Chinese fnancial system has been keeped in a poorly development for a while, which implies the revelent of credit sonstraints and different source of finance. Many people think that trade credit is the accounts payable, or accounts receivable, actually it's not, china trade credit is different with these two.
Maybe you want to know ,what is trade credit? Oftenly we define trade credit as an agreement. In this agreement customer can puchase goods on account without payng in cash, and the paying was not timely for supplier. A specific trade credit number will be given when the goods was delivered ,usually 30 or 60. Some special business , such as jewelry, entend their credit to a more long time.
Wikipedia tell us that trade credit is the credit extended by one trader to another trader for the purchase without immediate payment. Trade credit is used as a sourse of temporary financing for business organisations, expecially business to business (B2B) sellers in the United States.
For many area of business, trade credit is an useful tool for increasing you finance. Suppliers extend you a trade credit, for you can buy in time and pay later. By this definition, anytime you enjoy goods,service or other valuables without paying in money, you are using the trade credit.
It's clear that trade credit is important to customer as well as business, and if you want to develope some trade in china, how can you ensure you partner's credit? What about you partner's performing in past year? Want to screen qualified buyers or suppliers in China? You can check trade credit in Cnbizsearch if you need, for example business managers, credit risk managers, and line associates.
Cnbizsearch is known as Shanghai Anson Business Consulting Company Limited.AS a credit and risk management, it support service and commercial information in China.
Cnbizsearch provide thousands of trade credit of chinese company, you can search for what you interested in this large database. Just real data, and by these data you can make your own analysis and then conclude by yourself.
If you want more imformation about chinese credit, pls pay attention to Cnbizsearch.
2015年10月11日星期日
Verify trade credit online
So many people talk about trade credit, however, what is trade credit? Trade credit is the credit extended by one trader to another for the purchase of goods and services. For many businesses, trade credit is an essential tool for financing growth, expecially China credit trade.
Or you can make it more easy, a trade credit is an agreement where a customer can purchase goods on account (without paying cash), paying the supplier at a later date. Usually when the goods are delivered, a trade credit is given for a specific number of days – 30, 60 or 90. Jewelry businesses sometimes extend credit to 180 days or longer. Trade credit is essentially a credit a company gives to another for the purchase of goods and services.
Trade credit has a significant impact on the financing of businesses and therefore is linked to other financing terms and concepts. Other important terms that affect business financing and financial futures are credit rating, trade line and buyer’s credit. A credit rating is an overall assessment of the credit worthiness of a borrower, whether a business or individual, based on financial history that includes debt repayment timeliness and other factors. Without a good credit rating trade credit may not be offered to a business.
When you're first starting your business, however, suppliers most likely aren't going to offer you trade credit. They're going to want to make every order c.o.d. (cash or check on delivery) or paid by credit card in advance until you've established that you can pay your bills on time. While this is a fairly normal practice, you can still try and negotiate trade credit with suppliers. One of the things that will help you in these negotiations is a properly prepared financial plan.
When you visit your supplier to set up your order during your startup period, ask to speak directly to the owner of the business if it's a small company. If it's a larger business, ask to speak to the CFO or any other person who approves credit. Introduce yourself. Show the officer the financial plan you've prepared. Tell the owner or financial officer about your business, and explain that you need to get your first orders on credit in order to launch your venture.
2015年10月9日星期五
Choose some great smartphone accessories for your summer
Summer's just around the corner and no matter where you're headed, I bet your smartphone will be going with you. After all, it's the easiest way for you to reach out to your friends, keep in touch with your social media feeds and even take a few pictures along the way. But maybe this is the summer that your smartphone does a little bit more for you with the help of a few new accessories. Best Buy has a huge selection of neat and smart phone accessories you can take with you wherever your summer plans take you. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
A waterproof case
For most of us, summer involves the water. Whether it's out on a boat or at the beach, there are few things more relaxing than a summer swim, or the sound of the waves washing ashore. Keep your phone safe from taking a bath with a new waterproof case or underwater case. You'll have the peace of mind that your phone will be safe from some of those beachfront hazards and you can even take the opportunity to try and capture some pics underwater!
My immediate go-to for my iPhone 6 would be the Lifeproof nuud case. Members of my family have been using it for the last couple iPhone generations and they've never had a bad thing to say about it. In fact, we even went and put my cousin's to the test one night after Thanksgiving dinner and it passed with flying colours.
It goes without saying, but any waterproof case you purchase should be tested for deficiencies before you start using it on your phone full time. The nuud, for example, comes with a testing instructions and encourages you to immerse it beforehand.
A new Bluetooth Speaker
If your phone is your music hub, why not pick up a new speaker for those nights outdoors on the deck or at the park? With no wire hookups and a rechargeable battery, Bluetooth speakers are an easy and portable way to get the party, picnic or barbeque started.
If you're looking for a smaller pocket-sized speaker, the Logiix Blue Piston Speaker offers good sound quality and a long battery life (8 hours) for a device that's less than 3x3x3. It's a great option for those smaller family outings.
If you're looking for something much bigger, the Beats by Dr. Dre experience is available in a handy pill-shaped speaker. The speaker is much larger at 9x6x3 and weighs just under 3 pounds, but it's a much better option if you want to blast music into the backyard during an evening under the stars or with friends on the patio.
Something to keep your phone alive longer
I find that my phone's battery drains faster in the summer months. There's nothing scientific about it; I'm just using my phone more! My smartphone's constantly in my hand, whether it's taking pictures of my daughter on the swings or at the waterpark or flipping through and playing music while I'm out for a walk with her. I'll often find my phone at less than half battery by the middle of the day.
There are a few things you can pick up to keep your phone alive longer if you'll be doing things like camping and wanting to keep your phone alive and handy for emergency purposes. One of the easiest things to do is get a battery case, like Mophie's Juice Packs. In addition to being a great and sturdy case, it repositions the output of your music to be front-facing. More importantly, it's your backup to double the life of your iPhone's battery and once home, you can simultaneously charge both with one cable.
I admit, I'm not quite that sophisticated yet. I usually keep a power bank close in case my battery starts to run low. It's a great device to have when I'm driving around or at work and want to charge my phone in the process.
A Phone Camera Lens
To call my photography skills novice would be an insult to all photography novices. Still, I do what I can but sometimes miss out on opportunities to take great shots simply because my phone doesn't zoom in far enough. While my wife has a great camera, it's never on our minds to actually take it with us when we go out for the day. If you're the kind that likes to pack light for the day but you don't want to miss out on an opportunity to capture that summer sunset or nature shot in the distance, consider picking up a lens to enhance the range of your camera.
I've become a big fan of olloclip's offerings. They're lightweight, simple to use and slip on and off with relative ease. They're great for adding that extra range and focus to your long distance shots.
If you're taking binoculars with you anywhere this summer, you may want to consider Carson's binocular Hookupz. Your phone simply slides into the sleeve and then connects to your binoculars. You might look a bit odd when you're standing and taking the shot but the budding professional photographer in you won't regret it later on when you're looking back.
A new toy
Phone accessories don't always have to be directly for your phone. Having had the opportunity to test a few drones out, I can tell you that they're an absolute blast and are something I think you'll have fun with too.
Ted recently reviewed the DJI Phantom 3 and it passed with flying colours. While I got to test the DJI Phantom 2 and liked it, if this type of drone is in your budget, you may as well go with the latest and greatest technology.
On the ground (and much cheaper,) think about what you want and your budget as well. I really enjoyed the Sphero Ollie which was easy to control (once you got used to it) and zipped along. However, I was a bit more partial to something like Parrot's Jumping Sumo. While I found the device to be a little bit loud, it has a bit more pizzazz with its ability to do tricks and the on-board camera was great for capturing the Sumo's travels. It's a bit more of an advanced drone though and is a bit tougher to control than the others. If you're a fan of the Parrot brand but are just starting out, stick with the rolling spider. It's a far more linear driving experience, and a better model for beginners.
Wherever you go and whatever you do this summer, be sure to soak up the sunlight and make the most of your down time with a few new fun accessories for your phone.
A waterproof case
For most of us, summer involves the water. Whether it's out on a boat or at the beach, there are few things more relaxing than a summer swim, or the sound of the waves washing ashore. Keep your phone safe from taking a bath with a new waterproof case or underwater case. You'll have the peace of mind that your phone will be safe from some of those beachfront hazards and you can even take the opportunity to try and capture some pics underwater!
My immediate go-to for my iPhone 6 would be the Lifeproof nuud case. Members of my family have been using it for the last couple iPhone generations and they've never had a bad thing to say about it. In fact, we even went and put my cousin's to the test one night after Thanksgiving dinner and it passed with flying colours.
It goes without saying, but any waterproof case you purchase should be tested for deficiencies before you start using it on your phone full time. The nuud, for example, comes with a testing instructions and encourages you to immerse it beforehand.
A new Bluetooth Speaker
If your phone is your music hub, why not pick up a new speaker for those nights outdoors on the deck or at the park? With no wire hookups and a rechargeable battery, Bluetooth speakers are an easy and portable way to get the party, picnic or barbeque started.
If you're looking for a smaller pocket-sized speaker, the Logiix Blue Piston Speaker offers good sound quality and a long battery life (8 hours) for a device that's less than 3x3x3. It's a great option for those smaller family outings.
If you're looking for something much bigger, the Beats by Dr. Dre experience is available in a handy pill-shaped speaker. The speaker is much larger at 9x6x3 and weighs just under 3 pounds, but it's a much better option if you want to blast music into the backyard during an evening under the stars or with friends on the patio.
Something to keep your phone alive longer
I find that my phone's battery drains faster in the summer months. There's nothing scientific about it; I'm just using my phone more! My smartphone's constantly in my hand, whether it's taking pictures of my daughter on the swings or at the waterpark or flipping through and playing music while I'm out for a walk with her. I'll often find my phone at less than half battery by the middle of the day.
There are a few things you can pick up to keep your phone alive longer if you'll be doing things like camping and wanting to keep your phone alive and handy for emergency purposes. One of the easiest things to do is get a battery case, like Mophie's Juice Packs. In addition to being a great and sturdy case, it repositions the output of your music to be front-facing. More importantly, it's your backup to double the life of your iPhone's battery and once home, you can simultaneously charge both with one cable.
I admit, I'm not quite that sophisticated yet. I usually keep a power bank close in case my battery starts to run low. It's a great device to have when I'm driving around or at work and want to charge my phone in the process.
A Phone Camera Lens
To call my photography skills novice would be an insult to all photography novices. Still, I do what I can but sometimes miss out on opportunities to take great shots simply because my phone doesn't zoom in far enough. While my wife has a great camera, it's never on our minds to actually take it with us when we go out for the day. If you're the kind that likes to pack light for the day but you don't want to miss out on an opportunity to capture that summer sunset or nature shot in the distance, consider picking up a lens to enhance the range of your camera.
I've become a big fan of olloclip's offerings. They're lightweight, simple to use and slip on and off with relative ease. They're great for adding that extra range and focus to your long distance shots.
If you're taking binoculars with you anywhere this summer, you may want to consider Carson's binocular Hookupz. Your phone simply slides into the sleeve and then connects to your binoculars. You might look a bit odd when you're standing and taking the shot but the budding professional photographer in you won't regret it later on when you're looking back.
A new toy
Phone accessories don't always have to be directly for your phone. Having had the opportunity to test a few drones out, I can tell you that they're an absolute blast and are something I think you'll have fun with too.
Ted recently reviewed the DJI Phantom 3 and it passed with flying colours. While I got to test the DJI Phantom 2 and liked it, if this type of drone is in your budget, you may as well go with the latest and greatest technology.
On the ground (and much cheaper,) think about what you want and your budget as well. I really enjoyed the Sphero Ollie which was easy to control (once you got used to it) and zipped along. However, I was a bit more partial to something like Parrot's Jumping Sumo. While I found the device to be a little bit loud, it has a bit more pizzazz with its ability to do tricks and the on-board camera was great for capturing the Sumo's travels. It's a bit more of an advanced drone though and is a bit tougher to control than the others. If you're a fan of the Parrot brand but are just starting out, stick with the rolling spider. It's a far more linear driving experience, and a better model for beginners.
Wherever you go and whatever you do this summer, be sure to soak up the sunlight and make the most of your down time with a few new fun accessories for your phone.
2015年10月8日星期四
The key benefits of an electric scooter
If you have ever wondered about what an electric scooter could do for you, then this is the right place for you. As cities continue to get more congested and roads are being turned into one stop places for angry and frustrated drivers, the time is right for people to venture into other modes of personal transport. One of the most popular modes of personal transport for people working in the city happens to be the electric scooter. The following are the reasons why you should also consider buying one right now:
If you have ever wondered about what an electric scooter could do for you, then this is the right place for you. As cities continue to get more congested and roads are being turned into one stop places for angry and frustrated drivers, the time is right for people to venture into other modes of personal transport. One of the most popular modes of personal transport for people working in the city happens to be the electric scooter. The following are the reasons why you should also consider buying one right now:
Low cost driving
One of the key advantages of the electric scooter is the fact that it uses electricity instead of fossil fuel like petrol, which tends to be more expensive. You will therefore find yourself saving a lot of money that can then go to other aspects and areas of your life. This will allow you to enjoy your salary more. For instance, your savings could go towards preparing for retirement, or for buying something else that you have desired for a long time. This low cost driving benefit will definitely appeal to the many people who want to manage their budget and free up funds for other types of spending.
It is environmentally friendly
One of the other key advantages about this type of scooter is the fact that it does not pollute the environment as compared to other modes of transport. If you are worried about your rapidly expanding carbon footprint and want to whittle it down to a tiny fraction of what it is right now, then the cheap electric scooter is your way of getting there faster than you ever imagined. It will certainly boost your peace of mind while also contributing to a better atmosphere in your city.
Stress free commute
With such a scooter, you will be able to maneuver easily through crowded areas, thus eliminating one of the many stress points that makes people angry and frustrated by the time they make it home at the end of the day. Guess what? This electric scooter is available on wheelster.com, the most reputable online shop to get cheap electric unicycles.
If you have ever wondered about what an electric scooter could do for you, then this is the right place for you. As cities continue to get more congested and roads are being turned into one stop places for angry and frustrated drivers, the time is right for people to venture into other modes of personal transport. One of the most popular modes of personal transport for people working in the city happens to be the electric scooter. The following are the reasons why you should also consider buying one right now:
Low cost driving
One of the key advantages of the electric scooter is the fact that it uses electricity instead of fossil fuel like petrol, which tends to be more expensive. You will therefore find yourself saving a lot of money that can then go to other aspects and areas of your life. This will allow you to enjoy your salary more. For instance, your savings could go towards preparing for retirement, or for buying something else that you have desired for a long time. This low cost driving benefit will definitely appeal to the many people who want to manage their budget and free up funds for other types of spending.
It is environmentally friendly
One of the other key advantages about this type of scooter is the fact that it does not pollute the environment as compared to other modes of transport. If you are worried about your rapidly expanding carbon footprint and want to whittle it down to a tiny fraction of what it is right now, then the cheap electric scooter is your way of getting there faster than you ever imagined. It will certainly boost your peace of mind while also contributing to a better atmosphere in your city.
Stress free commute
With such a scooter, you will be able to maneuver easily through crowded areas, thus eliminating one of the many stress points that makes people angry and frustrated by the time they make it home at the end of the day. Guess what? This electric scooter is available on wheelster.com, the most reputable online shop to get cheap electric unicycles.
2015年9月22日星期二
Fun With Segway!!
I've always thought Segways were really cool, and really wanted to play with one. I even begged to ride the one at the Macromedia offices on a few of my visits, but it was always in another building, or otherwise unavailable (I think they just didn't trust me with their expensive toy).
So, when Segway called me up and invited gskinner.com to design and build a mini-site for their brand new product line, I jumped at the chance. Work with a super cool, progressive client, building a site for an unreleased techno-gadget? Count me in.
As part of the project, they flew me in to New Hampshire to meet the team, and play with the new toys. There's a lot of really smart, personable folk at Segway, working on some really neat projects. Some of the work is targeted at consumers, like the newly announced i2 and x2 human transports and a lot of it is experimental, like Project Centaur and the Robotics Mobility Platform.
I had a really fun visit. The new product is awesome. In particular, the lean steering is incredibly intuitive, unlike the old handle-twist steering. The new machines also look a lot sleeker, have better security, and the wireless keyfob is pretty neat. I also got to ride the Centaur, which is basically a 4 wheeled, high-speed Segway – it's a little tricky to operate in it's current (experimental) state, but it's a really neat idea with a lot of potential – it's pretty sweet to be able to tear around in an ATV, then pop a wheelie to drive around balanced on two wheels. And people can buy cheap Segway online, it's convenience.
Segway's corporate culture was also really fun and creative. Every few weeks they have experimental Fridays (they had a good name for this, but I forget it), where the engineers run to the hardware store, buy some cheap parts, and whip something together in one day. I would have loved to have witnessed one of these, as they sound like a ton of fun. I've got to try to figure out how to squeeze out the time to do something like this in the office once a month with Flash. Teams of two or three building an experimental piece with the latest Flash features for a day.
Anyway, if you haven't already, head over to Segway.com and check out the new line.
So, when Segway called me up and invited gskinner.com to design and build a mini-site for their brand new product line, I jumped at the chance. Work with a super cool, progressive client, building a site for an unreleased techno-gadget? Count me in.
As part of the project, they flew me in to New Hampshire to meet the team, and play with the new toys. There's a lot of really smart, personable folk at Segway, working on some really neat projects. Some of the work is targeted at consumers, like the newly announced i2 and x2 human transports and a lot of it is experimental, like Project Centaur and the Robotics Mobility Platform.
I had a really fun visit. The new product is awesome. In particular, the lean steering is incredibly intuitive, unlike the old handle-twist steering. The new machines also look a lot sleeker, have better security, and the wireless keyfob is pretty neat. I also got to ride the Centaur, which is basically a 4 wheeled, high-speed Segway – it's a little tricky to operate in it's current (experimental) state, but it's a really neat idea with a lot of potential – it's pretty sweet to be able to tear around in an ATV, then pop a wheelie to drive around balanced on two wheels. And people can buy cheap Segway online, it's convenience.
Segway's corporate culture was also really fun and creative. Every few weeks they have experimental Fridays (they had a good name for this, but I forget it), where the engineers run to the hardware store, buy some cheap parts, and whip something together in one day. I would have loved to have witnessed one of these, as they sound like a ton of fun. I've got to try to figure out how to squeeze out the time to do something like this in the office once a month with Flash. Teams of two or three building an experimental piece with the latest Flash features for a day.
Anyway, if you haven't already, head over to Segway.com and check out the new line.
2015年9月10日星期四
English order system: Taobao buying agent
Taobao buying agent presents new order system for shopping service in English with credit card payment. Buy from taobao english site faster and easier!
You have been waiting for past several weeks for resuming of our service. Yes, we know it was way long for some of you, but you will see it is worth it.
So what's happened with agreetao.com for past two months or so? And well, it is simple: we were busy with making your Taobao shopping experience even easier, simpler and faster. Now when we know more than anybody else about what you expect from a "Taobao agent" and how to meet your requirements. That is why we are launching today our brand new order system to buy from Taobao in English, and soon in Russian and French. If you do not see the changes, do not forget to refresh the page! In our next post we'll give you more details about the system functions and order processing. You are invited to visit this page: http://www.agreetao.com/user/login to request your login access to the system and start buying now.
What's next? Well, we think that a good Taobao agent should not only help to buy from Taobao, but also suggest, advise and bring a maximum information to the buyer about shopping on Taobao, so Agreetao will provide you with more functions on our website. We think that you like to know what you will have to pay for your Taobao items and estimate the international fees, that is why you will see soon a very handy fees calculator to estimate your Taobao order price including international shipping fees. Also we know that you need to translate Taobao pages to get the items details before you buy them, that is why we prepare a new Taobao search function with English, French, Russian and other translation version that we hope you will appreciate a lot.
You have been waiting for past several weeks for resuming of our service. Yes, we know it was way long for some of you, but you will see it is worth it.
So what's happened with agreetao.com for past two months or so? And well, it is simple: we were busy with making your Taobao shopping experience even easier, simpler and faster. Now when we know more than anybody else about what you expect from a "Taobao agent" and how to meet your requirements. That is why we are launching today our brand new order system to buy from Taobao in English, and soon in Russian and French. If you do not see the changes, do not forget to refresh the page! In our next post we'll give you more details about the system functions and order processing. You are invited to visit this page: http://www.agreetao.com/user/login to request your login access to the system and start buying now.
What's next? Well, we think that a good Taobao agent should not only help to buy from Taobao, but also suggest, advise and bring a maximum information to the buyer about shopping on Taobao, so Agreetao will provide you with more functions on our website. We think that you like to know what you will have to pay for your Taobao items and estimate the international fees, that is why you will see soon a very handy fees calculator to estimate your Taobao order price including international shipping fees. Also we know that you need to translate Taobao pages to get the items details before you buy them, that is why we prepare a new Taobao search function with English, French, Russian and other translation version that we hope you will appreciate a lot.
2015年9月6日星期日
Top 10 Electric Scooters
Electric scooters are a fun way to get off your gas. They get you around the neighborhood, bridge the gap between home - public transportation - work and save you money by reducing your use of dirty gas. We've put together this top 10 list to help you find the best buy for you. Enjoy!
10) Segway i2: Segway Brand vehicles are engineered to be intuitive to riders of all skill levels, and the i2 is no exception, on top of that it can conquer all types of turns and terrains.
9) Go Motorboard 2000X Transporter: The 2000X is a small, lightweight E Scooter with a 19.5 lb. frame; despite its slight size, this Scooter boasts a full one horsepower and still manages to be both light and portable.
8) Razor E300S: This seated Scooter ranks number 8 on our Top 10 list. The E300 can reach Top speeds of up to 15 miles per hour thanks to its high-performance, quiet and environmentally-friendly chain-drive motor.
7) X-Treme X-300: This is a High Quality Electric Scooter that was adapted from the X-250; It boasts an assortment of upgrades, including; a more powerful motor, 15 mph top speed, a wooden deck, chain drive, removable batteries and disk brakes.
6) e-Zip E750: This Scooter is a great buy; it can reach speeds up to 15 mph and has a range up to 12 miles (rider weight and terrain contingent), high capacity 12AH batteries for extended riding range and a powerful front linear pull brake system with power modulator.
5) X-Treme X-600: This is X-Treme's Best performance Electric Scooter. The X-600 can reach impressive speeds of up to 20 mph for up to 10 miles. The 600 watt electric motor offers riders a lot of power that will enable them to take on hills and uneven terrain.
4) Evo 1000: This High-end Electric Scooter sports a ton impressive features including; Chain drive, 1000 watt motor (over 1 horsepower), 10 inch front and rear pneumatic street tires, three 12V/12AH (36 volt system) batteries, front and rear disc brakes, a charger and a quick release seat. The Evo 1000 electric scooter can reach a maximum speed of 24-26 mph (weight dependent), offers state-of-the-art Puzey design and manufacturing techniques, it can be folded and can carry a max load of 265 lbs per the manufacturer.
3) Go-Ped ESR750 EX: This Top of the line Electric Scooter boasts a low center of gravity, stable ride and out of this world maneuverability. It's very sturdy, reliable and straight forward to maintain. This Go-Ped Brand Scooter possesses many unique and Top quality features: carefully designed ergonomic controls, a built-in smart charger, powerful "Mad Dog" disc brakes, and an ultra-modern programmable controller. Go-Ped offers the best quality product of all scooter manufacturers on the market.
2) Go-Ped ESR750H Hoverboard: This is one of the Go-Ped brand's Best selling Electric Scooters. It has an advanced suspension system that gives riders unbeatable comfort, riding and handling features both on road and off. It’s also adjustable to provide either plush or sturdy support so riders have the Best balance to suit their needs. Go-Ped offers the absolute best quality product in the business.
… and the most popular stand-up electric scooter for adults according to the UrbanScooters.com Marketplace is ...
1) Go-Ped I-Ped2: The I-Ped2 wins the number one spot for Best Electric Scooter on our Top 10 list. This vehicle is as small as the original iPed, however, the new pneumatic tires and Mad Dog disk brakes give the iPed2 improved stopping and handling properties. Go-Ped offers a SLA battery as well as two Li-Ion battery configurations, so the consumer has several options to choose from. Plus, there is really no other scooter on the market that can beat its portability, quality and powerful drive setup.
10) Segway i2: Segway Brand vehicles are engineered to be intuitive to riders of all skill levels, and the i2 is no exception, on top of that it can conquer all types of turns and terrains.
9) Go Motorboard 2000X Transporter: The 2000X is a small, lightweight E Scooter with a 19.5 lb. frame; despite its slight size, this Scooter boasts a full one horsepower and still manages to be both light and portable.
8) Razor E300S: This seated Scooter ranks number 8 on our Top 10 list. The E300 can reach Top speeds of up to 15 miles per hour thanks to its high-performance, quiet and environmentally-friendly chain-drive motor.
7) X-Treme X-300: This is a High Quality Electric Scooter that was adapted from the X-250; It boasts an assortment of upgrades, including; a more powerful motor, 15 mph top speed, a wooden deck, chain drive, removable batteries and disk brakes.
6) e-Zip E750: This Scooter is a great buy; it can reach speeds up to 15 mph and has a range up to 12 miles (rider weight and terrain contingent), high capacity 12AH batteries for extended riding range and a powerful front linear pull brake system with power modulator.
5) X-Treme X-600: This is X-Treme's Best performance Electric Scooter. The X-600 can reach impressive speeds of up to 20 mph for up to 10 miles. The 600 watt electric motor offers riders a lot of power that will enable them to take on hills and uneven terrain.
4) Evo 1000: This High-end Electric Scooter sports a ton impressive features including; Chain drive, 1000 watt motor (over 1 horsepower), 10 inch front and rear pneumatic street tires, three 12V/12AH (36 volt system) batteries, front and rear disc brakes, a charger and a quick release seat. The Evo 1000 electric scooter can reach a maximum speed of 24-26 mph (weight dependent), offers state-of-the-art Puzey design and manufacturing techniques, it can be folded and can carry a max load of 265 lbs per the manufacturer.
3) Go-Ped ESR750 EX: This Top of the line Electric Scooter boasts a low center of gravity, stable ride and out of this world maneuverability. It's very sturdy, reliable and straight forward to maintain. This Go-Ped Brand Scooter possesses many unique and Top quality features: carefully designed ergonomic controls, a built-in smart charger, powerful "Mad Dog" disc brakes, and an ultra-modern programmable controller. Go-Ped offers the best quality product of all scooter manufacturers on the market.
2) Go-Ped ESR750H Hoverboard: This is one of the Go-Ped brand's Best selling Electric Scooters. It has an advanced suspension system that gives riders unbeatable comfort, riding and handling features both on road and off. It’s also adjustable to provide either plush or sturdy support so riders have the Best balance to suit their needs. Go-Ped offers the absolute best quality product in the business.
… and the most popular stand-up electric scooter for adults according to the UrbanScooters.com Marketplace is ...
1) Go-Ped I-Ped2: The I-Ped2 wins the number one spot for Best Electric Scooter on our Top 10 list. This vehicle is as small as the original iPed, however, the new pneumatic tires and Mad Dog disk brakes give the iPed2 improved stopping and handling properties. Go-Ped offers a SLA battery as well as two Li-Ion battery configurations, so the consumer has several options to choose from. Plus, there is really no other scooter on the market that can beat its portability, quality and powerful drive setup.
2015年8月24日星期一
Giants stars ditch cars for scooters
It started when former closer Brian Wilson mentioned that he liked scooters to team chef Joe Day, who happened to build them as a hobby. Before long, Wilson, Tim Lincecum, Hunter Pence, Sergio Romo, and Brandon Belt were cruising to the ballpark from their nearby downtown homes on their own heavily modified two-wheel electric rides.
The project really kicked into gear after the 2010 World Series. With some free time on his hands during the offseason, Day started pushing his scooter-making skills to the next level at a shop called Rustworks in San Carlos.
A chef by trade, Day, 28, works well with his hands and can offer about as many modifications to his custom scooters as he does ingredients in his cuisine.
"He's just a solid asset to an organization that is caring and affectionate to everybody," Romo said of Day.
Romo's scooter has a custom orange paint job, a turbo button, three-inch speakers that are mounted to a custom plate featuring his number, 54; an iPod dock to crank out the tunes and his name is painted on the baseboard.
"Mine is up there, but I think Timmy's might take the cake a little bit," Romo said.
Lincecum's scooter has all the features of Romo's ride and a special carbon fiber trim.
During Giants telecasts you'll often see shots of Pence cruising around town on his 2 wheel electric scooter. While he gets most of the airtime, his ride is a bit less flashy.
"There are some other guys with some very expensive scooters compared to mine," Pence said. "I have a very low-cost scooter."
Mindful that former Warriors guard Monta Ellis severely injured his left ankle on a moped shortly after signing a six-year, $66 million contract, all of the scooters made by Chef Day include extra large brakes, as well as engines that don't go any faster than 25 mph for added safety. There hasn't been an incident with any of the Giants players.
Day made two scooters for Pence, two more for Belt, and is currently making two for Madison Bumgarner, who is soon to join the scooter-riding ranks. Having a second scooter is key because these guys don't just hum down the Embarcadero to the ballpark, they also take joy rides alongside their significant others. Day says the average cost of the modified scooters is $2,000.
"I found out from Pence, Lincecum and Romo because they all had one," Belt said. "I talked to them about it and they said that they had a blast on them. I thought it might be something cool, since I live in the city this year, that me and my wife could have and drive around on."
Belt's scooter features a larger motor -- because he says he is a "bigger dude" -- with special shocks. While his scooter is orange, his wife Haylee's scooter is powder blue.
Chef Day did some special paintwork on Belt's scooter and they added some decals with his nickname 'baby giraffe' and jersey number for a personalized touch.
Day, a graduate of the California Culinary Academy, has been the team chef for the Giants since 2009. Every day he does his own grocery shopping, meal planning, and cooks up to three meals for about 50 people -- including Giants players, coaches, and clubhouse staff members.
"Every day he has grass-fed beef and kale salad for me ready to go for lunch," Pence said. "He's awesome."
Day is able to find time to work on his side projects when the team is on the road or during the baseball offseason.
His fine cuisine and scooters are currently only available to people inside the Giants organization, but he is willing to branch out. Day recently started a Twitter account: @RocketPed. He says he will make his scooters available to everybody if the interest level is there.
The project really kicked into gear after the 2010 World Series. With some free time on his hands during the offseason, Day started pushing his scooter-making skills to the next level at a shop called Rustworks in San Carlos.
A chef by trade, Day, 28, works well with his hands and can offer about as many modifications to his custom scooters as he does ingredients in his cuisine.
"He's just a solid asset to an organization that is caring and affectionate to everybody," Romo said of Day.
Romo's scooter has a custom orange paint job, a turbo button, three-inch speakers that are mounted to a custom plate featuring his number, 54; an iPod dock to crank out the tunes and his name is painted on the baseboard.
"Mine is up there, but I think Timmy's might take the cake a little bit," Romo said.
Lincecum's scooter has all the features of Romo's ride and a special carbon fiber trim.
During Giants telecasts you'll often see shots of Pence cruising around town on his 2 wheel electric scooter. While he gets most of the airtime, his ride is a bit less flashy.
"There are some other guys with some very expensive scooters compared to mine," Pence said. "I have a very low-cost scooter."
Mindful that former Warriors guard Monta Ellis severely injured his left ankle on a moped shortly after signing a six-year, $66 million contract, all of the scooters made by Chef Day include extra large brakes, as well as engines that don't go any faster than 25 mph for added safety. There hasn't been an incident with any of the Giants players.
Day made two scooters for Pence, two more for Belt, and is currently making two for Madison Bumgarner, who is soon to join the scooter-riding ranks. Having a second scooter is key because these guys don't just hum down the Embarcadero to the ballpark, they also take joy rides alongside their significant others. Day says the average cost of the modified scooters is $2,000.
"I found out from Pence, Lincecum and Romo because they all had one," Belt said. "I talked to them about it and they said that they had a blast on them. I thought it might be something cool, since I live in the city this year, that me and my wife could have and drive around on."
Belt's scooter features a larger motor -- because he says he is a "bigger dude" -- with special shocks. While his scooter is orange, his wife Haylee's scooter is powder blue.
Chef Day did some special paintwork on Belt's scooter and they added some decals with his nickname 'baby giraffe' and jersey number for a personalized touch.
Day, a graduate of the California Culinary Academy, has been the team chef for the Giants since 2009. Every day he does his own grocery shopping, meal planning, and cooks up to three meals for about 50 people -- including Giants players, coaches, and clubhouse staff members.
"Every day he has grass-fed beef and kale salad for me ready to go for lunch," Pence said. "He's awesome."
Day is able to find time to work on his side projects when the team is on the road or during the baseball offseason.
His fine cuisine and scooters are currently only available to people inside the Giants organization, but he is willing to branch out. Day recently started a Twitter account: @RocketPed. He says he will make his scooters available to everybody if the interest level is there.
2015年8月12日星期三
WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN SELECTING A 2 WHEEL ELECTRIC SCOOTER?
There are various brands and designs of electric scooters on the market today. Some of the most widely embraced and popular among these are the two-wheeled ones. When making a purchase for a 2 wheel electric scooter however, it is important to consider some factors. A number of the considerations you should make are mentioned below.
POWER OUTPUT
Being electric devices, one of the most important things that you should pay attention to is the power output. This is because the various designs have an equally diverse range of power outputs. It is important to select that which has an output that is powerful enough to provide the kind of drive you desire.
BATTERY LIFE
Just like the power output, the battery life varies from one model to another. The bottom line however, is that you should go for one that has the longest battery life. This is because the longer this is, the longer the time you can spend using it. This will ensure that you can make use of it for a longer period before you recharge it.
WEIGHT CAPACITY
The weight capacity refers to the maximum amount of weight a 2 wheel scooter can be capable to bear and run efficiently. Though this is relatively the same for most designs, you should identify the one that ids suited for you based on your weight. In doing this, you can be guaranteed of riding on one that would not bulge under your weight.
SPEED
This is definitely a no brainer. You should be very awake to the fact that all the different kinds of scooters have various maximum speeds that they can achieve. This means that it is imperative to go for one that has the speed that you feel most comfortable with. However, more is always better as it gives you the ability to go wherever you want fast.
PRICE
Finally, you should highly consider the amount it would cost you to purchase a 2 wheel electric scooter of your choice. The price also varies from one to another and should be a key factor in the selection process. As with the speed, you should go for one that suits your Pocket.
POWER OUTPUT
Being electric devices, one of the most important things that you should pay attention to is the power output. This is because the various designs have an equally diverse range of power outputs. It is important to select that which has an output that is powerful enough to provide the kind of drive you desire.
BATTERY LIFE
Just like the power output, the battery life varies from one model to another. The bottom line however, is that you should go for one that has the longest battery life. This is because the longer this is, the longer the time you can spend using it. This will ensure that you can make use of it for a longer period before you recharge it.
WEIGHT CAPACITY
The weight capacity refers to the maximum amount of weight a 2 wheel scooter can be capable to bear and run efficiently. Though this is relatively the same for most designs, you should identify the one that ids suited for you based on your weight. In doing this, you can be guaranteed of riding on one that would not bulge under your weight.
SPEED
This is definitely a no brainer. You should be very awake to the fact that all the different kinds of scooters have various maximum speeds that they can achieve. This means that it is imperative to go for one that has the speed that you feel most comfortable with. However, more is always better as it gives you the ability to go wherever you want fast.
PRICE
Finally, you should highly consider the amount it would cost you to purchase a 2 wheel electric scooter of your choice. The price also varies from one to another and should be a key factor in the selection process. As with the speed, you should go for one that suits your Pocket.
2015年8月2日星期日
Electric Scooter Buying Guide
They aren't just speed fixes or ways to get around for teens or young adults, electric scooters are real transportation solutions for those who don't need a large vehicle just to do their daily errands or to get from A to B. Buying your first electric scooter can be an intimidating experience if you've never owned anything on two wheels before. Consider these tips before you get started on your search for purchasing your first electric scooter.
Popular Electric Scooters
First thing you should ask yourself is who will be potentially riding your electric scooter. If it's just yourself, then the rest of the decision-making will be easy. If you expect other passengers to ride it regularly, consider what type of build you want to have for your electric scooter. Lighter, easier to handle scooters will be made largely of plastic, but they will also be more susceptible to damage from accidental drops or minor accidents. Maybe you can consider about china electric scooter, it's nice for adults.
The build quality of your scooter is very important, as needing to take your scooter in for repairs can cost you a lot of money at specialized scooter repair shops. If you intend on buying a scooter for your teenager, you should be looking at electric scooters made specifically for kids, rather than beginner-level scooters at scooter shops.
Electric Scooter upkeep
To expand on the last point about buying scooters for kids and adults: electric scooters that are found in places like Toys'R'Us are often much easier to maintain and are made for casual usage, while regular full-size scooters require more attentiveness and responsibility.
The batteries that come with kid's scooters are not as strong and don't hold a charge as well, made for a few hours of usage and needing at least twice as long to charge them. Also, most toy scooters have built-in batteries that may not be swapped or upgraded, while adult scooters allow for more freedom, depending on the manufacturer.
Another way to also research the longevity of an electric scooter is by confirming if it has genuine chrome plating to prevent rust and increase durability on its most vulnerable areas. Scooters tend to fall down unexpectedly, whether you're careful or not, having that extra layer of protection helps.
If you have chosen a full-sized electric scooter, learn as much as possible about what you can do to maintain the engine, any moving parts, and especially the braking system. You'll probably have change the brake pads a lot less often than a car, but you never want to have your brakes fail on a vehicle that leaves you so exposed.
Popular Electric Scooters
First thing you should ask yourself is who will be potentially riding your electric scooter. If it's just yourself, then the rest of the decision-making will be easy. If you expect other passengers to ride it regularly, consider what type of build you want to have for your electric scooter. Lighter, easier to handle scooters will be made largely of plastic, but they will also be more susceptible to damage from accidental drops or minor accidents. Maybe you can consider about china electric scooter, it's nice for adults.
The build quality of your scooter is very important, as needing to take your scooter in for repairs can cost you a lot of money at specialized scooter repair shops. If you intend on buying a scooter for your teenager, you should be looking at electric scooters made specifically for kids, rather than beginner-level scooters at scooter shops.
Electric Scooter upkeep
To expand on the last point about buying scooters for kids and adults: electric scooters that are found in places like Toys'R'Us are often much easier to maintain and are made for casual usage, while regular full-size scooters require more attentiveness and responsibility.
The batteries that come with kid's scooters are not as strong and don't hold a charge as well, made for a few hours of usage and needing at least twice as long to charge them. Also, most toy scooters have built-in batteries that may not be swapped or upgraded, while adult scooters allow for more freedom, depending on the manufacturer.
Another way to also research the longevity of an electric scooter is by confirming if it has genuine chrome plating to prevent rust and increase durability on its most vulnerable areas. Scooters tend to fall down unexpectedly, whether you're careful or not, having that extra layer of protection helps.
If you have chosen a full-sized electric scooter, learn as much as possible about what you can do to maintain the engine, any moving parts, and especially the braking system. You'll probably have change the brake pads a lot less often than a car, but you never want to have your brakes fail on a vehicle that leaves you so exposed.
2013年9月2日星期一
The Internet scourges families
Recent studies show that 89 percent of married-with-children households own multiple cellphones and 66 percent have high-speed Internet connections, well above the national average of 52 percent for all households.Forty-two percent (42 percent) of parents contact their children every day via cellphone, making cellphones the most popular communication tool between parents and children; 52 percent of married-with-children households go online together at least a few times a week, and another 34 percent of those families have "shared screen moments" at least occasionally. Seventy percent (70 percent) of couples in which both partners own a mobile phone contact each other daily to say hello or chat, while 54 percent of couples who have only one or no cell phones do; 64% of couples in which both partners own a cellphone contact each other daily to coordinate their schedules and 47 percent of couples who have one or no cell phones do.
This appears to be wonderful on the surface until you listen to the tragic story of the wife narrating her ordeal with the Internet. A desperate wife writes: "My husband & I were only 21 when we got married. We've been married for 13 years and are facing a problem because of his internet sex addiction. I discovered he was visiting x-rated sites and masturbating. I confronted him about it. I was devastated! We talked and talked about it. He was sincerely sorry about it, made a promise not to visit such sites again. About a year ago I again discovered his internet infidelity and confronted him about it. I was so hurt, even more then the indoor Tracking! Over and over again he has said he's sorry, there is no excuse. So divorce is definite this time. But I love him! He is great husband and the best father there is. What can I do?"
This story is a classic demonstration of the deep spiritual crisis we live in today. We are not threatened by terrorism but by something a lot more devastating: the spread of technology and the Internet. Internet access is common everywhere and is being introduced to younger children. The argument is that we are now raising a generation of children and young people who are spiritually dull and live according to logic only.Inadvertently, we are raising children capable of any and every atrocity without raising an eyebrow because of their spiritual depravity. Tragically, technology is our Achilles heel that in the end will be worse than any weapon of mass destruction. It will destroy us from within. This frightening trend can only be reversed if more and more citizens listen to their consciences and say enough is enough.
Technology puts the "I" in the centre and ignores the fact that life is only worth living if "I" depend on my neighbour. We are infatuated with the ability the Internet gives us. To be able to obtain everything that is available at the click of the mouse gives us power and makes us feel invincible. We also feel that the Internet is the solution to all of our emotional and spiritual problems because for every emotional disorder, there is a self-help website or a group blog.Finding love in the Internet age usually requires at least a toe-dip into the pool of online dating site. A teenager took his life after he fell victim to Internet daters perpetuating extortion scams through dating site chat rooms. In this scam, unsuspecting victims begin a chat conversation with a potential match. After establishing trust, the scammer will begin to initiate more sexual conversation. Once many messages have been swapped, the scammer then posted the sexual conversations, along with his name and a picture, on a website saying that they were a cheater. They offered to take down the incriminating information after he had paid them hundreds of dollars. Once the money exchanged hands, the information remains on the site. Around the world, many divorced women over the age of 40, particularly in countries where Internet is a major way of life, have fallen victim to this scourge.
Families are breaking up because of sexual conversations online. This risk is that you really don't know to whom you are speaking and the possibility of extortion is very real, as is the chance of your reputation being ruined. But there is a good rule of thumb for online conversation: If you wouldn't be embarrassed to show it to your parents or Hands free access, then it's appropriate. The teenager who took his life could not consider what he was doing to his mum and dad or how much their lives would be drastically changed by his death. But how many other people suffered in this event?
The Internet becomes a sick and highly destructive device when it is used by crazy people like a 21-year old Great Neck, New York man who was charged in a criminal complaint in the Eastern District of Michigan, USA with Internet extortion and cyber stalking. According to the affidavit, from May 2012 through February 2013, Adam Paul Savader sent anonymous text messages using Google Voice numbers to 15 women stating that he had nude photographs of the women and threatening to distribute the nude photographs to the women's friends and family members, unless the women sent him more nude photographs of themselves. Savader sent some of the victims links to a photo-sharing website where nude pictures of the victims had been posted. If convicted on these charges, Savader faces a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment.
The Internet is a great invention that was created to feed and continues to feed on a global economic system called capitalism. This system, according to Karl Marx, makes workers slaves to their passions and to those who own the means of production. It's about making money at any cost and those living under this system are lured into practicing religion so that they can forget about their economic exploitation. Karl Marx saw faith in religion under the capitalist system as a drug, and so he argued, in 1843, that "religion is the opium (drug) of the people". They will not rebel against the system because they are under a hallucinating drug. Under capitalism today, the drug of religion is represented by the Internet. The Internet is the drug that is supposed to cure all psychological and mental ills of today.
It is regrettable that we are quick to forget the old saying that "not everything that glitters is gold". The Internet has become our god, our idol, which we now worship instead of the true God. Yet we have never been lonelier or more isolated from other human beings. What use is it to have all the possessions the world offers right in my living room if it separates me from other people? The essence of community is being systematically destroyed. If in any culture the minds and hearts of the children and youth have been captured, the war is already won. We are succumbing to the same temptation that Satan put before Jesus: Worship me, and the whole world and its glory will be yours. It is this temptation that Jesus rejected by pointing Satan to the Scriptures. The greatest challenge of education, the greatest challenge to parents and teachers, is not to teach our children reading, writing and arithmetic, which are important, but to see that they do not become spiritually dull.
As we struggle to build modern families, we seem to be succeeding in creating separate worlds under the same roof via the Internet. There are two main reasons why the Internet does not bring people closer together. First, it eliminates interaction.Second, it dehumanises communication. By searching on the Internet for places to shop, they eliminate conversations that used to be held between friends and family.Then, when there are conversations on the Internet, because of the lack of face time, there is so little substance that no lasting connection is made. Also, these conversations tend not to be genuine because people will say things online without thinking, which, as social creatures, is not the way we were set up to interact.The Internet makes people more isolated and jaded towards their fellow human beings. Most people I know would rather stay at home and talk to strangers or play computer games rather than socialise with family, spend time with kids, play games, fish, camp or any other such social activity. Some of the evil products made by the Internet make millions rich by destroying real human love and lifelong marital bonds. Businessmen seek to divide and conquer by destroying God's gift to mankind in the form of human sexuality. Their agenda is to disrupt the family unit, ultimately rendering man and woman isolated. When the family is destroyed, mankind is powerless to resist their subjugation.
They have a multi-pronged strategy to achieve this goal. By polluting the culture with sex-based media propaganda, they create demand for instant carnal gratification devoid of responsibility or moral obligation. By sexualizing the youth, businessmen remotely control the next generation. When young boys and girls grow up believing that viewing online dirty material, engaging in "hook-ups," and "being hot" is the societal expectation, they abandon aspirations of seeking a soul-mate that will love and protect them for life. When men can be chained to their online lovers and cable-box companions, they lose respect for their partners and a chasm develops in their intimate relations.The fact of the matter is that true happiness can only be experienced with those that you love in the flesh, and who share your spiritual values. We must defeat the capitalist Satanist's agenda. The Bible says "there is a way that seems right to men but the end is destruction" and "see to it that no one takes you captive to hallow and deceptive philosophy which depend on human traditions than the teachings of Christ".
The world is plagued by false philosophy about sex. But pornography is a virus; a worm eating through the apple.Pornography is a destroyer of marriage, the home, self-dignity, society, chastity, moral value, careers and relationships. On the other hand, God is love; He'll forgive our sins if you repent. God hates all forms of immorality and defines it pretty well in His book. The Internet can be a scourge on the earth. Like Satan, it seeks whom it can devour and destroy, reaching into homes of innocent families. But families can get a screening service to monitor their home computers which should be kept in a public room of the house and not in the children's bedrooms parents cannot control what is being watched. Most of children do it because they are lazy and the computer keeps them busy and away from the parent. This is neglect and in even child abuse. When parents do not monitor what the child is accessing on the Internet, horrible things can happen. I think there should be laws against children having computers in their room for that reason.
Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/!
This appears to be wonderful on the surface until you listen to the tragic story of the wife narrating her ordeal with the Internet. A desperate wife writes: "My husband & I were only 21 when we got married. We've been married for 13 years and are facing a problem because of his internet sex addiction. I discovered he was visiting x-rated sites and masturbating. I confronted him about it. I was devastated! We talked and talked about it. He was sincerely sorry about it, made a promise not to visit such sites again. About a year ago I again discovered his internet infidelity and confronted him about it. I was so hurt, even more then the indoor Tracking! Over and over again he has said he's sorry, there is no excuse. So divorce is definite this time. But I love him! He is great husband and the best father there is. What can I do?"
This story is a classic demonstration of the deep spiritual crisis we live in today. We are not threatened by terrorism but by something a lot more devastating: the spread of technology and the Internet. Internet access is common everywhere and is being introduced to younger children. The argument is that we are now raising a generation of children and young people who are spiritually dull and live according to logic only.Inadvertently, we are raising children capable of any and every atrocity without raising an eyebrow because of their spiritual depravity. Tragically, technology is our Achilles heel that in the end will be worse than any weapon of mass destruction. It will destroy us from within. This frightening trend can only be reversed if more and more citizens listen to their consciences and say enough is enough.
Technology puts the "I" in the centre and ignores the fact that life is only worth living if "I" depend on my neighbour. We are infatuated with the ability the Internet gives us. To be able to obtain everything that is available at the click of the mouse gives us power and makes us feel invincible. We also feel that the Internet is the solution to all of our emotional and spiritual problems because for every emotional disorder, there is a self-help website or a group blog.Finding love in the Internet age usually requires at least a toe-dip into the pool of online dating site. A teenager took his life after he fell victim to Internet daters perpetuating extortion scams through dating site chat rooms. In this scam, unsuspecting victims begin a chat conversation with a potential match. After establishing trust, the scammer will begin to initiate more sexual conversation. Once many messages have been swapped, the scammer then posted the sexual conversations, along with his name and a picture, on a website saying that they were a cheater. They offered to take down the incriminating information after he had paid them hundreds of dollars. Once the money exchanged hands, the information remains on the site. Around the world, many divorced women over the age of 40, particularly in countries where Internet is a major way of life, have fallen victim to this scourge.
Families are breaking up because of sexual conversations online. This risk is that you really don't know to whom you are speaking and the possibility of extortion is very real, as is the chance of your reputation being ruined. But there is a good rule of thumb for online conversation: If you wouldn't be embarrassed to show it to your parents or Hands free access, then it's appropriate. The teenager who took his life could not consider what he was doing to his mum and dad or how much their lives would be drastically changed by his death. But how many other people suffered in this event?
The Internet becomes a sick and highly destructive device when it is used by crazy people like a 21-year old Great Neck, New York man who was charged in a criminal complaint in the Eastern District of Michigan, USA with Internet extortion and cyber stalking. According to the affidavit, from May 2012 through February 2013, Adam Paul Savader sent anonymous text messages using Google Voice numbers to 15 women stating that he had nude photographs of the women and threatening to distribute the nude photographs to the women's friends and family members, unless the women sent him more nude photographs of themselves. Savader sent some of the victims links to a photo-sharing website where nude pictures of the victims had been posted. If convicted on these charges, Savader faces a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment.
The Internet is a great invention that was created to feed and continues to feed on a global economic system called capitalism. This system, according to Karl Marx, makes workers slaves to their passions and to those who own the means of production. It's about making money at any cost and those living under this system are lured into practicing religion so that they can forget about their economic exploitation. Karl Marx saw faith in religion under the capitalist system as a drug, and so he argued, in 1843, that "religion is the opium (drug) of the people". They will not rebel against the system because they are under a hallucinating drug. Under capitalism today, the drug of religion is represented by the Internet. The Internet is the drug that is supposed to cure all psychological and mental ills of today.
It is regrettable that we are quick to forget the old saying that "not everything that glitters is gold". The Internet has become our god, our idol, which we now worship instead of the true God. Yet we have never been lonelier or more isolated from other human beings. What use is it to have all the possessions the world offers right in my living room if it separates me from other people? The essence of community is being systematically destroyed. If in any culture the minds and hearts of the children and youth have been captured, the war is already won. We are succumbing to the same temptation that Satan put before Jesus: Worship me, and the whole world and its glory will be yours. It is this temptation that Jesus rejected by pointing Satan to the Scriptures. The greatest challenge of education, the greatest challenge to parents and teachers, is not to teach our children reading, writing and arithmetic, which are important, but to see that they do not become spiritually dull.
As we struggle to build modern families, we seem to be succeeding in creating separate worlds under the same roof via the Internet. There are two main reasons why the Internet does not bring people closer together. First, it eliminates interaction.Second, it dehumanises communication. By searching on the Internet for places to shop, they eliminate conversations that used to be held between friends and family.Then, when there are conversations on the Internet, because of the lack of face time, there is so little substance that no lasting connection is made. Also, these conversations tend not to be genuine because people will say things online without thinking, which, as social creatures, is not the way we were set up to interact.The Internet makes people more isolated and jaded towards their fellow human beings. Most people I know would rather stay at home and talk to strangers or play computer games rather than socialise with family, spend time with kids, play games, fish, camp or any other such social activity. Some of the evil products made by the Internet make millions rich by destroying real human love and lifelong marital bonds. Businessmen seek to divide and conquer by destroying God's gift to mankind in the form of human sexuality. Their agenda is to disrupt the family unit, ultimately rendering man and woman isolated. When the family is destroyed, mankind is powerless to resist their subjugation.
They have a multi-pronged strategy to achieve this goal. By polluting the culture with sex-based media propaganda, they create demand for instant carnal gratification devoid of responsibility or moral obligation. By sexualizing the youth, businessmen remotely control the next generation. When young boys and girls grow up believing that viewing online dirty material, engaging in "hook-ups," and "being hot" is the societal expectation, they abandon aspirations of seeking a soul-mate that will love and protect them for life. When men can be chained to their online lovers and cable-box companions, they lose respect for their partners and a chasm develops in their intimate relations.The fact of the matter is that true happiness can only be experienced with those that you love in the flesh, and who share your spiritual values. We must defeat the capitalist Satanist's agenda. The Bible says "there is a way that seems right to men but the end is destruction" and "see to it that no one takes you captive to hallow and deceptive philosophy which depend on human traditions than the teachings of Christ".
The world is plagued by false philosophy about sex. But pornography is a virus; a worm eating through the apple.Pornography is a destroyer of marriage, the home, self-dignity, society, chastity, moral value, careers and relationships. On the other hand, God is love; He'll forgive our sins if you repent. God hates all forms of immorality and defines it pretty well in His book. The Internet can be a scourge on the earth. Like Satan, it seeks whom it can devour and destroy, reaching into homes of innocent families. But families can get a screening service to monitor their home computers which should be kept in a public room of the house and not in the children's bedrooms parents cannot control what is being watched. Most of children do it because they are lazy and the computer keeps them busy and away from the parent. This is neglect and in even child abuse. When parents do not monitor what the child is accessing on the Internet, horrible things can happen. I think there should be laws against children having computers in their room for that reason.
Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/!
Gun Control Issue Resolved in 1791
Our rights are natural, given to us by the Creator. So, with that in mind, understand that The Second Amendment does not give you the right to keep and bear arms. The Second Amendment does not protect you against the government from taking away your guns. Your rights are given to you by God, and protecting your rights are your responsibility.
In today’s America, there is a concerted effort to remove your gun rights. But the right to keep and bear arms is so entrenched in the fabric of our society, the statists that desire to disarm you are also using a method that goes after the ammunition. Bullets are hard to come by, of late. Certain kinds of ammo, like hollow points, are under fire. In California, starting in January of 2014, background checks will be required for the purchase of projectiles, if Jerry Brown signs the bill sitting on his desk.
It almost makes me want to take up the bow and arrow. . . almost.There is no enumeration in the Constitution that grants to the federal government the authority to regulate firearms. In the first seven articles the authority to regulate firearms at the federal level is not granted. In the 2nd Amendment, the federal government is told it “shall” not infringe upon the right to keep and bear arms. But that was only added to the Constitution because the Anti-federalists feared that if it was not in writing, the federal government would ultimately infringe on our God-given gun rights.
The Second Amendment begins with a call for “A well regulated militia.” A well regulated militia is not one regulated by the government, as assumed by many folks because of their flawed notion regarding the definition of the word “regulated.” The part of the amendment that calls for a well-regulated militia is stating that the militia must be a fighting force that is in good order.
We must remember that the word “regulated” in 1791 did not necessarily mean “to control and restrict,” as the statists claim in today’s political atmosphere. The word “Indoor Positioning System,” according to the 1828 version of Webster’s Dictionary, was defined as meaning: “to put in good order.” The need to have a militia in good order makes sense when one considers that during the Revolutionary War the militia was not in good order. The muskets were all different sizes, often the clothing of some members of the militia was tattered, and many didn’t even have shoes. So, a well regulated militia, from the point of the view of the founders, was a militia that was in good order.
The need for the citizens to be armed was made evident during the Revolutionary War, and the importance of gun ownership by the people of that generation was clearly portrayed by the context of the Battle of Lexington Green, where the first shot of The Revolution was fired.
The British Troops were marching toward Concord, Massachusetts, and a rag tag company of the Massachusetts Militia met the Redcoats at Lexington, to confront them, and stop them. A shot rang out, which triggered a gun battle, and the War for Independence was in full gear.
But why was stopping the British at Lexington so imperative? What made the revolutionaries so intent on doing whatever it took to prevent the King’s Army from gaining access to Concord?In Concord was our largest munitions depot. Guns and ammunition were stored in Concord. So, it can be said that the final straw - what made us fighting mad enough that we began a bloody revolution against England - was when they came for our guns.
The current push for gun control is not the first effort by the federal government to go after our ability to defend ourselves. The federal gun-running operation called Fast and Furious placed guns in the hands of the Mexican drug cartels so that, if the democrats played their cards right, the guns would be used to kill many Mexicans, and then the party of the jackass could scream, “See what American guns have done?” hoping that American voters would demand a stop be put to the manufacturing of such dangerous weapons.
The operation backfired, two border patrol agents were killed, and the scandal grew to reveal what the Obama administration was trying to do. The administration, with no surprise to anyone, has been lying about the operation from day one. The media hopped aboard those lies, and have protected the president as best they could. The democrats have circled the wagons regarding the Fast and Furious scandal, and the scandal that would have brought down any GOP President, thanks to quick damage control by Obama’s minions, remained harmless, and has been all but forgotten.
Prior to the Fast and Furious operation being exposed, the federal government, through the courts, attempted to gain the power of dictating to the States what they can, and cannot, do, regarding firearms by ruling against State Sovereignty in the McDonald v. City of Chicago case.
Before the ruling regarding Chicago’s handgun ban, in the Washington DC v. Heller case in 2008 the Supreme Court of the United States determined that the right to bear arms is an individual right, as opposed to a collective right which would only allow the bearing of arms for the purpose of participating in government approved groups, such as law enforcement agencies.
Anti-Federalists feared the creation of a central government because they feared the federal government would become tyrannical, and take away people’s rights. Therefore, even though the Constitution in the first seven articles did not grant to the federal government any authority over gun rights, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights, those skeptical over the creation of a central government wanted an amendment that clarified clearly that the federal government had no authority to infringe on the right to keep and bear arms. The Second Amendment is the article that spells out the terms regarding gun rights in America, as the Anti-federalists desired.
We have to remember that State Sovereignty is an important factor, here. All powers belonged to the States prior to the writing of the Constitution. The first seven articles did not give to the federal government the authority to regulate firearms, therefore, any legislative power over gun rights is a State power. The 10th Amendment supports the States’ rights regarding this issue, and the 2nd Amendment confirms the limits placed on the federal government regarding guns.
This does not mean the States have the right to infringe on your gun rights, however. Remember, your right to keep and bear arms is a personal, fundamental, natural right given to you by God. The founders did not worry about the States infringing on gun rights, because the local governments were closer to the people. They expected you to protect your right to keep and bear arms, and to not let your State become tyrannical regarding that issue. But in today’s political environment, the argument has become all about the tyranny of the States. If the 2nd Amendment does not apply to the States, what keeps the States from infringing on gun rights? They seem to be stomping on our right to our guns quite readily.
My response to that query is always the same: “So don’t let them.” Gun rights, be they protected in the Second Amendment, or listed in your State Constitution, is nothing more than ink on paper if you are not willing to defend those gun rights.
The only thing that can put our rights in jeopardy concerning State governments would be if we became so complacent that we stopped taking action to protect our rights. With freedom comes the responsibility to fight for your freedoms.
Noah Webster in his “An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution,” in 1787 said it clearly: “Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States.”
The federal government knows this, which is why they are trying to use the courts to overrule your sovereignty, and to limit the kinds of firearms, and ammunition, you can own.In the 2010 case of McDonald v. City of Chicago, which challenged the City of Chicago’s ban on hand guns, the debate over whether or not the 2nd Amendment only applies to the Federal Government was brought to the surface.
The 5-4 Decision of the McDonald v. City of Chicago case by the U.S. Supreme Court holds that the 2nd Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms in all cities and States. The U.S. Supreme Court concluded that originally the 2nd Amendment applied only to the Federal Government, but it is in the opinion of the court that the 14th Amendment incorporates the Bill of Rights, therefore applying those amendments, and more specifically the 2nd Amendment, to the States.
Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/!
In today’s America, there is a concerted effort to remove your gun rights. But the right to keep and bear arms is so entrenched in the fabric of our society, the statists that desire to disarm you are also using a method that goes after the ammunition. Bullets are hard to come by, of late. Certain kinds of ammo, like hollow points, are under fire. In California, starting in January of 2014, background checks will be required for the purchase of projectiles, if Jerry Brown signs the bill sitting on his desk.
It almost makes me want to take up the bow and arrow. . . almost.There is no enumeration in the Constitution that grants to the federal government the authority to regulate firearms. In the first seven articles the authority to regulate firearms at the federal level is not granted. In the 2nd Amendment, the federal government is told it “shall” not infringe upon the right to keep and bear arms. But that was only added to the Constitution because the Anti-federalists feared that if it was not in writing, the federal government would ultimately infringe on our God-given gun rights.
The Second Amendment begins with a call for “A well regulated militia.” A well regulated militia is not one regulated by the government, as assumed by many folks because of their flawed notion regarding the definition of the word “regulated.” The part of the amendment that calls for a well-regulated militia is stating that the militia must be a fighting force that is in good order.
We must remember that the word “regulated” in 1791 did not necessarily mean “to control and restrict,” as the statists claim in today’s political atmosphere. The word “Indoor Positioning System,” according to the 1828 version of Webster’s Dictionary, was defined as meaning: “to put in good order.” The need to have a militia in good order makes sense when one considers that during the Revolutionary War the militia was not in good order. The muskets were all different sizes, often the clothing of some members of the militia was tattered, and many didn’t even have shoes. So, a well regulated militia, from the point of the view of the founders, was a militia that was in good order.
The need for the citizens to be armed was made evident during the Revolutionary War, and the importance of gun ownership by the people of that generation was clearly portrayed by the context of the Battle of Lexington Green, where the first shot of The Revolution was fired.
The British Troops were marching toward Concord, Massachusetts, and a rag tag company of the Massachusetts Militia met the Redcoats at Lexington, to confront them, and stop them. A shot rang out, which triggered a gun battle, and the War for Independence was in full gear.
But why was stopping the British at Lexington so imperative? What made the revolutionaries so intent on doing whatever it took to prevent the King’s Army from gaining access to Concord?In Concord was our largest munitions depot. Guns and ammunition were stored in Concord. So, it can be said that the final straw - what made us fighting mad enough that we began a bloody revolution against England - was when they came for our guns.
The current push for gun control is not the first effort by the federal government to go after our ability to defend ourselves. The federal gun-running operation called Fast and Furious placed guns in the hands of the Mexican drug cartels so that, if the democrats played their cards right, the guns would be used to kill many Mexicans, and then the party of the jackass could scream, “See what American guns have done?” hoping that American voters would demand a stop be put to the manufacturing of such dangerous weapons.
The operation backfired, two border patrol agents were killed, and the scandal grew to reveal what the Obama administration was trying to do. The administration, with no surprise to anyone, has been lying about the operation from day one. The media hopped aboard those lies, and have protected the president as best they could. The democrats have circled the wagons regarding the Fast and Furious scandal, and the scandal that would have brought down any GOP President, thanks to quick damage control by Obama’s minions, remained harmless, and has been all but forgotten.
Prior to the Fast and Furious operation being exposed, the federal government, through the courts, attempted to gain the power of dictating to the States what they can, and cannot, do, regarding firearms by ruling against State Sovereignty in the McDonald v. City of Chicago case.
Before the ruling regarding Chicago’s handgun ban, in the Washington DC v. Heller case in 2008 the Supreme Court of the United States determined that the right to bear arms is an individual right, as opposed to a collective right which would only allow the bearing of arms for the purpose of participating in government approved groups, such as law enforcement agencies.
Anti-Federalists feared the creation of a central government because they feared the federal government would become tyrannical, and take away people’s rights. Therefore, even though the Constitution in the first seven articles did not grant to the federal government any authority over gun rights, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights, those skeptical over the creation of a central government wanted an amendment that clarified clearly that the federal government had no authority to infringe on the right to keep and bear arms. The Second Amendment is the article that spells out the terms regarding gun rights in America, as the Anti-federalists desired.
We have to remember that State Sovereignty is an important factor, here. All powers belonged to the States prior to the writing of the Constitution. The first seven articles did not give to the federal government the authority to regulate firearms, therefore, any legislative power over gun rights is a State power. The 10th Amendment supports the States’ rights regarding this issue, and the 2nd Amendment confirms the limits placed on the federal government regarding guns.
This does not mean the States have the right to infringe on your gun rights, however. Remember, your right to keep and bear arms is a personal, fundamental, natural right given to you by God. The founders did not worry about the States infringing on gun rights, because the local governments were closer to the people. They expected you to protect your right to keep and bear arms, and to not let your State become tyrannical regarding that issue. But in today’s political environment, the argument has become all about the tyranny of the States. If the 2nd Amendment does not apply to the States, what keeps the States from infringing on gun rights? They seem to be stomping on our right to our guns quite readily.
My response to that query is always the same: “So don’t let them.” Gun rights, be they protected in the Second Amendment, or listed in your State Constitution, is nothing more than ink on paper if you are not willing to defend those gun rights.
The only thing that can put our rights in jeopardy concerning State governments would be if we became so complacent that we stopped taking action to protect our rights. With freedom comes the responsibility to fight for your freedoms.
Noah Webster in his “An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution,” in 1787 said it clearly: “Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States.”
The federal government knows this, which is why they are trying to use the courts to overrule your sovereignty, and to limit the kinds of firearms, and ammunition, you can own.In the 2010 case of McDonald v. City of Chicago, which challenged the City of Chicago’s ban on hand guns, the debate over whether or not the 2nd Amendment only applies to the Federal Government was brought to the surface.
The 5-4 Decision of the McDonald v. City of Chicago case by the U.S. Supreme Court holds that the 2nd Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms in all cities and States. The U.S. Supreme Court concluded that originally the 2nd Amendment applied only to the Federal Government, but it is in the opinion of the court that the 14th Amendment incorporates the Bill of Rights, therefore applying those amendments, and more specifically the 2nd Amendment, to the States.
Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/!
2013年8月28日星期三
Crowd gets tougher on leaders
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has thrown the lever to populism, calling for tighter restrictions on the sale of Australian land to foreign individuals and state-owned enterprises and admitting he feels ''anxious'' about foreign ownership.
The shift came as Mr Rudd and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott faced off at the third and final leaders debate of the 2013 campaign. Both leaders were noticeably tired but managed to present a more civil atmosphere than at previous encounters, even if the questioning from voters took on a harsher edge.
An exit poll of the hand-picked audience of 100 undecided voters scored the debate as a comfortable win for Mr Rudd with 45 votes, to Mr Abbott on 38. Nineteen remained undecided.Other questions dealt with Mr Abbott's gold-plated Paid Parental Leave scheme with Mr Rudd hammering the super-generous provisions as Hands free access, and at least one questioner agreeing.
Small businessman Ian, told Mr Abbott: ''I just think, that a fork-lift driver from Mount Druitt should not be paying his taxes so a pretty little lady lawyer on the North Shore on 180 grand a year can have a kid,'' he said. Mr Abbott countered by saying that big business funded the scheme, via a levy, not taxpayers.
Declaring himself ''old-fashioned'' when it comes to allowing access foreign access to Australian land, Mr Rudd said he was ''not quite as free market as Tony [Abbott] on this stuff.'' He said he was far more in favour of joint venture approaches to access foreign capital to ensure Australian land stayed in Australian hands.Mr Abbott said a Coalition government would lower the scrutiny threshold to ensure the Foreign Investment Review Board examined acquisition proposals above ''about $15 million'' - down from more than $220 million currently.
Mr Rudd's shift appeared to come without prior consultation. It came as the trailing Mr Rudd was also forced to defend his sustained internal campaign against Julia Gillard through this year. He claimed he did ''absolutely the right thing'' by replacing her.''I can say that through all of that I believe I was doing absolutely the right thing by the party and by the country,'' he replied to the questioner, Amanda.
Mr Abbott declared he would not close any Medicare Locals. The definitive guarantee appeared to be improvised after he had pointedly left open the possibility of closures less than a week ago when he said: ''Now, can I say that absolutely no Medicare Local will close? I'm not going to say that.''
Police Chief Bill Blair has for quite some time been on the record as urging broader deployment of Tasers as an option less harmful than guns. Yet in an interview with the Star last week, the chief was careful to qualify his support of Tasers for front-line cops.
“It’s not risk-free. When they first brought them out, they made it sound like it was as safe as Tylenol. There’s a risk associated to its use. It’s what we call a less-lethal-force option. That’s a good thing — if you can do it. But you should always try to resolve these things using the least amount of force possible.’’
It’s all after-the-fact speculation, of course. Toronto Police Association president Mike McCormack has claimed Forcillo called for a Taser to be brought before he fired his weapon nine times. Why he didn’t wait will no doubt be a matter explored at trial.
What is clear, from the numerous studies conducted, is that a Taser — like any other weapon — is dangerous in the wrong hands, no less when those are an officer’s hands. Many civil rights groups deplore the thing. These are the same people often most vocal in their condemnation of police shootings, particularly when the victims suffer from mental illness.
Amnesty International, for one, claims there have been more than 500 deaths due to Tasers since 2001. One of them was Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, zapped five times by RCMP officers in the Vancouver airport in 2007. That disturbing event triggered an exhaustive inquiry that delivered a slew of recommendations about when conductive energy weapons should be deployed — most crucially, only when there’s a danger the suspect will cause bodily harm, which still leaves it hopelessly discretionary. The Vancouver Tasering, also captured on video that the RCMP originally claimed didn’t exist, was deemed a homicide, with the officers acting too quickly.
The weapons gadgetry available to law enforcement is only as good as the decision-making, the judgment, of those invested with the authority to use it. And that judgment will not necessarily be sufficiently honed by a few days of training on stun guns. Indeed, there’s ample evidence showing that officers reach for the Taser more frequently, too frequently, than they would reach for a sidearm, in circumstances that don’t warrant use of force.
They defuse with a fuse because they’ve got this handy new toy that emits an electrical current via wires and barbs which disrupts voluntary control of muscles — electro-muscular disruption technology, as described by the manufacturer, Taser International. Around the world, some 17,000 law enforcement and military agencies in more than 100 countries use Tasers now. In some jurisdictions, corrections officers use them to subdue prisoners as well. Little wonder Taser stock surged more than 30 percent in the last two weeks alone, though the spike is also attributable to police demand for the company’s merchandizing of wearable video cameras, tucked into a patrol cop’s vest, for the purpose of documenting incidents with the public.
It’s unclear where Toronto Police Services will get the money to pay for equipping all front-line officers with Tasers — which could cost up to $10 million. One suggestion is that cops pay for it out-of-pocket, which is unreasonable.
The Ontario government maintains its shift on Tasers was not influenced by Sammy Yatin’s death and certainly appears to have been in the works before that shooting. More likely, the Ministry was reacting to an inquest earlier this year in Midhurst — the first where use of a Taser was a “contributing factor’’ in the death, officially caused by cardiac arrhythmia due to a state of excited delirium. In that 2010 case, OPP responding to an assault complaint came upon Aron Firman, a 27-year-old schizophrenic who was Tased when he made a movement toward one of the officers. The SIU cleared the officer of any wrongdoing. But the inquest jury heard immensely contradictory evidence about what happened.
Specific cases can be used to buttress both the pro- and anti-Taser constituencies. Earlier this month, a suicidal woman holding a knife near the railroad tracks in Burlington was subdued by a Taser and taken to hospital under provisions of the Mental Health Act. A life may have been saved.
Read the full products at www.ecived.com/en/!
The shift came as Mr Rudd and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott faced off at the third and final leaders debate of the 2013 campaign. Both leaders were noticeably tired but managed to present a more civil atmosphere than at previous encounters, even if the questioning from voters took on a harsher edge.
An exit poll of the hand-picked audience of 100 undecided voters scored the debate as a comfortable win for Mr Rudd with 45 votes, to Mr Abbott on 38. Nineteen remained undecided.Other questions dealt with Mr Abbott's gold-plated Paid Parental Leave scheme with Mr Rudd hammering the super-generous provisions as Hands free access, and at least one questioner agreeing.
Small businessman Ian, told Mr Abbott: ''I just think, that a fork-lift driver from Mount Druitt should not be paying his taxes so a pretty little lady lawyer on the North Shore on 180 grand a year can have a kid,'' he said. Mr Abbott countered by saying that big business funded the scheme, via a levy, not taxpayers.
Declaring himself ''old-fashioned'' when it comes to allowing access foreign access to Australian land, Mr Rudd said he was ''not quite as free market as Tony [Abbott] on this stuff.'' He said he was far more in favour of joint venture approaches to access foreign capital to ensure Australian land stayed in Australian hands.Mr Abbott said a Coalition government would lower the scrutiny threshold to ensure the Foreign Investment Review Board examined acquisition proposals above ''about $15 million'' - down from more than $220 million currently.
Mr Rudd's shift appeared to come without prior consultation. It came as the trailing Mr Rudd was also forced to defend his sustained internal campaign against Julia Gillard through this year. He claimed he did ''absolutely the right thing'' by replacing her.''I can say that through all of that I believe I was doing absolutely the right thing by the party and by the country,'' he replied to the questioner, Amanda.
Mr Abbott declared he would not close any Medicare Locals. The definitive guarantee appeared to be improvised after he had pointedly left open the possibility of closures less than a week ago when he said: ''Now, can I say that absolutely no Medicare Local will close? I'm not going to say that.''
Police Chief Bill Blair has for quite some time been on the record as urging broader deployment of Tasers as an option less harmful than guns. Yet in an interview with the Star last week, the chief was careful to qualify his support of Tasers for front-line cops.
“It’s not risk-free. When they first brought them out, they made it sound like it was as safe as Tylenol. There’s a risk associated to its use. It’s what we call a less-lethal-force option. That’s a good thing — if you can do it. But you should always try to resolve these things using the least amount of force possible.’’
It’s all after-the-fact speculation, of course. Toronto Police Association president Mike McCormack has claimed Forcillo called for a Taser to be brought before he fired his weapon nine times. Why he didn’t wait will no doubt be a matter explored at trial.
What is clear, from the numerous studies conducted, is that a Taser — like any other weapon — is dangerous in the wrong hands, no less when those are an officer’s hands. Many civil rights groups deplore the thing. These are the same people often most vocal in their condemnation of police shootings, particularly when the victims suffer from mental illness.
Amnesty International, for one, claims there have been more than 500 deaths due to Tasers since 2001. One of them was Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, zapped five times by RCMP officers in the Vancouver airport in 2007. That disturbing event triggered an exhaustive inquiry that delivered a slew of recommendations about when conductive energy weapons should be deployed — most crucially, only when there’s a danger the suspect will cause bodily harm, which still leaves it hopelessly discretionary. The Vancouver Tasering, also captured on video that the RCMP originally claimed didn’t exist, was deemed a homicide, with the officers acting too quickly.
The weapons gadgetry available to law enforcement is only as good as the decision-making, the judgment, of those invested with the authority to use it. And that judgment will not necessarily be sufficiently honed by a few days of training on stun guns. Indeed, there’s ample evidence showing that officers reach for the Taser more frequently, too frequently, than they would reach for a sidearm, in circumstances that don’t warrant use of force.
They defuse with a fuse because they’ve got this handy new toy that emits an electrical current via wires and barbs which disrupts voluntary control of muscles — electro-muscular disruption technology, as described by the manufacturer, Taser International. Around the world, some 17,000 law enforcement and military agencies in more than 100 countries use Tasers now. In some jurisdictions, corrections officers use them to subdue prisoners as well. Little wonder Taser stock surged more than 30 percent in the last two weeks alone, though the spike is also attributable to police demand for the company’s merchandizing of wearable video cameras, tucked into a patrol cop’s vest, for the purpose of documenting incidents with the public.
It’s unclear where Toronto Police Services will get the money to pay for equipping all front-line officers with Tasers — which could cost up to $10 million. One suggestion is that cops pay for it out-of-pocket, which is unreasonable.
The Ontario government maintains its shift on Tasers was not influenced by Sammy Yatin’s death and certainly appears to have been in the works before that shooting. More likely, the Ministry was reacting to an inquest earlier this year in Midhurst — the first where use of a Taser was a “contributing factor’’ in the death, officially caused by cardiac arrhythmia due to a state of excited delirium. In that 2010 case, OPP responding to an assault complaint came upon Aron Firman, a 27-year-old schizophrenic who was Tased when he made a movement toward one of the officers. The SIU cleared the officer of any wrongdoing. But the inquest jury heard immensely contradictory evidence about what happened.
Specific cases can be used to buttress both the pro- and anti-Taser constituencies. Earlier this month, a suicidal woman holding a knife near the railroad tracks in Burlington was subdued by a Taser and taken to hospital under provisions of the Mental Health Act. A life may have been saved.
Read the full products at www.ecived.com/en/!
Thousands pack commemorate 1963 march
Fifty years to the day after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, a large crowd streamed onto the National Mall and listened as civil rights leaders urged them - sometimes defiantly - to keep fighting for equal rights and justice.
Civil rights leader and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young urged thousands who had returned to the spot to "Pray on, stay on and fight on."
Through on-and-off rain showers that were occasionally heavy, marchers making their way to the Mall waved banners that read, "The new Jim Crow must go" and "50 years later still fighting to vote," sang traditional protest songs and chanted, "Education is our right - education is our fight!"
The 1963 march focused on what Young called "the triple evils of racism, war and poverty," but he said King's speech focused mostly on poverty. "He said that the Constitution was a promissory note to which all of us would fall heir, but that when men and women of color presented their check at the Bank of Justice, it came back marked 'insufficient funds.' "
"Fifty years later," Young concluded, "we're still here trying to cash that bad check. Fifty years later, we're still dealing with all kinds of problems, and so we're not here to claim any victory - we're to simply say that the struggle continues."
Wednesday's march started about 9:10 a.m.Banners and T-shirts and chants focused on the Trayvon Martin verdict and on protecting the Voting Rights Act. Other banners focused on gun control, mass incarceration of African-Americans and equal access to education. Marchers of all ages and races walked the route together, some singing songs such as "We Shall Not Be Moved."
Reginald Gilluno, 39, stood next to a portrait of King made of melted crayons and makeup so that people who are visually impaired could feel the power of the portrait. His mother, Oni Gilluno, 57, was 8 years old in 1963 and acknowledges that much has changed since the first march. But she believes there is still a lot of underlying racism. "A Caucasian person just doesn't get it."
Robin McNair, a teacher at Dupont Park Adventist School in D.C., says she and fellow teachers brought 50 students to the indoor Tracking. "We want them to experience history and be a part of it. Fifty years from now, they will be able to look back and remember this day and say they were there."
Alonza Lawrence, 57, a pastor at the Moore Street Missionary Baptist Church in Richmond, Va., said he drove to Washington Wednesday morning with his sister, Roberta Walker, from Richmond. "I was 7 at the time of the original march. I wanted to be part of the celebration this time. There are so many issues to protest: voting rights, racism, ageism, sexism - many of the 'isms.' The goal of this country is to become a place where all people are treated equally and have a fair chance. We have made strides, but have a long way to go. It's definitely not a level playing field."
James Carter, 62, a retired educator from Hershey, Pa., said he left home at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday with a friend and his local pastor. "I wanted to be part of the march this time. I was too young - 12 - to go in '63."
Carter said the dream of equal rights "has been realized for some, but there appears to be a concerted effort to diminish the dream. It's important to let them know that we won't stand for it. Dr. King wanted a complete America and we don't have that now."
He's concerned about a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision invalidating a key part of the Voting Rights Act, passed a year after the original march. "The court took away clauses that allowed the (Justice Department) to address injustice," he says. "Look at North Carolina and Texas, which passed repressive laws (soon after) the Supreme Court decision. To say that everything is OK now is far from the truth."
Wednesday's commemoration culminates a week's worth of events marking the 1963 march, which was organized by civil rights and labor groups. Wednesday's event will feature afternoon speeches by President Obama and former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
Farmer was there because jailers in nearby Iberville Parish had run out of space. About 500 people had rallied in Plaquemine for access to the ballot, and about half that number had been arrested, including the national director of CORE himself.
"The tear gas and the electric cattle prods of Plaquemine, Louisiana, like the fire hoses and dogs of Birmingham, are giving to the world a tired and ugly message of terror and brutality and hate," Farmer wrote from Donaldsonville. "Theirs is a message of pitiful hopelessness from little and unimaginative men to a world that fears for its life. It is not they to whom the world is listening today. It is to America's Negroes."
Lolis Edward Elie, an attorney who represented CORE in its Louisiana protests, said the struggle in Plaquemine was real and that the racist oppression in the town and surrounding parish was immense. Even so, Elie said, Farmer's arrest was part of CORE's strategy, meant not only to highlight how different CORE was from its enemies, but also how different CORE was from its allies.
But sacrificing oneself and one's own personal freedom for the larger good was CORE's modus operandi. Farmer says in his jailhouse letter that he couldn't walk around free while others who had protested in Plaquemine were confined.
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was a gathering of hundreds of thousands of individuals, but more significantly, the march was a gathering of six important civil rights groups, three predominantly white religious organizations and organized labor. The civil rights groups had similar goals but different methods and often attracted different pools of people for its members.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the nation's premier civil rights organization, was arguably the most conservative, eschewing direct confrontation in favor of dispassionate courtroom battles. The National Urban League was similar in style with a greater emphasis on increasing black employment. The Negro American Labor Council shared the emphasis on employment. Its leader, A. Philip Randolph - who put together the 1963 event with deputy director Bayard Rustin - had been wanting to march on Washington for more than twenty years. But the 1941 march Randolph planned to press for anti-lynching legislation and desegregation of the military never got off the ground.
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Civil rights leader and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young urged thousands who had returned to the spot to "Pray on, stay on and fight on."
Through on-and-off rain showers that were occasionally heavy, marchers making their way to the Mall waved banners that read, "The new Jim Crow must go" and "50 years later still fighting to vote," sang traditional protest songs and chanted, "Education is our right - education is our fight!"
The 1963 march focused on what Young called "the triple evils of racism, war and poverty," but he said King's speech focused mostly on poverty. "He said that the Constitution was a promissory note to which all of us would fall heir, but that when men and women of color presented their check at the Bank of Justice, it came back marked 'insufficient funds.' "
"Fifty years later," Young concluded, "we're still here trying to cash that bad check. Fifty years later, we're still dealing with all kinds of problems, and so we're not here to claim any victory - we're to simply say that the struggle continues."
Wednesday's march started about 9:10 a.m.Banners and T-shirts and chants focused on the Trayvon Martin verdict and on protecting the Voting Rights Act. Other banners focused on gun control, mass incarceration of African-Americans and equal access to education. Marchers of all ages and races walked the route together, some singing songs such as "We Shall Not Be Moved."
Reginald Gilluno, 39, stood next to a portrait of King made of melted crayons and makeup so that people who are visually impaired could feel the power of the portrait. His mother, Oni Gilluno, 57, was 8 years old in 1963 and acknowledges that much has changed since the first march. But she believes there is still a lot of underlying racism. "A Caucasian person just doesn't get it."
Robin McNair, a teacher at Dupont Park Adventist School in D.C., says she and fellow teachers brought 50 students to the indoor Tracking. "We want them to experience history and be a part of it. Fifty years from now, they will be able to look back and remember this day and say they were there."
Alonza Lawrence, 57, a pastor at the Moore Street Missionary Baptist Church in Richmond, Va., said he drove to Washington Wednesday morning with his sister, Roberta Walker, from Richmond. "I was 7 at the time of the original march. I wanted to be part of the celebration this time. There are so many issues to protest: voting rights, racism, ageism, sexism - many of the 'isms.' The goal of this country is to become a place where all people are treated equally and have a fair chance. We have made strides, but have a long way to go. It's definitely not a level playing field."
James Carter, 62, a retired educator from Hershey, Pa., said he left home at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday with a friend and his local pastor. "I wanted to be part of the march this time. I was too young - 12 - to go in '63."
Carter said the dream of equal rights "has been realized for some, but there appears to be a concerted effort to diminish the dream. It's important to let them know that we won't stand for it. Dr. King wanted a complete America and we don't have that now."
He's concerned about a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision invalidating a key part of the Voting Rights Act, passed a year after the original march. "The court took away clauses that allowed the (Justice Department) to address injustice," he says. "Look at North Carolina and Texas, which passed repressive laws (soon after) the Supreme Court decision. To say that everything is OK now is far from the truth."
Wednesday's commemoration culminates a week's worth of events marking the 1963 march, which was organized by civil rights and labor groups. Wednesday's event will feature afternoon speeches by President Obama and former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
Farmer was there because jailers in nearby Iberville Parish had run out of space. About 500 people had rallied in Plaquemine for access to the ballot, and about half that number had been arrested, including the national director of CORE himself.
"The tear gas and the electric cattle prods of Plaquemine, Louisiana, like the fire hoses and dogs of Birmingham, are giving to the world a tired and ugly message of terror and brutality and hate," Farmer wrote from Donaldsonville. "Theirs is a message of pitiful hopelessness from little and unimaginative men to a world that fears for its life. It is not they to whom the world is listening today. It is to America's Negroes."
Lolis Edward Elie, an attorney who represented CORE in its Louisiana protests, said the struggle in Plaquemine was real and that the racist oppression in the town and surrounding parish was immense. Even so, Elie said, Farmer's arrest was part of CORE's strategy, meant not only to highlight how different CORE was from its enemies, but also how different CORE was from its allies.
But sacrificing oneself and one's own personal freedom for the larger good was CORE's modus operandi. Farmer says in his jailhouse letter that he couldn't walk around free while others who had protested in Plaquemine were confined.
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was a gathering of hundreds of thousands of individuals, but more significantly, the march was a gathering of six important civil rights groups, three predominantly white religious organizations and organized labor. The civil rights groups had similar goals but different methods and often attracted different pools of people for its members.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the nation's premier civil rights organization, was arguably the most conservative, eschewing direct confrontation in favor of dispassionate courtroom battles. The National Urban League was similar in style with a greater emphasis on increasing black employment. The Negro American Labor Council shared the emphasis on employment. Its leader, A. Philip Randolph - who put together the 1963 event with deputy director Bayard Rustin - had been wanting to march on Washington for more than twenty years. But the 1941 march Randolph planned to press for anti-lynching legislation and desegregation of the military never got off the ground.
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2013年8月26日星期一
Claims processors received bonuses
While veterans waited longer than ever in recent years for their wartime disability compensation, the Department of Veterans Affairs gave its workers millions of dollars in bonuses for “excellent” performances that effectively encouraged them to avoid claims that needed extra work to document veterans’ injuries, a News21 investigation has found.
In 2011, a year in which the claims backlog ballooned by 155 percent, more than two-thirds of claims processors shared $5.5 million in bonuses, according to salary data from the Office of Personnel Management.
The more complex claims were often set aside by workers so they could keep their jobs, meet performance standards, or, in some cases, collect extra pay, said VA claims processors and rtls. Those claims now make up much of VA’s widely scrutinized disability claims backlog, defined by the agency as claims pending more than 125 days.
“At the beginning of the month … I’d try to work my really easy stuff so I could get my numbers up,” said Renee Cotter, a union steward for the local Reno, Nev. American Federation of Government Employees.
Now, claims workers said, they fear the VA’s aggressive new push to finish all one-year-old claims by Oct. 1 — and eliminate the entire backlog by 2015 — could continue the emphasis of quantity over quality in claims processing that has often led to mistakes. VA workers have processed 1 million claims a year for three years in a row.
Beth McCoy, the assistant deputy undersecretary for field operations for the Veterans Benefits Administration, said bonuses for claims processors were justified because, even though the number of backlogged claims was rising, workers were processing more claims than ever before.
“There are many, many employees who are exceeding their minimum standards and they deserve to recognized for that,” she said.She also said the VBA is improving quality even as it processes more claims.
But documents show that a board of veterans judges found in 2012 that almost three out of four appealed claims — which determine how much money veterans receive for their disabilities — were either wrong or based on incomplete information. When veterans choose to appeal a claim decision, it can add several years to their wait, records show.
But the VA’s plan to process the oldest claims did not address the quarter-million veterans in its appeals process as of July. Approximately 14,000 veterans had an appeal pending for more than two years as of November 2012.The VA has promised to lower wait times and improve accuracy by scanning the piles of paper claims into an electronic system for processing with new software, but the expensive transition has been beset with problems.
The workload for VA claims workers also has doubled in the last five years. This included new claims from a quarter-million Vietnam veterans in 2010, when the VA expanded added B-cell leukemias, Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease to the growing list of health conditions that veterans could claim as a result of the toxic chemical, Agent Orange. In addition, more than 830,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans returning home had filed claims as of March 2013, according to VBA data.
In an attempt to encourage more productivity, the VA changed a claims processor’s performance criteria between 2010 and 2012 to discourage spending time gathering additional documents that could prove complicated claims, according to written performance requirements for real time Location system.
McCoy said she heard from employees in the field that they felt performance standards were not fair. “Things are changing very quickly and we’re struggling a little bit to keep up with the pace of change as we update our performance standards,” she said.
A processor must gather medical and military records for each disability and give veterans disability ratings based on the severity of injury, which then determines their monthly check from the government.
Claims for multiple injuries require significant time to gather documentation. Other claims, for post-traumatic stress disorder, military sexual trauma or traumatic brain injury can require just as much effort because they can be more difficult to prove than physical injuries.
In April 2010, the VA stopped giving performance credit for “supplemental development,” which included tasks such as calling and sending follow-up letters to veterans, follow-up requests for military documents and medical records.
The change was meant to encourage processors to finish claims. But a complex disability claim could take all day, while a claim for one or two injuries could be completed much faster, said David Bump, a national representative for the AFGE and former claims processor at the Milwaukee regional office.
“I think after a couple of years of seeing things piling up, they realized that that didn’t work,” said Bump, part of the VBA’s bargaining committee that has met three times in 10 months to discuss changing the performance standards.Claims workers can be fired or demoted for not meeting standards in Automated Standardized Performance Elements Nationwide, or ASPEN, the VA’s system of awarding a specific number of points daily for each task an employee performs.
Annual performance evaluations for all claims workers include the elements of “productivity,” “quality” and “customer service.” While “quality” is measured by a random sampling of an employee’s claims and “customer service” is measured by the number of complaints against the employee, “productivity” is judged by ASPEN points, the average work credits the employee must earn per day.
ASPEN points could translate into financial awards at the end of each year if a worker earns an “excellent” or “outstanding” performance.
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In 2011, a year in which the claims backlog ballooned by 155 percent, more than two-thirds of claims processors shared $5.5 million in bonuses, according to salary data from the Office of Personnel Management.
The more complex claims were often set aside by workers so they could keep their jobs, meet performance standards, or, in some cases, collect extra pay, said VA claims processors and rtls. Those claims now make up much of VA’s widely scrutinized disability claims backlog, defined by the agency as claims pending more than 125 days.
“At the beginning of the month … I’d try to work my really easy stuff so I could get my numbers up,” said Renee Cotter, a union steward for the local Reno, Nev. American Federation of Government Employees.
Now, claims workers said, they fear the VA’s aggressive new push to finish all one-year-old claims by Oct. 1 — and eliminate the entire backlog by 2015 — could continue the emphasis of quantity over quality in claims processing that has often led to mistakes. VA workers have processed 1 million claims a year for three years in a row.
Beth McCoy, the assistant deputy undersecretary for field operations for the Veterans Benefits Administration, said bonuses for claims processors were justified because, even though the number of backlogged claims was rising, workers were processing more claims than ever before.
“There are many, many employees who are exceeding their minimum standards and they deserve to recognized for that,” she said.She also said the VBA is improving quality even as it processes more claims.
But documents show that a board of veterans judges found in 2012 that almost three out of four appealed claims — which determine how much money veterans receive for their disabilities — were either wrong or based on incomplete information. When veterans choose to appeal a claim decision, it can add several years to their wait, records show.
But the VA’s plan to process the oldest claims did not address the quarter-million veterans in its appeals process as of July. Approximately 14,000 veterans had an appeal pending for more than two years as of November 2012.The VA has promised to lower wait times and improve accuracy by scanning the piles of paper claims into an electronic system for processing with new software, but the expensive transition has been beset with problems.
The workload for VA claims workers also has doubled in the last five years. This included new claims from a quarter-million Vietnam veterans in 2010, when the VA expanded added B-cell leukemias, Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease to the growing list of health conditions that veterans could claim as a result of the toxic chemical, Agent Orange. In addition, more than 830,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans returning home had filed claims as of March 2013, according to VBA data.
In an attempt to encourage more productivity, the VA changed a claims processor’s performance criteria between 2010 and 2012 to discourage spending time gathering additional documents that could prove complicated claims, according to written performance requirements for real time Location system.
McCoy said she heard from employees in the field that they felt performance standards were not fair. “Things are changing very quickly and we’re struggling a little bit to keep up with the pace of change as we update our performance standards,” she said.
A processor must gather medical and military records for each disability and give veterans disability ratings based on the severity of injury, which then determines their monthly check from the government.
Claims for multiple injuries require significant time to gather documentation. Other claims, for post-traumatic stress disorder, military sexual trauma or traumatic brain injury can require just as much effort because they can be more difficult to prove than physical injuries.
In April 2010, the VA stopped giving performance credit for “supplemental development,” which included tasks such as calling and sending follow-up letters to veterans, follow-up requests for military documents and medical records.
The change was meant to encourage processors to finish claims. But a complex disability claim could take all day, while a claim for one or two injuries could be completed much faster, said David Bump, a national representative for the AFGE and former claims processor at the Milwaukee regional office.
“I think after a couple of years of seeing things piling up, they realized that that didn’t work,” said Bump, part of the VBA’s bargaining committee that has met three times in 10 months to discuss changing the performance standards.Claims workers can be fired or demoted for not meeting standards in Automated Standardized Performance Elements Nationwide, or ASPEN, the VA’s system of awarding a specific number of points daily for each task an employee performs.
Annual performance evaluations for all claims workers include the elements of “productivity,” “quality” and “customer service.” While “quality” is measured by a random sampling of an employee’s claims and “customer service” is measured by the number of complaints against the employee, “productivity” is judged by ASPEN points, the average work credits the employee must earn per day.
ASPEN points could translate into financial awards at the end of each year if a worker earns an “excellent” or “outstanding” performance.
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Chemical Weapons Used In Syria
Kerry said in a press conference that the number of victims of the attack on Wednesday, the reported symptoms and the accounts of humanitarian organizations strongly indicate that chemical weapons were used in Syria.Kerry added that the U.S. believes the regime of president Bashar al-Assad is responsible for the attack, and that the Syrian government's decision to grant U.N. investigators access to the site of the attack came "too late to be credible."
Syrian opposition forces said last Wednesday that hundreds of people were killed near Damascus in an alleged chemical weapons attack. The international medical organization Doctors Without Borders announced on Saturday they had counted at least 355 deaths in the suburb of Ghouta.U.N. investigators inspected the site of the alleged chemical attack on Monday, despite being targeted by snipers earlier that day. Reuters reports that the investigators met with survivors and took samples on the site.
Secretary of State John Kerry declared Monday that there was "undeniable" evidence of a large-scale chemical weapons attack in Syria, toughening the Obama administration's criticism of Bashar Assad's regime and outlining a justification for possible U.S. military action.
Kerry, speaking to reporters at the State Department, said last week's attack was a "moral obscenity" that "should shock the conscience" of the world. Officials said there was very little doubt that the attack was perpetrated by the Syrian government.
"The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of Indoor Positioning System and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity. By any standard, it is inexcusable and – despite the excuses and equivocations that some have manufactured – it is undeniable," said Kerry, the highest-ranking U.S. official to confirm the attack in the Damascus suburbs that activists say killed hundreds of people.
"This international norm cannot be violated without consequences," he added.Officials said President Barack Obama has not decided how to respond to the use of deadly gases, a move the White House said last year would cross a "red line." But the U.S., along with allies in Europe, appeared to be laying the groundwork for the most aggressive response since Syria's civil war began more than two years ago.
The international community appeared to be considering a response that would punish Assad for deploying deadly gases, not sweeping actions aimed at ousting Assad or strengthening rebel forces. The focus of the internal debate underscores the scant international appetite for a large-scale deployment of forces in Syria and the limited number of other options that could significantly change the trajectory of the conflict.
"There is not a military solution to that conflict," White House spokesman Jay Carney saidThe Obama administration was moving ahead even as a United Nations team already on the ground in Syria collected evidence from last week's attack. The U.S. said Syria's delay in giving the inspectors access rendered their investigation meaningless and officials said the administration had its own intelligence confirming chemical weapons use.
"What is before us today is real and it is compelling," Kerry said. "Our understanding of what has already happened in Syria is grounded in facts."The U.S. assessment is based in part on the number of reported victims, the symptoms of those injured or killed and indoor Tracking. Administration officials said the U.S. had additional intelligence confirming chemical weapons use and planned to make it public in the coming days.
Syrian President Bashar Assad has denied launching a chemical attack. The U.N. team came under sniper fire Monday as it traveled to the site of the Aug. 21 attack.It's unclear whether Obama would seek authority from the U.N. or Congress before using force. The president has spoken frequently about his preference for taking military action only with international backing, but it is likely Russia and China would block U.S. efforts to authorize action through the U.N. Security Council.
Kerry on Monday made several veiled warnings to Russia, which has propped up Assad's regime, blocked action against Syria at the U.N., and disputed evidence of the government's chemical weapons use."Anyone who can claim that an attack of this staggering scale can be contrived or fabricated needs to check their conscience and their own moral compass," he said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, who also cut short his vacation because of the attack, spoke Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to outline the evidence of chemical weapons use by Assad's regime.Cameron's office also said the British government would decide on Tuesday whether the timetable for the international response means it will be necessary to recall lawmakers to Parliament before their scheduled return next week. That decision could offer the clearest indication of how quickly the U.S. and allies plan to respond.
More than 100,000 people have died in clashes between forces loyal to Assad and rebels trying to oust him from power over the past two and a half years. While Obama has repeatedly called for Assad to leave power, he has resisted calls for a robust U.S. intervention, and has largely limited American assistance to humanitarian aid. The president said last year that chemical weapons use would cross a "red line" and would likely change his calculus in deciding on a U.S. response.
Last week's attack in the Damascus suburbs is a challenge to Obama's credibility. He took little action after Assad used chemical weapons on a small scale earlier this year and risks signaling to countries like Iran that his administration does not follow through on its warnings.
Syrian activists say the Aug. 21 attack killed hundreds; the group Doctors Without Borders put the death toll at 355 people.The president did not speak publicly Monday about the chemical weapons attack, leaving Kerry as his administration's most prominent spokesman. Carney said the president would speak about his decision after settling on a response.
Obama pressed on with an array of events unrelated to Syria, including a Medal of Honor ceremony for an Afghan war veteran.The president has ruled out putting American troops on the ground in Syria and officials say they also are not considering setting up a unilateral no-fly zone.
Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said the most likely option appeared to be the U.S. and NATO partners deploying airstrikes against Syrian missile sites, aircraft and other infrastructure that may be used to deploy chemical weapons.
"I think that would be punishing and a deterrent to their future use," Schiff said in an interview, adding that the approach would carry "less risk of drawing us in further, or spreading the conflict."It's unlikely that the U.S. would launch a strike against Syria while the United Nations team is still in the country. The administration may also try to time any strike around Obama's travel schedule – he's due to hold meetings in Sweden and Russia next week – in order to avoid having the commander in chief abroad when the U.S. launches military action.
An Obama decision to attack Syria could present an eerie parallel to a U.S. military campaign against Iraq in 1998 that was ordered by President Bill Clinton.
After then-dictator Saddam Hussein refused to let U.N. weapons inspectors into Iraqi sites, the U.S. and Great Britain unleashed a 70-hour barrage of hundreds of cruise missiles, bombs and rockets on Baghdad and elsewhere in the country. The assault aimed to prevent Iraq from building the chemical, biological and nuclear weapons it was prohibited from having under U.N. resolutions after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
But the Iraqi leader himself was unharmed, and taunted the U.S. and Britain by declaring victory afterward.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday countered the U.S. claim that the investigation at the site of last week's attack was too little, too late."Despite the passage of a number of days, the secretary-general is confident that the team will be able to obtain and analyze evidence relevant for its investigation of the August 21 incident," U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said in New York.
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Syrian opposition forces said last Wednesday that hundreds of people were killed near Damascus in an alleged chemical weapons attack. The international medical organization Doctors Without Borders announced on Saturday they had counted at least 355 deaths in the suburb of Ghouta.U.N. investigators inspected the site of the alleged chemical attack on Monday, despite being targeted by snipers earlier that day. Reuters reports that the investigators met with survivors and took samples on the site.
Secretary of State John Kerry declared Monday that there was "undeniable" evidence of a large-scale chemical weapons attack in Syria, toughening the Obama administration's criticism of Bashar Assad's regime and outlining a justification for possible U.S. military action.
Kerry, speaking to reporters at the State Department, said last week's attack was a "moral obscenity" that "should shock the conscience" of the world. Officials said there was very little doubt that the attack was perpetrated by the Syrian government.
"The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of Indoor Positioning System and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity. By any standard, it is inexcusable and – despite the excuses and equivocations that some have manufactured – it is undeniable," said Kerry, the highest-ranking U.S. official to confirm the attack in the Damascus suburbs that activists say killed hundreds of people.
"This international norm cannot be violated without consequences," he added.Officials said President Barack Obama has not decided how to respond to the use of deadly gases, a move the White House said last year would cross a "red line." But the U.S., along with allies in Europe, appeared to be laying the groundwork for the most aggressive response since Syria's civil war began more than two years ago.
The international community appeared to be considering a response that would punish Assad for deploying deadly gases, not sweeping actions aimed at ousting Assad or strengthening rebel forces. The focus of the internal debate underscores the scant international appetite for a large-scale deployment of forces in Syria and the limited number of other options that could significantly change the trajectory of the conflict.
"There is not a military solution to that conflict," White House spokesman Jay Carney saidThe Obama administration was moving ahead even as a United Nations team already on the ground in Syria collected evidence from last week's attack. The U.S. said Syria's delay in giving the inspectors access rendered their investigation meaningless and officials said the administration had its own intelligence confirming chemical weapons use.
"What is before us today is real and it is compelling," Kerry said. "Our understanding of what has already happened in Syria is grounded in facts."The U.S. assessment is based in part on the number of reported victims, the symptoms of those injured or killed and indoor Tracking. Administration officials said the U.S. had additional intelligence confirming chemical weapons use and planned to make it public in the coming days.
Syrian President Bashar Assad has denied launching a chemical attack. The U.N. team came under sniper fire Monday as it traveled to the site of the Aug. 21 attack.It's unclear whether Obama would seek authority from the U.N. or Congress before using force. The president has spoken frequently about his preference for taking military action only with international backing, but it is likely Russia and China would block U.S. efforts to authorize action through the U.N. Security Council.
Kerry on Monday made several veiled warnings to Russia, which has propped up Assad's regime, blocked action against Syria at the U.N., and disputed evidence of the government's chemical weapons use."Anyone who can claim that an attack of this staggering scale can be contrived or fabricated needs to check their conscience and their own moral compass," he said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, who also cut short his vacation because of the attack, spoke Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to outline the evidence of chemical weapons use by Assad's regime.Cameron's office also said the British government would decide on Tuesday whether the timetable for the international response means it will be necessary to recall lawmakers to Parliament before their scheduled return next week. That decision could offer the clearest indication of how quickly the U.S. and allies plan to respond.
More than 100,000 people have died in clashes between forces loyal to Assad and rebels trying to oust him from power over the past two and a half years. While Obama has repeatedly called for Assad to leave power, he has resisted calls for a robust U.S. intervention, and has largely limited American assistance to humanitarian aid. The president said last year that chemical weapons use would cross a "red line" and would likely change his calculus in deciding on a U.S. response.
Last week's attack in the Damascus suburbs is a challenge to Obama's credibility. He took little action after Assad used chemical weapons on a small scale earlier this year and risks signaling to countries like Iran that his administration does not follow through on its warnings.
Syrian activists say the Aug. 21 attack killed hundreds; the group Doctors Without Borders put the death toll at 355 people.The president did not speak publicly Monday about the chemical weapons attack, leaving Kerry as his administration's most prominent spokesman. Carney said the president would speak about his decision after settling on a response.
Obama pressed on with an array of events unrelated to Syria, including a Medal of Honor ceremony for an Afghan war veteran.The president has ruled out putting American troops on the ground in Syria and officials say they also are not considering setting up a unilateral no-fly zone.
Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said the most likely option appeared to be the U.S. and NATO partners deploying airstrikes against Syrian missile sites, aircraft and other infrastructure that may be used to deploy chemical weapons.
"I think that would be punishing and a deterrent to their future use," Schiff said in an interview, adding that the approach would carry "less risk of drawing us in further, or spreading the conflict."It's unlikely that the U.S. would launch a strike against Syria while the United Nations team is still in the country. The administration may also try to time any strike around Obama's travel schedule – he's due to hold meetings in Sweden and Russia next week – in order to avoid having the commander in chief abroad when the U.S. launches military action.
An Obama decision to attack Syria could present an eerie parallel to a U.S. military campaign against Iraq in 1998 that was ordered by President Bill Clinton.
After then-dictator Saddam Hussein refused to let U.N. weapons inspectors into Iraqi sites, the U.S. and Great Britain unleashed a 70-hour barrage of hundreds of cruise missiles, bombs and rockets on Baghdad and elsewhere in the country. The assault aimed to prevent Iraq from building the chemical, biological and nuclear weapons it was prohibited from having under U.N. resolutions after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
But the Iraqi leader himself was unharmed, and taunted the U.S. and Britain by declaring victory afterward.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday countered the U.S. claim that the investigation at the site of last week's attack was too little, too late."Despite the passage of a number of days, the secretary-general is confident that the team will be able to obtain and analyze evidence relevant for its investigation of the August 21 incident," U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said in New York.
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2013年8月19日星期一
Tech-savvy pastor with Illinois ties
Standing in a security line at O'Hare International Airport seven years ago, the Rev. Bobby Gruenewald wished he had a Bible in his pocket to pass the time. Then the tech-savvy pastor raised in central Illinois had a thought: Wouldn't it be grand if anyone could have their favorite version of the Bible within reach anywhere at any time?
"Could we be at one of these moments in history where technology, if we leverage it correctly, could transform how we engage in the Bible?" Gruenewald, 37, recalls thinking that day. "Drawing from the story of the real time Location system, for centuries, that really changed our access to the Bible. It's probably something today we easily take for granted, but it came through invention."
Represented by the simple icon of a Bible with a bookmark, the app offers audio versions for listeners, navigation tools to look up passages, social media capability to share verses on Facebook and Twitter, and private or public platforms to store or share notes. The app is free and generates no revenue for the church. It simply aims to fulfill the Christian mission of spreading God's word, Gruenewald said.
But Gruenewald's idea required more than technical expertise. It has taken nearly $20 million from donors, 30 paid staff and 500 volunteers worldwide to get off the ground.
It also needed cooperation from publishers to grant access to the hundreds of translations of the Christian Bible available on YouVersion's menu, including ones popular with evangelical Christians, Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics, and Messianic Jews, who blend evangelical Christian theology with Jewish rituals.
Tyndale House Publishers was one of the first companies to grant access. It took 90 scholars commissioned by the Carol Stream company seven years to develop the New Living Translation, which is now the world's third-most popular biblical translation. Company officials said they weren't eager to give away their work.
But when Gruenewald shared his vision of making the Bible more accessible to people on the go, the west suburban publishing house reconsidered. It signed a two-year trial agreement in 2008 to license the translation for free. It has since renewed that agreement twice after discovering that popularity has soared.
"We found that when people read the New Living Translation they are able to experience it personally and it speaks to their heart," said Jeffrey Smith, the New Living Translation brand director for Tyndale House. "We know that, for many, they'll adopt it as their translation of choice, then follow through and purchase other resources from us. … When something is so successful like this, it's the hand of God."
But when Gruenewald shared his vision of making the Bible more accessible to people on the go, the west suburban publishing house reconsidered. It signed a two-year trial agreement in 2008 to license the translation for free. It has since renewed that agreement twice after discovering that popularity has soared.
"We found that when people read the New Living Translation they are able to experience it personally and it speaks to their heart," said Jeffrey Smith, the New Living Translation brand director for rtls. "We know that, for many, they'll adopt it as their translation of choice, then follow through and purchase other resources from us. … When something is so successful like this, it's the hand of God."
Gruenewald was an unlikely dot.com entrepreneur. Growing up in Decatur, dubbed the "Soybean Capital of the World" because of the presence of agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland, he followed his high school sweetheart (now wife) to Oklahoma's Southern Nazarene University to study finance in 1994.
When an outside company offered to build a website for the car dealership where he worked on the side, Gruenewald proposed doing it for a fraction of the price. He studied the HTML codes during his winter break in Decatur and designed the site in his dorm room.
Gruenewald created a site that helped the dealer peddle auto parts. Sales eventually grew to $100,000 a month and the dealer offered to invest in Gruenewald's talents. In 2001, after a series of successful Web ventures, Gruenewald and his wife joined what would later become LifeChurch.tv, in Edmond, Okla., where "the best technology was air conditioning" and where "my passion for the church eclipsed my passion for business," he said.
YouVersion didn't see instant success, he said. Its full potential didn't emerge until mobile devices began to catch on. In fact, the church was on the brink of shutting down the endeavor when Apple introduced its App Store for the iPhone in 2008. YouVersion became one of the first 200 apps available, enabling Gruenewald's concept to take off and help other churches grow as well.
One of those churches, the six-campus Park Community Church in Chicago, encourages worshippers to download YouVersion Bible plans so they can access the scripture passages at the core of Sunday services and refer to the pastors' notes as they follow a sermon.
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"Could we be at one of these moments in history where technology, if we leverage it correctly, could transform how we engage in the Bible?" Gruenewald, 37, recalls thinking that day. "Drawing from the story of the real time Location system, for centuries, that really changed our access to the Bible. It's probably something today we easily take for granted, but it came through invention."
Represented by the simple icon of a Bible with a bookmark, the app offers audio versions for listeners, navigation tools to look up passages, social media capability to share verses on Facebook and Twitter, and private or public platforms to store or share notes. The app is free and generates no revenue for the church. It simply aims to fulfill the Christian mission of spreading God's word, Gruenewald said.
But Gruenewald's idea required more than technical expertise. It has taken nearly $20 million from donors, 30 paid staff and 500 volunteers worldwide to get off the ground.
It also needed cooperation from publishers to grant access to the hundreds of translations of the Christian Bible available on YouVersion's menu, including ones popular with evangelical Christians, Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics, and Messianic Jews, who blend evangelical Christian theology with Jewish rituals.
Tyndale House Publishers was one of the first companies to grant access. It took 90 scholars commissioned by the Carol Stream company seven years to develop the New Living Translation, which is now the world's third-most popular biblical translation. Company officials said they weren't eager to give away their work.
But when Gruenewald shared his vision of making the Bible more accessible to people on the go, the west suburban publishing house reconsidered. It signed a two-year trial agreement in 2008 to license the translation for free. It has since renewed that agreement twice after discovering that popularity has soared.
"We found that when people read the New Living Translation they are able to experience it personally and it speaks to their heart," said Jeffrey Smith, the New Living Translation brand director for Tyndale House. "We know that, for many, they'll adopt it as their translation of choice, then follow through and purchase other resources from us. … When something is so successful like this, it's the hand of God."
But when Gruenewald shared his vision of making the Bible more accessible to people on the go, the west suburban publishing house reconsidered. It signed a two-year trial agreement in 2008 to license the translation for free. It has since renewed that agreement twice after discovering that popularity has soared.
"We found that when people read the New Living Translation they are able to experience it personally and it speaks to their heart," said Jeffrey Smith, the New Living Translation brand director for rtls. "We know that, for many, they'll adopt it as their translation of choice, then follow through and purchase other resources from us. … When something is so successful like this, it's the hand of God."
Gruenewald was an unlikely dot.com entrepreneur. Growing up in Decatur, dubbed the "Soybean Capital of the World" because of the presence of agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland, he followed his high school sweetheart (now wife) to Oklahoma's Southern Nazarene University to study finance in 1994.
When an outside company offered to build a website for the car dealership where he worked on the side, Gruenewald proposed doing it for a fraction of the price. He studied the HTML codes during his winter break in Decatur and designed the site in his dorm room.
Gruenewald created a site that helped the dealer peddle auto parts. Sales eventually grew to $100,000 a month and the dealer offered to invest in Gruenewald's talents. In 2001, after a series of successful Web ventures, Gruenewald and his wife joined what would later become LifeChurch.tv, in Edmond, Okla., where "the best technology was air conditioning" and where "my passion for the church eclipsed my passion for business," he said.
YouVersion didn't see instant success, he said. Its full potential didn't emerge until mobile devices began to catch on. In fact, the church was on the brink of shutting down the endeavor when Apple introduced its App Store for the iPhone in 2008. YouVersion became one of the first 200 apps available, enabling Gruenewald's concept to take off and help other churches grow as well.
One of those churches, the six-campus Park Community Church in Chicago, encourages worshippers to download YouVersion Bible plans so they can access the scripture passages at the core of Sunday services and refer to the pastors' notes as they follow a sermon.
Read the full products at www.ecived.com/en/!
Eat what you sow and sell the surplus
Could global food security be achieved by growing tomatoes up a wall and pumpkins on a rooftop? It sounds unlikely, but food security isn't just about full stomachs. Adequate nutrition is also crucial, and helping women in particular to run productive home gardens could save millions of lives in developing countries.
Research published by The Lancet just ahead of the Nutrition for Growth summit in June revealed that malnutrition kills 3.1 million children annually, and caused stunting in 165 million in 2011. Micronutrients such as vitamin A, iron and zinc are essential, particularly in the first few years of life, and it is women who tend to be responsible for feeding families.
But women also have unequal access to land and, according to the FAO, receive only 5% of agricultural extension services globally. This is why some development agencies are putting the tools for good nutrition into women's hands, helping them make better use of one space they can control: their homestead garden.
In 2009, Care International launched an EU-funded Food Security for the Ultra-Poor project targeting 55,000 women in the north-east of Bangladesh, which included training in homestead gardening."The training showed the women how to use the small space available around their homestead," says Sekhar Bhattacharjee, FSUP team leader.
"It demonstrated the use of trellises to grow vegetables, growing vegetables in plastic bags on the ground, and how to use the roofs of homes to grow vegetables. The women received training in summer and winter vegetable cultivation, and were given vegetable seed packets to begin their own gardens."
The crops grown as part of the project include cucumber, gourds, red amaranth, spinach, papaya, indoor Tracking, tomatoes, and beans, and they're grown both around homesteads and in shared community gardens. The harvests may not be huge, but they provide a year-round supply of nutrients to communities who would otherwise rely heavily on rice alone.
Homestead gardens have not only increased access to vegetable and fruits, but have also provided participating women with income from selling surplus produce. A sample of 1,614 families taking part in FSUP showed that between December 2012 and March 2013, households produced an average of 53kg of vegetables and fruits, consuming on average 36kg and selling on average 18kg.
The impact of this income is just as important as what is eaten directly, says Larissa Pelham, food security adviser at Care International UK."I can't emphasise enough the importance of getting money into women's hands," she says. "Suddenly they can make choices in how they spend for the household. This has a phenomenal impact, and research has shown that when women have control over household resources, they are likely to spend it on the wellbeing of the household overall."
This is backed up by findings from Helen Keller International's homestead food production programme which launched in Bangladesh in the early 1990s and has since expanded to Nepal, Cambodia and the Philippines. HKI works with local NGOs and extension workers to establish Village Model Farms (VMFs) in villages, which serve as training and support hubs for women to learn to manage their own homestead gardens.
"They identify a farmer, preferably female, who has adequate land for a model farm, and that farmer will get training and inputs," says Victoria Quinn, HKI's senior vice president of programmes."Other women then come there around once a month in groups of 20, and the village model farmer who has been trained will share their knowledge with those other mothers and provide them with seedlings so they can go and do it themselves."
In a study of its programmes between 2003-2007, HKI found that in Cambodia, 92% of households engaging in homestead food production spent the income earned from garden products on buying more food for the household. In Bangladesh, the figure was 70%. However, having more food – even a good variety – doesn't automatically translate into better nutritional outcomes on its own.
"You have to improve not just food production but practices too," says Quinn. "You have to provide access to healthcare and hygiene training, because if children are sick it will just come out the other end."Care found evidence for this through another project – Shouhardo – which bundled training in home gardens with support in maternal health, nutrition, immunisation and financial services to women. This package of interventions reduced the incidence of child stunting from 56.1% to 40.4% in less than four years.
"The gardens have an important role in dietary diversity, but you need a range of other things going with it," says Pelham. "You need to teach women and families about sanitation, health and Hands free access. Without that, the gardens are not a silver bullet."Meanwhile, climate change is also an increasingly pressing issue for women engaging in homestead gardening, just as in other forms of agriculture. Flooding in Bangladesh is becoming more unpredictable and severe, and the 2009 cyclone there increased soil salinity in more than a third of home gardens but also showed resilience in certain crops, according to Lalita Bhattacharjee, a nutritionist with the FAO in Bangladesh.
"These included Indian spinach, sweet pumpkin, and okra. Kang kong, or water spinach, also flourishes naturally in waterways and requires little care, making it resilient to the effects of climate change. There's a need for awareness and knowledge among those households who are reliant on home gardens for their food and income. Women farmers should be given training on key salinity coping practices such as mulching with rice straw to increase retention of water in the soil."
Home gardens have thrived in Bangladesh and other parts of Asia, and HKI is also actively promoting them in sub-Saharan Africa now. Perhaps the biggest challenge, though, is to convince more policymakers that what women grow in their gardens can actually make such a difference.
"I think a lot more work has to be done in advocating that this is a really important part of the solution to food insecurity and undernutrition in these countries," says Quinn.
"Fruits and vegetables and small animal husbandary gets short shrift in ministries of agriculture, so we need to promote the fact that you can produce a lot of highly nutritious crops this way that will help address the chronic problem of undernutrition."
Read the full products at www.ecived.com/en/!
Research published by The Lancet just ahead of the Nutrition for Growth summit in June revealed that malnutrition kills 3.1 million children annually, and caused stunting in 165 million in 2011. Micronutrients such as vitamin A, iron and zinc are essential, particularly in the first few years of life, and it is women who tend to be responsible for feeding families.
But women also have unequal access to land and, according to the FAO, receive only 5% of agricultural extension services globally. This is why some development agencies are putting the tools for good nutrition into women's hands, helping them make better use of one space they can control: their homestead garden.
In 2009, Care International launched an EU-funded Food Security for the Ultra-Poor project targeting 55,000 women in the north-east of Bangladesh, which included training in homestead gardening."The training showed the women how to use the small space available around their homestead," says Sekhar Bhattacharjee, FSUP team leader.
"It demonstrated the use of trellises to grow vegetables, growing vegetables in plastic bags on the ground, and how to use the roofs of homes to grow vegetables. The women received training in summer and winter vegetable cultivation, and were given vegetable seed packets to begin their own gardens."
The crops grown as part of the project include cucumber, gourds, red amaranth, spinach, papaya, indoor Tracking, tomatoes, and beans, and they're grown both around homesteads and in shared community gardens. The harvests may not be huge, but they provide a year-round supply of nutrients to communities who would otherwise rely heavily on rice alone.
Homestead gardens have not only increased access to vegetable and fruits, but have also provided participating women with income from selling surplus produce. A sample of 1,614 families taking part in FSUP showed that between December 2012 and March 2013, households produced an average of 53kg of vegetables and fruits, consuming on average 36kg and selling on average 18kg.
The impact of this income is just as important as what is eaten directly, says Larissa Pelham, food security adviser at Care International UK."I can't emphasise enough the importance of getting money into women's hands," she says. "Suddenly they can make choices in how they spend for the household. This has a phenomenal impact, and research has shown that when women have control over household resources, they are likely to spend it on the wellbeing of the household overall."
This is backed up by findings from Helen Keller International's homestead food production programme which launched in Bangladesh in the early 1990s and has since expanded to Nepal, Cambodia and the Philippines. HKI works with local NGOs and extension workers to establish Village Model Farms (VMFs) in villages, which serve as training and support hubs for women to learn to manage their own homestead gardens.
"They identify a farmer, preferably female, who has adequate land for a model farm, and that farmer will get training and inputs," says Victoria Quinn, HKI's senior vice president of programmes."Other women then come there around once a month in groups of 20, and the village model farmer who has been trained will share their knowledge with those other mothers and provide them with seedlings so they can go and do it themselves."
In a study of its programmes between 2003-2007, HKI found that in Cambodia, 92% of households engaging in homestead food production spent the income earned from garden products on buying more food for the household. In Bangladesh, the figure was 70%. However, having more food – even a good variety – doesn't automatically translate into better nutritional outcomes on its own.
"You have to improve not just food production but practices too," says Quinn. "You have to provide access to healthcare and hygiene training, because if children are sick it will just come out the other end."Care found evidence for this through another project – Shouhardo – which bundled training in home gardens with support in maternal health, nutrition, immunisation and financial services to women. This package of interventions reduced the incidence of child stunting from 56.1% to 40.4% in less than four years.
"The gardens have an important role in dietary diversity, but you need a range of other things going with it," says Pelham. "You need to teach women and families about sanitation, health and Hands free access. Without that, the gardens are not a silver bullet."Meanwhile, climate change is also an increasingly pressing issue for women engaging in homestead gardening, just as in other forms of agriculture. Flooding in Bangladesh is becoming more unpredictable and severe, and the 2009 cyclone there increased soil salinity in more than a third of home gardens but also showed resilience in certain crops, according to Lalita Bhattacharjee, a nutritionist with the FAO in Bangladesh.
"These included Indian spinach, sweet pumpkin, and okra. Kang kong, or water spinach, also flourishes naturally in waterways and requires little care, making it resilient to the effects of climate change. There's a need for awareness and knowledge among those households who are reliant on home gardens for their food and income. Women farmers should be given training on key salinity coping practices such as mulching with rice straw to increase retention of water in the soil."
Home gardens have thrived in Bangladesh and other parts of Asia, and HKI is also actively promoting them in sub-Saharan Africa now. Perhaps the biggest challenge, though, is to convince more policymakers that what women grow in their gardens can actually make such a difference.
"I think a lot more work has to be done in advocating that this is a really important part of the solution to food insecurity and undernutrition in these countries," says Quinn.
"Fruits and vegetables and small animal husbandary gets short shrift in ministries of agriculture, so we need to promote the fact that you can produce a lot of highly nutritious crops this way that will help address the chronic problem of undernutrition."
Read the full products at www.ecived.com/en/!
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