Physician lack of knowledge on Belviq

Today I was trying to help out 2 separate people who are desperately trying to find physicians who will prescribe Belviq.  One is looking for a family member in the Miami area.  His doctor wouldn't prescribe Bevliq because they had never heard of it and wanted to "research" it. <br /><br />The 2nd actually used my primary doctor.  That Doctor left the practice and now we BOTH are in the same shoes.  She lives a little further out so I am hoping to find her a doctor in Humble.  I will use my personal contact at my orthopedics' office to try to try to find one local.  <br /><br />We need these doctors educated ASAP!!!!!  There so few Belviq pharma reps that they are already stretched thin.  They are wonderful!  Hopefully my local Belviq rep will respond to my email asking for local resources.  The one girl - her trial ended today and lost 9 pounds and she doesn't want to go long without!  I need my RX refill Friday!!!!!!!!!  <br /><br />FRUSTRATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Physician lack of knowledge on Belviq

Today I was trying to help out 2 separate people who are desperately trying to find physicians who will prescribe Belviq.  One is looking fo...

Read more »

NPR host Scott Simon tweets his mother's dying days - latimes.com

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><span class="firstLetter" style="float: left; font-size: 50px; margin-top: 11px; margin-right: 5px; margin-bottom: 1px; ">M</span></p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><em>other asks, "Will this go on forever?" She means pain, dread. "No." She says, "But we'll go on forever. You & me." Yes.</em></p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">These are the words of a son saying goodbye to his mother in the 21st century.</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><em>Mother called: "I can't talk. I'm surrounded by handsome men." Emergency surgery. If you can hold a thought for her now...</em></p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">For <a href="https://twitter.com/@nprscottsimon"><span style="color: rgb(34, 98, 204); ">Scott Simon's</span></a> 1.2 million Twitter followers, the end of his mother's story began with that wisecrack sometime around July 16.</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><em>Mother cries Help Me at 2;30. Been holding her like a baby since. She's asleep now. All I can do is hold on to her.</em></p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Most Americans know Simon by his voice: worn but fun, brightening up <a class="runtimeTopic" href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-0730-scott-simon-mom-20130730-dto,0,5370299,print.htmlstory#" data-topic-id="ORNPR0000040">NPR</a>'s "Weekend Edition Saturday." But on this weekend he was telling his story in 140-character installments on a medium more commonly used for ephemera than for navigating the suffering of an aging parent.</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><em>I love holding my mother's hand. Haven't held it like this since I was 9. Why did I stop? I thought it unmanly? What crap.</em></p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">For several days, in a hospital somewhere in Chicago, the end-of-life struggles of Patricia Lyons Simon Newman Gilband, 84, have been watched the world over. Many readers have been moved to tears, while others have had to look away, taken aback by the intimate view Scott has shared of his mother's suffering, all the way to her last breath.</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><em>I don't know how we'll get through these next few days. And, I don't want them to end.</em></p><p class="flourish" style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIjgCAeWhlhJyK29ET8ufEJPCFeZGahM2NJmsnwY1Kn_cHHpwxZ7iTo9NOAs59kr8VY_DL5ykNJeuVdmdCaZSiRK9S23ODVm3XDqx_gFpPJvZ98FSxwMQ7FC-ZYt-LTJJ4b8MhdQQG8I/s1600/prettything-721775.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5906538337614103794" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIjgCAeWhlhJyK29ET8ufEJPCFeZGahM2NJmsnwY1Kn_cHHpwxZ7iTo9NOAs59kr8VY_DL5ykNJeuVdmdCaZSiRK9S23ODVm3XDqx_gFpPJvZ98FSxwMQ7FC-ZYt-LTJJ4b8MhdQQG8I/s320/prettything-721775.png" /></a></p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">The fact that Simon's tweets have gone viral say as much about life and technology in the 21st century as they do about his ability to transform his mother's pain into poetry.</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Death wasn't always considered such a private matter. Before the 20th century, death in the United States "used to be very public," said Deborah Carr, a professor of sociology at Rutgers University who studies death, dying and bereavement. "People weren't so isolated in the hospital; funerals were at home."</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Western societies, as the historian Philippe Aries argued in 1974, began to praise quiet mourning to limit the "unbearable emotion caused by the ugliness of dying and by the very presence of death in the midst of a happy life."</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"Death, so omnipresent in the past that it was familiar, would be effaced, would disappear," Aries said. "It would become shameful and forbidden."</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Yet a different narrative has begun to take hold in the 21st century as death has collided with the age of reality TV, social media and publishing houses hungry for confessionals.</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">In 2009, British reality TV star Jade Goody's death from cervical cancer<strong> </strong>became a tabloid sensation<strong> </strong>with the aid of Goody's publicist. After pastor Rick Warren's son committed suicide in April, he memorably shared his grief over social media.</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">The ongoing transition hasn't arrived without friction. When the writer Susan Sontag died in 2004, her partner, the photographer Annie Leibovitz, documented the process, creating photographs that Sontag's son later criticized as "carnival images of celebrity death."</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Likewise, Simon's tweets about his mother have proven too powerful for some Twitter users who were also confronting loss.</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"Too soon for me to read the @nprscottsimon tweets," one user tweeted. "But I'll save for later, for when I'm ready."</p><p class="flourish" style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIjgCAeWhlhJyK29ET8ufEJPCFeZGahM2NJmsnwY1Kn_cHHpwxZ7iTo9NOAs59kr8VY_DL5ykNJeuVdmdCaZSiRK9S23ODVm3XDqx_gFpPJvZ98FSxwMQ7FC-ZYt-LTJJ4b8MhdQQG8I/s1600/prettything-721775.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5906538337614103794" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIjgCAeWhlhJyK29ET8ufEJPCFeZGahM2NJmsnwY1Kn_cHHpwxZ7iTo9NOAs59kr8VY_DL5ykNJeuVdmdCaZSiRK9S23ODVm3XDqx_gFpPJvZ98FSxwMQ7FC-ZYt-LTJJ4b8MhdQQG8I/s320/prettything-721775.png" /></a></p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><em>My mother in ICU sees Kate & Will holding baby and tears: "Every baby boy is a little king to his parents. " So I tear too.</em></p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"We usually only get to see moments like this in fiction, right?" Peter Sagal, the host of NPR's "Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me," said in a phone interview Monday.</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Sagal knows both Simon and Gilband, and has been gripped by Simon's messages. When he tried to explain Simon's tweets to a friend, "it sounds awful, exploitative and weird — but when you look at the feed, it's not."</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><em>I just realized: she once had to let me go into the big wide world. Now I have to let her go the same way.</em></p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"It's amazing to be able to watch this transpire in real life, this extraordinary weekend he's spending with his mother," Sagal said.</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"This is happening right now to people we don't know, who don't have a public radio show, who don't have 1.3 million Twitter followers. … The hospital above and around them are filled by stories like this, and it's amazingly humbling to be able to follow along with one of them."</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><em>In middle of nights like this, my knees shake as if there's an earthquake. I hold my mother's arm for strength--still.</em></p><p class="flourish" style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIjgCAeWhlhJyK29ET8ufEJPCFeZGahM2NJmsnwY1Kn_cHHpwxZ7iTo9NOAs59kr8VY_DL5ykNJeuVdmdCaZSiRK9S23ODVm3XDqx_gFpPJvZ98FSxwMQ7FC-ZYt-LTJJ4b8MhdQQG8I/s1600/prettything-721775.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5906538337614103794" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIjgCAeWhlhJyK29ET8ufEJPCFeZGahM2NJmsnwY1Kn_cHHpwxZ7iTo9NOAs59kr8VY_DL5ykNJeuVdmdCaZSiRK9S23ODVm3XDqx_gFpPJvZ98FSxwMQ7FC-ZYt-LTJJ4b8MhdQQG8I/s320/prettything-721775.png" /></a></p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Social media is playing its own role in reshaping the handling of death in American life, partially as a medium that functions as a gathering point for public mourners while giving grievers room to express themselves how they like.</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">Many followers praised Simon's openness for giving them the sense that they were not suffering alone. As one user put it, "comforting to know others are going through the same thing as my fam. May your mom pass peacefully, as I hope my father will."</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">The need for comfort is a powerful one among readers dealing with death. The publishing industry has enjoyed sales from a series of books about near-death experiences — with such titles as "90 Minutes in Heaven," "Heaven Is for Real" and "To Heaven and Back" — that have promised peeks at life on the other side of mortality. (One such bestseller, "Proof of Heaven" by Eben Alexander, recently fell under criticism after Esquire magazine published an expose questioning several details in Alexander's story.)</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">For Carr, the Rutgers sociologist, the shifts in technology and the 21st century publicity culture have come hand in hand with ongoing medical shifts that have given Americans longer lives and, in so doing, longer deaths.</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"We have many more opportunities to visit the dying person," Carr said, giving family members and friends wider windows of opportunity for seeking closure, or just getting to know one another better. The increased popularity of hospice care has also driven up the number of deaths that happen in the home, closer to family.</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"On average, there's much greater acceptance of death today," Carr said, "largely because more and more people have seen death."</p><p class="flourish" style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIjgCAeWhlhJyK29ET8ufEJPCFeZGahM2NJmsnwY1Kn_cHHpwxZ7iTo9NOAs59kr8VY_DL5ykNJeuVdmdCaZSiRK9S23ODVm3XDqx_gFpPJvZ98FSxwMQ7FC-ZYt-LTJJ4b8MhdQQG8I/s1600/prettything-721775.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5906538337614103794" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIjgCAeWhlhJyK29ET8ufEJPCFeZGahM2NJmsnwY1Kn_cHHpwxZ7iTo9NOAs59kr8VY_DL5ykNJeuVdmdCaZSiRK9S23ODVm3XDqx_gFpPJvZ98FSxwMQ7FC-ZYt-LTJJ4b8MhdQQG8I/s320/prettything-721775.png" /></a></p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">As her son tweeted from her bedside, Patricia Lyons Simon Newman Gilband — a train-car name she managed to put together from several marriages — was not completely voiceless. As her health made its final decline Monday night, a 2008 interview she gave with Simon, in which she banters with her son about living in Chicago, had already begun recirculating.</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"You've always been a lot of fun. No matter what age, we all got — we were compatible. We got along beautifully," Gilband told her son in that interview.</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><em>I know end might be near as this is only day of my adulthood I've seen my mother and she hasn't asked, "Why that shirt?"</em></p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">As their radio interview came to a close, Gilband told her son, "It's been a beautiful journey knowing you."</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><em>When she asked for my help last night, we locked eyes. She calmed down. A look of love that surpasses understanding.</em></p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">"I love you, sweetheart," she told him in 2008. "And stop crying."</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">On Monday evening, a brief tweet.</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><em>Heart rate dropping. Heart dropping.</em></p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">And then, finally, a son wrote these words:</p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><em>The heavens over Chicago have opened and Patricia Lyons Simon Newman has stepped onstage.</em></p><p style="line-height: 1.5em; max-width: 700px; font-size: medium; margin: 15px auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><em>She will make the face of heaven shine so fine that all the world will be in love with night.</em></p></div><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-0730-scott-simon-mom-20130730-dto,0,5644002.htmlstory">http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-0730-scott-simon-mom-20130730-dto,0,5644002.htmlstory</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

NPR host Scott Simon tweets his mother's dying days - latimes.com

M other asks, "Will this go on forever?" She means pain, dread. "No." She says, "But we'll go on forever. You &...

Read more »

Doctors Increasingly Ignore Evidence In Treating Back Pain : Shots - Health News : NPR

The misery of low back pain often drives people to the doctor to seek relief. But doctors are doing a pretty miserable job of treating back pain, a study finds.<br /><br><br /><br>Physicians are increasingly prescribing expensive scans, narcotic painkillers and other treatments that don't help in most cases, and can make things a lot worse. Since 1 in 10 of all primary care visits are for low back pain, this is no small matter.<br /><br><br /><br>What does help? Some ibuprofen or other over-the-counter painkiller, and maybe some physical therapy. That's the evidence-based protocol. With that regimen, most people's back pain goes away within three months.<br /><br><br /><br>But when researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston looked at records of 23,918 doctor visits for simple back pain between 1999 and 2010, they found that doctors have actually been getting worse at prescribing scientifically based treatments.<br /><br><br /><br>Doctors were recommending NSAID pain relievers and acetaminophen less often. Instead, they were increasingly prescribing prescription opioids like OxyContin, with use rising from 19 percent of cases to 29 percent. Over-the-counter painkiller use declined from 37 percent to 25 percent. Other studies have found that opioids help only slightly with acute back pain and are worthless for treating chronic back pain.<br /><br><br /><br>"That's a big public health issue," says Dr. John Mafi, chief medical resident and a fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess. Mafi was the lead author of the study, which was published online inJAMA Internal Medicine. In the 1990s doctors were criticized for ignoring patients' pain, Mafi says. Some of that criticism was valid, but doctors have overreacted. "What magic bullet better than a very powerful pain medication?"<br /><br><br /><br>About 43 percent of patients taking opioids for chronic back pain also had other substance abuse disorders, the researchers found. In 2008, almost 15,000 people died from overdoses of prescription opioids, and abuse has surged among women. Opioids may be necessary in some cases, Mafi says, but "they're certainly not first-line."<br /><br><br /><br>Doctors were also quick to whip out the prescription pad and call for CT and MRI scans for people with lower back pain, the study found. The number of people getting scans rose from 7 to 11 percent. Though those scans won't hurt the patient, in most cases they don't find anything wrong. And they are expensive, costing $1,000 or more.<br /><br><br /><br>Patients are partly to blame for the rush to scan, Mafi says. "Patients are expecting very comprehensive evaluations," he tells Shots. "There's a sentiment perhaps if my doctor ordered an MRI for my back pain they really listened to me. It's almost validating."<br /><br><br /><br>And in an era when doctors are rated online by patients, "doctors have an incentive to make patients happy," Mafi says.<br /><br><br /><br>Financial incentives for doctors may also be a factor. This study didn't examine why doctors aren't following clinical guidelines for treating back pain, but other studies have found that when doctors own imaging equipment, they are more likely to use it.<br /><br><br /><br>Doctors should be cut a little slack, a journal commentary accompanying this study says, because guidelines have been conflicted on back pain treatment until recently, and it takes 17 years, on average, for new treatment standards to be widely adopted. But creating checklist-type guidelines for doctors would help speed that process, the commentary says. So would requiring patients to pay more of the cost of expensive imaging, and providing payment incentives for doctors who do the right thing.<br /><br><br /><br>"For the majority of new-onset back pain [cases], it gets better within three months," Mafi says. "Unfortunately, we don't have fancy treatments that cure it." Time, some ibuprofen and gentle exercise aren't sexy. But they most often do the trick.<br /><br><br /><br><a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/07/30/206910829/doctors-increasingly-ignore-evidence-in-treating-back-pain">http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/07/30/206910829/doctors-increasingly-ignore-evidence-in-treating-back-pain</a>

Doctors Increasingly Ignore Evidence In Treating Back Pain : Shots - Health News : NPR

The misery of low back pain often drives people to the doctor to seek relief. But doctors are doing a pretty miserable job of treating back ...

Read more »

2nd day of fast food strikes hit Kansas City, St. Louis

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHrUbr8Qh7eRP20qPBspqmnQ3tKHoEi9K4mlU2hgsO3e0uuEXHRkrDOdSe53GiyvG7LuwMdus4F5dyE03D3RokTuB9n9_YHbY22_EqGMgNSBgVoU_urAp-5Z71szdq6o1qXl_ewnrZ3Agu/s1600/fast+food+workers+strike+in+Kansas+City.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHrUbr8Qh7eRP20qPBspqmnQ3tKHoEi9K4mlU2hgsO3e0uuEXHRkrDOdSe53GiyvG7LuwMdus4F5dyE03D3RokTuB9n9_YHbY22_EqGMgNSBgVoU_urAp-5Z71szdq6o1qXl_ewnrZ3Agu/s320/fast+food+workers+strike+in+Kansas+City.png" width="278" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fast food strike in Kansas City</td></tr></tbody></table>Fast food workers walked off the job today in Kansas City and St. Louis, fed up with poverty wages and employer retaliation. The action followed a one-day strike in New York City by hundreds of workers at fast food restaurants such as Wendy's, McDonald's and Burger King.<br /><br />In Kansas City today, a Family Dollar worker inspired by the fast food strike walked off the job and joined the action.<br /><br />Andre Houston, a McDonald's crew member in St. Louis, is featured on the "Low Wage Is Not OK" Facebook page. The message: His family relies on his salary just to live. His family can't survive on poverty wages.<br /><br />Sixty Teamster first responders in El Centro, Calif, are also <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/07/teamster-first-responders-strike.html">striking Gold Cross Ambulance</a> for a third day. They're fighting against low wages and substandard equipment that puts patients at risk.<br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16.890625px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16.890625px;">The labor unrest will continue to escalate through the rest of the week with short strikes against fast food companies in Chicago, Detroit and Milwaukee. And in San Francisco, <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/07/teamsters-to-protest-against-mckesson.html" rel="nofollow">McKesson will face a large Teamster protest</a> tomorrow because it retaliates against workers for trying to form a union. </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16.890625px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16.890625px;"><a href="http://business.time.com/2013/07/30/fast-food-strikes-unable-to-unionize-workers-borrow-tactics-from-occupy/">Time Magazine</a> compared this week's industrywide strikes to the wave of actions that galvanized the labor movement during the 1930s:</span><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16.890625px;">This week’s walk-outs seem less about truly unionizing (even though the workers’ efforts have received support from the Service Employees International Union) and more about building public momentum for a higher minimum wage. Instead of taking the traditional route of trying to reach some sort of collective bargaining agreement, they’re betting that an Occupy-style public awareness campaign, based on the idea that their wages are inherently unfair, perpetuate inequality and fail to move them up the economic ladder, will lead to change at either the state or federal level.</span></span></blockquote>Sign the petition demanding no retaliation against fast food strikers <a href="http://lowpayisnotok.org/noretaliation/?utm_campaign=LowPay&utm_medium=FBPage&utm_source=NoRetaliation">here</a>. And give them a Facebook Like <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LowPayIsNotOk">here</a>.

fast food strikes low wage workers 2nd day of fast food strikes hit Kansas City, St. Louis

Fast food strike in Kansas City Fast food workers walked off the job today in Kansas City and St. Louis, fed up with poverty wages and emplo...

Read more »

Teamsters to protest against McKesson worker retaliation

McKesson Corporation will face a large Teamster protest tomorrow outside its shareholder meeting in San Francisco tomorrow because it abuses workers at its distribution facility in Lakeland, Fla. Though McKesson employees voted for Teamster representation more than a year ago, the company still will not agree to a first contract that provides decent wages and affordable health care.<br /><br />McKesson, the largest pharmaceutical distributor in North America is retaliating against its Lakeland employees,. The company hired a union-busting law firm and has threatened and intimidated the workers rather than agree to wages they can live on.<br /><br />The San Francisco-based pharmaceutical distributor is a poster child for corporate greed and corruption.<br />Accused of stealing from taxpayers and payors by fixing drug prices, it had to pay nearly $1 billion in legal settlements. Then the board allowed CEO John Hammergren to loot the company of roughly $50 million a year, with a pension estimated at $159 billion.<br /><br />Tomorrow, McKesson will also face an investor backlash inside the shareholder meeting over the company’s excessive executive pay practices and poor corporate governance. The Change to Win Investment Group has called for a vote against Hammergren – as well as two other board members – because of the company’s pay practices and financial and reputational risks arising from widespread price fixing allegations.<br /><br />Rome Aloise, Teamsters international vice president and president of Teamsters Joint Council 7, said it's no wonder health care costs are rising.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Teamsters won’t stand by while McKesson fleeces workers, investors and the American public.</blockquote>Stay tuned. <br /><div><br /></div>

CEO Pay low wage workers union busting Teamsters to protest against McKesson worker retaliation

McKesson Corporation will face a large Teamster protest tomorrow outside its shareholder meeting in San Francisco tomorrow because it abuses...

Read more »

Potential TPP costs keep going up

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5GNPh4L9dyFEjafZgdiLgok9fpP5_M0vgNOuTOWAXZejHvGXGnGsP1spLECr7NtKsbzE1Y7RlXgK3QNdhzmGV_vRO4iWp0vuqjkx_b7TV33eLlje3d5hnhidRw71jJ4kMMouyRMMkqih/s1600/tpp.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5GNPh4L9dyFEjafZgdiLgok9fpP5_M0vgNOuTOWAXZejHvGXGnGsP1spLECr7NtKsbzE1Y7RlXgK3QNdhzmGV_vRO4iWp0vuqjkx_b7TV33eLlje3d5hnhidRw71jJ4kMMouyRMMkqih/s320/tpp.jpeg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Looking for </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-p-hoffa/congress-shouldnt-outsour_b_3618561.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">another reason to oppose a possible TPP trade deal</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">? How about this -- America could be on the hook for potentially billions of dollars if an international company sues the government because it decides our health and safety rules are getting in the way of its profits.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">South Centre, an intergovernmental think tank based in Geneva, Switzerland, </span><a href="http://www.southcentre.org/" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">details how a biased arbitration system</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> used to decide cases between corporations and countries who are members of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and “free trade” agreements is driving some nations to the financial brink:<o:p></o:p></span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Under these treaties, foreign companies can sue governments if they introduce policies that these companies deem affect their future incomes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>The treaties define “expropriation” to include depriving investors of future profits due to new regulations.</span></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So a tobacco firm has sued Australia and Uruguay for requiring cigarette boxes to have plain packaging. When Ecuador cancelled a contract with an American oil company for violating the terms of the contract, the company won took a case and was awarded US$2.4 billion.<o:p></o:p></span></blockquote></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A report released last year by two European groups explains how </span><a href="http://corporateeurope.org/publications/profiting-from-injustice" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a small group attorneys working for investors or as arbitrators have benefited from such litigation</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. The lawyers also encourage big companies to sue governments for potential fat paydays.<o:p></o:p></span><br /> <span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Among some of the findings are:</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">•<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Only 15 arbitrators, nearly all from Europe, the US or Canada, have decided 55 percent of all known investment-treaty disputes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">   </span>This small group sits on the same panels, acts as both arbitrators and counsels and call on each other as witnesses.<o:p></o:p></span></blockquote></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">•<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Many arbitrators show a clear bias towards investors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Several prominent arbitrators have been members of the board of major multinational companies, including those who filed cases against developing countries.</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">•<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A few law firms have been encouraging investors to sue governments, as a weapon to weaken or prevent laws on public health or the environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>These investment lawyers are the new “ambulance chasers” and have fuelled an increase in cases from 38 in 1996 to 450 known cases in 2011.</span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">•<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Countries have to pay exorbitant legal and arbitration costs averaging over $8 million per dispute, and exceeding US$30 million in some cases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>The Philippines spent $58 billion defending two cases against a German firm.</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The U.S could be a huge target for such litigation if it enters into the TPP deal. Our country has more stringent labor, workplace safety, health and environmental rules than many of the 11 other nations we are currently negotiating with as part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact. If we agree to the TPP, the only solution to avoid these lawsuits would be to lower our standards. That’s no solution at all.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">It's time we negotiate trade agreements that protect American workers, not the big corporations. We should be setting the standards on how to treat workers, produce the best and safest products, and protect the environment. If the TPP is going to sink the workplace standards to the level of sweatshops in Vietnam, we should pass.</span>

deregulation TPP workplace safety Potential TPP costs keep going up

Looking for another reason to oppose a possible TPP trade deal ? How about this -- America could be on the hook for potentially billions o...

Read more »

ALEC link to official who cheated on charter school grade

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisqbBvOSjWyjb8EovjG4xMi2cYSqbWLEpgNJdfwfWxgXoT2P1fAht8UrnSOvGijhszYW4rUhFQcXUFFvacYCorY1_l8XLm4Z6hyX0xpROYBXY9slOUBW_cOZWT1R-xiqBE092AFGTKVc4j/s1600/alec-exposed-600x400.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisqbBvOSjWyjb8EovjG4xMi2cYSqbWLEpgNJdfwfWxgXoT2P1fAht8UrnSOvGijhszYW4rUhFQcXUFFvacYCorY1_l8XLm4Z6hyX0xpROYBXY9slOUBW_cOZWT1R-xiqBE092AFGTKVc4j/s320/alec-exposed-600x400.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>There's an <a href="http://alecexposed.org/">ALEC</a> link (what a shock) to the Indiana school superintendent who inflated the grade of an outsourced school run by a wealthy political donor. <br /><br />Our friends at the <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/07/12198/former-indiana-superintendent-lauded-alec-and-education-privatizers-cheats-school">Center for Media and Democracy</a> found the ALEC link. We're cross-posting their story below: <br /><br />New documents show that former Indiana Schools Superintendent Tony Bennett -- who now heads Florida's schools -- overhauled Indiana's much-heralded school grading system to guarantee that a charter run by a major campaign donor would receive top marks. These revelations shine a light on the big bucks behind the education privatization agenda, its continued failure to meet the need of students, and provides another instance of cheating to cover up poor educational outcomes.<br /><br />Bennett had been applauded by education privatizers like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) for enacting reforms like school grading, vouchers, and anti-union measures. He was a <a href="http://www.alec.org/nearly-1000-state-legislators-business-leaders-and-public-policy-experts-discuss-free-market-solutions-to-creating-jobs-at-alecs-states-nation-policy-summit/">keynote</a> <a href="http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/at_arizona_gathering_alec_teac.html">speaker </a>at ALEC’s December 2011 States and Nation Policy Summit, and the education reforms he pushed <a href="http://www.alec.org/model-legislation/indiana-education-reform-package/">were adopted by ALEC</a> <a href="http://www.commoncause.org/atf/cf/%7BFB3C17E2-CDD1-4DF6-92BE-BD4429893665%7D/education_35-day_mailing%20-%20new%20orleans.pdf">in August 2011</a> as a stand-alone bill called the "Indiana Education Reform Package" -- in no small part because they reflected ALEC model legislation.<br /><br /><b>"This will be a HUGE problem for us"</b><br /><br />Christel DeHaan, a big Republican donor in Indiana and school privatization supporter, gave Bennett an astounding $130,000 in campaign contributions for his 2008 and 2012 elections. But when DeHaan's Christel House charter school received a "C" last September under Bennett's grading system, he and his staff scrambled to fix it, according to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/29/tony-bennett-indiana_n_3672196.html?utm_hp_ref=tw">emails obtained by the Associated Press</a>.<br /><br />"They need to understand that anything less than an A for Christel House compromises all of our accountability work," Bennett wrote in a Sept. 12 email to then-chief of staff Heather Neal, who is now Gov. Mike Pence's chief lobbyist.<br /><br />Bennett had made the A to F grading system a signature item of his 2011 radical education reforms, which he spearheaded with the support of then-Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and <a href="http://stateimpact.npr.org/indiana/2011/12/16/meet-the-influencers-the-american-legislative-exchange-council/">ALEC legislators in the state</a>. Bennett often cited Christel House as a model charter school as he secured support for his education overhaul, and <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/documents/ineds/ed2.pdf">according to the emails</a> had assured the Chamber of Commerce and legislative leaders that Christel was an "A" school.<br /><br />"This will be a HUGE problem for us," Bennett wrote to Neal about the school's "C" grade. <br /><br />Neal emailed back a few minutes later: "Oh, crap. We cannot release until this is resolved."<br /><br />"Legislative leadership as well as critics of A-F are going to use this against us to undo our accountability metrics through legislation," Bennett wrote in another email. "I hope we come to the meeting today with solutions and not excuses and/or explanations for me to wiggle myself out of the repeated lies I have told over the past six months."<br /><br />According to the Associated Press, Bennett's staff scrambled to alter the grading system over the next week, and Christel House's grade jumped twice, eventually reaching an "A." <br /><br /><b>Indiana Has No Campaign Contribution Limits</b><br /><br />In most states, a donor like DeHaan would be prohibited from directly giving a candidate tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, but Indiana has no campaign contribution limits for superintendent.<br /><br />Bennett, first elected in 2008, <a href="http://stateimpact.npr.org/indiana/2012/08/02/interactive-map-whos-giving-money-in-the-campaign-for-state-superintendent/">raised an astounding amount of money</a> for his 2012 reelection campaign: DeHaan gave $75,000, and was one of Bennett's top donors, behind Wal-Mart heir Alice Walton, another major school privatization funder, who gave him $200,000. <a href="http://inschoolmatters.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/indiana-superintendent-campaign-finance-the-rich-vs-the-many/">Other donors</a> included voucher proponent Eli Broad ($50,000) and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ($40,000).<br /><br />He also got <a href="http://stateimpact.npr.org/indiana/2012/08/02/interactive-map-whos-giving-money-in-the-campaign-for-state-superintendent/">$45,000</a> from Hoosiers for Education Reform, a group bankrolled by the DeVos family's American Federation for Children, which itself has run into some campaign finance problems. <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/05/12101/issue-ad-charade-american-federation-children-uncovered-wisconsin">As CMD has documented</a>, AFC boasted to funders in 2012 that it spent $2.4 million in Wisconsin helping elect nine Wisconsin state legislators, but told the state's Government Accountability Board that it spent only $345,000 that year. <br /><br />But despite significantly outraising his opponent, voters rejected Bennett and his education reform agenda, in what the head of the teacher's union called the biggest upset in Indiana history. <br /><br />Money may not have bought that election, but given these latest email revelations, it sure did seem to buy some special treatment.<br /><br /><b>How Common is Cheating?</b><br /><br />For years, educational reformers have promoted the notion that schools need to be run more like a business, with "competition" from for-profit entities and increased "accountability" through testing regimes. But the promised improvements in educational outcomes have not followed, apparently leading some to cook the books.<br /><br />Perhaps the best-known cheating scandal came from former Washington, D.C., school Chancellor Michelle Rhee, whose controversial reforms had been credited with improving test scores in the District's schools -- an accomplishment that has been cast into doubt by evidence of widespread cheating, where teachers or school officials appeared to change students' incorrect test answers to improve results. Investigations have found extremely high erasure rates that were statistically anomalous, and <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/post/surprise-dc-admits-school-test-tampering-at-meridian-public-charter/2013/04/25/818ccb2e-ad66-11e2-a8b9-2a63d75b5459_blog.html">some charter schools have been cited</a>. <br /><br />Despite these scandals, both Rhee and Bennett have moved on to greener pastures. After resigning from her position in 2010, Rhee went on to found the 501(c)(4) StudentsFirst, and after Bennett's election loss in Indiana, he was appointed by Florida Governor Rick Scott to head that state's school system.

ALEC Indiana privatization ALEC link to official who cheated on charter school grade

There's an ALEC link (what a shock) to the Indiana school superintendent who inflated the grade of an outsourced school run by a wealth...

Read more »

Day 3: Teamster first responders strike against low wages in CA

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIPQa4bdExLJdoovg0CrwpI4BQPqAjxuihKNGpzV5ghYXDYGBrtJpvdvCCICzPPboc62jax1V_6uNgzuL58ksXC8gFEpQnCwnfAghv1ifMFX46Fl7K7aYBUEz8vVNYi1hoeptSRAEK5p0T/s1600/Teamsters+strike+Gold+Cross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIPQa4bdExLJdoovg0CrwpI4BQPqAjxuihKNGpzV5ghYXDYGBrtJpvdvCCICzPPboc62jax1V_6uNgzuL58ksXC8gFEpQnCwnfAghv1ifMFX46Fl7K7aYBUEz8vVNYi1hoeptSRAEK5p0T/s400/Teamsters+strike+Gold+Cross.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teamster first responders picketing Gold Cross ambulance.</td></tr></tbody></table>Teamster first responders for Gold Cross Ambulance are on<a href="http://www.kyma.com/slp.php?idN=8646&cat=Local+News"> strike for a third day</a> in their fight for a wage that allows them to feed their families and pay for medical coverage.<br /><br />Sixty of our Teamster brothers and sisters in El Centro, Calif., are standing strong against Gold Cross Ambulance, which pays them starting hourly wages ranging from $8.78 to $9.77<span style="color: #114477; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span> for saving lives as ambulance drivers, EMTs and paramedics. They are members of Teamsters Local 542 in San Diego.<br /><br />Phil Farias, president of Teamsters Local 542, said the Teamsters deserve a fair wage, better benefits and decent working conditions:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">These are dedicated employees who want to do this work, who want to serve their community.</blockquote>The Teamster first responders are joining a wave of strikes engulfing low-wage employers around the country. Labor unrest is escalating this week with a series of shorts strikes against fast-food companies. Hundreds walked off the job at Wendy's, McDonald's and KFC yesterday in New York. Today low-wage workers went on strike in Kansas City and St. Louis, while more workers are expected to strike in Chicago, Detroit and Milwaukee over the next few days.<br /><br />In California, <a href="http://www.kyma.com/slp.php?idN=8646&cat=Local+News" rel="nofollow">KYMA News</a> reports: <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Alex Ochoa has been working for Gold Cross Ambulance as a paramedic for 13 years. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">"We're running out on calls--we break down going to a call. Or we have a patient on board--A/C's not working in the back. We're handing them ice packs and apologizing to them," Ochoa said.</blockquote>Despite the 106 degree heat, the employees on strike are out 24 hours a day holding signs near the corner of Imperial Avenue and Vine Street in El Centro.<br /><br />“Our members are strong and they will stay out for as long as it takes to get a fair contract,” Farias said.<br /><br />

Day 3: Teamster first responders strike against low wages in CA

Teamster first responders picketing Gold Cross ambulance. Teamster first responders for Gold Cross Ambulance are on strike for a third day ...

Read more »

NC Teamsters in biggest Moral Monday protest yet

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXuUOmBXhyphenhyphencSGcyQVUlecM-3RPPi8dwCnips7iI6ID2oatd3js1NgbhBoWKrGu94PsfnCbJ7_7uQV4cNPiMUKiMwoaEtDfo1WL2nq_IrwvPo_FhLpHEGE4jSsrVRKWGCblVeRs6cOMAAmA/s1600/7-30moralmonday2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXuUOmBXhyphenhyphencSGcyQVUlecM-3RPPi8dwCnips7iI6ID2oatd3js1NgbhBoWKrGu94PsfnCbJ7_7uQV4cNPiMUKiMwoaEtDfo1WL2nq_IrwvPo_FhLpHEGE4jSsrVRKWGCblVeRs6cOMAAmA/s400/7-30moralmonday2.jpg" title="Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Raleigh, N.C. to speak out against anti-worker legislation." width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moral Monday protesters rallied against the anti-worker Legislature.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Teamsters were among the </span><a href="http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2013/07/30/moral-monday-13-teachers-march-on-raleigh/" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">10,000 Moral Monday protesters</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> who marched through the streets of Raleigh, N.C., last night to voice their disgust for a slate of anti-worker initiatives approved by the Legislature this year. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the largest of the weekly protests that resulted in 925 arrests for civil disobedience.</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lawmakers gutted public education, cut taxes for corporations while raising them for working and middle-class families more and suppressed voting. They cut unemployment and Medicaid benefits. While elected officials disappeared after recessing for the year last week, demonstrators at the 13^{<span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span>} Moral Monday event met on the Statehouse grounds before marching downtown through the state capital. Organizers plan to take the show on the road with similar protests scheduled to be held across the state in the weeks to come. The first is planned for Asheville, N.C., on Monday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Randy Conrad, a Teamsters Local 71 organizer in Charlotte, said several of his members were in attendance yesterday to express their outrage at the direction Gov. Pat McCrory and legislators are taking the state:</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We are pretty upset, even those people who voted for them. I can’t wrap my head around what they are trying to accomplish.<o:p></o:p></span></blockquote></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Many protesters yesterday were teachers outraged about budget provisions that freeze their pay – already among the lowest in the nation – while ending tenure and taking away salary incentives for them to earn master’s degrees. <a href="http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2013/07/30/moral-monday-13-teachers-march-on-raleigh/" rel="nofollow">Several said they could be forced to move elsewhere is search of fairer wages</a>.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Forsyth County teacher Frankie Santoro, who attended the march with fellow teacher Sara Thompson, said:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Without a doubt, we are both thinking of leaving the state. And we believe there will be a mass exodus of teachers from North Carolina.</span></blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Denise Jordan, a Guilford County parent who came to the rally with several of her local teachers, </span><a href="http://cdn.optmd.com/V2/44508/50487/index.html?g=Af////8=&r=www.news-record.com/news/local_news/article_3896765a-f8c4-11e2-943e-0019bb30f31a.html" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">said the Legislature went too far</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Enough is enough. You can’t make a state better if we’re going to totally destroy education.</span></blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gov. McCrory and the Legislature are fulfilling the anti-worker agenda pushed by </span><a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/02/heres-billionaire-trying-to-destroy.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">greedy billionaire Art Pope</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, an </span><a href="http://www.alecexposed.org/" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ALEC</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">disciple and </span><a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2011/10/bombshell-kochs-sold-oil-equipment-to.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strike>Benedict Arnold</strike></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Koch brothers buddy who got himself appointed state budget director after financing a number of radical politicians’ campaigns.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, Moral Monday organizers -- led by the NAACP’s state chapter -- said they are not backing down and will continue through next year’s election.</span></span>

NC Teamsters in biggest Moral Monday protest yet

Moral Monday protesters rallied against the anti-worker Legislature. Teamsters were among the 10,000 Moral Monday protesters who marched th...

Read more »

New Upheaval in Technology world is going on with new Launching of a Wearing camera

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Using a camera, which can be wearable easily and one can visit anywhere without the headache of losing or forgive anywhere, sounds good. Just wear it and take a picture when you want, with a single click.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wearing Technology, the market is still undefined but are accepted by more than geeks and gadgets in the market. The word “Wearable” is sounds confusing in the technology world but today the market is going in the forward direction only.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the technology world the new technique (Wearable technology) in gadgets is growing much more in compare with other techniques. According to this technology, just worn the gadget on the body and it will do everything from body performance and movement. There are many gadgets in the market which can be wearable </span>doesn't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> matter it is a <a href="http://pc-gadgetworld.blogspot.in/search/label/google" target="_blank">Google</a> glass or eye watch of <a href="http://pc-gadgetworld.blogspot.in/search/label/sony" target="_blank">Sony</a>.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lKl6oTYKATr5W6Qoz7IwfzUWkDMDxpYbp7AluRYcNUPRhELMqkvj4_jcSUYeIneIgOFQfIU_439UVA-8VW2qDknwJTNJeZfkvFtoPBFgPOc8g9E0ordivjTj8Kl6D_BatFWPgmRy9VI/s1600/Wearable+camera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lKl6oTYKATr5W6Qoz7IwfzUWkDMDxpYbp7AluRYcNUPRhELMqkvj4_jcSUYeIneIgOFQfIU_439UVA-8VW2qDknwJTNJeZfkvFtoPBFgPOc8g9E0ordivjTj8Kl6D_BatFWPgmRy9VI/s1600/Wearable+camera.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: dainikbhaskar</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">This new wearable camera has been developed with some special features like it has capacitive sensors, high resolution etc. This new wearable camera is of approx. 5 MP and can capture up to 1800 most valuable moments of your life. If we talk about the Google glass then it has features of record videos, showing messages including the feature of taking pictures. Google glass can find required information for the user, provide feature of </span>Google<span style="font-family: inherit;"> maps and more.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">This wearing camera may become an essential tool in protecting public safety through effective utilization of police resources. The gatekeeper may also use this camera for the safety of the colony. </span><br /><div><br /></div></div>

Camera gadget google Technology New Upheaval in Technology world is going on with new Launching of a Wearing camera

Using a camera, which can be wearable easily and one can visit anywhere without the headache of losing or forgive anywhere, sounds good. Jus...

Read more »

UNITED NATIONS - OUTSOURCING PEACEKEEPING

<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true" DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99" LatentStyleCount="267"> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Normale Tabelle"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes;"> </span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUCR4i4CRjDhmgbFUYAWp5d3tDxeuT3fJ-lN5G__QTE9-3JR7tWdFuHnmccdaLHAld1Dvxd1-T0lUniKpnZZopRW-5-PrC1tJO8y8JoJ4hB53hoYpkQaykQagTJ3Ax8EwENwHYNm3dz7nx/s1600/united-nations-flag-icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUCR4i4CRjDhmgbFUYAWp5d3tDxeuT3fJ-lN5G__QTE9-3JR7tWdFuHnmccdaLHAld1Dvxd1-T0lUniKpnZZopRW-5-PrC1tJO8y8JoJ4hB53hoYpkQaykQagTJ3Ax8EwENwHYNm3dz7nx/s1600/united-nations-flag-icon.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">UNITED NATIONS MULLS USE OF MERCENARIES FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERVENTIONS </span></b></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2013/07/26/UN-mulls-use-of-private-security-groups/UPI-33211374858786/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">Source: UPI</span></b></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">UNITED NATIONS is assessing private military and security companies and their commitment to international norms, an envoy said from New York</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The UNITED NATIONS announced a panel discussion on the use of mercenaries and private security companies is scheduled in due course at U.N. headquarters.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Group director Anton Katz said the UNITED NATIONS has an opportunity to influence the standards and behavior of the private security industry in a way that puts it in line with international human rights laws.Katz said the working group would assess a draft measure which would provide an overview of U.N. policies on mercenaries and private contractors.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The UNITED NATIONS should serve as a model for world governments and other organizations in its use of private military and security companies,” he said in a statement Friday. “Without proper standards and oversight, the outsourcing of security functions by the UNITED NATIONS to private companies could have a negative effect on the effectiveness and image of the UNITED NATIONS in the field.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A working group on mercenaries during meetings in 2011 found “considerable” evidence that LIBERIAN mercenaries were involved in the post-election conflict in neighboring <a href="http://www.upi.com/topic/Ivory_Coast/" title="Ivory Coast"><span style="color: blue;">IVORY COAST</span></a>. Foreign fighters in LIBYA were reportedly used by the former regime of <a href="http://www.upi.com/topic/Moammar-Gadhafi/" title="Moammar Gadhafi"><span style="color: blue;">Moammar Gadhafi</span></a> to repress peaceful demonstrations against the government during the 2011 civil war.</span></div>

UNITED NATIONS - OUTSOURCING PEACEKEEPING

UNITED NATIONS MULLS USE OF MERCENARIES FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERVENTIONS Source: UPI UNITED NATIONS is assessing private military and secur...

Read more »

Police, firefighters now in Walker's union-busting sights

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="236" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/MNJdJbpj1GE" width="420"></iframe><br />Wisconsin <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/06/scott-walker-still-kills-jobs-better.html" rel="nofollow"><strike>Job-killer</strike></a> Gov. Scott Walker now says he wants to destroy collective bargaining rights for police and firefighters.<br /><br />If you're surprised by this, you haven't been paying attention.<br /><br />Walker exempted police and firefighters in 2011 from his infamous Act 10 in 2011 -- the one that caused <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Wisconsin_protests">massive, month-long protests in the state Capitol</a>. Act 10 was Walker's attempt to crush his political opponents -- unions representing teachers, snow plow drivers, solid waste workers and nurses -- by eviscerating their right to bargain collectively. <br /><br />Wisconsin's police and firefighters are not stupid. They stood with their public-sector brothers and sisters during the protests.<br /><br />Walker's plan was clear from the beginning. He was even <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-richards/scott-walker-the-divide-c_b_1528638.html" rel="nofollow">caught on camera</a> divulging his "divide and conquer" strategy to a billionaire,<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2012/05/walkers-divide-and-conquer-donor-paid.html" rel="nofollow"> tax-avoiding donor </a>in January 2011. Now he's putting it into play.<br /><br /><a href="http://fox6now.com/2013/07/29/gov-walker-opens-door-to-act-10-expansion/" rel="nofollow">FOX News</a> in Milwaukee reported the story:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"> Police and fire unions were exempted from the reforms, but now, Gov. Scott Walker has suggested expanding Act 10 to include those unions. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">“I think now, for those areas, having seen that the world didn’t come to an end for other municipal employees, there might be a greater opening going forward because they’d say, ‘hey, you know, things worked out,’” Gov. Walker said Monday, July 29th... </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Gov. Walker says the reason for that was public safety. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">“If I had one jurisdiction where somebody walked off, or didn’t come to work or slowed down on things, and someone was injured or killed because of that — I said I can’t deal with that,” Gov. Walker said.</blockquote>The obvious question is why he didn't do it earlier if safety was such a concern?<br /><br />Maybe he was too busy <a href="http://host.madison.com/news/local/writers/mike_ivey/report-scott-walker-th-of-governors-on-job-growth/article_cb6dcfd2-e019-11e2-9637-001a4bcf887a.html" rel="nofollow">killing jobs</a>. The fact is things haven't "worked out" for other municipal employees, as Wisconsin's economy has been in the toilet since -- oh, just about the <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/06/scott-walker-still-kills-jobs-better.html">time Walker took office</a>.

Police, firefighters now in Walker's union-busting sights

Wisconsin Job-killer  Gov. Scott Walker now says he wants to destroy collective bargaining rights for police and firefighters. If you're...

Read more »

Daiya Foods Review

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G5qC5NiWpS8/UffWuWFBSzI/AAAAAAAAI2g/LQti8r8riwM/s1600/Daiya+cheese+foods+review+with+food+should+taste+good+chips+campaign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G5qC5NiWpS8/UffWuWFBSzI/AAAAAAAAI2g/LQti8r8riwM/s320/Daiya+cheese+foods+review+with+food+should+taste+good+chips+campaign.jpg" width="320" /></i></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Whether you have a food allergy such as dairy, gluten or just watching that figure  <a href="http://daiyafoods.com/">Daiya Foods</a> are right up your alley!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I've seen their products in stores before and have wanted to try them for quite some time now because as you may know I've been on a mission to get healthier and lose weight!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I then checked them out on the web to learn more about them and their products and here's what I learned.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Cheesy Melty Facts:</i></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Dairy Free</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Gluten Free</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Soy Free</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Free of Artificial ingredients and preservatives</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Free of Hormones</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7fEKoiY-X00/Ugg5KEe3jTI/AAAAAAAAJHE/feG2oC1C4RM/s1600/13+-+1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7fEKoiY-X00/Ugg5KEe3jTI/AAAAAAAAJHE/feG2oC1C4RM/s320/13+-+1" width="240" /></i></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I loved the cheese lovers pizza ! Offered the right amount of sauce and was super cheesy! Loved it!</i></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Products:</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Pizza</i></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Cheese Lovers</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Fire Roasted Vegetable</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Margherita</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Mushroom and Roasted Garlic</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Cheese Slices</i></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Provolone</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Cheddar</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Swiss</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Cheese Shreds</i></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Cheddar</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Pepper jack</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Mozzarella </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span><br /><div><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Cream Cheese Style Spreads</i></span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Chive and Onion</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Strawberry</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Plain</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Cheese Wedges</i></span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Jalapeno Garlic Havarti</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Cheddar</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Jack</i></span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br />I was sent some coupons for free products of my choosing!</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I bought the mozzarella shreds and the cheddar wedge so far but can't wait to try more products!</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /> Cheddar cheese wedge-</i></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZkkyOaCSTwY/UfghQpqpwtI/AAAAAAAAI3E/ieI_Y5xz8Ag/s1600/13+-+1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZkkyOaCSTwY/UfghQpqpwtI/AAAAAAAAI3E/ieI_Y5xz8Ag/s320/13+-+1" width="320" /></i></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br />What I loved about this cheese is that it's easy to slice and it's creamy and delicious! Worked great for lunch this afternoon which was chicken nachos with black beans, salsa, guacamole and chips!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Mozzarella Shreds-</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LdlzK4IwBEo/UhUnMaTf0DI/AAAAAAAAJU8/5BUF_Hsn3Lc/s1600/daiya+burrito.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LdlzK4IwBEo/UhUnMaTf0DI/AAAAAAAAJU8/5BUF_Hsn3Lc/s320/daiya+burrito.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>This cheese is great for pizzas, salads, baked potatoes, nachos, or even on steamed veggies for added flavor!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>What I loved about the cheese was that it didn't take a long time to melt at all and the stringy effect of the cheese was just right when taking the first bite!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I have to admit I've never tasted anything like it before in my life, I usually go for real dairy kind of cheese but this one right here is delicious !</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>It has a bit of a different flavor but so good and worked great in my meal pictured above!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Website:</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://daiyafoods.com/"><i>http://daiyafoods.com/</i></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Face Book:</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/daiyafoods"><i>https://www.facebook.com/daiyafoods</i></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Twitter:</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/daiyafoods"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>https://twitter.com/daiyafoods</i></span></a></div>

Daiya Foods Review

Whether you have a food allergy such as dairy, gluten or just watching that figure   Daiya Foods  are right up your alley! I've seen the...

Read more »