It's time to start making the most of the clean energy all around us. And what better place to begin than by helping our schools put up solar panels.

With solar panels the typical school could save up to £8,000 per year on its energy bills. This means more money to spend on the things that make a difference to children - books, supplies and activities.  But Government rules stop schools accessing some of the best solar schemes.  The man in charge of English schools, Education Secretary Michael Gove, can change all that.

"At Twitter, Del Harvey works to ensure user safety and security, balancing Twitter's wide-open spaces against spammers, harassers and worse, to create a workable policy that lets the tweets flow. Prior to joining the booming social media site, she spent five years as the law enforcement liaison for a group fighting child exploitation, where she worked with agencies ranging from local police departments to the FBI, US Marshals and the Secret Service.

As Twitter grows, its ever inventive users (who famously came up with many of its key features by themselves) are finding ever new ways to overshare, offend and pick on others. Harvey and team's challenge is to weed out the worst while keeping the site feeling like a safe place to have this new kind of conversation we're all having there now." (TED)

View the entire presentation below;

sources;
1) TED.com; http://www.ted.com/talks/del_harvey_the_strangeness_of_scale_at_twitter

This article originally appeared in the NYtimes.com

The Wolf Hunters of Wall StreetAn Adaptation From ‘Flash Boys: 
A Wall Street Revolt’
by Michael Lewis

(Excerpt)
"Before the collapse of the U.S. financial system in 2008, Brad Katsuyama could tell himself that he bore no responsibility for that system. He worked for the Royal Bank of Canada, for a start. RBC might have been the fifth-biggest bank in North America, by some measures, but it was on nobody’s mental map of Wall Street. It was stable and relatively virtuous and soon to be known for having resisted the temptation to make bad subprime loans to Americans or peddle them to ignorant investors. But its management didn’t understand just what an afterthought the bank was — on the rare occasions American financiers thought about it at all.

Katsuyama’s bosses sent him to New York from Toronto in 2002, when he was 23, as part of a “big push” for the bank to become a player on Wall Street. The sad truth was that hardly anyone noticed it. “The people in Canada are always saying, ‘We’re paying too much for people in the United States,’ ” Katsuyama says. “What they don’t realize is that the reason you have to pay them too much is that no one wants to work for RBC. RBC is a nobody.”"

Read the entire article here. 

sources;
1)  article - 
nytimes.com; 
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/06/magazine/flash-boys-michael-lewis.html?_r=0

2) image - nytimes.com;  www.salon.com; http://www.salon.com/2013/10/18/the_tax_that_could_save_america_from_wall_street_partner/

The African First Ladies summit goal is to empower women in African nations, and throughout the world.  This summit took place last July.

Building on the leadership and commitment of President and Mrs. Bush in Africa, the George W. Bush Institute, in partnership with ExxonMobil, is convening an African First Ladies Summit, Investing in Women: Strengthening Africa. The Summit emphasizes effective investments in women that lead to greater stability and prosperity in countries. Investing in Women: Strengthening Africa highlights the critical role First Ladies play as advocates for women and girls, spotlights success stories and best practices, and discusses public-private partnerships that lead to sustainable results.  (Bushcenter.org)

Building on the leadership and commitment of President and Mrs. Bush in Africa, the George W. Bush Institute, in partnership with ExxonMobil, is convening an African First Ladies Summit,Investing in Women: Strengthening Africa. The Summit emphasizes effective investments in women that lead to greater stability and prosperity in countries. Investing in Women: Strengthening Africa highlights the critical role First Ladies play as advocates for women and girls, spotlights success stories and best practices, and discusses public-private partnerships that lead to sustainable results. 

We also would like to thank Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon foundation.  Learn more about how this company impacts women throughout the world - click here to visit their website. 

sources;
1) http://www.bushcenter.org/african-first-ladies-summit/networking-village
2) http://pinkribbonredribbon.org/about-cervical-breast-cancer/

It's no secret that McDonald's may offer the most convenient fast-food breakfast, and now Taco Bell is drawing the line in the sand.  Their new ad features real people with the name Ronald McDonald, who love the new Taco Bell breakfast menu - that's tough! 

Watch their latest ad for their new breakfast menu below;

Click here to view Taco Bell's breakfast menu

Not to be out done, McDonalds recently posted this on their facebook page;

Let the games begin!

by Imanuel Larcher
Bloggers, website builders, internet marketers, and marketing professionals, are probably very familiar with Alexa.com.  If you have ever launched your own website, then inquired about your site traffic, you most likely were redirected to Alexa.com. 

Alexa's new look is modern, neat, and offers users a treat when analyzing.  I recommend it!

More About Alexa.com - 
Information. Insight. Advantage.Information is power - if you have the right tools. Alexa's suite of intuitive analytics products transforms data into meaningful insights that lead to competitive advantage for your company.

At Alexa, we focus exclusively on delivering the richest and most meaningful analytics tools for our customers. Our obsession is to empower customers through compelling and actionable insights that drive measurable results for their business. At Alexa, we believe strongly in substance over style, which means you can count on getting the exact insights you need without having to navigate through extraneous content to get the information you need right now.

Founded in 1996, Alexa is a global pioneer in the world of analytical insight. Our vast experience means we've dealt with all of the pitfalls and tripped over all of the landmines, and over time, developed the most robust and accurate web analytics service of any provider. (Alexa) 

Larry Page and Sergey Brin met in grad school at Stanford in the mid-'90s, and in 1996 started working on a search technology based on a new idea: that relevant results come from context. Their technology analyzed the number of times a given website was linked to by other sites — assuming that the more links, the more relevant the site — and ranked sites accordingly. In 1998, they opened Google in a garage-office in Menlo Park. In 1999 their software left beta and started its steady rise to web domination.

Beyond the company's ubiquitous search, including AdSense/AdWords, Google Maps, Google Earth and the mighty Gmail. In 2011, Page stepped back into his original role of chief executive officer. He now leads Google with high aims and big thinking, and finds time to devote to his projects like Google X, the idea lab for the out-there experiments that keep Google pushing the limits. (TED)

Watch the entire video below;

This article originally appeared on www.readunwritten.com, we just had to share it!

by Briagenn Adams

I’m sorry, but when the fuck did “dating” disappear?

I have a friend who just got back on the market. She’s super classy, and she’s kind of with this new guy. They’ve had a few (non-sexual) sleepovers, but she wants him to take her on an actual date before she gives it all up. Not unreasonable, right? But we were talking the other day and I actually heard myself say to her, “You can’t expect too much from a guy in college. Sex comes first, a date comes way later, and only if he really likes you.” LIKE REALLY? Wtf.

Girls – and boys – we seriously need to get our shit together.

Is it really too ball-busting to ask a guy to drop $6.75 on you at Chipotle after an hour (or five minutes, let’s be honest) of a semi-drunk hookup? Or wrong to expect the boy who so consistently texts you each Saturday at 2:39 a.m. to allocate one precious evening for a dinner date? HELL. NO.

I just don’t understand today’s collegiate standards. Dating has completely disappeared, and girls jokingly refer to a “walk of shame” as a “stride of pride.” Umm, I’m calling bullshit. Please show me one girl who looks proud on that lonely walk home, with obviously smeared mascara, messy bedroom hair, and eyes focused on the concrete ground.

And while we’re on the subject, when did girls become sluts, or teases, or skanks for going out to dinner with one boy on Friday night, and then to a movie with another on Saturday? How is that worse than sleeping with two different guys in one weekend, something that is becoming an increasingly common phenomenon on college campuses nationwide?

When romance wasn’t more confusing than a cumulative exam, A.K.A. when people were actually normal, you didn’t have to completely commit to one guy until he asked you to “go steady.” Until then, all else was fair game. Nowadays, that’s unheard of. Modern romantic tactics are much more sneaky and difficult to understand.

Did the boy you hooked up with two weeks ago just send you a casual, “What’s up” text? Does that mean you’re like, talking now? How long should you wait to text him back? Is it okay to double-text if he doesn’t answer within 10 minutes? Does “Heyy” or “Heyyy” sound better? Is an emoji too much? What about two emojis?

Fucking. Stop.

Unless that “What’s up” text is followed by a sincere, “What are you doing tonight? Let’s grab dinner together” text, he’s absolutely no concern of yours. What’s the point of pining over a douche bag? Gather up your precious self-respect and MOVE. ON. We girls can do so much better, and your 30-year-old self will thank you for it.

When you like a boy and that boy likes you, it shouldn’t be complicated. If (and hopefully when) you find that special person, the relationship should flow naturally. Fuck the mind games, fuck the booty calls, fuck him! (Just not literally.) But hey, if you’re all about the casual sex then I’m not here to stop you – I’m just telling you to get a clue.

source (http://www.readunwritten.com/2014/03/26/what-the-fuck-happened-to-dating-in-college/) []

M.I.A. announced the dates for her Matangi world tour today, and will be joined by A$AP Ferg on a few dates!  M.I.A. and A$AP Ferg both had amazing albums last year.  Her tour will kick off at Miami’s Ultra Music Festival this Friday (March 28)!

Mar 28 Ultra Music Festival @ Bayfront Park Miami, FL
Apr 25 Tower Theater Upper Darby, PA
Apr 26 Moogfest Asheville, NC
Apr 27 Echostage Washington, DC*
Apr 28 AE Stage Pittsburgh, PA*
Apr 30 Detroit Masonic Temple Detroit, MI*
May 01 Riviera Theater Chicago, IL*
May 03 Yonge-Dundas Square Toronto, Canada
May 04 Metropolis Montreal, Canada
May 05 House of Blues Boston, MA*
May 06 State Theater Portland, ME*
May 08 Knockdown Center Queens, NY*
May 09 Knockdown Center Queens, NY*
May 24 Sasquatch Festival Quincy, WA
Jun 28 Provinssi Rock Seinajoki, Finland
Jun 30 Hovefestivalen Arendal, Norway
Jul 05 Eurockeenes Festival Belfort, France
Jul 11 Splash Festival Gräfenhainichen, Germany
Jul 12 Les Ardentes Festival Liege, Bel
Jul 19 Lovebox London, United Kingdom
Jul 20 Benicassim Intl Festival Valencia, Spain

* - w/ A$AP Ferg


Source (BrooklynVegan)

The MAD Music Tour kicks off 
March 29 in Orlando with one of the World’s Hottest Female DJ's DJ Rhiannon. 

British-Canadian Entertainer, DJ Rhiannon

Rhiannon is Vancouver, Canada's #1 female DJ (CBC Electronic Charts, The DJ List Charts, Reverb Nation Charts). She has over a decade of experience rocking the decks and it shows. Official Global DJ Rankings credits her as being "a trustworthy DJ delivering an impeccable performance at every event." DJ Mag featured Rhiannon alongside Hardwell and Max Graham and gave her a 4-page spread in their January 2014 issue. Clubkillers.com invited her to be the first female to have a recorded-live DJ mix featured on their infamous Clubkillers Radio podcast. Rhiannon has multiple global DJ residencies at places such as V2 Tokyo in Japan, Allure on George in St. John's, Canada, and Le Vú, the #1 nightclub in Dallas, Texas, USA. She also frequents many internationally-renown venues such as Marquee, TAO, and LAVO in Las Vegas, Club La Vela in Panama City Beach, Florida, Ampersand in New Orleans, Louisiana, and hundreds of others worldwide. Rhiannon has opened for the best DJs and Artists in the world: Tiesto, Deadmau5, Steve Aoki, Krewella, R3hab, Chris Lake, Benny Benassi, Sharam, Max Graham, Morgan Page, EC Twins, Marco V, Nero, Stonebridge, Andy Caldwell, Klaas, Pauly D, Havana Brown, LMFAO, and Pitbull amongst many others. 

Make a Difference Music Tour mission, is to help independent artists to reach their industry goals, by providing Venues to showcase their talents on a major platform. Their goal is to help independent talent to reach a higher scale of performing arts. 

They help independent artists to showcase their talents locally and nationally to help them build a reputable fan base.  Their entertainment coalition reaches out to kids and via communities to help restore value in poverty-stricken areas.  Their purpose is to equip kids with educational tools to help them towards a brighter future. Make a Difference music provide learning skills and techniques for kids so they can apply becoming productive in our society. They interact with the youth and communities to help restore housing properties to help rebuild neighborhoods. Make a Difference mission is to touch and change the lives for a greater cause. 

We are looking to seeing more from the MAD Music Tour! []

One of the World's most scrutinized companies, Walmart, is working on repairing its' image. 


View their latest ad, featuring Patrick Tikes below;

Press release from The White House:

First Lady Michelle Obama and Epicurious Editor Tanya Steel listen as 12-year-old Haile Thomas, last year's recipe winner from Arizona, introduces Mrs. Obama during the Kids' State Dinner in the East Room of the White House, July 9, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

Calling all young chefs!

First Lady Michelle Obama is teaming up with Epicurious, the Department of Education, and the Department of Agriculture to host the third-annual Healthy Lunchtime Challenge recipe contest.

Kids ages 8-12, with the help of their parents, can take part in the challenge by sending in original lunch recipes that are healthy, affordable, and tasty!

Participating young chefs can use USDA's MyPlate as a resource to make sure that their recipes meet healthy standards. Each lunch recipe should represent all of the food groups, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy foods, with fruits and veggies making up about half of the plate or recipe.

The creators of the best recipes will be invited to D.C. this summer, where they will have the opportunity to attend a Kids' "State Dinner," hosted by Mrs. Obama at the White House, where a selection of the winning healthy recipes will be served.

Just last week, the First Lady announced that cooking will be a new focus for Let's Move!, so start honing those skills and enter the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge.

The deadline to submit recipes is April 5 -- only two weeks away -- so if you're looking for something to do with your kids this weekend, get cooking!

Learn more about the challenge here, or visit recipechallenge.epicurious.com. []

by Stephanie Anderson

The (APTE) Alleviating Poverty Through Entrepreneurship takes place today at the Wexner Center For The Arts on the Ohio State University Campus in Columbus, Ohio.  APTE a student-led community development organization at the Ohio State University. Our annual Summit is the largest, free, student-run social entrepreneurship conference in the midwest.  Hosted on the campus of the Ohio State University, we aim to work with the Columbus community to facilitate social enterprise development. 

Veronica D'Souza
+ Co-Founder of Ruby Cup, a for-profit social business that provides healthy, high-quality, and long-lasting menstrual cups for women and girls in Kenya and is the only menstrual cup company that specializes in serving the ‘Base of the Pyramid’. Ruby Cups are distributed and sold through a network of female entrepreneurs in order to create local employment and increase education. Veronica studied International Business and Politics with a minor in Sustainable Business at Copenhagen Business School and studied Sustainable Business Operations and Strategies at Columbia Business School. She is a selected United World College student (IT), Humanity In Action Senior Fellow (NYC), and has been invited to speak at several international events such as UN future Earth Conference (Japan), and SoCap 2012 (US).

Sonja Nelson-Jones
+ Founder & CEO of The Firm Development Group, a Columbus-based, community-focused organization established to provide opportunities for individuals to obtain and maintain self-sufficiency. She studied Accounting Information Systems and Business Administration and has helped provide developmental support and resources to over 3,000 people in the Central Ohio area. Sonja is also a graduate of the United Way of Central Ohio - Project Diversity Leadership program.

Jessica Mayberry
+ Founding Director at Video Volunteers, an initiative working in India to empower marginalized communities through the use of media. Prior to her work with Video Volunteers, Jessica worked in television in NY at Court TV, the Fox News Channel, and CNN. She spent a year training rural Indian women in filmmaking as a W.J. Clinton Fellow of the American India Foundation and has been selected as an Echoing Green fellow, TED fellow, and was named Architect of the Future by the Waldzell Institute of Austria in 2009. Jessica received her BA in Modern History and Modern Languages from Oxford University. 

Neil Bellefeuille
+ Founder and CEO of The Paradigm Project, a social enterprise working to create sustainable social, economic, and environmental value within developing world communities by building last-mile distribution networks and providing socially beneficial products to the base of the pyramid. Prior to The Paradigm Project, Neil worked as a partner and Senior Strategist at Bulldog Drummond, a management and brand consultancy firm. 

Elizabeth Sanders, PhD
+ Founder of MakeTools, a company that explores new spaces in the emerging design landscapes. She is a visionary in pre-design research, having introduced many of the tools, techniques and methods being used today to drive and/or inspire design from a human-centered perspective. Liz has practiced co-designing across all the design disciplines. Her current focus is on bringing participatory, human-centered design thinking and co-creation practices to the challenges we face for the future. Liz speaks about and offers learning experiences in human-centered design research and innovation for clients, colleagues and students around the world. She has a Ph.D. in Experimental and Quantitative Psychology and a B.A. in both Psychology and in Anthropology.

Marika Clark
+ Marika is principal of SOSHL Studio, a firm dedicated to creating social impact through architecture and design, based in Cleveland, Ohio.  Marika works closely with the Nike Foundation in Ethiopia and Nigeria, designing innovative solutions around safe spaces for adolescent girls. 

From 2007 to 2010, Marika was Co-Founder and Managing Director of MASS Design Group, an architectural nonprofit designing well-built environments that aid in the reduction of global poverty. Marika was a lead designer on the Butaro Hospital project in northern Rwanda in collaboration with Partners in Health, the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative, and the Rwandan Ministry of Health, and lived on-site in 2008 developing the designs and overseeing construction.

Marika has been the recipient of many awards for her work.  She received a US National Commission for UNESCO Traveling Fellowship in 2008, was an invited Ideas Scholar at the Aspen Institute in 2009, and was selected for the Next City Vanguard in 2012.

Marika received her BA in Urban Studies from Brown University, and her Masters of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where her graduate thesis under advisors Jacques Herzog and Pierre DeMeuron focused on women's use of public space in Cairo, Egypt. In 2011 she served in the first class of global residents at IDEO.org, working on projects in the education, health, and sanitation sectors in the United States and Ghana.

Lindsay Stradley
+ The CEO and Co-Founder of Sanergy, a social enterprise building sustainable sanitation in Africa's urban slums. Previously, Lindsay worked at Google in sales operations and after teaching high school math in New Orleans as a Teach For America Corps Member, served as the founding Assistant School Director of the New Orleans Charter Science and Math High School in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Lindsay has an MBA from MIT Sloan and a BA from Yale University. 

Get updates from today's APTE Summit, from noon to 5:00pm, on their Twitter account here []

source; https://apte-summit.squarespace.com/#nav

We love this ad this Dutch company. 

Visit KNGF Geleidehonden's website, a non-profit organization. 

On November 9th, 2007, 
Christoph Rehage (33), was born in Hanover, Germany.  He did a high school exchange program in the United States, civil service in Frankfurt, and one year in Paris, where he spent flipping burgers at McDonalds and guarding the Musée du Louvre.  A spontaneous walk home from France was a pleasant diversion before undertaking Chinese studies in Munich. After the intermediate exams, he did two more years of language and cinematography in Beijing, then decided to walk home from there, too.  He documented this journey for all of us to view in his book "The Longest Way"

Purchase "The Longest Way" from Amazon

The New York Knicks organization mentioned that they would be releasing a huge secret announcement, but the cat was already out of the bag.  They say that leadership must start from the top, and this couldn't be more than the truth.  Phil Jackson brings to the table 11 coaching NBA Championships - 6 with the Chicago Bulls and 5 with the Los Angeles Lakers.  He was a player on the 1973 Championship team with the New York Knicks.   

With issues from coaching, prospecting, and many more, it was evident that this is a move the Knicks had to make.  Their record is 27-40, and it looks like they have no chance of making the playoffs.

Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson reached out to Phil, but going back to LA was not what he wanted.  The press conference was held at Madison Square Garden, and the press was in full attendance! 

Phil Jackson, joined with Clyde Frazier, mentioned that his goal is to create a culture where the players can succeed.  He mentioned during the press conference that Mitch Kupchak of the Los Angeles Lakers reached out to him and congratulated him on his new position.  Phil mentioned during the press conference that it is a great feeling to come back to the city where it all started for him.  James L. Dolan, the Chairman of the Knicks admitted that he felt out of his element trying to manage the basketball side of things, as he looked more than relieved that those duties were no longer on his shoulders.  Dolan actually did not take the credit for bringing Phil Jackson to New York, as he thanked Irving Azoff for the move, mentioning that the process started back in December.  Phil Jackson mentioned that his goal is to create a culture where the players can succeed. 

How long will it take before the Knicks make it back to the promise land?  It's been over 40 years since they won an NBA Championship.  Now that the leadership is in place and the structure is there, it is exciting to see where the New York Knicks will go from here!

Imanuel Larcher

Lance Bass showed his support for Health Care reform earlier this week, as he visited The White House.  You can enroll on HealthCare.gov

President Obama stopped by the set of 'Between Two Ferns' with Zach Galifianakis, with  Healthcare.gov being the main purpose for the President's visit.  

Watch the full interview from FunnyOrDie.com by clicking this link

Open Enrollment ends March 31 - sign up today!

Newsletter from Secretary Tom Perez,
Department of Labor

Several weeks ago, I met Semethia and Anna.

Semethia's a 36-year-old single mom. Her son hopes to go to college one day. Her daughter wants to take gymnastics lessons. But with a service job that pays just $8.25 an hour, Semethia relies on food stamps and help from friends and family just to keep food on the table -- much less build the future she'd like for her kids.

Anna works as a tip server at two local D.C. restaurants. She doesn't yet have to support a family, but she still struggles to make ends meet when she's relying on tips to get by -- and she sees the tough decisions her colleagues make every day. One of her coworkers recently missed her son's birthday party in order to cover a shift -- that's how badly she needed the money to support her family.

You see, when we talk about the kind of folks whose lives will be made better by raising the minimum wage, we're not talking about a couple teenagers earning extra spending money to supplement their allowance. We're talking about providers and breadwinners. Working Americans with bills to pay and mouths to feed.

And right now, millions of them are trying to do that on just $7.25 an hour.

We can change that. We can raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, we can do it right now, and we should. If you agree that it's high time we do -- that America's workers deserve a raise -- then add your name right here.

The President said this in his State of the Union, and we can't lose track of it: Here in America, no one working full-time should have to raise a family in poverty.

Think about that for a second: Right now, around the country, there are parents who, despite working full-time jobs, are living below the poverty line. We're better than that.

(Let your voice be heard! click on the photo above to sign.)

This is the right thing to do for our workers, and it's the right thing to do for our economy. If you agree, then say so here: It's time to raise the federal minimum wage.

Thank you,

Tom

Secretary Tom Perez
Department of Labor

By: Imanuel Larcher 
In a report released today, the American Public Transportation Association, "in 2013 Americans took 10.7 billion trips on public transportation, which is the highest annual public transit ridership number in 57 years." 

That's right, the highest since 1956!  -- before the internet boom, before computers, before SXSW started in Austin, Texas, before the Civil Rights movement, and even before some of our parents were born!  

This report today has raised questions in many people's minds.  I believe that this report is pretty accurate because financially speaking, it makes more sense.  For most young adults who do not have a parent figure looking over them financially, they are having to account for more bills than the previous generation - i.e; paying out of pocket for college, cell phone bills, additional monthly service charges including health care, living expenses, clothing, and more! 

Adding a car payment, insurance, and gas, can be an additional $400 - $800 a month, not to mention the bumps in the road that occurs when you do own a car.  New tires, replacing parts, it can get pretty pricey.  Not to mention public transportation, especially in large cities, can save you more time than getting around.  For those who fall behind due to economic difficulties, paying an additional insurance or interest on tickets (some states charge a daily fee if your car is towed), while juggling other life expenses, is simply unrealistic.  No wonder why companies like Car2Go and Lyft are growing because they are identifying this need.  

You can read the full report from APTA by clicking this link

Columbus, Ohio is a place that the YourInfoDaily.com team has grown to love.  The city is a cultural melting point and the lifestyle shows it.  From cuisine, athletics, education, and more - Columbus has a little bit of it all!  
 
Modern Columbus has emerged as a technologically sophisticated city. It is home to the world's largest private research and development foundation, the Battelle Memorial Institute and Ohio State University, the nation's third largest campus.  

Along with Ohio State University, the city is home to several other institutions of higher learning including Columbus State Community College, Columbus College of Art and Design and Franklin University. Annual festivities in Columbus include the Ohio State Fair, one of the largest state fairs in the country, as well as the Columbus Arts Festival and the Jazz and Ribs Festival, both of which occur on the downtown riverfront. (Forbes)

It was a pleasure to come across this article from Amy Taylor on her blog;

(click the image above to view the entire article)

Experience Columbus is a guide to the city that includes hotels, shopping, restaurants, and the arts. They also provide a calendar of events in the city!

"Countries with more gender equality have better economic growth. Companies with more women leaders perform better. Peace agreements that include women are more durable. Parliaments with more women enact more legislation on key social issues such as health, education, anti-discrimination and child support. The evidence is clear: equality for women means progress for all." 

From ABC News, "The three-day Conservative Political Action Conference runs Thursday through Saturday in Washington, DC.

Think of it as an early Republican spring training for the 2016 presidential campaign — a chance for potential candidates to talk to conservative activists and for those activists to talk to each other about their early favorites. Organized by the American Conservative Union, the conference runs through Saturday and will feature some of the brightest stars in GOP politics. Every year the speakers serve up generous helpings of conservative red meat, and this week, a major foreign policy crisis will provide the backdrop."

Follow more by clicking this link

As the new year begins, we have been had times of celebration throughout the world with sports (Olympics and Superbowl), music (Grammys), and film (Oscars), however, we must all be conscious of the World that we live in.  Countries like Venezuela and Ukraine are in the middle of an ugly fight, stemming from economic inequality.  

Venezuela is a country very much built on its rich resources, mainly oil.  It appears that throughout time, the leaders of Venezuela and business interest have dominated this market, neglecting the development of agriculture.  

National Geographic recently described situation, "Venezuela's economy is unraveling—and so is the confidence of the country's hard-hit population. Soaring crime, high inflation, and a plummeting living standard have sparked weeks of protest in Caracas and other cities."

The citizens of the country feel so passionate about having their voices and opinions heard, that despite the festive Carnival season in the country, thousands still took to the Capital of the city to protest (AlJazeera). 

As other countries begin to come up with a plan of action in helping Venezuela, it's closest ally, Cuba, is working on ways to find a peaceful resolution to the violent protests (ft.com)  Our thoughts and prayers are for those in Venezuela.