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In This Episode << SLIDE LEFT TO SEE ADDITIONAL SEGMENTS
The Monastic Life
Originally broadcast October 30, 2009
JUDY VALENTE, correspondent: Seventy-eight-year-old Sister Phyllis is near death. Over a period of three days around the clock, the sisters have been taking turns keeping vigil at her bedside.
SISTER ANNE SHEPARD (Prioress of Mount St. Scholastica): In our monastery, sisters do not die alone. We stay with the sisters night and day, so that they know, they're comforted by the fact that they joined a community, and as community they're going to go home—the real home that we've been waiting for.
VALENTE: The sisters of Mount St. Scholastica die much as they live—peacefully, prayerfully, and surrounded by community. It's a way of life that Benedictine monasteries have shown the world for more than 15 centuries, and it's a message that still resonates.
SHEPARD: When I look at the condition of the world today, I see a world where there's violence, one where there's greed, one where there's selfishness. But also one where there's a craving for a rejuvenation of family life, a rejuvenation of spiritual life. It speaks to me of the need more than ever of a monastic presence in this world.
VALENTE: Monasteries such as this one stand in contrast to the prevailing culture. They value community over competition, service over self-interest, and in a world of Internet, cell phones, and 24-hour talk, they stress listening and silence.
SHEPARD: It's a way of life here. It's an absence of noise and clutter, and we come together first, and we're just silent. We're in the presence of God. It's not a deadly silence. It's a very reverent and beautiful silence. We don't need noise to be productive. It's just the opposite. We don't need noise to communicate. It's just the opposite.
Monastic life is a life of living together in prayer and community. We as Benedictines, we monastics—we're not founded to do a particular work. The particular work of a monastery is community, and believe me, that's hard work. Living with 165 women is hard work.
Sister saying grace at mealtime: Ever faithful God, bless the food we are about to eat and unite us in mind and heart to your son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
SHEPARD: The common table is central to who we are. You listen, and you listen with the ear of your heart. You listen with what's inside you. That's what it means to be a listening person, and that's going to happen in the dining room.
VALENTE: Sister Anne says these and other practices at the monastery can be applied to family life and even to the professional world.
SHEPARD: You bring in everybody into a decision and learn from the newest members, as well as the wisdom of the older members and everything in between. So you have prioresses and former prioresses and PhDs in English and math doing dishes along with those that just entered, that don't have those same higher degrees. That's a radically different way than a top-down way of doing business.
VALENTE: The monastery reflects a spiritual way of life, but one that also contains practical wisdom.
SHEPARD: A major countercultural difference is that we hold things in common. That is a major thing, that it's not the greed, that if I have a computer, if I have a laptop, it's because it's for the use of the community. For us, the less we have the more single our purpose. We don't need things. We need the gospel call, and we need one another.
VALENTE: The sisters do a variety of work. They teach at Benedictine College. They operate a women's center in nearby Kansas City, Kansas, where volunteers teach money management…
Sister teaching money management class: Budgeting is simple but it will bring, you know, a little bit of the peace of mind to your house.
VALENTE: …English as a second language…
Sister teaching language class: Out? Ought. Ought? Ought.
VALENTE: …and provide child care for mothers taking classes. Others work in the medical profession or in massage therapy. Until recently, one was even a firefighter; another, a funeral director. But the most important work of the monastery is prayer.
SHEPARD: We use the words of the Psalms and of the scriptures that nurture us, that give us life, that give us meaning. Our life is about seeking God together and bringing that God into our hearts. It's so profound, it's hard to even explain. But it's the daily-ness of the prayer. It's that we need the prayer.
VALENTE: Monastic life began to flourish after the fall of the Roman Empire. Men and women retreated to the desert to live solitary lives of prayer and penance. In the sixth century, Benedict of Nursia, known for his spiritual wisdom, left the solitary life behind and founded communities where like-minded individuals could seek learning, find security, and live a life of prayer. Today, every monastic order in the world, whether Benedictine or not, follows Benedict's model to some extent.
A young woman comes to the monastery for music lessons from Sister Joachim Holthaus, a composer. Ever since the time of St. Benedict, monasteries have been important centers of learning and culture. This is Sister Paula Howard. Eight years ago, at age 77, she discovered her talent for creating icons, which the monastery then sells. She's done nearly 200.
SISTER PAULA HOWARD: Well, I think all appreciation of beauty lifts your heart—that beauty belongs here. It's a foretaste of heaven, we hope, and I just think that beauty is an image of God.
VALENTE: Both artistic beauty and the beauty of nature.
SHEPARD: A contemplative life is being in tune with the spirit, in tune with nature, in tune with creation. It's a communion with all that is around you. It's a sense that everything we do is significant—the way I plant a garden and care for the garden. Everything that we do has meaning, and it has meaning because we're intentionally trying to be more prayerful. You can live a contemplative life outside of a monastery. As a matter of fact, that is our hope, that people can come here and find a sense of peace.
VALENTE: The sisters earn some income by offering spiritual retreats. These high school girls are spending several days here. The monastery has 70 lay employees and an annual budget of $4 million. Most of it goes toward operating a nursing care facility for elderly sisters. The monastery also receives donations and bequests and government funding for its nursing home. Another source of income: the salaries of sisters who do outside work, like Sister Mary Palarino, a clinical social worker.
VALENTE: You could do this work as a lay person. I'm wondering what you think being a sister brings to this.
SISTER MARY PALARINO: You know, I really don't think I could do it as holistically and as comprehensively unless I were a member of my community and living the Benedictine way of life.
VALENTE: Mount St. Scholastica is nearly 150 years old. Some 2,000 women religious have passed through its doors. Today the vast majority of the sisters here are over the age of 55.
PALARINO: I do get concerned about people not joining us, and I don't understand that, I mean, because it seems like young people today are—they seek, and they have a hunger for community, for prayer life, for social justice issues. They have a hunger, you know, to follow something greater. We have that.
VALENTE: Sister Anne Shepard:
SHEPARD: Where it's going to go in the future? It's going to go wherever God takes us. We're going to be smaller. We're going to be just as vibrant. But it's not easy. Any genuine commitment isn't easy. That gift of unselfishness is the reason we make a promise to be faithful for all our lives, every day of our lives.
VALENTE: These sisters believe that as long as there is a need in the world for quietude, simplicity, balance, prayer, and community, there will always be a purpose to monastic life.
For Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, this is Judy Valente at Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, Kansas.


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You're running late and craving that morning coffee, but the long line in front of the barista makes you want to turn around and go without. People are fumbling for change or dragging out debit cards, even for small purchases. Isn't there a better way to pay for something?
For more and more consumers, the answer to that question is going to be yes. A whole host of players -- retailers, credit card companies, payment services, telecom giants, consumer electronics firms, and even transit authorities -- are joining forces to develop and promote cutting-edge technologies for mobile payments.
Think about how quickly that coffee line would shrink if all you had to do was wave your smartphone in front of a point-of-sale (POS) reader. That payment technology is already here. More phones are being equipped with Near Field Communication (NFC) chips, one of the prime mobile payment approaches now being rolled out.
The global research firm Berg Insight estimates that the worldwide installed base of NFC-ready POS terminals will jump from just 3.9 million units in 2011 to 43.4 million in 2017 -- an annual growth rate of nearly 50 percent. The penetration rate is projected to be highest in North America, where 86 percent of terminals could be NFC-ready by 2017.
Looking at mobile payments as a whole, Forrester Research predicts that annual transactions will grow at a hefty compound annual rate of 48 percent to reach $90 billion in the US alone by 2017. Forecasters say the bulk of that spending will be so-called proximity payments, the kind that consumers make at POS terminals in stores, at transit stations, and at vending machines, as opposed to paying a credit card bill via smartphone.
Behind the surge
The reasons for the increased adoption of mobile payments boil down to three key factors: speed, ease of use, and enhanced security. American Express says payments made through contactless mobile payment technology (such as NFC or RFID systems) are 63 percent faster than cash transactions and 53 percent faster than credit card purchases. That can make a big difference to a commuter scrambling to make a train. On the convenience side, the digital wallets now being offered by such companies as Google, PayPal, Square, and Isis organize your credit and loyalty cards in an app on your smartphone, so you can get rid of that bulging leather wallet.
Taking portability a step further, Walt Disney Co. is experimenting with the MagicBand, a wristband with an embedded RFID chip. Guests can use this cloud-linked MagicBand to enter their Disney Resort hotel room, buy food and merchandise, and accelerate access to theme park attractions. From a marketing standpoint, the device also can provide important data on consumer purchasing trends.
Proponents of mobile payments are also striving to add security features beyond even those created for credit cards, which spawned PINs, embedded smart chips, and numerous account verification techniques. With contactless mobile payments, you can now activate smart chips wirelessly. The Isis digital wallet, for example, is protected by a unique four-digit PIN that the consumer chooses. Payment card credentials are stored on a secure element chip embedded in the smartphone's subscriber identity module (SIM card), and constantly changing cryptographic codes prevent counterfeiting. At any time, you can quickly suspend your digital wallet remotely from a smartphone with a call to your wireless carrier or a visit to the digital wallet website.
For global travelers, mobile payment technology offers benefits in both security and convenience. Travelers avoid the risks of dealing with unfamiliar currencies, and the cloud sorts out exchange rates in real-time.

subset: commoncrawl


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Pentaho Business Analytics Workflows
Provides workflows that guide the evaluation, development, and production of BA solutions.
Pentaho Business Analytics is a combined business analytics and data integration platform that allows business users, data scientists, and IT administrators to easily access, explore, and visualize their data. Pentaho empowers business users to make information-driven decisions that positively impact their organization's performance, data scientists to use a full-spectrum of tools to create robust data models, and IT to rapidly deliver a secure, scalable, flexible, and easy to manage business analytics platform for the broadest set of users.


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YAKIMA, Wash.—The federal government will pay more than $1 billion to settle a series of lawsuits brought by American Indian tribes over mismanagement of tribal money and trust lands, under a settlement announced Wednesday.
The agreement resolves claims brought by 41 tribes from across the country to reclaim money lost in mismanaged accounts and from royalties for oil, gas, grazing and timber rights on tribal lands.
Negotiations continue on dozens of other cases.
The settlement was announced jointly by the Justice Department and the Interior Department, which manages more than 100,000 leases on tribal trust lands and about 2,500 tribal trust accounts for more than 250 federally recognized tribes.
"These settlements fairly and honorably resolve historical grievances over the accounting and management of tribal trust funds, trust lands, and other non-monetary trust resources that, for far too long, have been a source of conflict between Indian tribes and the United States," Attorney General Eric Holder said.
Ending the long-running dispute allows the governments involved to move beyond distrust and antagonism, and empowers Indian communities going forward, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said.
All tribes have had a dark relationship with the federal government, said Gary Hayes, chairman of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, whose reservation covers southwest Colorado, southeast Utah and northern New Mexico. But the settlements will assist tribal governments in supplementing decades of inadequate funding throughout Indian Country, helping to improve public safety, infrastructure and health care, he said.
"The seeds that we plant today will profit us in the future and continue for generations to come," Hayes said.
The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe will receive nearly $42.6 million.
The government did not release the dollar amounts each tribe will receive, though some were entered into U.S. District Court record in Washington, D.C. Among those, recipients of large sums include Montana's Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes at $150 million, Idaho's Nez Perce Tribe at nearly $34 million, and New Mexico's Mescalero Apache Nation at nearly $33 million.
By comparison, the tiny Nooksack Tribe in northwest Washington state will receive $25,000. The tribe has about 2,000 members.
Washington state's Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, also part of the settlement, had announced their $193 million settlement in February, as did Montana's Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes from the Fort Peck Reservation, which settled for $75 million.
Last year, the government announced a $380 million settlement with the Osage Nation in Oklahoma.
A total of 114 tribal governments filed suit after Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe from Browning, Mont., brought a similar claim on behalf of thousands of individual Indians over the government's mismanagement of their trust lands.
The government ultimately settled the Cobell case for $3.4 billion, but it remains under appeal for various reasons by four people.
Congress delayed approval of that settlement for months. But unlike the Cobell case, money for the tribes' settlements already has been appropriated under a congressionally approved judgment fund, Interior spokesman Adam Fetcher said.
Associated Press writer Matthew Daly contributed to this report from Washington, D.C.


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Better results from disk herniation surgery after a short period of sick leave
Back pain and leg pain may be caused by lumbar disk herniation. It may be necessary to treat the condition by surgery, if it persists. Patients who have a short period of sick leave before the surgery are more satisfied with the result of the procedure than those who are off work sick longer. This is the conclusion of a thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
"The aim of the work described in the thesis was to discover factors that influence the result of surgery and to identify which patients have the greatest benefit of surgery", says Katarina Silverplats, doctor at the Department of Orthopaedics at Sahlgrenska University Hospital and researcher at the Department of Orthopaedics at the Sahlgrenska Academy.
A total of 183 patients were studied, and they were followed for up to 10 years after the surgery.
"One thing we found was that over 60% of the patients were still satisfied with the result of the surgery between 2 and 10 years afterwards, and nearly all had an improved quality of life than they had had before it", says Katarina Silverplats.
One surprising result was that patients who had been off work sick less than 2 months before the surgery were more satisfied with the result than those who had been off work a longer period. For example, approximately seven out of ten patients who had had a short period of sick leave were able to return to full employment, while the corresponding figure for those who had been off work more than 6 months was as low as one in four.
The mean age of patients who suffer from disk herniation is just over 40 years, and this group of patients is active in the labour market. It is therefore important that treatment starts as soon as possible.
"If it is decided that surgery is the preferred treatment for a particular patient, the procedure should be carried out within 2-3 months, in order to achieve as good as result as possible and the possibility of a rapid return to work. This requires a well-functioning healthcare system without long queues", says Katarina Silverplats.


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Katy Perry thinks most awards shows are fun, but she especially loves the American Music Awards.
Perry is thrilled to open the live ABC broadcast Sunday night from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles with her latest single "Unconditionally."
"I appreciate all the other awards shows for what they are," Perry said. "Some are just kind of shock jock shows. Some are just like, `Hey, let's see how many celebrities we can get together.' Some are actually legitimate like the Grammys, and the AMAs is a very legitimate show with musicality to it."
Watch the American Music Awards Red Carpet Show: Live at 5PM ET
• AMAs 2013: Full Nominations List
• Top 10 AMAS Moments Ever: Watch
• Photos: 41 Years of AMAs History
• AMAs Quiz: Bieber, Gaga & More
• Rihanna To Receive 'AMA Icon Award'
Three hours after Perry opens the show at 8 p.m. EST, Miley Cyrus will close things down. In between, most of the year's top performers are scheduled to take the stage, including Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. Pitbull hosts and will perform with Ke$ha, and Jennifer Lopez will offer a tribute to Celia Cruz.
As 2013 nears an end, the question is how can these acts distinguish themselves in an especially memorable year that's included some brinksmanship, a few totally odd moments and plenty of skin?
When last we saw Perry, she was floating above the stage at the MTV European Music Awards, a human maypole of sorts. Cyrus was at the Amsterdam show, too, smoking a joint and sharing the stage with a little person – proving just how easily she could top her over-the-top twerk-a-thon on the MTV Video Music Awards.
Macklemore and Lewis are the fan-voted AMA's top nominees this year with six, while Swift and Timberlake have five apiece. All three acts are up for top honor artist of the year, along with Rihanna and Bruno Mars.
Swift and Justin Bieber, who is not nominated this year, have alternated victories in the category the last four years, cashing in on their rabid, social media-driven fan bases.
Only the adventurous would vote against Swift this year. Timberlake has the year's top-selling album and Macklemore and Lewis tickled everyone's fancy with "Thrift Shop." But the category winner has been either young or country since the award's inception in 2004. Swift is both.


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Jackson commission race stands out in complexity
Ambivalence toward development, and who should pace and manage growth in a manner that preserves the natural beauty of the mountains, has surfaced as the central debate in the race for Jackson County's Board of Commissioners.
Three seats are open on the board. This includes the top the chairman's position. Commissioners must live within their voting district to seek election, but are elected by countywide voting, or at-large.
In most Western North Carolina counties, the races for commission seats are fairly easy to categorize and subsequently, to analyze: newcomers — generally supportive of land regulations — versus long-timers — generally oppose land regulations.
Jackson County, however, is more complicated than generalizations allow. Two of the most ardent supporters of the strict development regulations now in place are scions of old mountain families: Tom Massie and William Shelton, both incumbents.
Additionally none — not one — of the commission candidates is in favor of a total absence of development regulations. Republican, Democrat and unaffiliated (all are represented in this year's race), each in some manner, and at some level, acknowledged the necessity and responsibility of overseeing growth.
Other issues are also on the table this year: the deal struck with Duke Energy over the Dillsboro dam; pay raises that seemed to mainly benefit the already-highest paid of the county's employees; and budget issues.
Related Items
See also: Jackson forum allows for more candidate scrutiny ... sort of
Regulating development
Background: Three years ago, Jackson County commissioners enacted sweeping steep-slope and subdivision ordinances. Many in the development and real estate industry were angered by the regulations, which were crafted during a five-month moratorium on new subdivisions. Others protested that too many subdivisions — 238 — were exempted. The "vested rights" were to protect developers caught mid-stream by the new regulations, but were ultimately granted to developers in the planning stages. This, in turn, angered those wanting stricter growth controls.
When it comes to growth, the most hands-off candidate is Charles Elders, Shelton's Republican opponent and a former commissioner. Even Elders, however, gives a nod to "some regulations" being necessary to protect the mountains. He is calling for a study of the current set to see if they need revision.
Shelton, a Democrat, voted for the regulations now in place. He said they weren't developed willy-nilly, but followed a great deal of public comment from a cross-section of the county's residents.
"I supported the temporary moratorium on new subdivisions because I felt the county needed time to develop the minimum standards without the planning department becoming overwhelmed with new applications that were simply trying to get into the system before any regulations were passed," Shelton said.
Additionally, blaming a local governing board for a national recession doesn't make sense, Shelton said.
But Republican Doug Cody, who is battling Massie, a Democrat, thinks the regulations should be examined "in considerable detail."
"I also think that there should be input from a larger cross section of the community," Cody said. "For example, I feel that there are creative ways to construct very low-density housing on steeper slopes without harming the environment."
Massie pointed out the regulations were actually developed by members of the county's planning board, which included a representative of the Home Builders Association. And were tweaked by commissioners. He characterized the advisory board as "reasonable, concerned citizens."
What wasn't reasonable — in his mind, at least — was what happened after the moratorium was placed on new developments conceived after February 2007.
"The regulations did not cause the slowdown in construction or real estate sales," Massie said. "However, the hysteria generated by elements within the real estate and construction industries may have done more to damage that sector of the economy than the actual moratorium."
If there is a man in the middle on these development issues, that is Chairman Brian McMahan, a Democrat. He, among the candidates, cast the sole 'no' vote on current development regulations. He also opposed the moratorium on subdivisions.
"Did we really accomplish anything with a moratorium but alienate and frustrate many in the public?" McMahan queried rhetorically when asked about his vote.
But McMahan's position is more complicated than simply dismissing the regulations that were passed, because he supports — and has been consistently on record as doing so — most of what is in place.
"I found it to be true that everyone was in favor of having stable slopes," he said. "Everyone wanted some assurances that their neighbor's property would not slide down the mountain and destroy or damage their property."
Everyone also wanted safe and good access and roads, McMahan said, and "appropriate" buffers.
"I stopped in my support … when the ordinances went a step beyond those health, safety and protections aspects and started trying to regulate aesthetics, which is what 'looks good.''
McMahan also disagreed with lot-size requirements, which he said effectively limited some development possibilities.
His opponent, Jack Debnam, who is unaffiliated with any political party, is having a difficult time delineating himself from McMahan on this issue because, frankly, their views on the subject are so similar.
Debnam supports the development regulations, but argues that he doesn't think "we needed to cover everyone with the same blanket set" of rules. He, too, believes the moratorium was a terrible mistake.
"The implementation of the moratorium, in my opinion, gave us a five-month jumpstart on the rest of the nation in our economic downturn because of the question of what could happen next," Debnam said.
Dillsboro Dam
Background: Jackson County tried to exercise eminent domain and take the dam in Dillsboro away from Duke Energy to make it the focal point of a new riverfront park along the Tuckasegee. The county lost the battle in court, and was forced to cough up a half-million dollars in legal fees. Per Duke's wishes, the dam now has been torn down.
Elders said he believes a little more skill at the negotiating table would have served Jackson County residents better than the bare-knuckled battle that took place with Duke.
Well, Shelton responded, of course it's always nice to sit back and scrutinize someone else's decisions: "Hindsight makes it easy to say that we should not have fought the fight, now that history shows we lost," he said. "However, at the time I thought it was worth the gamble. If you look at the amount gained through the settlement against the amount spent, then you have pretty much a zero-sum game."
Cody, like Elders, doesn't approve of the "adversarial approach" taken by the county. His problem on this issue? Neither does his opponent. In fact, Massie voted against continuing "the legal wrangling" once the county's appeal was denied.
"I felt it was a desperate, costly, gamble with little hope for success," Massie said.
McMahan disagrees with that assessment, saying the fight made Duke pay more attention to the demolition than it might have otherwise. Such as sediment removal, and riverbank restoration. He agreed with Shelton that, ultimately, the situation was about break-even.
Not so fast, Debnam said.
"'A wash?' he said, "$500,000 out-of-pocket to area attorneys, who knows how many hours of county employee time, and we get what the stakeholders had agreed to. I think that should be considered 'a bath.'"
Pay raises
Background: The county instituted a pay plan for employees. Some have since protested that the only employees who truly benefited were already those who were the highest paid.
Why in the world pay someone to conduct a study when the Institute for Local Government could have been consulted, and for free, Elders wanted to know. Additionally, Shelton's challenger said it was disappointing to watch as the lowest paid tier of employees didn't seem to reap rewards — only those at the top.
This issue is a tough one for the incumbents. Well-intentioned the study might have been, but the effort to bring a level of fairness to the pay scale that is based on experience, education and length of service didn't exactly work out as thought. This truth Shelton acknowledged.
"In hindsight, I feel that our board made a mistake by voting on this policy without taking into account … the 'career ladder' portion," he said. "That said, I still believe that we have a fair system in place that, in the long run, will serve the county well."
Cody, like Elders, believes paying for a study was unnecessary, and that it unfairly rewarded those at the top tier.
Massie, like Shelton, seemed uncomfortable with what took place.
"I still support those raises," Massie said, "but I should have better understood the impact the 'career ladder' … would have on pay levels of the employees with the most seniority. Had I fully understood that, it might have impacted my decision."
McMahan, alone of the incumbent commissioners running for office, is unapologetic on the issue. The old pay plan didn't adequately compensate some employees, and the county had too much turnover of critical personnel, he said.
"In a two-year period, the board met at seven different occasions in which the plan was discussed publicly in some way. No member of the public ever voiced the first complaint until after the plan had been presented, funded and implemented," McMahan said.
Managing the dollars
Background: Being an incumbent is tough. You actually have a record to defend. But here's one issue on which Shelton, Massie and McMahan are difficult to fault. Neighboring counties had huge budget shortfalls, layoffs and other fiscal nightmares. Jackson sailed through, with very little belt-tightening.
All in all, Elders acknowledged, the county is in pretty good shape. Wouldn't hurt to build the tax base up, he said, and get an economic development commission re-established to focus on job growth.
Shelton said the current board "trimmed down the budget incrementally" during two budget cycles.
"This past year, we cut our budget by close to 10 percent across the board, with the exception of the fire departments," he said. "Jackson County has a healthy debt-to-asset ratio in comparison to surrounding counties, and has a strong fund balance."
Cody isn't prepared to credit the incumbents even for a strong budget performance — he believes the only reason this county functioned better during the extended recession is because property values were so high.
"In my opinion, the county officials overspent while the national and local economies were slowing down," he said.
But Massie said Jackson County certainly has done a very good job of managing its budget, thank you very much. Line items were reduced, overall expenditure reduced, money was placed in a rainy day fund to help offset future problems.
"I think that the fact that Jackson County has not had to do layoffs, furloughs and severely cut services is a testament to the sound leadership of the county manager, finance director, department heads and employees," McMahan said.
(Note: For those not-so-good at picking up on subtleties, this is an oblique defense of the county pay raises — the highest paid who got more pay under the study did a good job on the budget, ie., county manager, finance director, and so on.)
Debnam simply refused to acknowledge that even Jackson County's budget might be sound, and that commissioners did a good job on this part of their job. Or anything else particularly.
"Until I can get in office and have a cost accounting done, I will not know what kind of job has been done," he said.


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Fueling the Future
Fueling the Future
LinuxCon Europe – one of the best GNU/Linux events of 2013.
The European leg of LinuxCon [1] took place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, October 21-23, 2013. On offer was probably one of the best GNU/Linux international events of 2013. The keynote speeches and presentations were certainly some of the best that I have seen in the 13 years that I've been traveling around the international conference circuit. What follows is just a short report. For more information, check out the various YouTube videos [2], the pictures associated with Twitter under the hashtag #linuxcon, and Facebook.
Keynote Speeches
On Monday morning, the proceedings were slowed by a 30-minute delay, but the speakers and attendees quickly made up for this with the usual show of speed and adaptability for which GNU/Linux developers are known. The opening speech given by Jim Zemlin was a rousing call to arms for the informed and present GNU/Linux supporters. Zemlin gave a factual telling of how Linux now runs on most mobile devices out there and runs the Internet. The International Space Station runs GNU/Linux, and even the US Navy's newest warship, USS Zumwalt, is powered by GNU/Linux [3]. Everything is penguinized. We won! The audience gave a loud round of applause at the end of his speech. After Jim managed to pull himself out of the baying crowd, he introduced Mark Hinkle, who is Director of Community for Citrix. His talk, which was called "We Won. What's Next?" also went down well with the audience.
Then came the knockout blow. Some readers may have already grasped that web applications like Twitter and Facebook, used the right way, can be a superb marketing tool for your business and might even help your daily life along a bit. Thus, it's no surprise that Twitter has decided to enter the world of open source developers. At about 11am, Chris Aniszczyk, Head of Open Source at Twitter, presented his version of "The Twitter Stack." It was a well-informed presentation of how the past and future of Twitter has changed thanks to open source software developers. Twitter started on a monolithic architecture and moved to a service-oriented one relying on open source software. Chris's slides for this lecture are on SlideShare [4].
On Tuesday morning, we had the customary Scottish autumn welcome to the day. Bright and breezy with a few showers and some great views of Calton Hill and Edinburgh Castle in the distance.
At 9:30am, Mac Devine, who is the Director of CloudFirst Innovation and Chief Technical Officer for IBM Cloud Services, presented "Gain the Competitive Edge with Next Generation Cloud Platforms." He has 24 years of experience with networking and virtualization. Mac, if you have ever seen him, is someone who can only talk and move at twice the normal speed of the average person. He can make a Hollywood tap dancer look like a bumbling gardener. He described how he realized that social networking and cloud were the future and that you just have to get up there and do it. In a changing world, you can't sit around for long. At one point, Mac said, "Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Just be afraid of not learning from them."
Next up was a keynote panel: "All about Next Generation Cloud Platforms." It was moderated by Mac Devine; Duncan Johnston-Watt, Founder and Chief Executive Officer for CloudSoft; Steve Chambers, Chief Technical Officer at Canopy Cloud; and Rich Miller, CEO of Telematica Inc. This session took up where Mac left off, in that the panel nailed down the key requirements of next-generation cloud platforms and how they are radically starting to change the cloud computing landscape.
Then, Yannick Pellet, Vice President of the Advanced Software Platform for Samsung Research America, presented "Fueling Samsung R&D Innovation with Collaborative Open Source Development." Yannick is the person who advises the rest of Samsung about open source strategy and development. His talk gave a fascinating insight into the workings of Samsung and their interest in open source software.
After the day's presentations, many attendees wandered over to the Ghillie Dhu pub at the other end of Princes Street [5]. The food and drinks there were included in the cost of registration. This social event provided a great night out and a chance to relax.
Wednesday dawned, and people were still holding their heads from the raging party the night before. Some coffee helped, and attendees were back in the Pentland lecture theatre for the final day of the conference. This was the one that everyone was waiting for. The opening keynote presentation was "Where Are We Going?" Dirk Hohndel, Chief Linux and Open Source Technologist for Intel, and Linus Torvalds, who wrote the GNU/Linux kernel and is a Fellow of the Linux Foundation, sat down for a question and answer session [6] [7]. Those who have seen this talk before are familiar with the sometimes serious and sometimes funny parts of the inside workings of the GNU/Linux project. There was much applause from the crowd at the end of the presentation.
Next up was Mikko Hyppönen, Chief Research Officer for F-Secure. His talk was about "Living in a Surveillance State" [8]. The recent revelations about the NSA were discussed at some length here – not something for the faint-hearted. In a surveillance state, everyone is thought to be guilty. What does this mean today, and is there anything we can do about it?
Other Presentations
The conference itself took place on many floors of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. It was well thought out and offered something for everyone – not just cloud or virtualization. As at most conferences, there is too much information for any one person to take in. Out of the whole, I will quickly mention:
- "Introduction to Tizen & Architecture" by Yoonsoo Kim, who works for Samsung.
- "New Technologies HTML5" with Hisashi Hashimoto from Hitachi.
- "Everything I Know About the Cloud, I Learned from Game of Thrones" with Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier, who works for Red Hat.
- "LibreOffice on Linux" by Michael Meeks, with Collabora. It's well worth going to any presentation by Michael.
- "GlusterFS Architecture and Roadmap" with Vijay Bellur from Red Hat.
- "Raspberry Pi – Getting Started and Creative Applications" with Ruth Suehle, who works for Red Hat.
- "World of Tanks: Linux and Open Source Inside" with Maksim Melnikau of Wargaming.net.
- "The Kernel Report" by Jonathan Corbet from LWN.net was probably one of the better presentations of the week.
- "Conducting Defensive Information Warfare on Open Platforms" by Ben Tullis was definitely well worth attending.
Wednesday night saw attendees put onto coaches and driven round the corner to the National Museum of Scotland. Why would anyone want to go to such a dusty place for a night out? The answer is for tasting scotch, for food, and for the mobile casino that had been brought in from Glasgow. The closing few minutes of the evening saw a complete pipe band assemble and play us out of the room: a wonderful example of Scottish hospitality at its best. Everyone was impressed, and it made a fine end to the week's proceedings. Absolutely amazing conference and a wonderful end to such a great show.
LinuxCon was billed as "The only event in Europe covering all matters Linux – offering collaboration and education for everyone in the ecosystem from developers and maintainers to sys admins and architects to business executives and community members." Whether this was a correct description or not, the organizers put a great deal of work into presenting a fine and well-organized conference. Hope to see you there next year.
- LinuxCon: http://events.linuxfoundation.org/events/linuxcon-europe
- Search YouTube for LinuxCon Europe 2013 – Linux Trivia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOKAe8IO4OE
- The Navy's newest warship: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/10/the-navys-newest-warship-is-powered-by-linux/
- Evolution of the Twitter Stack: http://www.slideshare.net/caniszczyk/twitter-opensourcestacklinuxcon2013
- Ghillie Dhu: http://www.ghillie-dhu.co.uk
- Linus Torvalds Interviewed on Stage at LinuxCon: http://youtu.be/jjRAKuis7T8
- Kernel developer panel: http://youtu.be/VDsHxJjvKSk
- "Living in a Surveillance State" by Mikko Hyppönen: http://youtu.be/lHj7jgQpnBM
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(CNN) -- Casey Anthony walked free from a Florida jail early Sunday morning, three years and one day after she was first arrested for her role in the disappearance and, eventually, death of her 2-year-old daughter.
Anthony walked out of the front door of the Orange County Jail at 12:09 a.m. with her lawyer by her side and two Special Response Team officers with green vests.
Sheriff's deputies had two contingency plans laid out, but in the end opted to go with a public release.
"We have made every effort to not provide any special treatment for her," said Allen Moore, the spokesman for the Orange County Corrections Department in a statement. "She has been treated like every other inmate in her custody class."
Anthony had not received threats against her at the jail, but "this release had an unusual amount of security. So therefore, in that sense, it would not be a normal release," Moore said.
With $537.68 from her inmate account handed to her, Anthony offered a quick thanks to a Special Response Team sergeant.
She then walked out of the jail building doors and into a dark-colored sport utility vehicle.
Her hair was pulled up in a tight bun and she had on a bright pink V-neck T-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers. She did not show any emotion.
Given the threats against her life by those furious at the not-guilty verdict, Anthony's lawyers have not said where she will go next.
News helicopters that tracked the SUV showed it head to downtown Orlando and into the parking garage of her lawyer Cheney Mason's office.
Throngs of television camera crews and a crowd of about 1,000 people were at hand outside the jail to witness the release.
Most of those who waved placards in the jail parking lot were there to voice their opposition to Anthony's release, but they did so peacefully.
Police, some on horseback, kept a wary eye.
As Anthony left, some demonstrators shouted and jeered. Some screamed, "Killer!"
The Orlando woman's release comes 12 days after a jury acquitted her on murder and child neglect charges. That verdict brought an abrupt end to a six-week trial that drew intense media hype for its elements of family drama and mystery over what happened to young Caylee Anthony.
While Anthony was cleared on the more serious charges, the jury of seven women and five men did convict her on four counts of misleading law enforcement agents who were investigating Caylee's whereabouts.
Orange County Superior Court Chief Judge Belvin Perry Jr. gave Anthony credit for time served in determining the release date.
She was initially taken into custody on July 16, 2008, and had been jailed -- with some brief exceptions, having been freed on bail on multiple occasions -- for most of the past three years.
Her toddler girl's skeletal remains were eventually found in a wooded field not far from the home of Casey Anthony's parents in December 2008, seven months after she was last seen.
Protesters on Sunday staged a silent march between the parents' home and where the toddler's remains were found, which has been turned into a memorial site. They said they wanted the day to be about Caylee and not about Anthony being released from jail.
Prosecutors tried, unsuccessfully, to convince jurors that Anthony used chloroform to render her daughter unconscious and then duct-taped her mouth and nose to suffocate her. Her defense lawyers, meanwhile, painted Caylee's death as an accident, claiming that she'd drowned accidentally at the family pool and that Casey and her father George Anthony both covered it up.
The questions about how Caylee died, and who was responsible, remain open. But a more immediate issue is what happens next to the girl's mother, who attracted intense anger, revulsion and even sympathy from a public that she will once again be a part of.
While there have been cash donations to her jailhouse account, the more widespread sentiment is against Casey Anthony, with many believing she got away with killing her daughter.
This fury has led to speculation that the polarizing subject of the "I Hate Casey Anthony" Facebook page -- and the source of ire for its more than 40,000 fans -- might change her name and appearance, and move someplace far away.
"If her attorneys are doing the right thing and are doing their jobs, they're going to have to explain to her that there is real hatred out there for her, that there have been death threats, that she cannot just walk amongst the population," HLN legal contributor Sunny Hostin said. "That is not just going to happen."
Florida corrections officials, and Anthony's lawyers, have offered few details. That's in part likely due to the intense emotions Anthony's release has generated.
"I know it's bad God Forgive me but i hope someone wipes that smirk off her face. With a mack truck," one poster on the "I Hate Casey Anthony" Facebook page wrote.
Visiting the Orlando site where Caylee's remains were found, Rebecca Stone said she believed the toddler's mother "put her here" -- even if the jury did not reach the same conclusion.
When asked about what's next for Casey Anthony, the Flowery Branch, Georgia, mother of two told CNN, "I don't think she will be alive for long."
An Oklahoma woman said she has already faced the kind of ire Anthony may face when she's no longer behind the protective walls of the Orange County Jail.
Sammy Blackwell told CNN affiliate KOTV that a woman who mistook her for Anthony on July 8 rammed her car twice, flipping it over.
"She said that I was trying to hurt babies, I was killing babies and she was going to stop it before it happened again," Blackwell told the station.
As it happens, Blackwell has a daughter named Caylee too, but that's the end of the similarities. She says she really doesn't even look that much like Anthony and worries for women who do.
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said Tuesday that investigators are assessing threats to Anthony's safety. While he said the department was not aware of any credible threats to her life, it's a concern that was clearly on his mind.
"Nobody has a right to take the law in their own hands," he said. "Casey Anthony had her day in court and the jury made a decision. I would hope people would step back and would not go out and commit another crime."
It's also a concern for her attorneys.
"Myself and other members of the team are concerned for her safety, very much so," one of her attorneys, Dorothy Sims, told HLN.
What Anthony will do now is unclear.
"If I knew at this point, I'm sure you can appreciate that I wouldn't tell you," Sims said. "I don't believe that that has been resolved. My hope for her would be that she would be left alone and her privacy would be respected."
Hostin said on CNN that she's heard reports that Anthony will go into hiding, live under an assumed name or get plastic surgery.
"But I think we are going to hear her story, because people have offered her a million dollars already for her story," she said.
Anthony also still has legal issues to deal with.
Her criminal team is appealing her convictions for misleading police, and she is being sued in two separate actions in civil court. One is filed by a woman with the same name Anthony gave to investigators as the name of her daughter's fictitious nanny. The other involves a search group that wants Anthony to repay expenses they incurred looking for Caylee.
Anthony may be offered money for book and movie deals, but one offer won't be on the table.
Playboy founder Hugh Hefner told CNN's Piers Morgan that the magazine won't be offering Anthony a pictorial.
"I wouldn't reward someone like that for what has happened," Hefner said.
Defense attorney Mason, who once said he thought of Anthony as a granddaughter, said he doesn't know what life holds in store for his client, but has hopes.
"She is only 25 years old. A decade from now, hopefully, she'll have some stability in her life and maybe a husband, and they can be somewhere in Montana and start over," he said.
CNN's Greg Botelho, Martin Savidge and journalists Mike Pearson and Catherine Callaway contributed to this report.


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Design submitted by Peter from the UK.
Peter says: Ever since I started submitting designs for the blog I have been trying to think of a nice design based on Armour, Exoskeletons, and Mecha. This design is inspired by those things to achieve an bio-mechanical look. I wanted an industrial feel with a technical detailed look. "Vertebrae" is the result. This one probably isn't for the ladies.
The time telling method is based another of my designs that has not yet seen the blog. The basic premiss is there are four cryptic LED digits in a column divided between the vertebrae, the digits are divided between the various faces that make up the vertebrae adding to the cryptic look.
This design has an bio-mechanical look which is very industrial which will probably make this design mostly appealing to the chaps. It should appeal to people who are interested in sci-fi, mech and manga.
The industrial look combined with bio-mechanical theme separates this design from others. The cryptic numbers and combination of materials give it a unique character.


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The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and its Supervisor of Officials Harold Mitchell have announced that a crew of four females will serve as officials in Thursday Night's football game between Lane College and Miles College.
The game will mark the first time that a crew of officials will be predominately female on any NCAA level.
"This is a special opportunity for not only the group of ladies selected to officiate the game, but all officials in the SIAC. Playing on a Thursday night is also a great opportunity for our [SIAC] officials to partner with officials from an FCS conference." said Mitchell, who also is the Coordinator of Officials in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. "To that point, it's also very important for everyone to understand that members of the selected crew are all outstanding officials, and not just females." When the game kickoffs at 7 p.m. (ET)/6 p.m. (CT) at Albert J. Sloan Stadium on the campus of Miles College in Fairfield, AL, the officials, Yvonda Lewis (Head Linesman) from Houston, TX, Tangela Mitchell (Line Judge) from Atlanta, GA, Sabrina Brunson (Field Judge) from Atlanta, GA and Krystle Apellaniz (Back Judge) from Oviedo, FL will work the game.
Brunson is the veteran of the four officials, working as the first female official in the SIAC since 1995. Coincidentally, Lewis became the first female official in the SWAC in 2009, and has been officiating SIAC games since 2010. Mitchell and Apellaniz both are in their first year in the SIAC.
The National Football League (NFL) has also taken notice as its Director of Football Officials, David Coleman and Ron Baynes, Director of Recruiting, will be in attendance to evaluate the officials performance. Furthermore, the league will also have members of its Public Relations department in attendance taking photos in an effort to promote its initiative to afford more opportunities for female officials in the National Football League.


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Name (Age): Roberta "RC" Saint-Amour (27)
Tribe Designation: Tandang
Current Residence: New York, N.Y.
Occupation: Investment Banker
Personal Claim to Fame: I was the 112th Wellesley Hoop Rolling Champion – the oldest and most beloved Wellesley tradition. The winner is said to be the first person in her class to achieve success, however she defines it.
Inspiration in Life: My mother – she has always been there for me, guiding me, helping me, teaching me right from wrong and sacrificing for me. She always wants the best for me and inspires me to believe that my happiness only comes from my own self-respect.
Hobbies: Swimming, running and traveling.
Pet Peeves: Annoying people and inefficiency.
3 Words to Describe You: Outgoing, headstrong and exuberant.
If You Could Have 3 Things on The Island What Would They Be and Why?
1) A good book that I could read over and over again.
2) A puppy so I can have at least one loyal friend.
3) A radio to listen to music and news.
SURVIVOR Contestant You Are Most Like: None – I'm an original. There's no one like me!
Reason for Being on SURVIVOR: I have been a huge fan of "Survivor" since the beginning. I want to be on the show to win sole survivor and prove to myself that I can do it.
Why You Think You'll "Survive" SURVIVOR: I would be a great physical asset for the team. I am mentally tough and very little bothers me.
Why You Think You Will Be the Sole SURVIVOR: I have the perfect combination of physical and mental strengths. I'm an athlete and have been a competitive swimmer since the age of 5. I hold a Masters All-American title, earned 12 top 10 national master's records in the last four years, held numerous college and high school records. I ran a half Boston marathon without training and swam the English Channel. As an investment banker, I'm very analytical and have survived Wall Street and the fall of Bear Stearns.


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A majority of CEOs are failing to steer their companies towards effective use of new computer technologies, which precludes their organizations from making major business improvements.
That's the conclusion of a new study released Tuesday by the MIT Sloan Management Review and Capgemini Consulting titled "Embracing Digital Technology: A New Strategic Imperative."
The study was based on a survey of more than 1,500 executives and managers worldwide and its authors sought to examine the concept of "digital transformation," which they define as the use of new digital technologies to trigger significant improvements.
Digital transformation is a required goal for companies, and involves the revamping of business processes through the use of social media, mobile, analytics and embedded devices, according to the report.
"But the CEO and senior leadership must develop a vision to articulate to the staff, create a roadmap and commit to it, and then rally the organization with measurable goals and incentives to reach them," reads the study.
The authors -- Michael Fitzgerald, Nina Kruschwitz, Didier Bonnet and Michael Welch -- state that digital transformation "needs to come from the top" and they recommend appointing an executive or committee to lead the efforts.
"Companies should take small steps, via pilots and skunkworks, and invest in the ones that work," they wrote. Company leaders need to adjust the digital transformation roadmap, vision and strategy based on the results of these small, initial projects, according to the authors.
How important is the leadership of the CEO? It's crucial, according to the study. In companies where CEOs have outlined and communicated their vision for digital transformation, almost 95 percent of employees are on board with the plan. Unfortunately, only 36 percent of the CEOs have done this.
The survey also found that almost 80 percent of respondents believe that it'll be critical for their companies to go through a digital transformation in the next two years. But 63 percent described the pace of technology change in their companies as "too slow," largely due to complacency.
MIT Sloan Management Review and Capgemini Consulting rated only 15 percent of the companies at which the survey respondents worked as "Digirati," the highest level of technology sophistication. These companies' executives share "a strong vision" for the potential of new technologies, invest in and manage these digital technologies quickly and their companies reap the most rewards.
Six percent were ranked as "Fashionista," the second tier in the rankings. These companies adopt new technologies aggressively but have trouble coordinating their efforts and fine-tuning their digital-business vision.
Next came the group ranked "Conservative," which consisted of 14 percent of companies. Those in this group are shy and reticent towards new technologies, but their executive has a vision and there's an appropriate tech governance structure in place.
Most companies -- 66 percent -- fell into the "Beginner" level. They use email and the web, along with enterprise software, but they've kept social media, analytics and other tools at arm's length, due to skepticism and a lack of a sense of urgency.
The "Digirati" benefit from their effective use of new technologies in various ways, including by delivering better customers experiences and engagement, streamlining operations and creating new business lines and models.
Even if their companies are considered laggards in this area, CEOs need to get their act together. "The only wrong move for executives, then, would be not making any move," the authors wrote.
Juan Carlos Perez covers enterprise communication/collaboration suites, operating systems, browsers and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Juan on Twitter at @JuanCPerezIDG.


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So this is it…the end of the Ramblings of a Remote worker blog. Now the time is here I'm not actually sure what to say! I guess thanks and goodbye are probably the main things! Here's a few photos from over the years to fill the space that words can't.
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With the takeover of health care and frenzied government growth front and center, many are wondering when we will – if we haven't already – reached a tipping point that fundamentally alters America. Much of what's been done is described as a temporary fix. However, as President Reagan noted, "There is nothing so permanent as a temporary government program."
With this reinvigorated discussion of how big is too big, it is worthwhile to remind Americans of just how massive the Federal government already was before our current woes began. There are few more striking measures of the government's size than the land mass of the Federal estate. The vast majority of federal lands fall within one of four agencies: the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Agriculture's US Forest Service. At over 258 million acres, the Bureau of Land Management alone is bigger than France and Germany combined. When combined with the other aforementioned agencies, the land area is equal that of ten European nations as shown in the accompanying graph (click it to see a larger version).


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Ezekiel Chapter 42 - King James Version of The Holy Bible
This chapter continues and concludes the describing and measuring of this mystical temple, which it is very hard to understand the particular architecture of, and yet more hard to comprehend the mystical meaning of. Here is, I. A description of the chambers that were about the courts, their situation and structure (v. 1–13), and the uses for which they were designed (v. 13, 14). II. A survey of the whole compass of ground which was taken up with the house, and the courts belonging to it (v. 15–20).
Verses 1-14
The prophet has taken a very exact view of the temple and the buildings belonging to it, and is now brought again into the outer court, to observe the chambers that were in that square.
I. Here is a description of these chambers, which (as that which went before) seems to us very perplexed and intricate, through our unacquaintedness with the Hebrew language and the rules of architecture at that time. We shall only observe, in general, 1. That about the temple, which was the place of public worship, there were private chambers, to teach us that our attendance upon God in solemn ordinances will not excuse us from the duties of the closet. We must not only worship in the courts of God's house, but must, both before and after our attendance there, enter into our chambers, enter into our closets, and read and meditate, and pray to our Father in secret; and a great deal of comfort the people of God have found in their communion with God in solitude. 2. That these chambers were many; there were three stories of them, and, though the higher stories were not so large as the lower, yet they served as well for retirement, v. 5, 6. There were many, that there might be conveniences for all such devout people as Anna the prophetess, who departed not from the temple night or day, Lu. 2:37. In my Father's house are many mansions. In his house on earth there are so; multitudes by faith have taken lodgings in his sanctuary, and yet there is room. 3. That these chambers, though they were private, yet were near the temple, within view of it, within reach of it, to teach us to prefer public worship before private (the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob, and so must we), and to refer our private worship to the public. Our religious performances in our chambers must be to prepare us for the exercises of devotion in public, and to further us in our improvement of them, as our opportunities are. 4. That before these chambers there were walks of five yards broad (v. 4), in which those that had lodgings in these chambers might meet for conversation, might walk and talk together for their mutual edification, might communicate their knowledge and experiences. For we are not to spend all our time between the church and the chamber, though a great deal of time may be spent to very good purpose in both. But man is made for society, and Christians for the communion of saints; and the duties of that communion we must make conscience of, and the privileges and pleasures of that communion we must take the comfort of. It is promised to Joshua, who was high priest in the second temple, that God will give him places to walk in among those that stand by, Zec. 3:7.
II. Here is the use of these chambers appointed, v. 13, 14. 1. They were for the priests that approach unto the Lord, that they may be always near their business and may not be non-residents. Therefore they are called holy chambers, because they were for use of those that ministered in holy things during their ministration. Those that have public work to do for God and the souls of men have need to be much in private, to fit themselves for it. Ministers should spend much time in their chambers, in reading, meditation, and prayer, that their profiting may appear; and they ought to be provided with conveniences for this purpose. 2. There the priests were to deposit the most holy things, those parts of the offerings which fell to their share; and there they were to eat them, they and their families, in a religious manner, for the place is holy; and thus they must make a difference between those feasts upon the sacrifice and other meals. 3. There (among other uses) they were to lay their vestments, which God had appointed them to wear when they ministered at the altar, their linen ephods, coats, girdles, and bonnets. We read of the providing of priests garments after their return out of captivity, Neh. 7:70, 72. When they had ended their service at the altar they must lay by those garments, to signify that the use of them should continue only during that dispensation; but they must put on other garments, such as other people wear, when they approached to those things which were for the people, that is, to do that part of their service which related to the people, to teach them the law and to answer their enquiries. Their holy garments must be laid up, that they may be kept clean and decent for the credit of their service.
Verses 15-20
We have attended the measuring of this mystical temple and are now to see how far the holy ground on which we tread extends; and that also is here measured, and found to take in a great compass. Observe, 1. What the dimensions of it were. It extended each way 500 reeds (v. 16–19), each reed above three yards and a half, so that it reached every way about an English measured mile, which, the ground lying square, was above four miles round. Thus large were the suburbs (as I may call them) of this mystical temple, signifying the great extent of the church in gospel-times, when all nations should be discipled and the kingdoms of the world made Christ's kingdoms. Room should be made in God's courts for the numerous forces of the Gentiles that shall flow into them, as was foretold, Isa. 49:18; 60:4. It is in part fulfilled already in the accession of the Gentiles to the church; and we trust it shall have a more full accomplishment when the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in and all Israel shall be saved. 2. Why the dimensions of it were made thus large. It was to make a separation, by putting a very large distance between the sanctuary and the profane place; and therefore there was a wall surrounding it, to keep off those that were unclean and to separate between the previous and the vile. Note, A difference is to be put between common and sacred things, between God's name and other names, between his day and other days, his book and other books, his institutions and other observances; and a distance is to be put between our worldly and religious actions, so as still to go about the worship of God with a solemn pause.
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bunion, swelling or thickening around the first joint of the big toe. The toe is forced inward and compresses the other toes. The fluid-filled sac, or bursa, in the toe joint becomes inflamed (a condition called bursitis), which may lead to pain, deformity, and an inability to wear ordinary shoes. Bunions may arise from years of wearing ill-fitting shoes. However, congenital bone deformities are usually indicated when they occur on both feet. Proper foot care, especially in selecting shoes, is the most important aspect of treatment and prevention. The toes can often be straightened by pads or splints, and orthopedic shoes are generally prescribed. Serious cases may require surgery.
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In yet another episode of truth is stranger than fiction, via translation from El Economista, I present "Venezuela President Calls for Protest March Against Fascism"
The president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, has again invited his people to take to the streets Saturday in a march "for peace and against fascism."
Mature blames his opponents for violence in recent demonstrations, in which there were three deaths last Wednesday.
The president stated that violent demonstrations are part of a plan to end its power, similar to what occurred recently in Ukraine.
Maduro is calling for a march of all social policies for peace and against fascism forces. "I call all the people of Caracas to join the protest march against fascism , against violence, against the coup," said the president.
Maduro made the remarks in a meeting with his Cabinet that could be followed on radio and television all Venezuelans. The President took the opportunity to launch an attack on the opposition, accusing it of organizing the violent events that have taken place this week in order to overthrow him.
He said that behind these movements are "the same financiers who live by their imperialist policy to penetrate, control the world."
Maduro said that justice will be done and those responsible will be caught "one by one " and called on the opposition to "take responsibility without blackmail, with courage."
Am I mistaken or did Venezuela president Nicolas Maduro just call for a protest march against himself?
Mike "Mish" Shedlock


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Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan, who's not just pretty, but pretty smart, epitomizes why the Miss America Pageant has value for young women. She was in Washington D.C. recently spreading the message of the Miss America Organization's advocacy for higher education for all women. Turns out The Miss America Organization is the largest provider of scholarships to women, $45 million every year (yes, you read that right). Teresa explains why the Miss America pageant has been so important to her in her op-ed which appeared in The Hill.
Young though she may be, 17 when she won this past January, she is wise beyond her years. Following a meeting with the Nebraska (her home state) delegation on Capitol Hill, Teresa had a substantive discussion with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, did an interview with The Hill newspaper, and then met with Rep. John Kline (R-MN), Chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, and Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) who is the ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
She rounded out the Congressional visits by attending the Congressional Correspondents Dinner, which honors journalists who cover Capitol Hill, where she was the guest of The Hill newspaper. Seated with Senators John Barrasso (R-WY) and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), she received a round of applause after a shout out from the podium.
She spoke with Jenny Yeager Kaplan, Deputy Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls, about the historical significance of the Miss America Organization as the largest provider of college scholarships and Miss America's advocacy to encourage all young women to pursue college education, specifically those interested in science, technology, engineering and math.
Tuesday, Miss America took her message directly to the children in a visit with students from Washington's Martin Luther King Elementary School. As Teresa concluded her events on Capitol Hill, she emphasized that the Miss America Organization is eager to work with Congress and the Obama Administration to help promote education initiatives nationally. Teresa believes that being Miss America means being a role model to young women across America, and advancing affordable and high-quality education for young women is a priority for her.


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In a 2005 article for "Development Journal," I attempted to explain why women pioneers in America needed to immediately fight for their rights. I wrote, "Contrary to the enduring misogynist portrayal of heroic males and submissive females, women were often more cunning and able than their strongest male counterparts. And for good reason. Their own government deemed them inconsequential. The Declaration of Independence never mentioned them. [It stated] 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men...'1
There is no mention of women, nor their rights, their equality or their liberty [in the 'Declaration of Independence']. From the instant the nation was founded, women fought for their independence and made their own declaration to fight."
Gratefully for me, coming of age two centuries later in the 1970's, women leaders were no longer an anomaly. In fact, three women in particular caught my eye.
The first was trail-blazing Manhattan Congresswoman, Bella Abzug, who took center stage in my political life. It was Bella Abzug, not Nancy Pelosi, who coined the phrase "this woman's place is in the House -- the House of Representatives," in her 1970 Congressional campaign. An unflinching opponent of the Vietnam War, Bella was a constant presence in New York media, featured almost daily on TV. My fellow New Yorkers saw her as fearless and outspoken. Some saw her as quirky and shrill. I just saw her as Bella, a woman leading the way.
Around the same time, another media darling ruled the airwaves in New York. Madame Golda Meir, the Iron Maiden Prime Minister of the nation state of Israel from 1969 through 1974. Golda's tenure was so replete with historical milestones, including the 1972 Israeli Olympic Team massacres and the 1973 Yom Kippur War, that she was a constant headliner in print and on TV. In 1970's pro-Israel New York, Golda was a major player on our stage.
Also at this time, the feminist movement enjoyed a meteoric rise, lead by dynamic Gloria Steinem. Buoyed by the 1972 launch of Ms. Magazine, the photogenic Ms. Steinem frequently dominated the news.
Needless to say, my formative years as a young woman activist filled me with expectations for a lifetime of equality, which as we now know, never came to fruition. The disparity in numbers between men and women in governing and leadership positions is evident, forcing the battle for equality to rage on. I'm thrilled Nancy Pelosi is Speaker of the House, but dismayed we have yet to have a woman President. Proud though I am of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm and Senator Carol Moseley Braun for valiantly daring to try.
Today, according to political watchers and pundits, money-men and mainstream media, the United States has its first formidable female contender for the Presidency of the United States. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton! As a politically active woman who desires equality in office, Mrs. Clinton's candidacy should rally my support. But sadly, it does not!
What rails me instead are Mrs. Clinton's frequent statements over the past four years in support of the War on Iraq. What ails me is her inconsistency. What angers me is her continued funding of the war. What infuriates me is the ease with which she sends young Americans to fight a war that can force them to kill or be killed. What saddens me is that Mrs. Clinton as a woman offers no more hope for peace than the supporters of this war who are men.
I've been against this war from the beginning. I can't imagine supporting a woman to lead this nation who knows less than I do about peace vs. war, and candor vs. pander.
Give me instead, direct-speaking, newly progressive John Edwards, who takes full responsibility for his mistake in supporting the war, desires open discussion with Bush's proclaimed enemies, admits to a potential tax raise to provide universal health care, supports unions, and vows to work for the working class.
And along with John, give America a truly great woman for the White House. Give us his wonderful wife, Elizabeth Edwards, who will instill in the White House the humanity and warmth it has lacked for so long. The Edwards are a masterful couple. They've weathered unfathomable personal tragedy with dignity, humanity and grace. Characteristics America sorely needs to restore its image at home and abroad.
Give me Barack and Michelle Obama. This past Tuesday evening I had the good fortune to see and hear Barack and Michelle Obama at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Yes, I was impressed with Senator Obama. He's charming, poised, thoughtful and highly intelligent. He'd be a popular, soothing leader, working hard to reset Bush's tainted world stage. Give me Barack. A child of the world who directed himself into an adulthood to be proud of.
Give me the Barack Obama described by Michelle Obama as a regular guy, "who can harness the energy in all of us and take us to greater places.... the Harvard Law Review, Constitutional law professor, best selling author, and Grammy winner..."
Compare that to the pre-Presidency accomplishments of the current President who was raised in one of the wealthiest families in America, only to drink away the first 40 years of his life. How dare people question Obama's experience? What I'd give for just five minutes of a Barack Obama/George W. Bush debate even after six years of Bush's "experience" in the highest office in the world.
And Michelle Obama. What an impressive woman. As powerful, charming and dynamic as her husband. A Harvard graduate, mother, dedicated wife and as she says, "a citizen" who wants the best for her country. What a White House the Obamas would have. A true House of the People from which to reconcile and re-engage the world.
We all know if Hillary is elected, she presides with Bill. They're a team. But a team with baggage. Hillary brings Bill. Bill brings the Bushes. Until Bill renounces the Bushes, the White House must be off limits to him.
Michelle and Barack Obama are also a team. As are Elizabeth and John Edwards. Barack succeeds better with Michelle. John succeeds better with Elizabeth. America benefits from both of their unions.
On Fox television this past January 30th, Rae Abileah, an impressive young spokeswoman for CODEPINK Women For Peace, appeared on the Hannity and Colmes show. Responding to a question from Alan Colmes about Hillary Clinton as a candidate, young Abileah stated, "I'd love to support Hillary Clinton as the first woman Presidential candidate for office. I'd love to vote for a woman for President but I can only do that if she becomes a woman of values and courage who can lead our country toward peace."
Transcending generations, younger women like Rae Abileah, along with older women like me, yearn for women leaders worthy of our support. But just being a woman isn't sufficient justification for support. As Rae so aptly stated, we need "a woman of values and courage who can lead our country toward peace." From my perspective, that woman is not Hillary Clinton.
And so Rae, myself and millions of women will wait for the right woman leader. Until such time that our proper woman President does come along, I have complete confidence that Michelle Obama or Elizabeth Edwards would be exceptional women occupants of the White House, sharing their gifts of leadership with our nation and the world.
For now, I can only hope that one of these two life partners will be the Number One Woman in the White House. My thanks to Mr. Obama and Mr. Edwards for giving Americans two fabulous First Ladies from which to choose!


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Online Banking News Stories, Photos & Videos from Popteen
National Bank of China: Business Banking Solutions and Monopoly Electronic Banking Instructions
National Bank of China performs the bank-wide data concentration project. Updates the new generation of comprehensive business system, and strengthens the development of electronic banking, especially of online banking. Its difference with overseas modern commercial banks is stably decreased in electronicalization construction
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Creative Technology Team for Online Banking Solutions. Because knowledge and intellectuals are respected in NBC, the National Bank of China has gathered a lot of excellent technological talents. All technological personnel are making great efforts to construct the NBC e-banking system in the new century.
Electronic Infrastructure and Online Banking ePayments: Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures
Solid Electronic Infrastructure and Online Banking ePayments: National Bank of China has greatly improved in processing capacity, and self-service and equipment has further improved, and intensive management has been in effect. 10,000 ATMs, more than 70,000 POSes, 80 new self-service banks, and 1.014 billion sums of monthly electronic business volumes.
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NBC has formulated production and operation management process, and strengthened the technological management. It has further strengthened the computer security of the National Bank of China, and finished the layout of the bank system and network security system, and performed the security and reformation project of the data center network of the head office.
Dynamics of Innovation in Online Banking and Financial Services
Online Banking and Financial Services Innovation Accelerated. National Bank of China has constructed the on-line banking system based on the tier-three network in this country, and realized account inquiry and management, fund remittance, online payment, bank securities accounts transfer and foreign exchange trading through Internet.
Comprehensive Business Systems Applications Based on Traditional Business Reformation and Modern Information Technology
Comprehensive business system is a large application software system of NBC, on the basis of traditional business reformation and modern information technology. National Bank of China has completely put into production in public systems and subsystems, and finished retail in subsystems of bank cards in some parts.
Internet Network System Increasingly Strengthened in Functions and Management
National Bank of China has formulated the construction scheme of tier-three network systems of the bank, and made the extension of tier-one network. National Bank of China starts the network monitoring control system project, to make effective management of the network system of the bank.
National Bank of China Improves Online Banking Software System Development
National Bank of China has developed the application system, which takes comprehensive business system, credit comprehensive management system and database application as predominance, and is at the highest position in financial industry.
National Bank of China: Data Center Centralization Pattern Gradually Established
Data center centralization pattern has gradually established in National Bank of China. The construction of centralized data center of the National Bank of China has been developing successfully. The host computer of data center runs smoothly, and the advantages of data centre centralization are gradually developing.
E-banking Platform: Information Form of Corporate Loan Account
E-banking Platform: Information Form of Corporate Loan Account. The corporate loan account includes the loan account of corporate branches. If the form is filled in, you can inquire the loan account of the corporate and the detailed information of the affiliated branches of Great China State Bank.