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Greece Wins Easier Debt Terms as EU Hails Rescue Formula
European finance ministers eased the terms on emergency aid for Greece, declaring after three years of false starts that Europe has found the formula for nursing the debt-stricken country back to health.
In the latest bid to keep the 17-nation euro intact, the ministers cut the rates on bailout loans, suspended interest payments for a decade, gave Greece more time to repay and engineered a Greek bond buyback. The country was also cleared to receive a 34.4 billion-euro ($44.7 billion) loan installment in December. Greek bonds rose.
"This has been a very difficult deal," Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters in Brussels after chairing a 13-hour meeting that ended early today. "All initiatives decided upon today will bring Greece's public debt clearly back on a sustainable path."
After 240 billion euros in loan pledges and the biggest writedown of privately held debt failed to turn Greece around, the creditor governments led by Germany proclaimed the latest fix just as they grappled with swelling financing needs in Cyprus and a potential aid request by Spain, the fourth-largest euro economy.
'New Day'
In Athens, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras went on national television after midnight to celebrate a "new day" for Europe's most debt-ridden country. While the financing pact rewarded the government's budget cuts and steps to overhaul the economy, Greece will have to deliver on its commitments to earn each payout.
Gains made by the euro in the wake of the deal evaporated as investors asked how it will work. The currency was down 0.2 percent to $1.2950 at 12:50 p.m. in Brussels. Doubters questioned whether Greece can stomach further economic discipline and whether the bond buyback will generate enough savings. A shortfall would put outright debt relief, anathema to northern creditor countries, back on the agenda.
"This leaves some uncertainty over the deal," said Christian Schulz, an economist at Berenberg Bank in London. Below-target proceeds from the buyback "could again raise the discussion about an official sector debt writedown."
Euro-area finance ministers sold the accord, blessed by the International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank, as a milestone in fighting the debt crisis, much as the first two Greek loan packages were once touted as solutions.
Bond Holdings
The ECB chipped in by steering profits from its Greek bond holdings back into the rescue program. National governments will funnel their share of the profits to Greece's bailout account, getting around rules that bar the politically autonomous central bank from directly lending to the state.
"I very much welcome the decisions taken by the ministers of finance," ECB President Mario Draghi said. "They will certainly reduce the uncertainty and strengthen confidence in Europe and in Greece."
The batch of measures will help pare Greece's debt from 190 percent of gross domestic product in 2014 to 124 percent of GDP in 2020, a target set by the IMF as its condition for continuing to fund a third of the Greek program. One IMF concession was to raise that target from 120 percent.
"These are solid commitments that should help Greece to recover enough and regain access to markets as planned if it takes reform measures to improve its competitiveness," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said.
10-Year Bonds
Greek 10-year bonds advanced, pushing the yield down 19 basis points to 16.32 percent. It took four crisis meetings to seal the accord, starting with a Nov. 12 decision to give Greece two extra years, until 2016, to cut its budget deficit -- an admission that the austerity-first prescription for solving the crisis is strangling the Greek economy.
Scraping together the money to fill the resulting financial hole while simultaneously slicing the debt was a math exercise with political overtones. From the start, Germany, the dominant country in the crisis management, ruled out forgiving any of Greece's publicly held debt.
Debt relief would be legally questionable, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said. It would also be politically toxic for Chancellor Angela Merkel, running for a third term next year on the promise that Greece won't cost German taxpayers an additional cent.
Greece's Economy
With Greece's economy shrinking unceasingly since the third quarter of 2008, the IMF had called for further concessions by the European creditors, doubting that Greece would generate enough output, tax revenue or asset-sale receipts to slash the debt.
"We didn't discuss a debt cut," Schaeuble said after the meeting. "It's out of the question." Finland and the Netherlands, also with top credit ratings, balked at debt relief as well, dismissing warnings by the IMF and some ECB officials that writeoffs might be the only way out.
"Finland's conditions were fulfilled," Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen said. "New loans won't be granted to Greece."
Still, lower bailout rates, the interest-payment suspension and the delay of Greece's final repayment deadline until the 2040s will leave taxpayers in the northern creditor countries with smaller-than-planned profits from lending to Greece.
Parliaments in Germany, Finland and the Netherlands have insisted on approving the accord, with Dec. 13 set as the deadline for a formal decision to unlock the next Greek aid tranche. Final IMF endorsement hinges on Greece completing the bond buyback.
'Constructive Ambiguity'
In addition, the ministers vowed "further measures and assistance" -- such as another cut in bailout rates and an increase in European infrastructure subsidies -- once Greece posts an operating budget surplus. French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said the possible future concessions were couched in "constructive ambiguity," a hint that the debt- relief debate may flare back up.
To make the package palatable for bailout-weary creditor parliaments, unprecedented controls were built into how Greece spends the money. An account devoted to debt servicing was strengthened and the payout of future aid installments was keyed to the Greek government delivering on economic pledges.
"Euro-zone countries have put their money where their mouth is," said Carsten Brzeski, an economist at ING Group NV in Brussels. "However, it is clearly not a carte blanche for Greece but rather a very tight leash."
The disbursement of 9.3 billion euros in the first quarter of 2013, for example, is tied to experts from the European Union, ECB and IMF certifying that the Greek government met a January deadline for carrying out a tax reform.
"The big challenge now is to implement the decisions," Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said. "Greece has huge potential."
To contact the reporters on this story: James G. Neuger in Brussels at firstname.lastname@example.com; Stephanie Bodoni in Brussels at firstname.lastname@example.com; Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at email@example.com.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at firstname.lastname@example.com


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Omission Beer now available in Seattle
- Written by Woodinville Weekly Staff
PORTLAND, Ore. – Omission Beer, the first craft beer brand in the U.S. focused exclusively on brewing great-tasting beers with traditional beer ingredients – including malted barley – that are specially crafted to remove gluten, is now widely available in the Puget Sound. Retailers carrying Omission Lager and Omission Pale Ale can be found using the brewery's beer finder, located at www.findomissionbeer.com.
Brewed by Widmer Brothers Brewing in Portland, Ore., gluten levels in every batch of Omission beer are measured by the brewery and an independent lab using the R5 Competitive ELISA test. This test ensures that the beer measures well below the Codex gluten-free standard of 20ppm or less. To date, gluten levels in every batch of Omission beer have been undetectable at a threshold of less than 10ppm, the lowest detectable gluten level for fermented beverages tested using this method. Test results for every batch of Omission beer are available to consumers at: www.omissiontests.com.
"Omission Lager and Omission Pale Ale are two great-tasting craft beers, and we're eager to share them with the Seattle community," said Terry Michaelson, CEO. "Omission Beer exemplifies the creativity and innovation of craft brewing. As a diagnosed celiac of 12 years, I could not be more excited to share these beers with the gluten-free and beer communities, especially as we continue to hear enthusiastic and positive stories from fans who wouldn't otherwise be able to enjoy great-tasting craft beers."
In response to consumer feedback, the brewery launched an online forum where fans can share stories about their experiences drinking Omission beer. These experiences, dubbed "O" Moments, can be shared at www.o-moments.com.
Omission Beer was released this spring by Craft Brew Alliance (CBA), but was initially only available in Oregon. Following the beer's success in the state and requests received from across the country, the brewery initiated a phased national rollout.

subset: commoncrawl


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Integra has introduced two mid-priced audio-video receivers designed to provide state-of-the-art home theater performance plus sophisticated integration with home automation systems. The new Integra DTR-30.1 and DTR-20.1 are, respectively, 7.2- and 5.2-channel, two-zone AV receivers designed for modern high-definition audio and video systems. In addition, the DTR-30.1 is the first Integra A/V receiver that incorporates the new Dolby ProLogic IIz which lets installers offer their clients engaging sonic ambiance in three dimensions, not just two.
Both receivers use the latest HDMI 1.3a connection technologies with full support for 1080p video, Deep Color, x.v. Color, and high definition sound via Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. The Integra DTR-30.1 has six HDMI inputs, including a front-panel input, while the DTR-20.1 has four HDMI inputs. The DTR-30.1 also features Faroudja DCDi Edgeâ"¢ based upscaling of all video sources to 1080i via the HDMI output. These receivers each deliver 90 Watts per channel of amplification into 8 Ohms, and include processing for every major digital audio format in use today, as well as a full suite of audio technologies from Audyssey.
read the rest on eCoustics.com
source: eCoustics
|Top Ranked Products from Integra Research.


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Hundreds of people have been killed in northern Nigeria this year. The violence is blamed on Boko Haram, an extremist group that claims to be fighting against westernization. Host Michel Martin learns more from NPR's Africa correspondent Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, who recently visited the town where Boko Haram was born.
Reporter's Notebook: Ofeibea Quist-Arcton On Nigeria
By editor • Nov 5, 2013


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Warwick Rowers Take Us Behind The Scenes For Their 2014 Naked Calendar Shoot (NSFW-ish)
It's that time of year again!
The Warwick Rowers are releasing their 2014 naked calendar and per usual they're generously taking us behind-the-scenes for the making of the calendar!
Feeling charitable? A portion of the proceeds goes to Educational Action Challenging Homophobia's Sports Allies campaign:
The rowers are predominantly straight men who have welcomed and embraced the fantastic support they have had from the gay community for their fundraising efforts. Sport Allies is their way of honoring that support and giving something back.
The rowers will share with young people their own experience of learning to understand the challenges that others face, simply on the grounds of their sexuality, and how this has changed these athletes both as individuals and as a team.
Buy your 2014 Warwick Rowers calendar here!
Don't ever let anyone tell you you're selfish.
Image Source


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Ft. Stewart, Georgia - Under the direction of U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Kay Coles James, OPM staff experts today continued Phase II of the Veteran Invitational Program (VIP) at the Winn Army Community Hospital (WACH) in Ft. Stewart, Georgia. The continued outreach efforts are part of Director James' initiatives to tap the veteran talent pool and strengthen the Federal workforce.
"The soldiers of the Third Infantry Division have a storied history and have been at the forefront in the war on terror," stated Director James. "The call to serve for these men and women though does not end with military service. America's veterans are a rich, ready-made talent pool we welcome in the Federal civil service and they can and will continue to carry the guidon for the American people. It is our duty to ensure they are fully aware of the opportunities and tools that await them in the civil service and ensure they are afforded their due preference in the Federal hiring process."
The OPM outreach group conducted seminars including a session which explained veterans' preference and veteran appointing authorities. Other seminars and workshops covered navigation of the usajobs.gov website, resume writing, interviewing skills and the Federal application process. One of the key take-home products was the OPM-produced DVD "What Veterans Need to Know About Veterans' Preference," a comprehensive 40 minute video seminar of veterans' preference rights and eligibilities.
"Kudos to OPM Director Kay James for sending members of her staff to speak to transitioning soldiers from Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield who are interested in continuing their service to their country as Federal civil service employees," stated Louisa H. Sigman, Army Career and Alumni Program Manager, Fort Stewart & Hunter Army Airfield, GA. "There is a lot of interest in federal service opportunities as was evidenced by the more than 100 personnel who attended this seminar that was sponsored by the Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP). What a wonderful opportunity for soldiers to ask their questions and have them answered by the subject matter experts. Thank you for thinking of our soldiers as they prepare to leave active duty."
OPM aggressively reached out to veterans through Phase I of the VIP which was launched in August, 2003. In Phase I, OPM developed informational brochures and posters designed to raise the level of awareness among separating soldiers from the U. S. Armed Services. These materials were distributed to all major veteran service organizations and military separation offices throughout the country.
Visits have already been made to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the Washington DC area as well as the Hampton, Virginia; Albany, New York; Kansas City, Missouri and Minneapolis, Minnesota Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Centers. Additional visits are scheduled for Jacksonville and Tampa, Florida; Ft. Bragg, North Carolina; Ft. Campbell, Kentucky; Ft. Hood Texas; Camp Pendleton, California; Ft. Jackson, South Carolina and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Available at usajobs.gov, OPM also has produced valuable online resources including the VetsInfo Guide which provides general information about how the system works and how veterans' preference and the special appointing authorities for veterans operate within the system. Also available is the VetGuide which gives detailed information about the special rights and privileges that veterans enjoy in Federal civil service employment.
OPM leads and serves the Federal Government in enterprise human resources management by delivering policies and services to achieve a trusted, effective civilian workforce. By Empowering Excellence in Government through Great People, we provide leadership and support to U.S. agencies on issues including human resources policy and oversight, background investigations, federal employee benefits, retirement services, guidance on labor-management relations, and programs to improve workforce performance. For more information, visit OPM.gov or follow OPM on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.


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(CBS) This story was written by CBS News' Arden Farhi and Matthew German.
In a place where clotheslines outnumber power lines and the people prefer horse-drawn buggies to automobiles, Pennsylvania's Amish community has begun to embrace a new technology that mainstream culture has been slow to endorse: solar energy.
The Amish Church generally forbids any connection to the outside world, which includes tapping into the public utility grid. While they do not reject technology outright, they believe outside influences threaten the welfare of their small, closely-knit communities.
Don Kraybill, a professor of Anabaptist atudies at Elizabethtown College, has researched the Amish community for 25 years. He says the Amish "selectively use technology that fits into their philosophy and their religious way of life. So in a sense with solar, they are tapping into God's grid."
While solar technology is new, their use of electricity is not. The Amish community has long used electricity from diesel generators and pre-charged batteries. But solar energy offers a cleaner and ultimately cheaper alternative. The energy is essentially free after solar panel installation.
Kraybill added, "it's more affordable and they have technicians in their own communities that are learning how to use it."
Ben Zook is one such technician. He was raised Amish and started Belmont Solar about seven years ago. His company installs solar energy systems for both for Amish and non-Amish customers.
Zook said his business is catching on in the community.
"The number one reason for Amish to use solar is to power their buggy lights," said Zook. He noted that solar water heaters have also become popular among the Amish.
Mainstream society has begun to use solar technology as part of a "green" movement to lessen its dependence on other energy sources. For the Amish, it's about preserving their independence.
(The Amish) haven't particularly embraced it for the image or anything. If you are off-grid, it just makes a lot of sense," said Zook.
"With solar, they don't see a problem with it being inconsistent with their world view," Kraybill said. "It is interesting that ... an avant-garde technology really fits into their old regulations."
By Arden Farhi and Matthew German
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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BAFTA in Scotland announced on Tuesday 23 October, that radio DJ and television presenter Edith Bowman will host the British Academy Scotland Awards 2012, honouring the very best Scottish talent in film, television and video games industries.
The BBC star from Anstruther, Scotland, appeared in Glasgow alongside BAFTA in Scotland Director Jude MacLaverty to announce the award's nominations. The Angels' Share leads the way with four nominations, closely followed by Kevin Bridges and Zam Salim (Up There) with two each. Gregor Fisher and Elaine C Smith go head-to-head in the Best TV Actor /Actress Category.
The British Academy Scotland Awards is one of the biggest nights in Scotland's moving images industry calendar renowned for welcoming and honouring an impressive line-up of stars. This year's ceremony will take place at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Glasgow on Sunday 18th November when the winners will be unveiled.
Edith, who is due to start a new double-headed show on 6music with Adam Buxton, said, "I am delighted to have been asked to host the British Academy Scotland Awards 2012. The event is a brilliant showcase of the moving image industries and highlights the wealth of talent here in Scotland.
"Over the past year, Scotland has cemented its reputation as a leading player in film, TV and game production. So much fantastic work has been produced and I'm very excited to see who wins from the list of nominees."
This year's shortlist of 36 celebrates an astonishingly diverse range of talent and work across 12 different categories including: Actor/Actress for Film, Actor/Actress for TV, Animation, Comedy/Entertainment Programme, Current Affairs, Director, Factual Series, Features/Factual Entertainment, Feature Film, Games, Single Documentary and Writer.
Jude MacLaverty, Director of BAFTA in Scotland, said, "It is fantastic to have Edith hosting this year. Edith understands the industry and is passionate about encouraging and celebrating talent here in Scotland. She's perfect for the job."
Jude added; "The British Academy Scotland Awards is all about rewarding excellence in the industry, and this year's nominations reflect the sheer breadth of talent, creativity, and originality here in Scotland."
The Awards in 2012 will take place on Sunday 18 November at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Glasgow. See the full list of nominees:British Academy Scotland Awards Nominees in 2012 >
Further Information:
For information on buying tickets or sponsorship opportunities, please visit BAFTA in Scotland's website (www.bafta.org/scotland/) or call 0141 302 1770.
Notes To Editors:
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is the leading UK charity supporting developing and promoting the art forms of the moving image. Since 1989, BAFTA has continued to specifically champion the film, television and video game industries in Scotland by celebrating excellence, championing new Scottish talent and reaching out to the public
BAFTA in Scotland
Scotland has the highest level of film, TV and animation production in the UK outside of London, with more than 100 production companies and 300 facilities companies, with a combined turnover of £1.2 billion
Edith Bowman
Edith has hosted the BBC's television coverage of Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds and T in the Park festivals. Most recently Edith presented the Vue film show on Channel 4 and the BAFTA coverage for BBC3 in February, and her successful review show on Radio 1 goes from strength-to-strength. Film is something that has become a regular fixture in Edith's career, through her work with BAFTA and various film companies. Her recent in-depth chat with award winning screen writer Abi Morgan can soon be seen on the BAFTA website.


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While I have seen the AT&T commercials touting how their iPhones allow one to surf and talk at the same time, I really never listened to them. I found it hard to believe that anyone would not be able to do that on a smartphone nowadays. But Verizon's iPhone (provided by my job) indeed cannot do both at once, so when I need to speak on the phone, I lose the Internet, even when using it for W-Fi tethering.
And my T-Mobile Google Nexus Galaxy phone, which I love, is having serious Internet issues so that is not an option for Wi-Fi tethering, at least not now.
When an average web page takes two minutes to load, it means that I simply cannot blog as fast as I normally do. It also means that I will tend to favor stories that are easy to blog - a minimum of links and photos.
So until my home Internet provider is back online, posting will remain light.
Meanwhile, here are today's links from Ian.
The Islamists' Need to Feel Wronged by Nonie Darwish
"When anyone dares to say jihad means violence, or when violence is committed in the name of Islam, the so-called moderate Muslims are outraged but manage to look the other way. The more some Muslims terrorize, while others stand by in denial, the more they confuse, soften and weaken their victim. While one face of Islam is doing the terror, the other face tells the world, we love peace, so please don't you dare judge us by our terrorists because if you do, we will riot, kill, and burn. Both faces of Islam work together; one cannot survive without the other."
Israel admits to top-secret operation that killed senior Fatah commander in 1988
Special ops mission commander recounts killing terror mastermind Abu Jihad — with the help of a box of chocolate and a soldier dressed as a woman
"Abu Jihad ("father of the struggle"), whose real name was Khalil al-Wazir, was deemed a security threat. He was the mastermind of the infamous Coastal Road massacre, a 1978 attack on an Israeli bus near Tel Aviv that killed 38 Israelis and wounded another 70. As military commander of Fatah, he unified fragmented factions of the PLO, enabling the movement to better fight Israel in the First Intifada."
"Lev and another soldier who dressed up as a woman pretended they were a vacationing couple. He carried a large box of bonbons, and his other hand was hidden by the box — except that there weren't any chocolates inside, but rather a gun with a silencer."
Dieudonné's movie 'L'Antisemite' deserves our gratitude
L'Antisemite has torn away the pretextual camouflage. Now it is finally clear: cocktail chitchat against Israel leads directly to cocktail Molotovs against neighborhood synagogues and, most recently, a Jewish school massacre.
Netanyahu, Hollande to visit Toulouse killing site
Leaders to tour school where terrorist shot dead rabbi and three children; victims' relative says he prefers debate over vengeance
Protest planned for Israel Philharmonic concert at Disney Hall
Ireland: It seems we are very selective about what makes us angry in this country
"WELL, that was a very revealing week. Had I called Uganda a "cancer" after the revelations about missing Irish Aid money there, by now, I'd be hanging from my thumbs, while the various press-quangoes consulted Torquemada on how to deal with heretics, and numerous columnists would be sharpening their blades on my ribcage.
Instead, Vincent Browne called Israel a cancer, refused to apologise, and the affair -- such as it was -- was over by the weekend. As far as I can see, neither 'The Irish Times', 'The Sunday Times' nor the 'Sunday Independent' even mentioned the story."
The Alan Dershowitz Syndrome
Prominent Jews like the Harvard lawyer have spent years criticizing Obama. So, why are they endorsing him?
Former Democrats Abroad Israel Chair: Obama Soured U.S.-Israel Relations
MEMRI: Grand Mufti of Lebanon: The Jews Orchestrated 9/11 and Were Behind Anti-Islam Film
Lebanese Priest: "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" Called to Destroy Christianity
BBC Watch: BBC's Jon Donnison continues to airbrush Hamas terrorist activity
CIF Watch: Rachel Shabi has "fresh hope" that the Jewish state may cease to exist
Morsi removed affirmation of Arab peace plan from U.N. speech
"Morsi's remarks, as prepared for delivery and distributed by the Egyptian mission to the United Nations on Sept. 26, included an endorsement of the Saudi-initiated Arab plan, which would exchange pan-Arab recognition of Israel for Israel's return to the 1967 lines and a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue.
It also included a recommitment to Egypt's prior international agreements, which include the 1979 peace accords with Israel.
Morsi removed these two elements in his spoken remarks, instead endorsing Palestinian statehood without noting whether his vision would accommodate Israel."
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood says new constitution must be based on Islamic Shariah law
Egyptian night owls decry government efforts to impose curfew
State faces backlash from nocturnal Cairo residents after making move to conserve electricity
Tunisia, a Sad Year Later
A year later, we have no democracy, no trust in elected officials, no improved constitution. Human rights and women's rights are threatened. The economy is tanking.
"Tourism is dwindling. Who wants to vacation among bands of bearded savages raiding embassies, staking their black pirate flag over universities or burning trucks carrying beer? Meanwhile, our government and puppet president watch, without arresting these Salafist extremists."
Norwegian Islamist held for offering to 'protect' Jews with AK-47
Security stepped up at main Oslo Synagogue after comment posted to Facebook
European Jewish Association calls for protection of Ukrainian Jews
Move follows unprecedented electoral gains of anti-Semitic, ultranationalist Svoboda party
Italy, Land of Islam
Education minister Profumo proposed that Islam be taught in public schools alongside Catholicism. Nazification of Israel ruled free speech.
"Meanwhile, the Italian judges are apologetic about hatred. Ucoii, the largest Islamic organization in Italy, published an ad in many mainstream newspapers entitled "Nazi Bloodshed Yesterday, Israeli Bloodshed Today". An Italian court ruled that the Nazification of Israel came under "freedom of expression" and was not a case of incitement to hatred."
Thousands of Texas Christians Rally for Israel
Thousands of Christian Zionists came together at a Texas megachurch on Sunday night to rally in support for Israel, the San Antonio Express-News reported.
Victim of Burgas Attack Celebrates 25th Birthday, Looks to Future
The Algemeiner spoke with Daniel on his 25th birthday, an event hosted by the One Heart One Hope Foundation. An especially sweet occasion considering that only a few months earlier he was nearly killed by a terrorist attack on his tour bus in Burgas, Bulgaria that killed seven others.
IDF Blog: Infographic: Last week, 32,800 Tons of Goods Entered Gaza
Jewish groups begin Sandy relief efforts
Union of Reform Judaism, Jewish Federations of North America establish aid funds


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Rock Star: Supernova 8/09/06 Recap – Josh and Jill Went Up the Hill
(Registered members may comment here)
Well, look what time it is again! Welcome back to Rock Star: Supernova. Last night we saw a slew of great performances, unless you're really curmudgeonly and thought they all sucked. But here's the thing . . . a wise man who wore suspenders and a bow-tie once told me that pessimists actually derive pleasure from being unhappy. So, hey! Everybody wins, no matter what!
While you're pondering that one, let's breeze over the opening of the show because my Tivo sliced this one right off. Um . . . some stuff happens and then there's a recap of previous night, which won't be as awesome as Speedy's, I'm sure.
The Very Best of Supernova (Rehashing)
Let's see: The rockers got a special gift of Gibson guitars—Les Pauls and SGs and Flying Vs all over the place. That seems as though it happened a long time ago, though.
After a night of many exhilarating performances, the rockers decide to celebrate. Champagne in the back yard! It's all wonderful, like going to a garden party to reminisce with your old friends, but then Jill brings the whole group down by demanding to know why no one fought for the song with Gilby. See, there are loving drunks and angry ones, and if nothing else, this show is a great public service announcement for this (with guitars!). Storm does pretty well to shut her up, saying that she didn't choose it because she wanted to sing "We Are the Champions," not "Won't Get Fooled Again." Duh. Also, she notes that she doesn't have to prove that she can share a stage with Gilby . . . she knows she can. So does Gilby, according to her.
Then things get a little weird, because Zayra starts making lots of sense. "If you aren't comfortable with the song and only choose it because a guy from Supernova is playing," she says, "you might as well [get the noose], because you're going to hang yourself." It would seem that Z actually has a good head on her shoulders! It's either that or the fluoride in my ice cream.
"So," asks Gilby during the "chat" section, "What makes you think I know that you can take the stage with me, Storm?" For the first time, Storm is a bit lost for words, but finally says that Gilby knows her credentials and duly assures him that if she were to play with him, she wouldn't hump him . . . that would probably break his back. Ha!
Meanwhile, everyone was talking about Ryan's crazy, theatrical Siouxsie Sioux imitation yesterday on "Paint it Black." It was a great time, in my opinion, and if you're upset about his smudged mascara, I must quote David Johansen of the New York Dolls, who said, "If a guy's makeup is done too well, it's kind of nancy-lookin'."
Tommy says that there was still something about the performance that made him a bit uncomfortable, to which Ryan exclaims, "Hey, I made Tommy Lee uncomfortable!" It's a good point.
With the formalities out of the way, Jason speaks up, and he's got good news . . . since the rockers are doing so well and making them so maudlin, everyone who survives tonight's elimination is piling into a private jet with Supernova and taking a little trip to Vegas, baby! They'll head to The Joint and check out the stage that one of them will soon share with the band, and, in their spare time, generally cause much mayhem and debauchery. The contestants go all crazy, jumping around such that I think they all end up in a different seat. Boy. I can't wait for this house show, and I doubt that crazy Tommy cat can, either.
Double Dividend!
Well, while Supernova is playing the proud parents,
Tom WaitsJason also announces that last night's show was so good, they couldn't pick just one encore performance. Tommy engages the double-hand devil horns, showing that it's too much rawk for one hand. The first encore performer, by a nose, is Lukas. Once again, he sounds excellent, with an improvement in the falsetto department, probably because he's under less pressure this time. However, he makes a potentially bad move after the performance, when he doesn't acknowledge the crowd as he walks back to his seat. Creep!
The second encore, proving that there is justice in the world, is Magni. Since he went solo acoustic balladeer last night, he gives the audience a treat by performing "The Dolphin's Cry" with the fully amped-up House Band, who, as always, is amazing. Though it's not as intense as yesterday's showing, having Magni do the song "at eleven" isn't too shabby.
Il Cattivo, Il Brutto, Il Clumsy-o
Now it's time to find out who must come crashing down from the wondrous night, perhaps in the fashion of a shooting star? Brooke announces the rockers who, at one point or another, were in the bottom three:
Jill, Josh, Zayra, Ryan, and Patrice.
Is Supernova surprised with these results? Dave certainly isn't, but if he had his way, they all, minus Dilana, would have been in the bottom three for passing up Gilby Clarke and currently working as roadies for JDINXS. Regardless, the first member of the real bottom three is Jill, who chooses to sing the old Aretha classic, "Respect."
Oh, I forgot to add that Brooke first announces Zayra is completely safe this week. Hooray! I love Zayra and the NSA! I suspect nothing!
Predictably, Jill screams her way through the number, but I just block her out and try to focus on Paul Mirkovich, who is wailing away on the harmonica like Zamfir on steroids. And non-suck pills. The guy is amazing! Jill, on the other hand? Sort of the opposite of amazing, since this is her third time in the bottom three. Throughout the performance, Jason was throwing glances as though he had a permanent migraine, and listening to Jill wasn't exactly an Advil.
Next up is Josh, who was unable to take advantage of Tommy's surprise backup and received some criticism for continuing to strap himself to his guitar. Tommy, who thought they killed it together, is surprised. In his mind, Josh probably thinks that he rocked, and it was all Tommy's fault. Well, in an absolutely brilliant move, he says he's going to use his guitar again on Bad Company's "Shooting Star." Ha! Shooting Star! Did you see that foreshadowing I used back there!? That online screenwriting course really paid off!
Josh's performance, as usual, is hardly drenched in star power. I don't remember anything notable about the whole affair, except that Phil seems to have left his head tottering behind on Josh's body. It's distracting, but, thankfully, it gives me something to focus on, so the performance is soon over.
With that, it's down to Patrice and Ryan, who both had good performances, in my mind. I definitely thought Ryan's performance was in a tier above Patrice's, though, so naturally it's Ryan who rounds out the bottom three.
When he announces that he's performing and revamping Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence," I immediately cringe, as that is a spectacular song from one of my favorite groups. However, I think he does the song adequate justice, with tough, angsty vocals and a guitar-driven arrangement similar to Failure's '97 cover. (See? Phil did leave his head here, and his apparently his musical taste, as well.) You know, I almost hate to admit it, but Ryan Star, I think you're making a true believer out of me.
An unintentionally hilarious moment occurs during the stomping goth-fest, however, when he leans over the edge of the stage and nearly tumbles off. To his credit, however, he keeps singing and kicks into a particularly effective screaming motive right afterward, all "Yeah, whatever. It doesn't EVEN matter." Big props to that fan who grabbed his hand and pushed him back where he belonged!
Double DISASTER!
It's nearing Hatchet-Man time, and Gilby reveals that the band couldn't really agree on the verdict. Oh boy. Creative differences already. Though Ryan's stumble probably didn't do much to alleviate Supernova's concerns that Ryan isn't so coordinated, he's been on such a tear that they agree to let him hang on for at least another week.
So. Jill, the screamer. Josh, who makes Clay Aiken look like Henry Rollins. Whom to cut? Well hold onto your hats, because as tonight's show doled out two encores, the reaper shall slice down both of them in a double elimination!!!
Ah, so that's your game, huh, Tommy? A real dead-eye? Axe 'em all, and let God sort 'em out?
I'm not that surprised, honestly, since most of those little airplanes only seat thirteen. Josh and Jill don't look too shocked, either, with the former engaging in some humorous banter with the Supernova guys and the latter bowing out with considerable humility and dignity. (I'm guessing she was just happy she didn't have to go home and have another showdown with Storm.) The crowd, however, is completely agog and aghast. I guess that's entertainment!
Well, this must be my cue to take a quick trip to Vegas . . . all the cool kids are doing it.


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JAIS issued a statement yesterday concerning the so-called "raid" on Damansara Utama Methodist Church's Dream Centre in Petaling Jaya on 3rd August 2011.
In its statement, JAIS clarified that it was not a raid as reported. Nor was there any force used during the walk about by JAIS in the Church's premises. In its own word, it was just an "inspection". Kinda like what PUSPAKON (sic) is doing on all vehicles which are sold second hand.
It could then be gathered from JAIS' statement that it was a friendly thingy. You know, the kind of visit by strangers to our house unannounced just after we have dinner with some guests where our guests were questioned why they were in our house; what did we, as hosts, say before, during and after dinner; did we, as hosts, try to proselytise (did I get the spelling correct? Sorry, I have to confirm this because before the raid, I never knew this word existed, let alone know its meaning) them yada yada yada.
JAIS director, Encik Marzuki Hussin said, among others:
- Jais officers did not interrupt the event and only inspected the venue after the dinner had ended.
- Accusations that Jais raided, used force and trespassed are wild accusations.
- The 12 Muslims who had attended the event were only asked to provide their details and directed to attend counselling sessions.
I find this really amazing, really.
Our Honourable Prime Minister flew all the way to the Vatican to meet the Pope; shook his hand; gave the Pope a book and established a diplomatic relationship with the Vatican. Then he came back to Kuala Lumpur cutting short his family holiday because he would rather be with us, the people.
And what did some little Caliphs, defenders of the faith do? Yes. Together with the police, they "inspected" a private dinner hosted, not by the church, but by an AIDS organisation to say thank you for all the hard works and efforts put into the organisations by some people.
The point is not whether it was a raid or inspection, JAIS. Nor was it whether you entered before, during or after the dinner. Nor also whether there was any interruption. Nor whether you all were as nice as cupcakes. That is NOT the point.
The point is you had the nerve to gate-crash a private dinner on the pretext of investigating a report the details of which you were unable to give when requested. And please tell me under what authority and for what reason are the 12 Muslim guests were asked to attend counselling session with you.
What counselling? Counselling for what? For having dinner with some Christians? Judging from your rationale, the Prime Minister and his whole entourage to the Vatican might have to attend counselling to ya? Sometime ago I attended a funeral of the son of a dear friend of mine in a church. I stood up when they were singing hymns and sat in silence when prayers were being said. Do I have to be counselled too?
This is the kind of thing which is making Malaysia a laughing capital of the world nowadays. Some years ago I remember, there was a text message sent out by none other a mufti alleging that a number of kids were about to be proselytised (is my spelling correct?) at a church. It caused an uproar. But of course the good mufti was not hauled up for anything although recently a certain Penang lady was hauled up by the police for allegedly urging Christians to walk for whatever reason.
The thing which I would like to ask is this. Is there any necessity at all to do this kind of thing?
Muslims in Malaysia seem to be very weak indeed. We cannot listen to certain music group. Cannot watch MTV. Cannot go to concerts, even to concerts by the completely fagotty Michael Learns to Rock, for God's sake!!! These guys rhymes the word "car" with "star" for God's sake! Cannot watch certain films. Cannot tahan seeing women's ketiak in public. Cannot tahan seeing non-Muslims eating or drinking during puasa month.
We need to be protected all the time. Otherwise our aqidah would be gone. And we would become kafir. And of course we would then all go to hell.
One question struck me. If Muslims in Malaysia are so easily persuaded to leave Islam, there must be something wrong with the state of Islam in Malaysia, isn't it? I mean, why would the Muslims in Malaysia so easily persuaded to do so then? Perhaps then, JAIS and the all the mullahs should look into this aspect rather than blaming everything on other faiths.
A word of advise to JAIS. We are a multi-cultural-faiths society. We need to be respectful to others. It doesn't matter whether Islam is the official religion of the country or whether it is the faith of the majority of the people in our country.
Islam teaches us moderation. And Islam teaches us to be respectful of others.
Now, article 11 of the Federal Constitution does guarantee freedom of religion to every person in Malaysia (even though that person is not a citizen of Malaysia). Admittedly, paragraph 4 of the said article also permits laws to be made to "control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam."
I do not know whether there is any such law in Selangor. But for argument's sake, let's assume that it has.
Nowhere in the law it is stated that Muslims cannot eat or attend a dinner with Christians, be it in a church compound or at the zoo or anywhere else. That is why even our Honourable Prime Minister attended a dinner with the Christian sometime ago (remember the hoo-haas about removing crucifixes and stuffs?).
If there are reasonable suspicion (I repeat, reasonable suspicion – which means not any kind of grandmother suspicion) that some groups are trying to propagate whatever religious doctrine to Muslims, then by all means please take the appropriate action. Please note, I said, appropriate action, not any grandmother action.
Now what is appropriate and what is not? Well, again, we live in a multi-cultural-faiths society. Our actions must not be one which would or could give rise to disharmony. That is all.
By all means, JAIS may investigate the allegation quietly. How to do that? Well, our special branch is one of the best in the world. Recently they even managed to sniff out a plot to wage war against the King; a plot to turn this country into a communist state; and they, according to the Deputy IGP and Home Minister also managed to avoid a riot like the London riot in Kuala Lumpur. Yes. They are that good.
So JAIS, how to investigate? Ask assistance from our special branch. They will know how to sniff this kinda thing within seconds.
When all or sufficient evidence are gathered of such activities, then JAIS can go on and exercise its powers lah. Call people for statements. Arrests the people involved. Charge them in Courts. Habis cerita kan?
Better still, to be civilised, it would be better for JAIS, in the name of 1Malaysia, under those circumstances, to call up the church or group in question and confront them with the evidence which JAIS has collected. Let's hear what they have to say. If there is not reasonable or acceptable explanation, JAIS can proceed to charge them.
That's it. No drama. No raid. No inspection. Nothing at all.
Before I end this, one more point. Religion is a state matter. Selangor is governed by Pakatan Rakyat. I then presume JAIS is a state agency. The Menteri Besar apparently did not agree with the action. Question – why wasn't he briefed on the "inspection", knowing how sensitive this issue is?
As a political party, PAS, which is part of Pakatan Rakyat, also apparently disagree with JAIS' inspection. But Hassan Ali, a state EXCO member, defended JAIS. The MB then imposed a blanket gag order.
May I ask bluntly, what the hell? Do you know what you are doing or not? If so, are you opposed or are you in favour of it? Which is bloody which?
If the MB doesn't agree and one lone EXCO member is against that, what should be the natural consequence to that? My question is simple. What is the official position of the Selangor State Government about this whole episode. Never mind Hassan Ali. Never mind Tan Sri Khalid. Never mind PAS or DAP.
That many of us would like to know.
I would like to end this post with this verse. May we all get His wisdom and mercy.
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ وَأُنْثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ
O you men! surely We have created you of a male and a female, and made you tribes and families that you may know each other; surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you most careful (of his duty); surely Allah is Knowing, Aware. (translation : Shakir)
O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Lo! Allah is Knower, Aware. (translation: Pickthal)


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Spikes for unruly toll road users
SPIKES are to be placed on the toll road off ramps, to deter motorists from reversing onto the road.
Regulations facilitating the move were approved by the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
A spike is used to impede or stop the movement of wheeled vehicles by puncturing their tyres.
Opening the debate, Minister of Transport, Works and Housing Dr Omar Davies noted that over time, the toll road has become plagued by motorists who -- in an effort to avoid the toll fees -- reverse onto the slip roads adjoining the toll roads.
"This has created great cause for concern due to injuries, damage and fatalities from the collision between these motorists and unsuspecting legitimate users who are exiting the toll road. The last fatality occurred on 22 August 2011," Dr Davies said.
He added that the police have been trying to stop the practice, but due to resource constraints, are unable to provide the physical presence of an officer at the locations at all times.
According to the Regulations, the Toll Road Operator is responsible to retract the device for the use of the road by emergency service providers, and that it is an offence to interfere with, alter, damage, destroy or remove the device.
Dr Davies also said signs would be put in place at strategic locations to advise motorists of the device.
"There is no denying the fact that we are dealing with an unruly bunch that seek to break the law, in order to benefit themselves by not having to go through the toll. Measures have to be taken to ensure that the travelling public is not endangered, so we accept that," said Member of Parliament for North Central St Andrew Karl Samuda.
Meanwhile, Dr Davies said the ministry went through the process of seeking an opinion from the Attorney General's Chambers.
He noted that the ministry was advised by the Attorney General's Chambers that the Road Traffic Act and the Toll Road Act have a legal basis on which spikes may be installed on a slip road.
The Regulations will now be sent to the Senate for approval.
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@MMehtaNYDN: RT @WillBrinson "He can come here & compete to be the backup" - Alouettes GM on Tebow. http://t.co/LeAisE5U03 …
So we traded a 4th for a guy who isn't even garunteed a backup role in Canada? I'm even more sick to my stomach. Shame on whoever thought this was a good move and shame on Tanny!!
The nightmare is over
The only funnier thread that I can think of is when Sanchez is released
This is great day. Good ****ing riddance
time for a classic
About time


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Did you read today's front page stories & breaking news?
From the Wires
BloomReach Named as a Red Herring Top 100 Global Award Winner
Red Herring Lists BloomReach as a Top 100 Global Award Winner Months After Naming the Company a 2012 Red Herring Top 100 North America Startup
By: Marketwired .
Jan. 30, 2013 03:00 AM
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 01/30/13 -- BloomReach, creators of big data marketing applications, today announced it has been selected as a 2012 Red Herring Top 100 Global award winner. The Red Herring Top 100 Global award recognizes the leading private companies from North America, Europe, and Asia, celebrating these startups' innovations and technologies across their respective industries.
Red Herring's Top 100 Global list has become a mark of distinction for identifying promising new companies and entrepreneurs. Red Herring editors were among the first to recognize that companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, Skype, Salesforce.com, YouTube, and eBay would change the way we live and work.
"It's a mark of distinction to be recognized as a Red Herring Top 100 Global award winner, and to be identified as one of the most innovative startups on the globe," said Raj De Datta, CEO and co-founder of BloomReach. "We officially launched in Silicon Valley in February 2012, after spending three years in stealth mode, with some of the brightest minds from companies like Google, Cisco and Facebook. It was a huge honor to be recognized as a 2012 Red Herring Top 100 North America Startup three months after launching, and now we're thrilled to be internationally recognized."
"Choosing the companies with the strongest potential was by no means a small feat," said Alex Vieux, publisher and CEO of Red Herring. "After rigorous contemplation and discussion, we narrowed our list down from hundreds of candidates from across Global to the Top 100 Winners. We believe BloomReach embodies the vision, drive and innovation that define a successful entrepreneurial venture. BloomReach should be proud of its accomplishment, as the competition was the strongest it has ever been."
Red Herring's editorial staff evaluated the companies on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, technology innovation, management quality, strategy, and market penetration. This assessment of potential is complemented by a review of the track record and standing of startups relative to their peers, allowing Red Herring to see past the "buzz" and make the list a valuable instrument of discovery and advocacy for the most promising new business models from around the world.
About BloomReach
BloomReach is headquartered in Mountain View, CA and is backed by investment firms Bain Capital Ventures, NEA, and Lightspeed Ventures. For more information, please visit www.bloomreach.com.
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USFWS National Digital Library
MARK MADISON: Hi. I'm Mark Madison, and today is May 10th, 2011 and we're talking today with Taggart Siegel, who's a filmmaker, whose most recent film was called "Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us".
Taggart, thanks for coming out to the National Conservation Training Center. Appreciate you showing your film out here this evening.
TAGGART SIEGEL: Thanks, Mark.
MARK MADISON: I guess the first question is: What are the bees telling us?
TAGGART SIEGEL: They're actually telling us a lot. I mean, where the bees are going right now, they're actually saying, let's-- I'm going to disappear if you don't start looking at the way we're treating them. And so bees have been really knocked down systematically by every system we put in place in agriculture, for example, and bees are-- they've kind of had enough. So from pesticides to mechanized beekeeping to trucking bees across the country is really hard on bees to over queen breeding, to feeding bees corn syrup, genetically engineered corn syrup. Oftentimes the bees are given that. And as Michael Pollan says, nothing more viscerally offensive than feeding the creators of honey genetically engineered corn syrup.
MARK MADISON: That's another great quote from Michael.
What does the film look like, for viewers that might want to go see it?
TAGGART SIEGEL: It's a really uplifting film, too. So it's not all doom and gloom. It's beautifully shot. There's characters from all over the world, from France, a beekeeper that tickles his bees with his mustache, to a woman dancing with 12,000 bees. But then we get very serious with Gunther Hauk, who is a biodynamic beekeeper and very philosophical and very-- like really guides us in what colony collapse is and what's caused it.
So even in New Zealand I loved the family that their whole family are beekeepers, the father, the mother, and the three daughters, and they roll their wax and sell it to support their ponies, their horses.
MARK MADISON: Why should we care about bees?
TAGGART SIEGEL: Bees are really what's keeping us alive, bees and all pollinators, and without them we could really-- the earth will not be the same. Birds will die out. Plants will die out. And eventually the ecosystems will collapse. There will certainly be things alive on earth, but it won't be the same earth that we see.
So one out of four bites that we eat are from bees, and we don't want to lose these valuable creatures. And not only that, our forests, we want to keep them intact, too, and so bees are the crucial link to our environment and they are the canary in the coal mine.
MARK MADISON: Who is the target audience for the film?
TAGGART SIEGEL: It's everybody. I really feel that this film needs to be seen by everybody, just as Rudolph Steiner says in the film, everybody needs to be a beekeeper or interested in bees because they are what's keeping us alive. So my feeling is that it could be for a scientific audience. It could be for somebody that's really interested in philosophy or in bees or in history. I really feel it kind of combines a lot of elements in this film to keep it kind of light and also heavy, and then at the same time, let's get us out of the mess.
MARK MADISON: Taggart, if people wanted to find out where the film is showing, how could they learn that?
TAGGART SIEGEL: Well, you could come to queenofthesun.com, come to our web site. You could Facebook us and like us. There's over 5,000 people now following us. It's a kind of film where it's grass roots oriented, where all these great organizations help get the word out, and also individuals that really care about the environment.
MARK MADISON: Thank you very much, Taggart. It's an extraordinary film. I had the pleasure of watching it a couple nights ago with my family. We all really enjoyed it. The title of the film is "Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us?" It's in semi-wide release, I guess, around the country, including here in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, and we hope to bring it back here. And, Taggart, we will be going to queenofthesun.com?
TAGGART SIEGEL: Yes, and it's opening in New York and L.A. on June 10th and June 17th, getting ready for Pollinator Week, which is June 20th. So we're going to be celebrating that with the bees.
MARK MADISON: Can't think of a better way to celebrate Pollinator Week. Go see "Queen of the Sun," and, Taggart, thanks for bringing the film out here for a screening.
TAGGART SIEGEL: Thank you very much, Mark.
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Passover is coming again, and with it, the irony of liberation.
What irony? That while Passover is the Jewish holiday of freedom, so many of us feel enslaved to it. The cleaning, the prohibitions, the absurd details of kosher dish soap and unkosher salt, and worst of all, the endless drone of the Haggadah, which in so many households is, as Macbeth memorably intoned, "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
We've all been there: the Passover Seder that seems as long as the slavery in Egypt, complete with indecipherable Hebrew and Aramaic texts and bizarre exegesis (50 plagues! 200 plagues!), all recited in a hopeless, mindless drone. To me, the "We Don't Know Why We're Reading This, but We're Going To Read It All Anyway" Seder ritual seems deliberately designed to turn even the most inquisitive "wise child" into a contrary wicked one, a stupefied simple one and then, finally, an absent and therefore silent one. Really, there's hardly a better way to drive away your friends and children from Judaism than to mouth the meaningless syllables of a rabbinic text.
The irony is that the Seder, modeled on the Greek symposium, was never meant to be about rote recitation. The text of the Haggadah is not a magical formula; it's a model for conversation, a jumping-off point, an inspiration. This is how the rabbis did it, the Haggadah says; now it's your turn. The long exegesis on the Exodus narrative is not the point; the point is for each of us to tell the story anew, embellishing as fantastically and freely as did our rabbinic forbears.
There are plenty of contemporary examples of how this could work in practice, even for families with small children. In the mainstream, interactive Haggadot — like Noam Zion and David Dishon's "A Different Night: The Family Participation Haggadah" (Shalom Hartman Institute, 1997) and Zion's (with Mishael Zion) more recent "A Night To Remember: The Haggadah of Contemporary Voices" (Zion Holiday Publications, 2007) — capture perfectly the multi-vocality and pedagogical potential of the Seder ritual. Likewise, the encyclopedic "My People's Passover Haggadah" (Jewish Lights Publishing, 2007), edited by Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman and David Arnow). This Haggadah brings together the traditional text and commentaries from a wide variety of viewpoints. To lead a Seder from such Haggadot takes work. (Arnow's sourcebook "Creating Lively Passover Seders"[Jewish Lights Publishing, 2004] can help there.) But the reward is worth the investment — and the work can be divided among Seder attendees, with each taking responsibility for different parts of the evening.
Recently, independently minded Jews have taken a further step, creating their own Haggadot entirely — and, as with much of the best new Jewish culture, making them available for free online. One of my favorites is Rachel Barenblat's "The Velveteen Rabbi Haggadah." (Full disclosure: Rachel is a friend and a colleague of mine at Zeek, and a poem of mine is in the Haggadah.) Filled with poetry, clear explanations of even the most opaque rituals and musical notation, this Haggadah
brings Passover down to earth and allows the Seder to soar.
A more radical example is Todd Polenberg's "A Passover Seder" series, online at http://fffff.at/passover/. Polenberg created his unique, highly unorthodox texts — and innovative rituals that go with them — as "an attempt to come to grips with the experience of being an American in an America that does not represent my values." To be sure, not everyone will agree with his politics — but certainly, debate regarding the concept of freedom is at the essence of the holiday.
There are also niche-Haggadot for multi-faith families, vegetarians, feminists, Buddhists, gay men and lesbians, disabled people, people in recovery — you name it. And for more conservative-minded folk, Chabad has recently uploaded more than 1,000 traditional Haggadot, many of which are rare. Visit Jewschool.com for links to all these and more (search "Passover links" from the main page).
These online Haggadot represent the polar opposite of rote Seders. They're creative, individualistic and, above all, relevant, precisely because they are quirky, nichey and innovative. And like the original Haggadah text, these new Haggadot can serve as a model for all of us. Whether you use one of them "off the shelf," work with different Haggadot at the same Seder (my personal practice) or get so inspired by them that you create your own open source Haggadah at opensourcehaggadah.com has some of the nuts and bolts), these alternative liturgies are an important step toward liberating you and yours from the slavery of Seder tedium.
They also say something important, I think, about the future of Judaism, especially for those concerned that the economic recession will stifle Jewish creativity. The fact is, none of these Haggadot got a dime from any federation or from Jewish philanthropies. Nope, all this Jewish creativity has taken place far from focus groups and sociological studies — and even farther from the moneyed halls of the Jewish establishment.
In an era of bloated organizations now making long-overdue cutbacks, these open-source Haggadot represent a hopeful Jewish future. Yes, the mushy middles of *klal yisrael *will continue to muddle along with Maxwell House. And perhaps they will instill in their kids enough of a sense of inertia and/or tradition to ensure that their children's children will be subjected to the same mindless rituals. But creative Jews, the ones who will keep this millennia-old enterprise going outside of Orthodox enclaves, are going to be cutting and pasting, wrestling and writing, and putting the results online. The future of Passover is open source.
That may mean singing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" instead of "Chad Gadya." It may be more "Waltz With Bashir" than dance at the Red Sea. But the Seder is increasingly coming to resemble an iPod playlist more than it does the same greatest hits record played over and over again each year, and this is a good thing. If I'm right, we're going to see more variation, more experimentation and, I think, a greater fidelity to what this symposium was supposed to be about in the first place.
At the same time, I want to conclude, appropriately enough, on a questioning note If the future of Judaism is increasingly specialized, roll-your-own, do-it-yourself and choose-your-own-adventure, what about the Maxwell House middle that has neither the education nor the inclination to do the work required? Are we seeing, now, a bifurcation between engaged and educated Jews on the one hand, and ever more estranged ones on the other?
More on this in a future column. At least for one night, though, the choice is up to you. Present your children (and peers) with a dead, written-in-stone-and-read-in-monotone Judaism, and they will indeed follow the descent of the "four sons," a one-way journey from alienation to ignorance to cultural extinction.
But dare to take the risk — not by dressing up the Seder in "cool" clothing, but by re-examining your fundamental assumptions of why we're yoking ourselves to this text in the first place, by putting in the time and effort and, in so doing, demonstrating your own interest in the Jewish project — and there's a chance that some of them will rise to the occasion. You do not need a doctorate or a working knowledge of Aramaic to make the Seder special, just the courage to ask more than the same four questions, and make this night a little different from the rest.
Additional Seder resources are online at Jewish Blogging and "Facebook". A Tzedek insert is available through Jewish Community Action.
Jay Michaelson
Jay Michaelson


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Dip tip
When - or perhaps, if - you tire of steamed new season artichoke leaves dipped in butter, up the ante with a mayonnaise, sharpened with dijon mustard, minced garlic and onion and a touch of fresh chopped dill, or a garlicky aioli. On a cooler evening, dip small, steamed artichokes in a hot cheesey fondue - rock the seventies vibe on a plate.
Spring risotto
Stir sauted quartered baby artichokes through a rissotto. Add plenty of unsalted butter, parmesan, chopped parsley and thyme. Perfect on its own or with a rich meat sauce.
Barbie time
Fire up the barbecue for a vege grill: slice cooked artichokes in half, scoop out the choke and fill with a sliced lemon; grill, turning often. A smokey, tangy crowd-pleaser, it pairs well with grilled tuna or chicken.


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I have a matrix of checkboxes and I would like to get the id of the checkBox on which the mouse is over. I set the onMouseOver handler programmatically by the following C# code in the Page_Load procedure:
The client's MouseOverHandler function (JavaScript) is:
Function mouseOverHandler(me)
When I move the mouse over a checkbox I get an empty alert box. It seems that the function "mouseOverHandler " does not get the firing checkbox in the parameter"me".
The same code works correctly when I change the triggering event from "onMouseOver" to "onClick".
1. Why does it work with "onClick" and dose not work with "onMouseOver"
2. How can I make it to work with "onMouseOver"
Thank you


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WindStone Golf Club
Ringgold, Ga. • June 1 - 4
RINGGOLD, Ga. — Two first-time AJGA champions had to wait out Mother Nature, but ultimately were rewarded Thursday at WindStone Golf Club, as James Monnerville of Vero Beach, Fla., and Mariah Stackhouse of Riverdale, Ga., took home the winners' trophies in the Boys and Girls Divisions, respectively. Monnerville finished the tournament with a three-round total of 7-under-par 203, while Stackhouse finished at 3-under-par 207.
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Ringgold Telephone Company Junior Classic was a 54-hole stroke play event held at WindStone Golf Club in Ringgold, Ga. The tournament field consisted of 75 boys and 23 girls from 15 states and Venezuela, ages 12-18. The Boys Division played the par-70 WindStone Golf Club at 6,469 yards, and the Girls Division played the course at 5,797 yards.
Monnerville started the final round two shots back of second-round leader Sam Straka of Valdosta, Ga, and he was still two shots back after nine holes. This time, he trailed Kelby Burton of Evans, Ga., who played the front nine at 4-under-par 31. After the turn, Monnerville, 16, immediately started making up ground by making birdie on the 370-yard par-4 No. 10. He stayed hot by rolling in birdies on Nos. 12 and 15 and then surged to a three-stroke lead with his fifth birdie of the day on the 525-yard par-5 No. 17.
After his birdie on No. 17, Monnerville had to sit for over an hour on his three-shot lead when storms descended on Ringgold and play was suspended. Ultimately, the players were able to return to the course to finish the tournament, and Monnerville battled nerves and a bad approach shot to clinch his championship.
"I knew at the 18 tee I had a three-shot lead, and the approach shot was more nerves than anything else," Monnerville said, adding tapping in his last putt on the 18th green was "The best feeling of the day."
Tied for second at 4-under-par 206 were Payne Denman of Riverwatch, Tenn., and Straka, while Burton finished in fourth at 3-under-par 207. Zach Estep rounded out the boys' leaderboard in fifth at 1-under-par 209.
Stackhouse displayed a killer instinct Thursday, as her 4-under-par 66 clinched a wire-to-wire victory for the 15-year-old. She credited her putter for holding off Shannon Aubert of Orlando, Fla., as well as the rest of a talented field of girls.
"Well, I had three birdies in a row on the back nine, and after that it was pretty much like I was confident with my putter," Stackhouse said. "I would step up over it and be like, 'You know, you're gonna make this putt,' and I think that's important. You have to have that confidence putting, and with those three birdies in a row everything just kind of went uphill from there."
Aubert slotted in behind Stackhouse at 1-under-par 209, and Karen Chung of Livingston, N.J., finished in third at 2-over-par 212.
The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf.
The largest Association of its kind, the AJGA has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of more than 5,000 junior golfers from 50 states and more than 30 foreign countries.
Titleist, the AJGA's National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association's success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA, which is in its third decade of AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007, after 12 years of support, Polo Ralph Lauren became the AJGA's second Premier Partner.
AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. More than 200 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA tours and have compiled more than 350 wins. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, Cristie Kerr, Pat Hurst, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel and Julieta Granada.
For more information about the Ringgold Telephone Company Junior Classic, please call AJGA National Headquarters at (770) 868-4200.


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Dear Mr. President:
Congrats on your re-election! I hope you'll forgive me for not dwelling on your victory and getting straight to the point. With all due respect, it's time for you to tackle this nation's retirement security issues, including Social Security, Medicare, and a host of other challenges that threaten the financial well-being and standard of living of current and future retirees. Here's the shortlist.
Social Security
For the past four years, more really, politicians in this country have been kicking the can down the road. They've not had a serious discussion about how to fix Social Security despite years of knowing about a problem that will affect millions of Americans in 21 short years.
Perhaps a reminder is in order? Come 2033, unless Congress acts, the Social Security Trust Fund will be bankrupt; it will be unable to pay scheduled benefits in full on a timely basis. In fact, come 2033, Social Security would only collect enough tax revenue each year to pay about 75% of benefits.
Why is that we can mobilize armies of people and relief efforts for Hurricane Sandy, but we can't muster up the energy and the will to tackle the Social Security problem?
Here's my advice: Put this on your list of things to do over the next four years. And don't just give it lip service as you did during the campaign. Do it. Figure out a way, just as the Greenspan Commission did back in the early 1980s, to preserve what has become—for better or worse—a much-needed source of income for retirees in this country, even those in the upper income quintile.
Make no mistake about this: The solutions are readily known. A nip here and a tuck there could easily solve this problem now. For instance, to remain solvent throughout a 75-year projection period, the Social Security trustees recently recommended that lawmakers could: 1) increase the combined payroll tax rate 2.61 percentage points (from its current level of 12.40% to 15.01%); 2) reduce scheduled benefits by 16.2%; 3) draw on alternative sources of revenue; or 4) adopt some combination of these approaches. Others have proposed similar tactics, all of which center on increasing taxes, reducing benefits or some combination of both. Read the Detailed Reports On The Financial Outlook For Social Security's Old-Age, Survivors, And Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds, by year of publication.
But the longer we wait, the more drastic the problem becomes and the more draconian the solutions will be. For what it's worth, I don't think we should leave this problem to our children to fix. So, for my children's sake, for your children's sake, and for the sake of all the children of this country, fix Social Security now.
Medicare is, of course, a problem much larger than Social Security, especially since the solutions to fixing it aren't nearly as neat. With Social Security there is, for instance, some degree of certainty. We know how much money is coming into the system and how much will be going out and for how many years. (Continued below.)
In contrast, as the Medicare trustees said in their most recent report, "Projections of Medicare costs are highly uncertain, especially when looking out more than several decades." One reason for this uncertainty is that scientific advances will make possible new interventions, procedures, and therapies. What's more, the financial outlook for Medicare is also uncertain because some provisions of current law that are designed to reduce costs may not be sustained.
The clearest example of this issue, the trustees wrote, is the growth rate formula for physician fee schedule payment levels. The projections in the most recent Medicare trustee report, for instance, assume that, as required by current law, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will implement a reduction in Medicare payment rates for physician services of more than 30% at the start of 2013. "However, it is a virtual certainty that lawmakers, cognizant of the disruptive consequences of such a sudden, sharp reduction in payments, will override this reduction just as they have every year since 2003," the trustees wrote.
What's more, Mr. President, the health-care reforms enacted so far under your first administration are another, and even larger, source of policy-related uncertainty.
"Given these uncertainties, future Medicare costs could be substantially larger than shown in the Trustees' current-law projections," the trustees wrote. "Growth of this magnitude, if realized, would substantially increase the strain on the nation's workers, the economy, Medicare beneficiaries, and the federal budget." Read that report.
But just because Medicare is a big problem doesn't mean we shouldn't search for ways to fix it. In fact, the trustees are urging that reforms be considered.
The good news is that we already know some of the approaches that seem promising and the ideas worth considering. We, of course, know about cutting Medicare costs by reductions in reimbursement rates. And you've already said you want the Medicare Independent Payment Advisory Board to recommend program cost reductions if Medicare spending grows faster than gross domestic product plus 0.5 percentage point, among other tactics. Read that plan.
Others, meanwhile, have proposed reforming Medicare through a premium support model. For instance, there is the Domenici-Rivlin proposal, which would offer seniors the opportunity to choose among comprehensive private health plans offered on a regulated exchange. And congressional Republicans have proposed plans where seniors would use federal funds to purchase insurance on the private market—and the Romney-Ryan campaign made a similar proposal.
Suffice to say, if we able to find minds bright enough to conceive Medicare in 1965, surely we can find minds bright enough to fix it now.


text: Page Content 1Podcasts and Webinars Throughout the year, Babson's alumni groups and clubs host many informative professional development forums. These forums include: panel discussions, keynote presentations, and webinar programs, facilitated by business leaders and industry experts, many of whom are Babson alumni. To provide our global network of alumni and friends with access to these lifelong learning opportunities, the Alumni & Friends Network leverages the College's technology resources to record and post these presentations as podcasts and webinar recordings. Please note that speaker consent is required to record programs. In addition to recordings, webinar only and simulcast programs (e.g. an event that features a live audience and speakers in one or more locations plus a webinar option) are offered and provide alumni and friends with the opportunity to enrich their professional knowledge while interacting with a speaker(s) in "real time." With speaker consent, recordings of these programs are also posted for alumni and friends. Podcasts and webinars are archived into one of three categories: Career Affinity Networks includes recordings of industry-specific speaking programs such as a panel presentation on a financial services topic or real estate trends. Career Development includes recordings of job search focused programs and skills-focused content such as strategies for effective networking. Education & Enrichment includes all other recordings of educational programs and the "Accelerate Your Business" Webinar Series recordings. Podcasts and Webinars


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Fifteen-year-old amateur Lydia Ko fired a career-best, 10-under 63 on Thursday to grab a 1-stroke lead after the opening round of the Women's Australian Open.
Ko, who won her third professional event last week, rattled off 11 birdies, an eagle and three bogeys in her round at the par-73 Royal Canberra Golf Club.
Mariajo Uribe carded a 9-under 64 and is alone in second place, one stroke clear of Jiyai Shin.
Ayako Uehara, Mi Hyang Lee and Rebecca Lee-Bentham share fourth place at minus-7, while Giulia Sergas is alone in seventh after a round of 6-under 67.
Women's world No. 1 Yani Tseng, who played alongside Ko and Michelle Wie, opened with a 5-under 68. She is one of six players tied for eighth.
Tseng ran off five birdies in a 6-hole span from the 12th, but had just one birdie and one bogey the rest of the way.
"It was fun to watch her play golf today. I mean she still looks 15. I don't know how she hit the ball so well," Tseng said of Ko. "I wasn't even that close to her when I was 15. I really enjoyed playing with her today, too. She pushed me up a little bit."
Ko, who won the New Zealand Women's Open last week, got off to a rough start as she drove into the trees on No. 10, her first hole. That led to an opening bogey. She came right back with a birdie on the 11th, and followed with birdies on each of the next three holes.
"After my bogey on my first hole, which was the 10th, I thought 'what's today going to be like?' But after a couple of birdies, I started to feel pretty comfortable," Ko admitted.
The teenager holed a wedge shot from 100 yards out on No. 15 to jump into the lead at minus-5. Ko's second to the par-4 16th ran through the green and that led to her second bogey.
Not to worry. Ko bounced back with birdies on the next two holes to make the turn in 6-under 30.
Ko had a chance at shooting 59, but the front nine plays to a par of 37 with three par-5s. She parred her 10th hole, the par-5 first.
"I've played good before and gone triple, par, bogey or whatever. I didn't really think about what I was going to shoot," said Ko if she thought about shooting 59. "It was one shot at a time."
She poured in three consecutive birdies from the second. After a par at the fifth, Ko birdied the par-5 sixth to get to 10-under.
At the par-3 eighth, Ko pulled her tee shot long, left of the green and failed to save par. She erased that mistake at the ninth, when she stuffed her approach shot at the par-4 within a foot of the hole.
Uribe had three birdies in the first five holes, before making eagle at the sixth. She birdied No. 10 to move to minus-6. Her final three birdies came between the 13th and 17th.
NOTES: Wie stumbled to a quadruple-bogey on No. 18, her ninth, en route to a 1-over 74, which left her tied for 99th ... Ko's 63 will not go as a course record because preferred lies rules were in play ... Lee-Bentham and Moriya Jutanugarn (70) shared medalist honors at Q-School last fall ... Defending champion Jessica Korda opened with a 3-under 70 and is tied for 22nd ... Maude-Aimee LeBlanc was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.


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Hi all!
I am trying to have an option on my webpage that I'm making which will allow users to change bg colour if they are unable to see clearly.
I was experimenting with this code:


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By Greg Gullberg
Feb. 21, 2013
Suwannee Co., FL - Big tractors, cranes and vast spanses of nothing but dirt. If you look closely, you'll see that means jobs are on the way.
Construction crews are literally clearing the way for a new Chip Mill in Suwannee County, Florida. And with it, locals will soon find over 350 permanent jobs.
More than 200 acres have been cleared for the new Chip Mill. It's going to be called "Klausner Lumber One". They're going to be exporting lumber products all over the world.
The Chipmill is in the North West portion of Suwannee county, not far from Live Oak. Community leaders are thrilled about the impact it'll have for the Suwannee, Hamilton and Columbia County area, a rural region of North Florida plagued by steep unemployment.
It's too early to say when they'll start hiring, but you can check in with your local labor office for updates.
Have no doubt about it, Chip Mills can be hard work, but what's important is getting folks back to work.


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NanoHttpd is a lightweight HTTP server designed for embedding in other applications. It's only one Java file, in two "flavors", one strictly Java 1.1 compatible, and one at "current" standards. It supports GET, POST, PUT, HEAD and DELETE requests, and supports file uploading with very small memory overhead. Temp file usage and the threading model are easily customized.
ashttpd was originally a testbed for a kernel async-sendfile patch. Today, it's just another Web server for serving static content rapidly. It differs from its competitors by storing its webroot in a database, which provides a 50% performance increase over using the operating system's VFS. It also allows precalculation of strong cache-validators (ETags).
Higgs.IO is a high performance, message oriented network library built for realtime systems. It provides a core extensible framework and libraries built on top of the core. Libraries include a WebSocket server, an HTTP server and client, and Boson, a custom serialization and RMI library.
hchatd is a simple chat server, written in (almost compliant) ANSI C, and able to compile on multiple Unix systems. Users can create multiple chatrooms, while the chatroom URL is the only thing you need to connect to it. The server contains client code (HTML and JavaScript); it uses XMLHttpRequest, so the chat is truly online.
NXWEB is ultra-fast and super-lightweight web server for applications written in C. It can serve thousands of concurrent requests with a small memory footprint using an event-driven and multi-threaded model that is designed to scale. It features an exceptionally light code base, a simple API, decent HTTP protocol handling, keep-alive connections, SSL support (via GNUTLS), HTTP proxy (with keep-alive connection pooling), non-blocking sendfile support (with configurable small file memory cache), cacheable gzip content encoding, cacheable image thumbnails with watermarks (via ImageMagick), a modular design for developers, and the ability to run as a daemon.
Alaya is a primitive chrooting Web server with basic WebDAV support. It can serve HTTPS and HTTP, and can authenticate using PAM, /etc/shadow, /etc/passwd, or using its own authentication files that allow for 'native' users that only have access to alaya content. It's intended to be a simple method of sharing content over WebDAV, and though it can be configured with a config file, it's easy to configure by command-line switches alone. Alaya always chroots to ensure that malicious users can't use '..' within a URL to access unintended documents, and that users can't accidentally leave documents in places outside of the chroot. It has a 'ChHome' mode that chroots users into their home directory and serves content from there. It supports .cgi scripts out of a trusted path (so not from within the chrooted WebDAV share) and read-only shared directories that are outside of the chroot (allowing access to shared content when in ChHome mode).


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The Tulane Law School Sports Law program provides students with the background necessary to understand and handle problems unique to the sports industry.
Friday Sports Links - 6/15/12
A few different sports law stories made headlines this week, including a strange Title IX problem and a lawsuit involving the Phillie Phanatic.
To keep up throughout the week be sure to follow us on Twitter.Follow @TulaneSportsLaw
You can also now like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TulaneSportsLawSociety
NCAAAn Office of Civil Rights investigation into Butler University has revealed an odd situation related to Title IX. http://bit.ly/MboNqC
The Big East Conference has sued TCU for reneging on its agreement to join the conference this year. http://bit.ly/LVRQzW
North Dakota Board of Education may officially retire the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname. http://bit.ly/LydEnQ
The NCAA has adopted new rules permitting men's basketball coaches to text recruits who have finished the sophomore year in high school. http://es.pn/LJGmlu
How might the NFL concussion lawsuits affect the NFL financially? http://bit.ly/Lneulv
Jonathan Vilma's lawyer says the evidence the NFL provided in advance of Vilma's appeal showed no links between Vilma and a bounty program. http://bit.ly/LaK8Vd
The NFLPA has asked the NFL to provide more evidence related to the New Orleans Saints bounty program. http://bit.ly/MEFfjh
U.S. District Court Judge David Doty, who presided over the landmark 1993 Reggie White settlement may end his role presiding over NFL labor disputes. http://bit.ly/KYZTQZ
OtherAre the NFL concussion lawsuits beginning to change football culture? Pop Warner has issued new rules hoping to reduce youth concussions. http://trib.in/KvGBCO
Alicia Jessop provides insight on the new NBA CBA from former NBPA Executive Director Charles Grantham. http://bit.ly/KFuYV3
An NBA security official has filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against Connecticut women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma. http://on.nba.com/OrInlT
A woman has sued the Philadelphia Phillies mascot, the Phillie Phanatic, for throwing her into a pool. http://bit.ly/KFyrmG
Academic Programs Contact:Office of Academic Services
Weinmann Hall, Suite 204
6329 Freret Street
New Orleans, LA 70118tel 504.865.5935fax firstname.lastname@example.com
Admission Contact:Office of Admission
Weinmann Hall, Suite 203
6329 Freret Street
New Orleans, LA 70118tel 504.865.5930fax firstname.lastname@example.com


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May 2010 Monthly Photo Contest!!!! Win GG!!!!!
- Michael BasilUnited States
This is the May 2010 Picture of the Month contest.
How to submit an image?
Just add a geeklist item, where it asks for a ImageID add the number of your photo there. Use [imageid=xxxxxx medium] in the body of the List Entry, where "xxxxxx" is the ImageID number, to show the image at a reasonable size as that helps people judge your image better, and make sure to remove the space. If you have questions please geekmail me and I will help.
1) You can only submit a single entry with only one image in it.
2) That image has to be one of your own. If you like Laura Foobar's picture of dogs playing Die Macher, ask her to submit it.
3) The image was uploaded during the month in question.
4) Images from your User Gallery are eligible, and images from any other Gallery.
5) Users may vote for (give a thumb up to) as many entries as they wish.
6) Winners will be declared when the next month's list goes up.
7) In case of a tie, the prize will be split equally among all the tied people.
8) I will randomly reorder this list so that the first-come first-thumbed effect is lessened.
9) There is a handicapping system so that those that win in the previous month find it harder to win the next month. This is linked to a Hall Of Fame and if you win enough times you'll be elevated to Grand Master Photographer and win the Hall of Fame microbadge . More info on handicaps is below.
10) Whatever tips this list receives will go towards additional 5 participation prizes awarded to those that tried but didn't place.
Three will be awarded:
First place: 50
Second place: 25
Third place: 10
PS- want to be involved in in photo contests throughout the year?
Make sure to subscribe to this thread.
PSS- Want to see all of the winners of previous years or just keep track of this one?
Make sure you subscribe to this GeekList.
PSSS- Make sure to give this list a thumbs-up so that we can keep this list on the front page as long as possible!
- Edited Sun Aug 1, 2010 8:21 am
- Posted Tue Jun 1, 2010 7:51 pm
- [+] Dice rolls


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A Fetish, an Amulet, a Pack of Tarot Cards
December 10, 2012
The Morning Heresy is your daily digest of news and links relevant to the secular and skeptic communities.
A major new report has been released by the International Humanist and Ethical Union, and made with the help of us at CFI, on instances of atheist/nonreligious discrimination and persecution around the world. Coverage from Reuters. Billy Hallowell at The Blaze is even moved to write:
Considering [IHEU's] scope — to advance the cause of non-belief — there is clearly a bias in the preparation and publication of the report. However, many of the findings are compelling.
Hemant's reaction: "Read it and weep."
The Atheist Census project is sabotaged by hackers:
Atheist Census is offline as the result of a denial of service (DoS) attack. Support for the project has been fantastic - Atheist Census was live for around 17 hours and we have 8,880 confirmed entries and another c. 2,300 pending. We are working hard to get Atheist Census back online as soon as possible.
Our Office of Public Policy wants you to contact HHS secretary Sebelius and tell her to end the pointless restrictions on emergency contraception.
Outside magazine spends a night with Bigfoot "researchers" in Ohio:
We continue tramping through the undergrowth. Todd has been talking about paranormal activity for the past half-hour. His girlfriends, he says, have never really been into Bigfoot or ghosts. He's single at the moment. He pauses. "You know," he says to Bernie, "you guys are lucky to have each other to do this with. It's good to have anyone to go on these hikes with—especially someone like a mate."
Austin L. Hughes at The New Atlantis launches a lengthy attack on "scientism," comparing it to pseudoscience:
In contrast to reason, a defining characteristic of superstition is the stubborn insistence that something — a fetish, an amulet, a pack of Tarot cards — has powers which no evidence supports. From this perspective, scientism appears to have as much in common with superstition as it does with properly conducted scientific research. Scientism claims that science has already resolved questions that are inherently beyond its ability to answer.
Jim DeMint prepares to leave the U.S. Senate, and the Richard Dawkins website floats the quixotic idea of encouraging Tea Partying South Carolina governor Nikki Haley to appoint SCA president Herb Silverman to the seat.
Emily Willingham, my new hero at Forbes, throws cold water on bad coverage of a shoddy study purportedly shows the dangers of genetically modified foods.
The Legion of Doom readies another endless PR stunt, calling for a "Year of Faith" and another "Fortnight for Freedom," all the while I engage in an Eon of Eyerolling.
NYT's lover of surveys, Charles Blow, laments the GOP's embrace of creationism.
TED conferences lose some luster has they become pulpits for pseudoscience and nonsense.
It may not have been the meteorite that finished off the dinosaurs, but just a crappy environment as a result of volcanic activity.
Ben Radford on Ripley's Believe It or Not's incorrect assertion that you're more likely to drop dead on your birthday.
Popular astronomer and UFO debunker Sir Patrick Moore is dead.
Can't say I disagree with any of this: Kylie Sturgess points us to a Twitter account solely dedicated to encouraging us not to read the comments sections of blogs and whatnot.
Speaking of Kylie, the latest Token Skeptic features Dr. Joseph Gelfer talking about the various ways in which the world will doubtlessly end very soon.
And speaking of speaking of Kylie, she also interviews Laurie Tarr about making science interesting to kids for the CSI website.
FFRF's Dan Barker, HuffPo's Jaweed Kaleem, and Billy Hallowell go at it on HuffPost Live over the UK Scout's new "atheist oath."
The Irish plow ahead of us in an area close to CFI's heart, as Ireland passes legislation allowing humanist weddings to have legal status.
Russian Prime Minister Medvedev jokes that Russian leaders are kept up to speed on the whereabouts of aliens on Earth. Let the conspiracy theories begin.
Confluence of mysterious booming sounds of COURSE herald the apocalypse.
Also in Canada! Regis College in Toronto begins a new course in dealing with the threat of atheism.
Mommy, really. Why is the sky blue?
Okay fine. But then why is space dark? This video helps explain it, and part of it has to do with the fact that the universe is running away from us.
Headline of the Day, from The Telegraph's Tom Chivers: "Huffington Post explains 'How Homeopathic Medicines Work', without bothering to mention that they don't"
Quote of the Day
Steve Huthman, who has an inexplicable mustache, opines in the Salt Lake Tribune about the prospects of an irreligious White House aspirant:
Wouldn't it be useful for a presidential candidate to publish his or her own list of answers to moral questions rather than hide behind the vague generality that religion equals morality? Wouldn't you vote for a public official who pledged to live by these guidelines in the performance of his or her duties even if their religious beliefs differed from your own?
Linking to a story or webpage does not imply endorsement by Paul or CFI. Not every use of quotation marks is ironic or sarcastic, but it often is.
Follow CFI on Twitter: @center4inquiry
Got a tip for the Heresy? Send it to press(at)centerforinquiry.net!
The Morning Heresy: "I actually read it." - Hemant Mehta


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Nuggets Tickets
If you want to see the new look Nuggets light up the scoreboard at the Pepsi Center, then be sure to get your Denver Nuggets tickets from GoTickets.com. Just pick the games you want to see and place your order today. We have tickets on sale for any game on the schedule, including Nuggets playoff tickets.
2016-2017 Denver Nuggets Schedule
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Nuggets Ticket Info
At the conclusion of the '12-13 season the Nuggets said farewell to longtime head coach George Karl. Despite being named NBA Coach of the Year the Nuggets and Karl disagreed with the direction that the franchise was headed. In Karl's final season in Denver, the Nuggets finished at 57-25, which was 3rd in the Western Conference. They were eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in the First Round of the '13 NBA Playoffs in six games.
There will likely be a bit of a transition period between coaches for the Denver Nuggets, but it's anyone's guess as to just how long that will last. The new head coach of the Nuggets will have a very talented roster at his disposal that also has a good amount of playoff experience. The Nuggets head coaching job is certainly one of the more desirable positions in the NBA at the moment. Led by high flyer Andre Iguodala, the Denver Nuggets should be a real contender once again this season in the Western Conference.
Take a peek at the complete 2016-2017 Denver Nuggets schedule and order your tickets today! Every game at the Pepsi Center is exciting as the fans in Denver are some of the most passionate in the league. Don't miss a minute of action, order your Denver Nuggets tickets today!