News for today's 2018

2 Guns: 2 droll 2 be taken seriously

6:00 PM Tukiyooo 0

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i>2 Guns</i> </b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>(2013) • <a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/universal/2guns/" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">View trailer</a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b> </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b>3.5 stars. Rating: R, for violence, profanity and brief nudity</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>By <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/12885694730612878577" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">Derrick Bang</a> • </b></span>Originally published in <i><a href="http://www.davisenterprise.com/" style="color: #27a9c5; text-decoration: none;">The Davis Enterprise</a></i>, 8.2.13</b></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>            <br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This summer could be subtitled The Revenge of the Comic Book.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or, perhaps, yet another reminder that imitation isn’t always the sincerest form of flattery.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkA3LFk2Io1tzKM3lLj7F03LQ21jXcQbMcCH5T6fmH8Ll0vO7AsoQFEBiEK-TZawQFyIri6AbTxXtiQkOQJ9mLsNNlcLRSpV6p43OIfSiUlm57fOnlcmXjbBaq3P7L_r6Nen6dHCSfR-c/s1600/2+Guns+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkA3LFk2Io1tzKM3lLj7F03LQ21jXcQbMcCH5T6fmH8Ll0vO7AsoQFEBiEK-TZawQFyIri6AbTxXtiQkOQJ9mLsNNlcLRSpV6p43OIfSiUlm57fOnlcmXjbBaq3P7L_r6Nen6dHCSfR-c/s400/2+Guns+blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Bobby (Denzel Washington, left) and Stig (Mark Wahlberg) eye each other warily,<br />navigating serious trust issues, while they wonder what to do with the drug kingpin<br />they've trapped in the trunk of their vehicle. As it turns out, that guy's gonna be the<br />least of their worries...</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don’t refer merely to obvious candidates such as <i><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2013/05/iron-man-3-ol-shell-head-triumphs-again.html">Iron Man 3</a></i>, <i><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-wolverine-claws-for-delight.html">Wolverine</a></i> or <i><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2013/06/man-of-steel-dull-as-iron.html">Man of Steel</a></i>. <i><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2013/07/red-2-twice-goofiness.html">RED 2</a></i> and <i><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2013/07/ripd-doa.html">R.I.P.D.</a></i> also are based on graphic novels, and the latter demonstrates the folly of believing that folks will queue up simply because something IS a big-screen adaptation of such a property.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Clever ideas are a great start, but they’re no substitute for a sharp screenplay that understands the need to <i>sustain</i> our involvement for the next few hours. Many of today’s one-shot graphic novels suffer from the same malady that infects numerous movies: a slick one-sentence concept that doesn’t know where to go from Page 3.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happily, <i>2 Guns</i> — derived from Steven Grant’s five-issue miniseries of the same title — rises above that level of mediocrity. Blake Masters’ screenplay is quite witty, and stars Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg get plenty of mileage from their snarky frenemy dynamic. If the core plot doesn’t always stand up to scrutiny, that probably wasn’t high on director Baltasar Kormákur’s goals anyway; he obviously set out to make a pleasurable popcorn flick, with enjoyable results. He achieves a tone that evokes pleasant memories of 1987’s <i>Lethal Weapon</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As was true with <i>RED 2</i>, we’re not that bothered by whatever propels our central characters, as long as they keep entertaining us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, credit where due, this film’s twisty first act definitely keeps us guessing. If my next few paragraphs seem unduly vague or misleading, blame a desire to preserve at least some of the early surprises.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We meet Bobby Trench (Washington) and Michael “Stig” Stigman (Wahlberg) as they case the Tres Cruces Savings & Loan from a diner across the street in a small Texas border town. Their goal seems decidedly larcenous, but they can’t <i>really</i> be bad guys, because they flirt so coyly with the waitress, and because they’re our stars, fercryinoutloud.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One flashback later, it appears that Stig and Bobby are trying to set up Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos), a drug kingpin who does his dirty work in Mexico, while leading what seems an ordinary life as husband and father in an upscale Texas community. At least, it <i>seems</i> like this is what’s going down, but the edges quickly get fuzzy; far too many additional players pop up at the fringes of this undercover sting ... if indeed that’s the game in the first place.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><a name='more'></a><br />  <div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Frustrated by an unconsummated drug deal that would have concluded the case, Stig and Bobby invade the aforementioned Savings & Loan, where they believe Papi Greco has stashed $3 million in a safe deposit box. One quick escape later, our astonished buddies realize they've snatched somewhere north of $40 million: a crazy amount of money that rings all sorts of alarm bells.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, in the blink of an eye, our heroes are targeted by not just one, nor two, but <i>four</i> sets of adversaries: Papi Greco’s goons; DEA agents led by Jessup (Robert John Burke) and Deb (Paula Patton), the latter having “serious history” with Bobby; U.S. Navy investigators led by Quince (James Marsden); and a seriously nasty group of guys fronted by the psychopathic Earl (Bill Paxton).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With so many gun-toting thugs on their tail — some of them wearing crisp Navy uniforms — Bobby and Stig begin to wonder if they can even trust each other. This rising paranoia adds plenty of amusing edge to their banter, which grows increasingly wary as each becomes more reluctant to turn his back during a firefight.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kormákur and Masters keep us guessing for quite some time; even when some alliances appear to be resolved, others remain uncertain. The result is a combustible brew that is fueled, throughout, by the well-timed quips traded by Washington and Wahlberg.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Washington remains a fascinating presence in every respect, down to the most innocuous moments; he moves like a panther and adds engaging body language to a simple walk across a room. His tough-guy blankness melts into mocking challenge or amused disbelief, as a scene demands; his guileless sincerity brings more credibility to this nonsense than you’d believe possible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Point being: Unlike many actors, who would sleepwalk through such fluff, Washington <i>always</i> brings his A-game. And we admire him for it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Washington’s acutely focused Bobby contrasts nicely with Wahlberg’s amiable, language-mangling Stig. Wahlberg plays a guy who looks and acts dumber than he is: a misleading attitude that grants him an advantage more than once. Stig also is chatterbox, his relentless patter yet another means of distracting those around him. Trouble is, Bobby’s never sure if HE’S one of the people Stig intends to distract.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paxton is memorably chilling as the über-nasty Earl, the sort of smiling, bland-faced killer that movies of this stripe love to serve up. Earl’s affectation involves forcing captured rivals to endure a few rounds of Russian roulette: a gimmick that comes with a speech that hearkens back to Clint Eastwood’s “I know what you’re thinking” monologue, in <i>Dirty Harry</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marsden proves equally lethal, in a spit-and-polish manner, as Quince; Fred Ward makes the most of his brief appearance as a Navy admiral with a rather distressing means of “settling” some of the issues at hand. Olmos is quite persuasive as the sort of very bad fellow who knows that he never needs to raise his voice, because he’s the most powerful — and deadly — guy in the room.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Patton, so aggressively capable in 2011’s <i><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2011/12/mission-impossible-ghost-protocol.html">Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol</a></i>, does well with one of this story’s most complex roles. At first she seems little more than exploitative eye-candy, but Deb proves to have hidden depths.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The action dances from one side of the border to the other, and back again. Some of the plot sidebars are needlessly contrived, most notably a pointless detour while Bobby and Stig join a group of Papi Greco’s coyotes, as they herd some illegal immigrants into the United States. This seems a rather blatant — and gratuitous — political statement on Masters’ part.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kormákur burst on the scene with 2000’s <i>101 Reykjavík</i>, made in his native Iceland; more recently, he worked with Wahlberg on last year’s <i><a href="http://derrickbang.blogspot.com/2012/01/contraband-slick-smarmy-and-suspenseful.html">Contraband</a></i>, a slick but otherwise average crime thriller. Although Kormákur has a gift for well-staged mayhem, he occasionally succumbs to irritating “artistic” tendencies, such as the aforementioned flashbacks that interfere with the flow of this film's first act.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Editor Michael Tronick cuts deftly but not intrusively, and keeps the pace lively; cinematographer Oliver Wood adds some grit with occasionally grainy film stock, but wisely doesn’t overuse the effect. I’m also grateful for the fact that, copious gunfire notwithstanding, the results are neither gory nor particularly bloody ... unless, that is, we include the chickens.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An unrelated factoid I can't resist sharing: This routine action thriller boasts a jaw-dropping 12 producers — or perhaps 24, depending on who’s counting — which begs the obvious question: What the heck did they all <i>do</i>?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That notwithstanding, <i>2 Guns</i> is ideal summer entertainment: easy on the eyes and brain, with plenty of empty calories to keep us engaged for 109 minutes.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>

2 Guns (2013) • View trailer 3.5 stars. Rating: R, for violence, profanity and brief nudity By Derrick Bang • Originally published i...

Gold Star mom Debbie Lee remembers Navy son on the anniversary of his death in Iraq

4:27 PM Tukiyooo 0

I had the privilege of meeting Debbie Lee a few years ago. She was personable, friendly, and outgoing. I met her, however, knowing the weight she carried, and I thanked her for her sacrifice. Today is the anniversary of her son's death in 2006 in Iraq, and here is her remembrance.<br /><blockquote><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Today  is August 2nd. This day will never be the same for me. For most people  it's just another sunny summer day filled with normal routines, but for  me it will always be "that day." Aug 2nd, 2006 is a day that forever  changed my life.<br /> <br /> It was another sunny day in Arizona 7 years  ago, but across the world in Ramadi, Iraq it was a different story. I  couldn't even tell you what I did that day but that evening I was at my  small group and we were celebrating my birthday which had been the week  before.<br /> <br /> Within 30 minutes life would change from cake, ice  cream and receiving a gift of a Willow Tree Angel named "Courage" to  using that courage to survive the most devastating moments of my life.<br /> <br /> I arrived home to find my son Kristofer waiting on the sidewalk to  inform me the Navy was there. I glanced at the two Navy Officers in  their dress whites on my porch and fell into Kristofer's arms and cried  "Noooooooooooo!" I knew why they were there.<br /> <br /> We entered the  house and they tried to prepare me for what they were about to tell me.  They had been in my home for about 30 minutes while Kris tried to find  me.<br /> <br /> "We can tell by being in your home you are a woman of  faith and you are going to need to rely on your faith for what we are  about to tell you. Your son Marc Alan Lee has been killed in Action." I  couldn't breathe; I felt a pain in the core of my being that no parent  should ever have to feel. I began to cry my river.<br /> <br /> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><img align="right" alt="" hspace="5" src="http://images.alpha.mailsquadron.com/clients/MAF2554/maf/11112011_marc.jpg" style="border-style: none;" vspace="5" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">It's hard to believe it has been 7 years since that young man sacrificed his life defending his teammates, and our freedoms.<br /> <br /> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">I   still can't comprehend how you can fight in an intense fire fight for   two hours, in extreme temperatures of 120 degrees, carrying 150-180  lbs.  and still have the mental focus and strength to make the decision  to do  the right thing and risk your life for others.  Courage like Marc   displayed doesn't just happen. It is engrained in you by your creator,   it is the choice to follow the Biblical morals and values taught to  you,  it is the opportunity to practice in other difficult circumstances  that  life brings you or your BUD's instructors produce.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> Marc displayed physical and moral courage  often witnessed on the  battlefield, but courage need not be displayed  only in the battlefields  of combat as we fight and defend America and  the freedoms we have been  blessed with</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">.<br /> <br /> Our  American History is rich in examples of patriots who displayed  courage  in numerous circumstances, willing to give everything if need  be for  what they believed in, to provide liberty and a better life to  those  they left behind.<br />  </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /> There is a huge hole that is left from his absence. I will never share  the dinner table with him, or feel his arms hug me in the way only a  Mother and Son can hug, or see his smirky grin, beautiful brown eyes,  dark curly locks, or experience his playful antics or hear his  encouraging words. I won't get that dance at his wedding, or hold his  children and watch them grow, or have him hold me or care for me when I  get old.<br /> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Yet,  there are so many blessings in the midst of this deep loss. Marc's  sacrifice and his last letter home have inspired millions of people  around the world. That young man is perhaps more alive in his spirit,  that is still here, than he was in life.<br /> <br /> I had no choice in  the news the was delivered to me on Aug 2nd, but I did have a choice how  I responded. God made it very clear to me that night as I read Psalms  27 that He was right there with me, He was my rock and my strength. "I  would have lost hope if I had not believed I would see the goodness of  the Lord in the land of the living. What on the Lord, be of good courage  and he will strengthen your heart; wait I say on the Lord." Psalms  27:15 & 16<br />  <br /> I had seen God do amazing things in my life and I  had confidence in Him that He would carry me through and be my  strength. I chose to proceed through the grieving process and encourage  and help others with the hope God gives me daily.<br /><br /> </span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="http://images.alpha.mailsquadron.com/clients/MAF2554/maf/thumb_hhh_iraq_xmas_40.jpg" style="border-style: none;" /><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> <b><br />Accepting  Marc's last challenge in his glory letter, and <br />by God's strength I have  dedicated my life to supporting <br />and honoring our troops and the  families they left behind. </b></span></div><br />Marc's name means Mighty Warrior and today I remember him and as I do  every day honor his courage and sacrifice. He left behind his weapon,  his armor and his boots and laid down his baton which I picked up and  carry on. <b>To everyone who served and sacrificed for my freedoms and yours, I say "THANK YOU."</b><br /><br />Marc's final gift to me was his teammates and I am blessed to have so  many "adopted boys" and share their families and their love. God  multiplied my family exponentially and I am a blessed woman.<br /><br />So as you enjoy your sunny Aug 2nd and live your normal life and watch  your children and grandchildren play today give them an extra hug, count  your blessings, and remember our fallen warriors who sacrificed all of  their tomorrows and hope for a future so you could enjoy today.<br /><br />Remembering my son, my hero, my mighty warrior!<br /><br /><img alt="" src="http://images.alpha.mailsquadron.com/clients/MAF2554/maf/20130802_debbie.jpg" style="border-style: none;" /><br />Debbie Lee<br />Gold Star Mother of Marc Alan Lee<br />Spokesperson and Military Liason<br /><a href="http://www.moveamericaforward.org/">Move America Forward</a></blockquote>

Gold Star mom Debbie Lee remembers Navy son on the anniversary of his death in Iraq

Debbie Lee Gold Star moms Iraq Marc Alan Lee Move America Forward Operation Iraqi Freedom support our troops U.S. Navy Gold Star mom Debbie Lee remembers Navy son on the anniversary of his death in Iraq

I had the privilege of meeting Debbie Lee a few years ago. She was personable, friendly, and outgoing. I met her, however, knowing the weigh...

SCANDINAVIA

2:08 PM Tukiyooo 0

<br /> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE4Z5n_aZphAhrt7XFGtju4kgHombMJ7ff3G78g5H3decuOphdYKtlQCa6RHrIY8m148WLHM1Tz9UGU6DfSHAA_K1ThZBhpJUB_2uOYiBdUknFg5mNgAjkW1lcVsgLCJLwwqVIE2SqBotk/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE4Z5n_aZphAhrt7XFGtju4kgHombMJ7ff3G78g5H3decuOphdYKtlQCa6RHrIY8m148WLHM1Tz9UGU6DfSHAA_K1ThZBhpJUB_2uOYiBdUknFg5mNgAjkW1lcVsgLCJLwwqVIE2SqBotk/s320/images.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SWEDEN PROPOSES NORDIC BATTALION FORCE PLAN</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.defensenews.com/article/20130725/DEFREG01/307250013/Sweden-Proposes-Nordic-Battalion-Force-Plan" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">Source: Defense News</span></b></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A potential joint Nordic Battalion Force (NBF) will be on the table when defense ministers and commanders from SWEDEN, FINLAND, Norway and DENMARK meet to discuss the SWEDISH proposal this fall.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The concept for establishing the modular-style NBF is fundamental to a closer and meaningful Nordic defense cooperation, said SWEDISH Armed Force chief Gen. Sverker Göransson.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The NBF could be activated in 2016, Göransson said. The modular design would enable it to be deployed in a broad range of tasks and call in air, naval and special operations forces when needed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The SWEDISH proposal has received mixed reviews in Nordic capitals. FINLAND said it welcomed the SWEDISH initiative, but added that the country’s participation would depend on whether the NBF — besides being properly constructed, funded and equipped — is assigned a worthwhile role to strengthen the Nordic and Baltic Sea defenses.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Oslo and Copenhagen are expected to discuss the NBF proposal in September, although it is speculated that neither DENMARK nor NORWAY will join at the outset.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">FINLAND’S defense minister, meanwhile, told Defense News he has questions as to how the battalion would be used.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Would it function as a regional force, or could it be a crisis management tool that could be used outside of the EUROPEAN UNION’S [EU’s] borders?” asked Defense MinisterCarl Haglund.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The NBF advocated by Göransson would operate as a separate force to the EUROPEAN UNION’S SWEDISH-led Nordic Battle Group (NBG), made up of troops and equipment from FINLAND, NORWAY, IRELAND, ESTONIA and LATVIA. Unlike the NBF, which would be Nordic-specific, the larger NBG is assigned to the EU’s standby international mission forces.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpPCLP3hYQi6aHBNQGw1u1wGe8gKYCm0QEEvAa3-BFpTi5fMeBKVcUHLGGPJ7B2nxKKAAaor5FtpZ5mjTLqhGCPkSiJBLdGpPoj4WouMYdg-cXVAEH-1BozVOEMjpxI2y9-JGQwvRlgkcs/s1600/norden-overview2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpPCLP3hYQi6aHBNQGw1u1wGe8gKYCm0QEEvAa3-BFpTi5fMeBKVcUHLGGPJ7B2nxKKAAaor5FtpZ5mjTLqhGCPkSiJBLdGpPoj4WouMYdg-cXVAEH-1BozVOEMjpxI2y9-JGQwvRlgkcs/s320/norden-overview2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SWEDEN and FINLAND estimate that the NBG, whose next sixth month standby is scheduled for January 2015, costs around US $300 million to train, assemble and made deployable.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Haglund said that while FINLAND supports effective Nordic military cooperation, a force that would protect Nordic territories requires the signing of defense agreements.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“If it is assumed that a Nordic Battalion Force would be used, for example, in the common defense of FINNISH, SWEDISH and other Nordic territories, then we are talking about a completely unique situation,” Haglund said. “We do not have these types of mutual defense agreements in place at the present time.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The SWEDISH-sponsored NBF proposal forms part of a broader national and Nordic debate on territorial and regional defense that also raises significant questions as to whether SWEDEN should rescind its non-aligned status and join NATO, said Peter Hultqvist, chairman of SWEDEN’S Parliamentary Committee on Defense.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Any new initiative that comes out of Nordic cooperation on defense, and which delivers a more effective military capability to defend SWEDEN, should be considered,” Hultqvist said. “We must look at the fine detail. What will a Nordic battalion-size force cost, and what countries will join. Above all, such a force must be mission-relevant.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nordic Defense Cooperation (NORDEFCO) is examining the basis for building the NBF. The group is expected to present a development review in the fall, said Stefan Andersson, a Stockholm-based political analyst.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NORDEFCO serves as the primary conduit for collaboration between the Nordic militaries.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The SWEDISH proposal falls neatly in to line with a NORDEFCO Cooperation Area Battalion Task Force 2020 study to determine if a common approach is possible to the development of a generic Nordic Battalion Task Force that would include Command and Control, C4IS, Logistics as well as effective intelligence and engagement pillars,” Andersson said.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The modular operating model would involve a battalion of 400 to 1,200 personnel comprising three to seven companies, Andersson said.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“This battalion force organization, at its maximum capacity, would be about half the size of the Nordic Battle Group, which has around 2,400 troops assigned. The SWEDISH hope is that NORWAY and FINLAND will be there from the very start, with DENMARK possibly joining at some later point,” Andersson said. “What is interesting is that the battalion force contemplated is regarded as being a worthwhile project within Nordic political and military circles whether or not FINLAND or SWEDEN should decide to move towards NATO membership in the future.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Göransson’s military assessment, made last spring, that years of under-funding of SWEDEN’S national defense has stripped the country’s capacity to defend itself for longer than one week, re-opened the debate on the country’s potential membership in NATO.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The prospects for a future application by SWEDEN brightened in July when the Social Democrats, a party traditionally opposed to stronger formal links with the alliance, reversed its position to support a government initiative to allow SWEDISH forces to train with NATO’s Rapid Response Force.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“We are talking about advanced training exercises that we can’t do ourselves in SWEDEN. It would mean cooperation at a deeper level with NATO, just as FINLAND, which is also non-aligned, does. Taking part in Response Force exercises is vital if we want to develop the full capacity of our military,” said Hultqvist, who is also the Social Democrats’ shadow spokesman on defense.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SWEDEN’S Christian-Democrat opposition party, meanwhile, is lobbying for full membership in NATO. The Christian-Democrats say NATO membership offers the only long-term viable defense solution to protect the sovereignty of SWEDEN and neighboring Nordic states.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Having a Nordic battalion force is useful in the short-term, but the truth is SWEDEN needs to be in NATO. We must become a full member,” said Mikael Oscarsson, the Christian-Democrats’ defense policy spokesman. “This is the only solution that can contribute to increased security both for our country and neighboring Nordic countries.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Oscarsson said the “dire shortage” of firepower within the Army’s two primary artillery battalions, due to delays in the delivery of the first of 24 mobile ARCHER systems, highlights SWEDEN’S need to develop common defense platforms with Nordic neighbors and NATO.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The first ARCHER units should have arrived in 2011. Technical delays mean our artillery battalions still haven’t taken delivery of even one. Most of the older howitzer units have been decommissioned. This means that the Armed Force’s capacity to defend this country is severely limited right now,” Oscarsson said.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Göransson said the first four ARCHER systems are expected to be delivered late this year, while the rate of delivery will see two units delivered each month in 2014 until the order with BAE Systems is fulfilled</span></div>

SCANDINAVIA

SWEDEN PROPOSES NORDIC BATTALION FORCE PLAN Source: Defense News A potential joint Nordic Battalion Force (NBF) will be on the table when d...

Global TPP fears are on the rise

1:53 PM Tukiyooo 0

<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is raising concerns not only in the U.S., but increasingly abroad as well. The reason is a familiar one to working Americans who have sounded the alarm about the potential trade pact -- jobs.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5GNPh4L9dyFEjafZgdiLgok9fpP5_M0vgNOuTOWAXZejHvGXGnGsP1spLECr7NtKsbzE1Y7RlXgK3QNdhzmGV_vRO4iWp0vuqjkx_b7TV33eLlje3d5hnhidRw71jJ4kMMouyRMMkqih/s1600/tpp.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5GNPh4L9dyFEjafZgdiLgok9fpP5_M0vgNOuTOWAXZejHvGXGnGsP1spLECr7NtKsbzE1Y7RlXgK3QNdhzmGV_vRO4iWp0vuqjkx_b7TV33eLlje3d5hnhidRw71jJ4kMMouyRMMkqih/s320/tpp.jpeg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At a public hearing held today in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to discuss the TPP, attendees raised fears that </span><a href="http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2013/08/02/Consumers-laud-move-to-block-stolen-handphones.aspx" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the “free trade” agreement was just an attempt by the U.S.</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> to dominate the economies of the 11 other nations currently negotiating the agreement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>They worried that smaller businesses would be stamped out and many jobs lost. <o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> That message was not lost on the nation’s leaders. Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohammad, Malaysia’s international trade minister, said the negative mood was apparent:</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I respect it because the reason we are doing this is to listen, and to be a good listener, we have to respect people’s views. I recognize that a lot more will have to be done to engage the public on TPPA.<o:p></o:p></span></blockquote></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> It’s just the latest example of a growing movement against the Pacific Rim trade deal in that country. Last month, Tun Dr Mahathir,Malaysia’s former prime minister, </span><a href="http://www.thestar.com.my/Opinion/Columnists/Along-The-Watchtower/Profile/Articles/2013/07/17/discord-over-secret-talk.aspx" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">voiced his opposition to the TPP</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, calling it:</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A partnership of the unequal, of the strong to take advantage of the weak.<o:p></o:p></span></blockquote></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Malaysians are not alone in that belief. Earlier this year, </span><a href="http://boingboing.net/2013/07/31/prominent-politicians-and-nego.html" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chile’s former chief TPP negotiator also called out</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> the trade pact, describing it as a threat to all involved nations. He said it would limit options when it came to health and education developments, as well as biological and cultural diversity. He also said nations’ economic and policy decision-making would be curtailed as well.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Growing pessimism, however, doesn’t seem to be stalling efforts to move forward with finalizing the TPP. </span><a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/08/02/business/tpp-talks-set-four-stage-tariff-deadline/#.Ufvwq2zD_cs" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The 12 involved nations have set four deadlines</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> for reaching a consensus on eliminating tariffs and want to have a basic agreement in place by the end of October. It is expected that bilateral negotiations will be wrapped up by Sept. 20. The next round of talks is set to begin Aug. 22 in Brunei.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The clock is ticking on this agreement. Workers across the globe are waking up to the reality that this deal is a loser for them but a major coup for corporations. Now it’s time to let elected officials know we are onto the game.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here in the U.S., we’ve seen this before with such deals as NAFTA. No one is against trade, just unfair trade. It’s time to stop letting big corporations ship our jobs overseas and dump our wages and benefits overboard along the way.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The first step is to convince Congress that approving an up-or-down vote on the TPP with no chance to alter the deal and limited debate is a net loser. Lawmakers will likely take up the issue soon after returning to Washington next month.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br /><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Congress, the ball's in your court. Don't drop it.</span></o:p>

Global TPP fears are on the rise

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is raising concerns not only in the U.S., but increasingly abroad as well. The reason is a familiar on...

Striking funeral directors gain political support

12:54 PM Tukiyooo 0

<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPwIfiR_cL8TsBXTGNxAhZBQK2UI05DCovhkiGBUwdgFVusuQ_JSw0tMampbFO_xuywDiCAiEi7zH2dYZiYS8-NOMjGPgM0DfSTJCn77nMhSj4NR7jgnYa8_BwonyIkbFvoui8Zg7JGzXV/s1600/SCI+strike.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPwIfiR_cL8TsBXTGNxAhZBQK2UI05DCovhkiGBUwdgFVusuQ_JSw0tMampbFO_xuywDiCAiEi7zH2dYZiYS8-NOMjGPgM0DfSTJCn77nMhSj4NR7jgnYa8_BwonyIkbFvoui8Zg7JGzXV/s400/SCI+strike.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Striking funeral directors in Chicago. </td></tr></tbody></table>Striking funeral directors from Teamsters Local 727 in Chicago have gained the political support of such political heavyweights as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel" rel="nofollow">Mayor Rahm Emanuel</a>,  <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Quinn_(politician)" rel="nofollow">Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn</a>, Cook County Board President <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toni_Preckwinkle" rel="nofollow">Toni Preckwinkle</a>, 12 state lawmakers and three members of Congress: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Schakowsky" rel="nofollow">Jan Schakowsky</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Quigley_(politician)">Michael Quigley</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tammy_Duckworth">Tammy Duckworth</a>.<br /><br />The striking funeral directors are fighting SCI Corp. for parity with other Chicago funeral industry professionals.  The $4 billion corporation walked away from negotiations, forcing the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unfair_labor_practice">unfair labor practice</a> strike after the Teamsters’ contract expired on July 1. SCI's stock rose 56 percent in the last year, but the company proposed eliminating the funeral directors' pension fund, increased costs to health care premiums and zero wage increases for new hires after years of wage freezes for current employees.<br /><br />Pickets began a month ago at 16 Chicago-area funeral homes, which SCI operates under the Dignity Memorial brand name.<br /><br />The company has attempted to smear the funeral directors with false statements in the local news media. (Which, by the way, is exactly what you'd expect from a company that hires <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/06/why-teamsters-charged-funeral-giant.html">armed goons</a> to spy on its own employees during negotiations.) <a href="http://www.teamsterslocal727.org/" rel="nofollow">Teamsters Local 727</a> put out a <a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/members-congress-join-mayor-emanuel-gov-quinn-support-striking-funeral-directors" rel="nofollow">statement</a>:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Despite blatantly false claims by SCI, Teamsters are continuing to lawfully picket outside Dignity Memorial funeral homes throughout the Chicago area. Erroneous stories published by local and national media outlets have carried inaccurate reports made by SCI on the Teamsters’ uninterrupted pickets.</blockquote>The good news:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Just this week, SCI contacted the Teamsters to potentially resume negotiations, offering two meeting dates. Local 727 has accepted both days.</blockquote>Stay tuned.

funeral directors strike Striking funeral directors gain political support

Striking funeral directors in Chicago. Striking funeral directors from Teamsters Local 727 in Chicago have gained the political support of ...

Gold Cross strikers gain support

11:57 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="tr_bq"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2-xDfJ7PC3U" width="420"></iframe></div><br />Our brothers and sisters from <a href="http://www.teamsters542.org/">Teamsters Local 542</a> are standing strong on Day 6 of their strike against Gold Cross Ambulance -- and their families are standing with them.<br /><br />The paramedics and EMTs whose job it is to save lives in Imperial County, Calif., earn less than $10 an hour. They've tried to negotiate for a living wage for six months, but the company remains intransigent. Now the Gold Cross strikers are walking the picket line in stifling heat.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kswt.com/story/23024711/support-for-strikers-grow-families-join-picket-line">KSWT</a> reports:<br /><blockquote>Despite the heat, 60 paramedics and EMTs in Imperial County continue to walk the picket line 24/7 - trying to fight for a pay raise and better health benefits. </blockquote><blockquote>The paramedics union and Gold Cross Ambulance are miles apart and so far, refuse to meet at the bargaining table. </blockquote><blockquote>The strike has gotten so personal, paramedic's wives are also walking the picket line to support their husbands and to let their voices be heard in the community. </blockquote><blockquote>"It's rough. I mean, emotionally, financially. We've been out here everyday." </blockquote><blockquote>Ashleigh Creiglow who's husband, David, has been a paramedic with Gold Cross for five years says - while she's not a paramedic, she too is on strike because it's impacting her and their two children - directly. </blockquote><blockquote>"I'm the only one working I work part-time I have the kids with me when I work."</blockquote>Stand strong!

Gold Cross strikers gain support

Our brothers and sisters from Teamsters Local 542 are standing strong on Day 6 of their strike against Gold Cross Ambulance -- and their fa...

Fodor's: '4 U.S. road trips to take before you die' includes one close to home

11:37 AM Tukiyooo 0

Only four destination roads are listed in the group of <a href="http://www.fodors.com/news/4-us-road-trips-to-take-before-you-die-6995.html">"4 U.S. road trips to take before you die"</a> from Fodor's, the travel people, and since one is right here in Virginia, there's no reason not to hop on and go!<br /><br />Travel writer Jimmy Im includes the Blue Ridge Parkway as one of those four coveted road trips:<br /><span class="blog-text"></span><br /><h2><span class="blog-text">Blue Ridge Parkway: Virginia to North Carolina</span></h2><span class="blog-text"><img alt="blue-ridge-pkwy-nc.jpg" height="300" src="http://www.fodors.com/wire/blue-ridge-pkwy-nc.jpg" width="452" /><b> </b></span><br /><span class="blog-text"><b>Distance: </b>470 miles<br /><br />  Road trippers can expect lush forestry and some majestic mountains on the <a href="http://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/usa/north-carolina/the-north-carolina-mountains/blue-ridge-parkway/">Blue Ridge Parkway</a>, a 470-mile drive connecting <a href="http://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/usa/virginia/central-and-western-virginia/shenandoah-national-park/">Shenandoah National Park</a> in Virginia and the <a href="http://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/usa/tennessee/great-smoky-mtns-national-park/">Great Smoky Mountains National Park</a> in North Carolina. While it averages roughly 10 hours to drive, plenty  of highlights along the way ensure you'll want to take several days to  explore the route. Locals call the Blue Ridge Parkway a "window" to the  region as several cultural and unique towns are right off the highway.<br /><br />  Visitors stop for a photo opp at the Humpback Rocks in Blue Ridge,  VA, a natural rock outcrop that has a storied history. Nearby is the <a href="http://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/usa/virginia/central-and-western-virginia/review-166229.html">Natural Bridge of Virginia</a> in Rockbridge Country, one of the oldest tourist destinations in the  country and constantly voted as one of America's best natural wonders.  Stop in Roanoke, the largest metropolitan city along the route, to visit  charming farmer's markets. <br /><br />  Several attractions await in <a href="http://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/usa/north-carolina/the-north-carolina-mountains/blowing-rock/">Blowing Rock</a>,  North Carolina, but a road tripper's favorite is the actual Blowing  Rock itself, a cliff looming 4,000 feet above sea level, harboring  magnificent views of Hawksbill Mountain and Table Rock. For the mother  of all views, stop at <a href="http://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/usa/north-carolina/the-north-carolina-mountains/blue-ridge-parkway/activities_h2447231_hiking.html">Waterrock Knob</a>, which, at 7,000-feet high, showcases breathtaking mountain views.</span>

Fodor's: '4 U.S. road trips to take before you die' includes one close to home

4 US road trips to take before you die Blue Ridge Mountains Blue Ridge Parkway Fodor's getaways Jimmy In Lynn R. Mitchell North Carolina Virginia Fodor's: '4 U.S. road trips to take before you die' includes one close to home

Only four destination roads are listed in the group of "4 U.S. road trips to take before you die" from Fodor's, the travel pe...

Hot off the press ... newest Pineapple and Coconut political cartoon

10:50 AM Tukiyooo 0

Hot off the press ... newest Pineapple and Coconut political cartoon

Kurt Michael Pineapple and Coconut political cartoon Republicans shut down government Virginia Politics On Demand Hot off the press ... newest Pineapple and Coconut political cartoon

At Virginia Politics On Demand ... Shut down the government....

First Digital Camera with Android Operating System by Nikon's

10:47 AM Tukiyooo 0

<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/AVvXsEj2IOLsTl_OJpPSaSdatC57rOczUbSO3V7SShq7zhic2HCPCgMf1sZ4QCsdMI17dBsEytAAM9zq4uV0eJLKTfZiH6RTB8xKTvxEmFboJsC6hmWF8cqegPpJvWK5K_0h0tll0iqzgGS6Bk-K/s1600/120822070258-nikon-coolpix-s800c-camera-with-android-story-top.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2IOLsTl_OJpPSaSdatC57rOczUbSO3V7SShq7zhic2HCPCgMf1sZ4QCsdMI17dBsEytAAM9zq4uV0eJLKTfZiH6RTB8xKTvxEmFboJsC6hmWF8cqegPpJvWK5K_0h0tll0iqzgGS6Bk-K/s1600/120822070258-nikon-coolpix-s800c-camera-with-android-story-top.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />You have listen about smartphones with digi cam functionality. But have you listen about digi cam with smartphone functionality?<br />Thanks to new Nikon's point-and-shoot camera which is powered with Android operating system.<br /><br />Earlier when camera was introduced in cellphones, then camera company's were not shocked and stunned much, because that camera was of very low resolution quality, does not have the facility of interchangeable lenses, doesn't have much sensors and not any facility of manual controls. These cellphones also doesn't have facility like high-ISO for low-light shooting, megazoom, and rugged bodies for the outdoors.<br /><br />But after the introduction of Android and windows phones in market with a very high resolution camera and many other vast features, people started to spend on good smartphones which provide multi-functionality  in a single device in comparison to digital cameras which provide only shooting facility.<br /><br />So Nickon launched $350 Coolpix S800c  new camera which will go ahead and left behind these smartphones very soon.<br /><br />It has 3.5 inch touch screen that enables users to access Google Play Store where user can download more apps for their camera, including editing tools and social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook etc. It doesn't have cellular connection but have Wi-Fi connectivity for sharing pictures and data.The camera also allows user to use all the android applications like sending mails, browsing internet, listening music and playing games etc.<br /><br />The camera also has features like -  10X zoom, can shoot 1080p videos, and GPS and maps for tagging with locations. It has fully automated controls with no manual controls. The S800c is running Android 2.3, known as Gingerbread.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Nickon is the first to launch Android camera and thats why also left behind Samsung and Sony by combining features of smartphone and camera.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><br /><br /></div>

First Digital Camera with Android Operating System by Nikon's

You have listen about smartphones with digi cam functionality. But have you listen about digi cam with smartphone functionality? Thanks to n...

The Sappy Post

10:37 AM Tukiyooo 0

This is the one where I'm just a sappy mess because there's nothing better to do lol<br /><br />I love y'all<br /><br />Seriously<br /><br />I've gotten really close to some of you.  Met one of you IRL and so so so almost close to meeting another - next time!!!<br /><br />It makes me happy that you choose to share your lives with the world and let us in.<br /><br />I hate it's got to be so private and impersonal - while being extremely personal at the same time. <br /><br />Sometimes I wish my life was more interesting so there was something better to share.  Other times I'm glad I'm so boring :-)<br /><br />Been down in the dumps more often than not lately.  I want more from my life, more from my marriage, more from myself, more more more.  Oh, the golden goose too while you're at it.  But it could be worse, could be way horribly worse. <br /><br />I like having you around.  Even though you're not.  I just like being let in and part of your lives.<br /><br />So thanks.<br /><br /><br />

The Sappy Post

This is the one where I'm just a sappy mess because there's nothing better to do lol I love y'all Seriously I've gotten real...

Logitech introduced ultrathin keyboard for iPad mini.

10:23 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now you can write mails and messages on your iPad with the help of a mini keyboard that could be attached with your iPad. This new product introduced by Logitech and named Ultrathin mini keyboard. It is not just a keyboard but also works as a cover as well as stand for your iPad. Now you can get this gadget from stores. This device is also available for iPad 2, iPad 3 (3<sup>rd</sup> and 4<sup>th</sup> generation).</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-92WdIO7XbUc/Ufvnp9KK9kI/AAAAAAAAAIc/MiFzdpRNeNk/s1600/ultrathin-keyboard-mini-gallery-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-92WdIO7XbUc/Ufvnp9KK9kI/AAAAAAAAAIc/MiFzdpRNeNk/s320/ultrathin-keyboard-mini-gallery-2.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: Logitech.com</td></tr></tbody></table></span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Specification:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Ultrathin keyboard mini is not only working as an input device but also protect the screen of your iPad. Powerful magnetic clips will be used to attach keyboard securely to your iPad mini. It is a light weight (280g) device, one third weight of your iPad. You have two  choice of colour variants, Black and White. The price of this mini key board is just Rs 6,795.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Your iPad mini will wakes and sleep when you open and close the cover respectively. You can only charge the keyboard using the USB cable. Company claims up to 6 months of battery life on a full charge if you use of two hours per day. Short cut keys like copy, paste, undo are also available on the key board to save your time and works faster. The keyboard is powered by Bluetooth Easy type skill.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the launching function Subrotah Biswas, director of Logitech India and South West Asia said, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We are excited to introduce the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard mini as a perfect companion for your iPad mini. Its durable 7-inch design and full size keys help you make the most of you iPad mini experience.</i>”</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/100638775997274345522" rel="author">Anil Swami</a></div></div>

Bluetooth iPad keyboard. price Logitech introduced ultrathin keyboard for iPad mini.

Now you can write mails and messages on your iPad with the help of a mini keyboard that could be attached with your iPad. This new product i...

McKesson shareholders reject CEO pay

9:19 AM Tukiyooo 0

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAPFEaVYee_GMBSNbT7IZyw_iJvmKayUIEVsQJAQ7FnPhIq3aHRMMU1drO6WlPcamsZFrcTz1NzdD9qKyWhVEhee7e0dGbP5XTqDPRmNmJ5kvyb_Z_I6kFXgv3E1wcna5teQhA5saCPgyQ/s1600/glenn+gray+at+mckesson+rally.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAPFEaVYee_GMBSNbT7IZyw_iJvmKayUIEVsQJAQ7FnPhIq3aHRMMU1drO6WlPcamsZFrcTz1NzdD9qKyWhVEhee7e0dGbP5XTqDPRmNmJ5kvyb_Z_I6kFXgv3E1wcna5teQhA5saCPgyQ/s400/glenn+gray+at+mckesson+rally.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teamster Glenn Gray, McKesson warehouse worker</td></tr></tbody></table>Shareholders said “no more” to a pharmaceutical distribution company lavishing extravagant wages on its CEO while paying its workers so little they can’t afford health care.<br /><br />At the <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/31/us-mckesson-pay-idUSBRE96U0X920130731" rel="nofollow">McKesson annual meeting</a> in San Francisco on Wednesday, shareholders sent a resounding message that they’ve had enough with the company’s excessive pay packages for its CEO. A majority vote by the shareholders rejected the CEO’s compensation package and approved a shareholder proposal to strengthen the executive pay clawback policy. The proposed<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clawback" rel="nofollow"> clawback policy</a> would allow the company to recoup some of the boss’s pay if it is discovered the pay was based on inaccurate financial reporting or misconduct.<br /><br />McKesson has had to pay out nearly a billion dollars to settle allegations of price fixing and Medicaid fraud. The scandal happened during John Hammergren’s tenure as chief executive. Still, the board richly rewarded him with roughly $50 million a year in total compensation.  His pension, valued at $159 million, is likely the <a href="http://blogs.marketwatch.com/encore/2013/06/25/a-ceo-pension-package-worth-159-million/" rel="nofollow">highest for any executive in history</a> according to compensation consultants interviewed by the Wall St. Journal.<br /><br />Perhaps even more shameful than the CEO’s pay is the workers’ pay. Glenn Gray, a 10-year McKesson employee from Lakeland, Fla., stood up at the meeting to tell the CEO that the pay for McKesson workers in his distribution center is so low that many of his co-workers cannot even afford to pay for their healthcare. “Most cannot even afford to set aside one percent of their paycheck into their 401 (k),” he said.<br /><br />Workers at the Lakeland facility voted for Teamster representation nearly two years ago and still don’t have a first contract.  The company has hired union busters and retaliated against workers who support the union. At a rally outside the San Francisco shareholder meeting, Teamster leaders pledged the solidarity of Teamster members throughout North America to support the fight of McKesson’s workers in Florida.<br /> <br /><a href="http://www.teamsterslocal337.com/" rel="nofollow">Teamsters Local 337</a> in Detroit has represented McKesson employees for nearly two decades. “McKesson employees work hard and they deserve to earn a decent wage and have affordable health care and a safe work environment,” said Teamsters Local 337 President Mike Martin.<br /><br />Steve Vairma, Teamsters international vice president and director of the union’s <a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/warehouse" rel="nofollow">Warehouse division</a>, said, “McKesson Teamster members from 13 local unions across North America have put the company on notice that an injury to one Teamster is an injury to all. If McKesson wants to wage war on its Florida workers, it’s going to find itself fighting all of us.”<br /><br />“This company profits off the hard work of some 1500 Teamsters employed at McKesson distribution centers as well as off the billions of dollars in prescription drug purchases made by Teamster families through our affiliated health funds and their pharmacy benefit managers,” said Ken Wood, international vice president of the <a href="http://teamster.org/" rel="nofollow">Teamsters union</a>. Wood’s<a href="http://teamsterslocal79.org/"> local union</a> represents the Lakeland employees.  Inside the meeting, he warned, “I will not stand silently by and allow a company like McKesson to use the hard earned assets of Teamster affiliated health funds to hire union busters and undermine workers’ rights.”<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPAbCS9iOgg5L3tOtZcxgSfLThfR7G-u0RIBjN9aqC3Ryj54FMQ8LzFPy-oCc7GCtRozjCNYMXazTbUCd9YR8U5dgzWkxN0SYAWYnVUfX5L18g7cpFv4xe17ZrEgQRR6FLTE57U8GkAJIY/s1600/McKesson+Teamster+rally.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPAbCS9iOgg5L3tOtZcxgSfLThfR7G-u0RIBjN9aqC3Ryj54FMQ8LzFPy-oCc7GCtRozjCNYMXazTbUCd9YR8U5dgzWkxN0SYAWYnVUfX5L18g7cpFv4xe17ZrEgQRR6FLTE57U8GkAJIY/s400/McKesson+Teamster+rally.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teamsters rally outside McKesson shareholder meeting on Wednesday. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />

McKesson shareholders reject CEO pay

Teamster Glenn Gray, McKesson warehouse worker Shareholders said “no more” to a pharmaceutical distribution company lavishing extravagant wa...

HOW CAN WE ATTRACT YOUNG PEOPLE?: PART TWO

9:08 AM Tukiyooo 0

HOW CAN WE ATTRACT YOUNG PEOPLE?: PART TWO

After the provocative post by Rachel Held Evans, which I discussed in my recent post How Can We Attract Young People , there have been a lot...

Despicable smear artist attacks fast-food strikers

8:32 AM Tukiyooo 0

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMfrGlXapycxRV2XEurFWYEVR-VIMGArtN6bY-PvUQXQqzQkVtxrQWsuJiFZIZaUTOYdBEPwY7cG7VxQKdgylHO5VUXn6dfma9iAp2ZhxDaX7dt9h-xg7z21koCdxFGybQ9dsQeAhMHF9/s1600/fast+food+strikers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMfrGlXapycxRV2XEurFWYEVR-VIMGArtN6bY-PvUQXQqzQkVtxrQWsuJiFZIZaUTOYdBEPwY7cG7VxQKdgylHO5VUXn6dfma9iAp2ZhxDaX7dt9h-xg7z21koCdxFGybQ9dsQeAhMHF9/s400/fast+food+strikers.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Our old enemy, the despicable smear artist <a href="http://bermanexposed.org/" rel="nofollow">Rick Berman</a>, is back, making up crap on Fox News to discredit fast-food strikers.<br /><br />Berman is a shill for the restaurant industry, which is clearly spooked by the thousands of<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/08/low-wage-workers-in-Chicago-Milwaukee-Seattle-walk-off-jobs.html"> fast-food strikers</a> who've elicited broad public outrage over their poverty wages and abuse at work. The fast-food strikers want higher wages and an end to retaliation for trying to form a union.<br /><br />This week, fast-food workers walked off the job in a wave of one-day strikes, first in New York, then in St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, Detroit, Flint, Milwaukee and Seattle. Workers who hadn't planned on joining the fast-food strikers suddenly decided to join them. Scabs refused to cross picket lines, according to Bud Meyers at <a href="http://www.economicpopulist.org/content/low-pay-keeps-millennials-stuck-home5319" rel="nofollow">The Economic Populist</a>.<br /><br />Berman is an old corporate hit man whose own son has called him despicable. This is what <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.890625px;"> </span><a href="http://ethanbeute.com/wordpress/like-son-dont-like-father-berman/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #336699; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.890625px;">he has said about dear old dad</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.890625px;">: </span><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.890625px; margin: 1em 20px;">“My father is a despicable man.  My father is a sort of human molestor.  An exploiter.  A scoundrel.  A world historical motherf*cking son of a b*itch.  (sorry grandma)”<br /><br />“He props up fast food/soda/factory farming/childhood obesity and diabetes/drunk driving/secondhand smoke.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.890625px; margin: 1em 20px;">He attacks animal lovers, ecologists, civil action attorneys, scientists, dieticians, doctors, teachers.</blockquote>Meyers has more about Berman's recent appearance on Fox News:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Recently on July 29th, on the Fox News business channel, host Stuart Varney interviewed Richard Berman of the Employment Policies Institute to provide a "critical analysis" of the walk outs. Berman dismissed the idea of raising fast food employee wages, claiming that a hike in pay would result in lower employment: </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">"The business model just does not support those kind of wages. If people are feeling that they are not being paid adequately, then they have got to find a job someplace else." </blockquote><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpbMgZFVxYJhIPUzT2FSkVJ0DUom6uIZv3p8kaiE1r-GXs7M2Sw0mxvkD5j0ug5q0RPcLFeGJwsgyvX7PJZr6pg3eUrJltBgixALY_FSIhGmQKhdbUky9LnsHLO4hnq77Ourov_-U5f5SC/s1600/rick+berman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpbMgZFVxYJhIPUzT2FSkVJ0DUom6uIZv3p8kaiE1r-GXs7M2Sw0mxvkD5j0ug5q0RPcLFeGJwsgyvX7PJZr6pg3eUrJltBgixALY_FSIhGmQKhdbUky9LnsHLO4hnq77Ourov_-U5f5SC/s1600/rick+berman.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Berman</td></tr></tbody></table><blockquote class="tr_bq">Berman, a corporate lobbyist, did not disclose his organization's ties to the fast food industry. According to <a href="http://www.citizensforethics.org/" rel="nofollow">Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington</a>, the Employment Policies Institute is one of many front groups associated with Berman which provides political cover for clients in the restaurant, hospitality, alcohol, and tobacco industries. Berman specializes in a so-called "aggressive media outreach" approach intended to "change the debate" in favor of major clients. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Berman, who says the fast-food industry can't support paying $15 an hour, is trying to convince the general public that this raises the incentive for fast-food businesses to replace workers with some automated method of preparing, serving and selling fast-food via an iPad. According to the Employment Policies Institute's 2011 990 form, Berman is paid $1.16 million to use scare tactics to convince others that they aren't worth $15 an hour.</blockquote>It's the same old story of powerful corporations trying to crush their workers using devious means. Let's hope the fast-food strikers can write a new chapter with a happier ending.<br /><br />

fast food strikes low-wage workers Despicable smear artist attacks fast-food strikers

Our old enemy, the despicable smear artist Rick Berman , is back, making up crap on Fox News to discredit fast-food strikers. Berman is a sh...

Clerk - New Britain Public Library

7:41 AM Anonymous 0

Clerk - New Britain Public Library

Clerk - New Britain Public Library . 20 hour Clerk I position to work in Circulation area. $12.56/hr. Full posting @ www.nbpl.info ; high ...

What Lies Ahead for the Future of the Wildlife Professional?

7:33 AM Tukiyooo 0

What Lies Ahead for the Future of the Wildlife Professional?

An interesting article on the future of the wildlife management profession. What Lies Ahead for the Future of the Wildlife Professional?

6 week weigh in results

7:06 AM Tukiyooo 0

Are you ready?????  Here we are.  Starting weight was 293.  2 weeks ago I was at 275 at 18 pounds lost with belviq.  Today, I am at........well, watch for yourself!!<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="280" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xo-AKi9VmdU?feature=player_embedded" width="380"></iframe><br /><br />That's right folks, I met my weigh in goal to BE UNDER 270 pounds!!!!!!  I am at 269.8 (BARELY but we will take it) for a totally weight loss of 23.2 pounds.  But, it's really a little lower as you heard us talk about my dress .<br /><br />We did confirm that the dress I am wearing, because of the material, weighed 1.5 pounds.   So technically, I am down to 268.3ish pounds for a total loss of 24.7 pounds but I couldn't video myself in the nude HAHA!<br /><br />Actually, I am claiming the 24.7 pounds - rounding to 25 pounds.  We verified that the dress is heavy (ruffles made with extra fabric) and it was a poor choice on my end - next time I will know. <br /><br />SO you can take the official or the unofficial.  I mean, by the end of the weekend I'd be at the 25 anyway hahahaha!  <br /><br />For me, I met TWO of my goals:  1, under 270 and 25 pounds lost.  1/2 There to my bigger goal of 50 pounds.  I AM SOOOOO excited!!!!!  ALL in 6 WEEKS.  <br />   <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

6 week weigh in results

Are you ready????? Here we are. Starting weight was 293. 2 weeks ago I was at 275 at 18 pounds lost with belviq. Today, I am at........w...

‘If This Was Your Mother, Doctor…’ - NYT

4:37 AM Tukiyooo 0

<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><p>The other residents and I sat in our blue scrubs with our attending   physician in the windowless family meeting room just outside the   intensive care unit. We had gathered around one end of the ovoid table   with the family of the patient, two daughters and a son, at the other. </p><p>The patient was an elderly woman, admitted to our unit just a few   hours before, with a breathing machine keeping her alive. We proceeded   with the meeting as we were trained to do. We kept our elbows off the   table, maintained eye contact (but not too much eye contact) and gave   the family an update of where we stood. </p><p>A healthy family meeting, we'd been told, involved us speaking for   about half the time, with the family speaking for the rest – venting,   questioning, grieving and hoping, in no particular order. This meeting,   though, was dominated by long periods of silence that unearthed the   dull, low-pitched drone in the background. </p><p>The son, quiet for most of the meeting, broke the silence and, with a   hint of anger and a big dollop of frustration, asked the one question I   had dreaded being asked the most: "Doc, give it to me straight. If this   were your mother, what would you do?"  </p><p>While the patient-doctor interaction varies widely across cultures   and continents, this question seems to be a universal constant. As a   medical student in Pakistan, I had heard it often, and even after hours   of preparation, never felt prepared to answer. As a wobbly newcomer to   clinical medicine, it left me feeling vulnerable and violated.</p><p>From a patient or family member's perspective, though, this question   helps them make sense of the confusion, desolation and powerlessness   that so often defines the hospital experience, which usually involves a   full-on assault of numbers, jargon and 'expert' opinion. They are   confronted with difficult choices, like whether they want to go ahead   with a particular high-risk procedure or wait for the tincture of time   to kick in.</p><p>Overwhelmed and confused, it makes sense they would defer the choice   to someone who appears to know what they are doing. And by invoking the   physician's parent, they hope to humanize the physician and have a   conversation with real stakes. </p><p>Yet I still find this question hard to answer. See, my mother is the   sort of person who spends two hours each day on the treadmill, even   during vacations, so that she can eat to her heart's content. Often   described as a "fighter," any additional moment she could spend with her   children or future grandchildren would be worth the extra mile. My   father, on the other hand, is someone who avoids getting his blood sugar   level tested to evade medications, dreaming of spending his last days   in the quiet serenity of the village he grew up in. Thus my answer to   the question would be very different, as it would be for anyone,   depending on which parent you asked me about. </p><p>So I have come to believe that the right answer to the question, "If   this were your mother, doctor…" is: "Tell me more about your mother." </p><p>This response gives patients' families the chance to think about   their loved ones, about what they would value and what they would   consider a good life, what they would think was worth fighting for if   they were available to answer the question for themselves. </p><p>The burden that family members feel when making medical decisions as   proxies, whether a loved one has dementia or is so sick or confused they   can't participate meaningfully in decision making, is immense. But this   response often helps to diffuse that. It takes them away from a place   where they feel solely responsible for the trajectory of their   relative's life to one where they simply communicate what the patient   would want out of their life. We as physicians can then weigh in on   whether it is reasonable to expect that to happen.</p><p>So I asked the family who was sitting across the table from me, "Tell me more about your mother." </p><p>And then, slowly, the family started sharing stories of the woman we   had met only met a few hours before, unconscious and intubated. She   loved being independent, would hate for people to open doors for her or   hold her hand as she tried to get up, they told us. She loved the sun,   the beach. She loved walking, loved being out and about. She would   never, ever want to go to a nursing home. Never ever. They pulled out a   picture of her lounging on a chair, sipping lemonade. </p><p>We then told them that based on a combination of her vital signs and   lab values, as well as our clinical judgment, that while we could hope   for some progress, it would likely not be enough to allow her any real   shot at experiencing life outside a nursing facility again. </p><p>The daughters shared another glance with their brother. Their   shoulders were now less tense, their eyes less teary. The room seemed to   be filled with memories of a woman who had lived life well. They turned   to us and asked us to make her comfortable, and to turn off the   breathing machine.     </p>  <hr><p><em>Haider Javed Warraich is a resident in internal medicine and   Katherine Swan Ginsburg Fellow in Humanism at the Beth Israel Deaconess   Medical Center in Boston and author of the novel "Auras of the Jinn."</em></p></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><br></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/if-this-was-your-mother-doctor/">http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/if-this-was-your-mother-doctor/</a></p>

‘If This Was Your Mother, Doctor…’ - NYT

The other residents and I sat in our blue scrubs with our attending physician in the windowless family meeting room just outside the int...

Living in Zurich

4:30 AM Tukiyooo 0

For the last week and a half I was in Zurich, Switzerland, for World-Architects, checking out some new architecture in the evenings after work. Many of the buildings I happened to look at were recent housing projects, primarily middle-class developments just west of central Zurich. Below are eight of those projects, with links to the architects' websites and more of my photos on Flickr.<br /><br /><a href="http://graberpulver.ch/index.php/projects/siedlung-grunmatt" rel="nofollow">Siedlung Grünmatt FGZ</a> (2014) in Zurich, Switzerland, by Graber Pulver.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/9410085348/" title="Siedlung Grünmatt FGZ by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="Siedlung Grünmatt FGZ" height="480" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5495/9410085348_585c7f7484_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />[See more <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=siedlunggr%C3%BCnmattfgz&w=archidose&adv=1&mt=all&ct=6&m=tags">photos at Flickr</a>]<br /><br /><a href="http://www.em2n.ch/projects/neufrankengasse" rel="nofollow">Housing Neufrankengasse</a> (2013) in Zurich, Switzerland, by EM2N.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/9390351645/" title="Housing Neufrankengasse by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="Housing Neufrankengasse" height="800" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7396/9390351645_3a98a710fe_c.jpg" width="575" /></a><br />[See more <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=housingneufrankengasse&w=archidose&adv=1&mt=all&ct=6&m=tags">photos at Flickr</a>]<br /><br /><a href="http://www.maerkliarchitekt.ch/solo.php?lang=de&id=686144300" rel="nofollow">Gutstrasse Wohnüberbauung</a> (2013) in Zurich, Switzerland, by Märkli Architekt.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/9407418775/" title="Gutstrasse Wohnüberbauung by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="Gutstrasse Wohnüberbauung" height="622" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2827/9407418775_99693b1edb_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />[See more <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=gutstrassewohn%C3%BCberbauung&w=archidose&adv=1&mt=all&ct=6&m=tags">photos at Flickr</a>]<br /><br /><a href="http://www.burkhalter-sumi.ch/projects/sunnigehof" rel="nofollow">Sunnige Hof</a> (2012) in Zurich, Switzerland, by Burkhalter Sumi Architekten.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/9410326070/" title="Sunnige Hof by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="Sunnige Hof" height="633" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2894/9410326070_b6aa50843a_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />[See more <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=sunnigehof&w=archidose&adv=1&mt=all&ct=6&m=tags">photos at Flickr</a>]<br /><br /><a href="http://www.vbk-arch.ch/preview-detail/items/084-ersatzneubauten-triemli-zuerich.html" rel="nofollow">Ersatzneubauten Triemli Zürich</a> (2011) by Von Ballmoos Krucker Architekten.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/9389544167/" title="Ersatzneubauten Triemli Zürich by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="Ersatzneubauten Triemli Zürich" height="480" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2841/9389544167_a8a98d39ec_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />[See more <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=ersatzneubautentriemlizuerich&w=archidose&adv=1&mt=all&ct=6&m=tags">photos at Flickr</a>]<br /><br /><a href="http://www.swiss-architects.com/de/althammer-hochuli/projekte-3/-33335" rel="nofollow">Wohnüberbauung Wasserschöpfi</a> (2011) in Zurich, Switzerland, by Althammer Hochuli.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/9401165352/" title="Wohnüberbauung Wasserschöpfi by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="Wohnüberbauung Wasserschöpfi" height="427" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3687/9401165352_2ff7f942c5_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />[See more <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=wohn%C3%BCberbauungwassersch%C3%B6pfi&w=archidose&adv=1&mt=all&ct=6&m=tags">photos at Flickr</a>]<br /><br /><a href="http://www.camenzindevolution.com/News/KISS" rel="nofollow">K.I.S.S.</a> (2011) in Zurich, Switzerland by Camenzid Evolution.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/9394271283/" title="K.I.S.S. by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="K.I.S.S." height="640" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2877/9394271283_f1eb69e1bc_z.jpg" width="632" /></a><br />[See more <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=kiss&w=archidose&adv=1&mt=all&ct=6&m=tags">photos at Flickr</a>]<br /><br /><a href="http://www.gmuergeschwentner.ch/gebaute-projekte/new-project-page/" rel="nofollow">James</a> (2009) in Zurich, Switzerland, by Gmür & Geschwentner Architekten AG.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/archidose/9410446902/" title="James by archidose, on Flickr"><img alt="James" height="481" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7362/9410446902_007ed8a1e1_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />[See more <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=gm%C3%BCrgeschwentnerarchitektenag&w=archidose&adv=1&mt=all&ct=6&m=tags">photos at Flickr</a>]

Living in Zurich

For the last week and a half I was in Zurich, Switzerland, for World-Architects, checking out some new architecture in the evenings after wo...