A Short History of DNA

an from the files of the City Journal

"A major reason DNA fingerprinting remains stalled in the U.S. is the opposition of civil libertarians. They claim that collecting DNA data is "Orwellian," or—mixing dystopias—that it heralds a nightmarish "Brave New World," as ACLU associate director Barry Steinhardt ominously puts it. When Maryland law enforcement officials proposed taking genetic profiles of all the state's violent felons, an ACLU rep warned, "I don't think anyone should ever be comfortable that the government is collecting a database of personal information." The ACLU has launched court challenges to DNA data banks in California, Massachusetts, and other states. The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to address the constitutionality of DNA data banks."

(...this is an excellent intro to the dna issue that we're discussion...jim)

House Republican Caucus

House Republican Caucus

"Maitland’s bill would expand the list of offenses for which DNA samples would be taken to include all felonies under Pennsylvania law. In addition to requiring that samples be taken upon a felony conviction, Maitland’s bill would also include all individuals convicted of a felony who are serving prison terms when the law goes into effect, even if they were convicted before the effective date of the new law."

this relates to a discussion that is happening at the Prison Talk Online site.

What Hollywood Actors Say in Japanese

Japanese Phrases of the Day

Ogori da. (The drinks are on the house.) - Cocktail
"Ogori" means, "a treat". This phrase can be used for personal treat as well. This is also a male speech. Women would say "Ogori yo". The verb form is "ogoru".

Hazukashikunai no. (Shame on you!) - Edward Scissorhands
"Hazukashikunai" is negative form of the adjective "hazukashii (shameful, to be embarrassed)". "No" is a sentence particle used by female speaker or a child to indicate an explanation or emotive emphasis.

(..this is as close as i'll come to actually pursuing my studies in spoken Japanese language...jim)

CAPTOLOGY

"Like human persuaders, persuasive interactive technologies can bring about positive changes in many domains, including health, business, safety, and education. With such ends in mind, we are creating a body of expertise in the design, theory, and analysis of persuasive technologies, an area called "captology."

(...This is some very smooth and sexy stuff...jim)

low carb bread and sparkling water, bitte!

Ananova:

Drug addict gets free gym pass
Probation chiefs have come under fire for reportedly giving a drug addict free membership of a top-notch gym that normally costs £50 a month.
09:35 Saturday 12th June 2004

(...i'm sorry, which party was under the influence? jim)

mr. push vs ms. shove: the saga continues

Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania will get up to 10 percent less in federal funds, according to an analysis by the Center on Education Policy, an independent education advocacy organization in Washington, D.C.

just read in Stateline.org

Jennings said. “By asking for more from all while giving less to most, the federal government is undermining support for the law and challenging the ability of states and districts to comply with the law’s demand for improved performance.”

any questions?

prison talk

Re-entry: Giving ex-offenders a fighting chance
By JULIE DelCOUR Editorial Writer
6/13/2004


Most help-wanted ads aren't written with the former burglar, car thief, embezzler or drug dealer in mind.
They're not aimed at hiring anybody who's commited violent crimes -- acts bad enough to get offenders locked up for years but not bad enough to keep them in prison. permanently

From
PrisonTalk Online
(..please spend some time browsing through this site. i can assure you that much of what we intend or pretend to be as a society is revealed in the letters of those people you'll find in these pages. all the pathos and heart wrenching drama that we seek in our vicarious pleasures is being lived by the people you'll find here. real voices, real tragedy and really our responsibility...jim)

see the worlds' 1st digital newscaster

ANANOVA
(...i've been diggin' on this lady for some time now. i know it's wrong but she just looks so right...jim)

do we get fries in this 'Burgher?

i've been listening to Mark for several months and his site helps to put some of our local issues into focus. my organization, Bidwell Training Center, is going to position itself into the current crisis in the public school arena either with a clear strategy or by default(there are few options for students to gain low/no-cost vocational training.)

read his latest missive

who you callin' a stud?

Are You Cultured?
Global Web design and the dimensions of culture
by Aaron Marcus
New Architect
March 2003

When a company decides to globalize its site, the Web team often learns the taboo colors and appropriate dress codes of a given culture, translates the text, and launches. But cultural differences run deeper than visual appearance or language; they reflect strong values. Rarely do globalized sites incorporate the nuances of a culture's social hierarchy, individualism, gender roles, time-orientation, or truth-seeking attributes.

quien mas macho?

see which cultures are considered uber-masculine
(...i would have considered the united states to be more masculine oriented than our asian island friends. and the arabic countries seem to be portrayed as totally male-dominated...jim

Foreground vs Background Emphasis

"Gangster rappers are not what they seem. They do not represent "black culture" any more than the Mafia represents Italian-Americans."

For Young Black Men, Rap's Lure is False
by Stanley Crouch


(...the problem being one of visible alternatives to the life-styles of the 'krunked and famous'. if we are not providing realistic options to the seductive images, words and advocations that are being forgrounded in the multi-media environment...)

yo magazine

yadit magazine

stealth magazine

rapsheet magazine

the source magazine

WAKE UP!

JAPANESE LANGUAGE
Phrase of the Day

Me ga sameru. Wake up.

me =eye; sameru =to wake up, to awake

how to read in college

"The first thing you should know about reading in college is that it bears little or no resemblance to the sort of reading you do for pleasure, or for your own edification."

Staying Afloat: Some Scattered Suggestions on Reading in College
by timothy burke,swarthmore college

(...why do people hightlight the hell out of their text-books. i find i know less about the material when i paint transparent marker all over the page. to retain any text material i literally have to transcribe the info into a notebook and then condense those notes into conceptual paraphrase. of course, i'm left-handed in the brain...jim)

jenpalmer71
he's halfway home :)

Need advice :(

I hope a few of you can offer me a little advice. First of all, my boyfriend Derek was in for a violent crime that he committed when he was 17. He was tried as an adult and he served four years. He just got released to a halfway house 3 weeks ago. I only knew him for a few months before he went away and since we are from different states, no one in my family has ever met him, except my mom and she loves him. My family always knew about him but I never quite told them what he did...I wanted them to meet him first so they wouldn't judge him too harshly. Well, my sister (who knew what he was in for) decided to tell my whole family on Memorial Day and they are SO MAD AT ME. My aunt was crying telling me that I'm ruining my life and that he'll hurt me. I know that he never would and it doesn't scare me at all. I have a 7 year old daughter and I would never put her in harms way. I just rented a house in PA so he can get out of the halfway house and we have somewhere to be together. Half of my family says that they won't talk to me anymore if I go through with it. I love this guy to death and we're going to be together regardless but what I want to know is this....am I wrong? Should I put my family or my heart first? Derek told me that if he's going to come in between me and my family then he'll walk away from me because he can't stand to see that happen. Any advice would be greatly appreciated......

(...what advice would you give to jenpalmer71...)

Communications

In my thirty plus years of teaching both high school students and adults in a non-profit setting, I have stressed communications.
Apparently it doesn't matter how much education you have or how much money you make. We have a failure to communicate. The following survey was done by Bates Communications.
* Only one-half of those surveyed said they admire their boss's public speaking skills.
* Forty-nine percent say their boss is average or weak when communicating at a human level.
* Only 50 percent said their boss listens well to comments and suggestions.

tiny fish/big ocean

Your success is determined by the decisions you make, your reaction to adversity and what consumes your thoughts.
Do you know what keeps you from enjoying success in your job or personal relationships?
Are you unsatisfied with the direction of your life?
Want a meaningful next job?

(..i always see stuff like this and i wonder where did i go wrong in life and marvel at the people who know all the right strategies and who keep moving up the chain of success. now i'm depressed. i'm going to eat a box of chocolates...)
.....try WORKPLACE BLUES

Mr. Jim,

After meeting with the Job Fair Committee this morning, we decided that to cancel the Beaver County Employment and Community Resource Fair this Thursday due to a lack of employer participation. I am sorry if this causes any inconveniences for you.

In response to the unwillingness of local employers to participate in the fair, we feel that a better, more productive route to take is that of producing a catalog of employers and human service agencies who help ex-offenders. This catalog will be given to the inmates upon their release. Could we add Bidwell's name to this list? Let me know your thoughts on this, and please respond and let me know that you received the notice of the cancellation. Thank you.

David
Aliquippa Alliance for Unity and Development

REPLY:

Mr.David:

Thanks for the notice. I appreciate your frustration. I’m currently working with a group of people who are attempting to bring aid and assistance to those of us who are in prison. The general public is less than enthusiastic in response to post-incarceration issues. But as the tidal wave of people from the ‘war on drugs/crime’ hits our communities we are going to regret not spending the time and money on transition programs and job re-training for the (hundred-thousand +) men and women currently in PA county, state and federal correction facilities. Feel free to add Bidwell Training Center to your catalogue also consider opening a dialogue: www.prisontalk.com

Please consider posting to a web log that we're working on http://www.plan2planet.blogspot.com/

jim

saddle-sore in asheville

this post comes to us from Miss K. our Asheville NC member. hopefully we can get a caravan of riders to bike from Pgh to Asheville.

http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/news/55355

Maybe you, your wife, or some members Team Bidwell members might be interested in the protest. We have guest accommodations ready. It should be a great weekend.

Politics at Pa. churches now routine
The Bush campaign's e-mails seeking volunteers from state congregations drew criticism, but such efforts are not new.
By Carrie Budoff, Jim Remsen and Thomas Fitzgerald

Inquirer Staff Writers

WELCOME HOME: THE PROPOSED PRISON RE-ENTRY PROGRAM

 

"President Bush's $300 million proposal to help ex-offenders reconnect with society has shut up his regular critics who say it is an effort long overdue."

 

(...Last year, the DOJ split $104 million between 49 states to provide for re-entry programs, but there were very few community programs eligible to receive the proceeds of these grants...)

 

WEATHER OR NOT

(...get it while it's hot...)

 

NEIGHBOR, CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?

Here are the five communities in Allegheny County, other than Pittsburgh, with the biggest deficits in 2002:

Shaler: $3.7 million

Wilkinsburg: $4 million

McKeesport: $6.7 million

Ross: $7.4 million

Mount Lebanon: $9.6 million

 

(...misery doth love company...)

 

JUNE CALENDAR OF EVENTS

 

(...find out what you're going to be missing...)

 

 

THE PEOPLE'S DAILY ONLINE COMMUNITY

 

(...one billion people can't be wrong...)

 

Black Job Loss Déjà Vu
Betsy Leondar-Wright, Dollars and Sense
Think the typical job-loser in today's economy is a white guy whose computer-programming job has been outsourced to India? Think again.

(...last hired?...)

 

From Russia with Love

Pravda is the Russian word for ....?