China Eases One-Child Policy

And ends system of re-education through labor in historic change

By Denver Nick

China’s top legislature moved Saturday to ease its long-standing one-child policy and end the practice of re-education through labor, or laojiao.

Under the new law passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, families will be allowed to have a second child if both parents are only children, CNN reports, quoting Xinhua state news agency. The one-child policy was introduced in the 1970s to curb population growth and is estimated to have prevented some 400 million births.

The closure of China’s controversial labor camps will go into effect Saturday and people still serving sentences in such camps will be set free, Xinhua reports. The camps date from the 1950s and have long been criticized by human-rights advocates for their role in silencing dissidents and persecuting intellectuals and spiritual groups.

Read more: China Eases One-Child Policy, Abolishes Re-education Labor Camps | TIME.com http://world.time.com/2013/12/28/china-eases-one-child-policy/#ixzz2p1O1LVC1

Antique sex toys

Obama urges nation to demand a ‘common sense’ balance on gun control, gun rights

Video: President Barack Obama spoke at a Navy Yard memorial service in Washington, D.C.

By Brigid Schulte and Paul Duggan, Published: September 23

President Obama, addressing yet another memorial gathering after a deadly mass shooting, said Sunday evening that he senses “a creeping resignation” in the United States that homicidal lunacy like the Washington Navy Yard massacre “is somehow the new normal.” But he said “it ought to be a shock to us all” and should spur Americans to demand “a common sense” balance between gun rights and gun control.
“We cannot accept this,” Obama said of the Sept. 16 attack that killed a dozen people at the Navy Yard. “As Americans bound in grief and love, we must insist here today there’s nothing normal about innocent men and women being gunned down where they work.”

Obama was addressing about 4,000 people, including loved ones of the slain, who gathered outdoors at the Marine Corps Barracks at Eighth and I streets SE, a few blocks from the Navy Yard. The president did not vow to throw the weight of his presidency behind an effort to enact gun-control legislation, as he did in December at a memorial service after the slaughter at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Instead, he urged the nation to demand such measures.
“By now . . . it should be clear that the change we need will not come from Washington, even when tragedy strikes Washington,” he said at Sunday’s service on the barracks parade grounds. “Change will come the only way it ever has come, and that’s from the American people.”
The Navy Yard gunman, 34-year-old Aaron Alexis, a former Navy reservist with a recent history of mental problems, opened fire in Building 197, first with a shotgun, then with a pistol, killing nine men and three women. All the victims worked in the building, which houses the Naval Sea Systems Command.
“Part of what wears on . . . is the sense that this has happened before,” the president said. “What wears on us, what troubles us so deeply, as we gather here today is this senseless violence that took place in the Navy Yard echoes other recent tragedies.”
And he intoned the names of the places he has visited as president in the wake of mass homicides: Fort Hood, Tex.; Tucson; Aurora, Colo., and Newtown. “Once more our hearts are broken,” he said. “Once more we ask why.”
Joined on stage by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) and other dignitaries, Obama shared personal details about each of the Navy Yard victims, saying: “These are not statistics. They are the lives that have been taken from us. This is how a single act of violence can ripple.
“A husband lost his wife. Wives have lost their husbands. Sons and daughters have lost their moms and their dads. Little children have lost their grandparents. Hundreds in our communities have lost a neighbor. And thousands here have lost a friend.”
Echoing Obama, Gray told the gathering that “our country is drowning in a sea of guns. . . . Senseless violence like this is an all-too-everyday fact of life here in the District and in our nation’s other big cities. It is a fact of life that we must stop accepting.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obama-promises-push-for-common-sense-gun-laws/2013/09/22/789f8ba6-23ad-11e3-ad0d-b7c8d2a594b9_story.html

Through Hot Mommas Project, one woman sets out to boost the confidence of all women

Bill O'Leary/Washington Post - Kathy Korman-Frey, front, makes a face for a snapshot as she watches the Hot Mommas Project awards with, from left, Sonia Ledwith, Suki Howard, Rachel Eberhard, Francisca Alonso, Korman-Frey, Ify Ofulue and Christianna Pyo.

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By Brigid Schulte, Published: November 3

As the guests filed into Kathy Korman Frey’s Palisades home in the District on Saturday afternoon for the first Hot Mommas Project “Super Bowl of Mentors” global watch party, she handed each a blue notecard and asked them to rate — on a scale of 1 to 10 — how confident they were feeling.
They had come to hear stories about women around the world who, much like themselves, are striving to meet career goals and live full lives outside work. Frey, a George Washington University business professor and Harvard MBA, had gathered the case studies as part of the Hot Mommas Project.
Similar parties in at least 20 other countries — the biggest and most elegant held in Kuwait — watching as Frey announced the project’s 2012-13 winners in a webcast.
Frey calls them “holistic leaders” at work and home. In other words, “Hot Mommas.” And she hopes learning about the winners will inspire other women.
“Our view is, if you can’t see it, you can’t be it,” Frey said. “Seeing real role models sends women and girls the signal, ‘Oh, I could do this,’ rather than getting discouraged by the usual wall of 6-foot-2 men in blue suits.”
Reams of research studies and surveys in recent years have shown how, as early as elementary school, girls are less confident than boys in their skills and abilities. That gap only grows as girls and boys become adults.
And, Frey argues, that confidence gap is a big reason why statistics show that women tend to earn less money at every level, lag in promotions in every field, and, while female-owned businesses are among the fastest-growing sectors of the economy, they tend to be smaller and attract far less venture capital than male-owned firms.
So Frey has turned her academic research and the Hot Mommas Project into a mission aimed at reversing what she calls that “self-efficacy” gap through the power of storytelling.
She shares stories like that of Eman Al-Awadhi, one of this year’s global case-study winners. Al-Awadhi dreamed of going out on reporting assignments for the Kuwait News Agency. Instead, she was told she belonged, as did all women, behind a desk, in the office, as an editor. “One day, you’ll get married and have children,” her boss told her, even though she was and is single. “This is better for you.”
Instead, Al-Awadhi reported in her free time and routinely worked double shifts to show she could do it. In a few years, that same boss called her and asked her to race out to cover a story about the NATO secretary-general.
“I wanted to share my story to tell other women that we need to find out what we’re good at, what we really want to do, and then fight to do that,” she said. “Even when it’s difficult.”
Other winners — from the United States, Nigeria, India, Croatia, Lithuania, Egypt and other countries — told of their battles to overcome alcoholism, their juggle of work and home demands.
Francisca Alonso, this year’s winner in the science, engineering, math and technology category, shared her story of starting her architecture and construction company in 2001, when her four children were all younger than 5.http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/through-hot-mommas-project-one-woman-sets-out-to-boost-the-confidence-of-all-women/2013/11/02/6bd7ee6a-43fe-11e3-8b74-d89d714ca4dd_story.html

Prosthetics (Fake) breast is used to fill this movie about the late Playmate Anna Nicole Smith

 

http://uploaded.net/file/22zmq8rn/Lifetime_Anna_Nicole_2013.avi
http://go4up.com/dl/1151d387797570a


http://bitshare.com/?f=skgid0zr

Waar (2013) - Pakistani Movie Releasing On 6th Sep - Theatrical Trailer

Waar (2013) - Pakistani Movie Releasing On 6th Sep - Theatrical Trailer

8:13 AM Muhammad Ali

The most anticipated Pakistani movie ever 'WAAR' will be released on 6th September worldwide. The theatrical trailer of the movie is out now. Watch it and support Pakistani productions.

Waar is an English-language Pakistani action film directed by Bilal Lashari. It is written and produced by Hassan Waqas Rana. The film cast include film-star Shaan Shahid, Meesha Shafi, Ali Azmat, Shamoon Abbasi and Ayesha Khan and others.

 http://www.pakistaniyan.com/2013/08/waar-2013-pakistani-movie-releasing-on.html

Seen these on the MRT lately?

News

HANDHOLDS GALORE: One of the MRT trains that has three rows of handrails for commuters to hold on to.

 

PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN/THE STRAITS TIMES

MY_20131010_ALBAR10_P2_3874086.jpg

 

UNIQUE: The new octagonal handrails installed on trains serving the North East Line.

PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN/MY PAPER

Published on Oct 10, 2013

Seen these on the MRT lately?

ADRIAN LIM

TRAIN passengers travelling on the North East Line (NEL) in recent weeks would have noticed something new during their commute.

Nearly all NEL train carriages now have octagonal overhead handrails installed, providing passengers with more handholds.

Frequent NEL commuters whom My Paper spoke to yesterday said they noticed the new handrails on the trains in the past month or so.

A check with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) revealed that 23 of the 25 NEL trains have been equipped with the additional handrails.

The last two trains will be fitted with the handrails in the next two weeks.

This is part of the LTA's move, which was announced in February, to facilitate boarding and spread passengers more uniformly in train carriages.

To be completed by the middle of next year, the initiative involves adding handrails, and removing grab poles at the centre of the train-door area, to enable passengers to get in and out of a train more easily.

Modifications are being made on trains of the North South East West Lines (NSEWL) and Circle Line (CCL) to add two rows of overhead handrails between the seats, in addition to the existing handrails in the centre.

The changes have been made on 33 of the 40 CCL trains so far, with work on the NSEWL trains starting this month.

The NEL trains are getting the octagonal handrails to avoid blocking covers located in the ceiling of the carriages - where train equipment is located - which are accessed regularly during maintenance, explained an LTA spokesman.

Many commuters welcomed the unique design and functionality of the octagonal handrails.

Mr Sugan Ranasamy, 21, a full-time national serviceman, believed they are more accessible and will be better "for the elderly" than the three-horizontal-handrail design for trains on the other lines, because of the octagonal handrails' layout.

"The other train lines should adopt this shape as well," he added.

Retiree K. L. Leow, 67, said that the octagonal shape helps "spread the crowd (out) a bit more".

The centre overhead handrails in the carriage of a NEL train can have 30 handholds attached. But the three octagonal bars that can be found in a carriage add another 24 handholds.

However, some people had reservations about the octagonal handrails. For example, a 1.83m-tall commuter remarked on citizen-journalism website Stomp that he had hit his head against such a handrail.

My Paper understands that the handrails are 1.84m above the carriage floor.

Said 15-year-old student Kam Jia Juo: "People who are using the new handrails may obstruct passengers who are getting up from their seats."

Only The Brits Could Do This...

Only The Brits Could Do This...Really nice

http://www.youtube.com/embed/ik9AtJQXaHQ?rel=0

Ogio Chamber Golf Bag Review

About.com 

By Brent Kelley

Bottom Line: The Ogio Chamber is an attractive cart bag that provides a quiet ride.

Details
• Ogio Chamber cart bag has a 14-way top and incorporates the company's new technology called Silencer Club Protection in both the top and bottom of the bag.

• The Silencer system is designed to hold the clubs in place, prevent them from jostling and prevent the clubheads from swinging around, keeping the bag quiet even when the golf cart is in motion.
• The bag has nine pockets, eight of which are zippered. The ball pocket is zipperless.
• Included are glove/putter cover Velcro attachment strip; divot and pencil sleeve pockets; integrated tee holders; snap-on, zippered rain cover; over-padded single shoulder strap.
• Comes in black/technical and charcoal/burst color schemes.
• Price at time of introduction in January 2012: $300.

Review: Ogio Chamber Golf Bag

April 5, 2012 - You and your partner strap the golf bags onto the back of the golf cart, climb into the driver and passenger seats, and hit the accelerate pedal. What do you hear? Clanging and clacking, tinking and plinking, as the clubs in your golf bags are jostled around and bang into each other. And if you happen to hit a bump? Cover your ears.
Maybe the noise of your clubs crashing against each other bothers you. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe you've never really thought about it.
But if you are a golfer who hates that noise - who wishes there was a way to keep your clubs secure and stationary, not to mention quiet, on cart rides - there's a new bag for you.

Silencer Club Protection System

The Ogio Chamber cart bag is the first made with what Ogio calls the "Silencer Club Protection System." Ogio promises that the Chamber will keep your clubs quiet on those cart rides, and after testing the bag we say the Chamber passes with flying colors. The Chamber silences your clubs with top and bottom security: The bag's 14-way top has 14 individual compartments, each with a membrane that centers the club and holds it in place. Inside the bottom of the bag is the Silencer base, which grabs hold of the grip-end of your clubs. Insert a club through the top membrane, and then push it down into the base. You'll feel the grip end of the club pop into place in the Silencer base.
At that point, the club is secure. You can turn the bag upside down (we did) and the clubs won't budge. We even gave the bag a little shake while upside down; still, no clubs dislodged. (Just make sure each club is pressed down completely into the base, otherwise they will come loose.)
And the clubheads also stay in place. Arrange the clubs around the top, toes of the clubs all pointing the same direction, and the clubs will stay in that position during the cart ride.
So the Ogio Chamber's Silencer technology really does work as well as Ogio claims. Pretty nifty.

Other Ogio Chamber Pros and Cons

But the Ogio Chamber is a good, solid golf bag beyond the Silencer technology. It has an attractive, compact look for a cart bag, with a zipperless ball pocket, outside tee holes, and pockets that are all easily accessible even when the bag is strapped to the cart. We also loved the design and positioning of the handles, especially around the bag top. Nearly the entire top is available as a hand-hold, which makes handling the bag a breeze.
Any drawbacks? New technology is often pricey, and the Ogio Chamber, which went on sale in January 2012, was introduced with a $300 price tag.
And the Silencer technology does require pushing down on the club to pop it into place; and the golfer does need to give the club a little tug to remove one from the bag. The amount of effort is minimal; not a big deal for the vast majority of golfers and not something that bothered us in the least. However, we can imagine some golfers with shoulder, elbow or arm pain, or general weakness in those areas, wanting to try the Ogio Chamber in a pro shop first before buying one.
Overall, our reaction to the Ogio Chamber, and especially is Silencer technology, is strongly positive.

http://golf.about.com/od/equipmentreviews/fr/ogio-chamber-review.htm

Rituals, Superstitions and Beliefs in Asia

Rituals, Superstitions and Beliefs in Asia

04 September, 2013

Warnings and cryptic superstitions controlled and intrigued the childhood of Paula Tan. She steps back in time to recall the lasting impact of the enigmatic beliefs that continue to colour her life.

The old house where Molly Wong once lived had obviously been cleaned up. The stubbly undergrowth and cloistered appearance of years gone by appeared rejuvenated, with a coat of cheerful yellow paint. The garden, once filled with flowers from a bygone era, now lay bare. Still, as I drove slowly past, I could hear the elderly lady’s voice, droning on in the dim kitchen of a house so old I was once electrocuted by the washing machine and bitten in the derriere by the watchdog resting unnoticed in the shadows.

Aunty Molly Says…

When I was a child, enduring Aunty Molly and her stories was a frequent affair. She was my mother’s godmother and would not hesitate to reprimand me for childish habits like leaving unfinished rice on my plate. For years I believed her justification that the remaining rice grains would bring me a spouse with a pockmarked complexion.

Lingering on the porch at dusk, she would repeatedly warn me not to answer if I heard an unfamiliar voice calling my name, for fear that wandering spirits would try to trick me into going with them. I was also told to be home by dinner time because that was when dark forces walked the earth, waiting to possess unsuspecting young minds. Even after I had my driving license I would rattle home as fast my father’s old Wolseley would carry me, anxious to be home before dark.

Gruesome Rituals

If someone passed away, the family should expect them back for a visit on the seventh day, when they came to bid their final farewell. As the late individual might not actually be aware that they were dead, glutinous rice was always served so that the deceased would realise, when their fingernails fell off while snacking, that they were well and truly dead. (Of course, I never stopped to question how that would work if they were not fans of glutinous rice.)

If someone died with their eyes open, this meant that they had not gone willingly. An engaged couple who died abruptly – in an accident, for example – had to be united by their families in a proper wedding ceremony, or languish brokenhearted for all eternity.

One particularly spine-chilling tale stated that families of suicide victims sometimes buried them dressed in red, enabling them to return to avenge their deaths against those who drove them to take their own lives. Horrible indeed. If you had the nerve to actually want to witness this terrifying spectacle, all you had to do was take a teardrop from a dog, brush it over your own eyes and voila, it would grant you an instant view of the ghostly dimension. By the way, that same dog, like all other dogs, was believed to howl when spirits were present.

Unlucky For Some

If someone passed away, the family should expect them back for a visit on the seventh day, when they came to bid their final farewell. As the late individual might not actually be aware that they were dead, glutinous rice was always served so that the deceased would realise, when their fingernails fell off while snacking, that they were well and truly dead. (Of course, I never stopped to question how that would work if they were not fans of glutinous rice.)

If someone died with their eyes open, this meant that they had not gone willingly. An engaged couple who died abruptly – in an accident, for example – had to be united by their families in a proper wedding ceremony, or languish brokenhearted for all eternity.

One particularly spine-chilling tale stated that families of suicide victims sometimes buried them dressed in red, enabling them to return to avenge their deaths against those who drove them to take their own lives. Horrible indeed. If you had the nerve to actually want to witness this terrifying spectacle, all you had to do was take a teardrop from a dog, brush it over your own eyes and voila, it would grant you an instant view of the ghostly dimension. By the way, that same dog, like all other dogs, was believed to howl when spirits were present.

Adult Fears And Fancies

As I grew older, Aunty Molly’s stories took on a more adult angle. Singing while cooking would bring me an old husband. A fallen eyelash meant someone was missing me, while attempting to sew a tear in a garment while wearing it could render me an old maid.

She also told me that if I were expecting, I could find out the gender of my unborn child by suspending a wedding band by a thread over my palm. If the ring swung in a circular motion, this predicted that the baby would be a girl. If it swung in a straight line, this meant it would be a boy. After the baby’s arrival, dressing the infant with their shirt back to front would ensure that the baby would not cry and sleep peacefully through the night. I am not certain how making the poor little thing a fashion victim would help the situation, but have yet to disprove this theory.

During a woman’s pregnancy, she should not touch fruits on a tree as her hands would make them go bad. She was also discouraged from eating crabs as that might cause her baby to walk sideways on arrival.

Growing up in Malaysia has been a never-ending cultural epic to which new chapters are constantly added. Almost everyone I meet has a colourful belief or superstition of their own to share. Occasionally pointless, sometimes educational, these tales seem misplaced in today’s internet generation, yet they have become interwoven with our moral fiber, reinforcing the characters we are.

Aunty Molly may have passed into another realm decades ago, but her wealth of stories will always reside in a small corner of my life. From time to time, I will revisit them, like prized artifacts in a forgotten museum, to enjoy whenever an escape from reality is due.

And yes, I will knock before entering.

 http://www.expatgomalaysia.com/article/1408/rituals-superstitions-and-beliefs-in-asia

World's biggest mall a China 'ghost town'

World's biggest mall a China 'ghost town'

By Johan Nylander, for CNN

March 10, 2013 -- Updated 0427 GMT (1227 HKT) 

Dongguan, China (CNN) -- They built it, but the shoppers didn't come.New South China Mall in Guangdong Province opened in 2005. With 5 million square feet of shopping area, the mall can accommodate2,350 stores, making it the largest shopping center in the world in terms of leasable space -- more than twice the size of Mall of America, the biggest shopping center in the United States.At the outdoor plaza, hundreds of palm-trees blend with a replica Arc de Triomphe, a giant Egyptian sphinx, fountains and long-stretching canals with gondolas.Only problem is, the mall is virtually deserted. Despite the bombastic design and grand plans, only a handful of stores are occupied. "Most of it empty, with little consumer traffic and a high vacancy rate," according to a report last year by Emporis, a global building data firm. "It has been classified as a 'dead mall.'"Walking among shattered shops -- its dusty corridors and escalators covered in soiled sheets -- is a walk through a ghost mall. Rubbish piles up along the sides, paint is coming off the walls and store signs and advertisements have faded.

The mall's indoor amusement park, staff lay half asleep over counters or kill time chatting with each other while the 1,814-foot rollercoaster roars above.

Opened for the public in 2005, developers expected to attract some 100,000 visitors a day. But eight years later, the few people that visit the mall today typically hang out at the American fast food restaurants near the entrance or at the IMAX cinema outside the mall. Some parents bring their children to the Teletubbies Edutainment Center.

Part of the problem is location. Dongguan is a factory town and most of its almost 10 million inhabitants are migrant workers struggling to make ends meet. "People coming here to work in factories don't have the time or the money for shopping or the rollercoaster," said a migrant worker in his 20s, surnamed Xiao, who works at the mall.

The deserted mall is also a symbol of China's rapid urbanization and runaway investment in real estate projects, where massive development projects have been given the go ahead without proper marketing and business research.

"To me, many of these projects are a result of easy access to capital and a combination of wishful thinking and speculative behavior rather than rational business calculations," said Victor Teo, assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong.

"This mall is not the only one that is like that. Elsewhere in China there is the phenomenon of 'Ghost Towns', that is to say infrastructure projects, both residential and commercial, with no takers."

The credit boom of post-financial crisis stimulus has resulted in a proliferation of empty commercial developments and apartments built on rampant speculation. Yet why is the Chinese economy still moving at a brisk 7% to 8% growth rate?

"What China did in the stimulus credit boom is create a lot of `ghost cities': projects without a strong commercial foundation, and projects that didn't get done," wrote Jonathan Anderson in a research note entitled "Hurray for Ghost Cities" from Emerging Advisors Group last month. "What happens next?

"In most of the economy ... nothing. You haven't created a lot of new productive capacity; you're not driving down profits and returns in manufacturing and services, and you've left plenty of room for a rebound in the market-oriented property space.

"Rather, for all intents and purposes you just took the money and poured it down a black hole," Anderson wrote. And the Chinese banking system "has surprisingly little trouble absorbing that bad debt."

But while the macroeconomic juggernaut of China marches on, there remain regional areas of woe. Dongguan is facing mounting problems as factories close down and manufacturing moves to other cities in China and abroad which offer cheaper labor.

Still, the mall has plans to boost the number of tenants, said Ye Ji Ning, head of New South China Mall's investment unit. He claims the mall has a 20% occupancy rate measured by commercial area, although Ye declined to give specifics when challenged on that number. The company's goal is to increase occupancy to 80% in 2013, he said.

"From March onwards we will have big promotional activities in order to reach our new leasing targets," Ye said.

It's not the first time the owners try to blow life into the sleeping giant. The mall was initially headed by Dongguan native Alex Hu Guirong, who became a billionaire in the instant noodle business, and later sold to the Founders Group, a conglomerate set up by Peking University.

In a 2007 relaunch, the mall changed name from "South China Mall" to "New South China Mall, Living City" and a revitalization plan was drawn up. But after the relaunch, neither shoppers nor tenants came.

 http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/03/business/china-worlds-largest-mall

10 reasons to be nice to pedestrians

10 reasons to be nice to pedestrians in 2011

 Posted by Anthony Flint December 29, 2010 02:14 PM

1. If you're driving, you'll soon be one. Think of how deferential you are in the parking lot outside Target. You know that as soon as you park the car, you're going to be in their shoes, trying to cross or deposit a shopping cart.

2. Some very famous crosswalks are being honored with historic designation -- the one used by the Beatles for the cover of Abbey Road (28 IF? No socks for Paul).

3. Because our children deserve Safe Routes to School.

4. Walking (and biking, and roller-blading) consumes no fossil fuels and discharges no carbon emissions to worsen global warming.

5. A well-functioning city depends on it -- and will spur good urban design to make for more livable, walkable urban environments everywhere (see No. 4).

6. It's refreshingly human to make eye contact from behind the wheel and usher someone across. When's the last time you gave someone the finger out walking? (Present company excepted).

7. Good behavior will slow the explosion of speed bumps, speed humps, flashing lights and bright yellow warning signs that constitute such a form of streetscape blight. It might even inspire a few more woonerfs.

8. In Massachusetts, it's the law -- motorists must yield to pedestrians in unsignaled crosswalks.

9. Anyone out braving the elements deserves accomodation.

10. It's Christmas. In pedestrian-motorist relations, it can be year round.

This blog is not written or edited by Boston.com or the Boston Globe.
The author is solely responsible for the content.

 

http://www.boston.com/community/blogs/this_land/2010/12/10_reasons_to_be_nice_to_pedes.html

First Pictures of the Royal Baby (Photo)

We got what we were all waiting for- the big debut of the little royal baby! The adorable baby boy had made his first public appearance, and we now have pictures! The little guy is still waiting on a name, as of July 23rd, but is still adorable. Here are his first pictures:

Kate’s amazing dress is from Jenny Packham, which is a designer Kate uses often. Here are some other great looks on Kate from Jenny Packham.

Photo from US Weekly Credits Chris Jackson/Getty; Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty; Neil P. Mockford/FilmMagic
The happy new parents brought their baby home on July 23rd, just one day after his birth. Kate and baby are healthy and doing well. Even though she just had a baby, Kate still looked absolutely stunning in her polka-dot designer dress. Kate was not the only princess who debuted her baby while wearing polka-dots, Princess Diana also favored the pattern when she had Prince William:

Credit: Tim Graham/Getty Images

The Royal Baby was born at the St. Mary’s Hospital in London where his father, Prince William was born on June 21, 1982.  The new parents seemed very happy to bring home their son to Kensington Palace today, and the crowds cheered them off and were happy to be apart of the celebration.

http://www.couponcommunity.com/first-pictures-of-the-royal-baby/

Greek Philosophy --- As pertinent today as 399 BC !!

Greek Philosophy --- As pertinent today as 399 BC  !! 
Keep this in mind the next time you are about to repeat a rumour or spread gossip. 
In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was  widely lauded for his wisdom

One day an acquaintance ran up to him excitedly and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about Diogenes?"

"Wait a moment," Socrates replied, "Before you tell me I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."
'Triple filter?" asked the  acquaintance.

"That's right," Socrates continued, "Before you talk to me about Diogenes let's take a moment to filter what you're going to say. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man said, "Actually I just heard about it."

"All right," said Socrates, "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about Diogenes something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "You want to tell me something about Diogenes that may be bad even though you're not certain it's true?"

The man shrugged, a little embarrassed. Socrates continued, "You may still pass the test though, because there is a third filter, the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about Diogenes going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "If what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me or anyone at all?"

The man was bewildered and ashamed. This is an example of why Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.   It also explains why Socrates never found out that Diogenes was having an affair with his wife. 

 

Grief, solidarity after 'deadliest day' for Houston firefighters

By Sara Ganim and Greg Botelho, CNN

June 2, 2013

Houston (CNN) -- When Joshua Gandara heard his cousin, Houston firefighter Robert Bebee, had died suddenly, he instinctively knew why.

"I knew (he was) saving somebody," Gandara said. "That's him. ... He always put people first, before him. Anybody's needs before his needs."

Relatives of the 41-year-old Bebee -- including his parents, sister and nieces -- are not alone in their mourning.  

Four Houston firefighters, total, died when a wall collapsed during a major blaze Friday at a hotel.

There was Matthew Renaud, a 35-year-old who worked out of five stations in the 12 years he was with the Houston Fire Department. Robert Garner, 29, had been at Fire Station 68 since joining the department in October 2010. The youngest victim was Anne Sullivan, a 24-year-old who graduated from the city's firefighter academy in April.

"She was very passionate, very strong, (very) beautiful, and she was very dedicated to her career," Sullivan's friend and fellow firefighter Ryche Guerrero said. "She inspired me."

Mayor: Worst day in Houston FD history

4 firefighters killed in Houston fire

 

The five-alarm blaze began in the Bhojan Vegetarian Indian Cuisine restaurant, where "the majority of the fire was ... in the front," according to fire Capt. Ruy Lozano. It ended up spreading to the adjacent Southwest Inn, which is in the southwest part of Houston along the Southwest Freeway.

Recalled Guerrero, "I'm just amazed at how big the fire was and how quickly it spread, how the smoke was just billowing in different directions."

City fire Chief Terry Garrison explained Friday that some of the more than 150 firefighters responding to the blaze went inside the structure "because we thought we had some civilians in the structure."

As Lozano explained, it was during normal business hours and there was reason to believe people we're inside.

"There was every indication to think that there was a life to be saved," he said.

But when they got in, the first responders found "the building had much more fire in it than we originally thought," according to Garrison.

Parts of the structure collapsed, killing three firefighters at the scene, and leading to the death of the other at a hospital.

Fellow firefighters quickly sprang into action, some digging through the rubble to get to their colleagues. Garrison said the death toll could have been much higher if not for their bravery and quick action.

"(There were) dozens and dozens of acts of courage that took place in the seconds when that wall came in," the chief said.

Thirteen other firefighters were hurt in the incident, five of whom were still hospitalized Saturday afternoon. That figure includes one who Lozano said is in "extremely critical" condition and one who had surgery Saturday and faces "probably more surgeries to come."

The fire captain told CNN there are "a multitude of situations going on" related to their ailments, from heat exhaustion to injuries to their legs and more.

Given the total number of casualties, Houston Mayor Annise Parker said Friday will "go down ... as the worst day in the history of the Houston Fire Department."

Members of the department, which is the third-biggest in the nation, are leaning on each other to get over the loss of their colleagues.

"We're one of the biggest families you'll ever meet," Lozano said. "We're very close. ... We take pride in having a little city attitude in a big city."

The building that went up in flames had been inspected, with follow-up visits, within the year, said Lozano, who didn't offer any details on what they found.

Authorities have not yet determined the cause of the blaze. Members of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were at the site on Saturday, as were members of the State Fire Marshal's office, the Houston Fire Department's homicide division and the Texas Rangers.

"By bringing in these outside agencies and treating it like a crime scene, and there's no reason to believe that it is, we're able to maintain that sterile environment in efforts not only to determine the cause but also to hopefully learn from it so, hopefully, it never happens again," Lozano said.

A funeral service for the four firefighters killed is scheduled for Wednesday at Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans. In addition to trying to help the families of those killed, the fire department is also trying to take care of its own.

"The firefighters are having to look to each other, look to their families, look to their faith and look to the firefighter support network to get through it," an emotional Lozano said.

"... They also think about when they get home and their kids ask, 'What happened?' And how do you tell them? So it's a difficult time."

Assistant State Fire Marshal Kelly Kistner told CNN that 18 Texas firefighters have died on duty so far this year, including 10 first responders killed in an explosion at a fertilizer distribution facility in West, Texas.

To put this number into context, 83 firefighters were killed on the job nationwide all of last year, the U.S. Fire Administration reported.

Already, more Texas firefighters have died in 2013 than over the past five years combined, according to Kistner.

"When we have one line of duty death, that's too many. And we're at 18 this year," Kistner said. "It's a rough year for Texas."

CNN's Sara Ganim reported from Houston, and CNN's Greg Botelho wrote and reported from Atlanta. CNN's Ryan Rios contributed to this report.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/01/us/houston-fire