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If anyone wanted proof that Labour have lost the plot when it comes to targets, agencies, QUANGOs and the like need only see today’s stories about the hospitals in Essex (read the story here). One which was rated as “Good” last month has in fact been found this month to have: “Floors, curtains and equipment stained with blood; soiled and stained mattresses; and re-use of tubes and other items designed to be thrown away after each patient.”

Such major and blatant hygiene failures do not happen overnight, so demonstrate admirably how the tick-box  troopers employed by government at all levels is all too often not adding any real value or honesty to the quality of our public services. Last week we found out that a similar exercise in local government is costing us all £4billion every year!

And who is accountable for the actions of these bodies? 18 months ago, our application for funding for a permanent traveller site was decided upon by the minister in the Department of Communities and Local Government. If we didn’t like their response, we could get MPs to question it in the House of Commons, and we could vote them out at the next election. Now though, these decisions are taken by the Homes and Communities Agency. No accountability, no democratic control.

Plus I bet that no ministers or civil servants were replaced by this newest QUANGO!

The next government needs a genuine bonfire of both QUANGOs and targets. Ministers should take decisions and should do so quickly, openly and where the public can have control over it at the ballot box. Otherwise what is the point of democracy?

TTFN
Gareth.

China unveils its first firm target for limiting greenhouse gas emissions, two weeks before the Copenhagen climate summit…. From BBC News. Full story

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As Markham’s Green Print Community Sustainability Plan is prepared there will be regular posts discussing the plan’s progress.  Twelve goals have already been developed for the plan.  Our next steps are to understand how we are doing now (baseline) and what we should be aiming for in the future (targets).  The following is the first instalment of a series of posts that will look at each goal in a bit more detail and give you the opportunity to share your thoughts.

Social Equity: A Markham where all people can thrive

The Green Print Community Sustainability Plan is addressing social, cultural, environmental, and economic sustainability.  As we make decisions about our future, we need to make sure that a high quality of life continues to be a priority.  Part of this involves making sure that Markham is a community where all residents can thrive.

The goal of Social Equity will address a number of challenges and barriers within our community related to age, race, gender, physical ability and income.  

A recent trend to consider is the increase in child poverty in Markham.  The Children’s Aid Society found that Markham had the steepest climb in the rate of child poverty in GTA from 8% in 1990 to 20% in 2005.  And this study doesn’t account for the current economic difficulties.  Growing up in poverty limits children’s abilities reach their full potential.

Other trends we found or heard during the Sustainability Fair include:

• the challenges for newcomers to reach the same income level as non-immigrants
• an aging population which will require new community and health services, housing and programs
• not enough affordable housing options within the town
• facilities and services not being equally distributed throughout the community
• lack of services and publications that are multi-lingual

Are there other trends in Markham that should be included?

What should Markham be aiming for in the long term?  An age-friendly community?  Affordable childcare?  A narrowing of the income gap between rich and poor?  Greater youth involvement?  Equal access to all that Markham offers?  More opportunities to participate in your local government?

Let us know through our online feedback form.

Would it not aim for jobs is a topic of great interest to the many people who have a job to offer them to leave with money, at least the bare necessities of life? To hold especially one that is suitable for a large portion of their waking day. This article focuses on a growth path formula of the Performance Coaching World, which can be immediately used by job seekers.

Step 1 is set to the target.

This means that the true spirit of creativity, insight and reasoning to come towith a job related goal. It is a temptation to leave here, limiting the nature of your circumstances and time limits to determine the nature of the target. This is not the place to a cooling of the power of vision behind the target. For example, you might need a job to pay the bills next few months – and that you can convince them that your goal is to take place, the first thing that comes then. Not so! The reality of the looming credit card interest payments can not say anything different, but the job target of highenough to see beyond the acute crisis.

Step two is where the reality faced

Now you are struggling with a goal worth armed. Your case will naturally have an impact on what you need to do to find this week, next week and in the coming months to employment. And it is entirely possible that the goal you might have to be changed in step 1 set (but certainly not abandoned) due to the current difficult times. Here is an updated resume a jobconstructive approach to factoring in all the essential qualities and experience you bring to your current situation.

Step three is where the logical reasoning mind can really come into its own

Here you can sign up for coming up with possible options to get you can get the job. Some of these options seems to be perverse, if with what you believe is possible, in contrast, but they should still be detained in order to set the lights of the big job boards target in the first step.You may have to temporarily set the day when they can be implemented, but knowing that there are these possibilities is an inspirational tip to strive for. In the meantime, continue with the climb through the foothills of the job search options to be considered realistic in the short term.

The fourth step is to point to the decision to act.

For example:

What jobs will you focus on applying?

Where you can have more information?

What is the best service resumedto work for maximum impact?

When will the next job fair is held in your area?

Questions about taking specific measures are useful when there a focus on what you put in the next 10 to 15 minutes. For example, what is the phone number of the agency you have been recommended by a friend? This is a specific next step you can take, even though you do not know what would result from contact with them, or even if their number has come!

If youhave access to a career counselor or coach, get to bring the accountability of such a relationship of trust can be to find your job.

Finally, remember that the growth implied "Goal – Reality – Options-What is achieved, because the reinforcing feedback. You must have only set the goal, then take a reality check, then come with some possible actions, and finally moving into the what, when, where and how the Getting Things Done.

These steps can be mixed to very effective inSeek the company of an experienced career coach, but if that is not available and you are new to the self-coaching approach, and in the middle of a potentially stressful job, then always start the goal first.

Aim high!

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China says it will aim to reduce the so-called ‘carbon intensity’ of its economy by 40- 45% by 2020, official media say…. From BBC News. Full story

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China says it will cut its "carbon intensity" emissions per unit of GDP in 2020 by 40-45% from 2005 levels, says state media…. From BBC News. Full story

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Posted: November 25, 2009

I’ll take another round turkey, a heaping pile of mashed potatoes and a mound of stuffing.  I’ll go for seconds, maybe thirds, on yams and cranberry.  I’ll make room for a slice of pie or three, and then it’s on to dessert and a plate full of Sleepers for Week 12:

QUARTERBACK

Alex Smith (San Francisco) vs. Jacksonville – Projection: 21-35, 220 yards, 2 TD
Smith didn’t look great on Sunday against Green Bay, but still threw for 227 yards and 3 TD.  Jacksonville ranks 25th versus the pass, so another solid performance is a high probability.

Vince Young (Tennessee) vs. Arizona – Projection: 13-21, 155 yards, 1 TD, 5-35 rushing
Young is not an exciting fantasy option, but it’s surprising how little it takes to get double-digit fantasy points from the guy.  With just 116 passing yards in Week 11, Young was still good for 14 fantasy points thanks to 73 rushing yards and a passing TD.

RUNNING BACK

Justin Forsett (Seattle) @ St. Louis – Projection: 13-71 rushing, 5-31 receiving, 1 TD
Even if Julius Jones returns from his bruised lung, Forsett has more than proven his worth in Seattle, and will get his touches.  The Rams are 28th in the league against the run, so this will probably be the last week Forsett qualifies as a “Sleeper”.

Jamaal Charles (Kansas City) @ San Diego – Projection: 14-65 rushing, 3-11 receiving, 1 TD
Against a tough Pittsburgh D, Charles still found a way to be a viable fantasy option by catching a 2-yard touchdown pass from Matt Cassel and returning a kickoff for 6.  San Diego is 21st against the run, so Charles could have another solid day.

Danny Ware (New York Giants) @ Denver – Projection: 9-51 rushing, 3-24 receiving
When the Giants travel to Denver for a Thanksgiving night showdown with the Broncos, Ahmad Bradshaw (ankle) will not make the trip.  With Brandon Jacobs (leg) a bit hobbled, the door could swing open for the Giants’ number three back.

WIDE RECEIVER

Antonio Bryant (Tampa Bay) @ Atlanta – Projection: 5-67 receiving, 1 TD
Bryant had 1248 yards and 7 TD just one season ago.  After battling injuries for much of this year, he’s healthy and could start to build a rapport with Tampa Bay rookie gunslinger, Josh Freeman.  It doesn’t hurt that Atlanta is 29th against the pass.

Earl Bennett (Chicago) @ Minnesota – Projection: 7-84 receiving
Over the past 3 weeks, Chicago’s leading ypc receiver (12.8) has a modest 15 grabs for 177 yards.  Not exactly a trend that would suggest a big game versus Minnesota, but here we go again, putting up the bucks for a guy who always fails to deliver a TD.  This could be the week…

Pierre Garcon (Indianapolis) @ Houston – Projection: 5-72 receiving
Over the past 3 weeks, Garcon is tied with Roddy White for 13th in the NFL in WR targets (28).  Over that span, he has 14 catches, 218 yards and 1 TD, including 108 yards last week.  By the way, he has Peyton Manning throwing him the ball.

TIGHT END

Jermichael Finley (Green Bay) @ Detroit – Projection: 4-39 receiving, 1 TD
How can I not go with Finley (again)?  He’s owned in less than 20% of fantasy leagues, yet, per game, is outperforming Jason Witten, Jeremy Shockey and John Carlson, all of whom are owned in more than 75% of leagues!  Plus, here comes Detroit.

KICKER

Dan Carpenter (Miami) @ Buffalo – Projection: 2 FG, 2 PAT (1 FG 40+)
It’s time to see if Carpenter can be a cold weather kicker.  Safe bet, the Montana alum will be fine, and the Dolphins will get him into range at least twice against the Bills.  Carpenter has scored 74 (real life) points thus far in 2009, and has a big leg.

DEFENSE

Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay – Projection: 17 points allowed, 2 sacks, 1 Int, 1 fumble recovery
The Buccaneers have shown flashes of ability on offense, and there could be some again on Sunday.  That said, Atlanta is averaging 2 sacks and nearly 2 takeaways per game, and Tampa will really be no match at home.

Posted: November 24, 2009

After some recent ups-and-downs on the Sleeper Market, the Fantasy Sports Shack stocks are, once again, on the rise.  Here are the Week 11 Sleeper results:

QUARTERBACK (2 for 2)

Vince Young (Tennessee) – Young used his legs more than anticipated, but still got it done.
Projected: 15-23, 165 passing, 6-26 rushing, 1 rushing TD
Actual: 12-22, 116 passing, 1 passing TD, 11-73 rushing

Matthew Stafford (Detroit) – The stat-line of the week in (surprisingly) the game of the week.
Projected: 22-38, 245 yards, 1 TD, 1 Int
Actual: 26-43, 422 yards, 5 TD, 2 Int

RUNNING BACK (3 for 3)

Jason Snelling (Atlanta) – It wasn’t exactly pretty, but he got the job done, hitting paydirt twice.
Projected: 16-64 rushing, 1-9 receiving, 1 TD
Actual: 25-76 rushing, 3-13 receiving, 2 TD

Bernard Scott (Cincinnati) – The touches and yardage far exceeded expectations, making up for the lack of a TD.
Projected: 16-59 rushing, 1 TD
Actual: 21-119 rushing, 3-32 receiving

Justin Forsett (Seattle) – A big day receiving and a short yardage punch-in run made him a viable play.
Projected: 15-57 rushing, 4-26 receiving
Actual: 8-9 rushing, 8-80 receiving, 1 TD

WIDE RECEIVER (1 for 3)

Mike Wallace (Pittsburgh) – What could have been a career day became a day to forget.
Projected: 4-65 receiving, 1 TD
Actual: 2-47 receiving, 1-5 rushing, 1 fumble lost

Laveranues Coles (Cincinnati) – Nailed the yardage, but without a score, can’t take credit.
Projected: 5-61 receiving, 1 TD
Actual: 2-61 receiving

Mohamed Massaquoi (Cleveland) – Scored his first career TD in the shootout with Detroit.
Projected: 4-71 receiving
Actual: 5-115 receiving, 1 TD

TIGHT END (1 for 1)

Jermichael Finley (Green Bay) – There’s plenty to like about this guy in the weeks to come.
Projected: 5-58 receiving
Actual: 7-54 receiving

KICKER (push)

Jeff Reed (Pittsburgh) – Not exactly a bad game, but not really a good game, either.
Projected: 2 FG, 4 PAT
Actual: 1 FG, 3 PAT

DEFENSE (0 for 1)

Detroit Lions – A Lions/Browns shootout!  Who’d'a thunk it?
Projected: 16 points allowed, 1 sack, 1 Int, 1 fumble recovery
Actual: 37 points allowed, 1 sack

Scorecard for Week 10: 7 for 10, 1 push
Overall Scorecard for 2009 Season: 44 for 112, 9 pushes (39%)

2009 marks the first Christmas period where I have not worked in retail.  Although I am mostly grateful for this (since Christmas is a stressful time of year to be serving behind the counter, or generally to be doing anything), it did mean that I wasn’t really bombarded with the Christmas decorations and music that usually go up in stores in October, and therefore was not reminded to start organising my gifts and purchases until about last week, when I thought “Shit, it’s mid-November and I have not bought ANY presents.” In the last week or so I’ve started redressing that balance, and I’m starting to get a move on with it.  I have the added motivation of Gucci earrings.

Don’t be fooled by this fairly crude picture – the earrings are delicate and beautiful, just the right balance of style and elegance, neither masculine nor feminine.  Just… lovely.  A wonderful upgrade from my Armani Earrings (and who knows, maybe it’ll inspire a sequel song on my next album!).  However, this wonderful upgrade costs £240 (they are white gold and Gucci… and it will raise my fashion game) so I have therefore made a pact with myself that I will not buy them until my Christmas shopping is done.  There are a couple of reasons for this.

1. It’s kinda selfish to just keep buying things for myself when tis the season to give.  I love buying presents for other people, and I don’t feel guilty spending money on other people!
2. If I spend £240 on earrings, then it is possible (knowing myself) that I might physically run out of money before I manage to get everyone’s presents.  Which again, is kinda selfish when I could easily wait for the earrings a little bit longer.  It’s not like I don’t have anything satisfactory to wear in my ears for the time being!

So I am sticking to my pact. I also have the added incentive of getting my Christmas shopping done before December the 11th, because that is the date of our Christmas party for uni, and I would quite like to wear my new earrings to this Christmas party. Because then I will feel extra-special.

Anyways, this post isn’t meant to be about my Gucci earrings.  It is about Christmas shopping, and the fact that it feels almost strange for me not to be working in retail during this period, since it’s something I’ve done for the past 8 years.  I don’t miss the incessant Christmas music in shops, and I don’t miss the cranky customers nor the constant target-monitoring.  However, I enjoy the busy feeling going into the shops, and the excitement of everyone buying gifts for people they love – whether people get cranky about it at the till or not, I like the idea that everyone is trying to please someone else.  I don’t give to receive – I give to hopefully make people happy at Christmas with a gift that shows how much I appreciate them, and also that I have considered their personality and found them something appropriate.  In that sense, I am more a subscriber to the commercial meaning of Christmas than the religious meaning of Christmas (as long as it’s done with love and friendship as the primary agenda, rather than showboating, there’s nothing wrong IMO with buying someone a gift to show your appreciation of them).

Whilst legislation is vital to achieve meaningful change in society, it is important to not get carried away with legalisation for legislation sake. This is illustrated by the inclusion in the Queen’s speech, of the bill that sets out to eradicate child poverty by 2020. Whilst it would be amazing if the government achieved this, I think it is pretty evident that it would be an almighty task to rid ALL child poverty by 2020. There are several problems that I see that would prevent such a target being fulfilled.

For one, what poverty are you talking about? Well, by this I mean, do you mean absolute poverty? Relative poverty? Lifestyle poverty? You get the point. Everyone has different definitions of poverty, to me, absolute poverty is the most pressing concern, but to working class/middle class aspiring to those above them, they may consider themselves to be in poverty when they can’t afford the same clothe lines as others. Thus, for one, it is important to emphasise the definition of poverty that is being used when discussing poverty legislation.

Even if the poverty definition is firmly stated, another problem with enshrining the commitment into law is that it could take attention away from the actual policy details that will be used to attempt to eradicate poverty. What meaningful policies were discussed in the Queen’s speech that really get to grips with child poverty? There needs to be less talk and more action, the more talk occurs around a law that seems to offer all the answer to solving poverty, the less attention is spent on considering real policy options that will help those in the deepest inequality.

Another inherent problem with the eradication of poverty being a law is that we operate within a system that is inherently unequal. How can we aspire to eradicate poverty by 2020 when the capitalist system feeds off class divisions and the power of  one group over another? I think this is where we have to recognise the importance of Karl Marx as a theorist, he provided powerful insights into the structure of capitalism and helps show how poverty is needed in order for the capitalist system to be maintained.

Another influential theorist who is important to bear in mind when discussing poverty is Max Weber. He did not talk about poverty per se, however, his theory of rationalisation can be clearly related to the legislation of eradicating poverty by 2020. Weber talks about how rationalisation will result in targets becoming ends in themselves, so the actual values, such as tackling poverty itself, are lost in the process of an increased obsession with ends.

So what happens if the government does not fulfil its commitment? Will they be liable to the courts? Of course they wont. This is just a token. It is a distraction from the mass level of poverty in society. What about the poverty all around the world? We can’t just set targets like this and expect it to be work done, there needs to be greater consideration of the wide range and level of poverty. Thus, I feel that whilst aiming to reduce child poverty is a good thing, to say you will eradicate it and then enshrine this belief in law seems to be a little absurd. I would be more than happy to eat my words in 2020 but I very much doubt I will have to, due to the reasons stated above.

Results – goals, objectives, outcomes, targets and a plethora of other terms are used to specify what we and others want to achieve.

If you have an ambition to increase your income, to start a business, (either full-time or part-time), to manage your finances, to grow and manage your wealth, to increase your understanding and skills in online marketing, then you’ve come to the right place.

This programme helps you think through and structure your goals and objectives, helps you make an emotional connection with these goals (so important in order to stick with them) and then make a plan to achieve them.

Beyond that, we provide you with ongoing support and resources to hold your hand through the journey until you reach the destination.

Each journey starts with a single step. Take your first step and click here to enter your contact details, so we can guide you through the next steps to your success.

Mark.

The Observer reports that Barak Obama may be considering committing the US to greenhouse gas emission targets to get the seemingly stalled UN Copenhagen climate change conference back on track – the USA and China between them produce 40% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and a failure to get the USA to agree to meaningful targets is the biggest obstacle to achieving binding legal agreement at the Summit which is now only three weeks way.  The US failed to sign the last (Kyoto) treaty - with almost the entire US senate voting against agreement – but it seems that President Obama may commit to reduction targets of between 14% and 20% by 2020 compared with 2005 levels. Whilst this is significant progress it may not be enough to achieve agreement at Cop 15, where many countries are looking at far more significant reductions by 2020. That said, without the USA making any offer at COP 15, the talks on climate change and any hope of a binding result must surely fail.

Israeli military says its aircraft struck two factories in Gaza and a smuggling tunnel between the Gaza Strip and Egypt; Palestinian medics say the air assault wounded at least seven people… From VOA. Full story

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Israeli military says its aircraft struck two factories in Gaza and a smuggling tunnel between the Gaza Strip and Egypt; Palestinian medics say the air assault wounded at least seven people… From VOA. Full story

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TV presenter Konnie Huq travelled to India to take part in a two-day drive to eradicate polio from two Indian states where the disease is still endemic…. From BBC News. Full story

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Today on 11/21/09 at 3:43 P.M. Eastern American Time the Imperial Strikers clan was made. We are a Special OPS clan that specailizes in taking out targets. We fear nothing, We ask for nothing, But the will to win. We are the Imperial Strikers.

A Berkshire council is considers changing the terms of its pet shop licences to help reduce the number of dogs bred by puppy farms…. From BBC News. Full story

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About 200 football ties are under investigation in what one Uefa official calls Europe’s biggest match-fixing scandal…. From BBC News. Full story

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