text:
Monday, January 31, 2005
enron corp. made more than $1.67 billion in western states over a six-year period that included the region's energy crisis -- money the bankrupt energy company may be required to return, federal energy officials said monday.
california officials immediately criticized the estimate as more than $1 billion too low.
it was the first accounting by federal regulators of western energy crisis profits by enron. the houston company is accused by california officials of gaming the state's power market and scheming to rip off consumers. - sfgate
of course they had a different tone at the houston chronicle. "reaching for profits? reaching for profits?" ah...no. recovering swindled taxpayer money, thank you very much. let's see if arnold gets his name involved "officially"....
oh...yeah...how long has martha been behind bars and they are just beginning now to set a trial for one of the serial looters from enron? hello...justice?
functional ambivalent reports that this post about recreational spanking drew the largest number of hits (no pun intended) that site ever got...and then the largest portion of those visitors left and came straight to skippy.
tom has tried to think of a joke to encapsulate this entire phenomenon, but can't. anyone care to help him out?
to intervention magazine, a site founded by veterans of the viet nam war and anti-war movement. you could do worse than read it on a daily basis.
the coalition provisional authority that governed iraq until last june under former us ambassador l paul bremer is unable to properly account for 8.8 billion dollars that it transferred to the interim iraqi government, an audit has found.
in a scathing review, the cpa's inspector general said the occupation authority failed to implement adequate controls over the money even after a warning that the financial systems at one ministry was open to fraud, kickbacks and misappropriation of funds.
"specifically, the cpa disbursed over 8.8 billion dollars in dfi (development fund for iraq) funds without assurances the monies were properly used or accounted for," said the report by stuart bowen, the cpa inspector general.
bowen said there was no assurance that the money was not used to pay salaries of thousands of "ghost" employees. - ap/yahoo
hey...but they have martha in jail.
thanks to atrios, and michael berube, we find this "possibly" scary story:
(secretary of education margaret) spellings proceeded to unveil the department of education's proposed map of the "forty-nine god-fearing united states," with the "territory of vermont" represented by a lightly shaded area. "until such time as vermont sees fit to rejoin the rest of the nation in condemning gay 'civil unions,'" spellings said, reading from a prepared statement, "we propose that vermont be visually expelled from the heterosexual union. we further propose that the nation's students be instructed that vermont is no longer a real state, and that they will not be responsible for remembering its capital, which is not only obscure but trench-sounding as well."
robert knight, director of the culture and family institute of concerned women for america, the nation's largest public policy women's organization, had warm praise for spellings. "parents don't want their children homosexualized in the name of 'education,'" knight said. "mrs.
spellings has given notice that left-wing lobbies will have to find other ways to peddle their pansexual propaganda. let's hope that other leaders in federal and state agencies find a backbone thanks to her courageous example."
hey...i'm a concerned woman. i'm concerned that these a*holes discount science. then they re-write history. now they are completely wiping off the map one of the states. guess they don't care if vermont:
was the first state to join the original thirteen colonies in the new union. its constitution is the first such document to outlaw slavery, the first to prevent a person from being transported out of the state for a crime committed within, and the first to provide for a state university. built the first land grant college under a national plan conceived by vermonter justin morrill and the first agricultural college in the us (as it is known officially, "the university of vermont and state agricultural college"), the first normal school, the first private military academy (norwich university) and the first school specifically established for the college training of women.
maybe vermont is one state that is forward thinking, as opposed to the alltocommon backward thinking that is going on in dc these days. scary. just plain scary. what next....drowning folks in rivers to prove they are christian? marking doors with a painted letter to denote someone who is of a different faith?
(satirical or not? you be the judge...but, in my opinion....i wouldn't put anything past this bunch of thugs.)
patachon's dkos diary brings us an eerily-familiar-sounding headline from 40 years ago:
u.s. encouraged by vietnam vote :
officials cite 83% turnout despite vietcong terror
by peter grose, special to the new york times (9/4/1967: p. 2)
washington, sept. 3-- united states officials were surprised and heartened today at the size of turnout in south vietnam's presidential election despite a vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting.
according to reports from saigon, 83 per cent of the 5.85 million registered voters cast their ballots yesterday. many of them risked reprisals threatened by the vietcong.
the size of the popular vote and the inability of the vietcong to destroy the election machinery were the two salient facts in a preliminary assessment of the nation election based on the incomplete returns reaching here.
pending more detailed reports, neither the state department nor the white house would comment on the balloting or the victory of the military candidates, lieut. gen. nguyen van thieu, who was running for president, and premier nguyen cao ky, the candidate for vice president.
a successful election has long been seen as the keystone in president johnson's policy of encouraging the growth of constitutional processes in south vietnam. the election was the culmination of a constitutional development that began in january, 1966, to which president johnson gave his personal commitment when he met premier ky and general thieu, the chief of state, in honolulu in february.
the purpose of the voting was to give legitimacy to the saigon government, which has been founded only on coups and power plays since november, 1963, when president ngo dinh deim was overthrown by a military junta.
a friend of ours sent us this washpost column which outlines the fact that there is no social security crisis:
the latest social security trustees' report, whose numbers even the white house uses, predicts that the social security program can pay all promised benefits for the next 38 years -- with no changes at all. the june 2004 estimate from the nonpartisan congressional budget office projects that social security can pay all promised benefits without changes for even longer, until 2052. that's nearly half a century.[ed. note: emphasis, and moral outrage, ours].
granted, 38 years is not an eternity. but even after 2042, the social security trustees say they will be able to pay an average benefit that is actually higher than what workers receive today -- indefinitely. that's in 2004 dollars -- adjusted for inflation.
social security benefits are programmed to rise not only with price inflation, but also with wages. so congress will at some point have to increase taxes or shave the benefits promised to future generations. but that's no different from what's been done before. in fact the projected shortfall for the next 75 years is smaller than shortfalls covered by adjustments in each of the following decades: the 1950s, '60s, '70s, and '80s. it is also about one-third the size of the tax cuts enacted during the bush administration.
in other words, it's a non-issue.
or should be. yet most americans seem terribly confused about the basic facts. during the third presidential debate last fall, moderator bob schieffer of cbs told the candidates that social security was "running out of money." neither candidate corrected him, and the press did not note the error.
thanks to ampoljo, we found this sfchron report which tells us gov. ah-nold's wave of popularity may not be the tsunami every one thought:
a new survey by the public policy institute of california shows that while 60 percent of the state's residents still approve of the job he is doing, he has lost considerable ground among democrats and independents, who together form the vast majority of the state's voters. some 49 percent of democrats now say they disapprove of his job performance, while 43 percent approve. and his disapproval rating among independents has doubled since last year, from 18 to 32 percent.
"it's back to business as usual in sacramento -- the fuss of last year is over," said shaun bowler, a political science professor at university of california-riverside. "people have responded to the movie version of leadership that he's been practicing, but you can't suspend the laws of gravity forever just because you're a movie star."
mimus pauly is considering christianity;
and the kids from the daily cookie send us this joke:
q: how many bush administration officials does it take to change a light bulb?
a: none. there is nothing wrong with the light bulb; its conditions are improving every day. any reports of its lack of incandescence are a delusional spin from the liberal media. there is no shortage of filament. that light bulb has served honorably, and anything you say undermines the lighting effect. why do you hate freedom?
Sunday, January 30, 2005
it's too bad the media didn't pay as much attention to the voting in ohio as they did in iraq.
so asketh the los angeles times magazine.
in the half century before iraq, the engineers had been deployed on missions ranging from forest fires to the 1965 watts riots. their duties included temporary assignments to search for weapons in state prisons, remove snow from blocked mountain passes and, in may 1993, to bury a gray whale that had washed up on the beach near eureka. mcCaffrey told friends when he enlisted that he expected to be assigned to homeland security duties, such as guarding the golden gate bridge or shasta dam.
"patrick thought by joining the engineers he would be doing something constructive to fight terrorism on the west coast," recalls his father, bob mccaffrey.
but as the us campaign in iraq bogged down in the summer of 2003, the pentagon turned to its legions of "citizen soldiers," serving mostly weekend duty in crumbling state armories, and ordered them to relieve exhausted regular army units in iraq and afghanistan. authorized by a presidential emergency order issued only two days after the sept. 11 attacks, the historic deployment took place with relatively little public notice or fanfare. it wasn't until later, when the guard and reserve troops began dying and getting injured in iraq, that presidential candidate john kerry and others began describing their overseas service as a "backdoor draft." today more than 40% of the 150,000 U.S. soldiers in iraq are either national guardsmen or reserves. by the end of the spring, that percentage is expected to rise to more than 50%.
...it also meant that some of the soldiers got less training than the regular army infantry they were replacing. army infantrymen receive 14 weeks of training in their specialty. a national guard engineer normally undergoes eight weeks of basic infantry training and six weeks in engineering school, where they learn how to plant mines, detonate explosives and lay concertina wire, among other skills.
seems that only barbara boxer has "the balls" to actually do her job representing her constituents and questioning condi rice on the lies told to get us into war -
this war was sold to the american people– as chief of staff to president bush, andy card said– like a "new product." you rolled out the idea and then you had to convince the people, and as you made your case, i personally believe that your loyalty to the mission you were given overwhelmed your respect for the truth.
that was a great disservice to the american people. but worse than that, our young men and women are dying. so far, 1,366 american troops have been killed in Iraq. more than 25 percent of those troops were from california. more than 10,372 have been wounded.
i don't want their families to think for a minute that their lives and bodies were given in vain. because when your commander in chief asks you to sacrifice yourself for your country, it is noble to answer the call. i am giving their families all the support that they want and need, but i will also not shrink from questioning a war that was not built on the truth.
call her loud and combative as the ustoady has or a dem pugilist as insidebayarea....but i am proud to call her my senator.
to honor the memory of patrick ryan mccaffrey, a 34-year-old father of two from the bay area suburb of tracy, and all of those reservists and troops sent over under false pretenses, we need this administration to stop the lies. we need more senators and congressfolks to follow barbara boxer's lead and start the questioning.
Saturday, January 29, 2005
9:00 a.m. beautiful downtown burbank
400+ apprentices line up for the interviews. it was actually, quite a bit of fun. the folks that i talked with were incredibly bright and personable people; all with their own story as to why they want to work with "the donald". heck...if verna or danny can make it on the show, why can't i? i'm finding out what cookies the donald likes and sending some his way....hey, skippy..where were you?
paul fehi, a washpost reporter was thrown out of the inaugural balls because he wasn't following rules that nobody told him about. apparently reporters aren't allowed access in awol's washington without an "escort." fehi was later let back in, with escorts hot on his heels:
but now the art of press handling has evolved into actual manhandling. the bush team has expanded the use of "minders," employees or volunteers who escort journalists from interview to interview within a venue or at a newsworthy event…(thanks to the wildman's dkos diary for the link!)
i had arrived early to get a head start on mingling among the roughly 6,000 people eating and dancing to celebrate the president's reelection. unaware of the new escort policy (it wasn't in place during the official parties following the 2001 inauguration), i blithely assumed that in the world's freest nation, i was free to walk around at will and ask the happy partygoers such national security-jeopardizing questions as, "are you having a good time?"
big mistake. after cruising by the media pen -- a sectioned-off area apparently designed for corralling journalists -- a sharp-eyed volunteer spotted my media badge. "you're not supposed to go out there without an escort," she said.
i replied that i had been doing just fine without one, and walked over to a quiet corner of the hall to phone in some anecdotes to the post's style desk.
as i was dictating from my notes, something flashed across my face and neatly snatched my cell phone from of my hand. i looked up to confront a middle-aged woman, her face afire with rage. "you ignored the rules, and i'm throwing you out!" she barked, snapping my phone shut. "you told that girl you didn't need an escort. that's a lie! you're out of here!"
with the first amendment on the line, my natural wit did not fail me. "huh?" i answered.
recovering quickly, i explained that i had been unaware of the escort policy. she was unbending and ordered a couple of security guards to hustle me out. i appealed to them, saying that i was more than happy to follow whatever ground rules had been laid down. they shrugged, and deposited me back in the media pen.
there i was assigned a pair of attractive young women, who, for the next hour or so, took turns following close at my heels. i thought about trying to ditch them in the increasingly crowded hall, just for the sport of it, but realized it was pointless. they never interfered with my work. i found i was able to go wherever i wanted, and to talk to whomever i desired. the minders just hovered nearby, saying nothing. they were polite but disciplined, refusing even to disclose their full names or details about themselves. (my style colleague, peter carlson, inquired of his minder, "how did you get to be an escort? do you work for an escort service?")
winning writers announces the wergle flomp free bad poetry contest.
night light discusses the take over of gillette by satan-controlled proctor & gamble.
to chris and ian's best of 2004.
Friday, January 28, 2005
to a fist full of euros, who so wonderfully pointed us to this game. although in german, one can get the gist....unless you are employed by this so-called administration.
and to aussie blogger, kitta.
to medbh sings.
we like most of the beast's 50 most loathsome people in america, 2004 (any list with ann coulter, dick cheney and clay aiken cain't be all bad).
thanks and a tip of the bush kangaroo hat to progressive's dkos diary for the link!
that's right a third media maven has been outed in the leave no pundit behind program that awol generously bestows upont hardly-ever-right wing third stringers. salon:
one day after president bush ordered his cabinet secretaries to stop hiring commentators to help promote administration initiatives, and one day after the second high-profile conservative pundit was found to be on the federal payroll, a third embarrassing hire has emerged. salon has confirmed that michael mcmanus, a marriage advocate whose syndicated column, "ethics & religion," appears in 50 newspapers, was hired as a subcontractor by the department of health and human services to foster a bush-approved marriage initiative. mcmanus championed the plan in his columns without disclosing to readers he was being paid to help it succeed.
to blog reload.
let's open the ol' skippy mailbag...
left is right has a question for liberals;
the talent show alerts us to robert reich on tort reform;
reader mark foxwell is alarmed that air force bases in the us are being privatized.
thanks to ampoljo, we find this page six story that tells us the execs who resigned from cbs due to rathermemogate may not be finished quite yet...
congresswoman louise m. slaughter has convened a panel investigating media accountability:
on the heals of news that yet another member of the media, syndicated columnist maggie gallagher, was paid by the white house to promote bush administration proposals, rep. louise m. slaughter (ny-28), ranking member of the house committee on rules, convened an expert panel yesterday to discuss fairness and accountability in the media.and in related news, oliver willis tells us sens. kennedy and lautenberg are planning to introduce the stop government propaganda act.
"the american people want accountability in the media and they want to be well informed on all sides of an issue so they can make the critical decisions that affect their lives and the future of this democracy with confidence. we must put common sense back into broadcasting," said rep. slaughter as she opened the panel discussion.
the 90 minute panel included experts mark lloyd a senior fellow at the center for american progress; david brock the president and ceo of media matters for america; gloria tristani a former fcc commissioner; chellie pingree the president and ceo of common cause; and sam seder the co-host of air america radio's majority report.
panelists discussed a variety of issues related to broadcasting fairness and accountability but focused mainly on the need to bring back the fairness doctrine, a policy ended by the reagan administration in 1987 that required broadcasters to insure balanced coverage of news with a specific focus on local issues and concerns.
our friend cookie jill, aware of our unemployment status, graciously sends us notice about auditions for the apprentice 4.
nathan newman talks about the current spoils system in today's homeland security department.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
hoppy hours before friday kangaroo blogging.
meet elvis the kangaroo....read about his flying adventure....here.
mrs. skippy got a hold of the remote first last night, so skippy was forced to watch (at least the first part of) the 411: teens and sex, a katie couric special on nbc.
we were not surprised that it was katie couric asking about sex, because it seems to us that she, among all the nbc anchors, probably needs the most help in that area.
apparently katie was amazed that "friends with benefits" referred to casual sex...we ourselves didn't know excatly what it meant, but we sure could guess. we suppose katie thought it was part of awol's social security platform.
we were not at all interested in this show, mainly because we resent anyone who got more than we did at that age, but also because we knew that it would be handled poorly. and, we were right.
the very second question that katie asked her little group of 14 year olds about how sex affects their lives was...hold on to your seats, we kid you not...did bill clinton's affair influence you into having oral sex?
yes, she did. stop laughing, she most certainly did. go back and watch the tape, she actually asked that question as if it made any sort of logical sense at all. immediately after asking if there was peer pressure to have oral sex, she wanted to know if it was all bill clinton's fault.
nothing about self-worth. nothing about love. nothing about how it affects the trust between parent and teenager, or between the teens having relations.
nope. the important thing is, are the democrats repsonsible?
of course, there was no teen sex before bill clinton. it was all that horndog's fault.
even worse than asking that question at all, let alone second in the program, was that the majority of the kids dismissed it immediately, except for one, who was then allowed to expound on it at length.
yeah, the kid said (we paraphrase). you heard about it all the time so of course you wanted to try it.
gee, kids hear about fighting in iraq all the time these days, can we blame future gun battles in our streets on awol?
according to nbc/people/usatoady, 1 out of 8 teens between 13 and 16 have had sex. now, we are no prudes, but even we think that's too young. however, we doubt strongly it's because of universal health care proposals.
we are used to the hardly-ever-right wing dominating screeching heads talk shows, but it's getting pretty sad when theoretically-neutral subjects like 13 year olds having oral sex are used to slam the left.
luckily for skippy, this sort of political propaganda disguised as social research was too much for even mrs. skippy, who, thankfully, used the remote to tune into an old episode of law & order on tnt.
was that because katie couric is a lesbian?
reader and frequent contributor rose sends us a washpost piece telling us how there's a new threat forcing the gay agenda upon america...from yet another cartoon:
pbs was surprised to receive a letter from new education secretary margaret spellings, warning the public tv network against airing an upcoming episode of the kids show "postcards from buster," because pbs had already informed her office it would not send the episode to its stations, programming co-chief john wilson says…personally, we think if the snake handlers are worried about gay animated characters, there's another cartoon rabbit that they should keep their eye on:
spellings, who has been charged with the difficult task of fixing the nation's troubled public education system, took time out on her second day on the job to fire off a letter to pbs ceo pat mitchell expressing "strong and very serious concerns" about the "postcards from buster" episode. specifically that, in the episode, called "sugartime!," the animated asthmatic little bunny visits vermont and meets actual, real-live, not make-believe children there who have gay parents…
in the episode that knotted spellings's knickers, buster goes to vermont and meets children from two families, who show him how maple syrup and cheese are made.
at one of the homes, buster is introduced to all of the children and to the two moms. one girl explains that one of the women is her "stepmom," whom she says she loves a lot.
in the following [ed. note: partial] list of cartoons, bugs appears in some form of ladies garb or does a female-like turn:see the rest of the list, with pics, if you're into cross-dressing wabbits (not that there's anything wrong with that) here.
- hare-um scare-um (hardaway/dalton, 1939)
bugs dresses up as a female dog to spoof the hunting dog.
- elmer's pet rabbit (jones, 1941)
bugs dances with fudd and addresses him saying, katherine hepburn-like, "you dance divinely, really you do."
- the heckling hare (avery, 1941)
the dog believing that he killed bugs, lays flowers next to his home, and bugs takes the dog's flowers coquétteishly, saying "for me? oh, you darling!"
- the wabbit who came to supper (freleng, 1942)
after shaving his face and underarms, and puff powdered, bugs appears in womens' lingerie and screams as fudd opens the door on him.
- bugs bunny gets the boid (clampett, 1942)
dances with beaky buzzard and asks "why don't we do this more often?" also appears interrupted mid-shower by the bird, and replies coyly "you naughty, naughty boy!"
- super-rabbit (jones, 1943)
brief appearance as little bo peep owing to a costume mixup in a phone booth when changing into super-rabbit.
- a corny concerto (clampett, 1943)
appears as a ballerina, ultimately wrapping his brassiere around the heads of porky and his hunting dog.
- what's cookin' doc? (clampett, 1944)
arises, carmen miranda-like, from a mountain of fruits and vegetables which have been hurled at him.
- bugs bunny nips the nips (freleng, 1944)
appears as a geisha who mallets a sumo wrestler.
the gulf war veteran observes that occupied iraq has become a "saturation environment" of electromagnetic radiation. potentially lethal electromagnetic smog from high-power us military electronics and experimental beam weapons is placing already hard-hit local populations–-particularly children—at even higher risk ofexperiencing serious illness, suicidal depression, impaired cognitiveability, even death.
american troops constantly exposed "up close" to their own microwave transmitters, battlefield radars and rf weapons are also seeing their health eroded by electromagnetic sickness. it's common, hank recalls,for gis to warm themselves on cold desert nights by basking in the microwaves radiating from their queems communications and ratt radar rigs. constant microwave emissions from ground-sweeping ratt rigs and singars mobile microwave networks are much more powerful than civilian microwave cell phone nets linked in many clinical studies to maladies ranging from asthma, cataracts, headaches, memory loss, early alzheimer's, bad dreams and cancer. even more powerful us military radars, radios and "jammers" blasting from ground bases and overflying aircraft add to this electromagnetic din. this is bad enough.
but this is also iraq, hank says, where ever-present sand acts as miniature quartz reflectors, unpredictably amplifying the ricocheting electronic smog so thick that if it were visible, every vehicle in baghdad and the surrounding sunni triangle would be driving blind with their headlights on. - microwaving iraq?
tip of the kangaroo tail to cursor.org for putting the glow on this heated story.
far from fading, liberalism appears to be staging a comeback at its most famous campus citadel -- uc berkeley.
the latest campus survey found the number of new students who call themselves liberal is far higher than in the early '90s and early '80s and is near the level seen during the vietnam war. - sfgate
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
riggs bank and its parent company have agreed to plead guilty to a federal criminal charge and pay a $16 million fine for failing to prevent potential money laundering at the district bank, according to sources close to the matter. - wapo
(unfortunately....the washington post seems to have forgotten that the bushies have direct ties with this corrupt institution....)
we really do have to ask ourselves - "how did we get here?"
heads up for sugar high fridays 5...coming soon to a food blogger near you. theme this year? puff pastry. i'm not partaking...after this latest trip to san francisco, the foodie town by the bay, i'm not eating for quite some time...i can't afford to buy a while new wardrobe.
the owner of a michigan company who forced his employees to either quit smoking or quit their jobs said on wednesday he also wants to tell fat workers to lose weight or else. - reuters
to john david stone.
joe gandelman of the moderate voice can't believe his eyes when matt drudge posts the headline "russian lawmakers call for ban on jew groups"...
but in case you didn't, consider this to be our official post declaring that all members of skippy international are decidedly against torture of all kinds, especially the kinds that alberto gonzales approves of during his adminstrative duties.
both night light and dr. kate forest of the commonweal institute have sent us messages urging us to sign the dkos petition stating that we are against torture in general and gonzales specifically.
we were remiss is thinking that most rational people would assume we were. because, of course, we also thought most rational people would vote against awol (we are actually of the belief that they did).
be that as it may, and it may just be as that, rest assured we don't like torture. so, consider the petitions signed (and we will urge our congressjerks to vote against gonzales, too).
dave johnson at seeing the forest tells us why republicans win.
some tidbits from oliver willis:
oliver points out that maggie gallagher of nro is the second hardly-ever-right wing pundit to take payola from awol to promote his bankrupt schemes (details in the washpost...give howie kurtz credit for breaking this story);
awol's nominee for fatherland security chief, michael "no i'm not the bald guy from the shield" chertoff, had ties to the financiers of the 9-11 attacks, reports the university star;
and the repubbs are floating the idea of using race and gender as litmus tests for receiving social security benefits.
a massive train derailment here in southern california has left 10 people dead and hundreds injured. kabc-tv:
at least 10 people were believed to have died today in a chain-reaction crash between two metrolink trains and a union pacific locomotive that apparently involved an suv on the tracks, officials said.initial reports indicate that the man who left his suv on the tracks was suicidal, but chickened out at the last minute and jupmed out of his vehicle as the train approached.
los angeles fire chief bill bamattre said about 100 people were transported to area hospitals -- as many as five emergency centers reportedly were involved -- and up to 200 may have been hurt. most of the injuries were said to be minor, but at least nine people were said to have been hurt critically…
according to initial accounts, one of the trains was headed south from the suburbs, and the other was going north. the outbound train's rear end apparently swung outward and clipped the inbound train. at some point a stationary union pacific locomotive apparently was knocked off the tracks by the impact of one of the metrolink trains.
across the ocean, today was the deadliest day in the iraq war since its inception, as 36 troops were killed, the majority of which in a helicopter crash. bloomberg:
a helicopter crash in iraq killed 31 marines, the top u.s. commander in the middle east said in washington, in the single deadliest incident suffered by the u.s. military since the march 2003 invasion.
five other members of the american military were killed in separate attacks today north and west of the capital baghdad.
army general john abizaid, head of u.s. central command, said there were no survivors in the nighttime crash of what he described as a routine flight, in remarks to reporters after congressional meetings.
the helicopter went down at about 1:20 a.m. local time near ar rutbah, west of baghdad, the military said. personnel from the 3rd marine aircraft wing, based in san diego, california, were transporting marines from the 1st marine division when the craft came down, according to the u.s.
four u.s. marines were killed separately while conducting ``combat operations against enemy forces'' in iraq's western anbar province, and one u.s. soldier was killed near al-duluiyah, north of baghdad, the military said.
the sideshow has the best analysis of the smelly hypocrisy permeating the whole cbs memogate fiasco yet. to sum up:
remember, the stories by gerth, the spite girls, et al., were false, but the 60 minutes story on bush's national guard service was true. bloggers on the left have blown holes in pro-bush or anti-democrat stories over and over, to no effect. bloggers on the right - most with dubious backgrounds - raised questions about a document which has never actually been proven to be a forgery, in an otherwise correct story, and - hey presto! - the true story goes down the drain, four people get fired, and dan rather himself backs out of his job.
mr. sun has some better questions for condaleezza "gibbons" rice, who has just today been confirmed by the senate as secretary of not-colin-powell, in an 85-13 vote.
we are tired of repubbbs denigrating dems for asking questions. the voa news tells us:
senate republican leader bill frist of tennessee took democratic critics to task, urging lawmakers to show a united front on foreign policy during wartime.this is circular logic that does nothing but perpetuate bad behavior. "oh, don't confront dad about his drinking now, he feels bad enough about killing sister and brother in that drunk driving accident!"
"partisanship has its time and place, but we are at this point in time a nation at war," he said. "we need the strength of all our resources to fight and win. i am disappointed that others on the other side of the [political] aisle have taken this moment to wage a partisan campaign."
this is a tried-and-true repubbblican tactic: advocate policy that leads to disaster, and then when the national debate questions the policy, use the shield of "decency" as a to avoid discussion. they are especially fond of this move on gun control...how dare we deem to talk about gun control when all those poor dead kids were killed at that school? have we no decency?
the indecency comes in using the results of bad policy to hide behind when it comes time to analyze the policy itself. we wouldn't be in a state of war if not for the lies propigated by rice and her ilk. and it's time they took responsibility for it.
night light stays on top of spongebob square pants.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
reader and contributor rose sends us this nbc30 report detailing how a repubbblican in connecticut wants to name a stretch of highway in that state after awol:
there used to be a highway sign welcoming people to new haven, birthplace of president george w. bush. but it was vandalized so much, it got too expensive to keep replacing it.
so it came as a surprise to democrats here that a lawmaker wants to rename a stretch of highway through the heart of the city the president george w. bush highway.
after all, bush doesn't often claim new haven as his own.
although he's a graduate of yale university, he prefers the texas leather cowboy look to yale's tweed and corduroy.
the liberal center of a decidedly blue state, new haven feels about the same way, voting 4-to-1 not to re-elect him. with the bush administration urging a shift of highway funding toward the midwest and south, mayor john destefano found the naming choice ironic.
"we should name a traffic jam after him, not a highway," said destefano, a democrat running for governor.
Monday, January 24, 2005
atrios is right:
blogging's great, but get over yourselves[ed. note: kudos to atrios, who wrote that sentence without caps, thus saving our layout dept. literally seconds of key strokes.]
via holden at first draft, awol has been given one more honor...nominated for "worst actor" in this year's razzie awards:
in addition, the president made the list for worst actor for his film clip appearances in ``fahrenheit 9/11,'' a movie he might well consider the worst of the year. also nominated for their appearances in the politically-charged film about the iraq war were secretary of state-designate condoleezza rice and secretary of defense donald rumsfeld.also up for a razzie award (given to the worst that hollywood has to offer, traditionally on the night before the oscars), would be awol and either condaleezza "gibbons" rice or his pet goat, as worst screen couple.
though we detest dr. rice's incompetence, we personally feel the pet goat had more to do with the crumbling of democracy on that fateful morning, thus we're rooting for the goat. in fact, why not confirm the goat as secretary of state?
mr. and mrs. skippy have been fighting off the flu, colds, and sinus infections for the past week, so we have not been as attentive to details as we might have.
one such detail is opening all our mail. thusly, we were quite remiss in timeliness for acting on in search of utopia's plea to spread the word about another natural disaster with devastating consquences on humanity.
earlier this month, torrential rains flooded the low lands of costa rico and panama, displacing thousands of people. the ass press:
three days of heavy rains have forced nearly 13,000 people from their homes and killed at least one person in costa rica and panama, officials said tuesday.the skippy's were just in those two countries on their vacation last month, and found the people gracious and the countryside beautiful. it pains us to hear about this tragedy.
costa rica's national emergency commission said 7,500 people had been evacuated to official shelters in that central american nation and the number could rise as rescue teams arrive from isolated communities. about 300 others were staying with relatives…
in panama, helicopters were plucking people from the rooftops of houses surrounded by floodwaters, according to the national civil defense system, which said 5,000 had been evacuated so far to schools and other safe structures.
rains have been pounding the region since saturday [ed. note: jan. 8], surpassing the monthly rainfall average for some areas in just three days and creating widespread flooding.
costa rica's red cross reported one man killed by a landslide and it said an 8-year-old boy was missing after being caught in the current of a flood-swollen river.
if you have anything left over to give after the tsunami effort, consider donating to the costa rican red cross.
i want to thank many of skippy's gentle readers for sending restaurant tips my way. i'll have to go to www.opentable.com to see if any are participating in the dine about town special pricing...a girl's gotta watch her pennies (and expanding waistline) ya know.
skippy will be glad to know that one of the big news in food, judging by their presence at the show, are the aussies. lots of new aussie food will be heading to american grocery shelves. and, as always, the italian booths are the place to be (they serve wine). the big food this year is....drum roll....cheese. and lots of it. lots of stinky cheese. lots of wheel'o cheeses. cheese at every turn.
the lunch at farallon was devine. sweet potato (the blue way of spelling the tuber) soup with a champaign cream. grilled ahi tuna on french lentils and a horseradish cabbage concoction on top. desert was a citrus angelfood cake with slices of mini-tangerines and grapefruit and a citrus infused cream.
dinner at foreign cinema was fantastic. a winter vegetable soup. sole with capers and butter sauce. an apple tart tartin alamode. oh..good..buddha....save me from exploding
waiting for my friend to drive in from tomato town (sacramento) so we can partake in lunch today. then afterwards a meeting with my vanilla vendor. then the show again. then a special mixer down at the harbor presented by one of the specialty soda vendors.
as i munched breakfast at the hotel (hotel cornell - 2 blocks from union square - $80/night breakfast included) i read the c-section of the chron....it's all about blogs. go read.
i also wanted to weigh (literally this trip) in on the passing of johnny carson. i had the opportunity to go to a taping. it was one of the most hilarious and special times i ever had. i was sobbing in the hotel room last night. we lost a truly unique and talented individual who touched pretty much all of america with his sense of humour and inquisitive nature. we really shall never see the likes of johnny again. bless you johnny for giving us the greatest gift of all....laughter.
our friends at resident bush send us a tbogg piece reporting how the snakehandlers have written a letter to awol calling his daughters whores of babylon.
cookie jill, who is enjoying the cuisine of san francisco, sends us a bit of wired news, in the form of an article that tells us like it or not, blogs have legs.
old fashioned patriot is concerned that the repubbbs are working to get the results of the washington govenor's election thrown out.
dr. kate forrest of the commonweal institute correctly posits that the problem with the lefties is that they don't have in place a well-oiled machine to disseminate ideas, memes, and cooperation among peers, unlike the hardly-ever-right wing. she and her co-author leonard m. salle discuss how the left can put together a political infrastructure to challenge the other side.
Sunday, January 23, 2005
johnny carson died today at age 79. we heard some commentator say, if steve allen invented late night television, and jack parr refined it, johnny defined it.
the great thing about carson was his self-effacing approach, never mean with his humor, always letting the guest look good. and he was well known for giving comics just starting out a break.
the sfchron:
carson nabbed his first tv quiz show assignment, "earn your vacation," in 1954 and launched the short-lived "the johnny carson show" the following year. he moved to harrison, ny, in 1957 and emceed the quiz show, "who do you trust?" his partnership with mcmahon began on that program.we will miss mr. carson.
there were some acting jobs along the way, including parts on "playhouse 90" and a 1960 pilot, "johnny come lately," that never reached the air. "the tonight show" was his destiny. carson replaced paar on oct. 1, 1962. groucho marx was his first guest. the show changed venues from new york to burbank in 1972.
by then, carson had divorced his first wife, in 1963. marriages to joanne copland (1963-72), joanna holland (1972-83) and alexis maas (1987) followed. one of carson's three sons, 39-year-old ricky, was killed when his car slid down an embankment in 1991.
in addition to his alimony woes, carson engaged in several noisy money disputes with nbc over the years. he walked out for three weeks in 1967. after another stormy negotiation in 1980, the network reduced the show's running time from 90 minutes to an hour. in the later years, carson earned an estimated $20 million annually and took 15 weeks of vacation. leno prevailed, among many substitute hosts, in "the tonight show" line of succession.
to cider press hill and lifting the fog and the calico cat and bushes against bush.
Saturday, January 22, 2005
to the chronic curmudgeon.
blogging ethics, in our opinion, isn't so much a contradictory phrase, as a totally pointless one. since blogging is not a profession (with a couple of damn-their-hides lucky exceptions), we wonder why ethics need to be discussed, let alone introduced into blogtopia (ethics demand that we disclose that yes! we coined that phrase!), however, for lack of real news in this world, the dead trees media are all a'buzz about this self-same topic.
the wall street journal points out that
there is no exam to pass or society to join to become a blogger -- anybody can set up a "web log" to publish his or her ideas -- and at last count, an estimated eight million people in the u.s. are doing so, writing on everything from pets to porn.and that's true. but we would ask, what exam did brian williams take to become anchor of the nbc evening news? as we understand, the guy was never an on-the-ground reporter, which was how chronkite and huntley and brinkley and even wolf "how's my beard" blitzer got their start.
in other words, the school of hard knocks. experience. that used to count for a lot in journalism. but less and less so. and yet, experience, supplemented with wit, opinions, analytical skills, and the handy turn of a phrase is what makes a blogger. so why, all of a sudden, should bloggers be held accountable to a higher standard than brian williams?
we agree with jon bonne on msnbc who agrees with jay rosen...this is a dead argument.
bloggers aren't reporters. they are repeaters. they are simply folks sitting around a living room talking to each other about the world. only the living room in this case is the internet, cyberspace, blogtopia (y!wctp!), whatever you call it.
the problem with journalists [ed. note: this sentence is not meant to imply there is only one problem with journalists] is that they are projecting onto bloggers their own mistaken ideals about themselves; ie, they are the leaders and purveyors of important thought in this country.
in other words, they believe that the cart of their work comes, and in fact leads, the horse of popular opinion.
and since bloggers tapped into a large, heretofor unadmitted resevoir of zeitgeist, journalists incorrectly think the bloggers are creating it, and therefor must have some ethics, lest they use their power for evil.
did kos and mydd violate some unknown code when they took money from dean for website consulting work? well, they must have, because they both said nice things about dean, and dean became real, real popular. you see? dean would never have become real, real popular if kos and mydd didn't say a nice thing about him. nobody was looking for a progressive alternative in america. the bloggers created it!
dan rather got caught in memogate, because the bloggers spread the word that the memos were fake. so, the bloggers are the ones that created a large swelling of dislike for rather and cbs, you see? there was no feeling that cbs was too liberal before the bloggers broke the story. the bloggers created it!
[/snark mode off]
there is no "code of ethics" needed for bloggers, because bloggers are just americans discussing their country and the world. does uncle fred have to disclose everyone he worked for when he complains about how the city never fixes potholes outside his house? we don't think so. and if uncle fred sets up a "i hate the city 'cuz they never fix potholes.blogspot.com" blog, does he have to create, and then adhere to, a code of ethics, just like paid journalists are supposed to, but hardly ever, do? no.
people are allowed to listen to other's opinions without worrying about ethics, because people can make up their own minds about the sources' ethics. "yeah, bob hates the feminists, but he also shacks up with goats, so i think i won't hold his ideas too highly."
journalists, who rightly are angry that they are still held to an ethics code, when every other industry in america is shedding any modicrum of responsibility, would do better to start holding politicians, the energy industry, the banks, the pharmaceutical industry, and their own bosses to a higher standard, than pick on some guy in his pajamas expressing his opinion.
we at skippy international have ethics. they are the same ethics we use in our day to day lives. we are honest, up front, kind, honorable, and try not to be too mean to those less fortunate than ourselves. if those ethics aren't good enough for you, then go read some other blog.
night light sends us a couple of pieces:
cavorting with terrorists and the great emancipator and the sponge, wherein rj compared abe lincoln to spongebob squarepants.
dave johnson at seeing the forest wonders why the nytimes chooses to misinterpret the first amendment when attacking the aclu.
to chepooka.
things will be a little quiet from this side of the marsupial. i am running away to the city by the bay...(i think they've dropped their age old sobriquet "baghdad by the bay"...apologies to herb caen.) i will be attending the fancy food show. if you go to trade shows...this is the one to go to. eating your way through hundreds of vendors' wares in the moscone center is my idea of a way good time. oh, yeah...i'm scoping out the competition, too, and checking out new flours, sugars and all the stuff that cookie dreams are made of. (and if you really believe that entirely, i've got this big red bridge to sell ya....)
another bonus point this trip, many of the city's fine collection of restaurants are participating in prix fixe menus...so you can chow down on some exquisite meals for not so bad a price. i've already booked my dinner excursions via open table. the restaurants i am visiting....farallon, foreign cinema, and campton place.
oh, and yes...i am starting the diet when i roll back to la-la-land.
why can't we do that at the corporate level?
current employees of enron corp., who are winding up the bankrupt energy trader's affairs, have been granted up to $45 million in bonuses by us bankruptcy judge arthur j. gonzalez in the southern district of new york. - houstonbizjournal
why are we rewarding failure and corruption?
Friday, January 21, 2005
let's see what's in the ol' skippy mailbox...
nathan newman observes that awol starts his second term by trying to limit states' rights;
practice what you preach, the texas organization attempting bring the focus back to real issues, and not who marries whom, gets endorsed by the libertarian party;
reader chris sends us an asspress piece beating the blogger ethics dead horse;
joe gandelman of the moderate voice correctly points out that if peggy noonan thinks awol's speech is over the top, he's in deep doo-doo;
and the kids at the daily cookie send us this bushflash about fascism in our country today.
we're as surprised as anyone that our name showed up on the page for the blogging, journalism & credibility seminar at harvard. some big names involved, (and you'll find ours on the right hand side bar right next to the beginning of the comments), so we are proud our ridiculous rant was linked to during such an auspicious occasion.
it's happening today and tomorrow, and the lovely rebecca mackinnon seems to be nominally in charge. if you couldn't fit into the taubman building at the harvard business school to hear people expound on why we do what we do, don't worry, there's a webcast.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
does this mean nascar driver jimmy johnson is gay?
christian conservative groups have issued a gay alert warning over a children's video starring spongebob squarepants, barney and a host of other cartoon favorites - bbc / yahoo/reuters / nytimes
who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
spongebob squarepants!
who lives in a bubble and is simply crazy
james c. dobson!
the lovely anna of annatopia sends us pics of the coronation protesters from dc indymedia. she also provides a running report of the protests turning violent in her dkos diary.
rodger payne discusses the hidden religious references in awol's speechifying today (and rodger tells us he'll be on public radio tomorrow, if you'd care to listen live on the web).
and american idle has some inaugural funnies.
and thanks to true's dkos diary, we go to toolz for the new school to download a byte from cnn where we hear protesters calling to "cheney" bush.
to mad kane's newest blog, president boxer.
the popular rox populi lucked out and got some pictures of the coronation protesters (in spite of the difficulty the administration has forced the demonstrators to go through to get their voice heard).
the protesters marched by roxie's office and she snapped some shots.
we have seen msnbc show pictures of them, and peter jennings (!) of all people, did a bit on abc about how difficult the officials have made things for the protesters to get into the official "free speech zone." apparently there is only one opening with three guards checking id's (and for weapons, we presume) to let thousands of protesters into the zone.
we was quite amazed at jennings giving the left coverage. he also made it a point to say that awol won with a narrow margin, "in spite of his talk about mandate."
to semidi and verns blog.
cookie jill has worked for her father (bagging tees and hunting stray golf balls - started at age 4)
cookie jill has worked for a family owned donut shop (for a very democratic and wise owner.)
cookie jill has worked for a fast food joint (trust me...don't eat the chili)
cookie jill has worked for a law firm (where I learned the fate of a famous rock band's money in an offshore "bank" and how many cigars smoked in a closed room set off fire alarms.)
cookie jill has worked at at the college she attended (in the finance department, the admissions department, as a resident assistant, in marketing/pr)
cookie jill has worked for a temp agency (as a temp and as a placement counselor. trust me, you don't want to take notes during a meeting for a defense department contractor discussing bombs and "collateral damage.")
cookie jill has worked for a land developer (one of the kindest, funniest, most generous man i have ever met or known. developed high end gated communities and kept fighting the city to build low cost, affordable housing but was continually rebuffed by the city as they only wanted the high rent stuff.)
cookie jill has worked for stock brokers (I immediately left when told that we needed to target elderly wealthy people because they were "easy pickings.")
cookie jill has worked for an accounting firm (where i learned that on occassion 2 + 2 does equal 5)
cookie jill has worked for a bank (when it was just a smaller community bank...but has now grown to where it is almost unrecognizable.)
cookie jill has worked for a nationwide retail department store (where people would continually return special occassion dresses with the tags still on and deodorant stains on when they claimed they never attended the event they bought the dresses for.)
cookie jill has worked on the campaigns for bill clinton, the late honorable walter capps, the honorable lois capps, insurance commissioner john garamendi
cookie jill has worked for an independent music promoter (and learned some of the dark secrets of the entertainment biz)
cookie jill has worked for hospital lobbyists (my immediate bosses were two amazingly wonderful and wise former emergency room nurses who enjoyed watching cookie jill turn ghost white when they told tales of their er days.)
cookie jill has worked for (gulp...) clear channel (but only temporarily and witnessed the entire office shut down without a lot of notice and all the employees locked out)
cookie jill has worked for a newspaper (a not so feisty weekly....)
cookie jill has worked for williams-sonoma (and actually met and chatted up the big guy "chuck williams" who loves cookie jill's oatmeal raisin and chocolate cherry chunck varietals....)
cookie jill has worked for a chamber orchestra (in the administration arena...)
cookie jill has volunteered for the multiple sclerosis society, the american heart foundation, multiple aids events, the alex theatre, santa barbara international film festival, various "taste of" events, is a junior league member.....and donates cookies to many causes and non-profits.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
all the hoo-ha seems to have died down over the hugh hewitt screaming about how markos and jerome worked for dean without telling anybody (except, of course, the people that actually read their blogs) and that somehow this is a breach of blogging ethics.
we at skippy international are actually quite surprised to learn that there were blogging ethics. after reading little green footballs, we thought that there were no ethics whatsoever in blogtopia (ethically we are forced to admit that yes! we coined that phrase!), but apparently every other blog around here has been discussing this non-story for the past week, so here is our take.
for some unknown reason (and it certainly couldn't be because television/radio pundit armstrong williams was caught taking taxpayer money from awol to promote no child left behind), suddenly radio ranter hugh hewitt decided to hold markos moulitsas of dkos and jerome armstrong of mydd to some incredibly vague standards that nobody ever held him (or his partner in meme-spreading, bill o'reilly) to. and the wall street journal, that bastion of balanced reporting, took up the story.
(you must subscribe to the wsj online to read it, so we won't bother to link you to it. you can gather its content by reading all the other links we've provided. think of it kind of like a game of clue...it's william mcgurn in the library with a candlestick!)
so now, apparently if a blogger worked for somebody they wrote about, that's a breach of ethics, even if they disclosed that working relationship. it's ok if carl cameron never pointed out on faux that his wife was on awol's campaign staff. it's ok if robert novak outed a covert cia operative to get back at a perceived enemy of awol. it's ok that britt hume plays tennis with bush senior on a regular basis. it's ok if o'reilly eats falafels (ok, that had nothing to do with the subject at hand, but he's a sleazy sumabitch, ain't he?). but now suddenly the bloggers are supposed to be ethical?
newsflash: bloggers ain't journalists. (a) they aren't paid to blog, with a couple of exceptions, and (b) they aren't responsible for investigating the news. they are just expressing their ideas.
but, just to be safe, we at skippy international are now ready to disclose all the potential conflict of interests that skippy has.
that's right. we admit it. skippy has worked for the man.
skippy once worked in a bank.
skippy once worked in the fast food industry.
skippy once worked in the administrative department of a hospital.
skippy once worked for a contractor to a los angeles county transportation agency.
skippy once worked for another bank.
skippy once worked for a union lawyer.
skippy once worked for a corporate lawyer (the union lawyer was scarier).
skippy once worked for an insurance firm.
skippy once worked in a cafeteria at a semi-large veterinary university.
skippy once worked for a large detroit automotive company.
skippy once worked for yet another bank.
skippy once worked for (yuck!) clear channel.
skippy once worked at disneyland (as sam in the golden horseshoe saloon review).
mostly, skippy has been unemployed.
skippy once was on food stamps.
skippy has often received unemployment benefits.
skippy thinks that if you no longer have a financial relation with someone, there is no conflict of interest.
skippy thinks hugh hewitt needs publicity for his latest book.


text:
March 29, 2012, 10:09 am
Colorado has always endured wildfire events
Colorado has seen its fair share of forest fires blown up to disastrous proportions by high winds. One of the most destructive was the Hayman wildfire in June, 2002. It burned 100,000 acres and dozens of homes. It was an arson by a former forest service employee.
Another fire on difficult terrain was the Big Elk fire west of the town of Lyons, also occurring in the hot, dry summer of 2002. It was started by a discarded cigarette.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Crostata di ricotta is a simple pie of northern Lazio. Sometimes decorated with a lattice top crust. The recipe was kindly provided by my aunt, Annette Messina. The crust, is a classic pasta frolla, a sweet, cookie-like dough. As with most cheesecakes, this ricotta tart must be aged to develop its flavor. It should he made at least a day in advance, and is best eaten within 2 or 3 days of baking, but it will keep up to 1 week, chilled. In order to duplicate, the texture of the ricotta of Lazio, the ricotta should be drained overnight.–Julia della Croce
Sweet Ricotta Tart
- Quick Glance
- Serves 10
IngredientsEmail Grocery List
- For the pasta frolla
- 2 cups sifted pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 stick cold unsalted butter
- 1 large egg, beaten with
- 1 tablespoon milk
- For the filling
- 2 1/2 cups drained fresh whole-milk ricotta
- 8 ounces mascarpone, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 extra-large eggs
- 1/4 cup rum
- 1/4 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate
- 1/4 cup chopped candied orange rind
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Grated zest of 1 orange
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Make the pasta frolla
- 1. Sift the flour, sugar, and salt together into a medium, bowl. Using a pastry cutter or 2 dinner knives, cut in the butter until a crumblike mixture is formed. Using a fork, mix the egg mixture into the flour mixture until evenly moistened. Using your hands, gather about two-thirds of the dough into 1 ball and the remaining one-third into a second ball. Wrap each ball separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to overnight before using.
- 2. Butter an 8-inch springform pan. Preheat the oven to 350° F (175°C).
- 3. Sprinkle a work surface lightly with flour and roll the larger ball of dough into a disk 1/8-inch thick. Place aluminum foil under the pan and crimp it around the sides of the pan to catch any leaks during baking. Fit the dough into the springform pan and crimp the edges. If making a lattice crust, roll out the second ball of dough into a disk 3/8-inch thick. Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut it into strips about 1/2-inch wide. Refrigerate the dough-lined pan and the strips of dough until ready for use.
- Make the filling
- 4. In a large bowl, beat the ricotta and mascarpone together until well blended. Stir in the 3/4 cup granulated sugar and the flour. Beat in one egg at a time until each is fully incorporated into the mixture. Stir in the rum, chocolate, candied orange rind, cinnamon, and zests, and blend thoroughly.
- 5. In a deep bowl, beat the heavy cream with the 2 tablespoons granulated sugar until soft peaks are formed. Fold it into the ricotta mixture until blended. Pour the ricotta filling into the prepared pan and smooth the top evenly.
- Assemble the pie
- 6. Arrange the strips of dough in a diagonal lattice over the filling, trim where necessary, and pinch them onto the crust. Slide the pan onto the middle rack of the oven and bake until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cake inside with the door closed for about 1 hour.
- 7. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Remove the sides of the springform pan. Slide the cake onto a cake platter. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least overnight before serving.
- 8. Before serving, dust the crostata with confectioners' sugar. The crostata is usually cut into small slices and accompanied with espresso.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.


text:
Google Summer of Code
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Revision as of 21:53, 4 July 2015 by Lahwaacz.bot (talk | contribs) (simplification of wikilinks, fixing whitespace and capitalization, removing underscores (https://github.com/lahwaacz/wiki-scripts/blob/master/link-checker.py (interactive)))
The Arch Linux development team is considering to participate this year in Google Summer of Code (GSoC), here is a draft on what areas we are needing improvements.
The deadline to apply to mentor students is Friday, 9 March at 23:00 GMT. Google will begin accepting student applications on 26 March.
Discussion on dev-public mailing list: Google Summer of Code
The main idea here is to help the development of these tools, improving it, making patches and fixing bugs for now.
Arch Linux has its own projects; please read the entire article before thinking that we are just asking for packagers.
Project Ideas
- AIF (Arch Linux Installation Framework)
- grub2 option: Provide grub2 as a bootloader to install.
- GPT/gdisk: Support gpt disk layouts for automatic and manual disk preperation.
- systemd: Add an option to choose between initscripts and systemd.
- complete rewrite (in python)?
- +1 for python, but the python package is ~80MB and current netinstall iso is ~200MB -> too fat?
- netcfg
- automatic package buildfarm
- There has been some work on Arch integration into openbuildservice.org - [1]
- single authentication database and managing our packaging ssh accounts from archweb
- Implement pkgstats submission and graph/stats creation in archweb
- coming soon
- see the Pacman Roadmap for details
Potential Mentors
- Pacman mentor (Dan?)
- AIF mentor (Dieter?)
- pkgstats (Pierre; no idea about django though)
- Netcfg (?)


text:
This elegant Kurlie quilt set features geometric pattern with a "Love" decorative pillow, a lovely addition to your bedroom.
"I love this site. Amazing products at an amazing value. If I had gone to a high-end store, would have paid 4-5 times higher and probably not including such things as the extra throw pillows. Great quality! My first set I ordered a few weeks ago had a test.....the cat threw up on it, lol, (furballs), and so, I pulled the king-sized spread off of the bed and spot cleaned it in the sink...Amazing, cleaned up beautifully, just like a high-quality product should."
-Customer Review


text:
Artists often take objects from our lived environment and place them within a gallery. The change in context challenges our understanding of the object's function and associations within our daily lives; at the same time, the artist is asking the question, what is art? I'm inclined to ask what effect a gallery that has been brought to freezing and filled with snowdrifts and icicles would have. It would, no doubt, be different than having a whole city, state—region—brought to a halt. One role art plays is to try and alter our perception of our known surroundings, our world. Similarly, this blanketing snow has forced us to carefully observe what is there and what is not (because it is now hidden from view).
Snow, of course, is not the result of a creative act. No human hand crafted this installation of snow on the region's canvas; it is not an expression of one's imagination. But we can still pause before its ability to bring a new type of life to our everyday—if only for a day.
The Museum serves us in facilitating our ability to see and appreciate art. But sometimes—sometimes—even the Museum must bow down and exhale—in awe.
Share your photos of the Museum from the blizzard on the Museum's Facebook page.
–Christina Dittrich, Senior Editor


text:
Export 26 results:Author Keyword Title Type [ Year]
Filters: Author is Zhang, Yongliang [Clear All Filters]
"The use of far ultraviolet remote sensing to monitor space weather", Advances in Space Research, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 813 - 818, 2003.,
"GUVI: a hyperspectral imager for geospace", in Fourth International Asia-Pacific Environmental Remote Sensing Symposium 2004: Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere, Ocean, Environment, and SpaceInstruments, Science, and Methods for Geospace and Planetary Remote Sensing, Honolulu, HI, 2004.,
"October 2002 30-day incoherent scatter radar experiments at Millstone Hill and Svalbard and simultaneous GUVI/TIMED observations", Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 32, no. 1, 2005.,
"Characteristics of the storm-induced big bubbles (SIBBs)", Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 111, no. A10, 2006.,
"Nighttime F-region morphology in the low and middle latitudes seen from DMSP F15 and TIMED/GUVI", Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, vol. 68, no. 14, pp. 1672 - 1681, 2006.,
"Prelude to THEMIS tail conjunction study", in Annales Geophysicae, 2007.,
"Interplanetary shock induced ring current auroras", Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 113, no. A1, 2008.,
"Unusual declining phase of solar cycle 23: Weak semi-annual variations of auroral hemispheric power and geomagnetic activity", Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 36, no. 22, 2009.,
"Auroral and thermospheric response to the 9 day periodic variations in the dayside reconnection rate in 2005", Space Weather, vol. 8, no. 7, 2010.,
"Ionospheric response to the initial phase of geomagnetic storms: Common features", Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 115, no. A7, 2010.,
"Near real-time assimilation in IRI of auroral peak E-region density and equatorward boundary", Advances in Space Research, vol. 46, no. 8, pp. 1055 - 1063, 2010.,
"Seasonal and hemispheric variations of the total auroral precipitation energy flux from TIMED/GUVI", Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 115, no. A11, 2010.,
"Thermospheric composition variations due to nonmigrating tides and their effect on ionosphere", Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 37, no. 17, p. n/a - n/a, 2010.,
"Longitudinal variations of nighttime electron auroral precipitation in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres from the TIMED global ultraviolet imager", Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 116, no. A3, 2011.,
"Nightside polar rain aurora boundary gap and its applications for magnetotail reconnection", Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 116, no. A11, 2011.,
"Temporal and spatial components in the storm-time ionospheric disturbances", Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 116, no. A11, 2011.,
"Reply to comment by D.J. Strickland et al. on "Long-term variation in the thermosphere: TIMED/GUVI observations"", Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 117, no. A7, 2012.,
"A comparative study of TEC response for the African equatorial and mid-latitudes during storm conditions", Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, vol. 102, pp. 105 - 114, 2013.,
"The effect of geomagnetic-storm-induced enhancements to ionospheric emissions on the interpretation of the TIMED/GUVI O/N 2 ratio", Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, vol. 118, no. 12, pp. 7834 - 7840, 2013.,
"Empirical relationship between electron precipitation and far-ultraviolet auroral emissions from DMSP observations", Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, vol. 118, no. 3, pp. 1203 - 1209, 2013.,
"An interhemispheric comparison of GPS phase scintillation with auroral emission observed at the South Pole and from the DMSP satellite", Annals of Geophysics, vol. 56, p. R0216, 2013.
"Multi-Periodic Auroral and Thermospheric Variations in 2006", Terrestrial, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 207-212, 2013.,
"Nightside midlatitude ionospheric arcs: TIMED/GUVI observations", Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, vol. 118, no. 6, pp. 3584 - 3591, 2013.,
"Statistical relationship between large-scale upward field-aligned currents and electron precipitation", Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 2014.,
"Effects of the Equatorial Ionosphere Anomaly on the Inter-Hemispheric Circulation in the Thermosphere", Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 2016.,


text:
In common ownership with the renowned seafood restaurant O'Grady's of Barna (see entry), Michael O'Grady's place in the city is a little oasis just off Galway's main shopping thoroughfare - on a fine day you can sit outside and relax here in the fresh air, away from the bustle of the street.
Following a recent makeover, this stylish modern Galway restaurants now a story of two parts, offering evening menus in the elegant first-floor Kirwan's Lane, while the O'Grady family's particular speciality comes across loud and clear in The Seafood Bar @Kirwan's on the ground floor.
A bar with a few high stools, and big doors that open out to allow for outside seating in fine weather contribute to the informal atmosphere of the Seafood Bar. The decor seamlessly combines old and new in walls of natural stone and subtle sage green, darkwood tables with ladderback chairs and squashy banquettes – and traditional light fittings with quirkily mismatched shades.
It's an attractive mix and, in the unlikely event of a long delay between ordering from the (very tempting) menu, Michael has even provided some interesting reading on the back, where you'll find extracts from his father Jackie O'Grady's delightful memoir of life on nearby Clare Island, 'The Green Road To The Lighthouse'.
Excellent choices on the Seafood Bar menu include many seafood classics – including native Galway oysters in season, of course (also Gigas, which are available all year), Connemara Smokehouse smoked salmon (served various ways – including sushi), seafood platters and Kirwan's seafood chowder, Galway Bay lobster, crab, Connemara mussels and Dingle Bay prawns (langoustines).
A range of whatever wonderfully fresh fish is available on the day is offered in both traditional and contemporary styles, with delicious sides like local spuds and seasonal salads.
Landlubbers get a little look in of course, with a few choice offerings (including a good steak), desserts are of the old favourites kind (anyone for a classic chocolate mousse with pistachio crumbs?), and the short but carefully chosen wine list includes seven by the glass.
Upstairs, beyond a huge gilt-framed feature mirror that seems to signify an elevated mood-change as you go up the smart lightwood staircase, Kirwan's Lane restaurant offers a more formal alternative in the evening.
This elegant Galway restaurants smartly appointed tables are covered with white damask cloths and simple décor in subtle shades of sage greys with mustard highlights.
This makes a classy setting for excellent cooking from a well-judged à la carte that is not over-extensive, but takes on board the tastes of vegetarians and meat-eaters as well as having a predictably strong showing of fish and shellfish.
As always has always been the case here, outstanding breads set the tone for the smart cooking that is to come: a smoked haddock & spinach risotto with fresh parmesan and lemon oil to start, perhaps, or terrine of foie gras with homemade brioche and apricot & red onion chutney – maybe followed by saddle of rabbit with black pudding stuffing, parma ham, wholegrain mustard mousseline and sage jus.
Finish with a tempting pudding (fresh raspberry meringue roulade, with mango coulis perhaps) and really good coffee.
With good cooking backed up by a relaxed ambience, attentive service, and an interesting wine list with well-chosen house wines, both the Seafood Bar and Kirwan's Lane are very pleasant places to eat – and many would cite this a favourite destination in Galway City.


text:
Game #122: O's at Jays pregame
Baltimore (56-64) at Toronto (62-59)
at 1:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre
Today's lineups:
Brian Roberts, 2B
Corey Patterson, CF
Nick Markakis, RF
Miguel Tejada, SS
Aubrey Huff, 1B
Melvin Mora, 3B
J.R. House, DH
Paul Bako, C
Tike Redman, LF
PITCHING: RHP Steve Trachsel (5-7, 4.85 ERA)
Reed Johnson, LF
Russ Adams, 3B
Alex Rios, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Matt Stairs, RF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Aaron Hill, 2B
Gregg Zaun, C
John McDonald, SS
PITCHING: RHP Jesse Litsch (4-5, 3.54 ERA)
NOTES: Toronto manager John Gibbons said CF Vernon Wells and 3B Troy Glaus were simply given the day off on Saturday. … Adams was making his first appearance since being recalled on Thursday, and his first-ever big-league appearance at third base. … Rios has hit .393 in August, which is the sixth-highest average in the AL for the month. … Toronto is one win shy of moving to four games over .500 for the first time this season.
entering Saturday
1. Boston 73-49 (–)
2. New York 68-54 (5)
3. Toronto 62-59 (10.5)
4. Baltimore 56-64 (16)
5. Tampa Bay 46-75 (26.5)
entering Saturday
1. Seattle 67-52 (–)
2. New York 68-54 (0.5)
3. Detroit 67-55 (1.5)
4. Toronto 62-59 (6)
5. Minnesota 61-60 (7)
TICK, TOCK…Since 1995, the runner-up in the AL Wild Card race has finished with an average of 89 victories. The Blue Jays would need to go 28-13 over their final 41 games to reach 90 wins.
17 Comments
This is a team that wants to be in the playoffs or do they.
You can't make plays like hill did and be a contender get the sure out it's early in the game that was not the tying run in the 8th or 9th inn.or the go ahead run.
The game is not on the tube today and I can't stand allen or jerry no fan 90 for me I miss Tom Cheek I also turn the sound of on the tube.
When Tom was here I had the tube on no sound and fan 90 on the radio was a hair faster than the tube fun to watch.
everyone seems to fade away on sat. strange.
What ever happend to Harry Potter????.
Litsch deserved better. You certainly can't win at the major league level by giving up two errors resulting in 3 unearned runs. This is another game we gave away.
Great bunt by Johnny Mac.
Nice day for Adams, no hits, but, a nice play at 3rd and the ball he hit to center was tagged.
I see the Yank's trash ( sentinel and goff ) have slithered their way into the Jays site . They are not welcome on the Yank's site anymore . Perhaps Jordan can remove the trash for us
Adams also moved a runner over to third and that run came in.
Another quality start by Litsch wasted by these little girls maybe we should get them some barbie dolls to play with.
ahhh…. sorry i haven't posted for a long time garry. (if it was me who you meant by wat happened to harry potter) anyways i've read most of the posts you guys make just was too lazy/didn't have time to post my thoughts however you guys pretty much sum it all.
i also posted a few posts after i came back but got no replies so i decided to stop wasting my time and just read what you guys write.
i am impressed with adams even though it's just a game. I liked the play at third he almost got the guy.
I can't believe that the jays are making so many errors i didn't expect that and it seems like litsch is always the one hit the hardest. Nice way to build up confidence for a young pitcher with a bright future.
I don't think league will ever be able to live up to our expectations now. maybe he can pull of a halladay. However accardo's done a nice job and so has janessen.
I think accardo would be better at set-up it seems like every time accardo is sent out to make a save he gives up a few hits. none of the saves are comfortable (excluding the last outing). Perhaps you guys can prove me wrong.
What will happen to janessen next year and litsch.?
Litsch is the new Towers. He's the guy they make errors behind and the guy they don't score runs for. At least they usually score for Halladay, so we have a good chance for a series win.
Accardo needs a pitch that's as good against righties as his splitter is against lefties.
Guess again Indigo!!! You're probably dumb enough to believe everything I said on the Yankees sight. What a !@#$. You better believe it when I say the Jays are going down, they just don't have what it takes to get there!
You're the only one that believes what you write since they are your lunatic rantings . You are right , the Jays have not learned to lie and cheat like your team .Now away with you little boy .
Harry ,
I think you will see Litsch be in the rotation next year and Janssen in the BP. Janssen has been very effective there but who really knows
I see you have taken a name to confuse others on the Yanks site and here-the real poster there is firstname.lastname@example.com.
I've seen a lot of imitators, but it's hard to imagine how little self esteme one has when they imitate someone's name.
Consider your self special,you've established a new low or are you just like the Yanks-a bunch of old, overpaid, underachieving blubbers.
Indigot, don't waste your time with this guy-who also happens to be sentinel. But if you post to him, try to keep the words small and language simple-you know so a simpleton can understand.
Harry, give League some time, he'll come back. And next year we'll have 3 guys for the 7th and 8th-Jansen, League and Accardo. That means we should have one guy fresh every night. With Ryan closing-I like our chances if the starters can get us through 6.
Litsch, in my view, remains a starter next year. He's done a great job for us, and grows every game.
Hey how did you like Burnett yesterday.? At times he looked unhittable. Let's hope he stays healthy.
I figured it was sentinel, he is hitting Boston's site also . I am done with him , the blank screen has more intelligence.
I think Burnett isn't happy with himself. He is a strikeout pitcher and he was not doing much of that yesterday though he pitched well . I get the impression he wants more
Burnett seemed upset with thigpen at first yesterday then as the game went on you could see it was with himself so I thought but after the game he said it was with the roof open and the wind affecting his curve ball and knocking it down.
Thanks for the back up.
Welcome back Potter …weak pun.
As for sentinel squirrel food.
Being a faithful fan of the Jays, I watch every game. Wells is NOT a cleanup hitter and doesn't belong there! It's time management make the players EARN their positions!
Maybe Hillenbrand had a point! The Jays' coach does not know how to win. There are not enough surprises in their offense plays What's wrong with "little" baseball playing if it means a WIN? Not once did a team win by hitting only long balls. The middle of the order is hitless most of the time; so where IS the long ball? Bunts, squeeze plays. steals are the tricks and surprises which CAN win games! Jays have to hit in the clutch. The mindset of the management that one homer will win the game is plain dumb! Expecting a player to hit home runs each time they bat is what blows the Jays games! Johnny Mac has earned his position and so did Hill and Overbay. Jays offense must be as potent for each pitcher..it's time to stop favoring pitchers and begin to work for each pitcher equally.
Some interesting team stats
ERA: 3rd in AL, 5th in MLB
BA: 11th in AL, 20th in MLB
Fld: 10th in AL, 19th in MLB
The impressive pitching over the last month has impacted. In the AL the standings now are:
I think we all knew we had a problem in hitting, but as we have recently seen, we also have a problem in defence, ranking well down the field. A further look at this shows where the culprits are.
Jays-79 errors
Catchers: 9
Boston- 66 errors
Catchers: 6
Pitchers: 4
Yanks-67 errors
If our pitchers/catchers were more in line, we'd likely be sitting with 62 to 64 errors which would put us into 2nd or 3rd place in the AL, which is where we should be.
Seems to me Butter would be better served by investing time with the pitchers because clearly there is a problem here.
Lets face the Jays are not talented enough to overtake the Yanks. The Jays starting pitching is iffy at best after Halladay, and the hitting is somewhat inconsistent. The only time the Jays match up well with the Yanks is when the Yanks are struggling, but now that the Yanks are on a roll you don't match up at all, the last couple of series the two teams played proved that painfully for your ***** team. Even if the Yanks struggle they don't have a chance. Get a grip you idiots, and do what you do every year, and that is wait until next year, LOL!!!!
For idiots who say they are done with me i sure can get a rise from you fools. I like playing with your little, little minds.
Pitching is iffy at best after halladay? look at the yanks with an old pitching staff you sign who else but clemens. Face it jays rotation is not only better now but it will also be in the future compared to yanks.
I like the fact that burnett wants more. If burnett can get ground-outs even though he is a strike-out pitcher all he needs to do is stay healthy and he can be as good as halladay. (maybe over exxagerating)
Litsch should stay i too believe that he is pitching good i just hope that the errors the jays are making aren't getting to his head.
That's true wells is not clean-up especially this season but i think next season he will be better. All we need to do is get vernon swinging early maybe from february.
jannesen, accardo and league does sound good at 7-8th inning. I just hope league can rebound.
my question of the day: are you guys expecting any trades involving the bluejays this off-season. IF so who do you think is gonna get traded and who do you want traded?
thanks for the stats gsummer you are our scott carson. could you tell me what happened to snider after 5hr in 10 atbats. (finally picks up power i stated earlier that i would like more hr's from him. seems like he read that post)
What the heck are you smoking harrypotter? Go back to your fantasy land, and fight the evil wizards, although I think tyhat's what gave you that brain damage in the first place. The Jays don't have the pitchers to matchup with Wang, Hughes, and chamberlain (yes, he will be a starter next year, any thought of him being of a reliever is ****). Those three pitchers alone can shut down your hitting lineup easily, so I guess that means you will be waiting to win a pennant for the rest of your pathetic lives.


text: Was on this board out at Roosevelt (Columbia River Gorge, USA) yesterday on an highly powered 12m with moderate river swell. The board is absolutely beautiful. It came with the twin setup so I rode it like that for a while but it was way to skaty and McDonald's-tray-like. Popped in the third fin and the board really performed well. Very smooth and surfy. I was surprised that at 6'1" and 190lbs I was able to jibe this board! Thought I found the perfect all in one board for me that will do everything as well as travel until I tried to boost it. The board really lacks pop and boostability. I was able to get some decent airs if I raced off of a river swell but that was about it. I thought since I can jibe it, maybe put bigger fins on the rear for better pop and boostability??? But I am not sure if this will help as it is probably the concavity and stiffness of the board and not the fins that hinders its ability to pop. Anyone??? If you are looking for a piece of art that you can ride and do everything but boost huge airs, this is worth a try.


text:
The Forest Preserve District of Kane County welcomes the opportunity to assist preserve patrons with disabilities to enjoy all our facilities, programs and services. For assistance and information on accessibility, contact the ADA Coordinator at Voice: (630) 444-3095 or (630) 232-5980; TTY Relay: (800) 526-0844.
The District is a public entity as defined under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits the District from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in all programs, activities and services. The District is committed to complying with all applicable provisions of Title II as well as all other federal and state laws and regulations pertaining to persons with disabilities. In providing programs and services, the District will make reasonable accommodations to ensure that all people have an equal opportunity to enjoy our offerings.
To request any of our publications in large print, audio or Braille, please contact the ADA Coordinator at:
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: Voice: (630) 444-3095 or (630) 232-5980; TTY Relay: (800) 526-0844
Mail: ADA Coordinator
Forest Preserve District of Kane County
1996 S. Kirk Rd, Ste. 320
Geneva, IL 60134
Requests should be made at least 72 hours in advance. While the District will make every effort to meet requests in a timely fashion, some requests may take longer to fulfill than others.
ADA Coordinator
ADA Notice
- Printable Version
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Grievance Procedure
- Printable Version
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Electronic Mobility Devices


text:
A little girl's summer wish came true, thanks to a letter she wrote to Google.
Katie wanted her dad, who works at Google, to spend more time with her, so she wrote the Mountain View company a letter asking for him to have Wednesday off.
"Can you please make sure when daddy goes to work, he gets one day off," she wrote in the letter, which is going viral on Twitter.
"P.S. It is daddy's birthday. P.P.S. It is summer, you know," she added.
The letter worked, according to "The Today Show," as Google responded with a letter thanking Katie for the note and giving her dad the first week of July off as vacation time.
This little girl wrote Google a letter asking that they give her dad a day off; they responded. pic.twitter.com/QoOWyebWB9
— Trending Pictures (@TopTrending) June 22, 2014
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


text:
School shootings are far too common
It has become a too familiar scene across the nation: a gunman rampaging through a suburban school or workplace, leaving death and grief behind.
On Friday, that terror came to Connecticut, and the state may never be the same.
The bodies of 20 young children, six adults and a shooter left in the hallways and rooms of Newtown's Sandy Hook Elementary School represent the second worst school shooting in American history. Only the 33 dead during the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech is worse.
As shock swept across the state Friday, many found it hard to put thoughts into words. But at the same time, a statewide discussion about school safety and how much security is enough bubbled to the surface.
"If I hadn't been on the phone all day, I would have probably cried," said Stamford schools Superintendent Winifred Hamilton. "We have had better days."
"I mean, my God, these were kindergarten students," said state Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, and a ranking member of the Legislature's Education Committee. "It's a type of horror... of historic proportions. Everyone is upset right now. It's like after 9/11."
Boucher said the time has come to talk about school security and whether metal detectors are appropriate and what types of check-in systems are warranted. "I tried to reassure one parent who called me today but I was thinking about what type of precautions this can elicit," she said.
The sad truth is massacres like the one on Friday have become common, experts say. And those who commit such crimes typically fall into two categories: the profoundly mentally ill or those holding a grievance, maybe from the loss of a job, a child-custody dispute, family issues, marital problems or lingering unemployment.
"It may take many weeks to find out the motivation," said Larry Barton, a professor at the American College, Bryn Mawr, Pa., and a threat assessment instructor for the FBI.
"Usually there are only two reasons: profound mental illness or the grievance collector. I've been involved in 2,800 of these cases and without question the murder of 20 children and six adults is influenced by profound mental illness," Barton said, noting some shooters display both traits.
"Can you prevent this? No. But you can mitigate it. Seventy one percent of the perpetrators who harm in public have communicated their intentions before. You have to see the signs," Barton said, explaining that those signs are often sudden changes in behavior, strange online posts or disturbing statements to friends and relatives.
Connecticut can take some comfort in the fact that it's not alone. During the Columbine shootings in 1999, 12 high schools students and adults died and 21 were injured.
Earlier this year, a gunman dressed as a Batman character killed 12 and injured 58 during a rampage at a Colorado movie theater. In 1998, a disgruntled worker strolled into the Connecticut Lottery offices in Newington and killed four co-workers and himself.
There have also been murders at Connecticut schools. In 2009, a 20-year-old UConn football player was stabbed to death on campus. In 1985, a 13-year-old Portland student fatally shot a school custodian, wounded a principal and secretary and held a student hostage with a rifle.
Charles W. Steger, Virginia Tech's president, on Friday personally reacted to the Connecticut shootings.
"We know, from our experience, of the unending sorrow and horror that has now descended on Newtown," Steger said in a letter to Connecticut. "No words can express how they now feel over this senseless and insane tragedy. Our words seem so inadequate in light of their plight. We extend our deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers to the Newtown community as it begins to cope with their grief and blackness."
So what, if anything, can be done to prevent future tragedies?
Barton said less than five percent of school districts nationally have any type of electronic locking system for doors, such as buzzers to let people in or a badge system to identify employees. He said he was impressed that the Sandy Hook school had a buzzer system on its doors.
Reports on Friday indicated the shooter, whose mother apparently taught at the school, was known to school officials, so that's likely why he was let inside.
Hamilton, the Stamford school superintendent, said her schools have varying levels of security, from guards at high schools to doors at other schools equipped with cameras and buzzers.
"We have been putting safety protocols and procedures in place at all of our schools. We do regular sweeps to make sure doors are closed. Still, you can have all the security protocols, metal detectors and armed guards, but if someone is determined to do harm they will find a way," Hamilton said.
Boucher said the state is likely to now have a school security discussion. "There will be a desire for a response. For me, it will have to be how to better secure schools and whether metal detectors should be used and whether there is an outcry for gun control."


text:
Located right down the street, just a short 4 mile drive, you will find Jamestown Settlement. This wonderful historic settlement portrays the story of over 400 years ago.
A Group of 104 English men and boys began a settlement on the banks of Virginia's James River. These men were sponsored by the Virginia Company of London, whose stockholders had planned to make a profit from the resources of the New World. These men suffered horrible hardships but managed to survive and earn the distinction of being America's first permanent English Colony.
Today at Jamestown Settlement, the story is told. You will enjoy a stroll through the Powhatan Indian village where you can interact with the Indians, skin the hides and enter their homes. Walk down the path and board the replica of the three ships that sailed from England to Virginia in 1607, and then enjoy life-size re-creations of the colonists' fort. Costumed historical interpreters describe and demonstrate daily life in the early 17th century. A exquisite museum offers expansive gallery exhibits.
After touring the Settlement you can enjoy lunch at their cafe and stop in the gift shop for some souveniers to take home.
Jamestown is open daily except for Christmas and New Years Day.
Tags: colonial jamestown, historic jamestown va, jamestown Settlement, jamestown virginia colony


text: As with the main part of the iPad music apps, you still can use the app for hitting/drumming objects on the screen, but the iPad is not really accurate as a percussion instrument. Beatsurfing introduces a more relevant way to use the surface of the tablet. It feels way more natural to slide over them with your fingers along routes, colliding with objects, triggering samples or effects. You can easily play a complete piece of music guided by your feelings and intuition, and reinterpret it in many ways. It's all about movement, and bringing back a more intuitive way to make music.


text:
Sale Price £9.41
Reduced From £12.55
Measurement is tip to tip. Price is for a pair of handles.
The tabs at either end of each handle have pre-punched holes for hand sewing handles to bag. We advise you to use a skein of embroidery thread for sewing the handles to your bag, the thread is softer on the leather and you can match the colour of thread and handles.
Genuine leather handles that provide a professional finish to your bag.
Matching buckles and leather sew on magnetic bag clasps available.
Customers who bought this item also bought these...
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text:
The Forrester Wave: Service Virtualization And Testing Solutions, Q1 2014
CA Technologies focuses on DevOps - with an emphasis on ops. DevOps and Continuous delivery are slowly picking up, and CA is putting a lot of resources into providing a strong solution that connects developers with operations folks. CA LISA® has the strongest SVT product in our evaluation, making it ideal for organizations with a comprehensive SVT enterprise strategy.


text:
VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Georgia Southwestern Lady Hurricanes blew into Valdosta with hopes of stringing together more wins after sweeping Brewton-Parker College last week. Their mission would be would not get accomplished as the Blue & Gold were swept by # 5 Valdosta by scores of 2-0 and 9-1.
GAME ONE: Georgia Southwestern-0 #5 Valdosta State-2
Jessica Martin would battle her way through the first three innings of the game for the Lady Hurricanes. The Woodstock native would walk two batters in each of the first three innings but was able to walk away unscathed in each of the three innings.
On the flip side, Georgia Southwestern's bats would also be silenced in the early going by Valdosta State pitcher Alanna Hadley. The Lady Hurricanes would only get one hit off Hadley in the first four innings while striking out three times.
The zeroes would continue on both sides of the scoreboard as both sides would go scoreless through the first six innings. The Hurricanes would get three hits over those six innings from Mason Moreland (single), Rachel McElroy (single) and Gabby Buck (double).
Martin would have a no-hitter going into the seventh inning despite giving up seven walks. After recording the first out, Martin would give up her first hit of the game to the Lady Blazers on a single by Sarah Vaughn. The next batter, Courtney Allbritton, would hit a walk off two-run home run to end the game 2-0.
GAME TWO: Georgia Southwestern-1 #5 Valdosta State-9 (5 Innings)
After being shutout in game one, the Blue & Gold would look to score by any means necessary. The 'Canes would get on the board first when Rachel McElroy would score on a Lady Blazer error in the second inning.
The response from Valdosta State came in a hurry in their half of the second inning. GSW starter Brittny Dennison would walk two batters and a third would load the bases on a GSW error, and then VSU's Morgan Johnson would empty the bases with a double to left field to give the home team the 3-1 lead.
Johnson's bases-clearing double would be the opening of the flood gates for Valdosta State. A one-run fourth inning opened for a game-ending five-run fifth inning. The Lady Blazers' Courtney Allbritton, Morgan Johnson, Samantha Posey and Angela O'Connor would all tally RBI's in the inning.
Seven of the nine Valdosta State runs would be earned runs scattered among the three GSW pitchers (Dennison, Martin and Burns).
The pair of losses sets the Georgia Southwestern record back to 5-9 for the 2012 season. It won't be a long wait for the Lady Hurricanes to get back on the field. They will play host to Fort Valley State on Friday, February 24th at Lady Canes Field. The double header is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.