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We're Gonna Scapegoat Like It's 1995: Welfare and the Never-Ending Lies of the American Right
In the pantheon of right-wing dog whistles, none is as tried, true, and generally effective as "welfare" bashing. Ever since the days of Ronald Reagan, who fabricated tales of a "welfare queen" collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash benefits by using multiple identities and Social Security numbers, conservatives have known that articulating an inchoate rage against welfare spending and recipients, who are cast as irresponsible leeches, living off the rest of us, pays real political dividends. Even though welfare reform in the mid-1990s largely eliminated no-strings-attached cash assistance from the nation's social safety net, millions of Americans act as if nothing ever changed, as if welfare reform never happened. They are just as upset about it today as they were twenty years ago, which is why Mitt Romney and his surrogates at FOX News, along with commentators like Rush Limbaugh, continue to hammer the theme of undeserving poor people, getting handouts while they sit on the couch, don't work, and (according to Romney's latest campaign commercial), are poised to be let out of whatever presumably minimal work requirements have existed for the past 16 years, thanks to the liberalism of Barack Obama.
For a moment, let's put aside the fact that the state waivers advocated by the Obama Administration were actually sought by conservative Republican Governors, and that they would, at least in theory, allow states the flexibility to design better ways of actually helping recipients find jobs. So too, let's ignore the fact that even welfare reform's chief advocate, Newt Gingrich, and former GOP operative and architect of the reform, Ron Haskins, have acknowledged that the Romney campaign's take on the waivers is dishonest. For now, let us simply examine the far larger problem: namely, that the characterization of welfare as some huge program, dispensing massive benefits to the poor, and the characterization of recipients as lazy slackers who sit around collecting checks at taxpayer expense is rooted entirely in fantasy. For conservatives to continue beating this tired drum is to deliberately seek to make an issue where there is none, to scapegoat the poorest and most vulnerable Americans for problems they did not create, and to engage in a kind of class warfare for which the right frankly lives. To criticize the rich is, to hear them tell it, untoward and unbecoming; but to bash the poor is a venerable pastime. To the extent such invective manages to stir up racial resentments (given how racialized the image of welfare recipients has been for the past forty-plus years), all the better, especially when your guy is running against the nation's first black president. Anything to suggest that Barack Obama is bending over backwards for black folks plays well with the angry white men who increasingly make up the core constituency of the Republican Party.
Think that's too harsh? OK. Well then, perhaps you'd like to explain the meaning of the not-so-thinly-veiled racial resentment embedded in recent comments made by Rush Limbaugh on his radio show, in a long diatribe about welfare, President Obama, the state waivers, and the upcoming election. While discussing the president's response to the Romney campaign's claims — the ones called dishonest by virtually every media outlet of record — Limbaugh insisted that the primary reason Obama is upset about the attack is because it has the potential to reinvigorate white male working class voters: a group whose vote Limbaugh claims Obama had been trying to suppress. To wit, here's Limbaugh on August 10th:
Okay, let's stick with the Romney welfare, gutting-welfare ad that…the regime is so upset about. No question Obama is trying to suppress the white vote. The white, working, middle class vote. Obama's trying to suppress that…A lot of Obama's ads and the PAC ads on television have been designed to suppress that vote by portraying Romney as anathema to them…he knows they're not going to vote for him. But if he can get them to not vote period, then it doesn't matter that he's written them off. If they're not going to vote for him, the next task is to make sure they don't show up for Romney. How do you do that? Well, you portray Romney as some rich moneybags guy who isn't going to help them. And, not only that, doesn't even like them!…And so where (Obama's) in the middle of trying to suppress the votes of the white, working class, here comes Romney with a truthful ad that's going to whip them back up into a frenzy…Whatever success Obama has had in angering white working class voters towards Romney where they might just sit out and not vote, now he's whipped them up into a frenzy…This is why the Romney welfare ad has got them so discombobulated, because they've done it to themselves. Obama has undercut his own strategy. Which again is to so depress or anger the white, working class that they don't vote.
And why does the waiver request — again, one that was initiated by conservatives — whip the white working class into a frenzy? Returning to Limbaugh:
Because the one thing the white, working class voters don't like is slothful welfare recipients. They don't like slackers. They don't like takers. They don't like people sitting on the couch, getting a welfare check, watching television, when they know they're paying for it.
Of course, there would be no reason to discuss this as a racial issue — as an issue for the white working and middle class — unless it was fully understood by the person discussing it in that manner that the image of welfare recipients (the "takers" in Limbaugh's formulation) was something other than white. By discussing this matter in racial terms, it is quite apparent that Limbaugh knows what he's doing, and what the popular imagery of welfare recipients is: it's black and brown folks, eating bonbons and having babies out of wedlock, while salt-of-the-Earth white men break their backs and pay the taxes that help support them in their idleness. It is blatant. It is transparent. And of course, it is thoroughly dishonest on multiple levels.
To begin, there is the simple fact that contrary to popular belief, the numbers of people "receiving checks" from the government (the common imagery and that which is being played upon by Limbaugh) are at an all-time low. So although FOX very cleverly ran a segment recently during which they claimed (and with a graphic no less!) that over 100 million Americans were now receiving "welfare," that number does not refer to the common understanding of welfare — and the understanding that Limbaugh is deliberately trying to cultivate with his image of people receiving checks — but instead, includes anyone receiving benefits from any government program, targeted to low and moderate income persons, households or communities: what are called "means tested" programs. But a quick look at a recent Congressional Research Service report, included as part of the House Ways and Means Committee's annual Green Book, which catalogs these programs in detail, indicates how different the reality of government programs and program beneficiaries is, from the common and stereotypical beliefs about both.
So, for instance, the only way you can get anywhere near "100 million" Americans receiving welfare from the federal government, is to include huge swaths of beneficiaries whom few would consider to be welfare recipients, in any traditional sense. You would have to include the millions of elderly and disabled persons who receive two-thirds of all Medicaid benefits. You'd have to include the 10 million low-income seniors who receive a prescription drug subsidy under Part D of Medicare. You'd have to include the 27 million working adults who receive the refundable portion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, because their incomes are too low to owe federal taxes, as well as 18 million working parents who receive the refundable child tax credit because their incomes are too low to qualify for the standard, non-refundable credit available to middle income families. You'd also have to include the 2 million low income elderly Americans who receive benefits under the Nutrition Program for the Elderly, which guarantees adequate meals in congregate settings or home-delivered meals to older poor folks; as well as the 2.5 million people who benefit from adult education and literacy services, funded by the federal government and operated by states and various educational agencies; and the 8 million or so low-to-moderate income students who receive Pell Grants to make college affordable; and the 1 million or so children who reap the benefits of pre-school readiness programs like Head Start, which has been proven to reduce dependence on other forms of assistance.
So, as far as the folks who "get checks" are concerned, unless Limbaugh means to bash the folks who get refund checks under the Child Tax Credit, or the EITC — which most sane people don't consider welfare, since one has to work in order to qualify for them, and which even Ronald Reagan praised as among the most effective anti-poverty programs ever created (and which he supported because it reduced dependence on other forms of assistance) — the numbers of such Americans is not 100 million. It is not 50 million. It is not 20 million. As evidenced by the House Ways and Means Committee's Green Book, it is approximately 12 million, of which 7.7 million are elderly, blind or disabled persons receiving checks from the SSI program, and who are not likely the folks Limbaugh and his ilk are condemning as slothful. That leaves about 4.3 million who receive benefits from TANF (what used to be Aid to Families With Dependent Children, or AFDC), roughly three-quarters of whom are children. Which means that only about 1 million adults receive cash from this most vilified of programs: less than one-half of one percent of the adult population.
And what's more, of those who do "receive checks" so to speak, it is simply false that they are dependent on those benefits, or receive them for long periods of time, rather than work. As indicated by the Department of Health and Human Services, in any given month, about half of all TANF recipients live in a family unit with at least one person who is employed, but whose earnings are so low as to make them still eligible for a small cash welfare subsidy. Nearly 30 percent of TANF recipients live in a family with at least one person who works at a full-time job, and yet, whose income remains at or below poverty level.
That dependence is an uncommon state for welfare recipients should really come as no surprise, given how minimal are the grants offered to poor persons and families. TANF benefits, for instance, have fallen in value by 20 percent since the mid-1990s in 34 states, adjusted for inflation; and this is after the real value of benefits had already plummeted by more than 40 percent from 1970 until 1996 in 2/3 of all states. As of 2011, benefits came to less than half the poverty line in all 50 states, and left recipients below 30 percent of the poverty line in most. Indeed, in 14 states, benefits left recipient households below one-fifth of the poverty line, receiving, on average, less than $300 a month for a family of three, while in states like Alabama and Mississippi, TANF benefits have reached an almost incomprehensibly absurd low: $215 and $170 per month for a family of three; hardly sufficient to sustain a welfare dependent lifestyle. By 2010, average monthly TANF benefits stood at less than $180 per person and only $428 per household.
And since most persons who inveigh against welfare dependence do so because of a belief that beneficiaries remain on various government program rolls for long periods, it also might help to note how inaccurate are the regular claims of long-term welfare reliance. Fact is, half of all persons who enter the TANF rolls and begin to receive cash benefits from the program will exit the rolls within 4 months, three of every four TANF entrants will exit within a year, and only about 1 in 6 will receive benefits for 20 months or longer. Long-term welfare use has fallen by half since the 1990s, and even by the '90s had fallen considerably, relative to prior decades. So when it comes to able-bodied people who get cash assistance (or checks) from the government, both the numbers of such persons, the amount of money received by such persons, and the length of time they receive benefits are considerably different than common mythology, and the right-wing lies spread by professional prevaricators like Limbaugh.
And even when some beneficiaries do remain on cash assistance for long periods of time, research has demonstrated conclusively that their long-term dependence is due less to characterological flaws like laziness or cultural pathology, and more to serious personal and structural impediments to finding steady employment. Among these: extremely low educational attainment, serious developmental disability, low cognitive function, limited language skills, serious clinical depression, and significant and persistent physical health limitations.
But, just to be generous, let's assume that the Limbaughs of the world, and the folks at FOX, don't mean to limit their critique to cash welfare. Sure, they talk about people "getting checks," but maybe that's just a metaphor for the larger panoply of benefits that millions of people receive from government. Surely, when you add in those other programs, like food stamps, and housing subsidies then we're talking big money, massive dependence, and an out-of-control welfare state!
Well, no, not really. First, let's examine food stamps, or what are now known as SNAP benefits (which stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). On the one hand, it is certainly true that due to the economic crisis of the last several years, the SNAP rolls have gone up dramatically. And it is also true that most persons who receive cash benefits under TANF do in fact receive SNAP (although, it should be noted, only about 8 percent of SNAP recipients also receive cash). However, the image of these benefits as being sufficient to engender laziness and dependency is nonsensical. Even when households receive both cash and food stamp benefits, recipient households are left below the poverty line in every state, below 75 percent of the poverty line in 45 states, and below half the poverty line in several southern states. In 2011, SNAP beneficiaries received an average of only $134 per month, and according to 2009-2010 data, the average household benefit came to only $290 per month. So even the combined monthly average of food stamps and TANF — at around $315 per person, and $720 per household — is hardly sufficient to allow the poor to become dependent on these benefits for long periods. Even the maximum monthly SNAP benefit for a family of four (an amount received by very few recipient households), is only $668, which comes out to less than $2 per person, per meal.
And contrary to the beliefs of many, most SNAP beneficiaries are not able-bodied persons who refuse to work and have no attachment to the labor market. First, 61 percent of all recipients are not expected or able to work due to age or disability: 47 percent are children, 8 percent are elderly and an additional 6 percent are non-elderly adults with a disability. When these are combined with non-elderly, able-bodied adults who are currently working, participating in some form of work preparedness program under TANF, or living in a household where another adult works and serves as the household breadwinner, these groups represent 81 percent of all SNAP beneficiaries. In other words, even in a hostile labor market, fewer than 1 in 5 SNAP beneficiaries are able-bodied adults with no personal or household connection to the labor market.
Of those poor people who do receive means-tested cash and food assistance, only 15 percent receive both TANF and SNAP, and about three-quarters of those receiving any such benefits (TANF, SSI or SNAP) received them from only one program. And although it is often assumed that the poor receive not only cash but also free or reduced priced housing from the government, less than 14 percent of TANF recipients (or about 1 in 7) are currently benefitting from some form of public housing subsidy. Only 9 percent of TANF recipients receive child care assistance, and only 12 percent benefit from the refundable Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). In other words, it is simply not true that so-called welfare recipients receive multiple benefits from multiple programs, sufficient to provide for an extravagant or even remotely decent lifestyle.
And as with TANF, most SNAP beneficiaries do not remain on the program for long periods of time. Half of all new SNAP participants will leave the benefit rolls within 10 months, and three in four recipients will leave within two years. Although critics of the program often point out that a large share of recipients on the rolls at any given time will indeed remain on for a long time — an average of seven years for about half of all persons receiving SNAP at any given moment — there is an explanation for this seeming long-term dependence that is far less damning than SNAP critics would like us to believe, and which explains how it can nonetheless be true that most SNAP recipients will receive benefits only for a short period.
The difference between the percentage of SNAP recipients who are short-term versus long-term beneficiaries, on the one hand, and the percentage of SNAP recipients on the rolls right now who will be long-term beneficiaries, on the other, should be obvious. By definition, if one is on the rolls right now, then one cannot be off the rolls right now at the same time, thereby eliminating automatically all persons who may have come onto the rolls at some point in the previous year but who had cycled off before now. What one will be left with is, by definition, a disproportionate number of recipients who will remain on the rolls for a longer period. But this should not be taken to mean that long-term dependence is the norm, nor should it be accepted as a critique of the program.
As an analogy, consider the population of the nation's jails and prisons. If we look at the number of people who are incarcerated at any point in a given year, we know that the vast majority of them will be incarcerated for relatively minor offenses, and will be released in a relatively short period of time. But if you looked at the population of incarcerated persons, say, right now, or at any given moment, as a snapshot in time, a disproportionate number of them would likely be persons with long prison terms. Not because most criminals are hard-core violent offenders who receive long terms, but because anyone who is a hard-core violent offender is likely to be captured in the data at whatever time you sample it, while minor offenders will have cycled out of jail or prison and not be evident in the same way.
Likewise, imagine if we were to examine hospitals and hospital beds. If one were to look at those who are currently occupying beds at your local hospital, at this very moment, it is likely that a disproportionate number of them would be hospitalized with serious, chronic conditions, from which they may well not recover, and certainly not quickly. On the other hand, if one were to look at the entry log of all persons admitted to that same hospital over the course of the year, what would you find? Obviously it would be something very different: the overwhelming majority of persons admitted to the hospital would prove to be persons who didn't have serious chronic conditions, and whom the hospital was able to get well and back on their feet pretty quickly. So if you were trying to assess the efficacy of the doctors at the hospital, based solely on the share of chronically and seriously unhealthy patients remaining at any given moment in a hospital bed, your assessment wouldn't be very good. On the other hand, if you were assessing their effectiveness by looking at all patients admitted — a far more statistically and intellectually honest method — you would give them much better marks.
The same is true with SNAP and other welfare benefits. The important point is that most people who come onto the program will not stay long, and it is for this reason that we can say, definitively, that such efforts do not create a culture of dependency among those who receive benefits. If the programs did engender dependence, we would expect that large numbers, perhaps most, of all persons coming onto the program rolls would find themselves trapped on them, unable or unwilling to leave; and that is simply not the case.
In fact, the government, thanks to a bi-partisan advisory committee established in 1994, actually has a definition of welfare dependence that it uses to calculate just this issue. What is that definition? Here it is, as discussed in the most recent available report on welfare dependence, submitted by the Department of Health and Human Services:
A family is dependent on welfare if more than 50 percent of its total income in a one-year period comes from AFDC/TANF, food stamps, and/or SSI, and this welfare income is not associated with work activities.
Now if anything, even this definition may be too broad, in that it includes those who depend on SSI benefits, even though SSI is for people with bona fide disabilities or the elderly or blind, and it includes people who may only receive benefits for a short period of time, and who would not, therefore be considered dependent by most. But even using this definition, fewer than 4 percent of Americans meet the bi-partisan and accepted definition of welfare dependence. Of those receiving any means-tested cash or food stamp benefits, 58 percent rely on those for less than 25 percent of their income, and only 1 in 4 were truly dependent on the benefits for half or more of their income. In racial terms, only 1 in 10 blacks nationwide and about 1 in 17 Latinos (5.7%) meet the criteria for welfare dependence, contrary, again, to common belief.
If we use a more rational definition however, one that excludes from the dependence classification those persons whose cash income comes from SSI due to a disability that prevents them from working, or because of their age, and examine only TANF and the food stamp or SNAP program, only 2.1 percent of the population would meet the criteria for welfare dependence, with 1.1 percent of whites, 3.5 percent of Latinos, and 5.7 percent of blacks meeting the dependence criteria. In other words, and contrary to racial stereotypes, fully 94 out of 100 African Americans and between 96 and 97 out of every 100 Latinos are not dependent on government welfare programs.
But to the denizens of the right, facts don't matter. What matters is that by playing upon the class and race prejudices of their base (and sadly, many independent minded voters as well), they hope to, using Limbaugh's own words, "whip white working class voters into a frenzy," and push them to vote against Barack Obama, the black president who wants to give handouts to black people. It is a racist, classist campaign rooted in blatant lies. It is unbecoming of decent people, but perfectly predictable for the indecent, which is to say, for the American right. Lies are their currency. Cultivating bigotry and resentments are literally all they have left. It is up to the rest of us to destroy them, politically, once and for all.


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Peg's Steady Regime
Margaret Regan, known familiarly on the Island as Peg, will leave a huge pair of shoes to fill when she steps down as Martha's Vineyard Regional High School principal at the end of the current school year. By every account Mrs. Regan has been an excellent administrator, leader and role model for adolescents in her nine years at the Island's only high school. She is smart, seasoned, level-headed, keen-eyed, open-minded, deeply caring and possessed of good judgment and good character. She has a ready smile and a twinkle in her eye and is unafraid to confront tough decisions.
One recent example that stands out took place during the last school year when the high school committee voted, after much agonizing, to allow drug sniffing dogs to come into the high school. Mrs. Regan responded immediately by announcing that the students would be notified ahead of time before the drug sweep. Her explanation was at once clear and admirable: the purpose of the sweep was to get drugs out of the school, not arrest the students, she said.
Always putting the students first — this has been Peg Regan's trademark over the last decade. Now Mrs. Regan, at age fifty seven, is ready to move on to a different phase of her life and career. Full of energy and ideas, she plans to possibly return to teaching and her assessment of the state of education today is both incisive and sobering. "We're losing the creativity — the artistry — of what teaching means," she told the Gazette in an interview early this week.
Clearly Mrs. Regan has many contributions left to make to the world of education and we wish her well as she turns to pursue new vistas. Meanwhile, the high school is lucky to have her for the rest of the school year and the school committee now carries a heavy responsibility to fill what ranks among the most important professional positions on the Island.
And as they turn to the task at hand, committee members would do well to take their cues from Peg Regan, whose high school report card is marked with straight As for her leadership and steady hand at the tiller.

subset: commoncrawl


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One of the first major networking vendors to support OpenFlow on its switches, HP is now extending that support with FlexFabric technologies that enable the new world of Software Defined Networking.
HP is positioning its new FlexFabric 12900 platform as the industry's first OpenFlow-enabled core switching platform. A big box 23 RU switch with up to 20.5 Tbps of switching capacity, the 12916 supports 768 x 10 GbE ports. The 12910 switch is a 21 RU platform with up to 12.8 Tbps of switching capacity and support for 480 x 10 GbE ports.
As a core switching platform, the FlexFabric 12900 enters a market already occupied by the Cisco Nexus 6000 and the Juniper EX 8200.
While the FlexFabric 12900 represents the new big iron in the HP networking portfolio, HP is also rolling out new switching technology with no iron in it whatsoever. The FlexFabric VirtualSwitch 5900v will enter competition with the Cisco Nexus1000v, which has been in the market since 2008. The Linux operating system, which powers many servers today, now also includes a native Open vSwitch.
OpenFlow 1.3
Kash Shaikh, senior director of product and technical marketing at HP Networking, explained to Enterprise Networking Planet that HP's key differentiator is that its SDN technology is standards-based. The standard is OpenFlow, and for the new 12900 series switches in particular, HP will support the OpenFlow 1.3.x standard.
OpenFlow 1.3 was officially announced in May of 2012, though the majority of OpenFlow-enabled switches in the market today still only support OpenFlow 1.0. The 1.3 specification includes more options for network control.
SDN Manager
HP is also very focussed on controlling SDN.
In February of this year, the vendor formally unveiled its SDN controller, the Virtual Application Network SDN Controller. The controller enables a new generation of network-aware applications.
HP is now announcing a new SDN Manager, intended to help simplify the management of SDN. The SDN Manager is a module that will plug into HP's Intelligent Management Center (IMC) software platform for network management. HP first introduced IMC to its networking portfolio in 2011.
Shaikh explained that with the SDN Manager, OpenFlow-enabled switches can be managed directly, without the need to drop to the command line interface. Individual OpenFlow SDN Controllers can also be managed by the SDN Manager.
Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at Enterprise Networking Planet and InternetNews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.


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European Stocks Are Getting Pummeled And Bonds Are Rallying Worldwide
Stocks are falling and bonds are rallying this morning as geopolitical and fundamental economic concerns weigh on global sentiment.
In the U.S., the S&P 500 futures is marginally negative, while 10-year U.S. Treasury futures are up 0.1%, and the yield on the 10-year note is 2.65%, one basis point below yesterday's close.
European indices are in the red across the board — with the German DAX leading the way lower, currently down 1.0% — while French, Portuguese, and Italian government bonds are leading the rally in euro zone debt, all with yields 6 basis points below yesterday's close.
The U.S. dollar is weakening against the yen, and the euro is weakening against the dollar.
The ongoing political situation in Ukraine and Russia continues to capture attention. The Ukrainian hryvnia plummeted to new all-time lows today, and conflict appears to be on the rise in Ukraine's Crimea region, where ethnic Russians comprise the majority of the population and the threat of Russian military intervention looms large.
Citi strategist Valentin Marinov notes that over the past few sessions, the euro has weakened against the dollar in tandem with the Russian ruble.
"Recent FX price action seems to point at growing euro sensitivity to the intensifying tensions between Ukraine and Russia," says Marinov.
"Among the likely explanations is the dependence of the euro zone on oil and gas imports from Russia and the fact that all but one of the pipelines pass through Ukraine. Potential escalation in the tensions between the two countries could fuel concerns about supply disruptions, which could add to the headwinds for the fragile recovery in the euro zone. Such headwinds may be exacerbated by the existing trade and financial sector links between the E.U., Russia and Ukraine."
The euro is also likely weakening ahead of next week's monthly meeting of the ECB governing council on monetary policy. Many believe tomorrow's flash euro zone inflation release could point to further disinflation in February, spurring the ECB to take action, possibly by lowering the benchmark euro area refinancing rate.
"With all the talk about Russia and Ukraine, I think participants are losing sight of what is happening in the longer end," says Tom Tucci, head of U.S. Treasury trading at CIBC World Markets.
"Europe has a full blown deflation trade working and the U.S. has a large pension/insurance bid chasing long-end yields. There is a complete undersupply in the longer end of the market."
In recent sessions, there has been a growing disconnect between the S&P 500 (which has been moving higher) and U.S. Treasury yields (which have been moving lower). This continues to be a hot topic in the marketplace.
Most believe that this disconnect is related to inclement winter weather in the U.S., which has likely been a significant driver of recent weakness in economic indicators. The slowdown has caused market participants to close out short fixed income positions for now, sending yields lower even as stocks continue to push higher.
The release of better-than-expected January U.S. durable goods orders data alongside worse-than-expected weekly jobless claims data this morning did little to move the market. At 10 AM ET, Federal Reserve chairman Janet Yellen resumes her semi-annual testimony on monetary policy, this time appearing before the Senate Banking Committee.
"This follows on from the original testimony on the 11th, and so she will have seen a few extra data releases, an escalation in the Ukrainian threat, and a small improvement in U.S. equity markets," says David Keeble, head of fixed income strategy at Crédit Agricole.
"But, overall there is very unlikely to be much different today relative to the first installment. The message in the first testimony was that the taper would continue, and that came through in the recent minutes; it should also be the message today."
See Also:
- Markets Are Quiet
- 10 Countries Sitting On Ginormous Mounds Of Gold
- Markets Are Going Nowhere After Another Huge Move In Japan
READ MORE ... Wall Street is wondering if we're about to see a repeat of 1996


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Francis II
Francis II, 1544–60, king of France (1559–60), son of King Henry II and Catherine de' Medici. He married (1558) Mary Queen of Scots (Mary Stuart), and during his brief reign the government was in the hands of her uncles, François and Charles de Guise. Their ruthless persecution of Protestantism led to the conspiracy of Amboise (1560; see Amboise, conspiracy of), an attempt to remove the Guises from power. During Francis's reign French Protestantism became a political force (see Huguenots). Francis was succeeded by his brother, Charles IX.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: French History: Biographies


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Holiday Gift Tags
Add a personal touch to seasonal packages with festive gift tags made from sewing supplies and notions.
Fit to Be Tied
Elevate your gift-giving with fabric gift tags that double as keepsake ornaments.
Holiday Mitten Decor
Oh what fun you'll have adding personal touches to these miniature mittens! You can use them as gift toppers or ornaments.
Tag Along
Itchin' to stitch? Work up embroidered gift tags quickly, and then reuse them as ornaments after the gifts are opened.
Jolly Holiday Gift Tags
Print cute holiday gift tags to top all your homemade presents this year!
Hanging Ornaments Gift Tag
A seasonal greeting gift tag is spruced up with some creative printing and embroidery floss. Use computer software to design a gift tag with a holiday message and circle shapes. Print it out and add a single line of embroidery from the top of each circle to the top of the gift tag. Glue to a second piece of cardstock to add a pop of color.
Sweet Tweets Gift Tags
Print gift tags with cute winter motifs to adorn all your homemade presents this year!
3D Evergreen Gift Tag
Replicate this cushioned Christmas tree tag with some basic sewing skills. Pick out a festive fabric and cut two triangles to form the tree shape. Sew the triangles together, stuffing some fiberfill inside to produce the padded look. Adhere the tree, along with a piece of brown paper as the tree trunk, to cardstock to finish.
Rickrack Greeting Gift Tag
A white gift tag gets a punch of holiday color with alternating rickrack glued to one end and a stamped message on the other.
Personalized Stocking Gift Tag
Hang this cute gift card from any present to personalize a gift! Cut out a stocking and top cuff shape from red and white cardstock. Trace the name of the gift recipient on the stocking cuff, then embroider over the name using a running stich. Add a curved stitch line to the toe of the red stocking shape. Glue the stocking and cuff together.
Poinsettia Gift Tag
Make poinsettia stickers the star of your gift tag. Stitch two squares of linen together and glue the flower shape on top. Layer a square of bright cardstock and the square of linen as shown in the picture. Fold a length of ribbon in half and position the ends in-between the squares. Glue the squares together so the ribbon is secured in the center.
Christmas Tree Gift Tag
An easy-to-make tree tag, this creation showcases a seasonal symbol. Sketch a tree shape on a plain gift tag with a pencil. Run glue (a fine-tip applicator works best) over the design. Adhere green embroidery floss to the glue outline to finish the look.
Merry Christmas Gift Tag
Underline a printed or stamped holiday message with embroidery floss. Wrap alternating colors of embroidery floss in your favorite holiday colors around the bottom of a gift tag. Tie the beginning and ends of the floss together to hold the embellishment in place.
Season for Giving Tag
Print pretty gift tags to accompany all your homemade presents this year!
Rickrack Magic Gift Tag
Easily dress up a plain white gift tag with on-hand sewing supplies. Twist two colors of rickrack into seasonal shapes, such as a candy cane or a wreath. Glue the ends of the rickrack together. Then adhere the shape to the gift tag and embellish.
Fabric Gift Tags
Personalize gifts with easy-to-make fabric tags dressed up with a bit of embellishments.


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May 31st, 2011
Taylor Swift: The songs I wrote at 16 are a gift
Taylor Swift has definitely done a lot of growing up since breaking onto the music scene at age 16. The 21-year-old says the most notable change is in her songwriting.
In an interview with MTV, Swift says that as an adult, she takes a different approach when writing about hurt and heartache.
"I had this song called 'Picture to Burn,' that's talking about how 'I hate your truck,' and 'I hate that you ignored me,' 'I hate you,'" she says of the tune from her 2006 debut album. "Now, the way that I would say that and the way that I would feel that kind of pain is a lot different."
May 31st, 2011
'Showbiz Tonight' Flashpoint: One-on-one with Lady Gaga
We've got our one-on-one with Lady Gaga today on "Showbiz Tonight."
The superstar is speaking out about her racy "Edge of Glory" performance on "American Idol" that caused plenty of controversy, and she's also got a blunt message for her critics.
Something else I uncovered on the shoot: Lady Gaga's as gracious as they come.
May 31st, 2011
Cheryl Cole won't be on British 'X Factor,' either
After reportedly getting replaced on the U.S. version of "The X Factor," Cheryl Cole seems to have been dumped from the U.K. edition too.
The former Girls Aloud singer, who had been a judge on Britain's "X Factor" since 2008, was not included among the panel members announced by series producer Simon Cowell on Monday, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Those who did make the cut: Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland, "Take That" singer-songwriter Gary Barlow, Tulisa Contostavlos of British hip-hop band N-Dubz, and boy-band impresario Louis Walsh.
May 31st, 2011
Coachella 2012: Two weekends, same festival
Coachella 2011 turned up the lights with Arcade Fire and hosted a memorable performance from a tearful Kanye West, but next year the festival is aiming even higher.
In 2012, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival will do double time, offering two events in Indio, California, two weekends in a row. As a statement puts it, "festival organizers will attempt to produce two identical festival weekends–same lineup, same art, same place," but with "different people."
So if you miss out on the festival's first weekend, April 13-15, then you can catch the same exact event the following weekend, April 20-22.
Weekend passes will be on advance sale from 10 a.m. PT, Friday, June 3 until 10 p.m. PT on Friday, June 10, for the price of $269 plus fees per pass.
May 31st, 2011
Nick Cannon is 'Famous'
Besides being a DJ, host of "America's Got Talent" and Mr. Mariah Carey, Nick Cannon has also been an actor, comic and aspiring music star.
The last two are on display in his latest song and music video "Famous," featuring singer Akon.
In the video for the upbeat song, Cannon portrays several famous stars, including the late Michael Jackson and M.C. Hammer. He even spoofs YouTube sensation Antoine Dodson.
The song has become so hot that it has already spawned a spoof of the spoof in which Cannon appears with another YouTube sensation, young Keenan Cahill.
May 31st, 2011
Depp will be a legend, says 'Pirates' director
Edward Scissorhands. The Mad Hatter. Captain Jack Sparrow. Johnny Depp has played his share of quirky characters over the years, and according to "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" director Rob Marshall, they're just the types of roles that will make him a Hollywood legend.
"He's as vivid as those great stars of the past, Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable and Errol Flynn," Marshall tells the L.A. Times. "Many, many, many years from now, when people look at this generation of Hollywood, he will be considered the great star of this era. He's his own thing and he takes major chances every single time he makes a film."
Marshall and "Pirates" producer Jerry Bruckheimer both believe Depp would have made a great silent-movie star.
About this blog
Our daily cheat-sheet for breaking celebrity news, Hollywood buzz and your pop-culture obsessions.


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What we do
Policy reform options
MAFAP supports decision makers in partner countries to articulate costs and benefits of alternative policy options to promote suitable reforms.
Policy dialogue and engagement
MAFAP is actively engaging with policy makers to ensure the analytical results and recommendations feed into national policy processes.
Agricultural public expenditure analysis
While building monitoring and analytical capacity in partner countries, MAFAP measures the level and composition of public expenditures in support of food and agriculture.
Price incentives analysis
MAFAP measures how different policies and markets affect the prices farmers receive for their products and the prices consumers pay.
Policy coherence
MAFAP tracks public expenditure related to agriculture and measures the impact of policies on the prices of key agricultural commodities.
Policy performance
MAFAP uses a set of indicators that help understand how different policies work in various contexts and how they affect agricultural value chain dynamics and production incentives in different countries.


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The online social collective Groundation Grenada recently launched an anti-LGBT discrimination campaign, #BunDiscrimination, collaborating with graphic designer Joshua Lu to create several posters featuring altered lyrics from popular songs to highlight the double standards at work. According to the organizers:
Our campaign -'Discrimination is Discrimination' – addresses the fact that most people in the Caribbean reject other forms of arbitrary discrimination; they understand why it is problematic and toxic for our societies. Sadly, the same understanding isn't extended to discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity (SOGI). This is not to say that all forms of discrimination are the same or operate the same. There are, however, crucial parallels between various forms of discrimination that are often ignored. Our campaign visually juxtaposes discriminatory remarks in popular media in a way which makes the parallels apparent.
Global Voices spoke to Groundation Grenada co-founder and attorney Richie Maitland to discuss the campaign, the current state of LGBT issues in the Caribbean and their plans for the future.
Global Voices (GV): What has been the response to your campaign been thus far?
Groundation Grenada (GG): We've received both positive and negative feedback. The negative feedback consists primarily of what I perceive as closet homophobes emphasising the differences between discrimination based on sexual orientation/gender identity and race. Some are attempting to belittle the negative discriminatory experiences of Lesbian, Gay Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) people or suggesting that it falls below issues of race in some 'discrimination hierarchy'. Some of our allies thought we should have included more text, making it explicit that we are against all forms of discrimination and explaining our campaign more because they felt that people may have misconstrued our intentions and thought we were advocating other forms of discrimination, thereby offending some viewers. We understand this, but we think that people will get the message without us having to be explicit. The title of the campaign, 'Discrimination is Discrimination', helps to contextualize what we are trying to say. The ultimate message is that sexual orientation/gender identity discrimination is as bad as other forms of discrimination and while there is a shock value to the posters, we think by and large people conceptually understand our message. Otherwise, the feedback has been quite positive and individuals and organizations have been sharing the campaign across their social media platforms.
GV: Your campaign involves the use of lyrics from popular songs in the region. While Caribbean artists have faced protests abroad for the content of their songs, this does not seem to be true at home. Were you consciously referencing these campaigns from overseas? And, to what extent is homophobia in the Caribbean still fueled by popular culture?
We were not consciously referencing the campaigns from overseas. The campaigns you refer to are campaigns to sanction artistes with homophobic lyrics. The lyrics [are] not our focus. We are not trying to bring awareness to the fact that some music in the Caribbean – as in other parts of the world – advocates violence against LGBTQ people, for the purpose of reprimanding artistes as a deterrent to them.
We wanted to use Caribbean relevant lyrics that many people, and particularly, a youth demographic, would identify with so that people would see how easily we normalise expressions of violence and expressions of discrimination against LGBTQ people and how much we are culpable in that normalisation. We wanted people also to interrogate why they were able to morally excuse lyrics which promote violence and discrimination against LGBTQ people and by extension, why they thought of sexual orientation/gender identity as different from other forms of discrimination, the expressions of which they would never endorse. The popularity of the lyrics was crucial to the campaign. The Indo-Caribbean woman who was jumping in a carnival band and singing Wanskie's song must now be forced to think about her prejudices; same with the black man in the club singing Buju's tune. They both may have experienced being discriminated against, depending on their other contexts, they would now be forced to think about the ways they endorse other forms of discrimination.
I think homophobia in the Caribbean is fueled by many things and that people are socialised into being homophobic. Children and people generally living in a space are constantly exposed to expressions of the values and attitudes of that space, which in many cases are internalised. Homophobia as a package is part of the value and attitude system of the Caribbean, expressed in many fora, including in popular media and internalised by people who don't think about it critically. So popular media plays its part in fueling homophobia in so far as it parades value systems that are internalised. But we have to remember that the music reflects society. Families fuel homophobia a lot more than popular media does in my view.
GV: Trinidadian artist LeRoy Clarke has recently made controversial comments about gays and the arts. What would be your response to Clarke's comments, particularly given the way he framed them?
I currently do LGBT related human rights work in Trinidad and Tobago and I actually responded on a morning talk show to some of Clarke's comments. I think Clarke falsely contemporaries the issue; he presents homosexuality as this recent phenomena responsible for the progressive 'feminisation of man'. This is ridiculous. Homosexuals have been part of every society across time and space and in many instances have contributed significantly to their respective cultural communities. Clarke points to the disappearance of 'masculine' mas characters as evidence. I think the commercialization of carnival is a major factor in a decline in more traditional mas elements, whether one sees them as masculine or feminine.
Clarke mentions gang members being initiated through anal sex and says people told him it happens, then goes on to draw a theoretical link between that and violence. I don't think anyone takes that shit seriously, and thankfully so. Even gang leaders responded to Clarke's statements in the press explaining that they were not homosexual and that Clarke was disrespecting them. I nearly died laughing when I read a quote from the gang leader in the paper where he says that God told him homosexuality is wrong. I wonder what God told that gang leader about his gang activities?
GV: Recently, several states in the US have made gay marriage legal, even while in Africa, particularly Uganda, there have been stringent laws passed outlawing homosexuality. Where does the Caribbean fit in this context?
Same sex unions and marriages have a very long history, existing throughout time and across continents. In modern history Denmark became the first country to legally recognize same sex unions. Now, same sex marriages marriages are allowed in Denmark and 16 other countries with Mexico and the US recognising these marriages only in some jurisdictions. Many countries in the Caribbean still outlaw consentual intercourse between same sex adults and so as a region generally, LGBTQ people don't enjoy as much protection and freedoms as other countries. On the other hand, nowhere in the region is as bad as Uganda, which makes even advocacy illegal.
It's also difficult to generalise the Caribbean [as a region]. Bahamas, for instance, has decriminalised buggery since the early nineties. Other places, like Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, are much more tolerant of same sex expressions of intimacy than Jamaica, for instance. It's also difficult to generalise countries. The same Jamaica has thriving LGBTQ communities, people who do not have homophobic views and various safe spaces, depending on where one is.
I don't think marriage is currently part of the LGBTQ equality narrative. Though it would be nice for LGBTQ people to reap the benefits of legal unions, there are issues that are a lot more pressing and urgent to the community; issues of violence, homelessness and discrimination that need addressing. While marriage equality advocacy has got a big audience within the US conversation, LGBTQ people (especially those that are people of color, immigrants or low income) are still grappling with these other issues.
GV: What further initiatives do you have planned?
One of our main upcoming initiatives is a collaboration with ARC Magazine called 'Forgetting is Not An Option'. This multimedia cultural memory project focuses on the events and experiences surrounding the Grenada Revolution 1979-83. There are politics behind what gets remembered/forgotten and we found that the Grenada Revolution was slowly being forgotten, with many post-revolution born people remembering the demise of the revolution only. We want to keep its memory and the memory of other powerful Caribbean movements alive. It's important to present an alternative historical narrative to the colonial and inept governance we largely experience. People need to understand their power, as well as their mistakes. We relaunch our open call to artists, writers, musicians etc. this month and the selected works will culminate in an interactive virtual archive, which will launch in March 2015 alongside a series of exhibitions and live events.
We are also organising 'Groundation Radio', a blog radio program to expand our platform and improve our outreach. We continue to publish creative and critical pieces from Caribbean and diasporic thinkers and writers on our website.
The campaign images used in this post are courtesy Groundation Grenada
For more on this story go to:


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Since introduction, the Altima Hybrid has stood out from other hybrids in its class with its balance of fuel efficiency and drivability. "As an Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (AT-PZEV), Altima Hybrid delivers near-zero evaporative emissions," explains Al Castignetti, vice president and general manager, Nissan Division, Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA). "Yet there's nothing "partial' or 'zero' about its driving performance, which lives up to the expectations of any vehicle wearing a Nissan badge."
In 2011, Altima Hybrid continues to offer the efficiency and fuel economy of a hybrid drivetrain with the performance and excitement typical of any Altima, combining true driving pleasure, distinctive and sporty design and a quality-crafted interior with excellent fuel mileage. It has been certified to meet California emissions requirements and is sold in states that have adopted California emissions regulations: California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Following extensive enhancements for the 2010 model year - including a revised front end appearance and a refined interior – revisions to the Altima Hybrid for 2011 are limited to three new exterior colors: Metallic Silver, Saharan Stone and Brilliant Silver.
The Altima Hybrid is part of Nissan's ongoing efforts in the area of environmental protection and vehicle efficiency. In addition to Altima Hybrid, Nissan offers a wide application of its advanced Xtronic CVT? (Continuously Variable Transmission) in its 2011 passenger cars and crossovers and Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV) technology in the 2011 Titan pickup and Armada SUV. The all-new Nissan LEAF™, a pure electric vehicle, is slated for launch in late 2010 in the U.S., Japan and Europe – ushering in a new era of mobility.
Altima Power Plus Hybrid Technology
The Altima Hybrid powertrain mates a refined version of Nissan's QR25 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine and standard electronically controlled CVT with an advanced electric drive motor/generator that increases fuel economy while maintaining low tailpipe emissions. Altima Hybrid is rated as an Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (AT-PZEV) and emits almost no evaporative emissions.
The advanced energy drive system shares duties between the gasoline-powered 4-cylinder and the emissions-free electric motor – allowing Altima Hybrid to run solely on electric power if appropriate, especially during stop-and-go driving. If extra performance is needed, the gasoline engine starts instantly and smoothly adds power as required.
Altima Hybrid is estimated to have a hybrid system net power rating of 198 horsepower (148 kW). EPA fuel economy is estimated at 35 mpg City and 33 mpg Highway. Combined with Altima's standard 20-gallon fuel tank, the Altima Hybrid has a projected driving range of over 600 miles between fill-ups.
The Altima Hybrid utilizes regenerative braking technology to recharge the hybrid system's batteries, meaning Altima Hybrid doesn't have to "plug in" to maintain a sufficient store of electric energy.
In order to recharge the battery, a generator places resistance on the driveshaft during braking. Altima Hybrid's Regenerative Brake System calculates braking force generated by brake pedal operation and controls the regenerative brake force to convert kinetic energy into electric energy, optimizing energy regeneration. The system converts the vehicle's kinetic energy to usable electric energy that is stored in the system's 244.8V Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) battery for eventual use by the electric motor.
Nissan's proven QR25 4-cylinder engine features continuously variable valve timing, modular engine design, microfinished crank journals and cam lobes, molybdenum-coated lightweight pistons and electronically controlled throttle.
Helping provide smooth acceleration and maximize powertrain efficiency is Altima Hybrid's hybrid system-specific eCVT, which works in conjunction with the Hybrid Vehicle-Electric Control Unit (HV-ECU) to determine which power source or combination of power sources will turn the wheels.
Altima Hybrid's electric motor produces high torque at low rpm, allowing it to utilize its Electric Vehicle (EV) mode to power the car from a standing idle and through initial acceleration without the assistance of the gasoline engine. While this stage of acceleration is a typical gasoline-only powered vehicle's least fuel-efficient stage, Altima Hybrid offers much of its fuel-efficiency benefits here.
Altima Hybrid's all-electric mode, called Electric Vehicle (EV) mode, powers the vehicle in this initial acceleration phase. After the electric motor provides initial acceleration, the gasoline engine quietly starts and assumes the load of powering the vehicle. The gasoline engine works independently through cruising speeds until the vehicle reaches speeds at which fuel efficiency declines. When loads require, the electric motor restarts again and aids the gasoline engine in powering the Altima Hybrid. This allows the gasoline engine to remain in its ideal rpm range while the axle torque simultaneously increases due to extra power contributed by the electric motor.
A digital display on the speedometer indicates when the Altima Hybrid is running solely on electric power. The Altima Hybrid's available hard drive navigation system also features a real-time display showing how the hybrid system directs the flow of energy.
Serving as the foundation for Altima Hybrid is Nissan's advanced "D" platform. The platform includes a subframe-mounted front suspension, shock absorbers with rebound springs and equal-length half-shafts that are nearly parallel to the ground – virtually eliminating traditional front-wheel drive torque steer.
Stylish Exterior and Comfortable Interior
The distinctive Altima exterior styling features signature hood, grille, front bumper and rear license plate finisher designs, along with a 16-inch aluminum-alloy wheel design.
Altima's exterior again offers an aggressive stance, a strong wedge character line, signature Altima-style taillights and Hybrid badging. Three new exterior colors are available – Metallic Slate, Saharan Stone and Brilliant Silver – along with Mystic Jade, Super Black and Navy Blue.
Inside, Altima Hybrid's interior fabrics and finishers and available Blond interior color are joined by a white illumination gauge appearance and automatic transmission finisher design. The available Bose® Premium Audio System includes 9 speakers, a 4.3-inch color display, USB port with iPod® connectivity, Bluetooth® Hands-free Phone System, MP3/WMA CD-ROM playback, XM® Satellite Radio (XM® subscription required, sold separately), and RearView Monitor.
The next-generation Nissan Hard Drive Navigation System features a 6.5-inch VGA color display, USB port with iPod® connectivity, Bluetooth® Hands-free Phone System with audio streaming, 9.3GB Music Box® for music storage and playback, advanced map data including speed limit advisories, Zagat® Survey restaurant guide, XM® NavTraffic and XM NavWeather™ (XM® subscription required, sold separately) and an RCA input for auxiliary audio/video connectivity.
As in previous years, the roomy yet sporty interior space offers innovative amenities, including Fine Vision gauge display instrument panel and comfortable, highly bolstered seats with available 8-way power-adjustable driver's seat and heated front seats. Leather-appointed seating is also offered, along with standard Nissan Intelligent Key™ with Push Button Ignition and Dual-Zone Automatic Temperature Control.
The 2011 Altima Hybrid also comes equipped with a number of standard safety features, including the Nissan Advanced Air Bag System (AABS) with dual-stage supplemental front air bags with seat belt and occupant classification sensors, front seat-mounted side impact supplemental air bags and roof-mounted curtain side impact supplemental air bags for front and rear-seat outboard occupant head protection.
Other standard equipment includes front seat belts with pretensioners and load limiters, front seat Active Head Restraints, the LATCH System (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren), Zone Body construction with front and rear crumple zones, Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) and Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).
One Well-Equipped Model
The 2011 Altima Hybrid is offered in one model, the Altima Hybrid, with the 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine and hybrid electric components, eCVT transmission, 4-wheel power-assisted disc brakes with Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), electric power rack-and-pinion steering, 4-wheel independent suspension and 16-inch aluminum-alloy wheels. Comfort and convenience features include standard Nissan Intelligent Key™ with Push Button Ignition and a Dual-Zone Automatic Temperature Control that includes an Altima Hybrid-specific electrically powered A/C that continues to provide cooling when the gasoline engine is stopped.
Three option packages are offered for 2011, including the Convenience Package, with 8-way power driver's seat, automatic on/off headlights, dual sun visors w/ illuminated vanity mirrors & extenders, leather-wrapped steering wheel, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, power window w/ one-touch auto up/down & auto reverse, key fob-operated front windows up/down, front passenger key cylinder-operated front windows up/down, sideview mirrors with integrated turn signals, manual folding sideview mirrors, wood trim finishers for Blond interior, and rear spoiler w/integrated center high-mounted stoplight.
The Premium Package features leather-appointed seats, heated driver and front-passenger seats, driver's power lumbar support, leather-wrapped gearshift knob, power sliding tinted glass moonroof with tilt, sliding sunshade and one-touch operation with auto reverse feature, Bose AM/FM audio system with 9 speakers, 4.3-inch color display, RearView Monitor, Bluetooth Hands-free Phone System, USB port with iPod connectivity, XM Satellite Radio (XM subscription required, sold separately), MP3/WMA CD-ROM playback capability, Radio Data System (RDS), speed-sensitive auto volume, heated sideview mirrors, auto-dimming rearview mirror, HomeLink Universal Transceiver, compass, mood lighting, rear A/C ventilation and metallic-texture finishers (Charcoal interior).
Finally, the Technology Package adds Nissan Hard Drive Navigation System with 6.5-inch VGA color monitor, 9.3GB Music Box® Hard Drive for digital music storage and playback, hybrid energy flow and energy/fuel history display, XM NavTraffic and XM NavWeather™, DVD player, Bluetooth Streaming Audio, steering wheel navigation system controls and VTR jack.
The 2011 Altima is assembled at Nissan North America – Smyrna Manufacturing in Smyrna, Tennessee.
Source: Nissan


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As the CEO of Renault-Nissan, Carlos Ghosn leads one of the world's largest car manufacturers. A business world superhero, the Brazilian-French corporate Titan saved Nissan Motor Company from near bankruptcy in the 90s. His fluency in French, Portuguese, English, and Arabic help him navigate the waters of international trade.
But although Ghosn has Brazilian and French citizenships, he now splits his time between Paris and Tokyo, where his limited knowledge of the Japanese language leaves him at a disadvantage. That's where the very awesome Yuki Morimoto comes in.
Not just any interpreter, Morimoto seems to be the only interpreter who could keep up with a man like Ghosn. She takes her job so seriously that she almost becomes him when she translates what he's saying into Japanese, mimicking his tone, hand gestures, facial expressions, even his moods. Nissan's Japanese employees say that when some hapless exec incurs the wrath of Ghosn, they get yelled at twice; once by the man himself and once by Morimoto in their native tongue.
Morimoto has been Ghosn's right hand woman in Japan for the past 12 years, and says rather than providing a literal translation of everything he says, she attempts to convey his meaning, his vibe, and his passion. She says that aside from the restroom, she goes everywhere with Ghosn while he's on business in Japan.
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A real ball of energy, Morimoto got into interpretation only after she screwed up an impromptu translation session for a South African pharmaceutical executive she was working for. She already had a degree in English, but the gaffe prompted her to take interpretation classes in Osaka. Not long after, she landed a job as Ghosn's interpreter.
We could think of worse gigs than being the mouthpiece of one of the automotive industry's biggest superstars.


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Dempsey goal sends Chelsea to draw
LONDON (AP) - U.S. star Clint Dempsey's goal for Fulham sent Chelsea to a third consecutive 1-1 draw Monday and further damaged its Premier League title hopes.
Reeling from its worst home loss in more than 40 years, Fulham scored just its fifth away goal this season. Bryan Ruiz eluded Chelsea's Ashley Cole and crossed to Dempsey, who sent the ball past goalkeeper Petr Cech in the 57th minute. It was Dempsey's ninth goal of the season.
Fourth-place Chelsea opened the scoring within two minutes of the second half. Fernando Torres, making his first league start in almost two months, failed to control Cole's cross but the ball fell to Juan Mata, who left-footed it home from the edge of the penalty area.
Chelsea is two points ahead of Arsenal, which hosts Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday, and 11 points behind the leaders - Manchester rivals City and United.
United surged to a second 5-0 rout in a week, beating Wigan behind Dimitar Berbatov's hat trick. The result left City clinging to the top spot on goal difference after being held to a 0-0 draw by West Bromwich Albion.
Third-place Tottenham, 10 points behind the Manchester teams but with two games in hand, plays at Norwich today.
Sixth-place Liverpool failed to seize on Chelsea's slip, drawing 1-1 at home to last-place Blackburn.
Blackburn is just a point behind Bolton, which lost 2-0 to a Newcastle team that had not won in six matches. Sunderland climbed four points clear of the danger zone with a 1-1 draw at Everton.


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Photo by Cecile Lavabre/Getty Images
Forget the whole soul thing—the eyes are actually a window to your health. "Simply by looking in someone's eyes, we can see things like arteries, veins, and nerves, which are a reflection of what's going on in the rest of the body," says Rahul Khurana, MD, a retina specialist in northern California. That's why the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends everyone get a baseline eye exam by age 40, if not before (if everything looks good, your doctor can decide how often you should follow up). The benefit, of course, is easily catching potential problems early on. Here, 10 important health conditions your eyes can signal.
You're seriously stressed.
Notice your vision blurring whenever you work late? Staring at your computer screen may not actually be the culprit. Stress has been linked with fluid buildup under the retina (the layer of tissue at the back of the eye that filters images and sends them to the brain), which results in hazy vision. A study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology found that 37% of subjects suffering from this ailment (called Central Serous Retinopathy) had dealt with "elevated stress" shortly before being diagnosed, and animal studies show that a shot of adrenaline, which our bodies release in high-pressure situations, could trigger the condition. The good news: For most people, blurry vision resolves itself within three to four months.
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You have high blood pressure.
Hypertension is known as the "silent killer" because the condition, which can lead to heart disease or a stroke if untreated, has no visible symptoms. Except, that is, in the eyes. High blood pressure can trigger changes in the retina's tiny blood vessels—causing them to narrow or balloon—which can signal problems with bigger vessels that supply the heart, brain, and kidneys. If your eye doctor notices this, get to a cardiologist, stat: A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association linked retinal changes with an elevated risk of heart failure. (Keep your blood pressure in check with these 13 ways to lower your blood pressure naturally.)
You should eat more carrots.
Photo by Henrik Sorensen/Getty Images
If you're having trouble seeing at night, you might need to load up on orange veggies and protein. Night vision issues are common in people whose diets are short on vitamin A, which is found in foods like carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, and beef. Too little vitamin A can mean a decrease in a pigment called rhodopsin, which controls how the eye perceives light. The fix: Get at least 700 mcg of vitamin A daily, the recommended amount for adult women.
You're suffering from inflammation.
You've been waking up with achy, bloodshot eyes for a week, but you've been logging 8 hours of sleep every night and avoiding alcohol. What gives? The pain and redness may be a sign of uveitis–inflammation within the eye—and it can signal inflammation elsewhere in your body. The condition, which flares up when the immune system attacks its own tissues, is a marker in ailments from psoriasis and Crohn's to rheumatoid arthritis; the latter causes eye-related symptoms in 25% of sufferers. "When inflammation manifests itself in the eye, that often tips us off to other conditions," says Khurana.
Your thyroid is wonky.
If your go-to selfie expression is more deer-in-headlights than duckface, you may want to get your thyroid checked. Graves Disease, the most common cause of bulging eyes, is triggered when the thyroid gland goes into overdrive and produces hormones that attack muscles and tissues within the eye socket (a condition called hyperthyroidism). Women are especially at risk for Graves; it affects them five to six times more than men and causes eye-related complications in more than 50% of sufferers.
Your IQ is impressive…or not.
Did you ace most of your college classes? Breeze through War and Peace? The blood vessels in your retina might be to thank. A 2013 study published in the journal Psychological Science found that the appearance of those vessels can determine your cognitive abilities. The study looked at the retinal vessels of adults in their 30s; people with narrower ones fared better on verbal comprehension and memory tests, while their wide-vesseled counterparts were found to have lower IQ scores, even after accounting for health and lifestyle risk factors. "The small vessels in the eye may reflect the condition of vessels inside the brain because they share similar size, structure and function," says Idan Shalev, PhD, an assistant professor of biobehavioral health at Penn State University and one of the study's authors. "They provide a window to study the health of the brain." (The next step for scientists: finding out why wider vessels are associated with poorer brain function.)
You have diabetes.
According to the American Diabetes Association, 30 million Americans suffer from the disease, but only about 8 million have been diagnosed. A simple eye exam can alert you to the problem: A 2014 study commissioned by United Healthcare found that diabetes is the chronic health condition most likely to be identified during an eye exam. That's because high blood sugar levels can manifest in several places in the eye, such as weakening blood vessels in the retina, causing protein to leak into the macula (the part of the eye responsible for focusing), and blocking oxygen and nutrients from getting to the back of the eye. And while diabetes-related retinal damage is the main cause of vision loss in Americans aged 20 to 74, don't fear: If the condition is caught early—and if you manage your blood sugar levels properly—the condition is unlikely to progress. (Do you know your diabetes risk? Take this quiz to find out.)
You have allergies.
Photo by Dirima/Getty Images
Are you battling under-eye circles that no amount of concealer can cover? Allergic rhinitis, which affects one in seven Americans and causes inflammation of the mucous membranes in the nose, could be the cause. Breathing in anything from pollen to pet hair can clog sinuses and trigger a reaction that causes blood to pool under the eyes (the thinnest-skinned spot on your body), which results in a bruise-like "allergic shiner." Thankfully, the problem can usually be fixed by popping an antihistamine. (Here's how the pros cover up dark circles.)
You're depressed.
Do you have trouble tearing your gaze away from sad pictures in the newspaper? The urge to avert your eyes (or not) can be a tipoff to your mental health. Studies that have tracked eye movements of people with mental illness—think anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder—found that they have different gazing patterns (i.e., they tend to look at certain things longer, or not as long) than their healthy counterparts. A 2013 study in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, for example, found that depressed people took significantly longer to look away from photos of "negative stimuli," like sad faces, versus those who aren't depressed. Researchers theorize that people display a bias toward images that reflect their state of mind.
MORE: 9 Surprising Signs Of Depression
Your nervous system is out of whack.
When it comes to nerve disorders like multiple sclerosis, the eyes can provide an early clue that something's wrong. That's because the optic nerve, which sits at the back of the eye and transmits details about what you see to the brain, is part of the central nervous system, the same network that MS affects. Inflammation in the nerve, called optic neuritis, is diagnosed in as many as 75% of MS patients, and in up to a quarter of cases, it's the first sign (along with blurred vision and pain when you move your eyes) that something is amiss.


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Welcome to San Diego, Huston Street
The Padres traded for Huston Street mere days after Heath Bell signed with the Marlins last week.
The former Oakland A and Colorado Rockie brings a more veteran presence to the Padres. He has been in the majors for seven years and has 178 saves. I think this is a great move by the Padres. I'm just glad we didn't try to replace Heath with some minor league player.
But forget the numbers. This guy is CUTE. Yes, I did just do a Google search to see if he was single. Not that I'm interested or anything, it's just weird to have an obsessive crush on a baseball player who is taken. (Kouz, as far as I can tell, is single. No, my obsession is not creepy.)
I'm not saying that this guy might become my new favorite player, since I have yet to see him close a game. But all signs point to a potential new favorite player for me.


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It's not fair to break down the Washington Capitals-Boston Bruins series to Alex Ovechkin vs. Zdeno Chara … but it sure is kinda fun, isn't it? By just about any measure, Chara subdued Ovechkin in Game 1 – which was important because Boston barely won by a score of 1-0 in overtime.
Let's take a look at Ovechkin and Chara's numbers:
Ovi: one shot on goal, zero missed shots, seven hits and one giveaway in 17:34 of ice time.
Chara: two shots on goal, one missed shot, one penalty, four hits and 21:46 of ice time.
Ovechkin's seven hits show that he was involved in the game – at least from a physical perspective – but I italicized his missed shots because it reveals that he wasn't even really able to release his shot very often. Even if his accuracy was off, having a few missed shots on goal would give a little bit more reason for optimism; instead, he was limited enough that he only fired one shot – a pretty decent one – that Tim Thomas was able to handle.
A steady flow of Bruins power plays from the end of the first period and beginning of the second might explain both players' limited ice time, but that's a promising sign for Chara. Keeping Big Z's ice time reasonable is a really nice break for Boston, especially if the Caps can make this a long series.
Dale Hunter's task is to get Ovechkin on the ice more often. It'll be easier to get him away from Chara once the series shifts to Washington, but either way, 17:34 of ice time just isn't enough for Ovechkin – especially since he finished the season on a somewhat stealthy hot streak.


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It's byelection night in Victoria and the excitement is building at the various headquarters.
Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May joined candidate Donald Galloway at their Yates Street location around 7 p.m. Both were cheerful, greeting the 50 or so people in the room warmly.
Galloway, who hopes to nudge the NDP out of the seat tonight, said regardless of the result, the response in the communities shows the Greens are a real contender.
Over at Conservative Party headquarters, down one block on lower Yates Street, candidate Dale Gann had yet to arrive, but 50 or 60 supporters had already gathered. Unlike the Green gathering, which had an eclectic mix, the age range here is an older crowd.
Now stationed at NDP headquarters inside the Fairmont Empress Hotel's Crystal Ballroom, News journalist Daniel Palmer reports a "gala-like atmosphere." Upwards of 150 had arrived, hoping to see candidate Murray Rankin make an acceptance speech and take over where retired NDP MP Denise Savoie left off.
Unlike the other two camps, a lot of younger people are here in support of the NDP.
As of 8 p.m., the Elections Canada website showed a tight race between Rankin and Galloway, with the NDP leading 476 votes to 432 with 11 of 256 polls reporting.
• • •
With the poll results coming in more quickly now, Donald Galloway has a tiny lead, eight votes over Rankin, 1,1101 to 1,088 with 25 polls reporting. The mood is pensive at NDP headquarters…
Meanwhile, Liberal Paul Summerville and Conservative Dale Gann are battling it out for third place, with just over 350 votes each.
• • •
How quickly things can change. Rankin surged ahead by 137 votes. Many people expected this race to be an NDP cakewalk, but the Greens are proving to be very resilient. Now with 50 polls in, Galloway back to within 40 votes of Rankin.
• • •
A little more than halfway through the count and the two leaders are swapping the lead back and forth. At the 140 poll mark, the two actually sat in a dead tie with 6,585 votes each.
At the Green office, Galloway appears stunned by the results so far.
"I think we've won, whatever happens," he says. "We've run a fabulous campaign. I don' think the NDP expected this."
• • •
Talk about a massive swing. The Greens went from being ahead by more than 200 votes to being behind by 386 with 196 of 256 polls counted. The poll-by-poll results will certainly tell the story tomorrow, but there's still lots of votes to be counted.
• • •
The NDP's Rankin is widening his lead with 205 polls counted, stacking up an 821-vote margin over Galloway. This could be the Orange Tide turning back the Green Wave. Not as quickly as anyone would have predicted, but a shift in momentum nonetheless.
• • •
The Greens have officially conceded to the NDP, with Rankin ahead by more than 1,200 votes and just 25 polls remaining to be counted.