The Procedure

The procedure for a new document is dependent on the location of the passport holder in which the travel booklet has gone missing. Should one have upcoming travel plans or find themselves in a foreign country without the legally required document, expedition services can assist in a fast replacement. It is important to begin the replacement procedure as soon as you have noticed that the document has disappeared.

Reporting Loss

The first step in following legal procedure is to contact the United States State Department in reporting the document as missing. If a document has been stolen, a police report is often required to be completed, detailing the situation in which the individual was a victim of theft. In reporting the missing item to the State Department one is taking the necessary precaution in invalidating the document so that it is not used for illegal purposes.

Required Forms

Designated forms DS64 and DS-11 have to be competed and submitted to the relevant authorities when requiring a new document. DS-64 is necessary in obtaining details surrounding the loss of the important item. The forms, including DS-64, should be completed with the regular application and designated documents must be submitted together for efficient processing.

Expediting

Losing the legal travel document before a trip will require expedition services in obtaining the item, which may only take a few days. When using professional government expedition services an extra fee will be charged for fast processing of applications. Independent expeditors are largely available to gather and submit the required documentation for individuals who are unable to visit the particular agencies themselves.

Foreign Help

Every citizen of America can utilize the State expedition services where individuals who have traveled abroad should consult the closest Embassy or Consulate. Agents are professionals who are able to answer all questions related to applying for a new travel document. Always report the travel booklet as missing to the relevant authorities.

Required Documentation

When on home ground, the procedure in obtaining a replacement document is similar to the pass port application process for a new travel item. A number of forms must be completed including the form DS-64 and DS-11 submitted together with the relevant documentation. Upon submission of application be sure to possess a certified birth certificate, drivers license and passport sized photographs for proof of citizenship.

Politics articles at Blogcritics

The last time we had a restraint budget, in 1995, the Liberal government used fear to get us sold on the need for cuts. There was talk of hell and  high water, of Canada being an economic basket case,  of potential IMF intervention, and of course, the children. The poor children, the next generation, were going to be saddled with our debt. (I kept having visions of Dickens' workhouses.) 

Now, 17 years later, I'm intrigued by how fear has been largely replaced by anger. When we cast around looking for where the cuts are coming, we look at where the government and its allies have been  trying to whip  up scorn and  rage: the CBC, the public service, generous pensions, unions, provinces, (certain) foreigners, and pretty much anyone who is seen to be standing in the way of Conservative dreams of prosperity. 

It's interesting — this is something that probably couldn't work in the private sector. (And probably shouldn't.) When downsizing cuts are made  in this realm, our bosses have to go to some lengths to prove that the job losses weren't the result of a grudge or personal antipathy. Funny how when it comes to government, or at least this government, we simply assume that those being cut are going to get cut down first in the eyes of the public. 

I'm wondering if it is possible for this government to make any cuts without first demonizing the target of them. Do we have to be angry in 2012 (as opposed to scared in 1995) to contemplate budget cuts?   Without anger,  though, I guess we'd back to fear — and all those poor, debt-ridden children. 

Politics

High Performance Fish

They may not be as fast as your sports car. But among fish, the black marlin is a serious contender. They have been clocked pulling line off a reel at eighty miles per hour. The design of this fish is space-age aerodynamic. It cuts through the water behind a long spear-shaped nose cone. It gets its thrust from a powerful, distinctively shaped tail.

Body Shape

The body is nearly flat on the sides. It bears a slight resemblance to the shape of a dog designed for high-speed chase such as a Borzoi or a Greyhound. Black marlin that have been tagged have been known to travel thousands of miles in remarkably short times. Blacks are not easy fish to catch. They seem to have a lot of sales resistance. Experienced sport fishers tell of spending long hours waiting for the first nibble.

Strength

One reason black marlin fishing is popular is because once they are hooked, they are difficult to catch. Even though they don’t usually dive deep, they fight. They can swim a long way in a short time and break a line that isn’t expertly managed in the process. One of the most effective ways to attract a black marlin is with live bait. Unfortunately that is also a good way to attract sharks. More than one unfortunate sport fisher has seen his catch torn to pieces by sharks before he could get it into the boat. It’s a lot like blue marlin fishing.

Fishing

Even without competition from sharks, it isn’t easy to haul one of these magnificent creatures into a boat. Even a good sized male can weigh three hundred pounds. But that’s nothing compared to his sisters.

Female Marlins

Female black marlin can tip the scales at over a thousand pounds. Weights of eight or nine hundred pounds are not uncommon. The world record is held by one that weighed over fifteen hundred pounds.

Elusive

These are not fish to be taken lightly. If you can imagine an angry thousand- pound female coming toward you with a bad attitude and a bayonet, you have some idea what you are going to be fighting with. Fortunately for you, they would usually prefer freedom to revenge.

Location

Unless you happen to live near a marlin habitat, you will have to do some traveling if you want to catch one. They can be found in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans. You have plenty of options if you are planning a black marlin vacation. Africa, South America and Australia are among the many destinations you can choose.

Habitat

Unlike other members of the marlin family, the blacks are not primarily deep sea dwellers. Their natural habitat is on the continental shelves or in the relatively shallow waters of warm-water archipelagos. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is one of the most desirable angling destinations.

WASHINGTON/POLITICAL:

CNN: Romney scores Nevada win as race heads to other states
Mitt Romney swept into victory in the Nevada caucuses, sliding back into frontrunner status with his second win in a row as the race for the Republican nomination heads to other states.

CNN: Gingrich outlines a survival strategy
On his heels after two straight primary defeats to rival Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich insists he is in the Republican presidential race until the August nominating convention.

CNN: Nevada runners up, Paul and Santorum vow to continue campaigns
The two trailing contenders in the recent Florida primary and Nevada caucuses said Sunday they would stay in the GOP presidential race and criticized front-runner Mitt Romney and main challenger Newt Gingrich as flawed candidates.

CNN: Crowley: Mood might mean more than stats come election time
Suppose they held an election, and the economy got better. Just last month, the jobless rate fell to its lowest level in almost three years.

NATIONAL:

CNN: Official: Missing woman’s husband blows up house to kill himself, 2 sons
Minutes after locking out a social worker who’d brought his two sons for a visit, a man in Washington state blew up his house on Sunday – killing himself and his boys, whose mother went missing more than two years ago, a sheriff’s spokesman said.

CNN: Giants edge Patriots in thriller; it was Madonna dance party at half
Triumphing in a thriller, quarterback Eli Manning led the New York Giants on Sunday to their second Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots in four years.

CNN: Long-lost identities of slaves uncovered in old Virginia papers
A historical society in Virginia, where slavery began in the American colonies in 1619, has discovered the identities of 3,200 slaves from unpublished private documents, providing new information for today’s descendants in a first-of-its-kind online database, society officials say.

CNN: Bishop Eddie Long apologizes to Jewish group after Torah ceremony
Bishop Eddie Long has apologized to the Anti-Defamation League over an incident in which he was wrapped in a Torah scroll and crowned “king.”

INTERNATIONAL:

CNN: Rockets, mortars rain down on Syrian city, opposition says
As international leaders wrestled over the weekend how to deal with the crisis in Syria, much of the nation remained engulfed in violence – including attacks by government forces on one embattled city that the opposition Syrian National Council described as a “massacre.”

CNN: Libya’s Saif Gadhafi could be tried within weeks, official says
Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son of Libya’s deposed leader Moammar Gadhafi, could go on trial “within weeks or months,” the country’s interior minister said Sunday.

CNN: Protesters clash with police in Cairo as anger mounts
Demonstrators clashed with police outside the Interior Ministry in Cairo on Sunday as anger mounts over a deadly stampede at a soccer match that killed dozens last week.

CNN: Military aircraft dispatched in Australia floods
Authorities were using military helicopters and a C-130 cargo plane Sunday to evacuate thousands of residents stranded by rising floodwaters in the eastern Australian state of Queensland, the government said.

BUSINESS:

CNN Money: Stocks: Let the good times roll?
Stocks surged last week to their highest levels in years, but there are few key economic reports slated for the week ahead to sustain the rally.

CNN Money: Chrysler is king of the Super Bowl spots
Once again, Chrysler’s Super Bowl ad won the hearts and minds of football fans, this time with a little help from Clint Eastwood and, of course, Detroit.

CNN Money: Ford calls foul on Chevy Super Bowl ad
General Motors ignored a request from Ford Motor Co. and ran a humorous Chevrolet truck ad during the Super Bowl that takes a slap at Ford.

In Case You Missed It…
Stopping the illegal rhino horn trade to Asia means turning to technology. Pauline Chiou reports.

CNN Political Ticker