Pappageorge, then a deputy chief with the Clark County Fire Department, wondered if the smoke might be coming from a pile of tires on fire. Or was it a building?
Before he could make a call on his two-way radio to find out, a voice from Fire Control crackled over the speakers.
"We have a report of a fire in a building in The Deli of the MGM, entrance No. 2. That's entrance No. 2 to the MGM for The Deli."
Within seconds, Pappageorge heard the first firefighters reporting in over the radio. But he had no idea what that day was about to bring the second-deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history.
When it was over, the Nov. 21, 1980, fire killed 85 people and injured nearly 700 more. It could have been worse there were 4,000 to 5,000 people in the building, including 3,400 guests.
The tragedy became a wake-up call that eventually spurred new safety codes and regulations for high-rise buildings that were adopted nationwide.
But on the day of the blaze, the resort resembled a war zone. Helicopters swirled through heavy smoke, plucking victims from the roof. Firefighters swarmed - 550 in all. Body after body was pulled from the building, so many that the refrigerated morgue at the Coroner's Office couldn't hold them.
Despite the passage of 32 years, the sights and sounds of the day remain scorched in the collective memories of the firefighters who were there.
"I absolutely believe what they did way back then was heroic," Pappageorge said. "The fact that they went in and got so many people out was unbelievable ... God knows how many more would have died if they hadn't have done that job. They are absolutely heroes."
The monster first revealed itself after 7 a.m., when flames broke out of the wall and into a waitresses' service station at The Deli.
A kitchen worker who had just arrived for work had a chance to put out the fire with a hose. But as he sprayed the flames, he was warned by another Deli worker not to put water on the electrical fire.
The blaze grew quickly, devouring everything in its path inside the ground-floor restaurant wall coverings, cabinets, chairs and dining booths. As the fire grew out of control, the security staff called the fire department at 7:16 a.m. And a public address operator in the security office downstairs was instructed to make an announcement to evacuate the casino.
The operator made the announcement twice for emphasis, prompting those in the casino to grab their chips, cash and belongings and run to the exits. Casino operators and others working below the gaming floor described the noise above them sounding like a "herd of elephants." The operators were told to leave.
But high above the casino floor, those in the hotel tower had no idea the mayhem that was unfolding. In the confusion, no alarm was manually sounded to warn guests in the tower.
By 7:18 a.m., two minutes after the call came in to Station 11, Bert Sweeney and a few other firefighters from the station arrived at the MGM Grand and entered the hotel.
Sweeney, now 66, remembers getting 40 or 50 feet inside. "That's when we saw the finger of smoke coming out of The Deli," he said.
Sweeney saw people running away from the smoke to the exit, but there were still some people on the casino floor.
Then, Sweeney said, "we saw the fireball come out of The Deli. ... It bounced once off the casino floor at the very end of the casino and went up, and I think it hit the ceiling."
Sweeney looked at his helmet. The heat had melted part of his face visor into a clump of plastic. Looking through the doors, firefighters could see an inferno of swirling flames.
Back into the belly of the fire
Carrying heavy, 2 1/2-inch water lines, the firefighters fought their way back into the burning casino.
As they worked their way inside, Sweeney felt glops of something falling on him from above. The tiles and adhesive on the ceiling were melting.
"It was kind of a weird sensation. It was melting like gum," Sweeney said.
Jerry Bendorf, then a 35-year-old rookie fire captain, was stunned by the scene in front of him as he arrived. The pressure from the casino fireball had gone into the sewer and blown the covers off the manholes on Flamingo Road, causing smoke to pour from the openings. Flames consuming the valet canopy had spread to the line of empty vehicles underneath it.
Then came, perhaps, the most terrifying sight.
As debris rained down from above shards of window glass Bendorf looked up. Frightened hotel guests, waving and yelling for help, were on their balconies and leaning out of smashed windows as smoke poured through the tower.
Firefighters shouted back, urging people not to jump.
That's about the time Bill Lowe, then a 37-year-old engineer paramedic, entered from the front entrance to help put out the remaining smaller fires scattered about the casino floor.
There were bodies all around. Eighteen people were found dead in the casino. City firefighters, who also responded, "had pointed out and said they'd found a cocktail waitress who was burned and to just make sure you didn't step on her," Lowe said.
According to separate reports by the National Fire Protection Association and the Clark County Fire Department, firefighters confined the blaze to the casino level in a little more than an hour. But while the fire was being contained, the worst part of the tragedy had already been playing out in the hotel's T-shaped tower. The tower had been drawing up the black smoke like a chimney, sending deadly fumes into the hallways of thousands of guests who were just waking up.
Because no alarms were sounded, most guests didn't realize what was happening until they heard or saw fire engines, smelled smoke or heard people yelling and knocking on doors.
Many guests in lower levels managed to get downstairs when they realized the hotel was on fire, coming outside to find firefighters and emergency medical personnel waiting to help them.
John Jersey, then a 33-year-old firefighter paramedic, and his partner, Jim Perkins, methodically combed for survivors through the north tower, carrying only a few bottles of air. Room by room, they pounded on doors, kicking them in if they weren't answered and making sure they got people out.
"You just kick into a mode and do what you were trained to do. There is no thought about what is going on outside the fire," Jersey said.
Jersey hadn't seen so many bodies since he was a Green Beret reconnaissance specialist in Vietnam. He and Perkins found bodies in rooms, in halls, in the elevator lobby. They were on beds, in corners of their rooms and in bathtubs. Some had their faces covered with towels.
"I think we tagged about 42 people altogether," said Perkins, who also says he is still haunted by the memories.
The difference for survival seemed to be whether guests had broken out the windows or opened their hallway doors. If they opened their doors, smoke would come in from the hallways. If they opened windows, smoke might come in from the floors below or be blown in by the rotors of the large Air Force helicopters landing on the roof.
"The ones that kept doors shut and had stuffed towels under doors (and into room vents), they were OK," Perkins said.
To search, the two would crawl below the layer of smoke on one side of the hallway and knock loudly on each door. If no one opened it, they would kick it in. Once in the room, they would search in the bathrooms, under the beds and in the closets. Then they would go to the other side of the hallway and do the same thing in each room. It took 30 to 45 minutes per floor, Jersey said.
One floor in particular still brings back disturbing memories for Perkins, who was then 31 years old.
"We saw a big pile of people with their arms wrapped around each other in front of the elevator," he said. "There were probably 10 to 12 people who had died in each other's arms. It's something I've had nightmares about ever since."
Perkins remembers going into one room and finding the bodies of two people who had succumbed to the toxic smoke and fumes.
"And the very next room, there were two couples who were sitting at the coffee table drinking tequila and partying," he said, remembering the ironic scene.
Most of the survivors could walk, but Perkins and Jersey had to carry many people to the roof above the 23rd floor.
Once on the roof, the survivors were evacuated by helicopter. The Air Force dispatched a heavy-lift helicopter and other choppers that evacuated 300 people from the roof and another dozen trapped on balconies. The firefighters would then go down to the next floor and get another group.
In some rooms, Bendorf, the rookie fire captain, found that victims had managed to scribble messages to loved ones on the mirror before taking their last breath.
Firefighter Skip Miller remembers carrying out about 10 bodies. He put them on gurneys and took them to the roof, where they were loaded onto helicopters and taken to the county morgue.
"Every now and then, one would slide off the gurney. And it would be total silence because we had to put them back on," Miller said. "And the worst part about it was they looked like they were just sleeping because there was no trauma. That's what made it pretty sad."
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Thursday, November 22, 2012
The blame game with no winners
The people of Palestine and Israel live under the constant threat of bombs falling from the sky. In a constant state of fear created by more than 40 years of conflict, people literally run for their lives as part of their routine. These bombs fall on their homes, hospitals and schools, causing civilian deaths. The war between Palestine and Israel has now become part of the world's natural discourse, and as this malignant conflict continues to fester and eat away at the roots of the two countries. The people fear there is no solution in the foreseeable future.
The conflict reached new heights on November 14 when the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed they had killed Ahmed Jabari, commander of Hamas's military wing al-Qassam Brigade. Hamas is the hardline Palestinian party that has ruled Gaza since 2007. It was the first major conflict between the two since Israel's Operation Cast Lead killed about 1,400 Gazans and 13 Israelis, saw civilians terrified and living in shelters, and destroyed large areas of Gaza in three weeks of air and ground assaults in December 2008. Warning sirens wailed in Tel Aviv for the first time since the 1991 Gulf War as rockets were fired toward the metropolitan area.
Days before the assassination of Jabari, an informal truce had been negotiated through Egypt and had ironically been agreed to by none other than Jabari who was acting on behalf of Hamas. According to an article on Al Jazeera by Richard Falk, UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights, "Killing him was clearly intended as a major provocation... An assassination of such a high profile Palestinian political figure as Jabari is not a spontaneous act." Rumors and speculations had wafted for months that the Netanyahu government was planning a major assault on Gaza. "The timing of the ongoing attacks seems to coincide with the dynamics of Israeli internal politics, especially the traditional Israeli practice of shoring up the image of toughness of the existing leadership in Tel Aviv as a way of inducing Israeli citizens to feel fearful, yet protected, before casting their ballots."
On an interview with Fox News, former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman warned that there is only so much more Israel can take before the country will retaliate and that no country in the world would tolerate if they were repeatedly attacked and had to live under fear as the Israelis do. He said, "Patience is running out. Israel every day, feels more and more like a villa in a jungle. We have hundreds of rockets being launched at schools and kindergartens and homes in the south. We have Assad butchering over 30,000 civilians and slaughtering his own people in the north." He went on to further quote Hamas as a ''bloody proxy of Iran'' which is intent on destroying Israel and that the Israeli forces will "not just put [Hamas] to sleep so it can wake up and raise its ugly head and continue devastation of Israeli cities."
The small enclave that forms the Gaza strip has now become synonymous with violence, suffering and death. It also personifies how truly expendable human life has become when it is conveniently clothed as collateral damage to murk the reality- repeated mass killings, tortures and cruelty. As the whole world watches the two parties pointing fingers at each other, trying to absolve themselves of any responsibility, innocent civilians continue to die. "Israel lives and dies by security. Similarly, Palestinians commit to resistance. These are two irreconcilable sets of political imaginary. The real victim here is peace and truth," said Dr Larbi Sadiki, lecturer, author and contributor to Al Jazeera.
"Israel is the only democratic country in the Middle East surrounded by hostile Arab neighbors. Its existence and strategic location is of high value to the US as it's their only form of foothold in that area," said Palestinian journalist Khtab Omer. In his book, the Strategic Ally Myth, Mort Zuckerman writes, "Israel provides the US a good strategic location in the Middle East, a place to stockpile American weapons, and beneficial intelligence." As decades passed with attempts at futile negotiations and treaties, the plight of the innocent victims was lost in the rubble of destruction. The innocent civilians became fodder for politicians, they were the ones who suffered and died at the hands of repeated conflicts that bore no altering consequence.
According to Mr Falk, "What makes Gaza presently useful to the Israelis is their capacity to manage the level of violence, both as a distraction from other concerns (eg backing down in relation to Iran; accelerated expansion of the settlements) and as a way of convincing their own people that dangerous enemies remain and must be dealt with by the iron fist of Israeli militarism." Another viewpoint as presented by FOX News' National Security Analyst Kathleen Troia McFarland is that if Israel is planning a kind of military pre-emptive strike against Iran's nuclear forces, by taking out these "missile batteries in the Gaza, Iran has a difficult time retaliating against Israel". The Israelis are by far the stronger party, militarily, economically and politically. The military imbalance means that they are able to inflict more death and damage than the Palestinians whenever violence flares up. But their relative strength also places a greater onus on them to revive the Moribund Peace Plan.
Israel, with the backing of Washington, takes the position that Hamas as "a terrorist organization" must be permanently excluded from the procedures of diplomacy. "Whether you like it or not, Hamas, like Hezbollah, is mostly a byproduct of an oppressive occupation, and not the other way round. That's why refraining from excessive use of force and concentrating all efforts on a negotiated end to the occupation is paramount for security and moderation. Otherwise, Israel will only succeed in increasing Hamas's popularity and pushing it back to clandestinely and war," said Marwan Bishara, a senior political analyst at Al Jazeera. On the flipside, CNN contributor Nathan J Brown states, "The Israelis know that they cannot dislodge Hamas from Gaza without unacceptable cost and endless occupation. But they want to punish the movement so severely that it will be deterred from future violence. Hamas knows that the damage it inflicts serves no strategic value, but it hopes that its rockets will cause dislocation and even panic in Israel and send an international message that Gaza cannot be ignored."
Neither Hamas nor Israel has a stake in repeating the events of 2008 and 2009. The outbreak of violence serves no end and both sides know that, yet they go ahead anyway, claiming that they are forced by their adversary to escalate the conflict. "War didn't fix the problem then, and it's unlikely to fix it now. Nor do the Israelis, when the real threat is Iran, want to get into a major military and political mess over Gaza that would make their relationship with Egypt even more complicated," said former US peace negotiator Aaron David Miller. It's time for the international community to step in. "Cooler heads ought to prevail. Egypt should press Hamas to control the jihadis and to reimpose a truce - perhaps in exchange for a more open border with Gaza and greater political support from Turkey and Qatar, and the US should urge restraint on Israel to allow Hamas to stand down."
The conflict reached new heights on November 14 when the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed they had killed Ahmed Jabari, commander of Hamas's military wing al-Qassam Brigade. Hamas is the hardline Palestinian party that has ruled Gaza since 2007. It was the first major conflict between the two since Israel's Operation Cast Lead killed about 1,400 Gazans and 13 Israelis, saw civilians terrified and living in shelters, and destroyed large areas of Gaza in three weeks of air and ground assaults in December 2008. Warning sirens wailed in Tel Aviv for the first time since the 1991 Gulf War as rockets were fired toward the metropolitan area.
Days before the assassination of Jabari, an informal truce had been negotiated through Egypt and had ironically been agreed to by none other than Jabari who was acting on behalf of Hamas. According to an article on Al Jazeera by Richard Falk, UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights, "Killing him was clearly intended as a major provocation... An assassination of such a high profile Palestinian political figure as Jabari is not a spontaneous act." Rumors and speculations had wafted for months that the Netanyahu government was planning a major assault on Gaza. "The timing of the ongoing attacks seems to coincide with the dynamics of Israeli internal politics, especially the traditional Israeli practice of shoring up the image of toughness of the existing leadership in Tel Aviv as a way of inducing Israeli citizens to feel fearful, yet protected, before casting their ballots."
On an interview with Fox News, former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman warned that there is only so much more Israel can take before the country will retaliate and that no country in the world would tolerate if they were repeatedly attacked and had to live under fear as the Israelis do. He said, "Patience is running out. Israel every day, feels more and more like a villa in a jungle. We have hundreds of rockets being launched at schools and kindergartens and homes in the south. We have Assad butchering over 30,000 civilians and slaughtering his own people in the north." He went on to further quote Hamas as a ''bloody proxy of Iran'' which is intent on destroying Israel and that the Israeli forces will "not just put [Hamas] to sleep so it can wake up and raise its ugly head and continue devastation of Israeli cities."
The small enclave that forms the Gaza strip has now become synonymous with violence, suffering and death. It also personifies how truly expendable human life has become when it is conveniently clothed as collateral damage to murk the reality- repeated mass killings, tortures and cruelty. As the whole world watches the two parties pointing fingers at each other, trying to absolve themselves of any responsibility, innocent civilians continue to die. "Israel lives and dies by security. Similarly, Palestinians commit to resistance. These are two irreconcilable sets of political imaginary. The real victim here is peace and truth," said Dr Larbi Sadiki, lecturer, author and contributor to Al Jazeera.
"Israel is the only democratic country in the Middle East surrounded by hostile Arab neighbors. Its existence and strategic location is of high value to the US as it's their only form of foothold in that area," said Palestinian journalist Khtab Omer. In his book, the Strategic Ally Myth, Mort Zuckerman writes, "Israel provides the US a good strategic location in the Middle East, a place to stockpile American weapons, and beneficial intelligence." As decades passed with attempts at futile negotiations and treaties, the plight of the innocent victims was lost in the rubble of destruction. The innocent civilians became fodder for politicians, they were the ones who suffered and died at the hands of repeated conflicts that bore no altering consequence.
According to Mr Falk, "What makes Gaza presently useful to the Israelis is their capacity to manage the level of violence, both as a distraction from other concerns (eg backing down in relation to Iran; accelerated expansion of the settlements) and as a way of convincing their own people that dangerous enemies remain and must be dealt with by the iron fist of Israeli militarism." Another viewpoint as presented by FOX News' National Security Analyst Kathleen Troia McFarland is that if Israel is planning a kind of military pre-emptive strike against Iran's nuclear forces, by taking out these "missile batteries in the Gaza, Iran has a difficult time retaliating against Israel". The Israelis are by far the stronger party, militarily, economically and politically. The military imbalance means that they are able to inflict more death and damage than the Palestinians whenever violence flares up. But their relative strength also places a greater onus on them to revive the Moribund Peace Plan.
Israel, with the backing of Washington, takes the position that Hamas as "a terrorist organization" must be permanently excluded from the procedures of diplomacy. "Whether you like it or not, Hamas, like Hezbollah, is mostly a byproduct of an oppressive occupation, and not the other way round. That's why refraining from excessive use of force and concentrating all efforts on a negotiated end to the occupation is paramount for security and moderation. Otherwise, Israel will only succeed in increasing Hamas's popularity and pushing it back to clandestinely and war," said Marwan Bishara, a senior political analyst at Al Jazeera. On the flipside, CNN contributor Nathan J Brown states, "The Israelis know that they cannot dislodge Hamas from Gaza without unacceptable cost and endless occupation. But they want to punish the movement so severely that it will be deterred from future violence. Hamas knows that the damage it inflicts serves no strategic value, but it hopes that its rockets will cause dislocation and even panic in Israel and send an international message that Gaza cannot be ignored."
Neither Hamas nor Israel has a stake in repeating the events of 2008 and 2009. The outbreak of violence serves no end and both sides know that, yet they go ahead anyway, claiming that they are forced by their adversary to escalate the conflict. "War didn't fix the problem then, and it's unlikely to fix it now. Nor do the Israelis, when the real threat is Iran, want to get into a major military and political mess over Gaza that would make their relationship with Egypt even more complicated," said former US peace negotiator Aaron David Miller. It's time for the international community to step in. "Cooler heads ought to prevail. Egypt should press Hamas to control the jihadis and to reimpose a truce - perhaps in exchange for a more open border with Gaza and greater political support from Turkey and Qatar, and the US should urge restraint on Israel to allow Hamas to stand down."
Monday, November 19, 2012
Bonbon Pastry & Cafe owner Courtney Bonning battles
Street-fighting may be entertainment in some circles – Black Friday, anyone? – but for Courtney Bonning, Thursday night's battle will be in a different arena.
At 10 p.m. Thanksgiving, the owner of Bonbon Pastry & Cafe faces her showdown in the “Sweet Genius” kitchen on Food Network. She'll be competing with three other contenders for the evening's honors, plus a chance to win a $10,000 cash prize.
Bonning, who lives in Fairview Park and operates the popular shop in Ohio City, admits that initially her view of the competition was tad skeptical. She quick became aware of how vigorous the challenge would be.
“It's definitely legit,” says Bonning, who lives in Fairview Park. “You have to make your way through the shooting, and you really don't know what's in store for you. I went in having recipes and ratios in my head, and tried to be prepared for whatever they'd throw [at me]. It's mentally challenging, mostly.”
So was working with chef Ron Ben-Israel, host of the show and an internationally recognized cake decorator. If you haven't watched “Sweet Genius,” you've missed one of the culinary world's iciest personalities, at least on camera. His demeanor, sort of an imperious taskmaster, can be . . . daunting.
“During shooting he will, like, let his guard down a little bit and talk with you – say, about tools you may or may not be familiar with,” she says. “ He does maintain a stoic kind of nature, and he is a chef and so there's a certain line of command. But he's also actually very helpful and warm. He smiles, and there is a dialogue with him.”
Bonning, who last year shared honors and a $10,000 prize on the network's “Cupcake Wars,” says that “Sweet Genius” was “awesome to be in.
“They put you in a room with every possible toy a pastry chef would want to play with – every chocolate tempering station and sugar-pulling station, and molds, and dragees . . . They give you this opportunity, admittedly on-the-fly – it's why people go into this field in thhe first place. Really, it doesn't matter whether you win or lose. Having the experience itself is just awesome.”
A publicist representing Food Network was on hand during our conversation, chiefly to make sure Bonning didn't tip her hand about the show's outcome. You'll have to wait for show's airing.
The companies that sent their manufacturing to foreign countries soon discovered there were frustrations and costs they never anticipated. They found that differences in language made communicating product specifications and manufacturing instructions to their offshored sources difficult. They learned that cultural differences made it difficult to motivate the foreign companies to respond quickly to their needs. Graft — or payment under the table — was often necessary to break logjams such as finding lost parts, getting a higher priority in a production schedule, or releasing shipments. Conference calls to deal with these issues would have to be scheduled across different time zones, further frustrating the offshoring company.
When issues could not be solved over the phone, visits abroad became necessary, incurring more costs and tying up valuable human resources. Some companies decided to make periodic overseas visits to keep things under control or to put a full-time company representative on site. The costs were just beginning to expose themselves. When production or quality assurance steps were not followed, products could end up at the parent company requiring rework. Being compensated for the reworking of defective products was unlikely.
The list of offshoring problems and resulting costs continued. Purchasing offshored goods usually began with a prepayment. Order quantities were not what was needed, but rather based on what a shipping container would hold. Add a production lead-time of four weeks and a shipping time of another four weeks — all in addition to the massive order quantities — and the result was products, which would not sell for many more weeks, that required storage and inventorying. There was a constant threat of obsolescence and spoilage.
Cash flow slowed to a snail’s pace, especially with 30-day net terms to customers. Costs escalated and profits shrunk. But there’s more! Offshored countries are notorious for pirating the intellectual property U.S. companies give them to make their products. Suing the foreign source typically is ineffective because of weak or nonexistent judicial support in the foreign country.
Offshoring has consequences for the U.S. as well. The flight of manufacturing jobs offshore has meant record unemployment, reduced gross national product and a dwindling tax base, with less than half of Americans paying federal income taxes. In some cases, whole towns have struggled because of offshoring, such as Hershey, PA, where all Hershey chocolate used to be made.
At 10 p.m. Thanksgiving, the owner of Bonbon Pastry & Cafe faces her showdown in the “Sweet Genius” kitchen on Food Network. She'll be competing with three other contenders for the evening's honors, plus a chance to win a $10,000 cash prize.
Bonning, who lives in Fairview Park and operates the popular shop in Ohio City, admits that initially her view of the competition was tad skeptical. She quick became aware of how vigorous the challenge would be.
“It's definitely legit,” says Bonning, who lives in Fairview Park. “You have to make your way through the shooting, and you really don't know what's in store for you. I went in having recipes and ratios in my head, and tried to be prepared for whatever they'd throw [at me]. It's mentally challenging, mostly.”
So was working with chef Ron Ben-Israel, host of the show and an internationally recognized cake decorator. If you haven't watched “Sweet Genius,” you've missed one of the culinary world's iciest personalities, at least on camera. His demeanor, sort of an imperious taskmaster, can be . . . daunting.
“During shooting he will, like, let his guard down a little bit and talk with you – say, about tools you may or may not be familiar with,” she says. “ He does maintain a stoic kind of nature, and he is a chef and so there's a certain line of command. But he's also actually very helpful and warm. He smiles, and there is a dialogue with him.”
Bonning, who last year shared honors and a $10,000 prize on the network's “Cupcake Wars,” says that “Sweet Genius” was “awesome to be in.
“They put you in a room with every possible toy a pastry chef would want to play with – every chocolate tempering station and sugar-pulling station, and molds, and dragees . . . They give you this opportunity, admittedly on-the-fly – it's why people go into this field in thhe first place. Really, it doesn't matter whether you win or lose. Having the experience itself is just awesome.”
A publicist representing Food Network was on hand during our conversation, chiefly to make sure Bonning didn't tip her hand about the show's outcome. You'll have to wait for show's airing.
The companies that sent their manufacturing to foreign countries soon discovered there were frustrations and costs they never anticipated. They found that differences in language made communicating product specifications and manufacturing instructions to their offshored sources difficult. They learned that cultural differences made it difficult to motivate the foreign companies to respond quickly to their needs. Graft — or payment under the table — was often necessary to break logjams such as finding lost parts, getting a higher priority in a production schedule, or releasing shipments. Conference calls to deal with these issues would have to be scheduled across different time zones, further frustrating the offshoring company.
When issues could not be solved over the phone, visits abroad became necessary, incurring more costs and tying up valuable human resources. Some companies decided to make periodic overseas visits to keep things under control or to put a full-time company representative on site. The costs were just beginning to expose themselves. When production or quality assurance steps were not followed, products could end up at the parent company requiring rework. Being compensated for the reworking of defective products was unlikely.
The list of offshoring problems and resulting costs continued. Purchasing offshored goods usually began with a prepayment. Order quantities were not what was needed, but rather based on what a shipping container would hold. Add a production lead-time of four weeks and a shipping time of another four weeks — all in addition to the massive order quantities — and the result was products, which would not sell for many more weeks, that required storage and inventorying. There was a constant threat of obsolescence and spoilage.
Cash flow slowed to a snail’s pace, especially with 30-day net terms to customers. Costs escalated and profits shrunk. But there’s more! Offshored countries are notorious for pirating the intellectual property U.S. companies give them to make their products. Suing the foreign source typically is ineffective because of weak or nonexistent judicial support in the foreign country.
Offshoring has consequences for the U.S. as well. The flight of manufacturing jobs offshore has meant record unemployment, reduced gross national product and a dwindling tax base, with less than half of Americans paying federal income taxes. In some cases, whole towns have struggled because of offshoring, such as Hershey, PA, where all Hershey chocolate used to be made.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Capitol Hill Review
First of all, I want to say that I am humbled by the outpouring of 17,300 votes of support from you all. I will stay committed to our conservative values while doing all I can to jumpstart job growth in our region and limit government interference in our lives. I appreciate this vote of confidence. Over the past few weeks, I have been asked about leadership and what leadership means to me.
Leadership is a trait that many profess to have, yet few display when the pressure comes to bear. It is now necessarily something you are born with. It is something you learn and earn. Whether as part of a team or on the inside of a agency, or company leaders emerge because their peers need it or the times demand it.
John Kenneth Galbraith perhaps said it best when he stated, “All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.”
Where are leaders needed? On the battlefield. In the classroom. In public policy. Certainly, in the workplace.Often times, people will confuse managers with leaders. But there is a very large difference between the two.
Managers work to get their employees to do what they did yesterday, but a little faster and a little cheaper. Leaders, on the other hand, know where they'd like to go, but understand that they can't get there without their tribe, without giving those they lead the tools to make something happen.
Managers want authority. Leaders take responsibility. The fact is: We need both in the workplace. But we have to be careful not to confuse them. And it helps to remember that leaders are scarce and thus more valuable.
Leaders are able to take a vision, navigate the complexities of the private market, and revolutionize whole industries. When I think of the term “leadership,” I cannot help but think of one accomplished Tennessean who was told his idea would never work. When he was at business school, Fred Smith developed the idea for a logistics and shipping company that would serve the world. He was told his idea would never work and that, even if it became a reality, no average citizen would ever use the service he would provide. Fred struck out on his own; determined to make it work. Today, FedEx is one of the great American success stories of our time. Headquartered right here in Tennessee, last year its total revenue exceeded $39 billion. Obviously, Fred Smith is a leader.
Perhaps some of our most vivid images of leaders come from American history. Whether it is our Founding Fathers—a collection of leaders who came together to create a new nation founded on Christian principles and the rule of law—or Tennessee’s own Davy Crockett—who decided to conquer the American frontier—it seems all the individuals who helped shape this nation exuded a certain quality about them that made them leaders. One recent leader who displayed a lot of character during some very trying times, was Condoleeza Rice. She was the 66th US Secretary of State and the first African American woman. Dr. Rice was asked about her thoughts on leadership.
She gave a very insightful answer. “The defining characteristic of a true leader,” she said, “is that he or she never accepts the world as it is, but strives always to make the world as it should be.”
One of the great institutions that cultivates true leaders is the United States Armed Forces. Any of us who are veterans or know veterans can attest to that fact. What is it the military does that molds and forms the leadership characteristics in our service members? Well, let’s go straight to the source. Here are the eleven principles of leadership utilized by the US Navy. They are presented here in a universal context that can be applied to both the corporate and military environments.
Leadership is a trait that many profess to have, yet few display when the pressure comes to bear. It is now necessarily something you are born with. It is something you learn and earn. Whether as part of a team or on the inside of a agency, or company leaders emerge because their peers need it or the times demand it.
John Kenneth Galbraith perhaps said it best when he stated, “All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.”
Where are leaders needed? On the battlefield. In the classroom. In public policy. Certainly, in the workplace.Often times, people will confuse managers with leaders. But there is a very large difference between the two.
Managers work to get their employees to do what they did yesterday, but a little faster and a little cheaper. Leaders, on the other hand, know where they'd like to go, but understand that they can't get there without their tribe, without giving those they lead the tools to make something happen.
Managers want authority. Leaders take responsibility. The fact is: We need both in the workplace. But we have to be careful not to confuse them. And it helps to remember that leaders are scarce and thus more valuable.
Leaders are able to take a vision, navigate the complexities of the private market, and revolutionize whole industries. When I think of the term “leadership,” I cannot help but think of one accomplished Tennessean who was told his idea would never work. When he was at business school, Fred Smith developed the idea for a logistics and shipping company that would serve the world. He was told his idea would never work and that, even if it became a reality, no average citizen would ever use the service he would provide. Fred struck out on his own; determined to make it work. Today, FedEx is one of the great American success stories of our time. Headquartered right here in Tennessee, last year its total revenue exceeded $39 billion. Obviously, Fred Smith is a leader.
Perhaps some of our most vivid images of leaders come from American history. Whether it is our Founding Fathers—a collection of leaders who came together to create a new nation founded on Christian principles and the rule of law—or Tennessee’s own Davy Crockett—who decided to conquer the American frontier—it seems all the individuals who helped shape this nation exuded a certain quality about them that made them leaders. One recent leader who displayed a lot of character during some very trying times, was Condoleeza Rice. She was the 66th US Secretary of State and the first African American woman. Dr. Rice was asked about her thoughts on leadership.
She gave a very insightful answer. “The defining characteristic of a true leader,” she said, “is that he or she never accepts the world as it is, but strives always to make the world as it should be.”
One of the great institutions that cultivates true leaders is the United States Armed Forces. Any of us who are veterans or know veterans can attest to that fact. What is it the military does that molds and forms the leadership characteristics in our service members? Well, let’s go straight to the source. Here are the eleven principles of leadership utilized by the US Navy. They are presented here in a universal context that can be applied to both the corporate and military environments.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Red Bull cupcakes
If I am honest, I have a bit of a love hate relationship with Red Bull. It is fantastic as a mid morning pick-me-up and has helped many a tired soul through a hectic day at the office on barely any sleep. However, I have never really taken to the taste of it and, when I look at its high sugar content, I usually think of all the cakes and sweets I could have eaten instead of this vaguely bitter tasting drink and feel slightly cheated. This has never stopped me drinking it though!
As a result, I feel I cannot turn down the chance to make a cupcake using the high energy drink when I come across a recipe which combines the two online. Although the recipe calls for Red Bull you could use any other brand of energy drink for the cupcakes including Relentless, Monster or Scotland's own Nae Danger.
I am hoping that these cakes will provide me with the ideal solution to the niggling problem that I have with Red Bull and allow me to enjoy the benefits of the high-energy drink without missing out on cakes. The fact that the cupcakes are bright red and blue is merely a bonus!
However, as I start making the cupcake batter it soon becomes clear that this recipe is not going to be as easy as I had hoped. After mixing the butter, sugar, eggs, flour and salt together, it is time to add the red food colouring, vanilla essence and three quarters of a can of Red Bull. The key ingredient seems to have a bit of an effect on the mixture, making it very runny and the bright red food colouring does nothing to help matters.
Once I finally get the mix into the cupcake moulds, the aftermath looks like something out of a horror film, with splatters of red cake mix covering the work-top, floor and parts of my torso!
Undeterred I place the cakes in the oven and start work on the blue buttercream icing. This is a task which I think will go smoothly. How wrong I am! After mixing sugar, butter and vanilla essence to make the topping, it is time to put the icing on the cake so to speak. However, as I start piping, the butter begins to heat up and the entire bag is soon spewing out globs of melted blue goo. Determined to persevere and with my hands now resembling the colour of a Smurf, I finish the icing and put the cakes in the fridge to allow them to firm up.
Finally it is time to taste them and, to be honest, I am not as excited about it as I had hoped I would be. The cakes are tasty and have a real kick to them but, and this is something I thought I would never say, they are actually a bit too sweet for me. They are fantastic as a bit of a pick-me-up but I suspect eating more than one at a time could prove lethal!
Unfortunately my quest to find a happy medium between Red Bull and cakes has not been as successful as I had hoped. However, if you are looking for a cupcake with a kick then this is definitely a sweet treat that is worth trying for yourself.
Apart from roof leaks or faucet, water damage in Los Angeles is also caused by storms, floods, hurricanes and ice melt. Homeowners can easily contact Water Damage Los Angeles Company whenever they are in need of extraction services to stop further damage. Water damage services are not easy to carry out and trained professionals are definitely required for such purposes. A water damage professional efficiently cleans the affected area to extract the water from the place. By using state of the art equipments like water extraction units, moisture gauges, dehumidifiers and blowers, the water from the walls, floor, ceiling and carpet is easily removed. These professionals come well equipped with every tool necessary to provide a proper outcome to the assigned task.
Although there are plenty of specialists in Los Angeles however, Water Damage Los Angeles stands out from amongst the rest with their high quality services and excellent customer service. The home is a valuable asset and one needs to ensure that well-trained and certified professionals are engaged to carry out the task. The well trained professionals, hi-tech equipments and vast experience help Water Damage Los Angeles to deliver the best services which guarantees a job well done. Apart from cleaning the damages the damaged property, the professionals dry up everything by using top standard equipments.
As a result, I feel I cannot turn down the chance to make a cupcake using the high energy drink when I come across a recipe which combines the two online. Although the recipe calls for Red Bull you could use any other brand of energy drink for the cupcakes including Relentless, Monster or Scotland's own Nae Danger.
I am hoping that these cakes will provide me with the ideal solution to the niggling problem that I have with Red Bull and allow me to enjoy the benefits of the high-energy drink without missing out on cakes. The fact that the cupcakes are bright red and blue is merely a bonus!
However, as I start making the cupcake batter it soon becomes clear that this recipe is not going to be as easy as I had hoped. After mixing the butter, sugar, eggs, flour and salt together, it is time to add the red food colouring, vanilla essence and three quarters of a can of Red Bull. The key ingredient seems to have a bit of an effect on the mixture, making it very runny and the bright red food colouring does nothing to help matters.
Once I finally get the mix into the cupcake moulds, the aftermath looks like something out of a horror film, with splatters of red cake mix covering the work-top, floor and parts of my torso!
Undeterred I place the cakes in the oven and start work on the blue buttercream icing. This is a task which I think will go smoothly. How wrong I am! After mixing sugar, butter and vanilla essence to make the topping, it is time to put the icing on the cake so to speak. However, as I start piping, the butter begins to heat up and the entire bag is soon spewing out globs of melted blue goo. Determined to persevere and with my hands now resembling the colour of a Smurf, I finish the icing and put the cakes in the fridge to allow them to firm up.
Finally it is time to taste them and, to be honest, I am not as excited about it as I had hoped I would be. The cakes are tasty and have a real kick to them but, and this is something I thought I would never say, they are actually a bit too sweet for me. They are fantastic as a bit of a pick-me-up but I suspect eating more than one at a time could prove lethal!
Unfortunately my quest to find a happy medium between Red Bull and cakes has not been as successful as I had hoped. However, if you are looking for a cupcake with a kick then this is definitely a sweet treat that is worth trying for yourself.
Apart from roof leaks or faucet, water damage in Los Angeles is also caused by storms, floods, hurricanes and ice melt. Homeowners can easily contact Water Damage Los Angeles Company whenever they are in need of extraction services to stop further damage. Water damage services are not easy to carry out and trained professionals are definitely required for such purposes. A water damage professional efficiently cleans the affected area to extract the water from the place. By using state of the art equipments like water extraction units, moisture gauges, dehumidifiers and blowers, the water from the walls, floor, ceiling and carpet is easily removed. These professionals come well equipped with every tool necessary to provide a proper outcome to the assigned task.
Although there are plenty of specialists in Los Angeles however, Water Damage Los Angeles stands out from amongst the rest with their high quality services and excellent customer service. The home is a valuable asset and one needs to ensure that well-trained and certified professionals are engaged to carry out the task. The well trained professionals, hi-tech equipments and vast experience help Water Damage Los Angeles to deliver the best services which guarantees a job well done. Apart from cleaning the damages the damaged property, the professionals dry up everything by using top standard equipments.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Natural cancer therapies can’t harm you
One of the most misleading myths of modern medicine is that conventional cancer doctors reject “natural” therapies in favour of artificial or “unnatural” cancer treatments. This myth has contributed to the popularity of unproven, alternative cancer treatments.
The truth is that oncologists and other trained medical professionals involved in cancer care welcome and support effective cancer treatments in any form, provided there is evidence to show they can work and are safe.
Making assumptions about the benefits and harms of therapies according to whether or not they are natural is high-risk. For example, laetrile, an extract from apricot kernels, was for years promoted as a natural alternative therapy for cancer; yet it is utterly useless for treating cancer and can cause fatal cyanide poisoning.
So natural does not necessarily equate to harmless. Nor does conventional necessarily equate to unnatural. Plenty of natural products are used in chemotherapy. These include extracts from the yew tree (docetaxel, paclitaxel), the opium and mandrake plants (epipodophyllotoxins) and from natural moulds that produce doxorubicin and related drugs, used effectively to treat breast cancer and lymphoma.
Some natural products used in conventional cancer medicine had for centuries been part of traditional folk remedies and have been adapted for modern use after being rigorously tested.
So the difference between alternative and conventional is not that one is natural and the other is not. It’s that conventional cancer treatments must be subjected to rigorous research before they can be recommended for use and prescribed by professional oncologists.
The highest level of research is the randomised control trial, which is only applied to a product after lengthy laboratory studies, preliminary testing and approval by an ethics committee made up of medical experts, ethicists and healthcare consumers.
A typical trial involves randomly selecting two groups of patients in large enough numbers to control for physical differences between them. One group receives the new treatment and the other group is given a different treatment or a placebo; the results are then compared. A trial is designed to show that any significant difference in patient outcomes can only be the result of the treatment being tested.
Oncologists will only prescribe treatments if they have been tested in this way and are found to be effective and safe.
A good example of this testing process on a natural derivative is the development of the drugs vincristine and vinblastine, extracted from the Madagascan periwinkle. Improved through continual clinical trials over 50 years, these so-called “vinca” alkaloids have been a key part of modern-day successes in curing childhood leukaemia and other cancers that were previously incurable.
Some alternative cancer therapists also promote fad diets, but there is no evidence to support this approach. A healthy diet can prevent cancer and assist people living with cancer. But diet will not cure cancer, which directly attacks the body’s cells in a highly destructive and relentless way.
Such a malignant disease can only be cured if the cancer cells are surgically removed before the cancer has spread or if they are destroyed with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.
Nor is there any evidence to support mind control in any form as a cancer therapy. Such a belief or expectation in many cases adds to a patient’s distress. Can you imagine the terrible trauma of being diagnosed with a potentially fatal cancer and told you can think your way to good health with a positive attitude?
The reality is, we have a limited lifespan; science does not have all the answers to our health needs. But we agree as a society that we should do what we can to increase life expectancy and improve health.
The truth is that oncologists and other trained medical professionals involved in cancer care welcome and support effective cancer treatments in any form, provided there is evidence to show they can work and are safe.
Making assumptions about the benefits and harms of therapies according to whether or not they are natural is high-risk. For example, laetrile, an extract from apricot kernels, was for years promoted as a natural alternative therapy for cancer; yet it is utterly useless for treating cancer and can cause fatal cyanide poisoning.
So natural does not necessarily equate to harmless. Nor does conventional necessarily equate to unnatural. Plenty of natural products are used in chemotherapy. These include extracts from the yew tree (docetaxel, paclitaxel), the opium and mandrake plants (epipodophyllotoxins) and from natural moulds that produce doxorubicin and related drugs, used effectively to treat breast cancer and lymphoma.
Some natural products used in conventional cancer medicine had for centuries been part of traditional folk remedies and have been adapted for modern use after being rigorously tested.
So the difference between alternative and conventional is not that one is natural and the other is not. It’s that conventional cancer treatments must be subjected to rigorous research before they can be recommended for use and prescribed by professional oncologists.
The highest level of research is the randomised control trial, which is only applied to a product after lengthy laboratory studies, preliminary testing and approval by an ethics committee made up of medical experts, ethicists and healthcare consumers.
A typical trial involves randomly selecting two groups of patients in large enough numbers to control for physical differences between them. One group receives the new treatment and the other group is given a different treatment or a placebo; the results are then compared. A trial is designed to show that any significant difference in patient outcomes can only be the result of the treatment being tested.
Oncologists will only prescribe treatments if they have been tested in this way and are found to be effective and safe.
A good example of this testing process on a natural derivative is the development of the drugs vincristine and vinblastine, extracted from the Madagascan periwinkle. Improved through continual clinical trials over 50 years, these so-called “vinca” alkaloids have been a key part of modern-day successes in curing childhood leukaemia and other cancers that were previously incurable.
Some alternative cancer therapists also promote fad diets, but there is no evidence to support this approach. A healthy diet can prevent cancer and assist people living with cancer. But diet will not cure cancer, which directly attacks the body’s cells in a highly destructive and relentless way.
Such a malignant disease can only be cured if the cancer cells are surgically removed before the cancer has spread or if they are destroyed with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.
Nor is there any evidence to support mind control in any form as a cancer therapy. Such a belief or expectation in many cases adds to a patient’s distress. Can you imagine the terrible trauma of being diagnosed with a potentially fatal cancer and told you can think your way to good health with a positive attitude?
The reality is, we have a limited lifespan; science does not have all the answers to our health needs. But we agree as a society that we should do what we can to increase life expectancy and improve health.
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