Tales of the Revolution: True Stories of People who are Poking the Box and Making a Difference
April 20, 2011 No Comment
Type: eBooks Title: Tales of the Revolution: True Stories of People who are Poking the Box and Making a Difference See all customer reviews Product Description: Early in March, The Domino Project published Seth Godin’s Poke the Box. We Immediately received stories about people taking initiative in their own lives – doing things differently at work or with their families, taking initiative in places they were scared to. Prompted by the number of inspiring stories we received, we launched Tales of the Revolution, profiling examples of passionate self-starters who regularly went above and beyond to make a difference by doing. This free Kindle edition is a sampling of the hundreds of stories we received. Each one could be just the right inspiration for you to keep poking. The Domino Project April, 2011 See the details
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16 & Pregnant Season 3 Episode 1 Jordan Pictures 16 and Pregnant Season 3 Episode 1 Part 5 of 5 16 and Pregnant Season 3 Episode 1 Part 2 of 5 Meet 16 and Pregnant's New Star Jordan! – Movies, TV & Music … “My story was different from past 16 and Pregnant girls,” she tells Us. News Clicker » 16 and Pregnant premieres tonight Watch a sneak Mtvs groundbreaking series 16 And Pregnant returns tonight at 10 pm, with a new season of freshfaced moms, their boyfriends, and the topsyturvy ride. Meet jordan ward shes one of the new stars of 16 And Pregnant (new episodes premiere … ' 16 And Pregnant ' Poll: Was Jordan Too Hard On Her Sister? » MTV … One of the interesting dynamics on tonight’s Season 3 premiere of “ 16 and Pregnant ” revolved around the relationship Jordan shared with her twin sister, Jessica. They were an incredibly close pair, but once Jordan had her son, Noah, … Articlesnack » Watch 16 and Pregnant Season 3 Episode 1 Brand New FIGHT CLUB: In the previews for “ 16 and Pregnant ” Season 3, Jennifer Del Rio is shown getting into a fight with boyfriend as he’s taken away by cops. Evans, 19, has been a ratings juggernaut for the network. A new crop of underage moms … Watch 16 and Pregnant Season 3 Episode 1 For Free » All Expert … FIGHT CLUB: In the previews for “ 16 and Pregnant ” Season 3, Jennifer Del Rio is shown getting into a fight with boyfriend as he’s taken away by cops. Evans, 19, has been a ratings juggernaut for the network. A new crop of underage moms … Mystylicious says: Why do I always get upset when I watch 16 and pregnant ?
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The Queen has loved corgis since receiving one for her 18th birthday. They’ll surely be putting in an appearance at the wedding of the year – but can you emulate this famously hardworking breed and produce a knitted version to match? Extracted from Fiona Goble’s Knit Your Own Royal Wedding (£9.99 – or £7.99 at the Guardian bookshop ) The Queen has owned Pembroke Welsh corgis since she was given her first pet, named Susan, for her eighteenth birthday in 1944. The breed is well known for being hardworking – though if the truth be told, the Queen’s own corgis have not had to work that hard. They live in wicker baskets in a box room in the palace and are fed from silver bowls. They are used to journeys in chauffeur-driven limousines and private planes. You will need For the dog 10g (1/4oz) or approx 10m/11yds of ochre DK yarn Small amount of cream DK yarn Very small amounts of black and purple DK yarn A small star-shaped purple button for the collar 5g (1/8oz) polyester toy-stuffing Use size 3mm (US 2 or 3) knitting needles throughout unless stated otherwise, and a size 3.25mm (US D-3) crochet hook. Pattern Body and head Side 1: • Cast on 15 sts in ochre. • Next row: K2, inc1, K6 then turn, leaving rem sts on needle. • Work on 10 sts just knitted only. • Next row: P to end. • Next row: K2, m1, K8 then turn, leaving rem sts on needle. • Work on 11 sts just knitted only. • Next row: P. • Next row: K2, m1, K to end (across all sts on needle). [18 sts] • Next row: P. • Next row: K2, m1, K to end. [19 sts] • Work 3 rows in st st beg with a P row. • Next row: K17, k2tog. [18 sts] • Next row: Cast (bind) off 10 sts pwise, P to end. [8 sts] • Next row: Cast on 5 sts, K to end. [13 sts] • Next row: p2tog, P to end. [12 sts] • Next row: K. • Next row: p2tog, P to end. [11 sts] • Next row: Cast (bind) off 2 sts, K to end. [9 sts] • Next row: p2tog, P to end. [8 sts] • Next row: k2tog, K to end. [7 sts] • Next row: p2tog, P to end. [6 sts] • Next row: K. • Next row: p2tog, P to end. [5 sts] • Cast (bind) off. Side 2: • Cast on 15 sts in ochre. • 1st row: P2, inc1 pwise, K6 then turn, leaving rem sts on needle. • Work on 10 sts just knitted only. • Next row: K to end. • Next row: P2, m1 pwise, P8 then turn, leaving rem sts on needle. • Work on 11 sts just knitted only. • Next row: K. • Next row: P2, m1 pwise, P to end (across all sts on needle). [18 sts] • Next row: K. • Next row: P2, m1 pwise, P to end. [19 sts] • Work 3 rows in st st beg with a K row. • Next row: P17, p2tog. [18 sts] • Next row: Cast (bind) off 10 sts, K to end. [8 sts] • Next row: Cast on 5 sts, P to end. [13 sts] • Next row: k2tog, K to end. [12 sts] • Next row: P. • Next row: k2tog, K to end. [11 sts] • Next row: Cast off 2 sts pwise, P to end. [9 sts] • Next row: k2tog, K to end. [8 sts] • Next row: p2tog, P to end. [7 sts] • Next row: k2tog, K to end. [6 sts] • Next row: P. • Next row: k2tog, K to end. [5 sts] • Cast (bind) off pwise. Front bib – make 1 The bib is knitted from the bottom to the top. • Cast on 4 sts in cream. • Work 2 rows in st st beg with a K row. • Next row: K1, m1, K2, m1, K1. [6 sts] • Next row: P. • Next row: K1, m1, K4, m1, K1. [8 sts] • Work 9 rows in st st beg with a P row. • Cast (bind) off loosely. Back legs – make 2 • Cast on 6 sts in cream. • Work 2 rows in st st beg with a K row. • Break yarn and join ochre yarn. • Work 2 rows in st st beg with a K row. • Next row: K1, m1, K4, m1, K1. [8 sts] • Next row: P. • Next row: K1, m1, K6, m1, K1. [10 sts] • Next row: P. • Cast (bind) off. Front legs – make 2 • Cast on 6 sts in cream. • Work 2 rows in st st beg with a K row. • Cast (bind) off. Ears – make 2 • Using size 2.75 mm (US 2) needles, cast on 4 sts in ochre. • K 3 rows. • Next row: (k2tog) twice. [2 sts] • Next row: k2tog. • Break yarn and pull it through rem st. Collar Work a 6.5cm (2 1/2-inch) crochet chain in purple DK yarn. Making up Sew the two body and head sides together, leaving a small gap for stuffing. Stuff the dog and close the gap. Seam and stuff the legs and oversew them in position. Oversew the ears in position. Oversew the bib to the front of the dog. Using black yarn, work a small circle of chain stitch for the nose and two French knots for the eyes. To stop the French knots disappearing or looking uneven, you may want to work a ring of small chain stitches round the eyes using ochre yarn. Work a row of cream chain stitch round the nose, then down to the top of the bib. Work a row of chain stitch from the top of the nose up the centre of the face and half way back down the face. Separate a short length of black yarn lengthwise so you have two thinner lengths of yarn. Use one of these to make a single straight stitch for the mouth. Place the collar round the dog’s neck and join the two short ends. Stitch the star button in place. • Knit Your Own Royal Wedding is published by Ivy Press , £9.99, ISBN: 978-1-907332-79-1. For more hints and tips – including how to knit the archbishop of Canterbury – see the book. Knitting Craft Craft and hobbies Royal wedding Prince William Kate Middleton The Queen Pets guardian.co.uk
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The self-appointed queen of gay culture has offended fans she claims to represent. Is it a sign that her star is on the wane? Have we reached a tipping point in the Lady Gaga saga? In the week that the singer graces the cover of NME for the first time, a backlash has already gathered steam in the gay community. Among her supposed heartland of gay men, there’s growing evidence of fans starting to turn on her – many of whom feel she has no right to declare herself as the ambassador of “queer culture”. Gaga, to be fair, didn’t have to try hard to be accepted as a “gay icon”. There’s a certain mainstream gay sensibility that tends to adopt blonde female pop stars as their own, and her relentless tweeting about gay rights, the impassioned stance against Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in the US military and yes, I suppose the dresses too, earned her a place as a credible advocate. But recently, the wheels seem to be falling off, and sadly not from that ridiculous motorbike . It started with the release of Born This Way. Any song built up with such a torrent of pre-publicity (my favourite tweet from that week: “Can’t wait for tomorrow’s exclusive reveal of the barcode!”) has to be pretty incredible to not get crushed under the weight of its own expectation. And it misfired on all levels. The gay blogosphere soon exploded into a flurry of backlash and counter-backlash , based mainly on a sense of disappointment with the song. At least that’s how it started. But as the world lived with Born This Way, a deeper disquiet began to emerge, and the heavy-handed way that the song assumed stewardship of an entire portion of humanity began to breed real resentment, from the forums to the dancefloor to the word on the street. Fact of matter: most gay people don’t consider themselves to be freaks and outsiders, as is suggested in the lyrics , but perfectly normal people whose sexual preferences just happen to be wired a certain way. And they won’t thank you for attempting to lead a Pied Piper march back into the ghetto with all the subtlety of a diamond-encrusted sledgehammer. Of course, when there are still gay teen suicides, same-sex couples being ejected from the John Snow , and Proposition 8 then we clearly haven’t won all of the battles against homophobia. But we’re a lot closer to the dream where sexual orientation doesn’t define a person, but is a quality of their personality no more or less significant than their political affiliation or the colour of their hair. As we march towards true equality, the whole idea of a “gay culture” becomes more and more meaningless as the world accepts the truth that gay people aren’t all the same. In the face of that, Born This Way was at best a backward step, in the middle a touch cynical and, at worst, downright offensive. It’s a shame because it was the first real misstep in an otherwise faultlessly judged career. But if Gaga really has alienated her most loyal fans, she may yet have more to worry about than a few religious zealots picketing her shows . Lady Gaga Pop and rock Gay rights Dan Martin guardian.co.uk
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Britain’s banks fail in challenge to overturn regulations regarding the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) policies Britain’s banks will be forced to re-open thousands of claims over the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) and pay up to £3bn in compensation following a high court ruling. PPI is insurance typically sold to consumers at the point of sale of personal loans, credit cards and other forms of debt, which is designed to meet their repayments in the event of accident, sickness or unemployment. Many customers have discovered after paying for PPI policies that they would never qualify for a payout due to exclusions in the terms and conditions, while others didn’t even realise they had signed up to buy the insurance. In December the Financial Services Authority introduced rules to stop mis-selling, which required providers to talk customers through the key features of a policy rather than assuming they will read any relevant documentation, and make it clear that the cover is optional. But the banks, represented by trade body the British Bankers’ Association, compained that the rules were unfair because they would be applied retrospectively. In January the BBA launched a high court challenge against the FSA and the Financial Ombudsman – but today’s ruling found against them. The high court judgment endorsed the approach taken by the ombudsman and the FSA, and the banks now have 21 days to appeal. Several banks had put PPI complaints on hold until the outcome of the judicial review was known. However, the FSA made it clear they should still be dealing with complaints, and anyone whose bank has not dealt with their complaint within eight weeks is entitled to take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service . The ombudsman service said the lack of cooperation from some financial businesses has made it difficult to progress PPI cases over this period. “However, the clear-cut judgment means that banks and other financial businesses should now be in the position to deal promptly, efficiently and fairly with their customers’ PPI complaints,” a statement said. The ombudsman continues to handle large volumes of PPI complaints from consumers. Since the BBA launched its legal challenge in October 2010 it has been receiving up to 5,000 PPI complaints a week , while complaints surged by 63% between the first and second half of 2010 from 266,685 to 434,596. Martin Lewis of MoneySavingExpert.com said: “The banks have behaved abominably. They’ve deliberately mis-led reclaimers by telling them everything is on hold and used the memory of the bank charges hold to make it seem legitimate. “The hold has not been agreed by the FSA or the ombudsman, who have both lambasted it, and has potentially left hundreds of thousands of people – each trying to reclaim thousands of pounds – wrongly in limbo and the ombudsman over-stretched. “If this goes to appeal, as expected, they cannot be allowed to continue. I believe they should be fined for the way they have tried to manipulate the system to consumers’ detriment. “It is time we had a system of collective consumer redress. The fact the banks can deliberately reject claims to put people off taking it further, even though the vast majority who go to the ombudsman win, is against natural justice and needs to stop.” Payment protection insurance Banks and building societies Insurance Consumer affairs Banking Mark King guardian.co.uk
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Leaked report documents incidents at three plants during February considered serious enough to be reported to ministers There have been two spillages of radioactive waste and a breakdown in an emergency cooling system at Britain’s nuclear plants in the last three months, according to a report to ministers leaked to the Guardian. A brown puddle containing plutonium five times the legal safety limit leaked from an old ventilation duct at the Sellafield nuclear complex in Cumbria . This exposed “a number of shortfalls in the design”, says the report. Groundwater at the Torness nuclear power station near Edinburgh was contaminated with radioactive tritium (a form of hydrogen) leaking from two pipelines. At Hartlepool nuclear station on the north-east coast of England, the back-up cooling system was put out of action by a faulty valve. All three incidents occurred in February this year and are still under investigation by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) , the government’s newly created nuclear safety watchdog. They were sufficiently serious to be reported to ministers under safety guidelines agreed in the wake of the Chernobyl accident in Ukraine 25 years ago. Disclosure of the incidents could further delay the government’s plans for a new programme of nuclear power stations, already being held up by a safety review prompted by the Fukushima accident in Japan. Critics will press for the incidents to be included in the review , being led by the executive head of the ONR, Mike Weightman. The Guardian has been provided with a copy of a report on the incidents sent to ministers on 18 April by Weightman. It was circulated to the energy secretary, Chris Huhne : the business secretary, Vince Cable ; the environment secretary, Caroline Spelman ; the employment minister, Chris Grayling ; the Scottish secretary, Michael Moore ; and the Scottish first minister, Alex Salmond . In a covering letter, Weightman says that a fourth incident involving contaminated ground at an unnamed nuclear site is still under investigation, and may be reported to ministers in the future. The criteria for reporting nuclear incidents, which takes place every three months , include leakages, breaches of safety limits and events where “safe operation may be significantly affected”. According to the ONR, the response to the incidents from the companies that run the three plants was “appropriate”. The plutonium spillage at Sellafield has been cleaned up, use of the leaking pipelines at Torness was suspended, and the faulty valve at Hartlepool was fixed. But the ONR is continuing to quiz the operators and monitor the plants, to try and make sure that similar mishaps do not occur again. A spokesman for the ONR told the Guardian that the report to ministers on the incidents is due to be posted online later today. The chair of the nuclear-free group of local authorities , George Regan, said that it was unusual for three incidents to be reported to ministers in one three-month period. There was only one incident in each quarter of 2010, three of them at Sellafield and one at Dungeness nuclear station in Kent. “With Fukushima very much in the public’s mind, we are particularly concerned to hear of a coolant incident at Hartlepool,” Regan said. “We will be urgently seeking clarification from the ONR on why these incidents occurred and whether they are of any relevance to the current safety review.” Nuclear power Energy Nuclear waste Rob Edwards guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …$221 Million Apartment Sells In the UK | Finance UK $221 Million Apartment Sells In the UK. icon1 Posted by admin on Apr 19, 2011 in Finance | 0 comments. 1 Million Apartment Sells In the UK A 1 million apartment has sold in the UK, reportedly the highest price that’s ever been paid for … Here's What a $221 Million Apartment Looks Like ! | Fun And Cool The most expensive apartment in the United Kingdom sold for £135.4 million, or about 1 million, according to documents at the national Land Registry.The deal. $221 Million Apartment | United States Online News – Online USA … Million Apartment | United States Online News, $221 Million Apartment , A and million apartment was sold in London by the unique address of One Hyde Park, Forbes reports. The three-story pthouse was sold to an anonymous buyer, … Man Buys $221 Million Apartment « Not Intent on Arriving Man Buys $221 Million Apartment . 19 Apr. Hope it has a good view. An anonymous Ukrainian man purchased “Flat A” at One Hyde Park for $221 million in 2007 in cash. The man will likely spent 60 million additional pounds (or $98 million) … $221 Million Apartment | USA Breaking News Million Apartment , A and million apartment was sold in London by the unique address of One Hyde Park, Forbes reports. The three-story pthouse was sold to an anonymous buyer, and is considered the most expensive sale of an apartment.
Continue reading …Angry Daily Mail readers should not define criminal justice policy. Further punishment for already abused troubled youngsters will only lead to more problems, says Mark Johnson Last week, this newspaper profiled the new head of the London probation service, Heather Munro . She expressed a new approach to managing offenders. It can be summarised in one word: respect. Over a lifetime of probation work, Munro has come to believe that listening to offenders when they express needs and treating them with the same respect businesses show their customers can help to change behaviour and reduce reoffending. The Daily Mail was not impressed and neither were its readers. Online, there were many calls for Munro’s immediate sacking and insults were hurled. Offenders were “little bastards” who need much tougher treatment, not this politically-correct nonsense. Those readers think they want punishment, but in fact they are baying for vengeance. Frontline workers such as Munro and Metropolitan police officers, who are trying a talking approach with gangs, recognise that the UK’s criminal justice system should not be built on vengeance. But look out of the window and you will see another line of lads in humiliating jackets, sent out in the name of community payback. This might make the public feel good, but it does nothing to cut crime because it isn’t about helping bad boys address their behaviour and change: it’s simply a piece of theatre to satisfy the audience’s desire for vengeance. The public is appeased but short-changed all through the system. Funding for the high security estate has hardly been trimmed, so prisoners are inside for life on expensive violence reduction programmes, while interventions that might help younger offenders are slashed. Offenders whose crimes are the result of drugs, alcohol or mental health problems still remain untreated. And where there are programmes, these are too often run by the cheapest bidder and too often staffed by volunteers instead of the paid professional therapists who can help bring about change. The public’s desire for vengeance comes as no surprise to offenders. It simply reflects back at them their own behaviour. Many have wrestled with punishment, shame and consequent rage since birth. People from loveless, punishing backgrounds are without self-esteem. They do not have the capacity to love others because they cannot risk rejection without the protection of self-esteem. Inside a loveless void it is possible to commit crimes against others. It is, after all, easier to define yourself as a bad boy than a needy boy. Munro has recognised that current services do not meet needs. Too many providers are distanced by their own professionalism. The media-appeasing programmes they offer are defined by cost-cutting and streamlined business practice, not by recognising what can bring about change. One childhood experience that we know leads to later criminal activity is abuse – physical, emotional or sexual. But we do little about it, even for those on the at-risk list. If we want to cut crime then vengeance, disguised as public protection, can no longer remain the cornerstone of the criminal justice system. We should stop reinforcing the loveless, disrespectful world offenders know so well and instead subject them to the tough love that has been denied them at home. We need individual, person-centred programmes to help them change because change is possible in anyone who has the capacity to be honest. Second, if we want to help victims, we should start by helping the child victims who will grow up enraged, seeking vengeance through crime. If we looked behind more closed doors we would find many children who are frightened, abused and neglected. They are tomorrow’s offenders and we must intervene effectively today, training parents and setting up alternative healthy attachments for damaged young people. Our attitude to the most vulnerable shows how civilised we are. Angry Mail readers should not define policy. A punishing childhood is the bedrock of crime and if our response is based on more vengeance and punishment there can be no solutions. Just more problems. • Mark Johnson, a rehabilitated offender and former drug user, is an author and the founder of the charity User Voice. Prisons and probation Youth justice Young people UK criminal justice Mark Johnson guardian.co.uk
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David Cameron, who has created more peers more quickly than any postwar PM, told increase threatens upper chamber’s ability to do job David Cameron has been told he could “unwittingly destroy” the House of Lords because the rate of new peers appointed to the upper chamber is threatening its ability to do its job, a report has warned . The warning on the volume of House of Lords appointments and their impact on a functional parliament has been raised by the independent Constitution Unit at University College London. The unit’s report, entitled House Full, reports “huge concern” among peers. Cameron has created more peers more quickly since becoming prime minister than any of his postwar predecessors, having ennobled 117 people in less than a year. The Lords now has 792 members who are entitled to attend and vote. Written with the support of 18 senior parliamentarians and independent experts, the report said the arrival of so many new peers in such a short space of time has had a “negative impact” on the culture of the upper chamber which, in the past, has seen new members added more gradually. It warned that the Lords is now overcrowded, with members competing for seats in the chamber and office space outside, creating a “fractious” atmosphere because many peers feel frustrated at their inability to take part in debates. The report said the rapid influx of new peers – which includes many former MPs – has had a negative impact on the Lords’ non-partisan ethos and courteous atmosphere. It warned that any further increase “risks the House being unable to do its job” and called for an “immediate moratorium” on appointments, to be lifted only when the figure drops below a suggested cap of 750. It noted that, although a draft Lords reform bill is expected shortly after 5 May, it will be four years before reform happens if the legislation makes its way through parliament. The report also called for peers to be allowed to retire and for future appointments to be put on a “more transparent and sustainable basis”, with the independent House of Lords Appointments Commission determining how many vacancies exists. The report is endorsed by the former cabinet secretary Lord Butler, the former Speaker Baroness Boothroyd, the convenor of the independent crossbenchers, Baroness De Souza, the former Labour leader of the Lords Baroness Jay, the former Tory Cabinet ministers Lord Forsyth and Lord Mackay of Clashfern, the former Labour cabinet minister Lord Adonis, the former Liberal leader Lord Steel of Aikwood and the former Master of the Rolls Lord Woolf. The Constitution Unit deputy director, Meg Russell, said: “It is unusual for a group of such senior figures to come together on a cross-party basis to call for change, but there is huge concern in the House of Lords about this issue. “The fear is that David Cameron may unwittingly destroy the Lords through this volume of appointments. “We await Lords reform, but in the meantime we must maintain a functional parliament. The risk is that reform fails – as it often has before – but that, meanwhile, the Lords has become bloated and dysfunctional”. House of Lords David Cameron Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk
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NASA’s next-to-last space shuttle flight is set to begin late next week, and special preparations are under way in case the commander’s wife, wounded US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, is able to attend. (April 20)
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