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If I were to write the story, it would basically be "Grand Theft Auto: Maaskantje".
Only a few of you will know what I'm getting at.
Ur not really living in the United States, eh?
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Posted 05 April 2014 - 01:00 PM
If I were to write the story, it would basically be "Grand Theft Auto: Maaskantje".
Only a few of you will know what I'm getting at.
Ur not really living in the United States, eh?
Posted 05 April 2014 - 01:13 PM Edited by SonOfLiberty, 05 April 2014 - 01:16 PM.
Posted 05 April 2014 - 02:49 PM
-Some missions working with The Lost (as Trevor) before destroy them (and kill Johnny K).
-Madrazo abusing Patricia and Trevor killing him (then Patricia moves to Trevor's place again).
-More missions and story development for Franklin (not necessarily with Lamar and/or against Strecht). F could have more issues with Ballas, Vagos, Chinese Triads or hitmen hired by some companies he screwed in Lester's missions.
-A mission inside Bolingbroke Penitentiary, PLEASE! Make it useful! (forget about Brad's rescue, he's dead).
Posted 05 April 2014 - 02:54 PM
If I were to write the story, it would basically be "Grand Theft Auto: Maaskantje".
Only a few of you will know what I'm getting at.
Ur not really living in the United States, eh?
Funny thing is... He actually does.
Posted 05 April 2014 - 04:42 PM
My story would start off the same way with Franklin meeting Michael, but after the jewel store job Michael continues in the criminal world out of choice,as he was missing out on the adrenaline of heists.
Trevor is angry at first when meeting Michael, but soon changes his mind when Mike lures him in with some big money jobs. There would be 10ish heists, and initially they would be well thought out and planned to the nth degree, however as the group do more they become more arrogant and decide they don't need Lester and plan a heist that goes horribly wrong and Michael ends up in prison.
This is where the FIB come into it, as they attempt to get someone to kill him from the inside to cover up that he is actually still alive.
They break him out and go on an attempt to bring down the corrupt division Michael got the deal from (i.e Dave and Steve).
Lamar gets killed by a plan implemented by Stretch, and that draws Franklin back to the hood.
Eventually everyone bad dies etc etc
Posted 05 April 2014 - 04:49 PM
If I were to write the story, it would basically be "Grand Theft Auto: Maaskantje".
Only a few of you will know what I'm getting at.
Ur not really living in the United States, eh?
Funny thing is... He actually does.
So how can he know show that's only famous in The Netherlands and Germany?
Posted 05 April 2014 - 10:06 PM
I'd set the storyline back when Trevor and Michael met.And make Franklin older so the trio would still be there.
Posted 06 April 2014 - 08:15 PM
Story would start with Michael in North Yankton 2004. You would rise to the top starting out by robbing gas stations to banks, then after like 35 to 40 missions you would move to LS and then Franklins story would come in, with Franklin you would do more gang related missions. Franklin at first would be all about the hood but after like 50 missions of grove st vs ballas Franklin meets Michael. Thats when the jewlery heist. Then you play as Trevor in sandy shores. Sandy shores would be waaaay biggwr 5 times the size it is. Because there would be a feud between the AOD and The Lost, also Johnny wouldnt be a meth addict. Trevor tries to take over but he knows thats a fight hes not gonna win, so he chooses who he is with the aod or the lost. After like 69 missions, trevor meets michael.
Posted 06 April 2014 - 09:29 PM
Hmm... If I were to change up the story I would
Add in a couple of IV cameos(Niko,Luis and Tony,Little Jacob and Badman etc) and give Karen a Bigger role Michael working for the FIB and Trevor for the IAA
Give Franklin more of a backstory
Add more interesting memorable NPC characters that add something to the story
Get a different antagonist I would keep Steve Haines but not as an Antagonist I would make him more of an asshole though and get rid of Devin Weston completely.
Would expand more on Trevors military days maybe we meet up with some of his old buddies from his unit The 169th Penetration Division "The Flying Trojans"
Add more powerful scenes maybe after a heist that almost went wrong with his family gone Michael goes looking for a gun to shoot himself and end it all instead finds an old video of him and his family opening up presents (He stole with Trevor) on christmas morning with Uncle Trevor popping in a bit later.
Not sure about Trevor maybe he reunites with his Father
Franklin looks at a picture of his old friends (Lamar, Tanya, JB etc..) While sitting in a nice air conditioned office downtown finally making it.
Posted 06 April 2014 - 10:40 PM
I would have cut the whole FBI, I don't want to play as a police bitch in a GTA game.
I would have made Franklin a hardcore gangster, fighting a war against Ballas and Mexicans.
Michael wouldn't be a rat and he'd be a lot more gangster, working with Cartels and Armenian Mobsters
Trevor would have been more realistic and his story would have stayed more in the country, focusing on building his meth empire.
Simeon would have been a proper Armenian mobster and not thrown to the side like he was.
Madrazo would have been a crazy, scary Cartel boss, and not the annoying pussy we had.
The Koreans and Triads would have a bigger role, along with the Latino gangs.
The heists would be more interesting and open ended.
Weed would have had a bigger role, how can you set a game in moder California and barely touch on it?
Posted 15 April 2014 - 09:16 AM Edited by Dr. Robotnik, 15 April 2014 - 09:17 AM.
They should've made Trevor's portrayal more consistent (are we supposed see him as a scary antagonist like in his first few missions or feel sorry for him like later in the game?), or at least have had his character develop into something. Michael gets a character arc, and so does Franklin to a lesser extent, but I never felt like a whole lot had changed for Trevor by the end of the story.
They shouldn't have half-assed the endings; Endings A and B should've given more closure to the story and been less rushed, and they should have gone with the original Ending C where Lamar kills Franklin. Stretch and Wei Cheng should have been more involved in the plot, and Madrazo shouldn't have gone from wanting Trevor's head to being terrified of him all of a sudden.
Believe it or not, I liked the FIB storyline, though I get why others didn't. I loved how they would meet the agents in out-of-the-way locations and plan things.
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|Reviews for Safety Net
| Mia66 chapter 1 . 6/18/2013
Wow I just found this show and currently watching episode 5 and I'm thristy for more. (To sad I found out this show was cancel way back)
Eiglther way this piece was fantastic I could feel Rebecca's feelings and the teams urgency.
This was good really good
| DaraSerian chapter 1 . 3/29/2013
Loved this! Very well done. You have a fantastic way with words. I love that each sentence is simple and to the point yet holds so much in them. No need for extra fluff to get the point across. Great quality. I only just found this show after seeing Rachel Nichols in the new Continuum. Really wish it was still on or at very least, more than one season. Thanks for the read.
| Cribellate chapter 1 . 3/29/2013
I loved this! Wonderfully written, and I think you got the characterisations spot-on. Such a shame that the show was cancelled!
| Taly-chan chapter 1 . 5/3/2012
Loved it. Thanks for sharing.
| spinningleaves chapter 1 . 2/25/2009
Aww I love it! A great way to cover all the emotions of the team, while still really making clear whats going on with Danny. I especially like the image of her thinking she can't be light because of her baggage. Great stuff!
| LBF chapter 1 . 12/5/2007
I liked the idea of Danny and Rebecca. Loved the show and hated that it ended. Paul was like a big brother and besides was married.
| krazykitkat chapter 1 . 7/3/2007
I hadn't thought of Danny and Rebecca, but after reading your story I can definitely see it.
Beautifully done.
The analysis of how Webb looks at her is dead on. The interaction between them has always given me a guilty thrill.
| IheartTV 'tv-luvin-hottie chapter 1 . 6/29/2007
this is really good. i loved that episode. downloaded them. but this is such an awesome show, its so sad they cancelled it. would have loved to see where they took it.
anyway. yeah. this is a great story. i dont know how everyone gets the characters so right. but its just amazing.
please keep writing. i just discovered the show, then i find out its cancelled, and almost noone knows about, or has writtin about it.
thanks anyway. for the story. its REALLY good. (think i said that a million times now...)
| L chapter 1 . 6/15/2007
Loved it... I always thought Danny/Rebecca would have made the most interesting pair. Hope you write more!

subset: commoncrawl


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C doubling
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C doubling
Does anyone use a gce format for C doubling instead of gcd ?
Re: C doubling
Not I and I don't think I have ever seen it written. I don't think I would like to retrain my muscle memory for a different doubling movement.....
Rob T
Rob T
Re: C doubling
I probably adopted it from one of the first world war pipers. The design behind it is that when a fellow is bridging the C with his little finger down on the D position, so he has lots of stability on the chanter, he can roll that GCE doubling, and maintain the beautiful tone on the C note. It works well too, from D to D because the D can be held solidly for both D's.
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- Does the First Amendment permit the government to retaliate against a public employee for sworn testimony that was compelled by subpoena and was not a part of the employee's ordinary work duties?
- Does qualified immunity preclude a claim for damages in this action?
Lane is the former director of the Community Intensive Training for Youth Program ("CITY") at Central Alabama Community College ("CACC"); Steve Franks is the former president of CACC. As director of CITY, Lane conducted an audit and discovered that state representative Susan Schmitz was on CITY's payroll, but had not come to work at the office or performed any work outside the office for CITY. Lane terminated Schmitz's employment after she refused to report to work. After Schmitz's termination at CITY, the FBI investigated her for mail fraud and fraud concerning a program receiving federal funds. Lane was subpoenaed and testified at both of Schmitz's criminal trials. Lane testified that Schmitz had not been reporting to work at CITY, and was only receiving paychecks. Following Schmitz's criminal trials, Franks terminated Lane. Lane sued Franks in his official and individual capacities, alleging that Franks violated Lane's First Amendment rights by terminating Lane in retaliation for testifying against Schmitz. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's ruling that because Lane's speech was made in his official capacity as CITY's director, he failed to state a claim for retaliation. The Supreme Court's decision will clarify the scope of the First Amendment as it relates to protecting testifying public employees from retaliation by their employers.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
- Is the government categorically free under the First Amendment to retaliate against a public employee for truthful sworn testimony that was compelled by subpoena and was not a part of the employee's ordinary job responsibilities?
- Does qualified immunity preclude a claim for damages in such an action?
Petitioner Edward Lane is the previous Director of the Community Intensive Training for Youth Program ("CITY") at Central Alabama Community College ("CACC"), and Respondent Steve Franks is the former president of CACC. See Lane v. Central Alabama Community College, 523 Fed. Appx. 709, 710 (11th Cir. 2013).In 2006, Lane accepted a probationary position as director of CITY, and, as part of his duties, Lane began an audit of CITY's finances. Seeid. at 710.While conducting this audit Lane discovered that state representative Suzanne Schmitz was on CITY's payroll, but had not come to work nor performed any work for the program. See id.Lane was warned by CACC's former president and lawyer that terminating Schmitz's employment would negatively affect Lane and CACC. See id. After Schmitz refused to report to work, Lane terminated Schmitz's employment with CITY. See id. Schmitz then sued, seeking to get her job back. See id. Schmitz also told another CITY employee that she would "get [Lane] back" for terminating her. See id. Schmitz went on to say that if Lane ever requested money from the state legislature Schmitz would tell him "you're fired." See id.
Following Schmitz's termination at CITY, the FBI began investigating Schmitz for mail fraud and fraud regarding a different federally funded program. See id. Lane was subpoenaed and testified at Schmitz's August 2008 federal criminal trial. See id. Lane testified that Schmitz had not been reporting to work at CITY. See id. Lane also testified that he had several phone conversations with Schmitz where he inquired about Schmitz's work duties, and that he requested that she start reporting to work daily at CITY's Huntsville office. See id. Schmitz responded that she had gotten her job through her connections with the Alabama Education Association. See id.In writing, Schmitz responded to Lane's request by stating she would like to "continue to serve the CITY program in the same manner as [she had] in the past." See id. In February 2009, Lane testified to all of these facts again at Schmitz's second criminal trial. See id.
As a result of large budget cuts in 2008, Lane and Franks discussed the possibility of laying off all probationary employees. See id. Franks sent termination letters to Lane and twenty-nine CITY employees, all of whom had served less than three years at CITY. See id. In the following days Franks rescinded all of the terminations except for Lane and one other employee. See id. Franks stated that he did this because he discovered that many CITY employees were not actually probationary. See id.
Lane sued Franks in his official capacity as CACC president and in his individual capacity, alleging that Franks terminated Lane as retaliation for testifying against Schmitz, thereby violating Lane's First Amendment rights. See id.The district court granted Frank's motion for summary judgment, concluding that because Lane's speech was made in his official capacity as CITY's director, Lane did not establish a prima facie case for a retaliation claim. See id. at 711.The Eleventh Circuit affirmed. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine two questions. See Petition for Writ of Certiorari, Lane v. Franks, (2013). First, whether under the First Amendment, the government can retaliate against a public employee for testimony that was compelled by subpoena and not part of the employee's regular job responsibilities. See id.at i. Second, whether qualified immunity precludes a claim for damages in an action such as this. See id.
As amici curiae in support of Petitioner Lane, the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama ("ACLU") argue that a witness who gives sworn testimony at a judicial proceeding is always speaking as a "citizen" on a "matter of public concern," and therefore should be protected by the First Amendment. See Brief of Amicus Curiae American Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, in Support of Petitioner at 4.The ACLU argues that all sworn statements seek to advance the truth and maintain the integrity of the judicial process. See id.at 6. Therefore, the ACLU asserts, a public employee's sworn statement in a judicial processing is a matter of public concern just the same as any citizen.See id. Additionally, the ACLU contends that a case-by-case review of a witness's testimony is unnecessary because of the inherent importance of truthful testimony in the judicial system. See id.The ACLU argues that a testifying witness should only be concerned with telling the truth, and not whether their testimony will anger their boss. See id.at 7. Accordingly, the ACLU would have the Court establish a bright-line rule protecting all sworn statements under the First Amendment. See id.
Respondent Burrow, acting President of the CACC, argues that the Court should not adopt a rule that all testimony counts as citizen speech touching on matters of public concern. See Brief of Respondent, Susan Burrow at 21.Burrow contends that employees who speak in their official capacity cannot be considered to be speaking as citizens because the government is paying them for their speech. See id. at 23. Burrow argues that for many government employees, testifying is a routine part of their job. See id.Additionally, Burrow asserts that other employees are reasonably expected to promote their employer's official position while testifying. See id.at 22. Burrow states that "a governor's chief of staff, the warden of a prison, the head of a state agency" are all examples of government employees that the government is warranted to replace if they are unable to promote the official government position while testifying. See id.at 24. Burrow contends that just like private employers, government employers must be able to ensure that their employees testify accurately about the government's position. See id. at 25.
In support of Lane, the First Amendment Coalition argues that to encourage truthful testimony, the Court should recognize the longstanding public policy that in-court testimony must be specially protected against civil claims. See Brief of Amicus Curiae of First Amendment Coalition, in Support of Petitioner at 13.The Coalition contends that historically, testifying witnesses have been immune from damages suits and that this immunity remains necessary today. See id. The Coalition further contends that the foremost goal of the judicial system is to reach the truth, and that individual damages claims will only obstruct this goal. See id. Specifically, the Coalition asserts that testifying witnesses could be persuaded to alter their testimony for fear of facing liability. See id. at 14. The ACLU also contends that sworn statements must have absolute protection from civil liability to accord with the First Amendment. See Brief of ACLU, in Support of Petitioner at 4.
Both Petitioner and Respondent agree that Lane has qualified immunity as a testifying witness. See Brief for Petitioner at 26, Brief for Respondent, Susan Burrow at 33.However, with respect to Franks' liability for terminating Lane, Lane argues that qualified immunity does not protect Franks from liability because his conduct violated a clearly established right under the First Amendment. See Brief for Petitioner at 25. Lane contends that Franks could not have reasonably believed that he was acting in accordance with the law in the Eleventh Circuit when he terminated Lane. See id.at26.
Burrow counters that when Lane was terminated, there was no clear rule in the Eleventh Circuit that the First Amendment protected all government employees' testimony concerning work-related matters; therefore, Burrow asserts that Franks has qualified immunity. See Brief for Respondent, Susan Burrow at 30. Furthermore, Burrow contends that a qualified immunity defense should not require state officials to predict changes in federal law. See id.at 31.Burrow contends that a bright-line rule which allows an officer to follow the law of their circuit, in spite of how it may differ from other precedents, would allow suits like this one to be resolved much earlier. See id.at 34. Burrow asserts that the main reason behind the immunity doctrine is to ensure that unviable claims against government officials are resolved early in the litigation process. See id.
The Eleventh Circuit held that Lane's testimony was made in his capacity as a government employee and therefore was not protected under the First Amendment. See Lane v. Cent. Ala. Cmty. College, 523 Fed. Appx. 709, 712 (11th Cir. 2013). Both Petitioner Lane and Respondent Burrow seek reversal of this determination and argue that Lane gave testimony in his capacity as a concerned citizen on a matter of public concern and therefore warrants First Amendment protection. See Brief for Respondent, Susan Burrow at 11; Brief for Petitioner at 12. However, the parties disagree about how to determine who was speaking as a citizen and whether the matter was of public concern. See Brief for Respondent, Susan Burrow at 2; Brief for Petitioner at 11. Additionally, Lane believes that Franks is not entitled to qualified immunity because it is not available when an official violates a clearly established right—the right to testify— whereas Burrow argues that qualified immunity exists here and in all cases where government officers' actions were consistent with governing circuit law. See Brief for Petitioner, at 11; Brief for Respondent, Susan Burrow at 14.
Both parties agree that the Court should follow its precedent set forth in Garcetti v. Caballos.See Brief for Petitioner, at 15; Brief for Respondent, Susan Burrow at 16. In Garcetti, the Courtheld that so long as employees are speaking as a citizen about a matter of public concern, employers can only impose speech restrictions that are necessary for the employers to operate efficiently and effectively. See Brief for Petitioner, at 15 (citing Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410, 421 (2006)).
Lane argues that he gave his testimony as a citizen, not as an employee of the State. See Brief for Petitioner,at 20. He contends that he was subpoenaed in his individual capacity as a fact witness and not under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b)(6), under which the subpoena is served on an organization who then designates the witness. See id.at 21. Lane maintains that he—as an individual—had to decide how to respond to the subpoena, and if he had lied or failed to comply, he alone would have borne the repercussions. See id.Moreover, when Lane testified at Schmitz's second trial, he had already been terminated from his directorial position. See id. at 22.
Lane argues that his testimony is protected by the First Amendment because it relates to a matter of public concern—as shown by the content, form, and context of his testimony. See id. at 13. Lane points to Connick v. Myers, where the court recognized that speech giving the public information to evaluate the performance of an elected official is of public concern, as is speech exposing a breach of the public trust. See id.at 18 (citing Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 148 (1983)). Lane argues that his speech fell into the public-concern category because it revealed Schmitz's corruption and drew attention to the broader public interest of exposing corruption. See id.at 18–19. Moreover, Lane contends that when public employees, and all citizens, respond to subpoenas, they are performing a duty to society and that testimony vindicates a core First Amendment interest. See id.at 22–23.
Respondent Burrow concedes that the Eleventh Circuit erred in holding that Lane's speech was entirely unprotected. See Brief for Respondent, Susan Burrow at 14. Burrow contends that the Eleventh Circuit did not follow the practical analysis required by Garcetti, but instead applied an overly broad scope and held that an employee's testimony will not be protected if it involves facts learned on the job. See id.at 17. Burrow posits that the Eleventh Circuit's faulty ruling arose from a misunderstanding about the facts of the Garcetti case. In Garcetti, the Supreme Court held that the First Amendment did not protect the employee's speech because the employee was paid to write the speech which he then claimed to be protected. See id.at 18. However, other Supreme Court holdings show that employee speech does not lose protection simply because it concerns the subject matter of employment. See id.Therefore, the fact-based analysis called for by Garcetti shows that Lane's speech was not made pursuant to his official duties. See id.at 17. Additionally, Burrow agrees that although what constitutes a public concern is less than clear, Lane's testimony obviously fell within the scope as it was integral to exposing and proving Schmitz's corrupt scheme. See id.at 19–20.
Although, Burrow agrees that Lane testified as a citizen on a matter of public concern, Burrow expresses unease that the Court may follow other circuits and develop a per se rule treating all subpoenaed testimony by a government employee as a matter of public concern. See id. at 21. Instead of a per se rule, Burrow argues that courts should use the same practical analysis employed in assessing other kinds of employee speech. See id.at 22.Although some circuits have held that all speech compelled by a subpoena is necessarily speech by a citizen, Burrow contends that the First Amendment should not prevent retaliation in cases where the government is paying employees who may testify as a routine part of their official duties, such as a police officer testifying about traffic stops, and crime scene technicians testifying about processing evidence. See id.at 22–23. If questions arose as to a testifying police officer's credibility, the mere fact that he was testifying should not prohibit supervisors from evaluating his performance. See id.at 23.
Burrow also claims that Lane's argument that subpoenaed testimony is vindicating a core First Amendment interest would turn the inquiry into a per se rule. See id.at 25. Burrow contends that society's interest in candid testimony should not automatically make all testimony into a matter of public concern. See id. Rather, Burrow states that courts must evaluate both the content and forum to determine whether the speech regards a matter of public concern. See id.
Burrow argues that even though Lane spoke as a citizen on a matter of public concern, qualified immunity bars a suit against Franks. See Brief for Respondent, Susan Burrow at 30. Burrow argues that under Supreme Court precedent, qualified immunity shields officials from suits for money damages unless the official violated a statutory or constitutional right that was "clearly established" at the time of the challenged conduct. See id.(citing Ascroft v. Al-Kidd, 131 S. Ct. 2074, 2080 (2011)).
Burrow contends that it was not "clearly established" that employees' testimony about facts relating to employment was protected when Franks fired Lane. See id.at 30–31. Burrow claims that the Eleventh Circuit has consistently followed the rule that involuntary testimony about an employee's job is broadly unprotected by the First Amendment. See id.at 32–33. For example, Burrow cites Morris v. Crow, where the Eleventh Circuit did not allow a police officer's testimony to qualify for First Amendment protection because the officer was not speaking as a citizen. See id.at 31–32. In Morris, the officer testified that another officer violated office policy when responding to an emergency. See id.Although Burrow admits that the facts of Morris are distinguishable, Burrow claims that its holding—that involuntary testimony regarding an employee's job is generally unprotected—dictated the result in this case at the circuit-court level. See id.at 32–33.
Lane argues that in determining qualified immunity the appropriate question is whether Franks could have reasonably believed that he was permitted to retaliate against an employee assisting in a federal corruption prosecution. See Brief for Petitioner at 26. Lane contends that Eleventh Circuit precedent supported Lane on this question at the time he was terminated. See id.at 35. Lane points to Martinez v. City of Opa-Locka, where the Eleventh Circuit found an employee of the city's purchasing department was retaliated against after she testified that a superior had violated bid procedures to purchase furniture for City Hall. See id.at 35–36 (citing Martinez v. City of Opa-Locka, 971 F.2d 708 (11th Cir. 1992)). In Martinez, the Eleventh Circuit recognized the plaintiff's First Amendment claim and denied the defendant qualified immunity. See id.at 36. Lane contends that because the facts of Martinez align with this case more closely than those of Morris, and because of the virtual unanimity of the other circuits, no public official in 2009 could reasonably believe that retaliation was constitutional in this case. See id.at 37–45.
This case will significantly impact the development of First Amendment law in the area of retaliation claims. Both parties agree that the determination below should be overturned and that Lane's speech should be given First Amendment protections because he gave his testimony as a private citizen on a matter of public concern. But Burrow expresses concern about the dangers of creating a per se rule treating all subpoenaed testimony from a public employee as a matter of public concern. She thus argues for a fact-based, case-by-case inquiry into the content and context of the testimony at issue. Lane argues that Franks does not have immunity because he violated a constitutional right that was clearly established by case law in the Eleventh Circuit at the time of Lane's termination, to which Burrow responds that Eleventh Circuit precedent leaves Lane's testimony unprotected under the First Amendment or— at the very least—that Franks had not violated clearly established circuit law. Burrow contends that government officials should always be able to follow the law of their circuit without having to predict any future rulings by the Court. The outcome of this case will delineate the standard for assessing whether a public employee's testimony is protected under the First Amendment, as well as a standard for determining when a public employee has qualified immunity.
Written by
Edited by
Additional Resources
- Ruthann Robson, Constitutional Law Prof Blog, Court Grants Certiorari in Employee First Amendment Case: Lane v. Franks, (Jan. 19, 2014)
- Kevin P. McGowan, BNA.com, Court Will Review First Amendment Case of Employee Fired After Trial Testimony, (Jan. 21, 2014)


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he always stares into my eyes. most of the time, he doesn't look awayVisitor's Question from a 16-20 year old Female
i have this male friend who is 1 yr and almost 2 months younger than me. but i like him soooo much! but when we r together, he always stares into my eyes. most of the time, he doesn't look away. what does that mean? cuz he knows that i like him.
RomanceClass.com Advice
Be happy he is looking into your eyes.
It means he cares for you, is comfortable with you, and is interested in you.
Good luck to you!
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text: The following reply was made to PR kern/39280; it has been noted by GNATS. From: Manuel Bouyer <bouyer%netbsd.org@localhost> To: gnats-bugs%gnats.NetBSD.org@localhost Cc: Subject: PR/39280 CVS commit: [netbsd-4] src/sys/net Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:51:49 +0000 (UTC) Module Name: src Committed By: bouyer Date: Wed Aug 20 19:51:49 UTC 2008 Modified Files: src/sys/net [netbsd-4]: if_spppsubr.c Log Message: Pull up following revision(s) (requested by martin in ticket #1185): sys/net/if_spppsubr.c: revision 1.111 PR kern/39280: Uninitialized callout stopped in if_spppsubr layer in kernels without options INET6. To generate a diff of this commit: cvs rdiff -r1.102 -r126.96.36.199 src/sys/net/if_spppsubr.c Please note that diffs are not public domain; they are subject to the copyright notices on the relevant files.


text:
As you know, my faith in humankind is mortally wounded, mostly dead. Someone is constantly shoveling dirt into the grave as my faith cries "I feel better, I think I'll go for a walk now". If I were a celebrity, I would be Brigitte Bardot and hide at my no kill animal shelter, saving animals from all sorts of cruelty and avoiding people until the day I died.
Lance, however, has a polar opposite opinion of our species. No matter what horrors and idiocy he experiences at the hand of his fellow man, he steadfastly refuses to believe human beings are the scourge of this planet, the worst, most wantonly destructive, loathsome, willfully ignorant, smelly, asshole species to over populate the earth.
Its ok, I have enough disdain for humans for the both of us.
Only by the grace of Lance and my wonderful Niece and Nephew, does my faith in humankind resist suffocation.
And so I give you this, from buzzfeed. 30 of the happiest facts of all time. This is Number 28, Window washers at a children's hospital who dress up like superheros to wash the windows. Swoon, faulking "oon".
I love this so much I want and need 100 more happy facts.
Enjoy your weekend, and maybe try not to be such an asshole.
I'm kidding- the 50 of you who read this blog are likely NOT the kinds of people I detest. But you can still enjoy these. They made my heart melt.
Apparently there are more at Reddit…yae!


text:
The Philippines is undoubtedly among the highly-coveted regions across the globe as far as business process outsourcing (BPO) is concerned today.
Invest in the Philippines: Steady Growth, Stronger BPO Industry
The Philippines is fast becoming the country of choice for foreign investors wanting to take advantage of its phenomenal growth. The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Industry shines even brighter; i…
Over the years, the country has pulled off exceptional feat in client satisfaction and overall performance leading to great success for venturing foreign investors. It has been more than a decade since the first contact center was established in the country, and since then the industry has flourished and developed into one of the top targets of foreign companies investing in business process outsourcing. The Philippine contact center industry continues to grow significantly as clienteles from the U.S., UK, Australia and others are constantly flowing in these days. Evidently, investors all across the world find the Philippines as a perfect place to develop their business operations.
The figures disclosed by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) revealed that the Philippine BPO industry raked in $11 billion in 2011 alone. In addition to this huge accomplishment and growing demand, the Philippines have been also recognized as the Offshoring Destination of the Year by the National Outsourcing Association in the UK – thrice.
With voice-based job getting the majority of the country's offshore services, the contact center industry in the country is regarded as the top call center target of investors today. The BPO industry remains consistent and continues to expand and provide services to its global clients. Moreover, it owns 10% out of the global BPO profits, which cost more than a $100billion. According to Tholson Investment Advisory Firm, the Philippines continues to be a worldwide leader in voice services. It develops into other areas at the same time such as IT, animation, and software and game development just to name a few. The call center business will most likely increase its earnings swelling up to US $16 billion. With these developments, the industry will continue to provide work for thousands of Filipinos this year.
From foreign investors' perspective, what do they see in Filipino workers; or the Philippines in general? The nation dubbed as "The Pearl of the Orient" is naturally a charming place that could easily entice foreigners to visit the country because of so many great reasons. Apart from being blessed with a great number of breathtaking wonders of nature and tourist attractions, Filipinos are gifted individuals with exceptional skills and work ethics. Basically, Philippines is known to be significantly knowledgeable with the English language, which is very much noticeable on how fluent they speak the words naturally. In addition to this, and speaking of character, Filipinos are committed to work and super inherent friendly people. Aside from these remarkable thoughts on the country and the Filipinos, what other positive aspects foreign investors see in the Philippine call center market, and why are they tremendously attracted. Here's an in-depth study as to why the Philippine contact center industry draw investors without fail.
The Key Reasons Why the Philippine Contact Center Industry Attracts Global Investors
Ideal Location
Strategic location is one big factor that lures investors to develop businesses. That's why business owners love the country because it is located right in the heart of Asia (the fastest growing in the continent). Accessibility is the key. The Philippines is situated within four hours flying time from the main capitals of central Asia. It is a significant point of entry to more than 500 million people in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market and an access of international shipping and air planes appropriate for American and European businesses as it is sited at the intersection of the eastern and western business.
Inexpensive Operating Costs
Investors would allocate just enough funds when starting up a business before risking splashing a huge amount of budget. It makes a lot of sense if business owners choose Philippines as the site where they can develop their business and functions because of the low-priced operation expenses. And compared to other nations from Southeast Asia, the Philippines is known to have a cheaper cost of living – one of the many reasons why foreigners love to stay or visit the country over and over again.
Comparing salaries here and in the Western world, compensation in the Philippine contact center industry are just a fraction of what they are receiving, with only about $8 per day set as the daily minimum wage. Newly graduated employees with college degrees from highly regarded schools can be employed with a monthly salary at around $300. Lower costs also applies to other business operating expenses such as office space leasing, supplies, third party services, and utilities can be.
Here's an overview on how investors could save up on their costs:
• 30-40% lower salary compared to Europe and the US, with a daily minimum wage of about 8 dollars a day
• 5–30% call center service savings
• 35–50% software development savings
• 50% lower electricity, telecommunication and utilities cost
Backed by the Government
The country has experienced series of political crisis in the past that caught up the business industry's growth. Political instability will drastically discourage any investor to setup his business in such volatile setting. But the ghosts of the pasts have gone and the Philippines have moved forward to advancement. The country that has been held stagnant amidst the rise of its neighboring countries is now on the rise and rediscovered – the country was back on track. The business environment grew stronger and bigger, allowing more room for development and foreign investors.
For more than a decade, the Philippines has maintained stability and carries on to expand to greater heights. Although the country is facing other issues, the industry proves to be amplifying as time goes by. These have served to further expand the value of the Philippine business process outsourcing industry with the government supplementing the materialization of BPO operations time after time.
Highly Skilled, College-Educated Workforce
Filipinos value education as an invaluable wealth. And the numbers reveal that the country has a very high literacy rate of about 92% – thanks to the basic education made obtainable to almost the entire population. Highly- reputable schools such as the University of the Philippines (UP), Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, and the University of Santo Tomas (UST) are institutions of higher education that consistently deliver graduates who notch top international positions. Furthermore, Filipinos are easily trainable. They are naturally fast-learners and eager to take on new challenges and going outside their comfort zones. Filipinos are naturally expressive and creative bunch that's why most of them opt for courses like mass communication, arts, web design, multimedia arts, animation, and a lot more. There are several schools and colleges that offer exceptional education and training in these creative fields aside from the universities mentioned.
Several years before BPO operations landed on the country, the Philippines constantly had a difficulty providing work to the hundreds of thousands of fresh graduates and other unemployed citizens seeking for decent careers annually because of its weak local economy in the past that led to a significant fraction to find greener pasture abroad. But thanks to the rapid growth of BPO industry in the Philippines, it generated major opportunities to Filipinos and eventually reduced the number of Filipinos leaving the country for an opportunity overseas. BPO firms are having a hassle-free time seeking for highly-skilled employees here in the Philippines compared to the situation in India where companies are finding it hard to look for the right people for the job. Character and skills-wise, the Filipinos are the strongest candidates suitable for BPO's nature of work.
Key features of Philippine workforce:
• Third largest English-speaking country in the world
• 92% literacy rate
• 400,000 college graduates produced per year
• Hardworking and Creative
• Adaptability to various work processes, lifestyles and cultures
Western Influence and Cultural Compatibility
Observing the way of life of the Filipinos and the society in general, clearly reveals that the country is strongly influenced by the Eastern region and pretty much compatible with the Western culture unlike other countries like China and India. Filipinos can be accustomed to any given situation, revealing their flexibility and versatility. Reviewing the rich history of the tropical country, the Philippines was once colonized by the Spaniards. After the Spanish colonization, the United States took over and ruled the country from 1899 to 1946. The U.S. left a huge part of their culture in which after their governance, the effects of the colonization are still evident until now.
Furthermore, movie theatres and television are practically devoted completely to American productions. The programs and films are shown in English only, and subtitles weren't available.
Even though the official language is Filipino, English is the main language for business and education in the Philippines. The Philippine government has thought about altering the official language from Filipino to English because of the fact that it used on broadly, considering most people from different countries around the world knows the language. With the great influence of the US, the Philippines had developed a government that is rather similar to the system the United States are following. As a result, this makes foreign business owners; specifically the companies in the Western side feel more comfortable developing their business in the Philippines.
Expanding and Stable Economy
Companies are willing to invest in a healthy and established working environment, given the economy is stable and moving ahead. Foreign investors have seen the potentials of the Philippine BPO industry and what can it accomplish in order to achieve success. Potential clients as well are attracted to the growing economy of the Philippines, which was paved even stronger by the evident success of the Philippine contact center industry over the years. The government completely supports the endeavors of the Philippine BPO industry because it has developed into one of the main profit generator of the country. As a matter of fact, they have arranged special economic zones and set up a Philippine Economic Zone Authority and grant financial and non-financial incentive such as a 4 to 8-year income tax holiday to business process outsourcing companies. Even India's service providers, which is among the major options for business process outsourcing, has established business operations in the Philippines for the past several years.
The Philippines is well-positioned to develop into one of the most excellent offshore outsourcing destinations worldwide. In addition, Metro Manila gets the highest concentration of business process outsourcing activities with a whopping 80 percent. However, other major cities and provinces are also joining the BPO scene, emerging as an ideal option to become perfect IT-BPO hubs where additional companies can develop and run their business operations. Areas like Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, and Pampanga have shown great potential to be great options to Metro Manila with their team of English-speaking and skillful talents and beneficial business environment. These regions are dubbed as the Next Wave Cities of the Philippine contact center industry. A large part of the country's success in the BPO industry is owed to the efforts of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP). The association plays a significant role in endorsing the Philippines as the best location of choice. BPAP also provide constant support to the BPO players. BPAP is working together with government agencies to improve the education system even further since the industry is mainly driven by skills and talent. They are as well applying industry-specific training courses to sharpen the raw talent and skills of Filipino workers and make them apt for business process outsourcing nature of work.
The proof of accomplishments of the Philippine BPO industry can be seen everywhere in the Metro Manila and in some other progressing provinces and small cities. BPO companies are everywhere in Metro Manila such as Magellan Solutions and several well-known companies who chose to settle in the Philippines. As the country strengthens it economic power, it has achieved a new reputation as the chosen BPO destination, "the One," a perfect source of extremely trained labor workforce, and of course – the home of the friendliest and most accommodating people in Southeast Asia… or let's say, the world. Now that is why everyone is attracted to the Philippines.


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Posted By Word Worship Team | March 25, 2017 | Posted In The Church Will Sing
Posted By Word Worship Team | January 16, 2017 | Posted In Chris August
Chris August releases a new lyric video for the song, "Pieces".
Posted By Word Worship Team | September 30, 2016 | Posted In Zealand Worship
Find out why Zealand Worship doesn't hang out on the various social media platforms in this video as Phil Joel sits with Michael Farren recently at the All About Worship Headquarters in Franklin, TN
Posted By Word Worship Team | September 28, 2016 | Posted In Blanca
We say it often here at Word Worship Music that worship was never intended to be a genre of music. Blanca's voice is such a blessing to hear carry this song by Jesus Culture.


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Hopper Dumpers, Tilters, and Inverters Datasheets
from Econo Lift Limited
Base sizes. 48 " wide x 36 " long and 50 " wide x 50 " long. Dumping angle. 0 - 120 degrees. Retaining bar. Fixed bar - mounted 3 " above container height, located above opening. Spring loaded bar available for multiple container heights (optional). Safety. Velocity... [See More]
- Bulk Container Type: Hopper
- Weight Capacity: 1000
- Equipment Type: Dumper / Tilter
- Dump Height: 3
from Vecoplan, LLC
The QS vibratory dosing feeder is the ideal intermediate bunker for bark, chips, logs, boards, sawmill waste, old wood, RDF fluff, etc. and is used for the dosing of materials. The maximum length available is 6 m, the maximum drive capacity is 16 KW and the maximum delivery rate is 10 m/min. [See More]
- Bulk Container Type: Hopper
- Common Features: Vibrator
- Equipment Type: Dumper / Tilter
from Roura Material Handling, Inc.
FEATURES: 72" LONG HEAVY DUTY BASE, SLIDE BOLT LATCH, BASE TO BODY CHAINS, BODY REINFORCED WITH 3 ROWS OF ANGLES, PAINTED SAFETY GREEN, UP TO 10,000# CAPACITY. 8 THROUGH 10 YARD HOPPERS HAVE EXTENDED HANDLES. CONSTRUCTION: Body is 3/16" plate with 1/4" plate bottoms standard on 9 and 10 cu. yd. [See More]
- Bulk Container Type: Hopper
- Weight Capacity: 10000
- Equipment Type: Dumper / Tilter
- Common Features: Integral Hopper or Bin; Portable (optional feature)


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I am tremendously excited to announce the launch of a new cookbook penned by the duo behind the award-winning website CT Bites! "Fairfield County Chef's Table Extraordinary Recipes from Connecticut's Gold Coast," published by Lyons Press, will go on sale tomorrow at local booksellers and Amazon.com.
A beautiful representation of the area's culinary treasures, the cookbook features more than 50 mouth-watering recipes and gorgeous full-color photos from Fairfield County's diverse swath of restaurants – everything from four-star dining to burgers to ethnic specialties. Imagine being able to prepare a salad from Stamford's Napa & Co, alongside an entree from Bonda in Fairfield, and dessert courtesy of Chocopologie – all in your own kitchen…it's akin to Christmas morning for the food obsessed.
I had a chance to catch up with the author, Amy Kundrat and photographer, Stephanie Webster, to discuss the cookbook, their fortuitous partnership, and what's next for CT Bites!
Fairfieldista: How did the two of you meet and how did you decide to launch CT Bites?
Amy: I've always been obsessed with travel and food and I realized I knew more about great food in other cities than my own back yard. I came across CTbites shortly after Stephanie launched it, and latched on for dear life. In those early days because it was one of the few places you could go to find like-minded gourmands who were curious and thoughtful about food culture. Stephanie and I work so well together because we are definitely food sympatico. For us, it's about seeking out the best and the unique, not just casting a wide net.
Stephanie: I have always been obsessed with food. When I moved to Westport, CT in 2007, I immediately set out to find the best of everything edible in the 20 mile radius. Finding few credible culinary online resources, I decided the only solution was to launch my own. The site evolved into a multi-voice platform quickly as I realized, there was only so much I could consume or document alone. Amy joined the team very shortly thereafter, and together we created the blueprint and vision for CTbites.
Fairfieldista: How did you transition from Fairfield County's favorite food bloggers to cookbook authors?
Amy: We've built the CTbites platform with the help of many great writers. Our goal has always to provide insight beyond what you may be able to glean yourself by walking into a restaurant and glancing at the menu and to go behind the scenes, do the legwork, and get to the deeper story. A book seemed like a great way to represent the essence of what we've accomplished in Fairfield County.
Stephanie: So much of CTbites' success is relationship based. Our goal has always been to support the culinary community by highlighting the very best of the CT food scene. This book is a natural extension of the sentiment.
Fairfieldista: How did you select the restaurants and the recipes in the book?
Amy: If I could, I would have included everyone over the years that I've written about. Unfortunately print is not as forgiving as pixels. Our goal from the publisher was about 50 restaurants that represented the entire county, representing a spectrum of cuisines, approaches, and price points. I'm already thinking of how to update, reorganize and include even more chefs this in the next release!
Fairfieldista: The photography is absolutely gorgeous…what's the secret to taking beautiful food photographs?
Stephanie: If you are not walking around with bounce cards and pro equipment, here are a few basics. 1. Always scout out a location with nice flat light, preferably near a window, but avoid harsh direct mid day sunlight. 2. Bring the focal point to the front, meaning don't worry about keeping the entire frame in focus. Food shots look better if the Aperture is set large for a shorter depth of field. 3. As in any photography, you have to have a feel for the subject. I tend to get very up close and personal. It may just be a donut or bowl of pasta but make it the hero. 4. When in doubt, shoot overhead.
Fairfieldista: Speaking of photography…how did you get some of the more elusive chefs to pose for photos?
Stephanie: Perseverance…and patience. Chefs are a busy lot. You need to be flexible and work around their schedules. However, this challenge was made easier due to the fact that we have worked so closely with the local chefs via CTbites. We were able to leverage the relationships we had built with many of the local chefs over the past 5 years.
Fairfieldista: What was the biggest challenge in creating the cookbook? What was the most fun?
Amy: Wrangling, er, organizing the chefs was the biggest challenge. Reaching out to over 50 chefs and trying to convince them to give you a recipe was a bit of a challenge. Many of them don't write down their recipes, or even want to. As a result there are some chefs missing that I would have loved to include. The most fun? Seeing it come together and hopefully reading/hearing about people making the recipes.
Stephanie: Ditto
Fairfieldista: What do you love to cook at home?
Amy: This will come as no surprise to those that know me, but I love cooking pizza. I'm constantly experimenting with dough fermentation and toppings. And I am also master of what I call the MacGuyver, cleaning out the refrigerator or pantry to create something worth calling dinner.
Stephanie: I prefer not to cook at all to be honest. I enjoy my food much more when prepared by someone else.
Fairfieldista: What do you love about the food scene in Fairfield County?
Amy: The people. I do this to meet and tell the stories of the people behind the food.
Stephanie: I would have to agree. The creativity and passion that drives our chefs, local vendors, and restaurateurs is inspiring. I have enjoyed getting to know each and every person in the CT food scene.
Fairfieldista: I realize this is like asking which child is your favorite, but what are your favorite restaurants?
Amy: There is no one absolute, so I am going to dodge the question by saying there are favorite restaurants for moments, cravings, and occasions and they are all in the book. For brunch, I adore Sugar & Olives. If I am craving Italian, I head to La Zingara. My favorite neighborhood restaurants (which are not in my 'hood) are Match and South End. When I have out of town guests, which feels like once a month, we head to Community Table. For coffee, it's Espresso Neat, hands-down. For a weekend errand lunch, you can't beat a 109 Cheese & Wine sandwich….I can tell you a favorite for each craving!
Stephanie: Hmm….That's a tough one. I can tell you where I eat most frequently these days. You will most likely find me weekly at Bodega, Valencia Luncheria, The Whelk, Rainbow Thai in Westport, Fortina in Armonk, The Spread and Match.
Fairfieldista: What else can we expect from the CT Bites team? Is there another book on the horizon?
Amy + Stephanie: Expansion. We have two new markets we are expanding to in the coming months. Stay tuned!
Fairfieldista: Where can people buy the book locally?
Amy: Local bookstores, online on Amazon and B&N, as well as Barnes & Noble in Milford and Westport, where we will be hosting two book signings in the coming months.
April 27: Barnes & Noble, Milford
May 17: Barnes & Noble, Westport
May TBD: 109 Cheese & Wine, Ridgefield
[Other events, To be scheduled but we are looking at Stamford and Norwalk]


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University of the Arts London
Course Introduction
This LCF course prepares you for a career in fashion illustration and related fields through exploring a wide range of traditional and contemporary approaches to drawing and image creation. You will develop your drawing skills and experiment with different media, and learn a wide range of illustrative, graphic and visual communication skills, together with the academic, professional and business skills necessary for success in the contemporary creative industries. The specialist curriculum is underpinned by drawing, enhanced by digital technology, photography, moving image and animation. You will be encouraged to develop your own personal visual language. The course provides you with opportunities for industry experience through live industry projects, placements, work experience and national competitions. You will be based in Lime Grove in Shepherd's Bush, just west of Holland Park and Notting Hill.
Course Modules
Year 1: Introduction to study in higher education (fashion illustration); fashion illustration and drawn images; introduction to cultural and historical studies; cross media narratives; fashion illustration and moving images. Year 2: Cultural and historical studies; the client brief; professional development (fashion illustration); research methods for illustration; creative directions. Year 3: Concept and research development; cultural and historical studies dissertation; final major project for fashion illustration.
|Duration & Attendance
|Tuition fees
|Fee type
3 years
Full Time
|BA (Hons)
3 years
Full Time
|BA (Hons)
Qualifications required:
- International qualifications
- Interview


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Highbridge Recreation Center
Membership Information | Holiday Schedule
2301 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY 10033
Cross Streets:
West 173rd Street & Amsterdam
Directions via Google Maps
Located in Highbridge Park
Center Management:
Jennifer Gonzales (Center Manager)
Phone: (212) 927-2012 (212) 927-2400
Fax:(212) 927-2063
This is an Accessible Recreation Center.
United States veterans and people with disabilities can now become recreation center members for only $25 per year. Visit or call any recreation center to find out more.
Additional Information
Please note: This facility shuts its doors at closing time. Registration hours end at least 30 minutes before closing time. Other activities may shut down 15 minutes early.
Recreation centers operate in seasonal schedules, with program availability additionally affected by Parks' afterschool and summer camps. Programs rotate in the following increments: January - March, April - June, July - September and October - December.
Media Labs follow their own 6-12 week schedules, depending on the type of class being offered.
On holidays (New Year's Day and Eve, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Easter, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Election Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day and Eve, and Christmas Day and Eve), recreation center hours will change. Please visit our Recreation Center Holiday Schedule for details.
Recreation Center Membership Gift Cards
Give the Gift of Sports, Fitness and Fun!
Purchase a Recreation Center Membership Gift Card, and share the joy of health with a family member, friend, or loved one. Gift Cards may be redeemed at any one of Parks' 35 recreation centers across New York City.
Building Hours
Monday - Friday:
Saturday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Accessible Fitness Equipment (3)
Locker Room (2)
Baseball Field (1)
Media Lab (1)
Basketball Court (Indoor) (1)
Multipurpose Room (1)
Cardio Room (1)
Performance Space (1)
Dance Room (1)
Playground (1)
Fitness Room (1)
Pool (Outdoor) (2)
Game Room (1)
Table Tennis Table (2)
Gymnasium (1)


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jack_oscrolloscope is a simple waveform viewer for JACK. The waveform is displayed in realtime, so you can always see the signal the instant it comes through JACK's input port.
|Sound/Audio Analysis multimedia oscilloscope Jack
|Operating Systems
|POSIX Linux
|C OpenGL SDL Jack
Release Notes: This release is the first to use OpenGL drawing by default, though it's still possible to use SDL instead. Command line options were added to change the color and height of each track individually, and a lock-up problem that could occur especially under high load was fixed.
Release Notes: This version adds a command line parameter to set the JACK client name.
Release Notes: This release uses jack_client_open() and shows the actual JACK client name in the window title.
Release Notes: jack_oscrolloscope is now a lot smarter when it comes to calculating appropriate audio buffer sizes depending in samplerate, scrolling speed, etc.
A Fluent OpenStack client API for Java.
A TWiki appliance that is easy to use and lightweight.


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My bb was creaking bad towards the end of the season so I decided to pull the bb. I got my bb out of my stumpy last night using a punch and malllet.
So when I pickup a new bb does it come with the plastic cups and seals? Also any tips on getting the new bb back in the frame. I was just gonna use a block of wood and a mallet. No sense in buying a expensive press. Or I can make one with a threaded rod, nuts,and washers.
Dam I miss my threaded bb on my old stumpy, hate these new PF bb.


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atg.service.collections.filter.StartEndDateFilter class is used to evaluate the objects in a collection based on start and end date properties. ATG Relationship Management includes one component of this class:
StartEndDateFilter has two properties,
startDatePropertyName and
endDatePropertyName that map to Date properties on the objects in the collection. By default, these properties are set to
startDate and
endDate respectively, anticipating that the objects in the collection have properties with these names. Filtering is based on whether objects are "started" or have "ended," relative to the date the collection filter is executed.
For example, an object remains in the result set collection when the following are both
The object's
startDatevalue is a date that occurs before the day the page is requested or is null. Objects without a
startDateproperty also remain.
The object's
endDatevalue is a date that occurs after the day the page is requested or is null. Objects without an
endDateproperty also remain.
You can access the
StartEndDateFilter component through the
/atg/collections/filter/droplet/StartEndDateFilterDroplet servlet bean. When you use the servlet bean, the resultant content is cached by default. For more information on caching, see Caching Filtered Content.


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MISD's superintendent designee pick: A man who brings people together
Published 7:00 pm, Friday, May 14, 2010
MARBLE FALLS — Although residents of this 7,000 population Central Texas town knew their superintendent would leave eventually, they still take it personally he's coming to Midland.
His regard for teachers, communication skills, diplomacy, ability to work with large groups, improvement of test scores and "just being a good guy" are the things people say about Ryder Warren, who is scheduled to sign his contract as superintendent of Midland Independent School District on May 18. He replaces Superintendent Sylvester Perez, who retires effective June 30.
Warren is coming from a 4,000-student district to one with more than 21,000 kids. But those who know him say he won't have a problem adjusting so long as his administrative team is good and communication lines are open.
"We see it as a wonderful challenge for me as a professional and we see it as a wonderful move for us as a family," said Warren, who has three children with his wife, Jill. "I do have a lot of family in this area. My oldest son will be a freshman next year. We made the decision that we didn't want to move him while he was in high school."
A Sundown native, Warren has also been superintendent for Thornhill and Crane ISDs. Midland school board Vice President Tommy Bishop was on the Crane board when Warren was hired.
Bishop said Warren has grown and learned through his experience. "Ryder was the kind of person who was very upfront with the board," Bishop said. "He never blindsided the board with any surprises. He communicated that to the board. He was very upfront — whether it was good, bad or indifferent."
He said he's looking forward to having Warren come on board in Midland as is the superintendent designee.
"When the opportunity to apply and come to Midland came around, we thought this would probably be the opportunity we were looking for. It turned out to be just as wonderful as we thought it would be," Warren said.
Of course he appreciates his tenure and the people of Marble Falls, where he has been school chief for seven years.
"This place has been very good to us," Warren said during a May 7 interview in his MFISD office. "As a superintendent, you come into schools and try to do your very best. Some stay two, three years. This has been… a very good fit for us. There have been other job opportunities over the last seven years. It never has felt right, not like we're feeling about Midland now."
Warren said he's not apprehensive about MISD's size, but he has to ensure communication lines are open. He plans to be open with parents, staff, teachers and kids. "I won't change a lot of what I've done here," he said. "I need a lot of good help."
He said he does nothing by himself and is looking forward to becoming part of the administrative team and the "Team of Eight," as the board and superintendent are sometimes called.
He wants to have the pulse of the district and doesn't want to be surprised by anything. Warren said principals should be able to tell him anything and he'll decide what needs to be passed on to the board and media.
"I think we do get into trouble a lot of times when we don't have open relations with people around us," Warren said.
His success has come from honest dealings with people.
"Being wishy-washy, I think, is a very negative issue with somebody in my position. I've got to be the same person every day and listen and understand what the needs of the community are," he said.
In his first year in the Tall City, he plans to do a lot of listening.
MISD has the immediate concerns of an academically unacceptable state rating and its bilingual program, which has been cause for concern lately.
Asked about his plans to reverse the poor ratings, Warren said right now he's only thinking about closing out the Marble Falls ISD school year and working with Perez on the transition to Midland.
During his tenure at Marble Falls, said board member Kelly R. Fox, the district underwent grade reconfiguration as a way of improving academics and it worked, offering a chance for more vertical alignment (teacher communication between the grades) and fewer transitions to help reduce dropouts.
Perez has instituted C-SCOPE, a comprehensive, customized, user-friendly curriculum support system developed by education service centers from across Texas, and many other programs at MISD.
"That's a difficult curriculum with teachers," Fox said, referring to C-SCOPE. "… But I think (it) has really helped our scores. I have a daughter in elementary school, so I see the lesson plans they do with the children. I'm pretty involved in Marble Falls Elementary and it's impressive."
After being named lone finalist for MISD superintendent April 26, Warren sent an e-mail to everyone in Marble Falls ISD. Colt Elementary School instructional technologist Michelle Noble, who counts Warren as a friend, cried at her desk the morning she found out he was leaving.
"I'm happy and excited for him," Noble said. "I know he has family in West Texas, but I'm so sad to see him go. He's an amazing person to work for and get to know. His regard for the welfare of our children and of our school district is evident in what he does for the children of the district.
"You guys have scored big time. You've won the pot of gold, as far as I'm concerned. You are in for a real treat."
Marble Falls school board President Martin McLean said the panel had just approved extending Warren's contract by a 7-0 vote.
"We knew this day was coming because he's a young man. He stayed longer than expected," McLean said, adding Warren has had job offers before and was a finalist for the Highland Park ISD superintendent's post a couple of years ago.
McLean said there's not much to dislike about Warren, who has experience with property wealthy districts, avoided controversy and built new facilities financed by a $62 million bond issue passed in 2006. That bond issue, he said, had many doubters.
He speaks at service organizations, offers updates to the city council and visits any employee or member of an employee's family in the hospital, said McLean.
The bond issue financed construction of a new elementary school, complete renovation of a second elementary school, an addition to a third elementary, complete renovation of the middle school, a new wing on the high school and a new athletic complex. Administration moved to a renovated elementary school.
Board member Karl Westerman said the bond was passed just before the economy tanked. "We hit it just right. That being said, Dr. Warren's leadership was instrumental in getting that thing passed. It was roughly twice the size of the school's annual budget (of $33 million)."
Warren's arrival as Marble Falls ISD superintendent was serendipitous. He applied for the job, but backed out because of commitments in Crane he had to take care of.
Marble Falls hired someone else, but at the 21-day mark — the amount of time state law says a district has to wait before officially hiring a superintendent — their first choice withdrew, Westerman said.
The search firm, Horn, Smith, Wood & Preston LLC of Terrell, went back to Warren to see if he was still interested in the Marble Falls job. By then, Westerman said, Warren had taken care of his affairs in Crane and was free to go for the position.
"(Warren) had a five-hour interview with the board and we hired him on the spot," Westerman said. "You can get a real sense about who somebody is and what they're capable of. I can't put my finger on it, but there was no question the board felt unanimously he was the right guy for the job."
When Warren was hired in Marble Falls, the district was struggling with low test scores and loss of trust with the community and between the administration and school board. "We had a couple of school board elections and incumbents were not being re-elected," Westerman said.
"We had really lost trust with the community. We needed somebody who could be extremely honest and rebuild that trust. He has done a stellar job."
There are always detractors, but Westerman and fellow trustees noted superintendents often make decisions that upset people. "He's done a remarkable job here," said Westerman.
"He's leaving us in a lot better shape than he found us."
Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Christian Fletcher echoed much of what Westerman said, noting Warren involves his whole leadership team and makes them feel part of the program.
"He's a good, solid, well-rounded individual," said Fletcher, reporting that the chamber this year named Warren citizen of the year — the first time a superintendent had won the award in its 50-year history. "He's bringing new residents to the community and new business owners and impacting the economy in positive ways.
"There is a tie-in to the economic side."
Fletcher said the new stadium, for example, was built as a potential playoff site, introducing people from across the state to Marble Falls.
"He has the right kind of mindset for development where he wants to have things the community can be proud of," Fletcher said.
As a person, Fletcher said, Warren has good character and a lot of integrity.
"He's a genuinely good person and very diplomatic. He always wants to see all sides of every issue. He has a nice balance of taking responsibility where it needs to be taken and knowing that the buck stops with him. He does a fantastic job of involving his principals, assistant principals and central office team making them feel part of the program," Fletcher said.
MISD's student population is 53.9 percent Hispanic, 35 percent white, 9.5 percent African-American, .5 percent Native American and 1.1 percent Asian/Pacific Islander.
The Marble Falls district's population is 60.2 percent white, 36.1 percent Hispanic, 2.6 percent African-American, .4 percent Native American and .7 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, according to the TEA.
Warren and his administration changed the elementary school boundaries to create diversity. "He wanted them to all to be representative of the entire community," Fletcher said.
City Manager Ralph Hendricks has worked for the city of Marble Falls for four years and worked with the school district on permits and site plans for its new facilities.
He said one of the things he most appreciated about Warren was his ability to "maneuver through those different minefields that occur with a multi-site, multi-year, multi-million dollar project."
"One of the things that also impressed me with Dr. Warren was he involved many, many people in the community in those sessions to determine what was needed for the school system. He was able to take large groups of people and bring them together for a collective reason," Hendricks said.
That communication runs through the personal relationship between the city manager and superintendent. "He and I met at least once a month to see how our different agencies were working together," Hendricks said, adding it was always a relaxed, "peer-on-peer" atmosphere.
"And I appreciate that. He's always talking about the good of the kids, the good of the staff and the good of the community. If there were issues, it was put that there were things to work through, not so much, "'We've got problems.'"
Hendricks noted the city and county work with other municipalities in Burnet County, including Bertram, Burnet, Cottonwood Shores, Granite Shoals, Highland Haven, Horseshoe Bay and Meadowlakes in addition to unincorporated communities.
"We worked together recently on transportation plans and water issues," he said.
Colt Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization President Nancy Floyd said Warren was concerned about how parents perceived decisions made by the administration.
"I have observed him at the high school, the elementary schools and as a community peer at Little League baseball games and he's always been outgoing and positive with the children, parents and district employees," Floyd said.
"He visits one or another of all campuses almost daily and is always ready with a greeting for anyone he meets."
Ruth Campbell can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Improving test scores
Keeping in mind that accountability standards have changed since 2003 — when incoming Superintendent Ryder Warren began his Marble Falls stint, Texas Education Agency information says 63 percent of students passed all tests in Marble Falls — reading/English language arts, math, writing, science and social studies, compared to 58 percent statewide.
It rose to 72 percent in 2004, compared to 68 percent statewide.
In 2008, Marble Falls' passing rate on all tests was 74 percent and that rose to 75 percent in 2009. Statewide for 2008, the passing rate was 72 percent and 74 percent in 2009.
Midland's passing rate for all tests in 2008 was 69 percent, compared to 72 percent statewide and 66 percent in 2009, compared to 74 percent statewide. Its passing rate in 2003 was 62 percent, compared to 58 percent statewide, and 70 percent in 2004, compared to 68 percent statewide, according to TEA.
Ryder Forrest Warren biography
Personal: Married to Jill Warren for 20 years.
Children: Joshua, 14, Taylor Ann, 12, Boomer, 11
Education: Doctor of education in educational leadership, Texas Tech University; master of education in education administration, Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos; bachelor's degree, Angelo State University, San Angelo.
Certifications: Superintendent in grades prekindergarten through 12 (issue date Feb. 21, 1998); mid-management administration (issue date July 8, 1996); secondary English, grades six through 12, issue date Aug. 17, 1990); and secondary physical education, grades six through 12 (issue date Aug. 17, 1990).
Professional experience: Superintendent of Marble Falls ISD, July 2003-present, 4,000 students; superintendent of Crane ISD, June 2001-June 2003, 1,020 students; superintendent of Thorndale ISD, August 1999-May 2001, 525 students.
-Adjunct instructor at Texas Tech's Department of Educational Leadership.
-Principal of Whiteface Junior/Senior High School in Whiteface Consolidated Independent School District.
-Principal of Crosbyton Middle School, Crosbyton ISD.
-Teacher and coach at Georgetown High School.
Professional organizations and committee involvement:
-University Interscholastic League State Executive Committee, 2003-present
-American Association of School Administrators, 2001-present
-Texas Association of School Administrators, 1999-present
-TASA Executive Committee
-Superintendent's Visioning Institute
Texas Superintendent Mentoring Program
Texas School Coalition, 2001-present
-TSC Executive Committee
-Texas Association of Community Schools, 1999-present
-TACS Legislative Committee
Service organization involvement
-Highland Lakes Legacy Fund, 2005-present
Member of the board of directors
-Marble Falls Boys and Girls Club of America, 2003-present
Member of the board of directors
Noon Rotary Club, Horseshoe Bay, 2003-present
Chamber of Commerce, Marble Falls, 2003-present
Lions Club of Crane, 2001-2003
-Officer-Vice President
Honors and awards
-Received the 2009 Outstanding Citizen Award from the Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce
-Received the Community Builder Award in 2007 from the Marble Falls Chapter of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Texas.
-Received "Who's Who Among America's Teachers Award" in 1996 as an educator for Georgetown ISD.
-Received the Excellence in Teaching Award in 1995 as an English teacher at Georgetown High School.
Professional accomplishments:
-In the fall of 2003, all six regular campuses in Marble Falls were rated academically acceptable. Over the last seven years, two elementary campuses are now rated exemplary, two elementary campuses are recognized and Marble Falls High School is recognized.
-Highland Lakes Elementary School, one of four elementary campuses in the district, was awarded the No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools Award in 2005. The NCLB Blue Ribbon Schools program honors public and private kindergarten through 12th grade schools that are either academically superior in their states or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement.
-Facilitated a community education program about district needs and constructed a plan to meet those needs resulting in the passage of a $62.3 million bond. The project included one new elementary campus to replace an old one; renovation and expansion of the middle school; expansion of an elementary school; expansion of the high school; construction of an extracurricular facility at the high school; renovation of an elementary campus into the district's central office complex and credit recovery high school.
The bond was approved by voters in 2006 and projects were finished during the 2009-2010 school year.
-Initiated a program of modifications to help build up the gifted and talented programs. Worked collaboratively with individual departments to plan and align curriculum guidelines to specialized needs of those students.
-Studied various approaches and programs to help bridge the gaps for at-risk children.
-Studied the partnerships of quality programs relating to various forms of school scheduling to find the "best fit" to meet student needs.


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H.M. Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire to open Rombourne's new Swindon site
The forty-one year old Welsh company provides serviced office accommodation across prime locations in Newport, Cardiff and Bristol, and has long seen Swindon as a key area to expand into. "Needless to say, we're thrilled that the Lord-Lieutenant has agreed to conduct the ceremony. It'll be a landmark day for us," says Rombourne's Chairman, Denis Donovan.
Rombourne purchased Kingston House at the end of 2013, and immediately started to renovate the 17,000sq ft building. "We've redeveloped it so that it's now a prestigious, 5-star business centre; offering up to 190 workstations in a range of 3 to 25 person offices," says Mr Donovan.
The building is Grade A, rated as 'BREEAM Very Good', and fully air conditioned. ywtvbb It also has high speed broadband access, allowing Rombourne to offer tenants flexible IT and telephony services.
Rombourne is already receiving enquiries for Kingston House, according to Sales Director, Matt Read. "The fact that it has such excellent M4 access makes it very popular – it's just off J16 of the M4. Plus the ability to move in, plug in, and simply get on with your business straight away is very appealing; as is the knowledge that office space can be quickly expanded or decreased, with virtually no hassle. The cost of serviced offices is not as high as people might expect, and the fact that so many businesses are opting for it shows how on balance, it's a very attractive option."
More information about Kingston House and Rombourne's other serviced offices is available from firstname.lastname@example.com / www.rombourne.co.uk / tel 0845 6010 270. ENDS.
Jenny Batters, JB Marketing and PR
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Techniques Magazine Techniques Magazine May 2011 : Page 28
STUDENT LEADERShIP Qualities that Student Leadership BY DONNA RICE Exem L iterature about leadership is abundant—and yet a concise understanding of what leader-ship entails remains elusive. As with most aspects of highly effective people, effective leadership begins with the individual. Until a person is self-actualized, external relationships and communications are often unpredictable and potentially flawed. The paradox is that young people need exposure to situa-tions that require them to lead, in order to develop individual skills that will enable them to be successful group and commu-nity leaders. Effective student leaders step out and risk failure because they know failure and disappointment are a normal part of growth. They work hard to learn about leadership and welcome opportunities to hone their skills for leadership. As with learning a foreign language, success is gained not from the classroom instruction about language (though very important), but from learning for fluency through im -mersion. At first, new language students have a hard time expressing themselves and understanding what others are say-ing. They definitely mispronounce many of their words, which sometimes invokes others' laughter and their own embar-rassment. Language learners are forced to take risks, exposing themselves to criti-www.acteonline.org PhOTO COURTESY OF ThE U.S. ARMY 28 Techniques Ma Y 2011 Mentoring, tutoring, and computer skills— all a part of the JROTC program.
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What Naipaul Got Right, and Wrong, About India
While reading a shocking report about extrajudicial killings and torture by Indian security forces in Kashmir, I was reminded of V.S. Naipaul's "India: A Million Mutinies Now," arguably the most influential book about modern India.
More than two decades after the book was published, India is full of ominous signs of the breakdown of governance and the increasing recourse to violence by the Indian state as well as extremist groups. And so it was strange to read Naipaul's optimistic take on an earlier phase of this turmoil: "Many of these movements of excess strengthened the Indian state, defining it as a source of law and civility and reasonableness."
The special pleading here actually belies the prophetic cast of many of Naipaul's observations, which have shaped much recent writing and thinking about the country, from Sunil Khilnani's "The Idea of India" to Suketu Mehta's "Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found."
Naipaul traveled in the late 1980s to Mumbai, South India, communist-ruled Bengal, Lucknow, Delhi and Kashmir. His interlocutors came from a carefully chosen sample of Indians: poor Muslims, upper-caste Hindus, Sikhs, Kashmiri Muslims, Punjabis, Tamils, ex-communists and Dalits, formerly untouchable Hindus. Naipaul even sought out the producers and consumers of women's magazines.
Simple Thesis
Out of these varied encounters, Naipaul drew a simple yet irrefutable thesis about India: "People everywhere have ideas of who they are and what they owe themselves."
You could argue with Naipaul about whether India's "civilization" had really been "wounded" by decayed Hindu rituals, barbaric Muslim invaders and a sterile Gandhism. Nevertheless, he seemed to have had brilliantly intuited that many long-suppressed Indians, galvanized by ideas of freedom and dignity, were now finally revolting against their wretched circumstances.
Intriguingly, such upbeat assessments of India's latent energies reflected a 180-degree turn in Naipaul's thinking about the land of his ancestors. This was the same writer who had skittishly charged in the early 1960s that "Indians defecate everywhere" -- and made this proclamation, equally hyperbolic, in the mid-1970s: "India needed a new code, but it had none. There were no rules; and India was discovering again that it was cruel and horribly violent."
Cruising down the road to Damascus in 1990, Naipaul wasn't deluded into thinking that there was anything nonviolent or benign about India's million mutinies. In fact, they were "supported by 20 kinds of group excess, sectarian excess, religious excess, regional excess." Nevertheless, the eruptions of rage had to be contrasted with what didn't exist before in India: "a central will, a central intellect, a national idea."
"What the mutinies were helping to define," he wrote, "was the strength of the general intellectual life, and the wholeness and humanism of the values to which all Indians could appeal." So, as Naipaul saw it, "the mutinies were not to be wished away. They were part of the beginning of a new way for millions, part of India's growth, part of its restoration."
It is worth asking today: Has a writer ever been more wrong and more right at the same time?
In retrospect, Naipaul had chosen in 1990 a perversely unpromising moment to bet on the Indian state's ability to arbitrate -- and eventually defuse -- the million mutinies. Militant insurgencies in Punjab and Kashmir, the assassination of a prime minister, and pogroms against Muslims and Sikhs had made the 1980s the most violent decade in modern Indian history.
New Inequalities
Two years after the publication of "A Million Mutinies Now," the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party would demolish a medieval mosque in North India. Then, rising on a wave of anti-Muslim violence, it would assume power in Delhi in 1998 and immediately conduct nuclear tests.
Assaults on minorities, especially in Kashmir, would intensify, culminating in the mass murder, assisted by the local government, of more than 2,000 Muslims in the state of Gujarat in 2002. Economic globalization, while benefiting a small minority, would graft new inequalities of income and opportunity on to India's older hierarchies of caste.
But Naipaul saw India, especially its Hindu majority, making another tryst with destiny. In his own version of the Hegelian-Marxian dialectic, conflict helped usher India into a higher stage of progress. It was a kind of national development that, to use Lenin's words, "proceeds in spirals, not in a straight line; a development by leaps, catastrophes and revolutions."
To be sure, Naipaul hadn't relied on any grand teleology to hail the progress of India's democratic revolution. He worked, as always, from the story he had constructed of his own life. Phrases such as "central will" and "national idea" always had a great emotional appeal for Naipaul, who grew up with a bewilderingly mixed identity in a politically insignificant country (Trinidad). He extrapolated from his own improbable success as a self-made writer from nowhere to evoke a future for India in which most of its citizens would, after some necessary struggle, find happiness.
Indeed, Naipaul was much taken with the American idea of happiness. As he said in a lecture at the Manhattan Institute in 1990: "So much is contained in it: the idea of the individual, responsibility, choice, the life of the intellect, the idea of vocation and perfectibility and achievement. It is an immense human idea."
But, unlike most of his conservative audience that day, Naipaul did not see big government as obstructing the private pursuit of happiness. He partook rather of the assumption -- commonplace among Third World intellectuals -- that the state was the prime agent of the spirit of history, whose central intellect and will assist and protect its citizens as they seek material and intellectual fulfilment.
Losing Legitimacy
Though alert to the failures and disasters of postcolonial regimes in Africa, Naipaul strangely could not see -- the consequence, perhaps, of his excessive reliance on individual encounters and near-total indifference to political economy -- how the Indian state was rapidly losing its credibility and legitimacy in the 1970s and '80s.
In "A Million Mutinies Now," he completely missed how the central government had cynically encouraged, even helped create, the secessionist minority of Sikhs in Punjab, or how it had routinely rigged elections in Muslim-majority Kashmir, finally forcing its peaceable population to take up arms in the late '80s.
As the '90s progressed, Naipaul confused his cherished "national idea" and "central intellect" with irruptions of a xenophobic nationalism among a minority of middle-class and upper-caste Hindus. Not surprisingly, he hailed the BJP's vandalizing of a mosque in 1992 as a great historical "awakening."
It is not clear what he makes of the demoralizing spectacle today of the undermining of the Indian state's central will by crony capitalism and allegations of gargantuan venality, and the replacement of the national idea by private fantasies of rapid self-enrichment.
In 1990, Naipaul was perfectly placed to describe the magnitude and vitality of India's experiment with democracy, if not foresee the paradoxical result of its success: fragmentation into multiple competing political and economic interests, and incoherence and paralysis at the center.
Certainly, Naipaul's early predictions about politicized and motivated Indians have been abundantly ratified. But, for all their literary power, his writings cannot lighten the task of those who struggle to decipher today -- in the larger postcolonial world as well as in India -- the million mutinies that continue to erupt in the great void of the national idea.
(Pankaj Mishra is the author of "From the Ruins of Empire: The Revolt Against the West and the Remaking of Asia" and a Bloomberg View columnist, based in London and Mashobra, India. The opinions expressed are his own.)
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To contact the editor responsible for this article: Michael Newman at email@example.com


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43 CFR 19.3 - Reviews of roadless areas and roadless islands.
(a) The Secretary is required by section 3(c) of the Wilderness Act to review every roadless area of 5,000 contiguous acres or more in each unit of the National Park System and every roadless area of 5,000 contiguous acres or more and every roadless island in the national wildlife refuges and game ranges of the National Wildlife Refuge System, which was under the supervision of the Secretary on September 3, 1964. The Secretary is further required to recommend to the President whether each such area and island is suitable or not suitable for preservation as wilderness. Reports and recommendations must be submitted by the Secretary in time to permit the President to advise the Congress of his recommendations thereon:
(1) Covering not less than one-third of such areas and islands by September 3, 1967;
(2) Covering not less than an additional one-third by not later than September 3, 1971; and
(3) Covering the remainder by not later than September 3, 1974.
(b) The primary objective of the Department of the Interior's review of roadless areas and roadless islands pursuant to section 3(c) of the Wilderness Act and the regulations of this part shall be to identify and recommend for preservation as wilderness, by inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System, those areas which, after consideration of all relevant factors, it is concluded will achieve the policy of the Congress, as expressed in section 2(a) of the Wilderness Act.
(c) Nothing in the sections of this part shall, by implication or otherwise, be construed to lessen the authority of the Secretary with respect to the maintenance of roadless areas within units of the National Park System or the maintenance of roadless areas and islands within units of the National Wildlife Refuge System.


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What else should I say, all apologies-A A +A
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
IT'S been four days since the video clip of a priest berating a 17-year-old unwed mother had gone viral on Facebook. As I write this, it has close to 43,000 shares and 12,500 likes.
Caught in the Net
Fr. Romeo Obach (pronounced Obak) has issued two letters of apology. The first one was addressed to the public and written in English and issued last Tuesday (July 8), or two days after the Facebook post and a public outcry.
It was released to journalists who sought out the priest at the Redemptorist Church in Jagobiao, Mandaue City. The congregation's media liaison, Fr. Alfonso Suico, addressed the questions from reporters. Fr. Obach was not present.
The second one came yesterday. It was addressed to the teener, handwritten in Cebuano and handcarried to her by a friend of her mother. It was dated July 8.
The girl's family lives not far from the church. Her mother is a barangay tanod of Jagobiao and her father, an ambulance driver of Eversley Childs Sanitarium, located in Jagobiao. They hear mass at the Sacred Heart Chapel run by the Redemptorist priests.
Fr. Obach issued the letter of public apology not upon the prodding of the girl and her family. Whether it was public pressure or remorse that compelled him to write the letter is anyone's guess. Copies of this letter were given along with a public statement of the Redemptorist Community on the incident.
He wrote the girl a separate letter, by hand. He signed it "Fr. Oming Obach," not "Fr. Romeo Obach," like they were friends. He wrote words of contrition and expressed openness to meet with the girl and apologize to her in person.
Like I said, the girl and her family live not far from the Redemptorist church. Fr. Obach, who has been suspended from saying mass pending investigation, could have gone to their house and apologize. This would be an act of sincerity and a show of contrition.
The girl's mother had gone to see him last Tuesday, just before noon. They talked, cried and hugged as the priest sought forgiveness for his words and actions at the baptismal rites. News reporters learned of the meeting from the mother.
The mother said the family has no plans of bringing the matter to court. They are true
Christians, the mother said in interviews, and have forgiven Fr. Obach. Besides, they do not have the resources for a legal course.
As for her daughter, the girl said Fr. Obach cannot solicit her forgiveness at this time.
"Grabe kaayo ang torture sa akong hunahuna," she said. He said many more hurtful things to her that were not captured on video by her younger sister. Her mother posted the video clip on Facebook.
The girl had tried to end her life when she found out was pregnant and that her then boyfriend, 21 years old, had abandoned her. Fr. Obach was not aware of this when she offered her baby to the Christian world through him. He saw a young girl who had committed a promiscuous act, triggering his tirade against premarital sex.
The girl has been telling reporters that she'd like to know why Fr. Obach acted that way towards her and only by understanding can she forgive him. The girl is still overwhelmed by the current events in her life and needs to be assured that the world is not all that bad and hopeless.
In an interview yesterday with Sun.Star Cebu's Kevin Lagunda, the mother said only a personal apology to her daughter can make her delete the video clip she posted on Facebook. She said she didn't know it would go viral.
By posting it, she showed the world the humiliation her daughter suffered in the hands of a priest. And by posting it, Fr. Obach suffered the humiliation of public castigation.
As I end this piece, the post had 43,290 shares and 12,699 likes.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on July 10, 2014.
Forum rules: Do not use obscenity. Some words have been banned. Stick to the topic. Do not veer away from the discussion. Be coherent and respectful. Do not shout or use CAPITAL LETTERS!


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Oct.17 (GMM) The world of premier motor racing could be set to farewell yet another member of the Schumacher family.
Ralf Schumacher, the former Williams and Toyota driver, has opened the door to retirement as he looks to finish this year's German touring car 'DTM' series almost dead last.
"I'm going to do the last race and then think about what my future looks like," Schumacher is quoted by the Kolner Express newspaper ahead of this weekend's Hockenheim finale.
He is third to last in the 2012 DTM standings, having scored just 8 points compared to teammate Jamie Green's 109.
Ralf Schumacher won 6 grands prix during his 182 Grand Prix career between 1997 and 2007.


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1up.com: HItman Absolution takes the core elements of a fun stealth game -- open environments, social camouflage, and dozens of weapons and potential tools -- and adds special challenges that tempt players to replay each stage constantly. I didn't think much of additional tasks when I first picked up Absolution, but every time I completed a level, I felt the urge to jump back in and discover new ways to complete the objective.
Hitman absolution favorite game of 2012? well i guess is a matter of taste i thought blood money was way better than absolution,best game for me in 2012 has to be Borderlands 2.
Hitman absolution to me was one of the best games I've played in 2012. I absolutely loved it. I don't regret buying this game.