Mike Lee's New Lemurs has released Lemurs Chemistry: Water - a fun educational game that teaches kids (and adults) the chemistry of water. As the name of the game (and company) implies, lemurs abound in the game. Lee shares with us some of his thoughts on how you can make an educational game enriching and fun to play.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard speaks in parliament in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Supporters of Gillard's chief intra-party rival are again pushing for a vote to oust the Australian prime minister this week. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard speaks in parliament in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Supporters of Gillard's chief intra-party rival are again pushing for a vote to oust the Australian prime minister this week. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd smiles as he sits in parliament during question time in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Supporters of Prime Minister Julia Gillard's chief intra-party rival are again pushing for a vote to oust the Australian prime minister this week. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, top, stares at the opposition leader, Tony Abbott, in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Opposition leader Abbott challenged Gillard to bring forward the election to Aug. 3 because of the leadership wrangling. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd walks in the chambers in the parliament during question time in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Supporters of Prime Minister Julia Gillard's chief intra-party rival are again pushing for a vote to oust the Australian prime minister this week. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard speaks in the parliament in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Supporters of Gillard's chief intra-party rival are again pushing for a vote to oust the Australian prime minister this week. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) ? Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard was ousted as Labor Party leader Wednesday by her predecessor, Kevin Rudd, in a vote of party lawmakers hoping to avoid a huge defeat in upcoming elections.
The ballot took place three years and two days after Gillard ousted Rudd in a similar internal government showdown to become the country's first female prime minister. Wednesday's vote makes Rudd leader of the party, but he is not yet prime minister and may not get the job if lawmakers abandon Labor's ruling coalition.
Party official Chris Hayes said Gillard lost 57 votes to 45.
Rudd will likely have to demonstrate that he can command a majority of lawmakers in the House of Representatives before Governor-General Quentin Bryce makes him prime minister as early as Thursday.
If he cannot, opposition leader Tony Abbott could be asked to form a government, or the elections could be moved up from September to August.
Labor controls 71 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, Abbott's coalition holds 72 and the remaining 7 are held by independents or the minor Greens party.
Constitutional lawyer George Williams of the University of New South Wales said it is likely that the government will retain power with the support of independent lawmakers and Rudd as prime minister.
The Sept. 14 election was a Gillard promise. Rudd could call an election as early as Aug. 3.
Next time you walk into the bathroom at a friend's house, look hard at the mirror. I don't mean at yourself. And no, I'm not asking that you open it and look inside the cabinet to see what's on the shelves. (You're not one of those people, are you?)
Microsoft and e-commerce platform Deem, which is still better known under its previous name of Rearden Commerce, have inked a partnership that will allow Microsoft to distribute Deem's large inventory of local deals on its properties. While you probably haven't heard of Deem or Rearden, the company is currently valued at $1 billion and has received over $340 million in VC capital and investments since it was founded 13 years ago. Microsoft will feature Deem deals and offers from its network of more than 1.2 million merchants on properties like Bing, Outlook.com and MSN, as well as in Windows Phone and Windows 8 apps.
Lisa Robin Kelly is shown in the mug shot from her November 2012 assault arrest.
Sometimes cars must stand still on the freeway -- but only when traffic forces the issue. In the case of former "That '70s Show" star Lisa Robin Kelly, it was purposeful parking in a lane of Interstate 5 near Burbank, Calif., that caused problems.
The actress, who played Eric's older sister, Laurie, on the sitcom, was arrested after apparently parking on the freeway Saturday night, E! has confirmed.
The California Highway Patrol responded to calls about Kelly's car blocking the lane. She reportedly failed a field sobriety test and was arrested for driving under the influence.
Kelly, 43, has been in trouble with the law several times recently. She pled guilty to DUI in 2010 in North Carolina. In March of 2012, she was arrested on a felony charge of corporal injury upon a spouse and released on bail. The L.A. County district attorney declined to file charges in that case.
In November 2012, Kelly and her husband were both arrested for assault after a disturbance at their North Carolina home. They were later released on bond.
After the 2010 DUI arrest, which included the release of a wild-haired mug shot of Kelly, the actress said she was embarrassed, but was not abusing drugs or alcohol at the time. "My poor mother has to look at that picture of me," she told ABC News in 2012. "That doesn't look like me. That's not me."
Kelly left her regular role on the sitcom in 2003, made a few appearances later, and was eventually replaced. She told ABC News that she lost a baby during her time on the show and as a result, " I lost everything and I was abusing alcohol."
Forget bulging muscles or a toned set of abs. If you really want to impress everyone on the beach this summer, a stunning sand castle is the way to go. And if your sculpting skills max out at Play-Doh snakes, these architectural sand castle molds will let you re-build the most stunning structures from past empires, ready to be lost to time once again once the tide rolls in.
At around $3 each you can complete the whole set for less than $20, and since they max out at just seven inches in size, they're perfect for crafting sandbox civilizations too. [Educational Toys Planet via Fancy]
We first heard about Rust-Oleum's liquid-repelling product, NeverWet almost two years ago. It looked absolutely magical, and now you can finally buy it.
FILE- In this Feb. 3, 2010 file photo, students eat lunch at Sharon Elementary School in Sharon, Vt. Vermont ranks second in the country in an annual report of kids? well-being. The Annie E. Casey Foundation?s Kids Count report released Monday shows improvements in eight areas like in the percentage of children with health insurance and fewer teen births but poverty continues to be a problem. Vermont fell slightly in the percentage of children with parents who lack secure employment to 29 percent. New Hampshire was the top-ranked state, followed by Vermont and Massachusetts. Nevada, Mississippi and New Mexico took the bottom three spots. Overall, Vermont ranked third in the country in education and family and community and fourth in health. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
FILE- In this Feb. 3, 2010 file photo, students eat lunch at Sharon Elementary School in Sharon, Vt. Vermont ranks second in the country in an annual report of kids? well-being. The Annie E. Casey Foundation?s Kids Count report released Monday shows improvements in eight areas like in the percentage of children with health insurance and fewer teen births but poverty continues to be a problem. Vermont fell slightly in the percentage of children with parents who lack secure employment to 29 percent. New Hampshire was the top-ranked state, followed by Vermont and Massachusetts. Nevada, Mississippi and New Mexico took the bottom three spots. Overall, Vermont ranked third in the country in education and family and community and fourth in health. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
This June 20, 2013 image shows William Roper holding his 4-year-old son William Jr. and 2-year-old daughter Kacie during an interview at Joy Junction homeless shelter in Albuquerque, N.M. A report released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows the number of children living in poverty increased to 23 percent in 2011. The survey ranks New Mexico as the worst in the nation when it comes to child well-being. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)
This Friday June 21, 2013 photo shows Kirsten Oschwald, left, and a group of her students volunteering by putting labels on canned food at the Roadrunner Food Bank in Albuquerque, N.M. The food bank distributes about 90,000 pounds of food to organizations that help low-income families. An annual survey released Monday, June 24, by the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows the number of children living in poverty increased to 23 percent in 2011. The survey ranks New Mexico as the worst in the nation when it comes to child well-being. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)
This June 20, 2013 image shows David Hutchinson and his daughter Navaeh posing for a photograph at Joy Junction homeless shelter in Albuquerque, N.M. An annual survey released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows the number of children living in poverty increased to 23 percent in 2011. The survey ranks New Mexico as the worst in the nation when it comes to child well-being. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)
This June 21, 2013 image shows a map at Roadrunner Food Bank in Albuquerque, N.M., that depicts food distribution points across New Mexico. An annual survey released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows the number of children living in poverty increased to 23 percent in 2011. The survey ranks New Mexico as the worst in the nation when it comes to child well-being. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) ? It wasn't so long ago that David Hutchinson spent a month sleeping under a bridge while his wife and young daughter spent their nights at a domestic violence shelter.
But this wasn't a case of domestic violence. The couple simply had no choice. There were just no shelters in Phoenix with room for another homeless family, and their top priority was finding a safe place for their daughter.
The family is one of many in the U.S. that have been trying to raise children in the face of joblessness and homelessness. An annual survey released Monday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows the number of children living in poverty increased to 23 percent in 2011, after the recession.
The Southwest has been hit particularly hard. New Mexico, for the first time, has slipped to worst in the nation when it comes to child well-being. More than 30 percent of children in the state were living in poverty in 2011 and nearly two-fifths had parents who lacked secure employment, according to this year's Kids Count survey.
Nevada is ranked No. 48, followed by Arizona. Mississippi, which has traditionally held last place, made slight improvements in early childhood education while reading and math proficiency for some students increased, putting the state at No. 49.
Overall, the report shows there have been gains in education and health nationally, but since 2005, there have been serious setbacks when it comes to the economic well-being of children.
"There's little doubt that things are getting worse," said Kim Posich, executive director of the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty. "Aside from the fact the New Mexico economy has been so slow to turn around, the systems that generally serve people who are the working poor and suddenly lose their jobs or face greater hardship, all those systems have been strained beyond the max."
In Arizona, charities and government programs were cut during the recession, making it more difficult for families to get by and rebuild, said Dana Wolfe Naimark of the Children's Action Alliance in Phoenix.
"So many things were slashed just when people needed it the most," she said. "That is a key policy issue that we do have choices over. We can find ways to rebuild that investment. It's not OK to just throw up our hands and say, 'We can't.'"
According to the Kids Count report, a lingering concern is the effect of unemployment on children, particularly long-term unemployment. Researchers found that more than 4 million workers were unemployed for more than six months, and more than 3 million were without work for a year or more.
David Hutchinson and his family eventually ended up in Albuquerque. He has been looking for work for months. Finally, he landed a job just this week with a contractor who installs fire suppression systems.
"If I wasn't so crippled, I'd be doing backflips," he said, pointing to the rod and pins in his forearm, an injury that ended his career in the U.S. Navy.
His wife, Chelsea, said she knows her husband is ready to put aside any pain because the prospect of their family being able to move from Joy Junction, the shelter where they have been staying since December, hinges on a regular income.
William and Elimar Roper are in the same boat. They and their four children have been at the shelter for about a year. William just landed a job in the kitchen and Elimar has graduated from the shelter's recovery program, which helps those addicted to drugs or alcohol.
"We're happy because we've upgraded from being homeless to something that can help us stabilize. It's the first step," Elimar Roper said.
William Roper served in the U.S. Army for nine years and did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. After the military, he worked as a janitor and then lost his job. The family's savings soon ran out, leaving them homeless.
The Kids Count report shows the percentage of children whose parents don't have secure employment has been increasing. That's more than one-third of children in each of the four states at the bottom of the Kids Count list.
"Growing up in poverty, it just has these terrible repercussions and you see these associations with much lower rates of high school graduation, lower performance overall in school, much lower rates of college attendance and the cycle perpetuates," said Curtis Skinner, director of Family Economic Security at the National Center for Children in Poverty.
Skinner said the center's research is showing a troubling trend in the aftermath of the recession: Poverty rates are rising in what used to be the middle class, in two-parent households and in families where parents have college educations.
While there is a lag in the Kids Count data, officials in New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada believe some of their numbers will start to turn around in the coming years thanks to investments in education, particularly pre-kindergarten programs.
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has pushed for doubling pre-K funding and funneling more money to early literacy and high school graduation efforts.
"Clearly, doing things the way they've always been done hasn't worked for our kids," said Enrique Knell, a spokesman for the governor. "And reform efforts must include ending the practice of setting our children up for failure by passing them on to the next grade level when they can't read."
The well-being of their children has been the motivating factor for both the Hutchinson and Roper families. They want something better for their kids, and they say things are starting to turn around.
"Finally, being to the point of stabilizing and being able to get the kids out of this environment, that's a good feeling," Elimar Roper said.
___
Online:
Kids Count Data Book: http://www.aecf.org/MajorInitiatives/KIDSCOUNT.aspx
National Center for Children in Poverty: http://www.nccp.org/
New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty: http://nmpovertylaw.org/
Joy Junction: http://www.joyjunction.org/
___
Associated Press writers Michelle Rindels in Las Vegas and Cristina Silva in Phoenix contributed to this report.
___
Follow Susan Montoya Bryan on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/susanmbryanNM
Are you in Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, or Slovenia? Have I got a treat for you. In an effort to spread the good word about TC in the rest of Europe, I will be rolling through Sofia, Belgrade, Zagreb, and Ljubljana at the beginning of July for a series of informal meet-ups. If you're in those cities, I want you to attend!
Outlook is grim for mammals and birds as human population growsPublic release date: 19-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jeffrey McKee Mckee.95@osu.edu 614-292-2745 Ohio State University
Average growing nation can expect 10.8 percent more threatened species by 2050
COLUMBUS, Ohio The ongoing global growth in the human population will inevitably crowd out mammals and birds and has the potential to threaten hundreds of species with extinction within 40 years, new research shows.
Scientists at The Ohio State University have determined that the average growing nation should expect at least 3.3 percent more threatened species in the next decade and an increase of 10.8 percent species threatened with extinction by 2050.
The United States ranks sixth in the world in the number of new species expected to be threatened by 2050, the research showed.
Though previous research has suggested a strong relationship between human population density and the number of threatened mammal and bird species at a given point in time, this study is the first to link an expanding human population to fresh threats of extinction for these other species.
The lead researcher created a model based on 2000 data to forecast future threatened species connected to human population growth projections, and published the predictions in 2004. In this new study, that model's predictions were confirmed by 2010 actual figures. The scientists then used the same model, containing data on 114 countries, to extend their predictions to the middle of this century.
"The data speak loud and clear that not only human population density, but the growth of the human population, is still having an effect on extinction threats to other species," said Jeffrey McKee, professor of anthropology at Ohio State and lead author of the study.
The findings suggest that any truly meaningful biodiversity conservation efforts must take the expanding human population footprint into consideration a subject that many consider taboo.
"Our projection is based on human population density alone. It doesn't take into account climate change, industrialization or wars. So the actual numbers that we predict for 2050 will be very different because everything we do will exacerbate the problem," he said. "You can do all the conservation in the world that you want, but it's going to be for naught if we don't keep the human population in check."
McKee conducted the research with Ohio State undergraduate Julia Guseman and former graduate student Erica Chambers. The study is published this week in the journal Human Ecology.
McKee collected data on threatened species from the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, and obtained human census data for 2000 and 2010 from the world database of the U.S. Census Bureau. Overall species richness data came from the United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre's Animals of the World Database. He created a model using equations to analyze relationships among these variables.
After using 2010 data to confirm that the decade-old predictions came true, the researchers used the same equations to determine that between now and 2050, the nations that see the most population density growth will experience higher numbers of species facing new threats of extinction.
Only five nations rank higher than the United States in predicted new species threats by 2050. The Democratic Republic of the Congo tops the list, with a predicted new threat to more than 20 species in that time frame. The analysis suggests about 11 species will be newly threatened with extinction in the United States.
The model also suggests that the 21 countries with projected declining human populations by 2050 will see an average reduction in threatened species of 2.5 percent. The findings were bolstered by the fact that nine of the 12 nations with population declines between 2000 and 2010 showed a modest decrease in the number of threatened species of mammals and birds.
"We might be able to utilize that knowledge and use those countries to repopulate species that are native to those countries," said McKee, also the author of the book Sparing Nature: The Conflict between Human Population Growth and Earth's Biodiversity.
There are an estimated 12 million species of plants and animals on earth, and the human population exceeds 7 billion with a gain of an estimated 214,000 people each day.
When the population stood at 6 billion, McKee led a project with his students in which the group divided the planet's land surface area among all the world's people to determine how much space was available to each person. At that time, each of the world's humans could claim space roughly equivalent to Ohio Stadium, which seats more than 102,000 football fans.
"If we get to 11 billion people, which is where we're supposed to peak, then the amount of space you have per person is a lot smaller than that stadium. When you're left with less space, there's virtually no space left for most other species," he said.
Loss of species, and especially so-called keystone species that are important to the environment because they function as significant predators and prey, can disrupt ecosystems. Plants and animals also help the planet adjust to climate change, provide oxygen and are sources of food and medicines, McKee noted.
An expanding human population footprint is "one of the biggest concerns of this century," McKee said. "Part of the resistance to addressing the problem is that human population size and growth is difficult to talk about and difficult to do anything about. To keep the human population in check, you have two options: increase the death rate or decrease the birth rate. I think the latter is the better choice."
###
Contact:
Jeffrey McKee (614) 292-2745 Mckee.95@osu.edu
Written by Emily Caldwell (614) 292-8310 Caldwell.151@osu.edu
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Outlook is grim for mammals and birds as human population growsPublic release date: 19-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jeffrey McKee Mckee.95@osu.edu 614-292-2745 Ohio State University
Average growing nation can expect 10.8 percent more threatened species by 2050
COLUMBUS, Ohio The ongoing global growth in the human population will inevitably crowd out mammals and birds and has the potential to threaten hundreds of species with extinction within 40 years, new research shows.
Scientists at The Ohio State University have determined that the average growing nation should expect at least 3.3 percent more threatened species in the next decade and an increase of 10.8 percent species threatened with extinction by 2050.
The United States ranks sixth in the world in the number of new species expected to be threatened by 2050, the research showed.
Though previous research has suggested a strong relationship between human population density and the number of threatened mammal and bird species at a given point in time, this study is the first to link an expanding human population to fresh threats of extinction for these other species.
The lead researcher created a model based on 2000 data to forecast future threatened species connected to human population growth projections, and published the predictions in 2004. In this new study, that model's predictions were confirmed by 2010 actual figures. The scientists then used the same model, containing data on 114 countries, to extend their predictions to the middle of this century.
"The data speak loud and clear that not only human population density, but the growth of the human population, is still having an effect on extinction threats to other species," said Jeffrey McKee, professor of anthropology at Ohio State and lead author of the study.
The findings suggest that any truly meaningful biodiversity conservation efforts must take the expanding human population footprint into consideration a subject that many consider taboo.
"Our projection is based on human population density alone. It doesn't take into account climate change, industrialization or wars. So the actual numbers that we predict for 2050 will be very different because everything we do will exacerbate the problem," he said. "You can do all the conservation in the world that you want, but it's going to be for naught if we don't keep the human population in check."
McKee conducted the research with Ohio State undergraduate Julia Guseman and former graduate student Erica Chambers. The study is published this week in the journal Human Ecology.
McKee collected data on threatened species from the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, and obtained human census data for 2000 and 2010 from the world database of the U.S. Census Bureau. Overall species richness data came from the United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre's Animals of the World Database. He created a model using equations to analyze relationships among these variables.
After using 2010 data to confirm that the decade-old predictions came true, the researchers used the same equations to determine that between now and 2050, the nations that see the most population density growth will experience higher numbers of species facing new threats of extinction.
Only five nations rank higher than the United States in predicted new species threats by 2050. The Democratic Republic of the Congo tops the list, with a predicted new threat to more than 20 species in that time frame. The analysis suggests about 11 species will be newly threatened with extinction in the United States.
The model also suggests that the 21 countries with projected declining human populations by 2050 will see an average reduction in threatened species of 2.5 percent. The findings were bolstered by the fact that nine of the 12 nations with population declines between 2000 and 2010 showed a modest decrease in the number of threatened species of mammals and birds.
"We might be able to utilize that knowledge and use those countries to repopulate species that are native to those countries," said McKee, also the author of the book Sparing Nature: The Conflict between Human Population Growth and Earth's Biodiversity.
There are an estimated 12 million species of plants and animals on earth, and the human population exceeds 7 billion with a gain of an estimated 214,000 people each day.
When the population stood at 6 billion, McKee led a project with his students in which the group divided the planet's land surface area among all the world's people to determine how much space was available to each person. At that time, each of the world's humans could claim space roughly equivalent to Ohio Stadium, which seats more than 102,000 football fans.
"If we get to 11 billion people, which is where we're supposed to peak, then the amount of space you have per person is a lot smaller than that stadium. When you're left with less space, there's virtually no space left for most other species," he said.
Loss of species, and especially so-called keystone species that are important to the environment because they function as significant predators and prey, can disrupt ecosystems. Plants and animals also help the planet adjust to climate change, provide oxygen and are sources of food and medicines, McKee noted.
An expanding human population footprint is "one of the biggest concerns of this century," McKee said. "Part of the resistance to addressing the problem is that human population size and growth is difficult to talk about and difficult to do anything about. To keep the human population in check, you have two options: increase the death rate or decrease the birth rate. I think the latter is the better choice."
###
Contact:
Jeffrey McKee (614) 292-2745 Mckee.95@osu.edu
Written by Emily Caldwell (614) 292-8310 Caldwell.151@osu.edu
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland (AP) ? A top European Union official says talks on a sweeping new free trade agreement between the EU and the US will begin next month.
Jose Manuel Barroso, head of the EU's executive arm the Commission, said Monday at the G-8 summit in Northern Ireland that the deal could offer "huge economic benefits" for both sides of the Atlantic.
U.S. President Barack Obama added a deal would be "a priority of mine" and that he was "confident we can get it done."
Negotiations would focus on lowering tariffs and rules that hinder the trade of goods and services and is seen as a way of promoting new growth and jobs amid an uncertain global recovery.
Summit host British Prime Minister David Cameron said the trade pact could create 2 million jobs.
When you apply for this position, please say you saw this job on Green Dream Jobs!!
Groundswell helps communities pool their shared economic power to achieve inclusive growth in clean energy sectors, build community wealth and drive more resilient civic infrastructure. Groundswell achieves this kind of community investment by applying an explosive new framework for change called civic consumption, which allows communities to leverage their untapped collective purchasing power to achieve the social and environmental impact they need.
Groundswell has emerged as a leading impact organization working to inform communities about the economic and social impacts of energy consumption. The organization is also taking the lead in driving collaboration between practitioners who are applying the civic consumption model across sectors.
Groundswell's work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, and ABC World News, among others. CEO and co-Founder Will Byrne has been recognized by White House Office of Public Engagement, selected as a global Fellow by Ashoka Innovators for the Public, and honored by the World Economic Forum. In 2011, Groundswell was selected as a Clinton Global Initiative America commitment maker for its innovative model to promote clean energy economic opportunity in communities across the U.S. For more information visit our website.
Position Overview:
Groundswell's Communications Director will hone and execute the communications strategy for the organization. The Director is responsible for shaping and managing each pillar of Groundswell's growing communications effort - generating earned media, digital media strategy, marketing its programs and services, as well as identity development and growth of brand equity.
Groundswell quadrupled its impacts between 2011 and 2012; the organization is now in a three-year growth ramp-up that includes geographic expansion and a commitment to grow its impact ten-fold. As the organization continues on this growth trajectory, this position will design and manage a robust Communications Department to match our local and national presence.?
Responsibilities:
Craft and implement a strategic communications plan, which includes core messaging platform, marketing strategy, and brand development plan for Groundswell
Generate earned media from targeted local, national, and international publications, focused upon Groundswell's programs, as well as the organization's thought leadership position around the concept of "civic consumption"?
Liaise with CEO, Executive Management Team, and Development Department to ensure press and media victories translate into tangible mission-based impact and resources
Monitor, anticipate and respond to daily events through traditional and new media; this includes weaving Groundswell's work and narrative into prevailing current events
Manage Groundswell's email lists and segments in Salsa, our signups platform
Serve as a spokesperson for Groundswell, its programs and campaigns
Work with program staff to coordinate marketing plans and communications materials, including regular email blasts and social media for both marketing and outreach
Implement strategic online communications in order to grow online audience; engage and motivate our most active online advocates to participate in offline activities
Train and support staff and, if necessary, external partners in messaging and communications best practices
Generate leads and provide support to the CEO and senior staff around public speaking and other public relations opportunities (Op-Eds, interviews, etc.)
Assume direct responsibility for day-to-day management of Web properties including www.groundswell.org through Non-Profit Soapbox
Evaluate our messaging for different core audiences: participants in our programs, funders, stakeholders, etc.?
Solicit and manage outside consultants including but not limited to media firms, graphic designers, video producers, and web design firms
Qualifications:
Groundswell is looking for applicants who have a bold vision for creating structural change in our society, a strong curiosity in people and new ideas, and a demonstrated ability to act strategically and motivate others. The candidate should also be motivated as much by strong ambition and desire to succeed as they are by strong values and a desire to create deep social impact.
An ideal candidate will have the following experience, skills and qualities:
Expertise and efficiency in writing, editing and communication
A bachelor's degree and at least 3 years of relevant experience
Minimum 2 years Personnel Management?
Experience in web-based communications and social media?
Experience in web analytics, including Search Engine Optimization and meeting metrics for social media engagement?
Excels in fast-paced, collaborative environment
Visually and strategically creative
Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail; ability to establish priorities, meet deadlines, and adaptively manage a range of projects with excellence
Committed to the values and ideals advanced by Groundswell
Demonstrated ability to teach, guide and encourage others
Preferred:
Familiarity with Salsa, Non-Profit Soapbox, and HTML
Familiarity with video production, graphics and design
Experience conducting trainings and developing leaders
Knowledge of the progressive blogosphere and media
Using/creating Flash videos?
State/local and national communications experience
Compensation:?Salary is commensurate with experience and competitive with senior management positions at early stage not-for-profits. Benefits include 403(b) retirement and matching, health, dental, and vision insurance, and 15 paid vacation days per year (starting).
Groundswell averages 14-16 paid company holidays (including all federal holidays and a week during winter holidays), adheres to a 37.5 hour work week with a compensatory time policy for over-time work, and, when job responsibilities allow, periodic flexibility in work schedule and location.
To Apply:
Please click below: "Apply Here!" to submit your application materials.
When you apply for this position, please say you saw this job on Green Dream Jobs!!
(Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc is looking to enter Canada's cellular telephone business, potentially fulfilling the government's hopes of having a fourth major wireless company, the Globe and Mail reported on Monday.
Verizon could look at taking over a smaller player in Canada, such as Wind Mobile, and participating in a new wireless spectrum auction, the newspaper reported citing two industry sources familiar with the situation. (http://link.reuters.com/zas88t)
New entrants such as Wind, Mobilicity and Public Mobile have helped to drive down wireless prices in Canada, but have struggled to turn a profit.
The struggles of the new entrants have frustrated the Canadian government's hopes of having a fourth major wireless company in all parts of the country to compete with Telus Corp, BCE Inc's Bell unit and Rogers Communications.
AT&T Corp, Vodafone Group Plc and Telenor ASA could be other possible investors, the newspaper said.
(Reporting By Vijay Vishwas in Bangalore; Editing by Sreejiraj Eluvangal)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? In tweets, songs, telephone calls, cards and more, messages of love have come from across South Africa and the world for 94-year-old Nelson Mandela, giving the family comfort and hope as he remains hospitalized in serious condition with a lung infection, his wife said Monday.
As the anti-apartheid hero spent a 10th day in the hospital, Graca Machel expressed the family's gratitude for the support "from South Africans, Africans across the continent, and thousands more from across the world ... to lighten the burden of anxiety; bringing us love, comfort and hope. "
Machel has already experienced the loss of a husband. Mozambican President Samora Machel, her first husband, died in a plane crash in 1986. Machel and Mandela married in 1998, marking Mandela's third marriage and her second.
People have carried "get well soon" placards outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria where Mandela is being treated. They have prayed for him in churches across this nation of roughly 50 million. Schoolchildren have come to his home in Johannesburg to sing. Even though he was not there to hear them, the voices gave solace to his family.
"The messages have come by letter, by SMS, by phone, by Twitter, by Facebook, by email, cards, flowers and the human voice, in particular the voices of children in schools or singing outside our home," Machel said in a statement. "We have felt the closeness of the world and the deepest meaning of strength and peace."
President Jacob Zuma said Sunday that Mandela remains in serious condition but that his doctors are seeing sustained improvements. Zuma said Mandela is engaging with family during visits.
The leader of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement, Mandela spent 27 years in prison during white racist rule. He is vulnerable to respiratory problems since contracting tuberculosis during his long imprisonment. The bulk of that period was spent on Robben Island off the coast of Cape Town where Mandela and other prisoners toiled in a dusty stone quarry.
He was freed in 1990 and became South Africa's first black president in 1994.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate divorced his second wife, Winnie, in 1996. However in recent years she has joined him and Machel at family events. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has been a frequent visitor to Mandela during his latest hospitalization.
This marks Mandela's fourth hospital stay since December.
Mandela "once said: 'What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made in the lives of others,'" Machel said. "I have thought of his words on each occasion the world stood with him, making a difference to him, in his healing."
Most helicopters are built for hovering, not for speed. But the Eurocopter X3 is built for both. The demonstrator tilt-rotor aircraft proved as much when it set a pair of air speed records earlier this month.
Based on the Eurocopter EC155, the X3 is a hybrid helicopter. That is, in addition to its five blade main and tail rotors, the X3 is also outfitted with a pair of stubby wings (similar to those aboard the Mi-24 HIND but with propellers instead of missile pods) that provide up to 80 percent of the aircraft's lift. A pair of 2270 HP Rolls-Royce Turbomeca RTM322 turboshaft engines drive all four rotors and allow for a 12,500 foot service ceiling and blindingly fast speed.
On June 7th, the X3 blew through the previous air speed record for helicopters by cruising at 255 knots (293 MPH) during a 40-minute flight over Southern France near Istres. This acheivement followed the X3 topping 263 knots (302 MPH) during a descent just days before. ?It?s no exaggeration to say that the X3 is clearly in its element at high speeds.? said Eurocopter test pilot Herv? Jammayrac. ?While flying at both 255 knots and 263 knots, the X3 performed exactly as it has throughout its flight envelope, exhibiting outstanding stability and providing a low vibration level without any anti-vibration system.?
Since its maiden flight in 2010, the X3 has ammassed over 140 hours of air time. And though this particular demonstrator will likely be retired at the year's end, the X3's turboprop technology is slowly making its way into production. ?Helicopters can fly relatively fast and the noise footprint for people living around the airport is relatively similar to current traffic noise, so vertical lift can still play a role in commuting people, providing you can design an aircraft that delivers higher speed at reasonable cost,? said former Eurocopter CEO Lutz Bertling. ?I believe we could well see the first serial products which could do the job with a smaller number of passengers?say 19 seats?at the beginning of the 2020s, and I could imagine seeing larger aircraft with 30-40 seats in the mid-'20s.?
While these hybrid aircraft are significantly faster than conventional helicopters, the X3 cannot keep up with turboprop planes?yet. But for a helicopter, its speed is utterly amazing. [Gizmag - Eurocopter - Aviation Week - Wikipedia]
Edward Snowden, America's most wanted whistle-blower, participated in a live online chat with the Guardian newspaper on Monday.
The 29-year-old former defense contractor, who exposed the National Security Agency's massive domestic surveillance program after fleeing the United States, answered a series of questions submitted through the Guardian's website.
First, Snowden stressed that his controversial leaks did not reveal any U.S. "operations against legitimate military targets":
I pointed out where the NSA has hacked civilian infrastructure such as universities, hospitals, and private businesses because it is dangerous. These nakedly, aggressively criminal acts are wrong no matter the target. Not only that, when NSA makes a technical mistake during an exploitation operation, critical systems crash. Congress hasn't declared war on the countries?the majority of them are our allies?but without asking for public permission, NSA is running network operations against them that affect millions of innocent people. And for what? So we can have secret access to a computer in a country we're not even fighting? So we can potentially reveal a potential terrorist with the potential to kill fewer Americans than our own Police? No, the public needs to know the kinds of things a government does in its name, or the "consent of the governed" is meaningless.
He was asked how many copies of the NSA documents he made, and "if anything happens to you, do they still exist?"
"All I can say right now is the US Government is not going to be able to cover this up by jailing or murdering me," Snowden wrote. "Truth is coming, and it cannot be stopped."
[Related: Is Edward Snowden a hero or traitor?]
According to the U.K. newspaper, the live chat was subject to Snowden's "security concerns and also his access to a secure Internet connection." Snowden did not disclose his location during the hour-long chat.
Earlier this month, Snowden was interviewed by the Guardian's Glenn Greenwald in his hotel room in Hong Kong. After the paper revealed his identity (at his request), he reportedly checked out of the hotel, and has gone into hiding.
"I carefully evaluated every single document I disclosed to ensure that each was legitimately in the public interest," Snowden said in his original interview. "There are all sorts of documents that would have made a big impact that I didn't turn over, because harming people isn't my goal. Transparency is."
On Monday, Snowden was asked if he was "suggesting that Manning indiscriminately dumped secrets into the hands of Wikileaks" and intended to harm people.
"No, I'm not," Snowden responded. "Wikileaks is a legitimate journalistic outlet and they carefully redacted all of their releases in accordance with a judgment of public interest. The unredacted release of cables was due to the failure of a partner journalist to control a passphrase. However, I understand that many media outlets used the argument that 'documents were dumped' to smear Manning, and want to make it clear that it is not a valid assertion here."
He was asked to elaborate on how much "direct access" the NSA had to phone-call records, and if analysts could listen to content of domestic calls without a warrant.
"The reality is this: if an NSA, FBI, CIA, DIA, etc analyst has access to query raw SIGINT databases, they can enter and get results for anything they want. Phone number, email, user id, cell phone handset id (IMEI), and so on?it's all the same," Snowden replied. "The restrictions against this are policy based, not technically based, and can change at any time. Additionally, audits are cursory, incomplete, and easily fooled by fake justifications."
Under authorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), Snowden continued, "Americans? communications are collected and viewed on a daily basis on the certification of an analyst rather than a warrant. They excuse this as 'incidental' collection, but at the end of the day, someone at NSA still has the content of your communications."
Greenwald followed up: "When you say 'someone at NSA still has the content of your communications,' what do you mean? Do you mean they have a record of it, or the actual content?"
Both. If I target for example an email address, for example under FAA 702, and that email address sent something to you, Joe America, the analyst gets it. All of it. IPs, raw data, content, headers, attachments, everything. And it gets saved for a very long time?and can be extended further with waivers rather than warrants.
Snowden was also asked why he did not fly directly to Iceland, where he told the Guardian he would have preferred to seek asylum:
Leaving the US was an incredible risk, as NSA employees must declare their foreign travel 30 days in advance and are monitored. There was a distinct possibility I would be interdicted en route, so I had to travel with no advance booking to a country with the cultural and legal framework to allow me to work without being immediately detained. Hong Kong provided that. Iceland could be pushed harder, quicker, before the public could have a chance to make their feelings known, and I would not put that past the current US administration.
Snowden scoffed at speculation that he would provide classified information to the Chinese or other governments in exchange for asylum.
"This is a predictable smear that I anticipated before going public, as the US media has a knee-jerk 'RED CHINA!' reaction to anything involving [Hong Kong] or the [People's Republic of China] and is intended to distract from the issue of US government misconduct," Snowden replied. "Ask yourself: if I were a Chinese spy, why wouldn't I have flown directly into Beijing? I could be living in a palace petting a phoenix by now."
Over the weekend, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi announced that he was cutting all ties with Syria, to include unilaterally ending the long-maintained diplomatic relationship between the two Arab countries and closing Egypt's embassy in Damascus.
This drastic step by one of the Arab region's most populous and influential countries could signal a sharp turning point in the drawn-out Syrian civil war, as we could now realistically see defections in support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime from other Arab neighbors. It is even conceivable that forces fighting against the Assad government could even receive direct military assistance from those neighbors, not to mention from the United States. This, after all, was similar to the trajectory of the conflict in Libya that brought on the fall of that country's long-time dictator.
But what is unique about the Egyptian-Syrian relationship, unlike the relationship between nearly any other set of Arab countries, is just how far it has now fallen with this cutting of diplomatic ties.
In 1958, as part of a movement toward pan-Arabism that was sweeping the region, Egypt and Syria jointly agreed to actually merge their two independent and sovereign states into one country called the United Arab Republic. Egypt's president at the time, Gamal Abdel Nasser, a famous champion of both the regional pan-Arab movement and the global non-aligned movement, presided over the new union until its dissolution just over three and a half years later.
Although tensions existed between Damascus and Cairo during the brief period of union, the two countries' 1961 divorce did not significantly weaken their relationship. Egypt and Syria went on to fight two more wars together against their common neighbor Israel (they had fought two previous wars together prior to their union, the first in 1948 upon Israel's founding and the second in 1956), and have widely been regarded as strong strategic, diplomatic, cultural and political allies ever since.
The only major strategic and political difference between the two countries since 1979 has been the successful negotiation of a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, a stability-inducing move which Syria to this day has failed to replicate. Now it appears that the chasm between these historic Arab allies has just greatly deepened and the bridge over that chasm has been demolished.
Given the carousel of shifting political alliances throughout the region in the wake of the Arab Spring, it is quite likely that Egyptian-Syrian relations will be promptly restored following the overthrow of the Assad regime and the establishment of a successor government in Syria. Until then, the tie that once bound Egypt and Syria -- for a brief period more than metaphorically -- binds no more.
This post is cross-posted at DefensePolicy.org.
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Follow Alexander Nicholson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JANicholson3
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Are you in Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, or Slovenia? Have I got a treat for you. In an effort to spread the good word about TC in the rest of Europe, I will be rolling through Sofia, Belgrade, Zagreb, and Ljubljana at the beginning of July for a series of informal meet-ups. If you're in those cities, I want you to attend!![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 19-Jun-2013
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