In cooperation with the Department of Labor, Office of Workers' Compensation, the Loyola Law School of New Orleans held a two-day conference in Washington D.C. on October 23 and 24, 2008. The conference coincided with the publication of a unique guide, Defense Base Act and War Hazards Compensation Act Handbook from Lexis Nexis. Susie Dow reports from the conference for ePluribus Media.

Beth Richards writes from Herat, Afghanistan, where she was recently part of an exchange program helping an Afghanistan university. Her letters provide more than a little glimpse of the culture.

In her second letter she describes the mosque, the shops…the driving and the joke about driving: "There are a gazillion speed bumps here to calm (hahahahaha) traffic. Don’t have them in Kabul -- that’s what they use the giant potholes for. Yes, there are lots of Kabul jokes. Not surprising."