sudouest.com, Céline Diai, le 23 Novembre 2009

VIVE LA FORÊT. L’association a tenu son assemblée générale, hier matin à Lacanau, en présence de 90 adhérents. Les débats ont été plus calmes que l’année dernière

Mer et bois sous haute surveillance

L’association de défense du massif forestier et du littoral girondin a fêté cette année ses 20 ans. « Le combat reste permanent », explique sa présidente, Dominique Gisson. « Nous avons toujours autant de difficultés à être intégrés aux projets des collectivités locales. » Dimanche, l’absence des maires de Lacanau, d’Hourtin et de Soulac-sur Mer a été particulièrement remarquée. Conséquence directe : les débats, qui ont suivi l’adoption du rapport moral et du budget, ont été beaucoup moins houleux que l’année passée. Voici les principaux points abordés, commune par commune.

1 Carcans : un permis de construire non gratta

L’association a déposé un recours gracieux « il y a une quinzaine de jours » contre le permis modificatif délivré à la SARL Océan Panoramic, par la mairie. « Le site est situé dans une zone du lac classée de Carcans-Hourtin. Une résidence de tourisme est en projet. Nous avons appris l’existence de ce permis que très récemment. »

2 Hourtin : mezza voce sur la création de port

Vive la forêt est préoccupée par la création d’un port de 330 anneaux sur plus de 3 hectares et demi par creusement et agrandissement du lac classé, près de l’ancien Centre de formation de la marine (CFM). Une enquête publique a déjà eu lieu et un avis favorable a été rendu. Dominique Gisson rappelle pourtant « qu’il y avait de nombreuses réserves au projet sur ce site classé. La décision reviendra au ministre de l’Environnement qui seul peut autoriser un tel projet sur un site classé. » La présidente a toutefois dressé un bon point au projet de réserve naturelle entre le lac et l’océan sur 2 000 hectares.

3 Les dossiers chauds de Lacanau

Les dossiers chauds sont nombreux. Vive la forêt s’inquiète de la construction d’une résidence de tourisme sur la plage du Moutchic. Le projet, porté par la société Inaphis, est présenté comme écologique. Le permis de construire a déjà été accordé, sans que l’association n’ait eu son mot à dire. Résultat, Vive la forêt a déposé un recours gracieux en mairie, demandant l’annulation de ce permis « modificatif ». « Aucun projet écologique ne peut être implanté sur un site sensible. »

Autre cheval de bataille, les deux projets immobiliers du Huga et Talaris, qui mettent en péril l’espace boisé et le littoral.

4 Au Porge : associée ou non au PLU ?

L’association regrette de ne pas être associée à l’élaboration du plan local d’urbanisme (PLU) de la commune. Le maire, Jésus Veiga, qui lui avait fait le déplacement, a promis à la présidente d’y remédier rapidement.

5 Bon point à Vendays-Montalivet

Dominique Gisson est satisfaite, le projet de panneaux photovoltaïques sur un site protégé a été retoqué. « Oui aux énergies renouvelables, mais pas au détriment des espaces sensibles », conclut-elle.

En matière de budget, l’association dispose d’environ 40 000 euros. « Pour l’instant, nous n’avons pas perdu de procès. Mais si cela arrive, dans ce cas, de grosses sommes seront nécessairement engagées. Cet argent est une garantie, pour nous, de continuer à rester indépendants ».

I owe you one photo blog.  Said blog will probably not happen for a while.  Just fyi. 

Oh my goodness I am SO ready for Thanksgiving break.  I want to go home so badly!  I’ve only been here for two straight weeks, but I think the prospect of seeing my family, being at home for more than 2.5 days without much homework to do, and being able to see some of my friends from high school is driving me up the wall with anticipation.  I miss everyone!!! 

haha.  It makes me feel wimpy, being all anxious about going home when I have friends who haven’t been home since their schools started in August or September.  But I think I underestimated how much I would want to go on break.  Oi.  Thank goodness that I don’t have any major assignments due before break starts.  I’m not sure how I lucked out on that one, but I only have reading or music studying to do for my classes…. THANK YOU MY LOVELY PROFESSORS!!!!

The biggest thing I have to work on this weekend, actually, is my application to work in PLU’s Writing Center.  It’s where students can go for help with any of their written work, from proof-reading to just getting an idea on how to begin.  I haven’t actually used it for any of my papers, but – since we’ve done some peer correcting in class –  my Writing 101 professor mentioned the job opening to me and said she’d recommend me any time!    So I’m going to go for it.  There’s no harm in filling out the application, right?  And I really wouldn’t mind getting out of the dish room.  Really.  It’s not awful, but it’s not great either.

Life here finally feels really steady.  Of course, now the semester ends in less than a month….. AH!  December is going to be crazy.  I have six choir concerts in the course of one week.  Dec 5, we’re in Portland.  Dec 6th, one at PLU.  Dec 7, one in Seattle.  Dec 10, 11, and 12 here at PLU.  Except for Sunday the 6th, all of those are evening concerts, meaning that we will get back from Portland early on the morning of the 6th and we will get back from Seattle hopefully by midnight on the 7th.  GAH!  I think it will be fun, mostly, but it will also be very insane.    And, I have juries for voice and piano on the 11th and then finals week is the 14th to the 18th.  Dad and I are going to Indiana on the 18th for my cousin Jana’s wedding on the 19th (which I am singing at).  I pretty much won’t be able to breathe until I leave PLU on that Thursday (the 17th) to be home for a night before leaving for Indiana Friday morning.

*sigh*  Oh well, no use in worrying about it until it’s here.  “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6: 33-34

I really need that quote on a poster or something.  It consistently applies to my life.  haha.  Luckily, I was really able to relax yesterday.  The thing I worked on the most was actually the collage journals we are making as a part of my bible study group.    We are reading Captivating by John and Stasi Eldridge and discussing it.  Everyone wanted to make the journals after they saw the one I have that I bring along with me just in case I want to write something down.  I guess you could say I also worked on increasing my list of favorite movies… haha.  I ended up watching 10 Things I Hate About You in the early afternoon with my roommate Brooke and a couple girls from my hall (one had to analyze it for a class), and then Brooke and I watched Juno with two girls from our bible study last night.  We were up a little late but it was worth it.    Yay for crossing movies off of my list (that exists in my head)! 

So far today I have completed all of my homework and I’ve read ahead for the classes I have reading in.  All that’s left is the job app!!  GO TEAM GO!   

So, I leave you with thoughts of warm turkey dinners and the joy of going home.  Please pray for those who don’t have a place to go this holiday weekend… 

With love,

♥ Erin

Is  the food I’m buying GMO or Organic or conventionally grown?

As I’m shopping at our favorite market, I look at the PLU* label on the produce I’m looking to buy.  This sticker, if there is one, can tell me if I’m buying organic food, conventionally grown food, or GM food**.

A sample PLU code lis shown on this image —>

PLU code is either a 4 digit or 5 digit number.

A food that was conventionally grown will be 4 digits or 5 digits (if 5, the first number would be zero).  It’s more common to see it in 4 digits.

example:   5432  (without a leading zero) or 05432.

A food that was organically grown will be 5 digits long and begins with a ‘9′.

example:   95432

A food that was genetically grown ( GMO )  will be 5 digits long and begins with an ‘8′.

example:   85432

If there is no PLU, I check if the food is certified organic by looking for an independent third party certified logo which guarantees the produce was grown organically (example USDA Organic logo).

It’s great to know that there IS a way to tell if some foods are GMO.  I hope you share this information with your family and friends.

*PLU is the price look-up code – the sticker – on items that are sold loose or in bunch, by weight or by each (an individual apple or orange, or bunch of greens). **GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism.

All the PLU information you want is in the downloadable User’s Guide at  plucodes.com – the IFPS or International Federation for Produce Standards.

I learned about this from an article we read in Health Action’s Fall 2009 magazine www.hans.org.  I don’t care for GMO because I’m concerned that food grown that way could be toxic.  GM food is man-made food – not nature-made food.

I just got excited while filling up my waterbottle because I realized, when filling it up slowly, you can hear an ascending chromatic scale.

Yes.

sudouest.com, Gilles Guitton, le 12 Novembre 2009

LÉOGNAN-MARTILLAC, DÉBAT PUBLIC. Vives discussions sur le projet de golf-lotissement des propriétaires de Smith Haut-Laffitte. Les élus Verts et le maire de Léognan divergent

Le golf en balance

Florence et Daniel Cathiard, les propriétaires du château Smith Haut-Laffitte et des Sources de Caudalie à Martillac, ont encore du pain sur la planche pour convaincre les Léognanais de leur accorder la constructibilité des terrains où ils veulent construire un golf et trente à quarante villas de luxe. Voire un hôtel (notre édition du 9 novembre), sur 75 hectares de forêt leur appartenant.

Mais ils ont peut-être marqué un point ces derniers jours, si on en juge par la position avancée par le maire PS Bernard Fath lors de la réunion publique organisée par les Verts mardi soir sur ce dossier.

Après deux heures et demi de débat, le premier magistrat a posé des conditions « non négociables ». Mais il a trouvé des avantages économiques suffisants au projet pour « étudier » la possibilité de modifier le Plan local d’urbanisme en faveur des Cathiard.

« Projet secret »

Le dossier passionne. La salle du foyer était pleine mardi soir. À la tribune, les élus Verts locaux Joël Lac, Jocelyne Pellet et Benoist Aulanier développent méthodiquement leurs arguments : incohérence avec les principes du PLU et les politiques de développement durable des collectivités, « cadeau » de « 10 millions d’euros » sans contrepartie, ou encore nouvelle atteinte contre la forêt léognanaise.

Deux chercheurs spécialistes de l’eau et membres du conseil consultatif citoyen de développement durable, Olivier Atteia et Frédéric Zahm, expliquent que « la question de la ressource en eau est essentielle » dans le débat. Tout en observant que faute de connaître le détail du projet, « secret », il leur est difficile de se prononcer précisément. « On ne peut pas donner d’autorisation à un projet dont on ne sait rien » dira-t-on plus tard.

« Pas d’arrosage avec de l’eau potable » est une condition posée par le maire. Mais le forage qui alimente les sources de Caudalie est-il classé comme « potable » ?

Il y a consensus sur les huit hectares de l’ancien parc du château du Thiol. Pas touche. C’est l’autre condition « non négociable » de Bernard Fath. Mais les accents naturalistes de Jocelyne Pellet, partie en forêt recenser les oiseaux et débusquer la salamandre, ne sont pas repris par le maire. Elle réclame un inventaire de la biodiversité.

« Ghetto de riches »

Il y a dans la salle comme un ressentiment à l’égard du « château ». On parle de « ghetto de riche ». On interroge : « pourquoi leur donner un droit qu’on refuse aux familles ? » « Ils ne jouent aucun rôle social dans la commune ». « Ils ont assez d’argent pour faire le golf sans les villas ! ». « Un golf écolo, c’est un loup déguisé en grand-mère ! », clame la Sepanso.

Mais le directeur de l’office de tourisme intervient : « la nature, c’est le tourisme, le tourisme c’est aussi le golf et l’hôtel ».

Même Lionel Peyrout, conseiller municipal de Martillac, met de l’eau dans son vin rouge : « je pourrais faire le coup de la lutte des classes jusqu’à 4 heures du matin. Mais ce projet mérite d’être regardé à deux fois ».

Bernard Fath évoque les « 170 000,00 € » de taxes nouvelles annuelles qu’apporterait l’opération. « C’est neuf points de fiscalité. La taxe professionnelle va disparaître. Je dois penser à l’avenir de la commune ». « Arrêtez de parler d’argent ! », s’agace un participant.

Au passage, quelqu’un a suggéré « un référendum ». Les verts ont un questionnaire : « plutôt pour, plutôt contre, ou sans opinion ».

On sent la faille s’élargir entre le maire socialiste et les Verts sur ce dossier.

Sur fond d’élection régionale, assurément.

Un exposé clair de la politique de développement de la ville, pour ses habitants, dans le cadre de ce Grand Paris qui suscite de nombreuses prises de position : telle fut l’entrée en matière de la réunion publique du 15 octobre qui a rassemblé une centaine de personnes malgré une information tardive et limitée. Décidons notre ville est partie prenante des choix stratégiques de la municipalité et prône depuis son origine la démocratie participative.
Notre soutien à ce PLU est assorti d’un profond regret : celui d’une occasion manquée pour un débat citoyen sur la manière de mettre en musique la stratégie exposée et débattue lors de la précédente réunion publique sur le Plan d’Aménagement et de Développement Durable.
Le public a sagement écouté l’exposé du maire. De nombreuses questions, de bon sens, ont fusé de la salle, exprimant des interrogations légitimes ou des propositions : c’est bien la preuve que des citoyens s’intéressent à la vie de leur ville au delà du seuil de leur immeuble ou de leur pavillon.
Quel dommage que ce qu’ont exprimé les intervenants sur leurs besoins, la manière de densifier leur ville, d’évaluer les risques pour l’avenir, de promouvoir des constructions écologiques, économes en énergie … toutes choses liées à leur vécu, n’ait pas été entendu plus tôt quand il était encore temps de débattre, et non seulement d’informer les Cachanais à la veille de la transmission aux élus du dossier soumis à l’approbation du Conseil municipal.
Les habitants ne demandent pas d’écrire le droit, mais que leur parole soit entendue et prise en compte. Notre majorité de gauche a perdu une occasion de faire vivre une démocratie participative, inscrite dans notre programme électoral.

“You want something sweet? Then you best talk to the Candyman.”

Awesome line to my new theme song for Anything You Want, Everything You Need (AnE). If you haven’t heard it, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! Thanks to my boys Chris Eger and Kyle Eaton for producing another hit.

Anyways, this is what you’ll hear at 8 p.m. Tuesdays @ www.plu.edu/~kccr

Combien va nous couter le nouveau PLU?

le PLU de Brest retoqué

Omis d’écrire ce qu’elle à validé dans les délibérés précédents.

Nous allons recommencer, ils nous faudra 13 mois

parole de Jean-Pierre Carrof, vice président de BMO dans le Télégramme d’aujourd’hui.
Mais bien sur 15 mois, c’est pas grand chose pour lui, mais pour Brest ça veut dire que pendant ce temps on avance plus et 15 mois c’est un minimum, 15 ou plus d’immobilité.
Quant à François Cuillandre qui se croyait au dessus des lois, je le cite:

Les bras m’en tombent, sur la disproportion manifeste entre les causes et les conséquences…

Il croyait passer au dessus des conséquences de ses actes.. mais la loi est la même pour tous..
A la fin du compte c’est nous qui allons encore payer la lourde facture que cette erreur va occasionner.
Quant à dire que ce jugement casse en rien la dynamique engagée et que tout propos qui ferait croire l’inverse serait irresponsable.Je trouve que Jean Pierre Carrof qui a prononcé ces paroles est lui irresponsable. Il serait mieux venu de dire nous avons frait une erreur et cela va nous couter cher.
Je pense que si cela était arrivé à la suite d’une erreur d’un groupe de droite il ne serait pas aussi tendre aujourd’hui dans ses paroles.
Quant a monsieur Stéphane Roudaut, je cite :

Il serait mal venu de vouloir tirer un quelconque bénéfice politique.

Je lui dirait tout simplement d’arrêter là son engagement politique, ce n’est pas comme ça qu’il défend les électeurs qui ont votés pour lui.
Et si une telle erreur ne peut pas servir pour mettre une autre politique sur la ville alors signons un mandat sans date au maire de Brest.
Je dirais à tous ceux qui en on marre de cette politique du n’importe quoi, bientôt vous allez voter pour les régionales. Ne vous trompez pas mettez tout ce monde dehors, qui se moque de vous et fait n’importe quoi avec vos deniers.

That would be Linfield at Willamette for the NWC title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament. Linfield has been absent from the post-season since 2005, Jay Locey’s last year at the Wildcat helm. This is Joe Smith’s fourth year and his best . Linfield is undefeated at 6-0 and ranked sixth in the nation. Willamette is 6-1 and ranked 17th. The Bearcats went to the playoffs last year and reached the Sweet 16 before losing to the eventual runner-up.

The Linfield-Willamette game is always a biggie and has replaced PLU as THE rivalry game for the Wildcats. Willamette has been consistently strong this decade, but had never had the success that Linfield has had in the post-season.

Linfield played well on Saturday despite the inadequacy of its opponent. It could have been easy for the first unit to lose focus and play a sloppy game, but they executed with chilling efficiency, scoring on their first four possessions in the first 10 minutes of the game. Many of the first unit was done by the end of the first quarter. And apparently, the team stayed healthy.

I’ve been super impressed with Linfield this season. Comparative scores are very similar with the exception of Southern Oregon. Linfield handled the Raiders more easily and on the road. Willamette barely eeked out a win at home.  SOU is the only quality opponent they have in common so far. They had similar scores and margins against Whitworth though Linfield won on the road and Willamette was at home. And, there was last weekend’s very tight one with PLU that Willamette eventually won, 35-17, but that was only after trailing after three quarters, 17-14. This one could be chalked up to looking a little bit ahead.

This should be a highly competitive game. The odds makers probably slightly favor Linfield because the Cats are ranked higher and have had a tougher schedule with most of the tough games being on the road. I would make Linfield about a 5 point favorite today. But, Willamette plays a much different offense than any team Linfield has played so far and as they proved Saturday, they can strike quickly.

I would look for a high scoring game. The winner is going to have to score 30 points even though both teams have strong defenses. It should be a classic small college match up. Game time is 1:30 in Salem where there are plenty of seats under cover.

Lorna Rodriguez

rodriglb@plu.edu

PLU students listen as the panelists discuss issues mentioned in the documentary. Photo by Lorna Rodriguez.

Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) students walked out of the “Pornography and You: Got an Opinion?” panel shocked.

“I would say the documentary was much more graphic than I expected,” student Andraya LaFredo said.

During the film, many students covered their eyes as graphic images filled the screen and/or felt nauseous.

Visual images are much more powerful than reading about the issue in a book because you can’t compromise or forget the image, student Daynelle Thomas said.

The packed room kicked off one of Gender and Exploration Week’s first events Monday night in Ingram 100.

The event featured the film, “The Price of Pleasure; Pornography, Sexuality and Relationships,” a documentary about violent and graphic porn becoming a normal part of American Culture.  After the film, a conversation with PLU faculty members Jennifer Smith of English, Greg Johnson of philosophy and Christina Graham of psychology commenced.

The occasion was co-sponsored by PLU’s Feminist Student Union and Men As Partners Promoting Equality (MAPPE) student organizations.

“We want to talk about how porn has become mainstream and what the consequences are and how it affects us positively” Feminist Student Union faculty advisor Smith said.

In the documentary, the filmmakers claim the American pornography industry makes $10 billion annually, more than the top three or four American professional sports teams combined.

To support this argument, the filmmakers showed clips from child pornography videos, extremely provocative advertisements and scenes of Americans consuming porn.

But more disturbingly, the documentary demonstrated the extent to which women are objectified and sexually and violently abused while filming porn videos.

The pornography panel is part of a week that asks students to question and explore various issues surrounding gender.

“My main focus as Social Justice Director for Residence Hall Association (RHA) is to break down stereotypes and tear down walls,” Thomas Siburg said.  “I know for a lot of people… sexuality and gender go hand in hand.  People have a preconceived image, which limits opportunities for men and women to express themselves.”

In addition to the pornography panel, some of the events during Gender and Exploration Week include a Brownbag lunch discussion on Gender Identity, a discussion on what the ELCA churchwide assembly vote concerning homosexual clergy means for PLU and a CisGender panel discussing what it means to be “male” and “female.”

Siburg said he is trying to utilize lots of clubs, organizations, and resources that PLU offers.  As a result, the Harmony club, Diversity Center, Health Center, Women’s Center, Wang Center, Campus Ministry and Harstad’s Resident Hall Congress (RHC) have all become involved in hosting events.

After showing the 54-minute film that caused outrage and laughter from audience members, Smith led a discussion that focused on the importance of being able to separate fiction from reality and whether individuals’ desires to purchase porn is inherent or constructed by society.

Smith began the conversation by asking about how porn fit into the panelists’ respective disciplines.

Graham answered first, saying from a psychology perspective, it is interesting to examine how individuals respond to porn and how porn shapes a person’s attitudes, behaviors and belief systems.

Many audience members nodded their heads in agreement with this statement.

Next, Johnson said he wanted to know how porn emerges and becomes a possibility in society.  Johnson also asked how what society says about men who purchase porn, and what effect does this have on society?

The second question, how the lines between fantasy and reality become blurred as viewers watch porn on a repeated basis, sparked a lengthy discussion.

Through a psychologist’s lens Graham said that although viewers understand porn is recreational to some degree, repeated exposure breaks down this distinction. Eventually, Graham said, at an emotional level the line becomes blurred.

Johnson responded by asking students to reflect on how American society lives out some of the values the media and porn industry expressed in the documentary.

Once the event concluded, both Grove and Smith were pleased with the outcome.

“Anytime you have to bring in extra chairs that’s good,” MAPPE advisor Jonathon Grove said.  “This was a good example of talking about topics that don’t get the attention they deserve.”

Meanwhile, at Tuesday’s Brownbag lunch discussion on “Gender Identity” students continued to discuss taboo topics in the Diversity Center with Director of Health Services Susana Doll, Michelle Ceynar of psychology and Diversity Center Director Angie Hambrick.

The event focused on probing deeper into issues surrounding gender, and the affects that can have on society.

Doll opened the event by asking students and staff to list “girl careers” and “boy careers.”  Architect, nurse, secretary, counselor and doctor were some of the professions mentioned.

After participants listed careers, Doll had students place themselves on a spectrum, with one extreme being “female” and the other being “male.”

During the discussion, students disagreed on whether various occupations such as doctor and counselor are considered more male or female.  Others such as nurse and secretary quickly were categorized as female, while architect was considered a male vocation.

Next, Ceynar and Doll did a similar stimulation on colors. This time students stood on the continuum based on whether the color they were wearing was feminine or masculine.

All of the stimulations gave students a new perspective on gender and something to think about, Ceynar said.

“I think it went really well, everybody did his or her part,” Doll said.  “I’m always interested in what other people think.”

Both the Brownbag lunch discussion and the pornography panel raise awareness and allow students to break down gender stereotypes, according to Siburg.

“A general goal [of Gender and Exploration Week] is to get most people involved and to raise awareness about gender,” Smith said.  “We need to have a conversation about what it means to be a gendered person, there’s a lot more going on with it than just being born one way or the other.”

]]> http://pluweb.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/students-discuss-violent-porn/ Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:31:20 +0000 tktaykay http://pluweb.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/students-discuss-violent-porn/

It’s not your granddaddy’s “biker babe” stash.

Colin Alexander sat quietly in the last row as he stared directly ahead.

“I view porn, I won’t lie,” said Alexander, a Pacific Lutheran University student.

Alexander accompanied his friends to see the documentary presentation of “Price of Pleasure: Pornography, Sexuality and Relationships.”

The student audience at Pacific Lutheran University waits to see "Price of Pleasure: Pornography, Sexuality and Relationships."

“I don’t like viewing porn stars; I think they represent something that is wrong with our society,” said Alexander

With explicit and vulgar examples of popular pornography today, the film showed more than just famous porn stars.

“I think Jenna Jameson is hideous,” said Alexander. “It’s all fake, forced, and unnatural.”

The event took place Monday night in Ingram with a panel discussion proceeding. Professors Jennifer Smith, Greg Johnson, Christina Graham and Jonathan Grove led the discussion.

Students observed the documentary’s clarity of patriarchal privilege: male domination, female submission.

Many women in the film explain that they felt empowered and strong when men desired them.

            “It does not empower woman to show their breasts while we’re still living in a male dominated culture,” said Smith.

            The idea that a person is wanted and desired by others does not make that person powerful, but recognizes them as a “thing” or object.

            General consensus among men in the film seemed to be that “women want it and like it.” They said pornography with a little violence and male aggressiveness is perfectly fine, because people enjoy it.

            “I don’t think we should be surprised at what the men say, but shocked at what the women say,” said Johnson. “Not to let the men off the hook.”

            The largest audience and top consumer of pornography are heterosexual males.

            “I don’t think we should be surprised at what the girls say,” said Graham. “Porn is creating these insecurities.”

            Our culture today influences men just as much as it does women. One way women live and survive is by using their bodies; because this is the message younger generations of women have received.

“Violence has become normalized in porn and film,” said Grove. “The more you see it, the more normal it becomes.”

Every type of popular porn that recently hit top choice lists included some sort of physical violence, specifically towards females. This usually involved spanking, slapping, choking and forcing one into a certain position.

            “Male produced porn and female produced porn is very similar,” said Graham.

            They both have the same characteristics and each being extremely violent. However, the female produced porn engaged in more female to female violence, instead of male to female violence.

            During the panel discussion, the question arose of whether these violent sexual acts were innate desires or constructed desires.

“I think they are constructed desires,” said Johnson.

If these are innate desires, then porn would have always been violent, whereas violent porn has only recently become a large topic of concern.

            “People with real violent or pathological propensities are drawn to violent porn,” said Graham.   

            Porn works the same way as all media. Not everyone who watches violent porn is going to become violent. But, the constant viewing of violent messages breaks down our barrier between real and imaginary. 

            Although the topic of porn and violence is serious, the professors kept it light hearted.

            Statements such as, “Oh my God, I don’t want you that big,” and “dress like a slutty Finding Nemo,” kept the student audience relaxed and rid some the awkwardness.

            A conversation about vaginal mints also surprised listeners.

            “They are supposed to make your vagina smell and taste good,” said Graham. “It’s an infection waiting to happen, so don’t do it ladies.”

            Towards the end of the panel discussion, an audience member commented on how diverse our beliefs about porn are.

            “We live in a very bizarre bipolar culture,” said Graham.

            On one side we are extraordinarily prudish and on the other, we love women who look gorgeous and half naked on magazine covers. It’s strange to be living in these two worlds.

            The last discussion topic brought up what we should do in this situation of violence and porn.

            “Don’t buy porn where women are being sexually brutalized and killed,” said Gove. “That would be a good place to start.”

More than 1,000 women a year turn to the porn industry with dreams of becoming the next big porn star.

courtesy of google images

Pictures of the beautiful Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn adorn her bedroom wall. On the same wall, a pair of old, worn-down ballet slippers hopelessly hang. That is where this story begins. *Jane Smith a student here at PLU does not mind sharing her story of a battle many girls fight.

            The summer after eighth grade Jane developed a disorder that put her life in danger. It started with her dance instructor encouraging her to lose some weight.

            “She would say things to us like; be light on your feet you sound like elephants, and I wasn’t the only girl she drove to lose weight, there were others” Jane said.

            Jane began unhealthy eating habits. Starting at only one hundred and nine pounds, Smith was convinced she should lose weight. She dropped to a low weight by that spring, ninety five pounds.

            She went through everyday not eating breakfast, hardly ever eating lunch, and barely touching her dinner. All while lying to her mother about what she ate.

            “I would pick something off of the school menu like chicken nuggets and just tell my mother that’s what I ate, so she wouldn’t find out,” said Jane.

            Jane went to have a routine physical after these events took place and her doctor informed her that she was anorexic. She explains that the disorder was something like a contest for her and other girls she knew.

             “Another girl I knew told me she was one hundred and three pounds and I thought to myself well I’m one hundred and five pounds and she is taller then me so I have to weigh less than she does. I had to be less than one hundred pounds in my mind and once I got there I thought well if I have gotten to here I can get to ninety five pounds and I did,” said Jane.

She continued to try and keep it from her mother, but soon her secret was out when a friend let it slip to her mother that Jane didn’t eat lunch ever.

            Jane’s mother had a discussion with her dance instructor. She was then informed that if she didn’t gain weight she would be asked to leave the company. The problem now was that she did not want to gain any weight. Jane moved to a different company, but the new instructor was not happy with her weight and wanted her to lose more weight. This was not good for her and she ended up quitting dance and moved on with her life.

            Jane’s battle with anorexia caused her to be at risk for hypoglycemia which resulted in multiple tests.

            Now she is healthy, but it was a long road for her. She beat the disease by eating healthy and studying websites targeted for people with eating disorder. The websites offered confidence boosting by telling people they are beautiful just the way they are.

            “I think I was very fortunate to have overcome this and I think it helped that they caught it early on,” says Jane.

            Today she is at a healthy weight and looks as beautiful as the women hanging on her walls. Jane offers these words of encouragement that helped her beat her disorder, to those struggling with an eating disorder.

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent,” Eleanor Roosevelt.

            Everyone out there is as beautiful as Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn, it is important to just believe it and don’t let anyone tell you any different.

It is springtime in Tacoma. I am walking around Pacific Lutheran University with the love of my life, taking in the scenery. The rains have finally stopped, and the campus grounds are awash in shades of pink and lavender from the blossoms. The sun, that rare and wondrous source of light and warmth, has returned, prompting hordes of twenty-something girls in the primes of their lives to lay out on their towels in the most incredible swimsuits many Midwest boys have ever seen. The ever-present smells of hookah and tobacco lay thick in front of the administration building. It is a perfect day. Nevermind the vicious rumors about our country losing in some distant battles overseas.

I gaze up as the sound of a low-flying jet draws my attention. “Surely it is just another cargo plane from McChord out on maneuvers,” I think to myself. And sure enough, it is. A dozen of these planes fly near or directly over campus on a daily basis. The proximity to a major international airport and the Boeing aircraft fields also put me in a position in which planes are constantly streaming back and forth in the sky, leaving streaks of some whitish-gray shit that is probably giving me or my grandchildren cancer. The planes make their lines, and I make my papers. We both accept each other and go along with our day.

But then a new drone comes from the west. I look up again for the familiar form of a good ol’ American cargo plane, but instead I see a tight, low-flying V of aircraft I cannot identify so easily. They are in the distance, and they are eating up the space between us like wolves. And then (oh shit) I see the bomb bay doors open on these planes and it begins to rain. Bombs. It rains bombs. The jets are raining bombs. Oh my god, it’s here. It’s happening right here, right now.

I am looking southwest. The airfield for McChord is less than five miles from campus, and less than three miles from Fort Lewis. Both of these bases are surrounded by woodlands, which are surrounded by residential areas. In less than three hours all of the people here are going to be dead.

Sure, the explosions created some shock waves and those did some damage to the buildings. But what did us all in were the flames. The sky was already turning orange-red farther west, and the smoke began to creep up Pacific Avenue from the woods and houses as they gave up their collective ghosts. Of course, seeing as this is the day we’re all getting our shit ruined, the wind is only fueling the flames today. The heat from the fire can be felt before you can even see the flames. The sky fills with ash and the air fills with screams. Still, I cannot look away. There I am, standing in front of the administration building like a jackass. Everybody has run for cover in the dorms. Fools. They won’t bomb this place, they won’t have to bomb it. The flames will take care of us. I am left alone standing here on the bricks to ponder my fate.

The heat continues to rise, and I can no longer see. Breathing becomes the most laborious act I have ever undertaken, for what little is left of the oxygen is choked in soot. Finally, the wind whips north and the campus is being eaten. Hinderlie Hill, which I had always thought would have been a cool place to set up bleachers for a stadium, goes off like some sort of ridiculous firecracker and the evergreens that have spent the last hundred years shading pasty white Lutherans are gone. Eastvold and the University Center are swallowed and the flames rush towards me now, with not but little Xavier and a few trees to stop it.

Something amazing happens; I burst into flames. It happens so fast that it becomes hard to tell if I’m actually dying or if I’m already dead. My head feels like a match tip struck on sandpaper and I can smell a lot of burning hair. My eyes become dried out, melted shut, useless things. Bones crack from the heat and I am lying on the cobblestones, which have become something of a brick oven for me. I spend the last few moments of my life knowing what each and every pizza felt like as it was prepared for me at Farrelli’s, down on Garfield Street. There isn’t really much left to bury or whatever after the fact.

I would like to thank Curtis LeMay for putting into my head these nightmares. There is nothing that can be said or written in any language to adequately express how horrible of a human being that man was.

Based on stories from around the country, the federal tax credit for new plug-in electric vehicles purchased during 2009 is providing a significant boost to LSV sales. The tax credit is included as part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) and is credit of $2,500 to $7,500 for a four wheeled vehicle that draws propulsion using a rechargeable battery with at least four kilowatt hours of capacity. The base credit is $2,500 and increases depending on the size of the battery pack.  An additional $417 is added for each kilowatt hour above four kilowatts hours.  For many LSV this equates to a tax credit of roughly $4,000 to $6,000 depending on the brand of LSV and the battery pack option chosen.

A Tomberlin dealer in Oklahoma has reported a “dramatic” increase in sales, Bad Boy Buggies is hoping to launch their street legal vehicle shortly to take advantage of the tax credit fueled demand and in a recent story out of South Carolina a dealer reported a sales jump from 10 to 60 vehicles per month because of the tax credit.  South Carolina adds a state tax credit equal to 20% of the federal tax credit and Oklahoma adds a 50% tax credit for electric vehicles.  In addition, the major LSV manufacturers are all prominently touting the tax credit on their websites, often with the specific tax credit available for each model.  Learn more:  SCNow.com

Pour de nombreux Maurepasiens leur domicile représente les sacrifices ainsi que les économies de toute une vie. Nous souhaitons les aider à préserver ce patrimoine. Nous venons de vivre un des cinq “ été ” les plus chauds de ces 50 dernières années. La sécheresse, maladie dont souffre le sol argileux de Maurepas, une fois de plus, a laissé ses stigmates.

Les fissures déjà ouvertes sur les murs des habitations sont maintenant béantes, faisant concurrence à celles de 2009. Le classement de la commune de Maurepas en zone de catastrophe naturelle a déjà été refusé. La procédure d’appel de cette décision a été déboutée. Nous ne devons pas en rester là. 300 familles ont déjà signalé des désordres sur les murs de leur domicile. Ce chiffre est certainement en dessous de la réalité. Faites vous connaître en nous envoyant un courrier directement sur notre blog ou par e-mail : guillot@maurepas.net

Nous allons, avec le Maire, déterminer la conduite à tenir afin de relancer les démarches administratives. Nous vous tiendrons informés sur notre blog : groupedeneree.com Plus nous serons nombreux et meilleur sera l’impact de l’action que nous souhaitons mener conjointement aux services municipaux, chargés du dossier.

Le groupe de Nérée, qui milite pour le respect de l’environnement tient à rappeler : “ La sécheresse que nous venons d’évoquer est liée au réchauffement climatique. Par contre, arrêtons de nous laisser accuser de tous les maux, sans tenir compte de la variabilité naturelle du climat et de l’approximation des recherches. Quittons cette politique d’alarme agressive pour une politique d’alerte constructive ”. C’est le message que nous portons notamment dans notre investissement, au travers de la mise en place du PLU (Plan Local d’Urbanisme) et dans les travaux de renaturation du Rû de la Courance. Le pouvoir de L’Homme est de se donner les moyens de s’adapter à la nature.

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特别嘉宾：JOHN ONG PenangHokkien.com/Ongline podcast主持人
如果有一天老了，你会怎样？入住老人院？美国竟然有同志的老人院哦！
让我们继续畅谈～
希望大家也可以到John Ong的网页支持一下：
PenangHokkien

Ongline Podcast

Electric kettle, waterbottle, mug, Ricolas, peppermint tea, Purell.... avoiding illness? Priceless.

… I forgot the Throat Coat!  (raise your hand if you thought I was going to say “it’s not butter!”) 

I went home last weekend and went shopping with my mom on Sunday to replenish my college necessities – aka FOOD.  Of course, Fred Meyers was completely out of Throat Coat (hello flu/cold season), but we had some at home, so we figured I could just take the box from there.  Of course, I entirely forget about this later….

I almost left my room key/card, but I remembered it at the last second!  But did I remember the tea??? NOOOOO.  And I woke up with a very, very slight sore throat this morning.  I had my peppermint tea and am now toting my bag of Ricolas around and drinking even more water than I have been… but is it gone?  NOOOOO.  >.<  I’m just hoping it will go away if I keep downing all this stuff.  gahh.  Thank goodness for what I do have, though.    *Note to self: HOME = THROAT COAT!*

End rant.  haha.

Anywho… I redid my profile for autumn.  I love autumn!!  It’s probably my favorite season.  It’s crisp, cool, colorful, and usually not too wet (at least, at the beginning).  It reminds me of apples, cider, pumpkins, spices, homemade applesauce (!), sweaters, Thanksgiving, and – of course – CANDY CORN.  hahaha.  (If the Szabos are reading this – I love you guys so much!! )  <—- They gave me a large jar of candy corn last weekend because I always steal theirs when I visit them around Halloween. 

Let’s see, what all have a I done since the last time I blogged?….  Sorry for the 3-week absence, by the way - lots of busy-ness now!   Firstly, updates!  I got into the University Chorale!  It’s technically the “intermediate” choir of the three main ones and it’s the one I wanted.  It is such an AMAZING class!  Dr. Galante is a hilarious and wonderful director and everyone in the choir is always focused, working hard, and sounding spectacular while they do it.    Our fall concerts are on October 20th and 21st.  There are two because so many people come to them!  (Such an exciting thought!) 

My voice teacher is Holly Boaz and she’s quite wonderful. :)  I’ve only had two lessons so far, and we’re currently looking at 9 songs – 4 German, 1 Italian, and 4 English.  I don’t think I’ll be working on all of them at the same time, but I’ll narrow down to about 5 to work on for juries.   Then for piano (which I started this week) I’ve gotten 6 to 8 things to work on this week.  I feel like I’m going to start going a little music crazy and be singing songs in my head all the time (like that hasn’t been going on for years anyway)….. heh heh.

My job in the Dish Room with dining services is going fine.  On Tuesdays I mainly unload trays/scrape & stack dishes for washing.  On Thursdays I mostly unload the washer and stack clean dishes.  Tuesdays = messy.  Thursdays = wet w/ potential small finger burns.  Woot woot.  But I really don’t mind it.  It’s only 5 hours a week and, at worst, it is similar to KCDA in monotony.  So I just sing quietly to myself (no one can hear anything that is said unless it is at normal volume or louder) and avoid looking at the clock. 

I have used lots of smilies in this post….

From the Ordal retreat... the boat behind us in the harbor. I liked the whale.

As for fun things, I went with my residence hall on a “retreat” a couple weekends ago.  We went on a boat!  (Cue the song that I strongly dislike).  It was definitely fun just cruising around with some of the coolest kids on campus!  OHHHHH!    I got to know a few more people, played cards, and just relaxed.  Brooke and I have made it a habit of watching GLEE together.  Yay!  We’ve even had a “Glee Party”.  There are some girls from Tinglestad (another hall on lower campus) who we’ve started getting to know and they all came over after dinner one night to watch it on my laptop with us.  Hopefully that will be happening again tonight!  (Hoorah for Hulu.)  Brooke also got me to go to the first Swing Club meeting with her and I got hooked!  We started learning the Lindy Hop on the first night… so fun!  The meetings are Mondays at 8 (probably one of the only clubs I can actually go to) and this coming Monday we’re having an actual dance!  I’m excited to put on my dress and heels and go.    The girl-boy ratio is still rather uneven, but they do a good job about rotating partners, so I’ve met a few nice guys.  (And that is it for the boy department – no, really.  )

Ahhh, the laundry calls.  But I am planning to take some time to get photographs of campus this weekend and pretty soon I will do a photo blog w/ commentary for those of you who have never seen PLU!    Of course, those of you who have been here will want to see it again anyway.  haha.

Love and candy corn,

♥ Erin

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特别嘉宾：JOHN ONG PenangHokkien.com/Ongline podcast主持人
美国有同性恋日，马来西亚没有。。。。。。身为一个同志，除了关注自身爱情问题之外，有没有人真正的想过同志的权益？在美国，同志大胆的挥着旗帜，大喊抗议歧视同志，而本地的同志却做过什么？
这一集，让我们来听听在美国同志的生活，婚姻，同性恋周等等。。。。。。。让我们打开视野，看看外国人的同志是怎样的。

希望大家也可以到John Ong的网页支持一下：
PenangHokkien

Ongline Podcast

Me and John Ong will talk about sex in this special show. Dont listen to it, if you feel uncomfortable with it!! Wahaha, you will become horny i think….. wow.

Bonjour, mes amis! 

I was going to go to breakfast this morning with the girls across the hall, but I figured that it would probably be a good idea to review for my Music Fundamentals placement test that starts at 9:15 today.  But then I finished doing that with 15ish minutes left before I need to head for class…. so yes, here I am!  haha

Life has been pretty good.  Like I’ve said before, I’m making plenty of new friends and enjoying this whole “independence” thing.  hah.  That being said, yesterday I experienced my first bout of college anxiety.  No fun at all.  I have currently tested out of both my Ear Training (which is apparently difficult to do) and Intro to Keyboarding classes.  However, there is no room in the next level of keyboarding so the professor said to get the second-level books and sign up for private piano lessons for the semester, so I would be prepared for Keyboarding 122 in the spring.  But every half hour (one credit) of any private lesson is $200… and I’m already in an hour’s worth of private voice lessons ($400!)…. I wasn’t sure if my scholarship would cover it.  Luckily it will, but that moment of panic was NOT enjoyable.  I also had tons of reading left to do for my Music & Culture class and I wouldn’t be able to go into my first shift of work because I had a music orientation meeting that night (a wonderful, wonderful new friend subbed for me… I owe her a smoothie. ).  Because I don’t know what choir I’m in yet, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to keep my 5pm Tuesday shift (which gives me 5 hours a week), I don’t know if the time I scheduled for my piano lesson works, and I don’t know when my voice lesson will be.

And, of course, I’m going to have to practice for all of these classes and have 2 juries (similar to Solo & Ensemble, but my private lessons grade rides on my success).  MEH!  Lots of stress yesterday.

Luckily, things worked out for the most part/I calmed down.  Writing a list of things to do and crossing them off is always makes me feel better.    So, this morning I will just take things one part at a time.  We’re doing a Chinese Lion Dance in Music & Culture today – that sounds really interesting/fun!  I also will know my choir placement sometime in the mid-afternoon.  I hope it’s Chorale!  But I keep telling myself that I’ll be satisfied with either…. still….

Peace, harmony, and all of my love,

♥ Erin

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谁会想要成为第三者，可是偏偏现实社会中就是会出现这样的情况。是基于太爱对方而想极力争取，还是太孤独，而无奈地接受成为人家的第三者？ 你会是这样的人吗？

Some of the people, they are willing to become the third party. But what is the reason? Does it because to show that he is really love him, or what? Are you the third party? Or do you willing to become a third party?

this is Jeff, my plant from my voice teacher to remind me to practice!

I’ve been here at PLU now for pretty much 4 days.  And I decided on the second night that I really love it here.    Everyone is incredibly kind and helpful and I’ve started making some really awesome friends.  Of course, one of those friends is my roommate Brooke.  She is from Portland, OR, and is so wonderful.  We can talk and talk and talk!  It’s definitely not a bad thing.  She went to a high school that was slightly larger than mine, so our experiences were similar.  She is interested in art and biology.  As for our regular lifestyles, we seem to have a lot in common – such as not really digging college parties.  haha.  My family met her parents on move-in day and they are such nice people!  I’m really thankful that she is who I’m living with.

I have also been getting to know a girl named Kelly, who lives a few doors down from me in our wing.  We have the same writing class and both have an interest in singing.  She is also into art, but more of the abstract side.  She hasn’t decided between pursuing art, anthropology, geosciences, or maybe writing.  She loves music/singing as a hobby though and is auditioning for choir tomorrow!  She is also going to be working in dining services like I am. 

It’s been really great to see how most people seem to let their guard down a little in college (or maybe it’s the PLU vibe?).  Everyone seems pretty genuine, if not a little shy, but I figure that once everyone gets into the routine of classes some of those awkward freshman/newbie feelings will evaporate.  My residence hall is called Ordal and, from my impression of the other halls, Ordal is the “hyper” one.  All of the RAs and RHC people (residence assistants and residence hall council) are pretty crazy and super amazing.    This is definitely the best hall ever!  haha.  Hall pride is a big deal.  Last night we had the annual hall “Sound Off”.  Each hall on campus has a theme and then comes up with songs that express our pride (hall and Lute pride!).  At Sound Off, all of the halls get together and have a huge shouting match with our songs, with a winner being decided by the Residence Hall Association folks.  Ordal was a major contender last night!  We’ll see who wins!  OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  (That’s what we yell).

Overall, I am happy, kind of tired, and still way excited to be a Lute! 

Til next time,

♥ Erin

Just one day left!  It’s such a weird thought.  I’m insanely excited and admittedly a little nervous, although I think it’s nervous with anticipation more than anything else.  Tomorrow I will become an official Lute!  For the first time in my life, I will be living away from home for more than one week.  I’m finally taking a tangible step into growing up and becoming the “real” me.

Not that I haven’t been the real me of course, and not that I am expecting to change into some entirely new person.  But I’m finally going to be (mostly) responsible for myself, all by myself.  I’m taking that step off of the bottom stair of the front porch to begin walking in the “real” world.  It’s scary, and big, and adult.  But it’s my time.  I’m so excited!  And not just for me, for everyone who’s starting college or life on their own.  My friends, we have some big things in store for us and I can’t wait to see how we change the world around us. 

So, my basic schedule for Thursday through this Sunday:

Thursday, Sept. 3:

• 9AM: Move in!
• 9AM to 3PM: After moving is complete, a day full of exploration of what PLU has to offer.  Woot. 
• 3:30PM: Meet “Just Ask Me” group.  An orientation group of people from my writing 101 class.
• 5:30PM to 8PM: President’s Welcome and New Student Picnic
• 8PM to 10:30PM: Ice Cream Social, “Lute Follies”, and Residence Hall meeting/social time

Friday, Sept. 4th

• 8AM: JAM group breakfast
• 9:30AM to noon: Academic Success presentation, academic advisor meeting
• 12:30PM to 1:30PM: New Student photo
• 3:14PM: CHOIR AUDITION!!! AH!
• 4:30PM: JAM Group dinner
• 6:30PM to Midnight: Residence hall meeting, “College Life… Explained”, and Red Square block party (Woot!)

Saturday, Sept. 5th

• All Day: On the Road trip — Salsa dancing!!! 
• 6PM to 8PM: Dinner theater and “Sound Off” practice
• 9:30PM to 1AM: Sound Off at Foss Field, “Trucker Hat” dance (lol)

Sunday, Sept. 6th

• 8AM to noon: Dining Services job training
• Rest of the day: Take a breather!  Maybe try to find Our Lady Queen of Heaven for mass??

Monday, Sept. 7th

• 10AM to noon: Various campus activities
• 1PM: Common Reading Program reception/discussion
• 3:30 to 8PM: More various campus activities
• 9PM: Residence hall wing meetings

Tuesday, Sept. 8th

• 8AM: Classes begin!  (Although mine won’t be until 9:15)
• 8:30AM: New Student gathering
• 9AM: University Convocation
• 11:50AM: Classes resume

And there you have it!!  Oh man, such craziness!  And that was the summed up version!  But hopefully I will have some free time intermixed. 

Oh, and my schedule is–

• M/W/F: Music Fundamentals 111/113 from 9:15 to 10:20AM; Music and Culture from 12:30 to 1:35PM
• Tu/Th: Intro to Keyboarding from 8 to 8:50AM; Writing 101 from 9:55 to 11:40AM; Ear Training from 1:45 to 2:35PM

With love,

♥ Erin