Petition Tag - level

Facing a $100 million deficit, the Broward School Board debates their options for cuts. The cuts suggested by district staff included cuts to art, music, and physical education at the grade school level.

It's time to stop putting children on the back burner! It was bad enough when they cut our funds, now they want to cut our children's programs.

We need to stand up for our children and fight! Especially when the board is wasting money on an upcoming recruiting drive in New York. Superintendent James Notter and the School Board approved taking out an ad in the New York Times and agreed to send "recruiters" to the Big Apple to search for new employees.

Why are we recruiting in NY when we have approximately 800 teachers statewide which were laid off last year!

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This petition of certain citizens of Australia draws to the attention of the House the National School Chaplaincy Program, built on the excellent history of school chaplaincy in Australia, which was introduced by the former Coalition Government in 2007/08 with a commitment of $165 million for its first three years. It was endorsed by Prime Minister Rudd who said “they (Chaplains) actually are providing the glue which keeps school communities rolling”.

The program offers pastoral care and spiritual guidance to all. Chaplains necessarily have religious beliefs which underpin their work. These beliefs are representative of the school communities the chaplains work in and they do not hinder chaplains from working with those of other beliefs or none. It operates in 1915 schools and enjoys strong support among principals, schools and in the community generally.

The Rudd Government has extended funding for the program, at a reduced level, until the end of 2011, after which time there may be no more funding despite the program's social benefits, sound administration and strong community support. If elected, the Coalition would continue funding the program in its current form, at its current level of $165 million over 3 years.

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Over the last five years there have been numerous changes in management, personnel and levels of service at the I'on Club. This last year the changes have resulted in an increase in overall dissatisfaction among members both pool and tennis.

Lack of services including reducing staff and shortening hours of operation. No new merchandise(clothing) in the pro shop. The overall condition of the facility has degraded to an unacceptable level. The playing conditions of the tennis courts has fallen to a level of concern to the point were player safety is an issue.

Overall maintenance of the facilities are generally poor and in comparison to many other similar facilities an embarrassment to the members.

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There are a plethora of mental and physical disorders that effect millions of americans today that could possibly be solved, if we only push research in the direction of one drug; Psilocybin. Forgetting the connotation of drug culture and hippies, Psilocybin has many redeeming qualities, if taken in moderate doses.

Some of the problems that this drug shows promise of curing are: Depression, Multiple Sclerosis, High Blood Pressure, Chronic Migraines, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, not to mention the things we may discover on the way. In the '60's, there was research done with Psilocybin, but it was done almost exclusively in high-doses. Low-level therapy with the drug may yield better results than previous research.

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In a City the size of London, the Underground system is the quickest way to get around and we are disappointed with the Mayor's decision to shelve 22 of the 45 planned step free access projects across London only committing himself to providing step-free access at 29 per cent of all stations by 2017. This is a major step back from previous plans to provide step-free access on a third of the network by 2013. As a result, many disabled passengers, older people and parents with young children are being denied access to this mode of transport. This is particularly concerning in the run up to the 2012 Paralympics and makes us wonder how the Mayor is planning to keep his post-Beijing pledge to make London’s Games the most accessible ever.

It makes little sense that Finsbury Park, where the current 49.1m passenger journeys a year are likely to increase by 40% over the next 15 years, is not being made step-free whilst Kingsbury and Amersham, both serving less than one tenth of Finsbury Park’s passengers, are being made accessible. We believe that money would be better spend on projects in areas where a larger number of people would benefit.

The decision makes even less sense because Network is going ahead with plans to provide step-free access from the overground platforms to street level at Finsbury Park. It has now given Transport for London and the Mayor until the autumn to change their minds on working together to make Finsbury Park step-free.

These are the reasons why we (Jeremy Corbyn MP, Jennette Arnold AM, local councillors, the Islington Disability Network, Islington Mobility Forum and Transport for All) are working together to collect as many signatures to pass to the Mayor to convince him to change his mind. If you agree that Finsbury Park Underground station should be made accessible to all passengers then please sign this petition. We are aiming to hand the petition over to the Mayor in the Autumn.

Ps. Please provide your email address to ensure your signature counts!

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Did you know that the Police in Ontario, Canada have the power to impound your vehicle and suspend your license without any form of appeal process? This in turn will raise your insurance rates, cause you to pay fees to reinstate your license, cause you to pay fees to recover your vehicle from the impound lot (and don't forget the towing of your vehicle there!) and possibly cause you credit and employment problems in the future. Yes, it's true!

All of this because there is no court date, no appeal and no due process for many offences under the Highway Traffic Act of Ontario! It's your word against the Police. You have NO rights! This quote is taken directly from the Highway Traffic Act:

"No appeal or hearing

(9) There is no appeal from, or right to be heard before, the suspension of a driver’s licence..."

How is this possible? Where do we live? Read the Act for yourself, you may just be surprised in what you find out. Many acts have been amended and changed in the last year that revoke many of your rights as a citizen of Canada (or Ontario?).

http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90h08_e.htm

Please sign our petition! Show solidarity that we won't stand for these amendments in a free country where we're supposed to have rights!

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Climate change may be a big problem, but there are many little things we can do to make a difference. If we try, most of us can do our part to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that we put into the atmosphere. Many greenhouse gases come from things we do every day. As we have learned, these greenhouse gases trap energy in the atmosphere and make the Earth warmer.

Driving a car or using electricity is not wrong. We just have to be smart about it.Some people use less energy by carpooling. For example, four people can ride together in one car instead of driving four cars to work. Here are some additional ways you can help make the planet a better place!

Read
Learning about the environment is very important. There are many good books that will help you learn. To get started, ask a teacher or a librarian for some suggestions. You also can look at the Links page to find other good web sites with information about the environment and climate change.


Save Electricity
Whenever we use electricity, we help put greenhouse gases into the air. By turning off lights, the television, and the computer when you are through with them, you can help a lot.


Bike, Bus, and Walk
You can save energy by sometimes taking the bus, riding a bike, or walking.


Talk to Your Family and Friends
Talk with your family and friends about climate change. Let them know what you've learned.


Plant Trees
Planting trees is fun and a great way to reduce greenhouse gases. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the air.


Recycle
Recycle cans, bottles, plastic bags, and newspapers. When you recycle, you send less trash to the landfill and you help save natural resources, like trees, oil, and elements such as aluminum.


When You Buy, Buy Cool Stuff
There are lots of ways we can improve the environment. One of the ways to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that we put into the air is to buy products that don't use as much energy. By conserving energy, we help reduce climate change and make the Earth a better place. Some products – like certain cars and stereos – are made specially to save energy.


Some Things to Think About
Did you know that you can help the environment if you buy recyclable products instead of non-recyclable ones? Look for the recycle mark – three arrows that make a circle – on the package. Recyclable products are usually made out of things that already have been used. It usually takes less energy to make recycled products than to make new ones. The less energy we use, the better.


Solar Energy
Imagine that it's a hot summer day. You put a scoop of ice cream on the sidewalk, and it melts. Why? Well, you probably know that the sun causes the ice cream to melt. But you may not know that the sun produces solar energy. Solar energy is a fancy way of saying "energy that comes from the sun." Solar energy can be used to heat homes, buildings, water, and to make electricity. Today, more than 200,000 houses in the United States take advantage of the sun's energy.


Cars
Cars are an important part of life for most people. But cars also cause pollution and release a lot of greenhouse gases into the air. Fortunately, there are some cars that are better for the environment. These cars can travel longer on a smaller amount of gasoline. They don't pollute as much, either. Using these kinds of cars can help reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the air.


ENERGY STAR®
Many things, like computers, TVs, stereos, and VCRs, have special labels on them. The label says "Energy" and has a picture of a star. Products with the ENERGY STAR® label are made to save energy. Buying products with ENERGY STAR® labels will help protect the environment.

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Many issues have been plaguing the Olivarez College Community, particularly the Nursing Department. Amidst all the issues and chaos, one particularly dedicated and professional teaching staff has been affected -- Sir Rafael T. Salinas. He is allegedly being accused of misappropriating funds in the Nursing Department. This move has been initiated by certain co-faculty members who may have a personal vendetta on Mr. Salinas.

Based on personal talks with Mr. Salinas, we have come to know that there may have been an "injustice" with the way his case has been handled and processed. The decision to remove him from position has only been based on "Sworn Statements" and not on hard evidences. What about Mr. Salinas' own statements and his long, unblemished history of studying, working and teaching in Olivarez College? Doesn't his own sworn statement account for nothing? And allegedly his statements were obtained while under duress? What is the credibility of these accusing individuals and why does their sworn statement bear more weight than Mr. Salinas' own statements?

Although there are no "definite" arrangements or definite decisions yet, it is still possible to have Mr. Salinas retained in the Olivarez College Nursing Faculty -- at least as a part-time teacher -- not only for him to share his extensive knowledge and experience as a Teacher/Registered Nurse but more importantly to CLEAR HIS NAME of any malicious and misrepresented facts. At this point we are not trying to claim that he has no flaws nor is he all righteous -- but just to give him what is due him..

Mr. Salinas is an Olivarez College alumni and he has dedicated a large part of his teaching years in his beloved alumni, turning down generous offers from other institutions in favor of his alma mater. Most students will attest to his dedication and going way beyond what is expected of him to ensure that students will learn. He has tried his best to uphold the standards of the school even at the expense of personal friendships ... and this "injustice" is what he gets in return.

Mr. Salinas himself has stated his intention to stay on even as a plain part-time teacher, without the accouterments of the position of a level chairman. What kind of guilty person would like to stay on even if it meant enduring the hardship of persecution based on unfounded accusations? This only means that he will stay on if only to clear his name.

For now he may be in a literal BRB status (Be Right Back) -- but we want to Bring (sir) Raffy Back -- clear his name and let the truth be known.

Hopefully with this petition -- we will also bring to the attention of the OC administration that we are the supposed "Kings & Queens" of the Olivarez community -- because we are the clientele of the school. We the students, co-faculty and peers of Mr. Salinas -- we have a voice... we have something to say ... we want to be heard.

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JPMorgan Chase is working in partnership with property development company Hammersons and the City of London Corporation to create a 950,000 sq ft building on a relatively small site in the City of London which immediately adjoins the residential Barbican Estate, home to some 5,000 people, and a Grade II listed building.

If approved, the JP Morgan office block be the largest building in the City and will completely overshadow and wall-in the Eastern side of the Barbican.

Currently the site contains generous open space and public gardens, raised above the ground, with interconnecting pedestrian bridges. These walkways form several access routes to the Barbican, which keep pedestrians away from the noise and hazards of London Wall - a major East-West traffic artery through central London. The proposed scheme will remove these, and create a somewhat smaller park at ground level immediately next to this busy road.

What are currently pleasant and safe pedestrian-only routes will be replaced by busy street-level crossings and streetside pavements. It will close and also build over an ancient city street - Fore Street - creating a large and impermeable block in the heart of the City.

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La Femme Nikita was an exceptional espionage/spy drama that premiered on the USA cable network from January 1997 to March 2001. It was adapted for television by Joel Surnow from the original French film of the same title and ran for five consecutive seasons. During that time, it was the highest rated drama on cable television, and it went on to become a cult classic with viewers around the world.

As a weekly serial drama, La Femme Nikita was original and ahead of its time. The unique, innovative style of the show influenced numerous other television series and movies that followed. Revolving around complex moral and ethical dilemmas, it was intelligent, sophisticated, and darkly beautiful. For many, the fascination and genius of La Femme Nikita was its dark tone of modern minimalism and its unprecedented style of character development.

The program was of such outstanding caliber that there has never been another like it...before or since. La Femme Nikita has been profoundly missed and has left a void that no other program has filled. Thousands of individuals identified with the show on a deeply personal level and felt it became a part of their lives. On a global level, people passionately love it and have remained dedicated life-long fans.

Following a campaign in the summer of 2000 to save the series from cancellation, the devoted audience was given the gift of eight additional episodes. However, fans of this riveting and darkly engrossing drama were left with an unsatisfactory open-ending. Many viewers of the show felt they were denied closure and will never feel like complete resolution has been achieved until Michael and Nikita are reunited.

After seven years absence, the fans feel the return of La Femme Nikita would reward them for their loyalty and faithfulness, update them on the lives of the characters, and provide a positive and cathartic closure to a much beloved story.

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The last Independent Library in the UK has suffered dramatic funding cuts at the hands of Croydon's Conservative Council.

The Library is funding jointly between Croydon and Lambeth Councils and since the Conservatives took over Croydon Council in 2006 they have made repeated attempts to cut their contribution and to raid the Library's reserves.

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I am Journalist working for different Newspaper, local as well as national dailies and I usually highlighted the human rights issues through these medium, so we are thinking to provide helping hand and moral support to the issues which you are going to take on different level and forum and also we will support your cause in this regard, whatever issues you will take you will find our support in every time in every where and we also this petition very strongly at any level.

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In the Phase II Renewing Regina Public schools report, one of the proposed options at the elementary level is to abandon the current dual-track French Immersion program and establish a few French Centers in its place (single-track).

This means that many of the current French Immersion school programs will leave the community school and students bussed to centralized schools.

Parents do not want to see the French program further pushed away from mainstream and made to be seen as ‘different’ to only integrate back into a French and English program in High School. We believe it is good for French and English students to have a relationship within the same school to further promote understanding of Canada’s second language rather than make those differences more apparent.

Parents do feel it more efficient to spend time learning how to better ‘integrate’ the dual track system at Hawrylak and other schools. We do not see the value in your proposed suggestions; let’s make our current system stronger!

Parents choose their community school French Immersion program to provide an opportunity for their children’s education. However if forced with the difficult decision of community versus French, typically 1/3 or more will not leave their community school. This means French Immersion enrolment will drop 33% across the board. Our vision includes more children in French, not less! Let’s provide children opportunities.
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WHAT IS THE NEGATIVE IMPACT?
• There will be a significant decrease in the number of students enrolled in French Immersion.
• Children segregated into far-away French centers.
• Children segregated at the elementary level based on English and French but then placed in a dual-track system in high school. Will students feel part of the high school, or more like outsiders? Will they be treated like outsiders?
(2006 RPS Annual Report “Regina Public Schools teaches students values such as respect, responsibility, and belonging.”)
• French and English students displaced from their family, friends and community.
• French-Immersion system in transition can be difficult for the children, parents and teachers if not effectively managed.
• Increased bussing needs and time, earlier school start times 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. replacing 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Siblings in different schools because one is in French and one is in English.
• Students leaving French and transferring to English to stay in their local community school.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THE CURRENT DUAL-TRACK SYSTEM?
 It is beneficial for French and English students to work together within the same school to promote tolerance towards Canada’s second language rather than accentuate those differences through segregation.
 Learning from diversity, exposure to diversity, development of cultural tolerance.
 It is consistent at the elementary level and in high school.
 Providing non-French speaking parents a better choice to enhance their children’s education when accessible in the community.
 Parents are more likely to be engaged in their child(ren)’s school when that school is a part of the parents community.
 It is not elitist, it is inclusive.
 The system is producing highly competent French speaking students!
 Research indicates that French centre students were perceived by both teachers and students to be exposed to more French and less peer pressure than their dual-track counterparts. However, that same research also determined there were no significant differences between the two groups in regards to student use of French or student and teacher satisfaction with the program.1

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This is a petition to show interest in development and change for Chichester Skatepark for its current and future users.

The Chichester Skatepark is in drastic need of improvement to be able to cater for the sheer quantity and level of it's current users. Currently the skatepark is dated, seldom maintained, and poorly constructed.

In comparison to council funded skateparks in the local area and nationwide, the Chichester Skatepark is seriously in need of change.

Improvements to the skatepark will mean:
- Current and future park users will be able to reach a higher skill level and be more likely to progress further in the industry.
- The park will bring in revenue to the city's tourism trade as more people will want to travel to use it.
- More children/youths participating in fun sports which means a healthier population.
- Fewer people resorting to street riding which means fewer complaints to the council.
- A skatepark that Chichester can be proud of and that it's users enjoy!

We are aiming to work very closely with the council to change the park for the better.

To do this, we need your support.

Thank You

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The College Republican's Anti-Affirmative Action Bake Sale, entitled "Affirmative Action is a Negative Reaction: Only Racists Consider Race" in the CdC Atrium on Tuesday, April 24, 2007, was an extreme display of white privilege and racist representation. We oppose the hypocrisy of a bake sale that supported this slogan, rhetoric and action.

What happened that day was racism—racism that is part of a larger systemic problem in our society. The language and action taken by the College Republicans are to be taken very seriously, as their position threatens and oppresses the rights and livelihoods of those whose social locations are already marginalized in our society—women, people of Color, the working class and the poor. This event led numerous students to feel unwelcomed, unwanted and unsafe.

Do not be confused. Their campaign that day was not independent of a larger systemic movement that supports and controls the White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy.

Thank you for signing the petition asap and forwarding it on to others to build support for this social movement.

Becky McDonald and Kris Schmitz, CSC students

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We would like to request a few minutes of your time to address a critical problem that, with your help, may be greatly diminished. It is a Noise Level Control problem.

There are two Clubs "Las Vegas Sports Club" and "Las Teja Restaurant & Bar" that are operating out of 1075 Portion Road from the hours of 8 P.M. to 3:30 A.M. Tuesday thru Sunday. It is a complex issue involving a number of factors. The one we'd like to address is the ongoing problem with both clubs playing loud music that is affecting our sleep and disrupting our lives and affecting the quality of life.

Another serious problem related to these two clubs is that drugs are being sold in the parking lot and that patrons are/may be leaving in an intoxicated or drugged state and are operating their vehicles through our neighborhoods causing a dangerous and potentially deadly environment for our local residents and public.

We have contacted the Town of Brookhaven, Code Enforcement Dept and 911 to assist the residents with some relief when the music gets out of control. When the officers request the business owners to lower the volume they comply, however once the officers leave the location the club owners raise the volume up on the music again and it remains that way until we call 911 again.

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Parking while working at CVTV is to be paid out of the porket of the crew themselves. This is how it has been for a very long time or has always been this way.

Now on the eve of the new year (2007) parking rates are jumping to $1.00 per hour in downtown Vancouver. This will be a huge change in crew pay. It will become a theft of 12.8% of level 1 crew and 12.1% from level 2 crew. Basically 1/8th of the pay.

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To all Irish Football fans - help Kevin make up his mind.

Staunton still hoping to land Nolan
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From rte.ie - Wednesday, 09 August 2006 2:13

Steve Staunton is still hoping that Kevin Nolan will don the green Irish jersey. Republic of Ireland manager Steve Staunton is hoping to cut through a mountain of red tape in a bid to lure Kevin Nolan into the fold.

Staunton and Bolton captain Nolan have discussed on several occasions the prospect of the midfielder pulling on the green of Ireland.

Staunton is eager to recruit a player of Nolan's calibre, yet there remain obstacles, even though he qualifies to play for the Republic via the grandparents' ruling.

Nolan has previously played for England at under-21 level, albeit in a friendly, and featured in a competitive game for the under-18s.

There is a precedent as Everton's Tim Cahill played for Samoa at youth level, yet now represents Australia after lodging a successful appeal with FIFA.

Staunton is not giving up just yet as he said: 'There's a lot of issues surrounding this one.

'Once we cut through the red tape then we will know where we are, and I cannot say much more than that.'

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Update: August 18, 2006

This petition is now closed. BT are attempting to improve my system by changing my method of communication to cabled, the proposals seem good, thanks to all that signed this.

August 4, 2006

In 2003 BT secured a contract to supply Broadband to 100% of homes in Northern Ireland.

Now in 2006 when they have "completed this objective" they are downgrading all customers on Radio Broadband to Satellite broadband which gives a fraction of the benefits and even the chief executive of BT Wholesale Paul Reynolds admits :
"It is not true broadband, but it will give much faster internet access to many people who could otherwise be denied".

BT has spent part of a £10 Million European Grant putting in place Radio transmitters for radio broadband and this service is now to be axed, BT must not be allowed to get away with this.

BT are charging £27 pm for this "service", which in actual terms will only allow users to Browse the internet nothing more, it will not support any of the associated benefits of Broadband internet, no voice or video calling, no email service, no remote access, and for an IT business it is a death sentence.

After building up my IT business for 12 years, I will have to cease trading due to my inability to provide the services which I was able to provide over Radio Broadband.

The Minister for Enterprise Trade and Investment Mr Pearson said :

"By the end of 2005 every household and every business in Northern Ireland, no matter how remote, will have access to broadband at the same price. Local businesses will have the level playing field they need to compete in a global economy. This vitally important contract will deliver the Government's broadband vision of a fully connected Northern Ireland. In turn it will help make Northern Ireland more competitive,

YEA LOOKS THAT WAY DOESN'T IT.

In my opinion BT are reneging on that contract and have a duty to continue supplying Radio Broadband to Northern Ireland, why should we accept an inferior service that no longer enables us to conduct business, hardly the level playing field as projected in Mr Pearsons statement.

Urgent action is required to reverse this BT decision, they are due to cease the service next week.

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This petition is in response to the proposal for 27% reservation quota in favor of the backward classes by HRD Minister Arjun Singh.

This letter voices the strong opposition to this recent proposal, and is not by any means, must be seen as an evidence of contempt towards the SC/ST/OBC. In the form of this letter, we attempt to initiate the realization of the major flaws in the whole system.

To do so, we require to carefully examine the legal, economical and the logical aspects as to why these quota reservations could pose a major threat to the well being of our country.

Need for Reservation- Reality or Myth?
The basic motive was to give the students belonging to the SC/ST/OBC equal opportunities because of their social disadvantages and lack of resources & exposure.

We need to ask ourselves: Has this motive been accomplished by the said reservation quotas?? Ask any doctor or engineer who has graduated with the tag of 'quota' and it will be clear that the procedure has failed to achieve genuine equality, depriving us from the Fundamental Right to Equality.

Constitution and Reservation:
Where articles 15 and 16 ensure every citizen freedom and equality before law, the unpractical provisions for reservation only highlight the contradictions in the machinery of the government.

Reservations were a part of the constitution when it was released in 1950. However, that was supposed to be a temporary measure and was to last for 10 years.

Part XVI of the Constitution makes certain reservations for the SC/ ST/ OBC for their election in the Legislative Assemblies and the House of People. Article 334 expressly provides that the reservations and special representations will cease after a period of fifty years. An Amendment (79th amendment w.e.f. 25-1-2000) to the Constitution in 1999 extended this time frame of fifty years to sixty years. Is this justified? Isn't this detrimental to the interests of the general members of the country who will now consider themselves unfortunate for not being tagged as "depressed" classes.

More than 50 years later the reservations continue to exist and have only become higher with passing years. The politicians, in an attempt to woo more votes from the public, continue to reserve more and more seats for SCs/ STs/ OBCs. This makes us feel as if the government covers its vested interests and political peripherals in the large cloak of democracy.

Certain Consequence of Reservation Regime:
The following are the sure consequences in case if the reservation regime is passed inspite of major oppositions by the IITs, and IIMs:

• The caste-hatred in the country will increase, leading to aggravated tensions in the IIT and IIM class rooms.

• Youngsters will lose faith in the democratic system of the country. If vote banks are so important to our politicians then we assure them that they'd lose a considerable part of it. We will not stay unplugged.

• The benefit of reservation is always lapped up by the quota-students coming into the creamy layer, not being entitled for reservation, while candidates who may be more meritorious miss out on those seats. Such candidates might decide to go abroad, considering their encroachment of opportunities, to accomplish their further studies. This results in India losing talented people, who could have been the country's future.

• The quota system, created to facilitate the poor, ends up wrongly being utilized by children of rich people, ministers and IAS officers belonging to SC/ST/OBC. The government and the ministers need to sit and carefully analyze the possible effects on their moves.

• Quota helps students secure seat, not degree. This is a hard truth.

• Brain Drain- With the reservation regime being proposed with ease and pomp, most of the parents are pushing their children to pursue their academics from institutions abroad sans the inequality and the so called privileged treatment confined only to the "depressed" classes. This will result in a major brain drain. There will be a time when we'll have to have reservation.

• It is a well known fact that Where there is a Will, there is a way. If a certain member of the so called SC/ ST/ OBCs is really deserving and hard working then he/ she will surely rise through the ranks. There are already a lot of opportunities. People don't ask you now whether or not you are a member of SC/ ST/ OBCs if you're hard working enough. Then why should the SC/ ST/ OBCs come out and expressly mention their caste details in order to be treated in a privileged manner? Dr. Ambedkar, too, worked his way to the top in an era that was plagued with inequality and untouchability sans the reservation and quota policy. It is surprising to not to know any famous person who has reached the heights that Dr. Ambedkar himself has reached inspite of the quota tainted five decades. This is the biggest failure of the concept of Reservation.

• Most quota students are not able to meet the standards of IITs, IIMs or other Indian institutes which are now globally acknowledged. These places of learning will have to bring down their standards and compromise on quality, which will, as an end-result affect the efficient development of the nation. It remains to be seen if the politicians consider their vote banks as important or the economic development of their country and the integrity of the constitution.

• The placements of these revered institutes too bear the brunt.

Some statistics that highlight that Reservation Regime will lead nowhere:

• The majority of quota students have failed to achieve even average performance:
o At IIM-Lucknow in 2004-05, large number of quota students failed to clear PG prog-I
o At GSVM Medical College, Kanpur, 50%admitted under quota flunk this year,35% get grace marks.
o 60% students fail to clear BSc exam,50% BCom and 40% BA under Allahabad University.

• The government might be pushing for reservations for OBCs, but as things stand on the ground, even the 22.5% quota (SC/ST) in higher educations remains unfilled.

• DATA collected by HRD Ministry for 2003-04 (latest figures available) show that the total number of students in higher educational institutes-a little over one crore-only 16% are SCs/ST. Which clearly means even with the existing quota, 6.5% of reserved seats are going vacant.

• The ministry's data on admission says:
o In classes 1 to 5, as many as 27% of students are from SC/ST category.
o In higher classes, heir number reduces - so that only 24% SC/ST students remain in class 5 to 8, and just 19.1% in class 12.
o Of the 1489 seats in IIMs, 16.4% are filled up by SC/ST students.
o In IITs,it is about 18%.

• Even now more than 60% of the students, whose performance are discussed in the Student Review Committee meetings of IIT Delhi, belong to the reserved categories.

o The cumulative grade point average of these students hovers in 5-6.5 range.
o This despite the fact that a one year preparatory course in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics is conducted for them.

• Moreover, its not just academics that suffer in the hands of reservation. We feel that government is dragging down the level of premier institutions instead of trying to bring them up to international levels.

Alternative solutions to the hike in quota:

• The number of seats in premier institutes may be increased, but then the quality of education should not be hampered, to attain which, it will be necessary to increase the teaching faculty as well along with the infrastructure.

• The unavailability of seats is not as big a problem to the SC/ST/OBC as their financial crunch is. Assistance may be provided in the forms of scholarships.

• The expenditure on higher and technical education is 0.4% and 0.1% of GDP, respectively. This should be raised.

• Progeny of those who have got a position through quota should be denied the same privilege. One 'quota-case' in every family is sufficient.

• The misuse of the quota by the powerful and the rich should be taken care of. Proper investigations and checks must be undertaken by the ministers who so loudly advocate the reservation regime.

• The level of primary and secondary education must be boosted. All the problems start from primary level itself, if a student does not have a strong base, then he cannot complete higher education successfully.

• The government should make efforts to uplift backward classes by strengthening the educational base of these classes at the primary level. Caste does not define how intelligent a person is. Rather it is differences in resources and exposure.

• The government should start some campaigns to ensure that students from all sections of society are encouraged to pursue studies atleast till 12th standard.

• Reservations in premier institutes are of no use unless creamy layer of students is kept out of it.

Merit V/s Quota
* FICCI president Y K Modi on September 4, 2004: "No where in the world is there reservation in the private sector".

* CII president Anand Mahindra on May 31, 2004: "The concept of reservation without reference to merit could have a distorting effect on the operations of the private sector".

* Ratan Tata: "Though I do not want to comment on it (reservation), it is bad in some way, it will tend to divide the country into different groups." " While uplift of socially backward classes is important, merit is an important aspect and should not be compromised"

* Assocham president K Sanghi on June 14, 2004: "It will have a far reaching impact on the industry as it may completely destroy the meritocracy in such units and bring inefficiency".

* FICCI president Y K Modi on September 04, 2004: "We oppose it as the move is against industrialisation and will lead to job reduction".

* NASSCOM president Kiran Karnik on May 31, 2004: "It will completely destroy the meritocracy in the private sector".

* Pune-based Alfa Laval India's MD Satish Tondon on August 08, 2004: "If I employ 1,000 staff, 5 per cent reservation would mean I have to recruit 50 people I may not need".

In the end we'd like to mention that the upliftment of socially backward classes is important, merit is an important aspect and should not be compromised. If the quota system has failed to serve the purpose till now, how is it going to help by increasing it?

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December 2, 2005

This is a new petition asking for marijuana to be voted on for legalization at the federal level for personal use and personal growing rights.

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FINALLY...THE ROCK HAS COME BACK TO THIS PETITION!

Member, The Rock was unfairly suspended from MuziqPakistan for 16 years...The Rock never once recieved a warning level increase from those punk ass jabroni mods such as SunnyBunny and MzAflatoon.... Then, all of a sudden on his first warning level increase, The Rock was suspended for 16 years...The Rock says...MP members... The Rock says, sign this petition... sign it...

BRING THE ROCK BACK TO MUZIQ PAKISTAN!

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As a freshman at SUNY Stony Brook, every student is required to take and pass a 101 level course within their undergraduate college. Also, during their second semester freshman are required to take a 102 level course within their undergraduate college. It has come to my attention that student athletes are not being required to take the 102 level courses. Such discrimination is appalling, especially when it is occurring at an institution that prides itself on academic excellence.

The argument for the exemption is that athletes have more duties outside the class room than the average student. This claim ignores the fact that athletes choose to take on those responsibilities. It also ignores the fact that all students have duties outside the class room. Unless the administration intends to review every student's additional obligations and determine on a case by case basis whether a student should be required to meet the 102 course requirement they can not stand by this exaggerated claim.

I am asking that you help change this policy, simply by signing the following petition. Either the 102 level courses should be made optional to all students or student athletes should be required to meet the same standards as the rest of us.

Keep in mind; more great accomplishments in history have been achieved through strength of mind than have been accomplished through strength of muscle.

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The time remaining befre the WTO ministerial affords the people at the grassroots level to have a say on the issues affecting their human rights and their livelihood.

The fifth World Trade Organization's Hong Kong Ministerial will take place in December 2005, where vital TRADE issues/agreements will be decided. The time prior the ministerial affords us the opportunity as the citizens to influence our WTO ministerial not to sign for issues that affects our human rights and that exacerbate the level of poverty in our country and other developing nations.

The WTO has implemented agreements that have had a negative impact on people's human rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other Human Rights instrument such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and cultural rights e.g. The Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) that allows the multinational companies the right to patent access to live saving drugs like ARVs (aids DRUGS) for people living with HIV/AIDS, this agreement violates the people's right to health, the Agreement on Agriculture that benefit the developed countries yet violating people in developing countries the right to food and adequate standard of living by allowing the developed nations (e.g. The US and EU) to continue subsidizing their exports flooding the domestic markets of developing nations such as South Africa and therefore resulting in job loses and poverty.

Another agreement that has had a negative effect on the livelihood of the people is the General Agreements of Trade on Service, privatizing essential human needs such as health, water, education and technology thereby increasing the level of poverty and inaccessibility to essential services.

Sign this petition and mandate of government not to sign for any agreement that will negatively affect our human rights as the citizens of the developing nation.

On the upcoming Hong Kong Ministerial the delegation will sign for the new agreement that was put forward by developed nations called the JULY FRAMEWORK, that will give more power to emerged economies to continue to bully the developing nations and to increase subsidies of imported goods in South Africa and thereby causing more job loses and poverty, making our farmers uncompetitive as a result of cheap imported goods that are less than our domestic cost of production.

SIGN FOR FAIR TRADE AND STOP TRADE LIBERALIZATION THAT BENEFIT THE RICH WHILE THE POOR SUFFER.

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We the residents of Green Acres oppose the development of Thornton Lake Estates whose intention is to utilize our residential street as an outlet to Springhill Road.

Our opposition is clearly based on and outlined in the Approval Standards used by the Albany City Planning Commission which specifically states as follows:

CONDITIONAL USE (ADC 2.250)
(3) The transportation system is capable of supporting the proposed use in addition to the existing uses in the area. Evaluation factors include street capacity and level of service, on-street parking impacts, access requirements, neighborhood impacts and pedestrian safety.

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The .cw Campaign is calling for a Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) to be created for Wales on the Internet.

What this would mean is that Welsh e-mail, WWW, FTP addresses could be assigned a two letter country code suffix signifying Wales. Many of the obvious choices have already been taken by other countries, we therefore suggest .cw (c representing Cymru & w representing Wales). Currently Welsh addresses end in .uk or one of the general international suffices such as .net, .com or .org. Welsh businesses in particular, rather than having a Welsh address are forced to use either a .uk version, or an international one which might already be in use by a different company elsewhere in the world

We are campaigning on several fronts. Most notably we are lobbying:

* The UK Parliament

* The National Assembly of Wales

* ICANN (Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers)

*ISO (International Organization for Standardization)

* BSI (British Standards Institute)

* The United Nations

The reasons why we have chosen the above targets is listed here - http://www.cw.rhwyd.org/ymgyrch.htm

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Firearm noise suppressors are used in countries like Finland to reduce noise pollution and to protect the hearing of people and animals. These devices are not weapons, and should not be treated as such. Most suppressors reduce noise levels from a level that would cause hearing damage to a safe level. If a criminal wanted to commit a nefarious act with a firearm, they wouldn't go through the trouble and expense of buying a registered suppressor, when they could build one easily and for very little cost. The waiting period for a legal suppressor is around 3 to 6 months, and there is a $200 transfer tax. Suppressors, often referred to as "silencers", do not make firearms silent, they only make them safer. Also, suppressors reduce recoil, providing a great benefit for those who cannot handle heavy recoil.

In Finland the government encourages the use of suppressors to reduce noise pollution, hearing loss, and the number of hearing aids the government has to buy. Before congress passed a law restricting suppressors, using a suppressed firearm was considered the polite way to shoot.

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Upon the end of a female freshman basketball's season only a select few make it to the next level--Junior Varsity. However that is not the case for the male freshman basketball players. They have a whole team designated for them: the sophomore team. While the boys have the priveledge of a sophmore team, girls have no such thing. Lady basketball players who may be a little late blooming have no chance. They have no opportunity to fine-tune their skills before the varsity level. A lady sophmore team would in turn help the lady basketball program because it would give them more time to develop and expose the girls to the high school competition level. Opponents in our district would not be hard to find because Plano ISD school have sophmore teams for their boys as well as their girls. Equality among the genders is there…..shouldn't it be here too?

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Spring of 2003, aerobatic stunt flying began at the Iowa County gave permission to two pilots to perform stunt flying maneuvers without prior notice to or input from area taxpaying residents.

The area in which these aerobatic stunts are performed is very populated and creates an unacceptable level of noise and disturbance to the nearby residences, farms and valuable livestock.

The noise level these maneuvers create make outdoor activties impossible. Even normal conversation cannot be held INSIDE some of the closer homes due to the noise level. A few residents work nights and sleep during the day. These peoples sleep and all the area residents live's are being unacceptably disrrupted.

This type of flying also poses a threat to life and property in the likely event of a crash.The pilots have been instructed to stay within a restricted area over the airport. On several occasions these pilots have goneOn June 19, 2003 at 1:00 p.m. there will be a meeting of the Iowa County Airport Commission at the Iowa County Airport. Mr. Gerald Dorsheid, one of three Airport Commission members, has agreed to add our concerns to the meeting agenda.

We wish to express our concerns in regards to the aerobatics that are being performed at very low altitudes over many residences near the Iowa Count Airport.

We live on County Road QQ, one mile east of the airport. We have many long established and new neighbors. We ALL strongly object to the "stunt" flying that has begun at the airport this spring. Our main objections are to the safety hazard and the extreme noise it creates.

One of the stunts the pilot performs is flying the aircraft straight up in the air, stalls the engine, flips the plane and spirals back down towards the earth and when it is a few hundred feet above the earth the engine is started again, creating a thunderous noise. A representative from the FAA informed us the noise level that is created by performing this stunt is very close to breaking the sound barrier.

Last Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the pilot performed these stunt flying maneuvers for several hours each day, stopping only to refuel. When this is happening, we have to close our windows and even then it is difficult to hold a normal conversation in our own homes. In order to get any peace we have to actually leave our homes that we are paying ever-increasing property taxes on. Those very taxes pay for the airport, it's commission and the manager's salary and yet as long as this type of flying is allowed our property value will decrease.

With the amount of accidental crashes with single engine aircraft that occur during normal flights, the likelihood of a crash from this type of maneuver is tenfold. This area is simply too populated for such maneuvers to be allowed by the Airport Commission. In addition to the numerous residences there are several farms with livestock that are being "spooked" by this severe noise putting the handlers in jeopardy and running off valuable pounds of meat.

Several complaints have been filed with the Iowa County Sheriff Department, the FAA, the Flight Standards Commission and the Airport Manager. We have been advised the Airport Commission is who we need to address our concerns to in order to resolve this dangerous and extremely disturbing activity. We, the property owners and residents are in the process of generating a petition against this type of flying at this airport and will carry signatures of all who object. We will then present it to the Airport Commission on June 19th. We would like to invite everyone who would like to express their concerns to this meeting. We also invite a reporter from this newspaper to attend to obtain additional information that will be presented.

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In our school district, it is numbers that matter. Our teacher's placements are directed only based on their seniority level, not skill or attitude, simply seniority. Our band teacher has outdone every other one I have ever had. I live in a community of islands and it was not economical to hire a teacher for every single island. So, our teacher came up with the idea to create a floating band. Kids from 3 different islands get on the ferry, one after the other and for almost 4 hours we play and learn and create great relationships. Now our district is taking that away.

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