I've Identified Some Astounding Information Technology Talent in real NEO that has been harmed by our regional leadership, and I'm trying to find a nice way to deal with that. Each of these people have risen to positions of demonstrated excellence in their fields - have innovated our regional information technology landscape and had global impact - and each of them have been directly violated by leadership in our community - IT leadership and community development leadership. They have each done the right things - each taken the right steps - and each been blocked along the way. And each are "minority". How do I now give them the proper status they deserve in the community, where they have not been welcome or valued?

With relief I read in a recent Plain Dealer article (1) that Ohio Senate President Bill Harris may lead Republican legislators to skotch the $400 million slow train across Ohio. Mind you, one of the many things we need  in the U.S. to be competitive with the rest of the “advanced” world are fast passenger trains, with reduced carbon footprints, racing between major cities less than 400 miles apart.

Overview and mission statement:

NEW MADRID, Mo. | Most experts believe it's just a matter of time before another big earthquake strikes along the New Madrid fault line, and Gov. Jay Nixon says Missouri and neighboring states need to be ready.

Nixon: Missouri must be ready for big quake

Meaning everyone in real NEO is "an artist" and wins the prize together. But how do we not nominate ourselves...

Who seconds?

Nominations

— CALL FOR NOMINATIONS —
Nominations Deadline February 28, 2010

 

Song of the Day: Depeche Mode: "Master and Servant" - dedicated to many friends in the community... especially the Weblady. Blessings.

How pathetic can you get? Brent Larkin today uses quotes from four City Council members to tell us that Cleveland is in serious, serious trouble.

Strong hands, strong backs and strong minds needed to fix crumbling water infrastructure in Great Lakes region.  Immigrants encouraged to apply.

I suggest realNEO members consider the developments surfaced in the Guardian article highlighted below. One of the world's top Journalism prizes - The George Polk Award - was awarded to an anonymous bystander who captured a death in Iran on a cell phone and uploaded it to the Internet. The 40 second video is the most disturbing I have ever seen, by a long shot, and I do not embed it here, nor include even a still frame, nor do I recommend anyone viewing it - if you do you will see a person die, close-up, in a very bloody and graphic way.

Why I post about this on realNEO is that, as the Guardian writes, the "New 'videography' category reflects rising professional use of user-created content". Further: "This award celebrates the fact that, in today's world, a brave bystander with a cellphone camera can use video-sharing and social networking sites to deliver news," said the New York Times' John Darnton, the curator of the Polk Awards.

This is an old post from Jack Ricchiuto, but it too reminds me of REALNEO

August 28, 2002 

Jack  Ricchiuto is one of the brightest lights in this city.

His post today reminded me of the "pick-up team" that is here at REALNEO...

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 Students in a Philadelphia-area school district have launched a lawsuit accusing their schools of spying on them at home through webcams installed in laptop computers the district gave them.

 The image of banks locking their doors to keep customers from making withdrawals during a bank run is what immediately came to mind when we heard that Citigroup was telling customers it has the right to prevent any withdrawals from checking accounts for seven days.

 MAJOR EVENT LOOMS FEB 26-27… SOUTHERN US SNOWSTORM MARCH 2-3?  - 1645 FEB 19 - We are finally getting some clarity with regard to the mishmash and the wild oscillations and fluctuations in the medium and longer range models… at least as far as I’m concerned things are beginning to make sense.    And if   it is  now  making

From YouTube here - Grandmaster Flash says "Don't Push Me, 'cause I'm close to the edge..."

Grandmaster Flash The Message

 

It's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder
How I keep from going under
It's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder
How I keep from going under

http://www.whitehouse.gov/commencement

I found this on Facebook and want to pass it on here on RealNeo.

If anyone knows a high school that is deserving to have President Obama give the Commencement speech please enter this competition. 

Personally I think he would do better to speak at the worst school and attempt to motivate that school to achieve.  Maybe next time.  But, for now if you know of a school that meets the requirements please encourage that school to enter. 

Thanks. 

realNEO visitors have probably noticed the "Who's Online/Online Users" block in the left-hand column of the REALNEO.US homepage, indicating the people who are online and logged in at realNEO at a particular time. Ever wonder about all those people, always on realNEO... who they are, where they are, and why they are visiting here...?

3.3 Ml - GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIF.

Preliminary Earthquake Report

Magnitude	3.3 Ml
Date-Time	19 Feb 2010 19:54:28 UTC 19 Feb 2010 11:54:28 near epicenter 19 Feb 2010 19:54:28 standard time

 Exclusive: Alleged Attempt by Muslim Soldiers to Poison Food at Fort Jackson   -  Numerous reports are circulating about the arrest of five Muslim soldiers just before Christmas on charges of attempting to poison the food supply at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

 ORIGINAL CAPTION: Seagulls fly by the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln at Naval Station Everett in Everett, Wash., on Feb. 16. The Lincoln arrived after exercises off the California coast.

READ the book!  It was written by a reporter for the New York Times, Paul Tough.  He tries to be objective just as I imagine the Plain Dealer's Thomas Ott tries to be objective.

But, READ it.  In many ways, Geoffrey Canada is Eugene Sanders--a corporate front man brought in to sell a product and to improve the bottomline, using whatever it takes.

 It is the first Colonies that later formed Americia.JOIN-OR-DIE - You see you could cut this snake up in two or three parts, then leave it along and it would go back together. Actually heal itself. No matter how many times it was cut apart it would do this. The only way to kill this snake was to keep the parts, apart till the sun went down, then it could nolonger heal itself.

How many people were living or staying at this house, apartment or mobile home on April 1, 2010?" - Thomas Jefferson said, "Whensoever the General Government (Washington) assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force."

At the Whitney Young Cleveland Metropolitan School District meeting--I noted that a SAINT spoke before the school board. 

It is my hope that the school board heard the loud and clear message from this Saint, who distributed The Economic Bill of Rights at that meeting.

“Are we going to be free men or are we going to be slaves to the federal government of the United States?” retired state trooper and current State Delegate Charles W. Carrico, Sr. asked of the 1,000-strong rally gathered on the steps of the Virginia state capitol in January.