Shinzo Abe elected as Japan's prime minister

TOKYO (AP) ? The lower house of Parliament has named conservative Shinzo Abe (shin-zoh ah-bay) as Japan's new prime minister.

The rise of Abe, whose nationalist positions have in the past angered Japan's neighbors, ends more than three years at the helm for the left-leaning Democratic Party of Japan and brings back the conservative, pro-big business Liberal Democratic Party that governed for most of the post-World War II era.

Abe, who was also prime minister in 2006-2007, led the LDP to victory in parliamentary elections Dec. 16. He was to name his Cabinet later Wednesday after a vote in Parliament's upper house, where his party is weaker. But the lower house has the final say.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-26-Japan-Politics/id-511d2395a4804e059502329c2c1f3997

elin nordegren tangled ever after kansas state last house on the left last house on the left rich forever mixtape blow

Fees undermine fliers' ability to compare fares

FILE - This Dec. 21, 2012 file photo shows travelers walking to a ticketing desk at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. For many passengers, air travel is only about finding the cheapest fare. But as airlines offer a proliferating list of add-on services, from early boarding to premium seating and baggage fees, the ability to comparison-shop for the lowest total fare is eroding. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

FILE - This Dec. 21, 2012 file photo shows travelers walking to a ticketing desk at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. For many passengers, air travel is only about finding the cheapest fare. But as airlines offer a proliferating list of add-on services, from early boarding to premium seating and baggage fees, the ability to comparison-shop for the lowest total fare is eroding. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? For many passengers, air travel is only about finding the cheapest fare.

But as airlines offer a proliferating list of add-on services, from early boarding to premium seating and baggage fees, the ability to comparison-shop for the lowest total fare is eroding.

Global distribution systems that supply flight and fare data to travel agents and online ticketing services like Orbitz and Expedia, accounting for half of all U.S. airline tickets, complain that airlines won't provide fee information in a way that lets them make it handy for consumers trying to find the best deal.

"What other industry can you think of where a person buying a product doesn't know how much it's going to cost even after he's done at the checkout counter?" said Simon Gros, chairman of the Travel Technology Association, which represents the global distribution services and online travel industries.

The harder airlines make it for consumers to compare, "the greater opportunity you have to get to higher prices," said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, whose members include corporate travel managers.

Now the Obama administration is wading into the issue. The Department of Transportation is considering whether to require airlines to provide fee information to everyone with whom they have agreements to sell their tickets. A decision originally scheduled for next month has been postponed to May, as regulators struggle with a deluge of information from airlines opposed to regulating fee information, and from the travel industry and consumer groups that support such a requirement.

Meanwhile, Spirit Airlines, Allegiant Air and Southwest Airlines ? with backing from industry trade associations ? are asking the Supreme Court to reverse an appeals court ruling forcing them to include taxes in their advertised fares. The appeals court upheld a Transportation Department rule that went in effect nearly a year ago that ended airlines' leeway to advertise a base airfare and show the taxes separately, often in smaller print. Airlines say the regulations violate their free-speech rights.

At the heart of the debate is a desire by airlines to move to a new marketing model in which customers don't buy tickets based on price alone. Instead, following the well-worn path of other consumer companies, airlines want to mine personal data about customers in order to sell them tailored services. You like to sit on the aisle and to ski, so how would you like to fly to Aspen with an aisle seat and a movie, no extra baggage charge for your skis, and have a hotel room and a pair of lift tickets waiting for you, all for one price? You're a frequent business traveler. How about priority boarding, extra legroom, Internet access and a rental car when you arrive?

"Technology is changing rapidly. We are going to be part of the change," said Sharon Pinkerton, vice president of Airlines for America, which represents most U.S. carriers. "We want to be able to offer our customers a product that's useful to them, that's customized to meet their needs, and we don't think (the Transportation Department) needs to step in."

If airlines have their way, passengers looking for ticket prices may have to reveal a lot more information about themselves, such as their age, marital status, gender, nationality, travel history and whether they're flying for business or leisure. The International Air Transport Association, whose 240 member airlines cover 84 percent of global airline traffic, adopted standards at a meeting earlier this month in Geneva for such information gathering by airlines as well as by travel agents and ticketing services that would relay the data to airlines and receive customized fares in return.

"Airlines want, and expect, their (ticket) distribution partners to offer passengers helpful contextual information to make well-informed purchase decisions, reducing the number of reservations made based primarily or exclusively on price," said a study commissioned by the association.

Consumer advocates question how airlines would safeguard the personal information they gather, and they worry that comparison shopping for the cheapest air fares will no longer be feasible.

"It's like going to a supermarket where before you get the price, they ask you to swipe your driver's license that shows them you live in a rich zip code, you drive a BMW, et cetera," Mitchell said. "All this personal information on you is going out to all these carriers with no controls over what they do with it, who sees it and so on."

The airline association said consumers who choose not to supply personal information would still be able to see fares and purchase tickets, though consumer advocates said those fares would probably be at the "rack rate" ? the travel industry's term for full price, before any discounts.

It's up to individual airlines whether they price fares differently for travelers who don't provide personal information, said Perry Flint, a spokesman for the international airline association.

The stakes, of course, are enormous. Since 2000, U.S. airlines have lost money for more years than they've made profits. Fee revenue has made a big difference in their bottom lines. Globally, airlines raked in an estimated $36 billion this year in ancillary revenue, which includes baggage fees and other a la carte services as well as sales of frequent flyer points and commissions on hotel bookings, according to a study by Amadeus, a global distribution service, and the IdeaWorksCompany, a U.S. firm that helps airlines raise ancillary revenue. U.S. airlines reported collecting nearly $3.4 billion in baggage fees alone in 2011.

One expense airlines would like to eliminate is the $7 billion a year they pay global distribution systems to supply flight and fare information to travel agents and online booking agents like Expedia. Airlines want to deal more directly with online ticket sellers and travel agents, who dominate the lucrative business travel market. Justice Department officials have acknowledged an investigation is underway into possible anti-trust violations by distribution companies.

Airlines also have been cracking down on websites that help travelers manage their frequent flier accounts. The sites use travelers' frequent flier passwords to obtain balances and mileage expiration dates, and then display the information in a way that makes it easier for travelers to figure out when it makes more sense to buy a ticket or to use miles.

"What the airlines are trying to do right now is reinvent the wheel so they can hold all their information close to their chest," said Charles Leocha, founder of the Consumer Travel Alliance. "As we move forward in a world of IT, the ownership of passenger data is like gold to these people."

By withholding information like fee prices, he said, "we are forced to go see them, and then we are spoon-fed what they want to feed us."

___

Follow Joan Lowy at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-26-Airline%20Fees/id-075e28f18b4d44eaaf9235e30f392373

Minka Kelly sex tape Colorado shooting Colorado shooting victims aurora Angie Everhart tom hardy British Open leaderboard

Syrian rebels make more gains in north

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian rebels fully captured a northern town near the Turkish border on Tuesday after weeks of heavy fighting and attacked a regime air base in a neighboring province, activists said.

The air base is in Aleppo province, where opposition fighters have already captured three other large military bases in recent months. Rebels have also laid siege to the international airport in the city of Aleppo, Syria's commercial capital, and launched an offensive on the police academy near the city.

With steady rebel gains across the north, President Bashar Assad's regime is having increasing difficulty sending supplies by land to Aleppo province, especially after rebels cut a major thoroughfare from Damascus. It is just another sign that the opposition is consolidating its grip across large swathes of territory in northern Syria near the Turkish border.

In his traditional Christmas address, Pope Benedict XVI decried the slaughter of the "defenseless" in Syria, where anti-regime activists estimate more than 40,000 have died in fighting since the uprising against President Bashar Assad's rule began in March 2011.

In another blow to the regime, activists said that Mohammed Adnan Arabo, a member of Syria's parliament has left the country and joined the opposition. Ahmad Ramadan, an executive council member of the opposition Syrian National Council group, and other activists said Arabo arrived in Turkey on Tuesday.

He said the regime's hold on power is deteriorating and rebels are besieging military bases for weeks until they either take over or negotiate with local army commanders to surrender. He added that some regime forces are being diverted to the capital to fight there.

"The regime cannot protect its bases and also cannot send forces to support troops under siege," he said.

Over the weeks, rebels fighting to overthrow Assad have also been able to take the battles into the capital Damascus, Assad's seat of power, where the southern neighborhoods are witnessing almost daily clashes between troops and rebels.

The big successes began in mid-November, when rebels captured Aleppo's Regiment 46, a large military base, carting off tanks, armored vehicles and truck-loads of munitions. Three weeks later, they captured the Sheik Suleiman base near the provincial capital of Aleppo and days later they took an infantry base in the city.

Last week, they captured an army technical regiment near Damascus' international airport but were pushed back in a counter attack. The army command said in a statement that the regiment's commander was killed in the battle.

The rebels have also brought the battle to areas around Damascus international airport where some flights were cancelled earlier this month because of the intensity of the fighting.

One of the biggest blows came in Damascus on Dec. 12 when a suicide attacker blew his vehicle outside the Interior Ministry, killing five and wounding many, including Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar. The government denied at first that al-Shaar had been wounded until it got out when he was brought last week to a Beirut hospital for treatment.

It was the second injury the minister suffered after being wounded in a July 17, bomb inside a high-level crisis meeting in Damascus that killed four top regime officials, including Assad's brother-in-law and the defense minister.

The rebel takeover of Harem, a town of 20,000 in northern Idlib province, was the latest in a string of recent rebel successes.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rebels captured Harem in the early hours of Tuesday. Mohammed Kanaan, an Idlib-based activist, said the last post to be taken was the historic citadel, which overlooked the town. The army had turned the citadel into a military post.

"Harem is fully liberated now," Kanaan said via Skype. He added that as the rebels pounded army posts and checkpoints in Harem, the troops withdrew to the citadel that later fell in the hands of rebels.

Rami-Abdul-Rahman, who heads to Observatory, said nearly 30 soldiers and pro-government gunmen surrendered late Monday. He added that rebels set free all gunmen at the age of 16 or less and referred others to local tribunals.

"Harem was very important because it is one of the towns that was loyal to the regime," Abdul-Rahman said by telephone about the town that is nearly a mile from the Turkish border.

In Aleppo province, which neighbors Idlib, local activist Mohammed Saeed said rebels attacked the air base in the town of Mannagh near the Turkish border. He said it is one of four air bases in the province, adding that rebels also attacked the police academy near the city of Aleppo.

Regime forces have been using helicopters to carry supplies to besieged areas and to attack rebel positions.

The regime has had increasing difficulty sending supplies by land to Aleppo province after rebels captured in October the strategic town Maaret al-Numan. The town is on the highway that links Damascus with Aleppo, Syria's largest city and a major battleground in the civil war since July.

"Airplanes and helicopters are the only way to send supplies since the Free Syrian Army controls the land," Saeed said. He added that rebels are also laying a siege to Aleppo's international airport known as Nairab and threatening to shoot down military or civilians planes using it.

In the Damascus suburb of Jaramana, opposition gunmen ambushed the head of military intelligence in the area and seriously wounded him. He later died of his wounds, the Observatory said.

Elsewhere in Syria, the Observatory reported violence in areas including the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, the southern area of Quneitra on the edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Height and the southern region of Daraa.

In Israel, top officials said they cannot corroborate Syrian activists' claims that the regime has used chemical weapons against its citizens.

Vice Premier Moshe Yaalon told Army Radio that Israel has "no confirmation or proof" the regime has employed such weapons in the civil war. He says Israel is "monitoring the situation with concern."

Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad told Israel Radio that Syria was closely guarding its chemical weapons stockpiles.

On Monday, the Observatory quoted activists in the central city of Homs as saying that six rebels died in two neighborhoods the day before after inhaling white smoke that came out of shells fired by government troops in the area. Amateur videos released by activists showed men in hospital beds suffering breathing problems as doctors placed oxygen masks over their faces.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-rebels-more-gains-north-200112054.html

us soccer bobby brown arrested the happening black panthers mauritania obama open mic jefferson county colorado

Police: NY gunman set 'trap' for firefighters

This image taken from video provided by WHAM13-TV, shows a wide view of homes on fire in an area where a gunman ambushed four volunteer firefighters responding to an intense pre-dawn house fire early Monday, Dec. 24, 2012, in Webster, N.Y., killing two before ending up dead himself, authorities said. Police used an armored vehicle to evacuate more than 30 nearby residents. (AP Photo/WHAM13-TV via AP video)

This image taken from video provided by WHAM13-TV, shows a wide view of homes on fire in an area where a gunman ambushed four volunteer firefighters responding to an intense pre-dawn house fire early Monday, Dec. 24, 2012, in Webster, N.Y., killing two before ending up dead himself, authorities said. Police used an armored vehicle to evacuate more than 30 nearby residents. (AP Photo/WHAM13-TV via AP video)

A house burns Monday, Dec. 24, 2012 in Webster, New York. An ex-con set a car and a house ablaze in his lakeside neighborhood to lure firefighters, then opened fire on them, killing two, engaging in a shootout with police and committing suicide while several homes burned. Authorities used an armored vehicle to evacuate the area. (AP Photo/Democrat & Chronicle, Jamie Germano)

A house burns Monday, Dec. 24, 2012 in Webster, New York. A former convict set a house and car ablaze in his lakeside New York state neighborhood to lure firefighters then opened fire on them, killing two and engaging police in a shootout before killing himself while several homes burned. Authorities used an armored vehicle to evacuate the area. (AP Photo/Democrat & Chronicle, Jamie Germano)

Police officers move in to look for a man who set fire to a house, Monday, Dec. 24, 2012 in Webster, New York. A former convict set a house and car ablaze in his lakeside New York state neighborhood to lure firefighters then opened fire on them, killing two and engaging police in a shootout before killing himself while several homes burned. Authorities used an armored vehicle to evacuate the area. (AP Photo/Democrat & Chronicle, Jamie Germano)

Lake Rd. residents are evacuated from the neighborhood, Monday, Dec. 24, 2012 in Webster, New York. A former convict set a house and car ablaze in his lakeside New York state neighborhood to lure firefighters then opened fire on them, killing two and engaging police in a shootout before killing himself while several homes burned. Authorities used an armored vehicle to evacuate the area. (AP Photo/Democrat & Chronicle, Max Schulte)

WEBSTER, N.Y. (AP) ? An ex-con gunned down two firefighters after luring them to his neighborhood by setting a car and a house ablaze early Monday, then took shots at police and committed suicide while several homes burned.

Authorities used an armored vehicle to help residents flee dozens of homes on the shore of Lake Ontario a day before Christmas. Police restricted access to the neighborhood, and officials said it was not clear whether there were other bodies in the seven houses left to burn.

The sister of the gunman, who lived with him, was unaccounted for. The gunman's motive was unknown.

The gunman fired at the four firefighters when they arrived shortly after 5:30 a.m. at the blaze in Webster, a suburb of Rochester, town Police Chief Gerald Pickering said. The first police officer who arrived chased the suspect and exchanged gunfire.

He lay in wait outdoors for the firefighters' arrival, then opened fire probably with a rifle and from atop an earthen berm, Pickering said.

"It does appear it was a trap," he said.

The gunman, William Spengler, had served more than 17 years in prison for beating his 92-year-old grandmother to death with a hammer in 1980 at the house next to where Monday's attack happened, Pickering said at afternoon news conference. Spengler, 62, was paroled in 1998 and had led a quiet life since, authorities said. Convicted felons are not allowed to possess weapons.

Two firefighters, one of whom was also a town police lieutenant, died at the scene, and two others were hospitalized. An off-duty officer who was passing by was also injured.

Another police officer, the one who exchanged gunfire with Spengler, "in all likelihood saved many lives," Pickering said.

Emergency radio communications capture someone saying he "could see the muzzle flash coming at me" as Spengler carried out his ambush. The audio posted on the website RadioReference.com has someone reporting "firefighters are down" and saying "got to be rifle or shotgun ? high powered ... semi or fully auto."

Spengler lived in the house with his sister and mother, Arline, who died in October. He had originally been charged with second-degree murder in connection with grandmother Rose Spengler's death but pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter.

The West Webster Fire District learned of the fire early Monday after a report of a car and house on fire on Lake Road, on a narrow peninsula where Irondequoit Bay meets Lake Ontario, Monroe County Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn said.

The fire appeared from a distance as a pulsating ball of flame glowing against the early morning sky, flames licking into treetops and reflecting on the water, with huge bursts of smoke billowing away in a brisk wind.

Two of the firefighters arrived on a fire engine and two in their own vehicles, Pickering said. After Spengler fired, one of the wounded men managed to flee, but the other three couldn't because of flying gunfire.

A police armored vehicle was used to recover two men, and eventually it evacuated 33 people from nearby homes, the police chief said. The gunfire initially kept firefighters from battling the blazes.

The dead men were identified as Police Lt. Michael Chiapperini, 43, the Webster Police Department's public information officer; and Tomasz Kaczowka, also a 911 dispatcher, whose age was not released.

Pickering described Chiapperini as a "lifetime firefighter" with nearly 20 years in the department, and called Kaczowka a "tremendous young man."

The two wounded firefighters, Joseph Hofstetter and Theodore Scardino, were in guarded condition in the intensive care unit at Strong Memorial Hospital, authorities said. Both were awake and alert and are expected to recover.

Hofstetter, also a full-timer with the Rochester Fire Department, was hit once in the pelvis, and the bullet lodged in his spine, authorities said. Scardino was hit in the chest and knee.

At West Webster Fire Station 1, there were at least 20 bouquets on a bench in front and a bouquet of roses with three gold-and-white ribbons saying, "May they rest in peace," ''In the line of duty" and "In memory of our fallen brothers."

A handwritten sign says, "Thanks for protecting us, RIP." Two candles were lit to honor the dead.

Grieving firefighters declined to talk to reporters. A memorial vigil was planned for early Monday evening.

The shooting and fires were in a neighborhood of seasonal and year-round homes set close together across the road from the lakeshore. The area is popular with recreational boaters but is normally quiet this time of year.

"We have very few calls for service in that location," Pickering said. "Webster is a tremendous community. We are a safe community, and to have a tragedy befall us like this is just horrendous."

O'Flynn lamented the violence, which comes on the heels of other shootings including the massacre of 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

"It's sad to see that that this is becoming more commonplace in communities across the nation," O'Flynn said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the State Police and Office of Emergency Management were working with local authorities.

"Volunteer firefighters and police officers were injured and two were taken from us as they once again answered the call of duty," Cuomo said in a statement. "We as the community of New York mourn their loss as now two more families must spend the holidays without their loved ones."

Webster, a middle-class suburb, now is the scene of violence linked to house fires for two Decembers in a row.

Last Dec. 7, authorities say, a 15-year-old boy doused his home with gasoline and set it ablaze, killing his father and two brothers, 16 and 12. His mother and 13-year-old sister escaped with injuries. He is being prosecuted as an adult.

___

Associated Press writers Chris Carola, George Walsh and Mary Esch in Albany, N.Y., contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-24-Fire-Shooting/id-ee4107937b9d4a6b9e5b0ea9588019a0

1000 words ron white ron white buckyballs buckyballs awake mario batali

Ignored and Underfunded, Mental Health Care Thin at County Jails ...

For more than a decade, Milwaukee County?s jail system has been under the scrutiny of a court-appointed medical monitor for its failure to provide adequate health care, including for inmates with mental illness.

In August, the monitor found mental health care in Milwaukee County?s two jails was still in shambles. Among the problems: Vacancies in top medical positions left jailers to make medical decisions, such as when an inmate should be removed from suicide watch. A man who had threatened to kill himself stopped eating and drinking for four days and was never taken to a hospital. He died in his cell.

Mental health advocates and correctional officials agree that Wisconsin?s 72 county-run jails are strapped for resources and not prepared to deal with the large numbers of inmates with mental illness they house. The state Department of Corrections (DOC) is charged with oversight of jails, but the agency?s inspectors are not physicians and, the agency said, not responsible for assessing the quality of health care.

The DOC inspection checklist includes whether the facilities keep adequate records, have the correct staff and keep medications secure. In Milwaukee County, for example, the two jails? most recent DOC inspections last December give no hint of the problems identified by Dr. Ronald Shansky, the court-appointed physician.

Again and again, inspector Gregory Bucholtz marked an X for ?meets approval? for each health-care standard, concluding that at Milwaukee County Correctional Facility-South, ?Health care services at the facility continue to be good ? Mental health services also remain good.?

Shansky?s take, in an inspection days before that DOC visit, was radically different. He found systemic problems in several areas, including record keeping, delayed access to medical services and medications, and ?severely mentally ill patients being inappropriately placed in disciplinary cells.?

Just five counties? jails ??Waukesha, Washington, Walworth, Fond du Lac and Dane ??are accredited by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, which uses health-care professionals to assess the quality of care at facilities.

More information needed

Rep. Garey Bies, R-Sister Bay, who chairs the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Corrections, said he plans to ask the DOC to present information to his committee on how well jails are caring for their inmates.

As a former chief deputy sheriff, Bies used to oversee the Door County Jail. He said he is particularly interested in ensuring inmates are screened for mental health problems, which he said is crucial to providing proper care, helping them transition back into the community and avoiding crises that could arise while they?re incarcerated.

?Do that (screening) up front, and it really cuts down on issues in the long run,? Bies said.

In a 2009 DOC survey, less than half of the county jails that responded had a registered nurse or mental health professional doing the initial health screening of inmates; correctional officers did it in most jails.

The DOC makes preannounced inspections of county jails annually, and investigates after suicides and other incidents.

?We mitigate risk by providing technical assistance and training, based on best correctional practice,? said Kristi Dietz, director of the DOC?s Office of Detention Facilities. The agency provides verbal or written feedback after inspections, but it doesn?t punish jails with sanctions.

Lawsuits are frequently cited as an incentive for jails to improve.

But ?you can?t count on lawsuits to expose these types of problems,? according to Larry Dupuis, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin, which sued Milwaukee County over its lack of jail health care services.

Ron Honberg, policy and legal director for the nonprofit National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), said county jails nationwide have a ?long, long way to go? in providing adequate mental health care.

Honberg ticked off the problems: ?Lack of oversight, lack of treatment resources, lack of expertise, lack of qualified staff, overcrowded conditions.?

More need, less attention

Dietz said communities are falling short at helping people with mental illnesses, ?and as a result the jails and prisons, unfortunately, have been taking on more and more of that population.?

A national study estimated the one in three female inmates and nearly one in six males suffers from mental illness ??far higher than the general population estimate of 6 percent. Even after a substantial drop from 1990 to 2010, the national jail suicide rate is still three times greater than in the general population.

Jail officials and advocates statewide have been seeing more inmates with mental illness in recent years, although no specific estimates are available.

The problems in jails are often overshadowed by those in prisons. But mental health needs may actually be greater at these facilities, where inmates face uncertain fates, more stress and fewer services.

And jails aren?t only for short-term detention ? some inmates end up spending years there if they have consecutive sentences or their trials are delayed. Walworth County Jail Superintendent Howard Sawyers said his county almost always has inmates who have passed the one-year mark, some staying two or three years.

Since 2003, 52 Wisconsin county jail inmates have taken their own lives. According to a Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism calculation, Wisconsin?s jail suicide rate in recent years was 40 per 100,000 inmates, slightly higher than the 2007 national rate of 36.

According to Dean Meyer, executive director of the Badger State Sheriff?s Association, state-run prisons are ?much better equipped? to provide health care.

?A prison has their own dentist, their own doctors and their own nurses. And for the majority of county jails, they contract that service out, and the providers only come when needed,? Meyer said.

Lawmakers may examine jails

Jails are required by a state law dating back to 1987 to provide the DOC with annual reports on mental health care services. Since 1989, the law has required the DOC to summarize and relay those findings to the Legislature. But the DOC acknowledges it has not been regularly asking jails for the reports, and has not prepared summaries for the Legislature, the Center found.

It?s been five years since the Baraboo News Republic newspaper pointed out that the reports weren?t being done. In 2007, DOC officials said they would address the shortcoming. This month, Dietz said her office ?is going to take another look at that statute.?

Bies and a fellow lawmaker, Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, said they are concerned about mental health care in jails, but lack the information to tackle the issue.

Vinehout, a member of the Senate Committee on Education and Corrections, said she couldn?t get information she wanted from the DOC about the types of inmates and the care they need. She believes the agency should strengthen its oversight of local jails to help inmates ??and the general public.

?We want to be able to understand what?s happening and do what we can to lower the cost and make Wisconsin a safer place,? Vinehout said.

This project was produced in collaboration with the Investigative Journalism Education Consortium, ijec.org. The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (www.WisconsinWatch.org) also collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television, other news media and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.

Source: http://caledonia.patch.com/articles/ignored-and-underfunded-mental-health-care-thin-at-county-jails

kobe bryant pacquiao Jim DeMint Dave Brubeck Duck Dynasty New Orleans Pelicans frankie muniz

Google + Gaming Community - Websites - Pewdie n' Friends

Dear visitor, welcome to Pewdie n' Friends. If this is your first visit here, please read the Help. It explains in detail how this page works. To use all features of this page, you should consider registering. Please use the registration form, to register here or read more information about the registration process. If you are already registered, please login here.

This post "Google + Gaming Community" by "BlueJayOnToast" (Yesterday, 9:48pm) has been deleted by user "Xebaz" (Today, 9:25am) with the following reason: Not a website, not following/using template.

Its a small community right now but hopefully it gets bigger!

---

Source: http://pewdiepie.net/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=14756

saving face academy award winners best picture 2012 oscar winners channel 3 news j lo j lo

nanimao: haidarr: VOR Calls for Mental Health Reform - Extends ...

?Politics over diverse issues have divided our nation,? said Julie Huso, VOR Executive Director. ?There can be no justice for these senseless killings in Connecticut and elsewhere, but uniting as a nation will get us as close to healing as possible and help prevent tragedies in the future.?

Elk Grove Village, IL (PRWEB) December 21, 2012

VOR, a national organization advocating for high quality care and human rights for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, joins the chorus of heartfelt sympathy expressed for the families and friends of the victims of the Sandy Hook tragedy. While many citizens and organizations are taking aim at gun control, VOR believes that systemic reform of disability and mental health policies is critically necessary to prevent future violence.

?Politics over diverse issues have divided our nation,? said Julie Huso, VOR Executive Director. ?There can be no justice for these senseless killings in Connecticut and elsewhere, but uniting as a nation will get us as close to healing as possible and help prevent tragedies in the future.?

?We can't tolerate this anymore,? stated President Barak Obama, as he addressed a grieving nation Sunday night. ??These tragedies must end, and to end them, we must change.? (Transcript of President?s Remarks __Transcript of President?s Remarks __, reprinted by The Washington Post, December 16, 2012)

For 30 years, VOR has been calling on Congress to support specialized treatment options for people with profound intellectual and developmental disabilities.

?Too many people who need help have nowhere to go, are turned away, are displaced from specialized care, or are not adequately treated and monitored,? said Huso. ?Patients? rights have trumped almost completely safety ? to self and others -- in the name of ?deinstitutionalization? and ?integration.??

Decades of deinstitutionalization has resulted in the depletion of an adequate safety net for people who need our help.

?Our mental health system has completely failed individuals with severe mental illness and their communities,? said Doris A. Fuller, executive director for the Treatment Advocacy Center, a nonprofit organization which advocates for timely and effective treatment of severe mental illness. ?We have emptied the nation's hospitals, gutted state and local mental health programs, and turned involuntary treatment into a debate point instead of using it as a viable option to prevent tragedy involving those too ill to help themselves.? [Treatment for Mental Illness Should be as Easy to Get as Guns, Treatment Advocacy Center (December 14, 2012)].

Beginning in the 1960s, closing specialized care centers for people with developmental disabilities and mental illness ? ?deinstitutionalization? ? was meant to advance the civil liberties of those inappropriately institutionalized by offering care and supports in a less restrictive environment.

Some advocates, however, say deinstitutionalization has gone much too far. Today, people with profound developmental disabilities and health concerns, and those with severe mental illness, are being removed from highly specialized care or prevented from accessing such care in the first place.

?What began with altruistic motives ? namely, better and more appropriate care for disabled people ? has spawned into something very different,? remarked Huso. ?Today, very fragile people are being forced from their homes under the belief that money will be saved and quality of life will improve.?

?We?re protecting civil liberties at the expense of health and safety,? says Fuller. ?Deinstitutionalization has gone way too far.? (?Seven facts about America?s mental health-care system,? The Washington Post (quoting Fuller) (December 14, 2012))

VOR calls for reform, beginning with a moratorium on deinstitutionalization

Tragedies will continue to befall people with I/DD, children, adults, and citizens if our laws and policies continue to support deinstitutionalization, depriving people with disabilities of needed specialized, residential care and treatment.

?Over and over again, news investigations and state audits show that these very fragile individuals need comprehensive, skilled care. They are the ICU residents of the disability community. Scattering them in homes around a community only separates them from qualified staff, life-sustaining health care, oversight, and friends,? said Ann Knighton, VOR?s president.

?Prison is now the last resort for the mentally ill,? wrote Liza Long, whose son, Michael has severe mental illness. [?I am Adam Lanza?s Mother,? by Liza Long (The Blue Review, December 14, 2012)].

President Obama vowed to use ?whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens, from law enforcement, to mental health professionals, to parents and educators, in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this.? (Transcript of President?s Remarks, reprinted by The Washington Post, December 16, 2012)

Yet, a significant part of the problem begins at his doorstep, says VOR.

?Significant federal funds and energies by powerful federal agencies are dedicated to deinstitutionalization,? said Tamie Hopp, Director of Government Relations and Advocacy for VOR. ?The Justice Department has pursued more than 30 legal actions which at their core aim to displace individuals from specialized care options. In Georgia, a Justice Department settlement calls for moving 9,000 people with mental illness from mental health facilities by 2015.? (?Olmstead: Community Integration for everyone,? U.S Department of Justice?s Olmstead Enforcement Website); (U.S. v. Georgia Fact Sheet, U.S. Department of Justice (October 19, 2012)

Likewise, in a move that VOR characterizes as ?reckless,? the National Council on Disability, an independent federal agency, last month released a 300 page policy document and toolkit calling for the closure of all ?institutions,? which it defines as any setting larger than 4 people. [?Deinstitutionalization: Unfinished Business,? National Council on Disability (November 2012); ?Reckless disregard shown for the needs and choices of vulnerable persons with severe and profound disabilities,? VOR (December 2012)]

?As a nation, the Sandy Hook tragedies have left us heartbroken,? said Hopp. ?Families of individuals with profound cognitive disabilities recognize the reform that is needed better than most. Their sons and daughters need highly specialized treatment. Instead federal agencies, some state governments and advocates, are putting energies into removing their loved ones from treatment?

We agree with the President. ?This must end.? (Transcript of President?s Remarks, reprinted by The Washington Post, December 16, 2012).

About VOR:

VOR is a national organization that advocates for high quality care and human rights for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Offering community, legal, medical and educational resources for families of individuals with special needs, VOR is committed to providing help for people with disabilities. Standing up for long term care facilities and community disability programs, VOR is dedicated to maintaining family choice for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. For more information about VOR, please visit us at http://www.vor.net __VOR__.

Julie Huso
VOR
605-370-4652
Email Information

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vor-calls-mental-health-reform-extends-heartfelt-sympathy-205222535.html

full force odd fellows eli whitney blake griffin dunk on kendrick perkins kendrick perkins steve jones emily maynard

Source: http://haidarro.blogspot.com/2012/12/vor-calls-for-mental-health-reform.html

Oscar Pistorius Aliya Mustafina Kirk Urso London 2012 Javelin roger federer Olga Korbut Usain Bolt 2012 Olympics

Source: http://nanimao33.blogspot.com/2012/12/haidarr-vor-calls-for-mental-health.html

lance armstrong Iron Man 3 marco scutaro Kendrick Lamar Russell Means Taylor Swift Red Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 2