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Villa should stand by Lambert despite Spurs thrashing, says AVB
TOTTENHAM manager Andre Villas-Boas is sure Aston Villa have the right man at the helm in Paul Lambert.
Villa crashed to a second successive heavy Barclays Premier League defeat yesterday, being thrashed 4-0 at home by Spurs three days after suffering a humiliating 8-0 mauling at Chelsea.
Those two scorelines would suggest major problems for the midlands outfit, not least in defence, while their current league position of 16th - only three points above the relegation zone - also appears worrying.
Prior to the game at Stamford Bridge, though, there had been encouraging signs from Lambert's young team. They had gone six matches unbeaten in all competitions, a sequence which included an impressive 3-1 league victory at Liverpool and a 4-1 win at Norwich in the Capital One Cup quarter-finals.
And as far as Villas-Boas is concerned, Villa must stick with the Scot as manager.
"They were a different team at the beginning," said Villas-Boas - who, like Lambert, was appointed to his present post over the summer.
"When Paul changed the structure to five at the back the results improved for them and they managed to get some important ones.
"I think for them now it is important to find stability defensively, looking at what is happening.
"I think Paul is the right person. He is developing a very young team, and it has nothing to do with teams of the past.
"So hopefully, by him being given time to do that, Villa can achieve the results they want."
As well as Villas-Boas, it seems Lambert has the backing of Villa supporters, who were singing his name even after the goals started going in yesterday.
As for the club's hierarchy, after the game - in which Jermain Defoe put a dominant Spurs side in front in the 57th minute before Gareth Bale added a hat-trick - Lambert stressed he has a "good relationship" with Villa owner Randy Lerner and speaks to him every week.
On the fans, Lambert said: "They are fantastic with the way they have supported us.
"I think they can see what we are trying to do and they were terrific again.
"It was really pleasing to hear them back us, but we know we have to get results."
Lambert was keen to emphasise that the entire Villa team, rather than just the defence, had to take responsibility for the last two results and expressed his confidence that they will be able to bounce back.
He said: "I believe they will do it. There is no pressure on these lads at all.
"They will go again and give us everything - they will.
"Even though people got carried away before about us beating Norwich and Liverpool, I never did and neither did the team.
"We never let them get too high or too low, because the nature of football is that you can get hurt at any moment.
"We had a good chat the other day with them. For a lot of them, this is their first crack at Premier League football.
"It is not just the defence - it is everywhere. It is unfair to criticise the defence.
"We are in this together, and collectively we have to stop this - not just the defenders."
Lambert admitted the amount of game time they are seeing might be catching up with some of his young players, but pointed out that Villa's current injuries were making rotation difficult.
Ron Vlaar (calf), Charles N'Zogbia (knee), Gabriel Agbonlahor (hip) and Andreas Weimann (calf) all missed the Tottenham match and were joined as doubts for Saturday's crunch home clash with 18th-placed Wigan by Nathan Baker, who picked up a hamstring problem during the contest.
Darren Bent (hamstring) and Richard Dunne (groin) have also been sidelined.
The opportunity to strengthen squads is nearing and Lambert insisted the events of the last few days would not affect his thinking for the January transfer window.
Meanwhile, Villas-Boas - whose side are now fourth, level on points with fifth-placed Everton and sixth-placed West Brom - said there was "no truth" in reports linking Tottenham with Inter Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder.


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subset: commoncrawl


text:
So here's a blurb on a new study, courtesy of Washington Post's "The Checkup." It opens:
Women, want to enjoy good health in your golden years?
Ooh! I know this one! [thinks] YES.
Lose weight. Now.
Oh. Wow, that's… um, directive. Not one to slice the bologna too thin, eh, WaPo? Attention ALL WOMEN! What? Yes, even YOU, the one whose BMI puts you in the underweight range. Want to be healthy when you're old, woman? Lose weight. Now. It's What Women Do, see.
Look, I don't want prematurely to pile on Jennifer LaRue Huget, whom I don't know from Eve. (I will note that a quick Google search suggests that she's written two children's books that miiiiiiiight just tap into the old mothers-are-the-ones-who-bear-total-responsibility-for-the-kids-and-I-can't-therefore-fathom-why-they're-so-UPTIGHT-laff-laff-chortle thing. But perhaps if I read the books I'd be pleasantly surprised. It's happened before.) She was writing, probably under a deadline, on a study that was uploaded to the BMJ website LAST NIGHT. Plus, who knows what changes her editor made?
In any case, one can't expect a short, punchy WaPo blurb to contain as much nuance as this analysis of the same study, which appeared today on… ummm… Washington Post's "The Checkup," and was reported by a Jennifer LaRue Huget:
The study controlled for socioeconomic status and for smoking, diet and other lifestyle behaviors that could affect physical and mental health. One caveat: Most of the women studied were white, so researchers aren't sure their findings extend broadly across the general population.
Oh. The heck you say. Well, no, that's really okay, because we're all pretty sure that white women count for all women, right? So the opening command to lose weight probably still holds. Plus: look, it's a WaPo blog. If one wanted in-depth and even-handed analysis like this:
Still, the study adds new fodder to the often-heated debate about how closely body weight correlates to health. While the common wisdom is that being overweight puts people at increased risk of life-shortening diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, others say no such cause-and-effect relationship has been scientifically established and that people can be very healthy even if they're overweight or even obese. The new research is the first, according to its authors, to examine the role of overweight and obesity in overall health among women who survive to older ages.
…one would need to look here, in the coverage by WaPo's "The Checkup," by Jennifer LaRue Huget.
Okay, okay, I'm having a little joke. It's ALL the same article! Ha! But seriously. [Puts on serious face]. Shapelings, I point this out as an example of a phenomenon I see in health reporting and advertising. I call it the Vision Chart Effect. The principle runs thus: In messages about fat, the text at the top is big, bold, and brief. Read down and it gets smaller and smaller, and lengthier and lengthier. Just like an eye chart! Witness:
Look at these ladies! They're thin!* And therefore healthier than you!**
*Not that we actually know any good way for YOU to get thin. Results not typical and so on.***
***-Incidentally, you maybe should know that this might not have fuck-all to do with overall health.
** – And by "you" I mean "white lady." Frankly, if you're not white we're probably not talking about you in the first place.
Because I know that people who show a concern for "health" always have everyone's best interests at heart, it is my studied opinion that the mainstream media provides this effect as a SERVICE. A service to FAT PEOPLE. Isn't that nice? Because apparently some fat people experience prejudice at the doctor's office. To the point that they avoid going and getting regular checkups for things like vision. (A fact which could not POSSIBLY have any effect on overall health as one enters one's golden years.)


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Here it is. They can't stop laughing at New Yorkers in Minnesota, where they have these "snowmagedons" every other day during winter—but show this picture from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite to the former, and we will run away, screaming and looting supermarkets:
The satellite image, captured at 9:01 a.m. EST, shows clouds associated with the western frontal system stretching from Canada through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, into the Gulf of Mexico. The comma-shaped low pressure system located over the Atlantic, east of Virginia, is forecast to merge with the front and create a powerful nor'easter. The National Weather Service expects the merged storm to move northeast and drop between two to three feet of snow in parts of New England.
Have fun, kids! [NASA]


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Latest News
Is compromise dead in DC? Gang of Six's unraveling suggests so
WASHINGTON — They were viewed as perhaps the last best hope for compromise on the giant thorny budget issues that have Washington deadlocked, but the Senate's "Gang of Six" now stands in disarray after Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., bolted the group in frustration.
In the wake of Coburn's exit, lawmakers and budget analysts were left to wonder: If this group of three Democrats and three Republicans couldn't reach common ground on tough budget and debt issues after months of closed-door bargaining, who could?
The gang's breakup illustrates how wide the partisan divide is in Washington, and how difficult it is to bridge in an era of fiercely partisan and ideological politics. And that's dangerous for the nation at a time when failure to achieve budget compromise and raise the nation's debt ceiling could spook financial markets and endanger the economic recovery.
"I still think they were the only game in town," said Robert Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, a bipartisan group that promotes fiscal discipline. "Compromise is in very short supply — it just doesn't exist. It's 24-7 campaign mode, and the point of campaigns is not to come together. It's to beat the other side."
Bixby holds out hope that Coburn will return to the gang and equated his leaving to members of rock bands, sick of each other, breaking up but later getting back together for a reunion tour.
"I'm looking for rays of hope here," he said. "Maybe we'll have a revival of the Gang of Six in the fall."
Coburn on Thursday shooed reporters away, saying, "You can read about it in the paper. I'm not going to talk about it anymore. I'm on sabbatical." That last statement indicated at least a theoretical possibility that he might rejoin the deliberations in time.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, who with Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho are now the lone Republicans in the group, said, "We need six." Chambliss is under heavy pressure from conservatives in his home state not to compromise, and Coburn's presence gave him cover. Crapo, in a statement, indicated that he's ready to continue with the gang's work.
"Our fiscal challenges are too great to stop working toward a comprehensive, bipartisan solution," Crapo said. "I intend to keep working in good faith on these issues, because we have made too much progress to stop now."
The gang — which includes Democratic Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia, Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin of Illinois — was one of several Washington efforts seeking to forge compromises on budget issues to bring down the nation's ballooning debt.
A bipartisan presidential debt commission co-chaired by former Sen. Alan Simpson, R-Wyo., and former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles produced a compromise plan last fall that won bipartisan support from a majority of its members. But President Barack Obama largely ignored its recommendations in proposing his fiscal 2012 budget this year.
Vice President Joe Biden currently presides over a group of three senators and three leading members from the House of Representatives who are grappling behind closed doors with budget issues, but compromise so far is elusive.
"Why should it surprise anybody?" said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. "It's amazing for six senators — three from each party — to organize. This is the era we're in, the era of hyper-polarization."
It's also an era fueled by a voracious 24-hour cable TV news cycle and talk radio stations filled with ideological commentators, as well as hungry social media — Twitter, YouTube, blogs — that can spotlight a politician's words and deeds online or on the air almost instantly. Any hint of deviation by them from their supporters' hard-line positions risks serious political blowback.
"It gets unfiltered messages out. There used to be filters, now you get the diamonds with the trash," Sabato said. "That makes it hard for politicians. They have to worry about their base constantly."
Indeed, social media were lit up Wednesday over Coburn's departure from the Gang of Six. Ryan Ellis, the tax policy director of the conservative Americans for Tax Reform, couldn't hide his glee.
"I love the Roll Call headline: "gang of six collapses in on itself," Ellis Tweeted Wednesday. "god, I can't read that enough times."
In an interview, Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, called the group a farce, a phony beard to make liberal Senate Democrats seem like moderates in the eyes of voters. He said compromise is an antiquated, romantic notion of "old people" who remember when both political parties had liberal and conservative wings in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s.
"Its phony baloney, the two parties are sufficiently going in two different directions," Norquist said. "Everything's partisan that matters. The whole sense of why can't we do what we used to? Because the world's changed."
Unfortunately however, Washington can't get anything done unless either one party dominates both Congress and the White House, or else the two parties compromise.
Still, together or torn asunder, the Gang of Six's work will live on, said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. A veteran of other failed congressional gangs on climate change and overhauling the nation's immigration system, Graham said this gang may not produce a comprehensive body of work, but its recommendations could find their way into future legislation.
"Still, bipartisanship is required to get big things done," Graham said.
(Erika Bolstad of the Washington Bureau contributed.)
Democrats are split over the federal budget; Republicans aren't
Budget and debt talks begin, but a deal remains elusive
Deficit talks will begin anew, but expect no breakthroughs
For more McClatchy politics coverage visit Planet Washington


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In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over low heat. Add the shallots and cook, covered, until they are soft and translucent. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
Add the peas and simmer 10 minutes more for fresh peas and 4 minutes for frozen, or until the peas are just heated through and still vibrant.
Puree the mixture in a blender and pour through a wide-mesh strainer into a bowl set in a larger bowl filled with ice and cold water. Stir until cool to the touch.
Stir in the yogurt and season with salt and pepper. Divide among 4 chilled soup bowls and garnish with sprigs of tarragon.


text:
Mon - Fri 9 AM - 7 PM
Sat 9 AM - 5 PM
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text:
Density Meter Sampling Unit for Accurate Results
Mettler Toledo introduced its PSU-DE Density Meter Sampling Unit. This compact automation unit allows the measuring cell to be thoroughly cleaned and dried, and ensures that possible measurement errors are automatically detected.
PSU-DE density meters are equipped with an automation unit can automatically detect measurement errors caused by air bubbles, contamination or residual cleaning liquids and warn the operator accordingly.
The PSU-DE Sampling Unit's peristaltic pump is dedicated to sampling and cleaning, and a diaphragm pump is used for drying. Samples for measurement can be taken directly from different types of containers such as beakers, sampling bottles or vials.
The PSU-DE Sampling Unit is suitable for the measurement of low-viscosity to medium-viscosity samples (viscosity < 3000 mPa∙s) that do not tend to degas.
For highly viscous, sticky or volatile samples, the use of the SC1 or SC30 automation unit is recommended. An optional heating device is available for the measurement of samples that are solid at room temperature.


text:
Found 6 resultsAuthor Title Type [ Year]
Filters: Author is West, T. O. [Clear All Filters]
North America's net terrestrial CO2 exchange with the atmosphere 1990–2009. Biogeosciences. 12(2):399-414.. 2015.
North American Carbon Program (NACP) regional interim synthesis: Terrestrial biospheric model intercomparison. Ecological Modelling. 232:144-157.. 2012.
An integrative modeling framework to evaluate the productivity and sustainability of biofuel crop production systems. GCB Bioenergy. 2:258–277.. 2010.
Intra-annual changes in biomass, carbon, and nitrogen dynamics at 4-year old switchgrass field trials in west Tennessee, USA. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 136:177-184.. 2010.
Assessing the impact of changes in climate and CO 2 on potential carbon sequestration in agricultural soils. Geophysical Research Letters. 32(19). 2005.


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The pope's liturgist
The Washington Post fulfilled every liturgist's dream by publishing a story about the two Marinis--Piero and Guido--the pope's former and current master of ceremonies. The coverage is surprisingly decent, given that it is total inside baseball--so much so I'm surprised the Post printed it. It does, of course, overestimate the role of the papal liturgist, who really dpesn't have any canonical authority.
Guido, successor to John Paul II's Piero, decidedly favors the old-fashioned in liturgy, which isn't surprising since his boss does, too. I have to admit, though, that I don't think he really gets the liturgy. If he did, he wouldn't be focusing so much on the list of vestments that priests should be wearing.
I think the mistake that restorationists (such as Guido) make when it comes to making the liturgy more solemn is that they overly focus on incidentals rather than fundamentals, most often in the name of "symbol." But the fundamental symbols of the liturgy are not the priest's vestments or incense or fine metals or what have you. Those are merely decorative. Latin, for example, or Gregorian chant. Fundamental ones are things like the liturgical assembly (usually passive a papal liturgy), its president (presider), the word proclaimed, the bread and wine broken, blessed, and shared, and the places where those things happen (altar, ambo).
Guido says that the criterion for the liturgies he prepares is that they are "beautiful," but that's really in the eye of the beholder. And I also don't see how requiring people to kneel to receive communion from the pope is "beautiful." In fact, since the manner of reception is up to the communicant, I don't think it's even appropriate.
Admittedly, I'm of the Piero school of liturgy, confident that the liturgy can be beautiful, simple, solemn, and inculturated all at once. The Baroque period, from which most of Tridentine trappings come, is just a tad gaudy for my taste, and I'm not sure that the carpenter is well represented when his servants are arrayed in cloth-of-gold.
But, like many things liturgical, these are matters of taste.


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San Yama Bujutsu Renmei
Three Mountains Martial Arts Federation
San Yama Bujutsu Renmei was founded by Soke Dan McCaslin to serve as an organization for like-minded martial artists to be able to share information on training, business aspects of martial arts, and to also serve as headquarters for rank examination and certification. Members may train or teach in one of three categories. The first category is percussion arts such as Kempo, Karate, Tang Soo Do, Tae Kwon Do, etc. The second category of members is grappling styles such as JiuJitsu, Judo, Aikido, Brazilian JiuJitsu, etc. The third category of members is weapons stylists such as Okinawan Weapons, Filipino Weapons Arts, Chinese Weapons, etc. These three categories constitute the "Three Mountains". These three mountains are symbolic of the journey of the martial artist to the summit of their particular art. Some schools may teach in more than one of these categories but that is not required for membership. A deep desire to learn and further your knowledge is definitely required for membership.
The Three Mountains Martial Arts Federation has divisional heads who will share input with the director. For example these divisional heads may be Kempo division, Karate division, Jiujitsu division, Okinawan Weapons division etc. New divisions may be added as necessary by vote of the existing divisional heads. These divisional heads can also serve as mentors to other martial artists in their particular specialty.
The director of TMMAF is Soke Dan McCaslin who has over 35 years of martial arts experience. The hombu or headquarters of the organization is the Richmond School of Karate in Richmond, KY.


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Amazon.com Review
Amazon Exclusive: Q & A with Author Susan Cain
Q: Why did you write the book?
A: For the same reason that Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique in 1963. Introverts are to extroverts what women were to men at that time--second-class citizens with gigantic amounts of untapped talent. Our schools, workplaces, and religious institutions are designed for extroverts, and many introverts believe that there is something wrong with them and that they should try to "pass" as extroverts. The bias against introversion leads to a colossal waste of talent, energy, and, ultimately, happiness.
Q: What personal significance does the subject have for you?
A: When I was in my twenties, I started practicing corporate law on Wall Street. At first I thought I was taking on an enormous challenge, because in my mind, the successful lawyer was comfortable in the spotlight, whereas I was introverted and occasionally shy. But I soon realized that my nature had a lot of advantages: I was good at building loyal alliances, one-on-one, behind the scenes; I could close my door, concentrate, and get the work done well; and like many introverts, I tended to ask a lot of questions and listen intently to the answers, which is an invaluable tool in negotiation. I started to realize that there's a lot more going on here than the cultural stereotype of the introvert-as-unfortunate would have you believe. I had to know more, so I spent the past five years researching the powers of introversion.
Q: Was there ever a time when American society valued introverts more highly?
A: In the nation's earlier years it was easier for introverts to earn respect. America once embodied what the cultural historian Warren Susman called a "Culture of Character," which valued inner strength, integrity, and the good deeds you performed when no one was looking. You could cut an impressive figure by being quiet, reserved, and dignified. Abraham Lincoln was revered as a man who did not "offend by superiority," as Emerson put it.
Q: You discuss how we can better embrace introverts in the workplace. Can you explain?
A: Introverts thrive in environments that are not overstimulating—surroundings in which they can think (deeply) before they speak. This has many implications. Here are two to consider: (1) Introverts perform best in quiet, private workspaces—but unfortunately we're trending in precisely the opposite direction, toward open-plan offices. (2) If you want to get the best of all your employees' brains, don't simply throw them into a meeting and assume you're hearing everyone's ideas. You're not; you're hearing from the most vocally assertive people. Ask people to put their ideas in writing before the meeting, and make sure you give everyone time to speak.
Q: Quiet offers some terrific insights for the parents of introverted children. What environment do introverted kids need in order to thrive, whether it's at home or at school?
A: The best thing parents and teachers can do for introverted kids is to treasure them for who they are, and encourage their passions. This means: (1) Giving them the space they need. If they need to recharge alone in their room after school instead of plunging into extracurricular activities, that's okay. (2) Letting them master new skills at their own pace. If they're not learning to swim in group settings, for example, teach them privately. (3) Not calling them "shy"--they'll believe the label and experience their nervousness as a fixed trait rather than an emotion they can learn to control.
Q: What are the advantages to being an introvert?
A: There are too many to list in this short space, but here are two seemingly contradictory qualities that benefit introverts: introverts like to be alone--and introverts enjoy being cooperative. Studies suggest that many of the most creative people are introverts, and this is partly because of their capacity for quiet. Introverts are careful, reflective thinkers who can tolerate the solitude that idea-generation requires. On the other hand, implementing good ideas requires cooperation, and introverts are more likely to prefer cooperative environments, while extroverts favor competitive ones.
A Reader's Guide for Quiet:The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking
By Susan Cain
At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking, reading to partying; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over brainstorming in teams. Although they are often labeled "quiet," it is to introverts that we owe many of the great contributions to society-from van Gogh's sunflowers to the invention of the personal computer.
Passionately argued, impressively researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet shows how dramatically we undervalue introverts, and how much we lose in doing so. This extraordinary book has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how introverts see themselves.
Questions and Topics for Discussion
1. Based on the quiz in the book, do you think you're an introvert, an extrovert, or an ambivert? Are you an introvert in some situations and an extrovert in others?
2. What about the important people in your lives—your partner, your friends, your kids?
3. Which parts of QUIET resonated most strongly with you? Were there parts you disagreed with—and if so, why?
4. Can you think of a time in your life when being an introvert proved to be an advantage?
5. Who are your favorite introverted role models?
6. Do you agree with the author that introverts can be good leaders? What role do you think charisma plays in leadership? Can introverts be charismatic?
7. If you're an introvert, what do you find most challenging about working with extroverts?
8. If you're an extrovert, what do you find most challenging about working with introverts?
9. QUIET explains how Western society evolved from a Culture of Character to a Culture of Personality. Are there enclaves in our society where a Culture of Character still holds sway? What would a twenty-first-century Culture of Character look like?
10. QUIET talks about the New Groupthink, the value system holding that creativity and productivity emerge from group work rather than individual thought. Have you experienced this in your own workplace?
11. Do you think your job suits your temperament? If not, what could you do to change things?
12. If you have children, how does your temperament compare to theirs? How do you handle areas in which you're not temperamentally compatible?
13. If you're in a relationship, how does your temperament compare to that of your partner? How do you handle areas in which you're not compatible?
14. Do you enjoy social media such as Facebook and Twitter, and do you think this has something to do with your temperament?
15. QUIET talks about "restorative niches," the places introverts go or the things they do to recharge their batteries. What are your favorite restorative niches?
16. Susan Cain calls for a Quiet Revolution. Would you like to see this kind of a movement take place, and if so, what is the number-one change you'd like to see happen?
—Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project
"Susan Cain is the definer of a new and valuable paradigm. In this moving and original argument, she makes the case that we are losing immense reserves of talent and vision because of our culture's overvaluation of extroversion. A startling, important and readable page-turner that will make quiet people see themselves in a whole new light."
—Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth
"Think Malcolm Gladwell for people who don't take themselves too seriously. Mark my words, this book will be a bestseller."
—Guy Kawasaki, author of Enchantment
"Susan Cain has done a superb job of sifting through decades of complex research. . . . This book will be a boon for the many highly sensitive people who are also introverts."
—Elaine Aron, author of The Highly Sensitive Person
From the Hardcover edition.


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The MC-3900 by Panasonic is considered the best canister cleaner to be used in quick cleanup of everyday spills as well as bare floors.
Powered by a 10-ampere motor assembly, the MC-3900 features a straight suction canister with suction control.
Its hose could reach up to 5 feet. The MC-3900's can be conveniently stored onboard its main body, so that you can easily access them when you need to.
The MC-3900 comes with a crevice tool attachment that you could use to reach into tricky places such as the areas below your beds, or under you sofas and chairs that have low legs.
With this tool, you could use remove hard-to-reach dirt and perhaps even bugs effectively.
With the Panasonic MC-3900 you clean a longer range because it has a cord that is 17 feet long. There is no more need for you to unplug the unit from a power unit because you need to move to another place.
The length simply means that you could just leave it there even if you would want to move to another area to clean. The Panasonic MC-3900 also rewinds the cord on its own so that you don't have to manually do it to prepare the cleaner for storage.
Weighing slightly below 9 pounds, the Panasonic MC-3900 is light enough to be carried around in one hand even when you are climbing stairs. Even when you're reaching up to siphon off cobwebs in your ceiling, the lightweight cleaner can still be held on one hand like a suitcase.
Dust can sometimes make it into a cleaner's fan or motor and possibly damage it, but Panasonic's engineers have come up with a solution to address this problem.
With its Motor Protection System, the Panasonic MC-3900 protects its motor or fan from capturing dirt so that problems can be prevented and motor life can be prolonged.
The Panasonic MC-3900 vacuum cleaner employs bags to store the dirt that it suctions off the floor.
These bags are replaceable, which means that every once in a while you would be required to buy news bags because the old ones you use are already full.
Customer Reviews Of The MC-3900
Although there are only a handful of customer reviews online for the Panasonic MC-3900, the reviews that exist has shown that the cleaner has garnered a high rating for its ease of use and cleaning because of its lightweight and compact design. Users also liked the fact that it has a retractable cord because they can save valuable time in packing the cleaner for storage.
The Panasonic MC-3900's suction control feature has also attracted positive feedback, because it proved useful in preventing the vacuum cleaner from sucking curtains in its path. You could simply make adjustments to make the machine go at lower suction power so it does not pull the curtains into it. The floor attachment works pretty well too on vinyl and hardwood floors.
However, users have complained about the minimal number of attachments to comes along with the MC-3900. For example, it does not have a brush attachment. The crevice tool was also judged to be too short to be useful.
Although it is effective in quickly picking up dirt and pet hairs from the carpets, the Panasonic MC-V3900 canister vacuum is not recommended for full carpet cleaning because it is not as effective as it is in quick pickups. However, it can be used to clean carpeted stairs because they are not as large as full-size carpets.


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They call it the unknown,
The future lying before you.
No matter if you're psychic,
No one knows what happens.
There are varied scenarios,
Ways it could play out,
But truly we don't know the future.
It's a mystery creeping forward,
And it pulls us along on our knees.
Whether we go willingly,
Or go kicking and screaming;
Time marches in to the beat,
Of father time's own drum.
I don't know what's coming,
I know worrying won't help.
I think sometimes I try to give advice,
Reassuring myself in kind.
There are bright possibilities,
Hoping people become,
More kind than they are mean to each other.
Pray people look-out for each other,
But sometimes I think society is self-centred.
I admit to such fault and others too,
But I'm still fearful;
When I think of a year or two ahead,
I'm afraid what if it's not the right plan?
Experience deftly taught me,
Plans are dim outlines of reality.
Mostly, life goes where it goes,
And God only knows where or why.
Leading us through dark valleys,
Into trenches with piercing bullets flying.
Into classrooms with screaming kids,
A gunmen on the loose.
He leads us through to people,
Whose power makes one nervous.
How even democracy isn't safe —
A tyrant could rule all.
Maybe the world will surprise me,
But I fear for the little person.
My own personal fears weigh heavy,
Though others bear pains greater.
Of lawyers and cases,
Of corruption and crime.
Those crimes we deem terrible;
Those crimes brushed under the rug.
Greed and all those other sins,
Abhorred but freely ignored.
Though I can never say what's worse —
My own flaws or imperfections,
Or those I'm faced with.
Stress shows through cracks,
Egg yokes running.
No one likes raw eggs except in cookie dough.
The future is overwhelming.
But at least they'll still be cookie dough,
And I don't know why —
I'm particular and observant.
Why I know it's better to be alone,
Than be truly alone with another.
Why I wait for that spark,
Why I wait for the morning dawn.
A smile in his eyes which is genuine,
Wherever he is.
But maybe happiness is a puppy,
Paws following me on the hardwood,
Barks at random sounds.
The glory of a puppy skidding down —
The off leash trail and wheeling;
Turning around to jump on me,
To pick her up when she's tired.
My bones are stiff and ridged,
My dreams fall to despair.
So many books and writers,
And not anyone can compare.
How to rise above the masses,
Or fill your own niche contented.
But perhaps one could be something —
Success in small moments.
Afraid and weighted,
Need to cry, tears unshed,
Because disease is cruel.
Even if Heaven is the end of the tunnel,
So many words are left unsaid.
The timing of it all, does it work?
I feel alienated,
Though I try hard to keep the connection,
It's all in your planning Lord;
So must I say, your will be done.
©Mandibelle16.(2016) All Rights Reserved.


text: UFDC Home | Help | RSS Group Title: Spanish Colonial St. Augustine. Images. Portraits. Title: French & Haitian officers (1790s), Portraits CITATION PAGE IMAGE ZOOMABLE Full Citation STANDARD VIEW MARC VIEW Permanent Link: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00067014/00001 Material Information Title: French & Haitian officers (1790s), Portraits Series Title: Spanish Colonial St. Augustine. Images. Portraits. Physical Description: Photograph Creator: Manuel Lopez Lopez Subjects Subject: Saint Augustine (Fla.) ( lcsh )Colonies -- Spain -- America Temporal Coverage: Spanish Colonial Period ( 1594 - 1920 ) Spatial Coverage: North America -- United States of America -- Florida -- Saint Johns County -- Saint Augustine -- Historic city Notes Funding: Funded by a grant from the Florida Humanities Council Record Information Bibliographic ID: UF00067014 Volume ID: VID00001 Source Institution: University of Florida Holding Location: University of Florida Rights Management: Board of Trustees of the University of Florida on behalf of authors and contributors. All rights reserved. Contact Us | Permissions | Preferences | Technical Aspects | Statistics | Internal | Privacy Policy © 2004 - 2010 University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries.All rights reserved. Acceptable Use, Copyright, and Disclaimer Statement Last updated October 10, 2010 - - mvs


text:
There are a number of ways in which you can connect with us and contact Kingston Health Sciences Centre.
General contact information can be found below, as well as where you can find us online.
General inquiries
613-549-6666 auto attendant (if you know the extension)
Dial zero for switch board and ask for a specific care service, department or clinic
Toll free: 1-800-567-5722
Patient locating
To locate a patient by telephone, please call our voice activated patient locating system at 613-549-6666 extension 2367. When you call, you will be asked to state the legal first and last name of the patient you are looking for. If the system can locate that patient, you will be automatically transferred to the phone in their room.
If you have a compliment or concern regarding your patient experience, please contact Patient Relations by phone at 613-549-6666 x4158 or toll free at 1-800-567-5722 x4158 or by email at email@example.com.
Our Patient Relations office hours are Monday to Friday during regular business hours, excluding statutory holidays.
For more information about patient relations, click here.
Armstrong Wing - Outpatient clinics
613-549-6666 extension 3238
Emergency Department – Open 24 hours a day
613 548-2333
Cancer Care or Cancer Centre of Southeastern Ontario (CCSEO)
- New patients dial extension 4510
- For language interpretation services dial extension 4510
- For the aboriginal patient navigator dial extension 3851
- To confirm or change a clinic appointment dial extension 4511
- To contact cancer genetics dial extension 2800
- To contact chemotherapy reception dial extension 6646
- To contact radiation therapy reception dial extension 4521
- To contact clinical trials dial extension 6641
- To contact a social worker or dietitian in the Cancer Care program dial extension 7305
- To contact the drug access navigator dial extension 3317
- To contact a pharmacist in the Cancer Care program dial extension 6607
- To contact the inpatient oncology unit (Kidd 9) dial extension 2323
- To contact the pediatric oncology unit dial extension 3831
Security/Lost Belongings
613-549-6666 extension 4218
Strategy Management + Communications Department
Media line: 613-549-6666 ext. 4873
General line: 613-548-2358
Mailing address
Kingston General Hospital
76 Stuart Street
Kingston, Ontario


text:
This week's beer comes from Port Brewing in San Marcos, CA.
I'm just going to to say it is a delicious beer and quote their label, as it seemed particularly meaningful to me this week:
From the French word "Garde" meaning something worth keeping, this Farmhouse Style Ale is most delicious companion to a loaf of freshly baked bread from the oven. Grab a seat on the porch, some soft cheese and a tree ripened apple from your grandmother's old orchard. Relax and watch the evening arrive as the afternoon sun is consumed by the illuminating moon over the gardens. We brewed Avant Garde for you, our friends and families. Here's to things worth guarding over.
Every year we buy Persimmons from the Nuns at the Mission San Jose in Fremont, and every year I make this persimmon pudding from them. I love persimmons, and this is one of my absolute favorite desserts. It used to be up on the Robert Mondavi website, but now appears to have disappeared due to reorganization, so I will put it up here for posterity.
Steamed Persimmon Pudding
3 very ripe, soft persimmons (about 1 pound) stemmed
1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup sifted unbleached all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
In blender or food processor, puree persimmons (with skins); set aside. In large mixer bowl, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in egg to blend thoroughly. Into another bowl, sift the dry ingredients and mix into butter mixture alternately with milk in three additions. Mix in persimmon puree and vanilla to blend thoroughly. Generously butter a 1-quart mold. Pour batter into mold and cover tightly with a buttered lid or aluminum foil. Place a rack in a pot taller than the mold. Place the mold on rack and add enough boiling water to come halfway up side of mold. Cover the pot with a lid or aluminum foil.
Steam pudding over medium heat on the top of the stove or in a preheated 325-degree oven 1 1/2 hours, checking frequently and adding boiling water to maintain correct level. Remove mold from pot to cooling rack. Remove lid; set aside mold until lukewarm. Unmold onto plate and serve warm or at room temperature.
Another favorite thing is Salmon with Aromatic Vegetables from Julia Child's, "The Way to Cook." It is a very easy recipe, yet is so rewarding and delicious. Lately we've been serving it with Quinoa with peas and spring onions.
And, oh yeah, dessert!


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The inquiry into the death of Baha Mousa is due to report by the end of the year. It will detail how Mousa died in Iraq in September 2003, allegedly brutalised by British soldiers in a "free for all"; and how it was that he and nine other men in the same incident were allegedly hooded, forced into painful stress positions, and deprived of sleep, food and water.
The Guardian article this week, which reported that many more civilians died in army custody than previously thought, should shock the conscience of the nation. The evidence of Lieutenant Colonel Mercer to the inquiry reveals that as early as May 2003 – four months before Mousa's death – there were "a number of deaths in custody" with "various units". It appears there were, by then, at least nine deaths. The Ministry of Defence refuses to answer questions from us or the Guardian as to where, how or why these Iraqis died, and refuses to confirm or deny whether any of these deaths were ever investigated and if so with what outcome.
Although we are acting for one family referred to in the article, we have no idea about the other cases. And the story could be a lot worse: an ex-Royal Military Police (RMP) major told BBC radio last October that there were "hundreds" of similar cases.
Further, there are thousands of torture allegations being made by more than 100 Iraqi clients in new cases. We applaud the efforts of those who have succeeded in obtaining an inquiry into alleged British complicity in torture by various overseas regimes. But the public and the government also need to face up to our history of actual torture. The evidence from the Mousa inquiry and the allegations in these other cases may allow a chilling comparison to be made with the worst excesses of the US at Guantánamo Bay or Abu Ghraib, with the Stasi in the cold war, or the British in post-colonial wars.
Apart from the techniques banned by the Heath government in 1972 (hooding, stressing, food and water deprivation, sleep deprivation, the use of noise), which returned as standard operating procedure in Iraq, the array of allegations is staggering: mock executions; the use of tiny refrigerated spaces; electric shocks; forced nudity; threats of rape to female relatives; prolonged solitary confinement; loud, hardcore pornography played incessantly; disorientation by various means; simulated drowning; dog attacks; masturbation and other sexual acts; urinating on detainees; giving urine not water to drink; as well as systematic abuse through rifle-butting, kicks, punches, forced exertion and prolonged shouting at detainees.
The MoD insists our brave soldiers behaved impeccably save for a few rotten apples and that there is no evidence of coercive interrogation techniques. Now the Iraq historic allegation team, comprising of RMP investigators and others, will investigate whether anyone should be prosecuted by a military court martial.
However, these other deaths in custody are not being investigated; the thousands of allegations of the use of coercive interrogation make it difficult to see how much more evidence of systemic issues is needed; and the RMP is a discredited and failed organisation that is incapable of dealing with these cases, and in any event its soldiers are the subject of some of the allegations.
The damage caused to the French in Algeria by its use of torture is well known. The same damage may have been caused to the British battle for Iraqi hearts and minds. To perpetuate that damage by this alleged cover-up would be immeasurably stupid: as we now know from Bloody Sunday, when the state is involved in wrongdoing the nation requires not a Widgery but a Saville.


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Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Rich Chocolate Mud Cake
Now with the kids fast asleep and the husband not expected back home for at least another hour, she could finally start baking.
But just as took the whisky bottle out of the liquor cabinet, she heard the key turn in the lock. The husband was back earlier than expected. On any other day she would have been thrilled but today she felt a small pang of disappointment. "There goes my baking," she thought to herself.
"Having a drink all alone, are you? he smiled as he walked in. "Pour me one as well, I'll take a quick shower and join you."
"I wasn't drinking. You know I never have a drink alone! I was just about to bake a cake but you've put paid to all my plans now by coming back earlier," she smiled.
"Cake with whisky in it....now that sounds intriguing. Never heard of one before."
"I'm sure it is going to be yum. I can just feel it."
"Tell you what - let's have a quick drink and have dinner and then we can bake that cake together!" He had never quite understood her passion for baking - he wondered why she bothered putting in so much effort when there were very good gourmet cakes available all over the city. But over the years, he had learnt better than to dissuade he from baking and deprive her of the pleasure she derived from baking.
"Sounds like a great plan," she beamed.
An hour later, he was ready to bake.
"Now?, she said, looking at the clock. It was a quarter past ten. "Too late for that now. The cake takes an hour and a half to bake. I am just too sleepy - the whisky has made me way too drowsy, no way I can sit up and wait for it to bake! I'll bake in the morning. Clear the kitchen, will you please? I can barely keep my eyes open."
"Sure thing."
He started putting away the measuring cups and the cake pan and happened to glance at the recipe that she had printed out. Whisky in a cake? With chocolate and coffee? Somehow, it just didn't sound right to him. Rum and chocolate and coffee was a great combination, but whisky? It just didn't appeal to him!
As he put the whisky back into the liquor cabinet, his eyes fell on the bottle of Kahlua. That was it....Kahlua, and not whisky, was perfect for the cake.
Suddenly, he was in the grip of an overpowering urge to bake the cake right away, all by himself. Soon, he was in the kitchen, melting and mixing the ingredients, getting intoxicated by the combined aromas of coffee, chocolate and Kahlua.
Two and a half hours later, he had not just baked the cake but had also set in on a platter on the table and secured with a ribbon - as a surprise for her - his face radiating the pleasure of someone who had just discovered the urge, the joy and the satisfaction of baking from scratch.
This food fiction is off to Jaya of Spice and Curry who is hosting Of Chalks and Chopsticks - 6.
Rich Chocolate Mud Cake (adapted from from Australian Women's Weekly).
Butter: 250 gms
Sugar: 1 and 3/4 cup
Dark Chocolate: 200 gms
Kahlua: 1/3 cup or 80 ml
Instant coffee granules: 1 tbsp
Warm water: 250 ml or 1 cup
Plain Flour: 1.5 cups or 225 gms
Self Raising Flour: 1/4 cup or 35 gms
Cocoa Powder: 1/4 cup or 25 gms
Eggs: 2
In a saucepan, mix together all the ingredients listed under (A). Stir on a low heat until the chocolate melts. Cool it to room temperature.
Whisk together all the dry ingredients listed under (B). Add the cooled chocolate mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until you get a smooth batter.
Lightly beat the eggs and add it to the batter.
Grease and line a (deep) 20 cm or 8" cake pan and transfer the batter into the pan. Bake at 160 deg C for 90 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
1. I pre-heat the oven for this recipe for just about 15 minutes.
2. I halved the recipe and baked it in a 6" square tray; it took me just under an hour to bake my cake.
3. I thought that the water was a bit too much, so I plan to reduce it to 225 ml the next time.
This is a dense and intensely chocolatety cake with a whiff of coffee and Kahlua. I served this cake with some raspberry coulis and vanilla ice cream - sinfully delicious!
Sending this cake off to Ria who is hosting Meeta's Monthly Mingle, the theme this time is Chocolate Extravaganza.
30 comments:
wow, looks superb !!! Drool-worthy !!!ReplyDelete
Gosh that was quick! Thanks a ton Priya :)ReplyDelete
Wow that looks absolutely stunning.. I am simply drooling.ReplyDelete
beautiful cake. love mud cake with ice cream. yum.ReplyDelete
Coming here after many days.
Lovely cake and who will not wish to have a sweet husband like him.
Sweet and simple story.
Looks very rich, very fudgy. Love chocolate and coffee combo. This one is also bookmarked along with your other cake recipes.ReplyDelete
Wow....looking at the ingredients, this must be the perfect cake for me...moist, chocolatey and delicious....mmmm. I love it! Thanks very much for sharing.ReplyDelete
Cake looks absolutely divine,marvellous and yumm!ReplyDelete
hey..love that cake and the story.ReplyDelete
Happy new year
Looks so so so tempting and delicious.. thanks for the awesome recipe :)ReplyDelete
Indian Cuisine
Love the flavor of chocolate,coffee and whisky..yum!! I recently made a similar cake too,but without the whisky,now you gave me a reason to bake this!!ReplyDelete
Awesome to the core.. love the writeup and the pictures are no less exciting.. brilliant post and I am seriously drooling here :)ReplyDelete
Oh! thats just the kind of chocolate mud cake one would expect from a loving spouse I guess..Pictures are drool-worthy..Thanks for your lovely story as well :-)..will post the round-up soon ..hugs and smiles
Cute story! Dark and handsome cake!ReplyDelete
Delicious!! Love the chocolate cake!!ReplyDelete
cake looks too good,..aweosme writeup,..;-)ReplyDelete
an absolute mouth watering looking cake....i'd drool over this everytime i see it. great photos and a wonderful recipe! seen on Riya's chocolate extravaganza roundupReplyDelete
What lovely pictures Aqua! You made the cake look exotic and gorgeous. Like the recipe, some of the ingredients seems to be unusual. Try to find out.ReplyDelete
happy 2011 to you, Aqua!
A very Happy new year to you n ur family , loved going thru ur wonderful blog !!!ReplyDelete
- Smita
(fun foods for little eaters
Hi....first time here.....absolutely loved the story as well as the Rich Chocolate Mud Cake..the clicks r amazing..and like the rest..i m drooling too...ReplyDelete
Happy New Year......
I m following ur blog...looking fwd to many more lovely recipes
Another cute story behind this pretty cake!ReplyDelete
Wishing u A very Happy New Year!
love ur space. a very well baked tempting cake.ReplyDelete
ur follower now :)
What a delightful story! Thanks for sharing it with us!ReplyDelete
Love the rolls and cake both! :)
Have a great year Aqua!
Absolutely perfect; just what i feel like having this minute!ReplyDelete
My 11 yr old daughter made the cake on my husband's birthday and it was absolutely delicious. We enjoyed the cake thoroughly. Thank you so much for your recipe.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousAugust 13, 2011 at 6:47 PM
I can't tell you how many white/dark choc mudcakes I have made this year. None were any good. Outside okay but not cooked in middle. I have a fan oven so thought that was the problem.ReplyDelete
I have just made this cake purely to test the coffee liqueur out and it's the best I've made so far.
I baked in an 8" square tin and it has only risen to 1 and quarter inches high. I may have overcooked it slightly but that's because previous m/cakes have taken double the time to get anywhere.
can anyone tell me if I am going in the right direction here.
All tips will be welcome.
Anonymous, thank you for trying and liking the recipe. This cake is very dense and does not rise too much, so I guess you are in the right direction.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousAugust 13, 2011 at 7:49 PM
Looks delicious......can we substitute Kahlua with Baileys Irish cream??!?ReplyDelete
Vinitha, I have not used Bailey's in this cake, but I think it would be a great substitute. Let me know if you use it, so I can substitute it too, the next time.ReplyDelete
It is not just about the ingredients or the recipe, good food happens when it is served with love!!


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$("#navigation").navobile({ cta: "#show-navobile", changeDOM: true })-
Late Touchdown Dooms Green Knights in Home Loss to Illinois College
From Sports Information Director, October 9, 2010 | Football
by Dan Lukes, email@example.com, (920) 403-4077
DE PERE - A late touchdown by Illinois College and the following extra points was just enough to allow the visiting Blueboys to eke past St. Norbert College 26-25 in a Midwest Conference game at Kolstad Field at Schneider Stadium.
Mitch Niekamp's 20-yard touchdown pass to Brett Eschman on a fourth-and-6 play with 1 minute 48 seconds remaining and Travis Downey's extra point capped off the late rally.
Both teams are now 3-3 overall and 3-2 in the MWC. Thanks to Monmouth College's 51-45 triple-overtime win over Ripon College, seven teams ended the day within one game of first place in the MWC with four weeks left to play.
St. Norbert appeared it would pull the game out with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns. Logan Krueger's 22-yard touchdown pass from Rob Berger with 5:35 left tied the game at 19-19. The score capped off a 14-play 80-yard drive that saw St. Norbert convert two fourth downs, including a fake punt at its own 29-yard line.
Three plays from scrimmage later, St. Norbert took the lead on a wild series of events. Austin Arts intercepted a Niekamp pass at the St. Norbert 40. Just as Arts was approaching the goal line, hustling Illinois College running back Cecil Brimmage poked the ball away into the end zone. But an alert Kyle Ripley fell on the loose ball for a 25-19 lead. Roger Nault's extra point try failed, allowing the Blueboys an opportunity to win.
Niekmap completed his first four passes on the drive, and following an inside run Illinois College had a first down at the St. Norbert 24. Niekamp misfired on two of his next three passes, but found Eschmann on the far right sideline in the end zone on a bang-bang play near the boundary for the winning score.
Both teams slogged their way through the first half until Illinois College capitalized late. Taking over at its own 23 with 1:07 left, Niekamp promptly moved the Blueboys into St. Norbert territory. Niekamp found Brock Thompson splitting a seam for a 31-yard touchdown pass just 9 seconds before halftime and a 12-6 lead.
Illinois College took a 19-6 lead early in the third quarter on Eric Fisher's 70-yard interception return. St. Norbert needed just four plays to counter on a 14-yard touchdown run by John Weninger, but a bobbled snap kept the score at 19-12. Neither team scored again until the wild final minutes of the game.
St. Norbert held a slight 387-374 edge in total offense and had 237 rushing yards. The Green Knights were done in with five turnovers, and a potential sixth - which would have been an Illinois College touchdown - was nullified by an inadvertent whistle. St. Norbert also had 10 penalties for 86 yards, as opposed to just two for 15 yards for Illinois College.
Weninger rushed 25 times for 119 yards, while Berger completed 14 of 34 passes for 150 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Krueger and Joe Green each had four receptions.
Niekamp completed 25 of 38 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns with one interception for Illinois College. Brimmage rushed 29 times for 130 yards, and Thompson had nine catches for 102 yards.


text:
By Amanda Hamrick
Amanda graduated high school in 2012. She will be attending the University of Minnesota this fall. In addition to her school record 7 superior ribbons at the state history fair, Amanda participated in Dance, the Academic Team, and Band. She was co-Valedictorian for her class. In 2008, she was one of 14 students named a Young Historian by the State of Illinois. This is her second published paper. Previously, her paper on the Lincoln-Douglas Debate at Galesburg was published by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
"Ungrateful hyenas!" they cried. "Foreign savages!" they shouted. "Hang them first and try them afterwards!" they cheered. It wasn't until decades later they called out "martyrs," but it was too late. Five major labor agitators had been hung without any real evidence of their guilt. What started out as a peaceful rally became a riot, turning the already suspicious public against all labor organizations and radicals. Counterproductive to the labor movement, the Haymarket riot delayed the adoption of the eight hour workday.
The atmosphere of the labor movement in the 1800s was volatile. The full force of the Industrial Revolution affected everything across the nation. Urbanization was on the rise, as was Chicago, Illinois. As Chicago grew, it transformed from a trading center into an international manufacturing giant, but it did so on the back of a seemingly endless supply of workers. Most of these workers were foreign. In 1850, half of all Chicagoans came from abroad; at the time of Haymarket, approximately three-fourths of Chicago residents were from another country or had a least one foreign parent. Overall, the most common trait shared by Chicagoans in the late nineteenth century was they were not actually from Chicago.
Each Chicagoan's experience in the city depended on his or her background. Those of foreign birth occupied jobs in skilled or unskilled blue-collar areas; the native-born residents dominated professions and office jobs. The conditions in blue-collar work were appalling with little concern for safety. The workers received low pay and absolutely no benefits. The workday was ten to twelve hours, six days a week. Because of these conditions, a unionization movement began, but internal divisions prevented any true progress.
The industrialization and immigration brought about a widening division between capital and labor. For the most part, capital which included stockbrokers, executives and managers controlled the labor, those who earned their living by selling their physical skill and effort. The goal of unions was to close this gap, and much of the late nineteenth century was a battle between capital and labor over who controlled wages, hours and the process of production.
Industrial capitalism caused many shifts in production: larger workplaces with layers of supervision, increased use of technology, and the division of the manufacturing process into discrete parts that required limited skills and training. As if conditions weren't bad enough, these trends caused the worker to be interchangeable, cheap and readily replaced. The idea of unionization became more popular as the threat to the individual worker increased, but union organizers faced powerful resistance from the middle-class public.
As economic downturns persisted, class divisions intensified and attempts by workers to resolve inequalities increased. Widespread unemployment and reduction in wages led to angry protests, some resulting in violence from the police. Tensions reached a peak when a railroad strike swept across the country during the summer of 1877. The trains were running again in just a few days, but the deadly encounters between protesters and the law enforcement stayed in the minds of the workers as a source of continued resentment.
At this time, two of the most influential men of the labor movement came into the public eye. The first, Albert Parsons, had arrived in Chicago from Texas in November 1873. What he called his "interest and activity in the labor movement" began shortly after his arrival, and he soon became the most prominent English-speaking spokesmen for both the socialist and labor movements. The second, August Spies, had arrived in the city from central Germany the same year as Parsons. Both men supported the union movement and spoke out for the eight-hour workday, a major cause most unions were fighting for.
Foremost among emerging unions was the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor (KOL). The KOL listed more than 700,000 members by the mid-1880s. Founded in 1869, the KOL was not a new organization. It had merely come out of the shadows to hold its first national assembly a few months after the 1877 railroad strike. Soon after joining the union, Parsons founded the first Chicago assembly of the Knights. He believed, along with many others, the Knights could create a "brotherhood of toil" among men of different trades, religions and races.
Along with their devotion to the labor movement, both men shared a devotion to radicalism, an international development of the 1880s. Many middle-class and native-born Chicagoans took pride in the fact they could not differentiate between the different forms of radicalism, but socialists, communists and anarchists all had very different views about what path the labor movement should take. The only thing they agreed on was capitalism and the wage system exploited the worker, and they had to take ownership of the means of production out of current hands and return it to the people.
Anarchists like Spies and Parsons advocated cooperating with organized labor. This idea was practical, and they believed they could eventually use
unions to help overthrow the current political and economic systems. This combination of anarchism and unionism became known as the "Chicago idea." Extreme anarchists like George Engel, Adolph Fischer and Louis Lingg rejected the "Chicago idea" because they believed it compromised true anarchist principles.
Another depression hit in late 1883. A series of angry confrontations occurred throughout the country. The anarchists in Chicago put on demonstrations repeatedly to announce their cause. On Thanksgiving 1884, the anarchists helped organize a "poor people march" to point out that want rather than plenty was the workers' lot. A few thousand demonstrators assembled downtown to hear radicals Parsons, Fielden, Spies and Schwab speak. They then marched through the cold streets past the homes of the wealthy carrying the emblem of hunger, the black flag. They repeated this demonstration a year later. Then, on May 4, 1885 (exactly a year before Haymarket), striking stoneworkers in Lemont threw stones at troopers protecting strikebreakers. The troopers fired into the crowd, killing two men instantly and wounding many others. While this outraged anarchists and other labor leaders, it wasn't until three months later that Chicago citizens also became angry after the police clubbed innocent bystanders during a strike against the West Division Railway Company.
As unemployment and union agitation increased thorough the first half of 1886, more workers joined the revived eight-hour movement, and labor agitators made a plan for a walkout across the country on Saturday, May 1, 1886. The walkout was a huge success. Hundreds of thousands of workers across different trades and across the country and 40,000 in Chicago went on strike. Demonstrations took place without incident throughout the city, among which was a parade along Michigan Avenue.
On Monday, May 3, 1886, the first working day since the national eight-hour walkout, August Spies spoke at a rally of the Striking Lumber Shover's Union near the main factory of the McCormick Reaper Works. As he spoke, the non-union strikebreakers ended their shift at the nearby factory. Some of his audience left the rally to join the McCormick strikers in heckling the strikebreakers. A fight broke out between the two groups. The police arrived as the strikers moved to throwing stones, forcing the strikebreakers back into the factory. The police pushed their way through the crowd with their clubs. The strikers began to throw stones at the officers who responded by firing into the crowd. The gunfire seriously injured many workers and killed two.
Angry and disgusted, Spies returned to the office of the Arbeiter-Zeitung, the leading German-socialist paper of which he was editor. He created a bilingual leaflet titled "Workingmen to Arms!" However, a compositor added the heading "REVENGE" without consulting Spies.
Later in the evening, a few dozen of the most extreme anarchists, including George Engel and Adolph Fischer, met in Greif's Hall on Lake Street. After hearing the news of the riot at the McCormick factory, they decided to hold an outdoor public protest meeting the next evening. They chose the Haymarket as the meeting place. Fischer, after preparing a poster announcing the meeting, went on a hunt for good speakers. He asked August Spies, who accepted the offer. However, after seeing Fischer's poster entitled "Workingmen Arm Yourselves and Appear in Full Force," Spies refused to speak unless Fischer changed the poster for fear it would encourage a police presence that could cause violence. Fischer conceded and edited all but a few hundred of the twenty thousand posters before distribution.
The organizers planned to begin the rally at seven-thirty the following evening, but it did not begin until over an hour later. Spies expected to address the crowd in German, and as German speakers usually spoke last, he didn't believe it was necessary to arrive at the beginning of the rally. When he arrived sometime between eight-fifteen and eight-thirty, no meeting had started and no other speakers were present. A crowd of two to three thousand people, smaller than expected, was already beginning to disperse. Spies searched the area for Parsons, who he had expected to start the rally, but could not find him. Hoping to salvage the situation, Spies made a makeshift podium out of a nearby hay wagon and called the meeting to order. Before beginning his speech, Spies sent one of his newspaper employees back to the office where he heard Parsons, Fielden and Schwab were attending a meeting. Exhausted and disappointed by the small crowd, Spies decided to speak briefly in English:
Let me tell you at the beginning that this meeting is to explain the general situation of the eight hour movement and to throw light upon various incidents in connection with it.
He continued to speak until he saw Parsons make his way through the crowd.
Meanwhile, the authorities, concerned the Haymarket rally might cause trouble, had Chief Inspector John Bonfield assemble a force of 176 patrolmen a half a block away in the Desplaines Street Station. Bonfield sent officers to the meeting in civilian clothing with orders to report back to him if the speeches became dangerous. Back at the rally, Parsons spoke for nearly an hour:
In the light of these facts and your inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, it behooves you, as you love your wives and children, if you would not see them perish with want and hunger, yourselves killed or cut down like dogs in the streets− Americans, as you love liberty and independence, arm, arm yourselves!
Mayor Carter Harrison, who was also in attendance to prevent violence, found the speeches to be tame by current standards. He left while Parsons was still speaking to confer with Bonfield about the peacefulness of the meeting. He returned to the meeting to hear a few minutes of Samuel Fielden's speech, decided there was no reason for him to stay and went home.
By the time Samuel Fielden mounted the wagon to speak, only about 600 people remained in the crowd. It was not much before ten o'clock when he began, warning the crowd to prepare for the worst. He claimed that since the police had shown no mercy, they should receive no mercy in return. "Keep your eye on the law," Fielden cried. "Throttle it. Kill it. Stop it. Do everything you can to wound it− to impede its progress." After hearing these words, one of Bonfield's disguised officers reported back to him that the speaker was making dangerous threats.
About ten minutes into Fielden's speech, the wind picked up and the crowd, anticipating rain, diminished even more. Parsons interrupted to propose the meeting reconvene at the nearby Zepf's Hall, but Fielden announced he only needed a few minutes to finish, and the meeting would be over. Nevertheless, Parsons, Fischer and several others departed the rally for the warmth of the hall.
As Fielden winded up his speech, Bonfield decided to act. He marched his force of 176 patrolmen in formation up Desplaines Street and though the crowd to the speakers' wagon. It was about ten-twenty at night, and the crowd was now only a mere 500 people.
"I command you in the name of the people of the state of Illinois to immediately and peaceably disperse," ordered Captain William Ward.
"But we are peaceable," replied Fielden. When Ward angrily repeated his order, Fielden said, "All right, we will go," and got down from the wagon. Suddenly, a bomb rose out of the crowd on the east sidewalk. It arched about 20 feet in the air before landing in the middle of the street among the police. The bomb sat on the ground for a few seconds and then exploded. Shrapnel from the bomb ripped through the body of Officer Degan, severing a major artery in his left leg. He died on the scene.
Although often reported otherwise, evidence and testimony point to the officers initiating fire. Terrified and confused from the blast, the police fired everywhere and anywhere, including into their own ranks. The gunfire continued for two minutes straight. If the crowd fired back, it was a feeble response. Everyone ran for their lives, but many were hit before they could escape. In all, the riot took the lives of seven policemen and at least four workers. The bomb and bullets wounded about sixty officers along with an unknown number of civilians.
A period of panic and overreaction followed in Chicago. A trial ensued, and the jury found anarchists Adolph Spies, Michael Schwab, Samuel Fielden, Albert Parsons, Adolph Fischer, George Engel, Oscar Neebe and Louis Lingg guilty of conspiracy to commit murder. Four of the defendants were hanged in November 1887. One committed suicide before the hangings, and Illinois governor John Altgeld later pardoned the remaining three. The trial and hangings are notoriously considered one of the largest miscarriages of justice in American history as the prosecution provided no evidence connecting any of the defendants to the bomb-throwing. The widespread fear of unionism and radicalism influenced most of the public to support harsh and unjust treatment of the accused.
The Haymarket riot was a pivotal event in the early history of American labor. The effect of the riot on the labor movement was immense, and it would take decades to recover. Unions lost the little public support they had gained. In the minds of the public, all unionizers were anarchists, and all anarchists believed in violence. The anarchist was not only an alien to America but also to all things decent, rational and humane.
The riot was largely responsible for delaying acceptance of the eight-hour day as workers deserted the KOL to avoid suspicion and harassment from the general public and moved to the more moderate American Federation of Labor. With the major labor agitators of the day gone, the forceful revival of the eight-hour movement they brought about came to a stop.
For many years, the public regarded the policemen of the Haymarket riot as martyrs and the workers as violent anarchists. This view set the labor movement back. However, over time this view has changed, and history has judged the defendants to be the martyrs. In a time when unions are once again the scapegoats, the bloodshed that occurred to give the individual worker rights and power must be remembered. It must be remembered that there are fights worth fighting, but also that violence seldom helps advance a cause.


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There is a writer out there who does a beer challenge every once in a while called 100 beers, 30 days. I am not her. But, I am sorry that the challenge mentioned herein somewhat resembles it. I'm doing it all for Christmas.
When I decided to move 1000s of miles away from my family and live the professional life, I recognized a deep dark hole in my holiday season. The holidays are meant to spent with the family, gathering about in funky clothing, before the yule log, sipping egg nog and smelling piney air. I miss all of that specter.
From my 512 square foot condo, I am a man restrained. I cannot lug a tree from the lot; I cannot set lights in my window. I have become deprived of the most festive season of all.
Well, it's not happening again. I have decided to fight back with a furious celebration of Christmas in a glass. That's right — 30 days of Christmas beer.
Starting on Thanksgiving, I began a 30 day journey through holiday-inspired brew. We have many fine choices up here in the Northwest, and I intend to get to them all. Of course, many nights will be filled with my old faithful — Great Lakes Christmas Ale — but I am making a concerted effort to diversify the intake.
Please follow my adventure on Facebook, where I will post one new Christmas beer tasting per evening. I have already posted the first 11 days of beer. Check them out by following this link.
At the conclusion, I promise to post a ranking list of my favorites. I will be ranking these beers based both on their ability to harness Christmas in a glass (style) and their ability to put me in the holiday spirit (quality).
If you are drinking Christmas beer — let us know! Happy Holidays from your friends at BeerBlotter.com.
Filed under: The Cellar, The Events Tagged: 30 days of beer, Christmas Ale, Christmas Beer, Great Lakes Christmas Ale, holiday beer, Stille Nacht


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Vladimir Pavlov
Vitalius Grigorevich Pavlov (30 September 1914 - 11 April 2005) also known as Vitaly Pavlov and while working in Canada as Vladimir Pavlov. Pavlov was born in Barnaul city.
From 1933 through 1937 he studied in the Siberian Automobile Highway Institute in Omsk. After graduating he joined the organs of national security.
In 1938 he it finished the school of special instruction for the NKVD and was assigned to the work in external or foreign reconnaissance.
In 50 years of service in external reconnaissance he traveled extensively and spent many years in Canada, Austria and Poland. He worked from the illegal apparatus in a number of West Europe countries. Pavlov spoke English, French, German and Polish.
Pavlov occupied the important leading posts in the central apparatus as deputy chief of Soviet external reconnaissance.
Operation Snow
In May 1941 Pavlov met for lunch with Harry Dexter White, longterm Comintern and KGB agent who infiltrated the New Deal administration of President Franklin Roosevelt and became Undersecretary of the Treasury. White had been carefully selected to approach by Iskhak Akhmerov, who had served in the United States running the Silvermaster group. The purpose of "Operation Snow" was to present a series of policy initiatives which involved Soviet efforts to worsen U.S. Japanese relations. The Soviets' intent was for White to inject them into the Roosevelt administration's foreign policy discussions on Japan. The objective was to encourage Japan's war party to view the United States, not Russia, as its main enemy. Pavlov handed White an outline of themes for White to promote among key U.S. policymakers, among them was a demand, to be wrapped in tough rhetoric, that Japan recall its armed forces from China.[1][2]
Acting on Pavlov's initiative, White wrote proposals for economic sanctions against Japan which President Roosevelt implemented on July 26, 1941. All Japanese financial assets in the U.S. were frozen, virtually ending trade between the two countries. Japan found itself in a position where its oil reserves would soon be exhausted, as well as other necessary resources. The Japanese Cabinet sought desperately to reach an agreement in Washington.[3] Japan abandoned all plans against the Soviet Union and looked to the south instead for resources it needed. Due to Soviet influence, the United States set up a foreign policy that placed the Kremlin's interests ahead of the White House's.[4]
Cold War career
From 1971 through 1973 he was the chief of the Red Banner Institute of the KGB of the USSR now known as the Academy of External Reconnaissance (or Academy of Foreign Intelligence), under Yuri Andropov. After 1984 Pavlov worked as senior consultant of one of the administrations of external reconnaissance. In 1987 he retired.
Lieutenant General Pavlov was awarded she Orders of Lenin, October Revolution, Red Banner, and many others. pavlov author of a number of the books on the history of external reconnaissance and memoirs.
- ↑ Vitali Pavlov, "Operation Snow," News of Intelligence and Counter Intelligence, Moscow, August 1995, pgs. 5-6.
- ↑ Soviet penetration of the U.S. gets fresh look, Allan H Ryskind, Human Events, Jan 29, 2001. Review of Romerstein and Breindel, The Venona Secrets.
- ↑ Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time, Carroll Quigley, Collier-Macmillan, 1966, pg. 739. ISBN 0-945001-10-X
- ↑ Schecter and Schecter, Sacred Secrets, pp. 31, 33.
- Document No. 10 in Robert Louis Benson and Michael Warner, eds., Venona: Soviet Espionage and the American Response, 1939-1957 (Washington, DC: National Security Agency/Central Intelligence Agency, 1996). [1][2]
- Retrieved from "http://www.conservapedia.com/Vassili_D._Mironov"


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BAKERSFIELD, CA — California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) students have approved a referendum that will help fund a new $24 million recreation center and support the university's move towards becoming an NCAA Division I athletics school.
"It's wonderful that the students share the vision to see the university grow," said CSUB President Horace Mitchell.
There were 1,759 votes cast on the referendum; 893 students voted in favor of the fee increase, while 864 were opposed. Two ballots were invalidated.
Here's the breakdown of student fee increases: Currently full time undergraduate students pay $51 a quarter for student union and student body fees. For the next academic year students will pay $168. The fee will increase in increments until the 2008-09 school year when the amount will cap at $224.
The 60,000-square-foot center will include a suspended track, fitness area with equipment and possibly a rock-climbing wall. The fees will also provide extra support for CSUB clubs and funding for students of CSUB's Antelope Valley campus to undertake major programs and student activity projects.


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Author / Creator / Contributor
- 1Boddicker, Nicholas
- 1Bruce, Heather
- 1Charagu, Patrick
- 1Kemp, Robert A.
- 1Miar, Younes
- 1Plastow, Graham
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Genome wide association studies (GWAS) identify QTL on SSC2 and SSC17 affecting loin peak shear force in crossbred commercial pigsDownload
Miar, Younes, Wang, Zhiquan, Kemp, Robert A., Boddicker, Nicholas, Yang, Tianfu, Plastow, Graham, Zhang, Chunyan, Charagu, Patrick, Bruce, Heather
Of all the meat quality traits, tenderness is considered the most important with regard to eating quality and market value. In this study we have utilised genome wide association studies (GWAS) for peak shear force (PSF) of loin muscle as a measure of tenderness for 1,976 crossbred commercial...
1 - 1 of 1


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[Verse 1]
Me and my niggas on the corner, prepping niggas for coroners
Verses dispersing, hurting and cursing
All of these foreigners, trying to war with us
I keep restoring the, peace
Trying to put the east back on
The map with rap and in fact
We never even slacked, theres plenty of hidden tracks
Where niggas spitting the facts instead of living the trap
They black, nobody hear
Like infections in they ears
It's like they throwing a party but ain't hardly any peers
In all of these years, my godliest fears have conquered
I went bonkers trying to find a way to block haunters
Heartless monsters running in packs like mobsters
They tommy clips parting lips. Believe or Doctors?
Need no roster, anyone can make it to the list
This society'll kill you and act like you don't exist
It's nothing, this sick crew don't walk around with fists
But if you diss sooner or later you gonna get hit like this
They tell us to respect all the laws , they tell us all to listen to
The boss at what cost, the worlds still hectic. Nobodies protected
Our own people fighting each other to see who's "bestest" This worlds
Ignorant, nobody thinks. They too busy blowing L's and pouring a drink
No time to grind but still time to grind. When your friends say
Lets dip you leave in no time Quit lying
[Verse 2]
Trying to do right in this world but right isn't enough
We all fight in this world we living but got it rough
So I gotta take a puff a Haze, to better my daze
We live in a maze , and getting cheddars one of the ways
That I could keep an eye out for people hating
I doubt that it'll change the way that they live
They still want two in my ribs cause im doing it big
And all this envy causing frenzies
Cause I ain't acting too friendly
Know that knowledge is plenty
You'd never die for a penny?
Nor would you dive for a penny
Don't say that dollars will win the world
The most you get is a girl who loves you cause of the pearls
That you put around her neck
The life You live is a wreck
Its time to check yourself, or infect yourself
And keep your wealth stealth and protect your health
Because this society'll change entirely and it's strange
Because others gain as soon as your brains
Strained as soon as pain is obtained


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The Museum of the American Revolution is committed to making its facilities, exhibits, and programs accessible for all audiences in compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). Please contact our Guest Services Department at 267-579-3596 Voice/TTY or email@example.com in advance of your visit for any special assistance you may need.
The Museum's main entrance is handicapped accessible. The entrance doors automatically open when activated by pressing the button by the door. Manual wheelchairs are available free of charge at the Reception Desk for use within the Museum on a first-come, first-serve basis.


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A Romantic Rooftop Terrace Wedding at Grace in Portland, Maine
Canada-based couple Kyla Fraser (32 and a client service representative) and Struan Smith (31 and a lawyer) headed south of the border for an intimate, fun-filled celebration with their closest family and friends. Kyla and Struan made the decision to wed in Portland, Maine, despite having only visited the locale just once before. "We wouldn't have been able to have a small wedding if we got married back home," Struan says. A dramatic sideswept braid upped the romance of Kyla's lace wedding gown. Both the ceremony and cocktail hour took place at The Press Hotel, and the pair celebrated with dinner at Grace restaurant before hosting an after-party at Bayside Bowl. A rooftop ceremony offered stunning views of Casco Bay Harbor and the Portland skyline.


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Thanks to Bikurgurl for hosting #100WordWednesdays.
Credit:Felix Russel; Saw via UnSplash
Images, the vines, the flowers, the tribal tattoos, marking his body their presence is defining. A farmer's son covered his body in tattoos, to lay claim to a canvas, a territory, beneath a sunless sky. But bruises so dark, red and vivid purple used to cover his limbs, his torso, his face, and even his hands. So when he chooses bright ink, a part of him heals and the bruises fade. With each work of art he becomes stronger and he returns home, sheltered by his images. He's happy because his body is his own and no father can abuse or mother can deny; tattoos are his stories accompanying him gently as the wheat sways in the field.
©Mandibelle16. (2017) All Rights Reserved.


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I love your dress! It looks really gorgeous.
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6 signs you're ready to hire a PR firm
Are you ready to take risks? Do you have time to devote to PR? Are you prepared to share your business goals? Then hire away!
I was in a meeting the other day with the chief executive officer and chief marketing officer of an organization that is on the tipping point of success.
They've done a lot of the right things: Their sales team has the right connections, they're gaining industry recognition and they have the right people both setting the strategy and executing it.
But when we asked what they do differently than their competitors, the silence was deafening.
We tried the question another way: "What makes you excellent?"
Again, no answer.
That's not entirely true. They did try to answer it, but couldn't come to a consensus.
Much to the surprise of my team, I cut the meeting short. I closed my notebook (yes, I still carry a notebook), pushed back my chair and said, "Gentlemen, you're not ready for us yet."
Sure, a communications firm can help an organization figure out its messaging and positioning, but if the organization doesn't have the slightest inkling of what that is before it spends money on PR, it's likely the firm won't succeed.
Are you ready to hire a PR firm?
Here's how you know you're ready to hire a PR firm:
1. You know what PR is in today's digital age.
A majority of PR firms will still pitch themselves to you as a media relations house. They'll call themselves a PR firm, but all they'll do for you is pitch stories on your behalf.
If you hire a firm that only does media relations, you will think it's a huge waste of time and money about six months from now. I hear it all the time: "Oh, they were great at getting stories about us, but it didn't really do anything. It was a waste of money."
Seeing your name in print is great for your ego, but it does not make the cash register ring. If the firms you interview don't talk about how to integrate media relations into a larger communications or marketing program, you will feel like you've wasted your money.
2. You're ready to share your business goals.
This means even in the introductory meetings. Have the firm sign a non-disclosure agreement if that makes you feel better, but don't hide your goals.
We once had a prospect tell us their search engine optimization had decreased significantly and they didn't know why. When we asked for access to their analytics, they didn't want to give it to us. We can't help you if we don't know what you're trying to achieve.
3. You have realistic expectations.
If the PR firm is worth its salt, you will spend some money on it and can expect a return on your investment anywhere from two to five times what you paid.
But it won't happen overnight. It won't even happen in 90 days.
It will take at least six months for you to begin to see a return. That said, most firms will be able to give you metrics to track from day one that show whether you're on the right path. Ask for those.
4. You asked yourself if you have time to spend with the firm.
Communications does not happen in a vacuum, and your involvement is necessary. If you or someone on your team doesn't have at least an hour every day to spend on PR, you're not ready to hire a firm.
Without your help and involvement, the PR firm will only get so far. They don't know your business as well as you do and, as it turns out, customers, prospects, journalists and influencers would rather talk to you than some middle man. Your PR firm can create those conversations for you, but you have to have them.
5. You're willing to take some risks.
Technology has completely changed the way a PR professional does his or her job. Using the Web—and social media, in particular—means you're going to build your brand and gain awareness much more quickly than in the past. It also means you'll be under some scrutiny. Make sure your PR firm has experience with crises on the Web , and be willing to let them get you out there. The more uncomfortable it is for you, the more likely it is to work.
6. You're uncomfortable.
There is nothing worse than a prospect saying they want out-of-the-box thinking and then asking for really boring, non-sexy strategies. If the PR firm doesn't make you a little uncomfortable when you meet with them the first few times, nothing you do together will be extraordinary. It's the discomfort that gets us to stretch beyond what we think we can do. Let the firm guide you down that path.
Of course, if you aren't ready for a PR firm, you have a lot of other options. You can hire someone internally, do some of the PR yourself or hire a freelancer or soloproneur.
Knowing when you're ready to hire a PR firm is the first step to success.
Gini Dietrich is founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, Inc. and blogs at Spin Sucks. A version of this article first appeared on AllBusiness Experts.
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