iranian cities of Mashhad and Isfahan.

The cell, these sources reported, was run not by Iran's Intelligence Ministry but by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the most powerful military force in Iran and close to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

It is likely that the operation was carried out by the Quds Force, which is responsible for the corps' clandestine operations outside the Islamic Republic and highly active throughout the Persian Gulf states, Turkey, Lebanon and Syria.

Senior Revolutionary Guards officers are based at the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, where they essentially control the Islamic Republic's Lebanese proxy Hezbollah.

The Quds Force figured in a separate occurrence involving Iranian undercover operations -- the apparent assassination of one of its senior commanders, Gen. Khalil Sultan, on May 16 at his home in the exclusive district of al-Mezzeh in Damascus.

Syria is Iran's sole Arab ally and is seen as complicit in Iranian subversion operations. Israeli sources say Sultan, who posed as a rich businessman, ran Quds Force covert operations in Syria and Lebanon, where the Saudis have immense influence.

He was killed by assailants who broke into his luxury home in an apparent robbery -- but took nothing, indicating a possible link to the activities of Iran's intelligence services.

The suspicion is Sultan was killed by the Israelis, who are waging their own shadowy war against Iran and Hezbollah, but who now share a common enemy with the gulf states in Iran.

Israel has been blamed for the assassination in Damascus of Hezbollah's military chief, Imad Mughniyeh, Feb.12, 2008, and of Gen. Mohammed Suleiman, a senior Syrian army officer close to President Bashar al-Assad and linked to Hezbollah, at his beach chalet at a luxury resort outside Tartous on Aug. 1, 2008. Mughniyeh worked for Iranian intelligence.

The guards constantly use Iranian-trained Hezbollah operatives of Lebanese Shiites around the Middle East, such as Iraq, for clandestine operations and for intelligence-gathering.

The gulf states have long been concerned that Tehran was using Shiite communities in the region for subversive purposes. Saudi Arabia has a large Shiite minority that dominate the kingdom's eastern provinces where its oil industry is centered.

Bahrain, an island state just off Saudi Arabia, actually has a Shiite majority but a Sunni monarchy that is close to the Saudi Arabia's ruling House of al-Saud.

At least one suspect linked to the Kuwait cell has been arrested in Bahrain. The tiny kingdom has long had trouble with its Shiite majority, which it claims is controlled by Tehran. Shiite militants have been active in Kuwait since the 1980s.

These disclosures have caused considerable alarm throughout the gulf Arab states.

"The two sides are in a state of cold war that has been ongoing since the Iranian revolution" in 1979, Abdul Rahman al-Rashed, general manager of al-Arabiya television, wrote in Saudi Arabia's Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.

But regional intelligence officials say this has intensified greatly since Iran launched its current drive to become the region's paramount power following the U.S.-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, the main Arab bulwark against Iranian expansionism, in early 2003.

Fears among the Sunni regimes of the gulf have been heightened by expectations that Tehran will engineer a Shiite-dominated government in Iraq that will be essentially controlled by the Iranians to the detriment of the gulf Arab states.

These fears have been heightened by the prospect that either Israel or the United States, or both, will attack Iran to eliminate its nuclear infrastructure and drag the gulf states into a conflict they're desperate to avoid.

Via InsideGoogle.com I’ve come across the Andrew McLaughlin emails released via FOIA requests (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3). I’d meant to make a 5 part series of my reading through them for signs that McLaughlin was inappropriately acting as an agent of Google from his job as White House CTO (which is an accusation that Darrell Issa is not letting drop quietly, internal slap on the write to McLaughlin or not, and is in fact expanding beyond McLaughlin). This will be a four part series this week though. We’re starting on Tuesday instead of Monday because life got in the way. Unlike some of my opposition, my advocacy on technical matters is not funded.

Anyway, let’s begin.

We find early on in Part I that McLaughlin was receiving contact initiated by Google’s Vint Cerf and copied to two other Google individuals. Cerf is an Google employee and paid to be an “evangelist.” I guess that’s what you want to call a lobbyist when you don’t want it to sound like anything Barack Obama ran against. This first contact I’m seeing was on July 28, 2009, which McLaughlin agreed to follow up with that afternoon, even sending his mobile phone number to Cerf to use in addition to his office number. Cerf wanted to talk about ICANN.

A few short months after the exchange with Cerf, the Commerce Department published an MoU with ICANN declaring a plan to transfer more power over the Internet’s DNS system from our government to ICANN. Google has been active in the DNS space, most notably with its public DNS service, which is probably worth its cost to them in data mining opportunities.

On August 13, interestingly enough Cerf appears again in McLaughlin’s inbox, promoting a need for “innovation journalism,” a concept promoted by David Nordfors at Stanford. Cerf claimed was necessary to do things like promote specific political agendas: “An uninformed democracy leads to poor quality decisions, especially those put into the hands of the public. Some of the raucus [sic] debates about health care reform can be traced to misinformation, disinformation, urban legends, and a variety of other information impairments, by way of example…. it seems to me that you, collectively, represent some of the best minds in the Obama administration who are grappling explicitly or implicity with the role of innovation in American society and might find it informative to learn more about David’s program at Stanford.” So Google is lobbying the White House to alter journalism in America? Why, that sounds just like the agenda of the neo-Marxists at Free Press. Fascinating.

Cerf seems to actively keep McLaughlin informed about his priorities, because shortly after he’s also pinging McLaughlin about the Internet Governance Forum, which Cerf wanted to support in direct opposition to the (Red) Chinese government, an entity Google has had its own disputes with recently.

And wow, on August 16 McLaughlin hints (with Cerf’s “that would be SOOOOOOO nice!” approval) that the US Government under Obama (for “8 years” in opposition to “the past 8″, getting ahead of ourselves are we?) would show “engagement, appreciation, respect, and vigor” toward ICANN and the IGF. Global governance of the Internet where previously there was US guardianship of freedom. Google asks for it, and McLaughlin delivered.

I hope Darrell Issa looks into the role Google has with the IGF, how it influenced the decision to farm out more control of the DNS system to ICANN, and whether it is proper for the White House CTO to be working so closely with Google on these matters.

Look - no hands

"You mean you have to use your hands, that's like a baby's toy" goes the famous quote from Back To The Future II when Michael J Fox's character Marty McFly shows the kids of 2015 how to use an old arcade game.

At the time (it was filmed in 1985) the idea of just being able to use "you" to control the actions of your character on the screen was stuff of sci-fi, only to be found in the fantasies of Hollywood.?Funny then that nearly 25 years later, Hollywood would be the venue for Microsoft to launch the Kinect for Xbox 360, a motion tracking accessory for its games console.

Previously called Project Natal and launched to an excited media in 2009, the accessory and the accompanying array of games that will be available to play on it are finally ready for show time.?

Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360 is here and ready to be played. We say here and we say ready, but that's not entirely true. The technology works enough for us to have spent an evening playing with it (around 3 hours), and although that's exciting enough for us to tell you what we think, you won't actually be able to get your hands on it until Christmas.?If you live in the USA that means 4 November. If you live in the UK or Europe shortly after, although one thing is for certain, you will get to play it in your home before the year is out.

So what is this "magical" device and how does it work??Kinect for Xbox 360 is a small bar that sits on a small stand beneath or on top of your television. Within that bar are a couple of cameras that track you and your friends' every move.

The clever bit is that you don't have to wear any dedicated clothing or detectors, nor do you have to hold a device like a Wii Remote.?It works out where you are, and then tracking your entire body relays that information back to the software, which decodes it and then feeds that information to the game you are playing.

If controlling your console and the games that have been designed for the Kinect system with your arms, feet, head and body wasn't enough, you can also do so with your voice, giving your console commands like you were Jean Luc Picard on the Enterprise.

From a hardware perspective there is little to it. If you've got an older Xbox 360 (the current version) you'll need to plug it into a wall socket for power and the Xbox 360 to get it to work. If you're going to have the new Xbox 360 (released in June in the US and July in the UK) then you'll be able to power it off your new console.

Once connected you get a simplified menu interface that allows you to wave your arms around to control a cursor to select icons and interact.?That means checking out your Twitter and Facebook feeds as well as watching videos or viewing pictures stored on your console.?Swiping your arm across lets you select individual shows, movies or music and you can fast forward, pause, stop, rewind and play either by giving it voice instructions "Xbox play" or moving your hands.

When you are not watching movies, you'll be able to chat to your friends - it's a video camera after all.?Here Microsoft has announced a new service called Video Kinect, which works in a similar way to Skype video calls, just without Skype's involvement.?You'll be able to talk to other users of the Video Kinect service as well as Live Chat users on their PCs.?It's not the main focus, but it's a handy aside, especially if your friends are dotted all over the world, or even just your local town.

Of course, watching videos and video conferencing aren't the core things to get excited about here, even if they let you pretend to be Tom Crusie in Minority Report (sans gloves).?No, the exciting element with Kinect is the already mounting number of games that you can play.

Microsoft have promised over 15 titles already for launch day and that doesn't include a selection of games expected for after launch and beyond in 2011.?Ubisoft, EA, Warner Bros, Sega and Lucas Arts have all promised titles for the new accessory ranging from racing games, to fitness, to playing a Jedi knight in a Star Wars spin-off.

In our 3 hours we were able to play demos of five of the 15 launch titles: Kinect Joy Ride, Kinect Sports, Ubisoft's Your Shape, Kinect Adventures and Dance Club.

Kinect Joy Ride

Kinect Joy Ride is all about driving, but at the same time not in a serious way. It's basically kart racing with jumps and stunts.

To control the action on screen you have to stand in front of your television holding your hands as if you were holding a steering wheel. To steer you move the pretend steering wheel and amazingly, and we mean amazingly, your car changes direction based on your movements.?If you want to drift you lean in that direction, while a full step left or right will force a rather big turn on the screen.

When it comes to stunts you can either lean to the side, forward, or backwards, and the latter isn't probably advisable if you've got a bad back.?There is turbo boost as well and this involves bringing both hands to your body and the pushing out as if you were firing a fireball. Not something you find yourself doing that often but you know what we mean.

Joy Ride was our first experience of the new world of gaming and we settled in very quickly, although we found that we had to be slow and purposeful to get it to respond, especially with the speed boost elements. Panic and react to quickly and the game will ignore you.

Kinect Sports

Moving on to the first of a couple of exercise titles for Kinect, Kinect Sport is like the Wii Sports, giving you a range of sports to play and master from the world of track and field, bowling and other disciplines.?The game loads up your avatar, just like Wii Sports, and away you go.

Here we played bowling, our favourite of the evening, ran the 110m hurdles, and then crowd control.?Bowling was superb, very easy to master, and very enjoyable. Tracking your every move it allows you to put left and right spin on the ball and depending on how much you move will depend on the speed you throw is as well. Yes you can even do a two-handed granny roll, although our attempts ended up in the gutter.

As for the 110m hurdles this is energetic stuff with the game reacting to how high you lift your legs to how fast you run. You've then got to jump for the hurdles (something we struggled to time right) and you'll soon find yourself huffing and puffing if you're not too fit to being with, especially if you want to get a good time.

Crowd control is just that with the crowd responding to your movements.

Kinect Adventures

Following in the theme of Joy Ride and Sports, Adventures is a fun platform title that is all about teamwork or two player head-to-head. There will be over 20 level types in total in the final game and we were allowed to play three of them.

White water rafting as the name suggests involves you steering a raft down a river through the "gates" and collecting tokens on the way. You play it either on your own or with a friend and that means you've got to work together to steer yourself in the right direction. It's great fun and like Joy Ride and Sports is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face, if not out loud laughter.

After rafting we played a level that involved collecting tokens and dodging barriers. You've got to dodge, duck, dive, and move your way out of trouble and the quicker you can learn the sequence the better.?Finally we played an updated version of Ricochet that is like racket ball.?Needless to say there is plenty of jumping, plenty of sweating and plenty of chances to make a fool out of yourself. We know we certainly did.

At the end of each level you get to see pictures of yourself from points in the game - normally of you looking silly, and you'll have the option to have them sent to a dedicated site which can then be pushed out to your Facebook or Twitter accounts.?

Your Shape

Where the Nintendo Wii had Wii Fit, Microsoft Kinect has Your Shape from Ubisoft and EA Sports Active 2, as well as a stack of dance titles already in the works. In our evening with Kinect we got hands-on with Your Shape and while we've seen EA Sports Active 2 demoed at EA's conference, we rather like the look of Ubisoft's more serious approach.

Turn the game on and standing in front your television will see you mapped. It doesn't just track your movement, but also calculates your height, your size/frame, and related stats.?Based on that information it can then decide where to put blocks for you hit, or in the case of Yoga, actually how you are supposed to stand to get into the right position.

Where Your Shape differs from EA Sports Active 2 is that Your Shape will give you an exact replica of your body on the screen relaying the information back to you in real time. Brush back your hair and it will track it, move your body and it will show you that too. It's mind-booglingly clever.

Of course there is a point, to help you lose weight and get fit and there are a number of exercises, gym sessions, training programmes and more to get you started. This really is a gym replacement as long as you've got a 1m square space in your living room.

Dance Club

Remember those dance mats you used to get? Well this is like those, but about 10,000 times better.?With around 600 dance routines to master, over 30 tracks to practice against and the promise of further content, Harmonix (the creator of the Rock Band series) are hoping that when it comes to dance this is going to be the must-have game.

And judging by our attempts (we were rubbish) they are probably right. Points are scored by following the moves exactly and there are three difficulty levels to challenge you. Get it right and you get rewarded, get it wrong and the game is over.

Here our experience wasn't too great, because of us rather than the game's inability to recognise what was happening. However people who had far more rhythm than us that we watched really got into it, strutting their stuff as if it was Saturday Night Fever.

Verdict:

Our time was brief and the console accessory isn't out until November, however we are sold. We love it. Yes you could claim we've been swayed by the excitement and hype of E3 already, but this really is a magical device that made us smile.

While the technology is original, the concept isn't entirely. Thanks to Nintendo we've been bowling in our living rooms for some time, but where Microsoft has managed to succeed here is by taking that experience and increasing it.?Ditching the controller is really liberating and is only likely to help open up the genre of interactive gaming, in the truest sense, in your living room.

With that in mind, it is fair to say that if you think the idea of the Wii with its balance board and Wii Remotes is silly, Microsoft's Kinect is unlikely to change that belief. This isn't in any shape or form lazy gaming.

However the good news is that even if you bore or tire of the Kinect features you've still got a cracking games console with plenty of decent video games either already out or to come. Add that to the entertainment functionality, Sky Player, Facebook and Twitter and whether you like Kinect or not after you've played with it you are still left with a winner, something that can't necessarily be said for the Nintendo Wii.

This is the future of gaming, and with developers already teasing us with what is possible, the journey looks like it is going to be great fun.

Tags: Gaming Xbox 360 Microsoft microsoft kinect E32010

                               

Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360 - First Look originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:07:06 +0100

by: Jeremy Duff
NEWS - EA is taking their Sports Active series beyond just the Nintendo Wii this year. EA Sports Active 2 was unveiled yesterday for the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, and the PlayStation 3. The title will include a heart monitoring peripheral to help you monitor the effectiveness of your workouts. The title will make use of each systems respective motion control schemes. Check out the trailer below:

EA: Gamer's Games

EA showed that it really wanted to connect with its fans, announcing a reward community for those who play its shooters dubbed EA Gunclub (a name so politically charged that it's certain to arrive with a bang). To support it’s new mixed martial arts game, there will also be Live Broadcast, where gamers compete like athletes and the fighters they create can become "stars." EA Active 2 will have an online social media component, with users getting profiles, fitness tips, and social networking—and the game is finally moving to other systems besides the Wii, thanks to Kinect and EA’s own motion control arm band for PS3.

Ubisoft's Games You Can Feel

Ubisoft’s event was epitomized with the slogan the company presented, “Games You Can Feel.” The games had either an emotional, visceral, or motion control component: With known titles given extra time (Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Shaun White Skateboarding), or new titles announced (trippy music game Child of Eden, Motion Sports for Kinect, and a Michael Jackson dance game announced, but not shown--a shame as we'd love to see how you have to dance in real life for this. The company also had two non-games, a physical laser-tag came with plastic guns called Battle Tag, and a Vitality Sensor-like pulse monitor called Innergy that had software to de-stress you. After all that moonwalking and "feeling" Assassin's Creed's violence, you may need it.

Activision's Games ... Er ... Party

Activision’s late night event at the Staples Center also had a point: It said of Activision, “We have a lot of money to spend to wow people.” It was a long night of DJs (Z-Trip, MauMan 5, David Guetta), Bands (Usher, Jane’s Addiction, Jerry Cantrell, NERD, RHEA, Rianna, and Eminem) ... but almost nothing about Activision's core business of games. There were no execs, no developers, no demos, no new announcements—just a few trailers to "wow" everyone, or perhaps not. There was music, fireworks, strippers on 60-foot polls, and little of any real substance.

Microsoft Rules the Day, Sony in Shadows

But this first day of E3 2010 was Microsoft’s. And not just for the morning’s announcements and demos, but because Ubisoft and EA are both supporting Kinect, the game controller killer. Meanwhile Sony's Move was apparently nowhere to be seen among these gaming giants' future plans. How much of that will change at Sony’s event tomorrow afternoon remains to be seen. Until then, 1 – Kinect, 0 – Move.

Party photo from Flickr: Saxon. Kevin had far too much fun at Activision's event to take photos.

Even in a down market, job seekers and employees are not powerless or without recourse.

In fact, they have more control over their career circumstances than they might think.

Here are 20 specific strategies and tactics that consistently generate powerful results for job seekers, even when it seems like no one is hiring.

Click here to see the 20 habits of highly-effective job seekers >

Ford R. Myers is President of Career Potential, LLC. He has held senior consulting positions at three of the nation's largest career service firms and is author of Get the Job You Want, Even When No One's Hiring.

Reprinted by permission of Ford R. Myers, a nationally-known Career Coach and author of "Get The Job You Want, Even When No One's Hiring. Download your Free Special Report, "10 Vital Strategies to Maximize Your Career Success at http://www.careerpotential.com.

See Also:

• 10 Ways To Get A Job This Summer
• Should We Fire Everyone Who Is Doing An "Adequate" Job?
• The 49 Best Ways To Find A Job In Today's Horrible Economy

Network, network, network

Continually increase your level of networking and keep expanding your contact database.

There is no substitute for connecting with people one-on-one.

Seek help

Get career support from a professional.

A qualified career coach can better prepare you to land your next position.

Read career books and attend career seminars

Being informed about business will keep you "fresh" as a candidate, and helps you consistently improve your career management and job-search skills.

Leverage technology

Utilize Web sites and online services to connect with your industry and to build greater visibility.

Create a career Web site and reach out through social networking sites such as Facebook, Linked-In and Twitter.

Differentiate yourself

Position yourself as an expert by writing articles, giving presentations, or teaching a class.

Get involved in professional organizations and assume leadership roles there.

Use your time off wisely

Pursue professional development by participating in classes, seminars, certifications and industry conferences.

Pursue a temporary, part-time, or contract position

Volunteer, provide pro bono work, take on a consulting contract, or complete an internship or apprenticeship.

All these options provide excellent "bridge job" opportunities.

Act with speed and urgency

Demonstrate that you're more serious and more determined than the competition.

Show up earlier. Arrive more prepared. Move quickly and efficiently.

Make an impression by being more responsive and assertive than other candidates.

Take care of yourself

Eat well, exercise, and get plenty of rest.

You'll need to be healthy and vital to maintain the pace of an active job search campaign.

Be flexible and adaptable

Consider shifting industries and/or being geographically mobile to open-up more career possibilities, even if you would not choose these options under normal circumstances.

Improve and enhance all the documents in your career portfolio

Craft a unified package that consistently conveys a highly professional image of yourself.  

This will include a Resume, a one-page Professional Biography, a collection of powerful Accomplishment Stories, a series of compelling Cover Letters, a page of Professional References, a list of Target Companies, and a 15-second commercial (Positioning Statement).

Identify industries that will emerge stronger when the market improves

Research emerging opportunities and niches that will offer career growth, and position yourself to take advantage of these trends.

Practice interviewing and negotiation skills

Solicit the help of a partner to role-play with you, and switch roles as needed with the questions and answers.

Practice with an audio-recording device, and listen to yourself as you continually improve your performance.

Be patient, but persistent

Be persistent, but don't be a pest, as you follow up consistently on every opportunity.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Instead, keep moving forward as you explore every appropriate opening you can find.

Focus on tangible results and practical solutions

Be persistent, but don't be a pest, as you follow up consistently on every opportunity.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Instead, keep moving forward as you explore every appropriate opening you can find.

Focus on tangible results and practical solutions

The primary question in the employer's mind will be, "What can you do for me -- now?"

This means that you should quickly identify the employer's most pressing needs and challenges -- and then explain exactly how your relevant accomplishments will allow you to successfully address those issues in the short term.

Work from a budget

Instead of going into a panic or worrying that you'll lose everything you've worked for, conduct a detailed analysis of your financial situation and develop a family budget.

You may discover that you're in a better financial position than you had thought.

Be kind to yourself

There is no longer the same stigma there used to be about being unemployed, as almost every family in America has been touched by layoffs and downsizings.

Forgive yourself, forgive your ex-employer, and forgive the world.

Move on toward a better career future.

Pay extra attention to your personal image

First impressions count.

Make a deliberate, consistent effort to present yourself in the best light.

Now is the ideal time to take stock of your appearance, and make whatever changes you feel could improve your image -- and your job search results.

Watch your attitude

Maintain a positive attitude.

Never state anything negative or act desperate.

Spend some time each day focusing-in and recalibrating your internal attitude.

Be philosophical

Try to find the life lessons and new perspectives in this transition.

Commit to yourself that, somehow, you will make this a rewarding and productive experience.

Conducting a successful job search campaign takes energy, discipline, and career support. Despite the pressures many face in today's employment market, job seekers must stay focused on their goals and search smart

Now, check out:

10 Ways To Get A Job This Summer >

Join the conversation about this story »

The 1951 refugee convention was a response to the Holocaust; but the realities of the 21st century require a broader definition

The modern concept of the refugee is essentially a 20th-century invention of law. What we would now call a refugee existed before there was a law to name them as such, of course. The Jewish people of Europe were persecuted and displaced for centuries on account of race and religion; expelled from England in 1290, banished from southern Europe by the Inquisition in the 1490s, and generally treated as second class citizens until emancipation laws in the 19th century. But all of this took place without much legal involvement. When Nazi Germany stripped Jews of citizenship rights as a prelude to genocide, it was much more than symbolic. It is indicative of law's reach over life itself. Created almost 60 years ago as a response to the Holocaust, is the 1951 refugee convention still relevant to today's refugee crises?

Its form shows that it is fundamentally a product of European legal and political history, and indeed it initially only applied to refugees from Europe. The key definition of a refugee is found at Article 1A (2):

"...owing to well- founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it."

During the first decades of the Cold War, the refugee was a politically significant figure, often presented as a symbol of the brutality of enemy regimes and the humanity of the hosts. The number of people claiming asylum in Europe was relatively very low, and the majority of applicants were happily found to meet the convention's definition.

But by the 1980s, the figure of the refugee had begun to change in the European imagination. Refugees are the exception to the normal rules of visa requirements: sovereign states are by right free to control borders against non-citizens, unless they claim to be refugees. In a world of increasing migration, this led to refugees increasingly being perceived as a threat. A key moment was the war in Sri Lanka. Thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils fled to Europe. Faced with a mass displacement of people from the global south, European states dismissed their applications, attributing their fear to "random" acts of violence rather than persecution. Appealing from Sri Lanka after being returned to face torture, some Tamils succeeded in persuading British courts to widen their understanding of who the convention could apply to.

As forces of capital increasingly demanded freedom to circulate around the globe, trade barriers were lowered and the western ideology of freedom and democracy spread. Concurrently, immigration controls have continually been tightened; and as controls were tightened, the law produced ever-increasing numbers of "illegal" people. On the one hand, the gap between the global rich and global poor widened, and economic migration became increasingly reviled (except perhaps where city bankers are concerned). On the other hand, globalisation brought new challenges and new movements of populations.

Migration is a fact of life today. There are an estimated 50 million people living as extra-legal migrants around the world. Within the EU, citizens are free to live and work where they choose. If you have money, you can buy a visa to almost any country on earth. Many factors influence choices of where people want to live, such as language, culture, love, and employment. But the rules are different for the poor. Many irregular migrants may be de facto refugees, unable to return home. Many will not be. But by focusing on race and economic cost rather than the troubles they flee, states have justified new methods to criminalise and control refugees. The clearest examples are the use of detention, exclusion from the labour market, and restricting appeal rights in "fast-track" application procedures to quickly refuse and remove asylum seekers.

The refugee has thus come to be regarded as "illegal", "bogus" or "false" if their claim is not accepted. These labels are attached to anyone whose reason to seek protection doesn't match the terms of the 1951 convention, such as women fleeing sexual violence, LGBT people persecuted for who they are, children sent away from active war zones by worried parents, or people trafficked into sexual slavery. The 1951 archetype of the political refugee does not sit well with the hard realities of the 21st century.

Yet, at the same time refugee law has proved to be incredibly flexible. Braver judges are willing to expand the law's understanding of how the convention works today, and to insist on the rule of law against the state's attempt to narrow its terms and applications. Sixty years on the convention may not be completely fit for purpose, yet it still holds out hope for the best of the European tradition of universal rights against states which grow increasingly reactionary. Human rights are of greatest importance to those who have been stripped of everything except their bare humanity, and yet still the most vulnerable are the most ignored. We must remain open to that truth.

Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton (SHS) is seeking excellent candidates for an administrative position at the high school.

Organization Overview

Founded in 1898, Sacred Heart Schools is a Roman Catholic, coeducation, independent school for students in preschool through grade twelve. Located on a beautiful, historic 63-acre campus in Atherton, California, the school includes state-of-the-art facilities designed to provide an exceptional environment for learning inside and outside of the classroom. SHS is the only independent school in the San Francisco Bay Area to provide a preschool through grade twelve program on one campus, is one of twenty-three schools in the U.S. Network of Sacred Heart Schools, and is affiliated with a network of over 150 Sacred Heart Schools worldwide. The schools’ mission is to educate the whole child to be a leader who loves God and serves others.


General Summary of Positions

This position provides clerical support for the Sacred Heart Prep Principal and Registrar, and performs receptionist duties for the high school office

Required qualifications include, but are not limited to the following:
• a copy of a valid CA Driver license, upon request.
• minimum of three years’ experience in related office environment.
• excellent computer skills and command of Microsoft Office applications, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook.
• team-player skills with strong customer service orientation.
• a high tolerance for ambiguity; priorities and tasks can change at a moments notice!
• exceptional written and verbal communication skills in English.
• ability to follow instructions and maintain high level of accuracy, confidentiality, attention to detail and excellent organizational skills.
• ability to multitask and self-motivate as an independent contributor.
• a clear understanding of the Goals and Criteria of a Sacred Heart education.
• commitment to equity and inclusion.
• ability to work well with students and with adult colleagues; willingness to be an active, enthusiastic member of the tight-knit SHS community.

Preferred qualifications include:
• prior experience in school environment.
• conversational Spanish.

Job duties include, but are not limited to:
• Regular work hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:30 pm.
• Working outside of regular hours, depending on need, including evenings, early morning and/or weekends.
• Occasional driving of school van to train station.
• Coordination of graduation activities under the direction of the Principal.
• Excellent attendance and punctuality.
• Planned absences and vacations scheduled outside of the academic year (mid-June – mid-August).
• Partnership with co-workers for sorting and delivery of campus mail.
• Maintenance of high school mail/copy room, storage and lobby.
• Maintenance of office equipment (copy machine, fax machine, etc.).
• Maintenance and ordering of office/classroom supplies for high school faculty and staff.
• Miscellaneous support, including general clerical duties such as word processing, filing, record keeping, document control, information retrieval, and data entry.

Please request formal job description for further information on tasks, responsibilities and physical demands not detailed.


Employment

This is a year-round (“12-month employee”) position.

The advertised position offers a competitive salary. SHS has a policy of making health and welfare benefits available to employees, subject to the plan parameters, including medical and dental coverage. In addition, all employees are eligible to enjoy a prepared lunch each school day starting on the first day worked.


To Apply

Please apply online by sending a resume and cover letter to hr@shschools.org.

Or, you may mail or fax your resume and cover letter to:
Sacred Heart Schools
150 Valparaiso Avenue
Atherton, CA 94027
ATTN: HR/ Prep Receptionist

Fax: (650) 472-4099

Please reference Prep Receptionist when submitting your resume and cover letter for consideration.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis; positions will remain open until filled.

Pre-employment background screening is required for all positions.

For more information on Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton, please see our website at:
http://www.shschools.org

Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton believes that each individual is entitled to equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, age, disability, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, genetic information, citizenship, veteran status, or any other class protected under federal, state or local laws.

As a faith-based institution, we reserve the right to use religion as a criterion in hiring decisions, as permitted by law, as it relates to performing essential job duties.

Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton (SHS) is seeking excellent candidates for a Student Life Office Coordinator at Sacred Heart Preparatory (High School Division).


SHS Organizational Overview

Founded in 1898, Sacred Heart Schools is a Roman Catholic, coeducation, independent school for students in preschool through grade twelve. Located on a beautiful, historic 63-acre campus in Atherton, California, the school includes state-of-the-art facilities designed to provide an exceptional environment for learning inside and outside of the classroom. SHS is the only independent school in the San Francisco Bay Area to provide a preschool through grade twelve program on one campus, is one of twenty-three schools in the U.S. Network of Sacred Heart Schools, and is affiliated with a network of over 150 Sacred Heart Schools worldwide. The schools’ mission is to educate the whole child to be a leader who loves God and serves others.


Summary of Position

This position provides clerical support for the SHP Student Life Office and for tracking and monitoring student attendance.

Required qualifications include, but are not limited to the following:
• must provide a copy of a valid CA Driver license, upon request.
• at least three years’ similar experience in related office environment.
• performs work in a manner that demonstrates trustworthiness, autonomy, quality and productivity during fluctuating periods of high and low activity.
• excellent computer skills and command of Microsoft Office applications including Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook.
• ability to learn complex administrative software.
• team-player with strong customer service orientation.
• exceptional written and verbal communication skills in English.
• ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
• a high tolerance for ambiguity; priorities and tasks can change at a moments notice!
• effective interpersonal skills.
• ability to follow instructions and maintain high-level of accuracy and confidentiality.
• attention to detail and excellent organizational skills.
• ability to multitask and self-motivate as an independent contributor.
• a clear understanding of and appreciation for the Goals and Criteria of a Sacred Heart education.
• ability to work well with 9-12 students and with adult colleagues; willingness to be an active, enthusiastic member of the tight‐knit SHS community.
• commitment to equity and inclusion.

Preferred qualifications include prior school experience, and being conversant in Spanish.

Job duties include, but are not limited to:
• regular work hours: Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• may be occasionally required to work hours outside of regular work hours, depending on business need, including evenings, early morning and/or weekends.
• may be occasionally required to drive students in school van to train station.
• provide clerical support for the Dean of Students, Associate Dean of Students and Director of Student Activities.
• collect, maintain and, as requested, report on attendance information.
• excellent attendance and punctuality is essential.
• work in partnership with coworkers to maintain copy machine and office supplies.
• maintain the physical space and lobby in the Homer Center.
• maintain in good working order all leased equipment (copy machine, fax machine, etc.).
• maintain and order supplies for SHP faculty and staff.
• miscellaneous activities, including general clerical and typing/word processing support, general filing, records-keeping, document control, information retrieval, data entry, and other similar administrative/office activities.

Please request formal job description for further information on tasks, responsibilities and physical demands not detailed.


Employment

This is a “10-month employee” position.

The advertised position offers a competitive salary. SHS has a policy of making health and welfare benefits available to employees, subject to the plan parameters, including medical and dental coverage. In addition, all employees are eligible to enjoy a prepared lunch each school day starting on the first day worked.


To Apply

Please apply online by sending a resume and cover letter to hr@shschools.org.

Or, you may mail or fax your resume and cover letter to:

Sacred Heart Schools
150 Valparaiso Avenue
Atherton, CA 94027
ATTN: HR/ Student Life Office Coordinator

Fax: (650) 472‐4099

Please reference Student Life Office Coordinator when submitting your resume and cover letter for consideration. You MUST indicate Student Life Office Coordinator in the subject line of an email submission.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis; positions will remain open until filled.

Pre‐employment background screening is required for all positions.

For more information on Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton, please see our website at: http://www.shschools.org.



Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton believes that each individual is entitled to equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, age, disability, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, genetic information, citizenship, veteran status, or any other class protected under federal, state or local laws.

As a faith-based institution, we reserve the right to use religion as a criterion in hiring decisions, as permitted by law, as it relates to performing essential job duties.

Filed under: Teens & Tweens, In The News, Education

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - When the Microsoft-designed School of the Future opened, the facility was a paragon of contemporary architecture, with a green roof, light-filled corridors and the latest classroom technology, all housed in a dazzling white modern building.

It might as well have been a fishbowl: Educators and the media from around the world watched to see whether Microsoft could reform public education through innovation in technology.

Although the school's creative ambitions have been frustrated by high principal turnover, curriculum tensions and a student body unfamiliar with laptop computer culture, the school graduates its first senior class Tuesday with every graduate headed for an institution of higher learning.

"The first three years were definitely a challenge," said Mary Cullinane, Microsoft's liaison to the school. "They're hitting they're groove now. I'm excited to see what's in store."

From the beginning, everything about the $63 million School of the Future was designed to be different.

Built in the city's rough Parkside section with district money, the school partnered with Microsoft on new approaches to curriculum, instruction and hiring. It attracted reform-minded teachers and students bent on avoiding older high schools.

The vision was for a paperless, textbook-less school that embodied the motto "Continuous, Relevant, Adaptive." Each learner would get a take-home laptop on which to keep notes, do homework and take tests.

But students are chosen by a lottery of public school students. Most are low-income and without home computers, yet they are expected to manage their high school careers on a laptop.

"I felt kind of awkward," said senior Kenneth Bolds, 17. "I was used to using books and pencils for eight years."

Educators also assumed learners would enter the school performing at grade level, but half the students in the academically troubled district haven't been proficient at reading or math.

The school's first set of standardized test scores last year were dismal. Only 7.5 percent of 11th graders scored proficient or higher in math; 23.4 percent scored proficient or higher in reading.

Cullinane notes that the school can't control who comes into the school, but said test scores don't tell the whole story.

"It is a long-term journey and we have to get away from short-term yardsticks," she said.

The project-based curriculum also caused problems because it did not translate to district benchmarks. Its interdisciplinary nature made it hard to tell what material had been taught, said Nancy Hopkins-Evans, special assistant to the district's chief academic officer.

"Our issue was that you had content and standards that you absolutely needed to cover," Hopkins-Evans said.

Report cards, too, were incompatible with the district's needs. The narrative assessments rated students from "Advanced" to "Not on the Radar" instead of giving letter grades. And the idea to replicate a professional work day by using a 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. schedule had to be altered; some students needed the traditional school day.

All the while, there were tours, tours, tours. More than 3,000 people from 50 countries have visited the school, said Cullinane, worldwide director of innovation for Microsoft Education.

Senior Mahcaiyah Wearing-Gooden, 18, said she led countless tours as a freshman, showing off computerized blackboards ("smart boards") and digital lockers that popped open by waving an ID card.

"It was a lot to process at the time," she said.

Principal Rosalind Chivis - the school's fourth - described the building's journey as "trying to build a plane while flying it."

Yet now, she said, a revamped curriculum, steady leadership and better use of resources and scheduling has yielded the "first full year of uninterrupted education."

Teacher Aruna Arjunan said part of the school's strength lies in offering a combination of academic, technical and real-world skills.

Students' familiarity with Microsoft programs make them employable straight out of high school, she said. They are also evaluated on "competencies" that Seattle-based Microsoft uses with its own employees, such as dealing with ambiguity and thinking on the fly.

"There are kids in this building who would have flunked out of other high schools," Arjunan said. "I just think the culture here is unlike any other."

All 118 seniors have been accepted to post-secondary programs, from community colleges to selective schools like Villanova University. Some, like Wearing-Gooden, weren't even considering college when they were freshmen.

This fall, Wearing-Gooden will be studying climatology on a scholarship at Green Mountain College in Vermont. She said the School of the Future offered individual attention, a supportive atmosphere and a familial dynamic that helped her realize her potential.

The hectic first years also taught Wearing-Gooden a valuable life lesson.

"It showed me that the world is not as stable as we want it to be," she said. "Now I'm ready for anything."

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL. This article was written by KATHY MATHESON, Associated Press Writer.

Related: For Michigan High School Grads, the Prize is Obama

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Peering at Birmingham; official blindness; a bee mission is aborted; gladiators saluted

Antiterror cameras peer at Birmingham

We know the UK is among the most surveilled countries, but it still surprised last week when the Guardian discovered that police have targeted 150 automatic numberplate recognition cameras on Washwood Heath and Sparkbrook, predominantly Muslim areas of Birmingham.

Local people were told that Project Champion was to fight hooliganism, vehicle crime and drug dealing. They weren't told it was paid for by a £3m ($4.3m) grant from the government's Terrorism and Allied Matters Fund, administered by the Association of Chief Police Officers. The few councillors who were briefed about the cameras, about 40 of which are covert, knew only that the money came from the Home Office. "I raised my concern then: is this really about spying?" said Salma Yaqoob, councillor for Sparkbrook. "They were very much saying, 'No, this is about burglary and crime.'"

To get TAM funds police must prove that a project will "deter or prevent terrorism"; police sources said the initiative was the first in the UK to monitor people "at risk" of extremism. When the cameras are on, residents cannot drive in or out without their movements being tracked. The areas came to attention after an investigation there into a suspected plot to kidnap and kill a British soldier.

The Met didn't look

Surveillance presumes the police will act wisely on information received. Yet also last week the Independent Police Complaints Commission made public its report about police blunders in investigating the murder of Rachel Nickell in 1992.

Robert Napper was convicted in 2008 of the murder of Nickell, who had been walking on Wimbledon Common, London, with her two-year-old son, Alex. He was also convicted of the 1993 murders of Samantha Bisset and her four-year-old daughter, Jazmine.

The IPCC report said that the Metropolitan police's many mistakes and bad decisions meant that it repeatedly failed to pick up Napper before the killings, or prevent his many violent sexual attacks.

Scotland Yard was convinced that Colin Stagg had murdered Nickell and he stood trial in 1994. The judge threw out the case, yet the Met remained convinced right up to 2001 that he was guilty. Police eventually paid him £700,000 compensation.

Police first missed a chance to catch Napper three years before Nickell's murder: in 1989 his mother told police he had confessed that he had raped someone, but no action was taken. The police then failed to follow up other tips, take his DNA samples or inquire into his actions even when he was arrested and jailed after weapons were found in his home. No officer will face disciplinary action since they have all retired; one senior detective has died.

Money for less sport

And it does not matter how much is spent on an official project, it may not work. The National Audit Office has just complained that Sport England, the government agency charged with inspiring more people to be active regularly, has missed almost all its targets. It has spent £660m of public money (from the Treasury and the Lottery) so that the London 2012 Olympics will leave a lasting legacy, but participation among key groups has in fact fallen.

Its target was to increase participation by 3% among women, black and minority communities, disabled people and lower socioeconomic groups. Never got anywhere near it: monthly participation in "active sport" fell in all but one group and among women fell by 1.6%.

Gull in a laser beam

Yet still we try to manage everything. Including the raucous urban seagull squawking above waste bins. The bird management unit at the Food and Environment Research Agency confirms that government scientists are testing lasers to deter gulls from roosting in urban areas. These would target nesting birds to disturb their breeding patterns: just to scare them, not harm.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reponds that its figures show the UK breeding population of herring gulls has declined from 750,000 pairs in 1993 to 378,000. Natural England, the government's countryside agency, this year exempted the herring gull and the greater black-backed gull from a licensing system that allows for control on health and safety grounds.

The most popular control method is egg replacement (real gull eggs are replaced in the nest by sand-filled plastic versions) or sterilising eggs by sealing them in paraffin oil. In Devon and Cornwall, councils are experimenting with hessian sacks for rubbish so that gulls cannot peck through to find food scraps. We can't win: seagull droppings become more acidic when they are upset – so much so that they can erode paintwork.

Bee mission aborted

However, when you really, really want wild critters, they decline to turn up. Natural England was about to import short-haired bumblebees from New Zealand (they were originally from the UK, transported out in the first refrigerated lamb ships in the 19th century to pollinate clover and help emigrant farmers). These bees are now extinct in the UK, and were being repatriated because of a steep decline in other British bees; they were to buzz around doing the business in Kentish orchards. But only two weeks before the homecoming, they died in hibernation. Natural England promises another generation will fly in on their international rescue mission next year.

Network misses detail

Since it's a week for epic fail, consider this: 500 revellers attended a party advertised on the social networking site Bebo. It was a lovely sunny Saturday afternoon as they strolled in their party gear across the causeway over the Firth of Forth from the mainland, near Edinburgh, to tiny, uninhabited Cramond Island.

Then the tide came in and covered the causeway, the wind rose, the rain fell and the temperature dropped. They called 999: some were evacuated by RNLI lifeboats and about 70 managed to walk back when the tide went out again overnight. Six were treated for hypothermia. Fun, huh?

Saluting the losers

Keep fighting, though you still may lose. Forensic tests on more than 80 skeletons of well-built young men, exhumed from the gardens of a York terrace, suggests we have found the world's best-preserved gladiator graveyard. Many of the 1,800-year-old remains indicate much stronger muscles in their right arms; Roman writers saw that in slaves trained from their teens to fight in the arena. Tests of tooth enamel links the men to many Roman provinces, including North Africa: they are very likely to be gladiator recruits.

Kurt Hunter-Mann of the York Archaeological Trust said some of the skeletons had been decapitated, and showed marks of hammer blows to head, probably the coup-de-grace. One man had been scarred by a large carnivore's bite, probably a lion, possibly a tiger or bear. All were buried with piles of grave goods for the afterlife, and there had been lavish funeral feasts of beef, pork and horsemeat. Gladiators were comparable to our football stars, apart from their bloody ends of course.

Dr Michael Wysocki, lecturer in forensic anthropology, said: "Nothing like the bite marks has ever been identified before on a Roman skeleton. It would seem highly unlikely that this individual was attacked by a lion or tiger as he was walking home from the pub in York 2,000 years ago."