"Never underestimate the power of a small group of
dedicated people to change the world. Indeed it is the
only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

This is an unprecedented year for transformational health
system change. It is not only important for nurses to be
involved ~ it is Critical!

The illness care system is in crisis. People seek basic
health care in hospital emergency rooms, 51% of the
American population takes medication, and our greatest
killers, obesity and lifestyle diseases are escalating.

As treatment costs rise exponentially, the number of people
covered by health insurance is decreasing. Often modern
illness care results in financial bankruptcy. These trends
are disastrous.

Additionally, the current economic down turn requires that
solutions be radical, cost-effective and immediate in order
to turn the tide.

The system cannot survive if we continue to focus
exclusively on a medical model of symptom diagnosis and
treatment. The trends demand a radical shift toward
helping people learn how to become and stay well.

What profession focuses on helping people become and stay
well? Nursing!

With the overwhelming mandate for change demanded by our
recent election, a window of opportunity is open for health
system evolution. Not a revolution that throws out the
medical model, rather an evolution that expands the system
to include a continuum of care supporting and promoting
health from birth through the life-span and transition into
death.

There will never be a more critical time for Nurses to
Show-up, Speak-up and Step-up to Make a Difference for the
Health of America. If you are ready to seize this
unprecedented opportunity to influence how the health
system evolves, now is the time.

Now is the Time to Show-Up as a Leader.
Nurses led every major health reform in history.
Nightingale reformed hospital and battlefield health.
Lillian Wald began reforming public health as a nursing
student, later establishing the Henry Street Settlement to
provide care to the poor and immigrant population. Mary
Breckinridge, a nurse-midwife, reformed maternal-child and
family health by founding the Frontier Nursing Service,
educating and employing nurse-midwives, and establishing
family care centers in the Appalachia Mountains. Margaret
Sanger reformed reproductive health and Dame Cicely
Saunders, known for her role in birthing the hospice
movement, emphasized the importance of palliative care.

Today, nurses are showing up to lead by creating innovative
health care delivery models and shaping public policy.

Now is the Time to Speak-Up as a Nurse.
Nurses once again rank #1 as the most trusted professionals
in the annual Gallup Poll. Talk with your public. They want
to know what you think. What nurse has not received a call
at all hours from family and neighbors asking for advice or
counsel before seeking medical care?

Nurses comprise the largest number of health care
providers. The mandate of our license is to serve the
public and advocate for safe, effective and accessible
health care. Let the public hear your views.

Speak up with other nurses. Share your concerns and ideas
as colleagues and team members. Form a nursing mastermind
group to refocus your practice on health and create
innovation together in whatever nursing arena you practice.

Speak up with your legislators, the people who decide the
scope and limits of your nursing practice.

Now is the Time to Step-Up as a Professional.
If the purpose of nursing is helping people become and stay
well then nursing is about not only attending patients in
hospitals and other tertiary care settings. Only 3% of the
population is in an institution. The other 97% needs
nursing in the form of primary care, health education,
health coaching and wellness.

Who will decide the future of Nursing and Health Care?
Your Legislators will!

When I was President of the WV Nurses Association, I
learned that the only thing more important than big money
in influencing legislators is big numbers.

We sent out the Call and Nurses Showed-Up in record numbers
to Unite at the Legislature. These nurses filled the
galleries of the House and Senate to overflowing. As a
result, we were able to support the passage of three bills
including landmark needle stick and mandatory overtime
protection, and block a fourth, which allowed unlicensed
personnel to dangerously perform nursing functions. The
legislators heard the nurses' message loud and clear!

The nurses, who Showed-Up, Spoke-Up and Stepped-Up for that
challenge protected the public and the ability for all
nurses to practice safely and effectively.

Will You Show Up as a Leader to meet today's challenge of
health system reform, Speak Up as a Nurse to advocate for
the health of all Americans and Step-Up as a Professional
to articulate the cost-effectiveness and need for expanding
access to professional nursing care?

Borrowing from our President-Elect ~ "Together, We Can"!

© 2008 Aila Accad

----------------------------------------------------
Aila Accad, RN, MSN, past president of the West Virginia
Nurses Association, is a professional Nursing Speaker,
Author and Well-Being Coach, who presents innovative Nurse
De-Stress & Leadership Programs. Learn more or contact her
for speaking or coaching at: http://www.ailaspeaks.com
where you can sign up for her complimentary De-Stress Tips
& News and "Ten Instant Stress Busters" e-book.

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=48422 Read More!

For years UK police forces have seen officers emigrate to
Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Now a UK police force
is turning the tables on their antipodean colleagues and
advertising directly for them to return to the UK - and
receive a £10,000 bounty.

British police officers have always been in high demand
overseas, and are often afforded 'skilled worker'
immigration status meaning their immigration passage is
smoothed and they can take up residence and work in
countries like Australia with active help from the
Australian authorities. Australian figures show that former
British police officers make up almost one in 11 of the
force in Western Australia, with 480 UK Officers among its
5500 strong police force.

Now a Midlands force is fighting back. Fed up with having
their officers set off for sunnier climates after having
been poached by the Australian police, Leicestershire
police is running an advertising campaign entitled
"Homesick & Away?" aimed at encouraging UK trained police
officers to return to Britain to work in the county.

People may wonder why anyone would want to leave the
blistering heat and relaxed lifestyle of Australia, but
research has shown that moving away from the 'green and
pleasant land' has its drawbacks. Of things missed by
emigrants, the top ten was:

1. The Sunday Roast
2. Cadbury's Chocolate
3. English Tea
4. Marks & Spencer Underwear
5. Football Banter (Who really understands Aussie rules?)
6. Budget Holidays in Europe
7. A Traditionally Festive White Christmas
8. Real Ale
9. The British Accent
10. Marmite

Another reason seems to be their love-lives. Mark Wickenden
from Uniform Dating, an online dating site for the
emergency services, says that the Australian members are
often ex UK police officers or nurses, and that they use
the site to form relationships in the UK before returning.
'Many of the reasons they cite are to do with the different
attitudes towards emergency service personnel in
Australia'. One police member, who has since returned to
the UK and married a nurse, said 'In the UK, we all have a
laugh together and go to 999 parties - in Australia things
are a little less fun'.

Sgt Ed Des-Chanelle, who has returned to Leicestershire
after 18 months in New Zealand has said, "It was funny how
whenever someone visited from the UK, we'd ask them to
bring all the things we missed the most - it was always a
shame they couldn't have brought the whole family!"

Chief Superintendent Geoff Feavyour of Leicestershire
Constabulary said, "Often when people relocate they feel
homesick and want to move back, but due to financial
constraints they are not able to do so. Some people find
the prospect more comfortable when they are offered
assistance in returning to the UK. We are offering a
relocation package of up to £10,000 to put towards the
expense of relocating. In return we get a fully trained
police officer ready to go, and we think that is good
value. We are also drawn to the irony of turning the
tables on our antipodean colleagues"

----------------------------------------------------
Police Oracle (http://www.policeoracle.com ) is the leading
independent police Internet site in the UK. It carries
police news, police current affairs and politics, police
recrutment and transfer information and updates on police
law and equipment. It also houses the main online forum for
UK police officers.

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=47149 Read More!

Why do friends and relatives of police officers do well on
police judgment/situation questions and have an unfair
advantage? Although it's a federal mandate that you're not
required to know police procedures when taking law
enforcement entrance exams, many test makers conclude that
police procedures are just common sense. They're usually
included in the test in some form. The reason: they measure
two very important traits needed for police work: JUDGMENT
and COMMON SENSE.

But here's THE DILEMMA: to really do well on these judgment
questions you need more than just common sense. The reason
police friends and relatives do well, is that they're
familiar with police language and police thinking. This
gives them a DECISIVE EDGE when they choose answers to
these questions.

Ideally, you shouldn't need to know police procedures and
policies or the law; you should just be able to interpret
them. Realistically, if you know the basic philosophies of
police procedures before taking the test, answering the
questions becomes much easier.

To Answer Police Situational Questions You Must Think Like
a Police Officer

If you had a friend or relative who was on the police force
they could help you THINK LIKE a police officer and give
YOU an edge when answering police situational questions.

In this article I will give you some important tips and
strategies on how to handle difficult police situation
questions. The goal is to help you THINK LIKE a police
officer. It will not only give you an edge for the written
test, but also will help you with the ORAL INTERVIEW.

On the test you'll be given police procedures and asked to
apply them to situations. You'll be tested on your ability
to remember information, analyze data and apply it using
common sense, good judgment and the ability to solve
problems.

Most police procedure questions ask: What would YOU do if
Assume you're a police officer. How would you respond?
The questions are based on ACTUAL POLICE SITUATIONS.

For instance: What would you do if you saw a man walking
down the street dressed only in a baseball hat, (naked)
carrying a baseball bat? Arrest him? On what charge? What
would you do?

The first thing you should do is to ask questions and try
to determine what happened. He may be a victim of a crime.
Don't jump to conclusions.

TIP: Do the most important things first! It's IMPORTANT TO
PRIORITIZE your response to the situation. It's also
important to familiarize yourself with the role of a police
officer in the particular police department you hope to
join. Each department has a definite set of priorities that
govern a cop's decision-making process.

Here are some important factors you should know when
answering police judgment questions.

1. Protect the welfare of citizens, victims, and fellow
officers. ALWAYS tend to and assist anyone who is in
danger, injured, wounded or in the line of fire, etc. Help
anyone in danger. Repeat, your most important job is to
always assist and protect endangered people FIRST. This
includes victims of crimes, injured persons, physically
endangered persons and potential victims.

2. Secure public order. Keep the peace against acts of
aggression, riots, armed suspects and destruction of
property.

3. Uphold the laws. Arrest those who violate the laws,
protect crime scenes and preserve evidence. Enforce laws,
investigate violations of law and make arrests when
necessary.

4. Help those needing assistance. This duty focuses on
people not in immediate danger, such as non-injured victims
of crimes, the mentally ill, the homeless, neglected
children and lost or stranded persons.

5. Maintain order on your beat. Check your beat for
suspects and suspicious activity. Investigate suspicious
persons, potential hazards, etc. Know your beat by becoming
familiar with the physical structure, the streets, the
buildings and the people, especially the criminal element.

6. Maintain proper flow of traffic. Make sure damaged
traffic signs and lights are repaired. Make sure proper
direction of traffic is conducted with the use of traffic
cones and traffic officers until repairs are made.

Based on using the police priority factor, what do you do
in the following situation?

You are a police officer is working a security guard detail
at the state fair. Which of the following situations do you
handle first?

1. There is a crowd forming around two unarmed teenagers
arguing.
2. A dumpster sitting next to the main tent pavilion is on
fire.
3. The Ferris wheel is stuck in midair with people still on
it.
4. A man, who is obviously drunk, has passed out and is
lying by the ticket booth.

The correct answer is 2: The dumpster on fire should be
dealt with first. It is sitting next to the main tent
pavilion and is possibly a danger to many people.

The Value of Police Hierarchy The police officer's job is
extremely hard at times. He/she is expected to make quick
decisions in situations involving conflicting values.

For instance:

It may be necessary to choose between allowing dangerous
criminals escape or risking serious injury to a hostage.

Some departments set clear parameters for many of these
types of situations. But, because of all the unforeseen
situations officers face on a daily basis, these parameters
cannot cover every possible type of situation.

That is why law enforcement agencies test your practical
judgment and common sense so intensely. It's also why it is
SO IMPORTANT you know the priority list used by police
agencies before you take your test. YOU MUST KNOW what they
consider the order of importance to successfully answer
police situational questions. The Police Hierarchy
List You'll notice Police Hierarchy is similar to the
Police Priority list but they're not the same.

While Police Priority is concerned with order of
importance, Police Hierarchy deals with rank and authority.
LEARN THEM BOTH if you want to do well on police situation
questions. Plus, it will go a long way in helping you make
good decisions when you become a law enforcement officer.
Here is the most commonly used Police Hierarchy:

1. PROTECTING LIFE AND LIMB IS #1. Always take action first
on those things that pose a threat to someone's safety and
tend to injured people: performing first aid, calling for
an ambulance, etc.

2. Obeying orders in emergency situations is the #2
priority.

Obeying orders should be done at all times. The only
exception is when the order interferes with the protection
of life and limb or violates the law.

3. Protecting property.

4. Obeying orders in non-emergency situations.

5. Maintaining your assigned duties.

6. Being efficient in getting the job done.

7. Avoiding the blame i.e. earning praise and respect.

Using Police Hierarchy and Common-Sense

Situation: You are assigned to a particular area during an
emergency situation and ordered by your supervisor to stay
at this location. But, by leaving this location, you can
help a severely injured person and possibly save that
person's life.

What do you do? You are justified in choosing to leave your
assigned area to help the injured person, even though you
are disobeying the supervisors order -- provided that
leaving your assigned area will not result in other lives
being put in danger or lost.

Always remember protection of life is the #1 priority.

By thinking about the Police Hierarchy and Police
Priorities it will help you "Think Like a Police Officer"
and make answering police situational questions much easier.

Summary

When answering Police Judgment Questions read carefully but
don't read anything into the situation. Think like a COP.
Think about the police priority list. Keep in mind things
like "safety first" and using the least amount of force to
get the job done. And always USE COMMON SENSE.

----------------------------------------------------
Don Cirillo has helped many law enforcement candidates
score high on the Police Entrance Exam. Get the "Police
Exam Digital Manual" at (http://www.police-exam.info). It
includes test questions, written test & interview
strategies, and much more -- everything you need to get the
job! Reach Don at support@cfiweb.com

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=47864 Read More!

Earlier this month, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith
congratulated Essex Police on being the first force in the
country to publicly roll out the new Policing Pledge, a
series of minimum standards and commitments to deliver set
policing priorities for local communities.

But while the Government and senior officers such as Essex
Chief Constable Roger Baker believe the new pledge is an
essential part of the future of policing, other officers
have voiced concerns about how realistic it will be for
forces to meet the pledge, particularly without additional
funding. And the initiative also has its critics outside of
the police service. All 43 forces in England and Wales
should have signed up to the pledge by the end of the year,
but the TaxPayers Alliance group has described the move as
a "costly charade", accusing the service of wasting money
while "stating the blindingly obvious".

So where does the Policing Pledge come from, and why is it
seen by some as an essential plank of modern policing? The
recent origins of the initiative can be found in three key
documents - the Flanagan Review of Policing, the Engaging
Communities in Fighting Crime report by Louise Casey, and
the Government's Policing Green Paper - although the roots
of many of the principles of the pledge can be traced back
much further.

In his report published earlier this year, Chief Inspector
of Constabulary, Sir Ronnie Flanagan called for police
forces to adopt a much stronger "customer service"
approach. He advocated building on the Quality of Service
Commitment launched across the service in 2006, but
recommended that the 'citizen focus' principle be extended
much wider than the usual neighbourhood policing
boundaries, to encompass all elements of policing: "A step
change in this area will both inform and win public support
for police resourcing to be dedicated to dealing with
threat, harm and risk," said Sir Ronnie.

Following publication of the Flanagan Review in February,
Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith
announced the introduction of a new Policing Pledge at the
end of March, focusing on a national standard for what
people could expect from their neighbourhood policing team.

Mr Brown described the introduction of the pledge as the
start of "a new era of policing", adding: "I'm determined
that every person has access to the same level of support
and service when it comes to policing."

While details of the Policing Pledge were still somewhat
sketchy at this stage, the publication of Louise Casey's
report in June added further impetus to the initiative. Ms
Casey, who has previously led government initiatives on
homelessness, anti-social behaviour and respect,
recommended that all forces across England and Wales should
put in place "a local police commitment in every
neighbourhood" based on the ten approaches identified by
the public in her report. She also called for the
commitments to be put in place by the beginning of 2009.

A month later, the Government's Policing Green Paper
included an example of what the Policing Pledge could look
like, and consultation began with forces to agree a final
version. While still focusing on neighbourhood policing,
the draft pledge included 12 main commitments which formed
the basis of minimum standards to be adopted across the
police service, along with information about local contact
details, policing priorities and commitments for
neighbourhood policing teams which will be specific to each
team.

But since publication of the Green Paper, it's been clear
that there are some serious concerns about how these
commitments could be implemented. So it was no surprise
that the Pledge eventually adopted by Essex Police this
month includes some key changes, particularly on response
times.

The initial commitment to respond to all 999 calls within
15 minutes has been replaced with the aim of "deploying to
emergencies immediately, giving an estimated time of
arrival, getting to you safely, and as quickly as possible.
In urban areas, we will aim to get to you within 15 minutes
and in rural areas within 20 minutes."

Similarly the commitment to answer all non-emergency calls
within 30 seconds has been removed, and replaced with
greater clarification of what the public can expect in
terms of response to non-emergency situations.

But the Home Secretary is still as enthusiastic about the
value of the pledge. Speaking at the launch in Essex, she
said: "The public are our strongest weapon in tackling
crime and I passionately believe that empowering them to
get a good deal through the Policing Pledge will play a
powerful role in driving up the quality of policing for our
citizens and in our communities.

"I congratulate Essex police force for being the first
force to fully implement the pledge for their public. For
the first time the public will know the minimum standard of
service they should receive and I look forward to all
forces making the same, visible commitment to their local
communities."

That enthusiasm was shared both by ACPO and by the Essex
Chief Constable, Roger Baker. Cambridgeshire Chief
Constable Julie Spence, ACPO's lead on citizen focus, said
that chief officers were "unswervingly committed to a
visible, accessible, responsive and familiar policing
style, focused on the expectations and needs of local
people," and added: "I hope the national Policing Pledge
will help reassure the public that policing is responsive
to their needs."

However, it's also clear that the current approach to
policing in Essex has helped the force to adopt the pledge
much sooner - and probably more effectively - than many
other forces. Mr Baker described the force's policy of
attending every crime as "vital in reassuring our
communities that positive action is being taken", and the
neighbourhood policing initiative and Policing Pledge run
alongside a commitment to place an additional 600 officers
on the frontline over the next three to five years. But for
forces who don't operate a policy of attending every crime,
or are seeing the number of frontline operation officers
reducing, meeting the national standards - particularly the
response targets - could be much more difficult.

The Home Secretary also said earlier this year that there
were no plans to increase funding for rural forces which
face specific difficulties in meeting some of the targets
in the pledge. Speaking at the Superintendents' Association
Conference, Ms Smith said that while she did "recognise the
issues" facing forces with tight budgets and even tighter
deadlines to get the pledge in place, it was important that
communities had "national minimum standards" governing the
level of service they should receive.

But the introduction of the Policing Pledge has already
been criticised by opposition politicians. Dominic Grieve,
the shadow Home Secretary, said: "On the one hand, it
includes policy proposals - such as crime-mapping - copied
directly from the Conservatives.

"On the other hand, attempts to prescribe quotas and
response times look like the return of discredited
Whitehall targets under another name."

And the TaxPayers Alliance Chief Executive Matthew Elliott
described the initiative as a "costly charade", adding:
"There is a real danger that police time and resources are
being spent on stating the blindingly obvious. The police
should be generally answerable to the public rather than
having to indulge in this costly charade of accountability."

----------------------------------------------------
Police Oracle (http://www.policeoracle.com ) is the leading
independent policing portal in the UK. It carries police
news and current affairs, police jobs and transfers and
police equipment. It also hosts the largest police forum
online in the UK.

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=46975 Read More!

Economics is often called the dismal science because of an
article written by Thomas Carlyle more than 150 years ago.
In it he proposed mockingly to reintroduce slavery to
control labor markets. During modern times, this moniker
proves to be a prophetic choice. Modern economics have,
after all, brought us not only free markets and
unimaginable monetary rewards for the few chosen ones, but
have also produced the great depression of 1931, the world
financial crisis of 2008, and 12 recessions in the
intervening 75 years.

Just imagine a similar performance record for airplanes,
skyscrapers, nuclear power plants, and bridges!

The financial damages inflicted by systemic deficiencies in
our economic infrastructure are unbearable and must not be
tolerated any longer. These deficiencies are manmade and
are caused by regularly failing institutions. Yet, we not
only continue to support these institutions, but bail them
out without conditional provisions that prevent them from
paying irrational bonuses to their management and using the
bailout funding for starting the engineering of the next
recession, depression, or financial crisis. Crises are the
occasions when the chosen cash in.

Obama has committed himself to bring change to our country.
He has promised to address the lingering energy crisis
during his presidency. It now appears that he too is
following the battle cry of the unholy alliance between
industry and environmental groups and is demanding the
conservation of energy to save the planet. This demand is
not based on scientific facts but on belief in dismal
science. It also will waste billions of dollars spent for
doomed-to-fail conservation efforts.

Energy conservation and Cap and Trade concepts cannot save
our planet from overheating, cannot slow sea level rise,
cannot prevent climate changes, and cannot save animal and
plant species from extinction. However, they will
significantly increase profits of energy companies and will
assure that energy costs will continue their only
occasionally interrupted rise into the sky.

In 1997, a comparably small number of industrialized
countries in Europe and across the world signed the Kyoto
Protocol. The signatories to this agreement committed
themselves to reduce their greenhouse gas discharges and
especially their carbon dioxide emissions in future years.
Virtually all of these emissions are produced by fossil
fuel combustion.

In the years following, the USA, China, India, and many
other countries refused to sign because of the glaring
deficiencies of the Kyoto provisions. These dissenting
countries proved to be right.

The signors of the Kyoto agreements were absolutely correct
on one count; the continuation of fossil fuel based carbon
dioxide emissions will destroy our Earth. Unfortunately,
their understanding of energy science was flawed. They
made the same mistake our economists continue to make.
Continuing with deficit spending and increasing leverage of
financial institutions forever cannot save national
economies and prevent financial crises. Similarly,
continuing the discharge of fossil fuel emissions forever
cannot stop global warming and related damages.

We must face reality. Conservation can at best slow
atmospheric accumulation of carbon dioxide. It cannot halt
global overheating. The Obama administration will hopefully
have at least one qualified, influential scientist, who can
debunk the prevailing beliefs in conservation and carbon
taxation. Global overheating can only be stopped by ending
all fossil fuel combustion permanently!

What are the available options? Fossil fuel reserves with
the exception of petroleum are still plentiful. However,
petroleum is getting scarce, consumption of petroleum is
accelerating, and petroleum reserves will run out during
the next fifty to seventy years. As long as we burn
petroleum products we add to accumulated carbon dioxide in
our atmosphere. Burning all our remaining petroleum
reserves will double or triple past global warming.

Fortunately, we have access to two energy sources that can
provide plentiful, affordable, emission-free energy for
centuries. These energy resources are sun radiation and
nuclear fuels. Sun energy does not produce any pollutants
or wastes. Sun energy is inexhaustible. Nuclear fuels
will last at least for another century, are still
inexpensive, but produce radioactive waste. This waste
must and can be managed. There is one unmatched advantage
to these two energies; they will stabilize atmospheric
carbon dioxide emissions and will end global warming.

There is one major drawback to these energy sources, too.
Both energies must be converted into energy forms that
world economies are accustomed to use. Nuclear fuel can be
converted into electricity. Sun energy can be converted
into electricity and into irreplaceable liquid fuels.

Why are we not installing facilities for converting these
savior energies and stop burning fossil fuels?

The reasons are economical, political, financial, and
cultural. A few explanations may be helpful.

Installing a nuclear power plant is expensive and may last
ten years. Additionally, political and cultural forces in
society are trying to prevent the proliferation of nuclear
technologies.

Conversion of sun energy into electricity is technically
not as far advanced as nuclear energy conversion. Well
managed efforts for closing technology gaps can produce
needed results in less than a decade. Developmental
technologies like wind power conversion and direct
conversion of sun energy into electricity can be installed
immediately. Electricity produced with commercially
available conversion equipment will at first be
considerably more expensive than presently generated
electricity. A reasonably large number of facilities must
be subsidized initially to further advance technologies and
reduce equipment costs. Continuing installation activities
will also encourage development and demonstration of energy
storage.

Converting sun energy into liquid fuels is still in its
infancy. Only proper management and funding can develop
needed technologies in ten to fifteen years. Initial
evaluations indicate that liquid fuels converted from sun
energy can be produced for about fifty dollars per barrel.

Why has this technology not been developed earlier? This
question is difficult to answer. The question falls into
the same dismal category as inquiries into the causes for
the periodic recurrence of depressions and financial crises.

Answers are by definition irrational.

----------------------------------------------------
Dr. Hemsath recently published the book: CLIMATE CHANGE -
GOLD RUSH OR DISASTER? For 50 years he has worked as
scientist, process engineer, Corporate Vice President of
R&D, Company President, CEO, and Inventor. He holds more
than 60 US Patents. He is working on a new book: "THE
SOLUTION FOR ENDING GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE". Go
to http://www.thermalexpert.com

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=47274 Read More!

At the beginning of October, Policing Minister Vernon
Coaker announced the launch of a new £7m policing
unit to tackle cyber crime and Internet fraud.

But while the Police Central e-crime Unit (PCeU) was
welcomed in some quarters, there have already been concerns
voiced by politicians, IT experts and businesses about the
relatively small amount of funding available to target a
multi-billion pound criminal industry, and questions over
the Government's real level of commitment to cracking down
on Internet crime.

There's little doubt that the Government needed to take
some sort of action on Internet crime as, since the closure
of the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) in 2006, there
have been claims of a major gap in the fight against cyber
criminals. The NHTCU had been a high profile organisation,
launched amidst a blaze of publicity and with £25m of
funding. By comparison the e-crime unit of the Serious and
Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) was a much more reserved
organisation, with a lower profile. Unfortunately that
approach has been interpreted by some businesses as
representing a lack of support for those being targeted by
online criminals.

In March this year, Catherine Bowen, head of crime policy
at the British Retail Consortium, said that SOCA had failed
to maintain the links developed between industry and the
NHTCU, and that the retail sector seemed "to have fallen
off the bottom of the scale" as far as policing was
concerned since the Unit had been merged with SOCA. There
were similar fears raised by the Confederation of British
Industry and the Federation of Small Businesses, which
described the policing arrangements on cyber crime as
"lamentable".

In fact SOCA has had more impressive results than many
realised. The Agency's 2007-08 report, published in May
this year, highlighted notable cyber crime success
including Operation Ajowan, which broke up a web-based
crime ring where criminals traded stolen bank, credit and
identity information that could have cost the UK finance
sector at least £6m.

SOCA also sent out 46 alerts to UK business, including 11
alerts to UK financial institutions detailing more than
46,000 online account details that had been compromised by
phishing and virus attacks.

But while the Agency rightly stated that there were now
more staffing resources targeted directly at Internet crime
than in the days of the NHTCU, it was also clear that cyber
criminals were not a major priority for SOCA, at least not
compared with the government-set priorities of
drug-trafficking, organised immigration crime and fraud.
Many business organisations and IT experts were instead
pinning their hopes on the proposals put forward by ACPO
and the Metropolitan Police Service for the PCeU and,
despite delays on funding, those proposals finally came to
fruition at the beginning of October.

The new unit will receive £3.5m of Government funding
and £3.9m from the Met over three years, and will be
based within the Met, under the leadership of Deputy
Assistant Commissioner Jane Williams of the Serious Crime
Directorate. It will be a national resource working
alongside the National Fraud Reporting Centre and the
National Fraud Intelligence Bureau to support the
development of the police response to online crime across
the country. But its work will not overlap with the
existing remit of SOCA's e-crime unit, or the Child
Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre.

DAC Williams, who became the ACPO lead on e-crime in April
this year, said the unit would become a 'centre of
excellence' for combating cyber criminals. "We have worked
closely with the Home Office, City of London Police and
SOCA to address e-crime issues and bring this unit to
fruition," she added.

"Electronic crime is a growing phenomenon of the 21st
Century and has the potential to affect us all. This unit
will provide a law enforcement solution and work towards
limiting the impact of this crime on society."

From next spring the PCeU will co-ordinate law enforcement
of all online offences and lead national investigations
into the most serious cyber-crime. It will also train
officers in local forces in dealing with high-tech crimes,
and it will work with the National Policing Improvement
Agency to identify how e-crime reports made to local forces
are handled. But it will not centrally collate all reports
of e-crime from the 44 forces of England and Wales,
including the BTP. Other key aims for the PCeU include:
· the intelligence-led disruption of e-crime,
· analysing and developing intelligence on computer
crime to produce actionable operational products, in
collaboration with other agencies, · developing a
network of police, government and industry partners on
e-crime, · the provision of education and
preventative advice about e-crime to industry and the
public, · promoting standards for training,
procedure and response to e-crime, and ·
investigating serious e-crime incidents that fall within
the Case Acceptance Criteria.

So has the launch of the new unit satisfied the concerns
voiced by so many? Not quite. Within days of the launch of
the PCeU, experts were already querying the level of
funding for the unit. David Roberts, chief executive of the
Corporate IT Forum (Tif), said: "£7m over three years
seems a very small sum for a very large problem. We doubt
whether it will be enough to tackle an issue that the Home
Office itself calls a global menace."

A survey by Tif - published earlier this month - of more
than 50 of the UK's main IT users found that 68 per cent of
chief security officers spend up to 40 per cent of their
total security budget on tackling e-crime. Yet despite that
level of cyber-crime, businesses were described as "so
disillusioned" by the lack of support from the police that
only four per cent of companies said they always report
e-crime attacks, with the majority, 57 per cent, saying
they "didn't feel the crimes would be investigated
properly". Politicians have added their voices to the
concerns about Internet crime, calling for more money to
fund the PCeU. In a recent Parliamentary debate on Internet
fraud, Conservative MP Nigel Evans said that the £7m
"may not be enough and the Government may need to look at
that again." S

hadow crime reduction minister, James Brokenshire said that
while he welcomed the launch of the PCeU, "we should be
under no allusions that the Police Central e-Crime Unit is
a panacea. There is the question over the resources it will
have and the abilities it will have.

"E-crime is the most rapidly expanding form of crime in
this country. If this government does not take e-crime
seriously it reinforces in the mind of the criminal that
this country is a soft touch."

Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake added: "There are concerns
about whether £7m put into the e-crime unit will be
sufficient and whether it will be sufficiently resourced to
do the job in hand."

However, Home Officer Minister Alan Campbell claims that
criticism over the PCeU's funding is misguided, as the unit
will be supported by other bodies under the £29m
National Fraud Programme, which includes the National Fraud
Strategic Authority (NFSA) and the National Fraud Reporting
Centre (NFRC).

"This is not the only unit seeking to tackle online fraud.
That figure is not the end of the story," added Campbell.

The British Banking Association, and the UK Payments
Association, APACS, have also welcomed the new unit;
although neither would comment on its funding, both have
said that any initiative to tackle online fraud was a "good
idea".

So while there is consensus among all parties - police,
business, government and IT experts - that the growth of
e-crime represents a huge threat to both the individual and
the economy, the jury is still out on whether the current
approach to tackling online crime is the right one, or has
the right funding.

What is clear is that much will depend on how effective the
wider National Fraud Programme is, and how strong the links
are between forces and businesses at a local level. While
only four per cent of companies are reporting every e-crime
attack, the impact of policing on cyber crime will
inevitably be limited. So all eyes will be on the PCeU next
spring to see how it can increase the level of confidence
among businesses and IT experts in its ability to police
Internet crime.

----------------------------------------------------
Police Oracle is the leading independent police Internet
portal in the UK. http://www.policeoracle.com is used by
every police force in the UK and carries police news,
police current affairs, police jobs and police equipment.

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=46768 Read More!

C.E.R.T (Certified Emergency Response Teams) Training
Program is aimed at providing community volunteers with
educational materials, lectures and hands on training in
fundamental disaster response skills that will be helpful
during calamities and other emergency situations. In cases
where the magnitude of the problem is enormous, you should
know that police or fire officers and paramedics may not
always be immediately available when you need instant
attention. But if there are C.E.R.T-trained volunteers in
your area, you can be assured that these individuals will
be able to assist you and your family until help arrives in
situations that require urgent attention, such as fires,
earthquakes, and even medical emergencies. In fact,
government agencies are encouraging C.E.R.T members to play
a more active role in helping their communities in
emergency situations like evacuation procedures, disaster
safety campaigns, and preparation for hurricanes and other
calamities.

C.E.R.T (Certified Emergency Response Teams) Training is
actually available to anyone who is at least eighteen years
old. Individuals who are less than 18 years old need
approval from their parents before they can participate in
this program. The basic skills that you will learn from
C.E.R.T include search and rescue, fire safety,
organization of teams, first aid, threat assessment and
disaster preparedness in your home, community and even in
your office. More often than not, C.E.R.T volunteers are
first to respond to disasters, especially in areas that are
not very accessible to other rescue units.

Aside from emergency related activities, volunteers of
C.E.R.T (Certified Emergency Response Teams) are also
encouraged to help disseminate information about disaster
safety and preparedness, to assist elderly with their
preparation for emergency situations (such as changing the
battery of smoke alarms), and even participate in special
local or national events that deal with rescue and safety.

As a C.E.R.T (Certified Emergency Response Teams)
volunteer, you also need to make sure that you have C.E.R.T
kits that contain tools and equipment to make you prepared
for hazards and calamities. Every action response group
should have C.E.R.T kits that contain first aid supplies,
light sticks, vented chemical goggles, work gloves, hard
hat, water pouches, and other things that can assist them
in protecting themselves and helping other people survive
during emergencies. Flashlights, bullhorns and whistles are
also important gadgets that are needed by volunteers during
rescue operations or organizing teams. Lastly, in order to
help distinguish certified volunteers from other people,
C.E.R.T vests, caps, and patches may also be necessary.

----------------------------------------------------
Emergency and Disaster Supplies. We have a great selection
of CERT products at
http://www.emergencyanddisastersupplies.com/certproducts
and lots of search and rescue gear at
http://www.emergencyanddisastersupplies.com/searchandrescues
upplies for the professional first responder and for your
communities CERT team.

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=46552 Read More!

Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu,
Hawaii. His father was a black man (also named Barack
Obama) born in Africa and his mother was a white woman born
in Kansas.

Obama's father and his mother separated and divorced when
Obama was a young child. His mother remarried in 1967 when
Obama was 6 years old to a man named Lolo Soetoro.

His family moved to Soetoro's home country which was
Indonesia. Obama lived there until he was 10 years old when
he returned to live in Hawaii with his maternal
grandparents who raised him from then on.

Obama moved to Los Angeles for college. After two years he
transferred to Columbia University in New York City. Obama
graduated from Columbia in 1983.

Obama then moved to Chicago where he worked as a community
organizer for three years until the age of 27 when he moved
to Massachusetts so that he could attend Harvard Law
School. In 1990, during his second year, he was elected
President of the Harvard Law Review. He was the first black
person elected President of the Harvard Law Review. This
remarkable feat was widely reported upon. He graduated from
Harvard Law School magna cum laude in 1991.

He moved back to Chicago at that time and married Michelle
Robinson in 1992. They have had two daughters, the first
Malia Ann was born in 1998 and the second Natasha was born
in 2001.

Obama began teaching constitutional law at the University
of Chicago Law School in 1992 and continued doing so for 12
years. During this time he also directed the Illnois'
Project Vote which registered 150,000 African Americans in
the state.

In 1996 Obama was elected to the Illinois Senate. While a
State Senator Obama was able to gain support for ethics
reform and health care laws. Obama re-elected twice and
held the position until he was elected as one of Illinois
two US Senators in 2004.

In 2000 Obama unsuccessfully ran for congress. He lost in
the primary to Bobby Rush who is an African American
Democrat who has been a congressman since 1993. He is still
in the House today. Although they were rivals in 2000, Rush
has supported Obama in his run for the Senate in 2004 and
in his campaign for the Presidency in 2008.

In 2004 Obama easily defeated Republican Alan Keyes to
become a US Senator. In fact his 70% to 27% defeat of Keyes
set the all time record for margin of victory in a
statewide election in Illinois. The election between Obama
& Keyes was also noteworthy as it was the first Senatorial
election in US history in which the two major candidates
were both African Americans.

During that 2004 campaign Obama was selected by John Kerry
to be a keynote speaker at the Democratic National
Convention and the speech is considered to be greatly
responsible for his launch into the national consciousness.
His speech was so well received that he was immediately
considered to be a rising star in the Democratic party.

On February 10, 2007 Obama announced his candidacy for the
2008 Democratic nomination. At the time Hillary Clinton was
considered a huge favorite to win the nomination.

The race for the Democratic primary became a battle between
Obama & Clinton as the other challengers quickly fell by
the wayside. The battle continued on into June as Clinton
would not give in until the very end despite Obama's clear
mathematical advantage beginning in February.

In the general election Obama selected Joe Biden as his
Vice Presidential running mate and they faced Republican
John McCain who made a huge mistake by selecting the
unqualified Sarah Palin as his running mate.

On November 4th Obama easily defeated McCain became the
first black person (biracial to be more accurate) to be
elected as President of the United States.

Barack Obama is scheduled to become the 44th President of
the United States on January 20, 2009.

----------------------------------------------------
Marvin J. Markus recommends that you get your information
on US Presidential elections at
http://www.ThePresidentialCandidates.us

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=45518 Read More!

Now that President-elect Obama has the election out of the
way and a mandate to govern this nation with a new style.
Here's an independent's view of what his cabinet should
look like:

Secretary of State:

I would love to see someone out of the ordinary for this
pick. A favorite Democrat of mine is Gary Locke, former
governor of the state of Washington. He decided in 2003 not
to seek a 3rd term and has largely been out of the
limelight since 2005 when he left office. But he has
largely worked on Chinese-American issues and would make a
great envoy to other nations. His pick could help us
further stabilize relations with China, whom we are greatly
indebted to.

Another solid choice would be my personal favorite: Bill
Richardson, the current governor of New Mexico. Richardson
is a Latino, has a boatload of experience and is just an
all-around great story. Make him the first Latino Secretary
of State. I'm sure that re-election in 2012 won't be too
difficult.

Secretary of the Treasury:

I'm going out on a limb here. But I would hope that the
Secretary of the Treasury would be a guy like Warren
Buffett, someone who knows the markets and is known for his
pragmatic approach to business and life. With Buffett's age
and his business, I'm sure it won't happen, but wouldn't
that be a score for the American people.

Another solid pick would be: Jon Corzine. Governor of New
Jersey and former player in Goldman Sachs. He has a solid
knowledge of what we're going through and has even worked
with current treasury secretary Henry Paulson, which could
prove for a seamless transition.

Secretary of Defense:

Everybody wants to go with the current Secretary of Defense
Bob Gates, who wouldn't be a bad choice. But I have three
words for you: General Eric Shinseki. A consummate
professional, General Shinseki told the truth on the war
and got shoved out by an ungrateful Bush administration.
Look whose laughing now. His ideas to push forward with the
modernization of the Army and his ability to stand up and
fight a President shows that he is just the man we need to
lead us out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Take it from me, I
served under the guy and I think he was an excellent leader
capable of bringing the best out of his men. And if you
like the coolness of Barack Obama, this guy is known as one
of the most professional and reserved fighting men out
there.

Attorney General:

Remember Janet Reno? Some of the frontrunners for this
office would be Janet Napolitano and Eric Holder. I'm
tossing my hat to Holder on this one. Remember Janet Reno?
I think Napolitano would be better served in staying in
Arizona. Believe me, they need her with the fight over gay
marriage and other issues cropping up.

The rest of the Cabinet positions are important, but I'm
not going to belabor you guys with too much. I could see
Colin Powell as Secretary of Veteran Affairs. That would be
cool too. So those are my picks. We'll see where it falls.

----------------------------------------------------
James Darnell is the Co-Editor of Downthecenter - America's
Premiere Centrist Blog. http://www.downthecenter.org

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=46094 Read More!

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Those of us who have suspected that the media coverage of
the 2008 Presidential Race has not been fair now have a
study to validate our suspicions.

The Center for Media and Public Affairs spent the past two
months monitoring comments by sources, voters, reporters
and anchors that aired on evening newscasts at America's
three main national networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) and
documented what many of us already knew.

Comments made about Barack Obama reflected positively about
Obama in 65% of the cases whereas comments made about John
McCain reflected positively about McCain in 31% of the
cases. Said another way, Obama received 35% negative
coverage and McCain 69% negative coverage.

The spin at all three major networks would say that they
each are professional and impartial at all times in news
coverage.

The first half of Fox News Channel's "Special Report" with
Brit Hume showed more balance than any of the network
broadcasters, although it was dominated by negative
evaluations of both campaigns.

The Center for Media and Public Affairs did not evaluate
programs on CNN or MSNBC. Your guess as to why CNN and
MSNBC were not evaluated is as good as mine. My guess is
that had the Center done so, the results would have been
skewed even more favorably toward Obama.

All of this seems to suggest that the broadcasters on ABC,
CBS and NBC would never allow fairness to get in the way of
promoting their favorite candidate.

While viewers cannot prevent this sort of uninformed,
unfair, unprofessional and immature pandering, they can
discern the difference and, if they cannot, they deserve
what they receive by accepting the influence.

Clear thinking individuals with maturity and discernment
need not be bothered by mediocre minds and mental midgets
who are irrelevant in the greater scheme of things. Mark
Twain, the great American author and humorist, said "I
never let schooling interfere with my education."

The lack of clear, concise, factual information by
broadcasters has been replaced by personal journalism on
the evening newscasts at major networks.

All of this pandering is done in a fit of righteousness. No
self-respecting liberal would ever be caught making an
unfair, unprofessional comment on a national stage. That is
why they are liberals.

Liberals are rarely wrong and, when they are, there are
usually extenuating circumstances that could not have been
prevented. This is one of the primary reasons why we would
want them running the country. They may not always be
effective, but they will most certainly always be right.

----------------------------------------------------
Read more of my commentary, including:
"Should We Be Concerned About the Apparent Violence of Our
Children?
"A Disturbing Trend in Our Society - The Lack of Trust in
Our Institutions"
"Is Black Liberation Theology Really Helping African
Americans?"
"Facts About the Second Most Controversial Topic in America
- The First Is Abortion"
Find my Blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/LessonsinLife.html

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=46346 Read More!

Worrying about climate change? Concerned about running out
of traditional fossil fuels like petrol and gas? Well,
frankly, I don't blame you. The entire content of our news
feeding media gives us a daily repertoire of bleak doom and
gloom.

A long time ago, media and sales agencies came to the
conclusion that 'fear aids the sale'. There can be no
better way to have people rush to the shop than to fill
them with fear of what might happen if they don't buy that
product today. Scarcity is commonly known to be one of the
best sales aids. Buy it before we take it away. Get it now
before it all runs out.

Yes, but is it true? Are we undergoing a major climate
change? True, false or don't you know, are we are running
out of traditional fossil fuels like petrol and gas?

Well what is true is that more than 95 percent of all
scientists who have looked at this issue have concluded
that, yes, we are in the process of significant climate
change. If you watch Al Gore's harrowing film An
Inconvenient Truth, you will no doubt recall the shocking
statistics of just how far into the process of climate
change we actually are.

It is of little consequence to me whether the climate
change is man made or not. What is important is knowing
that reducing the amount of CO2 we pump out into the
atmosphere will reduce the effect. What we know is that, by
using renewable energy sources like solar power, wind
power, hydroelectric power, biomass and the like, we will
radically reduce the level these emissions.

What is also the case, according those who study these
things, is that our supply of petrol is finite and as such,
it is running out. Most people agree that this will happen
within the next 50 years. Of itself, that is not a problem.
The problem lies in the belief that we are not prepared for
this. We are concerned that we do not have the
infrastructure to energize the modern world without the
input from the oil industry.

However, developments are happening all the time in and
around the new renewable energy industries. For example, it
is no coincidence that the car manufacturers who are
producing the most energy efficient cars are the ones who
are prospering while the old-school gas guzzling companies
are struggling. The automobile industry as a whole is
moving towards a new green agenda. Electric cars are not a
thing of the future. They are with us now!

With the election of Barack Obama, you could say that this
is also the case with politics. People are turning to
cleaner options as their solution. Undoubtedly, solar power
is one essential part of this solution.

Now the question is, 'Should we be worried about the
future?' 'Will we get by without traditional fossil fuels?'
Our answer at Go Solar Power For Homes Dot Com is simple.
We have enough resources to get through this, to turn it
around, to set up a world for everyone with no one left
out, and we don't have to strangle the life out of the
planet to do it.

Still sceptical? That's fine but please consider the
following:

What if we were to give one percent of our income towards
preventing further climate change?

Using figures from the UK, according to government
statistics at statistics.gov.uk, the average wage in the UK
for full time employees per week is £479. So, the
average annual wage in the UK works out at £22,992.

One percent of £22,992 is £229.92 which works out
to £4.79 per week.

So, investing one percent of earnings towards stopping
climate change would cost the average person in the UK
£4.79 per week, or £19.16 a month (the equivalent
of £229.92 per year).

Now, this is where it starts to get interesting.

Again according to official statistics (this time from
www.cia.gov, figures for July 2007), the UK has a
population of 60,776,238.

If everyone were to invest one percent of our earnings
towards addressing the issues relating to climate change,
we would raise roughly £291 million per week. Now,
let's take one third out to account for old age pensioners
and children and we are still left with £194million
per week.

This is an amazing figure and could really help tackle
climate change. Investing £20,000 in wind or solar
power for homes would maybe not take the average home
completely off-grid, but it would certainly massively
reduce our use of traditional fossil fuels.

So, if we were to invest that amount per home, we could
give roughly 10,000 homes per week wind or solar power.
Within a very short time, we could have the whole country
fully invested in renewable sustainable clean energy.

Persuading industry of the need to use renewables will
always boil down to finance. Can we provide insustry with
enough incentives to go green? Well, all the signs are that
we already are doing so. We mentioned the car industry
earlier as an example. the whole industry has recognized
that it is 'Adapt or die', and they are acting accordingly,
investing in new cleaner technologies.

If we keep going in the direction we are heading we will
get to our chosen destination. So, now that we have
established the fact that we could easily resolve the
climate change issue using solar power and other renewable
energy sources, here comes the kicker.

Would you be willing to pay one percent of your income (on
average roughly £4.79 per week) to help tackle climate
change?

Individually, you may say 'Yes', but what about everyone
else living in your street? ... in your village, town or
city? If we can enrol everyone into this, then we would
have no problem left to solve. However, there is a
significant number of people who would be reluctant to do
that, saying it is a government tax and they object to
taxes as a knee jerk reaction.

So now you can see we have a different problem from the one
we started out with.

Can we get by? With just one percent of earnings, we could
easily get by. That is not in question. There is no need to
worry about climate change. We can easily resolve it.

Do we have the will to resolve it? That is the question.

----------------------------------------------------
As a travel magazine editor and publisher, a life coach and
trainer, Sam Deane has seen the world. Nowadays, he
dedicates most of his free time to maintaining the
well-being of this precious, miraculous planet on which we
live. Sam runs an important and lively blog about solar
power.
http://www.gosolarpowerforhomes.com

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=46377 Read More!

The term Global Warming has been in common usage for some
time and usually refers to recent warming of Earth's
atmosphere,which also implies a manmade or human influence.

Earth's atmosphere comprises many gases: oxygen, nitrogen,
carbon dioxide (hereafter abbreviated to CO2) and water
vapour, to name a few. These gases are collectively called
greenhouse gases and they keep the Earth's temperature at a
comfortable 15°C. Without them Earth would be a chilly
-18°C.

Since pre-industrial times, usually taken to be before
1750, we know from ice-core records that CO2 levels were
about 280 ppm,that's 280 parts of CO2 per million parts of
air. As industrialisation got underway humankind started to
farm the land more intensely than ever before, which
included deforestation for agriculture and settlements.
Later - since about 1850 or so - the burning of fossil
fuels for energy and transport has added considerably to
greenhouse gas levels, particularly CO2.

This has resulted in CO2 levels increasing to about 385
ppm, a rise of about thirty-seven per cent from
pre-industrial levels - mainly as a result of burning
fossil fuels.

How do we know this?

Well, data from ice-core records that go back at least
650,000 years now show us that CO2 levels have fluctuated
naturally during this time between 280 and 300 ppm. CO2
levels have also been measured accurately from the top of
Mauna Loa Volcano in Hawaii since 1958, and results show an
increase in CO2 levels from 315 ppm to 385 ppm since that
time.

Therefore CO2 is now at eighty ppm more than it has been
for at least 650,000 years of Earth's history. It is a
known scientific fact that higher levels of greenhouse
gases will lead to higher temperatures, which appears to be
happening now. The world has warmed by an average of 0.74
degrees during the last 100 years or so. As a result of
this warming, polar ice has started to decrease and melt,
and so have Earth's land-based glaciers. This in turn is
causing sea levels to rise, which is putting low-lying
islands at risk of flooding or total submersion, and will
eventually threaten more and more of the world's coastal
cities and regions.

Things may get worse, however, because once Earth's
atmosphere starts to warm, the warming itself may cause
further positive feedback mechanisms to kick in. A warmer
atmosphere holds more water vapour, which is itself a
powerful greenhouse gas. This will in turn cause further
warming, and so on.

Melting ice results in more sunlight being absorbed by the
surrounding 'darker' water and land, and that results in
further warming, and more melting ice. Methane deposits
currently held in a frozen but stable state under the sea
and under the permafrost may be released as the oceans warm
and permafrost melts, which will cause further warming.
This is very worrying as methane is a potent greenhouse gas
and around twenty times more powerful than CO2 when talking
about it's ability to warm the Earth's atmosphere.

This is global warming in a nut shell, however there are of
course far more complex issues involved as global warming
will not affect the whole planet in the same way at the
same time. Some parts will experience more drought, some
parts more rainfall, and some parts more extreme weather
such as floods and heatwaves.

One thing is for sure,as the world warms, we will all know
about it...

----------------------------------------------------
This article is taken from The A-Z of Global Warming, which
was published in September 2008 by Schmall World
Publishing. Please goto the following website for further
information on the book. http://www.a-zofglobalwarming.com

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=45528 Read More!

Renewable energy technology focuses on energy that is
replaced as it is being used, such as solar energy and wind
energy. Bill and Hillary Clinton supported all forms of
this kind of energy. They knew what was happening to our
world and fought hard back then to encourage renewable
energy uses. They supported Renewable energy technology
because they knew it could minimize our effects of global
warming, help alleviate financial stress and create a world
less depend on fossil fuels.

Now today Obama talks of the new energy for America plan
... Obama's administration is probably going to include Dan
Reicher, director of climate change and energy initiatives
at Google, former assistant energy secretary in charge of
efficiency and renewable energy programs in the Clinton
administration.

Nearly 30 states, including Florida, are forging plans to
boost renewable energy and slash greenhouse gases. Business
leaders nationwide have called for a clear, nationwide
policy. A political consensus has emerged in Washington
that something must be done. Wal-Mart chief executive H.
Lee Scott Jr. has vowed that the retailer will eventually
be completely supplied by renewable energy.

The International Energy Agency's (IEA) annual World Energy
Outlook, released Nov. 12, 2008 projects that global energy
demand will increase by 45% between 2006 and 2030 —
and that $26 trillion in power-supply investments will be
necessary simply to meet those needs. — greenhouse
gas emissions will rise 45% by 2030, and extreme global
warming would be virtually unavoidable.

Ever want to own your own business? Conservation is still
a huge, largely untapped market. When you learn how to
easily set up wind and solar power energy solution for very
cheap ... If you can master this concept and offer the
service to many people you will have a booming business.
Alternative energy will grow jobs and business's in our
future ... the time is now.

Please support an elected official who supports alternative
energy and educate yourself and everyone you know about the
advantages of using alternative energy at home. Every one
of us has a responsibility to our Earth. You can support
our President, our future and our planet by doing your part.

As much as I support the new energy plan for America ... I
also support any person who starts doing something on an
individual level right now! With the information available
about do it yourself electricity, it is possible to build
home made energy products, such as a windmill or solar
panel, on your own. Do-it-yourselfers are saving huge
amounts of pocket change by building and installing these
systems themselves.

----------------------------------------------------
Join the do it yourselfers and get started with wind and
solar energy today. Visit http://DontPayForElectricity.com

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=46040 Read More!

Spare handcuff keys are thought of by many police officers
to be essential. There are a few reasons for this. One is
that the standard issue key is very small and it can prove
to be unmanageable when contending with struggling
suspects. Another reason is that officers find it very
useful to have at least one extra placed in a different
part of your equipment belt or vest. Again this comes in
handy when in a difficult situation: you may be in an
enclosed space or the suspect may be giving you a hard
time, a cuff key placed in a more easily accessible pocket
could make all the difference.

Modern after-market handcuff keys are designed to eliminate
all the previous problems. Officers have always been
involved in the design process as they use them on a daily
basis and often have the most appropriate ideas for new
features. A round swivel model has much better grip due to
its size. Locking and unlocking of the cuffs is simple and
quick. By spinning the swivel handle between your thumb and
forefinger you can simply lock and unlock the handcuffs. At
9cm this key can be put into your pocket without you
worrying about injury. The steel loop allows for attachment
to key rings, equipment belts or vests. Constructed from
heat-treated stainless steel giving an indefinite period of
service this handcuff is compatible with all Hiatt and Asp
handcuffs.

The extra wide, flattened handle of a flat knurl swivel key
is perfect for when you need ultimate control with minimal
effort and attention. Again a great item for a struggle
this one is also constructed from heat treated stainless
steel and is compatible with all Hiatt and ASP handcuffs.
Two ring attachments, one large and one small, are good for
attachment to anything you like.

One example of a multi function model is the ZT version
with window punch. The window punch function on this key is
a very popular feature within the police force. Officers
gaining injuries due to incorrect use of their batons on
toughened glass windows has become an increasing problem in
many areas. The spring loaded window punch is simple and
effective and the key is compatible with all ASP and Hiatt
handcuffs. This key features a pocket clip, which also
attracts a lot of people.

Another type of handcuff key has a handy pocket clip rather
than a loop. This one is constructed from heat-treated
stainless steel for an indefinite period of service. The
pocket clip design is often used by officers who wear
equipment vests as they tend to have a lot of spare pockets
to attach it to. This also eliminates the ever increasing
risk of leg lacerations being caused due to incorrect
storage in a trouser pocket. As with all ZT handcuffs it is
compatible with all Hiatt and ASP handcuffs.

Due to its composite construction of stainless steel, for
an indefinite period of service, and carbon fibre for
lightness, the ZT carbon fibre handcuff key will be
attractive because it weighs so little. Don't be fooled
into thinking that as the designers have used a lightweight
material that they have skipped any other part of the
design procedure, or that any compromise has been made to
its manufacture. This key is as robust as all other ZT
models.

----------------------------------------------------
http://www.patrolstore.com
Aran Lackey manages Patrol Store and knows all there is to
know about handcuff keys. Click the link to

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=36854 Read More!

First we watched the bungling of the financial crisis.
Then GM demands the AIG treatment. Now the energy industry
is stomping at the bits to get its helping of taxpayer
monies. We are witnessing the best engineered and most
profitable scams in history in which the financial industry
looted well over one trillion dollars of taxpayer money.

The spectacle is awesome. The amounts of money we are
talking about are incomprehensible for the poor souls who
are called upon to pay for the mess. In the meantime,
banks are laundering taxpayer monies. CEO's and investors
are chuckling while comfortably looting the savings of the
working stiffs. Who wants to run a decent business
anymore? You just have to learn how to steal money,
legally!

The media have already decided that GM is going to get the
money. But bets are still being taken on who gets the loot
in the "Energy Race to Riches".

"Solar Electricity" and "Wind Power" are the two favorites.
"Nuclear Power" has the best record but has been hobbled
with a high handicap. And then there are "Electric Cars",
"CNG Cars", and cars holding one person and one shopping
bag. There is "Ethanol", a former favorite, and a new
offspring called "Cellulosic Ethanol". Even "Public
Transportation" has been trucked in to stand at the
starting line. And then there are several losers that are
guaranteed to get a share of the prize money for just
participating.

Unfortunately, all present proposals for solving the energy
crisis look more like a horse race with several highly
touted favorites than a well conceived plan to prepare the
USA and eventually the world for a new, long-lasting energy
future.

In the following we leave the world of high stakes gambling
with other people's money, of special tax preferences, and
with rules like "heads I win - tails you loose".

Instead, we are going to look at some simple facts, try to
learn from the past, and attempt to provide for the future.

The most pressing problem facing the US is the steady and
accelerating drain of US currency to foreign, petroleum
exporting countries. Every year the US pays more than half
a trillion of dollars for imported crude oil.
Additionally, we are going to spend more than a trillion
dollars for the failed effort of gaining control of Middle
East petroleum reserves. Continuing crude oil imports are
increasing our indebtedness to hostile countries and are
providing the monies for terrorists, who keep us under a
permanent threat. Our efforts to neutralize these threats
do not come cheap.

The conclusion is simple and has been drawn repeatedly; the
USA must regain energy independence!

A few billion dollars, spent wisely over the last two
decades, could have done wonders for energy independence.
However, all efforts were successfully defeated by well
connected lobbyists at home.

We can become genuinely energy independent by one single
means only; we must produce energy on US lands!

The energy lobby says: it cannot be done. However, their
opinion is biased at the tune of several trillion dollars.
US energy industry fears low oil prices. There are
approximately 25 billion barrels of petroleum left in US
oil deposits. The US petroleum industry is looking at the
difference between $175 and $75 per barrel. The difference
represents a cool $2.5 trillion. When talking about
trillions of dollars we are talking real money. This money
is there for the taking!

The world and the US are going to run out of crude oil
soon. It does not matter if it takes forty or seventy five
years. Oil reserves will be depleted. End of discussion!

Energy drives world economies. Lack of energy will lead to
the immediate collapse of economies. World energy
consumption is still predominantly based on fossil fuels.
Combustion of fossil fuels discharges huge amounts of
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which creates global
warming. Global warming causes sea levels to rise, brings
on worldwide climate changes, and will lead to global
overheating when not stopped in the near future.

The world consumes energy in three forms; electric power,
liquid fuels, and heating gases. We can generate electric
power without harmful emissions with nuclear fuels, hydro
power, wind power, and solar power. Wind power and solar
power are still too expensive and must be further developed
before they can and will take over most of electric power
generation.

Intermittent wind and solar power cannot be used
effectively as long as we have not succeeded in developing
storage facilities for storing electric power in huge
quantities. This technology has received minimal attention
despite its tremendous profit potential.

Nature has made fossil fuels from biomass thousands and
even millions of years ago. There is no reason that we
cannot imitate nature. In fact, we have many more
technical capabilities today than nature ever had. For
mysterious reasons ($2.5 trillion?) there are no efforts to
find out how nature converted biomass from fossil fuels.
If we ever learn to mimic nature, we will have solved all
our energy problems for the next several centuries.

Most importantly, we will be capable to convert free solar
energy into abundant, inexpensive electric energy and into
plentiful, affordable transportation fuels. We will still
be able to cross oceans in airplanes, our national defense
will not be threatened by lack of motor fuels, terrorists
will run out of money, and everybody can buy cars one
favors and can afford.

----------------------------------------------------
Dr. Hemsath recently published the book: CLIMATE CHANGE -
GOLD RUSH OR DISASTER? For 50 years he has worked as
scientist, process engineer, Corporate Vice President of
R&D, Company President, CEO, and Inventor. He holds more
than 60 US Patents. He is working on a new book: "THE
SOLUTION FOR ENDING GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE". Go
to http://www.thermalexpert.com

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=45678 Read More!

Introduction

This article is the first in a series of articles which
will take the reader on an alphabetic journey on global
warming, commencing with A for Amazon Rainforest

The phrase global warming is a term that has been in common
usage for some time and usually refers to the warming of
Earth's atmosphere, and which also implies a man-made or
human influence.

Earth's atmosphere is comprised of many gases, oxygen,
nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water vapour to name a few.
These gases are collectively called greenhouse gases and
they keep the Earth's temperature at a comfortable 15
degrees Celsius, without them Earth would be a chilly - 18
degrees Celsius. Since pre-industrial times, usually taken
to be around 1750 we know from ice core records that Carbon
Dioxide (CO2) levels were around 280 ppm, that's 280 parts
of CO2 per million parts of air. As industrialisation got
under way mankind started to farm the land more intensely
than ever before, deforest for agriculture and settlements,
and later since around 1850 or so, burn fossil fuels for
energy and transport which have added considerably to
greenhouse gas levels, particularly Co2.

This has resulted in CO2 levels increasing to around 385
ppm, an increase of around 37% from pre-industrial levels
mainly as a result of burning fossil fuels.

How do we know this? Well, data from ice core records that
go back at least 650,000 years now show us that CO2 levels
have fluctuated naturally during this time between 280 and
300 ppm. CO2 levels have also been measured accurately from
the top of Mauna Loa Volcano in Hawaii since 1958, and
results show an increase in CO2 levels from 315 ppm to 385
ppm since that time. Therefore CO2 is now at 85 ppm more
than it has been for at least 650,000 years of Earth's
history. It is a known scientific fact that higher levels
of greenhouse gases will lead to higher temperatures, which
appears to be happening now. The world has warmed by an
average of 0.74 degrees during the last 100 years or so.

As a result of this warming, polar ice has started to
decrease and melt, and so are Earth's land based glaciers.
This in turn is causing sea levels to rise which is putting
low lying islands at risk of flooding or total submersion,
and will eventually threaten more and more of the worlds
coastal cities and regions.

As Earth's atmosphere starts to warm, the warming itself
may cause further positive feedback mechanisms to kick in.
A warmer atmosphere holds more water vapour, which is
itself a powerful greenhouse gas. This will in turn cause
further warming, and so on.

Melting ice means that more sunlight is absorbed by the
surrounding "darker" water and land, meaning further
warming, and more melting ice. Methane deposits currently
held in a frozen but stable state under the sea and under
the permafrost maybe released as the oceans warm and
permafrost melts, which will cause further warming as
methane is a potent greenhouse gas etc etc.

Where better place to start this A-Z journey on global
warming than with The Amazon Rainforest, which has an
incredibly important role to play in maintaining a balance
in the Earth's climate. The Amazon as well as other
rainforests are inextricably linked to the issue of global
warming and have a considerable influence on Earth's
climate.

Amazon Rainforest Facts

The Amazon river basin contains the largest rainforest on
Earth and covers approximately 40% of the South American
continent. The Amazon Rainforest is located within eight
countries, Brazil contains 60% of the forest, with
Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana,
Suriname and French Guyana containing the rest.

The Amazon forest is a natural reservoir of genetic
diversity, containing the largest and most species rich
tract of tropical rainforest that exists. The Amazon
contains an amazing thirty-percent of Earth's species. One
square kilometre of Amazon can contain about 90,000 tons of
living plants! It's also amazing to consider that one in
five of all the birds in the world make the rainforest
their home.

The Amazon basin is drained by the Amazon river, the worlds
second longest after the Nile and the river is essentially
the lifeline of the forest. The river is the most
voluminous on Earth.

A few hundred years ago tropical rainforests covered as
much as 12% of the Earth's land surface, but today the
figure is less than 5%. The largest stretch of rainforest
can be found in the Amazon river basin, over half of which
lies in Brazil.

Why is the Amazon Rainforest so important in the context of
global warming?

The rainforest acts as a major store of carbon and produces
enormous amounts of oxygen. The Amazon has been referred to
as "The lungs of the Earth" because of its affect on the
climate. The way this is achieved is of course through
photosynthesis, the process by which green plants/trees use
the energy from sunlight to produce food by taking CO2 from
the air and water and converting them to carbon. The
by-product of this is oxygen.

The Amazon therefore helps recycle CO2 by turning it into
oxygen, and its estimated that the Amazon produces about
20% of this essential gas for Earth's atmosphere.

Trees, plants and CO2

Levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have been measured since
1958 from a monitoring station located on Mauna Loa volcano
in Hawaii and they show sharp annual increases and
decreases in CO2 levels, similar to the tooth on a saw. The
readings almost mimic a breath of air being taken in and
out; it's almost as if the Earth is breathing. The readings
correspond to the amount of vegetation on the planet (most
of which is contained in the Northern Hemisphere, as the
landmass there is greater), taking in CO2, and giving out
oxygen. During the Northern Hemisphere summer, when the
Earth is tilted toward the sun, the Earth's vegetation is
able to photosynthesise resulting in an uptake of CO2,
causing worldwide CO2 levels to drop. During winter, when
the Earth's axis is tilted away from the sun, the opposite
happens causing CO2 levels to rise again.

When one becomes aware of the correlation between the
Earth's vegetation and CO2 levels, it is easy to understand
why the Amazon, and rainforests in general are such an
important part of Earth's ecosystem. If global warming is
to be tackled, the Amazon, and other rainforests must be
saved.

----------------------------------------------------
This article is taken from a book entitled The A-Z of
Global Warming which was published by Schmall World
Publishing on 25th September 2008. Further information can
be obtained from the following website-
http://www.a-zofglobalwarming.com

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=45462 Read More!

Al Gore, our former Vice President and Nobel Prize
recipient, has done more than any other human being to warn
the world of an impending, global, ecological crisis.

On November 9, 2008 he published an OP-ED article in the
New York Times explaining his five-part plan for avoiding
this major disaster. He introduces his plan by saying "It
is a plan that would simultaneously move us towards
solutions to the climate crisis and the economic crisis -
and create millions of jobs that cannot be outsourced."

Let us review his five points. His first suggestion is
that we build more solar plants and more wind farms. OK.

His second proposal is the installation of an improved,
national power grid. Especially well taken is his point
that new high-voltage, low-loss underground lines need to
be installed and be made part of a redesigned, national
grid. OK.

His third recommendation is to help America's automobile
industry. This is ok for preserving jobs. However, his
suggestion to depend increasingly on electrically powered
cars is premature, excessively expensive, and will only
marginally reduce petroleum imports for many years. It
will not reduce carbon dioxide emissions for the next
couple of decades.

His fourth proposition aims at improving insulation of
buildings and homes. Reducing energy losses is ok as long
as they can be economically justified.

Unfortunately, the fifth element of his plan misses the
mark by a wide margin. Earlier in his article, Mr. Gore
correctly states ".... thinking anew requires discarding an
outdated and flawed definition of the problem we face."

Therefore, let us define the problem concisely. The world
is facing not one but several, distinct crises.

The climate crisis or ecological crisis is caused by the
escalating emission of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere.
As a result, global temperatures are rising and will lead
to severe global overheating as early as 2050. There is
only one, single way to stop this destructive, irreversible
lunacy; we must end the burning of all fossil fuels.

A coming energy crisis announced itself, when skyrocketing
petroleum prices in July 2008 peaked at close to $150 per
barrel. Transportation of people, foods, commodities, and
goods is entirely dependent on plentiful and affordable
liquid fuels. The transportation sector consists of an
immense fleet of automobiles, trucks, trains, ships, and
aircraft. A multitude of very expensive oil refineries and
an enormous, worldwide fuel distribution system support
this sector and will cost tens of trillions of dollars to
replace.

It will be foolish to scrap these wonderfully effective
systems and replace or weaken them by mandating that
automobiles must be powered by electricity or compressed
natural gas. Instead, we must learn to produce renewable
fuels and petroleum substitutes. If we do not realize that
the world cannot function without renewable liquid fuels,
we will incite a third, an economic crisis, which may
destroy world economies and civilizations.

A fourth crisis will develop when a construction boom tries
to install energy conversion equipment to prevent the
ecological and energy crises from happening. Suitable
technologies, materials, manufacturing facilities,
fabricating skills, engineering services, investment
capital, and time will be in very short supply.

Right now, only the USA has the scientific, technological,
manufacturing, and institutional capabilities to attempt a
potentially successful rescue attempt. Such an attempt
cannot be organized by the private sector.

The US must defend its role as leading world power
successfully by making three major, national changes; it
must become independent of petroleum imports, it must stop
carbon dioxide emissions, and it must proceed with an
implementation plan that will achieve these targets in
forty years. Only by achieving these three objectives can
we arrest climate change, can we avoid worldwide economic
collapse due to lack of motor fuels, and can we reclaim our
leadership role.

The most difficult and exacting challenge of such a plan we
have not mentioned, yet.

Any long-term plan must be workable for centuries! We
cannot afford to install and pay for short-lived solutions.

The missing piece of the puzzle in Mr. Gore's proposal is
the complete absence of renewable fuels. Without the
production of renewable fuels and particularly of liquid
transportation fuels from renewable biomass this plan and
other previously proposed plans will fail! They are
incapable of powering world economies for centuries!

We must learn to grow large amounts of high energy yield
biomass on arid, barren, or fallow lands in two broad bands
on both sides of the equator.

In this region, the tropics and subtropics, the flow of sun
energy reaching the ground is the highest. Water resources
will be lacking in most locations. However, we have
learned how to build desalination plants. What we do not
know yet, is how to design highly efficient, industrial
type biofuel plantations that can produce very large
amounts of renewable energy without competing with food
production.

We also have to learn how nature converted biomass into
petroleum and other fossil fuels.

As soon as we understand how to convert biomass into
petroleum substitutes or into other fuels, we will have
solved the world's remaining energy supply problems and we
can continue the use of our automobiles and airplanes.
Best of all, we will be able to pay for the renewable fuels
that are going to power our transportation fleets.

Mr. Gore, we need your support for publicizing and
promoting the conversion of renewable biomass into
plentiful, affordable petroleum substitutes and other novel
fuels!

----------------------------------------------------
Dr. Hemsath recently published the book: CLIMATE CHANGE -
GOLD RUSH OR DISASTER? For 50 years he has worked as
scientist, process engineer, Corporate Vice President of
R&D, Company President, CEO, and Inventor. He holds more
than 60 US Patents. He is working on a new book: "THE
SOLUTION FOR ENDING GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE". Go
to http://www.thermalexpert.com

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=45140 Read More!

November 20th marks the birth date of Robert F. Kennedy and
I thought it would be a fitting tribute to celebrate with
11 Robert Kennedy quotes. No matter which side of the
political fence you reside on, you have to admit the
Kennedy family is an intriguing bunch. Robert F. was no
exception to that kind of fascination. Here are 11 quotes
to help commemorate the day of his birth.

1. "Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves.
What is equally true is that every community gets the kind
of law enforcement it insists on."

2. "I was the seventh of nine children. When you come from
that far down you have to struggle to survive."

3. "Ultimately, America's answer to the intolerant man is
diversity, the very diversity which our heritage of
religious freedom has inspired."

4. "All of us, from the wealthiest and most powerful of
men, to the weakest and hungriest of children, share one
precious possession: the name American."

5. "On this generation of Americans falls the burden of
proving to the world that we really mean it when we say all
men are created free and are equal before the law. All of
us might wish at times that we lived in a more tranquil
world, but we don't. And if our times are difficult and
perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with
opportunity."

6. "One-fifth of the people are against everything all the
time."

7. "Moral courage is a more rare commodity than bravery in
battle or great intelligence."

8. "The greatest truth must be recognition that in every
man, in every child is the potential for greatness."

9. "It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and
belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands
up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or
strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple
of hope."

10. "I believe that, as long as there is plenty, poverty is
evil."

11. "It is not enough to understand, or to see clearly. The
future will be shaped in the arena of human activity, by
those willing to commit their minds and their bodies to the
task."

Robert F. Kennedy was quite the revolutionary thinker.
Sure, there were some who opposed his views, but many more
embraced them. Let's commemorate his birthday this year
with the above 11 Robert Kennedy quotes.

----------------------------------------------------
For more leadership quotes, check out the popular
leadership quotes section at
Famous-Quotes-And-Quotations.com, a website that
specializes in 'Top 10' lists of quotations in dozens of
categories.
http://www.famous-quotes-and-quotations.com/leadership-quote
.htm

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=44833 Read More!