Local knowledge is vital

Coastguard changes ePetition

There is an on line petition. https://submissions.epetitions.direc...petitions/4403
This petition is still open (closing date is 07/08/2012) and needs 100,000 signatures to try to force a debate in Parliament.
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Stop the closure of MCA Coastguard Stations

Responsible department: Department for Transport

The government has decided that a number of major UK coastguard stations should be closed arguing that fewer stations can cope with the workload. This fails to take account of the vital local knowledge of coastguard station staff who can direct emergency services directly and quickly to incidents where lives are at stake. More remote stations (often hundreds of miles away from the scene of an emergency) do not have this knowledge. In order to prevent unnecessary and avoidable loss of life the government must keep all coastguard stations operational.

Matthew's Switch

A simple customisable program that may allow parents, teachers and helpers to introduce and practice simple switch choices and evaluate whether a disabled child could eventually make use of one of the more advanced and expensive systems


Matthew is a 9 year old disabled lad with profound difficulties; he can't operate a mouse without help, and up till now, has not been able to successfully utilise the myriad of input devices available.


He currently uses an Italk 4 hardware switch at school and home, and his twin brother and I have designed a software version which we hope to run on a ipad for him to try.

We have just uploaded Desktop versions for Mac & Windows for you all to try; let us know what you think

http://www.soul-trade.com/switch/

 

below is a screenshot of the Edit mode where pics and sounds can be edited

the largest government class-action settlement in American history, with more than 300,000 beneficiaries.

Elouise Cobell, whose Blackfeet name was Yellow Bird Woman and who has died aged 65, sued the United States government for billions of dollars plundered from American Indian lands – and won. 

14 years; 3,600 court filings; 220 days of trial; 80 published court decisions and 10 appeals, Elouise Cobell's campaign ended in victory in 2009.  

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/8834956/Elouise-Cobell.html 

A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs

What it's Really Like Working with Steve Jobs

Some cybercriminals created a Facebook page called "R.I.P. Steve Jobs", and innocent people have been joining by the thousands. In just a few hours it had more than 90,000 fans. Criminals published a link using the popular shortener service bit.ly, where they said that Apple will be giving away 50 iPads.
Of course all the stuff is a scam, and once you click to that URL (which ended with "restinpeace-steve-jobs") you were redirected to a place where you are offered a number of gifts, such as iPads, Sony Bravia TVs. For that they ask for your information, such as Full Name, Address, Phone Number, e-mail address, etc.
Facebook has closed the page and bit.ly has done the same with their link. There are some really interesting statistics. Out of those > 90,000 fans, 25,669 clicked in the link provided by the criminals! (from Rick Ford -Macintouch)





"When I was 17 I read a quote that went something like "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right."

from Steve's superb stanford address...click the apple above  to watch  it, or read a transcript here

Bad Faith Radio plays --Series Two has begun
series 1 can be heard from within above link...http://www.peterjukes.com/

also wierd tales make excellent listening

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

readings