The Worst Blog Post Ever

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />Hola y’all! Man, I don’t know why everything has to be such a hassle. You might remember the ridiculous effort it took to just change out a burned-out tail light back in the summer on my car? Well, that thing is at it again, causing trouble. Now it’s the windshield wipers. What could be more basic than that, right? WRONG! You can’t just use ANY wipers. Oh no! The driver’s side gets a different size than the passenger’s side and apparently not too many people make any that will fit.<br /><br />My plan is to try and find just the blades and see if I can rip the old ones out (they’re already ripped anyway) and then slide new ones in. But, we all know I’m going to end up having to get the expensive shit and use some stupid adapter to make them fit. Why do car companies do this? Can we drop another atomic bomb on Japan to make me feel better? Please?<br /><br />It’s always the little things isn’t it? When big things happen, you just sit back, take it all in and then figure out how to deal with it and move forward. But, the little things? Things that should only take a few minutes out of your day and be simple that turn into huge half-day efforts full of running all over town and getting dirty? That’s when you have to keep your cool.<br /><br />I really should work on that. Maybe I’ll make that my New Year’s Resolution. Or not. I can’t be bothered by shit like that right now, I’m too focused on getting ready for my big trip.<br /><br />Shit. You know what? This is the worst blog post I’ve ever done. And that’s saying something too cause I’ve done some stinkers. I’m talking about my windshield wipers like y’all give a crap. I’m sure each of you are on the edge of your seat saying “Damn! Which company still makes wipers that fit your car? Hope it’s not Rain-X cause that’s some expensive shit right there. I know it isn’t Bosch cause they never make anything anyone needs. Or something. I don’t really know, I just read it on the internet.”<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgToSirKuGXSyScq0Mz2pzJtUjr_IjAo7zmcClTP_URnr9jA94WzA_Vw1_uo9u5xoGoNbdg1eKw3S8bYENqo2HowUFJ4_-r5v04gB7Wi_yOmERB3CZgOSpUZCHKMP5Vs736d_EkuXhh_Q0/s1600/Miranda+Kerr+Victoria%27s+Secret+Nude+Hot+Sexy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgToSirKuGXSyScq0Mz2pzJtUjr_IjAo7zmcClTP_URnr9jA94WzA_Vw1_uo9u5xoGoNbdg1eKw3S8bYENqo2HowUFJ4_-r5v04gB7Wi_yOmERB3CZgOSpUZCHKMP5Vs736d_EkuXhh_Q0/s640/Miranda+Kerr+Victoria's+Secret+Nude+Hot+Sexy.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><br />Yeah well, EXCUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEE MEEEEEEEE! I live a very quiet and boring life. The only exciting thing that happened to me all year was when my apartment building nearly burned to the ground a couple of weeks ago.<br /><br />I was originally going to outline my reasons for wanting Arkansas to secede from the union, but I don’t really have any. I mean, what would Arkansas do as an independent country? We can’t even field a decent football team. Our state army would get its ass kicked so fast it wouldn’t even be funny. Probably by Louisiana as they seem like the mostly likely to start some shit with other states that have seceded and are giving it a go as an independent nation. Then Louisiana would control our precious rice fields and they would get to export the rice to Asia and make all that money. Fuck that.<br /><br />Unless we entered into some kind of alliance with Texas and they agreed to whip up on anyone who messed with us. That would be a pretty sweet deal. They probably wouldn’t do it. Texas wouldn’t get anything good out of it. What could we offer them? Not a damn thing. So, that whole secession idea sucks.<br /><br />Oh hey! I’m closing in on 600 words. That means it’s time to wrap it up. You never want a blog post to be too long because people have really short attention spans. I mean, people are busy. Yeah, that’s it.<br /><br />So what have we learned today kids? My car needs wiper blades that aren’t easy to find, little things get annoying really fast and Arkansas wouldn’t last two days as an independent nation. I’m pretty sure none of that shit matters to you, but there you go.<br /><br />Jayman<br /><a href="mailto:Jayman3768@gmail.com">Jayman3768@gmail.com</a><br /><a href="http://www.twitter.com/jayman_iws" target="_blank">@Jayman_IWS </a><br /><br /></div><br />Be sure to check out the I'm With Stupid show! We're hilarious!<br /><br /><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.adobe.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" height="270" id="143577" name="143577" width="210"><param name="movie" value="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf?file=http://www.blogtalkradio.com%2Fim-with-stupid%2Fplay_list.xml%3Fitemcount%3D5&autostart=true&bufferlength=5&volume=80&corner=rounded&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/flashplayercallback.aspx" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf" flashvars="file=http://www.blogtalkradio.com%2fim-with-stupid%2fplay_list.xml%3Fitemcount%3D5&autostart=true&shuffle=false&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/FlashPlayerCallback.aspx&width=210&height=270&volume=80&corner=rounded" width="210" height="270" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="high" wmode="transparent" menu="false" name="143577" id="143577" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object><br /><div style="font-size: 10px; text-align: center; width: 220px;">Listen to <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/">internet radio</a> with <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid">Im With Stupid</a> on Blog Talk Radio<br /><br /></div></div>

The Worst Blog Post Ever

Hola y’all! Man, I don’t know why everything has to be such a hassle. You might remember the ridiculous effort it took to just change out a ...

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When we were 5....

<span style="font-size: large;">My twin sister and I had our birthday the other day.  Amy sent me a birthday wishes text along with this cute pic of the two of us when we were 5.  I love it!</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Would you believe we dressed the same for a few years after this picture was taken?!! (I won't embarrass myself by saying for exactly how many years!)</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyDwHyOiy1boK-lyJIs_rJtCo6kzx_ZbcAT5LFIjpSB83wlwPtqxlkOpRRwBav0CJHKNvUM0Cicpy52PCClErl7dBEVUddD0_JhmUrGOq3RE1XkXaSMqRNjh53re2zQY74rYt0vKRBS5PJ/s1600/IMG_2384%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyDwHyOiy1boK-lyJIs_rJtCo6kzx_ZbcAT5LFIjpSB83wlwPtqxlkOpRRwBav0CJHKNvUM0Cicpy52PCClErl7dBEVUddD0_JhmUrGOq3RE1XkXaSMqRNjh53re2zQY74rYt0vKRBS5PJ/s320/IMG_2384%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>

When we were 5....

My twin sister and I had our birthday the other day.  Amy sent me a birthday wishes text along with this cute pic of the two of us when we w...

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Library Manager - The Hospital of Central Connecticut

<b>Library Manager - </b><span style="color: #48286d;"><b>The Hospital of Central Connecticut</b></span><b> </b>has an excellent opportunity for a Library Manager to join our Health Sciences Library. Reporting to the Director of Medical Education, the Manger will direct the activities of the Health Sciences Library, including strategic planning, development, evaluation, and outreach functions. Administrative responsibilities include: personnel management, space planning, fiscal management, collection development, outreach, quality improvement, and maintenance of resource-sharing arrangements with library consortia. Direct Service responsibilities include: advanced computer information retrieval, reference, and teaching. The qualified candidate will have an MLS with three years of relevant health sciences library experience. Expert knowledge of several computer-based systems including: biomedical online information databases and web services (e.g. Medline via NLM’s PubMed; DOCLINE; OVID databases; OCLC cataloging and ILL) is also required. Skills in using automated library system applications and proficiency in MS Office are also essential. For more information, and to apply online, please visit our website at <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.thocc.org/jobs" href="http://www.thocc.org/jobs" target="_blank">www.thocc.org/jobs</a>. AA/EEO M/F/D/V.

Library Manager - The Hospital of Central Connecticut

Library Manager - The Hospital of Central Connecticut has an excellent opportunity for a Library Manager to join our Health Sciences Libr...

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8 jobs in social media

<br /><div class="RXart" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding-right: 20px; text-align: left;"><div class="ArticleHeadline" style="margin-top: -30px;"><div class="hdr_org_bld" style="color: #ff6600; font: normal normal bold 18px/normal arial, helvetica;"><h1 id="articleHeadline" style="color: #000066; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span id="cbArticle_lblHeadline">8 jobs in social media</span></h1></div><b><span id="cbArticle_lblByLine">By Susan Ricker, CareerBuilder Writer</span></b><br /><div class="cb_share_more_wrapper"></div></div><br /><div class="ArticleContent"><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="media-image" src="http://artstg.icbdr.com/sites/all/files/styles/large/public/Social%20media%20careers_0.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" /></div>Most people try to stay off of social-media websites such as <a href="http://www.facebook.com/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> or <a href="http://www.twitter.com/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a> while working, knowing that if their boss catches them, they'll get lectured about putting more time and effort into their work. But what if your job required you to be on Facebook, interacting with friends and getting paid for having the most retweets?<br /><br />You're in luck: This workplace daydream is a career reality. Demand for social-media jobs is growing as more companies want to join the social-media community. "The world's dependency on technology, the pervasiveness of social media and the need to drive sales and expand into new markets are all driving double-digit growth across a variety of fields," says Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' <a href="http://www.bls.gov/ooh/about/projections-overview.htm" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">2010-20 projections</a> show the same, stating, "The growth of social media will result in the need for more workers to maintain an organization's public image."<br /><br />Here are eight jobs that either directly relate to or involve social media*:<br /><br /><strong>1.</strong> <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/advertising/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;"><strong>Advertising</strong></a><strong>, </strong><a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/promotions/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;"><strong>promotions</strong></a><strong> and </strong><a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/marketing+managers/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;"><strong>marketing manager</strong></a>: Advertising, promotions and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in a product or service. They work with art directors, sales agents and financial staff members. According to the BLS, "Advertising and promotions managers will be needed to plan, direct and coordinate advertising and promotion campaigns, as well as to introduce new products to the marketplace. They will also be needed to manage digital media campaigns, which often target customers through the use of websites, social media and live chats."<br /><strong>Pay: </strong>According to the BLS, the median annual pay for advertising, promotions and marketing managers is $108,260.<br /><br /><strong>2.</strong> <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/social+media+AND+blogger/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;"><strong>Blogger</strong></a>: According to <a href="http://www.creativegroup.com/Home" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">The Creative Group's</a> guide for social-media job descriptions, bloggers are "responsible for opinionated, stylish writing and frequently posting new content to the Internet. Duties may also include developing and/or revising text for other venues, including online communities, press releases, Web articles and video blogs."<br /><strong>Pay:</strong> The median annual pay for bloggers is $55,420, according to the BLS.<br /><br /><strong>3. </strong><a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/social+media+AND+community+manager/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;"><strong>Community manager</strong></a>: "Community managers create and execute social-media strategies designed to accomplish real business objectives for brands," says Katherine Leonard, digital-content developer at <a href="https://lonelybrand.com/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">lonelybrand</a>, a digital marketing agency in Chicago.<br /><strong>Pay: </strong>According to social-media education company <a href="http://socialfresh.com/how-much-money-do-community-managers-make-infographic/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">Social Fresh</a>, the average annual pay for a community manager is $61,800.<br /><br /><strong>4.</strong> <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/social+media+AND+content+marketing+manager/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;"><strong>Content-marketing manager</strong></a>: "I spend my days writing and promoting business blogs, e-books and white papers," says Jasmine Henry, content-marketing manager for <a href="http://www.inboundmarketingagents.com/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">Inbound Marketing Agents</a>in Nashville, Tenn. "No blog does well in a bubble, so being able to parse pithy quotes and pick topics that are going to inspire shares and retweets on major social-media channels is critical to our clients' success. I typically spend a great deal of time watching conversations on Twitter to figure out which topics are driving conversations, writing blog articles about these topics and then responding to questions and retweets."<br /><strong>Pay: </strong>According to CBSalary.com, the national average salary for content-marketing managers is $56,752.<br /><br /><strong>5.</strong> <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/event+planner/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;"><strong>Meeting, convention and event planner</strong></a>: Meeting, convention and event planners coordinate all aspects of professional meetings and events. They choose locations, arrange transportation and coordinate other details. The BLS states that "planners must be familiar with computers, database software, budgets and online social media."<br /><strong>Pay: </strong>According to the BLS, the median annual pay for this role is $45,260.<br /><br /><strong>6.</strong> <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/public+relations/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;"><strong>Public-relations manager and specialist</strong></a>: PR managers and specialists create and maintain a favorable public image for their employer or client. They write material for media releases, plan and direct PR programs and raise money for their organizations. "Growth of both will be driven by the need for organizations to maintain their public image in a high-information age and with the growth of social media," notes the BLS.<br /><strong>Pay: </strong>According to the BLS, the median annual pay for PR managers and specialists is $57,550.<br /><br /><strong>7.</strong> <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/social+media+AND+analyst/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;"><strong>Social-networking analyst</strong></a>: "A good portion of time is spent engaging with customers and acquiring new followers and fans," says Giselle Gonzales, social-media analyst at <a href="http://www.sandboxindustries.com/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">Sandbox Industries</a>, a venture capital firm in Chicago. "We also scour the Web finding content that is most relevant to our follower base and will help us get a good conversation started."<br /><strong>Pay: </strong>According to CBSalary.com, the national average salary is $82,020.<br /><br /><strong>8.</strong> <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/social+media+AND+social+media+manager/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;"><strong>Social-media manager</strong></a>: "Social-media managers are responsible for deciding what content to feature on our social-media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn," says Jodey Smith, Web and social-media manager for <a href="http://www.seaventures.com/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">SeaVentures Inc.</a> in Alpharetta, Ga. "Daily tasks include posting, responding to community discussions and combating spam. Ongoing testing and various strategies and techniques make up a large part of the day."<br /><strong>Pay: </strong>According to CBSalary.com, the national average salary for social-media managers is $106,160.<br /><br /><em>Susan Ricker is a writer and blogger for </em><a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;"><em>CareerBuilder.com</em></a><em> and its job blog, </em><a href="http://www.theworkbuzz.com/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em>The Work Buzz</em></a><em>. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.</em><br /></div></div><div class="clear" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; text-align: left;"><h2 style="color: #c7560a; font-size: 18px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">Related Articles</h2><ul style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 5px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li><a href="" id="mxsrRelatedArticles__ctl1_cbhlRelatedArticles" style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">INFOGRAPHIC: How to make a resume shine</a></li><li><a href="" id="mxsrRelatedArticles__ctl2_cbhlRelatedArticles" style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">5 career paths for retail workers</a></li><li><a href="" id="mxsrRelatedArticles__ctl3_cbhlRelatedArticles" style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">Can you switch careers and remain financially stable?</a></li><li><a href="" id="mxsrRelatedArticles__ctl4_cbhlRelatedArticles" style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">9 jobs that pay $95,000 a year</a></li></ul><iframe class="Ad" frameborder="0" height="240" hspace="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="NO" src="http://ads.adsonar.com/adserving/getAds.jsp?placementId=1266420&pid=617757&ps=-1&zw=326&zh=240&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.careerbuilder.com%2f%3flr%3dcbrockl%2fJobSeeker%2fcareerbytes%2fCBArticle.aspx%3flr%3dcbrockl%26ArticleID%3d3215%26%26strcrit%3dQID%3dA6659272956687%3bst%3da%3buse%3dALL%3bCID%3dUS%3bSID%3dCO%3bTID%3d0%3bENR%3dNO%3bDTP%3dDRNS%3bYDI%3dYES%3bIND%3dALL%3bPDQ%3dAll%3bPDQ%3dAll%3bPAYL%3d0%3bPAYH%3dgt120%3bPOY%3dNO%3bETD%3dALL%3bRE%3dALL%3bMGT%3dDC%3bSUP%3dDC%3bFRE%3d30%3bCHL%3dal%3bQS%3dsid_unknown%3bSS%3dNO%3bTITL%3d0%3bOB%3d-modifiedint%3bRAD%3d30%3bJQT%3dRAD%3bJDV%3dFalse%3bHost%3dUS%3bMaxLowExp%3d-1%3bRecsPerPage%3d25&v=5" vspace="0" width="326"></iframe></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial,helvetica; font-size: xx-small; text-align: left;"><b>Article Reprints</b></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial,helvetica; font-size: xx-small; text-align: left;">Permission must be obtained from CareerBuilder.com to reprint any of its articles. 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8 jobs in social media

8 jobs in social media By Susan Ricker, CareerBuilder Writer Most people try to stay off of social-media websites such as  Facebook  or  Twi...

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winterizing the kitchen

I was baking cookies the other day and as I waited for the timer to ding I stared at this.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7jOtMMPlqpo3qugoGd9k8FB98XlXJJpgm19SoaOgWn-Nfs_zjrEivhv6kqIyR8Bi4oV6pXQ2_wzIMoUxr20Yl9JXRKC_GNskZmG2HJUBIeWVTTFJGwv8LPcDNMnhpPmXPWrOXKtNaqNS/s1600/PA300411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7jOtMMPlqpo3qugoGd9k8FB98XlXJJpgm19SoaOgWn-Nfs_zjrEivhv6kqIyR8Bi4oV6pXQ2_wzIMoUxr20Yl9JXRKC_GNskZmG2HJUBIeWVTTFJGwv8LPcDNMnhpPmXPWrOXKtNaqNS/s640/PA300411.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />I'm over it.<br /><br />Not the shelves, but the white. Ever since I added my <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2012/10/paint-rug-party-week-3-reveal.html" target="_blank">lovely new rug</a> by the sink, I've been thinking the other side of the kitchen needed some blue as well.<br /><br />This is where all of those purchases of blue and white come in handy. Proof to the hubs that you can never have too much blue and white. 10 minutes later...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8UTCXvpOWhkoR3xIkbzRbkn499uL-zLW1RadkoCt5c8XTIWZyu6p8h21S_TtINaxKyjVF4ih5_lvrZUkzXwQ8pFCGgffdgvtbA_c14izTOZhk4Z7JqZzOqJUuYtOqVC9uMR-6cY2AoKcI/s1600/BlueandWhiteKitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8UTCXvpOWhkoR3xIkbzRbkn499uL-zLW1RadkoCt5c8XTIWZyu6p8h21S_TtINaxKyjVF4ih5_lvrZUkzXwQ8pFCGgffdgvtbA_c14izTOZhk4Z7JqZzOqJUuYtOqVC9uMR-6cY2AoKcI/s640/BlueandWhiteKitchen.jpg" width="514" /></a></div><br />Voila. Much better and a bit cozier for winter. We'll consider this my 'winter kitchen'. If you can't have a winter home, you can at least have a winter kitchen.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG7IzEIFoF_-nuRjp74VSCrj8HPDs0aZv5WDvduuIlk5xQxejSlqGsyopPUmrywYYM_IwfJn_y8pvGsULAKV_1XD2ApMHHa4rmo2qF1Y2dXBkrgZB-IlDF8zfylN3FdEolZX29I5D-AZh0/s1600/BlueandWhiteKitchenclose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG7IzEIFoF_-nuRjp74VSCrj8HPDs0aZv5WDvduuIlk5xQxejSlqGsyopPUmrywYYM_IwfJn_y8pvGsULAKV_1XD2ApMHHa4rmo2qF1Y2dXBkrgZB-IlDF8zfylN3FdEolZX29I5D-AZh0/s640/BlueandWhiteKitchenclose.jpg" width="630" /></a></div><br />And if I decide to change it again in the Spring, I know it will be quick and easy.<br /><br />Have you made any quick changes around the house? Have a collection that moves from place to place? Have a winter home you'd like to share with me?

winterizing the kitchen

I was baking cookies the other day and as I waited for the timer to ding I stared at this. I'm over it. Not the shelves, but the white. ...

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The Global Education Online Conference is well underway

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlkHzfRXG5ZwZMPoxAwvNGANeajm2ugKlEV-nsaAubjFEuAQco6zrK0n0ePwTRODyYdTB4zOa6osmaA-vUj3Dj44MRtbysY3iRSbopAyGyAq8YMsyX3YsLwCbDVO6PuKeu4UBZJdEh3g/s1600-h/image%25255B2%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBiW9tAwTXLA7cKG3WKMlMjqaDX-ZNqLVGAA5G0OVaLuhNqsIu0znl45AklIJre32BEQKX6EbXjp1E4x6CT4uzKHmWGaqVP2aFn98E3VYZxFL4YBg1Kj9hbdQ1KFo9bfn98TgY7I6RvQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is just an update from Lucy Gray on the amazing, online global conference that is currently taking place.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“My co-chair, Steve Hargadon, and I would like to extend a warm welcome to new members of our online global education community. Nearly 1000 people have joined in the last day, and we're astounded by the response to our online and free conference. I predicted that we'd reach 15,000 members by the end of this year; I think we're going to be over that number by the end of the week!</span> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm most impressed, however, by the sheer professionalism and generosity of spirit shared by participants, presenters, and volunteers so far It's lovely to watch the conversations that are going on in our community.</span> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At any rate. this is a mid-conference update that may help everyone get oriented to live events going on this week. Please read this memo carefully!</span> <br /><strong><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">UPCOMING KEYNOTES</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We've been privileged to hear from a slew of global thought leaders thus far, and more experts will be joining us in the second half of the conference. Please check out their biographies and schedules here: <a href="http://www.globaleducationconference.com/page/2012-keynotes"><span style="font-size: small;">http://www.globaleducationconference.com/page/2012-keynotes</span></a><span style="font-size: small;">.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">RECORDINGS</span></strong> <br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Don't worry if you missed a session. All are recorded and will be available shortly after their conclusions:</span> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.globaleducationconference.com/page/2012-global-education-conference-recording-links-and-information">http://www.globaleducationconference.com/page/2012-global-education-conference-recording-links-and-information</a></span> <br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">PRESENTERS INFORMATION</span></strong> <br /><strong><br /></strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We asked all presenters to join our 2012 Presenters Group (</span><a href="http://www.globaleducationconference.com/group/2012-presenters-group"><span style="font-size: small;">http://www.globaleducationconference.com/group/2012-presenters-group</span></a><span style="font-size: small;"> upon proposal acceptance. This is essential because we communicate conference updates to presenters in this community subgroup. You will find tips for promoting your session, a speaker's checklist, and your presenter (moderator) links to your Blackboard Collaborate rooms. Remember, there are public links for participants found in sessions and schedule page, and private links with moderator privileges for presenters only. </span> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Please make sure you've viewed training videos ahead of your time and practiced a bit. If you want more information on this, visit our training page: </span><a href="http://www.globaleducationconference.com/page/training"><span style="font-size: small;">http://www.globaleducationconference.com/page/training</span></a><span style="font-size: small;">. We have people staffing our conference lounge, too, in case you need assistance: </span><a href="http://goo.gl/1AnnL"><span style="font-size: small;">http://goo.gl/1AnnL</span></a><span style="font-size: small;">.</span></span> <br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">JOINING CONFERENCE SESSIONS</span></strong> <br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our free, online conference started Monday, November 12 and runs around the clock for five days. All sessions take place in Blackboard Collaborate webinar rooms linked from our web site. No registration is required but we do encourage you to join this network for email updates and to connect with presenters and participants.</span> </span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To participate in live webinar sessions:</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><strong>STEP 1:</strong> Go to the </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.globaleducationconference.com/page/2012-sessions-and-schedule"><span style="font-size: small;">SESSIONS AND SCHEDULE PAGE</span></a><span style="font-size: small;">.</span> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>STEP 2:</strong>Select your time zone and click on its corresponding blue link to the left of the locations listed. </span> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>STEP 3:</strong>The conference schedule should load on this page and you should be able to see all sessions in YOUR time zone. To quickly locate a session, search the page by using Control+F (Command+F on a Mac).</span> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><span style="font-size: small;">TIP: The schedule is in a Google Calendar. You can add events to your calendar or subscribe to the entire calendar by clicking on the button in the lower righthand corner. </span></em> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><span style="font-size: small;"></span></em> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>STEP 4:</strong> Open up a session calendar entry and click on a blue SESSION link.</span> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong><br /></strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>STEP 5</strong>: You should arrive at a purple Blackboard Collaborate page. Enter your name and login. Blackboard Collaborate will take a bit of time to launch. You will see the Blackboard Collaborate environment shortly.</span> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Note that you may have to download a small java applet to run Blackboard Collaborate. We can provide some help in our conference lounge: </span><a href="http://goo.gl/1AnnL"><span style="font-size: small;">http://goo.gl/1AnnL</span></a><span style="font-size: small;">. More technical support is available here: </span> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Collaborate/Support/Support-for-Blackboard-Collaborate.aspx"><span style="font-size: small;">http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Collaborate/Support/Support-for-Blackboard-Collaborate.aspx</span></a> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you want more basic information and links to suggested sessions, please download our conference guide: </span><a href="http://api.ning.com/files/2cERrRylB3Iit4vYB1L-0CPdr9l1v6VOuUwj3pepVyamh7ZX6A0mrayqAbqsWCZ6fyUGl9kzzRd8mHmgtqw4Lw__/2012GECGuide.pdf"><span style="font-size: small;">2012GECGuide.pdf</span></a> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks again for your support, and hopefully we'll see you online soon.”</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Lucy Gray</span> <br /><br /><br /></div>

conferences The Global Education Online Conference is well underway

This is just an update from Lucy Gray on the amazing, online global conference that is currently taking place. “My co-chair, Steve Hargadon,...

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Poetry 'n' Such with Paul Piatt

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrThrlbzxrt1_OWngxIVi7wiqXB8yH8ZR37QCz65ehYFlqSFmEWRAr151BgvW6Koho1o3d8_BfSypLiwOjn_-Df2aPCd_1cBvIc8iwQ0hBS7icHSQD73ejFx5aOHjwaguJg10HrVduweY/s1600/Paul_Delany.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrThrlbzxrt1_OWngxIVi7wiqXB8yH8ZR37QCz65ehYFlqSFmEWRAr151BgvW6Koho1o3d8_BfSypLiwOjn_-Df2aPCd_1cBvIc8iwQ0hBS7icHSQD73ejFx5aOHjwaguJg10HrVduweY/s400/Paul_Delany.jpg" width="285" /></a>Gentle, yet heartfelt greetings to all of you discerning drinkers of the warm and aromatic coffee of life that is the IWS website.<br /><br />Renown poet and IWS Literary Editor Paul Piatt here once again, in order to share with you some of today’s finest in the world of poetry, prose, and people.<br /><br />Today during our monthly and continuing journey of words made magical, and life’s pentameters made iambic, I introduce you to a fellow sommelier of intoxicating words, my friend and fellow poet, Vincent St. Millay.<br /><br />Vincent hails from the rich and resplendent rolling hills of the eastern Kentucky coal mining cottage town, of Pikeville, KY., and writes in a tone and temper that reflects the austere background, and prevalent communal illiteracy in which his familial rearing took place.<br /><br />Whenever I talk to Vincent at this time of year, he undoubtedly oratorically waxes lovingly in timbre and song much like that of the lucid and lyrical tones of a happily impregnated indigo bunting, as he verbally relives the festive Thanksgiving celebrations he experienced while growing up in a town of 6,892 people who were all related to one and other.<br /><br />And while much of his poetry is sprinkled and written on the bias of good times for all, Vincent, in his award winning book from 1994, <i>Maybe I’d Be Happier If Didn’t Smoke Bluegrass</i>, sums up Thanksgiving from a different point of view…<br /><br />That of the turkey…<br /><br /><b>View of a Turkey*</b><br /><br /><i>The turkey lay on a barrow dead.</i><br /><i>It weighed, Eustis said, as much as three of Aunt Sheila’s head.</i><br /><i>Its eyes closed, pink white feathers.</i><br /><i>Its trotters stuck straight out.</i><br /><i>Such weight and thick pink bulk</i><br /><i>Set in death seemed not just dead.</i><br /><i>It was less than lifeless, further off, but us it will fed.</i><br /><i>It was like a sack of wheat.</i><br /><i>I thumped it without feeling remorse.</i><br /><i>One feels guilty insulting the dead,</i><br /><i>Walking on graves. But this turkey</i><br /><i>Did not seem able to accuse.</i><br /><i>It was too dead. Dead without a head.</i><br /><i>A poundage of lard will cook it up nicely.</i><br /><i>No more dignity, just a few spicelies</i><br /><i>It was not a figure of fun.</i><br /><i>Too dead now to pity, but man, oh yum!!</i><br /><i>To remember its life as he cackled about</i><br /><i>Of earthly pleasure that had been cut out</i><br /><i>Seemed a false effort, and off the point.</i><br /><i>Too deadly factual. Its weight</i><br /><i>Oppressed me — how could it be moved?</i><br /><i>And the trouble of cutting it up!</i><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheWB3PrHPDBk1mEuxvqL4CKyfFVqu3AZ4RUA4e3f1H47CRjTRbUw7fsc-EyH7ejK7SygFEIAsSpHyT8cFwyRHSH1MtwdYQ_OrGoFXYhwGk443iLhOynNKXgl1H0HgTOXAi5ZEpmV1v6yo/s1600/Dead+Thanksgiving+Turkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheWB3PrHPDBk1mEuxvqL4CKyfFVqu3AZ4RUA4e3f1H47CRjTRbUw7fsc-EyH7ejK7SygFEIAsSpHyT8cFwyRHSH1MtwdYQ_OrGoFXYhwGk443iLhOynNKXgl1H0HgTOXAi5ZEpmV1v6yo/s320/Dead+Thanksgiving+Turkey.jpg" width="320" /></a><i>The gash in its throat was shocking, but not pathetic.</i><br /><i>And when I did cut him, I became apoplectic</i><br /><i>To catch a strong gobbler</i><br /><i>That was faster and nimbler than a cat,</i><br /><i>Its squeal was the rending of screwing a chick who was fat.</i><br /><i>Turkeys must have hot blood, they feel like ovens.</i><br /><i>Their bite is worse than a horse’s —</i><br /><i>They chop a half-moon clean out.</i><br /><i>They mock you and curse you with their evil poultry shout.</i><br /><i>Distinctions and admirations such</i><br /><i>As this one was long finished with.</i><br /><i>I stared at it a long time, and knew it would be delicious…ith</i><br /><i>We scalded it clean</i><br /><i>Scalded it and scoured it like a doorstep…</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>And then, we gave thanks, and ate it like ravenous wolves.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>Feasting upon the death of a turkey, cranberries in their hemorrhoidal glory, and a Jell-O mold that looked like a liver gone bad.</i><br /><br />Happy Thanksgiving gentle readers!!<br /><br /><i>For now, as I travel the road less traveled,</i><br /><br /><i>Paul Piatt</i><br /><i><span style="color: blue;">mattmaniws@ymail.com</span></i><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/MattMan_IWS" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: blue;">@mattman_iws</span></i></a><br /><br />*With apologies to one of my favorite poets, the late <a href="http://www.porkopolis.org/library/pig-poetry/ted-hughes/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"><i>Ted Hughes</i></span></a>…<br /><br /></div>

Poetry 'n' Such with Paul Piatt

Gentle, yet heartfelt greetings to all of you discerning drinkers of the warm and aromatic coffee of life that is the IWS website. Renown po...

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BBC News - Vegetative patient Scott Routley says 'I'm not in pain'

<base href="data:">A Canadian man who was believed to have been in a vegetative state for more than a decade, has been able to tell scientists that he is not in any pain.<br><br>It's the first time an uncommunicative, severely brain-injured patient has been able to give answers clinically relevant to their care.<br><br>Scott Routley, 39, was asked questions while having his brain activity scanned in an fMRI machine.<br><br>His doctor says the discovery means medical textbooks will need rewriting.<br><br>Vegetative patients emerge from a coma into a condition where they have periods awake, with their eyes open, but have no perception of themselves or the outside world.<br><br>Mr Routley suffered a severe brain injury in a car accident 12 years ago.<br><br>None of his physical assessments since then have shown any sign of awareness, or ability to communicate.<br><br>But the British neuroscientist Prof Adrian Owen - who led the team at the Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario - said Mr Routley was clearly not vegetative.<br><br>"Scott has been able to show he has a conscious, thinking mind. We have scanned him several times and his pattern of brain activity shows he is clearly choosing to answer our questions. We believe he knows who and where he is."<br><br>Prof Owen said it was a groundbreaking moment.<br><br>"Asking a patient something important to them has been our aim for many years. In future we could ask what we could do to improve their quality of life. It could be simple things like the entertainment we provide or the times of day they are washed and fed."<br><br>Scott Routley's parents say they always thought he was conscious and could communicate by lifting a thumb or moving his eyes. But this has never been accepted by medical staff.<br><br>Prof Bryan Young at University Hospital, London - Mr Routley's neurologist for a decade - said the scan results overturned all the behavioural assessments that had been made over the years.<br><br><div><br></div>"I was impressed and amazed that he was able to show these cognitive responses. He had the clinical picture of a typical vegetative patient and showed no spontaneous movements that looked meaningful."<br><br>Observational assessments of Mr Routley since he responded in the scanner have continued to suggest he is vegetative. Prof Young said medical textbooks would need to be updated to include Prof Owen's techniques.<br><br>The BBC's Panorama programme followed several vegetative and minimally-conscious patients in Britain and Canada for more than a year.<br><br>Another Canadian patient, Steven Graham, was able to demonstrate that he had laid down new memories since his brain injury. Mr Graham answers yes when asked whether his sister has a daughter. His niece was born after his car accident five years ago.<br><br>The Panorama team also followed three patients at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability (RHN) in Putney, which specialises in the rehabilitation of brain-injured patients.<br><br>It collaborates with a team of Cambridge University neuroscientists at the Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre at Addenbrooke's hospital, Cambridge.<font class="Apple-style-span" color="#505050" face="Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><i><br></i></span></font><br>A second patient, who was not able to be fully assessed by the RHN because of repeated sickness, is later shown to have some limited awareness in brain scans.<br><br><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20268044">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20268044</a><br><br>

BBC News - Vegetative patient Scott Routley says 'I'm not in pain'

A Canadian man who was believed to have been in a vegetative state for more than a decade, has been able to tell scientists that he is not i...

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New vet!

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bones was due his yearly shots so I signed him up with a new vet to get them done.  This is the Animal Welfare Veterinary Clinic.  It's only a short walk away from our house along the canal.  Very convenient to get to and really friendly staff.  We were very pleased with the new vet and Bones was declared in perfect shape!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGgkpa1pHuvbNMA2wmisvNOB2WbYi7pzwq0A94Wc1p-nFPA5yQIprwTLG7tuFJqE39ZFonNFKFsBSBuUQFEnJbJO3XOdHSjuVx0urIP1ShtyBJb9azj8ZXU6BxSNwMW2FNiu_r0_sDp5t/s1600/IMG_2389%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGgkpa1pHuvbNMA2wmisvNOB2WbYi7pzwq0A94Wc1p-nFPA5yQIprwTLG7tuFJqE39ZFonNFKFsBSBuUQFEnJbJO3XOdHSjuVx0urIP1ShtyBJb9azj8ZXU6BxSNwMW2FNiu_r0_sDp5t/s400/IMG_2389%5B1%5D.JPG" width="298" /></a></div> <span style="font-size: large;">In other news, the Christmas Mince Pies are now in Superquinn! ;-)</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs5DH4f6r0XA6kDaiUaCKMJsYAQcE5hHYR7CU13eBKAgkbDD3JTPrNVjbaWOd1bxS-3skV90QFz1fNiGKaxaUQq9RIvzx9_vj0R4k28FwI3n6ySsLKUl5WmLOtEXmjLEiU_RLChNpO9etB/s1600/IMG_2390%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs5DH4f6r0XA6kDaiUaCKMJsYAQcE5hHYR7CU13eBKAgkbDD3JTPrNVjbaWOd1bxS-3skV90QFz1fNiGKaxaUQq9RIvzx9_vj0R4k28FwI3n6ySsLKUl5WmLOtEXmjLEiU_RLChNpO9etB/s320/IMG_2390%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br />

New vet!

Bones was due his yearly shots so I signed him up with a new vet to get them done.  This is the Animal Welfare Veterinary Clinic.  It's ...

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Today's archidose #633

Here are some photos of the <a href="http://www.meyer-vanschooten.nl/project/detail/22/traverse-hilversum">Traverse Hilversum</a> in Hilversum, Netherlands, by <a href="http://www.meyer-vanschooten.nl/">Meyer en Van Schooten Architecten</a> (2011). Photographs are by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/klaasfotocollectie/">Klaas Vermaas</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/klaasfotocollectie/8181832817/" title="hilversum traverse mediapark station hilversum noord 02 2011 meyer_v schooten (stephensonln) by Klaas5, on Flickr"><img alt="hilversum traverse mediapark station hilversum noord 02 2011 meyer_v schooten (stephensonln)" height="427" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8490/8181832817_61338d48fd_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/klaasfotocollectie/8181828395/" title="hilversum traverse mediapark station hilversum noord 09 2011 meyer_v schooten (stephensonln) by Klaas5, on Flickr"><img alt="hilversum traverse mediapark station hilversum noord 09 2011 meyer_v schooten (stephensonln)" height="427" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8068/8181828395_2a41124edc_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/klaasfotocollectie/8181868638/" title="hilversum traverse mediapark station hilversum noord 04 2011 meyer_v schooten (stephensonln) by Klaas5, on Flickr"><img alt="hilversum traverse mediapark station hilversum noord 04 2011 meyer_v schooten (stephensonln)" height="427" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8063/8181868638_ca827cce3b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/klaasfotocollectie/8181829507/" title="hilversum traverse mediapark station hilversum noord 07 2011 meyer_v schooten (stephensonln) by Klaas5, on Flickr"><img alt="hilversum traverse mediapark station hilversum noord 07 2011 meyer_v schooten (stephensonln)" height="427" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8198/8181829507_aa26966599_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/klaasfotocollectie/8181827659/" title="hilversum traverse mediapark station hilversum noord 10 2011 meyer_v schooten (stephensonln) by Klaas5, on Flickr"><img alt="hilversum traverse mediapark station hilversum noord 10 2011 meyer_v schooten (stephensonln)" height="800" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8490/8181827659_6b32391bcc_c.jpg" width="534" /></a><br /><br />To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:<br /><blockquote>:: Join and add photos to the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/archi-dose/">archidose pool</a>, and/or<br />:: Tag your photos <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/archidose/">archidose</a></span></blockquote>

Today's archidose #633

Here are some photos of the Traverse Hilversum in Hilversum, Netherlands, by Meyer en Van Schooten Architecten (2011). Photographs are by ...

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Library Assistant V, Access Services - Olin Library, Wesleyan University

<strong>Library Assistant V, Access Services -</strong> <strong><span style="color: #48286d;">Olin Library, Wesleyan University</span></strong>. Multi departmental support. Reporting to the Head of Access Services, this position is responsible for providing support to the Olin Inter-library Loan, Olin Reference, Olin Reserves and Olin Circulation departments. Responsibilities include but are not limited to: Olin Library Reserve Dept: Process electronic reserves for the Olin Library Reserve Department. This includes photocopying, scanning, and linking materials to be placed on-line using Docutek electronic reserve software. On Sundays provide sole supervision to the student worker in the reserve department. Olin Interlibrary Loan Department: Process borrowing and lending requests for the Interlibrary Loan Dept. using ILLIAD software. This includes verifying bibliographic citations using multiple on-line databases, ordering materials using ILLIAD and OCLC FirstSearch software, processing lending and borrowing overdues, providing assistance to 10-12 student workers, and assisting patrons. Olin Reference Dept: Supervise the work of 1-2 student workers in the Olin Reference Dept. This includes interviewing, hiring and training the student workers and submitting the hours the student worker worked using PeopleSoft. Ensure coverage of the student workers role when there is no student worker available. Order supplies for the reference department as needed. Circulation Department: Staff Olin Circulation Office on Sunday during the fall, spring and summer semesters. Sunday duties include: opening the library, providing sole supervision to student workers in Circulation. Staff Olin Circulation Office in the evenings during the fall, spring and summer semesters; updating patron records using Voyager circulation software and assisting patrons. Provide support for the Olin Circulation Department staff Monday-Thursday. Other Perform other similar and related duties as assigned, making adjustments as needed as department work volume varies. Work schedule, 35 hours per week: Academic Year. Monday and Wednesday: 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Tuesday and Thursday: 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Sunday: 10:00am to 6:00pm. Minimum Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and significant related work experience. Demonstrated ability to work with complex online systems and other databases. Ability to work with a variety of people and to prioritize needs within multiple departments. Accuracy with details. Must be flexible/receptive to change and able to communicate with a diverse group of faculty, students and staff effectively. Preferred Qualifications: Previous experience in liberal arts, higher education environment. Experience supervising student workers. Experience in an online library environment using ILLIAD, Voyager, and Docutek software and other bibliographic indexes and databases. Ability to work in an often fast-paced environment. To apply, please go to Careers at Wesleyan, <a _fcksavedurl="https://careers.wesleyan.edu/login" href="https://careers.wesleyan.edu/login" target="_blank">https://careers.wesleyan.edu/login</a>. Deadline for filing an application is <span style="color: red;">November 27, 2012</span>.<em></em>

Library Assistant V, Access Services - Olin Library, Wesleyan University

Library Assistant V, Access Services - Olin Library, Wesleyan University . Multi departmental support. Reporting to the Head of Access Ser...

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High Blood Pressure Tied to Brain Changes - NYTimes.com

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><div id="well" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 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; "><div align="left"><div class="entry-content"><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; "><a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/hypertension/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">High blood pressure</a> may cause harmful brain changes in people as young as 40, a study suggests.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">In <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422%2812%2970241-7/abstract" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">the report</a>, published online Nov. 2 in Lancet Neurology, researchers measured <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/test/blood-pressure/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">blood pressure</a> in 579 men and women whose average age was 39, then examined their brains with <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/test/mri/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">magnetic resonance imaging</a>. After adjusting for smoking, hypertension treatment and total cranial volume, they found that higher <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/test/blood-pressure/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">systolic blood pressure</a> - the most common form of hypertension - was associated with decreases in gray matter volume and significant injury to white matter. Moreover, there was a dose-response relationship: The higher the blood pressure, the greater the visible changes.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">These changes also occur in people over 55 with high blood pressure and are associated with decreased cognitive performance. Essentially, these young people with high blood pressure had brains that were older than their chronological age.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">The authors acknowledge that their sample was mostly healthy, white volunteers, and that the study represents a snapshot, not a long-term picture.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; ">The senior author, <a href="http://neuroscience.ucdavis.edu/user/49" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">Dr. Charles DeCarli</a>, a neurologist at the University of California, Davis, urged caution. "Most people at this age have no symptoms at all, even if they have high blood pressure," he said. "Get your blood pressure measured when you're young, and treated if necessary."</div></div></div></div></div><a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/12/high-blood-pressure-tied-to-brain-changes/?pagewanted=print">http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/12/high-blood-pressure-tied-to-brain-changes/?pagewanted=print</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

High Blood Pressure Tied to Brain Changes - NYTimes.com

High blood pressure  may cause harmful brain changes in people as young as 40, a study suggests. In  the report , published online Nov. 2 in...

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Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 11/13/2012

<ul class="diigo-linkroll"> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/112927561/2012-Global-Education-Conference-Guide">2012 Global Education Conference Guide</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">An excellent guide with links to blackboard rooms in the guide. Download and use this as you jump from room to room and learn at the Global Ed conference.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/globaled12">globaled12</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/globaled">globaled</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.globaleducationconference.com/forum/topics/flattening-the-walls-in-teacher-education">Flattening the Walls in Teacher Education - The Global Education Conference Network</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Barbara Morganfield is hosting this important conversation - it is time to begin connecting our preservice teachers at the college level. "Through Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis’ Flat Classroom Projects (2013), many K-12 educators throughout the world are flattening classroom walls and providing extraordinary opportunities for students to connect, collaborate and learn from others around the globe. Through these projects, students use Web 2.0 technologies and incorporate 21st Century Skills, cultivating a rich understanding of culture and developing global awareness. This session aims to identify ways similar projects can be incorporated in college and university teacher education programs giving future teachers opportunities to develop the skills they will eventually be expected to teach. This session intends to examine the questions: What opportunities are available for teacher educators to flatten their classroom walls? How can teacher education faculty collaborate to develop global collaborative projects for their students? Can existing Flat Classrooms projects be redesigned to meet the needs of our future teachers? How? What are the challenges in developing global collaborative programs for teacher education students? What are the constraints that must be considered? What are the benefits? What are next steps? Join this session and participate in a lively discussion focusing on flattening classroom walls in teacher education. "</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclassroom">flatclassroom</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/globaled">globaled</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.hashtags.org/platforms/twitter/top-green-twitter-hashtags-every-environmentalist-should-know/">Top Green Twitter Hashtags Every Environmentalist Should Know</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Learn to find hashtags for your field. Here are many of them for enviornmental issues. "Top Eco-Inspired Hashtags Click each hashtag for their corresponding definitions on our Dictionary. #4change #aid #bp #cleantech #climate (#climatechange or #climateaction) #CSR #earthtweet #eco #EcoMonday – Dubbed as the #FollowFriday of environmentalism #energy (#cleanenergy) #environment (#econews) #foodjustice #gmo #green #greenbiz #greenjobs #organic #permaculture #plastic #recycle #renewablenergy #solar #sustainable #upcycling #urbanag #WaterWednesday #windenergy"</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/stem">stem</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/environment">environment</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/twitter">twitter</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/citizen-science/project.cfm?id=us-epa-nyc-citizen-science-grants">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Citizen Science Grants (NYC), Citizen Science | Scientific American</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is encouraging individuals and community groups in New York City to apply for grants that will allow citizen scientists to collect information on air and water pollution in their communities and seek solutions to environmental and public health problems. The EPA will award a total of $125,000 for five to 10 New York City projects related to air or water pollution."</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/citizenscientist">citizenscientist</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/science">science</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/stem">stem</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/citizen-science/?category=energy-and-sustainability">Citizen Science, Energy & Sustainability Projects | Scientific American</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Some incredible citizen science projects that make a difference when there are natural disasters. Scientific American has been cataloging a lot of great projects including Volunteer Field Observer Programs for the spill in the Gulf, a Redwood Watch program to monitor redwoods, and earthquake monitoring and more. This page includes energy and sustainability project. I think every science class should have citizen science as part of their curriculum to add meaning and improve our world.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/stem">stem</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/citizenscientist">citizenscientist</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.scistarter.com">Welcome to SciStarter</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Sci Starter is a fantastic website to find citizen science projects. </p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/science">science</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/science_teacher">science_teacher</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a></p> </li> </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='http://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 11/13/2012

2012 Global Education Conference Guide An excellent guide with links to blackboard rooms in the guid...

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Webinar this week - 'Google Chrome' and 'Newspapers in Google Docs'

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Uj3dbWAn25_TjKz9MO94bscEZFf35YS4bJ3R99iNHmL32UZA6HaGOI86WQ6M8fG-gNqVMfNMTr3uPdf62QDhu4ixdzVyQpzTPLMakXW5zMpRZc4QeWij1-qzwDxxlKYrQUaWYLZH2_Q/s1600/webinars1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="85" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Uj3dbWAn25_TjKz9MO94bscEZFf35YS4bJ3R99iNHmL32UZA6HaGOI86WQ6M8fG-gNqVMfNMTr3uPdf62QDhu4ixdzVyQpzTPLMakXW5zMpRZc4QeWij1-qzwDxxlKYrQUaWYLZH2_Q/s320/webinars1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are two webinars this week:</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>1) The Amazing Google Chrome</b></span></div><br /><u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meeting Name</u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">:  The AMAZING Google Chrome</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Summary</u>: This webinar sets out to show what one can do with Google Chrome! It is an extraordinary browser with all sorts of tips and tricks you might not know about to make browsing a breeze!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>When</u>: Tuesday 11/13/2012 at 6:00 PM<u><br />Duration</u>: 15 minutes<br /><u>Presenter:</u> Fiona Beal<br /><u>To join the meeting</u>: <span style="color: #ff2707;"><a href="http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/chrome/" style="color: #ff2707; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/chrome/</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">2) A classroom newspaper in Google Docs for Foundation Phase</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u style="line-height: 15.75pt;">Meeting Name</u><span style="line-height: 15.75pt;">:</span><span style="line-height: 15.75pt;">  </span><span style="line-height: 15.75pt;">Create a classroom newspaper using Google Docs</span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Presenter</u>: Brenda Hallowes from Port Elizabeth in South Africa<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Summary</u>: This is a webinar from Brenda Hallowes showing how she uses Google Docs to create a lovely classroom newspaper with her Foundation Phase students. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Invited By</u>: Fiona Beal (fiona@schoolnet.org.za)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>When</u>:  11/15/2012 6:00 PM - 6:15 PM<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Time Zone</u>:  (GMT+02:00) Harare, Pretoria<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><u>To join the meeting</u>: </span><span style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><a href="http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/newspapers/">http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/newspapers/</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15.75pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15.75pt;">These webinar recordings will be placed on our <a href="http://schoolnetsa-webinars.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Webinars blog</a> the following day in case you cannot join us at the time of broadcast. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15.75pt;"><br />a) Here is the link to the recording on <a href="http://schoolnetsa-webinars.blogspot.com/2012/11/thank-you-very-much-to-all-who-attended.html" target="_blank">'The AMAZING Google Chrome'</a> </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 15.75pt;"><o:p></o:p></div></div></div></div>

webinars Webinar this week - 'Google Chrome' and 'Newspapers in Google Docs'

There are two webinars this week: 1) The Amazing Google Chrome Meeting Name :  The AMAZING Google Chrome Summary : This webinar sets out to ...

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It's About to Get Hectic ... For Some People

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />Hola y’all! Well, the election is almost a week old and it’s time for us all to move on to new things to obsess over. For most of us that will be the rapidly approaching Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa holidays. There may be a few others in there that I missed. Unless you’re the Secretary of State of Arizona cause that dude’s still got a lot of work to do since there are <a href="http://azsos.wordpress.com/2012/11/09/ballot-processing-county-update-nov-9/" target="_blank">FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTY-FIVE THOUSAND ballots still to be counted there</a>. What the hell are they doing out there? Working on their winter tans?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuuY-ygcV25KuSaU0rlC6DeliCcuBldWHri37xqsyjfPa2Y2eAdf0Hknyx2Z9IpKTLsJw_YhssL5z1G02GWDa7fyT4vzDdfcsF5JL5Ty-qe-ob4RbvHakoL63p9-lJilwH46c2ldZn3sU/s1600/santas_little_helpers_sexy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuuY-ygcV25KuSaU0rlC6DeliCcuBldWHri37xqsyjfPa2Y2eAdf0Hknyx2Z9IpKTLsJw_YhssL5z1G02GWDa7fyT4vzDdfcsF5JL5Ty-qe-ob4RbvHakoL63p9-lJilwH46c2ldZn3sU/s320/santas_little_helpers_sexy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>And of course David Petraeus has a few other things to worry about too. Like keeping all of his mistresses from getting into a huge cat fight. You’d think all those years of dealing with warring factions in Afghanistan would have given him the training he needed to handle some crazy chicks. Worse than that he now has to sleep on the couch with one eye open every night. You think he was already paranoid about how dangerous the world was? I guarantee you he’s far more worried about what Mrs. Petraeus might do to him.<br /><br />And then there’s me. It’s not my style to brag or anything, but I don’t have to worry so much about the “hectic holiday season” like so many of you guys. I don’t have any kids (that I know of) so I don’t have to put with them asking “When is Santa coming?” every day. I don’t have a big family to buy for so I don’t need to make long lists and go on big shopping trips.<br /><br />Since I never get invited to any holiday parties, I don’t have to worry about keeping my social calendar straight. Yup, I’m a simple man living a simple life. I’ll be kicked back, eating Christmas cookies and drinking Shiner Holiday Cheer Beer while you guys are wearing yourselves out trying to get everything done and juggle all your school, family and social obligations.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4KzW4tlmHZqHvRYfFwB_IoEBNb2OrSKI1vpwDpigFYw3rXcKxWtDwP4NIBTZWX2Jrk0dK_idcmGP4gMcf6k_lQ1p_IXvqbT9fNzBJmS6Hkpo8RtRDKPsA-sUbgK8Bww-ylah9Lh4N-M/s1600/Hwang-Mi-Hee-Christmas-Hot-Sexy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4KzW4tlmHZqHvRYfFwB_IoEBNb2OrSKI1vpwDpigFYw3rXcKxWtDwP4NIBTZWX2Jrk0dK_idcmGP4gMcf6k_lQ1p_IXvqbT9fNzBJmS6Hkpo8RtRDKPsA-sUbgK8Bww-ylah9Lh4N-M/s400/Hwang-Mi-Hee-Christmas-Hot-Sexy.jpg" width="265" /></a>Hell, I even stopped sending out Christmas Cards because it was too much of a hassle. It took me all afternoon to address all the envelopes and I can still taste the glue from having to seal all of those things. I still have a Word Document with everyone’s address though. The only thing I use it for is to put your addresses into Google Street View and get a look at your houses. That’s pretty much the laziest stalking ever right there.<br /><br />We’ve got a lot great stuff planned for the blog and the <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid" target="_blank">IWS Podcast</a> for the holidays though. Okay, not really. I just said that because I starting to look a little pathetic there. Although I’m not sure what I’m worried about, this post is already four times longer than <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-simple-mathmattical-equation.html" target="_blank">Matt’s post for yesterday was</a>. Shit, I’m really worried about getting old after reading that one!<br /><br />Anyway, the only thing I have on my holiday schedule is my annual trip to lovely, mysterious and exotic Omaha, Nebraska to hang out with my sister and brother in law. This Saturday, I’ll load up the car, check the air in the tires and make the 431 mile drive north to the Jewel of the Midwest for Thanksgiving week.<br /><br />While I’m there and before things get crazy, I’ll do the bit of Christmas shopping that I’m not doing online. So, when I get home a week later all I have to do is get the already put together and mostly decorated fake Christmas Tree out of the closet and put it on the table and all my Christmas decorating will be done. After that, all I have to do is plan when I’m going to make the Christmas fudge and that’s it.<br /><br />See? It’s a simple time of year folks.<br /><br />Jayman<br /><a href="mailto:Jayman3768@gmail.com">Jayman3768@gmail.com</a><br /><a href="http://www.twitter.com/jayman_iws" target="_blank">@Jayman_IWS </a><br /><br /></div>

It's About to Get Hectic ... For Some People

Hola y’all! Well, the election is almost a week old and it’s time for us all to move on to new things to obsess over. For most of us that wi...

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ARGENTINE PROTESTS

<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMmfxou1SA2Gp_B4UFMj2St-pC7JTsOjVA0S8Vzg2xeB8iMz4b0HqCGaKTHFe8tbD0fAyk416Lhir62kkbGdeFtV6KjfdYNJiVv6BaoDudeDOv5qhr1tgUi-3tGpfaUlJR5moXAmR4vKql/s1600/tango-argentino.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMmfxou1SA2Gp_B4UFMj2St-pC7JTsOjVA0S8Vzg2xeB8iMz4b0HqCGaKTHFe8tbD0fAyk416Lhir62kkbGdeFtV6KjfdYNJiVv6BaoDudeDOv5qhr1tgUi-3tGpfaUlJR5moXAmR4vKql/s400/tango-argentino.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ARGENTINA, BARELY 30 YEARS OF DEMOCRACY, A YOUNG NATION TRYING TO FIND ITS BEARING </span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In the 1940s ARGENTINA was the 9^th richest country in world, in 2002 the country defaulted and in 2012 the country is struggling economically as well as politically. Recent protest against the current administration, allegedly were the largest since the beginning of democracy in 1982. One has to be cautious though with these assumptions for there is a more complex cause behind these protests. Primary demands of the protesting middle class were to curb in corruption, opposing constitution change to facilitate 3^rdterm reelection of the president, crime - insecurity, inflation and protection of democracy. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Background Information:  </span></u></b><b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">In the <b>1940s, ARGENTINA</b>was the <b>ninth</b> wealthiest country in the world</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2009/aug2009_The-Generic-Drug-Rip-Off_01.htm">http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2009/aug2009_The-Generic-Drug-Rip-Off_01.htm</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://simplybuenosaires.com/Blog/argentina-ninth-richest-country/">http://simplybuenosaires.com/Blog/argentina-ninth-richest-country/</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ORCHESTRATED OR GENUINE PROTESTS? </span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">One has to cautiously question however if only “democracy loving” protesters took to the streets during recent protests. In ARGENTINA still exists the monopoly of print media and the discourse the current administration took has frightened the media group Clarin for it could lose its monopoly in ARGENTINA. The new law stipulates democratization of the media landscape in ARGENTINA. Thus the Clarin group fears loss of power and influence in public opinion shaping and therefore mobilizes to some extend against the administrations, but surly not to protect democratic values. Not to mention the Agriculture producers and corporations, who are in disagreement with the current administration over who gets the bigger stake of the “Soya revenue cake”. To some extend this is about economic interests and not democracy. Thus one has to look closer who was demonstrating and for what cause.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ARGENTINA COULD HAVE DODGED THE CURRENT WORLDWIDE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRISIS DUE TO FAVORABLE INTERNAL ECONOMIC CONDITIONS (AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES), IF TACKLED THE CORRECT WAY </span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Most of the current difficulties however are homemade, for ARGENTINA is one of the worlds leading agriculture commodity exporter as well as developing the countries mining industry in order to extract its vast amount of natural resource. After defaulting the country paid back its entire dept with the IMF, however because of its pending dept with the “Paris Club” it has been expelled from international financial institutions, a move, which has proven not too much of a burden for the country, because demand for agriculture commodities kept rising and thus the country obtained sufficient revenues, despite being band obtaining international loans, thus permitting the country to conduct trade without needing to adhered to doctrines set by international financial institutions. <span style="color: blue;">See:</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_debt_restructuring">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_debt_restructuring</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Background Information:  </span></u></b><b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">ARGENTINE agriculture export</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/07/share-of-cake.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/07/share-of-cake.html</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND ARGENTINA, TWO COUNTRIES ROUGHLY THE SAME “AGE”!</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Considering all these favorable circumstance (Agriculture commodity export, natural resource etc.), one obviously has to question why ARGENTINA, after 200 years of history has not evolved to first world status? Comparing AUSTRALIA with ARGENTINA, both of whom have 200 years of history, AUSTRALIA advanced to first world status, while ARGENTINA seems to stagnate despite the fact that the latter has better conditions for advancement. AUSTRALIA lacks far behind ARGENTINA in agricultural commodity exports, fertile land as well as natural resources. The majority of the land is desert, nevertheless, AUSTRALIA emerged as a first world country with a functioning social security system, infrastructure development etc. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The <span style="font-size: large;">Eco -</span> political advance AUSTRALIA made during its 200 year history, in comparison to ARGENTINA becomes even more impressive when looking at its immigrant background, for most of AUSTRALIA’S first immigrants were convicts expelled to AUSTRALIA by the colonial power BRITAIN. Hardly a reputable immigrant force to reckon with. Nevertheless AUSTRALIA managed to emerge as a reputable and stable country. AUSTRALIA’S forefathers managed to evolve from outcast of society to reputable citizens. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ARGENTINA’S main immigrant background was mostly ITALIAN. It took ITALY two world wars to curb in organize crime syndicates in order to emerge as a trustworthy, almost corruption free nation in Europe.</span><b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"> See: Immigrant background: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Argentine">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Argentine</a></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">CORRUPTION AND ORGANIZED CRIME SYNDICATES </span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Corruption and organized crime is a worldwide phenomena, however certain countries are more vulnerable than others, especially when a country such as ARGENTINA has experienced little less than 30 years of democracy. Being suppressed for generations reflects on society. A society experiencing sudden freedom and democracy after years of suppression is likely to venture out too its limits in order to see how far it can go, without the fear of repercussions. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Background Information:  </span></u></b><b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Crime and corruption are two of the world's largest multinational industries</span></b></span></span><b><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"></span></u></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/crime-corruption-and-political-system.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/crime-corruption-and-political-system.html</a></span></u></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/crime-corruption-and-political-system_7.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/crime-corruption-and-political-system_7.html</a></span></u></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Looking at the ARGENTINE political landscape, this phenomenon is particularly strong. With the end of the military dictatorship, political entities quickly learned that democracy also offers the opportunity to enrich oneself and thus get a cut from the “tax income cake”, thereby neglecting the need of the common citizens.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In many matured democratic nations, official entities tend also to be corrupted, but they are wise enough to keep maybe 10 percent for themselves where as 90 percent go into infrastructure improvement and social welfare, to keep the public calm, where as in other countries the math’s are reversed, thus citizens experience lack of infrastructure improvement and social welfare as well as life quality, which in the long run backfires.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ARGENTINA HAS NO LIABLE POLITICAL OPPOSITION, OTHER THAN SELF SEEKING INDIVIDUALS FROM WITHIN THE PERONIST MOVEMENT</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Despite being a democracy, ARGENTINA has been ruled, for most part of the last 30 years by one political entity, the Peronist Movement. The Peronist Movement in itself is unique for it hosts political views from far right to far left, all under one roof! Political opposition per say does not exist. Aspiring presidential candidates’ are mostly from within the Peronist Movement, without an independent political party and <span style="font-size: large;">in most cases turn out to be</span> self-seeking individuals striving for power in order to obtain maximum wealth. Currently ARGENTINA has no viable opposition and the Peronist Movement is hopelessly fractured. Over the last 30 years<span style="font-size: large;"> l</span>abor syndicate and other unions have gained extreme power and influence in ARGENTINA, and unlike in other countries, their political views are that of the center right, rather than center left. Needless to say that corruption within these bodies is ever present.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Background Information: </span></u></b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Rise of Peronism</span></b></span></span><b><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></u></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">BUENOS AIRES DOES <span style="font-size: large;">NOT </span> REPRESENT THE ENTIRE NATION </span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">By adopting, in theory at least, the EUROPEAN model of Social Democracy, (For definition of Social Democracy see: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_democracy">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_democracy</a>) the current administration managed to obtain the votes of the poor, which represent a large portion of the population. Thus, when the political debate, in the aftermath of the “countrywide” “large scale” anti government protest are in full swing, ARGENTINES, or to be politically correct, citizens of Buenos Aires and to some extend citizens of the province of Buenos Aires believe that these demonstrations represent the opinion of the entire nation. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Background Information:  </span></u></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"></span></u></b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Opposition lacks unity thus uses corporate media to oppose the government </span></b></span></span><b><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"></span></u></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/04/argentina-country-without-visible.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/04/argentina-country-without-visible.html</a></span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Buenos Aires city and the province do not represent ARGENTINA per say, and although roughly 40% of the ARGENTINES populations lives in Buenos Aires province and the city, the latter is a “world within a world” so to speak and does not reflect opinion and lifestyle of the rest of the country. Even if, as the Clarin group claims, 700 000 protesters took to the streets nationwide, one hardly can assume that this figure concerns the current administration, taking into account that the entire nation has approx 40 million inhabitants and that the majority of the provinces are in favor of the current administration. ARGENTINA is still a deeply centralized country, thus everything revolves around Buenos Aires province and Buenos Aires city, thus neglecting that there is also a rest of ARGENTINA. A “leftover” of ARGENTINES past, when Federales and Unitarios argued over decentralization versus centralizations in ARGENTINA. See:  <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federales_%28Argentina%29">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federales_%28Argentina%29</a></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">NEGLECTED INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT </span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Nevertheless ARGENTINA faces severe problems regarding its declining infrastructure, inflation and crime. Since the mid 1980s until 2012, no democratic elected government had invested decisive in the country’s infrastructure, the results of which are now emerging in a devastating way. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">See:</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/if-country-neglects-to-improve-its.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/if-country-neglects-to-improve-its.html</a></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ORGANIZED CRIME, THE KEY HINDRANCES FOR EXPANSION </span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Depending on a countries maturity, corruption and organized crime are either an issues of concern or not. In recent protests, demonstrators claimed lack of security or in other words, rise in street crime in ARGENTINA. As devastating effect as every crime has on individuals who are victims, no one in ARGENTINA names the problem by its name: <b>Organized Crime (OC).</b> If political and economic entities in ARGENTINA could and really wanted to tackle OC syndicates (Mafia), corruption would decline, for OC and corruption coincide. Subsequently street crime would also decline.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">(For Definition of OC see: <b><a href="http://www.organized-crime.de/organizedcrimedefinitions.htm">http://www.organized-crime.de/organizedcrimedefinitions.htm</a></b>and <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organized_crime">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organized_crime</a>)</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">DEMOCRACY IN ITS INFANCY</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In many aspects ARGENTINA is still in its infancy, experimenting and evolving with its young democracy, seeing how far it can lean over the edge of the cliff before falling. In view of its short democracy, ARGENTINA should be given some leeway in order to progress. ARGENTINA still needs  to mature politically as well as socially. Afterall it took most of the EUROPEAN countries two world wars to evolve and emerge as stable democracies and ITALY years to curb in the Mafia (OC) in order to become a nation worth reckoning. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Currently and in the near future it is unlikely that a strong political opposition will emerge in order to counterbalance the current political landscape in ARGENTINA. And even if one emerges, the question is if things will change for better or worst. What is worrying though is that during recent protest certain entities claimed that one year of military government would solve public security concerns and decimate the soaring crime rate. Such statements reflect immaturity and ignorance and are prove that democracy is still fragile. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ARGENTINA is a young democracy and no matter which part of the Peronist Movement is or is about to govern, good or bad, ARGENTINA will always emerge from its crisis, because of its vast natural resources and worldwide ever increasing demand for agriculture commodities, a favorable fact, which has helped ARGENTINA to rise like a phoenix from the ashes, in the past and in the future.</span></span></div>

ARGENTINE PROTESTS

ARGENTINA, BARELY 30 YEARS OF DEMOCRACY, A YOUNG NATION TRYING TO FIND ITS BEARING  In the 1940s ARGENTINA was the 9 th richest country in ...

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