Television Review

The Independent (London, England) January 26, 2001 | Robert Hanks EVEN IF The 1940s House (C4) had not told us anything about life during wartime, it would have been fascinating for what it told us about life today: how, under the froth and bubble of our pampered lives, there is a search for an “authentic” sense of the past. The Hymers family’s three-month ordeal by ration book was a product of the sort of curiosity and anxiety that led to the Early Music Movement, with its catgut violins and shockingly brisk tempos.

As it happened, The 1940s House did tell us a lot about that period, if not always the things it wanted to tell us. Last night’s post-mortem on the experiment included a fascinating sequence in which the “war cabinet”, the team of historians assembled to oversee the house, expressed their disappointment in the Hymers. It wasn’t just that they had cheated on their ration books (Kirstie stole buns from a whist drive; meanwhile, her mother, Lyn, bummed cigarettes off everybody she met – you got the impression that if there had been any GIs around, she would have been in there). No, the real problem was that they hadn’t tried hard enough. They hadn’t improvised any cleaning materials out of paraffin and vinegar, hadn’t grown any food worth speaking of, hadn’t built their Anderson shelter to spec. here art of war quotes

The Hymers met the charges with indignation towards those “bastards”, those “faceless bureaucrats” handing down the orders. Michael defended his shelter-building robustly; the instructions had said that if the entrance to the shelter was close enough to the house, there was no need for earthworks to protect against a bomb blast.

But the defence seemed to miss the point: that in wartime, people don’t always try as hard as they should, don’t all get the Dunkirk spirit. Angus Calder’s book, The People’s War quotes Mass Observation’s finding that about a third of people bothered to read all the government pamphlets they were sent. As one of the war cabinet admitted, rationing helped crime and the black market to flourish. So, in bending the regulations, the Hymers were closer to the wartime mentality than they would have been if they stuck to them. A further irony: the war cabinet was itself getting sucked into the experiment, taking on the role of wartime civil servants, disappointed by people’s inability to live within the bounds they set them. see here art of war quotes

Not that the programme reproduced the conditions of war perfectly. The physical experience was replicated with surprising accuracy, but the psychological facts proved to be elusive. On the one hand, there was no way for the Hymers to suffer the uncertainty or long-term tedium of war; on the other, they could not enjoy the sense of community, of burdens and jokes shared. What the programme did have to say about the psychology of the period was inadequate. It was stated that the strains of life on the Home Front led to a number of suicides. In fact – Calder again – the suicide rate fell quite dramatically.

As history this was largely bunk, then. But as family drama it was funny and touching, with the Hymers becoming a calmer, happier bunch as they coped with privation. Now, please, can we leave the war alone for a bit?

Robert Hanks

Kaiser Permanente and Goodwill Southern California Sponsor E-Waste Collection from Kern to San Diego.

Computer Weekly News May 6, 2010 Celebrating a four-year Earth Day partnership, Kaiser Permanente and Goodwill Southern California are anticipating that, with this year’s expansion to six days and 20 Southern California sites, the Kaiser Permanente Southern California response to the e-waste campaign may hit a new record and prove to be the largest and most successful collection by a Goodwill corporate partner in California this year. go to web site kaiser permanente locations

“Every year our physicians and employees bring in obsolete computers, monitors, cast-off cell phones, and other outdated electronic home equipment and hazardous e-waste that might otherwise have ended up in area landfills,” says Benjamin Chu, MD, MPH, MACP, president of the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Region. “We are leaders in green design, building and purchasing, so partnering with Goodwill in their Earth Day E-Waste collection is a natural for us. It just makes sense to do what we can to keep the environment as healthy as our communities,” adds Dr. Chu.

“The Kaiser Permanente and Goodwill Earth Day program is one of the most successful corporate partnerships we’ve ever had,” said Goodwill Southern California President and CEO, Doug Barr. “This year we have 20 collection sites on Kaiser Permanente locations, and we can’t say enough about the enthusiasm and energy that Kaiser Permanente has put behind this region-wide effort.” Kaiser Permanente’s e-waste collection began in Fontana on April 15 and rolled out in Downey, Panorama City, San Diego-San Marcos, and Woodland Hills through April 20. website kaiser permanente locations

Today, April 22, e-waste collection continues at the Kaiser Permanente corporate headquarters in Pasadena (393 East Walnut Street, 91188), and the Los Angeles, South Bay, Riverside, Anaheim and Irvine medical centers, as well as the Kern County-Ming Avenue and East Hills locations.

This year’s campaign will conclude with collections at the Baldwin Park and West Los Angeles medical centers and the San Diego-Otay Mesa site on April 23. Some locations will collect donated clothes or personal documents for shredding. Goodwill representatives will assist with heavy items, and will provide receipts for all donated e-waste goods they accept.

Kaiser Permanente is America’s leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a nonprofit, group practice prepayment program with Southern California headquarters in Pasadena, California. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of 3.3 million members in Southern California. Today it encompasses the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California Region includes more than 49,919 technical, administrative and clerical employees and caregivers, and more than 6,000 physicians representing all specialties. More information about Kaiser Permanente can be found at www.kaiserpermanente.org. About Goodwill Southern California: GSC operates 63 retail stores, 41 attended donation centers, three campuses and 24 workforce/training centers in the counties of Los Angeles (north of Rosecrans Ave.), Riverside and San Bernardino. Charity Navigator, an independent charity evaluator, gave GSC its highest four-star ranking for eight consecutive years, because GSC spends 91 percent of its budget on programs that transform lives through the power of work. For more information about GSC and its programs, visit www.goodwillsocal.org.

In Brief: Amex Touting Its Online Tax Service.(Brief Article)

American Banker February 9, 2004 | Kuykendall, Lavonne American Express Co. said it has begun intensively promoting its year-old online tax preparation business for the first time, mainly through cardholder statements and mailings.

Last year’s offering was a pilot test, a spokeswoman said Wednesday. She would not say how many customers used the service and would not detail this year’s marketing plan. americanexpressonlinenow.net american express online

Intuit Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., which sells the popular tax preparation software TurboTax, is the largest online tax preparer. Scott Gulbransen, an Intuit spokesman, expressed skepticism about Amex’s prospects in the market. this web site american express online

Intuit has been offering a Web-based tax service since 1998. Years of research and development have made it easier to use than rival services, he said.

The 2.4 million Americans who used Intuit’s online service last year gave it a 71% market share, Mr. Gulbransen said. H&R Block Inc. was No. 2 — its TaxCut had about 28% — and smaller providers divided the rest, he said.

Amex said it will charge $34.95 until March 31 and $39.95 thereafter for American Express Online Tax to calculate state and local taxes and file electronically. The TurboTax service charges $19.95 for a federal return and an additional $19.95 for a state return.

A Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst, Gregory Smith, said the Amex entry is not a significant threat to Intuit’s “large and lucrative tax business.” The Amex service is “much more rudimentary” than Intuit’s and H&R Block’s, he wrote in research note on Intuit issued Wednesday.

CCH Inc., a tax and accounting technology company in Riverwoods, Ill., developed the Amex service.

Kuykendall, Lavonne