Afghan policeman kills two British soldiers

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Chinese delegates learn about Henry?s emergency operations

Special Photo A delegation from the People?s Republic of China came to Henry County this week to learn about emergency operations in the area.

McDONOUGH ? Henry County got a feather in its cap this week when Chinese officials visited the area to learn about strategies for handling emergencies.

The county hosted 17 delegates from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from the People?s Republic of China Thursday. The group, led by Jiang Hong, wanted to gauge how emergency communications are addressed at the federal, state and local levels, said county spokeswoman Julie Hoover-Ernst.

?Their first stop in the state was to the Georgia State Operations Center in Atlanta where they attended a lecture and tour of the 24-hour Communications Center,? she said. ?Next, the delegation made a stop in Henry County to tour the new Emergency Operations Center.?

Henry?s Emergency Management Director Don Ash was among those who met with the Chinese delegates. He said the event was part of a statewide effort by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency to provide education on disaster preparedness.

?GEMA has asked to partner with us as they bring different dignitaries to our community to show them how we manage disasters,? said Ash.

Henry has played host in recent years for similar tours by delegations from Thailand, the Republic of Georgia, South Korea, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ash said he is grateful for the support he has received at the state level in promoting his department?s programs.

?It lets us know we?re doing a good job for how we manage a disaster,? he said.

Hoover-Ernst said the tours resulted in part from Henry?s reputation for outstanding emergency preparedness stemming from how officials handled aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Other county leaders who welcomed the Chinese delegates to the area included Henry fire Chief Bill Lacy and police Chief Keith Nichols. Hoover-Ernst said the delegates wanted to know more about how to improve emergency communications.

?According to Hong, China still maintains separate phone numbers for fire, police and ambulance assistance, so the delegates are particularly interested in learning more about the efficiencies of 911 communications,? she said.

Chinese government officials also expressed interest in how the community handles earthquakes, hurricanes and forest fires, said Hoover-Ernst.

For more information, visit www.henrycounty-ga.org/911.

Source: http://www.henryherald.com/news/2012/sep/14/chinese-delegates-learn-about-henrys-emergency-ope/

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Growing Family Trees and English - Australian Vegetables: Doesn't ...

Yes, doesn't time fly.

We have now been here in Australia for just over six months and lots of things have happened since we arrived in Perth but firstly, I would just like to thank everyone who sent cards, telephoned, text, emailed, facebooked recently to wish Ryan and myself a happy birthday.
Also thank you to everyone who wished Sue and myself a happy 17 years wedding anniversary, yes, doesn't time fly.

So what Blog news can I give you about the Nickisson family now?

1)??New Australian roots: We move into our new home in October.

2)??Old Australian roots: The first Nickisson's to arrive in Australia from my Family Tree. The story continues:

3)??Growing Australian roots: Including how the allotment is going in England

Doesn't time fly: When a clock is hungry does it go back four seconds???

1) New Australian Roots.

We have now bought our first home in Australia.

We will be moving into 53 Tea Tree Way around the 5th/6th of October and the shopping has begun. It is really exciting to start completely fresh and buy new furniture, electrical equipment,?etc.

The time living with Dean & Rachel has been fantastic and really worked out very well but nine people living in one house!!!

I think it's time to give them back their home.

This link will give you a tour of our new home:
?For Sale : 53 Tea Tree Way Thornlie: Ideal Location: LJ Hooker Thornlie


Our individual lives have continued along the same pattern as I have mentioned in my previous Blogs. Sue has now completed her 3 months probation and is now a permanent employee.

We cannot wait to move into our new home.

Did you know?
Nearly all Australian houses do not have letter boxes in their front doors? As you can see from the above photo, the postboxes are usually situated somewhere in the front garden and the variety and styles of? the postboxes can be unusual.
?????????????????????

And the post is delivered by a motorbike rider.






More variety of ?postboxes in the next Blog.

2)??Old Australian roots:?The first Nickisson's to arrive in Australia from my Family Tree.

As I mentioned in my last Blog, my Great Great ?Grandfather's brother, William Nickisson, died and his widow (Mary Ann Parkes) emigrated to Queensland, Australia with her children (Alfred Parkes Nickisson, Frederick Nickisson and Louisa Nickisson).?Their other daughter (Elizabeth Nickisson) had already emigrated in 1873 along with her husband (Carl Casper Franklin).
Louisa Nickisson died shortly after arriving in Queensland and then Mary Ann and Frederick returned to England from Victoria in 1879.

So what happened to Elizabeth Nickisson, now Elizabeth Franklin, and Alfred Parkes Nickisson?

Elizabeth Nickisson (1847-1891):
Elizabeth was born in Birmingham in 1847 and continued to live there and married Carl Casper Franklin in 1871. They had a child, Carl Frederick Franklin in 1872 and then emigrated to Australia in 1873. They left London on the 1st of February on the clipper ship 'Storm King' and arrived at Moreton Bay, Queensland on the 3rd of May.
They had two other children whilst living in Queensland, Mary Louisa Franklin and William Edward Franklin, they then moved to Rockhampton, New South Wales sometime after 1876 where they had another daughter Ellen Elizabeth Franklin.
Elizabeth Franklin (nee Nickisson) died in 1891 in Woolahra, Sydney, NSW.
Carl Casper Franklin (c1847-?):
I have no information about Carl Casper in the earlier years, was he born in England or travelled back from Australia, in fact was his name Carl or Charles? On the Marriage Registration Doc. and the Birth/Christening Record of their first child, it shows the name as Carl Casper, but on the Birth Records for the children born in Australia, they?show the name as Charles or Charles Casper?
After the birth of his children, I have not been able to find any more information about Carl (Charles) Casper Franklin.

Does anyone out there know any more?

Children:
Carl Frederick Franklin (1872-1936):
Born in Birmingham and emigrated to Queensland, Australia in 1873. Little more is known about Carl Frederick other than he lived in Old Farm Road, Helensburgh, New South Wales, around the 1930s, (Australian Electoral Rolls) where he worked as a miner until he died in 1936.

Does anyone out there know any more?

Mary Louisa Franklin (1874-1875):
Born and died in Queensland, Australia, just one year old.

William Edward Franklin (1876-1937):
William Edward followed very much in his older brother Carl Frederick's footsteps. Born in Queensland, Australia, little more is known until he appears living in Station Road, Helensburgh, New South Wales, around the 1930s, (Australia Electoral Rolls) where he also worked as a miner until his death in 1937.

Does anyone out there know any more?

Ellen Elizabeth Franklin (1878-1931):
Born in Rockhampton, New South Wales, she married William John Wise in Sydney, NSW in 1903. Sometime after that they moved to New Zealand where she lived in Masterton, Wellington, until she died in 1931.
William John Wise?(1871-1960):
He?was born in Chertsey, Surrey, England. Nothing else is known about William, when did he move to Australia, when did they move to New Zealand? He died in 1960 in Masterton, New Zealand.

Does anyone out there know any more?

I will look at Alfred Parkes Nickisson's life in Australia in the next Blog.

Doesn't time fly: My grandmother wanted to stay fit, she started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 today and we don't know were the hell she is.

3)??Growing Australian roots: Including how the allotment is going in England

Talking to my daughter Joanne and grandson Joseph, they have had a bumper crop of fruit, flowers and vegetables from the allotment in England. Although the weather has been very mixed, almost everything has been successful. It seems as though the only failure has again been the Broccoli, not to be tried again next year.

The grapes have again grown well in the greenhouse along with the Tomatoes, Peppers, Chilli plants and the Cucumber. They have also had a success with growing flowers (Sweet Peas) for the first time.

Most of the produce is now out of the ground and the beds are being prepared for winter. Some late potatoes have been planted, hopefully ready for Christmas.

What about Australia. Well, I have identified an area in our new home for a vegetable patch, I don't mean in the home, in the garden of our new home!!!! I will also attempt to grow Dwarf varieties of fruit trees around the garden. Looking forward to having a go at creating my version of an allotment, although on a smaller scale than in England.

And finally:

Doesn't Time Fly??Three tourists climbed up London's Big Ben tower and decided to throw their watches off the top, run down the stairs and try to catch them before they hit the ground.?

The first tourist threw his watch but heard it crash before he'd taken three steps.?

The second threw his watch and made only two steps before hearing his watch shatter.
?
The third tourist threw his watch off the tower, went down the stairs, bought a snack at a shop up the street
and walked slowly back to Big Ben in time to catch the watch.

"How the heck did you do that???" asked one of his friends.

"Easy," he replied.

.
.
.
.
"My watch is 30 minutes slow."

Speak to you soon.

Source: http://garry-growingfamilytreesandvegetables.blogspot.com/2012/09/doesnt-time-fly.html

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Variable Annuity Investing : FinanceCategory.com

Here are the basics of investment. In order to profit when investing, you must balance the risk of big losses over the chance of the highest possible returns. It?s sort of like gambling, in a sense. You can?t win big if you aren?t willing to risk big, but if you risk too much, you may end up with nothing at all. However, this balance between wins and losses was eventually thrown into a loop in the last few years thanks to the wild ?mood swings? of the financial markets and the adverse impact of the economic slowdown. This has made investors shaken and a lot more cautious. As a result of their wariness, these guarded investors are now investing part of their retirement assets in variable annuities.

?Is Investing in Annuities a Sure Thing?

The reason for this increase in annuity investment by investors? particularly retirees? is because an annuity enables people to hand a lump sum to the insurer in order to receive a guarantee of periodic payments that will last as long as they?re alive.? Annuities of the variable variety are tax-advantaged, which means your investment will have less tax deductions when compared to ?traditional? investments. It?s a way to invest in bond, stocks, or others funds without getting ?punished? too much with taxation. What?s more, by paying an extra fee, you will also receive the guarantees of a lifelong minimum income paid out to you even after your underlying funds have already been spent.

However, many critics of a variable annuity allege they are too expensive and not worthwhile. They have too many high fees which will eat away at the funds of annuity investors (otherwise known as annuitants). Besides which, there exists more favorable investment options that could provide investors with relatively the same favorable tax treatments without the exorbitant costs found in variable annuity investments. On that note, investment experts that are pro-annuity allege that annuities are worth the costs because they are a lot more secure when compared to other investment schemes that are susceptible to the whims and conditions of the worldwide economy.

The Case for Variable Annuity Investments

Annuity proponents further claim that no other investment can protect its investors (while also providing them the opportunity to earn a lot more than nominal investment returns) quite as well as the annuity scheme. This is the reason why annuities are highly prized and highly expensive, they say; the expensiveness is offset by the myriad of possible profits and benefits. Many financial consultants out there can vouch for how good an investment the variable annuities are.? Then again, people jumping on variable annuity bandwagon should keep in mind that there are times and certain circumstances when variable annuities aren?t that great of an investment at all.

Because of the fear factor in financial markets at this point, it?s understandable why investors view variable annuities as the safer bet. To be more specific, today is the best time to purchase annuities because they?re uniquely equipped to address the uncertainty of financial markets at present with terms that will keep many an investor?s heart at ease. This is the kind of market wherein annuities can flourish. The market gyrations and the plunging of share prices since the turn of the millennium has practically driven investors into investing part of their assets into annuities despite their cost.

Many investors invest in variable annuities because they don?t want to end up as retirees who ration out their dwindling savings at a time when they?re already too old to hold a job. In addition, annuities offer a package of attractive features and benefits that are unique to it; these attributes cannot be found (in combination) in any other investment plan. For example, there?s a guarantee of lifetime minimum withdrawals attached to this payment arrangement. Regardless of what happens to financial markets and their unpredictable trends, investors are guaranteed by contract to receive compensation annually as long as they live.

Investors also have the power to choose an assortment of death benefits in order to safeguard their investment?s values for their heirs and next of kin. Of course, annuity detractors are quick to point out that these benefits come at a cost. Proponents say nothing is free and the higher fees are worth it. To be more specific, annuities serve as the calming balm to all the fears investors have about losing all their hard-earned money because of the unfavorable economy.

Related posts:

Tags: Annuity

Category: Investment

Source: http://www.financecategory.com/variable-annuity-investing.html

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Anti-Putin protest draws tens of thousands

MOSCOW (AP) ? The first major protest against President Vladimir Putin after a summer lull drew tens of thousands of people, determined to show that opposition sentiment remains strong despite Kremlin efforts to muzzle dissent.

The street protests broke out after a December parliamentary election won by Putin's party through what observers said was widespread fraud, and they grew in strength ahead of Putin's effectively unopposed election in March to a third presidential term.

Huge rallies of more than 100,000 people even in bitter winter cold gave many protesters hope for democratic change. These hopes have waned, but opposition supporters appear ready to dig in for a long fight.

"We have to defend the rights that we were deprived of, the right to have elections. We were deprived of honest elections and an honest government," opposition activist Alexander Shcherbakov said. "I've come to show that and to demonstrate that the people are opposed. I'm opposed to the illegitimate government and illegitimate elections."

Leftists, liberals and nationalists mixed with students, teachers, gay activists and others as they marched down Moscow's tree-lined boulevards chanting "Russia without Putin!" and "We are the power here!" Many wore the white ribbons that have become the symbol of the protest movement.

About 7,000 police officers stood guard along the route of the march, and a police helicopter hovered overhead. A protest rally, held on a wide street named for the late Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, remained peaceful as it stretched into the evening. As the 10 p.m. deadline neared, a couple of hundred people were still on the street and police herded them toward a subway station. One of the opposition leaders, Sergei Udaltsov, was detained along with a handful of his supporters when he tried to lead a group of about 50 on a new protest march.

Putin has shown less tolerance for the opposition since his inauguration in May. New repressive laws have been passed to deter people from joining protests, and opposition leaders have been subject to searches and interrogations. In August, a court handed down two-year prison sentences to three members of the punk band Pussy Riot for performing an anti-Putin song inside Moscow's main cathedral.

Big balloons painted with the band's trademark balaclava masks floated over the crowd on Saturday, while some rally participants wore T-shirts in support of Pussy Riot.

Many demonstrators targeted Putin with creative placards and outfits. Some mocked Putin's recent publicity stunt in which he flew in a motorized hang glider to lead a flock of young Siberian white cranes in flight.

One protester donned a white outfit similar to the one worn by Putin on the flight with a sign reading: "Give up hope, each of you who follow me." Another person held a placard that said: "We are not your cranes."

Alexei Navalny, a charismatic anti-corruption crusader and a popular blogger, remains the rock star among the protest leaders. When he took the stage, young people in the crowd held up their phones to record the moment.

Navalny urged the demonstrators to show resolve and keep up the pressure on the Kremlin with more street protests.

"We must come to rallies to win freedom for ourselves and our children, to defend our human dignity," he said to cheers of support. "We will come here as to our workplace. No one else will free us but ourselves."

The rally appeared as big as the last major protest in June, which also attracted tens of thousands. More of the demonstrators, however, came not as members of the varied political organizations that make up the protest movement, but with groups of friends and co-workers, some of them organizing on social networks.

As part of a new initiative, activists collected contact information and addresses from demonstrators to make it easier to organize civic actions on a neighborhood level.

Gleb Pavlovsky, a former Kremlin political consultant, who attended Saturday's rally, estimated that up to 500,000 people have taken part in the protests in Moscow, a city of 11.5 million.

He said the Kremlin has not figured out how to deal with the protest movement.

"Therefore, they alternate between taking tough action and stepping back from confrontation," Pavlovsky said. "For the Kremlin, it is very worrying that Moscow no longer supports Putin, but it is very important that this is purely a Moscow phenomenon."

Although opposition protests also were held Saturday in several other Russian cities, the largest, in St. Petersburg, drew only a few thousand people. Protests elsewhere attracted only hundreds or even dozens. About 100 attended an unsanctioned rally in Nizhny Novgorod and about 20 of them were detained.

The Moscow organizers had spent days in tense talks with the city government over the protest route for Saturday, typical of the bargaining that has preceded each of the opposition marches.

A protest on the eve of Putin's inauguration ended in clashes with police, and the Kremlin responded by arresting some of the participants and approving a new draconian law that raised fines 150-fold for taking part in unsanctioned protests. The city, however, granted permission for the subsequent opposition rally in June, which was peaceful.

A day before the weekend rally, parliament expelled an opposition lawmaker who had turned against the Kremlin and joined the protest movement. Anger over the ouster of Gennady Gudkov may have helped to swell the ranks of the protesters.

"Russia no longer has a constitution," Gudkov told the rally. "Russia no longer has rights, and Russia no longer has a parliament worthy of respect. Shame on this parliament, and shame on this government!"

Gudkov's expulsion also means he loses his immunity from prosecution, and his supporters fear he could face arrest.

His son, Dmitry Gudkov, also a lawmaker, said he hopes the Kremlin will think twice about arresting his father after seeing the size of the protest. "They will either have to think about serious reforms and end their repressions, or they will come to a very bad end," he said as marched with a column of protesters.

"It's necessary right now for all Russians to come out into the streets to show the regime that changes are needed in our country, and that without them our country can't develop," said teacher Valentina Merkulova, who participated in Saturday's protest. "The most important thing is that, the more Russians come out, the less bloody the change of regime, the change of power. A change of power is necessary."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/anti-putin-protest-draws-tens-thousands-172403884.html

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Case Involving Cancer Patient And Nissan Dealership Takes ...

On the surface, it seemed like Jill Colter had a slam-dunk case against a Nissan dealership she had accused of firing her because she had stage 4 cancer. Judges and juries, faced with such a sympathetic plaintiff versus a corporation, tend to favor the afflicted.

But after the case went to trial, a Massachusetts judge not only found in favor of the dealership, she ruled that Colter's brothers had run a defamatory social-media smear campaign against the dealership that resulted in millions in lost business. She awarded Clay Nissan in Norwood, Mass. $1.5 million.

Protestors had picketed the dealership following her firing in June. Her brothers, Adam and Jonathan Colter, helped organize the boycott of the dealership. A dealership depends on a small market areas in the community in which it operates, so the bad publicity was devastating. Colter had been employed for 10 months with the dealership as a service writer when she was fired.

In leading the boycott, her brothers, Adam and Jonathan Colter, contended that the dealership had a history of firing employees with health problems. In court, the brothers could never prove that charge. The judge made that failure to produce the emails a key part of her decision.

"Of great significance to the court, when pressed by counsel for Clay about his assertions that Clay had fired others because they had cancer, Adam Colter insisted that he had received e-mails from other employees of Clay who had informed him that they had been fired by Clay because they had cancer."

Judge Renee Dupuis of Norfolk Superior Court gave the Colter brothers a week to produce the emails, but they never did.

Next up was the issue of proving whether Colter was, indeed, singled out for firing because of her cancer. But employees at the dealership contended that Colter was difficult to work with and pointed to awkward interactions with customers as the reasons behind her dismissal. In a written statement that followed the decision, Clay Nissan said:

"We understand the anger on display about the incredibly emotional topic of the recent firing of an employee who has suffered from cancer. ... The truth of the situation reflects ? as you might expect ? a much more balanced and human story."

NOW CHECK OUT

Source: http://autos.aol.com/article/case-involving-cancer-patient-and-nissan-dealership-takes-unexpe/

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