Author: Inclusion Magazine

                        

     A NATIVE OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS, Mr. Arthur L. Woods joined the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) as Division Director of the Division of Federal Surplus Property (ADEM/ DFSP) in July 2009. Mr. Woods is also the Program Manager for the General Services Agency (GSA) Federal Surplus Property (FSP) Donation Program which acquires surplus federal property and distributes the property to eligible programs and agencies for the State of Arkansas. Mr. Woods also serves at the national level for the National Association of State Agencies for Surplus Property (NASASP) as a national officer for the organization holding the office of Secretary as well as representing the State of Arkansas with NASASP on the following national committees: Legislative Committee Delegate (AR) and Chairman, Property Disposal and Oversight Committee.
Before joining state government, Mr. Woods dedicated over 20 years of his life in service to his country as a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) in the United States Air Force (USAF) retiring in May 2007. His USAF career included assignments at Little Rock Air Force Base, AR, Kadena Air Base, Japan and Pope, Air Force Base, NC. In addition, he is a veteran of both the Gulf War and the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) and has saw tours of duty in the Middle East in support of operations ENDURING FREEDOM, SOUTHERN WATCH, as well as a tour of duty to the Korean peninsula in support of operation FOAL EAGLE.
Mr. Woods has a very rich and diverse background involving business, insurance and financial services. He has been a small business owner as well as a licensed property and casualty (P&C) and life & health (L&H) insurance agent. Mr. Woods majored in Journalism while attending Arkansas State University – Beebe, the University of Maryland – College Park and the US Air Force Community College of the Air Force and the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH. He also has had previous employment with a major insurance conglomerate (Nationwide Insurance and Financial Services) as an Associate Agent for H.L. Townes Agency Nationwide Insurance and Financial Services in Fayetteville, NC. Mr. Woods is the proud father of three children Carl age 24, Anastasia age 19, Symone age 18, and resides in Little Rock, Arkansas.

 

 

 

 

By: Raynard Jackson

 

As America celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. ‘s birthday this week and is getting ready to celebrate Black History Month in February, I have reflected on the state of liberalism and its impact on the Black community and have concluded that I am very confused!

What am I confused about?  Before Obama’s election as president, no one thought we would ever see a Black person elected president because of racism.

Since Obama has been elected president, can one reasonably postulate that racism has become less of an issue?  If the answer is no, then how do you explain Obama’s election?  Remember, conventional wisdom was that America was too racist and would never elect a Black president (and remember, whites are still a majority of the electorate, so therefore, there were a lot of whites who voted for Obama).

If the answer is yes, then why do liberals constantly blame the plight of Blacks on racism?  You can’t have it both ways.

So, whites are too racist to care about the plight of Blacks, but no longer too racist to vote for a Black candidate for president?

Is it white America’s fault that they helped elect a Black president that took almost two years before he met with the Congressional Black Caucus (despite meeting with gay and Hispanic groups sooner and more frequently); is it white America’s fault that they helped elect a Black president who told the CBC last September to “stop complaining” [about him not doing anything for the Black community]; is it white America’s fault that they helped elect a Black president who has fewer Blacks in his administration than George W. Bush?

Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver (from Kansas City, MO and Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus) famously said last year, “if Obama was white, we would be marching on the White House.”  Cleaver was making reference to Obama not paying attention to the Black community.

Here you have the first Black president of the U.S. who is doing everything in his power to ignore the very community that gave him 96% of their vote.  And people like Cleaver are giving Obama a pass simply because he Black?

Why was there no outcry from the NAACP, the Urban League, Al Sharpton, or Jesse Jackson about Cleaver’s racist comment?  So, it’s racist when a white person in power ignores the Black community, but it’s ok if a Black person in power does the same thing?

King fought and died for the principles he believed in.  King constantly criticized both Kennedy brothers over civil rights; he constantly criticized Johnson over Vietnam.  I can’t imagine King giving Obama a pass simply because he was Black.  His moral compass would not have allowed him to remain silent.

Cleaver, and those who think like him, does a great disservice to everything that King stood for.

There are more Black elected officials than ever before, but the pathologies in our community are getting worse (unemployment, crime, teenage pregnancy, etc.).

Who is to blame for this?  White folks?  Devall Patrick, the Black governor of Massachusetts, has not improved the plight of Blacks in his state.  David Dinkins (New York), Tom Bradley (Los Angeles), Coleman Young (Detroit), all former mayors, never improved the plight of Blacks in their cities with their liberal policies.  Was that because of racism also?  The two exceptions to this were former mayor of Atlanta, Maynard Jackson and former mayor of Washington, DC, Marion Barry.  Why were they so different than the other Black mayors?

They focused on increasing Black entrepreneurship by increasing more opportunities for private sector and government contracting.  These two mayors created many Black millionaires, who created jobs, and hired people who paid taxes and helped to create stable communities.

So, on the one hand, Blacks said America would never elect a Black because of racism.  Blacks then turn around and say Obama can’t do anything to specifically address the needs in the Black community because of racism (meaning white racist will accuse Obama of being partial to Blacks).

I am confused!

By: Raynard Jackson

Last December, I wrote a column titled, “Michael Vick–From Vick-tim to Vick-tory.”  The premise of that piece was thatVick made poor decisions which ultimately caused him to serve time in a federal prison.  After leaving prison, his lifestyle suggested that he had truly turned his life around.  This again involved Vick making decisions that impacted his life.  So, almost a year later, I wanted to write a piece to update my readers on this wonderful story.

 

Last year’s piece focused on what Vick did to cause his troubles and how his decisions (post prison) could lead to him moving beyond his troubles.

 

Vick had a phenomenal season for the Philadelphia Eagles last year.  In fact, he was named to the Pro Bowl (and picked as the starting quarterback for the NFC), named by Associated Press & Sporting News as the comeback player of the year, and was runner up for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the league.

 

Yet, there are still those who want to continue to deny Vick his right to make a living and move on with his life.  If you have that much of a problem with Vick, then just don’t watch him play football; but please let those of us who believe in redemption continue to enjoy and be a witness to this inspiring story taking place right before our very eyes.

 

Vick has continued to work with the Humane Society to educate people about animal cruelty.  He has continued to speak to students about making good life choices.  He seems to have truly turned his life around and is a testament to those who have made mistakes.

 

We all make mistakes, but through our actions, we can show that lessons have been learned through those mistakes.  That’s what maturity and wisdom are all about.

 

I do hope someone will do a movie about Vick’s journey.  His journey can be an inspiration to us all, no matter how big or small the mistake.  Just like one makes a decision to do something bad; that same process can make one reform one’s life to gain the victory over one’s circumstances.

 

Vick’s victory has been so complete that in July of this year Nike signed him to another endorsement deal.  This is unprecedented!  This is the first time a major sponsor has ever resigned an athlete they had previously dropped.

Just last month, Vick signed a 6-year, $ 100 million contract with the Eagles, with $ 40 million guaranteed.

 

Vick’s turnaround is nothing short of miraculous.  Though he is in bankruptcy financially, this new contract, along with the steady stream of endorsements, should allow Vick to regain his financial footing.

 

But, more important than the money, Vick has developed into a “MAN.”  His conversation is different, his game is different, and his life is different.  He is now the unquestioned leader of his team, his family, and his life.

 

He is almost like a person who has cheated death.  People like this tend to have a new take on life and those things that are most important.

 

Football has helped him make a living, but his past has helped him make a life.  These are truly the things that turn boys to men.

 

So, Mike, you are no longer a “Vick-tim,” you are a “Vick-tor.”  Because you have learned from your past, defeat has been swallowed up in VICTORY!

 

 

By Steve Hargreaves       

NEW YORK — The United States is awash in gasoline. So much so, in fact, that the country is exporting a record amount of it. The country exported 430,000 more barrels of gasoline a day than it imported in September, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That is about twice the amount at the start of the year, and experts and industry insiders say the trend is here to stay.

The United States began exporting gas in late 2008. For decades prior, starting in 1960, the country used all the gas it produced here plus had to import gas from places in Europe.

But demand for gas has dropped nearly 10% in recent years. It went from a peak of 9.6 million barrels a day in 2007 to 8.8 million barrels today, according to the EIA.

10 most fuel efficient cars

The drop was caused partially by the recession but also by the advent of more fuel efficient vehicles, higher prices and the greater use of ethanol as an ingredient in gasoline. Demand for other products made from crude oil like diesel and jet fuel has also declined, although not as much.

To be sure, the United States is still importing plenty of oil to make that gasoline — and is still dependent on foreign countries for well over half the crude it uses. (Read: OPEC: We want clean energy.)

But now the country’s massive refining infrastructure is producing more gasoline, diesel and jet fuel than the United States needs, freeing it up to be exported to places like Brazil, Mexico and Chile where demand is still strong.

The Wall Street Journal, which reported on the export trend last week, said the United States is on track this year to be a net exporter of refined products for the first time in 62 years.

“We’ve got plenty of excess refining capacity,” said Jonathan Cogan, a spokesman for EIA. “It’s a reminder that this is a global oil market, and it’s reflected by the movements of products to where they will get the highest prices.”

Oil’s up, gas is down. Why?

Mark Williams, global head of refining, trading and marketing for Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA), said exporting diesel and other refined products from the United States used to happen fairly irregularly but is now becoming much more common.

“It’s growing as a new business,” he said, although he cautioned that the United States would probably not become a huge exporter of fuel.

Still, the ability to export oil is good news for Shell and other oil companies like Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500), BP (BP) and Chevron (CVX,Fortune 500). They can use their extensive and modern refineries in the United States to make gasoline for the rest of the world.

But it may be bewildering for American drivers, who could experience record high gas prices next year even though U.S. demand could hit the lowest level in a decade, said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service.

Oil roars back to $100, but does anybody care?

“I can understand it, from a truck driver’s perspective,” said Kloza. “You’re paying $4 or $4.50 a gallon to run your rig, yet we’re exporting the crap out of this fuel. I’d be outraged too.”

Still, he cautioned against restrictions on exports of diesel or gasoline, a move he expects politicians to at least talk about in 2012.

By: Les Christie

— Occupy Wall Street and other housing activists are heading to neighborhoods hit hard by foreclosure Tuesday to protest the mistreatment of homeowners by mortgage lenders.

Occupy Our Homes said it has scheduled a day of protests for Dec. 6, with events scheduled in 25 cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and other cities.

Among the actions expected to occur is so-called foreclosure defense, where protestors try to stop police from evicting residents of homes that are being foreclosed upon. Protestors also plan to occupy homes that have already been foreclosed on and currently lie vacant.

“The Occupy Wall Street movement and brave homeowners around the country are coming together to say, ‘Enough is enough,'” said an Occupy Our Homes press release. “We, the 99%, are standing up to Wall Street banks and demanding they negotiate with homeowners instead of fraudulently foreclosing on them.”

Protestors in New York are expected to march to Brooklyn’s East New York neighborhood, an area that has been hit hard by foreclosure. The demonstration, which will be led by New York Communities for Change (NYCC), will end with the protestors occupying a foreclosed home that has been vacant for several years.

Occupy Our Homes is charging that the big banks made billions of dollars off of the housing bubble by designing predatory loans that included balloon payments, variable rates and other features that would yield short-term profits from families that were least capable of paying.

Max Rameau, an organizer with Take Back the Land, said his organization has been taking these actions for years but it has gotten a boost from Occupy Wall Street. He expects a large turnout tomorrow.

“We think it’s going to be huge because of the energy of Occupy Wall Street,” he said. “The size and scope will be considerably bigger because of that.”

 

 

By: William Ward

 

If you are among the cynics who believe that higher education can’t get
you anywhere, here’s some food for thought. According to the U.S. Census
Bureau, those who held a graduate or professional degree earned $15,321
more than baccalaureates and a handsome $35,726 more than high school
diploma holders.

Still not convinced to get a Master’s degree? Then you should probably
think back to the time when someone else was given a promotion over you or
when you did not make it through an interview to your dream job. While a
graduate degree would not have guaranteed you the promotion or the job you
had been seeking, it could have brought you closer.

So, if you are looking for career mobility, if you dream of leading a team
someday and take home a fat paycheck, Master’s degrees may pave the way
for you. Here are a few reasons why pursuing a graduate degree makes sense
and how it can help you advance your career:

• Those with a graduate degree are considered specialists in their fields.

• Their knowledge base is considered to be wider and richer.

• Some professions have Master’s degrees as the minimum credential.

• Management level jobs in various fields require a Master’s degree.

• Master’s degrees will help you pick up important skills like time
management, leadership, team playing, and communication that form the
basis of all supervisory roles.

• Graduate degrees help you remain marketable and competitive.

• A Master’s degree will help you prepare for a career switch.

• You can take advantage of education benefit programs that many employers
offer.

• By pursuing a graduate degree, you will create a positive impression on
your employer.

However, a major worry for most professionals considering higher education
is the skyrocketing tuition fee, especially for sought after programs like
an MBA. Besides, not everyone can afford to take time off work for
academic sojourns.
For such individuals, the availability of Master’s degrees online is an
excellent alternative. Not only an online graduate degree is a lot more
economical than traditional on-campus program, it also offers you the
flexibility to study at your own pace, on your own time, and at your own
convenience.
By pursuing an online Master’s degree, you will give your career the much
needed shot in the arm without putting your personal life and professional
commitments at stake!
Another area of concern is the effects of economic downturn on higher
education. While many question the wisdom in pursuing a Master’s degree at
the time of recession, others believe that it is the ideal way to spend
time constructively if you are between jobs. It will help you stay
motivated, sharpen your skills and help you learn new ones, and once the
dust on the economic crisis settles down, you will have emerged better
from it.

 

by: BMA Editorial

Transport and logistics refer to a wide area, but in the industry we can refer transport to passengers and logistics to freight. It is usual for the customers to trust the transportation system for receiving a timely delivery of goods when required. With the emergence of e-commerce, online businesses like the transport and logistics have become more active.

Ecommerce has changed the physical distribution method. The old concepts of the supply chain management have been replaced by new ones. The concept of packaging has also witnessed a sea-change thus making transportation of goods to distant places and even the rural areas a reality.

When compared with the traditional systems of freight distribution, we will definitely opt for the e-commerce transaction of business as they fulfill the needs in a better way than the conventional ones.

The development of internet has made a lot of difference to the ecommerce industry. It has developed the concept of doing business online. The use of internet has made business transactions easier and within the reach of all kinds of customers. The business-to-consumer relation has improved with the search engines giving the customers the option to shop, add content and meet their requirements.

Online customers can get their quotes, book for shipment, and track the freight whenever they choose to. These online freight brokers give them real-time quotes and see to it that the customers go through a smooth transaction process. When the logistics department gets the shipment information, they upload their computerized database with all the relevant information of the whole process and provide it to the customers if and when required.

A proper ecommerce business structure should include proper online quotes for truckload, air, LTL services. There must be some customer-specific freight solutions as each shipping preference and freight differ. A set of different shipping logistics resolution can give the online customers the flexibility to manage their own freight budget of any size. Other solutions include providing the tools to manage truckload, air freight, etc.

Customers should also learn to project freight cost, do freight spend analysis, learn a little bit about freight shipment, crate items and certain other technicalities of logistics to prevent themselves from being caught complete off guard at the time of any eventuality.

The logistics companies deal with online business transaction and gives solutions for all kinds of customers. These companies have taken transportation within the general reach of the customers in a pretty simple way. They are customer-friendly and give the customers multiple options for online booking.

There is a wide variety of packaging available like neat boxes, bubble wraps, shrink wraps and packing tape. If you are into business and require cost effective goods, post office delivery service or an attractive gift for someone, the logistics companies are indeed the right option for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By: Indiann Davinos

I have just been reading about Namibia and how Uranium production is
booming and creating jobs in this developing African nation and I thought
it was about time I revisited the nuclear power debate after a 3 year
break.

With the main UK political parties wanting to create thousands of new
green jobs over the next ten years it will be interesting to see how we
aim to become a market leader in green technology which is where China are
currently the world leader. India is aiming to be a solar country within
10 years as it deals with decreasing fossil fuels and population growth
that is gulping petrol and oil at an unprecedented rate.

The effects of climate change seem to be taking second place against cold
hard cash and the lack of it as a result of the global recession. Global
concerns on security are leading to countries wanting to become less
dependent on others for energy which is essential for economies to grow
and prosper. There is also the threat that countries considered rouge by
the West are developing nuclear power for other purposes than for power.

Once a country develops nuclear power it is less dependent on others and
nuclear is definitely needed in countries which are not blessed with the
sun for solar power. On the flip side there is the never ending question
of what to do with nuclear waste and this has not been resolved to date
with all the modern technology that we have at our disposal.

The Conservative Party and Lib Dems have recently been voted in in the UK
and they want to spend two hundred billion pounds investing in nuclear and
renewable energy in the UK while cutting carbon emissions. These are
honourable intentions but I am not sure where the money will come from as
we deal with the biggest budget deficit since World War 2. Any increased
target of increasing the amount of energy produced from renewable energy
is the way forward as it reduces the pollution and environmental damage
from fossil fuels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

News announced in May 2010 are that a proposed 40 million solar power
development is being discussed in Cornwall which would triple the UKs
solar capacity. This money is being raised from private investors which is
great to see. Only when solar becomes profitable will we see the wide
scale use but these schemes should be subsidised by the tax payer when it
makes sense to do so. The use of energy created by sea waves are also
expanding in the UK which is logical considering we are an island and more
money should be invested in research and development. In parts of the
country where there is little wildlife or threat of ecological damage then
these are the areas where renewable energy should be concentrated as jobs
will be created as a result also.

On a more smaller scale homeowners with surplus solar power are being
encouraged to feed this back into the national grid for which they will be
paid for.

As a summary it appears that nuclear energy has not been promoted as much
as in recent times which is likely to be due to the recession and
reduction in energy needs. As the demand for energy increases in the
developed world as we come out of recession then im sure this article will
be very different in the future.