On the last day of filing for the Chaska Mayor Special Election, two more candidates filed, setting the field at four.  The two new candidates are:

• Robert (Bob) Snyder — Snyder works for Positive Connections and has been involved in River City Days and the Boy Scouts in the past.
• Doug Williams — occupation unlisted, Williams lives on Audubon Road and says “I don’t need four years to freak up the town like those other Council members!”

Snyder and Williams join former Ward 4 Councilor Jay Rohe and former Chaska Cubs GM Mark Windschitl in the special election field.

Coming up this Friday December 4 is Light Up Night in downtown York. For my internship, I had the privilege of making a brochure for this event, so I wanted to share the details with you. Beginning at 5:00 pm, York County Food Bank and Shipley Energy Green Team will begin accepting food donations at South George Street and West Market Street.

Following this, the Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center will host dance performance previews by the Greater York Center for Dance Education and the William Penn Pep Band with Carol Sing Along. After a welcome message from the Shipley Green Team and Mayor Brenner, guests will proceed to the lighting of the tree and the arrival of Santa Claus! Mayor Brenner will then read a Christmas story in the Strand lobby, after which kids can talk to Santa Claus and enjoy cookies and beverages.

Join us at 7:00 in the Capitol Theatre for the Mighty Wurlitzer sing-along and the showing of two Christmas classics on the Capitol’s Big Screen, “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” and “The Year Without a Santa Claus.”

Don’t forget to vote!  Early voting begins today and low turnout is expected!  That means your vote counts even more.  To find out where your nearest poll is, visit this site.  You don’t have to vote in your home precinct during early voting.

When you head to the polls, please consider the following Houston Apartment Association Better Government Fund endorsed candidates.

Sample Ballot:

Mayor – Gene Locke

Controller – Ronald Green

At Large 1 – Stephen Costello

At Large 2 – Sue Lovell

At Large 5 – Jolanda “Jo” Jones

District A – Brenda Stardig

District F – Mike Laster

For more information on the candidates, check out our previous post here.

Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim together with Vice-Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso after gracing the wreath-laying ceremony of 146^th Birth Anniversary of Gat Andres Bonifacio filed their Certificate of Candidacy at the Commission on Election (COMELEC), local district of Manila Monday morning.

After the momentous program for the commemoration of Manila ’s great hero, Lim and Domagoso were accompanied by their supporters coming from the 6 political districts of Manila .  “Ngayon ay araw ng pagbabago at mapayapang himagsikan sa lungsod ng Maynila tungo sa reporma. Marami na ang nangyayaring hindi tama.  Parang binabalewala natin yung pagsasakripisyo at pag-aalay ng buhay ni Gat Andres Bonifacio,” Lim said.

He said that it is a revolt for peace, clean, and honest election and a cry for the election of the righteous candidate and good governance. “A government that is clean, honest and true to their oath of office”, Lim added.

Domagoso, born and raised in Tondo, felt honored that he is from Tondo like Andres Bonifacio.  “Isang malaking karangalan na maging taga-tondo.  Sapagkat doon isinilang ang isang dakilang bayani na tunay at nagsimula ng pagbibigay ng kalayaan sa ating bansa.  At natutuwa kami sa ating alkalde, na itong araw na ito ay ito rin ang araw ng paglulunsad ng laban sa mga masasama sa gobyerno at yung mga bolero ang nilalabanan ng samahan at kupunan na ito”, Domagoso said.

Domagoso emphasized Mayor Lim’s performance for providing the city with its basic needs and services such as health and education.  “In 2 years time, 2 ospital, eskwelahan, at health center, we are talking about basic services, health and education were provided during those years, during the term of Mayor Alfredo Lim.  So, sino ang nakapagbigay nyan?  Noong una nyang termino noong dati ganoon din, ngayon ganoon na naman, naibalik na naman, nakamtam na naman ng mga taga lungsod yung kanilang basic services or basic needs, na pinoprovide naman ng kasalukuyang administrasyon.  So doon kami magba-bond sa issue na yun, ” Domagoso elaborated.

 “Ang amin lang pinaglalaban, na kami ay naninindigan sa katotohanan para sa mamayan ng Lungsod ng Maynila na walang pagkukunwari, walang pagbabalat-kayo, kung hindi yung tapat sa kalooban namin ang magbigay ng panunungkulan sa Lungsod ng Maynila”, Lim added. 

 The mayor was accompanied by his legal counsels, Atty. Rafaelito Garayblas, Atty. Renato Dela Cruz, and Atty. David Corpin. Garayblas, “the little mayor” expressed his gratitude and happiness towards the unbeatable tandem.

 On one hand, Joey Silva, Deputy Mayor and now the political campaign manager for KKK party said that despite the positive strength of Lim’s party, they are holding tight their confidence as anything can happen in the campaign period and during the election proper.

 The KKK founded by the Mayor and actively coordinated by Silva, chose the following candidates to run under its wing: Nino dela Cruz, Nestor Lim, Peter Ong, Thelma Lim, Josie Siscar, Lou Veloso, and the majority incumbent councilors, and supports the liberal party senatorial bets.

For those who are concerned, or just interested in hearing all sides of the proposed dredging in Fremantle Port, there is an opportunity to listen to a panel this Monday evening, November 30 at 7.30. It will be chaired by Mayor Brad Pettitt.

It is in Henry Street at the Medical Theatrette of Notre Dame, which is just before the Moores Building when one comes from the direction of High Street, or just past the Moores, when you come from The Esplanade.

Roel Loopers

alphainventions

The ongoing battle regarding Development Charges in Halton Region has been an up and down battle with a lot of input from all sides.  With all the different input, it can get confusing on just what happened in the end.  For some, especially those who bought homes in Halton, it seems they got good news in regards to not having to pay the increase.

In my last blog, I was wondering  just who was going to pay the freight on the development charges.  Fortunately, I have received some clarification on just what is happening.  The following is from Oakville Mayor Rob Burton, who wants to make sure there is full understanding of the issue.  I invite you to visit the link and see the answers yourself.

I appreciate the Mayor taking the time to bring this clarification forward.

http://condron.us/index.php?i=6
condron.us

alphainventions

href=”http://blogitti.blogiche.com/”>Blogitti

Perkuliahan pertanian organik kian diminati di perguruan tinggi luar negeri. Sejumlah perkuliahan yang mengusung nama sistem pangan berkelanjutan, agrikultur organik, dan agroekologi menjamur di sejumlah perguruan tinggi di Amerika Serikat.

Washington State University, misalnya, menciptakan mayor baru di bidang sistem agrikultur organik. Program itu memberikan kesempatan kepada mahasiswa mendapatkan pengalaman magang di pertanian yang kemudian menjadi salah satu daya tarik.

Salah seorang pendiri program tersebut di Washingtin State University, Reganold, mengungkapkan, ia kerap mendapat masukan dari para pengusaha yang menyatakan betapa pertanian organik semakin populer, tetapi masih sulit mencari staf yang memiliki pengetahuan tentang hal itu.

Sejumlah perusahaan makanan yang mengusung merek dagang organik juga menyatakan keluhan mereka. Umumnya, mereka mencari manajer pertanian organik dan staf penjualan, tetapi tenaga yang dibutuhkan itu sangat sulit didapatkan.

Damian Parr, seorang kandidat doktor di bidang pertanian organik dari Universitas California, pekan lalu mengatakan, semakin diminatinya program pangan bedengan menurunya berkelanjutan (sustainable food system) terkait erat dengan pertumbuhan pangsa pasar makanan organik. Pasar organik di Amerika Serikat bertumbuh sekitar 20 persen dalam setahun, walaupun dengan angka tersebut, makanan organik baru menguasai 2,8 persen dari total pasar.

Selain pertumbuhan pasar bahan makanan organik, program-program tersebut lahir seiring dengan naiknya minat para mahasiswa dengan hal-hal yang serva “hijau atau peduli lingkungan”, perubahan industri makanan, dan berkurangnya para peserta program agrikultur tradisional.

“Beberapa perubahan terjadi sangat cepat. Salah satunya menurunnya peminat program-program agronomi tradisional, “ ujar Michelle Schroeder-Moreno, asisten profesor dan koordinator Program Agroekologi di North Carolina State University. Program yang dikelolanya itu ditawarkan sebagai minor di universitas tersebut.

Menariknya, para peminat kuliah pertanian organik ialah orang-orang modern yang ingin melirik kembali ke agrikultur melalui agrikultur berkelanjutan dan agroekologi. Umumnya, mereka juga orang-orang yang tidak dibesarkan dengan latar belakang kultur pertanian.

Sejak 1988

University of Maine di Amerika Serikat sudah sejak tahun 1988 membuka program sarjana di bidang Agrikultur Berkelanjutan seiring dengan menurunya peminat Agrikultur Tradisional.

Marienne Sarrantonio, Koordinator Program Agrikultur Berkelanjutan di universitas itu, mengatakan, program tersebut berorientasi kepada ilmu pengetahuan agrikultural yang bersifat teknis dengan kurikulum inti antara lain adalah ilmu tumbuhan, ilmu tanah, sistem panen, ekologi hama, entomologi, dan manajemen.

Di University of Missouri Columbia, mayor agrikultur berkelanjutan mempunyai dua trek, yakni Produksi Pertanian, Peternakan dan Komunitas serta Sistem Pangan yang lebih berorientasi studi sosial.

Adapun di Montana State University, program sarjana Pangan Berkelanjutan dan Sistem Bioenergi termasuk baru. “Program tersebut memberikan peluang kerja sangat baik karena tidak semata soal produksi pertanian, tetapi juga terkait dengan implikasinya di bidang kesehatan dan ekonomi lokal,” ujar Mary Stein, Koordinator Program Pangan Berkelanjutand an Sistem Bioenergy di Montana State University.

Melihat lapangan

Mentransformasi kurikulum pertanian organik sendiri tidak mudah, bahkan cenderung lambat. Keterlambatan itu antara lain karena universitas harus melihat perkembangan di lapangan dan dampaknya. Mereka harus memerhatikan pemasaran yang nyata, lapangan pekerjaan, dan keseimbangan di dalam program-program tersebut.

“Ini barangkali yang menjadi kritik bahwa perguruan tinggi tradisional terlalu lambat dalam beradaptasi dengan perubahan. Padahal, adaptasi itu sangat membantu dalam berkompetisi di linggkungan yangbaru ini,” ujar Jerry DeWitt, Director of The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture di Iowa.

Sumber  :

Kuliah Pertanian Organik Jadi Tren | Kompas, 15.09.2009

What is the role of city corporate counsel? More, and more it seems as if corporate counsel does not work for the city of Dearborn Heights, but works for the Mayor of Dearborn Heights. Is it his job to constantly come to the defence of the Mayor? Is it his job to argue with the council members, he’s constantly putting himself in the line of fire, for the Mayor. Are we paying him to be the buffer for the Mayor? I thought he was City corporate counsel? Just a thought, but maybe it’s time for our city council members to ask these questions.

Just Kidding…………But I am sure it has crossed his Mind…………..

I can’t believe we are going to have 4 more years of this Asshole.

This guy’s going to be King for 12 Fucking Years. That is Preposterous. But hey, that’s what $$100 Million Dollars can Buy you in The Big Apple!!!!  His Bloomberg Businesses will increase in Value just by the virtue of  bloomberg being King for another 4 Years. His Businesses increased in value from 6 or so Billion Dollars 8 years ago, to $16 Billion Dollars recently. That fact is directly Correlated to  being the King of NYC. That is the foremost reason he spent $$100 Million Dollars on the Campaign.  That was just an Investment, as he will gain it back 100’s of times over.

Think about it. During the previous campaign, the Schmuck spent $$85 million Dollars and $$74 Million Dollars on the campaign  before that one. That is a total of $$159 Million Dollars. His businesses increased in Value from $$6 Billion Dollars to $$16 Billion Dollars. For an Investment of $$160 Million Dollars, the Schmuck gained $$10 Billion Dollars. Do the Math. Bloomberg may be a SCHMUCK, BUT he’s NOT a Stupid Schmuck!!

His latest Investment of over $$100 Million Dollars will no doubt Yield him a Return of BILLIONS OF DOLLARS over the Course of the Next 4 Years. 

Celebration Plan for Donny Folk

A DAY to commemorate the borough receiving the Royal Charter hundreds of years ago could be celebrated annually and funded by Doncaster Council.

Mayor Peter Davies has asked to see what work could be done to celebrate both St George’s Day and Doncaster Day – when the charter was received in 1194 – according to Freedom of Information documents.

However Mr Davies told the Free Press that no formal decision had been made on either proposal.

The move comes after the documents also suggested Mr Davies wants to stop the council’s involvement in Black History Month, International Women’s Day and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Month.

However the English Democrats member, who earlier in the year said the council will stop future funding for Doncaster’s Gay Pride annual event, also said those decisions were not final.

He said: “The fact is that my views were supported by the electorate who voted for me as mayor.

“There are expectations of me to take steps to deliver on these commitments, regardless of the views of one or two people who may or may not live in this borough and who would appear to be undermining the democratic process.

“I repeat that I have asked officers to undertake an assessment of the impact of my proposals in order that a final decision can be made.”

However Dr Glenda Stone, founder of internationalwomensday.com, said Mr Davies’ proposed snub of three minority events could affect equality rights in the long run.

She said: “It is important that industry and government bodies continue to honour and celebrate International Women’s Day because absence can certainly breed complacency.

“The reality is that 99 years on there are still issues that have not been resolved for women and still are only improving at a snail’s pace.”

It’s worth pointing out that before he became Mayor, Peter Davies argued that the position of Elected Mayor itself was undemocratic – but hey, we’re all entitled to a change of heart. Talking of ‘heart’ it was Richard I (aka Richard the Lionheart) who granted Doncaster it’s Royal Charter in 1194. Richard I barred Jews and women from his coronation ceremony – no wonder Mayor Davies sees good reason to celebrate!

KNOWSLEY Council awarded one of its highest honours to North West Air Ambulance board director Jim Keight OBE.  Jim was the former council leader and mayor and was given the title of Honorary Alderman in recognition of the outstanding service he has given to the council.

Jim served as a Member of Knowsley Council from its formation in 1974 through until 2007, with the exception of just one year. He was Leader of the Council for 17 years and served as Mayor in 2005/6.  He was awarded the OBE for his services to local government.

Jim is retired but still contributes to his community and joined the NWAA board as a trustee in 2008 continuing his commitment to serving local people.  Congratulations to Jim from all at North West Air Ambulance

Población

Evolución demográfica

Historia

• Primeros asentamientos

Según consta en la “Carta arqueológica de Tarazona de la Mancha”, realizada en 1978 por Cayo Tomás González y Matías Muñoz, que se encuentra en el Museo Arqueológico Provincial de Albacete, se han encontrado en Tarazona de la Mancha restos de las siguientes culturas:

• Segunda edad del bronce
• Cultura ibérica
• Cultura romana
• Cultura bajomedieval

También se han encontrado vestigios de los períodos Paleolítico y Neolíticoen diversos lugares del término municipal. Los diversos yacimientos se hallan bastante repartidos y dan testimonio de los primeros pobladores de estas tierras.

• Época romana

De todas las civilizaciones indicadas, de la que existe un mayor número de muestras es de la romana, como puede comprobarse por los restos hallados en una villa romana situada en el paraje conocido como “Casa de los Guardas”. En esta villa se han encontrado unos mosaicos que actualmente están expuestos en el Museo Arqueológico Provincial de Albacete.

También existe un puente romano sobre el río Valdemembra a su paso por la localidad. Parece ser que formaba parte de una antigua calzada que atravesaba el término municipal. El puente está en uso actualmente y su conservación es bastante buena.

• Baja edad Media

Durante la Baja Edad Media, las tierras del término de Tarazona fueron parte del Concejo deAlarcón, hasta que en 1476 pasaron a pertenecer al Marquesado de Villena. El actual pueblo fue fundado por vecinos de Villanueva de la Jara sobre una antigua aldea llamada “Casas de Cuarto Alto”, a mediados del siglo XV.

En la época de Carlos I de España se iniciaron gestiones para conseguir el título de “villa“, pero fue Felipe II quien el 11 de octubre de 1564 le concedió el Privilegio de Villazgo, dándole jurisdicción hasta el río Júcar. En las “Relaciones Topográficas de Felipe II“, realizadas en1575 se dice que “había 400 casas y 500 vecinos“.

• Siglo XVIII

En 1752, en el Catastro realizado por el Marqués de la Ensenada se censaron en el término 11 aldeas. En 1755 hubo un terremoto que quedó documentado por el Cura Párroco en su libro registro.

Durante el reinado de Carlos III de España, Tarazona de la Mancha fue capital de Corregimiento. De ella dependían Madrigueras, Quintanar del Rey y Villalgordo del Júcar.

En 1779 se le concedió el privilegio de realizar un mercado semanal libre de impuestos. Después de la Guerra de la Independencia Española, se crearon las provincias, y Tarazona de la Mancha pasó a depender del Obispado de Cuenca. En 1833 se produjo una reorganización administrativa y el término se integró en la provincia de Albacete.

Patrimonio Artístico

• Geografía urbana

En un recorrido por sus calles, podemos destacar las casas blasonadas que aparecen, la ermita de San Antonio Abad (siglo XVII), la curiosa plaza de toros, excavada en una loma, el Ayuntamiento (siglo XVII) y la iglesia parroquial de San Bartolomé, un templo columnario de tres naves, con una portada de resonancia valdeviresca y una torre de campanario cuadradada rematada por un chapitel de pizarra.

• Plaza Mayor

Pero lo que más llama la atención es la magnífica Plaza Mayor del siglo XVII, declarada “Conjunto Histórico-Artístico Nacional”, y centro neurálgico de la villa. Es un armonioso conjunto de arquitectura popular de tipo colonial, con balconadas voladizas de balaustres de madera, con un sabor añejo. A la plaza da el Ayuntamiento, con un soportal sobre arcos de medio punto, con una inscripción sobre la fecha de su construcción: 1692. Además de este arco, existen otros tres arcos para acceder a la misma. Anteriormente había un quinto arco que fue derribado en 1910 (existe una fotografía donde aparece). En una esquina se encuentra grabado un escudo del Papa Inocencio XI, y en el centro hay una fuente instalada en 1928. En tiempos de Carlos IV de España se celebraron corridas de toros en la plaza. En un principio, la plaza estaba separada de la explanada de la iglesia por “los pretiles”, que delimitaban la zona civil de la religiosa; éstos fueron derribados en 1934.

• Ayuntamiento

El edifico del Ayuntamiento es de estilo renacentista. Se terminó el año 1692 y es la única construcción que conserva los soportales de piedra. Al lado del Ayuntamiento se alza la torre, finalizada en 1694. La iglesia comenzó su construcción en 1549, finalizando con la torre. Tiene tres naves y cinco tramos, separados por columnas de tipo jónico, y varias capillas adosadas. Está cubierta por una bóveda de crucería, con ligaduras y terceletes.

Economía

Los cultivos de Tarazona de la Mancha ocupan una superficie de 21.253,7 ha, de acuerdo a la distribución reflejada en la siguiente tabla:

Fiestas

Un gran atractivo de Tarazona de la Mancha es su famoso Carnaval, que atrae a numerosos visitantes, de los más famosos de la provincia, y con una tradición ininterrumpida, incluso en la época de la dictadura. Las fiestas se celebran en honor a San Bartolomé el 24 de agosto, y junto a los carnavales, están declaradas de Interés Turístico Regional.

• San Antón (17 de enero), es costumbre encender grandes hogueras la noche anterior. En el día se acude a la ermita, acompañado de animales, y se da un número impar de vueltas a la misma.

Artículo principal: Carnaval de Tarazona de la Mancha

by Ellen Brandt, Ph.D.

Many of those in my now-loyal audience first became acquainted with my work by supporting me in the Community Marketing site’s Great Blog-Off contest a few months ago. A number of people have asked me to write a little case study about my (overwhelming) win in that test, which illustrates some basic principles everyone who writes for the Internet should keep in mind: Hook ‘Em With Headlines. Keep ‘Em There With Links. And Remember You’re Only As Strong As Your Fan Base.

I’ve been a heavy-volume print journalist most of my working life. But after a several-year sabbatical from the field, I returned to find the world of magazines in disarray, Big Media under fire from Little Media, and the Internet emerging as the place where a busy and educated audience of professionals tended to go for both news and features.

I was also dismayed to find that the current dominance of a few major search engines tends to exclude from Internet visibility anything written prior to 18 months ago or so. Magazines are particularly poorly represented. So the more than 3,000 print magazine articles I’d published over a 30-year period were virtually inaccessible, in Internet terms. I was suddenly a journalistic ghost, while Buffy the Siamese Cat, with 14,000 Twitter “publications,” was now a media superstar.

What to do? Well, with the help of my cousin the Internet guru, I first scanned in a selection of about 50 of my magazine articles and placed them in a little virtual portfolio on the Web. Then I wrote a couple of articles for Internet “aggregators,” but soon decided they were pretty much pimps, and I was a lady, not a Lady of the Night.

So I decided to create a Web presence of my own by publishing and administering my own blogsites and developing an audience in the Brave New Blogosphere. While this idea was germinating, I heard about the Great Blog-Off contest at a website called Community Marketing.

Marketing is not my area of expertise, although I’ve done a few stories on it over the years. (I’ve probably done a few stories on everything over the years.) But this contest was not designed for marketing writers only. It welcomed all bloggers who professed to be “thought leaders” on any kind of subject matter. I had been contemplating starting my Baby Boomers-The Angriest Generation series, which most of you now know about. (See the latest Index at http://wp.me/pxD3J-2a )

I signed up for the contest, describing myself as a “thought leader” on the subject of Baby Boomers. The owner of the site asked contestants – there were a couple of dozen originally, although some turned out to be not very active – to come up with punchy little descriptions of themselves, a few words that would make us memorable. I offered the following:

Dr. Ellen Brandt – “Sophisticated Rabble-Rouser”

About my professional background: I’m an Ivy League-educated Ph.D. cultural historian and the author of over 3,000 magazine articles. I’m now a professional in the senior services industry – the fastest-growing sector of this economy for the next 100 years or so – while also resuming my career as a heavy-volume journalist.

When I’m not working: I’m a mezzo soprano trained at Juilliard Prep when it was at 123rd and Claremont. I like lighthouses, carousels, and botanical gardens. And my Dog-Nephew Garcia, named after Jerry Garcia, was – honestly! – the inspiration for the Obamas getting a Portuguese water dog.

My Pre-Blog-Off Blogsite

Said punchy blurb was accompanied by a photo and the notation that I would be the contestant representing Boomers among a field of mostly Gen-Xers and Millennials.

The punchy blurbs were posted about ten days before the contest proper was to begin, at which time I contemplated what kind of strategy might set me apart from the field, help win me a loyal audience, and address the essential differences between a static print environment and this dynamic sphere which calls itself the Internet.

I decided to establish a “pre-Blog-Off blog” at WordPress, where I now house the blogs I publish. The site was called “Preparing for the Blog-Off” with the subhead “Seeing What Works.”

It basically consisted of the same page repeated ten times with different headlines. More about the headlines in a second. The main purpose of the page was to introduce readers to the Blog-Off, with an easy link to the contest embedded in the text.

I also said a little bit about my background and stated that I would be the contestant representing Content and Experience, as befitted a Baby Boomer. On the blogsite’s About page, I offered further links to my Linked In profile, about 50 examples of my print magazine articles, and a wide-ranging interview about my career. (See Why This Blog at http://wp.me/sycK6-about )

This adds up to a whole lot of links! Which illustrates one of those three principles successful website owners should keep in mind: Don’t keep your Readers on one static page, in which case they might as well be sitting at their kitchen table reading a newspaper. Keep your audience moving swiftly from link to link, offering them choices of what to read about next. Make your site a textual Treasure Hunt, with riches galore opening before their eyes.

Now For Those Headlines . . .

All I needed now was an interesting topic for the site, broad enough to warrant several blog entries over the two-week period of the contest, and compelling enough to attract a brand-new audience previously unfamiliar with my work.

The Blog-Off winner would be the contestant who attracted both the most comments and the most clicks – or page views – on the Community Marketing site. So I conceived the idea of a series of stories about attracting both page views and comments via the strength of one’s article headlines.

The series would be called “Thank You For Clicking!” and would be based on the experience early in my career within the world of those Headline Hotshots, the tabloid newspapers. (See “In An Economy and World Gone Haywire” http://wp.me/pycK6-v )

No one does headlines better than the tabloids. Their titles may amuse you, intrigue you, infuriate you, or have you scratching your head – but they are superb at drawing you in and getting you to read the accompanying stories.

Looking at this exercise as informative, as well as fun, I decided to use ten Faux Tabloid Headlines representing different kinds of typical tabloid stories, which I categorized as The Big Story, Plausible-But-Off, Purely Ridiculous, and What-the-Heck-Is-That-About? You can read about these tabloid story categories – and I certainly hope you will – in the four-part series of blogs which made up my composite entry in the Blog-Off.

Here are the ten Faux Tabloid Headlines:

Corpse Found in Internet Guru’s Gym Locker

Pet Hamsters May Spread Swine Flu

Each of these headlines was placed on a separate page at the “Preparing For the Blog-Off” site at Word Press, with the exact same text accompanying each one. In other words, the only element that differed page-to-page was the headline itself. A reader’s clicking on any particular page instead of another would demonstrate that the headline on that page attracted that reader in some way. I also encouraged readers to comment on why they clicked on that particular headline.

Please click on this link to see what the “Preparing For the Blog-Off” page looked like: http://wp.me/pycK6-2h I have used “7 Out of 10 Blog in the Nude” as an example.

Finding Your Fan Base

At this point I needed an audience to read my Blog-Off entries. Several of the younger entrants in the contest publically stated they’d be concentrating on their Twitter networks as potential bases of fans. But I wasn’t on Twitter yet, nor was I active on Face Book.

So I decided to focus my efforts on my Linked In network – considerably smaller then than it is now – and my 50 Linked In Groups.

Starting about two weeks before the Blog-Off’s official commencement, I began to post each of the ten Faux Tabloid Headlines in turn, with a link to the appropriate “Preparing” site page, first in the News sections, then in the Discussion sections, of my various Linked In Groups. I made sure each of the ten Faux Headlines appeared in News and Discussion threads an equal number of times, meaning that an approximately equal number of site visitors would have the opportunity to click – or not click – on each distinctive headline.

Readers who did choose to click were encouraged to make comments about why they chose the headline they did. Many got into the spirit of this exercise and made comments which were sophisticated, insightful, and often quite funny.

It was also soon very clear who my own “fan base” tended to be: over-35; equally divided between female and male; well-educated; and with professional, managerial, or creative careers.

I’m quite happy with that audience. And, in fact, many of those who first “found” me and my work via the Blog-Off are now friends and members of my network.

A quick note about my Baby Boomers series: I intended to introduce the first of my Baby Boomers-The Angriest Generation articles towards the end of the Blog-Off contest. But I collected so much material from the Faux Tabloid Headlines exercise – most of which turned out to be genuinely interesting, as well as humorous – I decided to stick with that “mini-series,” consisting of four separate “Thank You For Clicking!” results stories, as my composite Blog-Off entry.

Here are links to the four stories in the series:

Thank You For Clicking! Part One: Corpse Found In Internet Guru’s Gym Locker http://wp.me/pycK6-2i

Thank You For Clicking! Part Four: New Reality Show To Feature Laid-Off Bankers, Lawyers http://wp.me/pycK6-2o

I urge you to read these stories in sequence, after looking at the Introductory page from the “Preparing For the Blog-Off” site, linked above.

This sequence of four Thank You For Clicking! results articles made up my Blog-Off entry. They were posted on the Community Marketing site at about three-day intervals over the two-week course of the contest. Other active competitors also posted about four stories on average, with three to five blogs being the typical range per contestant.

When the results were tallied, my articles garnered about twice as many page views on the Community Marketing site as my nearest competitor. But the number of page views on the “Preparing for the Blog-Off” site itself was over double that amount, meaning my total views overall, counting both sites, was between six and seven times as great as the next-nearest contestant.

Tell Me What You Think

The series of Thank You For Clicking! stories also did extremely well in terms of reader commentary, which I believe is one of the essential components of successful Internet-based publishing.

Internet gurus tell us that a comment-to-click ratio of 1-2 percent is the average among publishers across the Web. Adding together the approximately 200 comments the Thank You! series received at the Community Marketing site, my Linked In Groups, and the “Preparing For the Blog-Off” site, these articles had a comment-to-click ratio of almost 4 percent, considered an excellent showing.

The comment-to-page view ratio on the “Preparing” site alone, where I – and not other managers – had complete control of the blog and its content was similar, with close to 100 comments from readers, out of 2700 page views in a three-week period.

I am including a selection of original Reader comments from the Community Marketing site and the “Preparing” blogsite as an appendix to this case study. To see them, please click here: http://wp.me/pycK6-2q and http://wp.me/pycK6-2r

The superb reader response demonstrates how enthusiastic – and witty – an audience I was fortunate enough to make an acquaintance with during the course of the Blog-Off contest.

There were a few detractors. If you’ve read my serious humor piece about Malice on the Web, you’ll remember a small cadre of loonies at a couple of Linked In media groups – including a PR man! – who thought anything whatsoever to do with tabloids was just too undignified for Internet discourse. (See “Vultures and Stiletto Heels” http://wp.me/pycK6-5 )

But most readers loved the premise of the Faux Tabloid Headline experiment and understood that it was not only entertaining, but also told us some interesting things about which kinds of headlines readers respond to viscerally and why.

Even coming from a heavy-volume print background, it was essential for me – as it is for every writer and publisher – to discover just who my Internet “fan base” might be and how I could best appeal to them in future Web publications.

My gratifying win in the Blog-Off contest allowed me to do that.

Soon afterwards, I launched my Baby Boomers-The Angriest Generation series. (See http://wp.me/pxD3J-2V ) And “Tell Me What You Think,” a catch phrase I used throughout the Blog-Off, became the subtitle of my EllenInteractive site, a cornucopia of diverse stories designed to elicit above-average reader response. (For instance, see “The World is Divided,” a key question story which received well over 100 comments: http://wp.me/pycK6-n )

I’m now moving on to additional Internet publishing projects:

Media Revolution, a subseries of EllenInteractive, talks about how the entire media sector is undergoing a sea change of enormous proportions and how we must prepare for it. (See “Is Big Brother Here-And Is He An Algorithm?” http://wp.me/pycK6-1Y )

Romance After Fifty is a series on dating and relationships I’m developing with a Baby Boomer matchmaker. (See “A Chance for Romance” http://wp.me/pxD3J-R )

A Little Knowledge will look at Internet security and cloud computing from the perspective of an audience which is well-educated and has used computers for years, but which lacks information on some of the serious recent developments that are changing the Web as we speak.

And The Rest of US - pun intended – is a new blogsite I’m launching about and for political Centrists.

So there have been many interesting developments built upon the foundation of my Blog-Off win.

I invite my brilliant, sophisticated, and in-every-way-perfect audience to join with me in these new projects and others to come.

Any success I have is due to you!

Hello my name is Kathy Abdel-Hak, I was asked by Dearborn Heights to come, and administrate the blog I am very happy to do so, but I asked Dearborn Heights to stay and jointly administrate, and post when she has time, so she has not left.  I will follow what they has asked me to do, one of the many things is to make sure that I only post the truth, that I add all comments good, or bad on this blog, and some  other things, I  agreed to this. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask, I have been coming to this blog since the first week, and have always thought it is a great blog. I agree with much of what has been said here, and hope to add to it, I think this is a place that we can voice our selves, give our opinions no matter what they may be. If we ask questions of our city leaders this is not wrong, if we demand that our leaders be fair, honest, and (transparent ), to use the description that council man Berry used at the last city council meeting. I believe that we have every right to do so, and a duty to let our leaders know that we are paying attention to what they are doing. So let’s get started, thank you, and I hope to be hearing from you all soon.

Department Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Lito Atienza (right) calls on mining operators to ensure that host communities get their fair share from their mining operations during the opening of the Mining Philippines 2009 Conference and Exhibition at the Sofitel Plaza Hotel in Pasay City. Listening on are (seated, from left): Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (CMP) chairman Artemio F. Disini, Vice President Noli de Castro and CMP president Benjamin Philip G. Romualdez. The 2-day mining conference, which has for its theme, “Strengthening Competitiveness,” was attended by the Philippine mining industry’s senior officials, industry financiers and investors, government policy makers, regulatory authorities, decision makers and top executives from the government and the mining industry.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources presents its position on the Intex Mining Project in Mindoro regarding the following issues raised in earlier paid newspaper advertisements and subject also of an ongoing sit-in demonstration in front of the DENR premises:

THE RECOGNITION OF THE LGU’s MORATORIUM ON MINING.
The DENR recognizes the moratorium, but this is a separate issue. Based on Presidential Decree 1586, Establishing the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System, the DENR, through the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), is mandated to assess the environmental impacts of an environmentally-critical project and prescribe mitigating measures to address these pre-defined impacts, regardless of any existing moratorium.

The DENR stresses: a) The ECC is only a planning tool and not a permit. It is supposed to guide the LGUs and other concerned agencies in the issuance of their permits; and b) The LGU is responsible for upholding the local moratorium.

THE FAILURE OF INTEX RESOURCES TO CONDUCT GENUINE CONSULTATIONS IN THE AFFECTED COMMUNITIES.
DENR officials claim that they conducted public hearings in the municipalities of Pola and Mamburao, while Intex Resources conducted consultations and public scoping sessions in the areas of Calapan, San Teodoro, Victoria, Pola, and Sablayan, where the affected communities are located. These consultations/hearings were conducted to generate environmental concerns of the community, not social acceptability.

THE STEADFAST REFUSAL OF LGUs TO ALLOW THE ENTRY OF INTEX RESOURCES IN THEIR AREAS.
The DENR respects the position of the LGUs on this matter. The DENR, however, must continue to act according to its mandate.

THE SUSTAINED REJECTION AND WITHHOLDING OF CONSENT OF THE LEGITIMATE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE TO BE AFFECTED BY THE MINING OPERATION.
The immediate indigenous peoples such as the Mangyan tribes belonging to the Samahang Apo Diya Kakuyayan Inc. (SADAKI) and the Kanluran Mindoro at Kabilugan ng Mangyan Inc. (KMI), who occupy the actual concession area in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro and Victoria, Oriental Mindoro, claim they gave their consent to the mining project. They also attest that a series of consultations were undertaken by the mining company.

THE MINING AREA IS LOCATED WITHIN A WATERSHED .According to those who recommended the issuance of the ECC, the mining project is located 25 kilometers from FB Harrison Bird Sanctuary and 36 kilometers from Mt. Iglit-Baco National Park, and thus outside the proclaimed protected/watershed areas.

THE FAILURE TO CONSIDER EIA REVIEW COMMITTEE VOTE.
The DENR internal review team took careful note of the recommendations of the EIA Review Committee and incorporated these into the contents of the final ECC. However, per Administrative Order 42, the EIA Review Committee acts only on a recommendatory basis. The final decision to issue an ECC lies with the DENR based on a technical and factual evaluation and not – and has never been done – based on votes by Review Committee members.

THE ISSUANCE OF A SUSPENSION FOR 90 DAYS, INSTEAD OF A CANCELLATION.
The ECC given to Intex Resources was suspended for 90 days to allow the DENR to conduct a thorough investigation of the allegations that the mining project is located within a watershed area and that inadequate local consultations were made. The purpose of the suspension, therefore, is to comply with the requirements of due process by giving parties time to submit evidence to support the allegations.

If indeed there was malice in the issuance of the ECC, the DENR will not only cancel the ECC, but will also hold liable accountable employees who may have violated the process.

In fact, the bishops and governors present during our recent dialogue have been invited to join the investigating panel.

The revocation of the ECC should only come after a thorough investigation is done and documents presented are studied impartially by the investigation panel.

Without due process, justice cannot be served. The possible prosecution of malicious and erring DENR employees and the eventual cancellation of the ECC have to be supported by facts, not by mere allegations. Otherwise, our decision may not even be sustained in a court of law.

lito-atienza

lito atienza

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Si una mujer mayor te mira de esa forma, solo quiere decir algo: “¡Quiero carne joven!”

“Todavia estoy buenota ¿o no?”

“¡Por fin encontre quien me diera un aventon!”

“¡’Alla les voy, atrapenme, no sean culeros!”  -  ¡No te apures, si te caes, tienes bolsa de aire!

 ¿Has visto la manchada pelicula de La Novia de Chucky? Pues de seguro se han de acordar bien de la supuesta novia del muñeco psicopata. Y por supuesto, lo que mas han de recordar de ella era el monumental par de carnosas montañas que se cargaba (antes de convertirse en una bratz del demonio). Pues bien, esa sabrosa hembra de voz chillona e irritante, es nada menos que la frondosa Jennifer Tilly. La actriz de 51 años, aunque no es muy famosa en estos lare, es bastante popular en USA,  aun cuando se ha movido mas en los circulos de cine independiente y en dobleje de caricaturas (gracias, precisamente, por su insoportable voz).

Aqui en Mexico se le conocio mas gracias a la cinta chafona de El Hijo de Chucky, en la que interpretaba a un version exagerada de si  misma. Despues de esa produccion muchos empezaron a buscar informacion de la cachonda y tetona actriz, dandose cuenta de que ha actuado en docenas de cintas e incluso series de TV.

Aqui en la oficinas de Tiramalenata y Cia. queremos recordarla y darle un pequeño tributo a su tremendo fisico, el cual ha de ser realmente envidiado por mujeres de su edad. A ver, aver, tiranetas ¿a poco no les gustaria encontrarse con una mujer madura, con ese cuerpo y una vasta experiencia de la vida y otras cosa, para que los arrulle en las noches frias? A mi, por lo menos si.

Como nota al margen, Jennifer ha sido nominada al Oscar a la mejor actriz de reparto por la actuación en la película de Woody Allen  Balas sobre Broadway (Bullets Over Broadway) en 1994  y, ademas, ha sido incluida entre las 50 actrices con mejores tetas de Hollywood en el 2007  ¿Como les quedo el ojo, cabrones?

This past week the NCW met to review their completed business/strategic development plan. They are scheduled to meet with the mayor next week to present the plan to him. Once the outcome of that meeting is public knowledge, we’ll be sure to post it…

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

It’s like Ray Nagin meets Kwame Kilpatrick.

BOOM!