Apple Macbook Air 11.6? Laptop (july, 2011) (latest Model) ? Customized

BRAND NEW taken ouf of the box for a software demo and put right back in. ZERO signs of use whatsoever (not a single scratch or smudge, not even finger prints on it and only 1 battery cycle). Come in original Apple retail box with all accessories. Under 1yr Apple Care warranty (covers all parts and repairs), plus eligible for 3yr extension. Ships immediately after PayPal confirmation of payment is received. NOTE: no shipping outside of US. Plus members with less than 10 positive feedbacks need to email me before purchasing. Tech Specs: Sandy Bridge 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 with THUNDERBOLT 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM 256GB Flash Drive/Solid State Drive Illuminated Keyboard Apps loaded: OS X Lion iLife 2011 (iPhoto, iMovie, iWeb, iDVD, GarageBand)Microsoft Office 2011 (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Entourage)VM Ware FusionAperture 3Call of Duty 4

Source: http://macbookmart.com/apple-macbook-air-11-6-laptop-july-2011-latest-model-customized/

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Union: Better education 'not just test scores'

HARTFORD -- The education reform package advanced Tuesday by the state's largest teachers' union would speed up the dismissal process for poor teachers, but would not strengthen the link between job security and how well students do on state tests.

Mary Loftus Levine, executive director of the Connecticut Education Association, said student achievement has always factored into teacher evaluations.

"There are multiple indicators. It's not just about test scores," she said, adding true reform would be to streamline the dismissal process for bad teachers and do more to make sure teachers have proper training before and once they get into the classroom.

The CEA package, called A View From the Classroom, contains a number of other suggestions to provide universal preschool and all-day kindergarten and increase state funding for local education expenses.

It is the latest in a series of proposals put forward by education stakeholders in the state as Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the General Assembly gear up for a legislative session that begins Feb. 8.

Malloy has said the session will focus largely on efforts to improve education. In recent weeks, a number of groups have issued education recommendations, including the organization that represents school administrators.

The teacher plan was praised Tuesday by Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor as credible and full of good ideas. "We agree more than we don't," said Pryor, refusing to elaborate. He later said he does not think the state's teacher evaluation process does enough to elevate the profession. He called the certification system broken.

The union's plan to evaluate teachers, according to Levine, would create a professional standards board for educators that would be made up of educators.

Lawmakers must trust that educators, like other professionals, want to elevate their status by setting heightened standards for the teaching profession, according to the report.

"We want to be evaluated," said Levine, who said now, the process skips over some teachers.

Beyond test scores, Levine said teachers should be judged on how well they plan, organize and manage their classrooms, interact with peers and continue to learn.

Levine said the current due process law for dismissing bad teachers is outdated. She would shorten the time line, from 120 to 80 days and use one arbitrator instead of three.

As for the state's education funding formula, Levine said it needs to be based on more realistic and up-to-date data that takes into account the true cost of educating students, as well as more accurate community wealth and pupil population data.

State Sen. Pro Tem Donald Williams called the union plan full of excellent suggestions. He said the ideas about universal pre-kindergarten are widely acknowledged as key to improving student achievement, but need to be balanced with budgetary realities. He wants to start with school districts that have the most student performance problems.

Williams seemed to side with the union on the issue of linking teacher evaluations to how well students do. He likened it to judging doctors by how many of their patients recover.

"You couldn't get doctors to work in poor communities if that was the case because you won't get the same outcomes," he said, adding that patients in poor communities have less opportunity to take care of themselves.

"The same is true in education," said Williams. Student performance is important but not the entire picture."

Source: http://www.greenwichtime.com/local/article/Union-Better-education-not-just-test-scores-2438696.php

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CNYcentral: RT @MichaelBenny: Inferno. Wild photo of raging barn fire near Lake Delta in Rome, NY Thx 2 viewer Patsy McCarthy. http://t.co/Dp1aYePq

Inferno. Wild photo of raging barn fire near Lake Delta in Rome, NY Thx 2 viewer Patsy McCarthy. Il y a environ 20 heures via web

Source: http://twitter.com/CNYcentral/statuses/154013769645834240

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Thai Government Scraps Plan to Transfer Debt to Central Bank

December 31, 2011, 4:14 AM EST

By Daniel Ten Kate and Suttinee Yuvejwattana

(Adds analyst?s comment in fifth paragraph.)

Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Thailand?s government scrapped a proposal to transfer $35 billion of legacy debt from bank bailouts to the central bank and will instead seek to extract cash from commercial lenders to finance flood defenses.

?Transferring debts to the Bank of Thailand will be like printing money,? Finance Minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala told reporters today after meeting Bank of Thailand Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul. ?The methods we are using must not affect fiscal and monetary discipline and must not hurt confidence among foreign investors and international agencies.?

Deputy Prime Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said yesterday the step would save the government as much as 65 billion baht ($2 billion) in annual interest costs that could be used to fund anti-flood measures. Thirachai had opposed the measure, warning this week it could hurt investor confidence and stoke inflation.

The proposal increased concerns that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra?s administration was infringing on the central bank?s independence, after Kittiratt in October said the Bank of Thailand should lower interest rates to help businesses cope with the country?s worst flooding since 1942.

The government ?didn?t study this issue well enough to argue with the Bank of Thailand,? said Pipat Luengnaruemitchai, vice president of Phatra Capital Pcl, Thailand?s second-biggest brokerage by market value. ?Anything involving monetary policy discipline, the government loses the debate all the time because the Bank of Thailand has better credibility.?

Baht Gains

The baht gained 0.7 percent to 31.54 per dollar as of 3:06 p.m. in Bangkok, the biggest advance in a month. Yesterday it fell the most in two months to the weakest level since Aug. 16, 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The government will attempt to raise about 50 billion baht for debt payments by taking 0.39 percent of the 0.4 percent fee that commercial banks pay to the Deposit Protection Agency and by amending the law to allow the Financial Institutions Development Fund to collect fees from commercial banks. The government paid 45 billion baht in interest on the debt this year, Thirachai said today.

?This will remove the interest burden from the government,? he said. ?If the central bank records a profit, they can also use that to reduce the debt.?

The Financial Institutions Development Fund racked up a 1.4 trillion-baht debt bailing out lenders after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, when the government closed more than 60 financial companies and seized half of the nation?s 14 commercial banks.

Bank Losses

Under a repayment agreement in 2002, the finance ministry makes interest payments while the central bank pays down the principal whenever it earns a yearly profit. The Bank of Thailand has reported annual net income once since 2004 and last year reported a net loss of 117 billion baht, mostly due to losses on foreign exchange.

Thailand?s central bank expects to record a loss this year, Prasarn told reporters today. Kittiratt yesterday said that it would post a ?high profit.? Prasarn said the Bank of Thailand, finance ministry and Council of State would meet again to discuss legal amendments to help pay the debt.

?We agreed that what we will do must not prompt the central bank to print money and it should help reduce the fiscal burden,? Prasarn told reporters today after the meeting. ?It must not affect foreign reserves too.?

Interest Payments

Since 1997, the principal on the debt has fallen by 300 billion baht, or about 21 billion baht per year. During that time, the government has paid as much as 65 billion baht in interest annually, according to Kittiratt.

Korn Chatikavanij, Thirachai?s predecessor under a previous administration, opposed the idea to transfer fees from the Deposit Protection Agency to the government to pay the debt.

?If you shift the revenue to the government, eventually the government would be morally bound to support banks if they run into liquidity problems,? he said in a telephone interview yesterday. ?The whole idea of having a deposit guarantee scheme is to avoid the government having to be involved.?

--Editors: Tony Jordan, Stephanie Phang

To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net; Suttinee Yuvejwattana in Bangkok at suttinee1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.net

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-31/thai-government-scraps-plan-to-transfer-debt-to-central-bank.html

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Writing the Wrongs: PLO Plans to 'Disengage' From Israel

Gavriel Queenann

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) officials said Friday their decision to return to 'popular resistance' is aimed at 'disengaging' from Israel.

PLO Executive Committee member Tayseer Khalid said the new unified Fatah-Hamas strategy will be based on 'popular resistance' which will spread into PA enclaves in Judea and Samaria.

"The popular resistance will reshape the Palestinian relationship with Israel... to reach total disengagement with Israel," Khalid said.

"We will never accept to be an agent for the Israeli occupation," he added.

Khalid's statements are only the latest in the intransigent unilateralist mantra coming out of Ramallah and have led analysts to suggest that Fatah has decided to turn the PA enclaves in Judea and Samaria into a second Gaza. Last week PLO officials officially adopted a strategy based on "continuous efforts along with the international community to secure full recognition and full United Nations membership, pursuing internal reconciliation, and keeping up the popular resistance."

They have also threatened to end economic and security ties with Israel.

Israeli officials have said the unilateral track adopted by their counterparts in Ramallah are a direct violation of the bilateral 1993 Oslo Accords - and warn unilateral moves on final status issues by PA officials will result in Israel making unilateral moves of its own.

It remains unclear what PA officials believe is to be gained by cutting all ties with Israel and returning to an all-or-nothing unilateral path.

PA security officials expressed concern earlier this year that a direct confrontation with Israel could have disasterous consequences, while Ramallah's senior economic advisers have warned discontinued Israeli participation in the PA economy would lead to fiscal insolvency.

A recent and short-lived decision to halt tax revenue transfers to the PA by Jerusalem sent Ramallah into a fiscal tail spin.

In addition, Israeli leaders have made it clear that attempts to realize territorial claims by force would result in Israel moving to secure its own communities in Judea and Samaria and could trigger Israel's annexing areas it prefers to retain in future negotiations.

Israel provides all critical infrastructure to Ramallah's enclaves, including electricity, water, telecommunications, and Internet.

Nonetheless, PA officials seem bent on confronting Israel while fomenting 'popular resistance.' While ostensibly non-violent, the so-called ?popular resistance? resulted in two violent Intifadas which and were accompanied by a spike in terror attacks that resulted in thousands of Israelis being killed.

Regional observers note Article 9 of the PLO charter continues to assert, "Armed struggle is the only way to liberate Palestine. This it is the overall strategy, not merely a tactical phase.?

It also maintains ?Palestine? is defined by the British Mandate and is ?indivisible? ? thus leaving no room for Israel to exist at all.

With Israeli military leaders saying Israel can "not escape" a major operation in Hamas-run Gaza saying such a move is fast becoming "essential" ? some observers say the PLO is making a dramatic strategic blunder.

Source: http://writingtw.blogspot.com/2011/12/plo-plans-to-disengage-from-israel.html

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Greenville Community Center Indoor Flea Market

Saturday, January 28 & Saturday, February 25 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
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There will be a HUGE variety of items for sale! Tools! DVD?s! Books & Movies! Crafts, hats, toys, and MUCH, MUCH MORE!? New & used.
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Spaces are 8? x 3? tables! Rent a table and sell your things! Tables only $8 each! You may reserve NOW for these limited spaces! Vendors may arrive at 8:00 a.m. to set-up!
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Crafters/vendors reserve a table for only $8 each. Reservations are first come first serve. Paid reservations only. *Note* Exact table location is subject to change based on needs of the community center.

For more information, please call the Greenville Community Center at (616) 754-9163.

Source: http://greenville.wzzm13.com/news/events/65183-greenville-community-center-indoor-flea-market

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Wynonna Judd to marry for a third time (AP)

NEW YORK ? Wynonna Judd is celebrating an engagement this holiday season.

Representatives for the 47-year-old country singer say her boyfriend, Cactus Moser, popped the question on Christmas Eve.

They have been dating since 2009.

Moser, 54, is a drummer with the country group Highway 101.

The couple are currently on tour as Wynonna and The Big Noise.

This will be Judd's third marriage. She has two teenage children with her first husband.

News of the engagement was first reported Thursday by the website People.com.

___

Online:

http://www.wynonna.com/

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111229/ap_en_ot/us_people_wynonna_judd

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