NWN and job

Well, James and my gaming colleagues are losing faith in me and my attendance at the games because of my job in Freeman. I am going to make it today with bells on! I hope that James remember that we are to play earlier today so I can get my gaming legs back under me. Other news, Hope is doing quite well and we can not wait until TobeyMac joins the clan. He is twice as large as Hope but they already do get a long well. We are looking forward to adding to the family. I will post later on this week.

-- Dexter
PS I do not want to make Cris or Heather mad at me.

Sick family and loss of dear human friend

Hey Guys,
This has been an eventful week with my working in Engineering and all of the new responsibility that I have now. The sad part is that all of my family is sick now. It is probably because of the constantly changing weather. 76 degrees one week and then 28 low and 50 high the next. But at this time, I want to pause to acknowledge a great man among men. His name, Loyal Smith. God took him home a little earlier than his family expected. My prayers are with his grieving wife, daughter, and two sons. He was only a couple years older than I am. It is humbling when you think that any of us can go at any moment. Say a prayer for Loyal and his family. They are not in a great deal of pain.

The Story of Hope by Dr. Jackie Gillespie.

The Story of Hope

We worship a God that is busy everyday meeting his children’s needs. Sometime we loose site of this awesome gift and the countless miracles he performs to see to our needs. I was reminded of this when God used and everyday miracle to remind me of his great love and care for his children. This is the story of Hope, a small kitten, which God chose to use to remind us of his loving care.

It was a Thursday morning and I was thrilled to obtain one of the last parking places in our school parking lot. If you work at Clemson University, you know this feeling. Having a few extra minutes, I thought I would use this time to study my upcoming Sunday school lesson. Soon a young lady pulled beside my car into the next parking space. Immediately, she jumped out to raise the hood of her car. I feared that I would see smoke or fire as I looked out my window. As I watched her amazed face, I knew I better get out to lend a helping hand. As I looked under her hood, I was shocked to see a tiny kitten. The kitten had ridden to school on a small shelf near the front windshield. When the young lady reached for the kitten, the tiny kitten quickly jumped to a safer perch. To be so tiny, she was quite adept at avoiding our hands. Not knowing what to do, we called the University Police and were told they would call animal control. Visions of this kitten being taken to a shelter or possibly being put to sleep concerned us. As we waited for the animal control officer, a police car came by. A female officer stepped out and came to look at the small hiding kitten. As it turned out, this was a multitalented police officer and was a former pet shop owner! Soon she was down on her knees, coaxing the tiny kitten to the safety of her arms. When the animal control officers arrived, they were not the villains we had imagined but very nice men that were willing to wait as we frantically looked for someone who would give this orphan kitty a home. Of course I called who I usually call when I frantically need help - Kim Finley, in the School of Nursing. She immediately began asking throughout the 5^th floor of Edwards, “Who will take this small kitten.” This is how kitty found her new home. Dexter Stowers stepped up to the plate to give this kitten a home. To all our amazement, not only was he willing to take the kitten, he was so happy to do it! Knowing Dexter, we should not have been surprised. He has a such a kind heart.

Well, a home was found and we thought all our problems were over. Then the officer asked us what we planned to do with the kitten during the workday. Another problem! It was then that the animal control officers offered to not only keep the kitten until Dexter got off work but to feed her also. In fact, when Dexter arrived to pick up the kitten, he found she was quiet cozy with her new surroundings.

Dexter took the kitten to the Vet that afternoon and with the help of his loving family, named the kitten Hope. She is the most pampered kitty in South Carolina. She even has her own insurance policy and is considered an official member of the Stower’s family! What an amazing outcome for a kitten that was an orphan, homeless and was well on her way to using all nine lives. God has such awesome plans!

As I reviewed all the events of that Thursday morning, I was reminded of God’s amazing love for all his creations. He had orchestrated a series of events that would promote good for this tiny kitten. Most of all, he used these events to remind me of his watch care over every aspect of our lives. God is not a passive bystander but an active, caring Heavenly Father that wants to see to our every need. That morning I was reminded of Jesus’ words :

Matthew 6:

25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life^[b]?

28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you…”

While little Hope is quite worthy of her own story, what is amazing was that God used these circumstances to remind me of how he has marvelous plans for our well being. If he took the time to devise this elaborate plan for this little kitten, how could we ever doubt that his watchful eye and loving heart is there to see our every need! Thank you God for loving us enough to give us gentle reminders.

With Thankful Heart,

Jackie Gillespie

New member of the family

I know that is has been quite some time since I have made a post. Drum roll....we have a new member of the family...of the feline species. Her name is Hope. I will post some pictures of her real soon. I will also explain how she got her name Hope. She is a wonderful kitten. She is 7 weeks old. She has medical insurance.....yes that is correct our kitten has medical insurance so our expenses will not cost much for her vaccinations and spading. Well, I must run off and do some work. Then Jeremy and I will work on our assignment for NWN.
Ciao!

-- Dexter

Interesting week

This has been one of those interesting weeks. Some job opportunities have opened up for me out of state but I am some what reluctant to take advantage of these opportunites. I have my wife and kids to think of and more importantly I have 8 years under my belt at Clemson. I have 7 more years that I can count towards my retirement because of my military service; I must pay a percentage of my salary for 7 years of service. There is quite a bit of changes going on in the Unix community on campus. Job positions are not posting as fast as I would like it to...I just do not know what to do?

Birthday Party

I had a great weekend. I had a birthday party at Sal Grosso's restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia. My friend and godfather of one of my daughter was host. It was a great day. I am not one to participate in celebrating my birthday. I want to thank everyone for making it one of the best I have ever experienced. I am sitting here watching the DVD collection that I have of Dark Angel starring Jessica Alba...man that it one good looking woman. I wanted to claim her as a "sister" until I read about her Mexican and Danish mix. She definitely looks ethnic and that explains why. Well, I got to do some programming. I will try to post more. Everyone take care! Ciao!

Typical Monday

This has been a Monday that I want to forget. The Dean's computer was down. The hard drive is going dead. Jordan had to use herculean efforts to retrieve his data. It took the better part of his work day to get his data. I have spec'ed him out a new desktop since the present one is a Dell Optiplex 240...a computer we consider obsolete. Then with two meetings that we scheduled today and numerous computer related problems...it's been a banner day. I am working on project that is time based so we need to get things up and running. It is fun but is was hard since our team leader was out sick.
Other news, the family and kids are doing fine. Jordan is walking at nine months. She is all over the place. To clarify, Jordan is not walking without going back to the old routine of crawling around at 100 miles/hr. She is so cute but boy can she get into everything known to mankind. Jeremy is getting ready for college. It has just been a great Monday!

A rite of passage

It finally happened. Kaitlin had taken over the role as the dominant player of Xbox 360 games in the Stowers house hold. She kicks Jeremy around like he does not know how to play any games. Jeremy has already informed me that he OWNS me on the Xbox. Our favorite game, Star Wars Battlefront. Plenty of excitement and fun. The only funny thing...Kaitlin is bailing us out of trouble. I am so very happy to see Kaitlin enjoy playing strategy based games. Maybe this will be the same for all aspects of her life. Self-reliance, excited about the numerous fields of science, mathematics, and a love of languages. Kaitlin enjoys speaking French. I believe that Anita and I are doing some things right. Now if I can only get here to pick one profession that she likes. She wants to be an engineer like my father but she has mentioned wanting to be a lawyer. We'll see. Little Tyler is just around the corner. She loves to sit and watch us play. Tyler plays on the Playstation 1. Carrie is already a scholar. She is already ahead of her class mates. Her school wants her to skip grades. She does not have time to play games. She wants to be a Master Chef. Jeremy is planning on going into Computer Engineering. He has mentioned that he has interests in BioSystems Engineering. All I can see, Anita and I will continue to be poor for many years to come!

Campus Ticket Witches

Well, I've had one of those AMAZING days with parking services. One numb-nut was trying to TELL me that I own a RED JEEP CHEROKEE??? I calmly asked the lady to check her records because I have never owned a jeep of any type. She looked in her records and according to the DMV I owned a red jeep cherokee. I laughed because I was sure that some one was pulling a prank on me. I started looking around to see if some one was going to pop out and no one did. But this lady had her hand held up for $96.00 for a violation that I was guilty of in July of 2005. I asked to speak with the magistrate. The magistrate contacted the DMV in Anderson and confirmed what I had already told the woman in the parking services office. So I went back to this woman and I told her what the magistrate had said. She said, "I was only doing my job!" I told her that she was not because if she had listened to me and checked with the DMV she would have not put me out for over 30 minutes of waiting around. She did not apologize but her colleague told me, with the other woman present, that she should have given me the benefit of the doubt. I smiled and took my parking decal. So, that is all I want to comment on this matter for now.

Turin, c’est parti !

Les XXe Jeux Olympiques d’hiver débutent aujourd’hui avec la cérémonie d’ouverture. 50 ans après Cortina d’Ampezzo, l’Italie se prépare pour 16 jours de compétitions intenses. La délégation tricolore sera représentée par 89 athlètes, soucieux d’honorer ce grand rendez-vous. Présentation.

Notre envoyée spéciale à Turin

La cérémonie, le début de l’aventure
A 20 heures, le «Stadio Olympico» de Turin prendra des couleurs de fêtes. Un protocole très «strict» sera respecté et ce sont plus de 3 500 volontaires qui s’occuperont du bon déroulement de cette cérémonie. Sur place, les spectateurs auront la chance d’assister à un pré-show intitulé «Les Étincelles de la Passion», orchestré par Piero Chiambretti. Huit athlètes de hockey sur glace évolueront à près de 50 km/h afin de créer une flamme rouge d'une hauteur de 2 mètres. Ensuite, commencera le défilé des délégations. Le porte-drapeau tricolore, Bruno Mingeon, aura l’immense honneur de conduire l’équipe de France. Selon la tradition, les pays apparaîtront dans l’ordre alphabétique sauf la Grèce qui ouvrira la marche et le pays hôte, l’Italie, qui la clôturera. L’autre instant symbolique de la cérémonie concernera la dernière étape du relais de la flamme olympique. Lorsque celle-ci s’allumera dans la vasque, le cœur des athlètes devrait battre très fort. Un moment synonyme du début réel des épreuves. Mais, avant d’assister au spectacle son et lumière prévu dans l’enceinte du stade, les 2 500 participants écouteront le serment des athlètes prononcé par l’ancien champion de ski Gustav Thoeni et le serment olympique.

Les Jeux en chiffres
Avant de représenter des images de joie, de victoires, de défaites et d’émotions des athlètes, les JO, c'est aussi un staff technique qui a mis 7 années pour organiser cet événement. 15 disciplines (7 de neige et 8 de glace) et 84 épreuves seront au programme tandis que 13 nouvelles compétitions verront le jour avec entre autres : le relais féminin 4x6km en biathlon, le départ groupé 50 km hommes et 30 km femmes en ski de fond et le snowboard cross hommes et femmes. Pour accueillir les athlètes, l’organisation a mis en place 3 villages olympiques : Turin, Bardonnecchia et Sestrières. Un bon point pour la proximité des sites mais une petite déception pour les athlètes qui ne pourront cohabiter tous ensemble et vivre ce moment unique avec toute leur équipe. 1,5 million de spectateurs devraient venir applaudir leurs champions et une forte présence française est attendue, la frontière n’étant qu’à une cinquantaine de kilomètres des principaux lieux de compétitions.

Une équipe de France prête à tout
L’objectif est clair : après les 8 médailles ramenées de Nagano et les 11 gagnées à Salt Lake City, le Directeur Technique National, Gérard Rougier, a placé haut la barre puisqu’il «souhaite ramener entre 8 et 15 médailles». Insurmontable aux premiers abords, ce but pourrait être atteint. D’une part grâce aux derniers résultats individuels qui laissent présager des podiums réalisables et d’autre part au vu de la motivation collective et la sérénité de cette équipe de France. En s’alignant chacun sur 5 épreuves, les biathlètes Raphaël Poirée et Sandrine Bailly sont en passe de réaliser de beaux exploits. Vincent Vittoz est prêt à faire parler ses skis de fond tandis que Brian Joubert aura à cœur de virevolter sur la glace et Jean-Pierre Vidal de nous offrir un doublé en slalom. Enfin, c’est surtout du côté du snowboard que la moisson pourrait être fructueuse. Le half-pipe avec Doriane Vidal, Mathieu Crépel et Gary Zebrowski, le snowboard cross avec Karine Ruby, Julie Pomagalski et Xavier De Le Rue, le slalom géant parallèle avec Isabelle Blanc, Mathieu Bozzetto et Nicolas Huet. Mais comme les athlètes le répètent si souvent, «les Jeux sont la course d’un jour», alors les surprises pourraient déjà venir de ce dicton…

Cérémonie d'ouverture à suivre en direct dès 20h00 sur France2 et Eurosport.

Le monde entre en piste aux JO de Turin

PRIVÉE DE TAPIS BLANC, prisonnière de flocons avares, Turin affiche une mine désolée. La capitale du Piémont s'ouvre et s'offre sur une incongruité à l'heure de célébrer sa majesté Hiver. Comme avant elle Saint-Moritz en 1928 ou Lake Placid en 1932.

Seule une lente et patiente ascension vers les stations haut perchées, distantes de 80 kilomètres (record olympique), permet à «Turin» point d'ancrage des XX^es Jeux d'hiver éponyme de peindre un peu les montagnes, de tendre un décor de saison, de planter oriflammes et slogans, de diffuser des frissons pour ces Jeux coupés en deux : Turin et ses satellites (Bardonecchia, Cesana San Sicario, Pinerolo, Pragelato, Sauze d'Oulx, Sestrières), pieuvre froide aux multiples tentacules, sur la carte routière comme le long des langues goudronnées accrochées aux pentes enneigées.

Une topographie à apprivoiser, une logistique à maîtriser quand, à quelques heures du lever de rideau, les approximations se multiplient, les retards et les erreurs d'aiguillage s'enchaînent, laissant planer d'épais doutes sur l'orchestration sans fausse note des sites dispersés pour des Jeux écartelés.

Les Jeux, une galerie des glaces qui se visite et ne s'oublie pas

Imperturbable, le sablier libère ses derniers grains, sème en bout de piste un début de fébrilité, avant la cérémonie d'ouverture, ce soir, et les premières épreuves demain. La flamme a gagné Turin hier, au terme d'un périple de plus de 11 000 kilomètres parfois modifié, particulièrement malmené, notamment par des militants altermondialistes protestant contre l'un des sponsors, Coca-Cola.

Les Jeux olympiques d'hiver s'apprêtent toutefois à diffuser leur magie. Les sites superbes patientent sous le soleil. Les athlètes peaufinent leurs réglages à l'occasion des ultimes séances d'entraînement, habités par ces Jeux, ces courses d'un jour pouvant bouleverser le cours d'une vie. Les Jeux, une galerie des glaces qui se visite et ne s'oublie pas. A l'heure du prélude attendu devant une kyrielle d'hommes d'Etat et de personnalités, l'Italie (50 ans après Cortina d'Ampezzo) peine encore à prendre la mesure de l'événement, comme le regrette Giorgio Rocca, le slalomeur et chef de file de la délégation transalpine quand le légendaire Alberto Tomba (pressenti pour être l'un des derniers porteurs de flamme avec Stefania Belmondo et Deborah Compagnoni) sent ses compatriotes capables de s'embraser à l'heure H.

Dix-sept jours durant, le monde ouvrira grand les «Jeux» sur Turin, ville réputée pour sa froideur. La capitale du Piémont (et ses stations) sera une ville monde, une ville ventre. Une cité dans laquelle rivaliseront 2 500 athlètes, en lice pour 84 titres, s'inviteront les spectateurs et trois milliards de téléspectateurs.

La sécurité, leitmotiv oppressant des Jeux de Salt Lake City, il y a quatre ans, s'inscrit en filigrane de l'épisode transalpin. 15 000 personnes (dont 2 500 militaires) seront chargées d'assurer la sécurité de l'événement. Un avion de l'Otan s'accrochera dans le ciel olympique, des spécialistes des attaques chimiques ou nucléaires et des centaines de contrôles compléteront un arsenal soigné pour parer à toute menace, contrer toute éventualité. L'autre dossier sensible, le dopage, a bénéficié de procédures renforcées (1 100 contrôles prévus, notamment sur tous les skieurs de fond hier, soit 72% de plus qu'il y a quatre ans) pour installer dans une bulle la parenthèse enchantée, ne pas faire vaciller une flamme, posée à Turin dans une vasque haute de 57 mètres, décidée à brûler. Au-dessus des sommets, de la neige, du silence. Citius, altius, fortius.

Chirac warns media over cartoons

French President Jacques Chirac has condemned as "overt provocation" decisions to reprint cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad.

As another French publication printed the cartoons, Mr Chirac said any subject matter that could hurt other people's convictions should be avoided.

But Denmark's PM said it was not for the government to censor the media.

Meanwhile protests at the cartoon's publication continued, with four killed and up to 20 injured in Afghanistan.

The deaths - at a protest by about 400 people in the town of Qalat - bring to 12 the number of people killed in Afghan protests over the cartoons in recent days.

Afghanistan's top council of Muslim clerics has called for an end to several days of demonstrations.

US President George W Bush urged governments to prevent attacks on diplomatic missions.

"I call upon the governments around the world to stop the violence, to be respectful, to protect property, protect the lives of innocent diplomats who are serving their countries overseas," he said.

He also criticised anything that vilified Muhammad or attacked Muslim sensibilities.

The BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington says the Bush administration has carefully avoided taking sides in the row over the cartoons, because of concerns that the issue could further fuel anti-American sentiment in the Arab world.

Busy Day...weird day!!!

Today is Jeremy's birthday. He is 17 and now he can drive later than 1800 hours each day. He is excited but he is not too happy about having a birthday party. He is upset with a couple of his friends. They always confide in Jeremy and now he wants them to pay back in kind...they are coming up short. He is devastated since he has always been there for them and now he is learning the harsh reality of how people can be when you need assistance from them. Well, I have finished my proposal for the Dean of the College and now I am presently working on another project. Ok, I know why everyone is wondering what is weird about this day. I am in complete great health. At least this is what my physician has told me from my visit. I am happy to hear that...now I just need to keep away from any contact sports or sports in general that goes beyond a controller plugged into the X-BOX.

Ho Hum Day

It is been one of those days that I want to forget. I have turned in my EPMS documentation; we have to produce documentation to show how we met the objectives. The documentation was only 117 pages. Then I turned in my SOP update. It went from 295 pages to a mere 128...I think that I wanted to finish it quick this time. Now, I have a proposal to finish for a grant and a purchase for the College. I feel more and more each day like I am becoming a paper pusher and admining servers remotely. I have gone from 2 servers to 8. Yes, my responsibilities are growing but my pay is definitely not. Maybe, in the near future I will see a new position or pay raise. RIGHT!!!

Lazy weekend

Man, this was a lazy weekend for me. I played around with the kids. I worked on my job projects for a few hours. Then I spent the rest of the time watching movies. I had a lot of fun with the kids. Anita is filling out more and more as each week passes. I am sure that she is ready for this child to come...like any moment...if you know what I mean. This kid already packs a mean punch in Anita's ribs all the time (smile). He/she already has irregular sleep patterns so we are REALLY going to have some fun staying up all night long. The shock of being a father to another child again has not sunk in quite yet. My mother-in-law has been shopping and storing all kinds of supplies for the baby. We have a huge cache of stuff already. It is going to be interesting to see where all of this stuff will be stored. I hope that everyone else had a wonderful weekend. Cheers!

Word for the day, "Can you say, IT'S FRIDAY!!!"

"You better be working and working hard!"
This has been an extremely stressful week. It is only going to be an even more stressful weekend. I have to get ready for my RHCE exam that will take place in March. Instead of testing in the wonderful city of Atlanta, I will be in Raleigh, North Carolina. It will not be the same since I will not be able to hang out with Tyler and Jennifer. But what can one do? I will be studying for some 9 hours a day and then installing servers. I will be tearing down some features of the servers/workstations (building a network of machines for auto-installation of Enterprise) only to fix it later...I will be faced with such scenarios when I take the test...fun fun fun. Well, this is my first posting for the year. I will have plenty of time to make more postings.
Oh yes, news update, Anita is nearly 7 months pregnant and counting. She is going to the OB/GYN today to make sure that all is well with the baby. We still do not know the gender of our child...Anita's decision. So, the Stowers clan is still expanding but for my part, I will not be able to continue to multiply due to some great technology...if you know what I mean. Well folks, that is all from Le mots du jours. I bid you all a good day and weekend!!!

Personality test

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Your personality type is SCOAI

You are social, calm, organized, accommodating, and intellectual, and may prefer a city which matches those traits.

The largest representation of your personality type can be found in the these U.S. cities: Salt Lake City, Oklahoma City, Nashville, Tucson, Phoenix, Memphis, W. Palm Beach, Portland/Salem, Louisville, Cincinnati, San Diego, Los Angeles and these international countries/regions Slovenia, Luxembourg, India, Croatia, Romania, Taiwan, Middle East, China, Caribbean, Iceland, South Africa, Czech Republic, South Korea, Hong Kong

What Places In The World Match Your Personality?
City Reviews at CityCulture.org

Affaire Calipari : un soldat US inculpé pour homicide volontaire

(Avec AFP)
[22 décembre 2005]

Pour le parquet italien, la mort de l'agent secret qui accompagnait la journaliste Giuliana Sgrena au moment de sa libération en Irak en mars dernier est due à «une erreur dans le comportement des militaires américains».

Un marine américain a été inculpé par le parquet de Rome d'homicide volontaire pour la mort en mars de l'agent secret italien Nicola Calipari, tué par les tirs d'une patrouille près de l'aéroport de Bagdad, a annoncé jeudi l'agence italienne Ansa.

Mario Lozano, le soldat américain qui a tiré sur la voiture dans laquelle se trouvait Nicola Calipari, a été inscrit au registre des enquêtes du parquet de la capitale italienne et inculpé d'homicide volontaire. Chef de mission des services secrets militaires italiens, Nicola Calipari, 51 ans, a été tué par les tirs d'une patrouille américaine le 4 mars dernier au moment où il accompagnait à l'aéroport de Bagdad la journaliste italienne du quotidien Il Manifesto Giuliana Sgrena, prise en otage un mois auparavant et dont il venait d'obtenir la libération.

Erreur dans le comportement des militaires
Les Etats-Unis assurent que leurs militaires se sont comportés de manière réglementaire, tandis que l'Italie affirme que la mort de Nicola Calipari est due à une erreur dans le comportement des militaires américains qui surveillaient la route de l'aéroport. L'armée américaine affirme que le véhicule roulait trop rapidement et accuse également les autorités italiennes de ne pas l'avoir prévenue de l'opération visant à libérer l'envoyée spéciale du quotidien indépendant de gauche Il Manifesto.

Un barrage mal préparé, gardé par des soldats tendus et inexpérimentés, ont causé la mort de Nicola Calipari, ont affirmé pour leur part les enquêteurs italiens. La mort de Nicola Calipari, considéré comme un héros dans la péninsule, a créé une grande tension dans les rapports entre Rome et Washington, en dépit des bonnes relations entre le président George W. Bush et le chef du gouvernement Silvio Berlusconi, un de ses alliés les plus fidèles.

Unedic : syndicats et patronat vont signer

SOCIAL Syndicats et patronat se sont accordés sur un projet qui sera finalisé ce soir. Seule la CGT a annoncé qu'elle ne le signerait pas. Le patronat doit encore rallier FO.

(F.-X. B.) Le chômage est des grandes nouvelles en France. J'ecris de l'informacion du Monde-France...
[22 décembre 2005]

LES NÉGOCIATIONS marathons sur l'assurance-chômage s'achèvent dans la douleur. Au terme de plus de vingt heures de négociations, syndicats et patronat tenaient hier matin un projet d'accord dont seule la CGT a officiellement annoncé qu'elle ne le signerait pas. Le sort des intermittents sera ficelé aujourd'hui. En même temps que celui du régime général, car FO n'a pas dit son dernier mot. Furieux de constater que l'une de ses propositions sur le travail précaire, pourtant acceptée selon lui par le Medef pendant la nuit, ne figurait pas dans le projet d'accord final, son négociateur a claqué la porte en début de matinée hier. Le rendez-vous d'aujourd'hui sera déterminant pour le rallier au texte.


Sous réserve de derniers réglages, la nouvelle convention est au point, les syndicats se réservant toutefois un laps de temps pour consulter leurs instances avant de la signer.



En tout état de cause, elle ne concernera que les salariés dont le contrat de travail sera rompu après le 31 décembre 2005. Elle entrera en application le 1er février 2006, avec effet rétroactif au 1er janvier de la même année. Hier, la seule question en suspens restait finalement de savoir si FO rejoindrait ou pas le camp des signataires potentiels pour porter à quatre leur nombre, comme l'espèrent tant le Medef que les autres syndicats.


La nouvelle convention devrait permettre des économies de 2,4 milliards d'euros sur trois ans et ne modifie que légèrement les conditions d'indemnisation. La filière A, qui s'adresse aux chômeurs sortant de contrats courts ou précaires, demeure ainsi inchangée. Les personnes ayant cotisé six mois au cours des vingt-deux derniers mois auront toujours droit à sept mois d'indemnités. Nouveauté : une filière A + est créée pour les personnes ayant cotisé douze mois sur les vingt derniers mois, leur donnant droit à douze mois d'indemnisation.


La filière B, en revanche, la plus courante puisqu'elle concerne plus de la moitié des chômeurs indemnisés, est modifiée. Il faudra désormais avoir travaillé seize mois dans les vingt-six derniers mois (au lieu de quatorze dans les vingt-quatre derniers) pour être indemnisé vingt-trois mois.

0,08% de hausse concédée par le Medef


Ces mesures devraient engendrer 474 millions d'économies. A cela s'ajouteront 960 millions d'euros de recettes supplémentaires, grâce à la hausse des cotisations concédée au finish par le Medef. Elles augmenteront ainsi de 0,08% à répartir à parts égales entre le salarié et l'entreprise. Si les comptes de l'Unedic reviennent à l'équilibre en 2006, cette hausse sera annulée au 1er janvier 2007. Dernière mesure d'économie, le renforcement de l'accompagnement des chômeurs pour accélérer le retour à l'emploi devrait se traduire par un gain de 1 milliard d'euros.


Enfin, les partenaires sociaux se sont mis d'accord pour une remise à plat de l'assurance-chômage dès 2006. C'était l'une des revendications clés de la CFDT et de la CGC. A la sortie, le négociateur cédétiste Jean-Marie Toulisse portait un jugement peu amène sur l'Unedic : «Le système est tellement à bout de souffle qu'il est quasiment impossible à négocier (...) notre équipe a été au bout de ce qu'il était possible de faire.»

Funny thing happened the other day.

Well, according to what perspective you view this...it could be funny or one could conclude that I am quite pathetic. I and other youth ministers were horse playing and I was pushed against a wall. Since I do not have complete use of my right arm yet, I could not brace myself from falling into the wall. I twist my foot accidently and I shattered the proximal portion of the fifth metatarsal on my right foot. So, I am hobbling about on one foot with crutches. Anita is really mad at me. She might not speak to me again.
Well, on another note...I wish that I could make it to Atlanta and enjoying the coming of the new year with you guys...but that seems impossible. I am wishing all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. God bless you all and your families.