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1. Bob Dylan Congressional Gold Medal 
A Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress and is, along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. The decoration is awarded to an individual who performs an outstanding deed or act of service to the security, prosperity, and national interest of the United States. American citizenship is not a requirement.
The Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom are generally considered to carry the same level of prestige (though significantly fewer Gold Medals have been awarded). The chief difference between the two is that the Freedom Medal is personally awarded by the President of the United States (executive branch), and Congressional Gold Medals are awarded by acts of the Congress (legislative branch). Per committee rules, legislation bestowing a Congressional Gold Medal upon a recipient must be co-sponsored by two-thirds of the membership of both the House of Representatives and the Senate before their respective committees will consider it.
Since the American Revolution, Congress has commissioned gold medals as its highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions. Each medal honors a particular individual, institution, or event. Although the first recipients included citizens who participated in the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War, Congress broadened the scope of the medal to include actors, authors, entertainers, musicians, pioneers in aeronautics and space, explorers, lifesavers, notables in science and medicine, athletes, humanitarians, public servants, and foreign recipients.
Bob Dylan has been among the pre eminent artists of the 20th and 21st centuries in the United States. His impact on popular culture particularly in song form, performance and the creation of highly personal songwriting which is simultaneously deeply linked to American folk music and popular arts is unique and worthy of this singular award.
2. Keep Step Ahead Day Nursery Open
June 5, 2006
Closure of nursery.
The Step Ahead Day Nursery has served the needs of the College and local community for many years, with the highest standard of childcare.
May 18, 2006
The 59th World Health Assembly (WHA) is scheduled to take place at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland from May 22-27, 2006.
In the renewed outbreak of the avian flu in Indonesia and Laos, the Assembly will discuss several draft resolutions recommended by the Executive Board.
These include the strengthening pandemic-influenza preparedness and response, the application of the International Health Regulations 2005 and whether or not to let Taiwan become an observer.
For the past nine consecutive years in the WHA, the annual meeting of the World Health Organization's (WHO) 192 member states has denied Taiwan bowing to China's obstructions.
The exclusion of Taiwan violates the principles and spirit of the UN Charter, in particular the fundamental principle of universality, and of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
To uphold the basic human rights of the 23 million people in Taiwan and to achieve global diseases prevention and to uphold the goal of the WHO on the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health, Taiwan should not be denied in WHA.
This year on May 15, 2006 with ensuring optimal national and global health Security in mind, Taiwan have voluntary declared its early compliance with all the Provisions of the IHR (2005).
Please kindly support Taiwan to be an observer in the World Health Assembly (WHA) -- the highest decision-making body of the WHO.
Let Taiwan be an observer and participate in the WHO's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, a "one-stop shop" of global resources to help manage public health emergencies of international concern, and a key tool to help support the International Health Regulations.
Your gracious support will be highly valued by the 23 million people in Taiwan.
April 28, 2006
We, the undersigned, are shocked and dismayed by your financial dealings with the Neturei Karta sect both as a principle and by reference to the scale of funds and period of years this has been going on.
We regard this conduct as offensive to the Jewish community at large, and a gross betrayal of the trust of Adass synagogue members and the legacy of the movement's founder, Rabbi Dr Solomon Schonfeld of blessed memory.
We, the undersigned, request that the UOHC issues a public apology for this conduct, to appear in a suitable community newspaper, confirming that they dissociate themselves and the Adass movement from the ethos and activities of the Neturei Karta sect and to pledge that they will have no further dealings with the NK or its followers.
We further request that the TrusteesÂ…
(1) Seek reimbursement of Union funds still in the hands of NK.
(2) End all financial dealings with 3rd party organisations that support or benefit NK or its members.
(3) Call on the Adass rabbinate to excommunicate the NK and its followers by means of a Cherem.
Those of us undersigned that are Adass synagogue members hereby state that - should the above requests not be fulfilled - we will vote for the secession of our community from the UOHC.
We submit this petition with full respect to the esteemed and learned rabbis of the Union and Adass synagogues, whose authority and honour are held in the highest regard.
5. Desovietize science in free Republic of Poland
This petition is to Polish Parliament to free laws abouts poish science and education.
The current law is the carbon - copy of soviet laws regulating science and education structure under military regime.
We ask Polish Parliament to take affirmative steps to desovietize Polish science and education. The current laws regulating financing and structure of Polish academia are nothing but make-uped Soviet laws corrupting freedom of education and science of Polish Nation.
Some of the afirmative steps sould be: lack of requrement of National Exams as entry requrement into Private Universities, Liquidation and clear condemation of Polish Academy of Science as Soviet invigilation device during occupation of Soviet Army.
The following steps are also needed: Liquidation of so called Public Institues, the highest form of soviet ties between communist military and science, Liquidation of so called Professor nominated, highest form of illegal invigilation of communist state over private academia having now the same rights and being obtructed like public, lay off of all scientific personell working under owe of occupied communist states PRL.
Our animal contol facility is a "kill shelter". Iredell County kills more strays than any other county in our area of the country and does not give adoptable animals a chance at a loving home. Our method of euthanasia is inhumane. We need your support to lobby our county commissioners for new ordinances. Please sign our petition below. Thanks you for your loving support.
7. Oppose the Information Ban/Racial Privacy Initiative
Some of the successes of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960's and 70's included the implementation of programs that sought to address the marginalization of communities of color caused by our nations racist history. For example, affirmative action programs in college admissions and public contracting essentially involved the issue of access and were designed to counter the massive discrimination found in colleges and the workplace. But unfortunately, since the 1990's there have been successful attempts to eliminate many programs that are meant to help communities of color in specific and society as a whole. And now, with the possible passage of the Information Ban/Racial Privacy Initiative, our ability to detect continuing disparities due to current and past discrimination practices is threatened. Ultimately, the Information Ban/Racial Privacy Initiative will prevent state and local governments from collecting data "by race, ethnicity, color, or national origin in the operation of public education, public contracting or public employment."
In 1995, the Regents of the University of California, pioneered by Ward Connerly, passed Standing Policies 1 and 2—which banned the University of California from considering race, ethnicity, and gender in admissions, hiring and contracting. Not satisfied there, Ward Connerly then became one of the main proponents of California's Proposition 209 in 1996 which abolished all affirmative action programs in the State of California. The controversial initiative (Prop 209), which passed by a slim margin, has had devastating effects on our society.
Since the abolishment of race conscious programs in California, a series of disturbing phenomena have emerged. Our institutions of higher education, for example, are resegregating. In fact, according to a Harvard study, Black and Latina/o students are in many instances more segregated today than they were in the 1960's! Critical problems like resegregation can be detected due to the legal collection of racial data. Now imagine the effects of banning the collection of such information. The consequences can be devastating.
Furthermore, the Information Ban/Racial Privacy Initiative will greatly affect the health field. It is common knowledge among individuals in the health sciences that health related data based on race is necessary in order to adequately address the varying health related necessities of specific racial groups. For example, without racial information in the health sciences, we would not know that Vietnamese women have the highest invasive cervical cancer incidence rates of all women and that Latina women rank second highest (Coalition for an Informed California, 2002).