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County Official Seeks to Split California Into 2 States
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – An elected official wants 13 mostly conservative California counties to break away to create a 51st state under a proposal that would have to clear major hurdles to succeed.
Republican Jeff Stone suggests calling it the state of South California, short for SOS. He is asking fellow members of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to support a motion to bring together officials from the 13 counties to discuss the idea.
A vote on the proposed meeting is scheduled for Tuesday
Stone said California is too big to govern, a situation that has led state lawmakers in Sacramento to raid local government coffers because of runaway spending. He knows it will be a challenge to create another state but doesn't believe it's an impossible task.
"I have come to the conclusion ... that the political priorities of Southern California and Northern California are completely different," Stone wrote in his motion.
The effort marks the latest in scores of secession movements in California dating back to the 1850s that aimed to cleave the state and split counties and cities.
Even if leaders from the 13 counties got serious about secession, the U.S. Constitution says no new state can be formed without the consent of Congress and the state Legislature.
Gil Duran, a spokesman for California Gov. Jerry Brown, said Stone's proposal is "a supremely ridiculous waste of everybody's time."
"If you want to live in a Republican state with very conservative right-wing laws, then there's a place called Arizona," Duran told the Los Angeles Times.
Stone's version of South California would not include Los Angeles County. Instead, it would encompass coastal Orange and San Diego counties, and more sparsely populated, inland areas such as Fresno, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Mono, Riverside, San Bernardino and Tulare counties.
Combined, those counties have about 13 million people.
Stone also proposed that South California would have a part-time Legislature with no term limits as well as a newly built capitol building.


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|This genre is characterized by soft and spherical sounds. Music made to create quite and relaxed moments. Ideal for meditation or as subtle background, ambient soundscapes demand little attention and mainly create a silencing mood. Besides electronic instruments, ambient also makes use of field recordings of natural environments.
60s 70s 80s 8Bit Ambient Beat Big Beat Blues Bollywood Brazil Breaks Chillout Cinematic Country Crunk Dance Dancehall Deep House Disco Downbeat Drum and Bass Dubstep Easy Listening Electro Electro House Folk Funk Garage Hard Techno Hip Hop House IDM Indie Instruments Jazz Latin Lounge Metal Minimal Nu Disco Pop Punk R&B Reggae Rock Score Music Soul Soundeffects Surf Tech House Techno Trance Urban Various World

subset: commoncrawl


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Tips for Parents to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
According to research conducted by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, there are many steps parents and other adults can take to reduce the risk of children becoming pregnant before they've grown up. Below are 10 tips from the National Campaign to prevent teen pregnancy, influence teens to delay becoming sexually active and encourage those having sex to use contraception carefully:
To help clarify your attitudes and values, ask yourself: What do you really think about teenagers being sexually active and becoming parents? Who is responsible for setting sexual limits in a relationship, and how is that done? Were you sexually active as a teenager, and how do you feel about that now? What do you think about encouraging teenagers to abstain from sex? What do you think about teenagers using contraception?
2. Talk with Your Children Early and Often about Sex and Be Specific
Kids have many questions about sex, and they often say that the source they'd most like to go to for answers is their parents. Start the conversation, and make sure that it is honest, open and respectful. If you can't think of how to start the discussion, consider using situations shown on television or in movies as conversation starters. Tell kids candidly and confidently what you think and why you take these positions. If you're not sure about some issues, tell them that, too. Make sure it's a two-way conversation, not a one-way lecture. Ask them what they think and what they know so you can correct misconceptions. Tell them about love and sex, and what the difference is. And remember to talk about the reasons that kids find sex interesting and enticing; discussing only the "downside" of unplanned pregnancy and disease misses many of the issues on teenagers' minds.
Kids need a lot of communication, guidance, and information about these issues, even if they sometimes don't appear to be interested in what you have to say. And if you have regular conversations, you won't worry so much about making a mistake or saying something not quite right, because you'll always be able to talk again.
To learn the kinds of questions kids say they want to discuss, visit: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
3. Supervise and Monitor Your Children and Adolescents
Have an open, respectful family discussion to establish rules, curfews and standards of expected behavior. Make sure you know what your kids are doing when they get home from school and when they go out with friends. Supervising and monitoring your kids' whereabouts doesn't make you a nag; it makes you a parent.
4. Know Your Children's Friends and Their Families
Friends have a strong influence on each other, so help your children become friends with kids whose families share your values. Some parents of teens even arrange to meet with the parents of their children's friends to establish common rules and expectations. Welcome your children's friends into your home and talk to them openly.
5. Discourage Early, Frequent and Steady Dating
Group activities among young people are acceptable, but allowing teens to begin steady, one-on-one dating much before age 16 can lead to trouble. Let your child know your strong feelings about this throughout childhood.
6. Take a Stand against Your Daughter Dating a Boy Significantly Older
And, don't allow your son to develop an intense relationship with a girl much younger. The power differences between younger girls and older boys or men can lead girls into risky situations, including unwanted sex and sex with no protection.
7. Help Your Teen Have More Attractive Options for the Future Than Early Pregnancy and Parenthood
The chances that your children will delay sex, pregnancy and parenthood are significantly increased if their futures appears bright. This means helping them set meaningful goals for the future, talking to them about what it takes to make future plans come true, and helping them reach their goals.
8. Let Your Kids Know that You Value Education Highly
Encourage your children to take school seriously and to set high expectations about their school performance. School failure is often the first sign of trouble that can end in teenage parenthood. Be very attentive to your children's progress in school, and intervene early if things aren't going well.
9. Know what Your Kids are Watching, Listening to and Reading
The media are full of material that sends the wrong messages. It is important to talk with your children about what the media portray and what you think about it. Encourage your kids to think critically: ask them what they think about the programs they watch and the music they listen to. You will probably not be able to fully control what your children see and hear, but you can certainly make your views known and control your own home environment.
10. These Tips Work Best as Part of Close Relationships with Your Children from an Early Age
Strive for a relationship that is warm in tone, firm in discipline, and rich in communication, and one that emphasizes mutual trust and respect. It's never too late to improve a relationship with a child or teenager. Don't underestimate the great need that children feel — at all ages — for a close relationship with their parents and for their parents' guidance, approval and support.
For more information on these tips and preventing teen sex, visit: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.


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Pens aim to get back on track in Toronto
(SportsNetwork.com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to halt their first losing streak of the 2013-14 season when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs in Saturday's battle at Air Canada Centre.
Pittsburgh has lost two straight in regulation on the heels of a four-game winning streak, dropping the club to 7-3-0 this season.
Although the Penguins were swept in four straight games by Boston in the 2013 Eastern Conference finals, the club never lost three in a row during last year's lockout-shortened regular season. In fact, the last time Pittsburgh dropped three in a row in the regular season was during a six-game slide from Dec. 29, 2011 to Jan. 11, 2012.
Pittsburgh hopes to avoid a third straight loss tonight when it faces a team it has some success against in recent years. The Penguins have won two straight, three of four and four of the last six meetings against the Leafs. Pittsburgh also has claimed two in a row and five of the past eight encounters at Air Canada Centre.
The Pens went 1-2-0 on a recent three-game homestand, beating Vancouver before dropping consecutive tilts against Colorado and the New York Islanders. After losing a 1-0 decision to the Avalanche on Monday, Pittsburgh was dealt another one-goal regulation loss in Friday's game against the Islanders. Josh Bailey scored with 1:40 remaining in the third period to lift New York to a 4-3 win at CONSOL Energy Center.
Jeff Zatkoff, making his second NHL start, allowed four goals on 25 shots for Pittsburgh. Marc-Andre Fleury will get the call in net on Saturday.
"I felt way better," Zatkoff said of his second start. "I felt confident the whole game. Just ten minutes got away from us, it's frustrating. A game we probably should have had. Credit them, they played hard and got the win."
Sidney Crosby scored his eighth goal of the season in the loss and is leading the NHL with 18 points. Jussi Jokinen and Deryk Engelland also added goals in Friday's setback.
Crosby has recorded 40 points (19G, 21A) in 25 career games against the Maple Leafs.
Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang made his season debut after missing the first nine games with a lower-body injury. He notched three shots on net while logging over 25 minutes of ice time.
The Pens are playing the first of two straight on the road tonight and will visit Carolina on Monday. Pittsburgh is 2-1-0 as the guest this season.
Toronto, meanwhile, lost 5-2 in Columbus on Friday, giving the Maple Leafs three losses in their last four trips to the ice. Marian Gaborik netted the go-ahead score during a four-goal third period for the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.
Phil Kessel and Dave Bolland tallied for the Maple Leafs, while Jonathan Bernier allowed four scores on 35 shots. Bernier has started the last three games for Toronto, but James Reimer could get the start on Saturday.
Reimer hasn't played since Oct. 17 against Carolina, when he left just 32 seconds into the game following a collision with teammate Josh Leivo. Despite being shaken up by the hit, Reimer was able suit up as Bernier's backup in each of Toronto's last three games.
Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul is questionable for Saturday's game after sitting out last night's outing due to a bruised foot suffered in practice earlier this week. Lupul is tied with Kessel for the team lead in goals with six and is second on the club with 10 points.
On Friday, David Clarkson made his long-awaited season debut for Toronto after missing the club's first 10 games while serving a suspension for leaving the bench in an exhibition game against the Sabres. He was a minus-1 with four shots on net in 15:10 of ice time.
"We're not asking him to do anything other than to play a solid game," said Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle. "Working hard, banging and crashing the boards, that's his game and we'll expect that 10 games from now."
Toronto has a 4-2-0 record as the home team this season and after Saturday's contest, the Maple Leafs will head out on a three-game road trip. The tour of Western Canada begins Tuesday in Edmonton before Toronto makes stops in Calgary and Vancouver.


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Stretchable OLEDs for displays, lighting
By engineering its material stack exclusively from materials that are immune to deformation, the researchers claim future stretchable and bendable OLEDs could redefine the user experience with a new class of smartphone, smart electronic clothing, and wallpaper-like lighting panels.
"Imagine a smartphone that is easy fit into one's pocket, but the screen could be expanded for viewing comfort," said UCLA professor of materials science Qibing Pei in an interview with EE Times. "Being stretchable and highly flexible means that OLED lighting panels and displays could be like wallpaper — very thin, lightweight, and collapsible into a small volume when not in use."
To prove the concept, Pei and Jiajie Liang, a postdoctoral scholar in Pei's Soft Materials Research Laboratory at UCLA, fabricated two small stretchable OLEDs — one a lighting panel and the other a passive five-by-five pixel display. Both were demonstrated to be bendable, foldable, and stretchable while operating, surviving over 1,000 trials of stretching 30 percent larger than their original shape and size. The lighting panel and display were also demonstrated to be stretchable and bendable in any direction, surviving stretches of up to twice their original size and 180 degree bends.
To achieve a stretchable, bendable OLED, the researchers had to reengineer all the materials in an OLED stack. Pei cited two key elements that led to their success:
"First was the development of a transparent compliant conductor comprising a percolation network of silver nanowires in the surface layer of an elastomer film," said Pei. "The second key development is an OLED architecture that we call light-emitting electrochemical cell [LEC]. The LEC devices use a thin luminescent layer that is actually a mixture of electronic semiconductor and an ionic conductor."
Using low-temperature solution-based processing steps, the light-emitting electrochemical cell was sandwiched between the transparent elastic silver-nanowire composite electrodes made from a rubber-like polymer. For the display prototype, the composite electrode layers were patterned into rows on the top layer and columns on the bottom layer, thus enabling each pixel to be separately addressed.
According to Pei, the benefits of a light-emitting electrochemical cell over a conventional OLED is that its emissive layer can be relatively thick, thus enabling packaging techniques such as lamination during OLED fabrication. Secondly, the injection of electrons and holes is independent of the electrode material's work-function, thus their silver nanowire architecture could be employed for both hole injection at the anode as well as electron injection at the cathode.
Next the researchers are working on encapsulation methods that protect the organic materials from deterioration in the presence of air, as well as on flexible thin-film transistors (TFTs) so that active matrix displays can be fabricated using the same basic stretchable, bendable material stack.
Also contributing to the work was UCLA postdoctoral scholar Lu Li, former UCLA postdoctoral scholar Zhibin Yu (now a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California at Berkeley), and UCLA doctoral candidate Xiaofan Niu. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.


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Full of Christmas tree ornaments and curls, this Christmas Tree updo by Nada Yono, owner of Nadwa Hair Spa can be created using a few arts supplies, hairspray and dedication. "This style was featured on Good Morning America last year, where they showed pictures of the look and I told them how I created it," says Yono. "This year, I am eager to show MODERN SALON fans how to re-create the style step-by-step."
Wondering how Yono created the look?
STEP #1: Take a Styrofoam cone (which will be the base of your Christmas Tree Updo) and spray paint it blonde.
STEP #2: Take synthetic curly hair and pile it up on the cone (a little at a time) until it covers all the Styrofoam.
STEP #3: Take ornaments and "hang" them in the hair.
STEP #4: Before adding prepared Styrofoam Christmas tree to your model's hair, create a ponytail on your model's head and then incorporate their hair into the tree.
NOTE: Create the full tree first before you put it on the head. Then, pin it to the head and work the hair around the face to blend it in. Use Eufora Working Spray to keep the look in place.
For reprint and licensing requests for this article, Click here.


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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has throttled back his ambitions for a sweeping budget bargain with Republicans. Instead, he's calling for a scaled-back measure sufficient to prevent the government from careening off the "fiscal cliff" in January by extending tax cuts for most taxpayers and forestalling a painful set of agency budget cuts.
In a White House appearance Friday, Obama also called on Congress to extend jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed that would otherwise be cut off for 2 million people at the end of the year.
Obama's announcement was a recognition that chances for a larger agreement before year's end have probably collapsed. It also suggested that any chance for a smaller deal may rest in the Senate, particularly after the collapse of a plan by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to permit tax rates to rise on million-dollar-plus incomes.
"In the next few days, I've asked leaders of Congress to work towards a package that prevents a tax hike on middle-class Americans, protects unemployment insurance for 2 million Americans, and lays the groundwork for further work on both growth and deficit reduction," Obama said. "That's an achievable goal. That can get done in 10 days."
Maybe, maybe not. The latest plan faces uncertainty at best in the sharply divided Senate. GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who wields great power even in the minority, called Friday for Senate action on a House bill from the summer extending the full menu of Bush-era tax cuts. He promised that it will take GOP votes for anything to clear the Senate, where 60 votes are required to advance most legislation. Democrats control 53 votes.
Egyptians vote in 2nd phase of referendum on disputed Islamist-backed constitution
CAIRO (AP) — Egyptians began voting on Saturday in the second and final phase of a referendum on an Islamist-backed constitution that has polarized the nation, with little indication that the result of the vote will end the political crisis in which the country is mired.
The vote comes a day after clashes between supporters and opponents of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. It was the latest outbreak of street violence in more than four weeks of turmoil, with the country divided first over the president's powers then over the draft constitution.
The clashes — in which opponents of Islamists set fire to cars and dozens of people were hurt — illustrated how the new constitution, regardless of whether it is adopted or not, is unlikely to ease the conflict over the country's future.
Saturday's vote is taking place in 17 of Egypt's 27 provinces with about 25 million eligible voters. The first phase on Dec. 15 produced a "yes" majority of about 56 percent with a turnout of some 32 percent, according to unofficial results.
"I came early to make sure my 'no' is among the first of millions today," oil company manager Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz said as he waited in line outside a polling station in the Dokki district of Giza, Cairo's twin city on the west bank of the Nile. "I am here to say 'no' to Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood," he said.
New details emerge about gunman and his mother a week after Connecticut school massacre
NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — He was the awkward, peculiar kid who wore the same clothes to school every day.
He rarely spoke and even gave a school presentation entirely by computer, never uttering a word.
He liked tinkering with computers and other gadgets, and seemed to enjoy playing a violent video game, choosing a military-style assault rifle as one of his weapons.
New details about Adam Lanza emerged Friday, as the nation paused to mark one week since he slaughtered 20 first-graders and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.
Multiple funerals and visitations were held Friday, and at the hour of the attack, 9:30 a.m., a bell tolled 26 times, once for each victim killed at the school.
Predicting who is at risk for violence isn't easy, but experts say there are sometimes signs
CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.
Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including drug use and easy access to guns can increase the likelihood of violence, experts say.
But warning signs "only become crystal clear in the aftermath, said James Alan Fox, a Northeastern University criminology professor who has studied and written about mass killings.
"They're yellow flags. They only become red flags once the blood is spilled," he said.
Whether 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who used his mother's guns to kill her and then 20 children and six adults at their Connecticut school, made any hints about his plans isn't publicly known.
Mass. voters brace for yet another Senate race as Obama taps Kerry for secretary of state
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts voters weary from one of the nation's costliest and most divisive U.S. Senate races are all but certain to find themselves thrown back into another tumultuous election now that President Barack Obama has nominated Sen. John Kerry for secretary of state.
If confirmed by the Senate, as expected, Kerry would have to resign the seat he's held for nearly three decades, prompting a special election — the state's third Senate contest since 2010.
Already, jockeying is well under way. The big question is whether Republican Sen. Scott Brown will go for the seat, after losing his last month to Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren.
He kept the door wide open to another run during a farewell address on the Senate floor, declaring that both victory and defeat are "temporary" things. "Depending on what happens, and where we go, all of us, we may obviously meet again."
And perhaps as soon as next year.
Police trying to verify motive after man fatally shoots woman at church, 2 others in rural Pa.
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Authorities in central Pennsylvania are trying to determine why a man fatally shot three people along a rural road before being killed in a gunfight with police.
Police were still trying to piece together a timeline in the arduous investigation of the Friday shootings that began in Frankstown Township and spanned five crime scenes within a 1.5-mile radius.
A woman decorating a church hall for a children's Christmas party was among those killed. Three state troopers were injured.
Authorities haven't released a motive for the shootings.
"It's going to take us some time to put this all together ... and know exactly what occurred," said Lt. Col. George Bivens, a deputy state police commissioner.
NM peanut butter plant shuttered after outbreak can resume harvesting under deal with feds
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A peanut butter plant shuttered by a widespread salmonella outbreak has been given the go ahead to start harvesting a bumper crop of prized eastern New Mexico Valencia peanuts next week under an agreement that ends a tense, monthslong standoff with federal regulators.
A consent decree filed in federal court Friday says Sunland Inc. can reopen its plant in Portales if it hires an independent expert to develop a sanitation plan, which then must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Conditions at the plant, which is the largest organic peanut butter producer in the country, prompted the FDA in November to use new authority for the first time to revoke the company's operating certificate without a court hearing. The action came after the plant was linked to a salmonella outbreak that sickened 42 people in 20 states this fall.
Friday's filing reinstates Sunland's food facility registration. But the company cannot process or distribute food from its peanut butter or peanut mill plants in Portales until it has complied with the consent decree's requirements and receives written authorization from the FDA.
"This consent decree prohibits Sunland from selling processed foods to consumers until it fully complies with the law," Stuart F. Delery, principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's civil division, said in a statement. "As this case demonstrates, the Department of Justice and FDA will work together to protect the health and safety of Americans by making sure that those who produce and sell the food we eat follow the law."
Japanese flee Fukushima nuke disaster to faraway Okinawa, plan class-action against radiation
NAHA, Japan (AP) — Okinawa is about as far away as one can get from Fukushima without leaving Japan, and that is why Minaho Kubota is here.
Petrified of the radiation spewing from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant that went into multiple meltdowns last year, Kubota grabbed her children, left her skeptical husband and moved to the small southwestern island. More than 1,000 people from the disaster zone have done the same thing.
"I thought I would lose my mind," Kubota told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "I felt I would have no answer for my children if, after they grew up, they ever asked me, 'Mama, why didn't you leave?'"
Experts and the government say there have been no visible health effects from the radioactive contamination from Fukushima Dai-ichi so far. But they also warn that even low-dose radiation carries some risk of cancer and other diseases, and exposure should be avoided as much as possible, especially the intake of contaminated food and water. Such risks are several times higher for children and even higher for fetuses, and may not appear for years.
Okinawa has welcomed the people from Fukushima and other northeastern prefectures (states) affected by the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami that set off the nuclear disaster. Okinawa is offering 60,000 yen ($750) a month to help relocating families of three or four pay the rent, and lower amounts for smaller families.
Person familiar with the outcome of vote says NHL players give board power to dissolve union
NEW YORK (AP) — NHL players gave the executive board the right to take steps to dissolve the union, and they signed off on it in overwhelming fashion.
In a vote this week, union members decisively agreed to give the players' association's board the power to file a "disclaimer of interest" until Jan. 2. A person familiar with the outcome of the vote told The Associated Press on Friday that the measure was approved by a vote of 706-22 (97 percent), easily reaching the two-thirds majority required.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the results of the vote hadn't been announced.
The executive board hasn't made plans yet to meet to discuss whether to file the disclaimer, but if the Jan. 2 deadline passes, another authorization vote could be held to approve a later filing.
If the filing is made, the union would dissolve and become a trade association. That would allow players to file antitrust lawsuits against the NHL.
Clippers beat Kings 97-85 to set franchise record with 12th straight victory
LOS ANGELES (AP) — After the Los Angeles Clippers set a record for the longest winning streak in franchise history, Chris Paul was thinking about Ron Harper, Corey Maggette and other former players who endured all that losing.
Paul had 24 points and 13 assists to help the Clippers, for decades synonymous with long losing streaks, break a 38-year-old club mark with their 12th consecutive victory Friday night, 97-85 over the Sacramento Kings.
"Most of those guys have been here through tougher times," Paul said. "I know Ron Harper really well. He's a good friend of mine, and he's excited for us. We just played against Corey Maggette, and he was excited to see how it is now. So it's been exciting for me in the short amount of time I've been here, especially knowing some of the people who have been with the team for 25 or 30 years and the season-ticket holders. But we can't be satisfied. We've got to keep it going."
The previous record was set by the Buffalo Braves during the 1974-75 season, when current Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro was 8 years old. The head coach back then was Jack Ramsay, whose formidable roster included Bob McAdoo, Garfield Heard, Randy Smith, Jim McMillian, Jack Marin and Bob Weiss.
That team won 49 games — still a record for a beleaguered organization that has called three different cities home, wasted first-round draft picks on Benoit Benjamin, Terry Dehere, Michael Olowokandi and Darius Miles, and was labeled "the worst franchise in sports history" by Sports Illustrated in an April 17, 2000, cover story.


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Quippo Oil and Gas Infrastructure Limited (QOGIL), incorporated in 2005, is India's leading infrastructure project and equipment financing company and one of the most progressive and leading Asset and Service provider with an international presence.We provide onshore contract drilling services utilizing a fleet of state-of-the-art land rigs, offering a host of value-added services to our clients.
QOGIL's primary focus is on providing state-of-the-art efficient drilling rigs ranging from 750 HP to 3000 HP which are equipped with the latest technology, equipment and world-class crew. Most of the rigs are equipped with top drive mechanism to undertake highly specialized drilling operations in technically challenging environment. We also have E&P aspirations.
Headquartered in New Delhi, India we are one of the country's leading and fastest growing drilling services contractors with operations in India. We are also in the process of starting operations in Latin America, Middle East and Africa in the near future.
With a team of highly trained and experienced oil field professionals, we offer the best in class equipment and crew to ensure efficient and safe drilling operations for all our clients.


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The February 2011 issue of AALL Spectrum at p 28 and available now and has a pair of provocative pieces. The first by law firm librarian Michael Ginsborg argues that AALL should play a greater role in consumer advocacy and that accepting vendor donations creates a conflict of interest. The second piece, by 2 former AALL presidents, Judy Meadow, a court librarian and Kay Todd, a law firm librarian counter that consumer advocacy is not part of AALL's mission and that vendor donations don't compromise individual members impartiality or the positions AALL takes on information policy matters.
What do you think? Please share your comments.


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Friedlander, Leo
Friedlander, Leo, 1890–1966, American sculptor, b. New York City, studied in New York, Paris, Brussels, and at the American Academy in Rome. His many decorative works include sculptures on Washington Memorial Arch, Valley Forge, Pa.; reliefs for the National Chamber of Commerce, Washington, D.C.; the main central pediment of the Museum of the City of New York; facades for the Jefferson County (Ala.) Courthouse; groups for the RCA (now Comcast) Building, Rockefeller Center, New York City; and statues for the Oregon state capitol.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: American and Canadian Art: Biographies


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About this product:
You get a wonderful decoration element for your apartment with print on canvas By Dmitry Krishovsky – On a branch the bird as if in a cage with line, which will make your interior bright and original.
We used a 100% cotton high quality canvas, stretched on a natural wood framework.
The image you like, is printed with eco-solvent ink, that is not toxic.
You will receive a safe and high-quality organic wall decor, which is fully ready to Hang.
Limited edition print copy
* 16×24 inch | 40×60 cm – 100 pictures
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If you are looking for a custom order you can always contact us and we will produce the canvas, taking into account your wishes.
If your prints are gifts, please let us know in the "notes to seller". If you would like a custom gift note, please include the details in the notes as well.
Prints are shipped within 3-5 business days of payment receipt. We use regular mail for standard shipping. Canvases are packaged in a sturdy box. Shipping takes approximately 1-3 weeks.
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Thank you for your interest in our product!
Enjoy your shopping!


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Guglielmo Guastaveglia was one of the big Italian humorists of the early 20th century. He was the editor of Il Travaso delle Idee from 1908, and became head of the publication in 1921. By 1925, the magazine sold over 300,000 copies, but Guastaveglia was fired because of his anti-fascist sentiments. The artist continued to draw for other magazines, such as Il Corriere dei Piccoli, La Trincea and Il Giornalino della Domenica. In 1924, his work 'Il Libro della Mosca e dello Scoiattolo' was published.
In 1928, he became a professional journalist, and began a collaboration with the newspaper Il Popolo di Roma. There, he drew several sequential stories with 'Topolino' ('Mickey Mouse'), for the occasion accompanied by 'Mio Mao' ('Felix the Cat'), his girlfriend Topolina and the Gottfredson character 'Kat Nipp'. These 1931 panels were in fact the first Italian Disney comics, presumably with authorization from Disney.
Guasta joined the staff of Marc' Aurelio in 1932, where he worked as a lay-out man and writer. In 1937, he published 'La Reginetta Creduta Pazza'and 'Arca di Noè 1900'. In 1944, he founded the Funny Faces Shop with Federico Fellini and Carlo Bompiani, and worked in the theatre field. He became head of Il Travaso in 1946, and remained in this occupation until 1962. In 1951/52, he wrote 'Storia d'America' for the magazine, which was illustrated by Vittorio Cossio. He continued to work in the graphic field throughout the 1960s and 1970s.


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On August 2, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner wrote an op-ed in the New York Times with the title, "Welcome to the Recovery." Despite the brash headline, Geithner was cautiously optimistic about the direction of the economy.
"Recoveries that follow financial crises are typically a hard climb," he wrote. "That is reality. The process of repair means economic growth will come slower than we would like. But despite these challenges, there is good news to report."
The good news, the secretary said, includes "booming" exports, private job growth ("not as fast as we would like"), a stabilized banking system, and a business sector that has "repaired its balance sheets" and is in "a strong financial position to reinvest and grow."
Geithner conceded that such positive indicators were "cold comfort to those Americans still looking for work and to those industries, like construction, hit hardest by the crisis." But he defended the Obama administration's actions to combat the recession: the $787 billion stimulus package; the Trouble Asset Relief Program, or "bank bailout," which was set in motion by the Bush administration; and the so-called "auto bailout" of Chrysler, General Motors, and Ford.
Though there is still a tough row to hoe, Geithner said, "we are coming back."
Some restaurant industry players, however, are far less optimistic than the Treasury Secretary.
"Right now there's no incentive to build a business," says John Brodersen, a Popeyes franchisee with 11 Detroit locations. "There is zero. I'm so scared right now I can't even sleep at night."
Brodersen's fear comes in large part from his inability to get a loan—"I could wallpaper my walls with rejection letters" from banks, he says—as well as the projected costs of complying with the health care reform bill that passed in March, which he estimates will cost him between $2 million and $8 million.
He says he and his fellow operators are proceeding cautiously because of government measures that he considers hostile to small business.
"We're all so scared right now of what they're going to dream up next," he says.
While Brodersen stands out for his especially bleak outlook, many in the restaurant industry share his concerns. Operators have listed the economy as the No. 1 challenge facing their business for 29 straight months, according to the National Restaurant Association. In June, the NRA's Expectations Index, which measures the industry's outlook for the coming six months, hit a five-month low.
"This has certainly been the most challenging period in the modern history of the restaurant industry," says Bruce Grindy, the NRA's chief economist.
Still, the recession did spare a lucky few. Larry Feldman is Subway's biggest area developer. His company, Subway Development Corporation of Washington, has more than 1,100 locations in the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware.
Feldman says he shares Geithner's cautious optimism about the economy, and he is planning to open 60–70 new stores per year through 2015. But he acknowledges that Subway's success during the recession—worldwide, sales and locations have increased—is an anomaly, and he laments the persistently tight credit markets.
"The bottom line is, unless you're an existing franchisee, you're not getting a loan," Feldman says. "Too many prospective franchisees are sitting and waiting for these dollars.
"It's unbelievable," he says. "The entrepreneurs are lining up."
For his part, Feldman wants the government to be more proactive in helping small businesses. Formerly the assistant minority counsel to the House Banking Committee in the 1970s, Feldman says he has contacted his congressman about a bill that would release hundreds of government-backed loans to small businesses. The bill is stalled in the Senate.
"We're watching that pretty closely, hoping that something will pass soon," he says.Peter Wright, senior vice president of franchise sales and administration for The Counter, a build-your-own-burger concept based in California, also has his eye on the bill.
With The Counter seeing higher customer counts and a 50 percent increase in franchise inquiries in 2010 compared to the same period last year, Wright also says he shares Geithner's optimism. Founded in 2003 and catapulted to success in part by an Oprah recommendation, The Counter continues to expand—it will total 30–32 locations by the end of 2010, Wright says—albeit at a slower pace than planned before the recession.
"We're definitely seeing more aggressive development on the part of our existing franchisees," he says. "They're able to attain financing, and they're finding great locations. Landlords are more willing to deal in terms of lease flexibility than in the past to secure a good tenant.
"So, where we were seeing some of our development goals slowing," Wright says, "we've seen some of that pick back up."
But access to financing isn't the only key to getting the restaurant industry moving in the right direction. For Rodger Head, CEO of Duke & King Acquisitions Corporation, which operates more than 100 Burger Kings and 14 Popeyes in nine states, high unemployment is the biggest issue.
"Your primary user of quick serves is your middle-income, blue-collar worker, and those are the ones suffering from unemployment the most," Head says. "So their eat-out frequency is still way less than what it was a year-and-a-half ago."
Attributing his pessimism partly to Burger King's woes—the company's sales and stock are both in decline and its corporate marketing operations in flux—Head maintains a negative outlook on the economy in general.
"We've not seen a specific change in the last six months that would indicate that we're making a turn out of the recession," he says.
As for Geithner's "Welcome to the Recovery" pronouncement, it does not resonate with Head.
"My response would be, 'I don't see it,'" he says.
News and information presented in this release has not been corroborated by WTWH Media LLC.


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It is still dark on this new day but what was night—despair–gives way to the light that is the hope of the new.
In some parts of the world, this particular day has already spent its light but where I live, the light only now gently overtakes the dark. It is my first moment of a day, fresh and unique.
I press the button to adjust the bed to a sitting position to begin meditating. On more days than not, feline EmmaRose, all 5.5 pounds of her, makes herself comfortable on my soft belly.
We begin together. She purrs, kneads my stomach, and then lies down to sleep or to stare out the bedroom window. I focus on my breath–in and out, in and out–I stare into the darkness as it becomes light.
I breathe my way into stillness as the world around me awakens. My body recognizes the opening of our daily dialogue.
A mind scan of my body reveals the concrete block stiffness from the previous day but as yet no pain stirs only tingling and numbness in my thumbs and index fingers. I begin there.
Tingling turns into the familiar electrical "bzzt" in the tip of my right thumb, then the left as well. Another "bzzt" charges through my right thumb and then through both index fingers.
I take a deep breath in an attempt to release my thumbs and fingers from the buzzing but the breath seems off, stale. My focus is on thought and not on breathing. Quickly, I attempt to exhale what I have not yet breathed in.
For a while now I have been aware of this futile attempt to suppress a breath, as if I could. I breathe in fully this time so I may release completely the fear that it is: my doubt of regaining the full strength of my thumbs and fingers.
As the fear breath goes through my upper body, its weakness seems to increase as does the stiffness in my legs. Only when it has traveled my body am I able to exhale fully what has no substance ever, fear.
Once again, I am one with my breath—in and out–as I sense each finger and then my thumbs until warmth flows through both hands releasing the electrical "bzzt." Stillness softens the stiffness of my upper body as it warms to the day.
The pain in my right leg announces itself. It is a frequent caller so there is no fear as I focus on the pain, searching it out with my breath—in and out—until I reach its core.
We "sit" together for as long as it takes for the stillness to make its way through every cell of my body. I never know the precise moment that it stills, only that it does.
Now, it is the mind's turn, a movie all its own.
A fragment of a Louise Erdrich quote is first to float through, something about sitting under an apple tree to "listen to the apples falling all around…in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself that you tasted as many as you could."
In the stillness, an entire world awakens around me in this day that is now bursting with light, inviting me to partake in all I can as I am able. It is a gift to taste the sweetness of a new breath and in gratitude, let it go as it must.
Feline EmmaRose decides to stir, sometimes to bathe but other times, just to get on with her day. And as happens more often than not, her movement coincides with the ding of the timer silencing the stillness.
I try to hold it, of course, but like the breath, it, too, must leave. And in response, my body sends signals from everywhere, announcing this issue or that. I am ready to taste the apples of this day, to savor as much sweetness as I am able.
As long as you are breathing, there is more right with
you than wrong with you no matter what is wrong.
Jon Kabat-Zinn


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LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A point-counterpoint debate about whether one size fits all and the federal role in managing regional water resources took added significance Thursday during an American Bar Association water-law conference at a casino in drought-threatened Las Vegas.
A water-rights lawyer from California, David Aladjem, argued that the federal role should be like that of a marriage counselor, encouraging commitments between states, including the seven that share the Colorado River before it reaches Mexico.
Each state has equal footing with the other, said Aladjem, a partner in the Sacramento firm Downey Brand LLP. That leaves the federal government with what he called "a ministerial role as a mere hauler and carrier of water with no authority to manage and regulate."
Reed Benson, a professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law in Albuquerque, said states need what he called a gorilla in the room, and federal money, to reach agreements.
"Federal money has been, and is today, important in addressing challenges with water resources where the deep pocket is needed," Benson said. He cited the need for parties to cooperate and compromise on issues affecting water basins stretching across several states, questions about tribal water rights, and overarching concerns about water quality and quantity.
"Finally, climate change is going to make these issues all the more difficult and that much more challenging," Benson said.
The debate drew about 150 attorneys for a continuing legal education session as part of an American Bar Association conference at the Red Rock Casino & Spa.
Aladjem characterized the federal authority debate as "intellectual jousting" for the lawyers.
But water management is more than an academic question in the parched West, where authorities including the federal Bureau of Reclamation warn that the growing demand for Colorado River water may outstrip supply in coming years. The bureau controls levers at the Glen Canyon and Hoover dams for cities, states, farmers and Indian tribes in a region that is home to 40 million people.
Allocations of river water to Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming hinge on a so-called "law of the river" compact reached with federal oversight in 1922.
Las Vegas, with 2 million residents and another 40 million visitors a year, is almost completely dependent on Colorado River water drawn from the Lake Mead reservoir behind Hoover Dam. Local water officials stress conservation, and they note that the iconic dancing fountains in front of the Bellagio resort use recycled water.
Southern California gets 25 percent of its water from the Colorado River and 30 percent from drought-stricken in-state sources.


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'waagent –deprovision') and needs to be provisioned during deployment time. OS Images today are generalized. This type of VM Image is meant to be used as a "model" to quickly stamp out similar virtual machines, such as scaling out a front-end to your application in production or spinning up and tearing down similar development and test environments quickly.
A specialized VM Image contains an OS disk, which is already provisioned. It is similar to a disk today in that it is "ready-to-use", but unlike a disk, the VHDs of a VM Image are treated as read-only and copied when deploying a new virtual machine. A specialized VM Image is meant to be used as a "snapshot" to deploy a VM to a good known point in time, such as checkpointing a developer machine, before performing a task which may go wrong and render the virtual machine useless. It is not meant to be a mechanism to clone multiple identical virtual machines in the same virtual network due to the Windows requirement of Sysprep for image replication.
How Do I Create a VM ImageOnce you have a virtual machine set up and configured as you want, you can capture the instance as a VM Image. During the capture process, all relevant properties of the virtual machine and disks are stored and copies of the backing VHD page blob(s) are made. The copy of each VHD is stored in the same storage account and container as the original VHD being copied. If you are interested in finding the copied VHDs in Azure Storage, search for page blobs with the following naming convention: for the OS VHD, we use <VM Image Name>-os-YYYY-MM-DD<-ZZ> and for the copied data VHDs, we use <VM Image Name>-datadisk-<Lun>-YYYY-MM-DD(-ZZ). The date is when the VM Image was captured and the -ZZ is a number, added only if there is a collision, to make the name unique. During capture, no in-memory state is saved and as such, this feature is not meant to replace the current backup and restore options for Microsoft Azure. If you are interested in more information about backup and restore, you can visit https://msdn.microsoft.com/library/azure/jj573031.aspx. If the OS has been generalized/deprovisioned, the virtual machine must be shut down in order to capture it as a VM Image. Once the VM has been captured as a VM Image, the virtual machine will automatically be deleted. If the OS is specialized, the virtual machine can be captured while it is running or shut down. The captured virtual machine remains untouched. If an application consistent or cross-disk capture is needed, we recommend the virtual machine is shut down prior to capturing the VM Image.
How Do I Use a VM ImageYou can use a VM Image when creating a virtual machine as part of a new or existing deployment. To deploy a new VM, make sure the virtual machine and VM Image location are the same and then simply provide the name of the VM Image to use. If the VM Image is generalized, provisioning information and network configuration should also be provided, like with an OS Image today. Once the virtual machine has been deployed, it behaves the same as any other VM created from OS Images or OS disks. The role can be updated, additional disks may be attached, or the existing disks detached. If the VM Image is specialized, no provisioning information is needed, like with an OS disk today. When a virtual machine is deployed from a VM Image, a copy of the VHDs are made for the new VM; in other words, the existing VHDs are not attached directly. After deploying a virtual machine from a specialized VM Image, the VM will spin up and look to be in a running state very quickly after deployment, since provisioning was not required. However, the virtual machine may still be booting up, requiring a few additional minutes for remote desktop/SSH to be ready. Once again, after the virtual machine is deployed and running, it behaves the same as any other VM created from OS Images or OS disks. One small caveat to this statement is when you deploy a new virtual machine from a specialized Windows VM Image that was captured from a running VM. When using such a VM Image, you may see a dialog pop up stating the VM was not properly shutdown when you first remote desktop into the newly deployed VM.
PowerShellJust to whet your appetite and get you started with VM Images, I have provided a few PowerShell snippets that illustrate how to create and use VM Images. Don't worry if this leaves you wanting more. We will shortly follow-up with a comprehensive 'How To' blog post on VM Image PowerShell.
Save-AzureVMImageTo capture an existing virtual machine named 'myVMToCapture' as a VM Image named 'myAwesomeVMImage', use the Save-AzureVMImage cmdlet:
|Save-AzureVMImage –ServiceName "myServiceName" –Name "myVMtoCapture" –OSState "Generalized" –ImageName "myAwesomeVMImage" –ImageLabel "This is my Virtual Machine Image"
Get-AzureVMImageTo list all VM Images in the image repository, use the Get-AzureVMImage cmdlet:
|Get-AzureVMImage | where {(gm –InputObject $_ -Name DataDiskConfigurations) -ne $null} | Select -Property Label, ImageName
New-AzureVMImageTo deploy a VM in West US using the VM Image 'myAwesomeVMImage'
|New-AzureQuickVM –Windows –Location "West US" –ServiceName "MySvc1" –Name "myVM1" –InstanceSize "Medium" –ImageName "myAwesomeVMImage" –AdminUsername "admin"–Password "adminPassword123" -WaitForBoot


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LocationTampa, FL
13396 E US Highway 92
Dover, FL 33527
Used 2017 Forest River RV Wildwood Heritage Glen 326RL Travel Trailer
This Wildwood Heritage Glen travel trailer model will make all of your travel adventures enjoyable! Model 326RL features three large slides, a rear entertainment layout including a fireplace, plus a custom king bed in the master bedroom, and so much more!
Step inside and take a look around. The complete bath is conveniently located directly opposite the entry door. Here you will find a radius shower, a toilet, and a vanity sink. There are also two entry doors into the bathroom for easy access throughout, plus from inside the master bedroom as well.
In the front bedroom you will enjoy a spacious area including a comfortable custom king size bed slide out including nightstands on either side, a walk-in wardrobe along the front wall including sliding doors, and a dresser opposite along the curb side wall.
To the left of the main entry door you will find a nice kitchen area for food prep and cooking. There is a slide out refrigerator, a three burner range, an L-shaped counter, and microwave oven all within a large slide out that also includes a tri-fold sofa. You will also find a nice size pantry opposite the refrigerator for your canned and dry food storage needs, plus there is space for your daily dishes and other kitchen items in the cabinetry. There is a large sink found in the L-shaped counter that faces out so that you can be part of the conversation inside while cleaning up after a meal.
Along the road side you will find a second slide out that includes a dinette and seating for two. This is adjacent to the rear full wall entertainment center with fireplace, and storage. You can easily gather here with family and friends thanks to all of the seating provided.
On the outside there is a large pass through storage compartment up front for all of your outdoor camping gear, plus so much more!
You Save: $9,215
Sale Price: $29,781
Stock# 284679
|37 ft 10 in
|Ext Width
|8 ft
|Ext Height
|11 ft
|Hitch Weight
|977 lbs
|Dry Weight
|8079 lbs
|Fresh Water Capacity
|54 gals
|Grey Water Capacity
|30 gals
|Black Water Capacity
|30 gals
|Tire Size
|Available Beds


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August 15th, 2012
My Take: Christianity and Ayn Rand's philosophy are 2 distinct religions
Editor's note: Stephen Prothero, a Boston University religion scholar and author of "The American Bible: How Our Words Unite, Divide, and Define a Nation," is a regular CNN Belief Blog contributor.
By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN
Now that one of the Republican Party's least ideological men (Mitt Romney) has christened one of the GOP's most ideological men (Paul Ryan) as his running mate, Ayn Rand is back in the news.
Ryan, who used to give away Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged" for Christmas, once described this Russian-born preacher of heroic individualism as "the reason I got into public service." "There is no better place to find the moral case for capitalism and individualism," he told the pro-Rand Atlas Society in 2005, "than through Ayn Rand's writings and works."
Ryan's religious conservatism obviously distinguishes him from Rand, an atheist who despised efforts by Ronald Reagan and others to marry church and state. And recently Ryan has tried to distance himself from her.
In an April interview with the National Review, he rooted his controversial budget plan, not in Rand's laissez-faire philosophizing, but in Catholic values. "Don't give me Ayn Rand," he said. "Give me Thomas Aquinas."
Which makes me wonder just how these two influences on Ryan stack up against one another. Is it possible to love Aquinas and Rand at the same time? About as possible as loving God and mammon since Christianity and Randism are, in my view, two competing religions.
I know that Rand was an atheist, so it may seem like a stretch to call Randism a religion. But there are plenty of religions (Buddhism, for example) that have rejected God. And like Christianity, Randism has its founder, its scriptures and its miracles (since in the Gospel of Ayn Rand there isn't anything laissez-faire capitalism and its secular saints cannot do).
Randism also has its committed devotees, including former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and conservative talk-show hosts Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, not to mention the myriad commenters (see below) who will no doubt object to my efforts to brand her atheism a religion.
Here are five big differences I see between the theologies of Christianity and Randism:
1. Jesus preached the virtue of selflessness; Rand wrote a book called "The Virtue of Selfishness" (1964). Altruism is evil, she argued, and egoism the only true ethics.
2. The Apostle Paul called the love of money the root of all evil. Rand wore a dollar sign brooch and saw to it that a florid dollar sign stood guard by her casket at her funeral. She also put a love letter to the almighty dollar on the lips of one of her "Atlas Shrugged" heroes, copper magnate Francisco d'Anconia (a speech Ryan has said he returns to repeatedly when pondering monetary policy). There d'Anconia calls money "the root of all good."
3. "Blessed are the poor," Jesus says in the Gospel of Luke. And he says in the Gospel of Matthew that "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." In the Gospel according to Ayn Rand, however, it is the "traders" ("job creators" in modern parlance) who like Atlas carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, while the poor are denounced as "moochers" and "looters."
4. The hope of the Christian gospel is the kingdom of God, but Rand's objectivist philosophy opposes "collectivism" at every turn. "Man - every man - is an end in himself, he exists for his own sake," the inventor John Galt proclaims in "Atlas Shrugged," "and the achievement of his own happiness is his highest moral purpose."
5. The ultimate concern of Christianity is God. The ultimate concern of Randism is the unfettered freedom of the individual. While the Christian Trinity comprise the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Rand's Trinity is I, me, mine.
For years, Ryan and other conservative Republicans have been trying to have their Jesus Christ and their Ayn Rand, too. But the two clash at least as much as an Obama/Ryan ticket.
Conservative icon William F. Buckley rightly recognized this fundamental incompatibility, running a blistering review of "Atlas Shrugged"in his National Review and denouncing that novel himself in a Charlie Rose interview as "a thousand pages of ideological fabulism."
Evangelical leader Chuck Colson was equally critical, referring to Rand's "idolatry of self and selfishness" as "the antithesis of Christianity."
To his credit, Ryan seems to be acknowledging the gap between Randism and Christianity by attempting in recent months to distance himself from an intellectual mentor and emphasizing instead the Catholic roots of his budget plan.
But as Jesus once said, "By your fruits you shall know them" (Matthew 7:16), and I for one still see much more Rand than Jesus in Ryan's Robin Hood budget.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Stephen Prothero.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this piece said that Jesus called the love of money the root of all evil. The statement should have been attributed to the Apostle Paul.
soundoff (1,069 Responses)
About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.


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Following my earlier report on the painfully thorny nature of Sea Buckthorn (known to Germans as Sanddorn), there's the complete story.
We received a load of Sea Buckthorn in October, just when we had no time to process it. We wrapped it in cloth and froze it, after having been told that it freezes well and that the berries are much easier removed when frozen anyhow.
I finally removed the still frozen berries from the stalks today, defrosted them, extracted 1750 g of Marc de Sea Buckthorn, and made 12 jars of Sea Buckthorn jam. Very fruity, very delicious.
Related articles
- Well done, Mary Berry! I take my (red) hat off to you (independent.co.uk)
- SkinZeal Sea Buckthorn Seed Oil (connywithay.wordpress.com)
- Blackcurrant and Lavender Pie (seitanismymotor.com)


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When I say that one should not even bother to stage Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor if one has not a brilliant soprano for the title role, I do not mean that everything else in a staging of that opera is irrelevant. For a long while, it has been considered a tenor vehicle, for example. The problem is that the whole dramatic and musical impact of this very particular work depends on how touching the main character appears to the eyes and ears of the audience. If you do not care about her, it is all about a very silly girl in a very high tessitura. And you will only care about her, if she is not fighting with what she has to sing.
The cancellationfest still goes on in Berlin. Diana Damrau was supposed to be the Bride of the Lammermoor – and I confess I was not really excited about that. Although she is an excellent actress and an intelligent musician, her morbidezza-less soprano is entirely unfit for the Italian repertoire. My recollection of her Lucia at the Met was frankly disappointing in all accounts, but for her ease with runs and staccato effects. Therefore, the announcement of her replacement by Eglise Gutiérrez placed an extra interest in the performance. I had seen Gutiérrez back in 2005 as Lakmé in the Carnegie Hall, where she gave a lovely and technically adept performance. It makes me particularly sad to report that these five years have not been kind to her voice: her vowels have become excessively covered, the tone lacks brightness overall, her mezza voce is breathy, her high register is a bit effortful and her in alts are quite fragile if mostly true in pitch. Her coloratura has also lost its agility and, if she gathered her resources to a minimally decent Mad Scene, many fioriture were given the rittardando treatment. This disfigured the music's flow and made many passages void of pathos. Although she cuts a quite romantic figure on stage, her basic acting toolkit has no "mentally fragile virgin"-option.
The Lammermoor family seemed doomed to inaudibility this evening – baritone Vladimir Stoyanov, whom I have seen under a very positive light in the Staatsoper's Macbeth last year, could not focus his voice and pierce through into the auditorium. Hyung-Wook Lee's Raimondo seemed more interesting in size and tonal quality, but he would gradually loose steam to the point in which things went really badly in his last contributions. If you wondered what Alisa actually sings during the sextett, this was your Lucia – Katherine Tier's mezzo was quite hearable throughout.
In these circumstances, although Roberto Alagna's tenor now sounds quite juiceless, it most definitely sounds in the theatre, what had a very soothing effect in an audience who had to struggle to follow the other main soloist's lines. His usual lachrymose interpretative style has become quite vulgar, but again it was a relief to hear one singer who had operating space to interpret at all.
Stefano Ranzani's contribution to the performance as a conductor limited itself to the traffic cop activity. In his defence, one must always point out that he had to keep orchestra down during the whole performance and there was very little to hear from the pit. Since his soloists were quite free about note values, he had to concentrate on following them rather than on establishing a musical interpretation. The edition here adopted was also heavily cut – no Lucia/Raimondo scene, no Enrico/Edgardo scene, not to mention internal trimming to make Lucia's part easier.
When it comes to the unearthing of Filippo Sanjust's old production, I was tempted to use the word "amateurish", but Etymology shows us that it comes from the word "love" – and whoever is responsible for that dreadful staging has no love for his or her work.


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GlobalPhone Corporation, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, is a facilities-based carrier that provides services to 500,000 customers in over 130 countries, and maintains a network of over 300 business partners around the world.
The privately held, debt-free company began in 1995 as an international long distance provider and is profitable, employing approximately 25 people in engineering, sales, and support positions.
The company's services include hosted PBX service, SIP trunk or IP trunk service, call center solutions, and a variety of long distance phone services such as prepaid and postpaid phone cards, international callback, and international toll free numbers.
GlobalPhone's infrastructure utilizes a SIP-based, multi-location, redundant Broadsoft switching platform and ACME Packet session border controllers. Level3 provides the underlying network with local presence in most metropolitan areas in the United States—although the company maintains additional business relationships with many of the world's largest carriers, including Global Crossing, Teleglobe, MCI, Qwest, and Verizon.
GlobalPhone provides hosted PBX and SIP trunking services for businesses throughout the lower 48 states, and has approximately 8,000 hosted PBX seats in production. Its hosted PBX service, GlobalTone, is targeted for small to medium-size businesses, with the average customer subscribing to 5 to 15 seats—but with some customers ranging as high as 300 seats—supported by a system that can scale up to 100,000 phones.
GlobalPhone provisions new customers in one day, and then drop-ships the preconfigured phones and routers for remotely supported self-installation by the customer. As an example, GlobalPhone recently restored communications for a fifty person company overnight after the windows of its high-rise headquarters in Houston, Texas were blown out, forcing the company to move out of that building.
The GlobalTone service is hosted in a carrier-grade network, not the Internet, so it can provide the same voice quality as a legacy PBX solution. The system also includes many features typical of on-premises voice solutions: Class 5 such as call forwarding, call transfer, call waiting, call park/pickup, and so on. It offers a robust voicemail application that includes features such as password encryption, mailbox quota warnings, customizable prompts, and broadcast messages. GlobalTone provides remote calling to support telecommuters and remote workers—as well as a find me/follow me function.
Monthly service charges are based upon the number of features desired, and range from a Basic package—with both in-bound and out-bound calling plus Caller ID for $19.75 per user per month—to the Premium package with the most advanced features such as Line ID blocking, Outlook integration, and remote office capabilities that goes for $34.75 per month. The system supports unlocked, non-proprietary SIP phones. The primary phones installed are those manufactured by Polycom, Cisco, Linksys, and Aastra, although the system will support additional brands if the customer already owns them.
GlobalTone's user interface is especially robust providing integration with Microsoft Outlook, and a web-based administration for feature management and personal preferences. This system was designed with a browser-based model in mind, making it easy for both network managers and end users to administer, manage, and update features, including speed dial keys, phone templates, moves, adds and changes. This web-based interface is hosted on the GlobalPhone network, allowing the network administrator to manage a remote office, or any other configuration details, from any location with Internet access. It includes the capabilities for logging calls (see Figure 1) and recording calls (see Figure 2).
Customers have full web-based control over their PBX to restrict international and various inbound and outbound calling, plus sophisticated fraud detection algorithms to protect against toll fraud. GlobalPhone uses the Intrado 911 network, which claims to provide the most robust coverage in the United States. Customers may contact the GlobalPhone call center or go on-line to make any modifications to their 911 address.
One of the most useful features of GlobalPhone's service is their VoIP Quality Testing Site that enables existing hosted PBX customers to quickly identity LAN and WAN issues that affect their phone service. GlobalPhone developed this site after determining that over 99 percent of all VoIP problems are located in the local network and service provider connection, and that customers needed an easy way to test these connections to ensure that they are working properly. These tests evaluate time-sensitive application parameters, including upload/download speeds, data throughput consistency, jitter, packet loss, and others. To look at this very useful implementation tool, check out GlobalPhone's Hosted PBX on-line support center here.
Further information on the Global Phone solutions can be found at www.gphone.com. Our next tutorial will continue our review of various service providers hosted voice solutions.
Copyright Acknowledgement: © 2009 DigiNet Corporation®, All Rights Reserved
Author's Biography
Mark A. Miller, P.E. is President of DigiNet Corporation®, a Denver-based consulting engineering firm. He is the author of many books on networking technologies, including Voice over IP Technologies, and Internet Technologies Handbook, both published by John Wiley & Sons.


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Paul J.P. Loscocco: Public must fight for needed state aid
Several weeks ago, with very little debate and even less public notice, the Massachusetts Legislature enacted a so-called "deficiency budget" which the governor promptly signed into law. With the stroke of a pen, nearly $450 million in new-found "surplus" funds was quietly spent during a single afternoon. Yet the message from Beacon Hill could not have been louder: there will be no additional local aid from the state this year to our struggling cities and towns.
In theory, a deficiency budget is supposed to use additional available funds to cover actual "deficiencies" in current spending during a fiscal year. In reality, despite the repeated "warnings" about a $1 billion budgetary shortfall, nearly $450 million in surplus funds was "found" and promptly spent on such critical new items as pay raises for elected constitutional officers, doubling the size of the Governor's Office in Washington, D.C., and (accounting for the bulk of the spending) the full funding of numerous union contracts.
Notwithstanding the staggering deficiencies in municipal budgets that all our local communities are experiencing, not one penny of the $450 million was spent that afternoon on additional municipal assistance. So much for all the talk on Beacon Hill about meaningful property tax relief.
Coincidentally, this $450 million figure plays prominently in what should be the cause of consternation - if not outrage - by those in our communities facing significantly increasing property tax bills and the prospect of even further Proposition 2 1/2 overrides. For three fiscal years in a row the state budget "capped" the amount of lottery aid - meaning, in essence, that the state "skimmed" funds from lottery collections which by law were supposed to be distributed to all municipalities in the commonwealth under a specific formula.
And the total amount diverted from local aid to help the state cover its budget shortfalls? - you guessed it, $450 million. The net result of this diversion of funds is that our local communities were forced to make up this difference.
But hindsight shows that withholding this much money was not necessary to help our state get through difficult financial times. At the same time that cities and towns were taking money out of their stabilization funds just to maintain services, the commonwealth's Rainy Day Fund doubled in size - and is now at more than $2 billion. Indeed, when the state budget was enacted earlier this year it was supposed to be balanced by withdrawing $450 million from this stabilization fund - a withdrawal which never occurred because even more revenues (i.e., taxes) were collected than anticipated.
Now don't get confused because the numbers are the same - not only is the state still holding the $450 million in its Rainy Day Fund (which it was going to spend but didn't because of the extra $450 million in taxes collected) but the Legislature actually spent an additional $450 million in the deficiency budget - with no extra spending for municipal assistance. Meanwhile, despite other significant increases in the local aid formula, our communities are now left facing serious continued budget shortfalls.
During the limited deficiency budget debate, I co-sponsored an amendment requiring the immediate distribution of this $450 million to municipalities as a one-time unrestricted local aid payment based on the lottery formula. In Holliston, for example, (where local officials are struggling to address a deficit currently projected at $1.3 million) the proposed distribution would mean $729,144 in additional funds. Similar examples are found in nearly every municipality in the commonwealth. Unfortunately, this amendment was not adopted - and other spending priorities prevailed.
I have since co-sponsored a bill, along with several of my legislative colleagues, that again tries to force the immediate return to municipalities of the $450 million that was diverted during the state's fiscal crisis. This bill is currently pending as House Docket 4651 before the Rules Committee in the House of Representatives where I will relentlessly push for its passage.
Those in the Legislature with other spending priorities will recite that the commonwealth cannot afford to spend an additional $450 million in local aid - notwithstanding that earlier this year many of these same legislators were proudly declaring that they had balanced the state budget by proposing to withdraw the very same $450 million from the Rainy Day Fund as a measure of "fiscal responsibility." The stark reality is that it's pouring rain - our cities and towns are in fiscal crisis and desperately need these additional local aid funds right now.
This proposed legislation is asking nothing more than the return to our communities of this "extra" money that was previously taken (before it all gets spent) at a time when immediate receipt of these funds will make a meaningful difference - as local budgets are being discussed for the upcoming fiscal year and difficult choices are being made. There should be no higher spending priority in the Legislature at present. Simply put: there is no substitute for public outcry on this issue of critical importance - and the time to voice your support is right now.
If you would like further information on this legislation and what you can do to help, you may contact me at the State House - (617) 722-2800 x8438 - or by e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com
State Representative Paul J.P. Loscocco represents the people of the 8th Middlesex District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives which includes the towns of Holliston, Hopkinton, Medway, Southborough, and Westborough. He is a member of the House Committees on Ways and Means, Transportation, Housing, and Labor and Workforce Development.


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Robert Champion's mother talks to Anderson Cooper about charges against thirteen people in connection with her son's beating death on a FAMU marching band bus.
Post by: Anderson Cooper
Filed under: 360° Interview • Crime & Punishment • Hazing
It is a disgrace the way this county treats the victims and their families. When will it stop. The bullying and
the hate crimes against our children. I send prays and love to that boy's mother, family and friends ...May you find Peace
My heart goes out to these two parents who are so deeply hurt over the loss of their son. It was a sensless crime that resulted in a needless death and I pray that justice will be done and that this will NEVER happen again to another student at FAMU. I wish there were something I could do to ease the pain these parents are feeling. I ask that God will bring some comfort to their hearts and give them peace of mind.
Anderson Cooper goes beyond the headlines to tell stories from many points of view, so you can make up your own mind about the news. Tune in weeknights at 8 and 10 ET on CNN.
Questions or comments? Send an email
Want to know more? Go behind the scenes with AC361°


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The world is a university and everyone in it is a teacher.
Make sure when you wake up in the morning, you go to school.
―T. D. Jakes
That moment of clarity when you're finally honest with yourself and you admit you don't know everything! Recognizing that you can't know everything and that you will never know everything should push you to keep learning something.
via Always Keep Learning — Orlando Espinosa


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1. You Want: Smooth, Even Skin
Skip the heavy foundation. "In summer your face already has a nice dewiness," says Gretchen Monahan, style expert on TV's Bravo Channel and Rachael Ray Show. To lighten up, blend equal parts face lotion and foundation in the palm of one hand, then press both palms together and apply the mixture like moisturizer. Get even better staying power by combining base one-to-one with water-resistant sunscreen. "The viscosity ensures it won't slip off," says Monahan. We like La Roche-Posay Anthelios 60 Ultra Light Sunscreen Fluid ($27.50, drugstores), a water-resistant matte formula with broad-spectrum protection.
2. You Want: Melt-Proof Makeup
Opt for feather-light formulations (the less makeup you put on, the less you have to worry about it sliding around). "In steamy weather, you'll sweat through most makeup, even powders," says Meredith Baraf, a makeup artist for Victoria's Secret. Her advice: Switch to tinted moisturizer, or simply disguise any discoloration with a concealer or stick foundation. Try Prescriptives AnyWear Multi-Purpose Makeup Stick SPF 15 ($35, department stores) — it comes with two minis you can keep handy in your purse and desk. To enhance lashes without smudges, use waterproof mascara, or try Clarins Double Fix' Mascara Waterproofing Seal ($21, department stores), which forms a clear, watertight seal over your favorite brand. If you're fair or just a low-maintenance gal, lash tints safely darken eyelashes for up to four days, even through showers and swims. (However, they won't add volume or length.) Try Tarte 4 Day Stay Lash Stain ($18, Sephora). On lips, try a sheer stain, such as CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain ($7.29, drugstores). Dab away excess shine with blotting paper or a tissue. "Face powder can look cakey on sweaty skin," says Nicky Kinnaird, founder of Space NK beauty shops in the U.S. and England.
3. You Want: To Fake a Tan — Fast
Brush on a believable shade of bronze. "Pick a color within a couple of shades of your skin tone," says celebrity makeup artist Mally Roncal. If you're fair, try a tan shade with peach tones like Physicians Formula Bronze Booster Pressed Bronzer in Fair to Light ($15, drugstores), which has vitamins and moisturizers designed to enhance your color. If you're medium-toned, go for caramels like Victoria's Secret VS Liquid Bronzing Brush in Light to Medium ($22, Victoria's Secret), a gel bronzer with a built-in brush. For already-tanned or brown skin, choose a deeper bronze: Lorac Tantalizer Baked Matte Satin Bronzer SPF 15 ($28, Sephora) can be applied wet or dry, depending on the color intensity you're after. "Use a big, fluffy brush to apply the color around the perimeter of your face, then work it in toward the center," says Roncal, who recommends adding a touch of blush on cheeks.
More From Good Housekeeping
4. You Want: A Better Way to Tame Your Frizzy Hair
Silicone serums are the gold standard for reducing frizz, but they can weigh hair down and make it greasy. Living Proof No Frizz ($24; Sephora) claims to prevent humidity from penetrating the hair, via a lightweight, moisture-repelling, friction-reducing molecule (PolyfluoroEster) that was developed by an MIT professor and his team of scientists and hair experts. To see if it works, the Good Housekeeping Research Institute tested it against the leading frizz serum. In the lab, frizz-prone women applied one of six Living Proof products (each is for a different hair type and straightening or curl-defining effect) to half their wet hair and the control product to the other half, then styled as usual. They then spent 20 minutes in a climatology chamber set to 80 degrees and 80 percent relative humidity. The volunteers also used the frizz product at home as their sole styler for one week. The results: In the lab, the Living Proof products tamed frizz better than the control for half the testers, and at least as well for all but one of the rest. Over half the women also said Living Proof prevented frizz and improved the look and feel of their hair more than their current product. The highest marks came from volunteers who wanted to maintain their waves.
5. You Want: Sun-Kissed Strands
Shampoo your way to beachy-blond highlights: John Frieda Sheer Blonde Go Blonder Lightening Shampoo and Conditioner ($9 each, drugstores) both contain lactic acid to gradually brighten natural and color-treated blond strands without ammonia or peroxide, the traditional bleaching agents. You should notice a change after about two weeks of daily use, though you can keep using the products until you reach your desired shade. Two caveats: You'll see a difference only on hair that's already in the blond family, and you should skip it if your hair is prone to dryness, because lactic acid can further dehydrate it, according to New York City trichologist Philip Kingsley.
6. You Want: Sandal-Ready Feet
Try this express "spa" pedicure: Shape uneven nails by filing them straight across the tops, then smooth feet with a mixture of salt and lotion or olive oil — or try Barielle 60 Second Mani-Pedi ($25, barielle.com), an exfoliating treatment combining hydrating oils and Dead Sea salts that smells like a day at the beach. Rinse and dry thoroughly (push back cuticles with the towel as you dry). To get out the door faster, use shimmer polish; any mistakes won't be quite as obvious, and the mica in shimmer adheres better, says CND cofounder Jan Arnold. Try N.Y.C. In a New York Color Minute Quick Dry Nail Polish in Bryant Park ($2, drugstores).


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After finding the perfect prom dress and the perfect date, all you need to have a perfect night are matching accessories. Though accessories aren't the most important part of your prom experience, they can definitely make or break an outfit. These simple steps help you match the right accessories to your prom dress.
Try to choose a handbag that matches the color of your prom dress. A plain satin handbag works well and allows you to add your own embellishments, such as a flower or a few beaded stars. Ensure that your handbag is large enough to carry your lipstick, cell phone and car keys, but is still small enough not to be a drag on your evening.
Pick glitzy and sparkly hair clips and tiaras. These not only add a dramatic flair to your outfit, but also give you a small reminder to remember your prom night. Get clips or a tiara that match your dress and jewelry. Keep in mind that if you are going to wear tiara, take it with you when you get your hair done.
The jewelry you choose depends entirely upon your own personal taste and the style of your prom dress. For flashy jewelry, feel free to dress yourself to the nines on prom night. If you hesitate to wear too much jewelry, a simple necklace and pair of earrings should be enough to jazz up your look.
Accessorize your outfit with earrings and a necklace that highlight your dress but aren't so overwhelming. If your prom dress is sequined, wear matching sparkling gem necklace and earrings. For simple and elegant dress, choose diamond or pearl earnings and a matching necklace. Diamonds or fake diamonds are classics that they match any dress.
Complete your outfit with a pair of gloves, as these add glamour to any dress. Above-the-elbow gloves are more glamorous and elegant, whereas below-the-elbow gloves add a more casual elegance to your prom outfit. Gloves that match your dress or a contrasting color give a more fun look.
After selecting your prom dress, shoes, and hairstyle selected, accessories will add the final touch to a stunning prom ensemble.


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Tallinn - City of Music
High quality short video introduces Tallinn as a city with vibrant music scene that offers excellent experiences from opera and contemporary music to pop and alternative genres. In 2015 Estonia celebrates The Year of Music, making Tallinn one of the hot spots of live music in Europe. In this video music by Heino Eller, Hortus Musicus, Erkki Sven Tüür, Kadri Voorand, Vaiko Eplik and Carl Orff has been used. Presented by Tallinn City Tourist Office & Convention Bureau, produced by OÜ Pult and Timo Steiner.
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HAYWARD SCHOOL BOARD | The quickly assembled special meeting last Tuesday called by the Hayward school board to discuss the contract of its interim superintendent may have been illegal.
"I do think we violated the Brown Act," said Hayward school board president William McGee early Thursday morning following the unanimous approval of a 1-year, $229,500 contract for interim superintendent Stan "Data" Dobbs.
Not only may the events leading up to the Tuesday special meeting have broken the state sunshine laws, but also the discussions inside the closed session meeting.
According to the Brown Act and the board's own bylaws, special meetings may be called only by the board's president. A majority of the board can also vote to hold such a meeting, but only during the course of previous regularly scheduled session. In this case, according to documents seen by The Citizen, the meeting was called by board member Lisa Brunner through its clerk. Subsequently, board members John Taylor and Annette Walker consented to the meeting. Under these circumstances, Brunner, in effect, called the meeting using the sole powers of the board president.
Furthermore, the Brown Act explicitly prohibits using special meetings for the business of discussion superintendent contracts, salary schedules and fringe benefits. It was previously reported the board indeed discussed the terms of Dobbs' salary and agreed on a specific salary range. Terms of relocation expenses for Dobbs, who currently lives in the San Diego area, were also discussed during Tuesday's closed session.
During Wednesday's hearing to approve Dobbs' contract, board member Dr. Luis Reynoso referenced the potential impropriety of the special meeting, saying with a tinge of dramatic exasperation, "We're lawless."
The reasoning behind disallowing elected officials from discussing contracts in special closed session is to protect the public from board members and council officials perceived to be negotiating in secret with taxpayers money.
The potential of violating the Brown Act, comes on the heels of an array of peculiar actions by certain board members, the business community, teachers union and Dobbs, himself. According to a source familiar with the events leading to Tuesday's special meeting, Brunner reportedly first called the meeting last Friday during the late afternoon. It is believed the impetus for her action was an email from Dobbs unequivocally pulling out of consideration for the interim superintendent position. In the message, Dobbs claimed he was being harassed and deemed the potential work environment in Hayward too poisonous for him to succeed.
However, his reluctance to be considered for the job, according to sources, was never discussed by the board and by Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, his contract was unanimously approved.
Shane Bond contributed to this article.


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Study: State pension shortfall ballooned in 2010
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Recession-plagued states diverted scarce money away from pensions to pay for more immediate concerns, leaving a $757 billion hole in the retirement funds covering millions of public employees, according to a study released Monday.
The Pew Center on the States found 34 states failed to maintain safe levels of money in the pension funds, which most experts agree is about 80 percent of long-term obligations. Four states — Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky and Rhode Island — didn't even have 55 percent of the money they'll need in the long run.
The total gap between the money states had available and what they'll have to pay out in the decades ahead reached $757 billion in 2010, the most recent year for which figures are available. That was up 9 percent from the year before, according to the study entitled "The Widening Gap Update."
The Pew Center found most states were trying to address the funding gap, either through cutting benefits for future employees or requiring workers to pay more of their own money into their retirement funds. Some went after benefits for current employees, triggering court battles. States also adopted more conservative estimates for what they'll earn on investments down the road.
Pensions aren't the only retirement problem. States also faced a $627 billion shortfall in health care services for retirees. Essentially, for every $1 they'll eventually have to pay out in health care, states had set aside only 5 cents.
"So why should Americans care about these funding gaps? Because the larger they are the higher the cost to taxpayers today and for many years to come," said David Draine, a senior researcher for the Pew Center on the States.
Nationwide, some 22.5 million public workers fall under a state pension plan. When states fall behind in their retirement contributions, they'll have to come up with even more money later to make up the difference. In addition, pension and retiree health costs are growing, driving up state expenses even more. That leaves states less and less each year to spend on education, public safety and other government services.
Illinois had the worst funding level at just 45 percent. Officials there say fixing the problem is a top priority, but a proposal to cut cost-of-living increases for current employees and retirees has stalled in the General Assembly.
"Pensions are the biggest mountain we have to climb," Gov. Pat Quinn, a Chicago Democrat, said Monday.
While the new report looks at figures from 2010, pension expert Robert Rich, said there's no reason to think the situation has improved significantly.
Rich, executive director at the University of Illinois' Institute of Government and Public Affairs, stressed that the recession was not the chief cause of the pension problem, although it contributed by eating away at the value of investments. For years, states failed to pay their full share of pension costs, he said, so the problem won't be wiped away if the economy improves.
"It took us a long time to get into this hole, and it's going to take a long time to get out of it," Rich said.
The problem may be even larger than the report indicates. Many states calculate their funding levels by assuming an 8 percent return on their investments, a level that many experts believe is no longer realistic.
The Pew Center said that from 2009 to 2011, 43 states cut benefits for future employees, required them to pay more or did both. And six states took similar action in 2012.
Some states also cut benefits for people who have retired already. However, public-employee unions argue that amounts to breaking a contract, and some state constitutions impose tough restrictions on cutting benefits. So going after benefits for current employees and current retirees can result in legal challenges.
Staff at the Pew Center said Rhode Island has been most aggressive in overhauling its pension systems to cut costs. The state, whose systems were only 49 percent funded in 2010, decided to cut retirement benefits for current employees as well as those hired in the future. Officials limited cost-of-living increases, raised the retirement age from 62 to 67 and changed the formula for calculating benefits.
They also put workers in a new hybrid retirement system that combines elements of the traditional system where retirees are guaranteed a certain level of benefits and new 401(k)-style systems were money is invested on behalf of the retiree.
Rich, from the University of Illinois, questioned the emphasis on cutting benefits when much of the pension problem was created by states failing to contribute their share to retirement systems. States also should be promising to put more money into retirement systems over the long run, he said.
"It's neither shared sacrifice nor fairness if it's only employees who are paying for the problem," Rich said.
Online: http://www.pewstates.org
Follow Christopher Wills at https://twitter.com/chrisbwills