How to Raise Kids 'Scream Free'

By Kris Gonzalez Fort Bragg Public Affairs FORT BRAGG, N.C., Nov. 30, 2011 - Growing up is hard to do -- especially for grown-ups, according to Hal Runkel, founder of the ScreamFree Institute. Hal Runkel, author and founder of the ScreamFree Institute, discusses parenting techniques with community members during his ScreamFree Parenting seminar at the Division Memorial Chapel on Fort Bragg, N.C., Nov. 17, 2011. U.S. Army photo by Kris Gonzalez  And turning up the volume doesn't make it any easier, said Runkel, as he spoke to Fort Bragg community members Nov. 16-17, as part of two, 90-minute seminars designed to help military families grow strong.Runkel is a licensed marriage and family therapist and author of the book, "ScreamFree Parenting." He said he teaches parenting strategies based on the notion that parenting is not about kids -- it's about parents. "If it was about kids, then we'd call it kidding," he joked. "What parenting isn't about is controlling kids," Runkel continued. "The greatest thing parents can do for their kids is to learn how to control -- themselves." Runkel described his answer to the complaint he most-often hears from parents around the world: "My kids don't listen." "They listen," he said. "They hear every word you say. They just don't obey you. And you don't know what to do about that. You think, 'If they heard me, they would do it, so, I need to speak louder so they can hear me.'" Yelling doesn't work, and neither does shutting down, which Runkel said, is another form of screaming, only it's on the inside, but it causes just as much resentment. "Our definition of screaming is pretty broad," he said. "It's any time you let the anxieties of the moment override your thinking; it's that knee-jerk reaction." Runkel uses humor, first-hand accounts and real-life scenarios to help teach parents how to calm their emotional reactions to their children's behavior. "ScreamFree Parenting isn't just about raising children without raising your voice," said Vanessa Vazquez, a child advocate trainer with Fort Bragg's Family Advocacy Program. "It's a revolutionary approach to parenting that focuses on self-control, relationship building and self-care." Vazquez was one of about 20 Fort Bragg professionals and trainers who participated in a separate, two-day, train-the-trainer course taught by Runkel. The purpose of the training, she said, was for post family advocacy professionals and trainers to be able to implement the skills they learned with individuals, couples and groups in counseling or in crisis and to gain the ability to teach monthly ScreamFree parenting workshops to parents here beginning in January. Each monthly, 10-hour workshop provides a forum for parents to not only learn parenting tips, but also to meet other parents and learn from their experiences, Vazquez said. Participants who attend the workshops will receive workbooks and a DVD to help implement ScreamFree Parenting techniques at home. Charles Pennington, a family advocacy program specialist, said he thinks the workshop will offer a great opportunity for new fathers to become more involved with their kids, and to help take the load off of moms. Runkel said he thinks the workshop will be fantastic for any military leader or potential leader to attend, because it can equip them to better coach and mentor fellow service members as well as to provide some valuable skills about stress and anger control when handling conflicts with others.

Military-Civil Partnership Shines in Helmand

By Lisa Daniel American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2011 - The senior U.S. civilian representative in Afghanistan today described as "rich" and "complex" the military-civilian partnership he and others say has brought great progress to the country's southwest region. The State Department's J. Paul Reid, who is located with the U.S. 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, and Michael O'Neill, the senior British civilian representative in the area, spoke to the Pentagon press corps via video teleconference about dramatic changes in Helmand province and surrounding areas. "Anyone who wants to create a model of best practices should come here to Helmand," Reid said of the partnership that includes U.S., British, Danish, Estonian and Afghan forces alongside the State Department and other international civilian agencies. "We work hand-in-glove," O'Neill agreed. "And the areas of the best progress are where communications and coordination are the closest. Teamwork is absolutely essential." Even people in Afghanistan have been unaware of how much things have changed in Helmand since U.S. and British Marines pushed out the Taliban and secured the area, Reid and O'Neill said. Only a few years ago, they said, Helmand was under harsh Taliban rule without government services, medical care or roads, and girls weren't permitted to attend school. Today, through the work of NATO's International Security Assistance Force, Helmand has a network of paved roads that make a loop through the region and extend to the Iranian border, allowing commerce to thrive and making it harder for insurgents to plant roadside bombs, they said. Poppies -- the root of the illegal heroin trade -- are being replaced with high-value alfalfa and other crops, they said, and irrigation systems are improving agriculture. Helmand's residents are enjoying a closer relationship with the national government in Kabul, which has improved services and sent numerous judges, prosecutors, teachers and other public servants to the province. There are now 133 schools in Helmand, the officials said, and 20,000 of 90,000 students are girls, they said. Helmand's elected representatives include 38 women. "We're in a better place today than we've ever been in," Reid said. � As security improves, they said, the emphasis now is on training and bringing in foreign investments. The World Bank, United Nations, and Asia Development Bank were among the participants in a recent international donors conference, the officials said, which included two days of seminars on investment needs in construction of dams, canals, roads and other projects. The Afghans also have made great strides toward self governance, Reid said. "We've moved from doing these things for them to making it possible for them to do it themselves," he said. Perhaps the greatest threat to sustained progress in the area is government corruption, the pair said. "It's definitely a serious impediment to foreign investment," Reid said, adding that he considers it the biggest obstacle to private investment in Afghanistan. ISAF workers have been working to reduce corruption, but "ultimately, it's a cultural shift that will have to go on" as Afghans increasingly work with the international community, Reid said. The Afghan government will make an important showing as the sole host of the upcoming 3rd Bonn Conference on International Development Policy in Germany, O'Neill said. The conference, he said, will set the stage for other major venues for potential investment in Afghanistan, such as the NATO summit to be held in Chicago in May. "We look to this conference to demonstrate, once again, how Afghanistan is taking control of its own destiny," Reid said. �

Related Sites: NATO International Security Assistance Force

Left protest against FDI

Rally also condemned Pb Govt’s welcome to the FDI

Ludhiana//Kalyani Singh and Rector Kathuria// December 1, 2011

The district unit of Communist Party of India (CPI)  and CPI (M) held a rally at the Railway Station Ludhiana followed by demonstration to the Clock Tower Chowk to protest against the decision of the union cabinet to allow 51% FDI in retail as it is going to hit hard the small producer, trader as well as the consumer. This has been done at a time when the Parliament is in session and this decision has been taken without taking the Parliament into confidence. This is in complete violation of democratic principles. The reaction is obvious as not only the opposition or the UPA allies but a section of the congressmen have also opposed the decision. Various speakers addressing the rally warned that as per the latest reports the GDP  growth rate has further gone down belying all the claims of economic growth by the government; and rupee is continuously falling to its lowest ever. The decision to allow FDI in multi brand retail sector will further jeopardize the economy of our country. The speakers also condemned the Punjab Government’s welcome to the FDI when most of the states have opposed it. The international experience has shown that with the entry of these big players in the retail business the small businessman is hit hard as it is unable to compete with the big fish. Their sales have gone down in all such areas around the globe. In India 33-60% of the traditional fruit and vegetable retailers reported 15-30% decline in footfalls, 10-30% decline in sales and 20-30% decline in incomes across the cities of Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh, the largest impact being in Bangalore, which is one of the most supermarket penetrated cities in India.

There is also loss of jobs. The experience in Vietnam has shown that the supermarket expansion also leads to employment loss in the value chain as compared to 18 jobs created by a street vendor, 10 by a traditional retailer and eight by a shop vendor in Vietnam, a supermarket like Big C needed just four persons for the same volume of produce handled.

The small farmers will be hit  as supermarkets will buy only ‘A ‘grade produce, that too on open market-based prices, and only a part of the output of farmers, who end up going to an APMC mandi to dispose of the remaining/rejected produce. Moreover there will be no commitment to buy regularly as they do not want to share the risk of growers. What is the guarantee that they will buy from the farmer at prices higher than they are being offered to them now?

So far as the role of FDI-driven food supermarkets in containing food inflation is concerned, the evidence from Latin American (Mexico, Nicaragua, Argentina), African (Kenya, Madagascar) and Asian countries (Thailand, Vietnam, India) shows that the supermarket prices for fruits and vegetables and other basic foods were higher than those in traditional markets. Even if it is accepted that supermarkets are able to offer lower prices, the low-income households may face higher food prices because of reasons of distance from supermarkets, and higher prices charged by supermarkets in low-income areas. How will these super markets solve the problem of food security and security of livelihood of the peasants of our country the speakers asked?

Those who addressed the rally include Com Kartar Singh Bowani-Distrtict Secretary CPI, Com. Sukhwinder Sekhon-Secretary CPI(M), Dr Arun Mitra, Com O P Mehta – City Secretary, Com Jatinder Pal singh, Com Jagdish, Com Gulzar Gorea, Com Ramesh Ratan, Com. Vijay Kumar, Com Gurnam Sidhu, Com  Gurnam Gill, Com.Mewa Singh Raikot, Com Raghbir Singh Venipal, Com Tersem Jodhan, Sukhminder Singh, Ragbir Singh, Dev Raj, Amarjit Mattu, Sudey Singh, Manjit Singh, Mahinder Parsad Dubey

'Extreme Makeover' Seeks Military Families

By Elaine Sanchez
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 28, 2011 - The cast of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" would like to brighten the holidays for a deserving military family this year.

The reality show is seeking nominations for military families in desperate need of a home makeover. The selected family will be featured in an upcoming holiday episode.

"We want to do a holiday-themed episode that's even bigger and more extreme than ever," David Shumsky, the show's casting director, said in an ABC news release. "In order to pull off such a huge venture, we need the support of the entire community. We know that the military communities will come out to help one of their own."

The popular reality show features Ty Pennington, his design team and a host of volunteers performing a massive home makeover in just seven days. The show focuses on families whose home situation is a severe hindrance to their quality of life, Shumsky explained.

"We really want to help families whose homes present major problems for the family -- those big issues that affect the family's quality of life on a daily basis," he said. "We want to find deserving people who just don't have the resources, ability or time to fix those serious issues without our help.

"For this special episode we'd love it if the holiday season had some special significance to the family's story," he added. "Maybe they have unique holiday traditions or volunteer in an organization specifically geared toward the season. Ultimately, we want to give this family the best holiday they've ever had."

Families in need of a home makeover or community members who know of a deserving family are welcome to submit nominations. Nominations must include the names and ages of every household member, a description of the major challenges within the home, a short description of the family story, and a contact phone number.

People should also explain why the family is deserving, heroic or a great role model in their community and, if possible, include recent photos of the family and home. People can submit nominations via email to jax@emhe.tv.

For more information on how to apply, visit the show's website at
http://abc.go.com/primetime/xtremehome/index?pn=apply.
�

Marine Gives Back to Community

By Marine Corps Cpl. Andrew D. Johnston

2nd Marine Division

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C., Nov. 25, 2011 - An active duty Marine Corps noncommissioned officer was recognized for his outstanding service to the city of Jacksonville, N.C., during a Nov. 22 ceremony at the municipality's town hall..

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Daniel G. Stoy, assigned here to the 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, received a standing ovation when he received the city's Outstanding Veterans Award.
Stoy, who earned three Purple Hearts from wounds he received in Iraq, serves as the sergeant-at-arms for the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Beirut Memorial Chapter 642.

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Daniel G. Stoy, a Hudson Falls, N.Y., native and infantry unit leader with 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., receives the Outstanding Veterans Award presented by the city of Jacksonville, N.C., at the municipality's town hall Nov. 22, 2011. Stoy was recognized for his outstanding work in the community. Courtesy photo

"Each of the different veteran chapters here in Jacksonville was allowed to put up one nominee for the award, which is basically for your service in the community," said Stoy, who hails from Hudson Falls, N.Y. "This the first time that The Military Order Of The Purple Heart has had an active duty member up for the award in two or three years.

"Basically [the award is for] all of the volunteer work I've done after the tornados hit," he added. "I had my whole [team] out there working with me."

Some tornados struck the Jacksonville area in late summer, Stoy said, destroying homes and leveling businesses. He gathered up a group of Marines to help out.

"If there is any time that we need help, Staff Sgt. Stoy always gets his troops for us," said Verl H. Matthews, senior vice commander of the local Purple Heart Chapter. "He asks for volunteers and he and his guys always come and help.

"These guys are some of the hardest workers," Matthews continued, "and I just got done signing about 20 appreciation letters this morning. He has just done so much for us and the community."

Stoy, a married father of three children, said he juggles his duties as a Marine, a community volunteer and husband. He said his wife makes it all work.

"I wouldn't have been able to do this without the support of my wonderful wife," Stoy said. "She has fully supported me in everything. She's here taking care of the home front while I'm out volunteering. It's that basic love and your basic husband and wife support -- she has been great."

Stoy said was very humbled to receive the award. He attributes his love for community service to his late father.

"It feels good to be honored like this because my father, who just passed in October, always used to tell us, 'What you give is what you get,' so it meant a lot to get it," Stoy said. "Between the balance of work and the balance of volunteering it was tough. But just being able to see the looks on people's faces, when you're out there helping just makes it all worth it in the end."

Refund the fee charged on account of property tax

Show cause notice issued to school

23.11.2011

Coram: Hima Kohli J

Delhi Government Counsel today informed the Court that a show cause notice dated 8.11.2011 has been issued to the school management asking them to refund the fee charged from the parents on account of property tax. The Court directed the Delhi Government to take final decision within 2 weeks and based on the decision, action should be taken against the school. CAG has also been asked to file their reply to the writ petition. The case was adjourned to 29.02.2012.

On the last date of hearing i.e. 03.10.2011 the High Court had issued notices to the St. Lawrence Convent Public School, Delhi Government and CAG on the petition of the parents filed through Advocate Ashok Agarwal challenging the action of the school in arbitrarily increasing fees and other charges in the academic years 2010-11 & 2011-12 under various heads including that of property tax. “The school had subjected the hapless parents to pay Rs.429/- per student on account of property tax which was impermissible in law”, submitted Mr. Agarwal.

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION

DISTRICT EAST, ANAND VIHAR, DELHI-110092

No.DE.47/D.D.E (E)/Pr. Branch/2011/1400                                        Dated: 08/11/11

SHOW CAUSE NOTICE

1.     Whereas, various complaints against St. Lawrence Convent Public School, Geeta Colony received sin the District made by President St. Lawrence Convent School Patents Welfare Association reg.severe fee hike by the school.

2.     Whereas, the school charged property tax from the parents due to the demand raised by MCD against the school. This is not in accordance with Govt. rules. The school accepted to withdraw the decision of charging property tax from next quarter of fee. The school should refund the property tax charges so far immediately in addition to aforesaid decision.

3.     Whereas, SMS charges are optional for parents. The school should clearly notify it to parents that these charges are optional and should not force it on parents.

4.     Whereas, the increase in the school fees in the year 2011-12 in about 30-50% which is not justified. The school fails to produce justification and minutes of meeting of SLMC in which it is approved in presence of Govt. Nominee. The enormous increase in the fee in not justified. The increase upto 10 to 15% may be allowed and rest of the fee hike should be withdrawn immediately.

5.     Whereas, the fee charged under head Physical Education charges, maintenance charges, are not justifies. The sale of school bags, school uniform, holding marriges and other commercial activities in the school affiliated to CBSE are not acceptable under DSEAR, 1973 & should stopped.

6.     The school should develop a system of redressal of grievances of parents and complaints as to uphold its image and noble cause of imparting education.

The manager/HOS of the school is therefore directed to submit explanation on the above mentioned deficiencies observed by the team members within 2 days, failing which action as deemed fit shall be taken against you under DSEAR Act, 1973.

(Neelam Verma)

Dy. Director of Education/RDE (East)

To

The Manager/HOS,

St. Lawrence Convent School,

Geeta Colony,

Delhi.

The aneurysm was like a time bomb

Another life saved by Dr.Bedi at CMC H

Ludhiana//November 19//Shalu Arora and Rector Kathuria

Dr HS Bedi with patient Tejinder Singh,the Heart Team and the special blood saving machine

An innovative invention along with timely and skilled vascular surgery has helped in saving the life of Tejinder Kumar - a vegetable seller of Fazilka. He sustained a fracture of his collar bone (clavicle) due to an accident. The bone bent inwards and damaged the subclavian artery (which supplies the hand) producing a swelling due to an aneurysm – a weakness of the artery. The swelling started to compress his air pipe (trachea) leading to difficulty in breathing. He was referred to Dr Harinder Singh Bedi– Head of Cardio Vascular Endovascular and Thoracic Surgery at the Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana. On examination and further investigation it was found that the aneurysm was like a time bomb and could burst at any time with fatal consequences. He underwent a vascular surgery. On opening the swelling there was a massive leak of blood at high pressure. This was sucked into a special sterile machine which has been specially developed at the CMC and H using innovative measures. About 2.5 litres of precious blood which would have been wasted was transfused back into the patient. The aneurysm was reapired and Tejinder is now well.
The other members of the team are Dr Allen Joseph, Dr Arun Gupta, Dr Paul Sudhakar, Dr Udeyana Singh, Dr Saurabh, Dr Deepa Thomas. Dr Bedi said that the intricacies of the machine were handled by Mr Jairus Wilson and William P Sagar along with Mr Mathew. Mr Jairus and Mr William are the senior most perfusionists in Punjab.
Dr Abraham G Thomas – Director of CMC & H – said that it was the excellent team work plus the innovation of the heart team that had allowed a safe surgery in such a complicated case.