NVAT: Good News About Bad News

It's so easy to get fixated on bad news ... explosions are showy than flowers growing ... that it's good to notice that in many ways things are just getting better quietly.
One way is increased access to information. While it is true that many things are kept secret, yet the sheer volume of information available to the average person is vastly greater today than at any time in history, an it's increasing.
I was moved to ponder this when I read the following from a website I follow for my free CLE work:

The Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) launched an interactive online tool that gives the public instant access to the largest collection of data on criminal victimization in the United States.
The NCVS Victimization Analysis Tool (NVAT) provides a direct and user-friendly way to work with 18 years of data about victims of crime. The tool makes it easy for people to find and use information from BJS’s National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS).
The Quick Tables on the analysis tool’s home page allow users to view trends in violent and property crime at a glance. Users can also see estimates of the amount of crime reported and not reported to the police, and find tables of violent crime by victim-offender relationship. For more detailed analysis, users can create customized tables of national crime estimates, by year, type of crime, and other characteristics.
This dynamic web tool significantly enhances BJS’s ability to make crucial information more accessible to the public and bring data directly to users."

The tool can be found at http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=nvat /Now may you're interested in crime statistics, and maybe you're not. But if at some point you are, you don't have to file some sort of request for this information and wait weeks or months for a reply; you just go to the site and run a query, or perhaps parameterize one of your own. This is government being more efficient (setting up an online database is as much work as answering all those mail requests) and giving more information to We The People. Everyone wins ... so be happy!

If You Don't Know History, You Won't Know You're Repeating It!: A Review of Howard Zinn's A People's History of American Empire

We all know the saying "Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it", variously attributed to Santayana and to Edmund Burke. Rarely do we reflect upon a few things that follow from this principle:
1. If history worked out well for you, you might want to keep on repeating it;
2. If you want to repeat parts of history that didn't work out so well for others, you might want to keep them from knowing it; and
3. If you're one of the "others" who don't know history, you won't know you're repeating it!

After World War Two, combat veteran-turned-historian Howard Zinn believe that We the People of the United States have big chunks of history that we would not repeat, if only we knew them. He took on the task of writing A People's History of the United States. After more than 20 years in print (and updates as recent as 2010), is still firmly among the top 1000 books purchased in America, according to Amazon.

In 2008, Zinn worked with artists to produce a graphic-based version of this history, entitled A People's History of American Empire, which I recently finished reading. It's all still well-researched history, but in a grown-up cartoon format that is very accessible. If you are willing to entertain the notion that some parts of our adventures abroad have not been presented to you in full, and that the reaction of "natives" to our efforts to "help" them may be founded in something you don't know, then this work is for you.

Because of its resemblance to a modern "graphic novel", you'll be able to share it with your teenager, too! I enjoyed it as a modern approach to learning history, suitable to those of us who think in pictures as much as in words. Recommended!

Bowgate LOL

Just a collection of Presidents bowing to foreign leaders

Square Grid Puzzle: How Many Squares Do You See?

How many squares do you see in this picture:

This puzzle has been going round the internet, and here's my analysis


I see 40:

• 8 tiny ones, in two 2x2s
• 18 regular (4x4 plus 2 in middle)
• 4 2x2s one at each corner
• 4 2x2s centered on each side
• 1 2x2 in the middle
• 4 3x3s one at each corner
• 1 4x4

--------------

EDITTED:

Ok, some people don't see why there's 9 2x2 squares. Here they are with color to help:

The first 4, that everyone sees

One in the middle, easily seen

2 more

And the last 2!

Meet-And-Green green websites....

My bloggy friend "Small Footprints" has a new idea for sharing green ideas: a "Meet & Greet Monday" where green bloggers can swap links. Check it out!

This week's links include:

1.	Jen and Joey Go Green	2.	Canopy Avenue
3.	Little Green Blog	4.	PLUS 2.4
5.	The Greening Of Westford	6.	EcoGrrl
7.	Eco Thrifty Living	8.	Groovy Green Livin
9.	Almost All The Truth	10.	Green Gal
11.	Our Tiny Earth	12.	All Natural Katie
13.	Saving Our Trees	14.	ann nz
15.	The Compost Bin	16.	Eco-Crap

This is a fun way to meet some new people and swap ideas!

4freeCLE: Your Free CLE Newsletter! July 29, 2012

4freeCLE: Your Free CLE Newsletter! July 29, 2012

In This Issue Webinar CLEs On-Demand CLEs In-Person CLEs Past Issues  Catalog of On-Demand Free CLE listings 4freeCLE hosts a page cataloguing free on-demand CLE here. You can find dozens of hours of educational materials, most of which are accredited in multiple states. Whether you need a quick touch-up on a particular subject, or are cruising for credit to meet a deadline, on-demand lectures can serve you anywhere you can access the internet. In most cases, you can share them with associates and clients to make your practice more effective! See for yourself at     4freeCLE's On Demand CLE page. And while you're at it, w hy not  with your colleagues and friends?They'll thank you for the professional help!

Webinar CLE The fastest growing means of earning free CLE! July 31: Managing Litigation for In-House Counsel: Complex Case Management: A Look at the New Pilot Program in the SDNY. Technically a teleconference, not a webinar. Also presented in-person (NYC). By Dorsey & Whitney.  August 1: Industrial Espionage and Theft of Trade Secrets. Stopping industrial espionage, and the civil/criminal remedies. By Thompson & Knight.  August 2: Social Media & Attorney Advertising Rules: Ethical Issues. Ethics of online advertising, websites, etc. By Avvo.  August 6: Introduction to Fastcase. By Fastcase. August 8: Advanced Tips for Enhanced Legal Research on Fastcase. By Fastcase. August 14: Best Practices in Patent Illustration. By LegalAdvantage. August 14: Criminal Law Best Practices. Practical application of risk management techniques, in the practice of criminal law. By Attorney Protective.   August 14: The Shrinking Attorney Client Privilege for International In-House Counsel-An Ethical Discussion. Disparate treatment of in-house counsel communications internationally. By LexisNexis. August 15: Becoming the Rising Star - Best Practices for Promoting & Using E-Service with the Court and at Your Firm. Hows and Whys of E-Service. By LexisNexis.  August 15: Top Privacy Concerns for Companies and Best Practices for Cyber Breach Preparedness. Cyber privacy concerns, statutes, risk management and insurance coverage. By LexisNexis.  August 16: Mobile Banking: Can the Unbanked Bank on It? Participants must apply for credit on their own. By Shriver National Center on Poverty Law.   August 21: Best Practices: Prior Art Search. Improved IP practice. By LegalAdvantage. August 27: Boolean (Keyword) Search for Lawyers. By Fastcase. August 29: Reflections from the International Criminal Court Prosecutor. Featuring Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor Elect of the International Criminal Court. Also presented in-person (Cleveland). By Case Western Reserve University School of Law.  On-Demand CLE Education you want, where you are and when you want it!  The Buck Stops at the Boardroom. Advising Board of Director behavior. By Lexvid. Emerging Trends in Legal Ethics and Professionalism. Client Trust Accounts, Professional Responsibility, etc. By Attorney Registration & Discipline Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois. Unraveling the Complexities of the GPL (General Public License). Practical approaches to the most widely used software license. By Black Duck.   4freeCLE's List of On-Demand CLE. Several dozen CLE you can take now - free! In-Person CLEs State-by-State If you are hosting an event offering free CLE, send your event to the editor for free publicity here!  California August 8/San Francisco: Forced Arbitration Today: Where Workers Stand. By American Constitutional Society (ACS). August 14/San Francisco: Introduction to Landlord Tenant Training and Housing Negotiation Project training. By Bar Association of San Francisco.   Georgia  August 15/Atlanta: Seeking Cloture: Is the Senate Filibuster Constitutional? By ACS.  Indiana  July 26/Bloomington: 2012 Public Access Seminar. Rights and responsibilities under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act, etc.  By Indiana University School of Journalism.  Massachusetts  August 7/Boston: VLP Training - Intro to Guardianship of Adults. By VLP.   August 8/Boston: VLP Training - Family Law 101. By VLP.  August 15/Boston: Supreme Court Review: Health Care, Immigration and Other Key Decisions from October Term 2011. By ACS.  Minnesota   August 2/Twin Cities: Navigating Through the Challenges of CVH/CVO Cases. By Minnesota Alliance on Crime.  August 14/Minneapolis: Searching Westlaw.com and Searching WestlawNext. By Hennepin County Law Library. August 16/Minneapolis: The Naturalization Project Training. By  Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota.   August 22/Stillwater: Washington County District Court eCourt Orientation. By Washington County Law Library. New York State July 30/NYC: Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis Part 1 of 2: Consumer Perspective. Free to members of the Federal Bar Council. July 31/NYC: Managing Litigation for In-House Counsel: Complex Case Management: A Look at the New Pilot Program in the SDNY. Also available as telecon. By Dorsey & Whitney.  August 13/Syracuse: Before You Play Golf, You Need to Know the Rules ... the Federal Rules. By NDNY Federal Court Bar Association.   August 21/Albany: Department of Veterans Affairs Claims Process. By Tully Rinckey PLLC.    Ohio August 29/Cleveland: Reflections from the International Criminal Court Prosecutor. Also available as webcast. By Case Western Reserve University School of Law.  Pennsylvania August 15/Honesdale: Wayne County Pro Bono Conference. By Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (PLAN).  August 25/Reading: Introduction to the Intersection of Criminal Law and Immigration Law. By PLAN.  Wisconsin August 15/Madison: Review of Recent Supreme Court Decisions. For members of the CJA Panel in the Western District of Wisconsin.  Washington State August 8/Seattle: Drafting and Enforcing Parenting Plans. By McKinley Irvin.  August 29/Seattle: Ensuring Equal Access to Washington Courts for Persons with Disabilities and the Implementation of General Rule 33. By WSBA Committee on Diversity and Washington Attorney General's Office.  About 4freeCLE 4freeCLE is delivered weekly and will always be free! Feel free to forward it to your colleagues and, if this was forwarded to you, get your own subscription for free by signing up now!