Occupy Is Not An Armed Conflict

The San Francisco Chronicle published an article today about a deepening split in the Occupy movement in Oakland and San Francisco.  The dispute is over whether violent tactics, street battles with police and destruction of property are unacceptable and have the potential to undermine the movement or are justified responses to police repression.  The article, which reported that the debate was "turning into a wrestling match for the soul of the Occupy movement in the Bay Area," failed to note that those advocating or accepting of violence were a very small minority.   And that, of course, illustrates the problem:  it does not take many people to hijack the movement and the message.

Tina Dupuy, award-winning writer, investigative journalist and managing editor of Crooks and Liars has been following Occupy closely from Day One.  She has been to eight Occupy camps in two countries: "One raid. One near-arrest. One march on the U.S. Consulate. A couple of barricaded streets. I was at the largest GA the movement has had thus far (Cal Berkeley) and at the first ever national one (in DC)."  In short, she knows what she is talking about.

Dupuy has written an important piece for Alternet, "Why #OWS Needs to Denounce Violent Tactics on Display at Occupy Oakland" on how the movement is on the brink of being marginalized.  

The Occupy Movement, “the 99 percent,” has, ironically, been hijacked by a small minority within its ranks. I speak of a small percentage of Occupiers who are okay with property destruction. As we saw in Oakland over the weekend: They’re okay with breaking windows, trashing city buildings and throwing bottles at the police. In short: They are not nonviolent. They are willing to commit petty criminal acts masked as a political statement.

These are Black Bloc tactics and they're historically ineffective at spurring change. The now Gingrich-vilified Saul Alinsky in 1970 said the Weather Underground (the terrorist wing of the anti-war movement) should be on the Establishment’s payroll. “Because they are strengthening the Establishment,” said the “professional radical” Alinsky. Nothing kneecapped the call for the war to end quicker than buildings being bombed in solidarity with pacifist sentiments.

Here’s the key point: Occupy is not an armed conflict – it’s a PR war. Nonviolent struggle is a PR war. Gandhi had embedded journalists on his Salt March. He wasn’t a saint. That was a consciously cultivated media image. He used the press and its power to gain sympathy for his cause. What he didn’t do is say he was nonviolent “unless the cops are d*cks,” a sentiment voiced at Occupy. Nonviolent struggle has nothing to do with how the cops react. In actual nonviolent movements they welcome police overreaction because it helps the cause they’re fighting for.

At some General Assemblies this issue is referred to as “diversity of tactics.” It means basically if you’re not okay with property damage, but if someone else is, you’re not going to stand in the way. To a liberal ear it sounds like affirmative action or tolerance. It sounds like diversity of opinion – it’s not. It’s 3,000 people peacefully marching and two *ssholes breaking windows; which becomes 3,000 people breaking some windows in news reports.

Violent tactics taint everyone involved evenly – consenting or not.

Read the whole piece here.

Medical records of 1,018 patients stolen at Lexington Clinic, but no apparent identity theft

One of the fears of electronic health records is that personal information can be stolen en masse, a possibility that became a reality when a laptop computer was stolen at the Lexington Clinic.

The machine was taken Dec. 7 from the clinic's neurology department at the St. Joseph Office Park. Letters were sent to the 1,018 affected patients last week about the theft, Mary Meehan of the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.

The laptop contained the names, contact information and diagnoses from patients from as long as five years go. Not among the data were Social Security numbers, credit card or bank account numbers. So far, there is no sign of identify theft. 

The clinic said it took six weeks to informing patients because it took time to "pinpoint exactly what information was on the laptop, which was used in conjunction with the clinic's electromyography machine," Meehan reports.

Another theft happened at UK HealthCare in June, when the medical records of 3,000 patients were taken from the Department of Pediatrics' newborn screening program. Patients were not informed of that breach until two months later. (Read more)

455 deficiencies found in 72 Kentucky nursing homes in fourth quarter of 2011

State inspectors found 455 deficiencies in 72 Kentucky nursing homes in the fourth quarter of 2011, with one facility accounting for 25 of them alone: Kindred Transitional Care & Rehab-Fountain Circle in Winchester.

The information was released by Kentuckians for Nursing Home Reform, a nonprofit organization that advocates for nursing home residents and obtains the data regularly through open-records requests to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and distributes it statewide. The information is posted as part of Medicare's nursing-home comparison data.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the average number of deficiencies for a nursing home inspected in the U.S. is eight and the average in Kentucky is seven. Inspections assess a facility on the care of residents and how that care is administered; on how staff and residents interact; and on its environment. Certified nursing homes must meet more than 180 regulatory standards. The state Office of Inspector General website has more data, such as the results of inspections and the ownership of each facility.

Nursing homes with 10 or more deficiencies in the fourth quarter of 2011 were:

• Bridge Point Care and Rehabilitation Center, Florence (22)

• Pineville Community Hospital (17)

• North Hardin Health & Rehabilitation Center, Radcliff (15)

• Richmond Place Rehabilitation and Health Center, Lexington (13)

• Hart County Health Care Center, Horse Cave (13)

• Parkview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Pikeville (13)

• West Liberty Nursing & Rehabilitation Center (13)

• Redbanks, Henderson (12)

• Knox County Hospital, Barbourville (11)

• The Forum at Brookside, Louisville (11)

• Bradford Square Care and Rehabilitation Center, Frankfort (10)

• Florence Park Care Center (10)

• Boyd Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Ashland (10)

• Corbin Health & Rehabilitation Center (10)

For more information about Kentuckians for Nursing Home Reform, click here.

Hormuz-Mania

Glenn Greenwald reminds us of Candidate Obama's pledge to negotiate without precondition with the leaders of Iran and other countries, a far-sighted position that caused him to be labeled naive by many in the the punditocracy.  Unfortunately, President Obama refuses to engage meaningfully with Iran through direct negotiations or diplomacy, leaving increasingly harsh sanctions as the only available course.  As Michael Klare writes below, this misguided policy is making the Strait of Hormuz "the most combustible spot on the planet, the most likely place to witness a major conflict between well-armed adversaries."  -- Lovechilde

By Michael T. Klare, cross-posted from Tom Dispatch

Ever since December 27th, war clouds have been gathering over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow body of water connecting the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean and the seas beyond.  On that day, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi warned that Tehran would block the strait and create havoc in international oil markets if the West placed new economic sanctions on his country.

“If they impose sanctions on Iran’s oil exports,” Rahimi declared, “then even one drop of oil cannot flow from the Strait of Hormuz.”  Claiming that such a move would constitute an assault on America’s vital interests, President Obama reportedly informed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that Washington would use force to keep the strait open.  To back up their threats, both sides have been bolstering their forces in the area and each has conducted a series of provocative military exercises.

All of a sudden, the Strait of Hormuz has become the most combustible spot on the planet, the most likely place to witness a major conflict between well-armed adversaries.  Why, of all locales, has it become so explosive?

Oil, of course, is a major part of the answer, but -- and this may surprise you -- only a part.

Petroleum remains the world’s most crucial source of energy, and about one-fifth of the planet’s oil supply travels by tanker through the strait.  “Hormuz is the world’s most important oil chokepoint due to its daily oil flow of almost 17 million barrels in 2011,” the U.S. Department of Energy noted as last year ended.  Because no other area is capable of replacing these 17 million barrels, any extended closure would produce a global shortage of oil, a price spike, and undoubtedly attendant economic panic and disorder.

No one knows just how high oil prices would go under such circumstances, but many energy analysts believe that the price of a barrel might immediately leap by $50 or more.  “You would get an international reaction that would not only be high, but irrationally high,” says Lawrence J. Goldstein, a director of the Energy Policy Research Foundation.  Even though military experts assume the U.S. will use its overwhelming might to clear the strait of Iranian mines and obstructions in a few days or weeks, the chaos to follow in the region might not end quickly, keeping oil prices elevated for a long time.  Indeed, some analysts fear that oil prices, already hovering around $100 per barrel, would quickly double to more than $200, erasing any prospect of economic recovery in the United States and Western Europe, and possibly plunging the planet into a renewed Great Recession.

The Iranians are well aware of all this, and it is with such a nightmare scenario that they seek to deter Western leaders from further economic sanctions and other more covert acts when they threaten to close the strait.  To calm such fears, U.S. officials have been equally adamant in stressing their determination to keep the strait open.  In such circumstances of heightened tension, one misstep by either side might prove calamitous and turn mutual rhetorical belligerence into actual conflict.


Military Overlord of the Persian Gulf

In other words, oil, which makes the global economy hum, is the most obvious factor in the eruption of war talk, if not war.  Of at least equal significance are allied political factors, which may have their roots in the geopolitics of oil but have acquired a life of their own.

Because so much of the world’s most accessible oil is concentrated in the Persian Gulf region, and because a steady stream of oil is absolutely essential to the well-being of the U.S. and the global economy, it has long been American policy to prevent potentially hostile powers from acquiring the capacity to dominate the Gulf or block the Strait of Hormuz.  President Jimmy Carter first articulated this position in January 1980, following the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.  “Any attempt by an outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America,” he told a joint session of Congress, “and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.”

In accordance with this precept, Washington designated itself the military overlord of the Persian Gulf, equipped with the military might to overpower any potential challenger.  At the time, however, the U.S. military was not well organized to implement the president’s initiative, known ever since as the Carter Doctrine.  In response, the Pentagon created a new organization, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), and quickly endowed it with the wherewithal to crush any rival power or powers in the region and keep the sea lanes under American control.

CENTCOM first went into action in 1987-1988, when Iranian forces attacked Kuwaiti and Saudi oil tankers during the Iran-Iraq War, threatening the flow of oil supplies through the strait.  To protect the tankers, President Reagan ordered that they be “reflagged” as American vessels and escorted by U.S. warships, putting the Navy into potential conflict with the Iranians for the first time.  Out of this action came the disaster of Iran Air Flight 655, a civilian airliner carrying 290 passengers and crew members, all of whom died when the plane was hit by a missile from the USS Vincennes, which mistook it for a hostile fighter plane -- a tragedy long forgotten in the United States, but still deeply resented in Iran.

Iraq was America’s de facto ally in the Iran-Iraq war, but when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990 -- posing a direct threat to Washington’s dominance of the Gulf -- the first President Bush ordered CENTCOM to protect Saudi Arabia and drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.  And when Saddam rebuilt his forces, and his very existence again came to pose a latent threat to America’s dominance in the region, the second President Bush ordered CENTCOM to invade Iraq and eliminate his regime altogether (which, as no one is likely to forget, resulted in a string of disasters).

If oil lay at the root of Washington’s domineering role in the Gulf, over time that role evolved into something else: a powerful expression of America’s status as a global superpower.  By becoming the military overlord of the Gulf and the self-appointed guardian of oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, Washington said to the world: "We, and we alone, are the ones who can ensure the safety of your daily oil supply and thereby prevent global economic collapse."  Indeed, when the Cold War ended -- and with it an American sense of pride and identity as a bulwark against Soviet expansionism in Europe and Asia -- protection of the flow of Persian Gulf oil became America’s greatest claim to superpowerdom, and it remains so today.

Every Option on Every Table

With the ouster of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the one potential threat to U.S. domination of the Persian Gulf was, of course, Iran.  Even under the U.S.-backed Shah, long Washington’s man in the Gulf, the Iranians had sought to be the paramount power in the region.  Now, under a militant Shiite Islamic regime, they have proven no less determined and -- call it irony -- thanks to Saddam’s overthrow and the rise of a Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad, they have managed to extend their political reach in the region.  With Saddam’s fate in mind, they have also built up their defensive military capabilities and -- in the view of many Western analysts -- embarked on a uranium-enrichment program with the potential to supply fissile material for a nuclear weapon, should the Iranian leadership choose someday to take such a fateful step.

Iran thus poses a double challenge to Washington’s professed status in the Gulf.  It is not only a reasonably well-armed country with significant influence in Iraq and elsewhere, but by promoting its nuclear program, it threatens to vastly complicate America’s future capacity to pull off punishing attacks like those launched against Iraqi forces in 1991 and 2003.

While Iran’s military budget is modest-sized at best and its conventional military capabilities will never come close to matching CENTCOM’s superior forces in a direct confrontation, its potential pursuit of nuclear-arms capabilities greatly complicates the strategic calculus in the region.  Even without taking the final steps of manufacturing actual bomb components -- and no evidence has yet surfaced that the Iranians have proceeded to this critical stage -- the Iranian nuclear effort has greatly alarmed other countries in the Middle East and called into question the continued robustness of America’s regional dominance.  From Washington’s perspective, an Iranian bomb -- whether real or not -- poses an existential threat to America’s continued superpower status.

How to prevent Iran not just from going nuclear but from maintaining the threat to go nuclear has, in recent years, become an obsessional focus of American foreign and military policy.  Over and over again, U.S. leaders have considered plans for using military force to cripple the Iranian program though air and missile strikes on known and suspected nuclear facilities.  Presidents Bush and Obama have both refused to take such action “off the table,” as Obama made clear most recently in his State of the Union address.  (The Israelis have also repeatedly indicated their desire to take such action, possibly as a prod to Washington to get the job done.)

Most serious analysts have concluded that military action would prove extremely risky, probably causing numerous civilian casualties and inviting fierce Iranian retaliation.  It might not even achieve the intended goal of halting the Iranian nuclear program, much of which is now being conducted deep underground.  Hence, the consensus view among American and European leaders has been that economic sanctions should instead be employed to force the Iranians to the negotiating table, where they could be induced to abandon their nuclear ambitions in return for various economic benefits.  But those escalating sanctions, which appear to be causing increasing economic pain for ordinary Iranians, have been described by that country’s leaders as an “act of war,” justifying their threats to block the Strait of Hormuz.

To add to tensions, the leaders of both countries are under extreme pressure to vigorously counter the threats of the opposing side.  President Obama, up for re-election, has come under fierce, even hair-raising, attack from the contending Republican presidential candidates (except, of course, Ron Paul) for failing to halt the Iranian nuclear program, though none of them have a credible plan to do so.  He, in turn, has been taking an ever-harsher stance on the issue.  Iranian leaders, for their part, appear increasingly concerned over the deteriorating economic conditions in their country and, no doubt fearing an Arab Spring-like popular upheaval, are becoming more bellicose in their rhetoric.

So oil, the prestige of global dominance, Iran's urge to be a regional power, and domestic political factors are all converging in a combustible mix to make the Strait of Hormuz the most dangerous place on the planet. For both Tehran and Washington, events seem to be moving inexorably toward a situation in which mistakes and miscalculations could become inevitable.  Neither side can appear to give ground without losing prestige and possibly even their jobs.  In other words, an existential test of wills is now under way over geopolitical dominance in a critical part of the globe, and on both sides there seem to be ever fewer doors marked “EXIT.”

As a result, the Strait of Hormuz will undoubtedly remain the ground zero of potential global conflict in the months ahead.

Michael T. Klare is a professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College, a TomDispatch regular, and the author, most recently, of Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet.

Third Party Mischief

If only we had a political leader who would seek centrist solutions to our nation's problems, and would seek to rise above the rancor to bridge the huge chasm that exists between the two political parties.  Wait, isn't that exactly who we elected?  Apparently not, according to "mega-rich Wall Street titans," as Peter Hart describes them, who under the guise of moderation and bipartisanship hope to place their very own right of center candidate on the ballot in November through anti-democratic means.   This is precisely what we don't need.  As Steve Benen aptly puts it:  American Elect is "an overly-secretive, well-financed gimmick, eager to play electoral mischief for reasons that remain unclear." -- Lovechilde

The One Percent Candidate

By Peter Hart, cross-posted from Other Words

Think big money and Wall Street have too much influence over national politics? Not to worry: A third-party presidential candidate bankrolled by hedge funds will fix all of that.

Believe it or not, that's the pitch coming from a group called "Americans Elect." And some of America's top pundits are loving it. "What Amazon.com did to books, what the blogosphere did to newspapers, what the iPod did to music, what Drugstore.com did to pharmacies, Americans Elect plans to do to the two-party duopoly that has dominated American political life," gushed New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman last year. Another columnist likened the effort to the democratic uprising in Egypt, while a third cheered on the challenge to "today's two-party tyranny."

Sure, it's time to shake up the two-party system. But what exactly is Americans Elect? The group is attempting to use state petition drives to win a spot on this year's presidential ballot. But who will be its candidate? That's apparently up to us — sort of. The candidate will be chosen through the Internet, as citizen delegates weigh in on key issues and then nominate viable, qualified candidates. Sorry, Stephen Colbert, no joke candidates allowed.

That sounds fine — but there's a catch. The group stipulates that the candidate must be a so-called "centrist," but if you look at the candidates the group is reportedly considering, this is just code for moderate Republican. Indeed, many of the people Americans Elect has floated as potential candidates — Jon Huntsman, Chuck Hagel, and Lamar Alexander, for example — happen to be Republicans who have failed to excite many actual Republican voters.

The Democrats whose names are floated include Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democrat-turned-independent who often votes as a Republican. According to the group's own rules, the group can overrule the choice of the Internet delegates. That doesn't sound much like democracy.

Who is putting up the cash to potentially run a second Republican presidential candidate? The project is "financed with some serious hedge-fund money," Friedman explained.


Indeed. Mega-investor Peter Ackerman put up some of the substantial funds required to get the project off the ground, and his son Elliot is the group's chief operating officer. Americans Elect isn't revealing much about where it gets the rest of its loot, nor does it have to, thanks to the nation's increasingly lax campaign finance rules. The group claims that such secrecy is necessary given the serious challenge they supposedly represent to the status quo.

That's right: A secretive effort by mega-rich Wall Street titans to place a conservative presidential candidate on the ballot is a bold, game-changing act of political courage. There's no reason why the American people should know who's paying for it.

At least some prominent media outlets aren't buying it. A Los Angeles Times editorial zinged the group for practicing "secrecy in the cause of openness." But the idea that what the country really needs is for the political system to move towards the "center" has long been a fixation among influential Washington journalists.

As the argument goes, the parties have retreated to their respective corners, making compromise all but impossible. But one could just as easily arrive at a different conclusion: that from the early 1990s the Democratic Party has embraced a Clintonian style of centrist "triangulation" that has moved their party to the right. The Republicans, meanwhile, have become more and more conservative as well. The space between the parties is shifting and shrinking, not growing.

The political system does need a jolt. But the center-right agenda Americans Elect covets shouldn't be the target for anyone seeking the middle ground.

The shady initiative's backers promise that we'll be hearing morefrom them very soon. Americans Elect may or may not be a factor in the 2012 presidential election. But don't be surprised if it is.

Peter Hart is the activism director of Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting. www.fair.org

It Takes One to Know One

Image courtesy of www.zazzle.com

Sometime ago, when Moving-on girl (MG) was scheduled to do a special number on this TV show, her makeup artist could not help but think of the odd way MG acted prior to her performance. MG locked herself in the bathroom before her makeup artist could fix her for the show. When makeup artist called for her, MG did not want to leave the bathroom and texted she wanted another makeup artist for that task. Of course, her makeup artist was persistent and managed to convince MG to step out of the bathroom.

Why did MG not want her makeup artist to fix her? It takes one to know one. MG was so afraid that her makeup artist, would be able to smell that she had taken something. True enough, makeup artist was able to detect that MG was not her usual self. Did she do that because she already realized the mess she got herself into? Did MG do that as a one-time experiment?

Please abide by the RULES in writing comments if you want me to post them. Follow Micsylim on Twitter for the latest update. Please continue to send your juicy stories to: michaelsylim@gmail.com. Thank you very much for supporting Fashion PULIS.

The Nose Knows

Image courtesy of www.allcapsyeah.wordpress.com

After disappearing from the variety show for a while, the pretty host comes back looking a bit different. She said she had to rest because her accident left scratches on her face. Looking closely at her photos, there seems to be something different with her face. She's sporting a new look to divert the attention of people from the nose job.

First snowmobile front flip landed and winter sport trauma (video)

Heath Frisby lands the first snowmobile front flip in competition:



This is what happens when the things don't go as planned: Colten Moore flies 120 feet into the air and then hits the snow hard in Snowmobile Freestyle Finals... (video below). He not only survived but went on to win Winter X Games Gold later.



Not all extreme winter sport champions are so lucky though, and some of them have barely escaped death, with life-altering injuries: Kevin Pearce reflects on Sarah Burke's death (USA Today).

It's Their Party . . .

As Meteor Blades writes today at Daily Kos, while many disenchanted Republicans cling to the hope that a credible candidate will step in to save the GOP from the current field of presidential candidates, time has essentially run out:  "The Republicans came to the dance with the wrong partners. And now they're going to have to go home with one of them."

Tom Tomorrow, capturing the essence of the two top contenders, shows us why the Republicans should be worried.  As he says, Newt Gingrich "could not be any more repellant if he were literally exposed as an oozing reptillian creature bent on global domination."  And then there's Mitt Romney, "who could not be any less convincing as an 'ordinary guy' if he literally wore a top hat and monocle."  (Click on the Read Tom Tomorrow badge on the right of the blog for a link to the whole comic.) 

A couple's journey with infertility; similar tale likely in your town

Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal follows the story of Kelly and James Durst, who turned to in vitro fertilization when they had trouble conceiving a child.

The Dursts are "among the 12 percent of reproductive-age couples in the United States who couldn't conceive without help," Ungar reports.

In April 2010, they gave birth to son Cooper, one of more than 675,000 babies born in the U.S. through assisted reproduction techniques since 1985. "He is literally the light of our lives," Kelly said. "He's why we try to make things better each day."

Ungar follows the Dursts' journey to have a second child, this time using the frozen embryos that were created at the time of Cooper's conception. The embryos will be placed in Kelly's womb.

Given the growing prevalence of assisted reproduction techniques, stories like the Dursts' can likely be found in nearly every community and make for a compelling read. (Read more)

Prescription pill abuse summit Wednesday at UK hospital

A prescription pill abuse summit will be Wednesday at the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital, featuring many notable speakers.

They will include: Gov. Steve Beshear; Wilfredo Ferrer, U.S. attorney from the Southern District of Florida; Van Ingram, executive director of Kentucky's Office of Drug Control Policy; police chiefs and law enforcement officials; and health care professionals.

"We think this summit will help lay the foundation for a future that will lead to increased communication and awareness among all the societal entities that are engaged in this fight," said U.S. Attorney Kerry B. Harvey of teh eastern District of Kentucky.

The summit is from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Pavilion A auditorium. For more information, call Harvey's office at 859-685-4805. (Read more)

Three Years After Passage Of Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Women Still Earn Far Less Than Men

By Travis Waldon, cross-posted from ThinkProgress

Sunday marked the third anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first legislation signed into law by President Obama. The law, which expanded the statute of limitations on fair pay lawsuits, was a response to a Supreme Court ruling against Ledbetter in her fair pay case.


Though the law expanded the legal remedies available to women who have been victims of discriminatory pay, little has been done to address the pay gap that exists between male and female employees. Since the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was signed into law, the pay gap has closed at less than half-a-cent per year. That trend is continuing, as the pay gap barely closed from 2009 to 2010.

Women made 77 percent of men’s earnings in 2009, the year the law passed. In 2010, that was virtually unchanged, as women’s wages rose to 77.4 percent of men’s. The gap is even larger for African Americans and Latinos: black women made 67.5 percent of all men’s earnings in 2009, while Latino women made 57.7 percent. In 2010, those figures ticked up to 67.7 percent and 58.7 percent, respectively.

Women make up half of the American workforce, and in two-thirds of American families, the mother is the primary breadwinner or a co-breadwinner. But they make less than their male counterparts in all 50 states, though the size of each state’s wage gap varies. While the gap continues to close in places like Washington, D.C., where women make 91.8 percent of men’s earnings, it is growing in others, like Wyoming, where women’s earnings dropped from 65.5 percent of men’s in 2009 to just 63.8 percent in 2010.

Because of the gender pay gap, women with the same education doing the same job as men earn far less over their working lifetimes. The wage gap costs $723,000 over a 40-year career for women with college degrees. In some industries, the gap can cost women close to a million dollars.

In November 2010, Senate Republicans killed efforts to close the pay gap when they unanimously voted to block the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have updated the Equal Pay Act, closed many of its loopholes, and strengthened incentives to prevent pay discrimination.

FDA wants to reduce standard for fluoride in public drinking water

Lowering the amount of fluoride in drinking water, as proposed in January by the Food and Drug Administration, will increase medical expenses and harm the poor and the poorly educated the most, a mother writes in an op-ed piece in the New York Times.

Jane E. Brody delves into the concept of fluoridation, pointing out its benefits. "In the early years, rates of tooth decay among the young dropped by 60 percent in communities that adopted fluoridation," she writes. "Every $1 invested in fluoridation saves approximately $38 in dental treatment costs."

Though fluoride was initially thought to become incorporated into developing teeth, it was later found that its benefit is topical, meaning it works on teeth already formed. "Fluoride, which is present in saliva and concentrates in dental plaque, inhibits the action of acid on tooth minerals," she writes. "It also promotes remineralization by sticking to tooth surfaces, where it attracts calcium ions present in saliva."

Still, there remains controversy about whether or not fluoride is safe, with the substance being accused of causing everything from heart disease to Alzheimer's disease. "None of these supposed risks has ever been established in scientifically valid studies," Brody writes. "The only proven risk, a condition called fluorosis, which results in white and sometimes brownish markings on the teeth from too much fluoride, rarely results from a normal intake of fluoridated water."

Since fluoride is also available in other substances, like toothpaste, the FDA proposed reducing the amount of fluoride in public drinking water to 0.7 milligrams per liter, from a range from 0.7 to 1.2 milligrams. Brody feels the move is a mistake: "Fluoridation confers the greatest benefit to those who need it most: the poor and poorly educated and those with limited access to regular dental care," she writes. "In the years ahead, removal of fluoride from drinking water will almost certainly cost taxpayers millions of dollars in increased Medicaid expenditures." (Read more)

In Kentucky, there is 100 percent fluoridation in public drinking water systems, though perhaps half a million residents get their water from wells, springs or cisterns.

Kentucky ranks 37th, Louisville 33rd in percentage of commuters who bike or walk to work

Kentucky ranks 37th in the nation for its number of commuters who bike or walk to work. Of the 51 largest cities in the county, Louisville ranks 33rd.

These are the findings of the Bicycling and Walking in the United States: 2012 Benchmarking Report, compiled by the Alliance for Biking & Walking. As well as looking at commuter numbers, it also examined how safe those commuters are and where transportation funding is being spent on "alternative means of local travel," reports Jeannine Stein of the Los Angeles Times. (Times photo by Wally Skalij)

Alaska, despite its cold climate, has the highest percentage of commuters who bike or walk to work. Boston has the highest ranking among cities. The lowest are Alabama and Fort Worth, Tex.

Across the country, 12 percent of all trips are on foot (10.5 percent) or by bicycle (1 percent), though from 2000 to 2009, the number of cycling commuters increased by 57 percent. While numbers are growing, safety is a concern. In the 51 largest cities, 12.7 percent of trips are by foot and 1.1 percent are by bicycle, but 26.9 percent of traffic fatalities are pedestrians and 3.1 percent are bicyclists.

Despite the risk, the report makes a connection with biking or walking and health. It points out cycling and walking levels fell 66 percent between 1960 and 2009, while obesity levels increased by 156 percent. The picture was more grim when it came to children. Between 1966 and 2009, the number of children who biked or walked to school fell by 75 percent, while the percentage of obese children rose by 276 percent.

Despite the physical benefits of the activity, states spend just 1.6 percent of their federal transportation dollars on bicycling and walking, amounting to just $2.17 per capita, the report found.

Instead of biking or walking, people are still relying mostly on their cars. The report found 40 percent of trips in the United States in 2009 were shorter than two miles, but Americans used their cars for 87 percent of trips that were 1 to 2 miles in distance. When it came to trips up to 1 mile long, Americans still used their cars 62 percent of the time.

The report was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AARP and Planet Bike.

Press Freedom: We're Number 47!

A couple of weeks ago, I posted Jim Hightower's piece which reported on a German foundation's analysis of the social justice records of all 31 members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which concluded that, based on "such categories as health care, income inequality, pre-school education, and child poverty," the United States came in 27th. 

The news isn't better when it comes to our government's respect for a free press.  Reporters Without Borders, in their annual Press Freedom Index, dropped the United States from 20th in 2011, to a three-way tie for 47th with Argentina and Romania this year.

The report made clear that the United States "owed its fall of 27 places to the many arrests of journalists covering Occupy Wall Street protests."  This is sadly not surprising given, as Jack Mirkinson writes in Huffington Post, how well documented the treatment of journalists by the police has been in 2011: "Reporters were beaten, arrested and prevented from covering police action against Occupy protesters. Tensions heightened so much that the New York Police Department had to meet with journalists and remind its officers not to mistreat them."

Hightower noted that "our bottom-of-the-heap ranking in social justice confirms the economic and political inequality that the Occupy movement is protesting."  But, Laurence Lewis states at Daily Kos, while "the Occupy Movement has changed the conversation in this country . . . those who don't want it changed are scared."

Apple of His Eye

Image courtesy of www.helenspointstoponder.blogspot.com

Newbie in the network is receiving left and right appearances. After one project ended, newbie was immediately cast in another. Once this newbie's appearance in this project ends, there is already another in line. Newbie is the latest occupant in the heart of a network executive.

Do you know who newbie is? Please abide by the RULES in writing comments if you want me to post them. Initials and comments that are too explicit will not be accepted.

Follow Micsylim on Twitter for the latest update. Please continue to send your juicy stories to: michaelsylim@gmail.com. Thank you very much for always loving Fashion PULIS.

Spotted: Wrapped Around His Neck

Can you identify who this actor is based on the blurred photo? If you were his wife, how would you feel if you see this photo? Please share your thoughts. 

Borgy Manotoc's Hot Trailer

Raymond Gutierrez is Thinner!

Whatever Sexy Solutions did to Raymond, it definitely worked! I want to try it as well. 

For more information:

• Call 810-SEXY (7399)
• Visit www.sexysolutions.com.ph
• Suite 912 Medical Plaza Bldg. Amorsolo Cor. Dela Rosa Streets, Legaspi Village, Makati. 0917-8605120
• Unit 23 G/F South of Market Residences, 26th Cor. 11th Ave., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. 0917-8671329.

Should companies refuse to hire employees who smoke? Opposing views outlined

The growing controversy surrounding companies who refuse to hire employees who smoke is featured in two opposing opinion pieces in USA Today.

Paul Terpeluk, medical director of employee health services at Cleveland Clinic, explains why the policy makes sense for his company. "Consider that cigarette smoke contains hundreds of chemicals and compounds that are toxic and at least 69 that cause cancer," he writes. "To ignore this would be to undermine our commitment to health and wellness, which includes providing a healthy environment for our employees, visitors and patients. Plus, the policy has not proved to be an overwhelming obstacle for job applicants. Since it was instituted, less than 2 percent of job offers — about 300 out of 20,000 — have been rescinded due to positive nicotine tests." (Read more)

But a USA Today editorial expresses a different view, in response to Baylor Health Care System's move to stop hiring workers who smoke. "Intruding this deeply into people's privates lives raises questions that bear scrutiny," it reads. "Companies can charge smokers more for health coverage or ban smoking on the job. But punishing people for using a legal product on their own time crosses a troubling line."

The editorial makes an exception for health-care companies who want to practice what they preach. "But such practices are not confined to the health care industry, and they raise a broader issue: If employers routinely reject people who engage in risky, but legal, behavior on their own time, what about such things are overeating or drinking too much alcohol?" (Read more)

West Liberty City Council votes to ban smoking in city buildings, but question may be revisited

The West Liberty City Council voted narrowly last week to ban smoking in city buildings, reports Miranda Cantrell of the Licking Valley Courier.

Mayor Jim Rupe opposed the move, which passed 3-2 with one abstention. If the vote had been tied, Rupe could have broken it.

"Rupe, a smoker, advised council members to consider city employees who smoke, including City Clerk Sally Barker and some department heads," Cantrell reports. Council Members Mark Walter and Belinda Jordan said they were trying to help members of the public who use city buildings.

"Barker said the council will likely revisit the smoking issue at next month's meeting," Cantrell reports. "No effective date for the ban was suggested." (Read more)

Chronic Diarrhea - Diagnostic Evaluation

Chronic diarrhea is defined as a decrease in stool consistency (loose BM) for more than 4 weeks (Am Fam Physician, 2011).

It can be divided into 3 categories:

- watery
- fatty (malabsorption)
- inflammatory

Watery diarrhea

Watery diarrhea may be subdivided into:

- osmotic
- secretory
- functional, e.g. IBS

Watery diarrhea includes irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which is the most common cause of functional diarrhea. Another example of watery diarrhea is microscopic colitis, which is a secretory diarrhea affecting older persons.

Laxative-induced diarrhea is often osmotic.

Malabsorptive diarrhea

Malabsorptive diarrhea is characterized by excess gas, steatorrhea, or weight loss. Giardiasis is a classic infectious example of malabsorptive diarrhea.

Celiac disease (gluten-sensitive enteropathy) is also malabsorptive, and typically results in weight loss and iron deficiency anemia.

Inflammatory diarrhea

Inflammatory diarrhea, such as ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn disease, is characterized by blood and pus in the stool and an elevated fecal calprotectin level.

Invasive bacteria and parasites also produce inflammation. Infections caused by Clostridium difficile (C. diff.) subsequent to antibiotic use have become increasingly common and virulent.


Image source: Escherichia coli, Wikipedia, public domain.

Not all chronic diarrhea is strictly watery, malabsorptive, or inflammatory, because some categories overlap.

References:

Evaluation of Chronic Diarrhea. Juckett G, Trivedi R. Am Fam Physician. 2011 Nov 15;84(10):1119-1126.
Skin patch vaccine to prevent travelers' diarrhea
Image source: Colon (anatomy), Wikipedia, public domain.

Gluten-Free RoundUp

I have a lot of respect for people with food allergies.  This can be a scary world to live in when one bite of the wrong food can have a huge detrimental effect on your health.  I have worked with people with food allergies for many years and the number of people affected by dairy, soy, eggs, gluten, and wheat seems to go up each year.

I recently went gluten-free based on a recommendation from my nutritionist.  I had been experiencing some chronic knee pain and she suggested a gluten-free diet to see if gluten was causing inflammation.  It turns out that gluten does not have an ill-effect on my body and I had no troubles incorporating it back into my diet. 

For me, going gluten-free wasn't a total headache since I do the majority of my own cooking and am pretty familiar with food allergies.  However, being "officially" gluten-free did make me feel a little paranoid... even in my own kitchen.  Did I use the gluten-free oats in my breakfast or did I accidentally use the regular ones? Wait! Did I just put soy sauce in that stir fry?! What was I thinking?!



For anyone that is transitioning to a gluten-free diet, the process can definitely be a little tricky.  Here are a couple of my tips that will hopefully help make it a little easier. 

1.  Talk to a healthcare professional.  If you have serious health issues and are questioning if gluten may be the cause, talk to your doctor.  They will most likely have you take a few blood tests, but it's important not to take gluten out of your diet prior to testing as this can alter the results.  It's also important for you to know whether you have a serious condition like Celiac Disease or if you are just slightly intolerant.

2. Get familiar with gluten. You would be amazed by how many products have gluten and don't necessarily list it on the label because it is used during processing (e.g.soy sauce). You can find great gluten-free guides online and one of my favorite resources is Celiac.com's Beginner's Guide

3. Do your own cooking.  Although many restaurants are becoming more aware of gluten allergies, if you have a serious reaction to gluten it is definitely best to try to make most of your meals yourself, if possible.  This is a great chance to explore some new cookbooks and ingredients in your own kitchen.  Have fun with it!

4. Vary your grains.  Being gluten-free doesn't just mean you are stuck with rice.  Try quinoa, millet, or polenta.  There are also a ton of different gluten-free flours used for baking.  Experiment and see what you like best. 

5.  Find a gluten-free bakery in your city.  I found that I missed gluten the most when I thought about dessert and having a fun treat from Flying Apron Bakery made life a bit easier.  No bakery in your city?  You don't have to be a baker to enjoy these Raw Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes with Avocado Frosting or these Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies.

6.  Connect with others.  There are tons of people living gluten-free these days and having support from others helps to make any dietary change more enjoyable. You can look for gluten-free restaurants or meet-up groups in your area, and the blogosphere is a great place to find others living the good gluten-free life. 

Gluten-free entrees pictured above:
Millet and Aduki Bean Salad
Chana Masala
Quinoa Pasta with Golden Beets and Greens
Kimchee Fried Rice
Tofu Pho (Vietnamese Noodle Soup)
More gluten free recipes can be found here.

How to choose effective workout machines to tone yourself?

You enter a gym and see rows of cardiovascular equipments - treadmills, stair steppers, elliptical machines, rowing machines, cross chain trainers and many more. Almost immediately you assume these are all lean machines your body needs. But, how far do you think your assumption is right?

When you are out to choose a machine to get in shape, there are three things you need to consider:

• a machine that will get you fit,
• that will help you burn most calories
• And a device designed to do so without impacting your joints.

Although these are the key concerns, the fact is the most effective workout machines are the ones you choose weighing just one question -which is the machine that I would really want to workout on?

Not all of us hunting for a workout machine get inspired by the one our neighbour got hooked on to, and hence, it is the worst thing to do if we pick workout machines on mere peer pressure / recommendations. Just like your clothes, and the food we eat, workout machines need a personal choice much over what others vouch for. However, here's a quick glance into all the background information needed before you pick what suits you best:

Treadmill
The reason why you find this machine almost in every gym is because of its effectivity and comfort. It burns most calories than any other cardiovascular machines. It is the best pick if you are someone who takes up brisk walking, you can expect burning about 100 calories per mile.

Also, treadmill is a very adaptable workout machine which can help you from walking to running straight or on the incline.

However, if the machine doesn't feel right for you, it could be for the possible chances to burn out your knee joints. And if you are new on the exercising block, it can possibly throw you off balance. But treadmills are the mainstay for fitness and weight loss.

Ellipticals and Stair steppers
These are known as less risk alternatives to the treadmill as they are kinder on the joints. And, the rigorous use of muscle mass helps to burn high amount of calories.

Look for variations like ellipticals with arm components that can push you to burn more calories.

Stationary Bikes
These are the best pair of wheels you can get to burn all you excess fat. These work on problem areas like the hips and thighs. Contrary to the popular sentiment that these bikes affect the knee joints, this workout machine can have the least impact on joints if the bike is adjusted according to your body. Once, the seat height matches your body, this machine though a less intense calorie-burner can burn up to 100 calories if you pedal four miles.

Flex Belts and Trx training
Flex belts are gaining popularity due to its ease of operation. All you need to do is wear the belt around your waist and go about doing your work. It automatically burns calories and helps in weight loss. Flex belt is an ab toner and when you wear it you'll feel a sense of rhythmic vibration that will make your muscles contract and relax helping you in burning calories.

Trx training is very popular in military training to keep people fit. Nowadays there are several fitness centres that have adopted this technique for weight loss.

Trap Table
Used in traditional Pilates, the stretches at trap table can tone your body by burning around 100 calories in 30 minutes. This is a simple machine to get more than just cardiovascular workout. It is a multitasking workout machine that helps to reach difficult areas like abs, inner thighs and rear.

Author Bio - As a health and fitness writer, Latasri is passionate about fitness and weight loss. Besides she also writes about candida symptoms and threelac review for yeast infection cure.

Gone in 60 Seconds

Image courtesy of www.blackmannrobin.com

One night, in a bar somewhere in the city of stars, some girls were having fun and drinking. While most of them were tipsy, one of them caught the eye of indie actor (IA), who was drinking as well. The girl and IA kept exchanging glances until IA stood up and approached their table. IA introduced himself using his boyish charm. The girls were excited as they knew he was the latest discovery from the indie films and was next in line for major acting projects in his current network.

However, IA had his eyes set only on the girl. He sat next to her and they continued drinking. They hit it off and exchanged numbers. They continued flirting and started kissing each other right in front of the amazed girlfriends. After a few minutes, IA and the girl excused themselves.

IA took the girl to his nearby flat. The girl was all excited and had high expectations after all the flirting that happened. Besides, he was an actor so he might have some creative tricks to make their night memorable. True enough, it was indeed a memorable night because IA was done in less than sixty seconds! The girl was shocked that she could not help but share her story of disappointment to her girlfriends afterwards. On hindsight, the girl did say that IA apologized for being done so quickly.

Hopefully, IA will not live up to his character with this random encounter.

Stress Testing Tim Geithner

By Mary Bottari, cross-posted from Campaign for America's Future

DonkeyHotey

Thanks to Occupy Wall Street, in the State of the Union this week President Obama struck some of his most populist themes yet. He wants to tax millionaires, bring back manufacturing and prosecute the big banks. He touted his Wall Street reforms saying the big banks are “no longer allowed to make risky bets with customers deposits” and “the rest of us aren’t bailing you out ever again.”
But are we safe from the next big bank bailout?

Many experts are dubious and Wednesday the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen decided to test the theory in the most direct way possible. They used the administrative law process to formally petition the nation’s top bank regulators to move swiftly to break up Bank of America (BofA) asserting in their petition: “The bank poses a grave threat to U.S. financial stability by any reasonable definition of that phrase.”

A Ticking Time Bomb

BofA is not just big, its behemoth. With assets of $2.1 trillion, equal to more than 14 percent of U.S. GDP, it is bigger than many small countries. Yet, its stock is trading at $7.

What does Wall Street know that we don’t?

The petition provides a compelling list of disturbing data points. In 2008-2009, BofA publicly took $45 billion in TARP bailout funds and secretly took another $1 trillion in emergency Federal Reserve loans. Yet, several analysts predict that BofA is woefully short of capital reserves and facing potentially billions in legal liability for its role in the crisis.

Although the bank declared net profits in recent quarters, these profit comes from accounting tricks, one-time asset sales and stock swaps. BofA’s share price to tangible book value is extremely low. The market suspects the bank is worth roughly half of what management claims and the price of credit default swaps (a type of insurance) on BofA recently rose to record highs.

“The bank is a ticking time bomb,” says David Arkush of Public Citizen. “If Bank of America in its current form were to fail, it would devastate the financial system. We’re asking the regulators to make sure that never happens. The only way to be sure is to reform the institution into something safer before any crisis materializes.”

Public Citizen asked the new Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), which is chaired by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and made up of the nation's top bank regulators, to use the tools provided in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law to act before a crisis occurs and to break BofA into smaller separate institutions. The law allows the FSOC to limit big bank mergers and acquisitions, restrict products and services or order it to divest assets or off-balance-sheet items after a vote to designate the institution a “grave threat” to financial stability.

“Too Big to Fail” Alive and Well

Although President Obama said the goal of Dodd-Frank was to end the era of “too big to fail,” neither Geithner nor Fed Chair Ben Bernanke got the memo.

Geithner told the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program in 2011 future bailouts are possible: “In the future we may have to do exceptional things again if we face a shock that large. You just don’t know what’s systemic and what’s not until you know the nature of the shock. It depends on the state of the world – how deep the recession is. We have better tools now, thanks to Dodd-Frank. But you have to know the nature of the shock.”

Bernanke may already be engaged in a back-door bailout of BofA. Recent news reports indicate that BofA is trying to move $22 trillion in derivatives out of its Merrill Lynch subsidiary into its FDIC-insured bank. The Fed favors the move. The Federal Depository Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which provides insurance to depositors if a bank fails, does not.

“By taking this action the Fed is allowing these derivatives to pose a direct risk to the FDIC insurance fund, keeping taxpayers on the hook for another bailout,” according to Arthur Wilmarth of George Washington Law School.

Groups like Public Citizen fought hard during the Dodd-Frank debates to insert into the bill tools to allow regulators to break up big banks and prevent the next crisis. With BofA on the brink, its time for a “test of the machinery,” said scholar Lawrence Baxter of Duke Law School.

Expand the Stress Tests

Geithner is right when he says regulators can’t predict future shocks; will it be the EU debt crisis, a multi-million dollar damage award against the bank or exposure to something out of the blue? While we may not know its origin, we know the shock is coming.

Remember in the Dodd-Frank debates, an amendment to break up the banks was rejected, efforts to restore Glass-Steagall were rejected, a proposal to force banks to spin off and separately capitalize their dangerous derivatives desks was quashed. In leading the fight against the stronger measures, Geithner instead pushed the FSOC to scan the horizon for risk and keep an eye on the behemoth banks. He also pushed “stress tests,” which all too many banks seem to pass with flying colors.
Now its time to stress test Geithner. If the FSOC fails to deliberate and vote on the very serious condition of BofA, the whole exercise will be proven a sham.

Click here to tell the President to Break Up Bank of America.

New Manager?

Image courtesy of avaxhome.ws

Is the new talent of a network having manager problems lately? He needed a new image and the network cooperated by including him in their major dramas. Although his movies did not do well, the network still trusted him.

While having too much to drink at a party for his latest project, the talent emotionally expressed his worry that his current manager is not cooperating at the way his career is turning out well. The talent feels that his manager puts more value in the previous network and more focus on managing the other talents there. Thus, the talent is planning to leave his manager as soon as his contract expires.

Are the worries of the talent unfounded or does he really have a substantial reason to change management? Please advice him.

Jazz Interlude: Stan Getz

Stan Getz performs Jobim's Wave in Copenhagen with a quartet, from the mid-1970s that consists of Albert Dailey on piano, George Mraz on bass, and Billy Hart on drums.

Gingered Sea Vegetable Salad

Let's be honest. I know that you didn't wake up this morning thinking to yourself, "I can't wait to eat a giant bowl of seaweed." (And if you did think that, you have my undying admiration.) Let's just say that I didn't wake up this morning thinking that either.

But, I know that sea vegetables are really important for my health. Seaweed is chock full of good stuff like B Vitamins, folic acid, and Vitamins C and E. It is also incredibly rich in minerals like magnesium and calcium and a good source of iodine, iron, and chlorophyll. This is especially important because over the past few years our soil has lost minerals so we aren't getting as many from our food as we used to.  As much as I hate the smell of the ocean, and especially seaweed, I'm gonna eat my sea vegetables.

Over time I have learned to enjoy nori in sushi, wakame (a dried brown seaweed used in cooking) in soups, and kombu (edible kelp) added to beans while cooking. But I never thought I would be able to enjoy arame.  Until now.

Arame grows off the coast of Japan and has a delicate texture.  Since it is typically eaten in salads, I wasn't sure if I would be able to stomach the "oceany" taste, but this salad left me pleasantly surprised.  This recipe begins with soaking the arame in water and since it grows in size, a little under two ounces will give you more than enough to feed four to six people. 

I think this salad will surprise you.  Since the arame is cooked in apple juice, it ends up tasting pleasantly sweet rather than oceany.  Combined with greens, veggies, and other herbs, this salad just ends up tasting really fresh and healthy - in a good way. 

If you are saving this recipe to serve later, keep the arame separate from the other ingredients so that the greens stay fresh.  Black-eyed peas are optional here, but they definitely add a little protein and make this more satisfying as a meal.  This salad is perfect as a light lunch or dinner.  Not only will it leave you satisfied and full of important vitamins and minerals, but it will give you full bragging rights that you not only ate seaweed and survived... but you actually enjoyed it!

Gingered Sea Vegetable Salad

Slightly adapted from Birgitte Antonsen

Serves 4 to 6

Sea Vegetable Mixture

About 2 ounces (1 bag) arame sea vegetable, soaked in cold water for 15 - 20 minutes

1 Tablespoon coconut oil 

1 1/2 cups fresh apple juice

3 Tablespoons raw agave syrup

3 Tablespoons tamari

3 Tablespoons minced garlic

2 Tablespoons minced ginger

Salad Ingredients

1 bunch of collard greens, stems removed, finely shredded

2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Juice from 1 lemon

2 carrots, shredded

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 cup cooked black-eyed peas (optional)

3 green onions, diagonally sliced

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Soak arame in cold water for 15 - 20 minutes.  Rinse and strain.

In a skillet, sauté the arame with the coconut oil for about 5 minutes.  Add the apple juice and let it simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes.  Remove lid and sauté until liquid has evaporated.  Add the agave, tamari, garlic, and ginger.  Saute until liquid has evaporated.  Remove from the heat and let it cool.  

Massage collard greens with olive oil and lemon juice.  Mix salad ingredients together in a large bowl.  

Mix sea vegetables and salad mixture together just before serving.  

Cabinet files appeal to prevent releasing full child abuse records; Beshear backs decision

On the day the state was supposed to release unadulterated records on deaths and near deaths from child abuse, under a court order, it filed an appeal to stop the process. And though Gov. Steve Beshear had ordered the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to release the records, yesterday he sided with its officials, saying in an op-ed piece sent to Kentucky newspapers he did not "think the judge's order was protective enough" of informants who often want to remain secret, such as relatives, health-care providers, teachers and law-enforcement officials. (Getty Images photo)

“You teach in a small community and suspect a student is being abused,” Beshear wrote. “Can you come forward without the newspaper naming you as the accuser?" Jon Fleischaker, attorney for The Courier-Journal and the Kentucky Press Association, said Beshear was “fear-mongering,” and noted that Shepherd’s order to release records applies only in cases in which children were killed or nearly killed from abuse or neglect, following a state law designed to hold the cabinet accountable for its child protective services.

Beshear wrote, “The cabinet has been accused of 'operating under a veil of secrecy' in a supposed attempt to protect inept workers and a poorly designed system. But this is not about shielding the system from scrutiny. We understand the need to be more transparent than in years past.” In December, the cabinet handed over 353 pages of records, but the names of at least eight children who died from abuse or neglect had been redacted, along with all the names of children who had been seriously injured, as well as much other information. The Courier-Journal, the Lexington Herald-Leader and the Todd County Standard had sued the cabinet for refusing to release the records. Twice before, Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd ordered the cabinet to turn them over. Last week, Shepherd fined the agency $16,000 for its secretive treatment and delays. He also found the cabinet should pay more than $57,000 in legal fees for the newspapers. (Read more)

Yesterday, the cabinet filed its motion with the state Court of Appeals and "asked the court to block Shepherd's Jan. 19 order to release records, starting today, with limited redactions," reports the C-J's Deborah Yetter. In the meantime, the cabinet released about 90 internal reviews of child deaths and serious injuries incurred by abuse but with deletions it feels is necessary "to protect the best interests of the state's child welfare system," its motion read. (Read more)