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Wednesday, June 30, 2010

DLT Solutions practices what they preach by installing the Google Search Appliance in minutes

Editor's Note: We're pleased to welcome Jim Helou, Vice President of the Google division at DLT Solutions, a Google Enterprise Partner. Jim and his team provide leading enterprise solutions, such as the Google Search Appliance, to the Public Sector.

The DLT team understands the principle of service and works with their Public Sector customers to determine the best product fit, necessary services & training, post-implementation support and procurement options to fulfill their mission.

"Practice what you preach." We’ve all heard that saying, right? At DLT Solutions, we’re a modern day example of the age-old adage. DLT Solutions, a value-added reseller of information technology products to federal, state and local government, recently partnered with Google to bring their innovative products to the public sector marketplace. Among Google’s business solutions is the Google Search Appliance 6.0. We at DLT figured what better way to preach the gospel of Google than to be users ourselves.

DLT Solutions recently installed the Google Search Appliance (GSA) for searching the DLT intranet. We chronicled the installation of the Search Appliance 6.0 by two DLT Web developers at our headquarters outside of Washington D.C in a two-part real time video, now available to view at www.DLT.com/GSA.






(That's Part One, above; you can also view the Part Two on the DLT YouTube channel.)

The video is a timed demonstration of how fast and easy Google’s latest version of the Search Appliance is to install. In less than 20 minutes we had taken the Google Search Appliance out of the box, installed, and configured the Search Appliance for our intranet file search. Your own deployment time may take longer depending on how many data sources you're searching and how many files you need to crawl. The point, however, is just how easy it is – one server, two network cables, and a power cord. No army of consultants necessary.

Looking back, search results in the pre-GSA days were…sloppy. Nowadays, with the GSA, the customizable search criteria makes for a more personal internal search experience. Employees can find the information they need faster allowing them to focus on more mission-critical tasks.

DLT uses Google’s search solution for not only our intranet, but also our public website. The Search Appliance’s relevant search results in the recognizable Google format has allowed our government users to get the information they need while increasing the number of qualified prospects for DLT.

We confidently tell our customers how easy the Google Search Appliance is to install and use. We know. We’ve done it.

Posted by Dan Israel, Product Marketing Manager, Google Enterprise

Obama administration poised to challenge Arizona immigration law

This should be interesting! - - Donna Poisl

The White House is expected to file a lawsuit next week. Arizona has raised more than $120,000 in private donations to defend the legislation.

By Peter Nicholas, Tribune Washington Bureau

Reporting from Washington — A White House showdown with the state of Arizona over its tough new immigration law is likely to unfold next week, when the Obama administration is expected to file a lawsuit aimed at blocking the state's bid to curb illegal immigration on its own, according to people familiar with the administration's plans.
Click on the headline above to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.

Tour Divide Update: Fatality on the Trail

Sad news from the Tour Divide today, where a report has broken that a rider was killed on the trail last Thursday after running into a truck. It is the first fatality in the the seven years that the event has been held.

Cycling News is reporting that 37-year old David Blumenthal ran into a truck that was traveling towards him on an unpaved road. After being evacuated to a local hospital, near Steamboat Springs, Colorado,  Blumenthal was eventually taken to St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver, where he was later declared dead from severe head injuries.


Apparently, Blumenthal was on one of the numerous remote trails that  make up the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, which runs for 2745 miles from Banff in Alberta, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, along the U.S.-Mexican border. He was reportedly riding on the wrong side of the narrow trail when he came to a curve in the road and couldn't see the truck coming down the other side. Although rescue teams were able to get to him within 20-30 minutes of the accident, it wasn't soon enough to save his life. 


This is a sad story, as anyone who follows the Tour Divide knows that the route is very quite remote. It seems like a very odd set of circumstances that would lead to a tragedy like this one. My condolences to David's friends and family.


Thanks to the GoBlog for the tip on this one. 

Add your opinion on what President Obama should say in his speech Thurs. AM

Marissa Graciosa, Reform Immigration FOR America

On Thursday morning, at 8:30 AM MST , President Obama will be making a major speech on immigration. He’ll be outlining what it will take for the federal government to fix our broken system.

What do you want to hear the president say tomorrow? Stop by our blog and let us know what you think President Obama should say tomorrow morning. Click on the headline.

This movement has always been about you – your lives, your families, your hopes and dreams, your personal reasons for working for comprehensive immigration reform. Your voice makes us strong, and your words make this fight matter.

We’ll be live-blogging the speech tomorrow morning. Tell us what you want to hear President Obama say when he talks about immigration at 8:30 AM MST tomorrow.

Climbing and Skiing 2 million vertical feet in 2010

I mentioned Greg Hill once before, way back in in February when he was a recipient of a Polartec Challenge Grant. Greg is in the midst of a very busy year, as he has set a goal for himself to climb and ski 2 million vertical feet this year, and he has been tackling all kinds of peaks in the process. He has also been filming much of his adventure, and he even managed to slow down long enough to conduct an interview with ESPN.

Greg's website says he currently stands at 916,448 feet as we sit at the mid-point of the year, so obviously he has some work ahead of him yet this year. But in the ESPN article it says that he plans to be on the snow for more than 270 days this year, so he still has plenty of opportunities. The article also points out that he once skied 51,100 vertical feet in a single day, so given the right conditions, he can obviously take off large chunks at any given time.

Check out Greg on several of his mountains in the video below. Then stop and think about how much 2 million vertical feet really is. That's a lot of altitude.

JWOC team training in Aalborg!



Okay USA orienteering fans, here's your first update from Aalborg, site of the 2010 Junior World Orienteering Championships. It'll be quick because we're all tired from a long day of training today at Vester Torup.

The entire team of 6 men and 3 women has been here in Aalborg since Sunday evening, moving into our accommodations in the Aalborg barracks on Monday. It's a bit tight with all 12 of us (runners + 3 coaches) in one room, but it's a great bonding experience. We had our first training on Monday afternoon on a map of terrain that is adjacent to the barracks and quite convenient, though not the most relevant for JWOC this year. On Tuesday we headed out to a relay relevant area, and of course today on a middle/long area. The terrain is interesting and unlike what most of us have experience with back home, which makes for a great training experience and hopefully some interesting racing!

That's it for today, short update. Tomorrow is a rest day for the training week and the opening ceremony is on Sunday afternoon, but stay tuned for more updates before then!

A Shift Towards Custom Application Development


Editor's Note:
With the launch of the Google Apps Marketplace in March 2010, many members of our Authorized Reseller Program are taking full and immediate advantage of the benefits the Marketplace provides – new apps for their customers and a new channel for resellers to sell their own customized apps to Google Apps users. We asked Julia Rivard, VP-Communications for Canadian-based SheepdogInc.ca, to talk about her experiences as a Google Apps reseller and now a vendor within the Google Apps Marketplace.

SheepDogInc.ca, founded by Shawn Wilkie and Brandon Kolybaba, recognized early on the strengths and functionality associated with the Google Apps suite of communication and collaboration tools. In 2007, we began working with Google to become an authorized Google Apps reseller, allowing our team to bring Google Apps migration expertise to organizations in Canada and across North America. Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, our team has migrated many organizations which were formerly utilizing a mishmash of tools to the unified, cloud computing platform created by Google Apps.

SheepDogInc.ca's position as an authorized Google Apps reseller accelerated our move towards custom application development in the cloud. The launch of the Google Apps Marketplace enabled us to create applications in the cloud specifically catered towards the needs expressed by our clients. For example, our team developed an application on Google App Engine for the 2009 World Canoe Championship that delivered race results to millions of global followers as well as a medal counting application for the Canadian Olympic Committee that delivered updates to Olympic athletes on their mobile devices at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Focused on enhancing and improving existing business processes, SheepDogInc.ca recently launched our custom application, gTrax in the Marketplace.

gTrax

gTrax is a time tracking business tool that enables employees to track their work, facilitates intuitive reporting functionality, and integrates the user's Google Calender with the time-tracking application.

The application is aimed at organizations looking for a simple and user-friendly process of drilling down and analyzing time management and internal activities, and helps identify and allocate internal resources to projects which facilitates accurate time budgeting. Complete integration with Google Calender means that gTrax utilizes entries from the employee's calender thereby reducing the need for repeat data entry and decreasing the overhead associated with other time-tracking systems.

The developers at SheepDogInc.ca have been working tirelessly to develop a user-friendly mobile interface for gTrax. The app is now fully accessible on both the Android and iPhone platforms allowing users to conveniently access gTrax from their mobile device. Since all data is securely stored in the Google cloud, it is accessible anytime and anywhere.

Our relationship with Google as an authorized reseller has allowed us to deploy the Google Apps suite in numerous organizations across North America and the addition of the Google Apps Marketplace has created new and exciting opportunities for SheepDogInc.ca. With our development team focused on creating applications on Google App Engine, we now build both fully customized apps for specific client's business needs, as well as packaged apps for a larger audience of users through the Marketplace.

Zionism & Environmentalism: Ideas & Realities

This past week, I attended a talk held by the American Zionist Movement which addressed the issue of Zionism and environmental concerns in Israel. More specifically, they invited Dr. Alon Tal, a leading Israeli environmentalist and co-founder of the Arava Institute, to speak about the nexus between these topics. He told a very interesting and compelling story in this talk, one of rapid development overwhelming Zionism in its most normative form, which obliges us to nurture the physical land. He appealed to us as Jews to stand up for sustainable development as per Zionism’s dictate because of our sense of place as a local, indigenous community in Israel.

Unfortunately, Israel so far, both as a government and as a civil society, has failed to steward the land as Zionism compels us. Indeed, he gave a mixed prognosis of the level of environmental degradation and efforts at sustainable development in Israel.

While he reported that the Green Zionist Alliance passed four resolutions at the World Zionist Congress which aim to “greenify” various government operations, Israel has mostly developed at the expense of its natural environment. He talked first about the issues surrounding water. He reports that coastal groundwater has been overpumped, and salt water and sometimes even waste water and sewage flood into these groundwater deposits. Israel’s development thus far has also led to the depletion of water in the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, and the Gulf of Eilat. Israel has created a national water carrier from the salty Kinneret to the South, which has caused the salinization of the soil there. While the Zionist strategy was to give farmers in the southern part of the country subsidized water as an incentive to settle there, the process of transfer will eventually render the soil infertile. Israel has attempted to overcome this by charging farmer’s according to a national price index, hoping that this will at least force farmers to avoid wasting any water. Alon called upon the Israeli government to return to Zionism’s environmental axiom and adjust regulations for waste water management; to better recycle sewage; and to initiate desalinization processes.

He then moved on to talking about demographic issues in Israel. The environmental perspective on this topic is very different from that of the peacebuilding perspective, emphasizing the carrying capacity (with regard to Israel’s resources) of the country. He focused specifically on the topic of Aliyah, noting that Israel needs to rethink its historical model of preaching to Diaspora Jews to move to Israel in order to enjoy a “real” Jewish life. He suggested that the policy of promoting Aliyah should be eased, that Israel should not patronize other communities so that Jews feel obliged to move to Israel. While he believes that Israel should still grant the Right of Return to any Jew who desires to live there, he wants the Israeli government to realize that it cannot sustain massive migration to Israel in the near future.

This point struck me as both provocative and somewhat puzzling. He proposes a radical shift in a policy fundamental to Israel’s being. His assertion suggests that Zionism may not definitely value Aliyah as strongly as it is understood currently. He argues that Zionism also values stewardship of the physical land of Israel out of the Jewish people’s sense of place, which suggests that Israel will have to confront a number of competing aspects of its identity as a state in order to move forward with environmental initiatives.

The point was puzzling in that I had been under the impression that Israel has not faced a large wave of immigrants since the collapse of the Soviet Union over ten years ago; people do not seem to be flooding in as they once used to (correct me if I am wrong). Indeed, the American Jewish community perceives my generation’s connection to Israel as dangerously weak, and has used programs such as Birthright to “sell” Israel to us as an integral and positive part of our Jewish identities. As American Jewish connections to Israel seem to wane, I wonder about the urgency of his point. Needless to say, I know little about the current patterns of Aliyah outside of North America. However, it seems to me that the issue of carrying capacity may be tied more to the religious Jewish communities in Israel, who tend to multiply rapidly and who also seem to have little regard for sustainable living.

Overall, I was impressed by his talk. I would have loved to hear him talk about some of the environmental issues as related to the peace process, but I also appreciate that this would have not been appropriate. Yet most importantly, I found him insightful, courageous, and generally optimistic about the future.

Tour 2010: Notes on Le Tour

We're now just a few days away from the official start of the 2010 Tour de France, which will get underway on Saturday with an 8.9km (5.5 mile) prologue in Rotterdam. Following that fast and furious start, things will really get interesting, as Stage 1 is a 223.5km (138.8 mile) ride from Rotterdam to Brussels in celebration of Eddy Merckx's 65th birthday. While traditionally these opening stages are tailor made for the sprinters to shine, the high winds that are expected across the Belgian countryside could tear the peloton apart, and contenders had better not get caught out if their is a split.

Things don't get much easier on Stage 2, which is 201km (124.8 mile) ride from Brussels to Spa that will offer a few climbs to test the riders early on. While none of the big names, such as Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck, or Lance Armstrong will falter on those hills, they will eliminate the sprinters from contention early on. Generally speaking some fairly obscure rider takes the Yellow Jersey in the first week and holds on to it until the real mountain stages appear later in the Tour.

Riders shouldn't take Stage 3 for granted either, as it features more than 13km (8 miles) of riding over the always tricky cobblestones. Most of the riders hate the stages that pass over cobblestone roads, as they are rough to ride on and can be quite tricky. More than one rider has crashed on those roads, ending their tour early.

The tale of the tape for this year's tour includes one prologue, nine flat stages, six mountain stages (including three summit finishes) with 25 category 1, 2 or higher climbs. There are also two rest days built into the schedule as well, and eleven towns that are new to the Tour this year.

Outside Online has posted a few interesting tidbits to keep in mind heading into the tour as well. They have an article entitled Rules of the Road that offers six items to be aware of as the race unfolds, including top Twitter accounts to follow, thoughts on the Green Jersey, and more.

Finally, a few days back, Lance Armstrong announced on his Twitter feed this will indeed be his final Tour de France. Sure, we've heard that from Lance before, but I have a feeling that he really means it this time. He has also confirmed that he'll be riding in the Leadville 100 on August 14th, because he didn't stomp the course well enough last year.

That's it for now. Expect more Tour updates in the next few days, and of course regular coverage once the race is underway. It is shaping up to be a fun one to watch.

Grameen America Borrowers Market


A big thank you to everyone who turned out today to our second annual Borrowers Market at St. Johns University’s Tribeca campus. We are especially grateful to St. Johns for their commitment to Grameen America and continuing to supply us with a venue for this great event.

Despite the sweltering New York heat, over thirty borrowers from all three New York City locations turned out to promote their businesses. From 1:30-4:30pm, people stopped by to check out the stands, which ranged from empanadas to traditional hand-made necklaces. More than one Grameen America staff member was spotted chowing down on plates of roast pork with rice and beans, empanadas, and fried tacos.

The red velvet cupcakes made by Soul Sister Quisine owner and Grameen America client Nicole Gates, were a complete hit for desert. Ms. Gates, who is a member of the Jackson Heights branch, used her first loan to buy portable equipment to make her Southern inspired cuisine at festivals and street fairs. In just a year she has turned the dream of having a successful business selling Soul Food, such as ribs, pulled pork, collard greens, and cornbread, into a reality. She now has several employees and even enlists the help of her family for large events.

We hope to have many more borrowers markets in the future where we can showcase the feasibility of microfinance in the United States directly through Grameen America’s clients.

Solo Sailing Update: Abby's Home, Wants To Sail Again!

Yesterday Abby Sunderland finally arrived back in the U.S. after meeting up with her brother Zac on the appropriately named Reunion Island on Saturday. The teen sailor, who lost her ship to a storm in the Indian Ocean back on June 10th, took the opportunity to fully address the media for the first time, says that she is not done sailing, although she has other things in mind for her immediate future - namely getting her driver's license.

Abby used her forum with the media yesterday to set the record straight on a number of issues, describing the storm in more detail and correcting some misconceptions about what happened. She said that the storm was not an especially bad one, and was what she expected being in the Southern Ocean during the winter. She also said that her boat, the Wild Eyes, was not knocked down as was reported widely in the media, including here in this blog. Instead, a rogue wave hit her boat as the storm was actually dissipating, and it was that wave that snapped her mast, stranding her at sea.

Abby reiterated that she is very proud of her accomplishments despite the outcome, and that she does plan to attempt to circumnavigate the globe again, but not for a couple of years. Instead, she wants to get back to normal life, going to school, hanging out with friends, and so on.

Meanwhile, Abby does have a new brother, as her mom gave birth to Paul-Louis Sunderland, who weighed in at 8 lbs., 9 oz, yesterday morning. The child is the 8th of the Sunderland kids, and was named for the French captain who's fishing boat came to Abby's rescue. There is no word yet when Paul-Louis will begin his circumnavigation attempt. ;)

Steps To The Summit - Step 15: Patience

Today's Step to the Summit offers us another valuable lesson that we should all keep in mind when working towards our goal, whether that is summitting Everest or conquering some other literal or figurative mountain. The subject of the video is patience, and Expedition Hanesbrands team leader Jaime Clarke reminds us that in order to reach our goals, we'll need a healthy dose of it.

Jamie notes that it is very easy to be caught up in the pursuit of our goals and that because of that, we can also burn out in that pursuit. The goal can be all consuming at times, and it is important to take a break, take a look around, and enjoy the journey. It makes the whole experience that much more enjoyable and the completion of the goal that much more satisfying as well.

SUNSET BAY

Yuengling was out at the Sunset Bay Beach Club located along the shore of Lake Erie in Chautauqua County New York. The event was held on June 18th and it was an excellent summer evening to enjoy Yuengling on the beach! Patrons enjoyed Lager and Light Lager cans on special, while listening to live music by John Valby. The Yuengling crew was spreading the word about our big summer program, where one luck fan will win a custom Yuengling Orange County Chopper! Beach Club patrons had the opportunity to play Yuengling trivia for OCC hats and tees and also enter to win a Yuengling OCC mirror and an OCC jacket as grand prizes for the evening.

The Sunset Bay Beach Club is a great place to enjoy Yuengling while taking in the view of the picturesque beaches along Lake Erie. Thank you to Certo Brothers Distributing for making this a successful event.

Scheinberg: Security vs. Colonialism

Seliger here. Unlike Stephen Scheinberg, emeritus professor of history at Concordia University in Montreal and co-chair of Canadian Friends of Peace Now, I give a bit of credit to Prime Minister Netanyahu. I applaud his easing of security measures on the West Bank (e.g., manned checkpoints have decreased from 42 to 12), his endorsement in principal of a two-state solution and the recent decision to substantially ease the blockade of Gaza. But otherwise, yes, the makeup and policies of his governing coalition remain problematic. The following is Prof. Scheinberg's latest piece in The Mark:

It is difficult for Israelis and their supporters to understand the outpouring of world reaction following relatively small events like the Mavi Marmara raid. This is not to discount the tragic loss of those nine lives; yet, surely, the errors made by Americans and their allies in Iraq and Afghanistan, the tragic deaths resulting from Turkey’s ongoing conflict with the Kurds, and certainly Iran’s killing and imprisonment of those in opposition to the regime should all earn equal or greater condemnation. So why do Israel’s forceful actions always seem to get disproportionate attention?

We have heard various explanations, including those of a liberal-left media hostile to Israel, ineffective public relations on behalf of Israel, and even a latent anti-Semitism that inspires the intensity of the reaction. Many of us, however, can still remember when Israel was one of the most admired countries in the world, a place young Europeans flocked to because she seemed to be building an egalitarian society and her kibbutzim were regarded as a hopeful social experiment. All that, however, was before Israel’s conquests in 1967, before a settlement movement that established some 400,000 people beyond her borders, before Israel became one of the most unequal societies in the developed world (just behind the U.S.). And it was certainly before Israel formed her current government, which seems to prefer holding the territory of greater Israel to pursuing any prospect of peace with the Palestinians.

Yet, we can all, I hope, understand Israeli frustrations, when the world seems to disregard Israel’s legitimate security concerns. Do Israel’s critics expect her to sit idly by when Iranian rockets and other armaments may be smuggled into neighboring Gaza? The problem is that it’s difficult to distinguish “legitimate security” from Israeli colonialism. Israel’s four-year blockade of Gaza has been far more than a narrow security operation directed against Hamas military strength; it has also been clearly aimed at the Gaza populace, in a failed attempt to undermine the Islamist regime. In that sense, it is seen as part of Israel’s continuing quest to dominate the Palestinian people.

The world cut Israel more slack when, under the leadership of Rabin and Peres, she seemed to be actively pursuing peace. Even after Sharon’s rather dubious withdrawal from Gaza (dubious because it was not negotiated with the Palestinians and was seen by its critics as a means to secure Israel’s hold on the West Bank), Israel could capitalize on this semblance of flexibility.

Today, it is impossible to credit Netanyahu’s government with any desire for peace, as in the past few days we read of the intent to destroy more homes in Arab East Jerusalem, and we heard from his foreign minister that the centrist Kadima Party cannot enter the government unless it accepts the principle of “transfer” – or as it is more commonly known, ethnic cleansing.
Perhaps the day will yet come when Israel is ready once again to pursue peace and negotiate with the Palestinians without, at the same time, conducting further settlement-building. At that point, some of Israel’s critics may be able to understand security arguments that are not entangled with the defence of colonialism. Israel’s real security does not improve with her constant resort to armed force rather than diplomacy or with maintaining her rule over the Palestinians. Yes, Israel lives in a dangerous neighborhood and can’t afford to lay down the sword, but she must always carry the olive branch in her other hand, hoping that the Palestinians will grasp it.

Government accepts academies should be subject to FOI Act

Schools minister Lord Hill of Oareford has confirmed that the government accepts academy schools should be public authorities for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act. In response to an amendment proposed by Lord Lucas during the committee stage of the Academies Bill, to add academy proprietors to Schedule 1 of the FOI Act, the minister said he supported the amendment in principle and promised to come back to the issue at report stage.
Moved by Lord Lucas

168: After Clause 8, insert the following new Clause-

"Academy proprietors: freedom of information

In Schedule 1 (public authorities) to the Freedom of Information Act 2000, after Part IV insert-

"Part IVA Academies
56A A qualifying Academy proprietor, within the meaning of section 8(2) of the Academies Act 2010, when exercising functions under that Act.""

Lord Lucas: My Lords, the coalition agreement pledges to review the Freedom of Information Act with a view to increasing its scope. This, the first legislative act of the coalition, seeks to reduce its scope. It should not.

Lord Hill of Oareford: My Lords, in Amendment 168 my noble friend proposes inserting a new clause that would amend the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to add academy proprietors to the list of public bodies covered by that Act. Having thought about this, and having come newly into the department, I think that he makes a very good point in his new clause. I can see no reason in principle why academy proprietors, in relation to their function of running academies under academy arrangements, should not be subject to the Freedom of Information Act in the same way as all other state-funded schools are.

I am also happy to confirm that this Government, like the last one, accept that academies are public authorities for the purposes of the Act. In principle, then, I am completely with my noble friend on the merits of his amendment. It also helps us to address some of the broader debate that we have had about consultation, where I accept the points that have been made from around the Committee. Making sure that information is available and that there is as much transparency as possible is part of the process of helping to overcome suspicion, so it will help in that respect as well. I undertake to consider the issue further. If my noble friend would be happy enough to withdraw his amendment, I will come back to the issue on Report.

Lord Lucas: My Lords, that is very cheering news at this time of night, I shall go straight off and have a whisky to celebrate. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

To Chicago, More For The Book


Finally, after a brutal month making the NYC Food Film Festival happen I'm back to blogging. Tomorrow, I head to Chicago to plan the 1st Annual Chicago Food Film Festival and eat more burgers for the book. Charlie Beinlich's is part of the plan for this week as well as 2 undisclosed others.

To Chicago, More For The Book


Finally, after a brutal month making the NYC Food Film Festival happen I'm back to blogging. Tomorrow, I head to Chicago to plan the 1st Annual Chicago Food Film Festival and eat more burgers for the book. Charlie Beinlich's is part of the plan for this week as well as 2 undisclosed others.

President Meets with Diverse Leaders on Immigration Reform

After meeting with immigration reform leaders, President Obama will make a major speech Thursday morning about immigration reform. - - Donna Poisl

Washington D.C. - On Monday, June 28, a diverse group of civil rights, labor, religious, and immigrant community leaders met with President Obama for a meaningful discussion on the effort to win comprehensive immigration reform. The following is a statement from Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum and Chair of the Reform Immigration FOR America:

“Today, we strongly requested for the President to assert his leadership and escalate his efforts to assure comprehensive immigration reform legislation is enacted in 2010. From our meeting, it is clear that the President is committed to comprehensive immigration reform and understands that Congressional action is needed urgently.
Click on the headline above to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.

Arizona's illegal immigrants departure affecting businesses

Many businesses are starting to suffer because of immigrants leaving the state. And I know of some businesses who are not able to hire skilled applicants when they refuse to move here. - - Donna Poisl

by Daniel González - The Arizona Republic

Luis Sanchez and Marlen Ramirez, undocumented immigrants from Mexico, packed up and moved to Pennsylvania this month, taking their three U.S. citizen children with them.

Many will cheer their departure, saying it's a sign that Arizona's new immigration law, which hasn't taken effect yet, is driving out illegal immigrants and potentially saving the state money. But not everyone is pleased over the exodus of Latinos, both legal and illegal, saying their flight from Arizona could hurt businesses, schools and neighborhoods.
Click on the headline above to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.

Philadelphia to bar immigration agents from arrest data

Concern over human rights has caused the city to change their policy. This will also let immigrants report crimes and emergencies without fears. - - Donna Poisl

By Michael Matza, Inquirer Staff Writer

Philadelphia is expected to end the arrangement that permits federal immigration agents to scrutinize the city's computerized list of arrests, including country of origin and other data, Everett Gillison, the deputy mayor for public safety, said Sunday.

Immigrant advocates say the year-old agreement between the city and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement service, known as ICE, has resulted in deportation proceedings against immigrants arrested on even minor charges. Under the agreement, ICE agents can routinely access the city's Preliminary Arraignment Reporting System (PARS). That agreement is up for renewal on Thursday.
Click on the headline above to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.

Young illegal immigrants get chance to learn, but not to earn

Another story showing why we need the DREAM Act. We need these kids to work and pay taxes and start businesses, especially after we educated them in our schools. - - Donna Poisl

By JESSICA MEYERS / The Dallas Morning News

Juan's room shows a life shaped by American education.

It's painted in the colors of Dallas' Thomas Jefferson High School, his new alma mater. Trophies and medals brag for him: top 10 percent of his class, captain of two sports teams, a district first-place finisher in track, an almost perfect SAT score, the only football player in band. He's a poster child of American schooling, with wishes to enter the military or teach English.
Click on the headline above to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.

Huge demand to live in U.S. part of illegal immigration problem

This article gives the background on our immigration policy and also explains what an immigrant must do to come here legally. - - Donna Poisl

by Erin Kelly - Republic Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - While the national spotlight is focused on illegal immigration, millions of people enter the United States legally each year on both a temporary and permanent basis.

But the demand to immigrate to the United States far outweighs the number of people that immigration laws allow to move here legally. Wait times can be years, compounding the problem and reducing opportunities for many more who desperately want to come to the United States.
Click on the headline above to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.

Fact or fiction? The myths and realities of illegal immigration

This long article lists all the beliefs about immigration and immigrants and gives the true facts about each one. Let's hope the immigrant haters will believe the facts. - - Donna Poisl

By Lee Davidson and Elaine Jarvik and Lois M. Collins and Chuck Gates, Deseret News

Maybe you've heard the debates on talk radio or seen the e-mail blasts, arriving with increasing urgency as people take sides over Arizona's new immigration law.

You can hardly turn on your computer without tripping over statistics like these: "Every day, illegal aliens murder 12 Americans" and "$200 billion a year in suppressed American wages are caused by illegal aliens."
Click on the headline above to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.

Denying citizenship for illegal immigrants' children is a bad idea

Our founding fathers put this in the Constitution, it has been debated before, regarding gypsy and Chinese babies at one time and again more recently. It is still a Constitutional Amendment, fortunately it is not easy to change the Constitution. - - Donna Poisl

By Edward Schumacher-Matos

They are called "anchor babies" -- the children born in the United States of illegal immigrant parents -- and pressure is growing to change the meaning of the 14th Amendment so as to deny them automatic citizenship.

Ninety-one members of Congress have signed on as co-sponsors of a bill to do just that. It was submitted in the House last year by Georgia Republican Nathan Deal. Backers of Arizona's harsh anti-immigrant measure are drafting legislation that would withhold birth certificates from these babies. Similar measures are being proposed in other states.
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Community Gardens, Food Co-ops, and Farmers Markets Provide an Oasis in ‘Food Deserts’

by Erica Hall, MA, Community Economic Development, Assistant Corporate Secretary/Senior Paralegal, NeighborWorks America

As part of her Let’s Move initiative to end childhood obesity, Michelle Obama said we must eliminate “food deserts” in this country. I couldn’t agree more.

Food deserts are low-income areas where full-service grocery stores are scarce and fast food chains are often plentiful. Access to healthy, affordable foods and beverages is limited, resulting in higher rates of obesity and diet-related diseases in residents.

As a community economic development (CED) practitioner, I am particularly passionate about the role community gardens, community supported agriculture, produce co-operatives, and farmers markets can play, not only in promoting a healthy lifestyle, and lifting community spirit and pride, but also creating opportunities for community economic development. Community food growing is also a source of satisfying labor, neighborhood improvement and allows for interaction with nature and the productive use of land.

I also understand that while supermarkets are anchors which bring economic development, supermarket development can take years. In the meantime, alternatives must be created to traditional supermarket development. I believe that if you can grow your own food while owning a stake in the business of food, it provides opportunities to promote entrepreneurship, ownership and microenterprise development.

In the NeighborWorks network, we see community gardens and farmers markets sprouting up all over the country. Take for example the Brooklyn Centre Community Orchard being planned in Cleveland, Ohio. This summer, residents hope to turn their Brooklyn Centre neighborhood, labeled a food desert, into a food oasis. A vacant expanse of land, which had fallen into disrepair and a magnet for crime and drugs, will be the site of the neighborhood’s first large-scale, resident-run community orchard.

Darren Hamm, sustainable housing specialist with Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland is leading this effort. Hamm, who is also president of the Brooklyn Centre Community Association, said that a course on neighborhood stabilization he took at the NeighborWorks Training Institute was his inspiration to develop the orchard.

In California, the NeighborWorks Homeownership Center of Sacramento was recently awarded a $20,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente to help create a farmer’s market in the Oak Park neighborhood they serve. The new Oak Park Farmer’s Market, which opened on May 15, improves access to affordable, high-quality fruits and vegetables in an area where just one supermarket exists. It is also a source of income for a diverse group of farmers, including smaller, local and immigrant farmers from the Sacramento area. The homeownership center worked in partnership with community residents, community garden advocates, backyard growers, and fresh produce sellers to launch the farmer’s market, and the group intends to make Oak Park the sustainable food center of the Sacramento Region.

Youth get excited about growing their own food too. In Worcester, Massachusetts, Oak Hill Community Development Corporation’s Charlie Buffone Community Garden is run entirely by neighborhood youth. The vegetable and fruit garden is cultivated with all organic materials and toxic chemicals are strictly prohibited. They give away the produce to neighborhood residents, including making fruit and vegetable baskets for senior citizen homes. Check out the website, which is also maintained entirely by the young volunteers. If you’re on Facebook, see photos of their garden.

I recently had the opportunity to complete my graduate work which involved obesity prevention among African Americans, while increasing access to fresh foods, green spaces and safe places for low income communities in Washington, D.C . I became involved in a novel approach to increase access to fresh produce and other healthy foods to two of the district’s poorest areas: Wards 7 and 8. Wards 7 and 8 (east of the Anacostia River) have the District's highest poverty and obesity rates and are home to large food deserts.

The project, called the DC Healthy Corner Store Program, sought to increase access to fresh produce and other healthy foods in low-income neighborhoods, and to increase small grocers’ capacity to sell healthy foods successfully. It is led by D.C. Hunger Solutions, with support and funding from the D.C. Department of Health, and in partnership with KAGRO (Korean American Grocers Association), community-based organizations, and small retailers in the city.

Please go to nw.org to learn more about this wonderful program, as well as the funding opportunities available for similar efforts through the Obama administration's $400 million Healthy Food Financing Initiative.

For more information about farmer’s markets, including funding, how to start one and where to locate them in your state, visit the USDA’s website.

More information about community gardens, including funding, locations, best practices and tips can be found at the American Community Garden Association’s website.

Amazing Video Details Mt. Shasta Climb

A few months back I posted a beautiful video that captured a seven day hike on the John Muir Trail. The video was filmed and edited by Ryan Commons, and at 40 minutes in length, it was a spectacular look at one of the best hikes in North America, if not the world.

Ryan has returned with another amazing video, this time offering us a wonderful look at what it takes to climb Mt. Shasta, the 14,179 foot tall snow capped volcanic peak located in California's Cascade Mountains. This video is 20 minutes long and is amazing not only for the great scenery, but the practical information you can gain from watching it. If you're planning a trip up Shasta, or want insights into mountaineering in general, you'll enjoy this video for sure.


Summiting the Volcano, Mt. Shasta California from Ryan Commons on Vimeo.

Share Your Gone Google Story

Earlier this month we launched the Go Google cloud calculator, and we’re excited that so many of you have already taken a few minutes to discover how Google Apps can benefit your organization. Many of you have shared the results of your calculations and added your organization to our community map – and we’ve loved your enthusiasm about the time and money that can be saved by going Google.

As a token of our appreciation, we’re giving away limited-edition Gone Google tote bags (made from material recycled from our billboards) to people who share their Gone Google stories.

Just tell us how your company has gone Google, and include a link to your poster from the cloud calculator in this form. (Hint: when you create your Gone Google poster, you can just copy and paste the unique URL of the PDF.) We’ll send you a tote bag and may even highlight your story on the Google Enterprise blog.

*And our lawyers ask us to tell you that in sharing your story, you are giving Google permission to use it for marketing purposes, and the "giveaway offer is void where prohibited and valid only while supplies last" — so hurry!

Posted by Ashley Chandler, Google Enterprise team

Tour Divide Update: Mathew Lee Wins Again!

The 2010 Tour Divide is still in full swing, but it appears that we have our first rider to cross the finish line today, with former champ Matthew Lee claiming victory once again. The details are still a bit sketchy at this point, and the Tour's blog is still being updated, but it seems that Lee reached Antelope Wells, NM sometime this morning.

The Tour Divide is the longest mountain bike race in the world, beginning in Banff, Alberta, Canada and running the length of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, a distance of about 2745 miles. This year's race began back on June 11, and now 19 days later, the first rider is home. While we still don't have Matthew's official time, you can quickly figure out that he had to average roughly 145 miles per day to complete the race this quickly. That's riding on trail that varies from single track to jeep roads, and stretches through some extremely wild areas and up and down mountain passes. Riders gain nearly 200,000 feet of altitude throughout the length of the course.

Apparently the victory wasn't assured for Lee even as recently as yesterday when he was sitting in a McDonald's in Silver City, enjoying a tasty burger while keeping an eye on his bike. Much to his surprise, someone walked up to his ride, looked him directly in the eye, then promptly hopped on and took it for a spin. A chase ensued, and the offender was eventually caught, and the bike returned to Lee, who was able to continue on his merry way. Turns out, not even a thief can keep him from winning the TD!

Congrats to Matthew on another fantastic ride! And what does he get for his big win? Absolutely nothing! Riders in the Tour Divide do it just for the fun of it, which seems to make it even better.

The World Tri: A 12,000 Mile Long Triathlon


Now here is a very cool expedition for you. Adventurer Charlie Wittmack is setting out on what he calls his "World Tri" today, which will incorporate all the elements of a standard triathlon, and in the same order, but on a much larger scale.


Charlie will begin in London, where he'll swim down the River Thames, then across the English Channel to France. Once safely on the other side of the Channel, he'll get on his bike and ride to Calcutta, India, where he'll then proceed on foot to Nepal, up the Khumbu Valley, and attempt to climb Mt. Everest. All told, the journey is expected to cover more than 12,000 miles through 13 countries, over the span of about 11 months. If all goes as expected, he'll be making a summit bid on Everest in May of next year. 


Wittmack is no stranger to adventurous pursuits. He successfully climbed Everest back in 2003, and attempted to swim across the English Channel back in 2008. On that attempt he had to be pulled from the water mid-swim due to the cold conditions. This time he is wearing a wetsuit to help keep him warm on his swim. 


The World Tri isn't just about the adventure however, as Charlie is on the expedition to help raise awareness of a couple of causes in the Health and Education area. The first of those causes is the incredible maternal mortality rate in Nepal, where a woman is 100 times more like to die during childbirth than here in the U.S. When the expedition reaches Kathmandu, a team of doctors and students will provide clinics to help educate local women on steps the can take to be safer and more healthy. In the field of Education, Charlie is working with the Adventure Institute to develop a year long curriculum program to help bring learning communities together, allowing students and educators to share in the experience.


Charlie, along with his wife and son, let out for the London today, and he is expected to begin his swim in the River Thames tomorrow. Hopefully everything will go well, and he'll complete the swim leg of his triathlon without issue. If not, he says he'll continue on no matter what, but it shouldn't be too long before he's on his bike and peddling his way toward India. 

Brown University has gone Google

From time to time we invite guests to blog about initiatives of interest, and are very pleased to have Geoff Greene join us here. Geoff is the Director of IT Support Services at Brown University, and here he shares an update on their campus-wide migration to Google Apps for Education for all students, staff and faculty. - Ed.

About a year ago we put our 6,000 undergraduate students on Google Apps. The results were phenomenal: people were happy, they were productive, they were excited...and then some people got jealous. Our faculty and staff members started coming to us asking “When do we get to go Google?” Turns out they also wanted access to the same tools to better connect and engage with students and with each other.

We thought about it for a bit and realized that they had a point. So we decided to bring the entire Brown University community together—faculty, staff, medical and grad students—with a common set of tools: Google Apps for Education. This summer, our Computing & Information Services team is in the process of migrating everyone to our new GoogleApps@Brown system. The positive experience our undergrads have had using the Apps suite helped our Provost David Kertzer decide that the change would bring significant benefits and cost savings to the university as a whole. In fact, we predict this change could save us somewhere around $1 million each year.

Our students were really the ones that led us down the Google path. They knew these tools would work because they already used them in their non-school lives. We also decided to go this direction because of the functionalities that we believe will bring our university together, namely tools like collaborative documents, better email (with nearly 30 times the storage space we had with our previous system!) and video chat.

The icing on the cake is that we signed a zero dollar contract for all these top-notch tools. But it’s not just about saving money—it’s also about investing in our university’s future. Google Apps helps us work better together, and we can feel the excitement building on campus as a result. Here’s a little glimpse:


Since some faculty and staff members aren’t as familiar with the new tools just yet, we also hosted a “roadshow” to spread the word and gear up training sessions tailored for each campus group or department. Our training efforts are robust (you can check it out at training.brown.edu) and we have Google Guides—enthusiastic staff and student volunteers—helping their peers with the transition. We feel confident that once people start using these tools together, they’ll never look back.

Posted by Geoff Greene, Brown University Computing & Information Services

Serious Racial Problems at Department of the Interior

Statement by Blacks in Government (BIG)

Dept of Interior Emergency Meeting Requested to Address EEOC & Judge’s Findings

From Bureau of Ocean Energy to U.S. Fish and Wildlife the U.S. Department of the Interior's Mismanagement Exacerbated by Institutionalized Favoritism

With the completion this month of the review of the U.S. Department of Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC], dated June 6, 2010 the extent of human resource mismanagement at the Department has been further documented. Taking sharp issue with current Interior policies, EEOC has found continued under representation of minorities and policies that re-enforce ‘personality driven’ human resource management.

The Blacks In Government Interior Chapter [BIG] points to its recent White Paper findings as further collaboration of this review showing a Department wide problem driving diversity and diversity of opinion out of management, out of employment and delivering bad public policy decisions adversely affecting all Americans. BIG sees the recent oversight failures contributing to the Gulf oil spill crisis as a direct consequence of ‘good old boys’ out of touch with commonly held American values.

Citing a 1948 Executive Order by President Harry S. Truman; the 1964 Civil Rights Act; the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972; and President Carter’s Reorganization Plan mandating the same standards for Federal employment as those in the private sector, EEOC has issued a stinging rebuke to current Interior diversity practices at the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service. Secretary Salazar was hand delivered the BIG White Paper report documenting many of these concerns last fall.

BIG leadership is deeply concerned that Secretary Salazar has not appointed a new point person on workforce diversity since Robert Stanton left that role last fall. It has been filled by an ‘acting director’ for half a year. Equally disturbing, senior Interior staff seem to be out of touch with the sensitivity and urgency of stopping the flow of talent out of the organization and leaving weak management in place over critical American assets, like oil industry oversight.

Despite assurances from the department, not a single new accountability standard to increase diversity has been implemented or discussed with BIG’s leadership. The accountability standards currently in place are the same as those in place as a ‘check off’ on a form.
As further confirmation of inaction by key personnel, BIG points to the case of Stewart v. Department of the Interior where “intentional race discrimination” was found at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement on May 8 of last year.

The Department quickly issued a final order on June 17, 2009 adopting remedies ordered by the EEOC’s Administrative Judge Martin. In that finding “AJ Martin strongly encouraged the Agency to institute a panel selection system which requires the full complement of all protected classes be represented, for all selections, regardless of grades…to help ensure the absence of discrimination in future selections and provide evidence of the Agency’s proactive and preventive measures.” As of today, the Agency continues to operate status quo, not in compliance.

The White Paper

Everest Base Camp Trek: The Gear!

Frequent readers of my blog know that I enjoy testing and writing about new gear, which is why today's post on Gadling about my trek to Everest Base Camp was an enjoyable one to write. The story offers some information on the gear that you'll want to take with you on the trek, offering up some insights and suggestions on what I found worked for me.

I know that my audience here on the Adventure Blog is far more outdoor/adventure oriented than the usual Gadling crowd, and the article was written with that in mind. Much of what I wrote there will likely come across as basic info for many of you, but you might find some useful stuff none the less. I even recommend some specific gear that I took that worked out very well for me.

Selecting the proper gear for the trek isn't always an easy thing to do. As I mentioned in the article, after you spend thousands of dollars on the trip, throwing airfare into the mix as well, you may look to cut corners on your equipment in an effort to save some cash. In theory, that sounds like a good idea, but if you end up with sub-par gear, you'll probably regret it later. For instance, the example I use in the story is that a number of my fellow trekkers ignored the suggestions for bringing 4-season sleeping bags and ended up paying for it. We were only a day or two into the trek when they began asking for extra blankets to pile on at night, as the teahouses, which remain largely unheated outside of the common room, can get quite cold over night.

I aslo note that purchasing the gear for the trek can add up very quickly, but of course if you buy quality gear, it'll last you for many trips, and will be an investment on future adventures. Similarly, many of us already have full gear closets, so we only need to pick up an item or two here and there before we go.

The real message I was trying to convey however is that your gear can have a direct impact on how much you enjoy the trip and how challenging it is to complete. A bad pair of boots, for example, can make life on the trail a living hell. The lesson is to choose wisely, shop for bargains, but get good quality stuff. Saving a few bucks now is asking for trouble later.

Is There Life After Birth?

[Some time ago I was asked by the Mexican actor, Diego Luna, to write an analysis of his first film as director, Abel, which won an award at the Sundance Festival and was recently released in Mexico. The essay was subsequently published in a book on the film, also entitled Abel. Text as follows:]

It is generally accepted that the author of any creative work is only half conscious of what he or she is doing. Indeed, without this sort of "vagueness," or indeterminacy, multiple interpretations of a novel, poem, or screenplay--which are the norm--would not be possible. And if the author objects, says, "but that's not what I meant," it isn't completely arrogant for the critic to reply, "no--at least not consciously." So let me put aside any false modesty here and say what I think this strange and remarkable film is "really" about.

Although it is not as popular today as it was forty years ago (give or take), there is a mode of treating psychological disturbances known as "family systems therapy," in which the therapist regards the pathology displayed by an individual as symptomatic of a larger problem--usually, a secret--that is woven into the fabric of the person's familial relationships. Within the family, there is an unspoken agreement that this thing, whatever it is, will never be mentioned. What the supposedly disturbed individual--say, a sixteen-year-old boy--is trying to do when he steals a car and gets caught, is bring attention to the family secret; to flush it out. (In psychological jargon this is called "acting out.") Therapy that focuses only on the adolescent and his criminal activity--makes him the "Identified Patient," so to speak--is missing the boat, on this interpretation. In truth, the kid is a healing agent, trying to expose the rot in the system, if only the family would be willing to stop playing an elaborate game of self-deception. In fact, if the son cleans up his act, stops stealing cars, and starts getting good grades in school, what happens? The fifteen-year-old daughter, previously a paragon of virtue, suddenly shows up pregnant. If she has the baby, gives it up for adoption, stops sleeping around, and manages to work out a healthy adolescent life, the father, amazingly enough, starts to drink. If he then goes to Alcoholics Anonymous and quits drinking, the mother becomes schizophrenic and is committed to a mental institution. Or perhaps hangs herself. You get the idea. The one thing the family does not want to do is address the Big Secret, the pathology that lies underneath the pathology. So like Hegel's zeitgeist, the ghost, the energy, keeps moving from person to person, making it look as though each successive "Identified Patient" is the problem, when it is actually the family dynamic that is the real problem.

In many ways, Abel is a quintessentially Mexican film. As a foreigner who has lived in Mexico for four years now, and has been visiting the place for more than thirty, I have been acutely aware of the juxtaposition of socioeconomic poverty and sensual intensity. In keeping with this, the action of the film takes place in a shabby, rundown area of an unnamed city (in fact, Aguascalientes), and this contrasts sharply with the exquisite photography of the film, which gives the movie an incredible texture, at once tactile and visual. But beyond that, the theme seems universal, for the story can very well be analyzed in terms of family systems therapy. In fact, what came to mind for me when I was watching it was a British tale of family dysfunction written around four hundred years ago--King Lear, by William Shakespeare--and a short story written nearly fifty years ago by the Israeli writer A.B. Yehoshua, "Facing the Forests." In all three of these works--the film, the play, the story--the Identified Patient is depressed/autistic (the child in Abel), supposedly mad (the Fool in Lear), or unable to speak (an old Arab who had his tongue cut out). In each case, their particular version of silence is witness to the Big Secret, and represents it metaphorically.

Lear
Interested in flattery, the king commits a fatal error, believing the false declarations of love given to him by his two eldest daughters, Goneril and Regan, and failing to realize that it is his youngest, Cordelia, who really loves him for who he is. Worse, he disowns her for not flattering him. Meanwhile, the Fool keeps babbling his "nonsense," which is actually insight into what is really going on, if only Lear would listen. Instead, the king eventually goes mad; at that point, the Fool disappears--he is no longer needed. But had Lear come to terms with the Big Secret, confronted the family dynamic, the Fool would not have been needed in the first place, and the insanity never have happened. (Also, there would have been no play!) Unfortunately, as any family systems therapist can tell you, health is the rare exception to the rule, which can be summarized as, "Let the charade continue!"

Facing the Forests
Here, the "family" is Israel/Palestine, and the "therapist" is the author of the story, who is trying to heal his society. Yehoshua's novella is about a graduate student in history who takes a job with the forest service, his assignment being to guard against forest fires. The forest consists of trees planted since 1948 to celebrate the state of Israel, most of them being paid for by American Jews. The family mythology, which is partly true, is one of pioneers in a new land, Holocaust survivors determined to make the Zionist dream a reality. The Big Secret is that in the process of doing that, 700,000 Palestinian Arabs, some deliberately and some as an accidental by-product of war, were forced to flee their homes and their land. In Yehoshua's story (and in reality as well, on more than one occasion), an Arab village was bulldozed to make way for the newly planted forest of pine trees. Flitting between the slender pines, a sort of caretaker and his daughter inhabit the premises, haunt them, one might say, like ghosts. But as I already indicated, the old Arab cannot speak--he was apparently tortured, had his tongue cut out. With a little research, the history student pieces together what happened to the village, and manages to communicate with the old Arab about it through gestures. By this time, however, the Arab has had it, and burns down the forest in revenge. The police arrest him and interrogate him, asking him the same questions over and over again, and the student says to himself: “A foul stench rises from the burnt forest, as though a huge carcass were rotting away all around them. The interrogation gains momentum. A big bore. What did he see, what did he hear, what did he do. It’s insulting, this insistence upon the tangible—as though that were the main point, as though there weren’t some idea involved here.”

But the student remains silent. Neither he nor anybody else is going to say out loud what the main point, the large, intangible idea, is, because to do that would blow the lid on the family mythology. Instead of dealing with its past, and the Big Secret, Israel prefers to symbolically make this old Arab without a voice the Identified Patient. That was in 1963, a mere fifteen years after the War of Independence (or the Catastrophe, if you are talking to an Arab). Nearly fifty years later, and despite a growing literature by a number of very talented revisionist historians, the majority of Israelis (judging from how they have voted in recent elections) still can't seem to fathom the violence and "rebelliousness" of these "wayward" Palestinian "children," who could solve the whole problem of the Middle East if they just "behaved themselves" and stopped acting "irrationally." (I've actually heard Israelis talk in these terms.) Yehoshua was trying to shine some light on the Big Secret, but this is largely taboo in Israeli society, and certainly was in 1963. For the most part, then, the charade continues.

Abel
On to the film. The plot is something like this: Two years ago, Anselmo, the father in this particular family drama, declared he was going to the U.S. to work, and left. His eight-year-old son, Abel, went into a deep depression as a result and had to be hospitalized. Two years later, his doctor believes he is ready to come home, even though he displays the characteristics of an autistic child. So he returns home, and everyone--mother, sister, brother--sort of walks on eggshells around him, as the doctor has indicated that Abel is not to be upset in any way. The problem is that his behavior becomes increasingly erratic, as he seems to think he is the father of the family and to act accordingly. He puts a ring on his mother's finger, and starts sleeping in her bed. He wears his father's clothes. He also "drops" his autism and begins to talk, mostly giving orders to the other members of the family. He signs his sister's report card from school, and checks her homework. Rather creepy, but everyone plays along with it.

Out of the blue, Anselmo comes back home; but before he can re-assert his role as father, Cecilia, Abel's mother, tells the child that this is her cousin. Soon Anselmo is playing along with this farce as well, even though he (rightly) regards the situation as nuts. By chance, the daughter examines the photographs in her father's digital camera, only to discover that he has another wife (or perhaps it is a girlfriend) and a child by her. It turns out he was only in the United States for two months; the rest of the time he was living a completely separate family life some distance away in the town of Saltillo. One night during this time, i.e. the time of Anselmo's return, Abel climbs on top of his mother and pretends he is having sex with her, then pretends to smoke a post-coital cigarette. The next morning he announces to the family that he and Cecilia have had sex, and that she is pregnant. For Anselmo, this is the last straw, and he confronts Abel with the fact that he is his father. Abel spins out of control and deliberately injures himself; in general, all hell breaks loose. Undaunted, Anselmo finds Abel's doctor and signs him back into the hospital in Mexico City. We then see Anselmo in his truck on the road back to Saltillo, abandoning the family once again, and Cecilia visiting Abel in the hospital, where he is emotionally vacant and has returned to his autistic behavior.

What in the world?

If we try to decode this bizarre tale by means of family systems therapy, it seems fairly obvious that the family mythology in this case is that there actually is a family. But the truth, the Big Secret, is that the father has another family, and doesn't really give a damn about this one. He returns momentarily, and claims to be the father of this family, which he is biologically; but the truth is that he has no legitimacy. On some level, Abel knows all this, in the uncanny way that children typically do. And so, in a parody of the family lie, he takes over the function of the father. He is not quite acting; he really seems to believe it. And yet it is a charade, one that has two crucial systemic functions. First, it cancels out the abandonment: if the family now has a father, even if it is Abel himself, then Abel has not been abandoned and in fact feels (and acts) healthy and strong, for his world has been sewn back together. He is alive as the "father," dead as the abandoned son. Second, as the Identified Patient, Abel is unconsciously trying to send a signal to the family that this situation is fucked up beyond belief; in a word, he's trying to repair the mess in some weird sort of way. Yet the family dynamic, as before, is to pretend that nothing is amiss, or more precisely, that it is only Abel that is the problem. The "crazy" behavior of the child is in fact a type of intuitive wisdom, for it is the entire situation that is crazy. Focusing on Abel's apparent insanity, and not willing (or able) to admit that if anyone precipitated this situation it was himself, Anselmo blows the whistle and has Abel sent back to the hospital. And then, asshole that he is, he abandons the boy, and the family, as he did two years before. So this "solution" solves nothing, because the Big Secret, the fact that this family is in no way a family, never gets dealt with. Thus we are back to Square One, with Anselmo having gone AWOL and the kid in the hospital, once again emotionally dead. As in the case of the hypothetical family I described earlier, or the family of King Lear, or the "family" of Israel/Palestine, the temptation to focus on the Identified Patient rather than get to the heart of the matter is too powerful to resist, because getting to the heart of the matter is inevitably terrifying. Not to put too fine a point on it, Abel is nothing less than a work of genius. It is at once a Mexican tragedy, a Shakespearean tragedy, a Middle Eastern tragedy, and a universal tragedy, which can be summarized in the words of the British poet W.H. Auden: "We would rather be ruined than changed." Great stories generally don't have happy endings, what can I tell you.


©Morris Berman, 2010

Google Apps Marketplace highlights, 6/29/2010

Editor's note: This is the latest in a series of posts on new apps in the Google Apps Marketplace – things that have caught our eye here at Google. We’ll do this every few weeks or as we see things that we'd like to share. Look for the label "marketplace highlights" and subscribe to the series if you'd like to stay tuned.

Businesses that use Google Apps not only get access to Google's applications, they also get easy access to some of the best business apps on the web through the Google Apps Marketplace. These Marketplace apps are easy to try and buy, and integrate with Google Apps "out of the box," making it even easier for businesses to run more of their systems in the cloud.

You can learn more about the Marketplace and watch a short video on how it works here.

Get Satisfaction – Customer communities
Get Satisfaction is a social platform that helps businesses and organizations create customer communities that facilitate conversations, reduce support costs, and gather real-time market feedback.
  • Build better customer relationships
  • Reduce support costs
  • Collect valuable market data
Jobscore – Recruiting and applicant tracking
JobScore is a "hiring headquarters" where your entire team can securely see and search your jobs, resumes & feedback.
  • Free applicant tracking system and careers site
  • Easily post to multiple job boards with one click
  • Unlimited users = more referrals & better feedback
Concur Breeze – Expense Reports
Concur Breeze is designed specifically to help small businesses take the hassle out of expense reporting, enabling employees to spend more time making on productive work.
  • Expense reports created from credit card charges
  • Built-in best practice setup
  • 30-day free trial
gTrax – Timesheets
gTrax is an integrated tool for recording and reporting on your employees time usage on a per project basis.
  • Identify and apply resources to projects
  • Explore employees' activities
  • Create time budgets and monitor progress
Surveymonkey - Online Surveys
Quickly and easily gather the insights you need to move your business forward.
  • Powerful yet simple survey creation
  • Fast & flexible response gathering
  • Intelligent reporting & analysis
Posted by Scott McMullan, Google Apps Partner Lead, Google Enterprise
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