Two armed men robbed an Aurora credit union Wednesday.The robbery happened about noon at the Bellco Credit Union, 14302 E.
Reported by Denver Post 2 days ago.
Armed robbers hit Aurora credit union
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3,500 Potential Witnesses in Aurora Shooting Trial
Nearly one year ago, James Holmes entered a Century movie theater in Aurora, Colorado with tear gas and guns, killing 12 people and injuring over 60 others. The shooting took place during an opening weekend showing of The Dark Knight …
Reported by WebProNews 2 days ago.
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Oregon Medical Marijuana, Pain Management, At The Aurora Clinic
The Aurora Clinic http://theauroraclinic.com is pleased to announce the launch of their medical marijuana evaluation program.
(PRWEB) May 16, 2013
The Aurora Clinic is pleased to announce the launch of their medical marijuana evaluation program. With clinical experience in the field of medical marijuana reaching back to 2004, The Aurora Marijuana Clinic one of Oregon and Washington’s top providers of medical marijuana evaluations.
The Aurora Clinic’s mission is to help patients minimize their dependence on prescription narcotics and to live healthy, productive lives, free from pain.
The Aurora Clinic does that by identifying individuals who could benefit from medical marijuana and providing the physical exam needed to make legal use of it for medicinal purposes. The Aurora Clinic is committed to the highest legal and ethical standards and operates in full compliance with state and federal law.
The Aurora Clinic has earned a reputation for efficient, skillful, professional service. What does that mean? It means The Aurora Clinic’s patients will also have their phone calls returned promptly. Patient’s medical records are kept safe and secure in compliance with the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Patients can expect their visit to last no longer than one hour, with all the patient’s paperwork ready to turn into the state and with all their questions answered.
QUALIFYING MEDICAL CONDITIONS
“The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illnesses as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS — or by the harsh drugs sometimes used to treat them. And it can do so with remarkable safety. Indeed, marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe every day.”
—Joycelyn Elders, M.D., former Surgeon General under President Clinton
Medicinal hemp can be used to address a variety of symptoms associated with migraine headaches, fibromyalgia, degenerative joint or disk disease, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, osteoarthritis, chronic pain syndrome, multiple sclerosis and many other illnesses.
According to Oregon state law, these symptoms include:
Severe pain
Seizure
Nausea
Cachaxia (severe weight loss despite eating a healthy diet)
Muscle spasms
In addition, OMMP certification is legally available to anyone with:
Cancer
Glaucoma
HIV/AIDS
Alzheimers
Traditional pain management programs often involve medication that is addictive or that demands a higher dose as tolerance increases. There can also be unpleasant side effects, such as nausea and constipation. It doesn’t have to be that way. The way that The Aurora Clinic see it, marijuana can help a patient avoid all of that, serving as a gateway—off of harmful narcotics and into a healthier, more productive life.
In addition to being a healthy part of a pain management program, marijuana can provide relief from nausea, irritable bowel and a host of other ailments.
The Aurora Clinic can be reached at (503) 232-3003 or by visiting there site at http://theauroraclinic.com Reported by PRWeb 1 day ago.
(PRWEB) May 16, 2013
The Aurora Clinic is pleased to announce the launch of their medical marijuana evaluation program. With clinical experience in the field of medical marijuana reaching back to 2004, The Aurora Marijuana Clinic one of Oregon and Washington’s top providers of medical marijuana evaluations.
The Aurora Clinic’s mission is to help patients minimize their dependence on prescription narcotics and to live healthy, productive lives, free from pain.
The Aurora Clinic does that by identifying individuals who could benefit from medical marijuana and providing the physical exam needed to make legal use of it for medicinal purposes. The Aurora Clinic is committed to the highest legal and ethical standards and operates in full compliance with state and federal law.
The Aurora Clinic has earned a reputation for efficient, skillful, professional service. What does that mean? It means The Aurora Clinic’s patients will also have their phone calls returned promptly. Patient’s medical records are kept safe and secure in compliance with the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Patients can expect their visit to last no longer than one hour, with all the patient’s paperwork ready to turn into the state and with all their questions answered.
QUALIFYING MEDICAL CONDITIONS
“The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illnesses as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS — or by the harsh drugs sometimes used to treat them. And it can do so with remarkable safety. Indeed, marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe every day.”
—Joycelyn Elders, M.D., former Surgeon General under President Clinton
Medicinal hemp can be used to address a variety of symptoms associated with migraine headaches, fibromyalgia, degenerative joint or disk disease, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, osteoarthritis, chronic pain syndrome, multiple sclerosis and many other illnesses.
According to Oregon state law, these symptoms include:
Severe pain
Seizure
Nausea
Cachaxia (severe weight loss despite eating a healthy diet)
Muscle spasms
In addition, OMMP certification is legally available to anyone with:
Cancer
Glaucoma
HIV/AIDS
Alzheimers
Traditional pain management programs often involve medication that is addictive or that demands a higher dose as tolerance increases. There can also be unpleasant side effects, such as nausea and constipation. It doesn’t have to be that way. The way that The Aurora Clinic see it, marijuana can help a patient avoid all of that, serving as a gateway—off of harmful narcotics and into a healthier, more productive life.
In addition to being a healthy part of a pain management program, marijuana can provide relief from nausea, irritable bowel and a host of other ailments.
The Aurora Clinic can be reached at (503) 232-3003 or by visiting there site at http://theauroraclinic.com Reported by PRWeb 1 day ago.
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Five Charged with Mob Action in Property Damage Incident: Police
Patch Oswego, IL --*Tuesday, May 14*
*Burglary*
Oswego police are investigating a reported burglary that occurred at 11:50 p.m. in the 5000 block of Route 71. Cash and other monetary items were reported taken.
*DUI*
Joan E. Andersen, 74, of the 300 block of Canterbury Court, Oswego, was arrested at 5:49 p.m. at Route 30 and Douglas and charged with driving under the influence and cited for improper lane usage, said Oswego police.
*Counterfeit bill*
Oswego police are investigating the use of a counterfeit $10 bill that occurred between 7 a.m. and 12 p.m. on May 13 in the 2300 block of Route 34.
*Monday, May 13*
*Deceptive practice*
Oswego police are investigating a reported deceptive practice that occurred on October 21, 2012 at Rand’s Hallmark. Merchandise for $111.09 was purchased with a bad check.
*Stolen identity*
Oswego police took a report of a stolen identity in which several fraudulent accounts were opened on April 28 using the victim’s information without permission.
*Unlawful use of credit card*
Oswego police took a report for the unlawful use of a credit card in which the victim had $3,200 charged to their account from an online store.
*Sunday, May 12*
*Warrant*
Amonte G. Smith, 20, of the 0-99 block of Birchwood Court, Montgomery, was arrested at 11:24 a.m. at Douglas Road and Townes Crossing and charged with a failure to appear warrant out of LaSalle County for retail theft, said Oswego police. He was also cited for a seatbelt violation.
*Retail theft*
Oswego police are investigating a reported retail theft that occurred at 2:10 a.m. at Merchants Drive and Fernwood.
*No valid driver’s license*
Silvester J. Richard, 42, of the 600 block of Fernwood, Bolingbrook, was arrested at 1:15 a.m. at Route 30 and Proclamation and charged for driving without a valid license, said Oswego police.
*Criminal damage to property*
Oswego police are investigating a reported criminal damage to property that occurred between May 11 and May 12 at South Adams and Van Buren. Spray paint was found on a building.
*Saturday, May 11*
*Mob action, criminal damage to property*
Christopher L. Mixon, 19, of the 2800 block of Rhodes, Northlake; Xavier T. Eiland, 26, of the 2800 block of Vernal Lane, Napervile; and three juveniles – ages 16, 17 and 17, were arrested at 1:25 a.m. at Devoe Drive and Wolf’s Crossing, said Oswego police. Mixon and Eiland were both charged with mob action as a misdemeanor Class C. All three juveniles were charged with with mob action and criminal damage to property. The 16-year-old was additionally charged with obstructing identification. A residence’s door was reported dented and two windows broken.
*Warrant*
Kevin S. Snow, 41, of the 100 block of Buckingham Court, Oswego, was arrested at 845 a.m. at his residence and charged with two warrants, said Oswego police.
*No valid driver’s license*
Eduardo Solorio, 45, of the 500 block of South State Street, Aurora, was arrested at 9:20 p.m. at Route 30 and Fifth Street and charged for driving without a valid license, said Oswego police. He was also cited for talking on a cellphone in a construction zone and having no insurance.
*Friday, May 10*
*Warrant*
Dashawn N. Benton, 30, of the 2000 block of Fox Point Drive, Aurora, was arrested at 1:30 p.m. at his residence and charged with a failure to appear warrant, said Oswego police.
*No valid driver’s license*
Amado Esquivel-Contreres, 47, of the 100 block of North Chicago Street, Joliet, was arrested at 10:10 a.m. at Treasure Drive and Harvey and charged for driving without a valid license, said Oswego police. He was also cited for speeding.
*Possession of drug paraphernalia*
Michael A. Rodriguez, 40, of the 600 block of Palace Street, Aurora, was arrested and charged with the possession of drug paraphernalia, said Oswego police.
*Thursday, May 9*
*Hit and run*
Oswego police took a report for a hit and run that occurred at 4:40 p.m. at Douglas and Route 34. A legally parked vehicle was hit by an unknown vehicle, resulting in $300 plus of damages.
*Vehicle stolen*
Oswego police are investigating the theft of a vehicle that occurred at 7:07p.m. at the Murphy USA gas station, 2350 Route 34. A 1996 silver Ford Taurus was reported stolen.
*Telephone harassment*
Oswego police are investigating a reported telephone harassment that occurred on April 21 in the 5600 block of Route 34.
*Theft*
Oswego police took a report for a reported theft that occurred at an unknown time at the Oswego Meijer, 2700 block of Route 34. An unknown subject(s) stole approximately $130 from a coin-operated machine inside the store.
*Possession of cannabis *
Valentin R. Portida, 23, of the 400 block of Raintree Drive, Oswego, was arrested at 12:55 a.m. at Douglas and Pearces Ford and charged with the possession of cannabis, said Oswego police. Reported by Patch 18 hours ago.
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Judith Ann Detzler, 73, Worked at Boulder Hill Elementary
Patch Oswego, IL --Judith Ann Detzler, 73 years, of Oswego, IL died Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora, IL after a valiant battle against pulmonary arterial hypertension. Judy was born September 9, 1939 in Aurora, IL the daughter of the later Oscar Charles and Nellie Grace nee Ferris Weiss.
Judy was a life member of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Lorraine Chapter #70 Order of the Eastern Star and Oswego American Legion Post #675 Auxillary in Oswego, IL. She attended and graduated from the Oswego Community Schools and went on to work many years in the cafeteria of the Boulder Hill Elementary School.
Judy is survived by her husband James K “Jim” Detzler, a son Donald (Lynn) Detzler of Oswego, IL, four grandchildren, Gracie Detzler of Oswego, IL, Elizabeth and Patrick Detzler of Aurora, IL, Derek Detzler serving with the USMC in MD, a brother Michael (Karen) Weiss of Brandon, FL, a daughter-in-law Wanda Detzler of Aurora, IL, a sister-in-law Judith Maureen Detzler, also several nieces, nephews and longtime good friend Mary Curley of Montgomery, IL. She was preceded in death by her son William Detzler.
Visitation will be on Friday, May 17, 2013 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the Dunn Family Funeral Home with Crematory, 1801 Douglas Road Oswego, IL. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 11:00 AM at the funeral home. Burial will take place at the Oswego Cemetery.
Memorials may be directed to Pulmonary Hypertension Program C/O University of Chicago 5841 S. Maryland Ave. MC5403 Chicago, IL 60637.
For additional information 630/554-3888.
*Obituary provided by the Dunn Family Funeral Home with Crematory * Reported by Patch 18 hours ago.
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Aurora Theater Shooting Prompts New Mental Health Law
DENVER -- Days after a gunman entered a suburban Denver movie theater, killing 12 moviegoers and injuring 70 others, Gov. John Hickenlooper and Colorado health officials began talking about revamping a state mental health system that had been devastated by budget cuts.
On Thursday, the Democratic governor signed into law an expansion of mental health services in response to July's Aurora shootings. By early next year, the state plans to establish walk-in crisis centers around Colorado, a 24-hour mental health hotline, and mobile units to travel to rural areas where access to mental health services is limited.
Lawmakers budgeted nearly $20 million for the expansion, which includes more short-term residential services.
Thursday's law was largely inspired by the case of James Holmes, who is charged in the Aurora shootings.
Holmes' lawyers say he is mentally ill, and he's entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.
Holmes had been seeing a psychiatrist at the University of Colorado, where he was a graduate student, before the shooting.
That psychiatrist, Dr. Lynne Fenton, told a campus police officer before the July 20 shootings that Holmes had threatened and intimidated her about a month before. He was not placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold.
Hickenlooper announced the mental health initiatives in December, just days after the mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school. He acknowledged at the time that there would never be "fail-safe system" to prevent violence. But he said expanding services would be a wise investment, noting, "The common element of so many of these mass homicides seems to be a level of mental illness."
Colorado lawmakers also responded to the theater shootings by passing limits on ammunition magazines and broadening background checks to include online and private firearm purchases.
The National Rifle Association opposed those measures. The head of the NRA, David Keene, told The Associated Press around the time the bills were introduced that lawmakers were focusing too much on banning certain guns instead of fixing what he called a "devastatingly broken mental health system in this country."
Arvada Democratic Rep. Tracy Kraft-Tharp, a sponsor of the bill to increase mental health services, said the mass shootings made the issue a priority after years of budget cuts since the 2002 recession.
"The mental health system received some drastic cuts and we haven't been able to recover," she said.
Currently, some people seeking help go to hospital emergency rooms, where they sometimes can wait for hours. Or they go to the state's mental hospitals in Pueblo and Fort Logan, where the number of beds has decreased, Kraft-Tharp said.
In the past five years alone, the state hospitals lost about 110 beds, and several private hospitals have closed their mental health inpatient units or reduced capacity, according to the Colorado Department of Human Services.
Reggie Bicha, the executive director of the department, said law enforcement officers are often the ones who come across people suffering from mental health problems. Bicha said officers have few choices in offering help: They can take them to a relative's home, to jail, or the emergency room.
"All three of those are not the right options for folks in crisis," Bicha said.
Kraft-Tharp said she hopes the new law will "be a relief for all of our systems that are currently providing emergency care."
Also Thursday, Hickenlooper signed a bill to study how to consolidate Colorado laws for placing someone in involuntary commitment – an element that what was part of his call to expand mental health services. Lawmakers say the goal is to eliminate confusion and make it easier for judges to understand the basis for emergency holds.
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Find Ivan Moreno on Twitter: http://twitter.com/IvanJourno Reported by Huffington Post 14 hours ago.
On Thursday, the Democratic governor signed into law an expansion of mental health services in response to July's Aurora shootings. By early next year, the state plans to establish walk-in crisis centers around Colorado, a 24-hour mental health hotline, and mobile units to travel to rural areas where access to mental health services is limited.
Lawmakers budgeted nearly $20 million for the expansion, which includes more short-term residential services.
Thursday's law was largely inspired by the case of James Holmes, who is charged in the Aurora shootings.
Holmes' lawyers say he is mentally ill, and he's entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.
Holmes had been seeing a psychiatrist at the University of Colorado, where he was a graduate student, before the shooting.
That psychiatrist, Dr. Lynne Fenton, told a campus police officer before the July 20 shootings that Holmes had threatened and intimidated her about a month before. He was not placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold.
Hickenlooper announced the mental health initiatives in December, just days after the mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school. He acknowledged at the time that there would never be "fail-safe system" to prevent violence. But he said expanding services would be a wise investment, noting, "The common element of so many of these mass homicides seems to be a level of mental illness."
Colorado lawmakers also responded to the theater shootings by passing limits on ammunition magazines and broadening background checks to include online and private firearm purchases.
The National Rifle Association opposed those measures. The head of the NRA, David Keene, told The Associated Press around the time the bills were introduced that lawmakers were focusing too much on banning certain guns instead of fixing what he called a "devastatingly broken mental health system in this country."
Arvada Democratic Rep. Tracy Kraft-Tharp, a sponsor of the bill to increase mental health services, said the mass shootings made the issue a priority after years of budget cuts since the 2002 recession.
"The mental health system received some drastic cuts and we haven't been able to recover," she said.
Currently, some people seeking help go to hospital emergency rooms, where they sometimes can wait for hours. Or they go to the state's mental hospitals in Pueblo and Fort Logan, where the number of beds has decreased, Kraft-Tharp said.
In the past five years alone, the state hospitals lost about 110 beds, and several private hospitals have closed their mental health inpatient units or reduced capacity, according to the Colorado Department of Human Services.
Reggie Bicha, the executive director of the department, said law enforcement officers are often the ones who come across people suffering from mental health problems. Bicha said officers have few choices in offering help: They can take them to a relative's home, to jail, or the emergency room.
"All three of those are not the right options for folks in crisis," Bicha said.
Kraft-Tharp said she hopes the new law will "be a relief for all of our systems that are currently providing emergency care."
Also Thursday, Hickenlooper signed a bill to study how to consolidate Colorado laws for placing someone in involuntary commitment – an element that what was part of his call to expand mental health services. Lawmakers say the goal is to eliminate confusion and make it easier for judges to understand the basis for emergency holds.
___
Find Ivan Moreno on Twitter: http://twitter.com/IvanJourno Reported by Huffington Post 14 hours ago.
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Mozilla postpones default blocking of third-party cookies in Firefox
Mozilla has postponed blocking third-party cookies by default in the Beta version of Firefox 22, "to collect and analyze data on the effect of blocking some third-party cookies."
The nonprofit organization is, however, not softening its stand on protecting privacy and putting users first, Brendan Eich, Mozilla's CTO and senior vice president of engineering, wrote in a blog post Thursday.
Mozilla has been testing a patch from Jonathan Mayer, a graduate student at Stanford University in computer science and law and online privacy activist, which like Apple's Safari browser allows cookies from websites already visited, but blocks cookies from sites not visited yet.
A pre-build version of the browser, called Firefox Aurora, was released on April 5, and included the patch to only allow cookies from sites visited. Aurora is a preliminary stage in the development cycle before Beta and Release of a version of Firefox.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here Reported by PC World 5 hours ago.
The nonprofit organization is, however, not softening its stand on protecting privacy and putting users first, Brendan Eich, Mozilla's CTO and senior vice president of engineering, wrote in a blog post Thursday.
Mozilla has been testing a patch from Jonathan Mayer, a graduate student at Stanford University in computer science and law and online privacy activist, which like Apple's Safari browser allows cookies from websites already visited, but blocks cookies from sites not visited yet.
A pre-build version of the browser, called Firefox Aurora, was released on April 5, and included the patch to only allow cookies from sites visited. Aurora is a preliminary stage in the development cycle before Beta and Release of a version of Firefox.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here Reported by PC World 5 hours ago.
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Fresh Healthy Vending Announces Federal Guidelines for Healthy Vending in Chicago Creating Opportunity
Local franchise business grows as demand increases.
(PRWEB) May 17, 2013
John Roskamp believes his business is good for the people of his community. He sees a growing interest in vending machines offering healthy, nutritious choices. “I feel like I’m doing the community a service and I feel good about doing it. I sleep well at night,” he said.
Roskamp began his career as an International Manufacturer’s Representative which kept him in the field for many years, living and working in Brazil and throughout South America. Ten years ago, after moving his family back to the U.S. and while continuing his career in sales, he began to look for additional opportunities of owning a side business. “I was motivated, looking for the cash flow and was attracted by the healthy aspect of this business,” said Roskamp. The machines offered by Fresh Healthy Vending are stocked with all-natural, organic and preservative-free snacks and beverages, by offering these nutritious selections it makes healthier choices easy. “We’re located in schools, sports facilities and businesses in the area west of Chicago. We started off with five machines, then went to eight and now we’re at 13. We mainly serve the western suburbs of Chicago, with just a few machines in Cook County. We’re in Burlington, Maple Park, Aurora, Naperville, Carol Stream, Forest Park, Addison, and West Chicago."
One of the attractions to Fresh Healthy vending was “the fact that Fresh Healthy Vending provides the locations for the machines, plus we’ve found a few locations ourselves." The Location Category Specialists from the Fresh Healthy Vending team work with proprietary techniques to secure and set up the best, most profitable locations for the machines. The machines are equipped with built-in modems for remote, real time monitoring, so franchisees know when to visit the location, which products require refill, and if any service is required for the machine.
Recently in April 2013, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel laid out new requirements for healthy vending in Chicago city offices, parks and schools. The initiative calls for healthier options, as well as encourages City employees and the general public to take individual responsibility for their health. The Park and Recrations system hired Wellness Managers and Registered Dieticians to oversee the sugar, fat and calorie restrictions on vending products available at park facilities.
Chicago's Blueprint for Healthier Vending in place. It’s available online.
Other forward-thinking cities throughout the nation have already developed guidelines for healthy vending machine foods. In the Seattle, the public health offices of King County created the Healthy Vending Tool kit, which includes guidelines to prepare and launch a healthy vending machine initiative. The Tool kit can be downloaded as a pdf.
The federal guidelines for vending nutrition are set to go into effect in 2014.
“In this area, Chicago’s guidelines have not been a factor,” Roskamp stated. “Although, a number of our schools have chosen to ‘self-regulate’ the nutritional choices available from their machines. They’ve set up their own rules and are conscientious about what they offer.” Many of the items offered include products made without nuts or gluten-free choices.
Roskamp’s sales have increased over the past year, “The customers genuinely like the snacks not only because they are healthier, but because they taste good as well,” he said. A Fresh Healthy Vending business is a cause that goes beyond financial benefit, it’s a socially-responsible vending program. The fight against obesity in this country is being won by bringing healthy food to communities and providing a beneficial impact while working for the greater good.
Fresh Healthy Vending has proven success at creating profitable vending businesses for franchisees, with multiple vending machine offerings such as the Fresh Healthy Vending Café, the only vending machine of its kind. This unique technlogy dispenses fresh-ground, gourmet, organic coffee drinks such as cappuccino, latte, espresso and chai tea together with the signature healthy snack options.
The Fresh Healthy Vending machines in West Chicago are just a few of the thousands of vending locations throughout the country offering healthy snack food and beverage choices. Keeping minds and bodies in better shape are part of the directives for Fresh Healthy Vending, the first and largest franchisor of healthy vending machines. Their mission is to help Americans become healthier by providing more nutritious and wholesome snacks and drinks available for purchase through vending machines.
For more information about Fresh Healthy Vending franchises, visit http://www.freshvending.com. To inquire about receiving a free Fresh Healthy Vending machine, visit http://www.freshandhealthy.org or call toll free 888-902-7558. Reported by PRWeb 4 hours ago.
(PRWEB) May 17, 2013
John Roskamp believes his business is good for the people of his community. He sees a growing interest in vending machines offering healthy, nutritious choices. “I feel like I’m doing the community a service and I feel good about doing it. I sleep well at night,” he said.
Roskamp began his career as an International Manufacturer’s Representative which kept him in the field for many years, living and working in Brazil and throughout South America. Ten years ago, after moving his family back to the U.S. and while continuing his career in sales, he began to look for additional opportunities of owning a side business. “I was motivated, looking for the cash flow and was attracted by the healthy aspect of this business,” said Roskamp. The machines offered by Fresh Healthy Vending are stocked with all-natural, organic and preservative-free snacks and beverages, by offering these nutritious selections it makes healthier choices easy. “We’re located in schools, sports facilities and businesses in the area west of Chicago. We started off with five machines, then went to eight and now we’re at 13. We mainly serve the western suburbs of Chicago, with just a few machines in Cook County. We’re in Burlington, Maple Park, Aurora, Naperville, Carol Stream, Forest Park, Addison, and West Chicago."
One of the attractions to Fresh Healthy vending was “the fact that Fresh Healthy Vending provides the locations for the machines, plus we’ve found a few locations ourselves." The Location Category Specialists from the Fresh Healthy Vending team work with proprietary techniques to secure and set up the best, most profitable locations for the machines. The machines are equipped with built-in modems for remote, real time monitoring, so franchisees know when to visit the location, which products require refill, and if any service is required for the machine.
Recently in April 2013, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel laid out new requirements for healthy vending in Chicago city offices, parks and schools. The initiative calls for healthier options, as well as encourages City employees and the general public to take individual responsibility for their health. The Park and Recrations system hired Wellness Managers and Registered Dieticians to oversee the sugar, fat and calorie restrictions on vending products available at park facilities.
Chicago's Blueprint for Healthier Vending in place. It’s available online.
Other forward-thinking cities throughout the nation have already developed guidelines for healthy vending machine foods. In the Seattle, the public health offices of King County created the Healthy Vending Tool kit, which includes guidelines to prepare and launch a healthy vending machine initiative. The Tool kit can be downloaded as a pdf.
The federal guidelines for vending nutrition are set to go into effect in 2014.
“In this area, Chicago’s guidelines have not been a factor,” Roskamp stated. “Although, a number of our schools have chosen to ‘self-regulate’ the nutritional choices available from their machines. They’ve set up their own rules and are conscientious about what they offer.” Many of the items offered include products made without nuts or gluten-free choices.
Roskamp’s sales have increased over the past year, “The customers genuinely like the snacks not only because they are healthier, but because they taste good as well,” he said. A Fresh Healthy Vending business is a cause that goes beyond financial benefit, it’s a socially-responsible vending program. The fight against obesity in this country is being won by bringing healthy food to communities and providing a beneficial impact while working for the greater good.
Fresh Healthy Vending has proven success at creating profitable vending businesses for franchisees, with multiple vending machine offerings such as the Fresh Healthy Vending Café, the only vending machine of its kind. This unique technlogy dispenses fresh-ground, gourmet, organic coffee drinks such as cappuccino, latte, espresso and chai tea together with the signature healthy snack options.
The Fresh Healthy Vending machines in West Chicago are just a few of the thousands of vending locations throughout the country offering healthy snack food and beverage choices. Keeping minds and bodies in better shape are part of the directives for Fresh Healthy Vending, the first and largest franchisor of healthy vending machines. Their mission is to help Americans become healthier by providing more nutritious and wholesome snacks and drinks available for purchase through vending machines.
For more information about Fresh Healthy Vending franchises, visit http://www.freshvending.com. To inquire about receiving a free Fresh Healthy Vending machine, visit http://www.freshandhealthy.org or call toll free 888-902-7558. Reported by PRWeb 4 hours ago.
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Judge to hear Aurora suspect's arguments on constitutionality of Colorado's insanity defense
The judge who will hear the capital murder case against accused Colorado theater gunman James Holmes said Thursday he will hold a hearing on the constitutionality of Colorado's insanity defense law in death penalty cases.Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour Jr. ruled that he will consider a defense motion that argues the statute is unconstitutional because it prevents Holmes from callin...
Reported by msnbc.com 4 hours ago.
Reported by msnbc.com 4 hours ago.
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Firefox 23 Aurora Blocks Unsecure Mixed Content by Default
Firefox 23 Aurora isn't out yet, but it should become available any time now. Mozilla is already talking about it and the major new feature, a new Mixed Content Blocker UI. Firefox already had the ability to block unencrypted content served through encrypted pages. This is important because the web today is i...
Reported by Softpedia 2 hours ago.
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James Holmes Judge Will Hear Legal Challenge to Insanity Law
The judge in the Aurora movie theater shooting case will listen to defense lawyers' arguments against the constitutionality of Colorado's insanity defense law, Reuters reports. The law is unconstitutional, lawyers say, because it says James Holmes can't summon mental health experts of his own choosing—rather than court-appointed ones—at...
Reported by Newser 1 hour ago.
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Hong Kong Harbor Scores '83' on Health Inspection
Patch Virginia Highland-Druid Hills, GA --Here are some recent health inspection scores performed by the DeKalb County Board of Health and the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness for restaurants in our community. Readers can click on the score to see the actual report:
Aurora Coffee II
468 Moreland Avenue
4/26/13
Score: 92
Hong Kong Harbor
2184 Cheshire Bridge Road
5/7/13
Score: 83
Savage Pizza
484 Moreland Avenue
4/26/13
Score: 95
Tin Lizzy’s Emory Pointe
1540 Avenue Place
5/9/13
Score: 91 Reported by Patch 1 hour ago.
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DUI, Underage Drinking, Marijuana Possession: Police Blotter
Patch Wheaton, IL --
SATURDAY, MAY 11
*DUI, Underage Drinking*
Police charged Chase R. Howard, 20, of the 24W700 block of Merrill Drive, Wheaton, with driving under the influence of alcohol and illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor. Howard was driving a dark green 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee at 2:59 a.m. at Plamondon and Orchard Road when police initiated a traffic stop. Howard was booked at the Wheaton Police Department and later released.
*DUI Alcohol*
Police charged Jessica L. Hill, 28, of the 2600 block of Wingate Court, Aurora, with driving under the influence of alcohol. Hill was driving a maroon or burgundy 2009 Chevy Aveo at 2:12 a.m. at Butterfield and Naperville roads when police initiated a traffic stop. Hill was booked at the Wheaton Police Department and released later that morning.
During the same incident, police arrested Michael E. Parker, 28, of the 1000 block of Briarbrook Drive, Wheaton, on an Aurora police arrest warrant for failure to pay. Parker was released from the Wheaton Police Department later that morning.
*No License I*
Police charged Maria Z. Trujillo, 35, of the 200 block of Shorewood Drive, Glendale Heights, with driving without a driver's license. Trujillo was driving a black 1997 Pontiac Sunfire at 2:04 a.m. at Liberty Drive and Main Street when police initiated a traffic stop. Trujillo was booked at the Wheaton Police Department and released later that morning.
THURSDAY, MAY 9
*No License II*
Police charged Mariam K. Pinedo-Fernandez, 28, of the 600 block of Willow Road, Carol Stream, with driving without a driver's license. Pinedo-Fernandez was driving a black 2001 Ford Explorer at 11:32 p.m. at Geneva Road and Main Street when police initiated a traffic stop. She was arrested and released from the intersection of Schmale and Thornhill before midnight.
*Suspended Driver's License I*
Police charged Luther Curtis Rocquemore, 59, of the 600 block of North Parkside, Chicago, with driving on a suspended license. Rocquemore was driving a gray 1996 Ford Taurus at 11:11 a.m. at County Farm and Roosevelt roads when police initiated a traffic stop. Rocquemore was booked and released from the Wheaton Police Department later that afternoon.
*No License III*
Police charged Jose De Alvarado, 34, of the 8200 block of South Komensky, Chicago, with driving without a driver's license. De Alvarado was driving a white 2002 Chevy dump truck at 9:24 a.m. at Willow and Main Street when police initiated a traffic stop. He was arrested and released from the intersection shortly after 10 a.m.
--------------------
Let Patch save you time. Get stories delivered to your inbox—sign up for our email newsletter. Fast signup here. You can also like us on Facebook.
--------------------
WEDNESDAY, MAY 8
*Suspended Driver's License II*
Police charged Francisco Aguilar, 25, of the 400 block of Westmore Meyers Road, Lombard, with driving on a suspended license. Aguilar was driving a blue 1997 Ford Windstar at 12:08 a.m. at Farwell and Geneva Road when police initiated a traffic stop. Aguilar was arrested and released from the intersection before 1 a.m.
TUESDAY, MAY 7
*Suspended Driver's License III*
Police charged Christina L. Bogue, 39, of the first block of Kensington Circle, Wheaton, with driving on a suspended license. Bogue was driving a red 2003 Dodge Durango at 8:52 a.m. at President and Roosevelt when police initiated a traffic stop. Bogue was booked and released from the Wheaton Police Department later that morning.
SATURDAY, MAY 4
*DUI Drugs, Marijuana Possession*
Police charged Jeffrey B. Lawson, 18, of the 21W400 block of Burdett Road, Lombard, with driving under the influence of drugs, possession of cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia. Lawson was driving a white 1999 Ford Taurus at 12:13 a.m. at Bloomingdale and Geneva Road when police initiated a traffic stop. Lawson was booked at the Wheaton Police Department and released later that morning.
*See also:*
· Rowdy at the Train Station, Battery, Obstructing An Officer: Police Blotter
· Police Report Marijuana, Drug Paraphernalia Charges
· Former Wheaton Man Guilty of Soliciting Murder
· Remembering Fallen Officers on Peace Officers Memorial Day
· Warrant Arrests, Mountain Bike Thefts: Police Blotter
Police Blotter information is provided by local law enforcement agencies. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome. Reported by Patch 1 day ago.
SATURDAY, MAY 11
*DUI, Underage Drinking*
Police charged Chase R. Howard, 20, of the 24W700 block of Merrill Drive, Wheaton, with driving under the influence of alcohol and illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor. Howard was driving a dark green 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee at 2:59 a.m. at Plamondon and Orchard Road when police initiated a traffic stop. Howard was booked at the Wheaton Police Department and later released.
*DUI Alcohol*
Police charged Jessica L. Hill, 28, of the 2600 block of Wingate Court, Aurora, with driving under the influence of alcohol. Hill was driving a maroon or burgundy 2009 Chevy Aveo at 2:12 a.m. at Butterfield and Naperville roads when police initiated a traffic stop. Hill was booked at the Wheaton Police Department and released later that morning.
During the same incident, police arrested Michael E. Parker, 28, of the 1000 block of Briarbrook Drive, Wheaton, on an Aurora police arrest warrant for failure to pay. Parker was released from the Wheaton Police Department later that morning.
*No License I*
Police charged Maria Z. Trujillo, 35, of the 200 block of Shorewood Drive, Glendale Heights, with driving without a driver's license. Trujillo was driving a black 1997 Pontiac Sunfire at 2:04 a.m. at Liberty Drive and Main Street when police initiated a traffic stop. Trujillo was booked at the Wheaton Police Department and released later that morning.
THURSDAY, MAY 9
*No License II*
Police charged Mariam K. Pinedo-Fernandez, 28, of the 600 block of Willow Road, Carol Stream, with driving without a driver's license. Pinedo-Fernandez was driving a black 2001 Ford Explorer at 11:32 p.m. at Geneva Road and Main Street when police initiated a traffic stop. She was arrested and released from the intersection of Schmale and Thornhill before midnight.
*Suspended Driver's License I*
Police charged Luther Curtis Rocquemore, 59, of the 600 block of North Parkside, Chicago, with driving on a suspended license. Rocquemore was driving a gray 1996 Ford Taurus at 11:11 a.m. at County Farm and Roosevelt roads when police initiated a traffic stop. Rocquemore was booked and released from the Wheaton Police Department later that afternoon.
*No License III*
Police charged Jose De Alvarado, 34, of the 8200 block of South Komensky, Chicago, with driving without a driver's license. De Alvarado was driving a white 2002 Chevy dump truck at 9:24 a.m. at Willow and Main Street when police initiated a traffic stop. He was arrested and released from the intersection shortly after 10 a.m.
--------------------
Let Patch save you time. Get stories delivered to your inbox—sign up for our email newsletter. Fast signup here. You can also like us on Facebook.
--------------------
WEDNESDAY, MAY 8
*Suspended Driver's License II*
Police charged Francisco Aguilar, 25, of the 400 block of Westmore Meyers Road, Lombard, with driving on a suspended license. Aguilar was driving a blue 1997 Ford Windstar at 12:08 a.m. at Farwell and Geneva Road when police initiated a traffic stop. Aguilar was arrested and released from the intersection before 1 a.m.
TUESDAY, MAY 7
*Suspended Driver's License III*
Police charged Christina L. Bogue, 39, of the first block of Kensington Circle, Wheaton, with driving on a suspended license. Bogue was driving a red 2003 Dodge Durango at 8:52 a.m. at President and Roosevelt when police initiated a traffic stop. Bogue was booked and released from the Wheaton Police Department later that morning.
SATURDAY, MAY 4
*DUI Drugs, Marijuana Possession*
Police charged Jeffrey B. Lawson, 18, of the 21W400 block of Burdett Road, Lombard, with driving under the influence of drugs, possession of cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia. Lawson was driving a white 1999 Ford Taurus at 12:13 a.m. at Bloomingdale and Geneva Road when police initiated a traffic stop. Lawson was booked at the Wheaton Police Department and released later that morning.
*See also:*
· Rowdy at the Train Station, Battery, Obstructing An Officer: Police Blotter
· Police Report Marijuana, Drug Paraphernalia Charges
· Former Wheaton Man Guilty of Soliciting Murder
· Remembering Fallen Officers on Peace Officers Memorial Day
· Warrant Arrests, Mountain Bike Thefts: Police Blotter
Police Blotter information is provided by local law enforcement agencies. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome. Reported by Patch 1 day ago.
↧
↧
New TV Ad Features Mother Of Son Killed In Aurora Holding Senator Flake Accountable For A Broken Promise On Background Checks
PHOENIX, May 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mayors Against Illegal Guns today announced a new television ad holding Senator Jeff Flake accountable for not keeping his word to Arizonans Caren and Tom Teves, whose son Alex was killed in the Aurora theatre shooting while shielding his...
Reported by PR Newswire 1 day ago.
↧
Pakistan's Industry of Violence
AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad
I was at an uncle’s house in Peshawar a couple of months ago when the windows began to rattle. One of my youngest cousins walked towards them, peering out nervously. “It’s an earthquake,” she said almost hopefully. I looked at her father who shook his head slowly, but only when his daughter had turned back to the window. It was as if he wanted her to believe that the quivering earth was the result of a mere natural disaster. And then the windows began to clatter again. The 14-year-old slunk onto the couch beside her father. Her sisters and mother filed in around the TV, scarves draped over their heads, lips moving in prayer. It didn’t take long for live coverage to begin. The site of the attack was the city airport, just a couple miles from where we were. Even more disconcerting, the rockets began to fire where, just a few minutes prior, my aunt had driven on her way home. Once we’d been watching long enough that the news reports had become repetitive—the same bloodied shirts and broken asphalt dominating the screen—my uncle began to call all of our relatives. He started with those closest to where the rockets fell and worked his way out. For the first time, I did the same, calling people on my father’s side of the family.
I’ve followed news of such attacks for years, and have done so even more closely now that I'm working as a reporter in Pakistan—a place where this past Saturday, Election Day, nearly 30 people were killed in violence as the country took to the polls. Despite the constant barrage of chilling headlines, I never bothered to reach out to my relatives to check up on them. But then again, before the attack on the airport, I never truly understood what it's like to feel so unsafe standing in the middle of your living room. The same feeling of terror struck me again just a couple of weeks ago when I discovered, via Twitter, an unfolding scene of chaos at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
I had been settling into bed, but news of the bombing kept me up nearly until morning. I absorbed as many live streams as I could and checked in with friends who I knew would be running, watching, or reporting on the race. Armed with a press pass and recording kit, I had covered the finish line last year, standing for hours on end at the very spot where the first bomb erupted to file live newscasts for the NPR local news affiliate, WBUR. Although I was a full year removed from the scene, the thought of bombs going off in the center of Boston shook me from half a world away.
I couldn't help but cringe to watch as initial reports of the brothers Tsaranaev were filled with unfounded allegations of ties to jihadist outlets. Information that has come forth since suggests that the suspected culprits set up the makeshift explosive devices without the support of a sophisticated terrorist network. They were driven to their heinous crime it seems, by a sense of alienation.
In America, many instances of mass violence are perpetrated because of the singular motivations of an individual: a man walks into a movie theater or a school and shoots it up, often without any signs of his vicious designs. The crimes are viscerally personal, and this is what’s so frightening. One never knows if the person at the check-out counter or at the town library is going to break down and go on a killing spree—and worse, we may never be able to understand what brought a quiet neighbor or all-star athlete to take such an bewildering turn.
Violence in Pakistan is different. It is a country largely governed by old-world communal ties, even the responsibility for mass carnage tends to be shared by a group of people. Soon after a shooting spree ravages a busy Karachi street or a car bomb erupts in Quetta, a militant group will often phone the media to lay claim to the attack. There are, of course, cases of purely individualized violence and no doubt, the mothers of some suicide bombers must be totally taken aback by the actions of their sons. By and large, the perpetrators of large-scale attacks committed to them through a network of others. Even a lone gunman is backed up by a crime syndicate or terrorist group which is itself often governed by an even broader set of social ties: a longstanding ethnic divide or a centuries-old sectarian rift that may well be a proxy war between regional actors.
In Pakistan, intransigent social codes rule all—including patterns of violence. In a place where marriages are a calculated merger between not just two people but two extended families, even bloodshed seems to adhere to the collectivist pattern of the broader social fabric. In America, on the other hand, an unbridled individualism reigns supreme. It can be seen in everything from the way relationships form to where one sets down roots to the plotting of mass murders. Perhaps one reason why atrocities like those in Boston and Aurora cause such consternation is because they symbolize a failure of the American way of life. In a place where it really is every man for himself, there will invariably be the disaffected few who, left to their own devices, turn their internal strife outwards by inflicting physical pain on unsuspecting, innocent victims.
In contrast, there is a sort of industry that breeds communal mistrust in Pakistan. It was the rallying force behind the very creation of the country. Pakistan was meant to be a refuge for Muslims who refused to suffer as a lowly minority in India once the British left the region. Some have argued that the country’s national curriculum imbues school children with a learned intolerance that lays the foundation for hate crimes and terrorism. “Otherness” has further been codified into law. The country’s constitution prevents Ahmedis, members of a sect that reveres a man who lived after the Prophet Mohammad, from “posing as Muslims” under punishment of death. In a place where such biting biases have been clearly demarcated across social lines, violence seems an obvious outcome that many have been forced to endure as a part of their lives.
A friend of mine recently told me about a nice Italian restaurant in town—one with good crepes topped with fresh fruit and real cream. “But and the really great thing about it,” she said, “is that the place was bombed a couple years back and so it’s nice and quiet and you never have to wait to get a table.” A glib sense of mortality like this is commonplace across Pakistan. Death is an all too constant companion especially in cities like Karachi and Quetta where news teams run from one targeted killing or bomb blast to another. Most of my family lives in Peshawar. The closest major city to the semi-autonomous tribal areas, Peshawar has become the battleground for extremists who have not only blown up markets for selling “immoral” products like American films and Viagra but, paradoxically, mosques as well. Over the course of the last few years, my mother’s five brothers, most of whom have lived in Peshawar all of their lives, now make an effort to each say Friday prayers in different mosques, just in case. In case of what, no one really talks about, but my family and many others in this part of the world are ruled by a sort of perverse pragmatism; they build their routines and rituals around a constant threat of physical danger.
What I do hear from most of my adult relatives is an acquiescence of their own eventual, possibly violent, demise. The refrain is always the same: “We survived this one, but our lives are in God’s hands.”
The night after the attack on the Peshawar airport, I sat up late talking with my aunt and uncle. They told me about how they would check on their daughter at night and find her sleeping with the lights left aglow and her glasses on. They figured she’d fallen asleep while reading and gingerly removed them, only to find them back on her face when they went to wake her up in the morning. They finally asked her about this, and she said, “I have to keep my glasses on. If there’s a bombing and everything comes to the ground, how will I find them?”
Although violence and the emotional toll it takes can never be wholly accepted, it's come to be expected in places like Peshawar. Insecurity is a shared experience for many in cities across the country; a part of the collective understanding of what it means to be Pakistani. Indeed, resilience has become sort of a national trait. Even as appalling instances of violence take place in America, they are still just that: instances of violence, each one isolated from the next, cast in individual molds. The Boston Marathon bombing is not the Aurora rampage or the Sandy Hook shooting. Indeed, American tragedies are held to American standards of individualism, distinct and rarified. That's precisely what gives their shockwaves such profound resonance, even in places where death and destruction have become a constant lull, ever-ready to erupt into mayhem. Reported by The American Prospect 1 day ago.
I was at an uncle’s house in Peshawar a couple of months ago when the windows began to rattle. One of my youngest cousins walked towards them, peering out nervously. “It’s an earthquake,” she said almost hopefully. I looked at her father who shook his head slowly, but only when his daughter had turned back to the window. It was as if he wanted her to believe that the quivering earth was the result of a mere natural disaster. And then the windows began to clatter again. The 14-year-old slunk onto the couch beside her father. Her sisters and mother filed in around the TV, scarves draped over their heads, lips moving in prayer. It didn’t take long for live coverage to begin. The site of the attack was the city airport, just a couple miles from where we were. Even more disconcerting, the rockets began to fire where, just a few minutes prior, my aunt had driven on her way home. Once we’d been watching long enough that the news reports had become repetitive—the same bloodied shirts and broken asphalt dominating the screen—my uncle began to call all of our relatives. He started with those closest to where the rockets fell and worked his way out. For the first time, I did the same, calling people on my father’s side of the family.
I’ve followed news of such attacks for years, and have done so even more closely now that I'm working as a reporter in Pakistan—a place where this past Saturday, Election Day, nearly 30 people were killed in violence as the country took to the polls. Despite the constant barrage of chilling headlines, I never bothered to reach out to my relatives to check up on them. But then again, before the attack on the airport, I never truly understood what it's like to feel so unsafe standing in the middle of your living room. The same feeling of terror struck me again just a couple of weeks ago when I discovered, via Twitter, an unfolding scene of chaos at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
I had been settling into bed, but news of the bombing kept me up nearly until morning. I absorbed as many live streams as I could and checked in with friends who I knew would be running, watching, or reporting on the race. Armed with a press pass and recording kit, I had covered the finish line last year, standing for hours on end at the very spot where the first bomb erupted to file live newscasts for the NPR local news affiliate, WBUR. Although I was a full year removed from the scene, the thought of bombs going off in the center of Boston shook me from half a world away.
I couldn't help but cringe to watch as initial reports of the brothers Tsaranaev were filled with unfounded allegations of ties to jihadist outlets. Information that has come forth since suggests that the suspected culprits set up the makeshift explosive devices without the support of a sophisticated terrorist network. They were driven to their heinous crime it seems, by a sense of alienation.
In America, many instances of mass violence are perpetrated because of the singular motivations of an individual: a man walks into a movie theater or a school and shoots it up, often without any signs of his vicious designs. The crimes are viscerally personal, and this is what’s so frightening. One never knows if the person at the check-out counter or at the town library is going to break down and go on a killing spree—and worse, we may never be able to understand what brought a quiet neighbor or all-star athlete to take such an bewildering turn.
Violence in Pakistan is different. It is a country largely governed by old-world communal ties, even the responsibility for mass carnage tends to be shared by a group of people. Soon after a shooting spree ravages a busy Karachi street or a car bomb erupts in Quetta, a militant group will often phone the media to lay claim to the attack. There are, of course, cases of purely individualized violence and no doubt, the mothers of some suicide bombers must be totally taken aback by the actions of their sons. By and large, the perpetrators of large-scale attacks committed to them through a network of others. Even a lone gunman is backed up by a crime syndicate or terrorist group which is itself often governed by an even broader set of social ties: a longstanding ethnic divide or a centuries-old sectarian rift that may well be a proxy war between regional actors.
In Pakistan, intransigent social codes rule all—including patterns of violence. In a place where marriages are a calculated merger between not just two people but two extended families, even bloodshed seems to adhere to the collectivist pattern of the broader social fabric. In America, on the other hand, an unbridled individualism reigns supreme. It can be seen in everything from the way relationships form to where one sets down roots to the plotting of mass murders. Perhaps one reason why atrocities like those in Boston and Aurora cause such consternation is because they symbolize a failure of the American way of life. In a place where it really is every man for himself, there will invariably be the disaffected few who, left to their own devices, turn their internal strife outwards by inflicting physical pain on unsuspecting, innocent victims.
In contrast, there is a sort of industry that breeds communal mistrust in Pakistan. It was the rallying force behind the very creation of the country. Pakistan was meant to be a refuge for Muslims who refused to suffer as a lowly minority in India once the British left the region. Some have argued that the country’s national curriculum imbues school children with a learned intolerance that lays the foundation for hate crimes and terrorism. “Otherness” has further been codified into law. The country’s constitution prevents Ahmedis, members of a sect that reveres a man who lived after the Prophet Mohammad, from “posing as Muslims” under punishment of death. In a place where such biting biases have been clearly demarcated across social lines, violence seems an obvious outcome that many have been forced to endure as a part of their lives.
A friend of mine recently told me about a nice Italian restaurant in town—one with good crepes topped with fresh fruit and real cream. “But and the really great thing about it,” she said, “is that the place was bombed a couple years back and so it’s nice and quiet and you never have to wait to get a table.” A glib sense of mortality like this is commonplace across Pakistan. Death is an all too constant companion especially in cities like Karachi and Quetta where news teams run from one targeted killing or bomb blast to another. Most of my family lives in Peshawar. The closest major city to the semi-autonomous tribal areas, Peshawar has become the battleground for extremists who have not only blown up markets for selling “immoral” products like American films and Viagra but, paradoxically, mosques as well. Over the course of the last few years, my mother’s five brothers, most of whom have lived in Peshawar all of their lives, now make an effort to each say Friday prayers in different mosques, just in case. In case of what, no one really talks about, but my family and many others in this part of the world are ruled by a sort of perverse pragmatism; they build their routines and rituals around a constant threat of physical danger.
What I do hear from most of my adult relatives is an acquiescence of their own eventual, possibly violent, demise. The refrain is always the same: “We survived this one, but our lives are in God’s hands.”
The night after the attack on the Peshawar airport, I sat up late talking with my aunt and uncle. They told me about how they would check on their daughter at night and find her sleeping with the lights left aglow and her glasses on. They figured she’d fallen asleep while reading and gingerly removed them, only to find them back on her face when they went to wake her up in the morning. They finally asked her about this, and she said, “I have to keep my glasses on. If there’s a bombing and everything comes to the ground, how will I find them?”
Although violence and the emotional toll it takes can never be wholly accepted, it's come to be expected in places like Peshawar. Insecurity is a shared experience for many in cities across the country; a part of the collective understanding of what it means to be Pakistani. Indeed, resilience has become sort of a national trait. Even as appalling instances of violence take place in America, they are still just that: instances of violence, each one isolated from the next, cast in individual molds. The Boston Marathon bombing is not the Aurora rampage or the Sandy Hook shooting. Indeed, American tragedies are held to American standards of individualism, distinct and rarified. That's precisely what gives their shockwaves such profound resonance, even in places where death and destruction have become a constant lull, ever-ready to erupt into mayhem. Reported by The American Prospect 1 day ago.
↧
Man shot behind car rental shop on Aurora faces life-threatening injuries
A man in his 30s suffered life-threatening injuries after being shot in the chest Thursday night in a parking lot in North Seattle The shooting took place behind a Hertz car rental building in the 14300 block of Aurora Avenue North just before 11 p.m., Seattle Police said. The victim was t
Reported by Seattle Times 1 day ago.
↧
GOP Senator 'Broke His Promise', New Ad Alleges
Anti-gun violence group Mayors Against Illegal Guns released a tough ad Friday against Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), featuring the mom of an Aurora shooting victim who says Flake broke his promise to vote for expanded background checks.
The ad, titled "My Son," shows Caren Teves discussing the death of her son in the 2012 mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo. Alex Teves, then 24, was killed while shielding his fiancée from gunfire.
Teves says in the ad that she and her husband wrote to Flake urging him to support expanded background checks for firearms purchases, and reads a handwritten letter they received from the Arizona Republican in response.
"I am truly sorry for your loss," Flake wrote. "Strengthening background checks is something we agree on."
A month later, Flake voted against the Manchin-Toomey amendment to expand background checks for firearm purchases. His poll numbers took a dive after the vote, but the senator has defended his position.
"The issue isn't just background checks," Caren Teves says in the ad. "It's keeping your promise -- and Senator Flake didn't."
The ad will air in the Phoenix and Tucson media markets on broadcast and cable TV through May 30.
This isn't the first time the Teves family has been in the news advocating to reduce gun violence.
In April, Caren Teves and her husband, Tom, said they invited Flake to their home for dinner but were unable to connect, although the senator reached out to them twice in response. The Teves told a local Phoenix station they wanted Flake to "see what it was like to sit at a dinner table without your child."
Teves also got into a heated town hall exchange with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) when she asked him if he'd support an assault weapons ban. McCain told her she needed "some straight talk" and that an assault weapons ban would not pass Congress. Tom Teves described the response as "appalling" and said his wife deserved an apology.
A spokeswoman for Flake did not immediately return a request for comment. Reported by Huffington Post 1 day ago.
The ad, titled "My Son," shows Caren Teves discussing the death of her son in the 2012 mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo. Alex Teves, then 24, was killed while shielding his fiancée from gunfire.
Teves says in the ad that she and her husband wrote to Flake urging him to support expanded background checks for firearms purchases, and reads a handwritten letter they received from the Arizona Republican in response.
"I am truly sorry for your loss," Flake wrote. "Strengthening background checks is something we agree on."
A month later, Flake voted against the Manchin-Toomey amendment to expand background checks for firearm purchases. His poll numbers took a dive after the vote, but the senator has defended his position.
"The issue isn't just background checks," Caren Teves says in the ad. "It's keeping your promise -- and Senator Flake didn't."
The ad will air in the Phoenix and Tucson media markets on broadcast and cable TV through May 30.
This isn't the first time the Teves family has been in the news advocating to reduce gun violence.
In April, Caren Teves and her husband, Tom, said they invited Flake to their home for dinner but were unable to connect, although the senator reached out to them twice in response. The Teves told a local Phoenix station they wanted Flake to "see what it was like to sit at a dinner table without your child."
Teves also got into a heated town hall exchange with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) when she asked him if he'd support an assault weapons ban. McCain told her she needed "some straight talk" and that an assault weapons ban would not pass Congress. Tom Teves described the response as "appalling" and said his wife deserved an apology.
A spokeswoman for Flake did not immediately return a request for comment. Reported by Huffington Post 1 day ago.
↧
↧
Colorado Sheriffs Sue Over New State Gun Laws
Nearly all of Colorado's county sheriffs have signed onto a federal lawsuit against the state of Colorado arguing that the new laws pushed by Democrats and signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendments.
Sheriffs in 54 of Colorado's 64 counties joined the lawsuit with only Grand, Eagle, Pueblo, Chaffee, Conejos, San Miguel, Boulder, Pitkin, Broomfield and Denver counties opting-out.
The lawsuit takes aim at two of the bills Hickenlooper signed into law in March -- House Bill 1224, which banned high-capacity magazines limiting them to 15 rounds as well as House Bill 1229, the universal background check bill which requires background checks for all gun sales and transfers in the state.
"We each took an oath. The line in the sand has been drawn, and we will stand united," said El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa who did join the lawsuit, The Denver Post reported.
The sheriffs filed the lawsuit in federal court Friday.
Republican Attorney General John Suthers, who is defending the state in the lawsuit, issued a statement Friday on the lawsuit. “In defending the lawsuit as counsel for the state, the objective of the Attorney General’s Office will be to get court rulings on the legality of various aspects of the legislation as expeditiously as possible," Suthers said in a statement. "Colorado citizens, and law-abiding gun owners in particular, deserve such clarification.”
In a guidance letter to law enforcement regarding how they should implement the new gun laws, Suthers elaborated on the legal definition of a "high-capacity magazine" saying that the magazine features "must be judged objectively" and that magazines that hold less than 15 rounds must not be defined as "large capacity" simply because it includes a removable baseplate which may be replaced with one that allows the magazine to accept additional rounds, but added "a magazine whose baseplate is replaced with one that does allow a magazine to accept more than fifteen rounds would be a "large capacity magazine."
Aurora theater shooting victims' relatives condemned the sheriffs for filing the lawsuit, accusing them of playing politics, The Associated Press' Ivan Moreno reports. "As a parent who lost my son Alex at the Aurora theater shooting, I ask these people to put themselves in my place," Tom Sullivan said in a statement. "I do not understand why these politicians are picking guns over people."
In the months since the gun control bills were first introduced in the Legislature, several of Colorado's sheriffs have made no secret of their opposition to the bills.
In contrast, the Colorado Association of Police Chiefs have been supportive of the laws.
But El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa took to conservative talk radio station "The Jeff Crank Show" in March to accuse Colorado Springs Democratic Senate President John Morse of witholding a bill on pay raises for the County Sheriffs of Colorado because of their opposition to the gun control bills.
Maketa posted a lengthy piece titled "An Injustice Against Our Citizens" on the El Paso County Sheriff's main website and Facebook page alleging that the Senate Democrats turned away citizens who wanted to testify against House Bill 1229.
Earlier this month, just hours before President Barack Obama gave a speech in Colorado pressing Congress to pass gun control measures that would include a bill to expand background checks, 16 of the state's sheriffs held a press conference in protest.
“We are here to provide a voice to the millions of honest, law-abiding Coloradans who were ignored by their governor as well as by the majority (Democratic) party at the State House,” Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said.
In a postion paper on gun control, the County Sheriffs of Colorado publicly opposed the laws as well saying that “gun control does not equate to lower crime rates.”
From the position paper:
The County Sheriffs of Colorado know first hand that strict gun control laws do not deter criminals from getting firearms illegally and committing crimes. Rather, they hurt law-abiding citizens who may be left unprotected because law enforcement cannot arrive in time to stop a criminal's bullet once he (sic) has pulled the trigger.
After Governor John Hickenlooper signed ammunition magazine limits and expanded background checks into law, more sheriffs began calling the laws "unenforceable."
“We can’t figure out how these laws would be enforced at this point in time without violating someone’s constitutional rights,” Teller County Sheriff Mike Ensminger told Bloomberg.
Weld County Sheriff John Cooke then took it a step further and said he wouldn't enforce the laws, arguing that they give a "false sense of security."
The proposed lawsuit against the gun restrictions will reportedly be handled by attorney Dave Kopel, an adjunct professor of Advanced Constitutional Law at the University of Denver's Sturm College of Law and research director at the Independence Institute.
Kopel recently penned an Op-Ed in the National Review Online titled "Turning Gun Owners Into Felons," which takes aim at universal background checks. Reported by Huffington Post 21 hours ago.
Sheriffs in 54 of Colorado's 64 counties joined the lawsuit with only Grand, Eagle, Pueblo, Chaffee, Conejos, San Miguel, Boulder, Pitkin, Broomfield and Denver counties opting-out.
The lawsuit takes aim at two of the bills Hickenlooper signed into law in March -- House Bill 1224, which banned high-capacity magazines limiting them to 15 rounds as well as House Bill 1229, the universal background check bill which requires background checks for all gun sales and transfers in the state.
"We each took an oath. The line in the sand has been drawn, and we will stand united," said El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa who did join the lawsuit, The Denver Post reported.
The sheriffs filed the lawsuit in federal court Friday.
Republican Attorney General John Suthers, who is defending the state in the lawsuit, issued a statement Friday on the lawsuit. “In defending the lawsuit as counsel for the state, the objective of the Attorney General’s Office will be to get court rulings on the legality of various aspects of the legislation as expeditiously as possible," Suthers said in a statement. "Colorado citizens, and law-abiding gun owners in particular, deserve such clarification.”
In a guidance letter to law enforcement regarding how they should implement the new gun laws, Suthers elaborated on the legal definition of a "high-capacity magazine" saying that the magazine features "must be judged objectively" and that magazines that hold less than 15 rounds must not be defined as "large capacity" simply because it includes a removable baseplate which may be replaced with one that allows the magazine to accept additional rounds, but added "a magazine whose baseplate is replaced with one that does allow a magazine to accept more than fifteen rounds would be a "large capacity magazine."
Aurora theater shooting victims' relatives condemned the sheriffs for filing the lawsuit, accusing them of playing politics, The Associated Press' Ivan Moreno reports. "As a parent who lost my son Alex at the Aurora theater shooting, I ask these people to put themselves in my place," Tom Sullivan said in a statement. "I do not understand why these politicians are picking guns over people."
In the months since the gun control bills were first introduced in the Legislature, several of Colorado's sheriffs have made no secret of their opposition to the bills.
In contrast, the Colorado Association of Police Chiefs have been supportive of the laws.
But El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa took to conservative talk radio station "The Jeff Crank Show" in March to accuse Colorado Springs Democratic Senate President John Morse of witholding a bill on pay raises for the County Sheriffs of Colorado because of their opposition to the gun control bills.
Maketa posted a lengthy piece titled "An Injustice Against Our Citizens" on the El Paso County Sheriff's main website and Facebook page alleging that the Senate Democrats turned away citizens who wanted to testify against House Bill 1229.
Earlier this month, just hours before President Barack Obama gave a speech in Colorado pressing Congress to pass gun control measures that would include a bill to expand background checks, 16 of the state's sheriffs held a press conference in protest.
“We are here to provide a voice to the millions of honest, law-abiding Coloradans who were ignored by their governor as well as by the majority (Democratic) party at the State House,” Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said.
In a postion paper on gun control, the County Sheriffs of Colorado publicly opposed the laws as well saying that “gun control does not equate to lower crime rates.”
From the position paper:
The County Sheriffs of Colorado know first hand that strict gun control laws do not deter criminals from getting firearms illegally and committing crimes. Rather, they hurt law-abiding citizens who may be left unprotected because law enforcement cannot arrive in time to stop a criminal's bullet once he (sic) has pulled the trigger.
After Governor John Hickenlooper signed ammunition magazine limits and expanded background checks into law, more sheriffs began calling the laws "unenforceable."
“We can’t figure out how these laws would be enforced at this point in time without violating someone’s constitutional rights,” Teller County Sheriff Mike Ensminger told Bloomberg.
Weld County Sheriff John Cooke then took it a step further and said he wouldn't enforce the laws, arguing that they give a "false sense of security."
The proposed lawsuit against the gun restrictions will reportedly be handled by attorney Dave Kopel, an adjunct professor of Advanced Constitutional Law at the University of Denver's Sturm College of Law and research director at the Independence Institute.
Kopel recently penned an Op-Ed in the National Review Online titled "Turning Gun Owners Into Felons," which takes aim at universal background checks. Reported by Huffington Post 21 hours ago.
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Jim Worth: In Our Sights
The Senate voted on gun control and 'we' lost!
When the Senate reconvened after another 'vacation' one of the most important pieces of business was gun control -- especially the Manchin-Toomey expansion of background checks which had received so much press.
As the senators cast their votes it became obvious that the bill was not going to pass. Forty-six senators voted against it despite polls showing that as many as 90 percent of us wanted to at least expand background checks.
Dispassionate legislators,' who couldn't see the value in saving citizens' lives, and more specifically the lives of our children, voted against it, despite 4,000 gun-related deaths since the violence in Newtown.
These failed lawmakers, bound by an implied obligation to the National Rifle Association instead of their oath to the citizens of their states, are now in our sights. They should remain there until we've driven them out of office; until we find politicians who will listen to the will of 'the people' instead of subversive organizations like the NRA!
Many of the senators who voted no have already fallen from grace, unable to clearly explain their 'no' vote; their opposition to better gun control -- to a safer society. To fewer violent deaths. To greater freedom from senseless loss for all, young and old.
Some, like Senator Kelly Ayotte, (R-NH) had difficulty justifying her contrarian vote to the daughter of slain principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School, Dawn Hochsprung, at one of her three town hall meetings. She was approached at the other two meetings by constituents equally upset by her cowardly vote.
Ayotte's only defense was to regurgitate Republican and NRA talking points which make little sense to the general public and expose the sordid reasoning behind #NRAlogic.
The new senator from Arizona, Jeff Flake, was caught in a lie of his own hand and is now having trouble rationalizing his overt dishonesty to a constituent, Caren Teves, the mother of the young man killed while protecting his girlfriend in the Aurora theater, after implying he would vote for expanded background checks. The self-described pond scum is now the most unpopular senator in the country -- in his first 100 days! He's even less popular than Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who's held that distinction for some time.
Evidently NRA campaign money and an 'A' rating were of more import to the neophyte Senator than his integrity.
Though these two showed the greatest slide in popularity, they're not the only Senators who felt the backlash after their contemptuous vote. Senators' Murkowski (R-AK), Begich (D-AK), Portman (R-OH), and Heller (R-NV) approval ratings' fell -- some dramatically -- after their obvious misrepresentation of their citizens' wishes.
We need to look closer at Ayotte and Flake and the other senators who voted no to uncover their motivation and find out who they actually represent.
The Granite State, whose citizens amassed in protest in front of the Capitol on April 1st, 2011, opposing legislation passed in their State House, will not stand for any bullshit or rhetoric from a dispassionate representative like Senator Ayotte.
Arizona, not nearly as patriotic as New Hampshire, will likely forgive Flake his ignorance, and hypocrisy. The Grand Canyon State is a great void when it comes to gun laws -- especially curtailing gun trafficking.
Senator Flake represents the state with the worst gun laws in the country -- which was revealed in the investigative report by Fortune's Katherine Eban. It was Arizona's weak gun laws that were responsible for the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Flake also voted against Senator Leahy's gun trafficking amendment last month.
Arizona's motto, 'God Enriches' should be changed to 'What God Enriches, Man Destroys.'
But there were other men and women -- including four weak Democrats -- who failed 'the people' -- who failed the families of Newtown! A horrific failure.
Every senator who voted no on expanded background checks should always be in our sights and reminded every time a new tragedy of gun violence occurs in this country. They should remain in our sights if they also voted no on the assault weapons ban, the high capacity magazines ban or the gun trafficking law. And there are many who did just that: Alexander (R-TN); Cornyn (R-TX); Enzi (R-WY); War Monger Graham (R-SC); Inhofe (R-OK); Minority Leader Mcconnell (R-KY); Risch (R-ID); Sessions (R-AL) who are up for reelection in 2014. And there are many other Republicans who voted down all four Amendments.
Until we've eliminated this love affair with lethal weapons; until we've put common-sense gun laws in place; until we've destroyed the campaign money the NRA dangles in front of legislators' and their rating system and threats, we must keep these dispassionate Pols in our sights and take them down election by election.
Until we become smart enough to recognize what other civilized countries have found -- that stricter gun control saves lives -- we're destined to repeat the tragedies of Newtown, Aurora, Tucson, and Virginia Tech again and again and again.
Tell your legislator that this battle is not over, (202) 224-3121.
Hold these monsters in Congress responsible with your vote! Reported by Huffington Post 20 hours ago.
When the Senate reconvened after another 'vacation' one of the most important pieces of business was gun control -- especially the Manchin-Toomey expansion of background checks which had received so much press.
As the senators cast their votes it became obvious that the bill was not going to pass. Forty-six senators voted against it despite polls showing that as many as 90 percent of us wanted to at least expand background checks.
Dispassionate legislators,' who couldn't see the value in saving citizens' lives, and more specifically the lives of our children, voted against it, despite 4,000 gun-related deaths since the violence in Newtown.
These failed lawmakers, bound by an implied obligation to the National Rifle Association instead of their oath to the citizens of their states, are now in our sights. They should remain there until we've driven them out of office; until we find politicians who will listen to the will of 'the people' instead of subversive organizations like the NRA!
Many of the senators who voted no have already fallen from grace, unable to clearly explain their 'no' vote; their opposition to better gun control -- to a safer society. To fewer violent deaths. To greater freedom from senseless loss for all, young and old.
Some, like Senator Kelly Ayotte, (R-NH) had difficulty justifying her contrarian vote to the daughter of slain principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School, Dawn Hochsprung, at one of her three town hall meetings. She was approached at the other two meetings by constituents equally upset by her cowardly vote.
Ayotte's only defense was to regurgitate Republican and NRA talking points which make little sense to the general public and expose the sordid reasoning behind #NRAlogic.
The new senator from Arizona, Jeff Flake, was caught in a lie of his own hand and is now having trouble rationalizing his overt dishonesty to a constituent, Caren Teves, the mother of the young man killed while protecting his girlfriend in the Aurora theater, after implying he would vote for expanded background checks. The self-described pond scum is now the most unpopular senator in the country -- in his first 100 days! He's even less popular than Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who's held that distinction for some time.
Evidently NRA campaign money and an 'A' rating were of more import to the neophyte Senator than his integrity.
Though these two showed the greatest slide in popularity, they're not the only Senators who felt the backlash after their contemptuous vote. Senators' Murkowski (R-AK), Begich (D-AK), Portman (R-OH), and Heller (R-NV) approval ratings' fell -- some dramatically -- after their obvious misrepresentation of their citizens' wishes.
We need to look closer at Ayotte and Flake and the other senators who voted no to uncover their motivation and find out who they actually represent.
The Granite State, whose citizens amassed in protest in front of the Capitol on April 1st, 2011, opposing legislation passed in their State House, will not stand for any bullshit or rhetoric from a dispassionate representative like Senator Ayotte.
Arizona, not nearly as patriotic as New Hampshire, will likely forgive Flake his ignorance, and hypocrisy. The Grand Canyon State is a great void when it comes to gun laws -- especially curtailing gun trafficking.
Senator Flake represents the state with the worst gun laws in the country -- which was revealed in the investigative report by Fortune's Katherine Eban. It was Arizona's weak gun laws that were responsible for the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Flake also voted against Senator Leahy's gun trafficking amendment last month.
Arizona's motto, 'God Enriches' should be changed to 'What God Enriches, Man Destroys.'
But there were other men and women -- including four weak Democrats -- who failed 'the people' -- who failed the families of Newtown! A horrific failure.
Every senator who voted no on expanded background checks should always be in our sights and reminded every time a new tragedy of gun violence occurs in this country. They should remain in our sights if they also voted no on the assault weapons ban, the high capacity magazines ban or the gun trafficking law. And there are many who did just that: Alexander (R-TN); Cornyn (R-TX); Enzi (R-WY); War Monger Graham (R-SC); Inhofe (R-OK); Minority Leader Mcconnell (R-KY); Risch (R-ID); Sessions (R-AL) who are up for reelection in 2014. And there are many other Republicans who voted down all four Amendments.
Until we've eliminated this love affair with lethal weapons; until we've put common-sense gun laws in place; until we've destroyed the campaign money the NRA dangles in front of legislators' and their rating system and threats, we must keep these dispassionate Pols in our sights and take them down election by election.
Until we become smart enough to recognize what other civilized countries have found -- that stricter gun control saves lives -- we're destined to repeat the tragedies of Newtown, Aurora, Tucson, and Virginia Tech again and again and again.
Tell your legislator that this battle is not over, (202) 224-3121.
Hold these monsters in Congress responsible with your vote! Reported by Huffington Post 20 hours ago.
↧
Firefox 23 Lands In Aurora Channel: Kills Blink Element, Introduces Slew Of New Dev Tools
Mozilla today bumped up Firefox Aurora, the pre-beta release channel of the popular browser, to version 23. With this, it is introducing a number of new tools for developers that will now slowly make their way into the stable release channel over the next few months. Sadly (or maybe not), this is also the first version of Firefox that does away with the good old blink element, a former staple of the horrid GeoCities websites of the 90s.
Reported by TechCrunch 19 hours ago.
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