Child rapes, killings terrify parents in Iraq

This undated photo released by the family shows four-year old Banin Haider, one of two girls brutally raped and killed in a span of less than two months this year. The crimes were particularly brutal, even by the standards of a country where insurgents can still kill dozens in single day: Two young girls kidnapped, repeatedly raped and killed with blows to the head in Iraq's southern Basra province. (AP Photo/Family Photo)

This undated photo released by the family shows four-year old Banin Haider, one of two girls brutally raped and killed in a span of less than two months this year. The crimes were particularly brutal, even by the standards of a country where insurgents can still kill dozens in single day: Two young girls kidnapped, repeatedly raped and killed with blows to the head in Iraq's southern Basra province. (AP Photo/Family Photo)

This undated photo released by the family shows five-year old Abeer Ali, one of two girls brutally raped and killed in a span of less than two months this year. The crimes were particularly brutal, even by the standards of a country where insurgents can still kill dozens in single day: Two young girls kidnapped, repeatedly raped and killed with blows to the head in Iraq's southern Basra province. (AP Photo/Family Photo)

This combination of two undated family photos photos shows four-year old Banin Haider, left, and five-year old Abeer Ali, right, who were brutally raped and killed in a span of less than two months this year. The crimes were particularly brutal, even by the standards of a country where insurgents can still kill dozens in single day: Two young girls kidnapped, repeatedly raped and killed with blows to the head in Iraq's southern Basra province. (AP Photo/Family Photo)

This undated photo released by security officials shows convicted rapist and murderer, Akram al-Mayahi, makes his confessions to raping and killing four-year old Banin Haider, to a judge at the interrogation room in courts complex in Basra 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq. The crimes were particularly brutal, even by the standards of a country where insurgents can still kill dozens in single day: Two young girls kidnapped, repeatedly raped and killed with blows to the head in Iraq's southern Basra province. (AP Photo)

(AP) ? The brutal crimes struck a nerve, even in a country that has seen a horrific amount of bloodshed in the past decade: Young Iraqi girls kidnapped, repeatedly raped and then bludgeoned to death in two separate incidents near the southern city of Basra.

Despite a conviction in one case, a handful of arrests in the other and beefed up police patrols in the city, families in Basra remain on edge following the murders of 4-year-old Banin Haider and 5-year-old Abeer Ali in a span of less than two months.

Now, many parents in and around the city won't let their children go to school alone or even play outside after class is out, fearing their daughters, too, could be snatched off the streets, sexually abused and murdered. Others are making plans to leave Basra altogether, saying they have lost confidence in the security forces' ability to keep children safe.

"These inhuman crimes make me think of the safety of my children," said Hazim Sharif, 38, a government employee and father of four. "I do not trust the security forces any more. I have to protect my family by myself."

To many in Iraq, the murders mark a new, more menacing type of violence than the country has previously encountered ? at least in public.

Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, is considerably safer than Baghdad, and the recent attacks are seen as a particularly dark spot on an otherwise relatively quiet and stable province. The city of about 1 million and its surrounding province, which goes by the same name, is Iraq's main oil industry hub. The region is generally poorer and shabbier than the capital, but it is slowly beginning to flourish as international companies move in, attracted by the region's lucrative oil fields.

Basra police chief Maj. Gen. Faisal al-Ibadi and the head of the security committee in nearby Zubair, Mahdi Rikan, provided detailed accounts of the two cases to The Associated Press.

Banin was kidnapped Aug. 16 in Zubair, a rundown town just outside the city of Basra. Her family, from the nearby province of Dhi Qar, had come to town to visit relatives.

Police later found her body in a derelict area with her hands and legs bound. She was raped multiple times, and her head was smashed by what was believed to be a large brick, according to authorities.

An off-duty soldier assigned to a nearby army base, Akram al-Mayahi, was arrested in connection with the Banin's murder. He was found guilty on Oct. 22 and sentenced to death for abusing and killing the girl, said judge Jassim al-Moussawi, the spokesman for the Basra Federal Appeals Court.

Banin's family wants al-Mayahi to be executed publically at the scene of the crime as a deterrent, al-Ibadi said. The sentence has yet to be carried out.

The other young girl, Abeer, also came from Dhi Qar province, a relatively poor part of Iraq that many residents travel from in search of work, often for weeks at a time. She was abducted Oct. 11 while her family attended a wedding not far from the scene of Banin's murder.

Her body was found 12 hours later in an empty lot, bearing similar signs of trauma to the previous victim, though Abeer was also strangled with a shoelace, officials said.

Authorities later determined that the suspected kidnapper phoned nine friends and invited them to take part in the rape. So far, eight people have been arrested and have confessed. The case has yet to go to trial because the investigation is still under way. Authorities believe the soldier convicted in Banin's killing is not connected to Abeer's murder.

"I cannot rest or sleep while these criminals are still eating, drinking and sleeping in prison. They should be executed immediately," said Abeer's father, Ali Abid, a 30-year-old construction worker and father of four other daughters. "Iraq has become like a jungle where monsters maul the bodies of the poor people."

Reports of the two cases have sent a wave of fear through the streets of Basra.

Firas Khudier, 42, a businessman in Zubair, stopped sending his daughter Shahad to kindergarten out of fear she could be abducted. In the meantime, he has hired a taxi driven by a trusted relative to take his two older children to school even though it is nearby.

Sharif, a father of four, said he and his wife have begun escorting their children to school and back, and are keeping a closer eye on them even when they play just outside the house. Most parents in Basra are now doing the same, he added.

"They keep ... insisting on going out to play with their friends, but we have to remind them of the horrific story of the two poor girls," Sharif said.

In an attempt to calm public opinion, security forces have started deploying more police patrols, particularly near schools.

Some officials blame a rise in drug use for the crimes. Iraq's Interior Ministry recently cited the cases in calling on Iraqis to support an anti-narcotics campaign. Al-Ibadi said all of those arrested in the two cases are addicts who were under the influence at the time of the crimes.

Fawzia A. al-Attia, a sociologist at Baghdad University, said Iraq's decades of war and economic hardship also likely played a role.

"All these woes changed the social value system, weakened the role of the family and negatively influenced personality development," she said. "Young people in particular have started to feel the emptiness and boredom of unemployment, and (are increasingly disappointed) with religious and political institutions."

Many Basra residents see the focus on drugs as misplaced. They instead criticize Iraq's government and security forces for failing to provide adequate security.

Abid said blaming his daughter's killers' actions on drugs is just a way for the authorities to justify poor policing, saying that all the security forces care "about is the salary they get at the end of the month."

___

Juhi reported from Baghdad.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-11-09-Iraq-Child%20Murders/id-72f7be3588994120875730debbac1b7a

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Argyll News: Ewan Kennedy: affordable access to Judicial Review ...

This article follows one that lawyer and environmentalist, Ewan Kennedy, spoke on and wrote for us in January 2012, Legal issues for environmentalists.

Some of the issues he raised at that time have just received promise of redress, a situation Mr Kennedy here describes as:

Slightly better news for the environment

In the past week the Scottish Government (SG) has published its response to the consultation on cost-capping in environmental litigations via Protective Expenses Orders (PEOs), following the failure for many years on the part of the United Kingdom to implement its obligations under the Aarhus Convention.

The full government response can be accessed here online.

In summary, the proposals are as follows:-

  • Scottish Government favours the introduction of PEOs in cases to which the Aarhus Convention applies, basically those brought to court seeking purely to protect the environment rather than to vindicate private commercial interests.
  • A PEO must be applied for at the start of proceedings.
  • The applicant can be an individual or a ?non-governmental organisation promoting environmental protection?.
  • There will be a ?presumptive limit? fixed at ?5,000, that is to say it can be lowered on cause shown but not raised.
  • Where a PEO is granted, the respondent can seek a cross-cap limiting its liability if the petitioner succeeds. This will be fixed at ?30,000.

Incredibly in a modern democracy the making of rules of court is left to the unelected Court of Session Rules Committee, which will meet next in January 2013 to discuss draft rules giving effect to the consultation response. However, the Scottish Government has expressed the hope that, in any cases arising in the meantime, judges will give effect to the principles by granting PEOs under their common law powers (although some senior judges have doubted that the court actually has power in this field).

With any luck this means that the injustice and uncertainty faced in the recent past by litigations such as Penny Uprichard and her legal bill of ?173,000 are now history.

The saveseilsound Campaign Group was one of seventeen environmental organisations that responded in detail. Our response can be accessed online here on the SG website.

Of these seventeen groups, saveseilsound was virtually alone in supporting a limit of ?5,000, as most other environmentalists suggested ?1,000 or a zero cap. Most public bodies wanted either a much higher cap or a discretionary cap involving a means test of the applicant. Disappointingly the latter was favoured by the Law Society of Scotland, despite being far short of what Aarhus requires.

I take responsibility for backing the figure of ?5,000. I have great respect for Lord Hope, one of the most senior Scottish judges, who had suggested this figure as a balance between affordability and the need to avoid frivolous litigations, but any figure will be arbitrary in a sense and unsatisfactory to some.

Saveseilsound argued against the cross-cap, as unnecessary for Aarhus compliance ? and we?ve lost that one.

On balance the result is good for the environment and those who care about protecting it. It is incredibly stressful to be in court, without having to face potential bankruptcy as well.

Allowing groups to litigate with the benefit of a PEO seems to make it unnecessary for one luckless individual to volunteer to be the petitioner. The complexities and checks inherent in court procedure will remain of course and it?s unlikely that the new rules will open any floodgates.

Ewan Kennedy

Editor?s Note: Here is a useful related article by Ewan Kennedy ? Legal Aid and Judicial Review, pubished here in March 2012.

Source: http://forargyll.com/2012/10/ewan-kennedy-affordable-access-to-judicial-review-on-horizon-for-environmental-decisionsewan-kennedy-2/

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Strategies On How To Effectively Boost Your House | Travel

Whether or not you?re thinking about marketing your own home or hope to keep there for a long time, it?s essential to do all that you can to enhance your home?s appearance. The easiest of jobs can considerably enhance your home?s heating repair Calgary worth. This short article will provide you with some very nice suggestions on how you can best boost your home.

When it comes to home remodeling, make sure to get estimates from at the very least three distinct installers. This is important since rates may vary considerably, as could the standard of job. Get a better sensing to your licensed contractor by sitting yourself down with them and speaking about all of your plan.

When you just obtained your property or are remodeling it, you know that wallpaper borders might be a pesky item to remove. If you have the time and don?t wish to spend a lot of cash in taking away it, it is possible to remove it together with the subsequent actions: 1. Have a tiny spray flask and fill it with drinking water. 2. Pick up a towel for the next move. Consistently mist the wallpaper edge till it can be carefully drenched. Water initiates the fasten on the rear and makes it slimy, which makes it much simpler to remove. 3. Basically rub the towel above it in the rounded fashion and this will start off shedding off the wallpaper.

Pick very carefully if you should include a individual touch via home remodeling or make adjustments which can be much more broadly acceptable. By way of example, selecting a strong paint color is wonderful if you plan to remain in the home for many years, but an risky option if you?re planning on marketing soon.

It is actually a great idea to possess your house. Many people wish to enhance their residence making enhancements to match their life-style, but when you hire you should request authorization to make certain improvements. It is way better to do that within your residence, because it doesn?t make any sensation to pay lots of money to boost an individual else?s property.

Is it time to wear a new roofing? Shingles are usually the typical, but what about a fantastic weather-evidence tin roof structure? Tin rooftops have increased by jumps and bounds in today?s world, almost being recommended. Tin rooftops are relaxing throughout rainy conditions, and they are generally highly resilient. Think of putting in a tin roof when it is a chance to substitute your existing roofing.

When it comes to redesigning, be sure to consider the fee for buying CFL bulbs for your house. As they do save power as a consequence of reduced wattage utilization, the in advance price is higher than typical lamps. Also, they can create any adverse health danger to you if broken due to the quantity of mercury employed within the bulb.

If someone really loves drinking water and going swimming then receiving their particular swimming pool might be simply the redecorating point for them. There are lots of options for different types of pools you can get for house allowing a custom made swimming pool for one?s needs. A pool may be simply the factor for home improvement.

Boost the overall appearance of your residence, by upgrading your house. A lot of more aged houses have dated kitchens, with dark color and timber paneling. A new jacket of color or new cabinets will make the real difference in modernizing your home.

To correct a more substantial golf hole in your wall space, use sheet rock and roll. Initially have the hole right into a consistent sq or rectangle by slicing away a measured place. Doing this will make your opening bigger, but will help you to get precise measurements for restoration. Then lower a bit of sheet rock and roll which is the identical dimensions because the sq . or rectangle you merely minimize through the wall structure. Set the recently minimize part of page rock in the hole and secure in position with drywall nails. Then implement joint substance to the seams. Deal with the seams with joints tape, then apply an additional covering of joints substance and clean it. When dry, paint above it with any color.

When implementing a new cover of painting to a textured wall surface or ceiling, work with a color roller using a thicker, soft snooze. These rollers may be more prone to dripping, so you need to be very careful. Nevertheless, these are necessary for ensuring that every single space and cranny on top receives some color.

Prior to deciding on the way to boost your property, review the following tips, and select the best options for your house, your finances, your household plus your scenario. Save time, save money and conserve hard work by realizing ahead of time what to prevent and what things to strive for when modernizing your home.

Source: http://nicoleevaemery.com/accounting/strategies-on-how-to-effectively-boost-your-house/

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Afghan president asks Pakistan to fight extremism

(AP) ? Afghan President Hamid Karzai has written letters to top political and religious leaders in Pakistan, denouncing the Taliban attack on a Pakistani teenager who is promoting girls' education and asking them to help battle extremism in both countries.

Malala Yousufzai, 14, was seriously wounded when a Taliban militant shot her in the head on Oct. 9 on her way home from school. She is widely respected for being an activist for girls' education in the Swat Valley where she lives, and the rest of Pakistan. The shooting set off an international outcry against extremists.

Karzai's office said in a statement issued late Saturday that the president wrote that the attack on Yousufzai indicated that both Afghanistan and Pakistan need to take "coordinated and serious" steps to fight terrorism and extremism. Karzai wrote that he views the shooting as an attack on Afghanistan's girls as well.

"It is a deplorable event that requires serious attention," Karzai wrote.

Those upset about the shooting should not be silenced, he wrote, and both Afghans and Pakistanis need to cooperate and fight with strong resolve against terrorism and extremism so that the "children of Afghanistan and Pakistan" can be saved from oppression.

Karzai has been pushing Islamabad to take more action against militant groups that he says hide out in Pakistan and then cross into Afghanistan to conduct attacks on Afghan officials and security forces and on international forces.

The letters were sent to more than a dozen political and religious leaders, including Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari; Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf; Nawaz Sharif, the leader of Pakistan's Muslim League Party; Qazi Hussain Ahmed, leader of the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami; Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who heads the Pakistan Muslim League-Q; and Imran Khan, a cricket star who leads the Tehreek-e-Insaf party.

Khan has been especially outspoken against U.S. drone attacks. Khan has argued in the past that Islamabad's alliance with Washington is the main reason Pakistan is facing a homegrown Taliban insurgency and that militant activity in Pakistan's tribal areas will dissipate when U.S. troops withdraw from Afghanistan. Earlier this month, Khan led a protest against U.S. drone attacks, saying that as long as they continue, anti-American sentiment in Pakistan could continue to rise.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-10-14-Afghanistan/id-3e3322be6ca745f4917eda6509b433ed

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Geithner: Work remains despite US fiscal progress

TOKYO (AP) ? Despite making progress on getting its fiscal house in order, the United States still has much work to do, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told fellow financial leaders Saturday. The comment came just hours after the U.S. government announced that the budget deficit had topped $1 trillion for a fourth straight year despite a modest improvement thanks to stronger economic growth.

"It is important that we in the U.S. enact a balanced framework to bring down our fiscal deficit and debt over several years, while continuing to provide support for jobs and growth in the short term," Geithner told a meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee during the annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank, which is being held in Tokyo.

The Treasury Department said Friday that the deficit for the 2012 budget year totaled $1.1 trillion, though a 6.4 percent increase in tax revenues thanks to stronger growth helped contain the deficit.

The risk of the U.S. running into a "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and deep spending cuts next year unless the Obama administration and Congress resolve a deadlock over the budget has overshadowed the gathering of top financial officials. Such a prospect would deal a heavy blow to the economy, eroding progress made since the 2008 global crisis.

The overwhelming emphasis of the Tokyo gathering has been on coddling fragile growth around the globe.

At Saturday's meeting of the IMFC, which advises the IMF and monitors the world financial system, officials from developing and emerging economies urged the U.S. and European nations to prevent malaise in their regions from slowing global growth.

"Advanced countries should rethink their macroeconomic strategies and avoid simultaneous fiscal contractions and the consequent overburdening of monetary policies," Guido Mantega, Brazil's finance minister, told the committee.

"In many advanced economies, fiscal and structural policies are severely hampered by political paralysis," Mantega said. He urged that spending be focused on areas that can have a maximum impact and on social safety nets to protect the poor.

He and other finance ministers expressed concern over monetary easing in the U.S. and other countries that is meant to encourage more bank lending, but that some worry could destabilize markets while failing to stave off recession.

During the meetings in Japan, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde has been urging countries to not sacrifice growth for the sake of austerity, saying they should temper spending cuts to help create jobs and support future growth.

Balancing those sometimes competing priorities is the central puzzle facing policymakers as the world economy slows further, even in dynamic Asia.

Growth has slowed in Asia and is sapping the potential in the poorest countries, many of which depend on exports of minerals, oil and other commodities to the industrial countries.

"We should all be committed in our resolve to avoid a worst case scenario where strains in the euro area deepen, fiscal cliff and debt ceiling problems in the U.S. are not resolved, and growth in emerging market economies continues to decline," Pravin J. Gordhan, South Africa's finance minister, told the meeting on Saturday.

While there seems to be a wide consensus on long-term strategies for reform, there is less agreement on how painful such policies should be in the near term given the persistent risk of recession and surging unemployment.

Greece, Spain and other European countries laboring under massive debts have slashed spending and raised taxes, seeking to restore confidence in their public finances and qualify for emergency financing. The economies of financially healthier European countries, such as Germany and Finland, face a potential blow to growth if those troubled economies fail to get their financial houses in order. At the same time, the recovery of the 17-nation grouping that uses the euro could founder if tax increases and spending cuts bite too deeply.

The IMF has scaled back its global growth forecast for 2012 to 3.3 percent from 3.5 percent, and has warned that even its dimmer outlook might prove too optimistic if Europe and the United States fail to resolve their crises.

On Friday, the IMF said economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region slowed to 5.5 percent in January-June. That is well above the global average, but the lowest for the region since the financial crisis in 2008. The slowdown is largely because of sluggishness in Europe and the U.S. It also noted weakness in China and India, whose dynamism had helped counter weakness elsewhere.

The IMF's outlook for the African region was "broadly positive" with growth forecast at over 5 percent in 2013, supported by strong domestic demand. However, it warned of risks for food security due to surging grain prices and the spillover of weaker growth in Europe.

In Japan, both Lagarde and Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, have stressed that without greater equity and equality, growth will be unsustainable.

The IMF's mission is threefold ? economic surveillance, advice and providing temporary funding ? while the World Bank's mission is to fight poverty. The bank uses funds from donor members and proceeds from bond sales to provide low-interest loans to developing countries.

During the meetings, Kim has spoken often about the need to ensure food security for the poor at a time when spikes in prices have become routine.

To fortify a "safety net" for crises while supporting improvements to make farming more efficient and sustainable, ministers pledged new funds for the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, a trust fund set up in 2010.

Japan and South Korea each promised $30 million in new funding, while the U.S. pledged to contribute an extra $1 for every $2 contributed by other donors, up to a total amount of $475 million. Including those new funds, the fund has financial support of $1.3 billion.

___

Associated Press writer Malcolm Foster contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/geithner-remains-despite-us-fiscal-progress-030158217--finance.html

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Modify a Wok Ring to Better Fit a Gas Range [Woks]

Modify a Wok Ring to Better Fit a Gas RangeIf you're a wok enthusiast who rents your home or apartment you won't have a lot of say in what kind of range is in your kitchen. If you have a gas range your wok ring will usually slide off the burner grating and if you remove grating then the wok ring will slide into the drippings well. Instead make a few cuts on your wok ring to ensure a steady cooking surface.

Instructables user noahw solved his unstable wok problem by making a mark on his wok ring everywhere the burner grating touched the wok ring and made a cutout so that the ring wouldn't slide off the grating. Of course most American home ranges will never get hot enough for a proper stir fry, but at least now Noah doesn't have to worry about accidentally spilling a cup of hot oil while moving the wok on the ring.

Vastly Improve a Wok Ring | Instructables

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/B4MX78c1Xhw/modify-a-wok-ring-to-fit-a-gas-range

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Beaufort County Now ? Newly Drawn House District 88 Gives GOP ...

??? Publisher's note: Sam A. Hieb is a contributor to Carolina Journal.

??? RALEIGH ??? Republican newcomer Rob Bryan hopes to woo voters in N.C. House of Representatives District 88 with his strong stance on education reform. But he must convince them 10-term incumbent Democrat Martha Alexander, vice chairwoman of the House Education Committee, is not up to the task.

??? Bryan should get a boost because the liberal Alexander's District 106 has been redrawn into the newly configured, Republican-leaning District 88. That makes her "the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent seeking re-election," according to the North Carolina Free Enterprise Foundation.

??? According to his website, Bryan is a Charlotte attorney who was inspired to enter politics following the Democratic sweep in the 2008 election.

??? "After Obama won in 2008, I was pretty frustrated and felt like we needed to do more and get people active. I felt like we were getting outworked by the Democrats," Bryan said in a phone interview.

??? Bryan started by serving as chairman of the Mecklenburg County Republican Party. In that capacity he worked closely with Speaker of the House Thom Tillis, who represents Mecklenburg.

??? "I was impressed with Thom's work ethic and vision to proactively get things done," Bryan said. "The right doors seemed to open up for me to have the ability to run."

??? Bryan wants to focus on two major issues during the campaign -- education and regulatory reform.

??? Bryan's interest in education comes from his days with Teach for America, in which he taught students in inner-city Los Angeles.

??? Bryan believes a strong education system is a crucial economic development tool.

??? "If people are moving their businesses here, they want to know if their kids can get a decent education," he said.

??? Bryan doesn't necessarily believe taxpayers are spending too much on education. He believes they're spending too much for an inferior product.

??? "People do not want to pay for bad education. If we were breeding success, then people would be more willing to pay for education," he said. "They don't want to pay for something that stinks. We're paying way too much for things in schools that are unacceptable."

??? The other issue -- regulatory reform -- comes from his experience as a real estate attorney, through which he is aware of the governmental "micro-regulation" his clients must endure.

??? "If somebody wants to put a pink building up, they stand more to lose than anybody else. The government shouldn't be making aesthetic decisions," Bryan said. "Nobody has more incentive to get the aesthetics right than the person who's putting the money in."

??? Bryan also believes government shouldn't be making decisions about winners and losers in the marketplace, as it often does when handing out economic incentives.

??? The best way to lure businesses, he believes, is to have a fair and simple tax code instead of handing out cash incentives.

??? "If you have a nice, level playing field, that's the ideal. Everybody knows the rules, there's not a big political game about who's the favorite," Bryan said.

??? Attempts to contact Alexander for an interview were not successful.

??? According to her campaign website, Alexander has an undergraduate degree from Florida State University, a Master's degree in Human Development from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

??? Alexander has "worked as professional in the addiction field and has served on various agencies and boards."

??? Alexander has served on the Appropriations Committee and also has served on the Health and Human Services/Welfare Committee.

??? In a statement issued to UNC-TV, Alexander said when legislating "human dignity must be preserved and justice served.

??? "I am concerned that those with mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse problems receive the appropriate treatment," she said. "Health coverage should be available for every woman, child and man. And our environment is very precious and must be preserved, not only for those of us living now, but for future generations."

??? Indeed, much of the legislation Alexander has sponsored or co-sponsored has to do with women's and children's issues.

??? The Roll Call, which runs a database tracking legislators' votes, says Alexander has voted with her party 94 percent of the time.

??? In 2010, Alexander was involved a controversy when she attended a state legislators' conference at the famed Churchill Downs race track in Kentucky.

??? When asked on camera if she thought taxpayers would like seeing legislators "partying it up" at Churchill Downs, Alexander replied, "Probably not, but then they don't like most of the things we do."

Source: http://beaufortcountynow.com/post/5133/newly-drawn-house-district-88-gives-gop-chance-to-unseat-democrat-alexander.html

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Ying or Yang, Amazon or Apple, Kindle or iPad, Bezos or Cook?

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos addresses a press confer...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos (Image credit: AFP/Getty Images via @daylife)

Where does the tablet market go now? Amazon has made its move this month with the new Kindle Fire HD tablets. The tech world is waiting for Apple?s other shoe to officially drop with an announcement of the iPad Mini at some point late in October.

The introduction of the iPad Mini could herald a change of Apple?s financial strategy, it?s likely to be more of the same from CEO Tim Cook. The iPad Mini will slot into a gap in the existing range of Apple devices. I don?t think that Apple is going to change the basic strategy of making a profit on hardware sales with access to content as a selling point, which is in part why I?m arguing for a $299 entry level iPad Mini?with only 16GB of storage and Wi-Fi as the connectivity option.

Until Amazon arrived with the Kindle, there was no other tablet manufacturer that could challenge Apple?s iPad in the public conscious, which made it easy for Apple to retain the premium price tag on the hardware and keep pulling in the profits. It?s arguable whether Google?s Nexus 7 can tip the needle with the general public in the way it has done with the tech community.

But the Kindle Fire range, with a focus on selling the tablet devices almost at cost, and then making the profit on the ?content has the potential to disrupt Apple?s model over the next few years. At the Kindle Press event?Jeff Bezos was emphatic and clear on how Kindle is designed as a business:

We want to make money when people use our devices, not when they buy our devices.

Paraphrasing Apple?s model into the same framework, and Tim Cook?s model can be described as clearly as Bezos:

We want to make money people buy our devices, and we?ll help them use their device over the next few years.

Both models are valid, and both models will deliver different results. Right now, the model to have is the Apple model, but Amazon is playing a very long game, and not just one restricted to tablets. Consider what would happen in the markets when (not if) a Kindle Phone is released. It?s not going to appear this year, it may even appear next year, but it is on the radar, and could be even more disruptive than the Kindle Fire.

Apple?s business model works right now. Amazon has a model that is in its infancy, but seems perfectly suited to where the market is moving to in the future. As the financial returns for these two models converge, will Amazon drive home an advantage? Will Apple cling to its model or change radically?

There?s a change coming. Who?s going to be aggressive enough to win?

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2012/09/15/ying-or-yang-amazon-or-apple-kindle-or-ipad-bezos-or-cook/

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The Family Storyteller is just around the corner? | Hive Arts

Emilee in Green

A few months before this picture was taken (at a friend?s wedding), Emilee Elizabeth Lankow, the youngest of my grands, was visiting California.

We?d just moved into our new home, and boxes, boxes, boxes were stacked about?mostly in one room. ?Like all good little homemakers, I wanted to have the feeling of being settled when my daughter and grandkids came for a visit.

But then there was that last room, the overflow room. ?I had systematically stacked all of my art, sewing and craft supplies in this room. ?There were hundreds of books and a gazillion boxes of photos. ?And to make matters worse, I had a slew of boxes from my parents? things crammed into the little 10?x10? room. ?A maze, an amazing maze of STUFF. ?And then my daughter and her three children arrived into this chaos.

Immediately we went through GMA* and GPA?s* House Orientation: How everything worked and what to avoid. ?While the kids played and explored the weed-covered ?yard, I said to my daughter, Wren, ?Come see the Guest Room.? ?She was duly appalled. ?We giggled about all the junk. ?We laughed, and each of us commented that finding anything would be done so by pure luck! ?She vowed that when she was living in California, she would help me purge. ?I?m good at it, Mom.?

I noticed that little Emilee, not quite 4, had slipped in to the Guest Room with us, all ears and eyes. ?So, I continued that House Orientation, ?Emmy, ?please do not come into this room without a grown-up. ?You?ll need to ask Paka (that?s me in GMA Land) if you see something you want to touch.? ??OK, Paka,? she replied.

Right about then someone hollered for us, and we set to other projects, tasks, etc. ?Friends were stopping by to see Wren and the kids. I had food to prepare. The two big kids were pouring back into the house to tell about their outside adventures. ?Chaos had once again settled around us, like an old friendly and well-worn blanket.

A few minutes later I noticed that Emilee was quietly playing with a familiar basket, but one that I hadn?t really noticed since we moved in. ?The basket was brimming with little plastic-molded toy animals.

?Emmy, where did you find that?? I asked.

?In the Guessing Room,? she replied. ?I squelched a big guffaw. ?Not in the Guest Room, no.? She called that room like it was! And so that thickly cluttered room was dubbed that day!

These days ?The Guessing Room? has been thinned out and is not terribly cluttered, but the name remains. ?Now just 7 years old, Emilee told me recently, ?It?s still the ?Guessing Room,? Paka, even if you can find stuff in there now.?

This kid hears a story once and has it. ?She takes it and embellishes it. She choreographs her re-tellings and uses her body, voice, gesture, repetitions. She has a full bag of tellers? tricks that I?ve noticed she?s learning how to use, spiced up well with a vivid imagination.

Early in the Summer we sat snuggled together in a big yard chair. ?I told her family history stories of our Wyandotte Indian heritage. ?Suddenly she asked, ?So, I?m a Wind-Up Indian?? ?I chuckled, then gently corrected her pronunciation. ?Then I told this busy girl that she was a Wind-Up Wyandotte.

As we sat quietly, cuddled together in the glow of Summer?s twilight, I heard her murmur, ?I didn?t forget that I was Wyandotte, Paka. ?I just never knew.?

Slowly, gently Emilee emerges as the family storyteller, the one in our clan who just might carry on the oral tradition. ?At least that what it looks like this week.

Summer 2012, Emilee helps her Paka tell ?Little Bear & the Bees? at our weekly Baby Storytime/Singalong at Sierra Waldorf School Store. Notice the foot: She broke her foot just a few days before.

If you have someone in your family, who shows signs of carrying on your family lore, encourage him/her.? Help that youngun to learn the stories of your family history in a way that is playful, sustaining.? Let him/her take the story and personalize it.? If you?re concerned about historical documentation, then record the facts in a place that can be passed down.? But if you just want the stories to live on tongues, then let them take on a new life for a new generation!? And then listen to those young tellers enjoy creating new stories as they emerge into their own lives and times.? Emilee?s oldest sibling, Sage, loves to write?another way to carry on the storytelling tradition in families.

*? In ?texting? lingo GMA = Grandmother & GPA = Grandfather.

Source: http://hive-arts.org/2012/09/15/the-family-storyteller-is-just-around-the-corner/

academy awards independent spirit awards 2012 jan brewer independent spirit awards 2012 oscar predictions jim jones tony stewart