Sipping With Wine Royalty

 

 

CHEESE MATTERS

 

Attending Wine Spectator’s California Wine Experience, in New York was a trip I would totally recommend.  The plethora of world-class wines to explore was mind blowing.  I was able to spend quality time with wine royalty Agustin Huneeus Jr. and Jim Sweeney, while sipping their heavenly Quintessa. And yes, I had a full plate of cheeses to enjoy with this majesty of a Napa red.  Huneeus Vintners create a collection of wines including the luscious FAUST Cabernet Sauvignon and Illumination Sauvignon Blanc.  Agustin Huneeus Sr., pioneered winemaking in the now renowned Casablanca Valley, in Chile.  It is here, and in the Colchagua Valley, where they make the accoladed Primus and Veramonte wines.  These are astounding cheese-friendly wines priced for ultimate value.  Veramonte is available at Bristol Farms.

Honey & Cheese A flavor adventure

I’ll never forget the first time I enjoyed a drizzle of honey enveloping a piece of blue cheese.  The experience was truly transcendent, transportive and transformative to the total max.  You’ve got to try this amalgamation of sweet and savory.  Those who didn’t enjoy blue cheese are now loving it and, drizzling away with all kinds of honey.  Parmesan and so many other cheeses also love a dollop of honey.

There are more than 300 varietals of honey in the United States.  They range from the sweet and light orange blossom honey to savory lavender.   The different flavors of honey are not added in, they come straight from the flowers where the bees drink their nectar.  A rare tupelo honey from Savannah Bee Company you can buy in the store, is made by bees that were sipping from the tupelo blossoms in the swamp- lands of Georgia and in Florida.

Honey is the only food that does not spoil.  Just drizzle from above and don’t pollute your honey jar with any other organic matter.  If you follow this methodology of pure enjoyment, your honey could last for more than 3,000 years, just like the honey that was recently found in the pyramids of Egypt.

Relish this flavor adventure!

By Barrie Lynn / The Cheese Empressario

Spirit, Mind, and Party Dresses

 

 

Internationally acclaimed psychic, 
spiritual healer, consultant, teacher 
and lecturer.

By Dawn Christie

www.dawnchristie.com

Business News: February 2009

Google won hands down when it comes to Americans watching videos online.  Stats showed that Internet users in the U.S. watched 12.7 billion online videos in November, a 34% increase from a year ago.  Numbers studied by market researcher ComScore hailed a huge  ‘thank you’ to YouTube when Google sites earned top billing with nearly 5.1 billion videos viewed (40% of all videos seen).  The YouTube/Google sharing site accounted for 98% of Google’s traffic.  Second was Fox Interactive Media with 439 million videos watched (3.5%); next Viacom Digital with 325 million videos or 2.6%.  Data reported that in 2008, in the U.S., 77% of Internet users viewed online videos.  Projected numbers show the market will grow another 45% equaling around  $850 million this year.

The German billionaire Adolf Merckle, whose over speculation in Volkswagen stock forced his massive business empire to the brink of financial ruin, ended his misery by committing suicide, his family reported.  The 74-year old who for weeks was said to be emotionally unable to handle his crumbling business was found dead near his estate in the southern German hamlet of Blaubeuren, on a railroad track.  Officials from the city stated that no other persons were involved.  A suicide note had been found, but its contents were not relased by the family.

The nation’s No. 2 electronics retailer  Circuit City will close all 567 stores and sell its assets as it restructures under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  Creditors agreed to the shutdown after two potential buyers seeking to continue operating the company backed out of negotiations.

Private investors will buy what is left of IndyMac Bank, a California mortgage lender whose July financial failure set the autumn crisis of the financial system.  This will be the first failed bank in two decades sold to a buyer outside the banking industry by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.  The investing group, IMB HoldCo, is led by Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs executive, and includes the veteran banking investor J. Christopher Flowers, computer maker Michael S. Dell and the hedge fund manager John Paulson.  IndyMac now has a total value to the government of more than $13.9 billion; new investors will remove most liabilities from the governments books, and then they will pay the additional cash needed to cover the balance due. 

United States consumer prices barely rose last year—their slowest pace in more than a half century, a new government report stated; then a stunning turn just a few months later when inflation hit an all time 17-year high.

Much of the reversal was due to a roughly 75% decline in the oil prices from their July peak that now have  brought prices down on everything from gasoline and home heating to airline fares.  But some of the inflation’s disappearance that has been reported is also a consequence of the severe economic recession hitting the nation and that is causing nervous households to delay spending money, adding to the leg long list of companies going out of business.

After a $8.3 billion fourth-quarter loss, Citigroup will reorganize the company into two businesses.  Citicorp will soon operate as a traditional banking business, and a separate business, Citi Holdings, a company to work with risky assets.  Fourth-quarter losses amounted to $1.72 per share compared to a year ago of $1.99 loss per share.  The losses totaled $9.8 billion. The 2008 fourth quarter included a $3.9 billion gain on the sale of its German retail bank.

Fourth-quarter revenue dropped 13%  to $5.6 billion.  Months ago Citigroup had announced that it would cut its banking work force of about 323,000 to 52,000 workers.

President Barack Obama told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that he favors a price tag of some where in the area of  $775 billion for the U.S. economic stimulus plan, a Democratic aide said.  Obama met with congressional leaders from both parties at the Capitol to help craft and shore up support for a two-year plan he hopes will boost the sagging economy.  He said that the plan would cut taxes for individuals and businesses and allow  money for government programs that will help rebuild the nation’s infrastructure.  “We have to act now to address this crisis and break the momentum of the recession, or the next few years could be dramatically worse,” Obama had told the reporters.  

The plan would attempt to boost consumer demand by providing tax breaks worth $500 for individuals and $1,000 for couples.  By altering tax-withholding rules, workers would see an immediate increase in their take-home pay.  Cutting the payroll tax “would be more efficient” in helping the economy, Michael Darda, chief economist for MKM Partners LP, said on Bloomberg Television, but also cautioned that “there is no silver bullet.” 

The impact of Russia’s natural gas embargo against Ukraine spread to several Eastern European countries, as a senior Ukrainian official warned of serious fuel disruptions across the continent in as little as 10 days if Russia refused to resume shipments.

Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary reported drops in the gas they receive from Russia via Ukrainian pipelines but said consumers had not yet been affected because of reserve supplies and additional Russian deliveries through other countries.

The European Union which gets a quarter of its gas from Russia, most of it through pipelines that cross Ukraine, said that it planned to call an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis and urged “an immediate resumption of full gas deliveries” to E.U. member states. 

The European Central Bank lowered its benchmark interest rate by more than a half-point to 2 percent, the lowest level ever, and hinted that the rate would fall even further.  The bank has halved its main borrowing rate in the last three months, as the outlook for Europe and the global market for its exports continues to darken.

The Peninsula Beverly Hills

 

Home Away From Home For Oscar Stars

During Oscar Week, The Peninsula Beverly Hills is booked solid with nominees and presenters, studio heads and A-list producers, its majestic tree-shaded porte cochere choc-o-block with Rolls, Bentleys and Mercedes.  No wonder.  An AAA Five Diamond rated hotel for 15 consecutive years, The Peninsula Beverly Hills provides the luminaries of the entertainment world with a luxurious home away from home. 

Its 196 elegantly appointed guest rooms include 36 suites and 16 private villas.  Its pool terrace offers private cabanas and a panoramic view that stretches from the ocean to the “Hollywood” sign.  Surrounded by lush tropical gardens, The Peninsula Beverly Hills exudes the ambiance of a five-star resort that is tucked away in the heart of the city.

Since opening in 1991, The Peninsula Beverly Hills has set the standard for gracious hospitality in Southern California with innovative amenities such as 24-hour check-in, advanced in-room technology, unparalleled cuisine and service that anticipates a guest’s every need.

The Club Bar provides a handsome dark-wood-paneled refuge meeting place with a men’s club feel.  The Living Room takes “hotel lobby” to a new level, where guests lounge on sofas before the two fireplaces and enjoy coffee, Afternoon Tea and cocktails.

The Roof Top Garden offers all-day dining al fresco, with drinks at sunset around the fire pit. And as for The Belvedere, the hotel’s award-winning restaurant, its comfortably elegant interior and sun-splashed patio are home to power breakfasts, ladies’ lunches and exquisite gourmet dinners.  And then there is in-room dining; Peninsula Beverly Hills room service.  In addition to featuring choices from homemade muesli and fresh steamed dim sum to comfort-food classics such as Mac ‘n Cheese with Truffles, Peninsula Room Service includes caring touches such as wine poured by the glass and bread that can be toasted in the room.  Executive Chef James Overbaugh, who came to The Peninsula Beverly Hills from a Relais & Chateaux property in 2008, serves market-driven contemporary California Cuisine. And by “market driven” he means working with a professional “forager” who drives up and down the state to procure the best and most seasonal (and often the most exotic) produce available.  Think water spinach from Mendecino in the Spring, golden raspberries from Santa Ynez in the Summer and blue pumpkins from Petaluma in the Fall.

Luxurious indulgence at The Peninsula extends to the hotel’s intimate spa.  Here, guests unwind with treatments that range from anti-aging acupuncture facial rejuvenation to oxygen facials to body wraps, using Shiffa precious oil products, made in Dubai, their shimmering bottles each holding a sapphire, ruby or diamond. 

www.peninsula.com   866-382-8388

Health Science & Tech News

Banning indoor smoking is paying off.  In Pueblo, Colorado, heart attack hospitalizations fell after a law passed banning smoking in public and workplaces, says the Center for Disease Control; 399 heart attack hospitalizations occurred 18 months prior to the smoke ban law and 237 in the 18-month period after the ban. Areas near, but not affected by the ban had no decline in heart attack hospitalizations during the same period.  Reports showed smoke-free laws reduce hospitalizations not just for smokers, but non-smokers as well, limiting exposure to secondhand smoke.

Astronomers once thought that major galaxies in Earth’s cosmic neighborhood —our Milky Way—was weak compared to the larger Andromeda.  Now studies say the Milky Way is larger and spinning faster than believed.  Scientists found that it is 15 percent larger in breadth and 50 percent heavier.  The American Astronomical Society presented its findings at a convention in Long Beach, California.  The news is not terrific.  A bigger Milky Way means it has the strength to cause a hefty crash into a neighboring Andromeda galaxy sooner than predicted. But don’t panic…if it happens it’s billions of years away.

The Business of Human Trafficking

A sign outside a Hong Kong club reads, “Young, fresh Hong Kong girls; White clean Malaysian girls; Beijing women; Luxurious Ghost Girls from Russia.”  About 65% of those trafficked are for the purpose of sexual exploitation, unable to escape for fear of being killed or their families being killed.  They often develop ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ where they bond with their captors, grateful for small favors and for allowing them to live.  On virtual auction blocks, these women wait to be bought and sold for sexual exploitation.  They rarely get any of the money that their captors collect for their sexual services.  Fear and coercion keep them cooperative and they often turn to drug abuse.  Most buyers claim they are unaware that they are feeding the trafficking industry when they buy sexual services or support tourism. The sad truth is that most continue to do it, and don’t care.

The United States Department of State estimates between 600,000 and 800,000 people are trafficking across international borders each year into the dark shadows of human slavery.  Right now more than 27 million men, women and children are sold and enslaved a within national borders.   Often these places are in full view of the public eye.

There are more slaves worldwide today than laborers in the American workplace, or in history for that matter.  In this era of change, it’s going to require dedication to end slavery in our lifetime and, will demand creative and bold activism from each of us.  

The general public is always shocked to learn that slavery still exists, flourishing in the shadows of our own neighborhoods and largely hidden behind closed doors.  Although it is uncomfortable, we must shift to a paradigm that recognizes it’s existence, if not…we enable it to continue.  Without awareness, prevention cannot begin.  And, it is going to take more than standard activism to conquer this 10 billion dollar a year, well-organized, criminal industry.

That’s why Dr. Carole Lieberman, a well-known forensic psychiatrist, based in Beverly Hills, California got creative in offering her expertise in psychological consulting.  Her efforts and skills were put to the test for a film called, “The Pet”, which depicts one of the most degrading forms of modern-day slavery.  The story is about a young American woman who, suffering through an emotional and financial crisis, signs herself over to a wealthy, aristocratic benefactor for a sum of money and for a six month period.  The cash is to be placed in an account for her.  She becomes his human pet, sleeps in a cage, never wears clothes, and is led around on a leash.  He decides to have her market value appraised and exhibits her to the powerful and ruthless GSM—Global Slave Market, who violently steal her from him and then, sell her to the highest bidder in the world for her valuable and healthy organs.  A movie in theaters now is “Taken” which follows a former CIA operative trying to track down a group of kidnappers who have his daughter and are going to sell her into the sex slave trade.

Dr. Lieberman points out, “Everyday, as we benevolently sip our lattes, people are plucked off streets and sold, never to be heard from again.  Traffickers are on the prowl for victims and, with the world becoming more chaotic, it’s easier to ‘lose’ co-workers, rebellious teens, college students and others who have simply ‘lost touch’ because of busy lives or detached families.  If we don’t wake up, we may one day find that one of own loved ones is missing”.

According to the Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition, (BSCC) who have approximately 60 government and non-profit agencies all dedicated to human trafficking, slavery is the world’s second largest and fastest growing organized crime  Victims are children, teenagers, and adults, all subjected to force, fraud, and coercion to engage in involuntary labor or commercial sex.

Of those abducted each year, 70% are women and adolescents, trafficked into sex slavery.  Two million children a year fall victim to commercial sexual exploitation.  Traffickers trick, drug, kidnap and sell victims, knowing full well that these victims can be sold over and over, unlike drugs, into the multi-billion dollar sex trade.  

“Victims are hidden within crevices of the Internet, sex tourism, underground brothels, strip clubs, pornography, and other industries servicing a demand primarily driven by adult males,” says Lieberman. “Sadly, more and more victims are needed to fill the vacuum created by the growing online demand.“ 

 

Sources in the U.S. and UK report 11 companies that manufacture human pet cages.  Also easy to find for those interested in purchasing are human auctions where a purchaser on the Internet can locate slave marking listings such as branding, piercing, tagging and what insiders refer to as TPE (Total Power Exchange) for consensual slaves.

“Human offerings are listed in the thousands and on the Internet,” says Lieberman.  “The Global Slave Market is modeled on and functions much the same as the NYSE or NASDAQ, but without the pretense of regulation, and with human beings as commodities.   Unimaginable is that a transaction can be completed by using Pay Pal.”

According to Marisa Ugarte, executive director of Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition, located in National City, California, who works with trafficked victims, “Often buyers don’t notice the fake smiles that are plastered on the faces of underage victims.”

During the presidential inauguration, actors/human/animal right activists Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore stepped up with a staggering group of other well-known entertainment A-listers and went on the record for very personal “I Pledge” declarations on how they’ll make the world better in 2009 and beyond.  The video, directed by Moore was presented to President Obama during the festivities.  One outspoken pledge was by Moore who stated that she and Kutcher were determined to help free 1,000,000 people currently in slavery, within five years.

In an article in The Huffington Post, Kutcher said, “A year ago my wife and I looked one another in the eye and promised to dedicate ourselves to finding a cause to champion.  After sifting through the wreckage of issues that our world faces, we were continually confronted with one issue that pulled at our heartstrings and haunted our thoughts: the abolition of 21st century slavery…We are shocked and offended by every story we hear.  In our pursuit we have been confronted with finding a tangible, quantifiable solution to a crisis that has become the second most profitable illicit trade in the world, only bested by the drug trade… We found ourselves in such a place and realized that the only way to create effective change is to first state your intention.  Thus the ‘Presidential Pledge’ was born.  Making a pledge forces you to be accountable not only to others but also to yourself…Once you are on record, your community and your peers can and will hold you accountable for results.  Therefore, we as individuals will be forced to deliver…This may be one of the only positive attributes of our egos.  So let us put our egos to work.  Our hope is that this effort will inspire others to do the same…”

Prior to the enactment of the TVPA in October 2000, no comprehensive federal law even existed to prosecute traffickers.  Enforcement is poorly funded and very few traffickers are ever caught.  They spend little time in prison, yet make billions of dollars annually by trafficking human beings.  No longer can we stand by.  It is not enough to think about change, to talk about change.  It is time to make a change and collectively as a global force, we can do it if we allow ourselves to move out of our comfort zone and take action.  If half our population spent one day a year just giving their time, slavery could be synergistically conquered.

For further  information:

Call BSCC at 619-336-0770

www..bsccoalition.org
By Robin Torme

World News: February 2009

An Israeli air strike carrying out a series of attacks at night killed Abu Zakaria al-Jamal, a senior Hamas commander of the armed wing of Hamas.  In yet another strike it bombed the house of top Hamas operative Imad Akel and reports state that the Israeli military heard secondary blasts in the house, indicating weapons and explosives were in the home.  An Israeli warplane dropped a 2,000-pound bomb on the home of one of Hamas’ top five decision-makers, killing him and 18 others.  The airstrike on Nizar Rayan was the first that succeeded in killing a member of Hamas’ highest echelon since Israel first began its offensive operations.

Several powerful earthquakes struck in eastern Indonesia killing at least four people and injuring dozens more.  Reports of down power lines and buildings hitting the ground came as the 7.3-magnitude tremor sent a series of small tsunamis into Japan’s southeastern coast, where there were no reports of damage.  As the first 7.6-magnitude quake struck about 85 miles from Manokwari, Papua, 10 aftershocks soon followed.

This past November’s Mumbai attack had support from official agencies in Pakistan, stated Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accusing Pakistan of   “whipping up the war hysteria.”  India reportedly gave evidence to Islamabad linking attacks to “elements” in Pakistan.

Approximately 170 people died as 10 gunmen made the vicious attacks.  The Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba is blamed for the killings, but both LeT and the Pakistani government have denied any involvement.

Sources reported that opposition lawmakers ended a violent, 12-day siege of South Korea’s Parliament after delaying a crucial vote on a U.S. free-trade deal and other legislation.  Democratic Party legislators occupied Parliament since Dec. 26, 2008 keeping security guards at bay who tried to overtake them.  The sit-in ended when the Assembly speaker assured them that the governing party would not run the bills through before the next American president took office. Parties agreed to hold the vote until after President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration on January 20, 2009.

Islamist fighters took control of several bases vacated by Ethiopian troops in the Somali capital.  The city remains under extreme pressure as fear grows that militant al-Shabab fighters will launch further attacks against peacekeepers in a bid to take control of the city.  Reports state that ICU took over six bases when Ethiopia withdrew the last of its troops, bringing to an end its bid to protect  the capital.  The ICU was thrown out of power by Ethiopia in late 2006.  The al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab continues attacks on the African Union mission known as AMISOM.  Muktar Robow,Al-Shabab’s spokesman stated that his group sees no difference between Ethiopian troops and AMISOM peacekeepers.

An untimely dispute over natural gas between Russia and Ukraine left major parts of Europe without heat or fuel for several days.  This incident prompted the signing of an agreement with the European Union to establish independent monitors of pipelines—a condition set by Russian energy officials so they would turn on the gas flow.  The dispute between Russian and the Ukraine started over pricing and accusations of stealing gas from the export pipelines.  Europeans were left literally to freeze in the cold during the dead of winter.  Especially hard hit were Poland and Bulgaria where temperatures went below zero.  More bad news after the agreement was signed when it was noted it would take three days to restore full service.  The underlying price dispute was still not fully resolved.

The Gulf nation of Qatar announced at an Arab summit a freeze against Israel protesting ongoing bloodshed in Gaza that widened the gap between pro-U.S. Arab nations and Middle East rivals.  U.S. allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia boycotted a gathering in the Qatari capital, which had been called by Qatar to forge a united stance over the Gaza violence.  The meeting was dominated however,  by backers of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.  Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a top Hamas supporter, made a hard stand appearance, along with Hamas’ Syria-based political chief Khaled Mashaal.  They fired back at Israel calling for Arab and Muslim nations to cut any bilateral ties they have with the Jewish state.

Four Iranians went to trial on charges of attempting to overthrow the Iran government.  Also included in the charges were that the men had conspired and worked with the United States to support the effort.  Two of the men were convicted of “adultery, murder and other crimes” and executed by stoning in the northeastern city of Mashad.  Punishment for the other two men who were additionally accused of plotting against the government was set for a future date.  The four Iranian men were  were arrested in Tehran and were said to have recruited forces to train.  Reports state that the men worked throughout the country and received funds from the State Department or the C.I.A. from a budget that was approved by the U.S. Senate for overthrowing the Iran regime. 

A supertanker owned by Saudi oil-companies was held hostage by pirates off the coast of Somalia for two months.  It was said to be released for a ransom totaling $3 million, stated one of the pirates and resident of Xarardheere, a pirate town on the Somali coast near where the tanker was taken.  This latest  tanker is the largest ship so far to be seized by pirates, and at the time it was taken held about two million barrels of oil.  It was reported that the pirates had wanted $25 million for the oil tanker, but agreed on $3 million.  Although pirates were to leave the ship on receipt of ransom the International Maritime Bureau in London, a clearinghouse for piracy information and maritime safety issues, could not confirm if the pirates had actually freed the tanker or not.

Approximately 200 people went missing and were feared dead when a passenger ferry went down off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.  Reports had the ferry carrying 250 passengers and 17 crew members.  A fishing boat in the area rescued 18, among them the ship’s captain; all had been drifting on life rafts for hours.  According to reports by the captain at least 100 or more people jumped off the boat in panic before it sank, but he didn’t know what happened to them.  Additional rescuers were dispatched, but were experiencing trouble reaching the scene because of bad weather.

Prime ministers of Russia and the Ukraine agreed to end their gas dispute.  The agreement stated that prices would be pegged to the price of oil, but discounted for 2009, meaning the Ukraine would pay the same or sightly higher than the prior year.  The deal  was on the heel of sharp criticism from European officials of 20-plus countries cut off from natural gas whose citizens faced zero temperatures at the hands of Soviet economic gain. 

Beverly Hills Unified School District News:

 

DEBBIE ALLEN DANCE ACADEMY AT BHUSD

Beverly Hills Unified School District’s Board of Education approved a pilot program for the Debbie Allen Dance Academy to come to the School District through funding from the Beverly Hills Education Foundation. The program came out of conversation between BHEF CEO Devorah Hankin and Ms. Allen over her passion for bringing the arts to public education.  After an initial meeting with Board President Nooshin Meshkaty and Board Member Steven Fenton, and subsequent meetings with Meshkaty and Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator Dana Findley, the program has come to fruition.  

“This is a fabulous opportunity for our children.  Through our elementary school Summer Enrichment Program and Arts Academy, we provide funding for arts education to the District.  We have given substantially to instrumental music, choir, visual arts, theater and dance.  Artists in Residence are a substantial part of our goal and Debbie Allen’s talent and vision is invaluable to our children.  We hope to see this program grow so every child will have access.  This type of partnership between public schools and arts organizations serves as a national model for arts education,” Findley stated.” 

The pilot program provides 200 hours of instruction from Debbie Allen’s Dance Academy for grades K-12; 40 of these hours will be at Beverly Hills High. There is also 25 hours of live drummers for the African dance sessions.  Styles of dance being introduced will include Ballet, Hip-Hop, African, Flamenco, Jazz and Modern.  Ms. Allen also taught a two-hour master choreography and composition class to the Beverly Hills High School Dance Company in January. Debbie Allen and DADA Director Alla Khanlasvili attended the performance and got to see the talents of the dancers to assess where she thought she could add her immense expertise.  

This month, teachers from the Dance Academy began visiting 27 individual classrooms, for four visits each, grades K-5.  In March, they will go to PE programs in grades 5-8 and to the high school dance classes. Future plans include collaborating with Debbie Allen Dance Academy for the Summer Arts Academy, expanding the school year program to incorporate all students and a possible after school program.  Board Member Myra Lurie suggested a program for adult education as well.  

“Having BHUSD collaborate with the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, to offer a dance residency to some of our K-12 students, is a fantastic opportunity,” according to Dana Findley.  “We are so fortunate that our Board of Education and Administration is committed to arts education; and thankful that BHEF funds programs like this one.”

Debbie Allen Dance Academy

Debbie Allen is one of the most respected, relevant, and versatile talents in the entertainment industry.  An internationally recognized director, choreographer and author, Allen serves as Culture Connect Ambassador, representing U.S. visits to Brazil, China, Italy, and India to expand opportunities in arts education for the young people all over the world. Allen is a member of the prestigious ‘President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, a board member of the American Film Institute, and Executive Committee member of the UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film, and Television.

She has received three Emmy awards honoring her choreography, and two Emmys and one Golden Globe for her role as “Lydia Grant” in the hit series, Fame.  Allen has choreographed for Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, and Janet Jackson among many others, and choreographed the Academy Awards 10 times.  She produced the Steven Spielberg epic film Amistad, and directed the second highest rated original movie in Lifetime Channel history, Life is Not A Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story.  Allen has staged musicals for the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. where she has been Artist in Residence for more than 10 years.  In 2001, Allen fulfilled a lifelong dream by opening the Debbie Allen Dance Academy in Culver City, California, where she offers a comprehensive curriculum for more than 200 boys and girls, ages four to 18, in 12 performing arts disciplines.  Allen plays an active role in each student’s career by offering hands-on instruction and a world renowned faculty, presenting instructors from world famous institutions such as the Kirov Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. 

Dana Findley has worked at Beverly Hills Unified School District since 1996 and taught dance at Beverly Hills High School from 1996-2005 and served as the Assistant Principal from 2003-2005.  She currently works with the school district as the Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator.  She received her BFA in dance from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana; her MS in Education, with teaching and administrative credentials from National University; and her MFA in dance from California State University Long Beach where she was a part-time lecturer this past fall.  Ms. Findley has danced locally with Naomi Goldberg and Janet Roston, as well as performed with Princess Cruise  Lines.   She is currently dancing with Laurie Sefton’s Clairobscur Dance Company and Dorcas Román Dance Theatre (DRDT) while serving on the Board of Directors for DRDT.

Coal Ash Sludge Muddies Waters…

 

…It looks like I may be paying a visit to Tennessee!

By Erin Brockovich

Numerous residents have asked me to come to the community for a meeting on the coal fly ash disaster around Knoxville, and I think I will be going.

I know the question on everyone’s lips.  What is ‘coal fly ash’ and why does it need to be contained?  The folks around Knoxville are getting to know a lot more about coal fly ash than they ever wanted to learn.

Coal fly ash.  It sounds like someone has been burning fly poop or airborne coal.  But seriously, it is akin to the creosote that coated those chimneys and chimneysweep boys of Charles Dickens ancient London.

Fly ash comes from chimneys, specifically the chimneys of power plants.  And, the collection point determines exactly what kind of ash it is.  Fly ash apparently contains silicon dioxide and calcium oxide as well as trace concentrations of heavy metals.  In other words, coal ash is nasty stuff to have floating around in your river, air, and drinking water.

Anyway, thanks to the failure of a containment retention wall at TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant—that’s where it is.  In the river.  Spread out on the land and the Clinch and Tennessee Rivers are affected.  So the TVA is out there collecting “cenospheres.” Cenospheres are apparently little floating balls of residue which according to this TVA publication “are useful in bowling balls, paint, concrete and epoxy”—just a partial list of ways fly ash in general is used. 

There are 3,000 feet of skimmers in place to vacuum up this stuff and some other collection devices in the water.  I don’t think the sludge is only made up of cenospheres, so I wonder what they are doing to control the rest of it?

The TVA publishes data on Kingston’s Fossil Emissions and water data.  The TVA does NOT publish data about that retention wall.  (Or maybe they do, and I just don’t know where it is. The TVA is welcome to let me know that information).  So I’d like to know why they were using retention ponds to store this stuff. (You may remember that I have a history with retention ponds.  Don’t like ‘em.  Never will).

Why does it need to be contained? Well, that’s a moot point, isn’t it?  Since it is composed of heavy metals, and other nasty things—it is better contained than it is spread out over 300 acres 30 some-odd miles away from Knoxville.  Truth is, I should speculate on some other questions.

LIKE…

• Why was fly ash sitting around a retention pond rather than being immediately ported to a Portland cement factory or bowling ball maker? 

• Was there an earthquake we don’t know about?  

• Why did that retention wall give way?  

• Just how much trace metal is realistically dangerous, and how much trace metal and toxin is actually there? 

• Is it truly inert?

AP has already released an article talking about how the TVA won’t have retention ponds on TVA property any longer.  Better late than never, I suppose.  (Does that mean it’s moving to private property; that it’s going to be sold; or that they’re shooting it to trash cans on Jupiter or Pluto?)  We’ll have to see what their actual solution is, and if it really is an improvement over what they are doing right now.

A dozen families have lost their homes to 2.6 million cubic yards of fly ash.  Or a Billion cubic yards.  (The numbers change depending on whose saying them.)  Three hundred acres are destroyed.  In fact, that number has grown to four hundred acres six feet deep.

Why is it that it takes a disaster to find a better way to do things?  When are we ever going to learn to use forethought instead of hindsight?

Flex Fuel

 

 

Changing the World One Gallon at a Time

By Anne Korin & R. James Woolsey

Turning Oil into Salt

We must become independent—not just of imported oil, but of oil itself.

 

A determined pack has begun to race its engines and to try to shoulder us off the road toward energy independence. It’s time for those determined to stay on the track to drive aggressively.

The energy-independence question is about oil—the rest of U.S. energy use presents important issues, but not the danger of our being subject to the control of nations that “do not particularly like us,” as the president put it.  Some engine racers have an economic interest in keeping our transportation system 97% oil-dependent.  Less understandable are the authors of a recent Council on Foreign Relations report accusing those working for such independence of “doing the nation a disservice.”

Authors and followers of that report define “independence” contrary to both Webster’s dictionary and common sense, as essentially “autarky”—i.e. complete self-sufficiency—not importing oil even though we remain dependent on it.  This Pickwickian definition captures none of the thinking of serious advocates to reduce our oil dependence:  The point of independence is not to be an economic hermit, but rather be a free agent.  It’s true that some promoting oil independence spice their remarks by implying that we might substitute oil from domestic sources, or from our near neighbors for cheap Middle Eastern imports, and then somehow manage to insulate ourselves from the world oil market. 

But speechwriters’ tropes shouldn’t be taken as serious policy proposals.  Geology will not cooperate in any such fantasy.  There is no reasonable way we can leave oil in place as the near-exclusive fuel for the world’s transportation systems and simultaneously wall ourselves off from the world oil market.  If we want to end dependence on the whims of OPEC’s despots, the substantial instabilities of the Middle East, and indignity of paying for both sides in the War on Terror, we must define oil independence sensibly, as doing whatever is necessary to avoid oil’s being the instrument of despotic leverage and foreign chaos.  Those who won our independence as a nation did not just fling imported tea into Boston harbor, they did what was necessary to wrest themselves from British control.  We need not call out the Minutemen, but to avoid consequences of dependence we must become independent not just of imported oil, but of oil itself.  Does this mean we can’t use oil or import any?  No.  Oil is a useful commodity that can readily transport energy long distances.  It already has competition from natural gas in industry and from gas and electricity for heating.  But in transportation brooks no competition— 

it is thus not just a commodity but a strategic commodity.  Oil’s monopoly on transportation gives intolerable power to OPEC and the nations that dominate oil ownership and production and the  monopoly must be broken.  To tell us that in following this path we are doing a “disservice to the nation” and should resign ourselves to oil dependence is like us not urging an alcoholic to stop drinking, but rather impress upon him the health advantages of red wine. 

Not long ago, technology broke the power of another strategic commodity. Until around the end of the 19 Century salt had such a position because it was the only means to preserve meat.  Odd as it seems today, salt mines conferred national power and wars were fought to control them.  Today, no nation sways history because it has salt mines.  Salt is still a useful commodity for a range of purposes.  We import some salt, so if one defines independence as autarky we are not salt independent.  But to most there is no salt dependence problem at all.  Electricity and refrigeration ended salt’s monopoly of meat preservation, and thus its strategic importance.

We can and must do the same with oil.  By utilizing the batteries developed for modern electronics we can soon have plug-in hybrids that travel 20-40 miles on an inexpensive charge of nighttime off-peak electricity at a small fraction of gasoline’s cost.  (After that distance plug-ins work as ordinary hybrids.)  Dozens of ordinary hybrids converted to plug-ins now on the road are getting in the range of 100 mpg of gasoline.  And millions of flexible-fuel vehicles are also in the fleet.  Producing them adds costs well under $100 and they can use up to 85% ethanol (before long to be made from biomass rather than corn)—methanol, butanol, and other alternative fuels produced from grasses and even waste.

A flex-fuel plug in hybrid that combines a 100 mpg of gasoline plug in hybrid with liquid fuel flexibility, is approaching a utility of 500 miles per gallon of gasoline (each gallon of gasoline is stretched by electricity and alternative liquid fuels). And other oil-breaking technologies are on the way.  

When Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, the newly-independent Americans asked their band to play, “The World Turned Upside Down.”  

Get ready for a reprise.

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