The Bush administration is preparing to transfer to Bosnia three Guantánamo detainees. The transfers would be the first releases from the prison made by the Bush administration because of a court order.
I posted this because the Adam Walsh abduction terrified me as a child. I was born in Hollywood, Florida and shopped at the mall where he was abducted from. I was also the same age at the time and the story was in the national and local news for a longtime. As a result, we were barraged with ’stranger danger’ techniques and training all during our elementary education. It ranked up there with nuclear war or having a terminal disease on the childhood ‘fear-o-meter’. Nonetheless, I’m glad they closed the case.
Authorities in South Florida announced Tuesday that they’ve finally solved the 1981 killing of Adam Walsh, whose father later gained fame as the host of “America’s Most Wanted.” Hollywood police held a news conference to close the case of the abduction and homicide of 6-year-old Adam.
Well, now it’s official: we’re in a recession. And we know when it began: December 2007, according to the official arbiter of business cycles, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), which made the announcement Monday. So now the question is: when will it end, and how deep will it get?
from digg:
AT&T is chopping 12,000 jobs, or 4% of its work force, citing economic pressures and a changing business mix. It will also reduce capital spending.
There might be something to this…However, I’m not sure what it says about the current state of our educational system.
from digg:
Left to fend for himself after budget cuts, His tests cost over $500 a year to print, but this year he only got $316, one calculus teacher resorted to selling ads on quizzes and tests to cover his printing costs. $10 for quizzes, $20 for tests, and $30 for a final.
Despite all the inspiring talk about windmills & solar panels, it’s difficult to see how Obama will reach his goal without relying on nuclear power. Commercial reactors currently provide 20% of the nation’s power, but accounts for 70% of the country’s emission-free energy. So, will he become the nation’s cheerleader-in-chief for nuclear power?
From the Observer-Reporter
By Terri T. Johnson
Washington Councilman Matt Staniszewski steered his wheelchair too close to the sidewalk curb Friday afternoon and almost fell headfirst into a weed-filled ditch in front of 11 S. College St.
Reacting, he did what most in wheelchairs cannot do and slammed his feet on the ground to stabilize himself, thus preventing a nasty spill.
He had difficulty pushing the chair over a small lip in front of another office on South College Street where one part of the concrete sidewalk had heaved up. As he crossed busy Beau Street parallel to College Street, his face took on a decidedly panicked look as traffic whizzed past.
Maneuvering a wheelchair around the city as part of Washington’s Disability Awareness Day proved more diffcult than Staniszewski had expected.
Joined by members of Tri-County Patriots for Independent Living, Staniszewski took a short training course from Michelle Brozinski, assistant deputy director at TRIPIL, who uses an electric wheelchair. Then, rather tentatively, Staniszewski began a slow roll down the East Beau Street sidewalk to College Street in a non-motorized model.
About 20 minutes later, he’d progressed as far as Citizens Library, two blocks away.
“My arms got tired,” he said, taking a short rest in the library parking lot.
“This was quite a challenge,” Staniszewski said, somewhat out of breath. “It definitely made me more aware of the need for proper planning for accessibility issues.”
Members of TRIPIL protested last month at the city’s police station, claiming they were unable to enter because of uneven ramps.
Sidewalks and entrances to businesses and offices must meet standards set by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. A few years ago, the city undertook a major renovation that included new sidewalks with curb cuts to accommodate those with disabilities.
However, Brozinski said not all cuts meet the requirements. Other curb cuts in the city are too steep, she claims. TRIPIL will be doing a survey of the curb cuts Aug. 15. Some driveway and alley crossings have lips, or heaved portions that impede wheels.
Brozinski said maneuvering in an electric chair is easier than moving in a manually operated one.
Staniszewski agreed, taking the second half of the tour in a motorized wheelchair. He added this was the first time he used a wheelchair and he has never needed to use crutches.
He hopes to establish a Commission for the Disabled.
Mayor Sonny Spossey said Thursday he is in the process of re-establishing the commission he first set up in 1984.
Michael Matthews of Washington has cerebral palsy and is a civil right specialist at TRIPIL. He does not require a wheelchair but experiences difficulty with steps and uneven pavement.
Churches are exempt from the ADA requirements, Matthews said.
“But we want to worship like anyone else,” he said, adding he even has difficulty opening doors in certain county-owned buildings with what he called “old-fashioned door handles.”
He is pleased the city is addressing the needs of those with handicaps.
“City officials need to react, not just to TRIPIL, but to the citizens of Washington. We pay taxes, too,” he said.
I’ll be posting more links and articles about disability awareness day in Washington. We had a great media turnout.
From WJPA:
Disability Awareness Day
Today has been proclaimed Disability Awareness Day in the city. This afternoon, representatives from TRIPIL–Tri-County Patriots for Independent Living–will tour sections of the city in both mechanical and electric wheelchairs. City Councilman Matt Staniszewski says it’s an effort to showcase the need for accessibility awareness. Mayor Sonny Spossey says a number of sidewalk improvements have been made over the last several years, thanks to the downtown revitalization project.
‘Legendary British science fiction writer Sir Arthur C Clarke has died in Sri Lanka at the age of 90.’
Evel Knievel died yesterday. Knievel was one of my heroes and will be missed. Much like James Brown, his personal life was far from perfect…but his dedication to his craft was amazing.
The rally was one of 11 large antiwar held nationwide yesterday as part of the National Day of Action to end the war. An estimated 10,000 people gathered on the Common to listen to speakers. One man says, “I’m not convinced of the value of this. The polls indicate that everyone’s against the war but Bush is still getting the funding he asks for”
I’m still fuming over the fact Al Gore won a Nobel Peace Prize?!?!!? Like an Oscar wasn’t silly enough.
This just further confirms it’s a political prize. Jimmy Carter won for his negotiation of peace around the world, particularly the mid-east…that’s going well.
Henry Kissinger won too…and there are places in the world he’s considered a criminal for acts during the Vietnam War.
Incidently, Gandhi, a brown man under British rule…never won.
Yep. Seems fair to me.
Where’s my Nobel? I’ll even take the economics award here folks. Cut me a break.
Parallel universes really do exist, according to a mathematical discovery by Oxford scientists described by one expert as “one of the most important developments in the history of science”.
U.S. Sen. John Kerry’s speech at the University of Florida came to a dramatic close Monday, shortly after a vocal audience member was hauled off by police and shot with a Taser gun.
The only thing I find ’shocking’ about the incident is the fact that anyone is surprised. We live in a fascist police state. Deal with it. Like you didn’t know already?
As a country I encourage us to obey our corporate and government overlords and keep your dangerous independent thoughts and questions to yourself. Having been involved in active political protest the past five years I’m looking forward to my tasering… It’s probably cheaper than electroshock therapy.
Dissenting opinions will be silenced and the revolution, well…may or may not, be televised.
Using virtual reality technology coupled with sensors, scientists at Technion, Israel’s Institute of Technology have developed a system to enable people suffering from Multiple Sclerosis to walk more effectively. The virtual reality tech takes the form of a small screen attached to glasses which projects a moving, virtual ground computed using sensors that measure the user’s eye and body movements. This “virtual floor” apparently improves the walking ability of MS sufferers, and helps them to remain stable. The device even improves walking performance after it has been taken off, so patients won’t have to look completely awesome with their goggles on 24/7.
I’ve been following Alex and his ’student’s in books and documentaries for years. Truly amazing stuff.
Alex also had the emotional level of a 2yr-old child After repeating some learning trials dozens of times, Alex would become tired and throw objects off the trays with his beak. When visiting the vet. Alex would go back in his cage and slam the door. How would Alex say goodbye? “You be good. I love you. See you tomorrow.” . Check out his Wiki entry
read more | digg story
Thanks to the three officers that tipped military times on this. The Air Force, violated 40 years of policy without explanation. Nuclear weapons and warheads are not stored together with conventional weapons. The official account of a slip up, parroted by the official media, is a transparent lie. Was this a false flag operation and who ordered it?
ADAPT is taking the windy city.
Chicago, IL— More than 500 ADAPT activists from around the country will converge in Chicago September 8th-13th to take action against a crisis in Illinois that is the poster child for a larger national problem. The crisis is directly caused by a record of bad decisions made by Illinois state officials, and the institutional bias built into the way the nation’s long term care system is funded.
ADAPT will assure that Gov. Blagojevich knows that his plans to reopen a state institution for persons with developmental disabilities and his lack of support for Money Follows the Person legislation are actions of segregation and in violation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision. ADAPT will also challenge the Illinois Congressional delegation to take a leadership role nationally in eliminating the institutional bias so people with disabilities and older Americans can live at home with dignity.
Currently, Illinois ranks 41st in the nation for providing the community-based services that will allow disabled and older citizens to stay in their own homes. Illinois’ long record of being in the bottom ten states puts it among the worst when it comes to human rights in general and disability rights in particular.
“It turns my stomach to know that my state, historically a home of civil rights in America for people of color, is the same state that is one of the worst civil rights performers in regard to people with disabilities,” said Chicago native Larry Biondi, an organizer with Chicago ADAPT. “I’m ashamed of Illinois’ record of institutionalizing people with disabilities. Right now there almost 20,000 people who have said they want to get out of Illinois’ nursing homes- nursing homes they never wanted to go into in the first place. But they were forced to go there by the institutional bias in Medicaid funding, and the state’s failure to act in accordance with federal law- law that clearly states that people should receive services in ‘…the most integrated setting,’ which is clearly the community!”
While in Chicago, ADAPT will hold a national housing forum that will be attended by HUD Fair Housing Assistant Secretary Kim Kendrick, and state and local officials. At the forum, ADAPT will reveal its national housing agenda; take testimony from people across the country who have had difficulty finding affordable, accessible, integrated housing; and distribute information on pending visitability legislation, and the redirection of HUD’s 811 Supportive Housing program funds to projects that are integrated. Currently, the 811 program primarily funds segregated housing situations for people with disabilities.
“As we have begun to make progress in getting people out of institutions, and preventing people from being forced into institutions, the lack of affordable, accessible, integrated housing in typical neighborhoods has become glaringly apparent,” said Beto Berrera, a member of Chicago ADAPT and a Chicago housing expert. “We are hosting this national housing forum so that federal officials can hear just how bad the situation is, and to gain their support in working with us to right this wrong.”
ADAPT will send a clear message to the Governor of Illinois, the nation’s medical community, and Congress that supporting the incarceration of people in institutions for the ‘crime’ of disability will not be tolerated. In the classic Chicago movie, The Blues Brothers, Jake and Elwood Blues came to Chicago on a mission from God. ADAPT is coming to Chicago on a mission, too….a mission to “Free Our People!”
from 