Here is just another way that Obama is wanting to 'fundamentally transform' America.
The Obama administration is "actively considering" ways to help relieve the European migrant crisis, and among the options on the table is a massive resettlement of "refugees" inside the United States.
Peter Boogaard, a spokesman for the National Security Council, told the Associate Press the United States is in contact with countries in the Middle East and Europe grappling with the migration of nearly 400,000 Middle Eastern and African migrants into Europe.
"Many are fleeing the civil war in Syria and areas in Iraq under the control of Islamic State militants," the AP reported.
But a closer look at the United Nations refugee agency's data shows that many of the so-called refugees are likely not refugees at all.
According to data from the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, 75 percent of the migrants who arrived on European soil are men, while 13 percent are children and 12 percent women.


text:
Husband of Christina Mauser says he embodies her strength raising their 3 kids
By Tony McEwing
Updated 12:14PM
Remembering Christina Mauser
LOS ANGELES - Christina Mauser was a devoted and loving wife, coach and mother. She was an assistant coach on the Kobe Bryant-led Team Mamba which is why she was on that helicopter a year ago on that fateful day. Her husband spoke to FOX 11 to share how he is remembering her and honoring her legacy.
Matt Mauser says when he kissed his wife of 15 years goodbye the morning of January 26, 2020, he had no idea that he and their three children would never see her again.
"She was the most supportive, loving woman, person, partner that you could meet in your life," he said.
Mr. Mauser is a musician and said he got the call from a bandmate who delivered the heartbreaking news.
"I got a call from a bandmate of mine who asked if I had heard and asked if Christina was ok? And I…I just knew. And I fell and I just started weeping," he recalled.
RELATED: One Year Later: Honoring the 9 victims of the Calabasas helicopter crash
The shock and devastation was made almost unbearable by having to break the news to the kids that their mother was never coming home.
"I fell to the ground and I cried and then I realized I had to tell my kids…they were watching cartoons and I just sat them on the couch and just told them and they cried…it was tough, very tough," he said.
Two months after losing Christina, the coronavirus pandemic struck, which made an already horrific situation infinitely worse.
"We all got COVID. All my kids got sick, I got sick, we were all sick at the same time. We had no help for three weeks. Nannies couldn't come…so many things that happened at one time…and you just kind of find that strength and you keep going," he said.
Distraught, Matt turned to his music to help move his life forward. He wrote a song called "Lost," to help cope with losing the love of his life.
Matt says raising the kids without Christina by is side has been extremely difficult, but also says, it's been rewarding and he's learning a lot.
"I don't try to be their mom, I'm [their] dad. So, I do what I can and I sometimes feel like I fall short, but our friend once told me that showing up is 95% of the job," he said.
It's the little thing he and Christina did together that he misses most. These are feelings he shared in another song he wrote called "When you wake up, she's gone."
Even though Christina is no longer here physically, Matt says he continues to draw from her strength.
Matt Mauser started a foundation in honor of his late wife to support girls who are interested in sports, especially girls from underserved communities. If you're interested in learning or contributing, you can visit mattmauser.com or christinamauserfoundation.org.
RELATED: News related to the life and death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I love your shoes :) And oh Helen have a cute collection of favorites!!
Your july sounds so amazing! And so great that you got to visit San Francisco =o) It's such a fun city!
looks like you had fun! LOVE that jacket very pretty!
Lovely photos sounds like a nice month! Have a lovely August.
São Francisco é linda, tenho certeza que curtiu demais!
Glad you had a great July!
Great outfit too by the way!
Those are nice jacket and shoes, love the style.
I used to play with My Little Pony all the time!
That jacket is very beautiful! I was so dumb, I studied in San Diego and didn't go to San Francisco, but I will, one day, for sure! It must be amazing! Hope you have a very beautiful weekend!
Obsessed with that jacket and I am obsessed with San Francisco!
Glad you got to visit my city (portland) and the gorgeous San Francisco - I can't wait to go back there!
Again, amazing photos. Glad you had some happy moments.
Love those little black booties! So perf for fall!
Ah coming home after a long trip really makes you feel grateful for home's simple pleasures. Love that blazer too!
Glad to read your post every morning. I love the way you tell us your story. Best wishes to you, Trang!
It is true, yes, coming back is also part of a trip and it's nice! I loved your pictures, I liked the shoes very much - and I love watermelon! I hope you have a very nice day!
yes, to watermelon all summer!
I did a road trip this summer to Portland too! I fell so in love with the city, I'd move there in a heartbeat. Great post!
I love reading your blog posts whenever i have free time. I love the way you tell us your real life stories. Wish you nice days ahead!
aww you are so cute!
Obsessed with that ensemble you wore to SF! SO cute.
Hope you're well, hun. You're missed.


This week was fantastic and horrid all at the same time. I think I went through a whole box of s'more pop-tarts this week due to stresses and triumphs. S'more pop-tarts really are the best way to celebrate a success or comfort a weary heart.
My week started out with a disappointing grade on an assignment. Then I forgot about a paper that was due in one of my classes. I was able to cope, but I hate when I don't perform to my best ability or lazily forget about something important. I am usually really good about it, but for some reason this last week was just not going like it was supposed to.
In the midst of all this craziness, I had the greatest epiphany ever. I was just finishing up my nightly routine when I realized something that has helped me to rethink my life. First, you need a little background...but not too much. I have been praying for the same thing for a long time now. I was beginning to feel like my prayers were going unanswered because of something that I had done, was not doing, or any other slew of reasons. I was beginning to think that maybe I was going about it the wrong way when it hit me.
The Lord doesn't withhold blessings from his children if they are worthy of receiving them. I think that the principle of good, better, best, applies to blessings as well. When there is something that we are praying for, the Lord might have even more in store for us than we can even imagine. We just might not be in a position to receive the blessings for one reason or another. Maybe we wouldn't recognize it if we were given it. I don't think that the Lord will bless us with just "good" blessings if he knows that we are on our way to receiving the "best" blessing. It is our responsibility to be living in a way that we can be worthy of receiving the best blessings that our loving Heavenly Father wants to bestow upon his obedient children.
So, that was my epiphany.
Anyone want to help with a couple really good causes???
As most of you know, I am a public relations major. PR is a very fascinating and diverse field and I am so happy that I have chosen it. I get to work on projects that really make a difference in the lives of people all over the country and all over the world! It is awe inspiring how much difference just one person can make. History is full of stories about people who took matters into their own hangs and made a positive change in the world. I hope to be one of those people who make an impact for good. We already have enough people making a bad impact on the world these days.
I have just been given the opportunity to oversee the PR side of a very exciting project. Here is a video that explains what the Tap Project is all about.
Sounds pretty cool huh? Well BYU's student-run PR firm, Bradley Public Relations and the student-run adverting agency, Ad-Lab are working together to bring this effort to the attention of Utah consumers. We know that by getting the right people informed about the needs of people in countries that are not as developed as the USA, and by providing them an easy way to help that doesn't feel like an all out effort to save the world, we will be able to make an impact that will literally save millions of lives.
The second effort that I am trying to get people involved in is one that directly effects the people living and working in an around the Utah and Salt Lake valleys. There is an awesome organization called the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective. It was started by 4 avid cyclists that decided their knowledge of bikes and bike safety could be a great asset to the community. They take old bikes, repair them, donate them and sell them. If someone needs a bike and can't afford to pay, they offer another option. The individual can come to their shop and build an entire bike from scratch and then keep the bike.
This endeavor has greatly blessed the Salt Lake City area by providing people who need reliable transportation with a low or no cost way to get from point A to point B the earth friendly way.
Utah is the new home to many refugees from war torn countries. The refugees can go and get a bike for free and they can also get riding lessons or safety lessons for free too.
What I am going to do is help get the word out about them and also by helping those of us who ride bikes to and from school, work, and play and have no where to park our bikes because the bike racks are chalked full of bikes that people have left to waste away year after year.
I am organizing a Bicycle Harvest. This will help to get the word out about the SLCBC, clean up the bike racks, and also get a hefty load of bikes for the people in the community who need them desperately.
If you are interested in helping in anyway, please contact me by e-mail. I am going to be needing a rather large committee to help with everything and it will be a great chance to see what life is like on the inide of a real PR campaign to take back the racks. So whether you have a rusty bike in your backyard or garage, or you have a couple hours to get some hands on PR experience, please let me know.
This truly has been the best summer of my life. I really can't think of anything that I wanted to do that I didn't accomplish. I was so blessed to be able to go to China and get to know a totally new way of living and a new culture. I made friends that will last a life time and memories that will last even longer. Living in Los Angeles taught me more than I was expecting and I now have an obsession with the beach and frozen yogurt. I don't want to re-cap everything I did in LA but I do want to share some funny or exciting things that happened while traveling up and down the Golden State.
1. Probably my favorite thing that happened in LA was when David Garcia won Tickets to see Wicked on the front row. We had tried three previous times to win tickets but had failed. I blame myself. I am cursed when it comes to raffles, drawings, what have you...basically anything that requires luck. I have never won anything and I told David that as long as I was present at the drawing we weren't going to win. On Saturdays at the Pantages Theater on Hollywood and Vine in Los Angeles there are two showings of Wicked. If you show up to the theater 2.5 hours prior to the show, you can put your name in a raffle and possibly win two front row tickets to see the greatest show ever for $25.00 each. David and I showed up for the afternoon showing and we didn't win. I went home hanging my head in defeat and was ready to call it quits. After being at home for a few hours, I get a phone call from David and he said "Want to go see Wicked?" I freaked...literally. I had seen it once before but this was like watching a completely different play. To say I loved it would be an understatement. It was remarkable.
2. Trapeze school was also ridiculously awesome but you already know that.
3. My short road-trip with Mauri Earl from Reno to San Francisco was spontaneous and quick. Almost a little too quick seeing as we made the trip in about 3 hours and 15 minutes. I love talking to Mauri.
4. Yogurtland is hands-down the most amazing place ever. It is a self-serve frozen yogurt place that will change your life. I would consider myself somewhat of a frozen yogurt connoisseur. I have worked in the frozen yogurt business for over a year and also have been eating it ever since I can remember. I would say that there are a few things that determine the success of a visit to get this delicious, cold, creamy yet healthy treat.
*Variety-I can respect any place that sells Frozen yogurt but I will respect them more with the more flavor options they have. Yoasis in Provo has one measley flavor. I admit that it is the best flavor to go with fresh fruit but still, not everyone is going to be in the mood for fresh fruit all the time.
*Toppings-there must be a wide variety of toppings. Fresh fruit is a must but also, you should have some cereal toppings, candy bar toppings, and also some strange ones like Moochi and cheesecake bits. Granola and strawberries are my favorite toppings.
*Price-portion ratio- At some frozen yogurt places, you will pay about 5 bucks for a very small serving of yogurt. Not only is the yogurt way over priced but the toppings are breaking the bank. I like toppings just as much as (but probably more than) the next person in line and I hate when I have decided to splurge the $.50 and I get a $.10 version.
I finally did it. I finally accomplished one of my life dreams. Ever since I can remember I have been telling my parents that I wanted to become an Acrobat. Of course they laughed at me and thought I was joking like they do with every amazing idea I have. After going to the circus and realizing that none of the acrobats were taller than 4 feet and all of them were Asian, I was sure I would never reach my goal. Well now that I am 22 years old and more than ready for any type of adventure, I decided to enroll in the Trapeze School of New York in Santa Monica, California. I was a little scared that I was going to be the only person over 7 in the class but it turned out that it was me and 3 other girls about my same age all just looking for a fun adventure and it was exactly that. I have done some daring things before but this was totally different. Not only was I sacred of dying but if you mess up, EVERYONE on the Santa Monica Pier can see you look like an idiot. Luckily I didn't have any embarrassing failed attempts at the trapeze. It was so fun. I want to go back again and again. It was totally different than I thought it was going to be like but so worth all the apprehension.
The coaches and the other people in my group were all so nice. Here is a picture of us all after we were all done.
I learned two tricks. One was the knee hang and the other was the bar split or something like that. I have included some pictures and hopefully I can figure out how to add video to this.
Last weekend was the best weekend I have had in China. We went to the most beautiful place I have ever seen. It was called Yangshuo. A tiny tourist town in the northern part of the Guangxi province. I did NOT want to leave. We arrived in Guilin at 4:00 a.m. from the over night train. We then got on a bus and drove to Yangshuo. When we got there it was about 6:00 a.m. and we immediately were corralled by a man who had a hostel that he was offering us. It was actually an amazing deal. It was super nice and ridiculously cheap. Only about $4.00 a person a night. We had our own bathroom and our own showers. After that we headed to "Western Street" and got some breakfast. I had toast! It was glorious! I missed it and I didn't even know it. Then, we rented bikes and scooters and we decided to just explore the city. It was awesome. I loved being able to just go and see whatever I wanted to see. I took so many pictures of the amazing mountains and hills and rice fields. After we rode around the city for a long time we went back and ate some lunch, rode the scooter some more, and shopped the street vendors. After a while, Christy and I decided to trade the scooter in for a two-person bike. It was so fun. I loved that.
The next day, we rode in a hot-air balloon. Yes, a made in China one. It was probably one of the coolest things I have ever done. The sight from the balloon was so incredible. Even a photograph can't totally show how amazing it was. We were in the air for about an hour and went over 1200 meters up. We landed in a tiny village and all the little kids within a mile came running to see the balloon and the white people. It was more expensive than the entire trip to Yangshuo but it was so worth it.
The next day we hired a rafter to take us down the Li Jiang River on a bamboo raft. All I can say is wow, it was awesome. I have never been in such a beautiful place. Our rafter didn't speak any English but we were actually able to communicate quite well. He was so nice. He took us to his home village. It was over 300 years old. The town looked like a ghost town but then someone would poke their head out and it was kinda funny. The little village had its own school and they had the most ghetto ping pong tables. The net was a log on bricks. After the village we went to lunch farther down the river at the shabbiest bamboo hut. I was a little scared because they killed our chicken right after we ordered it. The price of the meal was really expensive because the rafters get a cut of the money. We were more than willing to pay a lot because the 6 hour raft trip/tour was only 7 dollars a person and the lunch was about the same. After lunch we continued on the river and it poured rain! It was really pretty on the river. After the rain stopped, the clouds lifted and the mountains were even more beautiful with the clouds hugging the tops of them.
After we finished our raft trip we went back to Guilin and caught the overnight train back to Xiangtan. It was pretty cool on the overnight train, aside from the people eating chicken feet and other parts of animals that we American's would only tripple-dog-dare people to eat. All the traveling around China has made me want to go to Europe really really bad. I hope that I can go there someday. Maybe after graduation! Anyone can come!
All in all the weekend was fantastic. I want to go back there again. There was so much that we didn't get to do because we were pressed for time. I hope to go back and do the mud caves and the natural water slides. They also offer cooking lessons and rock climbing tours.
I was not super excited about coming back to Xiangtan after being in Yangshuo. This city is dirty, loud, and not very pretty. The redeeming qualities are the students here and the cheap food. I will really miss the students. I will give my final exams next week and then head to Hong King for a short stay. Then home for just about 12 days and then I head to LA for a fun summer at the beach! I am anxious to start school again in the fall. I think this experience will really change what kind of student I am. I also have so much MORE respect for teachers. It is a really hard job. It has been the most rewarding thing I have done though. By far.
No more facebook....but here are some pictures!
For those who are mad at me for deleting my facebook account because you wanted to see pictures from China, I have made a web album so you can see them anytime you want. The links are below. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I have enjoyed taking them!!!
I wasn't going to write so soon but there seems to be a lot of question as to whether I am alive or not. Well, I am happy to announce that yes, I am. Monday's earthquake has caused more damage than any report can accurately portray. The stories are so sad and a lot of our students can't find their friends and family members. I am in the Hunan province just east of the Sichuan province. I didn't personally feel much but a lot of my students felt it. Everyone in the library ran out during the quake. Most people had never been in a quake before. The school I am at has started taking donations for the victims but there are so many people and the cities effected are literally obliterated. The students here have very little money as it is. The Chinese govt is really doing an amazing job with the relief effort though. This has been a hard year for the Chinese. I hope everything goes well with the Olympics. Please keep the earthquake victims and survivors in your thoughts and also take it as a reminder to be prepared in case of an emergency.
On a lighter note, my birthday was amazing. My friends and students really out-did themselves. My "eleven dwarfs" took me to lunch at a really good restaurant. They surprised me with some 'traditional Chinese handicrafts" as a gift. They are the funnest group of girls. Hanging out with them is kinda like hanging out with a bunch of beehives. I had about 10 surprise parties this week. I loved it! The other foreign teachers and Lany, our "China mom" and some good friends from the school took me out to a delicious restaurant. It was northern food so it was much sweeter than Hunan food. Lany bought a delicious cake. It was so good. It got kinda smashed but it was still amazing.
On Tuesday night I told my students that they could come to a park near our apartment for a very casual party. There were a ton of people there. I was surprised that we didn't get in trouble but it was a blast. I have included some pictures. I got some of the most random gifts ever and I loved each one. Everything from boiled eggs and ancient Chinese medicine to batteries and a back massager. They are so funny. I still don't know what the battery is for.
This week my university was being inspected by the Ministry of Education. They cleaned everything up and made it look really nice for the inspection. They filled in the dump, made all the vendors leave, and improved the food at the dining hall. The students were threated with demerits for being late and they had to memorize pages of information about the school to regurgitate in the event that an inspector asked them a question. I didn't see any of the inspectors though....it was pretty intense.
No one was allowed to leave the campus this week (that is what they told us anyway but I saw plenty of people leaving). We were told Tuesday that our trip to Guilin the next day would have to be postponed. We were not to happy about that. Hopefully we can go next weekend. We are running out of time. I only have three more weeks of teaching left and then I am off to Hong Kong to see my friend Samily. Then I will be home. So soon. I can't believe it.
How are things going in the USA? I have been hearing stories that make me want to consider staying in China for a lot longer! But then I think about grilled cheese sandwiches and tacos and I decide that even if the USA is crumbling, at least they have a delicious variety of food.
This weekend is the Labor Day Holiday. Isn't the rib cook off this weekend in Reno? My body aches for some Kinder's BBQ sauce. Regardless, I have 4 days off this weekend and we are going to have some fun. We were going to go to Guilin but with all the crazy traveling traffic, we are waiting for a couple weeks. I feel much better about that. We will be here in Xiangtan for a relaxing weekend. I am going to buy some painting supplies and paint some pictures.
I have made good friends with some students here. They are not my students but they have been teaching me how to play ping pong and they are so funny. There are 11 of them and 10 of them live together in one room that is much smaller than a single car garage. They are small though so they pack them in like sardines. All of the girls are about a foot shorter than me. I have dubbed them my "eleven dwarfs" and I am Snow White. I will miss them a lot.
Not a whole lot has changed since my last e-mail. Things in China are still going well. There have been some interesting developments with the Tibet problems and the Olympics that have made things a little shaky here. The day after the guy on CNN made the comments about China was very interesting. My students were very offended and were expecting me to have the same opinion as the CNN reporter. I felt like I was trying to regain a toddlers trust when I was explaining to them that not all American's think alike. This concept is very hard for them to grasp because in America, we all think for ourselves. We do what we want to do when we want to do it. But in China, they are VERY group oriented. They seek to be a part of a group and also to be just like everyone else in the group.
The students brought up censorship and this launched into a week long discussion of whether or not it was a good thing or a bad thing. It is very strange to talk about it with them, but also very interesting. They are almost 100% for the censorship of the media. I asked them the question of why or why not and one of my students said that if the news wasn't censored, there would be riots and the country would become very unstable. I didn't argue of course but it is just very interesting to hear their opinions. Another funny example was from another one of my students and he said, "Censorship is good because if a political person did something really bad, the media would keep us from knowing so that man's image wouldn't be tarnished." I laughed out loud and then I told him how one of American media's favorite things is to expose these such cases to every listening ear. haha... kinda funny.
One of the coolest things about being in China has been seeing another side of the story. It is nice to be able to see something from someone else's point of view but it also makes me very frustrated because now I don't know who to believe. The Tibet problem for example is quite comical for some young Chinese...They feel like how we would feel if say Texas, decided that it wanted to secede from the nation...again....They also hate the Dali Lama with a fiery passion and regard him as a terrorist. They say that he is using his religious influence to gain political power in Tibet so he can return to rule over it. Also, they feel that the rest of the world refuses to understand their history and culture. My students told me that in 1951, Tibet was peacefully liberated by China, acquiring it as one of the largest Chinese Provinces. China then built up Tibet and gave the people there a better life. When I tried to read some sort of history about Tibet online for anything that would help clear things up, ALL the websites were blocked. I don't know if this is because the internet is slow or because....... Either way. There are two sides to this story for sure.
The thing that I keep thinking is how much I wish I understood what is going on all over the world. Not just in China but everywhere where there is conflict. I think that sometimes we make to quick of assumptions about things and are too quick to judge situations and people. This last few months has certainly taught me the importance of seeking to understand something before seeking to be understood.
Well, before I make this e-mail any more political, I better go. My e-mails are surely being censored. I ate mashed potatoes tonight. It was incredible. I love American food.
The most exciting news first...I got an amazing internship with a PR firm in Los Angeles when I get back from China. I am so excited. I will be going with one of my friends from BYU and we are going to have a blast. I am not sure what exactly I will be doing but it will be some sort of lobbying. I will also get to go to the beach anytime I want and finally take trapeze lessons like I have been wanting to do for a million years. I will start work on June 23rd so I am going to leave China a little early, on June 15th as opposed to June 25th and go to Hong Kong and Macao for a couple days and then I will fly back to the states. This will be an awesome summer!
I have been having a really hard time with the food here. It was bad at first, and then good, and then really good... and then.....it happened... I was eating at this one restaurant that looked a little sketchy, but really, all the places to eat around here are really sketchy... anyway. I was eating this one dish that had potatoes and something that I knew was meat...but I don't know what kind of meat. I picked up a piece of meat with my chopsticks and went to put it in my mouth when I noticed that on one side of it, there was.....hair! I'm not talking about 'a' hair.... im talking about a full on section of animal fur! I wanted to puke ....and since then I have been unable to eat meat. even now, just thinking about it... yuuulck!
The other night, Christy, my roommate and Doug, one of the other teachers, and I went to a street (Lian Jian Lu) that has a lot of places to eat. It is on campus and we go there a lot. We were walking down the street when we noticed that between the buildings, you could see a huge field of vegetables growing. This was where a lot of the food was grown that is sold on the campus. We walked down to see it when we came to a stomach churning realization. We realized that uphill from the crops was the university dump...literally like 30 feet away... Everytime there is a rain storm, our vegetables are watered with toxic waste water. YUMMY. Also, there was a stream of water that was watering the vegetables and it had a really funky film on the top of it. It looked like what the street looks like after it rains on a car oil drip. All marbled and cesspool-like. I pretty much stick to bananas and peanut butter ever since I saw that. Sick nasty.
It is beautiful. We went to Changsha, the capital of the province again instead to stock up on peanut butter. The weather was horrible but it was still fun. We are going to Zhangjiajie this weekend for sure though. We already bought our bus tickets. The bus will take about 5 hours to get there. We are leaving on Friday and we will come back on Sunday. There is a huge elevator that goes up the side of one of the mountains. We are totally going to take it. I believe it will cost about 100 yuan (14.00 USD) to go up and come down. You can get out at the top and take pictures. It is the tallest elevator in the world.
It is really interesting to hear what the students think of America. There is a movie out in America called Juno. It is about a 16 year old girl that gets pregnant and she gives the baby up for adoption. It is actually a really funny movie. They showed the movie on campus here a few days ago and a lot of my students went to see it. This week they have all been asking me questions. The first thing they said about the movie was that it was unrealistic. To quote a student, she said "a 16-year-old girl would never get pregnant" Oh how naive they are. I told them some statistics about teen pregnancy in America and they were floored. They were so shocked that their squinty eyes became round. It is interesting to see what the different problems and issues different countries and cultures face.
Everything else is going well. It has been a while since I have seen the sun...I hope it comes out this weekend. Please keep me posted on what is going on in America. And PLEASE take a deep breath of fresh air for me and drink a big glass of water straight from the tap. Oh how I miss that.
I thought I would get in a quick e-mail before I take off for a few days. We are going to have an adventure!
China is remaining awesome. I don't have a lot of new news other than we are taking our first trip this weekend. We are going to Mao's home town. It is about 45 minutes away and we are going to stay the night and see all there is to see. I am not sure just how much there will be to see there but I am looking forward to getting off of campus. The weather is so draining here. It is gloomy and cloudy and rainy way too much and I am so sick of not seeing a blue sky. I hope that the weather is good for our trip tomorrow. We haven't totally figured out all the details yet but we are taking two students with us so they can get us there and back. haha It is so difficult not knowing the language. I bet it will be really weird when I get back to America and I can tell the person what I want to eat rather than point to it. One thing is for sure, I will be able to whip anybody at Charades when I get back.
My classes have been going well. I had to lay down the law in one of them this week because it is a class full of slackers. They saw a side of "leezer" that they didn't know existed. For the most part, all my other classes are doing great. I have to meet with a few students outside of class to help them because they are sooo far behind. It is frustrating when they have no idea what you are saying and they are English majors and they just repeat everything you say. I would say the most tiring thing about teaching is straining to understand what they are talking about. They are trying so hard and they pause for like 30 seconds between each word haha. Cracks me up.
Ping pong is basically my new addiction. I played for almost 6 hours straight the other day. I love it. I play everyday that it isn't raining. I have made a lot of friends by playing and I even bought my own "pie" (paddle) I am so going to join the BYU Ping Pong Club when I get back. And buy a ping pong table for the garage....haha mom, dad, don't think I am lying. I am hoping to get a lot better before I come back. Good thing the Chinese train hard.
Well that is pretty much all that is happening right now. I am sure that over the next couple weeks things will get more exciting because we are going on a lot of trips and we are getting more and more involved with things happening on campus. If only the rain would go away. I would be outside playing ping pong all day everyday.
Love and miss you all. Keep me posted on what is happening!!!
oh and no, we didn't feel the earthquake. Good thing too because they freak me out.
I hope you are all doing well. I hear that spring break is just around the corner. What are you all going to do? I don't get a spring break but I do get to have some awesome adventures everyday. This past week or so has been very fun. We have been able to do a lot. I don't really know where to start.
The woman that takes care of the foreign teachers here at Xiangtan University is Lany. She is very nice and makes sure that we are happy and healthy. She is Buddhist and thought that we might enjoy a visit to the Buddhist temple. I was really excited because I had never seen a Buddhist temple and I was not sure what to expect. Lany had a driver pick us up at 7:00 a.m. last Sunday morning and we drove to the Temple. It was very different than what I expected. The street (or ally) that the temple was on was full of people and the gates to the temple were just in the middle of it all. I don't think I would have even noticed them had Lany not pointed them out to us. We went inside and we were expecting a service to be starting but as it turned out, all the nuns were meditating and had been for hours. We decided to take a look around and Lany told us what each of the Buddha's represent. It was really neat because I didn't know anything about the religion before that. We met this lady who was so sweet. She was so excited to see Americans. She just kept thanking us for being there and we thanked her and she thanked us and we thanked her and she thanked us and back and forth over and over. It was really funny. Maybe we need to learn more Chinese phrases other than "thank you" and "Your welcome". The first picture is one I took of the lady that we met there.
We decided to go get some breakfast down the street and then come back and have a meeting with the Master of the temple (She is the one in brown in the second picture). Then we went back to the temple and met the Master. She was so nice. It was kind-of the same situation where we just went back and forth telling each other how great they were back and forth for about two hours. Then we ate some lunch and it was delicious. My roommate informed me about an hour ago that while we were eating, she saw three giant rats running around the kitchen...I am so glad that she decided that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to tell me that while we were there.
The nuns at the temple treated us like royalty. It was really interesting to see how much they loved us and they don't even know us. English teachers are very appreciated here because they believe learning English is the door to a brighter future. They just think we are the greatest and they don't hesitate to tell us over and over again. haha. The master of the temple gave us these really cool bracelets that Buddhist people wear and these little charm things as a thank you for our visit. She also invited us to come back and stay the night at the temple and be a nun for a day. I thought about it and I decided that I didn't want to. My roommate is going though. I decided that I would rather spend the day in the city with some of my students. We are going to have a super fun day of shopping culture.
On Wednesday night our friend Dennis, who is the equivalent of student body president, was in charge of a fund-raiser for the victims of the ice age. We didn't really know what was going on but I think it was an event to honor the students who raised the most money. How they did it was they sold oranges. The money from the oranges went to the farmers who lost all their trees from the snow. In the middle of the event, Rita pulled out some money to donate so we thought it was a good idea too. We handed the money to one of the people that was working at the event and she looked really confused. We told them that we wanted the money to go to the farmers and then all of the sudden all these cameras were on us and they were thanking us and we were even more confused and then they told us that our oranges would be delivered in the morning. After trying to explain that we didn't want the oranges, we just wanted to donate, and failing miserably, we gave up. We thought that we bought a few oranges and we felt good about helping out the farmers. Well, the next morning, I came home from class and there was a HUGE bag of oranges in our front room. This things has to weigh more than me. There are probably 400 oranges in the bag. Anyone got any ideas for how to have fun with 400 oranges?
I really love teaching. It is so fun and the students are so eager to learn. I love making them laugh and helping them to learn English in a fun way. They get so excited when they see us on campus and they want to do things with us. I taught about 5 of my students how to play basketball a couple days ago. They are actually really good for having never played before. I loved it.
This week the number of students I teach doubled. I originally had about 200 students and then I was given 5 more classes of college juniors to teach. I now have about 450 students. I have made a real effort to memorize their names and I think I have about half of them. It is a lot harder than you think because they all look so similar still! For the first week, I swore that the same girl was following me everywhere. It was probably a different girl every time, I'm just an idiot. I taught them about emotions this week and ways to express themselves. I lost my voice practically every day this week because of it. Showing that you are ecstatic and enraged and terrified is hard on the vocal chords. haha I think they got the point though. I also taught them about music. I played some of the hits of today and some Beatles songs. They love the Beatles and they love Mika. They really like country to which I though was funny. I taught them the head-shoulders-knees-and toes song, and the Itsy Bitsy spider song... they hated learning those hahaha.
Today, Friday, was Women's Day here in China. Apparently they adopted this holiday from us but...i had never heard of it before. I think in America we usually refer to it as "Take your daughter to work day." Anyway, there was a big conference in Xiangtan City that was for all of the most important people in the city. Rita, Christy, Lany and I were all invited to attend. I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was I did NOT want to have to do any sort of chanting. We got to the place where the conference was and it was a beautiful hotel. The only 5 star hotel in the city. The meeting was all in Chinese of course but Lany helped to translate. Our table was in the front of the room and they were broadcasting the show on TV. The hosts/emcees were dressed like they were hosting the Oscars or something. They had Chinese dancers and a few people did Karaoke (they love that here and take it VERY seriously) and they presented awards to some people that were very helpful during the "Ice age" (they refer to the ice storm as the ice age) A lot of people in this province were badly put out by the storm. Many people lost their homes and many even died.
The Chinese love to toast to...everything. I now know what a room full of tipsy Asians looks like. They get up and walk to all the different tables and toast to each other and drink red wine. Christy and I both don't drink so it was funny because after the toasts, everyone would look at us and stare like we were forgetting something...oh well. Our table got a lot of attention and we just smiled and nodded because we didn't know what they were saying haha. Lany leaned over to us and said, oh now it is time for you to be interviewed for the TV. Uhhhhh... excuse me? WHAT?! So we were all interviewed and they asked us questions about how we celebrate this day in America and ....since we don't, I had to make up some stuff. Rita, one of the other foreign teachers decided to turn it into a Hillary Clinton Rally...gag. She loves Hillary Clinton so in her interview she asked the entire conference to stand up and toast to Hillary Clinton. It was really funny and I just kept thinking, I hope this doesn't make it back to America. After the conference, they gave us these awesome "China Red" tea cups and saucers. They are so beautiful. I was so excited. It will be something that I keep forever. Then we went to a super nice hotel and we had Lunch with all of these important people in Xiangtan City. They all kept saying how I look like Barbie with my humongous eyes. haha At least they don't say that I look like a bug or something.
After we got back from the celebration, we went to the salon and had our hair washed and blow-dried. It was fabulous. I feel like my hair has never been so clean and smooth. I will be going back...every week. Then we came home and took naps and then Rita called and told us to turn on the TV. There we were. They were showing us at the conference and our interview and they talked about us for about 5 minutes. It was ridiculous. I took pictures of the TV to prove it! haha. So random. At the end of our interview they had us hold hands and raise them in the air and say "HAPPY WOMEN'S DAY" haha. Awkward. There are some pictures of that too.
Everything is an adventure here. We have made friends with almost all the street vendors between our apartment and our classrooms. They just laugh at us because we are clueless. Oh well. I love China and the people here are so generous. I have to fight my students to let me pay for my own lunch. The people are very curious and they just want to talk with us. I hope they know that I really am not as cool as they think. They keep saying how grateful they are for our contribution to the students of China but I really think that I am getting more out of this experience than I ever imagined. I love it here.
I miss you all and I am enjoying the replies I am receiving. Keep em' comin'!
I hope that you all had a good last few days. Today is Sunday and I am just hanging out in my apartment because it is really cold and rainy outside. Humidity is something that I am unfamiliar with. The temperature isn't very cold but the humidity makes my fingers and toes go numb. I hate that.
So, I was really hoping to avoid any accidents here in China but I wasn't so lucky. Friday for lunch I wanted some rice so I was boiling water, The only pot we have is a pressure cooker. My mom had always told me they were dangerous but she never told me why. Well, i was trying to get the lid off because I wanted to see how much water was left in it. It was stuck so I kept trying to open it. My friend Doug said.. "uhhh I wouldn't try to force it open...it's like... under pressure." Yeah... I wish I would have listened because right after he said that KABOOM... the pot exploded and boiling water and steam went everywhere. It even shot the ceiling! I was very lucky because only my eyelids got the worst of it. I was just a little red for a day. Now I refuse to put lids on pots.
Yesterday we went to Changsha, the capital of the province. It was pretty much like a NYC but everything was in Chinese.... except for "WAL MART". We successfully found peanut butter there. Wal-mart is pronounced war-ma. haha. It is very different here. In the stores they have dead animals hanging everywhere. No really... Oh and our next door neighbor had chickens and fish hanging from the clothes line all week. Yummy.
On a lighter note, the bread here is purple. They make it with taro. I really like it. I like it more than American bread I think. It is delicious with peanut butter on it. But then again... what isn't delicious with a little P.B.? So far I have made two dishes that I like. One is rice with vegetables and the second is vegetables with rice. Who knew I could get so creative with food! I'm your average Martha Stewart. Or should I say Mahta Stoowaht.
Tomorrow is my first day of teaching. I am so excited. Ill let you all know how it goes. I hope that they don't think I am some dysfunctional American. I'll have to keep that a secret for as long as possible.
I just wanted to let you all know that I made it to China safely! I absolutely love it here. It is incredible and strange all at the same time. School doesn't start until Monday so the three other foreign teacher and I have had some time to explore the campus and the city. Our first three days here in China were spent in Shanghai. I loved Shanghai. Shopping there is really fun because you can always get a good deal. They love to sell to Americans because we love to spend our money. Especially when you can get a pair of $50 shoes for $7.00.
After Shanghai, all the teachers split up to go to their school all over the country. I am in Xiangtan City at the Xiangtan University. It is a really nice university and almost everything that I will need to buy while I am here (except for Mcdonalds and kfc) can be found right here on campus. It is a really big campus. The school has about 30,000 students and almost all of the students and faculty members live on campus. There are apartment buildings everywhere you look.
Our apartment is pretty awesome. It will make for some great stories someday I am sure. Our bathroom is more like a shower-toilet-sink all in one. Every morning shower is an adventure. We are definitely used to a different style of living than they are here in China.
When they say that Americans are treated like celebrities here, they are not lying. Everywhere we go, people just stare at us. Some people run up to us and ask us where we are from, others just want to practice their English on us. We are the only Americans, that I have seen, in this entire city. People just don't come here because it is so far from anything touristy.
I have not seen the sun in about a week. It is just really really foggy/smoggy. I hope that it clears up soon. Every morning I am woken up by roosters. They like to hang out by our apartment building. There are also lots of stray dogs and cats everywhere here in Xiangtan. I should probably carry my pepper spray just incase one of the dogs thinks I want to play.
So far I have had some good experiences with the food and some bad ones as well. Trying to find American food in the grocery stores is really hard. I am craving peanut butter and Lucky Charms cereal. I am going to have a huge bowl of it when I come back home. We did find some oreos though. They are the peanut butter chocolate flavor. They taste so good!
Yesterday we were hungry for some American food so we took the bus into town and found a McDonalds. It was the best tasting food I had had in a week. I didn't feel guilty at all. You can find some really good fruit here. There are peasant ladies selling fruit and vegetables right near our apartment building which makes it very easy to eat well.
I think either today or tomorrow we are going to go to the capital of Hunan. It is about an hour away. It is called Changsha. Maybe we will get lucky and find a Wal-mart there.
Well, I hope all of you are happy and healthy. I miss you all and I wish you all could be here to see what it is like here. Please let me know what all of you are up to. I look forward to hearing from you!
This is Avery Rose. I call her Rosie. She is the funnest thing in our family right now. I am really going to miss her. I have also included a video of her. She is so cute.


4 Bedroom Detached House For Sale in Braintree for Asking Price £450,000.
This executive family home is spread across almost 3000 sq ft, and has been finished to the highest of standards. With four large double bedrooms, three bathrooms and generous reception space, this property would be ideal for a large or growing family. Each room in the property is a fantastic size, and the feeling of space is apparent throughout the home.
The substantial rear garden has been landscaped for an ease of maintenance rarely seen in a garden of this size, comprising areas of decking and a large area of artificial grass, it is perfectly suited for entertaining, children or pets. The property backs on to an area of parkland and woodland with far reaching views. To the front there is a tandem integral garage and parking on the driveway for several cars. .
The great size reception hall gives the feeling of space from the moment you enter the property, with doors leading to the ground floor rooms, elegant turning staircase and under stairs storage.
At the very front of the property there is a generous sized study, which could also be used as a children's play room if required. Complete with plenty of plug sockets and telephone connections. Large front window allows you to work in full natural daylight.
At the rear of the property the main sitting room offers fabulous views over the garden, a would burning stove with feature red brick chimney and three sets of French doors leading to; the garden, dining room and hallway.
Open plant to the kitchen, the formal dining room is the perfect place for parties and entertaining. There is a windows overlooking the garden and French doors to the sitting room.
The modern, gloss finish kitchen is complemented perfectly by the granite work surfaces including breakfast bar. The appliances are integral, with additional space in the utility room. Being dual aspect the room is flooded with light and it is the ideal design to cook whilst entertaining or keeping an eye on the children whilst they do their homework at the table!
The separate utility is as big as many kitchens, there are range of eye and base units, stainless steel sink unit and plumbing for the washing machine and tumble dryer. There is also a personal door through to the Garage and a window to the side.
The ever important ground floor cloakroom, offers a low level WC and a wall hung basin. The modern white suite is complemented by contemporary tiling.
The spacious galleried landing offers access to all of the first floor rooms, there is also a window to the side and a double sized airing cupboard.
The master suite is at the rear of the property and combines a generous king sized bedroom and private En-Suite shower room. There are two windows to the rear with far reaching views and more than enough room for all bedroom furniture.
A white three piece bathroom suite comprising; low level WC, double built in shower enclosure and pedestal wash hand basin.
Similar in size to the master bedroom, this room is also located at the rear of the property with the far reaching views.
At the very front of the property this double bedroom also comes with a walk n wardrobe.
A further double bedroom with a window facing the front.
A versatile storage room currently used as a computer room or office, there is no window to this room and it could equally be used as a walk in wardrobe or pantry.
The feeling of space continues as you enter the family bathroom, the magnificent four piece bathroom suite comprises; panel enclosed bath, double shower enclosure with power shower and smoked glass, low level WC and pedestal wash hand basin. The many mirrors bounce the light around perfectly and the room is finished with a contemporary tile.
The substantial rear garden has been landscaped for an ease of maintenance rarely seen in a garden of this size, comprising areas of decking and a large area of artificial grass, it is perfectly suited for entertaining, children or pets. The property backs on to an area of parkland and woodland with far reaching views.
The double length garage is integral to the property and also has power and light. To the front of the property there is a large driveway with enough parking for several vehicles.


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Cadence Grace on Daytime- April 15th, 2010.
Rodney Wallace przed KSW 21 - wywiad [NAPISY]
Audio Described Module 2 (Foundations Course)
Google Drive SDK: What happened in 2012 and what's coming in 2013
Remarks by Rwanda Genocide Survivor Clemantine Wamariya (2011 National Tribute Dinner)
Part 4 - Scaramouche Audiobook by Rafael Sabatini - Book 2 (Chs 06-09)
Yercekimi Aldatmacasi (Gravity Hoax) A Mockumentary
Tour in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California
In Their Own Words: NCI Experts Discuss Synthetic Biology
David Icke: Conspiracy of the Lizard Illuminati (Part 2/2)
Uploaded by cadencegrace on 28.04.2010
This Video Features Music Artist Cadence Grace.
Cadence Grace is a country singer songwriter.
Cadence is on the edge of dominating the writing and country scene. Her songs have been heard
on TV shows and movies around the world on networks like CBS, NBC, Disney, Family, Lifetime,
CMT and More.
Cadence Has appeared on Reality shows like CMT's Karaoke Star and CMT Big in a Small
Town. She is a beautiful talented, pretty young lady!
Cadence Recently recorded her debut record 'Unbreakable' and released her debut single
'living in our love' on itunes! It was sent to radio and reached number # 71 on the Canadian
country Charts.
Cadence is showcasing this year at the Canadian Country Music Awards. Her big dream is to perform
at the American Country Music awards for the Grammy awards! She hopes one day to win one
for her singing or songwriting.
She secretly wishes she lived in the states so she could appear on shows like American
Idol and America's got Talent or The Voice! Even though she loves being a Canadian Girl!
She plays lots of live shows and loves to play with her band! She likes to hither stage
and rock out with her guys.Her guitar player is crazy, and her drummer hits the drums like no one else!
She Loves artists like Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Gretchen
Wilson, Peyton Rae, Jana Kramer, Carly Rae Jepsen, Beyonce, Rhianna, Carrie Underwood,
Jess Moskaluke, Leann Rimes, Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, Big and Rich, Leah Daniels, Lindsay
Broughton, One More Girl, Terri Clark, The Stellas, Lennon and Maisy Stella, Luke Bryan,
Blake Shelton, Colt Ford, Kellie Pickler, Little Big Town, Edens Edge, Pam Tillis, Kelly
Clarkson, Reba Mcentire, Martina Mcbride, Justin Bieber, One direction, Lady Antebellum,
Braid Paisley, Keith Urban, Sara Evans did I mention Taylor Swift? lol
She dreams of hitting the big time, Singing songs all around the world and having her
own VEVO channel and being verified on twitter !
You can watch her official music video and more on her channel.
Watch her official music video now!


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Watch Night 2018 & The Black Community
Dear Family, Valuable Friends, Clients, and Colleagues:
From my home to yours, I wish you rich blessings into the New Year. Here is a special article I created about the history of Watch Night Service in the African American community. The tradition predated the importance of the famous 1862 Watch Night Services and originated with the Moravians in Germany many years earlier. The first Methodist church in America to celebrate Watch Night in the 1700s was St. George United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, the home church of Bishop Richard Allen, co-founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. However, it has become particularly important in the Black Church, with its evolution in the early to mid-1800s. The word evolved from "Freedom's Eve" to "Watch Night" as the freed and enslaved blacks "watched" the clock strike 12 midnight, turning the course of the Civil War and freeing three million slaves in the states of the rebellion.
Wishing You The Best in 2019!
Carole Copeland Thomas, MBA CDMP, CITM
The History Of Watch Night Services In The Black Church
With the festivities of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa now on full display, there is still time to reflect on the ritual of my ancestors and many other African Americans, whose forefathers sat around campfires and wood stoves in the twilight of December 31, 1862. There they sang spirituals acapella, prayed, and thanked the Good Lord for what was about to happen the next day. In the North, Abolitionists were jubilant that the "peculiar institution" was finally about to get dismantled one plantation at a time.
The booklet, Walking Tours of Civil War Boston sites this about this historic event:
"On January 1, 1863, large anti-slavery crowds gathered at Boston's Music Hall and Tremont Temple to await word that President Abraham Lincoln had issued the much-anticipated Emancipation Proclamation (EP). Those present at the Music Hall included Uncle Tom's Cabin author Harriet Beecher Stowe, poets Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and John Greenleaf Whittier and essayist, poet and physician Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Also present was Ralph Waldo Emerson, who composed his Boston Hymn to mark the occasion."
Now… Let's Look Back...156 Years Ago Tonight...
It was on January 1, 1863, amidst the cannon fire, gunshots, and burnings at the height of the Civil War that President Abraham Lincoln sealed his own fate and signed theEmancipation Proclamation. It begins with the following decree:
Whereas on the 22nd day of September, A.D. 1862, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, towit:
"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom."
That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States."
CAROLE' S TRANSLATION:
Effective January 1, 1863, all slaves in the states in rebellion against the Union are free.
Technically that is all that President Lincoln could do at the time. He used his wartime powers as Commander in Chief to liberate the "property" of the states in rebellion of the Union. The act did not free the slaves of the Union or border states (Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, or West Virginia) or any southern state under Union control (like parts of Virginia). It would take the 13th Amendment (that freed all slaves in 1865), the Union Army winning the Civil War (April 9, 1865), and the assassination of President Lincoln (shot on April 14th and died on April 15, 1865) for all of the slaves to be freed. That included the liberation of the slaves in rebellious Texas on June 19, 1865 (Juneteenth Day) and finally the ratification of the 13th Amendment on December 18, 1865, giving all black people freedom and permanently abolishing slavery in the US.
So in 1862 on the eve of this great era, the slaves "watched", prayed, and waited. My ancestors, including Bishop Wesley John Gaines of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) (a slave in Georgia freed by the EP) and the other three million slaves prayed for divine guidance and an empowered Abraham Lincoln to do the right thing. It is as important today as the tradition of black people eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day for good luck.
Following the Emancipation Proclamation slaves were freed in stages, based on where they lived, the willingness of the plantation owner to release them and when Union troops began to control their area.
Black educator and community activist Booker T. Washington as a boy of 9 in Virginia, remembered the day in early 1865:
"As the great day drew nearer, there was more singing in the slave quarters than usual. It was bolder, had more ring, and lasted later into the night. Most of the verses of the plantation songs had some reference to freedom. ... Some man who seemed to be a stranger (a United States officer, I presume) made a little speech and then read a rather long paper—the Emancipation Proclamation, I think. After the reading, we were told that we were all free, and could go when and where we pleased. My mother, who was standing by my side, leaned over and kissed her children, while tears of joy ran down her cheeks. She explained to us what it all meant, that this was the day for which she had been so long praying, but fearing that she would never live to see."
The longest holdouts were the slaves in Texas, who were not freed until June 19, 1865, two months after the Civil War ended. That day is now celebrated as Juneteenth Day around the United States.
That is the history of Watch Night in the African American culture.
May you and your family enjoy a spirit-filled New Year throughout 2019. Thank you for ALL of your support you have given to me and my business throughout 2018.
-Carole
Walk A Mile In "Their Shoes" To See Life Differently
Conservative Blogger Erick Erickson
America is such a large country that it's relatively easy for some populations to hide out with "their own kind." Our media is so segmented that information can be brought to you by your favorite cable network, blogger or politically affiliated news organization with virtually no connection to the other side. You don't have to understand the other side because you don't have to spend anytime reaching out to them. Unless you're willing and able to suspend your own judgment and walk a mile in "their shoes."
Because I live a transparent life and practice diversity wherever I can, I subscribe to conservative bloggers and opinion makers. One of them is Erick Erickson, a moderate conservative who has written a remarkable commentary on understanding how everyday life activities impacts Blacks and Hispanics. He starts out by saying,
"I am writing here about something I know nothing about and, given the demographics of this website, most of you know nothing about. I have witnessed it, but I have not experienced it."
The article details the acquittal of the police officer to shot and killed Philando Castile in an incident all caught on video.
Read the article and share it with your friends and colleagues. The opening paragraph alone is worth a discussion with your staff over a brown bag lunch. How often do we judge "those people" without ever getting a sense of how they are treated is the essence of Erick's commentary.
Then, think about subscribing to a blog, newsletter, or media outlet that has opposing views to your world. Learning first hand how the other side thinks is the first step in diversity and cross-cultural understanding.
Read Erick's Article Here
Boston Strong And Red Sox Nation: Stopping Hate And Racism In A Progressive City
Top Left: Boston Red Sox Award Top Right: Adam Jones Bottom: Awardees Harvard Law School Professor Charles Ogletree & Carole Copeland Thomas
Full disclosure. As a native Detroiter who has lived in the Boston area for more than 35 years, I cringe when I hear stories about racism in my adopted city. As a diversity speaker and trainer for 30 years, the pain of these stories runs deep. For nearly a week, I have read the newspaper reports about a stupid local fan who yelled out the "n-word" during last week's Boston Red Sox - Baltimore Orioles game at Fenway Park. The victim, Orioles center fielder Adam Jones, tempered his anger, even after the same fan or another one threw a bag of peanuts at him, missed and hit a police officer. The incident threw Boston back in the news as a city that can't ditch racism no matter how hard it tries.
It's now become a national news story that forces us to remember that The Red Sox were the last team to recruit a black player in the major leagues. Its owner at that time, Tom Yawkey, had no use for black people, including rising baseball stars like Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays. That history was buried when the new owner, John Henry II, took a very pro-active stand to make his team more diverse and inclusive.
Other players have also been called the "n-word" at Fenway, which makes it even worse.
Those are the facts. Lingering racism remains with the diehards who just can't accept the realities of a changing city and nation where multiculturalism is a mainstream choice for most.
Clearly, city and state elected officials have beaten the drums about making our region more inclusive. Boston's Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Governor Charlie Baker immediately condemned the ballpark incident as intolerable, socially and morally unacceptable. The Red Sox team president, Sam Kennedy, stated, "I find it despicable. There's no place for it." And so go similar comments uttered in board rooms and community centers. Boston is NOT a city of hate. Boston rejects racism of any kind.
The fans made that point very clearly during the ballgame between the rival teams the next day. They gave Adam Jones a prolonged standing ovation to show their support for him despite the previous night's ruckus.
There's another side to consider when you look at what happened at Fenway Park. Boston HAS changed. I should know as a 35 year resident of the region.
Many factors have led to the transformation of Boston. Both governmental and private initiatives have worked diligently to mute the angry and hateful voices of the past. Take, for example, the efforts of the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau (GBCVB). They created a Multicultural Committee, designed to transform the image of Boston (www.crossculturalboston.com). The first committee was launched in the early 1990s as the city geared up for some high-profile national minority conventions scheduled to come to the city. One of them held in 1995 was the national conference of the National Black MBA Association. I served on the Multicultural Committee and as the local chair of that event that hosted over 5000 black professionals from around the United States and beyond. The efforts of the Multicultural Committee combined with support from corporate leaders and then-Mayor Thomas Menino led to one of the most successful conventions in the association's history.
The Multicultural Committee took a hiatus for a few years in the late 1990s and relaunched in 2003 under GBCVB President & CEO Pat Moscaritolo. He appointed me as the committee chair, and we have been rocking and rolling ever since. Our committee of nearly 15 ethnically diverse business owners, hospitality leaders, and GBCVB staff meet every month except for July and August. We commit to serving in this volunteer role because we care about the image and reputation of our city. The committee formulates ways that we can support the Bureau's efforts to attract conventions of color. We attend various functions and serve as a welcoming body when executive boards and association leaders come to town.
Our enthusiasm mounted in 2014 when both the National Association of Black Journalists and The Eastern Regional Conference of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. hosted their meetings just weeks apart. Both groups left Boston with renewed levels of confidence that the city was embracing diversity and inclusion in powerful new ways. Other conferences, including The National Council of La Raza, The Asian American Journalists Association, Blacks in Government and The Urban League have all had national meetings in Boston, with much success.
One of my finest moments was a sunny afternoon in August 2016 when the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Church League honored me and several other civic, social justice and business leaders on the playing field at Fenway Park. We stood on that bright green turf, heard our names announced over the PA system and received the cheers from thousands of fans across the ballpark.
No-one shouted the "n-word."
No-one threw bags of peanuts at us.
No-one audibly disrespected us.
Our families and friends cheered with the crowd in support of our achievements. It was a shining moment for all of Boston and us.
As a diversity trainer and speaker, I choose to look at the glass half filled. The days of forced busing in South Boston are long gone. The confrontations and racial divisiveness of the past have been replaced by a city that is now a progressive international destination that welcomes the world. We condemn the actions of ignorant fans who can't let go of their racism. They have been ejected from Fenway Park and shouldn't be accepted anywhere else. They do exist, and I grudgingly acknowledge their existence. But they do NOT represent the life blood of a city that's turning the corner and closing the chapter of its racial past, never worth reliving.
Bostonians are resilient as evident during the 2013 Marathon bombing. And Bostonians rose up last week, delivered a standing ovation, and told Adam Jones and the rest of the world that it's a city too big to hate and too proud to let the actions of a few stand in the way of progress.
As an award-winning speaker, trainer and global thought leader, since 1987, Carole Copeland Thomas moderates the discussions of critical issues affecting the marketplace. She has her pulse on the issues affecting working professionals and regularly consults with industry leaders. She has spent 30 years cultivating relationships and partnerships with local, national and international sponsors, including Walmart, Amtrak and Emirates Airlines. Carole has worked with clients throughout the United States and seven foreign countries. Carole is the past president of The National Speakers Association -New England Chapter and is on the board of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau. Carole is a blogger and social media enthusiast using various technology platforms to enhance her business development activities.
Carole has been featured in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Black Enterprise, ABC Radio and CBS News.
She is the author of four books and is the Past National Vice Chair of the National Black MBA Association
www.carolecopelandthomas.com
www.crossculturalboston.com
Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau Multicultural Committee
Members of the GBCVB Multicultural Committee. Standing Left to Right: Turner Skenderian, Dr. ErinnTucker, Tiffany Probasco, Darrell LeMar, Ola Akinawuni Seated Left to Right: Suzanne Grogan, Carole Copeland Thomas, Michael Munn, Donna DuPee, Kelley Chunn
Carrying On The Dorothy Height Tradition-- Diversity Aware -- Civically Engaged
Carole Copeland Thomas took this photo of Dr. Height on March 1, 2009 in Washington, DC.
Dr. Dorothy Height was always a woman of action. I am so glad that I had the honor of meeting her on several occasions in Washington, DC. Quiet, action-oriented with grace and elegance. She lived through 17 US Presidents and knew/met 12 of them. One of the early leaders of the National Council of Negro Women, Dr. Height was an pioneer of equality for all people and opportunities to empower women of color across the globe.
I took the photo above (with the gold hat) of Dr. Dorothy Height on March 1, 2009, the year before she died. Now she has her own US stamp in her honor that just came in in celebration of Black History Month. I hope that you will honor and buy several sheets of her stamps at your local post office.
Here's her Bio:
Dr. Dorothy Height was the National President of the National Council of Negro Women AND the National President of my sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She was also on the stage with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 1963 March on Washington and lived long enough to meet and congratulate America's first black president, Barack Obama.
A tireless activist, Dorothy Height (1912–2010) dedicated her life to fighting for racial and gender equality. Although rarely gaining the recognition granted her male contemporaries, she became one of the most influential civil rights leaders of the 20th century. Height received the nation's two highest civilian honors for her work, the Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.
In 2003 I stood in a long line to have her autobiography, Open Wide The Freedom Gates, signed by her. It was a proud moment for me. One of my favorite quotes by Dr. Height states,
"Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition, he or she has overcome to reach his goals."
Such an apropos quote for our present political climate here in America.
Dr. Height was a "fashionista!" You never saw her without her signature hats to accompany her stylish outfits. She lived during a time when the men often received the accolades. Yet, she has had the last laugh now that her smiling face is on the US stamp.
It was always a great privilege to see her escorted on stage during our Delta Legislative Conference in Washington (Delta Days In The Nations Capital). Her presence was an assuring factor that Delta women like Dr. Height were always focused on public service and social action.
I so admire Dr. Height and other women like her. The women featured in the new movie "Hidden Figures" remind me of Dr. Height. Stately. Trained. Talented. Working for the good of humanity.
Dr. Height was aware of the diversity yet unborn in this country. She remained civically engaged her entire life. Physical illness was the only force that closed the last chapter of her long life. She remained mentally sharp to the end.
As we continue to reflect on the those who have contributed to Black History Month, let's pause and give thanks to a woman whose sacrifice and integrity made our nation and our world a better place to live.
Dr. Dorothy Height. Just another reminder that...
Black History IS American History.
Watch Night 2016 & The Black Community
Watch Carole's Commentary On Watch Night Below...
From my home to yours, I wish you rich blessings into the New Year. Here is a special article I created about the history of Watch Night Service in the African American community. The tradition predates the importance of the famous 1862 Watch Night Services and originated with the Moravians in Germany many years earlier. The first Methodist church in America to celebrate Watch Night in the 1700s was St. George United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, the home church of Bishop Richard Allen, co-founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. However, it has become particularly important in the Black Church, with its evolution in the early to mid-1800s. The word evolved from "Freedom's Eve" to "Watch Night" as the freed and enslaved blacks "watched" the clock strike 12 midnight, turning the course of the Civil War and freeing 3 million slaves in the states of the rebellion.
Wishing You The Best in 2017 !
With the festivities of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa now on full display, there is still time to reflect on the ritual of my ancestors and many other African Americans, whose forefathers sat around campfires and wood stoves in the twilight of December 31, 1862. There they sang spirituals acapella, prayed, and thanked the Good Lord for what was about to happen the next day. In the North Abolitionists were jubilant that the "peculiar institution" was finally about to get dismantled one plantation at a time.
It was on January 1, 1863 amidst the cannon fire, gun shots, and burnings at the height of the Civil War that President Abraham Lincoln sealed his own fate and signed the Emancipation Proclamation. It begins with the following decree:
Effective January 1, 1863 all slaves in the states in rebellion against the Union are free.
So in 1862 on the eve of this great era, the slaves "watched", prayed, and waited. My ancestors, including Bishop Wesley John Gaines of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) (a slave in Georgia freed by the EP) and the other three million slaves prayed for divine guidance and an empowered Abraham Lincoln to do the right thing. It is as important today as the tradition of black people eating black eyed peas on New Year's Day for good luck.
"As the great day drew nearer, there was more singing in the slave quarters than usual. It was bolder, had more ring, and lasted later into the night. Most of the verses of the plantation songs had some reference to freedom. ... Some man who seemed to be a stranger (a United States officer, I presume) made a little speech and then read a rather long paper—the Emancipation Proclamation, I think. After the reading we were told that we were all free, and could go when and where we pleased. My mother, who was standing by my side, leaned over and kissed her children, while tears of joy ran down her cheeks. She explained to us what it all meant, that this was the day for which she had been so long praying, but fearing that she would never live to see."
The longest holdouts were the slaves in Texas, who were not freed until June 19, 1865, two months after the Civil War ended. That day is not celebrated as Juneteenth Day around the United States.
May you and your family enjoy a spirit filled New Year throughout 2017. Thank you for ALL of your support you have given to me and my business throughout 2016.
Salute To The Tuskegee Airmen During Global Diversity Awareness Month
For Ticket Information To The October 27th Tuskegee Gala
Email Willie Shellman at newengland.tai@gmail.com
or Buy Your Tickets Online At:
http://bit.ly/2dBwCwQ
They piloted great airplanes during the critical days of World War II despite the naysayers who declared that black men could not possibly fly. Men of honor and integrity. Men who stared American bred racism and foreign hatred down and fought on anyway. They were the grounds crew. The flight crew. The administrators and leaders of their soldiers. Those who flew the planes. And those who supported or led the squadrons on the ground. And the military and civilian champions following World War II who continue to keep their legacy alive.
This is great American story of the Tuskegee Airmen, whose roots go back 75 years to their beginning in 1941. I am proud to be the daughter of a Tuskegee Airman who bravely served from 1941 to 1946.
As we celebrate Global Diversity Awareness Month throughout October, we salute the 75th Anniversary of the Tuskegee Airmen with our special guest, Willie Shellman.
The New England Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen will celebrate this great story with a75th Anniversary Gala set for Thursday October 27th on the Boston Campus of the University of Massachusetts.
October is Global Diversity Awareness Month, a celebratory time period I created more than 18 years ago to highlight the importance of expanding your reach beyond your own race, culture or ethnicity.
Click Here To Learn More About Global Diversity Awareness Month
Haywood Fennell: Playwright and Veteran--Honored At The March 3rd Black History Breakfast
Resourceful, resilient and transformational, Vietnam Era Veteran Haywood Fennell knows how to reach out to the community with gusto. We look forward to honoring him at the March 3rd Black History Breakfast.
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Fusing Compassion and Community, Learning and Literacy, Haywood Fennell, Sr. continues to add dimensions to his writings. Born in New York City, the now Boston resident recently self-published the first book from The Coota Experiences Trilogy, Coota and the Magic Quilt, (ISBN No. 0-9720404-0-4) and has completed writing the second book, Coota and the Challenge. (ISBN 0-97204046-3).
A well-respected figure in Boston, Haywood is often called a Renaissance Man because of his prolific writings, which draw upon our history for his source material. He is an ex-offender who has refused to allow his past mistakes to hold him "hostage." He is well known throughout the City of Boston as an advocate for prison reform. A great deal of his work centers around transitional services. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Stanley Jones Clean Slate Project; an ex-offender think tank working to educate and to empower those marginalized by the CORI Laws. Haywood advocates for professional social/mental health services as soon as the person enters the prison system. He helps by visiting jails and prisons and talking about the importance of opening up to change the mindset from wanting to be a smooth criminal to become with skills development a taxpayers a opposed to tax-burden.
Also, a Vietnam Era veteran, who served nearly six years in the US Army as a clerk, photographer, and information specialist, Haywood founded The Tri-Ad Veterans' League; a veterans' rights advocacy organization where the members incorporate their military skills with program development for educational/cultural programs, particularly around incarceration and HIV/AIDS. The League recently partnered again with The Boston Local Vulcans Society of African-American Firefighters to produce the annual (televised) 9/11 Memorial Service. Presently, the veterans' organization he founded works withNortheastern University to improve health care services. Their current project focuses on health disparities for African-American veterans that seek health care from the Veterans Administration Medical Centers.
Haywood co-hosts a popular weekly cable television program called Speaking About, which welcomes a weekly guest list of community champions who have updates to share and ideas to discuss. This soft-spoken author/playwright has written, produced and staged eight annual performances of the cultural education play,The Harlem Renaissance Revisited With a Boston Flavor (the show's title will change in the 2007 season toA Story from the Harlem Renaissance.)
Haywood attended public school in Wilmington, N.C. and on to Boston University where he studied Urban Planning and U/Mass Boston's College of Community and Public Service studying Urban Issues. He is the Boston Editor for Unity First, a Springfield, MA based diversity community newspaper. Haywood received the prestigious Boston Neighborhood Fellow's Award in 2003. He serves on the Advisory Board of the William Monroe Trotter Institute at U/Mass Boston and sits on the board at Boston's Urban League. He is a lecturer on the Harlem Renaissance Era and its importance to American history and served as a member of the Judging Committee for Reflection in Action; Building Healthy Communities, sponsored byThe Harvard Medical School Office for Diversity and Community Partnership and as a Presenter for theCommunity Enrichment Fellows 2004 and as a member of Roxbury Community College Community Advisory Group. He was named as Boston Herald Literacy Hero in 2005.
He was honored on November 4th, 2005 as one of the 100 Distinguished Black Men sponsored by ThePrince Hall Masons of Boston, MA. When speaking to youth, and especially on prison visits, Haywood talks about his going from stealing books to writing books and how is life was changed by other people praying for him, when he would not pray for himself. Haywood's second Coota book, Coota and the Challenge, will release in early 2007. In 2006 he completed This Man: Thoughts About Our Times, an anthology of his of poetry and prose. He also enjoys freelance photography.
Ron Armstead: Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust--Honored at the March 3, 2016 Breakfast
We celebrate the achievements of Ron Armstead, who is the Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust. He will be honored at the March 3, 2016 Black History Breakfast at the Boston Colonnade Hotel.
Ron E. Armstead, is the Executive Director for the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans BraIntrust (CBCVB) located in Washington, DC, and a past consultant to the late Secretary Jesse Brown's Veterans Administration's Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans. He has served as Executive Director of the CBCVB since its inception in 1988, first under Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), a decorated Korean War combat veteran and Dean of the New York Congressional Delegation, and currently under Reps. Corrine Brown (D-FL), new Ranking Member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), Ranking Democratic Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Co-Chair of the bi-partisan Congressional Military Families Caucus.
Under his leadership the Veterans Braintrust has expanded from its small core group to become one of the premiere forums for policy debate between veterans of African descent and representatives of government in the country.
Lastly, Ron holds a Master Degree in City Planning (MCP) with a concentration in Affordable Housing and Community Development from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); is a Licensed Social Worker (LSW) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is currently on an extended leave of absence from Howard University's Graduate School of Social Work Doctoral Program focusing on Social Policy and Planning.


text:
· November 7, 2021 ··1 min read
27 | Sales and design director | Element Pool Company
Sales and design director
Element Pool Company
When Daniella Rodriguez was dating her husband, JC, in 2016, she saw how passionate he was about the pool industry. He worked for his father's company, Silver Springs Pools — and would stretch himself thin. Rodriguez was working as an esthetician but in her free time learned to use Pool Studio to help JC.
"My passion for the pool industry grew," she says. "I made the decision to leave my career for the pool industry because I felt I had so much potential there, especially [working alongside] my husband."
Rodriguez accepted a job at Silver Springs Pools, too, and strived to learn. When a position would open up — no matter the department — she would apply, learning the permitting process, construction plans, warranties, equipment ordering, financing and job site supervision.
In 2017, Daniella and JC started Element Pool Company. She hopes the company will see sustainable growth and aims to create a company culture where employees feel like family. "At the end of the day," she says, "we truly need our employees to grow."
- Sponsor -
Rodriguez also wants to be an advocate for the company's clients. "I love bringing joy and a means of gathering to families all over Texas," she says. "I want to get to a point where our brand recognition and relationship allows the customer to feel comfortable and trusting throughout the process."
Daniella Rodriguez's Mentor
Owner, Element Pool Company
"JC has helped me from the beginning," Daniella Rodriguez says of her husband. "He has encouraged me and pushed me when I felt the industry was male dominated and I couldn't make a name for myself. He encouraged me to make myself known, and continue to work hard for myself and other women in male-dominated industries."
Daniella RodriguezElement Pool CompanyPoolPro 30 Under 40PP21-6
Ernand Civic
Jessica Ruckle
Adam Beech


text:
Battle for business begins as military hostilities in Iraq take peaceful turn
Royal Dutch Shell has signed a multibillion-dollar deal in southern Iraq
Deborah Haynes in Iskandariyah, Iraq
A fall in the number of attacks across Iraq has emboldened a growing list of companies, including ArcelorMittal, Royal Dutch Shell and Cairn Energy, to explore opportunities in the resources-rich country for the first time since the invasion.
Southern Iraq, where British forces have been based since 2003, is an area of particular interest, sitting on one of the world's biggest oil and gas reserves. It also has a strong industrial and agricultural base and the country's only port.
In a reminder of the dangers that have kept investors at bay, a bomb exploded yesterday in the path of a convoy of Western contractors in the main southern city of Basra. No one in the convoy was hurt.
Michael Wareing, co-chairman of the Basra Development Commission, a body set up with help from Britain's Department for International Development to encourage investment in Basra, said that foreign interest had surged since an Iraqi-led offensive in the spring to wrest control of the city and its surrounding province from Shia militiamen. A push by the Iraqi Government to promote joint ventures in a number of state-owned companies, with a view to possible future privatisation, is also attracting attention.
"We have 17 companies that we are actively supporting in terms of regular meetings and site visits," Mr Wareing said. Among them is ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker. Mr Wareing, also head of KPMG International, said that the Luxembourg-based company had submitted a proposal to the Iraqi Government worth more that $1 billion (£563 million) to invest in a state-owned steel company in Basra.
"ArcelorMittal confirms it has held preliminary talks with the Government of Iraq with a view to contributing to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of vital infrastructure within the country," the company said. "Much of this redevelopment will require an increase in steel production. Iraq faces enormous challenges in this regard and ArcelorMittal believes it can make a valuable contribution to this effort. The Middle East has attractive growth potential for the group."
Shell is also keen for a piece of the action. Last month, the company signed a multibillion-dollar natural gas deal in southern Iraq with the Iraqi Government, the second big energy contract agreed with a foreign company since the invasion.
Cairn Energy, the Edinburgh-based oil exploration company, is looking at opportunities in the south, according to Mr Wareing. He said that some British banks were also keeping open their options for trading in the region.
The US Department of Defence is also encouraging foreign investors to take advantage of the opportunities in Iraq. Brigadier-General Jefforey Smith, deputy commander in central Iraq, has hosted a visit by executives from Global Hyatt Corp, Morgan Stanley and CF Industries Holdings. A lull in the fighting has freed his troops to escort visiting executives to factories and to meet local leaders.
They also helped to facilitate the sealing of an agreement last week at a dilapidated factory complex in Iskandariyah, south of Baghdad. Soldiers stood guard as a senior official from Cummins, an American producer of generators, signed a letter of intent with representatives from two Iraqi state-owned manufacturing companies. The deal is aimed at paving the way for Cummins to repair generators in Iraq using the man-power and factory facilities of the State Company for Automotive Industries (SCAI) and the State Company for Mechanical Industries.
Asked why Cummins had chosen to enter Iraq now, Dennis Heathfield, managing director of its Middle East distribution branch, said: "Improvements in the security environment and the political environment have made it possible for us to look at it."
Amer al-Najm, director-general of SCAI, said that his company was to hold talks with Mercedes-Benz and Scania, the carmakers, about a possible joint venture.
Ali al-Dabbagh, a government spokesman, emphasised the importance placed on wooing foreign, private investment. "We have more than 23 years of knowledge gap," he said. "We need to liberate all the activities from the domination of the Government."
Iraq: Risky land of opportunity
Oil giants flock to Iraqi auction
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article4887925.ece
Posted in: Iraq, Oil, The Times.
Tagged: Iraq · Royal Dutch Shell
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