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My Fantasy for the Future of Autism Awareness

It’s April 2021. Still riding high two months after her inauguration, the first female President of the United States (do I even need to mention her name?), pushes her balanced budget through Congress and turns her attention to the upcoming Autism Acceptance Month. At a press conference with parents, autistic children and autistic adults, the President declares, “Like many people across the country, I know autistic people who are living meaningful lives both because of and despite their autism. The United States intends to lead the way in providing services that make autistic people’s lives easier and allow them to reach their full potential.”
Across the country, thousands of “autism acceptance walks” take place (continue reading…)

April 27 2011 A Day of National Shame

The release by the White House of President Obama’s “official” birth certificate was a poignant reminder of just how deep and pervasive racism remains in our nation.
Think about this: A sitting president has to “prove” to the nation that he was indeed born in America — Hawaii — and therefore eligibly qualified to be elected president of the United States!
A factually non-issue was permitted become a national issue, not because of Donald Trump and the media. No, this was the ultimate result, of the silence and tacit acquiescence of white political, religious, and community leaders, especially leaders of faith-based organizations, who sat, said and did nothing to counter this insidious new form of 21st-century racism. The silence and abnegation of moral leadership, by persons whom we should have otherwise expected to publicly to challenge this growing “birther” issue, is a stain on the conscience of our nation.
In 1963, Rabbi Joachim Prinz, then president of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) was the speaker who immediately preceded Dr. King’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech at the March On Washington (continue reading…)

Spreading Sustainability From the Fortune 500 to the Next 5000

Recently in Harvard Business Review, Michael Porter and Mark Kramer wrote about “The Big Idea” — that companies must take the lead by “creating economic value in a way that also creates value for society by addressing its needs and challenges.” Driven by win-win success stories, by a vacuum in policy leadership, and by the embrace of thought leaders like Porter, this idea has surged into the mainstream. Even in the grip of the recession, companies across the Fortune 500 – from Walmart (#1) and GE (#6) to Owens Corning (#431) and SunGard (#472) — are actively pursuing a sustainability agenda.
But for the companies that make up mainstream corporate America, environmental issues may still largely be seen as a cost center rather than a competitive edge. What will it take to show these companies that environmental innovation can be an opportunity rather than a burden? How can we spread the principles of sustainability from the Fortune 500 to the next 5,000?
Start with energy efficiency
Every company uses energy, and can do so more efficiently. The consulting gurus at McKinsey & Company calculate that by deploying an array of NPV-positive efficiency measures, commercial and industrial users could generate $732 billion in energy savings by 2020 while avoiding some 660 million tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions (continue reading…)

Through My Photographs

Through my photographs I highlight the power and austerity of nature amidst the ongoing environmental and atmospheric destruction that is taking place globally.
Since 1998, I have been recording the effects of infrared and ultraviolet light on the Earth’s landscape. Because infrared and ultraviolet light waves are beyond the visible spectrum, these images appear to be mystical and surreal.
Both global warming and ozone depletion are responsible for the vivid and intense colors that I am able to capture (continue reading…)

Food Wines Royal Wedding Food History

Speculation is rife as to what food Prince William and Kate Middleton will serve at their April 29 nuptials:
- Will they have a traditional sit-down dinner like previous royals or will they choose to modernize with a buffet?
- Will they serve 27 cakes like Prince Charles and Princess Diana at their 1981 wedding?
Here, a look back at Royal Wedding Food History from Food & Wine.
For more royal wedding fun from Food & Wine, check out menu ideas for a royal wedding viewing party and 9 fantastic British drinks to toast the couple.
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Prince William and Kate Middleton, 2011
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Speculation is rife as to what Prince William and Kate Middleton will serve at their April 29 nuptials. Reportedly in the works are both a traditional, white-iced, multi-tiered fruitcake embellished with British floral motifs and a chocolate biscuit cake based on one of Prince William’s favorite childhood treats.
Cheer on the young couple with an irresistible chocolate cookie icebox cake similar to William’s favorite.
See recipe for Chocolate Cookie Icebox Cake
Photo Copyright newsphoto/Alamy
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Speculation is rife as to what Prince William and Kate Middleton will serve at their April 29 nuptials.
read full news from www.huffingtonpost.com

3 KidFriendly Breakfast in Bed Menus for Mothers Day

Sometimes a few extra minutes of sleep is the best thing to do for Mom on Mother’s Day. While she’s resting, the kids can help whip up a special breakfast in bed. These kid-friendly menu ideas are easy and, more important, entirely delicious. Don’t forget to add flowers or a card to the tray before you carry it up to Mom!
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Barack the second?

The US president's birth certificate names him as "Barack Hussein Obama, II". Why does he qualify for the Roman numerals?

When the president released his long-form birth certificate on Wednesday, the focus was on his place of birth, to confirm what most people already knew – he was born in the US.

But it also shone a light on a rarely used part of his name, the II at the end.

The reason for it is, at root, quite simple – the US president has been given his father's name, Barack Hussein Obama. In societies where this is common practice, a method of distinguishing between fathers and sons (and sometimes grandfathers too) is useful.

In the US the son will usually be known as Joe Bloggs Junior. For example, Al Gore, the former US vice-president, is Albert Arnold Gore Jr, because his father was also Albert Arnold Gore.
The answer

• Barack Hussein Obama has exactly the same name as his father
• In cases like this, Junior would be a more usual suffix
• But II is also possible

Joe Bloggs II would typically be used when a son is named after a relative other than his father – his grandfather, for example. However, it is also used, sometimes, as an alternative to Joe Bloggs Jr.

This is what the Behind the Name website has to say on the subject of Jr v II (continue reading…)

Carter urges North Korea food aid

Former US President Jimmy Carter has accused the US and South Korea of human rights violations against North Koreans by withholding food aid.

Mr Carter made the comments after a three-day private visit to Pyongyang.

He also said North Korea was willing to hold unconditional talks with South Korea – a message conveyed in a note from leader Kim Jong-il.

South Korea wants the North to apologise for two deadly attacks last year before talks can restart.

It blames North Korea for sinking its warship in March 2010 with the loss of 46 lives – something Pyongyang denies. It also wants an apology for the shelling of a border island in November that killed four people.

The US has stressed that Mr Carter's visit was "strictly private", while the South Korean foreign minister said he did not have "high expectations" that the former leader could deliver a break-through (continue reading…)

NASA Tweeters Cover Endeavours Final Launch

In 1981, an era of human space exploration began. NASA launched its first space shuttle, Discovery, in April 1981 and — since that historic flight — more than 100 missions have brought hundreds of astronauts into orbit.
In 2011, 30 years after the first launch of Discovery, the shuttle program is drawing to a close and — on April 29 — Space Shuttle Endeavour is slated to embark on its final journey to the cosmos on Space Transportation System (STS) Mission no. 134.
Amid funding controversy and the uncertain future of the American space program, the launch of STS-134 will showcase the culmination of decades of engineering and human achievement. Notable for many reasons, Endeavour’s final journey will also exemplify an extraordinary feat of the human will as Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords — the victim of an assassination attempt in January — will be in attendance to watch her husband and commander of STS-134, Cdr (continue reading…)

Will Palestine Be Born This Fall

The chances for the birth of a Palestinian state this fall appear to be 50-50. The world community, including the U.S., seems to favor the idea, but there is clearly a lack of political will and muscle that would push Israel to seriously negotiate the emergence of Palestine. At the same time, major countries, especially the U.S., do not show enthusiasm for a unilateral declaration coupled with a UN birth certificate. The most recent agreement between Fatah and Hamas will unlikely affect positively or negatively the main issues concerning the upcoming declaration of statehood.
Momentum for the emergence of a Palestinian state this fall came from two sources (continue reading…)

Health Execs Getting Richer As Some Americans Beg for Help to Pay for Care

On Monday, I wrote about the good fortune of UnitedHealth Group, one of the big seven for-profit health insurance companies, and its CEO, Stephen J. Hemsley. Last week, UnitedHealth pleased Wall Street so much with its report of earnings during the first three months of this year that investors clamored to buy the company’s stock.
By the time the New York Stock Exchange closed last Thursday, shares of UnitedHealth’s stock had shot up more than 8 percent and reached their highest value in more than three years. The company’s shareholders, including Hemsley, now the highest paid CEO in America, were suddenly much wealthier.
Owners of health insurance company stock continued to get richer this week (continue reading…)

Choosing a College Choosing a Second Home

To all those high school seniors coming up on the May 1 deadline, keep in mind the essentials. Don’t let reputation get in your way, don’t base your decision on rumors heard from other people.
Do your research. All of it (continue reading…)

A Visit to My Kitchen Chris Elam from Meatless Monday

Chris Elam is program director of Meatless Monday. Chris describes himself as a curious carnivore, happy to eat meat but curious to learn about the health and environmental benefits of cutting back just a little.
Why is living organic important to you?
The word that immediately comes to mind is “responsibility,” whether we’re talking about the stewardship of our lands, the health of our farmworkers, or the health of our next generations. All I need to do is look into my 4-year old son Augustus’ eyes, and know that we as parents, but more as citizens of the globe, need to stand up and demand governmental protection of organic practices in the face of biotech’s relentless bullying.
What was your favorite food growing up?
Tuna fish casserole. I would crouch down and look through the oven window, watching the cheesy sauce bubble at the edges, the tuna and bread crumbs turning a rusty brown (continue reading…)

Old Pets How To Help

They had not seen Jewel run in a couple of years. “She’s just getting old,” was the general consensus.
This often serves as a conclusive diagnosis when it is really just an assessment of time spent since birth. Luckily in Jewel’s case, her zoo veterinarian wasn’t willing to give up on her and was open-minded enough to want to try something different (continue reading…)

Interview Comedian and Reykjavik mayor Jon Gnarr

At the end of Gaukar Ulfarsson’s documentary, Gnarr, the title character, comedian Jon Gnarr, along with his friends/campaign managers, have a stunned look on their faces.
It’s election night 2010 in Reykjavik, Iceland, and Gnarr – a joke candidate for mayor running from his self-invented Best Party – has won. Absorbing the news, Gnarr’s expression – of disbelief, elation and concern – essentially says, “What do I do now?”
“Yah, I had that look on my face for quite a long time,” the 44-year-old actor-comedian says, sitting in a tiny hotel room for an interview during the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival, where the film played last weekend. “It’s so easy to become overwhelmed (continue reading…)

Information Liquidity Video

What can nature’s design patterns teach us about computing? Containerization, liquid currency, and the possibilities of a trillion node world all packed into 20 minutes of TED. Or some small part of my 10 year personal journey of discovery related to MAYA’s research agenda, packed into about 20 minutes of time on a Sunday Afternoon at TEDxCMU. Now ready for your viewing pleasure!
A few notes for after you finish watching…
You may want to watch it more than once (after all it took me ten years to figure out what the heck was going on at MAYA and contribute in some small way. Plus it was the premiere of this presentation so I may have been a bit bumpy) (continue reading…)

How to Turn Your Dreams into Reality

Everyone has a list of things they want to do before they die: faraway places to see, books to write, mountains to climb. Some people call it a bucket list, or a wish list, but I call it a dream list. Some people have a hundred things on their dream list while others only have two, but everyone has a list whether they know it or not. There is something deeply beautiful about having a serious dream list because it really reveals the inner truth about what you want in your life (continue reading…)

Why Relationship Advice Fails And What to Do When It Does

The other day I was browsing through Barnes & Noble, and as I passed by the rows of books about love and sex I felt annoyed. Seeing those volumes brought to mind the biggest open secret in today’s culture: Most relationship advice doesn’t really help you and your partner improve — or sustain — your love life.
Most people know this to be true. And ironically, the never-ending stream — books, magazine articles, workshops and now, websites and e-zines — confirms it, because if any of them really did help, there wouldn’t be so many of them (continue reading…)

The Problem with Answers

At a very early age we begin a process of conditioning. There are many facets to this process and its influence on all of us, and I have written about much of it. However, there is a particular form of conditioning that can set us up for disappointment and failure: the conditioning that teaches us that we should have an answer.
Our schooling insists that we have answers in order to pass (continue reading…)

Growth in the US economy slows

Official figures show US economic growth slowed in the first three months of 2011 to an annualised rate of 1.8%.

This compares with an annual GDP rate of 3.2% from the Commerce Department in the previous quarter.

US GDP is expressed as an annualised rate, or annual pace, which shows what the three months' economic activity would mean if it carried on for a year.

The figure is a first estimate, and could be revised either up or down in the coming months (continue reading…)

Domain Name How To Find And Buy A Good One For Your Startup

I believe that a good domain name is an important success factor in building and launching consumer web services. It’s not in my top ten but it could be. It’s certainly something we think about a lot when making investments and working with companies post investment.
A number of our portfolio companies have acquired their domain names in connection with or shortly after our investment. Del.icio.us purchased Delicious.com with some of the proceeds of our investment (continue reading…)

You Know Its Good When the Boys Want in

Don’t get me wrong, I love men. I even married one. And I love the boys in my life — my four stepsons, my adorable nephews and godsons, and all those great guy friends who help make my life fun and funny.
But I do have to admit that I experienced a difficult moment in 2003, when after 10 years of success, the brainchild of the Ms (continue reading…)

Balanced Life 7 Tips for Giving Effective Praise

Every Wednesday is Tip Day.
This Wednesday: 7 tips for giving effective praise.
Gold-star junkie that I am, I was once grumbling to my mother about the fact that some extraordinarily praiseworthy effort on my part had gone unremarked. My mother wisely responded, “Most people probably don’t get the appreciation they deserve.” That’s right, I realized — for instance, my mother! Whom I certainly don’t give enough praise for everything she does for me.
This got me thinking about the importance of praise, and how to praise effectively. The right words of praise can be so encouraging, but bland, empty praise is meaningless.
1 (continue reading…)

Berkshire board ‘misled’ by Sokol

Former Berkshire Hathaway executive David Sokol misled the firm over its purchase of chemicals company Lubrizol, an internal report has concluded (continue reading…)