Thursday, May 31, 2012

Your Questions About Gluten Free Pie Crust | Health And Fitness

Dave answers:

1 cup white rice flour
1/2 sorghum flour
1/2 cup potato starch
3 tablespoons sweet rice flour
3 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon strong cinnamon (I use Saigon cinnamon from World Spice Merchants)
8 tablespoons (or, one stick) cold butter
1 large egg
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 ice-cold water, or enough to make the dough stick together

Mix together all the dry ingredients, including the sugar and cinnamon. Cut the butter into little pieces, about 1/2-inch thick and drop the pieces into the dry ingredients. Using a pastry cutter or fork, meld the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter has crumbled into pea-sized pieces.

Make a well in the dry ingredients. Drop the egg and apple cider vinegar in, then stir them in, gently, with a fork, stirring from the center out. Once they are incorporated into the dry ingredients, slowly drizzle the ice-cold water into the mixture, a little at a time, then stirring to see if it has become dough yet. You do not want this dough to be too wet. Add water only it all coheres together.

At this point, drop the ball of dough onto a large piece of parchment paper. (Prepare this ahead, unless you want to wipe dough off the box of parchment paper later!) Place another piece of parchment paper, the same size, on top of the dough. Gently, smash the dough outward, equally in all directions, until it is a thick, round cake of dough, about the size of a pie plate.

Refrigerate the ball of dough, for as long as you can stand. Ideally, you would prepare the dough in the evening and refrigerate overnight. Take the dough out of the refrigerator at least twenty minutes before you want to work with it.

Leave the dough in the parchment-paper sandwich and roll it out. By rolling it, gently, between the pieces of parchment paper, you will not need to add more flour to the mix. Roll it out as thin as you can, then strip the top piece of parchment paper off the dough. Gently, lay your favorite pie plate on top of the dough, then flip the whole thing over. The dough should sag into the pie plate. You can crimp the edges at this point. If some of the dough falls off the sides, don?t worry. Simply re-attach the pieces to the crust-to-be by pressing in with your fingers.

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From gangs to gardens: Community agriculture transforms a San Francisco neighborhood

Ten years ago, the residents of a crime-ridden San Francisco neighborhood started planting gardens on Quesada Avenue ? and everything changed.

In 2002, two neighbors armed with spades and seeds changed everything for crime-addled Quesada Avenue in San Francisco?s Bayview-Hunters Point area.

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The street had been ground zero for the area?s drug trade and its attendant violence. But when Annette Smith and Karl Paige began planting flowers on a small section of the trash-filled median strip, Quesada Gardens Initiative was born. Over the course of the next decade, the community-enrichment project profoundly altered the face of this once-blighted neighborhood.

Jeffrey Betcher is the initiative?s unlikely spokesperson. A gay white man driven to the majority-black area by the high cost of housing elsewhere, he moved into a house on Quesada Avenue in 1998 to find drug dealers selling from his front stoop and addicts sleeping beneath his stairs. He told me about the day that he returned home from work to discover that his neighbor Annette had planted a little corner of his yard.

RELATED: Michelle Obama: 8 food and garden tips, stories from the First Lady

?Even though there was a throng of people ? drug dealers who were carrying guns, pretty scary folks ? she had planted flowers on this little strip of dirt by my driveway,? he told me. ?I was so moved by that ... I thought, that?s what life is about. That?s what community development is about. That?s what?s going to change this block faster than any?public investment or outside strategy. And in fact it did.?

We too often fail to consider food a social good or to understand that growing, selling, and eating food is by its nature a meaningful social act.

A group of neighbors got together for a barbeque, and Jeffrey ? who has a background in community organizing ? started a conversation about the positive aspects of living in the neighborhood. What followed was a long-term, consensus-based process that resulted in the creation of a series of gardens on vacant land in the surrounding blocks. On Quesada Avenue, the median strip was transformed into a wonderland of Canary Island date palms, bright flowers, and leafy vegetation. Any neighbor who wants to can organize a new gardening effort, take responsibility for the existing gardens, or put together a public art project.

While Quesada Gardens Initiative is not specifically focused around growing food, it does incorporate a food garden used to teach local children about crops, as well as free-form community garden plots. And the way the project uses gardening as a powerful locus of community engagement and empowerment demonstrates an important truth about the social value of food that we seem to have largely forgotten in this country.

A major reason our food system is so damaged ? so dominated by corporate interests, rife with unhealthy products, and unbalanced by unequal access ? is that we too often fail to consider food a social good or to understand that growing, selling, and eating food is by its nature a meaningful social act. What we eat is far more than a pile of commodities. Not only is food?s essential job to nourish our bodies, but it can also serve as a creator of quality livelihoods, a locus of community engagement and cohesion, and an engine of citizen empowerment and education.

To improve our system, we must realize and act on this fundamental truth. Most of the industrial food corporations do not. Their central motivation is profit, and the highest profit apparently comes from treating food as a product like any other ? a plate full of widgets that can be engineered, created, priced, marketed, and exploited.

Luckily, a growing number of people concerned with the origins and impacts of their food are rejecting this materialistic and one-dimensional view of what we eat. Projects and organizations all over the country are putting food back into the social context it has traditionally inhabited.

"The change that we?ve created is not about the garden, it?s about the gardeners.?

For example, companies and cooperatives that supply local food to an area?s population strongly demonstrate that food is central to community cohesion and to local economies. In school garden programs, students learn the complex processes and intense collaboration that go into making what they eat. Projects that help underserved populations like refugees and inner-city residents grow produce help make food once again a central concern of family and community life.

Quesada Gardens Initiative reflects the power of growing things to bring a local community together in a powerful way. Jeffrey made this point as he took me on a tour of the garden plots dotted amongst the houses and stores of the surrounding neighborhood.

Quesada Avenue, the block once known as the most dangerous in the area, has been transformed completely and now serves as a hub of community life. At the top of its hill, Jeffrey showed me the beautifully designed food garden for educating kids. Behind the chain-link fence, stalks of corn stood at attention beside a glowing patch of leafy greens.

At another garden a few blocks away ? a patchwork of small plots that had previously been an improvised trash dump ? a sandbox and rope swing indicated that the garden was for more than growing food. Kids, in fact, had painted the signs that ringed the garden?s perimeter with such slogans and quotes as ?Don?t dump on my garden? and ?If you want to change the world, start in your own neighborhood ? Harvey Milk.??

Quesada Initiative?s success arises from the project?s appreciation of gardening as the means to an end more profound than a harvest of lettuce and peas. While the plants produced are of course a key motivation for any gardening enterprise, growing food can also ? should also ? serve other important social purposes, like cultivating a culture of civic engagement and an ethos of community participation.

?The change that we?ve created is not about the garden, it?s about the gardeners,? Jeffrey told me. He stopped to greet a neighbor as we rounded the corner back onto Quesada Avenue. As we continued on our way, he smiled at me with satisfaction.

?We realize we have done something right here,? he said.

? Katherine Gustafson wrote this article for YES! Magazine, a national, nonprofit media organization that fuses powerful ideas with practical actions for a just and sustainable world. Katherine is a freelance writer and editor based in the Washington, DC, area. Her first book, "Change Comes to Dinner," about sustainable food, was published this month by St. Martin's Press.

? Sign up to receive a weekly selection of practical and inspiring Change Agent articles by clicking here.

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Media Statements - Home

  • $10.9m to provide new buildings, refurbishments & classrooms at centres to help families in disadvantaged areas

  • 75 schools eligible to receive grants of up to $10,000 for support programs

Education Minister Liz Constable today announced details of capital works for 10 new Child and Parent Centres at public primary schools to provide vital services to help families nurture their children across Western Australia.

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The State Government will spend $10.9million on new buildings and refurbishments to create facilities for the centres to provide programs and services to benefit young children in disadvantaged areas.

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The capital works form part of a $28.8million investment plan over the next four years to provide integrated services for children and parents.

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Each Child and Parent Centre will develop a suite of services and programs to meet the needs of local families and might include such services as child health checks and referrals by a nurse, parenting information and programs, counselling and family support delivered by school psychologists, playgroups and early learning programs with parental involvement and allied health services such as occupational therapy, speech therapy and physiotherapy.

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?Each of these centres will provide support and services to some of this State?s most vulnerable children and their families,? Dr Constable said.

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?The centres will ensure that, rather than children playing catch-up when they start school, they are well-prepared to go into pre-primary and achieve their potential.

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?With public schools in almost every community in WA, it makes sense to establish these centres at school sites where they can be easily accessed by families.?

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The Government will invest an estimated $1.5million in capital works at each of the following schools:

  • Challis Early Childhood Education Centre

  • Neerabup Primary School

  • Roseworth Primary School

  • Westminster Junior Primary School

  • Dudley Park Primary School

In addition, Calista and Carey Park primary schools will each receive a new purpose-built building worth $1million each.

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South Hedland Primary School will receive a $600,000 refurbishment and Brookman and Warriapendi primary schools will each benefit from a $400,000 upgrade to create special facilities to form their child and parent centre.

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?While these new buildings will officially open in 2014 and 2015, services at the new child and parent centres will be offered as soon as co-ordinators are in place at each school site in the second half of this year,? the Minister said.

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?All families should feel welcome to walk into any of these centres, where they will find a team of professionals able to help them raise happy and healthy children ready to learn at school.?

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As well as the 10 centres, an additional 75 primary schools in low socioeconomic areas will be eligible for an annual Early Years Service Grant of up to $10,000 each, starting in 2013.

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?These one-off grants will cover minor works and additional resources, allowing schools to deliver better support programs for children aged four and under,? Dr Constable said.

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????? Fact File

  • Departments of Education and Health and the Department for Communities will work together to deliver services at each Child and Parent Centre

  • Centre co-ordinators to begin working with their communities & agencies later this year

  • List of 75 primary schools eligible for Early Years Service Grant is attached

Minister?s office - 6552 5700

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Job Posting: President & CEO, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese ...

The Agency

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston - Houston is the charitable arm of the Roman Catholic archdiocese, serving a 10 county area since 1943. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt social service organization with its central office in mid-town Houston and satellite offices in Galveston, Clear Lake, Stafford, Texas City and in the Second Ward of Houston. A sole member corporation, the Archbishop of the Archdiocese is the sole member.? Governance is entrusted to a 24-member board of directors and the management of the organization is entrusted to the President and CEO.??? The mission of Catholic Charities is to be a sign of God?s love and compassion and to extend to all persons the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. The vision of the agency is to be ?people of faith, helping people in need, achieve self-sufficiency.? The vision and mission are carried out through 16 diverse programs as well as an active advocacy program.

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Services provided include:? Adoption, Foster Care, Services to Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents, Family Counseling, St. Jerome?s Home for refugee children, Services to the Alone and Frail Elderly, AIDS Ministry, Disaster Relief, Emergency Food and rental Assistance, Villa Guadalupe, a transitional home for women who are victims of domestic violence, Serenity House, affordable apartments for out-of-town cancer patients, Parish Social Ministry, Refugee Resettlement, St. Francis Cabrini Center For Immigrant Legal Assistance, and St. Michael?s Home for immigrant children.

Catholic Charities has a staff of approximately 350 full-time equivalents and an annual operating budget of $26.5 million with total assets of $39 million. Over fifty (50) percent of funds come from government contracts, 12 percent from three different United Ways and nine percent from the Archdiocese and a few parishes. The balance comes from program fees, direct mail appeals, foundation grants, events, etc. (Additional information on Website?www.Catholiccharities.org.)

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The Situation

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston - Houston is seeking an exceptional person to continue the successful growth and quality of services necessary to meet the rapidly growing needs of the community. ?

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The Position

The President and CEO is responsible for the overall direction and day to day management of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston ? Houston within the context of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese.? With the Chair of the Board, the President and CEO enables the Board of Directors to fulfill its function and gives direction and leadership to the staff in achievement of the agency?s mission and serves as a catalyst to foster a collaborative work environment.? The President and CEO?s role includes inspiring, motivating, organizing, facilitating, and providing witness to the Church?s concern for the poor, the disadvantaged, and all who hurt regardless of race, creed, color, national origin, or economic status.

Specific Responsibilities

  • Leadership ? Provide clear direction and a sense of priorities which foster the development of a common vision for Catholic Charities of Galveston - Houston among volunteers, staff, human services providers, and the community.? Guide Catholic Charities of Galveston-Houston, its Board, committees, and employees in matters of policy and program formulation and interpretation.
  • Strategy ? Take the lead in identifying changing social welfare needs in the Archdiocese and new opportunities for service.? Make appropriate planning recommendations to the Board. Develop plans for the perpetuity of the organization, both financially and in the delivery of service to the community.
  • Commitment to Diversity ? Be responsible for unequivocal commitment to diversity in every aspect of work and daily living.? Identify with and be able to facilitate unified efforts among all segments of the community.
  • Fund Development, Marketing and Communications ? Develop and implement all fundraising efforts to provide the necessary resources to support the mission including, major gifts (e.g., Caritas Circle), direct mail appeals, foundation and governmental grants, and events.? Develop a marketing plan and oversee the communications effects to achieve a consistent message and increase community awareness of the mission of Catholic Charities.? Serve as the chief spokesperson for the agency.
  • Program Services and Advocacy ? Be responsible for maintaining the Catholic identity of the Agency and ensuring that the work of the Agency remains faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church.? Be responsible for the two-fold mission of Catholic Charities: charity and justice.? Oversee the development and implementation of a strategic plan, continuous quality improvement program, and annual work plan.? In that regard, expand or contract program services accordingly, responding to changing community needs and the direction of the Archbishop.? Serve as the formal linkage between Catholic Charities and the government (local, state, and federal); oversee the development and implementation of an annual advocacy agenda.
  • Board, Parish, and Community Relations ? Support the Archbishop in assuring that Catholic Charities remains the effective social service arm of the Catholic Church; support and advise the Board of Director in their governance and policy development for the agency as well as planning the future.? Create and maintain positive relationships with Archdiocesan personnel, pastors, and parish staff in order to serve the Catholic community well.? Engage in community activities that posture Catholic Charities as a leader and collaborator to address community problems, i.e. homelessness, immigration reform, affordable housing, etc.
  • Finance and Administration ?Oversee the agency?s financial management and reporting, operating and capital budgeting, and fiduciary accountability.? Oversee the recruitment and retention of staff; staff development, performance planning and appraisal, and a wage and salary administration plan.? Provide for technology and a work environment that supports efficiency and security.

Candidate Specification

The ideal candidate will:

  • Be an accomplished leader adept at articulating the mission of the organization, with the ability to inspire and encourage others to participate in the goals and objectives of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston - Houston.
  • Be an executive leader with proven effectiveness in administration and management, including human resources, budgetary supervision, resource development and fundraising.
  • Demonstrate a willingness and commitment to further the organization?s strategic plan and have substantive experience in or related to Catholic Charities, as well as in organizational development, program planning, implementation, and evaluation.
  • Exercise demonstrated skills in resource development and the art of fundraising.
  • Demonstrate knowledge and ability to comply with Council on Accreditation license requirements and state child placing standards.

Education Credentials

  • Bachelor's degree required, preferably in the fields of business administration, management in human service organizations, social work, or other related disciplines.
  • Advanced degree preferred, preferably with a specialization?in management and?administration.

Personal Skills and Characteristics

  • Dedication and Drive ? The importance and enormity of the job requires near-total dedication and tireless effort to fulfill management and external commitments.
  • Interpersonal Skills ? The President and CEO must work effectively with a wide range of personalities and must have the interpersonal skills required to smoothly interface and represent Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston - Houston with numerous constituencies.
  • Good Judgment ? The President and CEO is frequently called upon to make or influence decisions, expenditures, external relationships, etc. that require experience-based good judgment to supplement the facts.
  • Character ? Personal values and behavior must all be beyond reproach.
  • Results Oriented ? Well organized, self-disciplined, and able to focus on the most important projects.? Decisive. Contagious sense of urgency. Gets things accomplished on time, with minimal stress, and proper expenditure of resources.
  • Intelligent ? Bright and well-educated.? Able to assimilate quantities of information and focus on the key issues.? Able to deal with broad issues and detailed facts (e.g., financial results).
  • Language skills ? An ability to speak, read and understand Spanish would be a definite asset.
  • Commitment to Catholic principles.

Application Process

  • Interested persons should respond by June 15, 2012 with a letter detailing qualifications along with a formal resume.? Screening of candidates will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

Lowry Rhoads Contacts

Charles A. Rhoads????????????????????????????? Teresa M. Smith

Managing Director ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Associate

Lowry Rhoads Associates ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Lowry Rhoads Associates

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

713 569-6931 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?888-354-1103

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Amazing Healthy Grilled Bbq Eggplant ? Food and Drinks

This recipe is sure to be a long lasting favorite of yours. I was turned on to this dish back when I was a child. My mom would try new ways to get us to eat veggies, so one night she decided to grill the eggplant and serve it that way. The moment I smelled the grill going I knew we were going to have a great dinner. To my surprise, the only thing that was grilled were the vegetables.

After being very skeptical at first bite, the dish was amazing. Now today as we are all watching what we eat, this is a great recipe to keep that waistline in perfect form. This dish is light but also very filling. You can serve this as a side dish or as the whole meal with some brown rice. Makes a great meatless dinner too.

Here is the recipe:
1 large Eggplant
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 cup BBQ SAUCE
1 can (4 oz) chopped; mild green
-chilies
1/4 cup Chopped green onion
teaspoon Ground cumin
teaspoon Garlic salt
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (or 4 oz. pkg.)
6 ripe olives; sliced
1 cup Sour Cream ( or 8 oz. carton)

How you do it.
Peel and slice eggplant lengthwise.
Brush both sides of each slice with olive oil.
Place the eggplant on a medium hot grill and grill on both sides for 3 minutes.
Combine BBQ sauce, chilies, green onion, cumin and garlic salt in a sauce pan.
Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
In a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish, layer eggplant with BBQ sauce and cheese. Top with sour cream and olives. Bake at 350 Degrees for 20 minutes.
Once out of the oven, let the casserole cool down. You can cut into squares or just spoon portions out of the pan. Once the pan comes out of the oven the aroma is heavenly. The combination of the chilies with the grill flavor is a real winner.
Eat Well!
Chef Brian
Great BBQ SAUCE

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ShareMyPlaylists Relaunches Spotify App Based On Hand-Curated Playlists

Screen Shot 2012-05-30 at 18.20.39ShareMyPlaylists was the first site to allow the sharing of Spotify playlists (launched 2009). It's now relaunched its music discovery Spotify app based its 91,000 hand-curated playlists. The site competes with the record label Spotify apps like Digster (from Universal Music) and Filtr (Sony Music) but its advantage is that it allows music from all labels and allows user generated content - something the labels get nervous about.

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Bitly Launches New Bookmarking Features, Profiles, Search & iPhone App

bitly fishLink shortener Bitly today launched a major redesign and number of new features that all add up to what the company itself calls "a new bitly." Among these new features are 'bitmarks,' bitly's name for its new bookmarking features, the ability to search and find these bookmarks, a fast search functionality, as well as enhanced public profiles that give users more privacy control. Bitly is also rolling out new bookmarklets, a Chrome extension and its first iPhone app.

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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

New York Wine & Culinary Center Adds ? But Now Says it Will ...

The New York Wine & Culinary Center will excite, inspire and engage New Yorkers and the world in a celebration, understanding and appreciation of New York wine and food through educational programming and partnerships, making it a part of their everyday lives.

That excerpt from the New York Wine and Culinary Center?s (NYWCC) website would seem to say it all.?New York deserves a place to showcase its agricultural wonders without the distraction of other regions.

Unfortunately, according to a recent email newsletter from the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, ?the newly renovated restaurant at the NYWCC, ?now known as the Upstairs Bistro, has significantly changed its wine list. The list, which previously listed only New York wines, will now list fewer wines from New York and include non-New York wines.

Upstairs Bistro?officially opened last Friday at the New York Wine & Culinary Center in Canandaigua, with a new name, a new look, a new menu, and a new wine list.? Formerly the ?Taste of New York? restaurant, the Upstairs Bistro includes a bar area, main dining room, and seating on a wrap-around deck overlooking Canandaigua Lake.? The decor features brighter colors and a wine bottle with flowers at each table.? The new menu includes reasonably priced starters and salads, pizzas, light fare and sandwiches, entrees, side dishes and, of course, desserts.? The selection of New York beers has been expanded while the number of New York?wines has been greatly reduced to 10?choices from various regions, now joined by wines from California, Chile,?France, Italy, and New Zealand.? The wine list, menu and other information are at?www.upstairsbistro.com, which includes a ?Contact? option for comments or suggestions; or email?info@nywcc.com, phone?585-394-7070.

Yes, you read that right ? wines from around the world being sold at a place that?purportedly exists to celebrate New York wines, beers, spirits and foods.

Not surprisingly, some in the New York wine industry are ? I think rightfully ? disappointed by this decision.

?There?s a lot of hard-working people in this state who struggle mightily, not only to produce quality products, but for recognition of those efforts. It seems unconscionable to me that an entity that wears the badge and flies the flag for New York winegrowers and farmers would throw that same dirt in our faces. The local food and local wine movement is sweeping across the nation ? how can any one place be so far on the wrong side of a trend?? said Jim Silver, General Manager at Peconic Bay Winery. He?is not alone. Others contacted me privately but declined to speak on the record.

The question that must be asked is simply, why?

In an email, Jim Trezise, President of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation and member of the NYWCC board, told me ?that he thinks the Bistro?s wine list should only include New York wines, saying ?I was unaware of this decision until after the ?ribbon cutting? (ceremony), and was not consulted. ? He added, however, that the Foundation has never had any input into the NYWCC?s wine selections.

Next, I emailed Alexa Gifford, Executive Director of the NYWCC, who yesterday told me that their ?focus has been and will continue to be New York? but that ?We did add five non-New York wines to our wine selection to meet customer requests.?

She also characterized the non-New York wines as a ?trial? saying that they would ?track the wine sales.? Since the?Upstairs Bistro on May 18, 81 of the 84 bottles of wine sold have been New York wines.

The full drinks list at Upstairs Bistro. The list was removed from the NYWCC site this morning.

Taking a look at the?wine list?(which has been removed from the NYWCC website) the non-New York wines include a Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc and a Clos du Bois Chardonnay, both distributed by Constellation Brands, whose CEO, Robert Sands, serves as President and Chairman of the NYWCC board.

Gifford told me yesterday, however that ?Mr. Sands was not involved in the wine selection process at all.?

My plan for early this morning was to dig deeper to find out just how the wine list is put together ? the who, the how and the why. Why choose mediocre Bordeaux or New Zealand sauvignon blanc when there are better wines made on Long Island? Why pour an Italian Moscato when there are off-dry sparkling rieslings available in the Finger Lakes??And perhaps most importantly, why choose Constellation Brands wines, risking the?perception?that Mr. Sands may have perhaps undue influence?

But then I received an email from Gifford today telling me ?We have already pulled the non-New York wine off the list. ?

That is, of course, the correct decision regardless of any sales numbers. Customers visiting NYWCC should be greeted with the best New York has to offer. They deserve it and so do the farmers, brewers, distillers and winemakers of the state.

Gifford signed off her last email to me earlier by saying ?The NYWCC has purchased nearly $2 million of New York wine since opening and will continue to support and promote New York agriculture.?

For that the NYWCC should be commended. Hopefully the decision to sell non-New York wines was nothing more than a one-time mistake.


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On Thailand trip, Suu Kyi visits Myanmar migrants

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi waves while leaving a community center in Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand on Wednesday, May 30, 2012. Kicking off her first trip abroad in nearly a quarter-century, Suu Kyi offered encouragement Wednesday to impoverished Myanmar migrants whose flight to neighboring Thailand is emblematic of the devastation wrought on her homeland by decades of misrule.(AP photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi waves while leaving a community center in Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand on Wednesday, May 30, 2012. Kicking off her first trip abroad in nearly a quarter-century, Suu Kyi offered encouragement Wednesday to impoverished Myanmar migrants whose flight to neighboring Thailand is emblematic of the devastation wrought on her homeland by decades of misrule.(AP photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Myanmar workers cheer up as they listen to Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's speech in Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand on Wednesday, May 30, 2012. Kicking off her first trip abroad in nearly a quarter-century, Suu Kyi offered encouragement Wednesday to impoverished migrants whose flight to neighboring Thailand is emblematic of the devastation wrought on her homeland by decades of misrule. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

Myanmar workers hold portraits of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as they gather to hear her speech in Samut Sakhon, Thailand on Wednesday, May 30, 2012. Kicking off her first trip abroad in nearly a quarter-century, Suu Kyi offered encouragement Wednesday to impoverished migrants whose flight to neighboring Thailand is emblematic of the devastation wrought on her homeland by decades of misrule. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Myanmar workers cheer up as they gather to hear Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's speech in Samut Sakhon, Thailand on Wednesday, May 30, 2012. Kicking off her first trip abroad in nearly a quarter-century, Suu Kyi offered encouragement Wednesday to impoverished migrants whose flight to neighboring Thailand is emblematic of the devastation wrought on her homeland by decades of misrule. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Myanmar workers shout as Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi leaves after making a speech for them in Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand on Wednesday, May 30, 2012. Kicking off her first trip abroad in nearly a quarter-century, Suu Kyi offered encouragement Wednesday to impoverished migrants whose flight to neighboring Thailand is emblematic of the devastation wrought on her homeland by decades of misrule. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

(AP) ? Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, on her first foreign trip in nearly a quarter-century, offered encouragement Wednesday to impoverished migrants whose flight from their homeland is emblematic of the devastation wrought there by decades of misrule.

"Don't feel down, or weak. History is always changing," she told an exuberant crowd of thousands southwest of Bangkok. Many held signs saying, "We want to go home," and Suu Kyi said her visit was aimed at learning how she could help them.

"Today, I will make you one promise: I will try my best for you," she said.

In the town of Mahachai, home to Thailand's largest population of Burmese migrants, thousands of Myanmar's downtrodden crowded around her and chanted: "Long Live Mother Suu!"

"I had only seen her on TV and in newspapers," said Saw Hla Tun, who left Myanmar's Karen state seven years ago and earns a meager wage carrying heavy salt sacks on his back. "I couldn't hold back my tears when I saw her."

After speaking to the crowd, Suu Kyi met with migrant workers who told her they are mistreated by employers but don't know their rights and have no legal means to settle disputes.

Suu Kyi arrived in Thailand on Tuesday night on a trip that shows just how much life has changed in her homeland. The Nobel Peace Prize winner lived 15 of the last 24 years under house arrest and dared not leave during the intermittent periods of freedom because she feared the then-ruling military junta would not allow her to return. Now an elected member of Parliament, she will speak later this week at the World Economic Forum on East Asia.

She'll return to Myanmar briefly before heading to Europe for a five-country tour in mid-June. She'll address the British Parliament, formally accept her 1991 Nobel in Oslo, Norway, and be the guest of honor at a Dublin tribute concert organized by U2's Bono and others.

Fixing a battered economy is one of the most crucial challenges facing Myanmar as it begins opening up in the wake of 49 years of military governance that ended only last year.

Thailand hosts around 2.5 million impoverished Burmese who have fled here to work low-skilled jobs as domestic servants or in manual labor industries like fisheries and the garment sector.

Andy Hall, a migrant expert and researcher at the Institute for Population and Social Research at Thailand's Mahidol University, said the Myanmar migrants ? up to a million of them lacking work permits ? make up between 5 and 10 percent of the Thai work force, contributing as much as 7 percent of the nation's GDP.

Many are exploited and paid reduced wages. Some have been trafficked; some have had their passports confiscated by employers. Hall said they were nevertheless "the lifeblood of a lot of the Myanmar economy, sending home money to support families who don't have enough money to eat."

"They have no voice, they can never speak up or stand up," Hall said. "So for Aung San Suu Kyi to visit is like a dream come true, someone who finally may be able to bring attention to their suffering."

One of the migrants, a 26-year-old woman named Khin Than Nu, works at a Thai canning factory and dreams of her home in Myanmar's Mon state.

"We left our parents in Burma, and all my brothers and sisters work here to support our parents," she said. "I hope Daw Suu will help develop our country, and bring jobs so we can go home."

___

Associated Press writer Yadana Htun contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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Iraq opens 4th energy bidding round since 2003 war

(AP) ? Iraq opened on Wednesday its fourth postwar bidding round for oil and natural gas exploration, with 39 foreign energy companies registered to compete for exploration rights in a dozen areas of the country.

The government is seeking foreign investment to build up an energy sector hit by years of neglect and violence. Iraq holds the world's fourth largest oil reserves and oil revenues make up nearly 95 percent of the country's budget.

In an opening speech, Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul-Karim Elaibi said exploration of the areas up for bidding will increase Iraq's oil reserves and help the country enter the natural gas industry. He promised that his ministry will "spare no efforts to help and support the companies as partners to achieve the common interests."

Still, conditions for bidders are less attractive than in the three previous rounds held since the 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

Only areas with undetermined hydrocarbon resources are on offer, while previously the rights to known big and medium oil and gas fields were being auctioned off. Operating costs for energy companies could be high because most of the 12 exploration blocks are in remote and unsafe areas and lack infrastructure.

The government also added a clause for the first time that prevents companies from signing deals with regional authorities without the approval of the central government in Baghdad. Companies that violate the clause will have their contracts terminated, said Sabah al-Saidi, the deputy head of the Oil Ministry's Licensing and Petroleum Contracts department.

The new clause came in response to Exxon Mobil's bold move last year to sign six deals with Iraq's northern self-ruled Kurdish region without Baghdad's approval. In return, Baghdad banned the Texas-based company from taking part in the current bidding, but kept a deal to develop the 8.6-billion-barrel West Qurna Phase One oil field in the south.

Wednesday's auction started with no one bidding for an 8,000-square-kilometer (3,100-square-mile) block in northwestern Iraq with presumed natural gas fields.

Still, the current bidding round poses an opportunity for energy companies because the exploration blocks are in "fertile and easy-to-extract areas," said Kuwait-based independent analyst Kamel al-Harami.

The Iraqi Oil Ministry approved 47 international energy companies to participate in two days of bidding on Wednesday and Thursday, but only 39 companies paid the participation fee.

Top among the approved companies are the Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, UK's BP, Chevron and Occidental of the U.S., China's CNOOC and CNPC, Japan's Japex, Russia's Lukoil and others.

The blocks are expected to add about 29 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to the current 126.7 trillion cubic feet in reserves, and about 10 billion barrels of oil to the current proven 143.1 billion barrels of proven reserves.

Nearly 70 percent of them hold natural gas and the rest a combination of oil and gas.

Five of the blocks are in Iraq's western Anbar province or shared between Anbar and neighboring provinces; two are in the northern Ninevah province; one is shared between central Diyala province and neighboring Wasit province while the rest are scattered throughout southern Iraq.

The bidders are vying for service contracts in which they will be paid a flat fee, rather than the more lucrative production-sharing contracts in which they receive a share of the hydrocarbons found.

Since 2008, Iraq has awarded 15 oil and gas deals to international energy companies, the first major investments in the country's energy industry in more than three decades.

The goal was to boost daily production from about 3 million barrels now to 12 million barrels by 2017. But Iraq is mulling whether the target should be revised downward to fewer than 10 million barrels, considering a possible drop in demand on oil in the international market and infrastructure bottlenecks.

Associated Press

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Build a Successful MLM Business by Helping Others With Legal ...

Government cuts can be another man?s treasure

The Legal Service Corporation (LSC), a nonprofit corporation that is funded by the U.S.

Congress, provides legal access to justice for people at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty line. Established in 1974, it distributes its funds as grants to 136 legal aid programs that provide the legal services. Due to recent budget cuts, the LSC?s budget is being cut by about $75 million. This will be disastrous for people who may face fraudulent foreclosures and other legal problems because they will not be able to get legal assistance.

Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. is one way this problem can be alleviated. For a very low monthly payment, anyone who does not have the wealth to keep a lawyer on a retainer, or someone who has been denied legal aid for any reason can have a top lawyer ready to help them in any legal situation. The lawyer will also be available to help with questions and consultations. Whatever the issue, a Pre-Paid Legal Member has the option to consult a lawyer. For thirty years, Pre-Paid Legal has been helping millions of families in North America with their legal problems.

Some of the possible benefits of Pre-Paid Legal Services are:

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Some of the ways a Pre-Paid Legal plan will help is:

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The way it works is simple. There is a toll-free number on the Pre-Paid Legal Services membership card of a legal service provider. Call the number when you have a question or need legal help and explain your problem. You will get a return call from a lawyer who is knowledgeable in the particular field needed.

Many people who need it do not realize that help is available. This is an excellent time for anyone looking for a direct home sales business to help those less fortunate and also make an income. There are not only plans for individuals, but for employee groups and small business owners. This is an inexpensive way for a small or large business to have its own legal department.

Many legal needs, but few workers

In Europe, pre-paid legal plans are commonplace, and in North America Pre-Paid Legal serves over a million families, but that is only two percent of the available market. This is why this is the best home business to start at this time. There are three basic ways to earn income.

The first is by direct income-when you tell people about Pre-Paid Legal and they buy a plan, you get a direct commission. There are many ways to market a product online if you want to find a wide client?le. Your direct sales home based business can become the best MLM business (multi-level marketing). There are websites that will tell you how to get your business a high rating for any Google search. There is email marketing, follow-up and advertising to make your product known. In this case, you want to inform the public about how they can get top legal coverage at minimum prices. And you want them to buy it from you.

The second is by leveraging your effort-this means you gain by good teamwork. Find good salespeople and create your own team. The team members can either work with you on your online business finding and converting clients, or they can work for direct sales themselves. As long as you work as a team, you will get a commission on each team member?s sales.

The third is through residual compensation-for the duration of a valid Pre-Paid Legal plan for your direct clients or your team?s clients you will continue to receive payments. This is why it is the best MLM business today.

To start your direct sales home based business you will need to invest $249. You will receive top professional training about the product, so you know best how to market it. You will get support in your home office as well as in the field when you need to meet people personally and discuss the many possible plans. You will also receive all the materials you need to make your home business a success. Someone who understands the opportunity will see that this is the best home business to start at this time and find the financial investment minimal.

Starting a home based business that will help people get the legal aid they need is very satisfying as well as remunerative. You will help them find the right plan for their lifestyle and situation. Victims who need such help are veterans and disabled people to get benefits, people suffering from domestic violence, families faced with unlawful foreclosures and evictions, and to protect people from consumer fraud. Becoming a home based agent for Pre-Paid Legal is a win/win situation.

Trae T Johnson has enjoyed much financial success with this incredible opportunity that multi level marketing has given him, and is excited to give back to other MLM associates by sharing the information that he has learned. You can learn more about this home business income opportunity by clicking the link.

Author: Trae Johnson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Humorous photo captions

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First lady's book: On growing seeds, healthy kids

WASHINGTON (AP) ? From the beginning, Michelle Obama's kitchen garden has been an overachiever, churning out more peppers, parsley and eggplant than expected, and generating interest that ? yes, really ? crosses oceans.

Now, the first lady has added a 271-page book to her gardening resume, and Americans can read all about the planting misses that came with the hits, get tips on gardening at home, and, Mrs. Obama hopes, draw some inspiration that just might change their lives. Oh, and if it happens to help her husband's re-election campaign, that would be nice, too.

Lofty goals for a book about a garden.

In "American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America," Mrs. Obama holds out the raised vegetable beds on the South Lawn as "an expression of my hopes" for the nation's children. "Just as each seed we plant has the potential to become something extraordinary, so does every child," she writes.

The $30 book, released Tuesday by Crown Publishers, traces how a city kid from the South Side of Chicago who became a working mother and then a political spouse found herself fretting on that first planting day, March 20, 2009, about whether an L-shaped stretch of soil would prove fertile ground for a national conversation "about the food we eat, the lives we lead, and how all of that affects our children."

The book, which answers that question with a resounding yes, arrives just in time for her husband's re-election campaign.

And while the book is decidedly non-political, that fits perfectly with the Obama campaign's view that the first lady can do her husband a world of good simply by pushing the non-threatening causes such as healthy living that have made her a far more popular figure than the president himself. Mrs. Obama's favorability rating in the latest AP-GfK poll was 70 percent, compared with 58 percent for her husband.

The book's release comes with a flurry of media appearances. She's already been a TV frequent flyer to promote her "Let's Move" campaign to combat childhood obesity ? doing pushups with Ellen DeGeneres, playing tug-of-war with Jimmy Fallon in the White House and serving veggie pizza to Jay Leno. She says she gets asked about the garden wherever she goes, around the world.

The book is chock full of colorful, glossy photos of luscious-looking vegetables, complete with a cover picture in which the first lady's blouse seems to be color-coordinated with the eggplants in her bulging basket of produce. Bo, the popular family dog, gets plenty of cameo appearances. There are maps tracing the growth of the garden over the past three years, and stories about community gardens around the country. Even a how-to on creating a compost bin.

The book is divided into four sections marking the seasons, and includes a complement of recipes for each.

There are inside stories about planting travails that will ring true with any weekend gardener: pumpkins that wouldn't grow, cantaloupes that tasted blah, blackberry bushes that wouldn't play nice with the raspberry bushes and an invasion of cucumber beetles, among them. The first lady makes clear she's not the one doing most of the hoeing and weeding, crediting school kids, White House chefs and grounds crew and enthusiastic volunteers from all over the White House chain of command with providing lots of manpower.

And there are bits of historical trivia woven throughout: John Adams ordered up the first White House garden, but it was never harvested after he lost re-election. Thomas Jefferson was obsessed with trying to grow a four-foot-long cucumber. Heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, at 101 now a figure in the John Edwards' corruption trial, helped redesign the Rose Garden for President John Kennedy.

There are also bits of personal history: Mrs. Obama's father worked as a boy on one of the vegetable trucks that would deliver produce to neighborhoods, and had a reputation for sneaking pieces of fruit. Her mother's family had a plot in a neighborhood victory garden on the corner of an alley, and the kids had to eat their vegetables or go to bed without supper.

It is a tradition for first ladies to use books to advance their causes. Hillary Clinton wrote the best-seller "It Takes a Village," about the importance of community in raising children; and Laura Bush collaborated with daughter Jenna on a picture book about a reluctant reader, with "Read All About It!"

This is Michelle Obama's first book. She got no advance payment, and plans to donate all her proceeds to the National Park Foundation for programs that promote gardening and healthy eating, and to help care for the White House garden.

___

Online:

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanGrown?ref=ts

___

Follow Nancy Benac on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nbenac

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HOUSE IN MELBOURNE by FITT DE FELICE ? Design Revolution ...

This Melbourne residence was designed by?Fitt De Felice

From Architects:
A classic courtyard house where monolithic architectural forms are carefully composed and occasionally sliced open to filter the sun, allowing it in and screening it out variously throughout the day and throughout the seasons.

The site for this four bedroom family home is a north facing acre allotment with an exposed corner highly visible from the street. A simple composition of bold architectural forms is embedded into the natural landscape, establishing a high degree of privacy whilst simultaneously allowing a generosity of sun penetration and natural ventilation throughout the building. The architecture harnesses the sun and the wind, enveloping itself around a private courtyard that is the heart of the home.

Various wings stand sentinel around the sunny central court. The bedroom wing forms the rear bank of the courtyard, allowing each bedroom to enjoy the sunlight. Kid?s bedrooms are filled with soft light from the south, while the master bedroom opens its shaded north face onto the courtyard ? providing an ideal location for surveillance of the young family at play. A second rammed earth and timber wing sits protectively between the courtyard and the street, housing the more evening-focused rumpus room and bar. A western highlight window brings a dramatic slash of light into this space throughout the day. With the generous living space flanking the courtyard to the east, and the pool deck to the west, the house becomes an abundant place for playing and entertaining for this large extended family. A highlight window sliced through the east-facing rammed earth wall provides abundant natural light which dramatically animates the living space during daytime occupation. This main living area is sheltered beneath a monumental 6 meter deep western eave onto the courtyard ? straddling the length of the home and knitting the rammed earth wings together.

This is an essentially classic and timeless composition, expressive of its construction and celebratory in its purpose. Architecturally it is a raw, earthy, contemporary building that is responsive to climate, site and brief. A custom coloured rammed earth in a light travertine tone is the primary construction material, and is the foundation for the design. The high thermal mass of these walls provide a passive method of naturally moderating the internal temperature of the building ? an essential and responsible ingredient. The rawness and brutality of the rammed earth is teamed with the warm richness and strength of grey iron bark timber, and dry stacked Hornsfeld brown stone, forming several design anchors across the site such as the living room fireplace and the driveway retaining wall.

http://www.fittdefelice.com
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Apple iPad Dock (New) - $9.99

Works with the original iPad only!

Charge and sync your iPad with the iPad Dock. Your iPad sits upright in the dock as it syncs or charges, so it?s perfect for a desk or countertop. It features a convenient audio line out port that connects to powered speakers. And it supports other iPad accessories, such as the iPad Dock Connector to VGA Cable and iPad Camera Connection Kit. You can even use it as a picture frame while it?s charging.


Features:

Here are some ways you can use the iPad Dock:

  • Connect the dock to your computer with the USB cable included with your iPad to sync iPad and charge its battery.
  • Connect the dock to an electrical outlet using the iPad 10W USB Power Adapter (included with your iPad) to charge the iPad battery.
  • Use the dock to hold your iPad at the perfect angle to compose email and notes using a Bluetooth keyboard or to watch your favorite videos or photo slideshows.
  • Connect the dock to a TV or video projector using a compatible cable such as the iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter or the Apple Component or Composite AV Cable.*
  • Connect the dock to a stereo or speakers using an AV cable or a stereo audio cable to play music from iPad.*
  • Cables sold separately.

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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Can Egypt's voters force candidates to compromise?

Khaled Elfiqi / EPA

The upcoming election showdown between Islamist Muslim Brotherhood stalwart Mohammed Morsi (L) and former Mubarak-era minister and military loyalist Ahmed Shafiq has been described as a "worst-case scenario" by analysts across the political spectrum. Is that a correct assessment?

By Ayman Mohyeldin , NBC News

ANALYSIS

CAIRO -- Former Mubarak-era minister and military loyalist Ahmed Shafiq and Islamist candidate and Muslim Brotherhood stalwart Mohammed Morsi will run against each other in Egypt?s upcoming presidential run-off election, officials announced on Monday.

Out of a field of five serious contenders who ranged from moderates to Islamists to secularists, the showdown between these two has already been described as a ?worst-case scenario? by analysts across the political spectrum.


Some analysts are already calling for voters to boycott the run-off elections scheduled for the middle of June, the argument being that by withholding their vote Egyptians can delegitimize the process that led to this outcome. Also, the argument goes, by boycotting the vote a citizen can deny the winning candidate a strong mandate to govern.

Other commentators are simply reducing the run-off vote to a choice between security, which is Shafiq?s mantra, and the imposition of Islamic law, Morsi?s pledge. ?

So is Egypt facing a depressing return to the Mubarak-era or a drastic plunge into the sharia law-era?

Not necessarily either of these scenarios.?

The results of the election, and the upcoming run-off, can be interpreted much less pessimistically.? Instead of the bleak assessments being peddled now, Egypt may instead be entering an era where compromise, coalition-building and power-sharing are part of the political lexicon.

Runoff could take Egypt's voters on one of two very different paths

There are a few facts that need to be considered when analyzing the recent vote.

Fact one: The majority of voters who went to the polls did not want Morsi or Shafiq to be president. The figures indicate Morsi garnered 24.4 percent and?Shafiq?23.3 percent. The rest of the candidates split the remaining 52.3 percent of the vote.

Simply put, more people wanted someone else to be president than they wanted either one of these two candidates.

Fact two: By garnering almost as many votes as the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate, Shafiq and the grassroots organization he built and mobilized over a few months has become a major cause of concern for the long-standing political force.?

Egypt's next president to be an Islamist or Mubarak's former premier?

Fact three: A majority of Egyptians have grown weary of Islamist politicians in an very short period of time. ?In fact, the majority voted for either staunchly secular candidates, Shafiq, Amr Moussa and Hamdeen Sabahi, or Aboul Fotoh, a moderate Islamist who promised not to mix religion and politics and also enjoyed the support of idealist secular youth.

In essence, this election has proved that while the Muslim Brotherhood may be the dominant force on Egypt?s streets, that doesn?t mean they are the most popular political force.

Voters lined up in Cairo to choose from five leading candidates: a socialist, two Islamists, and two with ties to former President Hosni Mubarak. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

While they are still considered the best-organized and funded political organization in Egypt, the recent results probably rattled the Muslim Brotherhood?s cage while helping them understand that they need coalitions too. In other words, the election results prove that there are forces capable of competing against the Muslim Brotherhood.

For 16 months, a debate has raged over the country?s political future.? Should it be a presidential or parliamentary system? Should it be an Islamist state? Secular? Capitalist? Socialist? The candidates tried to define themselves assuming these were the metrics the voters used.

But the results of the first round of voting showed that Egyptians en masse have yet to answer a central question about the country?s future: Do they accept change and the uncertainty and chaos it brings, or will they choose stability and the stagnation it breeds?

For the past year and four months, everything that has unfolded in this country can be seen through this prism ? a choice between change or stability.

Egypt's next president to be an Islamist or Mubarak's former premier?

From deadly street protests, to military trials, to parliamentary elections -- every time Egypt?s revolutionary movements have tried to shove the country towards radical change, forces just as eager to slow the pace of change have pushed it back from the edge.

NBC's Richard Engel spoke with former President Jimmy Carter to talk about Egypt's elections and the country's future. The Carter Center has been in Egypt monitoring the presidential elections.

So, as people call for change, just as many have overcome their apathy and said "not so fast."

When the change appears to lean in favor of the more powerful Islamist parties, it becomes more palpable for many to slow change down.

And with around 48 percent of voters now behind Morsi or Shafiq, 52 percent are now up for grabs. So what is clear is that for Morsi or Shafiq to win the presidency, they will have to win the hearts and minds of the remaining voters. ?

Now the questions is ? what can the two candidates do to secure this group?s support?

In Egypt's elections, politics is a new family affair

For Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, the message from the electorate is clear: The Brotherhood is beatable, Egyptians are tired of the Islamists? meteoric power grab, and want to see the MB reach across the political divide and move to the center. ?Morsi?s Islamist base of support is not enough to win the elections so he must moderate his party?s policies to win the support of cautious and skeptical revolutionaries, many of whom are liberal and likely secular, but nonetheless pro-revolutionary and pro-change.

In contrast, Mubarak?s last prime minister Shafiq,?has tapped into a core of the population who wants stability and is more afraid of Islamist politicians than of a return to Mubarak-era policies and practices.

And Shafiq can?t win the Presidency without recognizing that the new balance of power depends on the young, who are overwhelmingly pro-revolutionary, either as Islamists or secularists.

Watch World News videos on msnbc.com

Shafiq played the fear of uncertainty card well in the first round, but he will have to show voters that he can deliver reforms, change and democracy as well as security and stability. In other words, Shafiq?s core of staunchly secularist and anti-change, pro-stability loyalists are not enough to win the final round of elections.

So the core supporters of these two camps are not enough to win them either an all-out majority, which leaves a central question: Which candidate can overcome his shortcomings better?

Will Shafiq show undecided voters that he will bring reforms, security and democracy? Can Morsi convince voters that the Muslim Brotherhood will commit to a civil secular pluralistic state?

The candidates will have a month to sell themselves to the voters -- and the voters will have a month to decide just how they envision Egypt?s revolution playing out.

More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world

?

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Junta de Andaluc?a takes a tougher line on new golf courses

?Junta de Andaluc?a takes a tougher line on new golf courses
larger | smaller
By h.b. - May 27, 2012 - 10:44 AM
The regional government is enforcing regulations passed four years ago.

The Junta de Andaluc?a has rejected the construction of nine new golf courses in the region, saying the projects do not meet environmental and town planning demands. Six of the golf courses are inland and three on the coast.
The problem is that most of the new projects have housing included and do not meet regulations introduced by the Junta four years ago, where they have to justify tourist interest.

The affected inland projects are in El Agujetero, Osuna, and Montellano Golf in Sevilla province, Finca Corvite in Almog?a and Las Lom?s in Casarabonela in M?laga province, Las Lomas del Duque in Lucena, C?rdoba, and Castillo de Tajarja in Chimeneas, Granada.

The coastal projects are at Hoya ?ltica in Almer?a, Las Palmares between Salobre?a and Molvizar in Granada province, and the La Joyita Golf in Barbate, C?diz.

Two courses in C?diz province have met the Junta?s regulations, in Jimena de la Frontera where a 600 house and 900 tourist apartment complex is part of the project, and in Castellar de la Frontera, Sotogrande, where a 150 houses have been approved to complement the famous Valderrama course.

One interesting project in its first phase is promoted by the Libyan Foreign Bank and located in La Resinera on the Costa del Sol. The 70 million square metres of land, which was owned by Gadaffi, will see five million of it for a new course and 1,200 homes.

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Folk musician Doc Watson dies at age 89

Reuters

Musician Doc Watson poses backstage at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, Calif., in this 1986 publicity photo.

By The Associated Press

The manager of Grammy-winning folk musician Doc Watson says the artist has died. He was 89.

Mitchell Greenhill said in a news release that Watson died Tuesday at Wake Forest Baptist Hospital Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. A hospital spokeswoman also confirmed Watson's death.

Watson was a master flatpicker, playing his acoustic guitar at lightning speeds that could intimidate other musicians. The blind musician also sang and played other instruments, including the harmonica.

His many awards include the National Medal of the Arts in 1997 and the lifetime achievement award from the Grammys in 2004. His albums earned seven other Grammys.

Watson was also known for Merlefest, an annual gathering of musicians in Wilkesboro named after his son, who died in a tractor accident in 1985.

Which of his songs were your favorite? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

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? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Several Ways That You Can Benefit From Home Improvement Projects

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Suu Kyi, in Myanmar since 1988, starts world tour

BANGKOK (AP) ? For 24 years, Aung San Suu Kyi was either under house arrest or too fearful that if she left Myanmar, the government would never let her return.

Now, in a sign of how much life there has changed, the democracy activist and long-time political prisoner is resuming world travels, arriving Tuesday night in neighboring Thailand after an 85-minute flight from her homeland.

With the installation of an elected government last year, and her party's own entrance into parliament this year, she can claim at least partial success for her long fight and feel the freedom to explore the world.

Suu Kyi is to spend several days in Thailand, meeting with poor migrant workers and war refugees from her homeland, as well as international movers and shakers at the World Economic Forum on East Asia.

On arrival at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, she was whisked to a car amid heavy security, bypassing a large crowd of waiting journalists.

She'll return to Myanmar briefly and head to Europe in mid-June, with stops including Geneva and Oslo ? to formally accept the Nobel Peace Prize she won 21 years ago.

In Dublin, she'll share a stage with U2 frontman Bono, a staunch Suu Kyi supporter, at a concert in her honor, according to Irish media. In England, she has been given the rare honor of addressing both houses of Parliament. France's Foreign Ministry says she also plans to stop in Paris.

The tour marks Suu Kyi's latest step in a stunning trajectory from housewife to political prisoner to opposition leader in Parliament, as Myanmar opens to the outside world and sheds a half century of military rule, with President Thein Sein getting her back for am ambitious program of reforms. Meetings with world leaders are planned along the way as dignitaries line up to shake Suu Kyi's hand.

Earlier Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met with her in Yangon, saying her "life and her struggle, her determination has inspired millions of people all over the world" and inviting her to visit his country.

The trip "signifies a strong vote of confidence on Suu Kyi's part in the seriousness of the reforms underway in the country," said Suzanne DiMaggio, the Asia Society's vice president of Global Policy Programs. "She would not take the risk of the leaving Myanmar if she wasn't absolutely certain she would be allowed to return."

The last time the 66-year-old Nobel laureate flew abroad was a year before the Berlin Wall came down, in April 1988, when she traveled from London to Myanmar to nurse her dying mother.

Until then she had led an international lifestyle, growing up partly in India, where her mother was ambassador. She later attended Oxford, worked for the United Nations in New York and Bhutan and then married British academic Michael Aris and raised their two sons in England.

Suu Kyi returned to Myanmar just as an uprising erupted against the military regime. As daughter of Gen. Aung San, the country's independence hero, she was thrust into the forefront of demonstrations until the military brutally crushed the protests and locked her under house arrest in 1989.

Over the next two decades she became the world's most famous political prisoner. During intermittent periods of freedom, she declined opportunities to go abroad for fear she would not be allowed to re-enter Myanmar.

Suu Kyi's commitment to the cause came at high personal cost. In 1999, she stayed in Myanmar even as her husband was dying of cancer in England. They last saw each other in 1995, after which the junta denied Aris a visa.

After her release from house arrest in November 2010, Suu Kyi had an emotional reunion with her younger son, Kim Aris, when the junta gave him a visa after a decade-long separation.

The English leg of Suu Kyi's trip is bound to include some family time. She will celebrate her 67th birthday on June 19 while in England, where Kim lives.

Suu Kyi's aides have offered few details about her trip aside from the destinations, saying only that she will pack medicine for motion sickness.

"She gets airsick and seasick very easily. She will have to take her pills to prevent airsickness," said Win Htein, a senior official from her National League for Democracy party. He said she was typically stoic ahead of her travels: "She doesn't look too excited about it."

Thailand was not part of the original itinerary but Suu Kyi decided last week to attend the economic forum. She has a Friday speaking slot that is bound to be the event's main attraction.

Suu Kyi's appearance at the conference had threatened to upstage that of Myanmar President Thein Sein, and he canceled over the weekend citing "urgent matters" at home, said Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi. He rescheduled his first official visit to Thailand for next week.

Thein Sein took power last year from the military junta following elections that were deemed unfair by international observers. Since then he has surprised much of the world by engineering sweeping reforms, though military leaders still have great control over the country.

Since Suu Kyi's release, many international dignitaries have visited her in Myanmar, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in December and British Prime Minister David Cameron in April. Cameron suggested she visit her "beloved Oxford" in June.

Suu Kyi replied at the time: "Two years ago I would have said 'Thank you for the invitation, but sorry.' But now I am able to say 'Perhaps,' and that's great progress."

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eCommerce Online Operations Manager - Luxury Retailer - Perm - London

A luxury retailer based in Central London is hiring an eCommerce Online Operations Manager on a permanent basis.

We are looking for a highly motivated eCommerce Online Operations Manager with at least 3 - 5 years experience of eCommerce website management and small to medium sized digital project management experience.

As the eCommerce Online Operations Manager you will have a strong understanding of web technologies such as HTML, CSS, Javascript, jQuery and Flash, user experience design and content management systems.

The eCommerce Online Operations Manager will manage the day-to-day operational running of this luxury retailer?s website and other digital platforms where the luxury retailer has a presence. You will support your line manager in the development, management ad delivery of the luxury retailer?s digital projects.

Salary: ?40,000 ? ?50,000 per annum
Contact: Scott Honey-Jones ? Real Staffing Group

Please apply now.

(Real Staffing Group acts as an Employment Agency and an Employment Business)

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