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 You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. ||||| After Girls writer and executive producer Murray Miller was accused of sexual assault by actress Aurora Perrineau, Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner issued a statement in support of their long-time co-worker, describing Perrineau’s accusation as “one of the 3 percent of assault cases that are misreported every year.” This prompted such outrage that Dunham and Konner issued a second statement apologizing for the first, and saying, “We regret this decision with every fiber of our being.”

 Now, a writer for Dunham’s Lenny Letter is publicly walking away from the online publication, citing what she calls the writer-actress-producer-activist’s “well-known racism.” Author Zinzi Clemmons says that she has known Dunham since their college years, and that the two share overlapping social circles. During that time, Clemmons says she “avoided those people like the plague because of their racism,” adding, “I’d call their strain ‘hipster-racism,’ which typically uses sarcasm as a cover.” She cites her relationship with her editors as the reason she has stayed at Lenny until now, but says that Dunham’s reaction to the accusations made by Perrineau pushed her to leave the newsletter. “As a result of Lena Dunham’s statements, I have decided that I will no longer write for Lenny Letter. For all you writers who are outraged about what she did, I encourage you to do the same. Especially women of color.” You can read Clemmons’s full statement below via Twitter.

 My statement on why I will no longer write for @lennyletter, and the behavior I witnessed firsthand from @lenadunham's friends.

 It is time for women of color--black women in particular--to divest from Lena Dunham. pic.twitter.com/dxOWCLhTpA — zinziclemmons (@zinziclemmons) November 19, 2017 ||||| We've detected that JavaScript is disabled in your browser. Would you like to proceed to legacy Twitter?

 Yes ||||| Writer Zinzi Clemmons, author of What We Lose, has announced that she will no longer be writing for Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner’s online feminist weekly newsletter Lenny Letter because, she says, of Dunham and her friends’ racism which was “well-known” prior to their fame. “She cannot have our words if she cannot respect us,” she writes.

 Because let’s take a step back, says Clemmons. She’s currently in Nigeria at a literary festival hearing stories from women who are “putting themselves in danger every day to help women in some of the worst conditions on earth.” She reminds us to consider the 26 Nigerian girls who drowned last week while being sex trafficked off the coast of Italy.

 With that in mind, here’s what she has to say about Dunham:

 Jemima Kirke was in my year at RISD while I was at Brown [Ed note: the campus is next door]. We had many mutual acquaintances and still do. Most of these acquaintances were like Lena–wealthy, with parents who are influential in the art world. They had a lot of power and seemed to get off on simultaneously wielding it and denying it. Back in college, I avoided these people like the plague because of their well-known racism. I’d call their strain “hipster racism”, which typically uses sarcasm as a cover, and in the end, it looks a lot like gaslighting– “It’s just a joke. Why are you overreacting?” is a common response to a lot of these statements. In Lena’s circle, there was a girl who was known to use the N word in conversation in order to be provocative, and if she was ever called on it, she would say “it’s just a joke.”

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 Clemmons adds that she was “horrified” to hear Aurora Perrineau’s accusation of sexual assault by Girls writer Murray Miller–which Dunham baselessly rejected–because it mirrored an assault a friend of hers experienced at the hands of another member of Lena’s circle. “I grew up middle class, with no family connections in the writing or art worlds, and my friend was from a similar background. We were powerless against them.”

 Her takeaway is sobering and obvious but invariably, relentlessly upstaged.

 Thank you. This is grounding. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Lena Dunham caused a stir last week when she and Girls co-creator Jenni Konner issued a statement defending a Girls writer from allegations of sexual assault against a teen. She has since apologized, but that didn't appease one of the writers for her Lenny e-newsletter. Per Vulture, Zinzi Clemmons issued a statement Sunday announcing she'll no longer work for Lenny and that it's because of Dunham's "well-known racism," which she also dubs "hipster racism." Meaning, in Clemmons' words, that the offender "typically uses sarcasm as a cover, and in the end it looks a lot like gaslighting—'It's just a joke. Why are you overreacting?'" Clemmons explains she feels comfortable saying this about Dunham, as she's known her since they were both in college, when Dunham and her rich friends "had a lot of power and seemed to get off on simultaneously wielding it and denying it." Clemmons adds that someone close to her was "victimized" back then by "someone in Lena's circle" and that he "continues to move in those circles and has a powerful job." She says she stayed at Lenny only because she had a good relationship with the editors there, but that now "it is time for women of color—black women in particular—to divest from Lena Dunham." Jezebel points out a string of other tweets Clemmons posted on the subject, including calling Dunham's online apology a "half-assed attempt to cover your ass." Clemmons also doesn't seem fazed by her detractors. "To all the haters, harassers and abusers creeping into my timeline, remember this: I brought down a major celebrity and her publication with one Facebook post. Try me," she tweeted early Monday.


Here is a news article: Watch the latest video at FoxNews.com

 Bill O'Reilly says Sandra Fluke has now become a major part of the Obama re-election campaign because he needs women to support him in November. ||||| Bill O'Reilly waded head-on into the furor surrounding Sandra Fluke, the law student called a "slut" by Rush Limbaugh for advocating for insurance coverage of contraception, on his Friday show, relentlessly attacking Fluke and echoing Limbaugh's argument that she simply wants taxpayers to pay for her sex life.

 Limbaugh — who also called Fluke a "prostitute," said that he wanted her to make sex tapes so he could watch, and told her her parents should be "embarrassed" by her — has been making similar claims all week, and has been condemned by politicians, pundits and even some of his own advertisers, who pulled their commercials from his show in the wake of his comments.

 None of this seemed to trouble O'Reilly, who, while not mentioning Limbaugh and while not making his points in quite the extreme way Limbaugh did, sided firmly with the radio host in excoriating Fluke.

 "Let me get this straight, Ms. Fluke, and I'm asking this with all due respect," he said. "You want me to give you my hard-earned money so you can have sex?" (Fluke is actually calling for her university's private insurance plan to cover birth control.)

 O'Reilly went on, saying that, since Fluke wanted society to cover her "activities," the government should also have subsidized his college football uniforms, since an injury might "cost society a lot." He also said that perhaps taxpayers should pay for gym memberships for men so they could stay physically fit.

 O'Reilly cast Fluke's viewpoints as an attack on American freedom, concluding that "the progressive colossus is demanding payment for Sandra Fluke so that she can go through Georgetown Law School with an active, healthy social life." |||||
A summary of this is?

– Fox man Bill O'Reilly is after Sandra Fluke again, claiming the "committed leftist" who wants him to fund her sex life is at the "center of a campaign to reelect" Barack Obama. "Let me get this straight, Ms. Fluke," said O'Reilly in an earlier program. "You want me to give you my hard-earned money so you can have sex? Good grief." In fact, Fluke wants her university health insurance (typically paid for by students) to cover birth control, as college health plans usually do if they're not affiliated with the Catholic church, notes the Huffington Post. "I don't want to pay for Sandra Fluke's recreation," said O'Reilly. "This is madness." Because "Obamacare mandates that I have to buy health insurance," my "premiums go up a small amount" to cover female contraception, he noted. He suggested that if Fluke wants her "activities" covered by health insurance, then the government should have subsidized his college football uniforms. O'Reilly and guest Bernie Goldberg rehashed their views yesterday, with Goldberg characterizing Fluke as the "poster person for the entitlement society." At least they didn't use the S word.


News article:

AUSTIN–The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that hospital-like structural requirements for Texas abortion clinics can go into effect, which will cause all but seven or eight clinics to shutter.

 This was the second challenge to the state’s 2013 law that also banned abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, mandated physicians to have hospital admitting privileges and tightened regulations on abortion-inducing drugs.

 The structural requirements include specific room and doorway sizes, air sterilization systems, backup generators and blood supplies on hand. Abortion providers say the requirements are unnecessary and won’t add to the safety of the procedure.

 In June of 2013, before the law passed, there were 40 abortion clinics in Texas. Now there are 17, only seven of which meet the building standards upheld by the court. Each of the remaining clinics are within the Austin, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio metropolitan areas.

 The court made an exception for Whole Woman’s Health in McAllen, which won’t be required to meet all of the building requirements or gain admitting privileges for one doctor.

 The 5th Circuit earlier upheld the provisions requiring doctors at abortion clinics to obtain admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and the regulations that mandate where and when a woman can take abortion-causing pills. At the time, the court said the provision did not impose an “undue burden” on women because they were still within driving distance of clinics.

 “Not since before Roe v. Wade has a law or court decision had the potential to devastate access to reproductive health care on such a sweeping scale,” said Nancy Northup, CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which sued the state on behalf of several abortion clinics, in an emailed statement Tuesday. ||||| AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal appeals court upheld key parts of Texas's strict anti-abortion law on Tuesday, a decision that could leave as few as seven abortion clinics in the nation's second largest state.

 The decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds requirements that abortion clinics meet hospital-level operating standards, which owners of small clinics say demand millions of dollars in upgrades they can't afford and will leave many women hundreds of miles away from an abortion provider. But the court said abortion clinics failed to prove that the restrictions would unduly burden a "large fraction" of women.

 Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and other conservatives say the standards protect women's health. But abortion-rights supports say the law is a thinly veiled attempt to block access to abortions in Texas, and they promised to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which temporarily sidelined the law last year.

 "Not since before Roe v. Wade has a law or court decision had the potential to devastate access to reproductive health care on such a sweeping scale," said Nancy Northrop, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights.

 Texas will be able to start enforcing the restrictions in about three weeks unless the Supreme Court steps in and temporarily halts the decision, said Stephanie Toti, an attorney for the center. Only seven abortion facilities in Texas, including four operated by Planned Parenthood, meet the more robust requirements.

 The ruling, made by a three-judge panel, is the 5th Circuit's latest decision in a lawsuit challenging some of the toughest abortion restrictions in the country.

 The New Orleans-based court — considered one of the most conservative in the nation — allowed Texas to enforce the restrictions when abortion providers first sued in 2013, but the U.S. Supreme Court put the law on hold last year and ordered the 5th Circuit to reconsider.

 Texas currently has about 17 abortion providers, down from 40 clinics in 2012. That sharp decline began after the 5th Circuit upheld another part of the 2013 law that required doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.

 Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a strong supporter of the law, praised the court's latest ruling.

 "Abortion practitioners should have no right to operate their businesses from sub-standard facilities and with doctors who lack admitting privileges at a hospital," Paxton said.

 Under the new restrictions, the only remaining abortion facilities in Texas would be in major cities. One exception would be in McAllen, near the Texas-Mexico border, which the 5th Circuit exempted from some restrictions — but Toti said even those exemptions are so limited that it may not be practical to keep that McAllen clinic open.

 But for women in El Paso, the closest abortion provider in Texas would require a 1,200-mile round trip to San Antonio, or they would have to cross the border into New Mexico.

 The appeals court found that option suitable, noting that a clinic was just across the border in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The court also said abortion clinics failed to show that most women would be unconstitutionally burdened by the law.

 "Although the nearest abortion facility in Texas is 550 miles away from El Paso, there is evidence that women in El Paso can travel the short distance to Santa Teresa to obtain an abortion and, indeed, the evidence is that many did just that," the court wrote in a 56-page opinion.

 Attorneys for the state dismissed opponents' arguments about women being burdened by fewer abortion facilities, saying that nearly 9 in 10 women in Texas would still live within 150 miles of a provider.

 A new slate of conservative leaders in Texas has vowed to continue stifling abortion-rights efforts. George P. Bush, the son of expected 2016 presidential hopeful Jeb Bush and nephew of former President George W. Bush, made an anti-abortion rally at the Capitol his first public event since being sworn in as land commissioner, along with Abbott's wife, Cecilia.

 ___

 Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– An appellate court ruling today means that women in rural Texas may have a long drive on their hands if they plan to get an abortion. The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the state's new rules, which essentially require clinics to have hospital-level building codes, reports the Dallas Morning News. (Think room and doorway sizes, air-sterilization systems, etc.) Prior to today's ruling, the state had 17 abortion clinics—down from 40 in 2013—but only seven of them currently meet the requirements. An eighth, in McAllen near the Mexican border, was granted limited exemptions. Barring a move by the Supreme Court, the state can begin enforcing the new rules in about three weeks, reports AP. Except for McAllen, those that would remain open are in major cities. A woman in El Paso would have to make a 1,300-mile round trip to San Antonio or cross the border into Mexico, and the AP notes the court found the latter option OK. "Although the nearest abortion facility in Texas is 550 miles away from El Paso, there is evidence that women in El Paso can travel the short distance to Santa Teresa (in Mexico) to obtain an abortion and, indeed, the evidence is that many did just that," the court wrote.


Dallas Mavericks guard J.J. Barea juggles for a photo during an NBA basketball team media day in Dallas, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

 J.J. Barea has done whatever he can to raise money for the hurricane relief efforts in his native Puerto Rico.

 What he had not done until Sunday is talk to his parents.

 He finally got through to them and found out they were safe, although the devastation in his home country is unfathomable.

 "They're OK," Barea said Monday. "But it's still rough there."

 He said he's hoping to either bring his parents to Dallas or go visit and help family and friends sometime in the near future. ||||| DALLAS -- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban loaned the team plane to point guard J.J. Barea to transport food, water and supplies to Barea's native Puerto Rico to aid in the recovery from Hurricane Maria.

 Barea left Monday afternoon and plans to return Tuesday night, missing the first day of Mavs training camp.

 "I was really proud of J.J. and how quickly he got involved and how hard he worked to make all of this happen," Cuban told ESPN in a text message.

 "That's a situation that he's got to take care of," coach Rick Carlisle said. "Mark gave him our team plane. They loaded up a bunch of stuff, supplies, etc., to take over to Puerto Rico, and they're going to turn around and come back. He's going to take his mom and grandmother back with him, and my understanding is his dad is going to stay over there and slug it out with all of the recovery efforts."

 Barea, the NBA's only active player who is a native Puerto Rican, did not have any communication with his parents until Sunday. He quickly made plans for his trip home after communicating with family and figuring out where help was needed most.

 Barea and his wife, Viviana Ortiz, a Puerto Rican actress and model, organized an online fundraiser after Hurricane Maria devastated their homeland last Wednesday, when it hit Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm with 155 mph winds. The storm caused major flooding and knocked out electricity and phone service throughout the island, much of which is expected to be without power for months.

 Barea's fundraiser has generated more than $140,000. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– It usually carries very tall men from city to city across the continental US, but the Dallas Mavericks team plane made an important detour to Puerto Rico ahead of the team's first day of training camp Tuesday. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban gave the thumbs up for the plane to fly food, water, and other supplies to the hurricane-ravaged island Monday at the request of Mavericks point guard and native Puerto Rican JJ Barea, who also made the trip, reports ESPN. It came only a day after Barea was able to communicate with his family on the island for the first time since Hurricane Maria wrought havoc last week. Barea, 33, told the Dallas Morning News Monday that his family is safe, "but it's still rough there." Barea—who has already raised $140,000 for recovery efforts together with his wife, Viviana Ortiz, a former Miss Universe Puerto Rico—planned to return to Dallas with his mother and grandmother on Tuesday, said Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle. "That's a situation that he's got to take care of," Carlisle told ESPN. "I was really proud of JJ and how quickly he got involved and how hard he worked to make all of this happen," Cuban added. In a similar move, rapper Pitbull used his private plane to get cancer patients out of Puerto Rico so they could undergo chemotherapy, reports the New York Daily News. "Thank God we're blessed to help. Just doing my part," Pitbull said Tuesday. (Jennifer Lopez is also helping out.)


– Weird news from the land of Charlie Sheen: The troubled actor has managed to irk a group of 9/11 truthers, which is now threatening to protest in front of his live shows. Members of the 9/11 Truth Movement, who believe 9/11 was a conspiracy, feel Sheen has betrayed them. Sheen was once very vocal about his belief in the truther movement (he said the World Trade Center collapse looked like a "controlled demolition"), but instead of "asking hard questions about what happened on 9/11 and the resulting wars," a member tells TMZ, Sheen has been "bragging about smoking crack and sleeping with hookers." In other Sheen-related news from TMZ, ex Brooke Mueller is back in rehab after a weeklong binge, having refused a drug test and engaged in some other strange behavior—click here for more.

Expand this summary.

Charlie Sheen Enrages 9/11 Conspiracy Group

 A group of 9/11 conspiracy theorists are threatening to protest in front of Charlie Sheen 's live shows ... all because they feel the actor has betrayed them.In case you forgot, Sheen was VERY outspoken about his belief that 9/11 was a conspiracy -- and famously remarked how the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings looked like a "controlled demolition."Now, Mark Dice, a prominent member of The 9/11 Truth Movement, tells us his fellow conspiracy theorists are pissed -- because they feel Charlie has abandoned their cause.Mark tells us Charlie should be "asking hard questions about what happened on 9/11 and the resulting wars ... not bragging about smoking crack and sleeping with hookers."Mark says he's reached out to Charlie -- to no avail -- but he tells us if Charlie doesn't address the issue soon, he and several theorists will protest in front of Sheen's upcoming shows. ||||| Sorry, the page you requested was not found.

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Article:
The subtitle for Cheryl Strayed’s memoir Wild is “From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail”. For those not familiar with the story, Strayed finds herself on a course of self-destructive behavior which she attempts to redirect by hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. The not-too-subtle implication here is that for those whose have made poor life decisions and whose are on a path of recklessness, then just go hike a long distance trail and everything will work out. In Cheryl Strayed’s case, it seems to have. She overcame arriving underprepared, with a lack of any real wilderness experience, and a seriously overloaded pack to hike over 1000 miles.

 Then Strayed wrote a remarkably candid book about the events leading up to her hike. The success of her story has made her a respected author and a wealthy woman. However for others that follow her strategy of deliberate ineptitude, things might not turn out so well.

 Some enthusiasts of the trail fear that in the coming years, the PCT will become crowded with so many other ‘lost souls’, seeking some answer to their troubles by hiking 30 miles a day. While the trail is certainly open to all who wish to tackle its challenges, those that choose to arrive unprepared can quickly find themselves in situations on the trail that begin to negatively affect others, as well as the trail environment.

 In the backcountry, hikers expect each other to be mostly self-reliant and follow a standard of leave-no-trace. In town, the actions of one hiker can affect the standing of all hikers who pass through the community. An influx of inexperienced, and often careless wanderers may invariably add strain to the fragile natural and human resources on which hikers rely.

 Likewise even some experienced hikers are often responsible for inappropriate behavior and the resulting often sour reputation of salty hiker trash. It is important for all hikers to recognize their impact on campsites, restaurants, laundromats, stores and post offices and remember to act as ambassadors of the trail.

 Hiking for Salvation

 The Latin phrase solvitur ambulando is occasionally invoked by thru-hikers. It means “it is solved by walking”, and the concept recognizes that many of life’s previously big issues can melt away when we focus simply on hiking every day. By extension, it is understandable how a multi-month thru-hike can be viewed as a life-changing, often cathartic experience. All hikers certainly finish a big a hike changed person. Hiking is an experience that affects us for life.

 However hikers desperate to ‘find themselves’ often embark on such a challenging journey from a mindset of ineptitude, rather than competence. This mentality of deliberate helplessness often leads to on-trail actions that can serve to endanger themselves and the trail environment, and negatively affect the experience of other hikers with whom they share the trail.

 While the trail is certainly a place to learn and grow, setting out on a long hike deliberately unprepared, while hoping to find some ultimate redemption is an undertaking for the foolhardy. Our advice to would-be hikers: Grow a spine first. Then get out there and hike the PCT. ||||| More hikers are expected on the Pacific Crest Trail this year thanks to the movie "Wild," according to the Pacific Crest Trail Association, which preserves and promotes the trail.

 The book "Wild," which has been a best-seller for nearly two years, led to a small increase in inquiries about the trail, "but the movie seems to have had a much bigger effect," said Jack Haskel, trail information specialist for the Pacific Crest Trail Association. "This past December, compared to last year, our website traffic went up 300 percent."

 Requests have also increased for permits for long-distance hikes on the trail.

 The PCT starts near Campo, California, outside San Diego at the Mexican border, and stretches 2,650 miles (4,264 kilometers) through California, Oregon and Washington. It ends in Washington's remote Pasayten Wilderness at the Canadian border.

 Since the 1950s, only 3,346 people have reported hiking the entire length of the trail, but that number has been rising each year — even before the book and movie brought more attention to the trail.

 When Haskel through-hiked the PCT in 2006, 300 people set off to walk the entire route, and about 120 completed it. In 2014, more than 1,000 hikers attempted a through-hike, and about half made it.

 Cheryl Strayed, author of "Wild," hiked 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers) of the trail as she recovered from drug abuse, divorce and her mother's death. Reese Witherspoon received an Oscar nomination for best actress for her portrayal of Strayed. Laura Dern was nominated for best supporting actress as Strayed's loving, free-spirit mother.

 "'Wild' is the largest media event ever for the PCT and millions are hearing about it now and are being inspired," Haskel said.

 Both the book and film offer a realistic look at the challenges and rewards of the trek. Strayed ran out of drinking water, slogged through snow and rain, and bloodied her feet in hiking boots a size too small. She had a few frightening encounters with people she met along the way, but also experienced kinship and kindness. Ultimately the trail's serenity and natural beauty helped heal her damaged soul.

 There are no comprehensive statistics on female PCT hikers, but anecdotal observations suggest more women are hitting the trail, too, from fewer than 10 percent of hikers in past years to 30 percent now, Haskel said.

 "There are definitely more women out hiking," Haskel said. "I hear from women who are inspired by 'Wild.' And who knows what this season will bring."

 Hikers hoping to do the whole trail typically start in April or May and end in September, walking more than 20 miles (32 kilometers) a day for five months, with a day off now and then to recuperate and re-supply. Timing is critical: Start too early in the spring and you face flooded creeks and snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains. End too late in the season and you'll hit snow in the Northern Cascade mountains.

 In addition to endurance and careful planning, long-distance hikers also need to think about money. A through-hike can easily cost $6,000, including the flight to San Diego, food for five months and gear like maps, backpack, sleeping bag and tent. "People who head out with $3,000 often find they're running out of money," Haskel said. Through-hikers also typically wear out four or five pairs of trail-running shoes, which are the preferred footgear these days, rather than the boots that caused Strayed agony when she hiked the PCT in 1995.

 But you don't have to hike long distances to enjoy the PCT. You can go for a few hours, a day or an overnight. The PCTA website recommends many popular, accessible options, including Mount Baden Powell near Los Angeles; Mount Rainier and Goat Rocks near Seattle; and the Cascade Locks and Bridge of the Gods near Portland, Oregon, where a scene in the movie was shot.

 The PCTA has also launched a campaign, with Strayed's support, using the hashtag #responsiblywild to promote safety and "leave no trace" practices. Those include protecting water quality, burying human waste, packing out trash and building safe campfires.

 "There are a whole lot of people that are going to be inspired to hit the PCT because of 'Wild' and we really care about making sure that people are traveling safely," Haskel said.

 And stay tuned for Hollywood's next hiking movie when "A Walk in the Woods" comes out later this year starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte. If "Wild" touched your heart, this one may tickle your funny bone: It's based on Bill Bryson's entertaining book about two middle-aged, out-of-shape buddies attempting to walk the 2,189-mile (3,522-kilometer) Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine.

  ||||| Does the PCT have an overcrowding problem? Photo: Pete Brook

 Hiking the PCT: 2016 I set out in April on a six-month trek north along the 2,650-mile trail. I'll be filing dispatches every two weeks. Follow my journey here.

 You can’t talk about the Pacific Crest Trail without mentioning the crowds. For the first 55 years on record, starting in 1952, the most thru-hikers to attempt the full trail, starting at the Mexican border, where I started, was 300, in 2006. But in the past decade—and particularly the last four years, since the release of Cheryl Strayed's Wild—the numbers have spiked.

 So far, in 2016, more than 4,000 long-distance hiking permits have been issued. Not all of them are for hikers who plan to walk fully from Mexico-Canada. A few hundred of the permits will be for section-hikers taking on a 500-mile-plus trek. A few hundred more are for hikers heading out at other times of the calendar year. Still, if you look at the permit sign-up page on the Pacific Crest Trail Association’s (PCTA) website, you’ll see that throughout the eight-week-ish window (approximately mid-March to mid-May) the full quota of 50 permits per day are taken. So there’s 3,000 people attempting the Northbound thru-hike. Furthermore, a few hundred hikers will be heading Southbound between July and November. (The tougher, so-called "SoBo" itinerary is becoming more and more popular in the face of the hordes hiking north.)

 While the PCTA has issued permits for many years, the current permit system—with its 50 permits per day cap—was only introduced in 2015. As a direct response to the spike in numbers, the main aim of the quota system is to spread the number of hikers out and mitigate wear on the trail and environmental damage. This is especially important in the desert environments that dominate the first 700 miles.

 “Deserts are fragile ecosystems. They’re more susceptible to damage and when damage occurs, it lasts longer,” says U.S. Forest Service volunteer Jules Fijolek. “If damage became significant, we’d think about putting in shelters like on the Appalachian Trail. We’re actually trying to avoid that, but the idea is not off the table.”

 In addition to the environmental impact—degraded vegetation, establishment of new camp spots, human waste, etc—there are also real financial costs to essential services. More hikers means more helicopter evacuations and searches. Fijolek says there had already been 20 rescues by April 26. All were in the first 50 miles.

 It’s tough to put a number on exactly how many hikers use the trail during any given period. According to the PCTA, the maximum number of allowable hikers of 50 per day headed out from the Mexican border during the high season in 2015, and 2,800 long-distance permits were issued that year. Of those, approximately 1,200 made it to Canada, Fijolek says.

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 Numbers for this year aren’t available yet—“We’re still in a data collection phase,” says Fijolek—but judging by logbooks and my own observations, we’re close to the 50-hiker-per-day capacity again.

 So far as I can tell, the desired dispersal is working. But it may not hold up as more and more thru-hikers pile on and the only thing delineating when a permitted hiker may hit the trail is the honor system. For a long time, the hiker community, trail angels, and the PCTA were reluctant to adopt a formalized sign-up for what is essentially a wild experience. Stretching back to at least 2004, according to trail angel Donna Saufley, the trail community has been discussing increased numbers, pressures, bottlenecks, and community-led management. But sheer numbers eventually forced the adoption of the current top-down administration of permits.

 No one wants to envision a day when hikers are denied the opportunity to walk. The PCT is a crucible of challenge, change, reconnection, and reinvention. It’s an endeavor open to everyone: it’s call has never come with caveat or exemptions. So even the smallest of restrictions on numbers would be a blow to the spirit of the trail.

 In Warner Springs (mile 110) I met Rusty, 71, who did the thru-hike in 2003. Every year since, he has departed from the Southern Terminus with the plan to hike as far as feels good. Sometimes Rusty makes it 100 miles, sometimes 1,000. In any case, he misses the quieter days.

 “Sometimes, “ he said, “I’d like to hike without seeing a line of ants all the way to Canada.” |||||Summary:

– Hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail can expect to encounter harsh-but-beautiful landscapes, extreme fatigue, and—these days, at least—traffic. "You can’t talk about the Pacific Crest Trail without mentioning the crowds," Pete Brook writes for Outside. He should know: Brook currently is trekking the 2,650-mile PCT, which runs from the Mexican border through California, Oregon, and Washington to the border with Canada. But don't take his word for it: The Pacific Crest Trail Association so far this year has issued more than 4,000 permits to people planning on tackling at least 500 miles of the trail. To put things in perspective: 300 people attempted to complete the entire PCT in 2006, according to the AP, with about 120 of those making it. In 2014, 1,000 people set off and about half completed the trail. More traffic means more stress on the land, more improperly disposed of poop, and more inexperienced hikers requiring rescue. So what's with the increase in traffic over the past few years? You can thank Cheryl Strayed and her enormously popular memoir-turned-major-motion-picture Wild. After the book came out in 2012, there was a small increase in interest in the trail, the PCTA's Jack Haskel told the AP in 2015. But after the movie, starring Reese Witherspoon, was released in 2014, interest in the PCT exploded. "Millions are hearing about it now and are being inspired," Haskel said. Strayed, more or less unprepared for the journey, hiked 1,100 miles of the trail as a form of therapy as she grappled with personal demons. "However for others that follow her strategy of deliberate ineptitude, things might not turn out so well," writes DontHikeLikeWild.org. "Our advice to would-be hikers: Grow a spine first. Then get out there and hike the PCT." (This female hiker is the "biggest badass you've never heard of.")


Image copyright Posti Image caption Postal workers have volunteered to take part in the lawn-mowing initiative

 Finland's postal service will be doing more than just delivering letters and parcels this summer - its workers will be mowing lawns, too.

 The state-owned Posti company is offering a weekly grass cutting service, with customers able to choose either 30 minutes or 60 minutes of lawn-mowing time, the national broadcaster Yle reports. It will only be available on Tuesdays, though, as the volume of post tends to be lighter than on other days, and customers will have to provide their own lawnmower. They'll also have to be willing to pay 65 euro (£51; $73) a month for the half-hour sessions.

 Posti has been looking for ways to tackle a falling demand for its mail services in recent years. Earlier this month it announced that delivery times would be extended into the evenings when people are usually at home.

 According to Anu Punola, a manager at the company, venturing into the world of gardening was a grassroots idea which came from postal workers themselves. "We have genuinely tried to find services that would make people's lives easier," she says, adding that staff have volunteered to take part in the initiative. It will be available nationwide between May and August.

 At least one organisation isn't happy about the plan, though. The Real Estate Employers group, which represents property maintenance companies, says it's concerned that postal workers don't have the right skills. "Using power-driven machinery and equipment requires a certain expertise," says managing director Pia Gramen. "It is hard to believe that just anyone can start to cut lawns."

 Next story: Norway minister's Med stunt backfires

 Use #NewsfromElsewhere to stay up-to-date with our reports via Twitter. ||||| Posti offers its new home services to the South Karelia Social and Health Care District

 11.02.2016

 Posti has launched the first municipal cooperation within Posti's new home services with the South Karelia Social and Health Care District Eksote. During the 12-month pilot, Posti's employees will help Eksote's home care clients as well as clients using services for the disabled in their daily lives as part of meal or mail delivery. Eksote's aim in combining home care with Posti's services is to improve its clients' ability to function and quality of life at home.

 Eksote wants to make the support its clients need for coping at home as easily and flexibly available as possible. Posti's network of professionals reaches both densely and sparsely populated areas every weekday, which helps municipalities to provide support in the client's home.

 - All our clients have their individual needs and ways of life, which means that the services must be customizable. Receiving help from Posti's employee for daily tasks to complement home care will mean stronger support networks for our clients. The feedback from our clients has been positive. Many of our clients already know Posti's employees from meal and mail delivery, says Taina Jaako, Director of Care at Eksote.

 - Posti's task is to help clients with their daily chores during the visit, to talk to them, and to notify Eksote of any exceptions. Combining home services with Posti's other operations - meal deliveries or mail delivery - is a natural choice. Posti can arrange even short visits cost-effectively, Tiina Tapionlinna, Project Director at Posti says.

 Posti helps with daily chores, Eksote provides care

 Posti's employees will perform specific, predefined tasks. Depending on the client's needs, these could include warming up meals, assisting in eating, and other forms of support for everyday life. Eksote's employees are responsible for health care and other tasks that require competence in social or health care.

 - In the care for the elderly, helping the clients with their everyday chores is a major part of the work of home care providers, and the contract with Posti will give us more resources for this. The aging of the population will increase the need for services provided in homes. For Eksote's clients in services for the disabled, Posti creates added value through an improved sense of security, by having someone visit the clients between the visits by our professionals, Merja Heinonen, Service Manager at Eksote says.

 Posti's home services are available for clients selected by Eksote in Ylämaa, Savitaipale and Rautjärvi. Posti has years of experience in cooperation with municipal home care in the form of meal deliveries.

 Posti's employees are always near

 As digitalization is decreasing the volume of traditional mail, Posti is investing in developing its business in services related to care, security, housekeeping, and property management. Posti's network of professionals and our transport fleet cover the entire country, and they can be used for the benefit of companies, cities and consumer customers in many ways in addition to the delivery of mail and meals. Posti reaches 2.8 million households every weekday.

 Posti has launched a trial with Securitas on alarm and security services in Muhos and Ylivieska. The trial will last for this spring. In Oulu, Posti has launched a pilot project, during which Posti's mail deliverers visit the homes of elderly clients. The deliverer meets the elderly client and informs their family member of how the person was feeling that day. In addition, Posti is planning to extend its services to housekeeping and property management.

 Posti Group is your first choice in postal, logistics, and e-commerce services. We manage the flow of commerce and everyday life in nine countries. Our net sales in 2014 amounted to EUR 1.859 billion. We employ approximately 23,000 professionals who serve our customers in Finland under the name Posti and in other countries under the name Itella. All of our services in Finland are carbon neutral. www.posti.com.

 South Karelia Social and Health Care District (Eksote) provides health, family, social, and elderly services that promote people's health, well-being, and ability to function. Eksote makes service agreements with the municipalities, based on the service need of the population. Eksote is a joint municipal authority that comprises nine municipalities: Imatra, Lappeenranta, Lemi, Luumäki, Parikkala, Rautjärvi, Ruokolahti, Savitaipale, and Taipalsaari. The population served by Eksote is approximately 133,000. The services produced by Eksote include outpatient care, oral health care, mental health care and substance abuse services, laboratory and imaging examination services, medicinal care, rehabilitation services, hospital services, family services, social services for adults, special services for the disabled, and flexible services for the elderly that are adaptable to the needs and age structure of the population. Eksote includes the South Karelia health care district and the South Karelia special care district. ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.

 Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.

 This summer, Posti will mow your lawn for you

 21.04.2016

 Posti's online shop will soon accept orders for a new lawn mowing service. The service will be performed in conjunction with mail delivery on Tuesdays and it will be available in one-month packages. The first date the service can be performed is May 17, and the service will be available until the end of August.

 Posti has developed new home-delivered services to add more work to mail delivery operations. Traditional mail volumes are falling, but mail routes nevertheless reach some 2.8 households on every weekday. Posti's new home services will see it transform increasingly into a service company.

 "Lawn mowing is the first home service that consumers can order from Posti. We will pilot the service this summer throughout the country. The idea for the lawn mowing service came from mail delivery employees. We believe many customers will be happy to outsource lawn mowing when we make it convenient for them to do so," says Anu Punola, Director at Posti.

 Orders for lawn mowing services will be taken into account in the planning of mail delivery routes. The service will be offered on Tuesdays due to the lower volume of advertisements and publications distributed on that day. The service will be performed using the customer's lawn mower and within the time estimated by the customer. In the event of rain on the day of intended service delivery, the lawn will be mowed at another time.

 "Posti hopes Finland will see great weather this summer and that our customers enjoy the hottest time of the year. This summer, we invite you to rely on our nationwide network of professionals to help you maintain your lawn," Punola adds.

 Mail delivery employees are close to customers

 The work of mail delivery employees has become increasingly diverse. With extensive experience of meal delivery, Posti currently delivers some two million meals to Finnish homes annually. As part of the development of new home services, Posti is also partnering with the South Karelia Social and Health Care District Eksote in the provision of home care and services for people with disabilities by assisting customers with eating and daily chores. Posti is also partnering with Securitas to perform security services in a pilot being conducted in the Finnish towns of Muhos and Ylivieska.

 Lawn mowing service is tax-deductible for domestic costs

 Orders for lawn mowing services can be placed via Posti's online shop at posti.fi/ruohonleikkaus. The payment methods accepted by the online shop are online banking and credit cards. Customers should also note that the service is tax-deductible for domestic costs.

 Service prices:

 30 minutes every Tuesday, EUR 65/month

 60 minutes every Tuesday, EUR 130/month

 Posti's lawn mowing service can be ordered in May for the last two weeks of the month. The price will be half of the monthly price. Orders for the lawn mowing service must be placed no later than one week before the start of the next calendar month. Customers will receive an e-mail confirmation of their order and a reminder message on the day before the lawn mowing service is performed. ||||| Image: Posti

 Starting in May, Finnish residents will no longer receive garden variety mail services, as the postal delivery company Posti moves to introduce a new grass cutting service.

 In a statement released Thursday, Posti said that customers will be able to order the service from next week, although postal workers won’t begin tending lawns until May.

 The lawn maintenance service will be available with mail delivery on Tuesdays. The company explained the choice of service time by noting that mail volumes on Tuesday are typically lower than on other days. Customers will be able to order the weekly half-hour trim for a monthly fee of 65 euros.

 Posti: Idea came from the ground up

 The idea for the grassroots service came from Posti mail carriers, according to director Anu Punola. She pointed out that Posti is in a period of transition caused by falling mail volumes. The firm also field-tested the idea on consumers.

 "We have genuinely tried to find services that would make people’s lives easier," she added.

 Punola noted that mail carriers can volunteer to tend customers’ lawns and added that supervisors have determined which employees are willing to pitch in.

 "We have been able to find volunteers," Punola commented and said other services are in the works. She would not reveal what the company has up its sleeve, but said the ideas must be competitive.

 Consumers will be able to purchase the new service for one-month periods and mail carriers will actually begin tackling lawns from May 17. The service will close at the end of August.

 Postal workers won’t carry lawnmowers on the job, so customers must have one on hand. In the event of rain, the service will be postponed. |||||

Write a summary.

– The USPS isn't the only woebegone postal service. Things are bad enough in Finland that the state-owned Posti is getting into ... lawn care. Under the new program, which begins next month, postal workers will mow residents' lawns each Tuesday, when mail volumes are typically lower, broadcaster Yle reports. Interested Finns can go online to order the service, which will run from May 17 through August. A weekly 30-minute cut will cost about $74 a month, and homeowners must provide the mower. In a press release, Posti head Anu Punola says she anticipates that people will be "happy to outsource lawn mowing," adding that the idea came from the mail carriers themselves. Last year, Posti reported losses of about $85 million, per the Atlantic, with delivery volumes down to 1960s levels. Nonetheless, Posti says, mail service is provided to 2.8 million households and "new home services will see it transform increasingly into a service company." Indeed, the Atlantic notes Posti launched a 12-month pilot program in February where, in partnership with a health-services company, postal workers will visit the homes of people with disabilities and do light chores, like warming up meals and helping with eating. "Posti's network of professionals reaches both densely and sparsely populated areas every weekday," points out a press release. As for the mowing, some are grumbling. The BBC reports a group that represents property maintenance companies is concerned postal workers don't have the "expertise" to operate lawnmowers, adding, "It is hard to believe that just anyone can start to cut lawns."


News article:

An attack in 2012 by a swan toppled a Des Plaines man’s kayak, sending him plunging into the water of a retention pond. The aggressive swan, which had been nesting, continued to lunge at the man as he attempted to swim to shore.

 He never made it.

 Anthony Hensley, 37, a father of two daughters from Villa Park, drowned April 14, 2012, at the Bay Colony condominium complex near Golf Road in unincorporated Maine Township.

 The case re-emerged this week when Hensley’s widow on Tuesday filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against the property management companies that owned and operated the complex.

 The bizarre event left his family heartbroken and residents of the condominium complex without a regular in the community.

 Hensley was a frequent visitor at the complex, where he was in charge of tending to the mute swans, which had been brought in to control the geese. He often brought his kayak and sometimes his dog to feed and care for the birds.

 Amy Hensley’s lawsuit says the negligence of the companies, as well as the homeowners and condominium associations, caused her husband’s death. The companies “should have known the swans are strongly territorial with a dangerous propensity to attack,” according to the lawsuit.

 Hensley is seeking at least $50,000 in damages. Her attorney did not return messages seeking comment.

 A spokesman for Hillcrest Property Management Inc., one of the companies named in the lawsuit, declined to comment. The other companies named as defendants, Bay Colony Properties and the condo and homeowners associations there, could not be reached for comment. The Bay Colony complex is at 9501 Bay Colony Drive, south of Golf Road and adjacent to Interstate 294.

 Anthony Hensley worked for North Barrington-based Knox Swan and Dog, which places the birds in ponds as deterrents to geese. That company is not a part of the lawsuit.

 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened an investigation into Hensley’s death and found no violations on the part of Knox Swan, spokesman Scott Allen said. The case is considered closed. In order for OSHA to investigate, there must be a employee-employer relationship, Allen said, and the property management companies were not part of the probe.

 The lawsuit contends the property companies kept a pair of mute swans at the complex to control the goose population and should be held liable for “knowingly keeping dangerous animals on the premises.”

 Anthony Hensley did nothing to provoke the swans prior to the attack, according to the lawsuit.

 Dive crews needed to search the 50-foot-deep pond to locate Hensley, who was pronounced dead at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

 poconnell@chicagotribune.com

 Twitter @pmocwriter

 RELATED: Man dies after being pulled from pond in Des Plaines » ||||| Stop Feeding Them

 Set Up a Decoy

 Make Water Unattractive

 Scare Them with Noise

 If you have geese problems, don’t sit around waiting for them to leave, do something about it! There is a variety of options out there. See how these simple tips can put a stop to your geese invasion so you can actually enjoy your property.

 Stop Feeding Them

 One of the most common reasons geese continue to return is the expectation of being fed. This a bad habit to support and human food is very bad for geese. If you are eating outside and accidentally leave food behind, geese will eat it and become prone to returning to your property. Clean up after outdoor meals, picnics and barbecues to ensure nothing is enticing them to your property.

 Set Up a Swan Decoy to Scare Them Off

 Swans are aggressive and protective, especially of their young. Geese know this and often stay away from swans to avoid confrontation. Placing a swan decoy on your property can fool the geese into fleeing away and put an end to their pesky invasion.

 SEE ALSO: How To Scare Birds Away

 If You Have Water On Your Property, Make it Appear Unattractive

 If your property has a pond or waterfront, don’t cut or trim the plants surrounding the water. This will make the water less attractive for geese. Geese are very aware of their surroundings, and if they can’t see, they won’t feel safe in the area. Shrubbery and grasses should be allowed to grow about two or three feet high for maximum impact.

 RELATED: How to Repel Birds

 Scare The Geese Away With Noise

 Nothing clears the room like a loud noise, so use that to your advantage. There is a wide variety of options in the way of noise makers. Some of these options include, but are not limited to:

 Air Horns

 Metal Pans

 Electronic Movement Detectors, and more!

 SEE: Best Spray for Birds: What to Look Out For

 Use A Goose and Bird Repellent Spray to Take Back Your Property

 Each of the following tactics has their pros and cons, but the best option is saved for last. Avian Migrate, a product of Avian Enterprises is an EPA-registered liquid goose and bird repellent that will eliminate your goose problems. It will prevent damage to your plants and/or property as well as get rid of bothersome geese. Shop now or contact us to learn more!

 Geese Invasion? How to Keep Geese Away From Your Property Are geese taking over your property? Learn how to keep them away with Avian Enterprises goose and bird repellent. Brand: Avian Enterprises

 Geese Invasion? How to Keep Geese Away From Your Property ||||| The widow of an Illinois man who drowned in 2012 after being attacked by a swan filed a wrongful death lawsuit on Tuesday.

 Anthony Hensley, 37, was attacked by a swan while kayaking in a retention pond at the Bay Colony condominium complex in Maine Township, Illinois in April 2012.

 Hensley was reportedly attacked by a swan and at some point fell into the water. Hensley – who was wearing boots and heavy clothing – drowned before he could make it to land.

 His death was ruled an accident.

 Hensley’s widow field a wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court against the property management companies that owned and operated Bay Colony, the Chicago Tribune reported.

 Hensley’s widow is seeking at least $50,000 in damages.

 The Tribune said it reached out to the companies named in the suit, but did not hear back.

 His widow's lawsuit stated that the companies’ and the homeowners/condominium associations’ negligence caused her husband's death.

 The lawsuit contended that the companies “should have known the swans are strongly territorial with a dangerous propensity to attack,” and that they should be held liable for “knowingly keeping dangerous animals on the premises.”

 Swans, known for being territorial and aggressive, are often used by property management to keep the population of geese from growing too large.

 Hensley was a frequent visitor at the Bay Colony complex, where he was tasked with taking care of the swans. He often brought his kayak to feed and tend to the birds, the Chicago Tribune reported. ||||| Wildlife Education - A Directory of Qualified Canada Goose Removal Professionals How to Keep Canada Geese Away

 If you need Canada Goose help, click my Nationwide List of Canada Goose Removal Experts for a pro near you.

 Canada geese are becoming more of a problem for homeowners all around the world. They’ll invade your community, pollute your yards with their poop and generally drive you crazy while destroying your property and the crops that you’ve worked so hard to grow. Believe it or not, they can be quite territorial meaning you won’t be able to get rid of them easily. If you have a Canada geese problem, you may have heard about repellants that could keep them away. Let’s take a look at a few.

 Herding Dogs

 If you’ve wanted a pet for quite some time now, this is the perfect time to obtain a herding dog. Herding dogs such as border collies can be trained to repel Canada geese. They will not harm the geese but force them into the water while not allowing them to come back out to feed on land. They will harass the geese over and over again; prohibit them from nesting and courting on your property as well. The herding dog doesn’t even touch them to accomplish this and soon after, the geese will no longer feel the hospitality of hanging out in your yard. Considering that herding dogs have to be trained to handle this task, you will be out of some money and there’s no guarantee that the geese won’t keep attempting to take over your land.

 Geese Decoys

 Okay, so maybe buying a dog is completely out of the question, but you could still invest in a swan decoy. This is basically a swan like figure that you put into your pond or lake to keep the geese away. Swans are more territorial than geese, so when they’re in the water, geese will not swim up to them so as to avoid confrontation. All you have to do is tie the figure to something with some weight, set it in the pond or lake and allow it to float around. This will give it a more natural appearance and life like look. Geese decoys are very cheap, but don’t you think that at some point in time the geese will figure out that it’s not real? Once they do, you can forget about repelling them, because they’ll be moving back in.

 Bird-X Irri-tape Ribbon

 Did you know that certain sounds and colors can send birds into a frenzy? That is exactly what the irri-tape claims. Yet, it doesn’t just affect two of their senses; it affects all of their senses. It is basically iridescent foil that scares them when the light hits it and causes it to display different reflections and shadows. Also, when the irri-tape blows in the wind, it makes a metallic like noise that is supposed to annoy the geese and send them in another direction. It acts as a physical deterrent that blocks geese using its brackets on all types of surfaces. It can be used anywhere and it’s inexpensive. However, there is no real evidence that it will repel geese for good. Eventually, the Canada geese may actually start to become immune and they will continue being the nuisance that they are.

 Change in Your Landscape

 Being able to repel geese may be as easy as making some changes in your landscape. According to a study done in BerryMan Institute in Kentucky, geese like to eat bluegrass and other types of grass, but there are some species of grass that they will avoid such as Tall Fescue Grass, Euonymus, Japanese Pachysandra, English Ivy, Shrubbery and Tall Trees, Natural Meadow and Wildflower Areas and Periwinkle. Geese like to be in open areas where they can watch out for their predators and move quickly when needed. Avoiding areas with tall grass and shrubbery ensures their ability to fly. Changing your landscape in this manner definitely won’t be cheap and will be time consuming. Besides, you really shouldn’t have to change the way your yard looks to keep geese away.

 Audio Repellants

 There are a variety of audio repellants that you can invest in to use for 5-7 acres of your land. If you have more land than this, you’ll need to buy more than one. These repellants send out Canada geese danger and warning calls that will scare the geese and supposedly make them leave. The problem is that geese are very quick learners and will eventually figure out that you’re toying with them. Then, you will have wasted money on a repellant that only worked for a short period of time.

 More in-detail how-to Canada Geese removal articles:

 Information about

 Information about

 Information about

 Information about

 Information about

 This site is intended to provide education and information about how to keep Canada Geese away from your house, yard or lawn, so that you can make an informed decision if you need to deal with a Canada Goose problem. This site provides many Canada Goose control articles and strategies, if you wish to attempt to solve the problem yourself. If you are unable to do so, which is likely with many cases of Canada Goose removal, please go to the home page and click the USA map, where I have wildlife removal experts listed in over 500 cites and towns, who can properly help you with keeping away Canada Geese. Click here to read more about

 Canada geese are becoming more of a problem for homeowners all around the world. They’ll invade your community, pollute your yards with their poop and generally drive you crazy while destroying your property and the crops that you’ve worked so hard to grow. Believe it or not, they can be quite territorial meaning you won’t be able to get rid of them easily. If you have a Canada geese problem, you may have heard about repellants that could keep them away. Let’s take a look at a few.If you’ve wanted a pet for quite some time now, this is the perfect time to obtain a herding dog. Herding dogs such as border collies can be trained to repel Canada geese. They will not harm the geese but force them into the water while not allowing them to come back out to feed on land. They will harass the geese over and over again; prohibit them from nesting and courting on your property as well. The herding dog doesn’t even touch them to accomplish this and soon after, the geese will no longer feel the hospitality of hanging out in your yard. Considering that herding dogs have to be trained to handle this task, you will be out of some money and there’s no guarantee that the geese won’t keep attempting to take over your land.Okay, so maybe buying a dog is completely out of the question, but you could still invest in a swan decoy. This is basically a swan like figure that you put into your pond or lake to keep the geese away. Swans are more territorial than geese, so when they’re in the water, geese will not swim up to them so as to avoid confrontation. All you have to do is tie the figure to something with some weight, set it in the pond or lake and allow it to float around. This will give it a more natural appearance and life like look. Geese decoys are very cheap, but don’t you think that at some point in time the geese will figure out that it’s not real? Once they do, you can forget about repelling them, because they’ll be moving back in.Did you know that certain sounds and colors can send birds into a frenzy? That is exactly what the irri-tape claims. Yet, it doesn’t just affect two of their senses; it affects all of their senses. It is basically iridescent foil that scares them when the light hits it and causes it to display different reflections and shadows. Also, when the irri-tape blows in the wind, it makes a metallic like noise that is supposed to annoy the geese and send them in another direction. It acts as a physical deterrent that blocks geese using its brackets on all types of surfaces. It can be used anywhere and it’s inexpensive. However, there is no real evidence that it will repel geese for good. Eventually, the Canada geese may actually start to become immune and they will continue being the nuisance that they are.Being able to repel geese may be as easy as making some changes in your landscape. According to a study done in BerryMan Institute in Kentucky, geese like to eat bluegrass and other types of grass, but there are some species of grass that they will avoid such as Tall Fescue Grass, Euonymus, Japanese Pachysandra, English Ivy, Shrubbery and Tall Trees, Natural Meadow and Wildflower Areas and Periwinkle. Geese like to be in open areas where they can watch out for their predators and move quickly when needed. Avoiding areas with tall grass and shrubbery ensures their ability to fly. Changing your landscape in this manner definitely won’t be cheap and will be time consuming. Besides, you really shouldn’t have to change the way your yard looks to keep geese away.There are a variety of audio repellants that you can invest in to use for 5-7 acres of your land. If you have more land than this, you’ll need to buy more than one. These repellants send out Canada geese danger and warning calls that will scare the geese and supposedly make them leave. The problem is that geese are very quick learners and will eventually figure out that you’re toying with them. Then, you will have wasted money on a repellant that only worked for a short period of time.Information about Canada Goose trapping - analysis and methods for how to trap.Information about how to kill a Canada Goose - with poison or other methods.Information about how to keep Canada Geese away - prevention techniques.Information about how to catch a Canada Goose - remove one stuck in the house.Information about Canada Goose repellent - analysis of types and effectiveness.This site is intended to provide education and information about how to keep Canada Geese away from your house, yard or lawn, so that you can make an informed decision if you need to deal with a Canada Goose problem. This site provides many Canada Goose control articles and strategies, if you wish to attempt to solve the problem yourself. If you are unable to do so, which is likely with many cases of Canada Goose removal, please go to the home page and click the USA map, where I have wildlife removal experts listed in over 500 cites and towns, who can properly help you with keeping away Canada Geese. Click here to read more about how to get rid of Canada Geese |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– It was his job to take care of the swans, and it was a swan that ended up ending his life. Now the wife of a Des Plaines, Ill., man who died in 2012 after a swan attack in a condo complex's retention pond is suing the companies that own and operate the complex, the Chicago Tribune reports. In her complaint, Amy Hensley says the property management companies, as well as the condo and homeowners associations at the Bay Colony complex, were negligent in keeping the swans on the premises. Geese are fearful of swans, so swans or swan decoys are sometimes brought in to keep the goose population in check. But swans can act aggressively while trying to protect their young, and it was a swan's unchecked aggressiveness, Hensley says, that led to the death of her husband, Anthony Hensley. The 37-year-old dad of two worked for Knox Swan and Dog, a local company that rents out swans as a goose control remedy, and he was often seen at Bay Colony taking care of the hired-out birds, typically in his kayak and with his dog. But on the day in question in April 2012, a nesting swan attacked Hensley's kayak and tipped him out of it. The bird continued to go after Hensley, who Fox News says was wearing heavy clothes and boots. He tried to make it to land but ended up drowning. His death was ruled accidental, but his wife's complaint notes the defendants in her suit "should have known the swans are strongly territorial with a dangerous propensity to attack." The suit adds he didn't do anything to agitate the swan before it attacked. Hensley's wife is asking for at least $50,000 in damages. (An Indianapolis man got ticketed for trying to protect his young son from a goose.)


The days of looking at your cell phone while crossing the street could soon be gone in Honolulu.

 The City Council passed a bill that bans pedestrians from looking at mobile devices in crosswalks.

 It does not apply to talking on the phone.

 The fine ranges from $15 to $99.

 A spokesperson for Mayor Kirk Caldwell says - while the mayor generally favors bills that increase safety, he's still weighing the pros and cons.

 If he approves, it would become law 90 days later. ||||| The City Council wants you to put that phone down when you're crossing the street.

 The City Council wants you to put that phone down when you're crossing the street.

 City Council: Get off the phone! (when you're crossing the street)

 City Council: Get off the phone! (when you're crossing the street)

 It's already illegal to use your phone while driving, but Honolulu City Council members are considering a measure that would make it illegal to use or look at a cell phone or other mobile electronic devices when crossing a street or highway -- even if you're in a marked crosswalk.

 It's already illegal to use your phone while driving, but Honolulu City Council members are considering a measure that would make it illegal to use or look at a cell phone or other mobile electronic devices when crossing a street or highway -- even if you're in a marked crosswalk.

 It could soon be illegal to look at your cellphone while crossing the street

 It could soon be illegal to look at your cellphone while crossing the street

 A bill that would fine pedestrians who use mobile electronic devices while crossing the street passed its third reading Wednesday.

 The bill passed with a 7-2 vote in favor with Councilmembers Ann Kobayashi and Ernie Martin voting no.

 Bill 6 prevents pedestrians from using cell phones, pagers, tablets, laptop computers, handheld video games or digital cameras while crossing the street.

 Those caught face fines of $100 for the first offense, and up to $500 for a third citation.

 The bill, however, doesn't prohibit audio equipment, so listening to music with headphones will still be allowed.

 Supporters of the bill say it will hold pedestrians and motorists responsible for actions on the road, while critics called the bill intrusive and "another attempt at local government overreach."

 HPD has expressed support of the measure.

 The bill now heads to Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell's desk. If signed into law, enforcement could begin in October.

 Copyright 2017 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved. ||||| Story highlights The bill's author says he got the idea from high school students

 Opponents say the city council should focus on more pressing issues

 (CNN) Most states have banned texting while driving. But what about texting while walking?

 The Honolulu City Council passed a bill Wednesday that prohibits pedestrians from looking at their mobile devices while they cross the street.

 A pedestrian making a 911 call is exempted. Emergency responders performing official duties won't face penalties either.

 Otherwise, fines will range from $15 to $99, depending on how many times they flout the ban.

 For and against

 Read More |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– People in one Hawaiian city may have to say "aloha" to texting while crossing the street.* CNN reports the Honolulu City Council voted 7-2 Wednesday to bar pedestrians from looking at their mobile devices while crossing the street. The legislation applies to cellphones, tablets, video games, digital cameras, pagers, and laptops, according to Hawaii News Now. Pedestrians caught checking Facebook or sending a tweet while in the street would be subject to a fine of between $15 and $99. Fines could increase to up to $500 for multiple citations. Brandon Elefante says he got the idea for the legislation from high school students. "These high school groups were concerned for their peers being distracted while crossing the streets and looking at their phones instead of looking both ways," the councilman tells CNN. While the Honolulu Police Department supports the legislation, Councilman Ernie Martin, who voted against it, says a public awareness campaign would be a better solution. The legislation now heads to Mayor Kirk Caldwell for approval. A spokesperson for the mayor's office tells KITV that Caldwell is still deciding whether he'll approve the legislation. *Ed. Note: In this case, "aloha" means "goodbye," not "hello."


– The US and UN are warning that the Syrian government may be organizing another massacre, this time in the town of Haffa, where UN monitors have been impeded, reports the BBC. International envoy Kofi Annan says he is "gravely concerned" about the escalation of violence, and reports of mortar, tank, and helicopter attacks on Haffa and its surrounding villages. "A large number of civilians are trapped in these towns," he warned. The Syrian regime is using "new horrific tactics" on rebellious areas, a State Department spokeswoman says, warning: "People will be held accountable." A new UN reports has, for the first time, placed the Syrian government and its allied militias on a list of groups that kill and sexually attack children, AP reports. The report found that in Syria, children as young as nine have been the victims of killing, torture, sexual violence, and arbitrary detention, and have been used as human shields.

Expand this summary.

Media caption Victoria Nuland, US state department, says they fear the regime may be planning an attack on al-Haffa

 The US has expressed fears that the Syrian government "may be organising another massacre" in the town of Haffa in Latakia province, where UN military observers have been denied access.

 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said it was vital that the observers should be allowed into the town.

 He and peace envoy Kofi Annan expressed grave concern about violence there.

 A BBC correspondent travelling with UN observers witnessed sustained and heavy shelling in the old city of Homs.

 The UN observers are in Syria to monitor the implementation of a putative ceasefire, brokered by Mr Annan, which has all but collapsed.

 'Civilians trapped'

 Annan's six-point plan 1. Syrian-led political process to address the aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people 2. End to violence by all sides; army troops to stop using heavy weapons and withdraw to barracks 3. Parties to allow humanitarian aid 4. Authorities to free political detainees 5. Authorities to ensure freedom of movement for journalists 6. Authorities to allow peaceful demonstrations

 "The UN made a particular appeal to be able to get into Haffa because it had heard concerning reports about regime plans," US state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told a news briefing in Washington.

 "At the same time, if you follow Syrian media, they were claiming that the opposition would cause a massacre."

 Earlier this month, activists said Syrian government forces killed 108 people in the region of Houla, in Homs province, and 78 people in the village of Qubair, in Hama province.

 But Ms Nuland downplayed the idea of foreign intervention in Syria, saying the emphasis would remain on using political and economic measures to pressure the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

 The Syrian government blames the violence on foreign-backed armed terrorist gangs.

 In a statement, Mr Annan, joint envoy for the UN and Arab League, said there were "indications that a large number of civilians are trapped" in Homs and Haffa.

 Later Mr Ban spoke of the "great danger" to civilians under fire.

 "The secretary general underlines the importance of unimpeded access by UNSMIS to Haffa, amid reports of a build-up of government forces around the town," he said in a statement.

 Syrian government helicopter gunships strafed rebel positions in Haffa, UN observers and human rights activists said.

 Media caption The BBC's Paul Danahar: "I was watching a mortar land pretty much every minute"

 Heavy fighting was also reported in Rastan and Talbisa, north of Homs city, "with artillery and mortar shelling, as well as firing from helicopters, machine guns and smaller arms", said a statement from the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (Unsmis).

 A car bomb exploded in the city of Deir al-Zour, killing 10 people, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, quoting sources on the ground.

 Fighting was also reported in Idlib province.

 It is impossible to confirm these reports independently, as Syria heavily restricts journalists' freedom of movement.

 Russia, which supports the Syrian government, called for Iran to take a role in ending the 15-month old conflict.

 Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rejected the idea of involving Iran, which she accused of "helping to stage-manage the repression" in Syria.

 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will travel to Tehran on Wednesday to discuss the initiative, the foreign ministry said. ||||| A U.N. report released Monday includes Syrian government forces and their allied "shabiha" militias for the first time on a list of 52 governments and armed groups that recruit, kill or sexually attack children in armed conflicts.

 In Syria, it said, children as young as 9 years old have been victims of killing and maiming, arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, and sexual violence, and have been used as human shields.

 "In almost all recorded cases, children were among the victims of military operations by government forces, including the Syrian armed forces, the intelligence forces and the shabiha militia, in their ongoing conflict with the opposition, including the Free Syrian Army," the report said.

 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's annual report on children and armed conflict during 2011 names 32 "persistent perpetrators" that have been on the list for at least five years, including the security forces of seven countries. That's double the number in 2010, and Ban expressed grave concern at "the unacceptably high, and growing, number" of long-term abusers of children.

 Radhika Coomaraswamy, the U.N. special representative for children and armed conflict, said that while new crises erupted in 2011 "with a heavy toll on children such as in Syria, and also in Libya, violations against girls and boys have come to an end in other parts of the world."

 But the so-called "list of shame" with 52 names _ including four new parties in Syria, Yemen and Sudan _ is still too long, she said in a statement.

 A resolution adopted by the U.N. Security Council in 2005 took the first major step to prevent the victimization of young people in war zones by addressing the exploitation of children as combatants and identifying governments and armed groups that recruit child soldiers. In 2009, the council voted to also name and shame countries and insurgent groups engaged in conflicts that lead to children being killed, maimed and raped.

 The secretary-general said the United Nations has received reports of "grave violations" against children in Syria since March 2011, when protests against President Bashar Assad's government began.

 The report quoted a former member of the Syrian armed forces saying that in December, during protests in Tall Kalakh, his commander gave an order to shoot during the break-up of the demonstrations and he saw three girls, who appeared to be between 10 and 13 years old, killed. A former member of the intelligence forces was quoted as saying he witnessed the killing of five children in a secondary school during demonstrations in Aleppo in the last quarter of 2011.

 The report said the Syrian military and the shabiha used children as young as 8 on at least three occasions last year.

 In an attack on the village of Ayn l'Arouz in Idlib province on March 9, 2012, it quoted a witness as saying several dozen boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 13 were forcibly taken from their homes and "used by soldiers and militia members as human shields, placing them in front of the windows of buses carrying military personnel into the raid on the village."

 The United Nations also has collected dozens of accounts of eyewitnesses from children as young as 14 years old who were tortured in detention, as well as from former members of the Syrian military who were forced to witness or carry out acts of torture, the report said.

 Most child victims of torture described being beaten, blindfolded, subjected to stress positions, whipped with heavy electrical cables, scarred by cigarette burns and in one case subjected to electrical shock to the genitals, the report said. One witness reported seeing a boy about 15 years old die as a result of repeated beatings. Another 15-year-old repeatedly beaten with heavy electrical cables during interrogation reported at least 20 other children his age or younger being held in detention, it said.

 The report detailed many other serious human rights violations against children across the globe.

 For example, in Somalia, the U.N. documented 7,799 child casualties of conflict last year, just in the three main hospitals in the capital Mogadishu. It also documented the recruitment of 948 youngsters by the Islamic militant group Al-Shabab and 242 cases of rape and sexual violence.

 In Afghanistan, the report said 1,325 children were killed or injured in 2011, 30 percent by improvised explosive devices placed by armed groups. It said 316 cases of underage recruitment were reported, the majority by armed groups notably the Taliban as well as the Haqqani network and Hezb-e-Islami.

 "In 2011, 11 children, including one 8-year-old girl, were killed while conducting suicide attacks" in Afghanistan, the report said. "Some children unknowingly carried explosive packages."

 In Iraq, the report said 146 children were reportedly killed and 265 injured as a result of violence last year, mainly by armed groups including al-Qaida and the Islamic State of Iraq. The U.N. said 294 children were also indicted or convicted of terrorism-related charges.

 Since the uprising in Libya began in February 2011, the report said the presence of children in armed forces and armed groups "was broadly reported" along with numerous grave violations. It said child casualties were not systematically document but it said 129 cases of killing and 247 cases of maiming of children were recorded.

 In Ivory Coast, the U.N. registered 271 cases of sexual violence, including six against boys.

 On a positive note, the report said parties to conflicts in Nepal and Sri Lanka were taken off the list after they successfully completed Security Council-mandated programs to end the recruitment and use of children. It said five parties in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Chad and South Sudan entered into similar agreements last year. |||||


News article:

MEXICO CITY -- The Cuban government has arrested an American citizen working on contract for the U.S. Agency for International Development who was distributing cellphones and laptop computers to Cuban activists, State Department officials and congressional sources said Saturday.

 The contractor, who has not been identified, works for Bethesda-based Development Alternatives. The company said in a statement that it was awarded a government contract last year to help USAID "support the rule of law and human rights, political competition and consensus building" in Cuba.

 Consular officers with the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, the capital, are seeking access to the contractor, who was arrested Dec. 5. The charges have not been made public. Under Cuban law, however, a Cuban citizen or a foreign visitor can be arrested for nearly anything under the claim of "dangerousness."

 The detention of an American contractor working for the U.S. government may raise tensions between the Castro brothers' communist government in Cuba and the Obama administration, which has been taking a "go-slow" approach to improving relations with the island.

 The new U.S. policy stresses that if Cuba takes concrete steps such as freeing political prisoners and creating more space for opposition, the United States will reciprocate.

 A senior Republican congressional aide said the American contractor was being held in a secure facility in Havana.

 "It is bizarre they're just holding him and not letting us see him at all," said the aide, who was not authorized to speak on the record. Attempts to reach Cuban government officials to discuss the case were unsuccessful.

 Cellphones and laptops are legal in Cuba, though they are new and coveted commodities in a country where the average worker's wage is $15 a month. The Cuban government granted ordinary citizens the right to buy cellphones just last year; they are used mostly for texting, because a 15-minute phone conversation would eat up a day's wages.

 Internet use is extremely limited on the island. It is available in expensive hotels, where foreign visitors stay, and at some government facilities, such as universities. Cubans who want to log on often have to give their names to the government. Access to some Web sites is restricted.

 A person familiar with the detained American's activity said he was "working with local organizations that were trying to connect with each other and get connected to the Internet and connect with their affinity groups in the U.S."

 The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the case, said Cuban authorities were aware of the project. "Why they picked on this situation," the person said, "is a bit of a mystery."

 Cuba has a nascent blogging community, led by the popular commentator Yoani Sánchez, who often writes about how she and her husband are followed and harassed by government agents because of her Web posts. Sánchez has repeatedly applied for permission to leave the country to accept journalism awards, so far unsuccessfully. ||||| HAVANA  A United States government contract worker, who was distributing cellphones, laptops and other communications equipment in Cuba on behalf of the Obama administration, has been detained by the authorities here, American officials said Friday.

 The officials said the contractor, who works for a company based in the Washington suburbs, was detained Dec. 5. They said the United States Interests Section in Havana was awaiting Cuba’s response to a request for consular access to the man, who was not identified.

 The detention and the mysterious circumstances surrounding it threaten to reignite tensions between the countries at a time when both had promised to open new channels of engagement. American officials said they were encouraged that the Cubans had not publicized the detention, and they said they were hopeful that he might be quietly released.

 Cuba has allowed more citizens than ever to buy cellphones and computers, but even the limited access to digital technology that is available has created problems for the government. Cuban officials have shown particular concern about Yoani Sánchez, a prominent government critic who keeps in touch with thousands of followers with a blog and a Twitter account.

 Recently, the Cuban government denied Ms. Sánchez a visa to accept a prestigious journalism award in New York. President Obama has also made a guest appearance on her blog, sending written answers to questions she submitted to him.

 American programs to promote democracy in Cuba have also been the focus of intense debate in the United States. A 2006 report by the Government Accountability Office found that nearly all of the $74 million that the United States Agency for International Development spent on contracts to foster democracy in Cuba over the previous decade had been distributed, without competitive bidding or oversight, to Cuban-exile organizations in Miami rather than groups in Cuba itself.

 Groups financed by the program, the G.A.O. found, made questionable purchases, including cashmere sweaters and Godiva chocolates.

 In 2008, the Bush administration sought to overhaul the program, promising to award contracts to groups beyond those in Florida and to devote most of the budget to buying communications equipment to help expand Cubans’ access to information.

 The detention of the unidentified American contractor, some Cuba experts said, demonstrated that President Raúl Castro of Cuba had not abandoned the hard-line tactics used for years by his older brother, Fidel, to stifle dissent.

 “Under Cuba’s draconian laws,” said José Miguel Vivanco of Human Rights Watch, “even the act of handing out cellphones to government critics can be considered a crime.”

 Still, Mr. Vivanco and others said that the contractor’s covert conduct  which included entering Cuba on a tourist visa without proper documents  also raised questions about whether Mr. Obama would fulfill his promise to break with the confrontational tactics that Washington has employed toward Havana for five decades.

 “President Obama’s been different in some areas,” said Phil Peters, a Cuba expert and a vice president of the Lexington Institute, a nonpartisan think tank. “But most of his policy remains the Bush policy, and this is just another example of that.”

 The detainee, officials said, was employed by Development Alternatives Inc., which had at least $391,000 in government contracts last year. Based in Bethesda, Md., the company is a kind of do-it-all development company that provides services to the United States government in countries around the world.

 Company officials did not respond Friday to requests for comment. On its Web site, the company describes the breadth of its activities, saying, “We help hillside farmers raise their incomes in Haiti, strengthen the credit system for Moroccan entrepreneurs, harmonize natural resource use in the Philippines, mitigate conflict in Liberia, and foster responsive local governments in Serbia.”

 It was unclear exactly what the company’s employee was doing at the time he was detained.

 Cellphones and computers are available for sale in Cuba, prompting some to question why Cuba decided to crack down on an activity that has long been treated as more of an annoyance than a crime. When it comes to satellite phones, however, the Cubans have taken a far harder line.

 Mr. Obama had promised a more open relationship with Cuba, announcing not long after taking office that he would lift restrictions on travel to Cuba for Americans with relatives on the island. He has expanded cultural and academic exchanges between the United States and Cuba. And he began high-level talks on migration, drug trafficking and postal services with the Cuban authorities, discussions that President Bush had halted.

 But in recent weeks relations seem to have hit a new stalemate, with Mr. Obama signaling that he was reluctant to create more diplomatic openings until Cuban officials demonstrated a willingness to address the country’s poor human rights record.

 Ricardo Alarcón, the speaker of Cuba’s National Assembly, said he had heard nothing about the detention of the American. He termed the policy changes instituted so far by Mr. Obama as “minor” and described the White House as too distracted by other issues to focus attention on Cuba.

 “You have two wars,” he said. “You have the economy. You have the debate on health care. It is clear to me that the administration is not prepared at this moment to give a priority to the relationship with Cuba.”

 Congress is considering bills that would lift restrictions on travel to Cuba for all Americans. Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts and chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, added his name last week to a long list of co-sponsors of the measure. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Cuba has arrested a US government contract worker who was distributing laptops and cell phones in the country. The man works for a company in Bethesda, Md., that does work for various development agencies. It's not clear what he's been charged with—cell phones and laptops are legal, if rare, in Cuba—though it doesn't take much to fall under the Cuban crime of "dangerousness," notes the Washington Post. US officials are awaiting permission to see the man, who was picked up last week, reports the New York Times. The arrest comes amid signs of a thaw between Havana and the Obama administration. "The arrest and detention are clearly wrong," said a spokesman for Human Rights Watch. "An activity that in any other open society would be legal—giving away free cellphones—is in Cuba a crime."