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  • Halalan 2010 Thread 12

    Post away folks! :colgate:

    Link to Thread 11 in the Archives. :okay:

  • Breast Reduction Is Usually Performed For Relief Of Medical Or Physical Pain

    A breast reduction, in contrast to a breast lift procedure, is typically performed for relief of physical or medical problems that are caused by the weight of one’s excessively large breasts. Back and neck pain, breathing problems, and skin rashes are some of the medical conditions that are frequently associated with large breasts. Many women who need this plastic surgery procedure feel an extreme sense of self consciousness secondary to the large size of their breasts. Breast reduction, technically called a reduction mammoplasty, is created to alleviate all of these problems. The procedure involves the removal of fat, skin, and breast tissue from the breasts thereby creating a lighter, smaller, and firmer structure. Also, if the size of the areola is excessive, this may be corrected during the procedure.

  • Mediterranean/Tuscan Homes

  • Virginia Supportive Housing: Public Relations Internship

    Description of Organization

    Founded in 1988, Virginia Supportive Housing (VSH) transforms lives & communities by providing permanent solutions to homelessness. VSH is the only not-for-profit organization in Central Virginia that provides permanent rental housing integrated with appropriate levels of support services to very low-income homeless individuals and families and those with disabilities. 90% of the people the organization serves do not return to homelessness.

    General Intern Responsibilities:

    Newsletters:

    • Maintain distribution list for quarterly printed newsletter
    • Manage production calendar for printed newsletter (collect feature items, compose and edit content, determine priority & placement of items, collect accompanying photos, communicate with graphic design agency, circulate drafts, etc)
    • Maintain distribution list for monthly e-newsletter
    • Manage production calendar for e-newsletter (collect feature items, compose and edit content, determine priority & placement of items, collect accompanying photos, communicate with graphic design agency, circulate drafts, etc)
    • Interview clients and draft Stories of Hope plus accompanying photos (obtain privacy releases)

    Web site/Blog/Social Media:

    • Manage production calendar for weekly blog postings (send reminders to assigned staff person, collect and edit drafts, upload postings, insert appropriate links & tags, etc)
    • Create an archive of blog templates Update & monitor VSH Facebook page
    • Update web site as needed

    Press Releases:

    • Compose, edit, and finalize press releases
    • Create an archive of press release templates
    • Other duties as assigned

    Intern Qualifications

    • Senior preferred, but Juniors will also be considered
    • Major in Mass Communications/Marketing/PR
    • Excellent oral and written communication skills
    • Experience with all standard Office programs (Word, Excel, etc)
    • Experience with use of photography in communication vehicles
    • Experience designing & compiling newsletters
    • Knowledge of social media
    • Knowledge of Constant Contact a plus
    • Experience with HTML a plus
    • Proactive/self-starter
    • Ability to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines
    • Strong motivation to work in the non-profit sector
    • Awareness of issues concerning homelessness a plus
    • Preference will be given to candidates who own a vehicle*

    *Some travel to VSH properties and programs in Richmond, Petersburg, and South Hampton Roads (with VSH or without staff) may be necessary. Mileage will be reimbursed.

    Additional Information:

    • This internship is available during both the spring & fall semesters as well as during the summer.
    • The minimum time commitment is 16-20 hours per week (4 hours per day x 4 or 5 days per week).
    • The maximum commitment is 40 hours per week (summer semester only).
    • This internship is an unpaid opportunity that meets all academic requirements for the MASC 493 Fieldwork Internship.

    Location:

    The main headquarters of Virginia Supportive Housing is located at 1010 N. Thompson Street in the fan, approximately three miles from the VCU campus.

    Contact:

    Interested individuals should direct requests for more information, internship applications, and deadlines to:

    Alison Jones-Nassar, Volunteer & Internship Program Coordinator
    Virginia Supportive Housing
    1010 N. Thompson St.
    Richmond VA

    Phone: 804-836-1061
    E-mail: [email protected]
    Web site: www.virginiasupportivehousing.org

  • Fantasy Atherton line Metrolink conversion, with a couple of other possible expansions

    Ive been looking at maps and thinking how could North and Western areas of Wigan best be served by any metrolink tram/train, places like Newtown, Shevington, Orrell, Pemberton, Standish Lower Ground, Shevington, Shevington vale, Shevington Moor, Standish. And of course the places along the Atherton line. And ive finally decided to put my money where my mouth is and draw some maps. Trams would be every 15 minutes Between Wigan and Lancashire and every 10 minutes on the Phase 2. Between Wigan and Manchester the Services would be between 6-10 minutes via the differing routes.

    Firstly we start in Southport, this part of the line is totally unchanged heavy rail.

    Next we get to Burscough, this will be a major change, a new interchange is created where previously there had been two stations, one for the Southport-Wigan and one for the Ormskirk-Preston there is now one station, a junction is created so that trains can access the two lines where previously there was only a crossroad junction, there was a former junction here and the allignment still exists, the rails are reinstated. The terminus of the Wigan line is here allowing continued access to Southport (by changing) but also a new access for Ormskirk and Preston. This also increases the possible heavy rail services greatly. From here on the Southport line is converted to Metrolink.

    Here Hoscar station is removed, only 2000 people a year use it, about the same as the Bury line stop being removed. Parbold station remains.

    Phase 1
    Here we come to Appley Bridge, the village straddles both halves of the Lancashire/GM border, the Rail Stations actually on the Lancashire side but is the last GMPTE rail station on the line at present. This station will remain. Next we come to Gathurst station which is the one used by most Shevington residents, as you can see its a bit of a trek. This station will remain in phase 1 but would be removed in a phase 2.

    Phase 2 (Orange)
    The line would deviate across brownfield land into Shevington Vale where it would follow existing road there would be a stop in the centre. It leaves via a existing road which becomes a dirt track to the corner of the striped field, here it has two options, running on new allignment either side of the tree line. A new overpass of the M6 is required here. It then enters Shevington through a dead end road and runs through it out to the north, it presently has a large central reservation so I think the road can take it without too much traffic impact. As it leaves it enters countryside the road may need to be widened slightly. There would be a Shevington stop but I have no preference for where it would be.

    Here we Diverge, for Phase 1 its a simple dash into the town centre, the only alteration will be that the line will no longer cross the Douglas at its original point, instead making a quick diversion to allow for a Stadium and Sports Centre stop, this I think should be on a Viaduct to make best use of the space as well as make the trop over the water easier. Across a new Viaduct over the Douglas and Canal then quickly dive down again to join its original allignment, the land for this is currently light industrial not unlike that around Cornbrook and a viaduct wont be unsightly or difficult to fit in. There will be a new stop for Standish Lower Ground too, (though a bit of a walk) as well as the industrial estate.

    Back to Phase 2, We Pick up again in Shevington, this section is entirely on road, Between Shevington and Standish the road can easily be widened. As it enters Standish this section is extremley congested at peak times, its my hope this line can alleviate as much as 30% of traffic along this road at peak times. Theres several bus routes along this road between Wigan and Chorley, its got a partial bus lane on one side and at junctions that the trams could use, they would have right of way at junctions. Near the bottom of the map it crosses the WCML where Boars head station used to be, this used to be the primary rail station for this area. This is a potential choke point as 3 main roads meet to cross a narrowish bridge, theirs a mini roundabout thats a ridiculously tight struggle for buses to avoid hitting the bridge sides. The bridge would have to be widened but would be a great benefit for other traffic as well. Stops spread out along the route where trams would pull into on one side allowing traffic to flow past if needed.

    Incidentally the old trams (Horse, Steam and Electric) that ran in Wigan till the 30’s used this road all the way into the centre as I am going to do, So it has Pedigree, its also why the road is wide enough to squeeze three lanes but until the recent bus lane was added was only two very wide lanes.

    Continuing again, I imagine looking at the curve that at some point the orginal rail crossing must have been demolished and a short stretch of narrower road was replaced, you can see how the allignment of the road picks up on the other side, but anyway back to route! The first stop here was a former special school which is now land available for development, theirs also been a lot of flats built in this area since the photo was taken which doesnt show. Since this is council owned land its easily available for widening of this short road stretch as well as an offroad stop similar to eccles line if so desired. The second stop is just before a very large junction known as the Cherry Gardens, if you know Wigan even in the slightest you will know this location.

    Here I had a dillema, two perfectly good routes to the Town centre to choose from, Trams used to run along both routes.

    Turning left would allow the passing of the college buildings as well as the park and would probably be an easier route, the roads 4 lanes wide as well and could accomadate an island platform which would make crossing the road for pedestrians easier as theirs currently no crossing. It would join into the town centre near the existing bus station being a great interchange location easily connect to the existing allignment.

    The alternative ive illustrated allows the passing of the Hospital (which may be of greater social worth) as well as presenting the opportunity for an actual central town centre stop on street. Its also a wide road for most of the route It would be a more difficult route, steeper and greater conflict with pedestrians. Its the route I favour personally but on practical terms I think it may be inferior. It also requires the passing through of the Job Centre Carpark to return to the original allignment

    Now you may have noticed on the previous slide the conflict around the Wigan Stations, I hope ultimatley that we would have a combined rail station, Metrolink and a bus interchange on two levels (Below road Metrolink, Viaduct (and Main station) with Bus interchange at ground level), but to make do until that happens and to resolve the conflicting lines I have made the following changes:

    Wigan Wallgate becomes Metrolink only, after passing under WCML as present it rises over Douglas and Canal to the Robin Park viaduct station.
    From Wallgate to Atherton line seperating over Bolton line at this point a new set of tracks is laid making use of the space to provide side by side running in the existing allignment. Ince station is now metrolink only, the heavy Rail line no longer stops (not that it did often anyway)

    The other Wallgate services now use North Western., its 4 platforms and 3 bay platforms now become 6 through platforms allowing the WCML to remain segregated from local services and meaning services no longer need to terminate and unload passengers at a bay platform, go turn around, then approach from the bay platform on the opposite side and pick the same passengers up again 20 minutes later. Another large improvement in heavy rail services gained just from expanding the station through platforms.

    Ive also possibly identified an intact former rail allignment (green) that could give Leigh a service, more on the next image.

    Here you can see The orginal Atherton route (Black) as well as a route making use of a former allignment (green), they mirror each other pretty closley so may not be worth having both lines, or possibly a 12 minute service on each.

    Now heres my find, combining the former allignment you now have a perfect spur into Leigh centre, this is the route being used by the Guided bus for Leigh-Tyldsley, but then it returns to normal manchester bus corridors.

    Back to the mirroring lines as they approach Salford, the former allignment seems to offer marginally better stop locations and again their so close together that it may be difficult to justify both. Now I reach Salford im unsure what to do, its possible that their may be a way (though unlikley) for the southern line to connect to the Eccles line only a short distance away, if so then here might be a good place for an interchange between the two lines on the edge.

    Into Saford, Moorside and Swinton can be joined by two more stops near Pendlebury and Irlams’o’th’Height.

    Into Manchester, Again can add another stop, need some additional rails between Salford and Central laid down, there is room. But then once at Central, so many difficult choices. Some possible Ideas ive had are:

    GREEN: Leave the viaduct just after Central, street running round behind Victoria and from behind wither joining up with existing allignments or continuing on to form a 3rd city centre crossing to Piccadilly through the North of the city Centre.

    BLUE: Leave at Crescent

    YELLOW: Leave and provide a street running Cheetham service

    BROWN: Extend Victoria to create a new bay platform on the now empty viaduct, its simple and cheap but disjointed to existing Metrolink and prevents through running of network.

    PINK: Simple but expensive, begin ascending before Crescent, have a raised Crescent Metrolink platform, then viaduct following or possibly (built over) the road to connect to Eccles line near the Quays. Would be great for providing that missing North-South Salford link, also would prevent people from having to travel into Victoria then through the whole centre to travel back out to the Quays and vice versa.

  • Palácio olímpico.250 metros

    Palácio olímpico.

    250 metros
    80 andares

    Hotel para os chefes de estado,organizadores das olimpíadas durante as olimpíadas e
    Pessoas convidados.

    Depois vai servir como hotel para grandes eventos

    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1-rRWvoxLo…olimpico+5.png

    http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1-rRWvoxLo…olimpico+4.png

    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1-rRWvoxLo…olimpico+3.png

    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1-rRWvoxLo…olimpico+2.png
    Espero que dostem

    Em breve torre digital (Coréia do Sul)

  • FIAT shows electric version of its iconic 500

    FIAT shows electric version of its iconic 500

    Fiat used the 2010 Detroit International Motor Show to reveal an all-electric version of its award-winning Fiat 500. Already one of the most economical and low emission vehicles on the road, the Fiat 500 BEV goes one step further, but one that with its four seats and clever controls is as practical as it is easy to use. Fiat says that the 500 BEV is a technology test bed for future models and is keeping as quiet as an electric car about what exactly that advanced technology is…

    Tags: ,
    ,

    Related Articles:


  • Rustic/Mountain Homes

  • Can’t Innovate? Litigate! Kodak Goes After Apple, RIM For Patent Infringement In Both Courts And ITC

    We actually had some high hopes for Kodak not to go down this road, as it had shown some desire to actually focus on innovation, rather than going the litigation route, but apparently that wasn’t working. As a bunch of you have sent in, Kodak has decided to go after both Apple and RIM for patent infringement — and like so many these days, it’s going for a double dip by filing a lawsuit in the courts and separately using the ITC loophole as well. How often do we see this? A company with a legacy business that is under threat of innovation… and it suddenly starts focusing on patent lawsuits rather than concentrating on actually adapting. Sure, it can try to do both at once, but it’s rare to see that happen. Once the company breaks out the patent lawsuits, it’s almost screaming out that its innovation efforts aren’t very successful.

    Permalink | Comments | Email This Story





  • Clear to Launch New VoIP-Ready WiMAX Modems

    Found under: Clear, Sprint, WiMAX, VoIP, Modems,,

    Clear is not wasting any time as its fighting together with Sprint for 4G dominance in the USA. While Verizon and ATT are going to rely on LTE Sprint and Clear chose WiMAX and they are quite ahead in the race as they have already prepared lots of markets for the upcoming WiMAX network.But besides actual 4G coverage you will need proper equipment to handle the upgraded speeds. Thats why Clear is getting ready to launch a couple of new WiMAX-ready modems. Both devices will be Vo

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  • Chrysler only U.S. automaker to run Super Bowl ad this year

    2010 Dodge Charger SRT8

    This year’s Super Bowl will be a bit light on the U.S. automaker advertising this year as Chrysler will be the only one throwing down the cash to advertise on the ad industry’s holy grail.

    “What better way to illustrate to our customers that we are still here than to air on the Superbowl, which is not only watched for the game, but also for the advertising spots,” said Chrysler spokeswoman Dianna C. Gutierrez.

    The group will be sinking millions into a 60-second spot to showcase their Charger. It isn’t exactly clear how much Chrysler is spending, but the most common Superbowl spot runs for 30-seconds and runs around $3 million. Jim Cain, an executive with a brand communications firm, the Quell Group, said that the ad spot is a clear attempt by Chrysler to reach out to the American people and demonstrate that they are in it for the long haul and are offering a good product.

    The bang for the advertising buck is not exactly the best for a Superbowl spot; industry executives cite the ad clutter and high prices as liabilities.

    CBS, the network set to air the game have identified Honda, Hyundai, Audi, Kia, and Volkswagen as advertisers during the game.

    Ford and General Motors have said they’re skipping the big advertising event this year.

    – By: Stephen Calogera

    Source: CNNMoney


  • Sara Bareilles Ode To “Jersey Shore” [VIDEO]

    Did you know that Sara Bareilles swears by Snooki Polizzi? The ultra-talented musician is paying homage to MTV’s Jersey Shore with an original acoustic musical tribute. Set to the tune of Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” “Sara’s Ode To The Shore” carefully chides Pauly D, The Situation, and the rest of the overtanned and heavily-intoxicated twentysomethings from TV’s smash docu-soap.


  • AGUASCALIENTES | CapitalCity – Centro Financiero

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Xer
    (Post 40111376)
    Antecedentes | Distrito Financiero

    El Distrito Financiero es uno de los Mega-Proyectos que la actual administración estatal promueve principalmente atreves de la Secretaria de Desarrollo del Estado.

    El objeto principal de este proyecto es el de atraer corporativos nacionales e internacionales y así diversificar aún más la económica del estado aumentando su orientación en el ramo de servicios.


    Imagen Conceptual del Distrito Financiero donde se aprecia al
    fondo la Isla San Marcos, El Centros de Convenciones (aún en construcción) y
    la Mega Velaria de 17mil metros cuadrados

    Antes de que iniciara la “cuarentena electoral” de las pasadas elecciones federales, el gobierno del estado hiso público la confirmación de que los corporativos de CrediNissan-Renault y Cenexis (Divición administrativa de Grupo Modelo) trasladarían sus centrales al estado de Aguascalientes en este nuevo Distrito Financiero.

    Este Proyecto ha sufrido varios cambios. Uno de ellos y quizás de los más importantes es la reasignación de terrenos. Originalmente se había publicado durante la edición 2008 de la Feria Nacional de San Marcos 2008 una maqueta donde se mostraba el desarrollo de este proyecto al norte de la ciudad.

    Por especulación en los precios de terrenos y politización de la situación (palabras propias del gobernador del estado) el proyecto fue mudado a los terrenos aledaños a la Isla San Marcos al Poniente de la ciudad.

    Fuentes:
    http://www.aguascalientes.gob.mx/Eco…estructura.pdf

    pd.haber si no existe tambien

  • Heading for the Arizona Family History Expo in Mesa next week!

    Arizona Family History Expo-2010 Patty and I spent the week manning a FRPC exhibit (store?) set up in the Heritage Room at the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel. Thus the light blogging… It’s been a very busy week here. We will be here until 10 pm this evening and then tear down and prepare for the Mesa Arizona Family History Expo. Dollarhide and I are driving down on Wednesday, setting up on Thursday, exhibiting on Friday & Saturday – then driving home on Sunday. It’s gonna’ be very tiring I fear.

    A whole lot of folks are speaking at the Arizona Family History Expo this year. About 40 presenters will be giving lectures on numerous genealogical topics. Click here to learn more about the speakers. I just happen to be one of them.

    So join us in Mesa! January 23-23, 2010 – this next week.

  • HTC Bravo Android Phone Coming in March?

    Found under: HTC, Bravo, Android, 3, ,

    HTC is ready to launch a new Android phone. Baptized the Bravo the device could be unveiled next month at MWC 2010 and it might make quite an impression. The Bravo has some very interesting specs which can certainly match those of the Droids or the Nexus Ones.The phone is supposed to sport a 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED touchscreen display a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor clocking at 1GHz a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus GPS and HSPA and WiFi connectivity. The phone will probably

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  • Advice?

    Hi there guys!

    First post on this and I need advice.

    I have recently came into some money left to me my a deceased relative and am thinking of getting a pump with it as the NHS are unlikely to give me one.

    A little bit of info – I am 17 years old and have been type 1 diabetic for 16 of those. There is no history of diabetes in my family but 2 other children under 4 in my street were diagnosed with type 1 within the same year. when I left Yorkhill Childrena Hospital I was 14 and by Hba1c was 6.4. Since attending the adult clinic the the Victoria Infirmary it has rose and rose and has been between 9-11 for the past two years.

    To add to my problems, in August my hurt my foot and being absent minded and forgetting that feet are a big issue in the diabetic world, thought that it would just heal itself, which of course it didn’t. My big toe on my right foot became infected and I ended up in A&E after it getting stood on and being too painfull for words. I was then in hospital for just under a week and had half my leg bandaged up. It was the worst experience of my life. I was on 96 hour of IV antibiotics and was getting blood tests everyday, and for someone with terrible veins this was not good. The people taking blood were trainee doctors on their first rotation and could not take blood from me. The inside parts of my elbow were massivly bruised for weeks after.

    When I got out of hospital I was given enough pills to sink a ship but my toe did not get better, and after countless trips to my GP and given more pills, including Clindamycin, the domestos of antibiotics(kills all known germs) nothing was working. Then mid november, I was sent to A&E again and got my toenail removed, which in my opinion should have been done in the first place, but oh well. Anyway, my toe heal faster than any of the doctors thought it would.

    However, my a1c is still not improving, and this is causing me to think about the pump.

    I would really appreciate some pros and cons from pump users.

    Thanks Kirsty French
    Glasgow xx

  • Tiger Woods will no longer get free cars from GM

    The agreement whereby Tiger Woods was allowed to keep several GM loaner vehicles has come to an end. The superstar golfer’s endorsement deal with the automaker came to an end in 2008, an arrangement between the company and Woods allowed him to retain a number of loaner vehicles for his personal use. That arrangement was scheduled to end Dec. 31 and will not be renewed.

    Woods has lost a number of endorsement deals since his recent scandal of marital infidelity surfaced in November.

    – By: Stephen Calogera

    Source: Free Press


  • Kourtney Is The Smartest Kardashian Sister

    During an appearance on the The Jay Leno Show’s Ten@Ten on Wednesday, Jay asked new mom Kourtney Kardashian to reveal which of her sisters is the most book smart, to which Kourt replied: “Book smarts would be me first. And then Kim, Khloé, Kylie, and Kendall. Or Kendall and then Kylie. That’s the oldest order.”

    How’s that for modesty?


  • Buffalo Dualie Carries a HDD But Lets iPhone Sit Shotgun [HardDrives]

    iPod docks can already be found on speakers, alarm clocks, kitchen scales, space heaters, lamps, cars, bikes and I’m sure in a bunch of other wacky things. Leaving no stone unturned, Buffalo is releasing the Dualie, a hard drive/dock combo.

    The Buffalo Dualie probably doesn’t solve any problems you currently have, but it certainly makes more sense than some of those docks I mentioned above. The Dualie combines a docking station for iPhones and iPods of all generations with a 500 GB hard drive, saving you some desk space and coughing up two USB ports for your trouble.

    The device allows for simultaneous iPod- and iPhone-syncing and access to the hard drive’s files. It supports USB 2.0 and FireWire, comes formatted for Macs out of the box, and is Time Machine-ready, though drivers for Windows are included.

    The Dualie will be available exclusively at the Apple Store for $249.99. [Walyou]







  • Understanding where to go post-Copenhagen: four reflections

    Reflections towards a better strategy in the future:

    1. Developing nations came to the Copenhagen Conference with a very firm position, that Kyoto had to be extended, which meant tougher commitments and cuts by developed nations but no cuts required of developing nations, reflecting the view that the richer nations caused the problem and had to do most to fix it (fair point). Developed nations came to the table insisting that, as 90% of all future
    emissions would be coming from developing nations, they had to accept cuts as well, especially the now more developed ones like China, Korea and, of course, Saudi Arabia (fair point also). They also, as Aubrey Meyer at the Global Commons Institute has pointed out, had a de facto Contraction and Convergence position, which is a significant advance. Copenhagen turned into the big collision between these positions; no surprise that a binding agreement wasn’t possible. The hope is that polarised positions will now have to be abandoned, at least by the majors.

    2. Some recent reports suggest China came to Copenhagen with more to give than they ended up giving, but were put off by the US having nothing extra to offer. The total lack of progress during the last week of the negotiations seems to have been because China then decidednot to budge. Some people that were in the talks have privately reported that they think the Chinese team had very tight negotiating limits, and were not able to respond effectively to the fast-pacednegotiation the Americans tried to introduce in the last couple of days. That’s positive news, because it means there really is room to keep working on the process.

    3. The outcome reminds us that the world is not run by the United Nations. Expecting a consensus result from the flawed governance model it represents was really a dream. The fact is that we now have a multi-polar world – a number of large economies or economic blocks have to be able to agree for anything global to happen. Whatever we might wish for, the UN negotiations are a venue for big country discussions, not a decision-making forum. The good news about this is that it IS a multi-polar world – the Copenhagen Accord is the first major international agreement of modern times that recognises Brazil, South Africa and India, as well as China, as critical components of the world order. This probably wouldn’t have happened before the financial crisis when the dollar was still the primary world currency.

    4. Civil society was impressively organised at Copenhagen. A number of agencies had great looking campaigns and put a huge amount of money and effort into them. Could they have been better coordinated? Yes, room to improve, but the major civil society organisations are not that far apart as it is. The rethinking to be had is with strategy – the”ask” made of rich countries were not able to be met, even when they were largely onside, as the EU was. Civil society organisations are going to have to do the politician’s work for them – analyse the various global blocks to change, whether in developed or developing countries, and run more acutely targeted campaigns, presenting progressive politicians with a politically easy path to make what we all know are the right decisions. A small example in the US of how campaigns could be better targeted to make it easier for politicians: have a look at a story just published in the Columbia Journalism Review on the extraordinarily powerful impact on US public opinion of pseudo-scientist TV weather reporters.

    I first became aware of the assertive ignorance of some weather reporters when my news monitoring kept turning up denialist stories on the Weather Channel website, and I dived in to try and correct some of them. The Columbia Journalism Review story explains just how widespread the problem is and, at the same time, just how central weather reporter views are to the understanding of climate change by the US public. When asked in a national survey who they trusted for information about global warming, 66 percent of respondents named television weather reporters! …. unfortunately, most weather reporters don’t ‘believe’ in climate change. The underlying story is how the ‘sceptic’ Heartland Institute targeted weather reporters some years back, giving them free tickets to sceptic’s conferences and the like. That would have to be one of the more successful targeted campaigns in history, helping block policy progress for years; it needs to be reversed.

    We’ve run out of time to rely on convincing governments to do what’s required; we now need cleverer targeting of pivotal groups in society, from weather reporters to the investors who really decide whether coal-fired power plants will be built or not.

    What do you think?