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Saturday, January 29, 2011

Stimulus Funds Help Wire Rural Homes For Internet

Up in rural northern Vermont, it took until the 1960s to run power lines to some towns — decades after the rest of America got turned on.

These days, it's the digital revolution that remains but a rumor in much of rural America.

Dial-up user Val Houde knows this as well as anybody. After moving here four years ago, the 51-year-old mother of four took a correspondence course for medical transcription, hoping to work from home. She plunked down $800, took the course, then found out the software wasn't compatible with dial-up Internet, the only kind available to her.

Selling items on eBay, watching videos, playing games online? Forget it. The connection from her home computer is so slow, her online life is one of delays, degraded quality and "buffering" warning messages. So she waits until the day a provider extends broadband to her house.

"I feel like these companies, they don't care about these little pockets of places," she said one night recently, showing a visitor her computer's slow Internet service. "And I know we're not the only ones."

For Houde and millions of other Americans laboring under slow or no Internet service, help is on the way.

Bolstered by billions in federal stimulus money, an effort to expand broadband Internet access to rural areas is under way, an ambitious 21st-century infrastructure project with parallels to the New Deal electrification of the nation's hinterlands in the 1930s and 1940s.

In the Depression, it was power to the people — for farm equipment and living-room lamps, cow-milking machines and kitchen appliances. Now, it's online access — to YouTube and digital downloads, to videoconferencing and Facebook, to eBay and Twitter.

"Rural areas all across the country are wrestling with this, somewhat desperately," said Paul Costello, executive director of the Vermont Council on Rural Development. "Young people who grow up with the media will not live where they can't be connected to digital culture. So most rural communities have been behind the eight ball."

Seventy years ago, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt realized that if private industry wouldn't run power lines out to the farthest reaches of rural areas, it would take government money to help make it happen. In 1935, the Rural Electrification Administration was established to deliver electricity to the Tennessee Valley and beyond.

Now, money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is doing the same with broadband, which is typically defined as DSL (digital subscriber line), cable modem, fiber optic or fixed wireless.

The stimulus act set aside $7.2 billion for expansion of broadband access, believing it will spur economic growth, boost educational opportunities and create jobs. The money has jump-started what were existing efforts by states and telecom providers to bridge the digital divide of rural America.

In its national broadband plan issued last year, the Federal Communications Commission pinpointed schools' use of online resources as one of the key targets of the stimulus-funded expansion efforts.

"With broadband, students and teachers can expand instruction beyond the confines of the physical classroom and traditional school day," the plan says. "Broadband can also provide more customized learning opportunities for students to access high-quality, low-cost and personally relevant educational material."

Schools in many rural districts lack that now.

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U.S. Security Leaders Worry About Egypt's Future (And Weapons)

The turmoil in Egypt kept America's security and military leaders on edge Saturday, fearful of a worst-case scenario in which a massive arsenal supplied by the U.S. falls into the hands of Islamic extremists.

Egypt's massive military, with more than 1000 M1 Abrams battle tanks, 220 F-16 fighter jets and 150 attack helicopters including Apaches, has grown through the years after the historic peace settlement with Israel in the 1970s. U.S. foreign policy has seen investment in Egypt's military as a key to stability in the region. But with control of the country uncertain, that military becomes a wildcard.

"The substantial military resources of Egypt falling into the hands of an unknown future Egyptian government has a much greater potential to being a security risk for the US," said a U.S. military official, on condition of anonymity.

On Saturday, after the Egyptian cabinet formally resigned at the demand of Mubarek, an official who spoke to The Washington Examiner by phone said "no one is speaking [for the government] because in reality we have no government."

The Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition movement in Egypt, has called on President Hosni Mubarek, 82, to resign. The group is not listed by U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization, but many western analysts see its views as extremist. Egyptian law does not allow the Muslim Brotherhood to run for parliamentary elections, although some members run as independents.

James Carafano, senior defense analyst with the Heritage Foundation in Washington, said the situation in Egypt resembles the same shift in power during the Iranian Revolution in 1979, but that it is still too early to predict that Mubarek will be succeeded by an extremist government.

Carafano compared the Obama administration's Middle East policies with those of former President Jimmy Carter's before the revolution in Iran.

"If Egypt became an Islamist state it would be a huge setback for the administration," Carafano said. "In the last two years, Obama played nice with Iran, made speeches in Cairo and pushed for talks with the Palestinians" instead of holding those accountable for their actions and policies.

More from The Washington Examiner

Lost Dog

Hey Joe,
 
My neighbor's dog ran off after a stray dog in their yard this morning and nobody can find him.. He's a Jack Russel Terrier, and this was in the area of Zion Rd and Dagsboro Rd. His name is Mickey..
 
Anybody with information can call Kevin Robertson 443 614 7648.
 
Thanks Joe, I appreciate your help.

Judge Rules Pregnancy Center Ordinance Unconstitutional

Says abortion sign requirement violates free speech rights

A federal judge has struck down the city ordinance requiring faith-based pregnancy counseling centers to tell clients upfront that they won't help them get an abortion.

Baltimore drew national attention 14 months ago with the legislation, sponsored by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake when she was City Council president, that required the centers to post signs saying that they don't refer clients for abortions or birth control.

In a decision issued Friday, U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis wrote that the requirement violates the centers' constitutional right to free speech. Ruling in a lawsuit brought against the city by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore and a counseling center it supports, he declared the ordinance "unenforceable."

GO HERE to read more.

Tanks Roll Into Cairo As Protests Continue

A massive crowd of tens of thousands calling for the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was gathering in the streets and squares of downtown Cairo Saturday afternoon, with protesters making clear they reject promises of reform and a new government offered by the embattled leader trying to hang on to power.

Dozens of tanks and armored personnel carriers fanned out across the city of 18 million, guarding key government building a day after large, violent confrontations emboldened the movement demanding a change of leadership. There was rampant looting across the sprawling city of 18 million and a growing feeling of fear and insecurity.

JPost

O'Malley Budget Punts To General Assembly

When you start pulling the O'Malley administration's budget apart, it's like eating cotton candy: There's far less there than anticipated.
 
This budget doesn't live up to its advanced billing. There's nothing Draconian about it. Martin O'Malley is keeping spending a bit above current levels, just as he's done in the recent past.
 
There's no attempt to downsize government or make state agencies more efficient and less cumbersome.
Voters across the nation may be screaming for bad-tasting budget medicine, but in Maryland the governor continues to dispense sugar pills.
 
His blueprint maintains the status quo. It represents a brief pause in the upward climb of social spending in Annapolis.
 
O'Malley didn't even follow the lead of the president he's trying to impress, Barack Obama, who on Tuesday announced a five-year freeze of most federal domestic programs.

GO HERE to read more.

Politicians Can't Keep Hands Off Trust Fund

Dedicated transportation source must be protected

In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Barack Obama vowed to "put more Americans to work repairing crumbling roads and bridges." He highlighted the need for major infrastructure improvements and advancements in the United States, including high-speed rail. After the speech, Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) touted a new federal transportation bill and urged fellow lawmakers to study Maryland's "comprehensive transportation plan."

The 2009 Maryland Transportation Plan, a 20-year vision covering all means of transportation, included among its goals and objectives: Secure transportation assets for the movement of people and goods; maximize operational performance and efficiency of existing systems; provide balanced, seamless, and accessible multimodal transportation options for people and goods, and facilitate linkages within and beyond Maryland to support a healthy economy.
 
Given even those basic goals, it's small wonder that a good many people — lawmakers, commuters, business interests, visionaries — are upset that the state's Transportation Trust Fund has, once again, become the funding piƱata of choice, as evidenced by Gov. Martin O'Malley's latest budget proposal.
 
O'Malley's spending plan, which was released Jan. 21, calls for redirecting $100 million from the already-depleted fund to help close the state's budget deficit of well over $1 billion. If that wasn't bad enough, in the past three years, more than $2 billion has been appropriated from the trust fund for other budgetary purposes.
 
Now, a group called the State Transportation Alliance to Restore the Trust, or Start, has formed to advocate for a strong fund. Its 32 members include AARP, AAA, the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the Greater Baltimore Committee and the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. The first order of business, the alliance says, is replenishing the fund.

GO HERE to read more.

Egypt Kills 100 Protesters; Israel Evacuates Diplomats

Egypt copied Iranian tactics of two years ago and used brutal force by police and prisoners against anti-government protesters Saturday, killing at least 108. The army is standing by but has not taken part in stamping out opposition rallies.

 Meanwhile, Israel was the first country to evacuate diplomats and their families. The Republic of the Philippines is preparing to evacuate 6,500 Filipinos working and studying in Egypt in case the situation grows worse.

Israel's Foreign Ministry said it brought in special flights to carry diplomatic families and 40 other Israelis visiting Egypt who wanted to leave the country. The Israeli government so far has remained silent about the growing crisis, but Jerusalem unofficially has expressed concern that if Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is forced to resign, a long period of instability might follow.

 The Palestinian Authority has expressed solidarity with Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt with an iron hand for 30 years.

U.S. President Barack Obama stated, "The people of Egypt have rights that are universal" and added, "Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away." He spoke with Mubarak for 30 minutes on Friday.

Protesters followed the lead of Tunisians two weeks ago who bought about the end of the rule of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Egypt has responded with club-wielding and riot police, who also are using live fire. The death toll in the protests has ranged from 75 to 108, and at least eight were killed by gunshots near a Cairo jail after several police stations and government buildings were set on fire.

 The Egyptian government has said it is operating with “zero tolerance". However, Fawaz Gerges, director of the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics, told Al Jazeera:

“Obviously the [Mubarak] regime has decided to crack down very hard on the protesters, but the protesters and the popular uprising [are] much more deeply entrenched,”

“The most important point … is that the barrier of fear has collapsed, has fallen. Egyptians now are no longer terrified of the security apparatus as they used to be,” he said.

Egyptian forces Friday took into custody Nobel Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei, the former chief of IAEA,  the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog agency, and prominent anti-government figure who returned from Vienna to join the protests. He was placed under house arrest.

More from INN

Egyptian Civil Strife Sends Oil Close To $100 On Suez Canal Fears

Investors have their eyes on Egypt as civil unrest in the North African country has progressively escalated into a full blown crisis with international repercussions.  Beyond the obvious and inexcusable human cost, the protests against Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year reign have hit the sovereign debt and equity markets, and are working their way through the oil and gold markets.

As Egypt’s youth battles the police’s rubber bullets and tear gas with Molotov cocktails and rocks, Egyptian equity markets have been taking an expected beating.  The EGX30 equity index lost 10.5% on Thursday January 27 hitting its lowest level in 19 months.

Authorities in Egypt have blocked out internet and mobile phone access in an attempt to disrupt the protests.

The situation could have ripple effects worldwide if the Suez Canal becomes jeopardized or even shut down.  According to Canaccord Genuity, “this may be impactful as approximately 1.8 million bb/d of oil was transported through the Suez Canal in 2009. A closure of the canal would result in an extra 6,000 miles of travel for any oil being transported out of the region, an additional cost which could drive up oil prices.”  International oil prices are already racing towards the $100 a barrel mark.  Brent crude oil contracts for March, “the global benchmark,” hit their highest level since late 2008 at $99.63 per barrel on January 28.  West Texas Intermediate March futures were up 4.2% to $89.21.  Even gold began to pick up, with Comex February gold spiking in tandem with oil, up 1.7% on January 28 to $1,341.20.

More here

Phone, Internet Companies Urged To Defy Egypt's Orders

Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.) urged Western communications companies to defy orders from Egypt's government to shut down their services.

The comments came during a day of violent protests and a sweeping attempt by the Egyptian government to block Internet services, a move analysts are calling "unprecedented in Internet history."

Wu, an outspoken opponent of online censorship and the co-founder of the Internet freedom caucus, rejected the idea that Western companies should comply with orders from Egypt's government.

"Have some courage. These international companies really ought to know better," he said in an interview with The Hill. "They should do the right thing."

Wu said he could understand why Egyptian companies would comply, but that western firms who follow the orders are "abetting suppression and repression."

International companies including the U.K.-based Vodafone have received orders from the Egyptian government to shut off communications services. Vodafone said it cooperated because the mandate fell within the bounds of Egyptian law.

"That's bunk," Wu said. "For a [non-Egyptian] company, come on. What [these companies] really care about is their long term business interests in Egypt, not Egyptian law."

Wu called on companies to "follow the Google motto and 'don't be evil,'" referring to the search giant's decision to narrow its business operations in China because it did not want to censor Web content.

More here

Cantor, Hoyer Urge Anti-Israel UN Resolution Veto

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., are certainly in agreement on one issue. They sent a letter to President Barack Obama Thursday urging the U.S. to veto a resolution at the U.N. Security Council that would declare any post-1967 Israeli settlements, including East Jerusalem, illegal, The Hill reports.

The Palestinian Authority and the Arab League want the resolution to be adopted. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced opposition to the measure last week. She says the Israelis and Palestinians should solve their conflict through negotiations. But she didn’t commit to a veto, a power the United States possesses as one of five permanent members on the Security Council.

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Mideast Expert Phares: Egyptian Turmoil Could Push It Into Jihadist Hands

The unrest in Egypt could lead to a Muslim Brotherhood takeover that would shift the U.S. ally away from the Free World and into the arms of jihad, Mideast expert Walid Phares tells Newsmax.TV. The Obama administration has abandoned those representing the best hope for democracy, the author and terrorism expert says.

“The main concern in the United States is that if the opposition wins . . . and the Muslim Brotherhood are the ones who take over, and that’s only an if, then we’re going to see Egypt shifting away from the relationship with the Free World and actually connecting with the forces of jihad in the region,” he said.

The worst-case scenario would be toppling Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and bringing in the Muslim Brotherhood, said Phares, a Beirut native who now is a U.S. citizen. “Egypt will shift completely and become an Islamist, jihadist state,” he said.

Another troubling scenario would be a protracted struggle that would be felt not only in Egypt but also in Israel, Iran, and throughout the Mideast.

Read more

Scalia Draws Few Lawmakers To Constitutional Talk

A talk on constitutional law with a sitting Supreme Court justice was clearly not the ticket on Capitol Hill this week, the Washington Wire Blog of the Wall Street Journal reports. Fewer than three dozen of the House’s 435 invited members showed up on Monday for a seminar with Justice Antonin Scalia organized by Rep. Michele Bachmann.

One rookie lawmaker who did attend was surprised to hear the conservative jurist shoot down some conservative policy memes.

“He said, ‘States rights? Fuhgeddaboudit!’” said Rep. Joe Walsh, a tea party-backed Illinois Republican who also heard Scalia dismiss the line-item veto as unconstitutional.

Newsmax

Salisbury Police Department Press Releases

On January 27, 2011 at approximately 8:40 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police received a call to respond to the four hundred (400)
block of Decatur Avenue for the report of a shooting. Upon arrival the officers found a male victim, later identified as 20 year old Darrell Antonio Neal of Salisbury, suffering from two (2) gunshot wounds. Neal had a wound to the left calf area and to the right shoulder. Neal was transported to the Peninsula Regional Medical Center for treatment where it was determined that the injuries were not life threatening. Neal advised Salisbury Detectives that he was walking west bound on Decatur Avenue when he passed an unknown suspect. Neal continued that after passing the suspect, Neal turned to look at the suspect and observed the suspect in possession of a handgun. The suspect fired the handgun striking Neal who fled to a nearby residence for assistance. Neal described the suspect as:

Black male, late teens to early twenties in age, six (6) feet tall, thin build, clean shaven with shoulder-length dreadlock hair. The suspect was wearing all dark or black clothing.

If anyone has any information regarding this incident, they are asked to contact the Salisbury Police at 410-548-3165 or Crime Solvers at 410-548-1776. Information may be given to both agencies anonymously.
CC # 201100003326

On January 27, 2011 at approximately 7:27 am, Officers of the Salisbury Police arrested the below listed suspect on an outstanding arrest warrant obtained for an incident that occurred on January 26, 2011. On that date the officers had responded to a residence on Caroline Street for the report of a domestic assault. Upon arrival the officers met with an adult female victim who advised that she had been assaulted by the suspect during an argument. The victim advised that the suspect had attempted to assault the victim with two (2) butcher type knives then had struck her repeatedly in the head and face with his fists. During the assault, the victim attempted to escape from the suspect, but was unable to do so. The suspect had left the premises prior to the arrival of the officers.

During the arrest on the warrant, a routine warrant check revealed that Kingery was also wanted on an outstanding warrant in Delaware for failure to appear in court.

ARRESTED: Michael Delaney Kingery, 32 years of age Salisbury, Maryland

CHARGES:
Attempted first degree murder
Attempted second degree murder
First degree assault
Second degree assault
Reckless endangerment
False imprisonment
Fugitive – Delaware
Failure to appear in court

DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking
CC # 201100003196/201100003241

On January 27, 2011 at approximately 2:38 pm, Officers of the Salisbury Police arrested the below listed suspect on an outstanding arrest warrant obtained for an incident that was reported on January 17, 2011. On that date the Salisbury Police had responded to a residence on South Park Drive for the report of a burglary.

Upon arrival the officers found that unknown suspects had made entry into the residence and had stolen property from the residence. Salisbury Detectives were able to recover a portion of that property and identified the suspect as involved in the burglary. Further arrests are anticipated.

ARRESTED: Aaron Jessie Carey, 24 years of age Salisbury, Maryland

CHARGES:
First degree burglary
Third degree burglary
Fourth degree burglary
Theft (over $ 1,000)
Malicious destruction of property

DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking
CC # 201100002037

Benefit For Saylor Hayes Ends Badly

First of all, I would like to thank the outpour of support given to 2 yr old Saylor Hayes who is recovering from cancer. Last night there was a well planned benefit to help her family with medical expenses held at the Laurel Fire Dept. As a resident of Laurel for the past 30 years I am very embarrassed by the actions of a few females who immaturely decided this was a time and place to put their hands on eachother and fight. We were there for Saylor and for these people to do this was uncalled for. As for everyone else who attended and knew how to act, on behalf of the family and the residents here, we thank you
Sincerely,
Laurel Resident


HISTORICAL COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER

Allen Memorial Baptist Church

The history of the Baptist Church is not something I want to attempt here. But, I do have a few interesting facts about the local Allen Memorial Baptist Church. It was originally founded as the New Light Baptist Church with 12 members on September 29, 1859. The first pastor was the Rev. O.F. Flippo. They bought the Presbyterian Church building on North Division Street for $1100.00 and named it the Division Street Baptist Church. The church is pictured above in the lower right hand portion of the picture. In 1936, they built another new building to replace this one. It is pictured on the postcard on the upper right.
         
This is where the mystery begins. George Corddrey states in his History of Wicomico County that the Church was renamed the Allen Memorial Church in memory of Walter K. Allen. He was a son of Walter F. Allen, the prominent agriculturalist whose extensive lands are now covered by much of Salisbury University. W. K. Allen was ordained in the Division Street Baptist Church and became a missionary for the Baptist Church and traveled to India, where he died of typhoid fever in 1925. As the Church Directory of 1928 shows, however, the Church was named the Walter F. Allen Memorial Baptist Church. It is now known as the Allen Memorial Baptist Church and is located in a large new facility on Snow Hill Road. According to Erica Henry at Allen Memorial, the actual name of the Church is the Walter K. Allen Memorial Baptist Church. Apparently the Church Directory of 1928 was incorrect. This could have been a printing error by a well-meaning printer who used the more familiar name of Walter F. Allen. That is why it is so important to look up and seek out many sources before putting the history of anything to paper. The daughter of the pastor, James N. Stewart, in 1928 was Audrey Stewart, a long-time educator in Wicomico County.
         
The members of this congregation were different from the Old School Baptist Church, whose building is still standing on the corner of Church and Baptist Streets, although it is no longer a church. There was also the Forest Grove Baptist Church, which belonged to the Old School Baptists. My great-grandmother belonged to the Old School Baptist Church and is buried, according to her wishes, at Forest Grove. This was contrary to the plans of her daughters to inter her next to her late husband in Parsons Cemetery. She declared that she wanted to be buried “next to Momma at Forest Grove”. When her daughters exclaimed that they thought she would want to be with her late husband, Frank, she told them that she had lain next to him for 40 years and wasn’t going to lie next to him for all eternity.
         
Now, there are several Baptist Churches in the Salisbury area. It seems that a very few people can form their own church and meet anywhere they want.