Triangle buildings could get face-lifts

This is why the URA should go away. NUKE it. End All Authorities. Liquidation would be a positive move for the public at large. Triangle buildings could get face-lifts

The city is looking to brighten up some "dark corners" Downtown.

Aided by a $4 million state redevelopment assistance grant, the Urban Redevelopment Authority hopes to target rundown buildings Downtown and work with property owners to upgrade them.

The project is designed to supplement a larger revitalization in the Golden Triangle that already has included the construction of the Three PNC Plaza office tower and the redevelopment of a former five-and-dime store and a department store into residential, retail and other uses.

With much of that work completed, the URA has decided to go after properties "in need of some reinvestment" -- not to buy but to approach and work with the owners about making improvements.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10360/1113369-28.stm#ixzz19DRKl5xg

OMG. "You go to wait for the valet to bring your car back and there's blight staring you in the face," he said. Is there any question that this is only so that the rich get richer?

Then there is this lie: Nothing has changed (Downtown) in 50 or more years," he said. Ever hear of the tunnel under the river and the re-do of the Gateway Center T-stop? What about Consol Energy Arena? What about the parking garage at the Greyhound Bus Terminal?

Liar and thief.

Julian Heicklen, Plaintiff Counsel Pro Se, wrote to the judge:

jph13@psu.edu

December 20, 2010

Richard J. Holwell

1. S. District Judge
2. S. District Court: S. D.N. Y.
3. S. Courthouse

500 Pearl Street

New York, NY 10007

Re: Julian  Heicklen v. U. S. Department of Homeland Security et. al.

      Case #10 CV 2239 (RJH)(JLC)

Dear Judge Holwell:

1. Dismissal of the criminal cases

Rebecca Mermelstein, Assistant U. S. Attorney, has notified Judge Pitman in her letter of November 22, 2010, that the U. S. Attorney has dismissed all criminal charges against me for activities in front of your courthouse.  Perhaps your thugs, i. e. officers of the Department of Homeland Security, will return the property that they stole from me.

In her letter, Ms. Mermelstein also suggests that the court initiate jury tampering charges against me.  I welcome such an opportunity to expose the lying that you judges give in your instructions to jurors.  The opportunity is appealing to explain to the jury that its duty is not to uphold the law, but to see that justice is done.  In the cases against me which Ms. Mermelstein dismissed, she nullified the law.  Perhaps she should be a codefendant in the jury tampering case, because she tampered with the jury by denying it an opportunity to uphold the law.

2. Denial of default judgment against Bellevue Medical Center

In your ORDER of November 2, 2010, you denied default judgment against Bellevue Medical Center and its employees, because the summons was not served correctly through error of the clerk of court.  You requested that I again serve Bellevue and its employees.  What chutzpah!  It would cost me about $300 to serve those Defendants again.  The Court made the error, it should correct it by having the federal marshals do the service.  They will have nothing else to do now that presumably they will not be spending their time arresting me or anyone else who asserts Constitutionally protected rights.

3. Instructions to stop contacting Judge Holwell

In your ORDER, you also instructed me not to contact you again.  This is the second time that you issued such an instruction.  As long as you are the presiding judge in this case, you will receive correspondence from me.  If you want it to stop, recuse yourself from the case, as I have requested previously. 

3. Order to file an amended complaint, to obtain identities of John Does from defense counsels, and contact the Bankruptcy court to lift  stay on St. Vincent

In his ORDER of November 15, 2010, Magistrate Judge James L. Cott, who is assisting you in this case, issued three instructions to me:

1. I was ordered to file an amended complaint with the additional incidents added to the original complaint.  I will be happy to comply after I receive the identities of all the John Doe Defendants, including those from the ambulance crews (including the NY City Fire Department) from the Defendants’ counsels. The amended complaint will include Michael Blumberg, New York City Mayor, to remove any immunity issues suggested by the New York Fire Department.
2. It costs me about $3500.00 to serve all of the Defendants.  If I have to serve before knowing all he names of the John Doe Defendants, I will have to serve again, at another cost of $3500.  This is an unreasonable burden.  Therefore, I will wait until I have received the names of all the John Doe Defendants before the next service of summons.
3. I was informed that if I wish to learn the names of the John Doe Defendants, I must request that information from the Defense Counsels.  I have done that through copy of a letter that I sent to Judge Cott on September 8, 2010.  Mr. Pellegrino, Counsel for the federal Defendants provided the names of the John Doe Defendants.  The other counsels did not provide any information about the John Doe Defendants.  I submitted Motion Papers to Judge Holwell on October 8, 2010, to issue an ORDER to see that it is done.  There has been no response to those papers.  
4. Through copies of this letter, the counsels are requested again to submit the names, positions, dates of participation, and addresses where they can be served.
5. Again I am asking Judge Holwell to respond to my motion papers by ordering the Defense Counsels to provide the identities of the John Doe Defendants.
6. Judge Cott further states that in order to lift the automatic stay.of this case as to defendant St. Vincent’s Hospital, I must make such a request directly to the Bankruptcy Court.  This is a ridiculous request.  St. Vincent’s Hospital does not owe me any money.  I have no standing in the bankruptcy claim.  I am not an attorney nor a litigant.  Probably I would never get a response from the Bankruptcy Court.  If I do get a response, it will deny my request, if for no other reason than I do not have standing.  The bankruptcy Court would be acting properly, and I would expect no other action.  It is Judge Holwell that must lift the stay, not the Bankruptcy Court.

4. False claim of independent actor for the hospitals

Robert Drucker, Counsel for New York Downtown Hospital, has moved that the Court dismiss it as a Defendant, because it is an independent actor.  Mr. Drucker has committed perjury.   

I have distributed literature on 12 occasions in front of the U. S. District Courthouse in Manhattan.  I have been arrested 9 times.  The proper procedure for police is to take the arrestee to a magistrate.  This happened twice.  On 7 occasions, I was taken to hospitals (3 times to NY Downtown Hospital, 3 times to Bellevue Medical Center, and once to Saint Vincent Catholic Hospital).  On one occasion, I was arrested, my literature and sign confiscated, and released.  On one occasion, I was not arrested, just robbed.  On another occasion, I was ignored.  

In addition I was arrested at the U. S. District Courthouses in Springfield, MA, and in Newark, NJ.  In neither instance was I taken to a magistrate.  Instead I was taken to a hospital.

The purpose of the hospital visits is to perform what is euphemistically referred to as extraordinary rendition.  In each incident, the hospitals, ambulance personnel and the police knew that I had no medical problem. The hospitals are in collusion with the police to perform torture. At the hospitals, I have been sodomized, had a plug driven up my left nostril (extremely painful), had my corneas “dusted” with a brush, beaten black and blue on my chest, and forcefully injected with thorazine on two occasions against my expressed wishes.  Two days after one of these hospital visits, I saw my physician, who looked at my chest and exclaimed: “Did the police do that to you?”  I answered: “No, it was not the police.  It was the hospital personnel.”

1. Request for new filing date of December 30, 2010

In his letter of November 29, 2010, Counsel Robert M. Drucker states that the Defense Counsels have agreed that Plaintiff should submit his amended complaint on or before December 30, 2010.  Of course this is impossible.  Until I get the names of the John Doe Defendants, I cannot act.  I am willing to agree to a filing date of 30 days after receiving the names of all the John Doe Defendants, including those from the New York City Fire Department and St. Vincent’s Hospital.

6. Relationship to the Court

In the event that you are considering a contempt of court charge against me, you have misjudged the situation.  My feeling toward this court is not contempt.  It is hatred, intense hatred. You and your colleagues have destroyed my country.  This letter is being released to the public, so that it will be aware of what occurs in our courts of injustice.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  It is the time of year for serious introspection.

Sincerely yours,

Julian Heicklen, Plaintiff

Counsel Pro Se

The Athletic Ledger - Issue 2

THE ATHLETIC LEDGER FOR COACHES Quick hits on the budget-crunched world of scholastic sports
Vol. 1, Issue 2 – Dec. 22, 2010

Happy Holidays! We know coaches like you are stretching team dollars,
not just holiday gift budgets. From the intersection of scholastic
sports and money, here is this week's installment of quick-hits:
_____________________________________________________________________________________

#1. L.A. School District Going Corporate

Changing times coerced the Los Angeles Unified School District Board
to change its mind about accepting corporate sponsorships, which will
create new revenue for cash-strapped athletics, arts and music
programs in the district.

Read more:
http://list.theathleticledger.com/lists/lt.php?id=MBgBAAtXDgkFHgEEGAQDBAED
_____________________________________________________________________________________

#2. Pay to Play: Necessary or Last Option?

After instituting budgetary, departmental, and positional cuts, the
Hudson (Ohio) Board of Education instituted a new pay-to-play fee that
runs $400 for high school students and $200 for middle school students
with a $1,200 cap per family.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the Lenape Regional High School District is
charging $200 per student with a $400 cap per family, although schools
like Vineland are doing without pay-to-play for now.

Read more about Ohio:
http://list.theathleticledger.com/lists/lt.php?id=MBgBAAtXAQACHgEEGAQDBAED
and New Jersey:
http://list.theathleticledger.com/lists/lt.php?id=MBgBAAtXAQADHgEEGAQDBAED
_____________________________________________________________________________________

#3. Eureka! CA Fundraiser Nets $170K for School District

Thanks to its annual two-part fundraiser and online auction, the
Eureka Schools Foundation raised $170,000 to use toward offsetting its
continually declining school budget. However, the Foundation still has
one eye on the future, and anticipates needing to raise nearly
$500,000 in 2011.

Read more:
http://list.theathleticledger.com/lists/lt.php?id=MBgBAAtXDgkEHgEEGAQDBAED
_____________________________________________________________________________________

#4. Coming to the Lower 48: Alaskan All-Star Football

Having raised $50,000 to bankroll their trip, a team of 30 football
players representing the Alaska Athletic Alliance will make history on
New Year's Day when they trek to Auburn, Washington for the Tanoa
Bowl. The scheduled game between the Alaskans and a team of
Washington's best marks the first time an all-star football squad
will leave "The Last Frontier" to compete in the Lower 48.

Read more:
http://list.theathleticledger.com/lists/lt.php?id=MBgBAAtXAQANHgEEGAQDBAED
_____________________________________________________________________________________

#5. Foreign Languages: A Reason Not to Say Au Revoir?

Although several colleges and universities are cutting their foreign
language courses and majors - including the State University of New
York at Albany and Stony Brook University (N.Y.) - a recent study
conducted by the Modern Language Association showed a 6.6% spike in
foreign language major enrollment between 2006-2009. However, this
figure lags well behind the 12.9% growth exhibited between 2002-2006.

Read more:
http://list.theathleticledger.com/lists/lt.php?id=MBgBAAtXAQAMHgEEGAQDBAED
_____________________________________________________________________________________

About Us: The Athletic Ledger is produced weekly courtesy of My Sports
Dreams, LLC.

Committed to helping America's coaches and student-athletes achieve
their greatest aspirations, My Sports Dreams has worked with more than
20,000 teams and raised over $45 million for travel, equipment, and
gear. My Sports Dreams is also a proud and significant supporter of
The V Foundation For Cancer Research. Can My Sports Dreams help your
team? Learn more at www.MySportsDreams.com.

Follow The Athletic Ledger on Twitter: @athleticledger


The Athletic Ledger
258 Route 117 Bypass Road
Bedford Hills, NY 10507
Publisher@TheAthleticLedger.com

Soni Swims

Soni busts out the broom
Rebecca Soni swept the three women's breaststroke events (here, here and here); no surprise there. It's quite remarkable to watch her swim at these big meets because it's like she never loses. The big event to watch entering Dubai was the 100m breaststroke that would pit Soni against 2008 Olympic champ Leisel Jones of Australia. The race was close but Soni clearly ruled.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski gave AT&T a gift-wrapped policy this holiday season

Today, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski gave AT&T a decision that was gift-wrapped for the holiday season. By a 3-to-2 vote, the FCC passed a rule that, in the chairman’s words, “protects Internet freedom.”

If only it were true.

After a year of promises to deliver on Net Neutrality, this chairman has pushed through a rule that favors the very industry his FCC is supposed to regulate, leaving Internet users with few protections.

The chairman chose to ignore your voice — and those of more than 2 million people who have urged Washington to support real Net Neutrality. His rule, for the first time in history, allows discrimination over the mobile Internet, paving the way for widespread industry abuses.

Now, the chairman is trying to spin the media that his toothless decision is a win for Internet users. We’re not going to let him get away with that.

Pledge to keep fighting for real Net Neutrality; and use the Internet to spread the word via Twitter, Facebook and e-mail.

Don’t let the FCC get away with fake Net Neutrality. Spread the truth about this bad rule.

We’d be lying if we didn’t tell you that this vote was a major setback. The new rule doesn't do enough to stop the phone and cable companies from dividing the Internet into fast and slow lanes, and it fails to protect wireless users from discrimination. It lets AT&T block your access to third-party applications and require you to use its own preferred applications.

But this bad rule is not the end of the story. Free Press and our many allies are going to keep fighting to secure your right to an Internet without gatekeepers.

By taking action and spreading the word, you’re telling the FCC that this isn’t good enough.

Thank you,

Misty, Craig, Tim and the Free Press Team

KDKA's goofy question about police, enforcement, guns and Pittsburgh

Three Pittsburgh police officers on that task force that have a focus on gun violence have not been working -- but getting paid -- for a year or so. (Remember Jordan Miles?) That is why you see a percentage dip in effective police work. There are less on the street looking for those troubles.

That task force had less than 30 officers, right?

If you put 20-30% of the force on vacation -- the arrests in that regard are going to dip.

Connect the conversations about BLOATED PENSIONS and municipal finance problems.

The real question, how long do we have to wait to get JUSTICE for the wrongs done by those three officers? How long should they be paid to NOT work?

Last year: 598. To 468 this year.

Erik's Homework: A discussion between two famous people. Meeting at the pearly gates with Martin Luther King Jr and Socrates.

Martin Luther King Jr. and Socrates Skit

Scene: MLK meets Socrates as they are about to be put on trial to see if they are worthy enough for heaven.

God: Trial of worthiness for heaven for Martin Luther King Jr. and Socrates to begin in 5 minutes. Please take your seats.

MLK: Are you actually Socrates? The real Socrates from 339 BCE?

Socrates: One and the same, sadly.

MLK: But why then Socrates if you have died some 2,000 years ago are you still not in heaven?

Socrates: I guess The Almighty just hasn’t liked my answers so far. But, I keep trying and trying to change the philosophy of The Almighty.

God: The trial is now in session. Case number 2,987 for Socrates; trial number 1 for Martin Luther King Jr. In this trial you will be asked a series of questions and/or presented with different scenarios that you will then react to in the way you think best. By your answer, I will decide if you will prosper for eternity in heaven or suffer forever down below. Does this sound fair?

Socrates: As I have spoken before, to simply conclude, Almighty, that heaven shall bring happiness while hell shall not is, to say the least, shallow. For it is my belief that Virtue is sufficient for happiness. How is it that You, Almighty, which of course is what You deserve to be called, can determine a soul’s happiness? For can’t one have a moral obligation and good in hell just as easy as heaven? Therefore, creating happiness where You believe happiness does not exist.

God: Socrates, I am God. Do you agree with my proposal or shall this court case not even continue?

Socrates: I will, and always will, agree with the goodness and virtue of the law. For, breaking any law is an unjust act. However, the lawmaker can have faults and this is where the change might be needed.

God: Socrates, are you aware that I am the lawmaker and the one deciding whether you spend eternity in heaven? Moving along.... Martin Luther King Jr., do you have any problems with the law or the lawmaker, before we start?

MLK: I believe that maybe the law might be unjust. Is it just for one to have a say on how another spends eternity? In this case, I cannot say, for I was raised a religious being; one who believes in the power of God. But laws can be unjust and those laws need to be changed.

God: Two philosophers in this trial I see. That’s just great.

I will begin with the first question for both of you. A man plotted multiple terrorist attacks and destroyed the lives of 2,996 people. This person also claims to be fighting injustice and for a cause. Should this person be sent to heaven or hell? Martin Luther King Jr., we will start with you.

MLK: Injustice might have been corrupting and put this man and his people in an awful situation. However, it is my belief that injustice should be fought with peaceful direct action. I do not exactly know the cause of this man’s injustice, but a different approach should have been taken to find a solution. Therefore, I am afraid that I would have to sentence that man to hell.

Socrates: But, Dr. King, I am a firm believer that no one does wrong willingly or knowingly. Even though this man has committed a horrible crime, taking the lives of thousands, his punishment should be the decision of the laws that dictate the Earth. For those are not evil -- like sending a man to hell for eternity. I also believe that no one desires evil. So how can it be right to serve this man evil on a platter? So no, this man should not be sent to hell.

MLK: But, Socrates, this man has taken the lives of almost three-thousand! How does he not deserve any evil?

Socrates: For the simple fact that he has done no evil willingly. Even though we may think that this is a heinous crime, it might have been his only option. But if no one does wrong, then no one desires evil.

MLK: But I am also a firm believer that there must have been another way to receive justice than the actions that man decided to take.

God: Your responses have been heard. Now we move to the next question.
Both of you pretend that you are living in the greatest kingdom known to man. The wealth is enjoyed for about 70-percent of the population. But, this wealth is built on the backs of the 30-percent minority. The laws separate these two groups of people. The majority are educated, have luxuries, and government aid gets provided by law. If you are in the minority how do you, right the wrong of the land if there is wrong at all?

MLK: I believe in four basic steps in a nonviolent campaign against the unjust laws the majority has created. I would most likely handle this situation very much like the one in Birmingham. The four steps include:

1. Collection of facts to determine whether injustice exists
2. Negotiation
3. Self purification
4. Direct action.

In this case, a fight of injustice laws with a direct action might be necessary. The creation of tension makes people address the problem. I believe that constructive, nonviolent tension is necessary for growth.

Just as my friend, Socrates, felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind, so that individuals could rise from bondage, I believe that in this case, the people of the minority, of the oppressed, should stand with peaceful action and stop waiting for a solution that might never come. Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor. It must be demanded by the oppressed.

Unjust laws that bind people of goodness must be undone and destroyed. People can peacefully stand and create an environment of tension that brings down the unjust laws that bind them.

Socrates: True, Dr. King. I have always been a strong advocate of tension within the mind. People are blessed with virtue. If one finds the way to spread the warmth of knowledge, then at the same time, the person will spread virtue, for virtue is knowledge and vice versa.

You will never be able to run away from your problems. When I was sentenced to death by the courts of Athens, I was given an option: to leave Athens and live out the rest of my life in peace. I could not agree to that option because I would be going against the greatness of the community.

In my case in Athens, and maybe in this case, Dr. King and I differ. I believe that all laws are created justly and with the greatest of intents. But, lawmakers and perceptions of laws, at times, can be flawed. In my view, one should not disobey laws at any time. But, one should bring enlightenment and virtue to the law makers so that the laws are upheld with a correct moral outlook.

MLK: But, Socrates, are there not times when truly a law is unjust? When a law is a moral law or the law of God, isn’t it just? When law makes a code that is out of harmony with moral law, doesn’t that create an unjust law that needs to be changed?

Socrates: Yes. You are correct that the law of God and moral laws are the ones we most hold dear and follow. But, other laws are not flawed by design because people do not do evil knowingly. Therefore, injustice might have been committed, but the committee did so without knowing. Therefore, the best approach is enlightenment and the spread of virtue through the lawmakers.

God: I have taken your answers into consideration and the decision is final for both. Martin Luther King Jr,  you are granted eternity in heaven. Socrates, if you admit that I know all and am the wisest and smartest being ever, then a trip to heaven is granted to you. However, if you do not, you must spend eternity in hell.

Socrates: God, do you know everything?

God: Yes. Of course. I created everything.

Socrates: How big is the earth?

God: The diameter of the Earth is 12,742 kilometers.

Socrates: Very good. Do you know right from wrong?

God: Always.

Socrates: Do you know if I will go to heaven or hell?

God: It, of course, depends on your answer to this question.

Socrates: Then You do not know everything and therefore know nothing. For once one door is open that is vast with a question that you do not know, another door will soon appear followed by another and another and another. From this one unknown the cycle continues on for eternity proving that You know nothing. I know that I know nothing. You, on the other hand, think You know everything. But really, You know nothing while I know one thing and only one; that I know nothing. Therefore, I can not say You are the wisest being in history, for it would be a lie.

God: Then you will be forced to spend eternity in Hell.

MLK: If the great Socrates is to burn in hell for all eternity, and I prosper in heaven, a great injustice has just occurred in this realm. Socrates is a man who I emulated throughout my life. He is a trailblazer in the search for knowledge and his teachings helped countless in quests for better understanding of the world. He should not be sent to suffer. He, of all people, do not deserve that hardship.

Socrates: I follow the decision of the law. I am comfortable with this decision. What would eternity be like with no suffering and problems. I will carry virtue into hell and therefore be happy for eternity.

MLK: No! How can a great soul of Socrates be forced to spend eternity in hell?

Socrates: Don’t worry Dr. King. As long as one carries virtue one carries happiness, and therefore hell will be even more grand then heaven.

MLK: But no bad can befall any good man in life or death. So, once again, I get to witness injustice. It seems in life and death they are abundant. So, I will follow Socrates to Hell, bound by the cause to right the wrongs. We shall step into this injustice together. Be ready for fights in Hell, together.

God: You both, my friends, have given witness and passed the test. You have showed that in life and death you are willing to give up all luxuries, freedom, and happiness to stand for a cause greater then yourselves. I am truly honored to send you to heaven where, you both, eternally belong.

Would you buy a jersey from this salesman?

Ravenstahl lures high-tech businesses

Ravenstahl lures high-tech businesses

... what's working and what's not....

Wonder if the results will reveal that the mayor's not work well? Then what?

If the mayor wanted to do something productive, and I think I'll write him a letter about this suggestion, he'd make a YOUTH Technology Summit.

Economics

Fw: [Project-Censored-L] Morning Show at KPFA

December 17, 2010

For Immediate Release

Contact: Arlene Englehardt, Executive Director, Pacifica Foundation
Tel: (510) 849-2590, x 208 ; Email: arlene@pacifica.org

_KPFA Set To Launch New Morning Show With Diverse All-Volunteer Staff_

The Pacifica Foundation's Northern California outlet, is bringing back its Morning Show next week, anchored by veteran programmers from the station's unpaid staff together with other Bay Area progressive journalists.

The restored one-hour Morning Show will run every weekday at 8:00am, filling out a revamped drive-time lineup that includes Al-Jazeera English news at 6:00am, and Democracy Now!, the award-winning national news magazine at 7:00 and 9:00 am. The Morning Show will focus primarily on local Bay Area news and culture, while incorporating diverse voices from communities marginalized in the mainstream media. "The Morning Show is part of the local landscape," said Adrienne Lauby, one of the unpaid programmers putting the show together. "It helps cross-pollinate activists and cultural workers and brings critical information to people as they start their day. I'm thrilled our all-volunteer host teams could bring it back to KPFA's air."

The show's rotating hosts will include:

1.Tara Dorabji, who has co-hosted La Onda Bajita Friday evenings on KPFA for five years and currently runs arts education programs for youth in disenfranchised communities in San Francisco and Oakland

2. Leslie Stovall, who first appeared on Bay Area radio with KMEL-FM in 1985 and served up music and stimulating topics for twelve years at KBLX-FM in San Francisco

3. Dr. Peter Phillips, professor of sociology at Sonoma State University, President of the Media Freedom Foundation and long-time director of Project Censored, a unique investigative news project that enlists students and faculty from more than thirty colleges and universities to expose media censorship and under-covered stories and Mickey Huff, associate professor of history at Diablo Valley College, the new director of Project Censored and a Media Freedom Foundation board member.

4. Anthony Fest, a KPFA News Department producer since 1994, and a current host of KPFA's Sunday and holiday evening newscasts.

5. Adrienne Lauby, a member of the collective producing Pushing Limits, KPFA's ground-breaking disability rights program for seven years and a co-coordinator of outreach and fundraising for Free Speech Radio News, a global grassroots news-gathering team serving Pacifica and hundreds of other community stations.

"A new day is dawning at KPFA," said Dorabji. "As volunteers, we are committed to bringing the back the Morning Show and keeping the heart of KPFA alive". "We aim to deliver professional radio that informs, entertains and interacts." Stovall added. "We hope to illuminate what makes the Bay Area so special and vibrant." The show will begin on the heels of an emergency fund drive, which produced a strong and gratifying show of support from listeners who want to help KPFA survive a severe financial crisis. Recently in an effort to bring expenses into line with revenue, seven KPFA staff members took voluntary layoffs and two staff members, the former hosts of the Morning Show, were laid off involuntarily.

A new general manager is expected to begin work at KPFA in the next month.

Got ice?

The Penguins today released the schedule for public skating sessions at the rink that will be built next to Stage AE outside of Heinz Field. The rink is part of the celebration of the Winter Classic.

Dec. 24 -- 3-9 p.m.

Dec. 25 -- noon-9 p.m.

Dec. 26 -- 7-8:20 p.m.

Dec. 27 -- 3-4:20 p.m.

Dec. 28 -- 3-4:20 p.m. and 6:30-7:50 p.m.

Dec. 29 -- 3-4:20 p.m. and 6:30-7:50 p.m.

Dec. 30 -- 3-4:20 p.m.and 6:30-7:50 p.m.

Dec. 31 -- 6:30 p.m.--midnight

Jan. 1 -- 4:10--5:40 p.m. and 6--7:30 p.m.

The cost for public skating is $7 per session, and skate rental is $3.

A complete youth hockey schedule will be released next week, including six high school hockey games, numerous amateur games and an international bantam tournament featuring the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, Washington Junior Capitals and teams from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia (Sidney Crosby's hometown) and Magnitogorsk, Russia (Evgeni Malkin's hometown).

Grant Rauterkus photo from a rare public skate at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena. Indoors even.

Division 3 Swimming & Diving Rankings

Division III - Men

Rank	Prev	Team	Points
1	1	Kenyon	574
2	3	Emory	522
3	2	Denison	521
4	8	M I T	451
5	4	Kalamazoo	438
6	5	Johns Hopkins	437
7	9	Williams	331
8	7	Stevens Institute	325
9	10	Amherst	318
10	17	UW-Stevens Point	289
11	6	Washington (Missouri)	283
12	11	TCNJ	276
13	13	Carnegie Mellon	197
14	15	Hope	179
15	18	Grove City	176
16	22	Tufts	142
17	NR	Whitworth	137
18	12	DePauw	136
19	21	Saint Olaf	135
20	16	Middlebury	133
21	19	Chicago	124
22	20	Carthage	123
23	14	Washington and Lee	122
24	NR	Redlands	99
25	25	Olivet	98
Also Receiving Votes:
Keene State 75, C-M-S 62, USCGA 60, Mary Washington 59, Puget Sound 59, Case Western 56, Wheaton  (IL) 49, SUNY-Geneseo 44, Springfield 39, Connecticut 32, UC-Santa Cruz 29, Saint Thomas 29, Gustavus Adolphus 26, Ithaca 23, Wabash 22, SUNY-Maritime 20, Calvin 18, New York 15, UW-Eau Claire 14, Carleton 13, UW-La Crosse 13, Franklin & Marshall 12, Grinnell 11, Hamilton 11, Rowan 11, Wooster 11, Carroll 10, Trinity (TX) 10, Westminster 10, Bowdoin 9, California Lutheran 9, Saint Mary's  of Maryland 9, Hartwick 8, USMMA 8, Alfred 7, Allegheny 7, Washington and Jefferson 7, Colby 6, W P I 6, Baldwin-Wallace 5, Luther 5, Pomona-Pitzer s 4, Clark 3, Bates 2, Ohio Northern 2, Union  (New York) 2, UW-Whitewater 2, Penn State-Behrend 1, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 1,

Division III - Women

Rank	Prev	Team	Points
1	3	Kenyon	517
2	1	Emory	514
3	2	Denison	455
4	4	Williams	394
5	7	Amherst	343
6	6	Johns Hopkins	338
7	8	M I T	320
8	12	Stevens Institute	316
9	5	C-M-S	302
10	9	UW-Stevens Point	261
11	11	Carthage	229
12	10	Washington (Missouri)	217
13	16	Carnegie Mellon	214
14	14	Grove City	211
15	15	Chicago	165
16	17	Hope	153
17	21	Kalamazoo	148
18	NR	TCNJ	147
19	13	UW-La Crosse	133
20	24	Keene State	104
21	22	Middlebury	92
22	NR	Wheaton (MA)	89
23	19	Ithaca	85
23	25	Springfield	85
25	20	Mary Washington	66
Also Receiving Votes:
SUNY-Geneseo 63, Calvin 62, Gustavus Adolphus 62, Puget Sound 51, Whitworth 51, Luther 42, New York 40, Carleton 24, Redlands 24, Washington and Lee 19, Wesleyan 19, UC-Santa Cruz 18, Saint Olaf 18, USCGA 18, Clark 17, SUNY-New Paltz 17, UW-Eau Claire 17, Connecticut 16, Colby 15, Wheaton (IL) 15, DePauw 14, Illinois Wesleyan 14, Grinnell 13, Ohio Wesleyan 13, Allegheny 12, Eastern Connecticut  12, Hamilton 12, Rowan 12, R I T 11, Ohio Northern 10, Occidental 10, Rochester 10, Roger Williams 10, Westminster 9, Franklin & Marshall 8, Washington and Jefferson 8, Centre 7, Gettysburg 7, Bowdoin 6, John Carroll 6, Washington (Maryland) 6, UW-Whitewater 6, California Lutheran 5, La Verne 4, Pacific Lutheran 3, Montclair State 2, Union (New York) 2, Wooster 2, Buffalo State 1, Cabrini 1, Mount Union 1, Wittenberg 1

Wikileaks

This article is available from DefectiveByDesign at:
http://www.defectivebydesign.org/wikileaks

Or from the Guardian Newspaper at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/17/anonymous-wikileaks-protest-amazon-mastercard

Kettling: also known as containment or corralling - a police tactic for the management of large crowds during demonstrations or protests.

The Anonymous web protests over WikiLeaks are the internet equivalent of a mass demonstration. It's a mistake to call them hacking (playful cleverness) or cracking (security breaking). The LOIC program that is being used by the group is prepackaged so no cleverness is needed to run it, and it does not break any computer's security. The protesters have not tried to take control of Amazon's website, or extract any data from MasterCard. They enter through the site's front door, and it just can't cope with the volume.

Calling these protests DDoS, or distributed denial of service, attacks is misleading, too. A DDoS attack is done with thousands of "zombie" computers. Typically, somebody breaks the security of those computers (often with a virus) and takes remote control of them, then rigs them up as a "botnet" to do in unison whatever he directs (in this case, to overload a server). The Anonymous protesters' computers are not zombies; presumably they are being individually operated.

No – the proper comparison is with the crowds that descended last week on Topshop stores. They didn't break into the stores or take any goods from them, but they sure caused a nuisance for the owner, Philip Green. I wouldn't like it one bit if my store (supposing I had one) were the target of a large protest. Amazon and MasterCard don't like it either, and their clients were probably annoyed. Those who hoped to buy at Topshop on the day of the protest may have been annoyed too.

The internet cannot function if websites are frequently blocked by crowds, just as a city cannot function if its streets are constantly full by protesters. But before you advocate a crackdown on internet protests, consider what they are protesting: on the internet, users have no rights. As the WikiLeaks case has demonstrated, what we do online, we do on sufferance.

In the physical world, we have the right to print and sell books. Anyone trying to stop us would need to go to court. That right is weak in the UK (consider superinjunctions), but at least it exists. However, to set up a website we need the co-operation of a domain name company, an ISP, and often a hosting company, any of which can be pressured to cut us off. In the US, no law explicitly establishes this precarity. Rather, it is embodied in contracts that we have allowed those companies to establish as normal. It is as if we all lived in rented rooms and landlords could evict anyone at a moment's notice.

Reading, too, is done on sufferance. In the physical world, you can buy a book with cash, and you own it. You are free to give, lend or sell it to someone else. You are also free to keep it. However, in the virtual world, e-readers have digital handcuffs to stop you from giving, lending or selling a book, as well as licences forbidding that. Last year, Amazon used a back door in its e-reader to remotely delete thousands of copies of 1984, by George Orwell. The Ministry of Truth has been privatised.

In the physical world, we have the right to pay money and to receive money – even anonymously. On the internet, we can receive money only with the approval of organisations such as PayPal and MasterCard, and the "security state" tracks payments moment by moment. Punishment-on-accusation laws such as the Digital Economy Act extend this pattern of precarity to internet connectivity. What you do on your own computer is also controlled by others, with non-free software. Microsoft and Apple systems implement digital handcuffs – features specifically designed to restrict users. Continued use of a program or feature is precarious too: Apple put a back door in the iPhone to remotely delete installed applications and another in Windows enabled Microsoft to install software changes without asking permission.

I started the free software movement to replace user-controlling non-free software with freedom-respecting free software. With free software, we can at least control what software does in our own computers.

The US state today is a nexus of power for corporate interests. Since it must pretend to serve the people, it fears the truth may leak. Hence its parallel campaigns against WikiLeaks: to crush it through the precarity of the internet and to formally limit freedom of the press.

States seek to imprison the Anonymous protesters rather than official torturers and murderers. The day when our governments prosecute war criminals and tell us the truth, internet crowd control may be our most pressing remaining problem. I will rejoice if I see that day.

• Copyright 2010 Richard Stallman – released under the Creative Commons Attribution Noderivs Licence

Support the Free Software Foundation's year end appeal:
http://www.fsf.org/appeal/2010/an-appeal-from-peter-brown DefectiveByDesign.org is a project of the Free Software Foundation -- Fifty One Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, 02110

WVU's Stewart assisted in courtship of new coach

WVU's Stewart assisted in courtship of new coach

What the heck?????

Computer Game Christmas Ideas: Humble Bundle

More at HumbleBundle.com.

I love bundles. Trivia. Back in the day, I opened the domain, "bundle.com." We released our first bundle, "Village Compass Bundle."

Road Trip to San Diego, anyone?

I'm a Visionary for Physical Education, and got an invite to a free lunch in San Diego. Nice.

TO: PE2020 Visionaries
RE: Participate in the PE2020 Forum
WHERE: San Diego AAHPERD National Convention & Exposition
WHEN: March 29, 2011, 08:00 am – 4:00 pm

On behalf of the PE2020 Planning Committee I want to thank you for taking the time to contribute to the hundreds of visions now available on the PE2020 web site (www.PE2020.org) While your contribution was greatly appreciated I’m sure you also wondered, “What difference is my vision going to make?”

The purpose of this message is to invite you to participate in the next steps of the PE2020 initiative.

ATTEND THE PE2020 FORUM

On Tuesday, March 29th the day before the official start of the AAHPERD National Convention & Exposition, you are invited to join colleagues from around the country for a day of discussion, debate, and reflection.

The focus of the PE2020 Forum will be to begin creating a roadmap into the future for our profession. Participants will hear visionary suggestions then collaborate in roundtable discussions on topics that have emerged as a result of postings to the PE2020 web site (http://www.PE2020.org)

At the PE2020 Forum, participants will have the opportunity to discuss the themes that have emerged from these visions and collaborate in the drafting of a visionary blueprint. NASPE’s goal is for PE2020 to spur some imaginative and futuristic thinking. The PE2020 Visionary Plan that emerges will then be used by NASPE in its long-term strategic planning.

Participating in the PE2020 Forum is free, courtesy of a sponsorship from Polar. Even better, there is such a thing as a “free lunch” to those who register in advance to participate. Registering for the PE2020 Forum is easy. If you have not already registered to attend the Convention, when you do so just check off the PE2020 Forum as one of the special events you’d like to participate in. If you have already registered for the convention you can go back to your confirmation e-mail when you registered and in that e-mail there is a link to use if you want to add an event to your registration. Once you add your event, you will be taken back to the portal page where you will click on the “Pay Now” button (but don't worry, the forum is free).

Planners for the PE2020 Forum include Darla Castelli (University of Texas at Austin), George Graham, (PE Central), Steve Jefferies, Central Washington University), Allison Kleinfelter, (achievability.net), Tracy Krause, (Tahoma High School), Bonnie Mohnsen, (Bonnie’s Fitware), and Cheryl Richardson (NASPE).

The PE2020 Planning Committee’s goal is to create a stimulating and motivating program that will prove to be a GREAT San Diego Convention experience! They guarantee you will be challenged to actively engage with colleagues in thinking differently about physical education while simultaneously helping our profession to create a long-term plan and take more control over its future. Please plan to join us for the one-day PE2020 Forum on March 29th in San Diego.

If you have any questions about the Forum please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Best Regards,

Steve Jefferies,
PE2020 Planning Committee Chair
Email: jefferis@cwu.edu

Wishing to read this article about sports and schools

Education Week has this gem, if I could only get to it.

Commentary

Emphasizing Sports Over Academics Sets Up Black Boys to Lose

Schools and parents should know better than to emphasize success in sports at the expense of high standards in learning, Richard Whitmire writes.

Say what?

I want PPS to place some emphasis on sports -- rather than next to nothing.


Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Prediction for football in the future.

One day, football will be more like rugby in that the equipment is much less than what exists today. Helmets will have a cloth-like shell and the interior will be a foam that cracks apart when hit hard. These would be more like bike helmets that are used for one or two years or until there is a big crash. Then each player will get to use a limited number of helmets in a game, such as two. After the last helmet for that player breaks, then he is out for the rest of the game.


Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Who is this blogger from Pittsburgh, PA?

NewsHealth6 - Diet Trends: A look at America's Top Diets NewsHealth6 - Diet Trends: A look at America's Top Diets

One blogger from Pittsburgh, PA claims to have lost 42 pounds in 2 months with an Acai Berry and Colon Cleanse

Know her?