FLORIDA DIGEST February 07, 2007

**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.


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To: AOL and Yahoo Subscribers

Once last week, and again yesterday, AOL blocked Ray's List articles sentthrough QueerNet. Yahoo blocked Ray's List once last week.

AOL frequently blocks Ray's List Digests sent through our Comcast account.However, this is a first for the articles sent through QueerNet.

Online Policy Group provides QueerNet as a free service to many groups likeours. Increasingly, valuable hours of volunteer and non-profit time isspent fighting battles with Yahoo and AOL. For us at Ray's List, it isextremely frustrating and time consuming to do the hours of research andmechanical work putting together a mailing to have it rejected out of hand.

As you know, AOL and Yahoo are attempting to extract large fees from sendersof "legitimate" bulk email in the guise of protecting their subscribers fromspam. In effect, they're are establishing a toll tax.

This is dangerous stuff!

In addition to the email we receive from subscriptions to groups of choice,we all do a lot of vital business on the internet. We can't allow the"biggies" - AOL and Yahoo - to change the internet for their personalcorporate gain.

We are very aware of the problems with spam on the internet and understandthe significant issues confronting all internet providers. But, we stronglyobject to the high-handed, arrogant and self-serving methods of the internetgiants, AOL and Yahoo.

When the email sent to you, as AOL and Yahoo subscribers, is blocked at theentry gates, you are not made aware. Big brother is taking care ofyou????? While the occasional loss of articles in Ray's List may not belife threatening - we wonder what other important mail you are not receivingfrom YOUR PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS with AOL and Yahoo. And, when Ray's List andother volunteer services are forced out of the market, we all lose.

AOL and Yahoo understand the corporate bottom line. Let them now thatyou're not happy! And, be prepared to take your $$$ with you.

Best,
Ray and Michael
Ray's List


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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org

For Immediate Release

For More Information contact the CEC Men's Club at (954) 567-8599, ext. 3


Cong. Etz Chaim Men's Club sponsors Art Museum Tour and Sunday Brunch (March18)


The Men's Club of Congregation Etz Chaim will get together on Sunday, March18, 2006, at 1:00 p.m., to view the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art's specialexhibit, "Jewish and Christian Treasures From The Holy Land." Sponsored bythe Jewish Community Foundation and the Jewish Federation of Broward County,the exhibit features archeological artifacts from the days of the SecondTemple, the Herodian Period and the first century C.E. as well as artifactsfrom the fourth to the seventh centuries of the Common Era. Among the manyitems of special interest is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the "TempleScroll." Tickets for the tour are $15 for Members of the Men's Club andSisterhood and $18 for non-members. CEC Education Director, Dr. MurrayLichtenstein will give an informal lecture about the history surroundingthat exhibit.

Prior to the Art Museum Tour (at 10:30 a.m.) Men's Club members and theirfriends will gather for Sunday Brunch at Tropics Restaurant. Tickets forthe Brunch are $20 per person (including tax and tips) and features Tropics'huge array of breakfast and luncheon delights, a carving station andcomplimentary Bloody Marys, Mimosas or Screwdrivers.

For more information or RSVP, e-mail cecmensclub@aol.com or phone the Men'sClub at (954) 567-8599, extension 3.


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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org

For Immediate Release

For More Information contact the CEC Men's Club at (954) 567-8599, ext. 3

Cong. Etz Chaim Men's Club sponsors Art Museum Tour and Sunday Brunch (March18)

The Men's Club of Congregation Etz Chaim will get together on Sunday, March18, 2006, at 1:00 p.m., to view the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art's specialexhibit, "Jewish and Christian Treasures From The Holy Land." Sponsored bythe Jewish Community Foundation and the Jewish Federation of Broward County,the exhibit features archeological artifacts from the days of the SecondTemple, the Herodian Period and the first century C.E. as well as artifactsfrom the fourth to the seventh centuries of the Common Era. Among the manyitems of special interest is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the "TempleScroll." Tickets for the tour are $15 for Members of the Men's Club andSisterhood and $18 for non-members. CEC Education Director, Dr. MurrayLichtenstein will give an informal lecture about the history surroundingthat exhibit.

Prior to the Art Museum Tour (at 10:30 a.m.) Men's Club members and theirfriends will gather for Sunday Brunch at Tropics Restaurant. Tickets forthe Brunch are $20 per person (including tax and tips) and features Tropics'huge array of breakfast and luncheon delights, a carving station andcomplimentary Bloody Marys, Mimosas or Screwdrivers.

For more information or RSVP, e-mail cecmensclub@aol.com or phone the Men'sClub at (954) 567-8599, extension 3.



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The Miami Herald

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/16639094.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


Posted on Wed, Feb. 07, 2007

Venezuela: Chronicle of a wreck foretold
OUR OPINION: CHAVEZ ON THE ROAD TO DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED DICTATOR

Seeing Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's recent moves to amass absolutepower is like watching a train heading toward a mountainside. We know it isgoing to crash, and people will be hurt. But the wreck seems unstoppable, aslong as Venezuelan oil revenues sustain him.

Cuba the model

Mr. Chávez already controlled the National Assembly and virtually everyother institution in the nation when he was reelected in December with 61percent of the vote. Now he is moving to consolidate power and silence allopposition. His stated goal is to create ''21st century socialism'' modeledafter Fidel Castro's Cuba. If Mr. Chávez is successful, Venezuelans willlive in a society as destitute, corrupt and repressive as Cuba is today.


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The Miami Herald

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/16638967.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


Posted on Wed, Feb. 07, 2007

BROWARD COURTS
Broward judge faces ethics charges

A state commission that looks at judges has filed ethics charges againstBroward Circuit Judge Cheryl Alemán.
BY NIKKI WALLER
nwaller@MiamiHerald.com

Calling her courtroom behavior ''arrogant'' and ''discourteous,'' the statecommission that polices judges filed ethics charges Tuesday with the FloridaSupreme Court against Broward Circuit Judge Cheryl Alemán.

Alemán, long known as a strict judge prone to clashing with attorneys, couldlose her job over the alleged ethics violations, among them ``a pattern ofarrogant, discourteous and impatient conduct.''

Alemán, who last month was transferred out of the criminal division and isnow hearing civil cases, did not return calls for comment.



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The Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-cwireless07feb07,0,3771693,print.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

All of Broward may have wireless Internet access in 18 months
By Jean-Paul Renaud
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

February 7, 2007


A glimpse of the future: An ambulance rushing through traffic instantlytransmits a patient's vital signs to a hospital, letting doctors know whatto expect before paramedics arrive.

Police officers monitor a hostage situation on a public bus by tapping intoa camera inside the cabin from the safety of their squad cars.

Maintenance workers doing inventory of city supplies order more materialsfrom the convenience of a handheld wireless device tucked in their pockets.



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The Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/editorial/sfl-editgsmajorsfeb07,0,3852264,print.story?coll=sfla-news-editorial


Major Bother
South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board

February 7, 2007


ISSUE: After FCATS come majors.

First, Florida students in 4th, 8th and 10th grades will go through the FCATwriting test this week.

After a short break, students in grades 3 through 11 will be sweatingthrough the FCAT reading and math and science exams later this month.

And when it's all finally over, when it seems like all the pressure is done,when it is time to just ease off and maybe be a kid for just a little bit,it will be just about time to pick a major.



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The Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pblackaids07feb07,0,6687396,print.story?coll=sfla-news-palm


Black churches in Palm Beach County urged to join the fight against AIDS

By Gregory Lewis
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

February 7, 2007


AIDS is not the bad word it used to be in Palm Beach County's blackneighborhoods.

But the fight against AIDS and the virus that can cause it still lackscrucial allies in an important black institution: the church.

Although some black preachers are breaking their silence, calling forabstinence and AIDS testing from the pulpit, Palm Beach County healthofficials say they'd like to see more ministers address the crisis.



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The Miami Herald

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/16639038.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


Posted on Wed, Feb. 07, 2007

PROPERTY TAXES
Crist's proposed cuts wouldn't cover all property taxes

A big part of local tax bills would not be included in Gov. Crist's propertytax proposal to double the homestead exemption.
BY GARY FINEOUT
gfineout@MiamiHerald.com

TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Charlie Crist's promise to slash property taxes forbeleaguered homeowners would apply to only about two-thirds of the taxesmost homeowners pay, top aides told legislators Tuesday, igniting criticismfrom Democrats that the tax-cut plan could be a ``bait and switch.''

The governor's push to double the homestead exemption -- from its current$25,000 level to $50,000 -- would exclude the property taxes that pay forschools, water management districts and special taxing districts.

Translation: If you own a $300,000 home, it would be worth $275,000 when youpay your school taxes, but it would be worth $250,000 when you pay city orcounty taxes.



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