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InternationalizationQOD: What would NEO be like if all lawyers here each did their 50 hours of pro bono work a year, and never sheltered corruption?Submitted by Norm Roulet on Sun, 11/21/2010 - 23:59.
In 2007 there were 1,143,358 Lawyers in the United States, which had a population of 303 million people, representing 265 people per lawyer in America. That would indicate that the 16 counties of Northeast Ohio (Ashland, Ashtabula, Carroll, Columbiana, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Trumbull and Wayne counties), with a population of 4.5 million people, have approximately 17,000 lawyers. Thus, Northeast Ohio's 17,000 lawyers should be providing at least 850,000 hours of pro bono work to this community... let's round that up to 1 million hours.
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Zakee A Rashid - Matters of Opinion: "Why are we spending 10 billion dollars a year to stop people from smoking weed?"Submitted by Norm Roulet on Sat, 11/20/2010 - 13:42.
I was pleased to see posted on East Cleveland's core home-town social network, Shaw High Online, an excellent opinion editorial - Matters Of Opinion: Vol 7 Decriminalize Marijuana - by Zakee A Rashid. The tagline reads: "Why are we spending 10 billion dollars a year to stop people from smoking weed?" Rashid goes on to reference a wide range of facts about the economics and injustice of the prosecution of citizens for marijuana that all Americans must take into account. In Ohio, recent polls indicate 73% of voters support legalization of medical marijuana "MMJ", showing opposition to legalizing MMJ (now legal in 15 states, including McCain's Arizona) is a losing political ticket. Making President Obama a major loser... especially as the harm caused by unjust marijuana prosecution in America predominantly harms African Americans, who rallied to elect Obama president.
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"A Perfect Storm For A Hemp Farm Bill, And It's Time..." - Hemp Industries Association President Steve Levine, 11/08/2010Submitted by Norm Roulet on Fri, 11/19/2010 - 04:46.
Hemp Industries Association (HIA) President Steve Levine - speaking to membership at the 2010 Annual HIA Convention, November 08, 2010, in San Francisco - discusses his expectation that California will pass and enact into law a Hemp Farm Bill in 2011 - "Definitely in 2012 it (hemp) will be grown in California" - "there is talk there may be some hemp grown in 2011". Steve indicates developments are positive for a 2011 version of Ron Paul's Federal Hemp Farm Bill to pass congress and become Federal law in 2011, making it legal to farm hemp nationwide in 2012 - "as hempsters, we did not lose one of our sponsors for the bill - all 25 were re-elected". This is one of the most important economic development forecasts for America of the 21st Century, to-date.
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In 7th Year, REALNEO.US Surpasses 500K Annual Unique Visitor and 1 Million Annual Page Visit LevelsSubmitted by Norm Roulet on Fri, 11/19/2010 - 03:15.
Based on Google Analytics of realneo.us traffic, we are now at a level that exceeds 500,000 unique visitors and 1,000,000 page visits per year, and both metrics have been growing steadily for as long as we have tracked our web traffic metrics... so expect realNEO.us to exceed 1 million hits per year forever hereafter. By how much we exceed these metrics, with what growth rate for the future, is up to our members and community who create the content here that now attracts over 1,000,000 reads a year.
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"I have recommended Cuyahoga County convene and sponsor overarching Greater Cleveland Food and Information Advisory Councils"Submitted by Norm Roulet on Tue, 11/16/2010 - 18:02.
It is interesting to see published in Crain's Cleveland Business today Study advocates creation of NEO Food Authority to aid in localizing region's food supply that reports "A comprehensive study that examines the state and potential of Northeast Ohio's food economy calls for the creation of a NEO Food Authority that would facilitate a 25% shift in localizing the region's culinary and agriculture systems." That's the leading recommendation I made in my Preamble: Real Co-op for Open Food, Information and Community Development 2009, which I developed with one of the authors of the study Crain's references today, Brad Masi, about two years ago.
Crain's is reporting on "Economist Michael Shuman, who is part of the local and national consulting team that has conducted the Northeast Ohio Local Food Assessment, presented the study's findings Tuesday, Nov. 16, to a sold-out meeting at the City Club of Cleveland." Apparently, a bunch of Foundation-paid consultants have finished planning local foods behind closed doors. The report is found at the NEO Food Web portal - you must register for access, which seems open to the public, and Drupal.... see Summary of NEO Local Food Assessment and Plan after you have set up an account... or just click the following link for a 354 KB .PDF of the "summary" report (the only report posted)... Summary of The 25% Shift- Northeast Ohio Local Food Assessment and Plan.
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OCA Image TV Episode 6, an episode about Cleveland's Asian Town and first ever Cleveland Asian Festival and its successSubmitted by Norm Roulet on Tue, 11/16/2010 - 14:43.
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Department of Homeland Security Publicly Available Social Media Monitoring and Situational Awareness InitiativeSubmitted by Norm Roulet on Tue, 11/16/2010 - 12:33.
November 14, 2010, AlterNet featured an important article by G.W. Schulz, Center for Investigative Reporting: Workers, Be Careful: Facebook Snoops Looking Over Your Shoulder - Corporations and government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, are increasingly using new communications tools for surveillance purposes. In this report, Schulz profiles "a new company called Social Intelligence billing itself as a social media private eye will observe your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other online accounts on behalf of employers to make certain you’re not a liability."
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The Origin of “BuildingWhat?”Submitted by Norm Roulet on Tue, 11/16/2010 - 11:32.
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As I prepare to head from Cleveland to San Francisco for the largest sustainability event in the world - The Green FestivalSubmitted by Norm Roulet on Thu, 11/04/2010 - 08:06.
As I prepare to head from Cleveland to San Francisco for the largest sustainability event in the world - The Green Festival - I'm packing some of my favorite bright green products from Northeast Ohio, including a Hemp n' Berry Bar from Plant Kingdom, of Akron, for the road. Bought at VERY OHIO PROUD bright green coffee roasters and retailers Phoenix Coffee, this healthy organic treat proudly boasts it is OHIO PROUD - and I'm proud of that. Dear President Obama, I guarantee one ingredient in this Ohio Proud product is not from Ohio, or even America-proud - the first ingredient listed on the label - "Sheeled Hempseed (certified organic)". Ask your wife about "H" "E" "M" "P"...
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THE MONEY BUSINESS - The art museum's new boss gets a crash-course in American arts funding - CleveSceneSubmitted by Norm Roulet on Thu, 11/04/2010 - 00:11.
It's a toss up to me between my two favorite assets in Cleveland - The Cleveland Orchestra or the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) - so I am always interested in unique perspectives on those worlds. The CMA is especially interesting right now as they near completion of a massive expansion, that is going very well, and they bring a new Director on board - from the Canadian Museum of Art - David Franklin. In this week's Scene Magazine, Michael Gill offers the most informative and interesting perspectives on recent CMA developments I've seen, with THE MONEY BUSINESS - The art museum's new boss gets a crash-course in American arts funding. I've had a good feeling about Franklin from all I've read, and this adds to my enthusiasm. He seems like a personable family man who will integrate with and celebrate with the community rather than hover above, as is so often the case with people in such lofty places - we'll be seeing much human interest in this family in the community, and expect people will appreciate the additions to the community - and neighborhoods of Shaker, where the Franklins have settled. Of interest in Gill's informative reporting are some financials on the museum and it's operations, including - "Its largest and most dependable source of public funding — the cigarette tax — is just a $1.5 million fragment of the museum's $30 million overall budget". As the museum is one of the greatest in the world and one of few that are FREE - YES FREE - I'd say this is one public expenditure worth spending... although I strongly oppose this sin tax. I'd prefer to offer them some SALES TAX, de la MedCon.
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I want to thank and acknowledge the tens of thousands of you who volunteered with the Sierra Club and local campaignsSubmitted by Norm Roulet on Wed, 11/03/2010 - 23:38.
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I will be covering for realNEO the 17th Annual Hemp Industry Association (HIA) Conference in San FranciscoSubmitted by Norm Roulet on Wed, 11/03/2010 - 11:44.
11/08/2010 - 08:00 11/08/2010 - 18:00 Etc/GMT-4
I'm pleased to report I will be covering for realNEO the 17th Annual Hemp Industry Association (HIA) Conference in San Francisco, California - November 8, 2010. Please see the enclosed press release for details and contact me at norm [at] realneo [dot] us if you have any specific issues or questions you would like me to explore for this community. I look forward to sharing with the world the important work of this association, representing a near-half-billion-dollar industry that is just taking off in America and worldwide.
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Ohio has an opportunity to be #1 in the world developing a new economy - better and different than anywhere else on EarthSubmitted by Norm Roulet on Wed, 11/03/2010 - 00:49.
Amazing! Ohio has an opportunity to be #1 in the world developing a new industry - a new economy - better and different than anywhere else in the world - ahead of the other 49 states in America and every other country in the world - as citizens of California foolishly failed to pass Proposition 19 today.
What tools of old economy polluting industry our PROGRESSIVE (sic.) Democrats have proved to be! I can't wait for 2012 and the next Presidential election! The next two years are going to be fun, for a change... I love a GOOD WAR.
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Not having to seriously consider alternatives to the dominant ways of doing things is one of the beauties of privilegeSubmitted by Norm Roulet on Tue, 11/02/2010 - 14:52.
I once told an supposedly "green" friend that in the future he will not get to jet off to India or Brazil if he can afford, as that will not be ecologically responsible. He nearly cried. It's not easy being "Green" - that is life... as highlighted here, and provided in full below, from AlterNet:
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NYTimes reports that medical marijuana ads in small Colorado newspapers boost revenues enough to increase staffSubmitted by Norm Roulet on Mon, 11/01/2010 - 21:23.
To those who don't understand the change that is occurring in the civilized world, outside Ohio, consider this new product line from Colorado and realize if you are in Ohio you can't have any - you can't have the health benefits - you can't be an entrepreneur to compete with this product line - you can't innovate in this space - you can't hang out with these innovators or their class of people - you can't access their markets, customers or investors - because you live across the cannabis divide from civilization, in corrupt, coal-brained Ohio. But you WILL have lots of pollution from coal-burning in your lungs, in Ohio! Smart? No! Grohio!
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The cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will reach between $4 trillion and $6 trillion - veteran costs peak in 40 yearsSubmitted by Norm Roulet on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 22:07.
There is an important update on the cost to Americans of the war in Iraq and Afghanista, published in the Daily Beast October 27, 2010 - How the Wars Are Sinking the Economy - reporting "Nobel Prize recipient Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard budget guru Linda J. Bilmes are revising their original $3 trillion war cost estimate. As Bilmes reports, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are at least 25 percent costlier than previous projections—the cost of the wars will reach between $4 trillion and $6 trillion." They frame these costs from the perspective of the burden the wars place on our economy, which will peak in about a half-century:
Why I will vote and I will vote ANYTHING BUT REPUBLICAN - followed by ANYTHING BUT CONSERVATIVE - followed by...Submitted by Norm Roulet on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 15:51.
These poll results, just released today, explain why I will vote and I will vote ANYTHING BUT REPUBLICAN - followed by ANYTHING BUT CONSERVATIVE - followed by ANYTHING BUT 65+ OLD FART... those groups of people are found by most recent Gallop polling to be most likely to be flat-Earther anti-science tools of industry and are not welcome as leaders of my society. Those I will seek out to vote for will be, in the following order, LIBERALS, THOSE 18-49, from the WEST, DEMOCRATIC and INDEPENDENT, as they poll as most real about public health, liberty, economics and freedom... which is what the issue of legalization of marijuana and hemp is all about. How I shall ultimately cast my most important ballot is with my feet, choosing to move where I find people most like myself, being liberal, Independent, young (at heart) and West... until Ohio shakes its old-fart conservative Flat Earther failure and gets real.
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Pres. Obama: "research is proving that cannabinoids, as part of this bodily system, play a mitigating role in breast cancer"Submitted by Norm Roulet on Wed, 10/27/2010 - 14:33.
As October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, citizens of Ohio should reflect upon the words of Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and his official state policy on Medical Marijuana - “The governor feels that the predominant opinion of the medical community is that there are existing medicines available that provide appropriate patient care“... “So based on that opinion and the current research, he feels this type of legislation doesn’t seem necessary or warranted“ - and realize he is DEAD wrong - "the latest research is proving that cannabinoids, as part of this bodily system, play a mitigating role in breast cancer." That is consistent with historical findings that cannabinoids may have cancer-fighting qualities:
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"There is a solution to the problem of the drug war. In California, Proposition 19 will regulate and tax marijuana..."Submitted by Norm Roulet on Wed, 10/27/2010 - 12:15.
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Understanding The Cannabis Divide is Critical to the Process of Legalizing the Cannabis Economy in OhioSubmitted by Norm Roulet on Wed, 10/27/2010 - 03:40.
In Denver, Colorado, the above medicine cabinet provides citizens economic opportunity and legal, natural, organic relief from many health ailments - in Cleveland, Ohio, the contents get citizens arrested... especially if they fit the demographic profiles targeted by new Jim Crow laws in America, designed to imprison our poor, minority, urban male population. That reality defines The Cannabis Divide in America, which presents modern Americans with some of the greatest economic and social disparities in the history of the nation, leading to treatment and accommodations for blacks and Latinos (prison) that are inferior to those provided for white Americans (freedom), systematizing a number of economic, educational and social disadvantages (defining Jim Crow laws). As I highlight below, from a study about criminal injustice in Northeast Ohio: "those areas that have the highest percentages of African-Americans are especially likely to be subject to police surveillance and arrests" for drug possession, leading to poorer treatment and accommodation of proportionately more blacks than whites in our inferior quality-of-life prisons. "Of those drug possession cases in which the race of arrestee is known within Cleveland city limits, as Table 1 below illustrates, there has been a consistent magnitude of over-representation of non-whites among drug possession arrestees over the past 10 years."
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realNEO Question of the Day: "What should I do? Should I be who you want me to be?"Submitted by Norm Roulet on Tue, 10/26/2010 - 08:53.
The repackaging of LeBron James beyond parochial-Cleveland regional slave to global free-thinking phenomenon has begun. Enjoy this first world-class commercial video redefining the LeBron James persona of the future - the African American leader of the future - escaped from the slavery of small-mindedness, asking "What should I do? Should I be who you want me to be?" From my personal experience, I must ask Clevelanders... do you really know who are your greatest leaders, and what you want your leaders to do? Are you satisfied with what your chosen leaders provide to citizens? Are they the real reason the Cavs are not champions - that LeBron is gone?
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Hi Norm, I think we should take down Cleveland Thermal. Thoughts?Submitted by Norm Roulet on Tue, 10/26/2010 - 01:11.
This week, I was thrilled to receive the following forward-thinking message from Nachy Kanfer, Campaign Representative, Midwest States, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign:
Cleveland Thermal is a major private out-of-state-investor-owned downtown Cleveland and regional air polluter that burns 10,000s tons of coal each year... emits 1,000s of tons of pollution on Clevelanders and the surrounding world each year... to benefit only large real estate investors and corporate, institutional and government customers - much like the private, out-of-license "district" coal-burning Medical Center Company (MCCO) plant polluting the community excessively a few miles away, in University Circle.
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EPA Greenversations for National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week: “Preventing Lead Poisoning”Submitted by Norm Roulet on Mon, 10/25/2010 - 10:46.
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Song of the Day: "Just Another Day" - Brian Eno... Another Day on EarthSubmitted by Norm Roulet on Sat, 10/23/2010 - 12:07.
Monday, I watched the sun rise over the New Mexico desert to "Just Another Day"... from Another Day on Earth... the glorious new Brian Eno album... perfect for exploring new frontiers...
The Senate scrapped the leading bill to curb carbon emissions following opposition from Republicans and coal-state DemocratsSubmitted by Norm Roulet on Sat, 10/16/2010 - 08:11.
I've learned first-hand how people become environmentalists. They realize they are being polluted, get mad as hell, and do something about it... NIMBY... Not In My Back Yard! Learning the harm of lead poisoning in my back yard made me an environmentalist against lead poisoning in my community and worldwide. Learning the harm of pollution from the Arcelor/Mittal Cleveland Works steel mills in my back yard made me an environmentalist against steel production pollution in my community and worldwide. Learning the harm of pollution from Medical Center Company coal burning in my back yard made me an environmentalist against coal burning in my community and worldwide. Which has me exploring how big is my back yard... how big is my community?
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