grudzień 2008 - Strona 7 z 7

Bona Maria Sforza – the Queen of Poland

2 grudnia 2008 @polishnews Możliwość komentowania została wyłączona

PART I

Bona Bona Sforza, the Queen of Poland and the Great Princess of Lithuania and also the heiress of the Italian throne of Bari and Rossano, appears to historians as a very controversial figure. On one hand, Bona has been often criticized for her lack of scruples while achieving political goals and was blamed for contributing to the death of her daughter-in-law Barbara Radziwill. On the other hand, the queen initiated a good political relationship with Italy. Which side of the story is true? Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Childhood

She was born on February 2, 1494 in Vigevano, near Pavia, as a daughter of Isabella de Aragon and the Prince of Milan Gian Galeazza Sforza. The girl who was christened Bona Maria did not experience much | love from her father, who died a few months after her birth. A sequence of family tragedies followed the death of the Prince of Milan. In 1496, Bona’s younger sister died and three years later the King of France, Louis XII, ordered Bona’s brother Francesco Sforza to exile in France. In 1501, Bona’s older sister Hipolita died as well. […]

University of Chicago Students and Aramark Dining Hall Workers to Hold Protest Rally

2 grudnia 2008 @polishnews Możliwość komentowania została wyłączona

Demand a Fair Contract for Dining Hall Workers

Chicago, Illinois –University of Chicago students, in alliance with Aramark Dining Hall workers, are holding a protest rally this Friday. The rally is in protest of the embarrassingly poor wage increase offered by Aramark to dining hall workers at the University of Chicago.

Aramark is offering its workers only a $0.30-$0.40 wage increase, amounting to at most a 3-4% raise in a year with more than 5% inflation for most workers. Aramark workers are calling for a wage increase adequate for costs of living. Workers have proposed a 7% increase, to keep up with the rise in inflation and in order to raise wages that already lag behind decent standards.

At contract negotiations, in addition to wage increases, workers have also demanded a reasonable number of work hours, policy changes to enforce respectful treatment of workers by management, affordable health care, and decent working conditions—none of which are currently in effect.

[…]

Santa, Elves and Comparative Advantage

2 grudnia 2008 @polishnews Możliwość komentowania została wyłączona

By Oliver Griffiths

Santa One of the great things about autumn in the US as a parent of young children is the steady flow of diversions. October is all about the lead up to Halloween. November is all about Thanksgiving. December is all about the holidays. So, as we approach the end of November, the kids’ questions about Santa Claus are just round the corner.

As everyone knows, Santa Claus has helpful elves that make all the presents for all the children around the world, for Santa to distribute on one frantic chimney-to-chimney delivery. This raises several problems, including why a number of the presents my children will receive will have ‘Made in USA’ or ‘Made in China’ printed on them. I think I have the answer to this particular problem: it’s comparative advantage.

I have no doubt that Santa’s elves could make anything and I assume that they could make it all better and cheaper than anyone else. They have absolute advantage in producing all goods. But does it follow that it makes sense for them to produce all the presents that Santa will give out? In a word, no. […]

Giannoulias calls for creation of ILPERS by merging state pension boards

2 grudnia 2008 @polishnews Możliwość komentowania została wyłączona

New ethics bill to save millions, increases transparency of investments

Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is calling for the consolidation of the investment activities of all five of the state-funded pension systems into a single investment entity to curb ethics abuse in state government and save beneficiaries tens of millions of dollars annually.

The legislation Giannoulias is crafting aims to eliminate the fraud and abuse committed in connection with the federal Operation Board Games investigation. The consolidation would also cut administrative costs and management fees, saving beneficiaries up to $82 million annually.

A similar proposal to combine the pension systems surfaced in 2003, but was squashed by political powerbrokers William Cellini, Tony Rezko and Stuart Levine. Each has been implicated in the ongoing investigation spearheaded by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.

[…]

Parents, Students, Teachers: Share Your Opinions on Technology in Learning

2 grudnia 2008 @polishnews Możliwość komentowania została wyłączona

This Year, Students Share Their Opinions on What They Would Do As President To

Improve Schools

The 2008 Speak Up Survey Ends Soon!

Last Day to Participate: December 19th http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/

Irvine, Calif. – Students, teachers and parents have the chance to have their voices heard in Washington D.C. and in state capitals on creating the ultimate school, technology use in learning and 21st century skills by taking part in the national Speak Up survey. The findings will be shared with Congress and the new Administration in March 2009.

“As we prepare for the new President, a new Congress and many new Governors around the country, it is more important than ever for teachers, students and parents to have a voice in the new national discussions about 21st century education,” said Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow. “Don’t let the ideas of your students, teachers, parents and administrators be left out of this landmark national project. Voting on election day is just one step in helping share our democracy.”

[…]