flixjamesie: January 2012

Tuesday 3 January 2012

Amazon And Microsoft Engineers Launch 21habit To Help You Track Your New Year?s Resolutions

Especially at this time of year, more and more consumers are flocking to social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to express resolutions or personal goals publicly. But simply expressing your resolution via a Tweet or Status Update doesn't help you actually break a habit or resolve an issue for the long term. Enter 21habit, which is a simple tool designed to help people make or break habits, 21 days at a time. It's also a great way for people to track their New Year's Resolutions. And in addition to helping people make changes in their lives, 21habit raises money for charity. The startup was actually founded (and self-funded) by Microsoft software developer Pranav Goel, and Amazon engineers Himanshu Khurana, Hemanth Pai and Ian McAllister (who heads up new traffic and customer growth initiatives at Amazon) as a side project. Here's how it works.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/xMQb8_LwPug/

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Jobs Program for Older Americans Struggles

Posted: Jan 02, 2012

Photo courtesy of Senior Service America

With passage of the 2012 budget Congress failed to restore any of the deep cuts made last year to the largest federally funded program that employs older adults. Last year's cuts have already taken a heavy toll.

At a time when workers between 55 and 74 with limited education and jobs skills are far more likely to lose a job and stay out of work longer, Congress held steady on the funding level for the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) at last year's amount -- cut 45 percent from two years ago.

The impact on SCSEP's ability to counsel and provide subsidized jobs for older adults has been "devastating," according to Tony Sarmiento, executive director of Senior Service America, Inc. in Silver Spring, Md. The good news is Congress didn't impose any additional cuts.

Sarmiento compared the third quarter of 2011 to the same period in 2010, prior to the budget cuts. For the entire country, jobless older workers joining the SCSEP program dropped from over 13,000 in that quarter of 2010, to 1,900 in the same period of 2011, an 85 percent loss, Sarmiento said.

In 15 states, he noted, the reduction in SCSEP participants was 95 percent. Five states had no new participants, including Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon and Wyoming. California had 54, instead of the 889 from a year earlier, representing a 94 percent drop.

The news is not good for low-income older workers, who are four times as likely to be unemployed as their higher-earning contemporaries, according to a labor economist at the recent Gerontological Society of America's national conference in Boston.

SCSEP is the largest federally funded program for older adults and is the last vestige of the jobs programs that began during the depression-era New Deal under the Works Progress Administration. It s a community service and work training program for older adults. Participants work an average of 20 hours a week and are paid minimum wage. Subsidizing jobs at day-care centers, senior centers, schools and hospitals are intended to help older adults find unsubsidized jobs.

Participants must be over 55, unemployed and with an income of less than 125 percent of the federal poverty level.

Currently the Department of Labor, which oversees the program, reports 46,000 participants in fiscal year 2011, but that is down from the 100,000 participants in year earlier. Of the 46,000, roughly 89 percent were at or below the poverty level.

For these workers the Great Recession has been particularly tough. During 2010, more than 8.3 million people from 55-74 lived in households with incomes of no more than $20,000 a year, representing roughly 15 percent of that cohort, according to Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies and an economics professor at Boston's Northeastern University.

This low-income older population is far more likely to be female, black or Hispanic, a high school dropout, and unmarried, Sum said.

The current 7 percent unemployment rate for workers over 55 is below the national average, but it is the highest rate since World War II for this group, Sum told the GSA conference.

Pamela MacLean wrote this article as part of the MetLife Foundation Journalists in Aging Fellowship, a project of New America Media and the Gerontological Society of America.

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Source: http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.php?article_id=facad83b1e9d1efa937bd896a4ac60df&from=rss

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Monday 2 January 2012

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Israel Killed Fewer Civilians in Military Operations Than Others, Including the US

The last decade or so we?ve assigned a euphemism to the deaths of civilians in military operations; we?ve called it ?collateral damage.? The fact is, though, that deaths of bystanders ? purportedly innocent ? are almost unavoidable in war operations. After all, war usually entails the indiscriminate firing of automatic weapons or the dropping of large bombs and this simply cannot be done in a surgical manner. But one nation has succeeded in a near total elimination of the deaths of innocents. That country is Israel.

Commendably, Israel has gone far out of its way to minimize civilian causalities over the last five years or so. Does this bust well-worn Palestinian propaganda? It should. In general the facts make the lie to nearly everything the Palestinians and their supporters say, but this particular point demolishes the propaganda.

Propagandists against Israel love to throw around claims that Israel is a violent, war-like nation and that she loves to invade her neighbors. But, once again, facts devastate this blather. In its short life Israel has been engaged in many military actions, to be sure, but few of them began with the Israelis as the aggressors. Most of Israel?s actions have been defensive in nature. The idea of defense as opposed to conquest is so inculcated in Israel that they?ve even put the word ?defense? in the name of their military forces. Hence we have the Israeli Defense Force (IDF).

In 2006 after the Israeli disengagement in Gaza, the number of rockets fired into Israel by Muslims in Palestine increased a shocking 436 percent. Israel allowed this outrage to continue for a long time before finally replying and they did this for fear of causalities of non-combatant Palestinians.

Even though a shaky respite was brokered between Israel and the murderous terrorists in the Strip, that small break ended in 2008. Naturally, immediately upon the expiration of that agreement, Hamas and other Muslim terrorists resumed in earnest their terror attacks on Israel.

As a result, Israel launched a defensive effort named Operation Cast Lead in 2008 to stop these illicit attacks. One of its important operational goals was to minimize civilian causalities and the success of that goal has been amazing. So amazing that this military action puts Israel first among nations in safeguarding innocent civilians while still carrying on active military strikes.

A recent speech by Colonel Richard Kemp, the former Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan as delivered in Te Aviv, relays some amazing statistics that busts the anti-Israel propaganda wide open.

Colonel Kemp has stated many times that Israel has ?done more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone? than any other army in history. Even as he notes that Hamas and these other Muslim terror groups use civilians as cover ? and sometimes willing participants ? in terror attacks on Israel, Kemp notes that the IDF has made notable headway into limiting unnecessary carnage.

Kemp insists that the proof of this can be seen in reports by none other than the United Nations, an organization nearly as anti-Semitic as Israel?s enemies in the Gaza Strip. It is impossible to accuse the UN of being pro-Israel (or pro-US, for that matter).

The UN estimates that there has been an average three-to one ratio of civilian to combatant deaths in such conflicts worldwide. Three civilians for every combatant killed.

That is the estimated ratio in Afghanistan: three to one.

In Iraq, and in Kosovo, it was worse: the ratio is believed to be four-to-one. Anecdotal evidence suggests the ratios were very much higher in Chechnya and Serbia.

In Gaza, it was less than one-to-one.

?This extremely low rate of civilian casualties flatly contradicts many of Goldstone?s original allegations, and the bleating insistence of various human rights groups about Israel?s alleged crimes against humanity,? Kemp said in the speech.

Israel should be commended for this success as noted by Colonel Kemp. Yet these are the sort of facts that too many ignore as they gin up their rhetoric against the Jews. But facts do not lie. It?s time more people heard them.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rightwingnews/hGmL/~3/fz3QZcdm1sI/

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Sunday 1 January 2012

Humbled, Worldly and Focused, Former NBA Star Ricky Davis Sets Sights on Comeback

A born (and some say one-dimensional) scorer, Davis used his time abroad to transform his game into a far more well-rounded one.

Over the past 15 months, the man who once scored 20 points a game in the NBA has called three continents and four countries home.

Ricky Davis' travels started after he was waived the Clippers in the 2009-10 season -- following an 12-year NBA career -- when he picked up with Turkish club T?rk Telekom B.K in March of 2010. He left Turkey for China that October, signing with the Jiangsu Dragons, then headed to France in the spring, joining up with Chorale Roanne. Fully recovered from a knee injury that hobbled him during his years in L.A., he felt, as he put it, that he was "back."

So he came home. Urged on by a compact season that's already opened the door for 11 players out of the NBA D-League, Davis signed with the Maine Red Claws -- affiliate of his former team, the Boston Celtics -- and starts his NBA comeback tour on Thursday against the Canton Charge -- affiliate of another one of his former teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers. NBADLeague.com caught up with him after Red Claws shootaround on Thursday.

Kevin Scheitrum, NBADLeague.com: You?ve had a busy year. How are the frequent flyer miles doing?

Davis: I?ve got ?em built up. I?ve been to China. Been to France. All over.

NBADLeague.com: You were playing some great ball overseas. What prompted you to come Stateside, to the NBA D-League?

Davis: I think it?s better for me to stay in the States and work my way up to get called-up. Overseas is fun -- with FIBA, it?s great. But I think I?m more toward the end of my career.

NBADLeague.com: So obviously the goal here is to get back to the NBA as soon as possible, but do you have a mental timeline? What are your goals?

Davis: To come in and have fun. To come in and have fun, to help the team I?m on and get some victories, then let everything take care of itself. Pretty much trying to take it one day at a time, one play at a time and go from there.

NBADLeague.com: When you played, you were the quickest guy on the court. How has your game changed since you left the NBA?

Davis: Not at all. It?s pretty much the same game. I?m probably about two inches lower in my vertical. I?ve still got the quickness, and I?m just getting smarter as a veteran

NBADLeague.com: Sometimes it takes stepping away to learn something about yourself. What did you learn about yourself, about your game, after you left the NBA?

Davis: I learned a lot, of course. I just grew. It was more or less staying focused and looking back on some of the stuff that wasn?t good for me early in my career.

It was all a learning experience. I had fun with it, and now it?s about becoming a better player overall. A better teammate.

NBADLeague.com: Is there anything in particular you look back on and say, ?I wish I didn?t do this or that??

Davis: Not really. I did some bad things, but the only thing I regret is my triple-double. But everything else comes with experience. People forget I got drafted when I was 17, so I had a lot of young ?myself-myself? attitude, and now it?s more about being part of a team, and more of what I can do to help the team.

NBADLeague.com: You were always known as a scorer, maybe at the cost of the other parts of your game. But back then, you were scoring 20 points a game in the NBA. How much have you focused on defense and rebounding over the past few years?

People forget I got drafted when I was 17, so I had a lot of young ?myself-myself? attitude, and now it?s more about being part of a team, and more of what I can do to help the team.

Davis: Defense has always been there, but when you?re the leading scorer on the team you kind of shy away from the defensive end. But over the years, as you get more experience on defense, you learn that defense definitely helps in offense. And it?s been great working on rebounding and working on my whole-all-around game.

I want to get other people involved. I can score the ball. It?s like riding a bike. You never forget it.

NBADLeague.com: If you got called-up, you wouldn?t be the marquee scorer ? at this point in your career, what?s your value to an NBA team?

Davis: Being an all-around player, and still being that scorer. Definitely being a scorer is one of my skills, and it helps that I can definitely dish the ball and cheer my other teammates on. Instead of me being focused on playing 48 minutes, I?ll be focused on playing 25 minutes and helping get everybody the ball.

NBADLeague.com: How much did playing around the world make you appreciate what it?s like to play in the NBA?

Davis: A whole lot. One-hundred percent. It really humbles you. It brings you back to reality, and how you got there. [The NBA] was a good experience for me. I played 12 years, I could?ve kept going, but I think it was good for me to get humbled and start Path Two.

NBADLeague.com: What made you stick with the game, instead of hanging it up?

Davis: Those last few years with the Clippers, my knee was kinda hurting, I wasn?t explosive, but I didn?t want to let people know what was going on. I lost my explosiveness, and I couldn?t score the ball like I could in those two years.

Then, after the Clippers, I got my knee right, went overseas and realized I?m back.

NBADLeague.com: Just in the past year, you were in Turkey, China and France. Did you set up Get Bucket Brigades all over the world?

Davis: I sure didn?t. I actually wanted to, but it was hard with the language barrier. I got a couple church kids coming out [Thursday night], though ? 10-12 of them.

NBADLeague.com: How?d the language-learning go? Did you pick up anything?

The NBA was a good experience for me. I played 12 years, I could?ve kept going, but I think it was good for me to get humbled and start Path Two.

Davis: I can talk a little in Turkish, and I know a little French. Chinese is a little tough, though.

NBADLeague.com: The NBA D-League is known as a place where you make your mark in rebounding, defense and ball control. Are you looking to really play up the rebounding angle of your game? Maybe go after more balls than you normally would, and put less of a focus on scoring?

Davis: I?m coming in to grab boards and do what I do best, and that?s scoring. I added in the getting-people-involved part, but you gotta do what you do best, and for me that?s scoring.

NBADLeague.com: How much did having a shortened, compact schedule ? with a lot of expected player movement ? have to do with your coming to the NBA D-League?

IDavis: That had a lot to do with it ? it was a big plus. With a short season and not knowing your whole roster, and a short training camp, I think it?ll be good for me as a veteran player, to sneak in there and make a roster.

NBADLeague.com: A lot of the veterans in the NBA D-League talk about how much they enjoy being able to teach the younger guys, in addition to their own quest for the NBA. What are you gonna try to get across to the young guys?

Davis: You tell them to stay focused. You can lose focus from game to game to game, and the thing is to go game to game, don?t get too cocky, stay humble and make others better. I think that?s when you become more successful and powerful, when you?re making others better.

NBADLeague.com: A lot of the Maine fans know you from your Celtics days. How excited are you to play in front of them?

Davis: Absolutely. I think that was a great place for me, in Maine, and Boston, where we got the Bucket Brigade still over there. It?ll be great for me to go back to where I had a great time playing. And I?m starting in a game where we?re playing Cleveland, I mean Canton, so those are two of my old places. I?m looking forward to contributing

Source: http://www.nba.com/dleague/news/ricky_davis_reclaws_q_and_a_2011_12_29.html

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