IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Freedom Communications announced today that the sale of the print and online publishing assets of its Texas properties, The Brownsville Herald, El Nuevo Heraldo, The Harlingen Valley Morning Star, The Monitor in McAllen, The Odessa American and The Mid Valley Town Crier in Weslaco, to AIM Media Texas, LLC has closed.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. In conjunction with the transaction, AIM previously announced that all Freedom employees at these publications will continue in their respective jobs and positions with the new company.

This transaction presented an excellent opportunity to provide our shareholders with enhanced value for their investments while also ensuring that the communities involved continue to receive the great service they have been accustomed to receiving from Freedom, said Mark McEachen, Freedom Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP acted as legal advisors to Freedom.

About Freedom Communications

Freedom Communications, headquartered in Irvine, Calif., is a national privately owned information and entertainment company of print publications and interactive businesses. The Companys print portfolio includes approximately 100 publications, including 15 daily newspapers, weekly newspapers, plus ancillary magazines and other specialty publications. The Companys news, information and entertainment websites and mobile applications complement its print properties. For more information, visit http://www.freedom.com.

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Freedom Communications Announces Close of Sale of Texas Publishing Assets

In 2009, Prom Vannak jumped from a Thai fishing boat on which he was a slave and swam for freedom. His story puts a spotlight onthe estimated 27 million people who live as slaves around the world.

In 2009, Cambodian Prom Vannak Anan dove into a dark sea and away from a life of beatings, unpaid labor and imprisonment on a fishing boat. The lights of a port, four miles distant, guided him. The desire to be free kept him swimming.

Anan had been a new father and husband in 2005 when a job agent offered him a path to a better life, then moved him far from home. Instead of a job, he was sold as a laborer to a Thai boat owner. For years, he endured physical and emotional pain, hoping for a chance to escape.

So around midnight in 2009, as the crew slept on a rare night when they anchored near enough to see the shore, he swam for freedom.

Instead of mercy, the Malaysian police hed hoped would help sold him to a palm oil plantation. It took him another year much of it in jail to finally find help, freedom and a way back to his family.

On Tuesday, the State Department named Anan among 10 people who made a difference in fighting modern-day slavery worldwide. Releasing its annual global report on human trafficking, the department called these individuals heroes for combating the tragic trafficking in young children for the sex trade and the sale of adults, like Anan, who were trapped in lives of unpaid labor.

Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, who heads the State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, said that publicizing stories like Anans could inspire others to help fight what he called a global epidemic. The numbers released Tuesday in the departments annual Trafficking in Persons Report show that the tragedy of Anans story isnt just that it is so horrible and so cruel, but that it is so common.

Worldwide, an estimated 27 million people live as slaves. For context, consider that in the pre-Civil War United States, the very open and public Southern slave population peaked at around 4 million. US officials say, in fact, that the world has never been home to more slaves than it is today.

The State Department report says that while slaves are held in captivity in places such as Cambodia and Malaysia and Thailand, they also can be found as forced hotel housekeepers, prostitutes or dishwashers in places such as Kansas City, Mo., Charlotte, N.C., and Sacramento, Calif.

Were seeing more prosecution, and more victims identified and freed, helped, said CdeBaca. But its a good trend. It means were finally learning the depth of the problem. As we collect better data, the numbers will continue to get worse for a couple years now, as more nations join the fight against human trafficking.

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How one man swam to freedom and into fight against modern-day slavery

June 20, 2012 - Frontier League (FL) Florence Freedom FLORENCE, KY - This summer at the Florence Freedom, every Sunday home game will feature a give-a-way families will want. The July schedule features six such Sundays (two day/night doubleheaders), each with cool give-a-ways. However, two stand above the rest as the Freedom continue their 2012 bobblehead series.

On Sunday, July 1 at both the 1:05 pm and 6:05 pm games, fans will have the chance to receive a collector's edition Wally the Watertower bobblehead presented by AdvancePierre Foods. Fans will recognize Wally for his striking resemblance to the landmark Florence Y'ALL water tower.

Come early as these "bobbletowers" won't last long! The first 1,000 fans for both the day and night games will receive a "voucher" as they enter the gates (one voucher for every two tickets). Those vouchers can be redeemed during the top of the fourth inning for the bobbleheads.

Then on Sunday, July 29, for the 6:05 pm game, celebrate this past season's college basketball championship and future number one over all basketball pick by getting your hands on the "Fear the Brow" bobblehead presented by Schulz and Sons Jewelers.

Kentucky fans will want to get here early as only the first 1,500 fans will receive a voucher (same as listed before, two tickets equals on voucher). The vouchers will then be redeemed at the Schulz and Sons Jewelers' booth, located on the third base side of the concourse, during the top of the fourth inning for the bobble.

Please notice that these bobbleheads were switched from their originally planned give-a-way dates to accommodate fan's interests.

Two save $2 on reserved tickets for these give-a-ways dates, or any 2012 Freedom game, fans should sign up to join the eFlock newsletter on Florencefreedom.com or call 859-594-HITS (4487). The Freedom are a part of the Independent Frontier League and play their home games at the Home of the Florence Freedom located at 7950 Freedom Way in Florence, Kentucky.

Discuss this story on the Frontier League message board... Digg this story Add to Del.icio.us

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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Freedom Bobbleheads 'Tower' Above Any Other

PUTRAJAYA -- It is good to have freedom of assembly, but there must be some limits because a good government should not only be responsible to a minority group but also to the majority.

Read the original here:

Freedom Of Assembly Should Have Limits

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

An epidemic has swept across America, threatening the well-being of its most vulnerable residents, according to Save the Children, who launched today its Freedom from Poverty campaign to give a voice to the 16 million children bearing the brunt of the U.S. poverty crisis.

Artist ambassadors Jennifer Garner, Julianne Moore and American Idol judge Randy Jackson have already signed the Freedom from Poverty pledge, whose aim is to have 15,000 signatures from supporters by campaigns end on August 14.

Today, one in four kids is living in poverty. But it doesn't have to stay that way, said Randy Jackson, who supported Save the Childrens post-Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in New Orleans, La. We all have to do our part to help turn around the childhood poverty crisis and make sure that every kid gets a fair start in life."

The goal of the Freedom from Poverty campaign is to shine a light on this crisis impacting a quarter of children across the United States who know all too well what it means to go without.

Living in poverty can mean having little or no food on the table, no safe place to sleep at night, no electricity or running water, said Carolyn Miles, Save the Childrens President and CEO. Poverty also means not having books to read and falling 18 months behind ones peers by age four, never catching up. It means being trapped in the cycle of poverty for life.

In addition to raising awareness of this hidden crisis, Save the Children works to break the cycle of poverty and improve the lives of children by ensuring they have the resources they need. Through initiatives like U.S. child sponsorship, children gain access to a quality education, books, computers, after-school learning, physical activities and healthy snacks.

From the foothills of Kentucky to the deserts of Arizona, U.S. sponsorship supports proven programs that are changing the future of children who are all too often forgotten. Children like Tracie Hays

My sponsors helped inspire me to achieve success. They encouraged me to go to school, try hard and do well so that doors would open in my future, said Hays, who benefited from Save the Childrens sponsorship program as a child growing up in poverty-stricken rural Kentucky. Hays went on to graduate from high school with honors, receive a full college scholarship and complete a masters degree in education.

To learn more about Save the Childrens Freedom from Poverty campaign and the U.S. Sponsorship program, visit: http://www.savethechildren.org/freedom. Text READ to 69866 to take the Freedom from Poverty Pledge.

See the article here:

Save the Children Takes Stand Against Childhood Poverty, Launches Freedom from Poverty Campaign

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla (Reuters) - With the North Star as the guiding light for runaway slaves and Canada as the Promised Land, the underground railroad that U.S. schoolchildren read about in textbooks points to freedom in just one direction - the north. But scholars gathering this week for the National Underground Railroad Conference will head south to St. Augustine, Florida, home to the former ...

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U.S. conference highlights slaves' southern path to freedom

Colin Grainger , Editor Wednesday, June 20, 2012 12:00 PM

Honouring our heroes. On Saturday the Newham public are being invited to show their support for the G Company 7 Rifles, who will get the Freedom of the Borough in acknowledgement of their presence in Newham.

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The honour comes after Newham Council passed a resolution to present the men and women of G Company, 7th Battalion The Rifles with the Freedom of the London Borough of Newham, in recognition of their gallant and courageous service to the country and as a token of respect to all the men and women of the borough who have and are still serving in the Regiment.

The G Company 7 Rifles will be presented with the Freedom Scroll on Saturday. Residents are invited to listen to the Territorial Armys Waterloo Band & Bugles who will play a selection of music at 10.15am at Stratford Park, in West Ham Lane, Stratford.

A parade will start at 10.30am with the troops marching through Stratford Broadway and returning to Old Town Hall Stratford, where they will be presented with the Freedom Scroll outside Old Town Hall at 11am.

Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales said: Saying a simple thank you for what G Company of the 7th Battalion of the Rifles Regiment does for us and the contribution they make to our community seems such a small gesture but is one I know the unit greatly appreciates.

Continued here:

Freedom of Newham Borough parade to honour our heroes

Enlarge David Redfern/Redferns

Gary Bartz performs at the 1973 Montreux Jazz Festival. The saxophonist is often cited as a messenger of black empowerment in music.

Gary Bartz performs at the 1973 Montreux Jazz Festival. The saxophonist is often cited as a messenger of black empowerment in music.

Today, June 19, is a holiday known as Juneteenth the oldest commemoration of slavery's end. Though the Emancipation Proclamation declared the freedom of slaves in Confederate states on Jan. 1, 1863, it was only on June 19, 1865 (months after Confederate forces had surrendered) that Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas, to spread news of the war's end, and to enforce the proclamation in Texas. The date has since been noted in Texas and across the country as a celebration of African-American freedom and history, especially since the Civil Rights movement.

Jazz has always been one of the most important musical narratives of the African-American journey toward freedom in America. Emancipation did not mean equality for ex-slaves, and jazz, whose call to improvisation models the principles of freedom, has often documented the ongoing pursuit. Indeed, this year jazz musicians and educators Dr. Ronald Myers and Dr. Larry Ridley are illuminating African-American history within jazz by organizing a national Juneteenth jazz concert series.

Earlier this year, I spoke with pianist Jason Moran and bassist Christian McBride about how the "message in the music" charged social movements across the country. Artists such as Nina Simone, Sonny Rollins and Charles Mingus anchored our discussions of what it meant to use one's craft as a means to evoke change, and what it means to be part of a continuum toward total emancipation. See what they and their fellow jazz luminaries have to impart: Here are five recordings, picked by five musicians, which represent the triumphs and tribulations within the freedom struggle.

Jason Moran, pianist: "I showed 45 minutes of [an episode of the PBS series] Eyes on the Prize [to my students]. It was the episode when they discuss the Little Rock Nine in Arkansas and Governor Faubus and ... how crazy he was. After watching it and listening to Mingus' song, a student said, 'Well, now it makes a lot more sense.' This is an entire segment of the population whose life was dealing with stuff like this. And we're just watching an edited excerpt of people's everyday lives. Everything is not just about a chord or a melody ... it wasn't about that. It was therapy. People were using the music as therapy."

Click here for more from this interview.

Christian McBride, bassist: "Duke [Ellington] was always somehow able to express and convey the feelings of black folk without being angry. You could feel the sadness, pain, angst, but it was always done through this filter, this lens of triumph in the end ... or hope. I think that's what separated Duke from the rest of the pack. [On] this album specifically, you've got Mahalia Jackson, and these are two titans, arguably at the peak of their powers, collaborating together. When you talk about fusion, I can think of no greater example of one of the earliest collaborations of jazz and gospel."

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Five Jazz Songs That Speak Of The Freedom Struggle

Ariha Setalvad, a native of Mumbai studying at New York University, writes that her dreams of unlimited freedom were brought to earth by the realization that "real life isn't set to music."

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The 'Heady Rush' of Freedom in College, and How to Manage It

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., June 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Swedish Skin Care's RAZOR BURN FREEDOM for Women has been nominated as a finalist in the prestigious Independent Cosmetic Manufacturers & Distributors (ICMAD) seventh annual Cosmetic Innovators of the Year (CITY) Awards.

Swedish Skin Care's RAZOR BURN FREEDOM for Women was one of three finalists under the Members' Choice: Bath, Body & Hair category. A total of 35 beauty brands were selected by a panel of industry experts, who voted on finalists based on innovative products, packaging, and advertising/marketing concepts from 2011. There are 14 award categories.

The ICMAD CITY Awards Ceremony takes place at the Manhattan Penthouse in New York, NY on June 20.

"Making the list of finalists is a huge honor for our product and company," explained Swedish Skin Care CEO Bengt Johansson. "Our goal was to create a product specifically for women that not only was highly effective for all post hair-removal skin symptoms, but also provided exceptional hydration, a healthy-looking glow and ease of use. We are thrilled to have succeeded."

About RAZOR BURN FREEDOM for Women

Doctor developed in Sweden, this patented, triple-action formula is (the company believes) the first treatment of its kind formulated exclusively for women and their specific post hair-removal skin needs. Boosted with rejuvenating vitamin C, soothing chamomile and deeply calming Gorgonian Extract from the Caribbean Sea, the product is not limited to razor burn symptoms. It works well after waxing, electrolysis, threading, tweezing and laser hair removal on both face and body.

RAZOR BURN FREEDOM for Women is paraben and fragrance free. It is offered in a 3.38 fl oz / 100 ml pump spray bottle with a suggested retail price of $30 and is available at http://www.SwedishSkinCare.com. The company includes a 60-day satisfaction guarantee. For more information contact Swedish Skin Care at info@SwedishSkinCare.com or call 888.658.7546 (SKIN).

Media Contact: Bengt Johansson, 888.658.7546, info@SwedishSkinCare.com

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

The rest is here:

Swedish Skin Care's Razor Burn Freedom for Women is Finalist in ICMAD's 2012 CITY Awards

Enlarge David Redfern/Redferns

Gary Bartz performs at the 1973 Montreux Jazz Festival. The saxophonist is often cited as a messenger of black empowerment in music.

Gary Bartz performs at the 1973 Montreux Jazz Festival. The saxophonist is often cited as a messenger of black empowerment in music.

Today, June 19, is a holiday known as Juneteenth the oldest commemoration of slavery's end. Though the Emancipation Proclamation declared the freedom of slaves in Confederate states on Jan. 1, 1863, it was only on June 19, 1865 (months after Confederate forces had surrendered) that Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas, to spread news of the war's end, and to enforce the proclamation in Texas. The date has since been noted in Texas and across the country as a celebration of African-American freedom and history, especially since the Civil Rights movement.

Jazz has always been one of the most important musical narratives of the African-American journey toward freedom in America. Emancipation did not mean equality for ex-slaves, and jazz, an art form most literally based on the principles of freedom, has often documented the ongoing pursuit. Indeed, this year jazz musicians and educators Dr. Ronald Myers and Dr. Larry Ridley are illuminating African-American history within jazz by organizing a national Juneteenth jazz concert series.

Earlier this year, I spoke with pianist Jason Moran and bassist Christian McBride about how the "message in the music" charged social movements across the country. Artists such as Nina Simone, Sonny Rollins and Charles Mingus anchored our discussions of what it meant to use one's craft as a means to evoke change, and what it means to be part of a continuum toward total emancipation. See what they and their fellow jazz luminaries have to impart: Here are five recordings, picked by five musicians, which represent the triumphs and tribulations within the freedom struggle.

"I showed 45 minutes of [an episode of the PBS series] Eyes on the Prize [to my students]. It was the episode when they discuss the Little Rock Nine in Arkansas and Governor Faubus and ... how crazy he was. After watching it and listening to Mingus' song, a student said, 'Well, now it makes a lot more sense.' This is an entire segment of the population whose life was dealing with stuff like this. And we're just watching an edited excerpt of people's everyday lives. Everything is not just about a chord or a melody ... it wasn't about that. It was therapy. People were using the music as therapy." --Jason Moran, pianist

Click here for more from this interview.

"Duke [Ellington] was always somehow able to express and convey the feelings of black folk without being angry. You could feel the sadness, pain, angst, but it was always done through this filter, this lens of triumph in the end ... or hope. I think that's what separated Duke from the rest of the pack. [On] this album specifically, you've got Mahalia Jackson, and these are two titans, arguably at the peak of their powers, collaborating together. When you talk about fusion, I can think of no greater example of one of the earliest collaborations of jazz and gospel." --Christian McBride, bassist

Read the original post:

Five Jazz Songs Which Speak Of The Freedom Struggle

Once you enter a private workplace, freedom of speech protections technically go out the windowwhether you are a business owner or employee. However, your employees can, and will still voice their opinions on everything from President Obamas stance on immigration to the L.A. Kings Stanley Cup victory.

So as a business owner, how do you strike the right balance of expression and protection for your workers and your company?

Carolyn Hughes, vice president of People for SimplyHired.com, said the rule of thumb for her company is that the minute a persons freedom of speech becomes offensive to others in the workplace, it must be curbed.

At that moment you have crossed the line, Hughes said. And your response should be more values-driven than rules-driven.

That being said, an employers response to this issue should be to address complaints or actions in a way that speaks to your companys values. Its not necessarily having set rules in place about what can and cannot be said or done in your business.

We have respectful workplace policies, Hughes said. We expect all employees to use their best judgment.

When a worker does violate this policy, Hughes said the result rarely ends in that person being terminated. Stepping in to discuss the violation is a common practice and good protection for your business in terms of harassment lawsuits, she said. This respectful workplace policy should be outlined in your employee handbook, and distributed to workers on day one of their employment.

Polly Wright, senior consultant for HR Consultants, Inc., said its important to allow your own views as well as those of your employees to creep into your companys culture. The smaller a company is, the more flexibility it has in terms of establishing a culture.

This can even contribute to your employees understanding of the value of the organization, Wright said. But there is a difference between expressing your opinions, and forcing those opinions on someone else.

Both business owners and employees should gauge their behavior and expressions on those around them, Wright said. See if others are expressing themselves similarly, and also consider your colleagues reactions.

Original post:

Freedom of Speech and Your Office

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CHARLOTTE -- A national organization said they hope to stop the summer brain-drain by keeping kids in school.

The Freedom School Partners is a six-week educational enrichment program designed to help kids not only maintain what they learned the past school year, but help them learn more. Monday was the first day of this summer program at 25 sites around Mecklenburg County.

Parents said they might be more excited than their kids.

"This morning I woke up so early because I was so excited about having them here. I was like, oh you know! They thought I was going to work and I was like, 'Oh, I'm not going to work, you're going to school!'" said Alicia Brewton, whose two sons are attending the Providence Day Freedom School.

Chanting and cheering, the kids are engaged, empowered and educated through the program.

"I'm at home and I know it'd be much funner for them to be with somebody else, in a different learning style than I am, because I'm just drilling. I'm like, hey, read this book, do this, do that, so they will probably love it here, said Brewton.

Freedom Schools serve children who are most at risk of summer learning loss, but are least able to afford the opportunity of quality summer learning.

"Freedom School helps meet that challenge with literacy and self-esteem and fun and engagement for children who have the most to lose in the summer, said Mary Nell McPherson, Executive Director of Freedom School Partners.

Studies have shown the program is effective.

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Freedom School program enriches summer learning for students

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -06/18/12)- The Harper Government is moving forward on its long-standing commitment to give Western Canadian wheat and barley farmers marketing freedom. Today, a panel of three judges ruled in the Harper Government's favour and overturned the declaration issued by Federal Court Justice Douglas Campbell on December 7th, 2011.

"We are very pleased that the declaration has been overturned as we always expected it would be," said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. "Today's decision reinforces our belief that we must focus on the future opportunities that marketing freedom affords Western farmers, instead of trying to turn back the clock."

The Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act will end the monopoly of the CWB as of August 1, 2012 and give Western Canadian farmers the ability to sell their wheat, durum and barley to the buyer of their choice, including a voluntary CWB.

"Marketing Freedom is good for Western grain farmers and good for all Canadians, " said Minister Ritz. "As we have always said marketing freedom will build a stronger economy by attracting investment, encouraging innovation and creating value-added jobs."

The Harper Government's top priority remains the economy. Modernizing grain policy in Canada will allow the Western Canadian grain industry to fully contribute to Canada's economic growth and long term prosperity.

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Harper Government Moving Forward on Marketing Freedom

HERTFORD, England, June 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Borneo is rapidly becoming a top Asian tourist destination so Freedom Asia reveals how to make the most of this magical island

As the thirst for adventure holidays becomes greater the tropical Malaysian island of Borneo garners greater attention. Lush, dense rainforests, colourful reefs, mighty mountains and unique wildlife including orang-utans and turtles, inspire visitors to Borneo with a real sense of adventure.

Borneo holidays are increasing; Sabah Tourism points out that 2,275 Brits ventured to Borneo in the month of April alone. This unique landscape, filled with diversity and a plethora of natural and cultural sites and experiences requires first-hand travel knowledge and tailor-made planning and that's exactly what Freedom Asia offers. Its travel experts offer a free planning service allowing customers to choose from hundreds of hotels, beach resorts, tours and activities to create their own dream holiday.

Holidays Borneo should aim to be as diverse as the islands flora and fauna, although in reality achieving this is impossible on one holiday - even in an entire lifetime it is impossible to experience everything in Borneo. Just in one national park, Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, there are more plant species than in all of North America and Europe combined. However, Freedom Asia has plenty of tours and accommodation on offer to help travellers see the best of both Borneo states, Sabah and Sarawak.

Tours range in price from 259 to 1015, so all budgets are catered for, and include national park visits, watching turtles hatching on the beach or orang-utans careering through the rainforest, cultural adventures where travellers can learn how to use a blow pipe and visit a traditional longhouse and cruising along inland waterways on a longboat.

Borneo is still wild and relatively untouched and intact making it a popular choice for travellers seeking adventure, originality and authenticity. Because Freedom Asia's tours are small in size, low-key and work with local companies, they contribute immensely to the local communities living in Borneo and this helps maintain the region for future generations to explore, even as tourists numbers increase.

Media contact details: David Wallis email: assist@freedomasia.co.uk Phone: +44(0)1992-574-915 http://www.freedomasia.co.uk

Excerpt from:

Find Raw Adventure in Borneo With Freedom Asia

Sunday, June 17, 2012

HAVING granted our freedom was the most important event in the history of our country. Our forefathers sacrificed their lives just for us to be free against foreign aggression, tyranny and slavery. But were these sacrifices by our Filipino martyrs and heroes worth it today?

Good governance is what we aim for. Many years have passed and our country has experienced political cataclysms, financial and moral turmoil and military upheavals. The past events taught us hard lessons. The cries of our forefathers who were victims of fatal injustices oblige us not to repeat the sad, brutal, and violent experiences they had.

Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos.

Leaders come and go and because of the influence of power and money, they either left bad or good legacies. Forty years of my existence, I have seen faces who are not satisfied with how our country is run by our leaders. Some of our leaders keep on repeating acts of corruption, injustices, and greed for power. There are good leaders, too, but at times the corrupt ones prevail.

History shows that we are deprived of real good governance. What is good governance? The true function of a government in all its branches is the security, peace and well-being of all the country's citizens which is the divine purpose of all humanity. It is only when government transcends its spheres that it comes in conflict with conscience of man. According to James H. Fairchild, "It should always be remembered that the great end of a government is human wellbeing, that law and authority are nothing in themselves, and that all their sacredness arises from the uses which they serve, the machinery of government is valuable, only for the work it does: in itself, it has no value, the most grievous of all imperfections in government is the failure to secure the just and the good results."

This years' commemoration of Independence Day in the City of Baguio was held at the Convention Center by public and private sectors with guest speaker Police Regional Director. Benjamin Magalong.

The celebration speaks of Freedom and Good Governance with the theme "Kalayaan: Pananagutan ng Bayan Para sa Tuwid na Daan." Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said, "Whatever we do, it should abide on truth, justice, equality and brotherhood. The blood of our heroes runs in our veins so greatness shall be ours in the future." He added, our leaders fight for our freedom 100 years ago, this freedom that was given to us, we have to use it as freedom to teach, freedom to serve, freedom to help and freedom to build. He continued, "Leaders should serve their constituents well; offer wider opportunity in employment, eradicate hunger and evils in the society, help fight corruption and continue the legacy that is handed to us by our forefathers."

The police force is serving to eliminate graft and corruption and help maintain peace and order in the country. These statements were shared by Magalong. He added in his privilege speech, "Let us ignore those people who are talking behind our backs; they belong behind our backs, and everybody should walk the right path and unite ourselves for a better nation." Baguio Rep. Bernardo Vergara reiterated we should live to be an independent nation and prove to the world that we can be self-sufficient.

Despite the present social ills we are experiencing, let us not forget we are absolutely free. Let us use this freedom towards becoming a responsible citizen and continue doing great things for our country and fellowmen.

Read the rest here:

Freedom and good governance

If sometimes it seems like the two candidates for president are speaking different languages, the reason is simple:

They are.

President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney use distinct vocabularies. Each has a campaign glossary of sorts to define himself, criticize the other guy, highlight opposing economic philosophies.

Fair shot or economic freedom? The nation's welfare or class warfare? You're-on-your-own economics or the heavy hand of government?

The president has tried to cast himself as the champion of the middle class. He claims Romney wants to perpetuate failed economic policies that favor the rich and privileged business interests over everyday workers. Obama regularly denounces tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires and frequently talks about the importance of "playing by the rules."

Romney has portrayed himself as Mr. Turnaround, the hands-on guy whose 25 years in the private sector give him the ideal resume to revive an economy he contends has gone from bad to worse under the president. His speeches are filled with patriotic references to the Founding Fathers and regular mentions of "free enterprise" and "prosperity."

"In a lot of ways, it's the standard party line Democrat, working-class rhetoric, Republican, business class," says Mitchell McKinney, professor of communication at the University of Missouri.

"Both are playing to the base. ... Obama has to address those disparities in the economy without seeming that he is anti-business, anti-capitalist. ... Romney wants to tout the making of money and successful working of the capitalist system but not highlight in any way the downside. In that sense they both have fine lines they're trying to walk."

Both men have tripped on their own rhetoric.

There was Obama's recent retreat from his assertion that "the private sector is doing fine" and Romney's declaration that "corporations are people." In coming months, McKinney says, the candidates, surrogates and big-money political groups will repeat certain words and phrases "so America comes to accept their narrative as reality. Clearly, words do matter."

Read more:

Fair shot, freedom, class warfare: Economic glossary of campaign '12 shows big divide

If sometimes it seems like the two candidates for president are speaking different languages, the reason is simple:

They are.

President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney use distinct vocabularies. Each has a campaign glossary of sorts to define himself, criticize the other guy, highlight opposing economic philosophies.

Fair shot or economic freedom? The nation's welfare or class warfare? You're-on-your-own economics or the heavy hand of government?

The president has tried to cast himself as the champion of the middle class. He claims Romney wants to perpetuate failed economic policies that favor the rich and privileged business interests over everyday workers. Obama regularly denounces tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires and frequently talks about the importance of "playing by the rules."

Romney has portrayed himself as Mr. Turnaround, the hands-on guy whose 25 years in the private sector give him the ideal resume to revive an economy he contends has gone from bad to worse under the president. His speeches are filled with patriotic references to the Founding Fathers and regular mentions of "free enterprise" and "prosperity."

"In a lot of ways, it's the standard party line Democrat, working-class rhetoric, Republican, business class," says Mitchell McKinney, professor of communication at the University of Missouri.

"Both are playing to the base. ... Obama has to address those disparities in the economy without seeming that he is anti-business, anti-capitalist. ... Romney wants to tout the making of money and successful working of the capitalist system but not highlight in any way the downside. In that sense they both have fine lines they're trying to walk."

Both men have tripped on their own rhetoric.

There was Obama's recent retreat from his assertion that "the private sector is doing fine" and Romney's declaration that "corporations are people." In coming months, McKinney says, the candidates, surrogates and big-money political groups will repeat certain words and phrases "so America comes to accept their narrative as reality. Clearly, words do matter."

Continue reading here:

Fair shot or freedom? Words define campaign 2012

NORWICH

The sound of freedom rang outside City Hall here late Saturday afternoon, with the inaugural ringing of a unique memorial to American history's most famous proclamation.

The bright, shining, 250-pound Norwich Freedom Bell, cast and polished on Friday and Saturday, commemorates the upcoming 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. The executive order, which President Abraham Lincoln made public five days after the North's Civil War victory at Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862, freed all slaves within the rebellious Confederate states, effective with his signature on Jan. 1, 1863.

The bell pealed for the first time at 6 p.m., the clapper sounded by Jacqueline Owens, president of the Norwich branch of trhe NAACP. A succession of dignitaries and onlookers took turns pulling the cord.

"Let freedom ring!" someone in the audience yelled.

The bell was paraded to City Hall from the harbor park, where its casting began with a Friday morning ceremony. With the Freedom Schooner Amistad docked nearby, and an Abraham Lincoln re-enactor helping out, local elementary school students spent their last day of school passing palm-sized ingots to the crew of a mobile foundry, where the bits of bronze were melted down at 2,130 degrees.

Norwich, home of Connecticut Civil War Gov. William Alfred Buckingham, first celebrated the proclamation on Jan. 2, 1863, with an hour-long, city-wide ringing of church bells and a 100-gun salute. Republican Mayor James Lloyd Greene famously paid for the gunpowder himself after five residents went to court to protest the $98 expense.

Officials hope that the casting of the new bell which highlighted a three-day, multi-cultural ceremony culminating on Juneteenth, the celebration of the abolition of slavery not only recognizes the Rose City's role in the abolition movement and the Civil War, but spurs public interest in its long history, boosting its stock as a destination for historic and cultural tourism.

"Thank you for finding this unique way to celebrate this historic even in our nation's history,'' Gov. Dannel P. Malloysaid, speaking at a Friday luncheon that included city and state officials, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Gail Adams, a U.S. Department of the Interior official. Adams said the national tourism strategy of President Barack Obama's administration's envisions promoting "lesser-known jewels" such as Norwich.

The bell, brainchild of the local Emancipation Proclamation Commemoration Committee, was funded through $100,000 in state support and local donations. The Verdin Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio, a 170-year-old, family-owned manufacturer of bells, carillons and clocks, was commissioned to do the casting, using the customized traveling foundry it developed 11 years ago.

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Sound Of Freedom Rings In Norwich

Appearing via video at the Faith and Freedom Coalitions annual meeting Saturday morning, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R) delivered a speech that hinged on social issues but also focused in on what remains the top issue in the presidential election the economy.

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R). (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

If people want a president that will give the middle class of America a fair shot, theyll vote for me, and I hope you do, Romney, dressed in a suit and standing in front of his campaign bus in Pennsylvania, told the several hundred social conservatives gathered in Washington for the summit.

In his prepared remarks, Romney spoke of anchors, which he said include family and the Constitution.

The national health-care law, he argued attacks freedoms. Raising taxes attacks freedoms. And the Obama administrations decision on contraceptive coverage attacks our first freedom religious freedom, he said.

All these things impinge upon our freedoms. ... I think America is stronger when were lashed firmly to the anchors that keep us steady, he said.

At times, he struck a note that bore similarities to the message former senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) delivered on the campaign trail.

He told the crowd that his message to young people is to get married before they have children, because the opportunity for a mom and a dad to help guide the life of a child gives them such an enormous advantage.

And he noted a 2009 Brookings study that Santorum has been fond of citing. The study, Romney said, shows that if Americans graduate from high school, work and get married before having children, their chance of becoming impoverished is dramatically reduced.

Romney fielded three pre-selected questions from the audience. In response to the first Do you agree with President Obama that the private sector is doing fine? Romney dinged Obama for the remark, which he argued is the latest evidence that the president is out of touch on the economy.

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Romney addresses Faith and Freedom Coalition via video from bus tour