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Arsenal's season of frustration ended with a 2-2 draw at 10-man Fulham, which will leave the Gunners having to qualify for the Champions League.
Steve Sidwell had swept the hosts in front in the 26th minute, only for Robin van Persie to quickly equalise.
Bobby Zamora nodded the Cottagers back into the lead just before the hour with substitute Zoltan Gera shown a straight red card two minutes after coming on – but a late goal from Theo Walcott earned Arsenal a point as they finished fourth in the Barclays Premier League behind FA Cup winners Manchester City.
The Gunners had won just twice in their previous 10 league matches as a campaign which promised so much quickly fell apart after defeat in the Carling Cup final against Birmingham at Wembley.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger left the field to chants of 'spend some money' from the travelling support, who will expect much better next time around.
Fulham saw most of the ball during the opening exchanges at a blustery Craven Cottage.
When Jack Wilshere – the centre of a club-versus-country row over his proposed inclusion in the Under-21s European Championship squad – did pick out Samir Nasri with a chip into the Fulham box in the 10th minute the Frenchman, just back from a hamstring injury, could only loop a tame header goalwards.
Arsenal's defence, so often their Achilles heel this season, played a very high line and were almost caught out when Andrew Johnson scampered clear, but was called back by a tight offside flag.
The visitors almost snatched the lead when Bacary Sagna whipped over a deep cross to the far post, where fellow full-back Kieran Gibbs' downward header was clawed away by Mark Schwarzer, who came close to joining the Gunners in the summer.
Fulham took the lead in the 26th minute when Arsenal defender Johan Djourou played Zamora onside as the England striker scampered away down the right before cutting the ball back to Sidwell, who drilled home from six yards.
The lead, though, did not last long.
Abou Diaby, so often an under-performer this season, won the ball in midfield, before playing a neat one-two with Marouane Chamakh to release Van Persie on the edge of the Fulham area.
The in-form Dutchman needed no second invitation, killing the pass with his first touch before dispatching a low strike into the bottom left corner to level on 29 minutes and take his tally to nine in consecutive away games.
Arsenal were, however, soon back on the defensive.
Thomas Vermaelen produced a brilliant goal-line tackle after Danny Murphy had barged into the six-yard box and stabbed the ball past Wojciech Szczesny.
At the start of the second half, Van Persie was booked for protesting after referee Martin Atkinson failed to award a foul when he was checked by Brede Hangeland.
Schwarzer denied Arsenal again with another fine save, this time turning Nasri's goalbound free-kick over the crossbar.
Fulham were back in the lead after 57 minutes when Jonathan Greening darted into the left side of the Arsenal box, before chipping the ball across goal where Zamora nodded in at the near post.
Szczesny was off his line quickly to deny Zamora the chance to poke home a third as Arsenal were on the back foot.
There was a let-off for Fulham, though, when Schwarzer spilled Van Persie's right-wing cross, but Chamakh could only stab the loose ball wide.
Arsenal made a triple substitution on 64 minutes, replacing Aaron Ramsey with Walcott, Diaby with Andrey Arshavin and Gibbs with Emmanuel Eboue.
With news filtering through of Manchester City taking a 2-0 lead at Bolton, Arsenal looked certain to finish fourth.
Arshavin almost released Wilshere with a neat pass, but the ball just ran away from the England youngster.
With 20 minutes left, Zamora, appearing to be carrying an injury, was replaced by Gera, who looks set to leave at the end of his contract this summer.
The Hungarian was soon walking off again however after his lunging two-foot challenge on Vermaelen was punished with a straight red card on 74 minutes.
With Fulham hoping to stay high in the Fair Play League table, and earn a chance at European football again in the summer, it could yet prove a costly dismissal.
Arshavin flashed a low drive just wide, before Walcott levelled in the final minute when his shot went in off the far post.
FULHAM (4-4-2): Schwarzer; Hughes, Briggs, Senderos, Hangeland; Murphy (Etuhu 65), Sidwell, Dempsey, Greening (Davies 65); Zamora (Gera 71), A. Johnson. Subs (not used): Stockdale, Salcido, Kakuta, Gudjohnsen.
BOOKED: Greening, Sidwell.
SENT OFF: Gera.
GOALS: Sidwell (26), Zamora (56).
ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Sagna, Gibbs (Eboue 65), Djorou, Vermaelen; Diaby (Arshavin 65), Wilshere; van Persie, Nasri, Ramsey (Walcott 65); Chamakh. Subs (not used): Lehmann, Miguel, Squillaci, Denilson.
BOOKED: van Persie.
GOALS: van Persie (29), Walcott (89).


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Maps and Logs
We've added two graphics to the site today that might be helpful as you listen to the rest of the season, although they're especially relevant to Episode 5. The first is a map, which shows key locations in the story, some of which you'll hear about in today's episode. On the map you can roll over the pins and towers to see more information.
The other is the call log from Adnan's cell phone on January 13th, 1999. Adnan got his cell phone two days before Hae went missing, on January 11th. As Sarah said in Episode 4, the detectives used this call log - listing the times of calls and cell tower locations - to map the crime and corroborate Jay's story. And if there's one document in this investigation that's become our bible as we muddle through this case, it's this one. Sarah, Julie and I each have a copy of this call log on our desk at all times. Just a note to help you navigate the calls, Jay testified to making the ones to Jenn, Patrick and Phil.

subset: commoncrawl


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Vice President
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 8, 2002
President Discusses Olympic Games
Remarks by the President in Photo Opportunity with President Hinckley of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Administration Building
Salt Lake City, Utah
View the President's Remarks
Listen to the President's Remarks
MR. HINCKLEY: We're honored to have you here. We very much appreciate that you've come. We're all here, excited about the Olympics and we think this is going to be a great thing for this area and for the United States of America.
THE PRESIDENT: I agree. Thank you, sir.
MR. HINCKLEY: Thank you very much.
THE PRESIDENT: I'm looking forward to it. I want to congratulate the great state of Utah for putting on the Games. Its' going to be a -- I know it's been a lot of hard work, and now we're here and I think the world is going to see why we love the west so much here in the United States -- people can get things done.
MR. HINCKLEY: We're happy that they're here. We hope that all will go well, with confidence that all will go well and that it will be a great season for all of us.
THE PRESIDENT: I might answer a few questions. You got anything, Ron or Steve?
Q Mr. President, are you confident about the security situation at the Games?
THE PRESIDENT: I'm so confident about the security condition, I've come. (Laughter.) Fournier, you got anything?
Q What did you talk about in there?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we just -- interestingly enough, we talked about our family heritage, our lineage. The President kindly gave us our family histories, genealogies that have been researched here. And it's a wonderful gift.
And I said, before you tell me, are there any horse thieves in there? (Laughter.)
MR. HINCKLEY: I want to tell you that he comes of good stock. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: That's right. (Laughter.)
MR. HINCKLEY: And so does she.
Q Mr. President, did you give any advice to the American athletes on carrying the flag from New York, the World Trade Center flag?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I didn't.
Q And is there a danger that an event like this takes on some political overtones, especially with the United States engaged in a war on terrorism?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think the event is going the -- the events are going to strike a proper balance between the patriotism that we all feel here and the international flavor of the Games. As I understand it, they've reached what appears to be a reasonable compromise about the flag that flew over the World Trade Center.
And I think it's important for all Americans, obviously, to root hard for our athletes -- and recognize, however, this is an international event. And one of the things that is important is that there be world unity. And this is a nice place to have world unity, during the competition. You know, an athlete wins, people salute their flag and their anthem. And, unfortunately, it's not going to be the American flag every single event -- it'll be somebody else's country. But it gives us a chance to cheer for others and celebrate with others, as well.
So it appears to me that the proper balance has been struck. No question that tonight is going to be an emotional moment, though. I mean, we're the host country and we're a nation that has been under attack. And this proud country is unified and strong and when they play the National Anthem I'm sure there's going to be millions of Americans who are proud to hear the Anthem played in a unique setting and in an historic moment.
Q Were you disappointed, sir, when you first heard that the flag was not going to be allowed in the ceremonies?
THE PRESIDENT: I knew that there would be an accommodation reached, I talked to some friends about it. So I'm happy with the outcome of the accommodation. I think it's a nice balance --
Q Did you weigh-in at all on it?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I didn't.
Q Mr. President, why was it important for you to meet with President Hinckley today?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, this isn't my first meeting. I was -- it's kind of --
MR. HINCKLEY: Reunion.
THE PRESIDENT: Reunion, right. Thank you, I was searching for the word. (Laughter.)
I was here in the summer of '99. And first of all, President Hinckley represents a great religion, he is a strong part of the American scene and I wanted to come by and say hello and pay my respects. And I'm glad I did.
Also, by the way, looking forward to hearing the Choir tonight, it is going to be a magnificent moment; an incredibly touching experience for all of us, particularly those of us who will be there live.
So thank you for tuning them up. (Laughter.)
MR. HINCKLEY: They're all ready to go.
THE PRESIDENT: Thanks.
MR. HINCKLEY: Thank you very much.
THE PRESIDENT: Good to see you, sir.
MR. HINCKLEY: Thank you; come again.
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Zwiebelkuchen, which literally means "onion cake" in the German language, is actually a savoury tart (a quiche?) prepared with onions and sour cream on a leavened or yeast dough, that is very popular in the German wine-growing regions. Serve them warm with a glass of chilled half dry German Risling or fruity Corbières if you prefer red.
Quark Dough adapted from Grundrezept Quark-Öl-Teig
Topping Recipe adapted from Tobiaskocht
Topping | Quark Dough |
- Cut the ends off the onions and slice them into thick rings. Slice the spring onions into rings too. Heat a skillet with olive oil over medium flame. Add in onions and stir-fry until lightly golden. Stir in chopped spring onions. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and set aside.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add in egg, Quark, olive oil and milk. Stir until the dough forms a ball. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a baking tray, about 30x40 cm, with parchment paper. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle and fit into prepared baking tray.
- Top the dough with the herb cream evenly. Spread the caramelized onion all over the cream. Sprinkle the top with salt, pepper and cumin. Bake for 25-30 minutes until beautifully browned.


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Local 236
Employer/Union Rights and Obligations
The National Labor Relations Act forbids employers from interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees in the exercise of rights relating to organizing, forming, joining or assisting a labor organization for collective bargaining purposes, or from working together to improve terms and conditions of employment, or refraining from any such activity. Similarly, labor organizations may not restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of these rights.
Examples of employer conduct that violates the law:
Threatening employees with loss of jobs or benefits if they join or vote for a union or engage in protected concerted activity.
Threatening to close the plant if employees select a union to represent them.
Questioning employees about their union sympathies or activities in circumstances that tend to interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights under the Act.
Promising benefits to employees to discourage their union support.
Transferring, laying off, terminating, assigning employees more difficult work tasks, or otherwise punishing employees because they engaged in union or protected concerted activity.
Transferring, laying off, terminating, assigning employees more difficult work tasks, or otherwise punishing employees because they filed unfair labor practice charges or participated in an investigation conducted by NLRB.
Examples of labor organization conduct that violates the law:
Threats to employees that they will lose their jobs unless they support the union.
Seeking the suspension, discharge or other punishment of an employee for not being a union member even if the employee has paid or offered to pay a lawful initiation fee and periodic fees thereafter.
Refusing to process a grievance because an employee has criticized union officials or because an employee is not a member of the union in states where union security clauses are not permitted.
Fining employees who have validly resigned from the union for engaging in protected concerted activities following their resignation or for crossing an unlawful picket line.
Engaging in picket line misconduct, such as threatening, assaulting, or barring non-strikers from the employer's premises.
Striking over issues unrelated to employment terms and conditions or coercively enmeshing neutrals into a labor dispute.
What rules govern collective bargaining for a contract?
After employees choose a union as a bargaining representative, the employer and union are required to meet at reasonable times to bargain in good faith about wages, hours, vacation time, insurance, safety practices and other mandatory subjects. Some managerial decisions such as subcontracting, relocation, and other operational changes may not be mandatory subjects of bargaining, but the employer must bargain about the decision's effects on unit employees.
It is an unfair labor practice for either party to refuse to bargain collectively with the other, but parties are not compelled to reach agreement or make concessions.
If after sufficient good faith efforts, no agreement can be reached, the employer may declare impasse, and then implement the last offer presented to the union. However, the union may disagree that true impasse has been reached and file a charge of an unfair labor practice for failure to bargain in good faith. The NLRB will determine whether true impasse was reached based on the history of negotiations and the understandings of both parties.
If the Agency finds that impasse was not reached, the employer will be asked to return to the bargaining table. In an extreme case, the NLRB may seek a federal court order to force the employer to bargain.
The parties' obligations do not end when the contract expires. They must bargain in good faith for a successor contract, or for the termination of the agreement, while terms of the expired contract continue.
A party wishing to end the contract must notify the other party in writing 60 days before the expiration date, or 60 days before the proposed termination. The party must offer to meet and confer with the other party and notify the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service(link is external) of the existence of a dispute if no agreement has been reached by that time.
How is "good faith" bargaining determined?
There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of NLRB cases dealing with the issue of the duty to bargain in good faith. In determining whether a party is bargaining in good faith, the Board will look at the totality of the circumstances. The duty to bargain in good faith is an obligation to participate actively in the deliberations so as to indicate a present intention to find a basis for agreement. This implies both an open mind and a sincere desire to reach an agreement as well as a sincere effort to reach a common ground.
The additional requirement to bargain in "good faith" was incorporated to ensure that a party did not come to the bargaining table and simply go through the motions. There are objective criteria that the NLRB will review to determine if the parties are honoring their obligation to bargain in good faith, such as whether the party is willing to meet at reasonable times and intervals and whether the party is represented by someone who has the authority to make decisions at the table.
Conduct away from the bargaining table may also be relevant. For instance if an Employer were to make a unilateral change in the terms and conditions of employees employment without bargaining, that would be an indication of bad faith.
What are the rules about union dues?
The amount of dues collected from employees represented by unions is subject to federal and state laws and court rulings.
The NLRA allows employers and unions to enter into union-security agreements, which require all employees in a bargaining unit to become union members and begin paying union dues and fees within 30 days of being hired.
Even under a security agreement, employees who object to full union membership may continue as 'core' members and pay only that share of dues used directly for representation, such as collective bargaining and contract administration. Known as objectors, they are no longer full members but are still protected by the union contract. Unions are obligated to tell all covered employees about this option, which was created by a Supreme Court ruling and is known as the Beck right.
An employee may object to union membership on religious grounds, but in that case, must pay an amount equal to dues to a nonreligious charitable organization.
What about Right to Work states?
27 states have banned union-security agreements by passing so-called "right to work" laws. In these states, it is up to each employee at a workplace to decide whether or not to join the union and pay dues, even though all workers are protected by the collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the union.


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Jeff Gordon has been stuck on 85 wins, maybe No. 86 Sunday? (Getty) |
Jimmie Johnson has won two of the last three NASCAR Sprint Cup races, as well as the non-points All-Star race for a $1 million prize. There is nobody hotter right now than Johnson which is why the LVH Superbook has him listed as the overwhelming 3-to-1 favorite to win the Championship despite being fifth in points. The closest driver to Johnson in odds is Tony Stewart at 7-to-1 with current points leader Greg Biffle still sitting at a very large 10-to-1 clip.
We are at the halfway mark in the Race to the Chase with 13 races to go until its determined what 12 drivers will make NASCAR's version of the playoffs. One driver that has a long ways to go if he plans on making it is Jeff Gordon who is currently sitting in 21st position. He's at the point now where the only way he can get in the 10-race Chase for the Championship is by winning races.
The final two positions in the Chase are awarded to drivers within the top-20 who have the most wins. Brad Keselowski currently has the 11th position occupied on the basis of his two wins while Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne each have one win. So essentially, Gordon would have to win at least two races in the next 13 to get a win if the standings were to remain in relatively the same order.
It seems like an impossible task for Gordon with the way his season has gone thus far. Despite having good cars on a weekly basis, Gordon has routinely been snake bit with issues that never seemed to occur so often to the four-time Cup Champ. Last week at Dover was the perfect example of how Gordon's season has been going. He not only had a good car again, he had the best car on the track, and even better than Johnson.
"I'm tired of the same old thing when we've got the best car out there," Gordon said following Sunday's race. "I know we had the best car. It's not every day you run the 48 down and pass him."
In 13 races this season Gordon has only one top-5 finish, but he should be able to add to that total this week at Pocono, a place he won at last season which was the fifth of his career -- tied for the most all-time in Pocono history. He's currently on a run with two straight solid performances and should be considered one of the drivers to beat.
Another example of Gordon's performances not telling the whole story is just by looking at his weekly odds. For a driver that hadn't won at Dover in 11 years and was finishing poorly week after week, Gordon could only be found at 10-to-1 odds on race day which means the sports books still respect Gordon and feel he's close to winning soon.
Although it's tough to bet a driver like Gordon to win, this week at Pocono looks like a great opportunity to finally cash in. Aside from his statistical short comings this season, the bigger picture here is his association with Hendrick Motorsports, a team that has won the last three Cup races between Johnson and Kahne. They also have Dale Earnhardt Jr. running for Championship sitting in third-place, two slots ahead of Johnson.
One of the elements Gordon will have to deal with this week besides Johnson and the tricky 2.5-mile triangular track is a new surface, which means one of the fastest tracks with the longest straightaway is going to be even faster.
"No matter what, we'll face similar challenges (at Pocono) just because the shape and the banking of the turns haven't changed," said Gordon. "The grip level and the smoothness of the track will determine how aggressive we can be getting the car 'sealed' down to the race track."
Another challenge Gordon and the 42 others drivers will have to adjust to this week is the strategy played into running only 400 miles. Sunday will mark the first time that a Pocono race hasn't been 500 miles and Gordon thinks the race will be better because of it.
"I think a shorter race at Pocono is going to be a better race and a more exciting race," said Gordon. "We'll have fewer laps, so I don't know how that will change strategy for the race."
The drivers Gordon will have to pass to get the win begin with Johnson and Denny Hamlin.
As if Johnson didn't already have the luxury of riding a hot streak into a track where he's averaged a 9th-place finish over his career, he also comes in a chassis that has won a couple of trophies. The car Johnson is using this week won at Darlington last month and also took the checkers in Kansas last fall. In six starts this car has led at least one lap on each occasion. The only trend going against Johnson -- and it's hard to find one -- is that he hasn't won at Pocono since 2004. However, he did sweep the season.
A driver who knows something about sweeping the season at Pocono is Hamlin, who did it as a rookie in 2006. Hamlin won again in 2009 and 2010 giving him an amazing four wins in only 12 starts. Compare that to Gordon's track record of five wins in 38 starts and it shows just how impressive Hamlin's credentials are at Pocono. He may not be the reigning champion of the race, but everyone in the garage knows who the 'King of Pocono' is.
Hamlin struggled last year at Pocono, or at least compared to the standards he set for himself, but he also struggled everywhere in kind of a hangover season. This year things look a little different as he sits fourth in points and has already won twice through 13 races.
Keselowski powered his Penske Dodge to a win last fall at Pocono and should be contending again on Sunday. Kurt Busch fared very well while with Penske which should also make A.J. Allmendinger a quality longshot to look at this week.
Because of the new surface at Pocono, NASCAR has mandated a test session scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday which should give them all plenty of quality notes to sort through by the time Friday's practice begins. Because of all the extra time on the track, the Friday practices should be very telling to who is dialed in the most on the new surface.
With 100 miles less, there is less time for teams to make in-race adjustments on their cars so it benefits those who have it all figured out on Friday and are ready to be fast when the green flag drops.
Top-5 Finish Prediction:
1) #24 Jeff Gordon (10/1)
2) #2 Brad Keselowski (15/1)
3) #48 Jimmie Johnson (5/1)
4) #11 Denny Hamlin (5/1)
5) #18 Kyle Busch (8/1)


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Having received the review copy of the book [easyazon-link asin="1624140009″ locale="us"]Baking By Hand,[/easyazon-link] I decided to give their Classic A&J Apple Tart a go, since our apple trees have given us a fair number of apples to use up. This would also let me have a quick look at how well the recipes are explained in the book.
I will post a deeper review of the book in a separate entry.
The thrust behind the book, as you can likely tell from its title, is to make and bake tasty treats without the use of machines, making these recipes available to everyone, regardless of their KitchenAid mixer ownership status.
The Classic Apple Tart uses their "Lazy Baker's Puff pastry" for the tart shell, a quick puff pastry that can be used for many other tasty applications (the recipe is in the book). The apples they suggest are Cortland; however, I have no idea what types our tree produces. And finally, it gets a crumb topping, something akin to a streusel, to finish it up. The whole thing can be made start to finish in just a couple of hours.
We start by making the puff pastry for the crust. Our ingredients are AP flour, unsalted butter (cubed), sour cream – a little unusual – baking powder and salt. All these ingredients need to be cold, so I popped the flour, salt and baking powder together in a plastic tub and into the freezer for 30 minutes, the butter and sour cream go into the fridge, as does the glass mixing bowl. Continue reading "Apple Tart from Baking by Hand"


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(CNN) -- The worst weather disaster in American history took place in Galveston, Texas, in 1900 when a hurricane estimated as a Category 4 intensity blew ashore, killing thousands of residents and obliterating the town.
The unnamed storm was first detected in the Atlantic on August 27, reaching Cuba as a tropical storm on September 3. Like Ike, the hurricane crossed Cuba and entered the Gulf of Mexico, crashing ashore just south of Galveston on September 8.
Galveston Island was completely covered by 8- to 16-foot storm tides. Estimates of the death toll range from 6,000 to 12,000, and property damage was estimated at $30 million.
Galveston in 1900 was a rich shipping city, home to nearly 40,000 people, many of them made wealthy by Galveston's position as Texas' chief port. But they weren't prepared for September 8. Watch how Ike and the 1900 hurricane are similar »
The flood waters began rising before dawn that morning, and initially the people of Galveston thought nothing of it. For the most part, they even ignored the warnings of U.S. Weather Service meteorologist Isaac Cline, who took to his horse and rode up and down the beach warning people to seek higher ground, an urging that ultimately meant little to a city 8 to 9 feet above sea level at its highest point.
"In reality, there was no island, just the ocean with houses standing out of the waves which rolled between them," Cline wrote in his 1945 memoirs.
Ironically, Cline had argued against building a sea wall in Galveston, saying it was unnecessary and that a storm of any significant strength, in any event, would never strike the island.
The gargantuan storm tides collapsed houses along the beach front and turned them into a wall of debris that pushed further inland on the island. At its final stopping point, the debris kept buildings beyond it from collapse, but not from damage. In the aftermath, everything was bulldozed for 15 blocks from the beach.
Photographs could only begin to tell the story of the destruction. Haunting black-and-white images show residents searching through ruins with only a peaked gable to indicate that it was once a home, a house picked up from its foundations and shoved 30 yards away, a body half buried in the debris. Several clips of film exist of the devastation, as well. Black and white and silent, they record the search for bodies and the complete devastation wrought by the hurricane.
Many of the storm's victims were washed out to sea, and many more were taken out to sea and dumped. But those bodies came back to shore with the tides. The city set about burning the bodies on funeral pyres that blazed for weeks. News accounts at the time record the stench of death that hovered over the remains of the city.
The destruction was so complete that word of the aftermath could not reach the outside world. Telegraph lines and bridges to the mainland were all down. Messengers aboard one of the few ships to survive the storm reached Houston on September 10, sending a short message to the Texas governor and U.S. President William McKinley. "The city of Galveston is in ruins," the message said, estimating 500 dead.
But Galveston was revitalized in the aftermath of the storm, as well. A sea wall was built. The city was elevated 16 feet at the seawall, sloping downward across the 32-mile-long, 2 1/2-mile-wide island to the bay on the other side.
Today, Galveston is a vibrant city and a popular tourist destination with a population approaching 60,000. Although it never regained its high status as a shipping port, Galveston is still a port of call for cargo ships and now for cruise ships, as well.
All About Galveston • Hurricanes and Cyclones • Houston (Texas)


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Let me just get this out of the way. I didn't call this a 'vegan pudding' even though it IS one because I didn't want you to run away screaming. Vegan pudding doesn't sound very appealing (at least to me) but this pudding is… well… it's AMAZING. That's what it is. Unreal. Silky smooth. Decadently chocolatey. Perfumed with Chambord (black raspberry liqueur). I tell you this -speaking as a tried and true, loyal full dairy pudding lover- I never once missed milk or cream in this recipe. The fact that it's done with the speed of instant pudding certainly doesn't hurt.
So how do we get this luscious pudding without any dairy? Believe it or not, tofu does the job. Silken (soft) tofu is a blank slate when it comes to flavour (read: it has none of its own) and 'disappears' completely in the presence of chocolate and Chambord. What it provides, though, is the perfect creamy, thick pudding texture that we pudding lovers value so much. It feels almost like a magic trick.
It just gets better and better though, because this pudding isn't cooked over a double boiler or made with constant stirring. It's made in the BLENDER. Seriously… the closest you get to cooking with this recipe is when you melt the chocolate. WHIZZZZZZBLENDWHIRRRRRR go the melted chocolate, Chambord, vanilla, and tofu in the blender. You pour it into dessert dishes (or into one big dish if you're low-maintenance), on goes the plastic wrap (and you don't have to cover the surface like you do with traditional dairy pudding because this is not prone to 'forming a skin'. Ew.), and into the refrigerator it goes for at least one hour. The truth is, it'll be 'soft set' like instant pudding almost as soon as you've poured it into the dishes. If you're partial to a warm pudding, I say dig in. I have from time to time. But if you want the big TADA!, you'll want to refrigerate it for one to two hours, then cover with a layer of fresh raspberries.
I feel compelled to tell you that I engaged in a little trickery when I served this to my family. My husband is an adventurous eater, but doesn't like it when I 'mess with' his favourite desserts; pudding is on that list. When I made this, he was on his way home from a business trip. He sat down on the couch that night and I shoved a dish of this in his hands. His eyes widened with delight and I handed him a spoon and stayed TOTALLY MUTE. People, that is HARD for me. He said, "Chocolate pudding! My favourite!" I smiled and nodded. He took a bite… "This is some of the best pudding ever! It's so good." and then HE fell totally mute so he could enjoy his pudding in silence. I said, "Hey. Did you catch the secret ingredient?" He said, "Oh, it was Chambord, wasn't it? Really, really good…" as he scraped the bowl clean. I said, "There was no milk in it." He looked at me and said, "Are you serious? How'd you do that?" When I said tofu, I thought he was going to drop his spoon. Then he thought for a second, licked his spoon and said, "Do you have any more of these in the fridge?"
Cook's Notes:
- YES. This pudding IS dairy free and gluten-free naturally. It is NOT necessarily sugar free, depending on the chocolate you use. I use a high-quality, bittersweet chocolate that does have sugar in it. If you prefer a sugar free chocolate, there are some available out there. I'm just not personally familiar with them. The pudding does not have added sugar, though, so I'm still calling this a healthy win.
- I believe much of the alcohol evaporates out as you're heating it with the chocolate, but if the presence of alcohol is any concern, you can certainly omit it. In that case, melt the chocolate by itself, and when you add it to the blender, pop 2 tablespoons of rasperry jam in the blender with the remaining ingredients. It will be different, but still good.
- I love my Vitamix Blender for this job because it's the Cadillac of blenders. If you're currently hunting for a blender, use your money wisely and snap up a Vitamix. I have never used such a powerful blender in my life.
3 Minute Chocolate Raspberry Pudding {Dairy Free, Vegan, No-Added Sugar, Gluten-Free}
Rate RecipeIngredients
- 1 pound silken or soft tofu drained
- 12 ounces dark or bittersweet chocolate chunks
- 1/4 cup Chambord or other raspberry liqueur
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional for serving:
- fresh raspberries
- In a microwave safe dish (or over a double boiler), combine the chocolate chunks and raspberry liqueur. Heat on HIGH for 1 minute, stir with a rubber or silicone spatula until smooth. If there is still a great deal of unmelted chocolate, you can return the bowl to the microwave in 10 second bursts, stirring well after each burst, until the chocolate is perfectly melted and smooth. Add to the blender with the tofu and vanilla extract. Put the lid in place and blend for 1 minute or until smooth. Pour into dessert bowls or a big bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, or until well chilled and set.
- If desired, serve with a handful of fresh raspberries on top.
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
did you make this recipe?
Make sure to tag @foodiewithfam on Instagram and #hashtag it #foodiewithfamily so I can check it out!


text:
Maffei 2 is the poster child for an infrared galaxy that is almost invisible to optical telescopes. Foreground dust clouds in our Milky Way galaxy block about 99.5 percent of its visible light. But this infrared image from NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope penetrates the dust to reveal the galaxy in all its glory.
The astronomer Paolo Maffei first noted the galaxy as a mysterious smudge on an infrared photographic plate in 1968. Four years later, he identified the strange object to be a galaxy, now named after him. This discovery was made in the infancy of infrared astronomy, and it would take many technological innovations in the following decades to allow astronomers to study obscured objects like this one in detail.
Most other galaxies the size of Maffei 2 had been cataloged for over a century. Because this galaxy was hidden behind dust lanes in our own galaxy, it did not become one of the entries in the famous 18th century catalog of bright deep-sky objects compiled by Charles Messier.
This Spitzer image clearly shows the unusual structure of Maffei 2. The strong central bar and asymmetric spiral arms help identify why the galaxy also harbors a "starburst" in its very core. Such dramatic bursts of star formation occur when massive amounts of dust and gas are driven into the center of a galaxy, often by gravitational interactions that create the barred spiral structures.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA
2 min read


text:
This is [illwill]'s Pirate Box, the newest addition to the network over at NESIT, the Meriden, CT hackerspace.
A pirate box is a completely anonymous wireless file server, kind of like a wireless version of a dead drop. It's the perfect device for transferring files at a LAN party or hackerspace. The guts of [illwill]'s portable server comes from an old Fonera router NESIT had lying around. After installing OpenWRT, connecting a few batteries, and finding a wonderful lunch box / treasure chest enclosure on ebay, [illwill] had a portable file server perfect for sharing files.
The pirate box isn't connected to the Internet. Instead, users can connect to each other and the 16GB USB drive by simply connecting to the router's WiFi and opening up a browser. All web page requests are redirected to the Pirate Box page, where users can chat and share files. The folks at NESIT uploaded a few public domain files to their pirate box, but they're anxiously waiting to see what files other users will upload.XVID.AC3.HQ.Hive-CM8.


text: Hi, My name is Dumitru and I am new to this community. I have a project that involved a PAR 38W LED (120V) lamp and 24V LED strip (run by LED driver) on the same circuit. My question is if it possible to dimm the circuit with just one dimmer switch (controller)? Do I have to have two separate circuits in order to dimm the fixture? Thank you Dumitru


text:
Tired of sites where you are not allowed to read or write messages unless you pay?
Now you can create a unique word, where you can tell people to google the word, and they can see the message you create here.
The message could be something like:
Look me up on facebook. https://facebook.com/name


text:
Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
The city's General Plan contains goals, policies, and actions that embody the city's approach for achieving the community's vision for its future. Goals identify physical, economic, environmental and/or social ends that the community desires. The policies are used directly to guide city decision makers and staff to respond by developing proposals and community actions.
In August 2011, the city released an updated General Plan, Environmental Impact Report and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan. These important planning documents were updated to include 3 new topics:


text:
Press Release
Black Hole Blows Big Bubble
7 July 2010
Combining observations made with ESO's Very Large Telescope and NASA's Chandra X-ray telescope, astronomers have uncovered the most powerful pair of jets ever seen from a stellar black hole. This object, also known as a microquasar, blows a huge bubble of hot gas, 1000 light-years across, twice as large and tens of times more powerful than other known microquasars. The discovery is reported this week in the journal Nature.
"We have been astonished by how much energy is injected into the gas by the black hole," says lead author Manfred Pakull. "This black hole is just a few solar masses, but is a real miniature version of the most powerful quasars and radio galaxies, which contain black holes with masses of a few million times that of the Sun."
Black holes are known to release a prodigious amount of energy when they swallow matter. It was thought that most of the energy came out in the form of radiation, predominantly X-rays. However, the new findings show that some black holes can release at least as much energy, and perhaps much more, in the form of collimated jets of fast moving particles. The fast jets slam into the surrounding interstellar gas, heating it and triggering an expansion. The inflating bubble contains a mixture of hot gas and ultra-fast particles at different temperatures. Observations in several energy bands (optical, radio, X-rays) help astronomers calculate the total rate at which the black hole is heating its surroundings.
The astronomers could observe the spots where the jets smash into the interstellar gas located around the black hole, and reveal that the bubble of hot gas is inflating at a speed of almost one million kilometres per hour.
"The length of the jets in NGC 7793 is amazing, compared to the size of the black hole from which they are launched," says co-author Robert Soria [1]. "If the black hole were shrunk to the size of a soccer ball, each jet would extend from the Earth to beyond the orbit of Pluto."
This research will help astronomers understand the similarity between small black holes formed from exploded stars and the supermassive black holes at the centres of galaxies. Very powerful jets have been seen from supermassive black holes, but are thought to be less frequent in the smaller microquasar variety. The new discovery suggests that many of them may simply have gone unnoticed so far.
The gas-blowing black hole is located 12 million light-years away, in the outskirts of the spiral galaxy NGC 7793 (eso0914b). From the size and expansion velocity of the bubble the astronomers have found that the jet activity must have been ongoing for at least 200 000 years.
[1] Astronomers do not have yet any means of measuring the size of the black hole itself. The smallest stellar black hole discovered so far has a radius of about 15 km. An average stellar black hole of about 10 solar masses has a radius of about 30 km, while a "big" stellar black hole may have a radius of up to 300 km. This is still much smaller than the jets, which extend out to several hundreds light years on each side of the black hole, or about several thousand million million km!
More information
This result appears in a paper published in this week's issue of the journal Nature (A 300 parsec long jet-inflated bubble around a powerful microquasar in the galaxy NGC 7793, by Manfred W. Pakull, Roberto Soria and Christian Motch).
ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive astronomical observatory. It is supported by 14 countries: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and VISTA, the world's largest survey telescope. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning a 42-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".
Manfred W. Pakull
University of Strasbourg
Strasbourg, France
Tel: +33 3 68 85 24 30
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Christian Motch
University of Strasbourg
Strasbourg, France
Tel: +33 3 68 85 24 28
Email: email@example.com
Roberto Soria
MSSL, University College London
London, UK
Tel: +44 1483 204100 or +61 420 712 167
Email: email@example.com
Henri Boffin
ESO, La Silla, Paranal and E-ELT Press Officer
Garching, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6222
Cell: +49 174 515 43 24
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
About the Release
Release No.: | eso1028 |
Name: | NGC 7793 |
Type: | Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Black Hole Milky Way : Galaxy : Activity : AGN : Quasar |
Facility: | Chandra X-ray Observatory, Very Large Telescope |
Instruments: | FORS1, FORS2 |
Science data: | 2010Natur.466..209P |


text: Lumos Diagnostics provides development and manufacturing services for rapid point-of-care (POC) products, customized for our partners' needs. Lumos combines a unique mix of assay and engineering capability, with proven reader and cloud technologies to create disruptive, connected POC solutions. Since acquiring Kestrel BioSciences and incorporating their 30 years' experience in assay development, Lumos is the only POC company offering a fully tailored solution to achieve business and user needs.


text:
Broken Desert
Special Containment Procedures
All instances of SCP-132 are to be cataloged and etched with an appropriate designating mark. SCP-132 is to be stored at Containment Sector-██ when not in use. No special clearance is needed to have access to files relating to SCP-132 and instances of SCP-132 may be requisitioned for office decoration in any non-Command Foundation installation. After incident 132-01, no instances of SCP-132 are to leave Containment Area 23 without approval by the Sector Director. Following the incident detailed in Addendum 03, standard classification procedures are reinstated on SCP-132.
SCP-132 takes the form of a series of ███ glass tetrahedrons, each with a side length of 10.3 centimeters. Each instance of SCP-132 appears to contain a patch of desert sand. Occasionally scorpions and other desert creatures enter the confines of an instance of SCP-132 as if it were a continuous piece of desert. Creatures within SCP-132 have shown no awareness of the existence of anything outside of the object and attempts to influence the area within SCP-132 have failed.
Review of observed animal life within SCP-132 has proven inconsistent. Clusters of contiguous instances have been internally consistent and have been confirmed to display areas of every major desert. No method of pinpointing exact locations has been discovered; staff observing SCP-132 are advised to be on the lookout for any defining features that could aid in this endeavor.
Test Log SCP-132:
Procedure: SCP-132-01 rotated and placed on an upper side
Result: No apparent change in SCP-132-01Procedure: SCP-132-01 inverted and placed in a cradle
Result: No apparent change in SCP-132-01Procedure: SCP-132-01 shaken vigorously
Result: A few grains of sand in SCP-132-01 shift as though picked up by a light wind.Procedure: SCP-132-01 shaken vigorously
Result: No apparent change in SCP-132-01
Note: I guess it was just the wind, better to be sure anyway. -Dr. PetersonProcedure: A corner of SCP-132-01 is filed for several strokes
Result: The filed corner is scuffed in a consistent manner to normal glassProcedure: Heat is applied to the side of SCP-132-01 with a blowtorch
Result: Heated side melts and a sizable hole is cut in SCP-132-01. Desert scene remains.
Note: I prodded around in there after it cooled and only felt glass; it would appear that SCP-132 only shows an illusionary desert. I suppose it could be showing a real place but I have no idea how we could confirm this or locate where that may be. -Dr. Peterson
Incident Log 132-01: Dr. R███████, currently stationed at Area-██, reports knocking SCP-132-71 off her desk. Upon impact with the ground, SCP-132-71 shattered and the office of Dr. R███████ was buffeted by extreme winds. Other owners of instances of SCP-132 confirm that the area shown by SCP-132-71 and adjoining instances was experiencing a sandstorm.
Addendum 132-01 Careful observation of SCP-132 has found that many instances are contiguous, the largest 'section' composed of sixteen (16) different instances. Speculation over the existence of additional unsecured instances has been raised.
Addendum 132-02 Administration has deemed the possible risk of unsecured instances of SCP-132 existing to be negligible and set retrieval efforts to lowest priority. Keywords relating to SCP-132 have been added to routine search protocols.
Addendum 132-03 A large box arrived for Dr. Richardson at his home with a return address of [REDACTED], a Foundation front. No faculty associated with [REDACTED] report any association with said box and it does not appear on any [REDACTED] records. Inside were thirty-seven (37) uncatalogued instances of SCP-132. Twelve (12) were contiguous with previously documented instances of SCP-132 and three (3) instances which had no known shared edges were brought into contiguity. Of particular note were eighteen (18) instances which appear to display Martian soil, thirteen (13) of which were found to be contiguous.
Addendum 132-04 At Dr. L████████'s suggestion, notes were taken over a year on the light cycle of SCP-132 clusters. Although imprecise, the Foundation now has a rough set of coordinates for various SCP-132 viewing locations. No missions need be sent to confirm these locations but teams passing near are encouraged to assist Dr. Peterson in pinpointing coordinates.


text:
This post virtually guarantees that I will never be able to become a member of the Maryland Club, as does my gender, but here goes…
The Baltimore Architecture Foundation's Groundhog Day party was held last night at The Maryland Club, despite the unexpected six inches of snow we got yesterday. We spend the day doing last minute things to get ready for the party including rolling a $995 chair carrying two Kohler faucets through the snow to the Club. The moment you enter The Maryland Club (MC), you are assaulted by whispers of old money, old traditions and a nearly extinct way of life, as well as nearly extinct animals.
The walls on the first floor of the MC are essentially papered with trophy animals, including a fully intact mountain goat. Now, I don't want to hear from any PETA people, because I didn't shoot these animals, I am just showing them. It is a but un-nerving to round a corner and see a nine-foot bear standing by the window! However, what is most incredible about this building is the sheer amount of workmanship that has gone into it. The building had a serious fire in 1996 and has been rebuilt and upgraded since that time. That it was rebuilt at all is a testimony to the membership and their traditions.
The main corridors are a series of enfiladed rooms, stretching the length of the building. Funnily enough, they are not symmetrical, but slightly off-center. We were greeted by a roaring fire last night, very welcome, as it was still snowing. The fireplace, and the moose above it, are both massive, and with my firebug tendencies, I longed to be able to poke at it with the huge iron tools next to it! The ceilings on the first two floors are about 14 feet, which makes for a massive grand space. The windows all have wood shutters, which both keep the cold air out and the sun from coming in. When I swung open one of the shutters, I could feel the bitter cold air! (It was 15F last night.)Each room has a large fireplace, many of them still in working condition. They are all faced in stone, most likely Maryland stone, and large wood mantelpieces.
There is a huge staircase, not a long and graceful one, but a solid masculine one. Following the staircase up to the third floor is an amazing detail – a huge stenciled and gold-leafed painting.
At the very top of the staircase, there are a number of significant flags, including the Maryland State flag, the Baltimore City flag and the club's flag, amongst others. Behind them is a huge stained glass window with the state motto in Latin, translating as "manly deeds, womanly words". The Governor's Room, on the third floor of the Club was one of the most beautiful rooms. Although it didn't have the grand proportions as other rooms, it was stunning. The ceilings were detailed with a quatrefoil pattern and there were lovely fireplaces at either end. There was a row of chandeliers down the center of the room, and at either end there were china cabinets behind leaded glass doors. While most of the other rooms had dark wood, in this room, all of the wood was painted a pale cream. It made the room more feminine.
Three of the rooms, all adjacent to each other, were the Hunting Room, the Maritime Room and the Duck Room. I loved the hunting room, as it referred to fox hunting, not the big game hunting. The Maritime Room had lots of pictures of ships and ship models, as well as the most incredible window-seat. The Duck Room had numerous duck-types mounted on the wall.
At the end of the evening, three of us snuck into one of the gentlemen's rooms, and were stunned to find walls of the most beautiful Beaver Dam marble on the walls and stalls. Rumour has it that the MC puts ice cubes in the urinals. I did love the sinks in the Gent's. Here are a few more details:
Foo Dog Lamp. Notice the buzzer behind the lamp? They were all over the MC, so members could call for a servant. The hallway leading from the Members' Dining Room Detail of a ceiling lamp Detail from a book case Push-button light switches with mother of pearl insets.
This was a great evening for a great cause, and I was so glad to be included!


text:
I think 80 percent of the day the sun was shining yesterday.
Thank you Cruise-Inn for giving us the perfect spot to organise Rusty Gold 2012.
We did not have the time to count all the people that showed up but our estimate is that 4 or 5 hundred people found their way to Rusty Gold :)
There was lots of cool stuff for sale, great food, nice people, cool rides.
Good stuff, we are happy.
Thanks everyone who helped us to organise this day.
Thanks Sideburn magazine for sending the Tees and Magazines.
A big thank to you from Zoran, the Cruise-Inn, Roest Sidewalk Mechanics Amsterdam and me.
Here is the first selection of pictures I took yesterday with my new toy.
A Sony Nex-5n with 18-55mm kit lens.
Still need to learn a lot but some of these pics are really nice.
Next year I need to split myself in 3 pieces so I have the time to talk to every one, see everything and stay at my booth so I can actually sell my stuff, ha!
Much more will follow.


text:
BillboardIn its 114th year, Billboard remains the world's premier weekly music publication and a diverse digital, events, brand, content and data licensing platform. Billboard publishes the most trusted charts and offers unrivaled reporting about the latest music, video, gaming, media, digital and mobile entertainment issues and trends. |
Common terms and phrases
acts Agent album amphitheaters Angeles artist Backstreet Boys Baloche band Billboard 200 Bon Jovi buyer chart Chris Cole Collateral concert consumers creative Daddy Yankee Dark Side debut Def Jux Entertainment exclusive executive fans featuring Gilmore Girls going Heineken Hetfield hip-hop Hollywood indie iTunes Latin Music Latin Music Awards Leila Cobo Love major labels manager Miami million Music Group music industry Music Publishing MVNOs Nashville Nielsen SoundScan Nuestro Himno offers Pearl Jam performed Pink Floyd Pitbull play president producer promotion purchaser R&B/hip-hop radio Rapino real estate Release Date retail rock rodeo says sell senior VP Shakira showcase sold song songwriters Sony BMG sponsorship strip club studio tion titles tour track TV shows Universal Music Universal Music Group urban Uzoigwe venues videogame week www.billboard.biz Ying Yang Twins York


text:
:www.classiccafes.co.uki | The Very Best of London's Vintage Formica Caffs | iUpdated: Mar 10 2010 |
Often dismissed as 'greasy spoons', Classic Cafes are actually little gems of British vernacular high street design. This site celebrates their ambience and architecture with over 130 vintage London Formica caffs (and many others around Britain) reviewed, revealed & reappraised. But as Time Out Restaurant Guide noted, the site isn't simply: "a set of recommendations... it's a whole aesthetic!"; an immersive re-exploration of a cultural phenomenon that is fading all too fast. The Classic Cafes Book -- now long out of print -- has been acclaimed by the Royal Institute of British Architects as 'sumptuous... beautiful... breathtaking... deeply evocative...', and praised by the Twentieth Century Society as a work of 'genius... passionate... elegiac... '. |
All photos & editorial © Classic Cafes 1999-2008. B&W photos on this page by Phil Nicholls. Strictly no use without permission. |


text:
[Pub.62ewX] Download :
Power Partnering PDF
by Sean Gadman : Power Partnering
ISBN : # | Date : 2012-08-21
Description :
PDF-f64e5 | Power Partnering is a brilliant yet refreshingly simple approach that breaks innovative thinking and acting down into four distinct contexts, allowing people to respond to complex situations in highly creative and innovative ways. In the not too distant future, successful companies will be defined by their ability to manage their knowledge assets. Power partnering is one very important strategy fo… Power Partnering
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[Pub.71XLZ] Power Partnering PDF | by Sean Gadman
Power Partnering by by Sean Gadman
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text:
Can not post 'New Topic in this Forum'
Hello, we just installed 0.9.0.4 over here:
Everything fine so far, except one thing.. when inside a forum, we can't post using the "New Topic in this Forum" field since we get a "This topic has been closed" error page, but we can post just fine by using the "Add New" button.
Any ideas on how to solve this issue?
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text:
Yep We Fix Carpet
Expert Carpet Cleaning and Repair Services In Minneapolis, MN
We're the best carpet repair in MPLS and St Paul and the premier business for carpet stretching, pet damage repair, heavy carpet stain removal, bleach spills on carpet repair and pet odor removal. We are experts in carpet repair, carpet dyeing, and carpet cleaning. We can fix both physical and color damage. If you are looking for affordable carpet stretching, odor removal, or you are curious about how to get bleach out of carpet.
Whether you need carpet stretching, stain removal, carpet seam repair, carpet stain removal, carpet dyeing, or pet odor removal, we are the people to see. We serve Minneapolis, St. Paul and the surrounding areas of North Oaks, Vadnais Height, Shoreview Stillwater, Woodbury Wayzata Minnetonka Edina.
Minneapolis ( (listen) MIN-ee-AP-əl-iss), officially the City of Minneapolis, is a city in the state of Minnesota and the county seat of Hennepin County. As of the 2020 census the population was 429,954, making it the largest city in Minnesota and the 46th-most-populous in the United States. Nicknamed the "City of Lakes", Minneapolis is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks, and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins as the 19th century lumber and flour milling capitals of the world, and, to the present day, preserved its financial clout. It occupies both banks of the Mississippi River and adjoins Saint Paul, the state capital of Minnesota.
Armatage, Beltrami, Bryant, Bryn Mawr, Camden, Central, Chowen Park, Cleveland, Downtown East, East Harriet, East Isles, Field, Folwell, Fulton, Hale


text:
The Ukrainian Conflict: A Ukrainian Nationalist View, Part 4: Russia as a Globalist, Liberal, Anti-Ethnic Nationalist Power
Why does the Russian Federation push and defend Western liberalism so much in Ukraine? The answer can be found by looking at modern Russia as a country.
The Russian Federation is, in essence, itself a liberal state. It is a typical liberal democracy that, in many ways, differs little from Western European countries. It is a country that attacks the culture of its founding people; a country where the youth could not care less about the traditions of their ancestors; a country where MTV rules the airwaves and McDonalds is the most popular destination for those looking to dine out (indeed, the biggest McDonalds in Europe is in Moscow); a country that defines itself as a proposition nation with a political — not ethnic — understanding of the nation ("everyone who is a citizen is Russian"); a country that, on the state level, closely deals with the IMF and the UN; a country that even is helping American and NATO forces in Afghanistan; a country where the most popular musicians, in addition to Western artists like Madonna or Lady Gaga, are non-ethnically Russian degenerates like Filipp Kirkorov and rapper Timati — exactly the types that the globalist media uses to brainwash the youth around the world to forget their ethnic heritage and traditions; a country where Chechnyan president Ramzan Kadyrov — whose father actively fought against Russian forces and was responsible for essentially ridding Chechnya of Russians — is officially a state hero.
In fact, the one and only way that the Russian Federation differs from Western Europe — and one of the only things that gives Western dissidents illusions — is the way it banned LGBT propaganda. Yet this has been grossly misinterpreted. It is a great law, of course, but it was passed with huge resistance even within the ruling party and pro-government media. Essentially, all it does is ban gay parades (in itself, of course, a good initiative). Yet pro-LGBT propaganda is increasingly present in all the media, and gay clubs flourish.
When looking at such cases, people forget that the destructive ideology of liberalism as it is now defined in the West appeared in the Russian Federation far later than in the West. In this sense Russia today is the same, in terms of the LGBT movement, as the West 30 or 40 years ago. Banning homosexual propaganda is merely a compromise — a tactic by the ruling elite that will satisfy the millions of Muslims in Russia and the millions of people from the older generation who grew up in the Soviet Union where it was a criminal violation. If the elite of the Russian Federation were truly sincere about this, they could do far more than essentially only ban gay parades for a while, without touching the immense presence of LGBT propaganda in the media. But it doesn't.
In fact, the regime now in power in the Russian Federation has virtually completely uprooted any authentic pro-Russian opposition: far from being neo-Nazi clowns, truly nationalist and Orthodox, anti-Zionist Russian opposition leaders like General Vladimir Kvachkov — a former SPETSNAZ (Special Forces) colonel and high-ranking official of the Russian army who was implicated in an assassination attempt on Jewish oligarch and privitization czar Anatoly Chubays — have been completely humiliated, destroyed and thrown in prison.
Besides the current Russian Federation government, there is the "legal" opposition, among which there are a great many open (not hidden) Western agents who are all ultra-liberal — such as Mikhail Prokhorov (billionaire of Jewish descent who owns the Brooklyn Nets, a U.S. professional basketball team) or parties like Yabloko. They are not touched and are allowed to openly function and given huge air time. Through Gazprom, the Russian state even funds the radio station Echo of Moscow — an ultra-liberal, anti-Christian, pro-globalist radio station that is hugely popular inside Russia and basically acts as the main news source for the legal opposition.
The face of the Russian Federation to Western dissidents, Alexander Dugin's Eurasianist Movement (which likes to promote its own version of Eurasian integration based on a multicultural model as the only correct version) essentially exists only on the internet inside the Russian Federation itself. One will not find any rally conducted by this movement inside the Russian Federation with more than a few hundred people (and even that would be incredibly rare; in fact, most rallies of this movement can hardly gather a few dozen people). This is at a time when liberal rallies regularly gather thousands of people in any city. The overwhelming majority of people in the Russian Federation have never even heard the name Alexander Dugin, nor of any of his theories.
Yes, Alexander Dugin claims to be close to the government. But far closer and with far more influence are ultra-liberal, ultra-capitalist globalists — figures like Mykhail Fradkov or Anatoliy Chubays, among many, many others. Essentially, inside the Russian Federation the rhetoric of Alexander Dugin to Russian patriots is "do not worry, do not create your own movements. Just trust in the Russian government."
By the way, Chubays, who, unlike Fradkov, has not been open about his Jewish roots, has essentially been in power in the Russian Federation since 1991. He was a major figure in the privatization of the Russian economy which transferred the wealth of Russia to a few mainly Jewish oligarchs; he has held numerous positions both inside the government and as the owner of Russian state companies. Recently he was appointed by Putin to be head of a nanotechnology company created and owned by the Russian government. He is an active member of the ultra-globalist Bilderberg Club (see also here).
Viewing the modern-day Russian Federation as a state run by Alexander Dugin is essentially like viewing the modern-day United States as a state run by David Duke.
The "conservatism" of the modern Russian Federation exists only because of a quite traditional trait of Russia: social trends in Russia happen only happen some time after they've already occurred in the West. For example, this is what happened with the use of the French language in the courts of Europe and then Russia (where it took longer to disappear). Another example is that Jewish power first arose in Western Europe and was resisted Russia until the Bolshevik Revolution. One might also mention the decline of serfdom and hereditary aristocracy occurring first in the West and then spreading to the East.
Russia today is the West 30 years ago. The exact same processes are taking place and the exact same rhetoric is used. There is absolutely no reason to believe Russia will differ from the West in 30 years. Russia should not be held up as a beacon of hope for Western nationalists.
It's important to understand that in today's globalized world, geopolitical conflicts mean very little in determining how controlled this or that country is by global oligarchy. For instance, France under Chirac had numerous arguments with the US — so much so that inside the US, many "patriots" called on boycotting "French fries" as a way of showing their displeasure with France. These were establishment "patriots" who in many senses resemble the Eurasian establishment "patriots" in the Russian Federation doing everything for there to be an all out war with Ukraine. In many cases, these geopolitical conflicts were no less than anything the West has now with the Russian Federation. Does this mean all nationalists should have stopped building their own independent movements and unite around France and sing odes to Chirac?
What is much more important is the system inside each country; the "metapolitics" that runs each country — essentially who controls which questions are open for debate. Critically important are the financial and media elites and their ideological positions and world views. For instance, the Islamic Republic of Iran is viewed by all Western media as an archenemy not because of geopolitics — in fact, it doesn't come close to challenging the West geopolitically. It is viewed as the enemy not only because of its hostility to Israel, but because it is governed by a completely alternative system to the West — not liberal democracy, but Islamic democracy or, in a sense, theocracy.
The questions posed for debate in Iran and the West are thus completely different because the financial, media and other elites have completely separate worldviews. (There is no media outlet inside Iran that resembles Western media; and in general the "project" that runs Iran and the West have completely alternative views for the future of the world.
As described above, the issue for the Russian Federation is that it generally differs little from the West. The elites of the West and the elites of the Russian Federation are largely the same — so much so, that Putin's daughter, the children of the head of Russia's secret service, and the children of Russia's foreign minister all live in the West ; so much so that billions of dollars controlled by "Russian" elites are safely stashed in Western and especially American banks.
When Saddam Hussein attacked Kuwait, the entire "international community"© united against him. This was because Hussein was building a relatively independent, national system in Iraq based on Arabic national identity and contrary to the global consumer identity. When the Russian Federation annexed Crimea and started sending mercenaries to Eastern Ukraine, Western countries responded by freezing the bank accounts of Russian ministers in their country.
The only form of "patriotism" currently allowed in the Russian Federation is a staunch hate for anything Ukrainian under the guise of "anti-fascism." Ukraine, as a monoreligious (over 90% eastern Christian) and homogeneous state (over 80% Ukrainian, around 97% Slavic) is a potential direct threat to the current project being conducted in the Russian Federation. (Belarus is also a potential threat, for similar reasons.) The war in Ukraine and the "patriotism" in the Russian Federation strongly resembles the "patriotism" one could and can find in America regarding the horrendous wars in Iraq or Afghanistan — or potentially in a war with Iran. Russian patriots ask why ethnic Russians should be defended in Ukraine, where they are treated no worse than ethnic Ukrainians — but not in Moscow, the Caucasus region, or the far east of the Russian Federation where they're basically being replaced?
The establishment patriotism in modern Russia is well represented by Pierre Narcisse, an African artist popular in Russia on a recent talk-show discussing events in Ukraine. While waving a Russian flag, he says "I'm from Cameroon, but my wife is Russian. My kids will be Russian … Russia will be put to its knees!" — after which the audience applauded loudly. Soon after, of course, he realized he made an error sand corrected himself. "I meant America will be put to its knees."
The issue with this type of pseudo anti-Americanism is that this type of establishment patriotism is no threat to America — essentially, it as a mirror version of America, America lite, America 30 years ago, America 2.0. Only states with truly different systems have long-lasting conflicts.
Inside Crimea currently, locals report a huge influx of immigrants from Central Asia, especially at markets. This is being actively supported and promoted by the Russian government. The once homogeneous (even many Crimean Tatars were heavily assimilated by Slavs) region is turning into its own multicultural paradise. Of course, however, this is warmly welcomed by the Russian establishment because will defeat "fascism" and "neo-Nazism." Much greater threats were the Ukrainian faculties at the two main Universities that were immediately closed after annexation and the monument to Ukrainian King Petro Sahaidachny that was immediately taken down; these occurred shortly after Ukrainian national symbols were taken off all administrative buildings.
Geopolitically, the function of the modern Russian Federation is to push independent states towards the West. The Russian Federation and the West are absolute allies. No single force discredits the idea of national independence in countries like Ukraine, Georgia, or even Finland more than the Russian Federation. The Russian Federation does absolutely nothing in any of these countries to counter the pro-EU, pro-NATO propaganda spread by the West throughout the media — whether through a conference or simply television ads.
Quite the opposite, actually. Their deeds serve as a direct reason for many in these countries to support membership in the EU and NATO. They act only when public opinion turns against joining such blocks and their actions turn public opinion again in favour of them. Russia is not losing some sort of conflict in these countries to the West — it is working with the West to push these countries closer to the West.
Indeed, it is not for nothing that one of the most influential Western nationalists and one of the most prominent figures of authority amongst Western nationalists, founder of the Third Positionist movement Gabriele Adinolfi said quite clearly: "Eurasia is a utopia. Moscow and Washington are the inheritors of Yalta." In his view, the White House and the Kremlin are simply "pursuing their own interests in Ukraine", just like they did earlier in Yalta, and are actively "implementing the strategy of (fake) tension". For him, the conflict is merely a "continuation of the conflict between Trotskyites (Soros) and neo-Stalinists (Putin)". He continues: "Moscow — a huge supporter of the WTO and IMF, as well as of globalization of energy companies; Moscow, the same Moscow that actively works with NATO in its "war with terrorism" — Moscow is not anti-globalist". Mr. Adinolfi himself actively supports Ukrainian nationalists in the question of the Russian invasion.


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Wendell Wallach and Colin Allen maintain this blog on the theory and development of artificial moral agents and computational ethics, topics covered in their OUP 2009 book...
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Wired for War
A new book by P.W. Singer looks in depth at the development of a robotic army. "Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century" was published by Penguin this week. Singer is a Senior Fellow and Director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative at the Brookings Institution. He also served as coordinator of the Obama campaign's defense policy task force. On January 22nd Singer was interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR's "Fresh Air." He acknowledges that while lip service is given to keeping human decision makers in the loop, everyone recognizes that there are pressures towards increasing autonomy for battlefield robots.
2 comments:
- Michael T. Merren said...
My greatest fear is that unmanned wars will be unfelt wars. We are so desensitized to the actual violence we see all around us because we are inundated by news of it from all sides that those incidents of violence become blurbs on the radar. I see potential for lives to be perceived as being pawns in the chess game, video games w/ better graphics fought from safe bunkers on territory where real people life and work and try to raise families... and the actual damage and collateral damage usually of unsuspecting and innocent bystanders will be the immediate repercussion and one not lived and felt by soldiers and the men behind the machines.
- January 23, 2009 at 9:45 PM
- Wendell Wallach said...
The drive to build a robotic army is usually based upon the assumption that it will save the lives of human soldiers. However, in increasing the prospect of going to war it may lead to an increase in civilian casualties. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the military has paid much attention to insuring that these systems will have the intelligence to not target non-combatants. What is heartening about Michael's book is its expansion of the discussion about a robotic army, and whether this is truly a good idea.
- January 27, 2009 at 6:18 PM


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Press releases
Globally, mobile consumers check their phones over 80 billion times a day according to new global Deloitte report
Press release
Additional highlights of the report include:
- Global mobile usage intensifies, fueled by increased device penetration. Smartphone and tablet penetration are all increasing, with wearables experiencing the highest growth rate with roughly 10 percent global penetration – nearly doubling ownership rates from last year.
- Mobile devices are proving to be an indispensable part of everyday life, with 78 percent of all consumers in developed markets checking their smartphone within an hour of waking up. Text and instant messaging (IM) are the first things many consumers check in the morning, and on average, users check their phones 40 times a day.
- Mobile payments (mPayments) had a marquis year for first-time usage. The number of consumers reporting in-store payments usage for any given country at least doubled over last year, and in some countries usage was more than 4-5 times higher year-on-year. However, security is by far the most cited concern when using mPayments.
New York, 17 May 2016 – Globally, Deloitte's Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) practices highlight the increasing trends for connectivity and mobile phone usage across the board in Deloitte Global's latest report entitled: Global Mobile Consumer Trends. Both intensity in usage and ownership rates are increasing―in some categories more than doubling―pointing to dramatically changing consumer behaviors, and a shift towards non-voice communications such as text and IM.
Deloitte conducted a survey designed to gather information regarding consumer behaviors, trends and opinions for a broad range of wireless and mobility products and services across regions and specific countries. The results offer an extensive perspective of the mobile consumer climate, offering country and market level comparisons, covering six continents, 31 countries, and 49,500 respondents, representing nearly 70 percent of the world's total population.
"There is no doubt that the reality of the connected consumer is here to stay and it will transform every industry and region of the world," said Craig Wigginton, vice chairman Deloitte LLP in the US, and Telecom sector leader for Deloitte Global, Americas Region, and Deloitte US. "The long-term growth prospects for many companies around the world rely on their ability to stay ahead of the connected consumer's rapidly changing and evolving habits."
Mobile Payments Continue to Pick Up Speed
While it is still a relatively new application, mPayment usage is gaining traction globally. According to the survey results, in developed markets, 20 percent of consumers reported using mobile payments. In emerging markets, nearly half of consumers (47 percent) reported phone usage to make in-store payments, and 65 percent indicated their interest to use the technology. Highlighting the rapid speed of pick-up, China, a predominantly cash market, over the past year has been one of the countries to adopt mobile payments for in-store purchases most quickly with a 66 percent increase in usage over last year.
However, across the board, survey respondents listed the number one reason for not wanting to use mPayments – security, with 40 percent of consumers globally noting concern that mobile payments are not secure enough.
"These findings around mPayments highlight some surprising nuances in the current global mobile consumer marketplace. For instance, it is certainly interesting that consumers in technologically advanced countries like Germany, France and US are far more reluctant to use mobile payment solutions than their emerging market counterparts," continued Wigginton. "The lack of confidence in mPayment security, as evidenced by the survey responses received, also points to the need for consumer education, considering that these systems are often more secure than traditional payment methods."
Additional highlights and details from the executive summary of the Global Mobile Consumer Trends report include:
Mobility comes in all shapes and sizes: Keeping with annual trends, the number of global consumers who own devices continues to increase with 78 percent having smartphones, nearly 10 percent owning wearables, and more than 50 percent having tablets. Diving deeper into wearable devices the survey results show that, one-fourth of consumers in emerging markets plan to buy a wearable device in the next 12 months. On a country basis, Singapore leads the world in connected consumers. Poland also ranks near the top in each category, with the US, Australia and Italy close behind.
Consumers can't get enough mobile screen time: Almost all mobile consumers check their phones within three hours of waking up. In emerging markets, 93 percent of consumers look at their phone within an hour or less of waking up. Similarly, 14 percent of emerging market consumers check their phones at least 100 times a day.
Text and instant message are consumer favorites: Globally, amongst available mobile device applications, consumers are checking text messages and instant messages (IM) first in the morning. Although voice service remains the most commonly used application across the developed markets with 76 percent indicating usage in the last week, it is closely followed by text messages (74 percent).
Regional preferences for network vs. Wi-Fi: In developed markets, 4G speeds are consistently higher than Wi-Fi speeds. In the Americas region, Wi-Fi is the preferred method to connect to the internet, while Europe and Asia-Pac prefer mobile (e.g., 4G).
Full details about the Global Mobile Consumer Trends are available here: www.deloitte.com/global-mobile-consumer-trends
Press Contact
Stephen Soyland
Global Communications
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited
Tel : +1 212-492-4503
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
About the Global Mobile Consumer Trends report
The Global Mobile Consumer Trends report is based on the Global Mobile Consumer Survey covering 6 continents, 31 countries, and 49,500 respondents, representing close to 70 percent of the world's total population. The survey was administered online. The findings are based on the analysis of this collective data. Full details about the Global Mobile Consumer Trends are available here: www.deloitte.com/global-mobile-consumer-trends
About Deloitte
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ("DTTL"), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a more detailed description of DTTL and its member firms.
Deloitte provides audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk management, tax and related services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries. With a globally connected network of member firms in more than 150 countries, Deloitte brings world-class capabilities and high-quality service to clients, delivering the insights they need to address their most complex business challenges. Deloitte's more than 225,000 professionals are committed to making an impact that matters. Deloitte serves four out of five Fortune Global 500® companies. Please connect with DTTL on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter.


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First Drive: 2011 Volkswagen Touareg
Volkswagen's First Hybrid is a Home Run
For years, Volkswagen has relied on its advanced diesel technology in Europe and the U.S. to help it increase full economy and reduce consumption. While those days are far from over, with the introduction of the all-new 2011 Volkswagen Touareg, VW is sending a strong new signal in its drive to go even greener. The Touareg is not only the automaker's first hybrid, but VW will also be the first automaker in America to offer both diesel and hybrid models of the same vehicle.
The new Touareg -- a completely redesigned platform for 2011 -- is a big step forward for Volkswagen. As one engineer reportedly said at the press launch, the Germans may not be the first to do something, but they do it the best. The Touareg Hybrid is an embodiment of this sentiment; its technology a considerable advancement for hybrids in general.
The first thing you may notice about the Touareg Hybrid is that it's difficult to pick out of an all-Touareg lineup. Save for hybrid badges on the front and rear (the large "hybrid" stickers in some pictures won't be on production vehicles), the exterior of the vehicle is identical to other variants, sporting the same handsome styling, tight-fitting skin, and agreeable proportions. The Touareg Hybrid is more about getting the job done than making a statement. It's not an afterthought either. A hybrid model has been in the cards ever since a next-generation Touareg was first proposed to Volkswagen's product planners back in 2005.
Beneath the hood of the Touareg Hybrid lies a 333-horsepower, supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 engine shared with Audi that produces 324 pound-feet of torque. Mated to the gasoline engine via an automatic dry clutch is a 47-horsepower, 34-kilowatt electric motor that produces 99 pound-feet of torque, bringing the system total to 375 horsepower and 425 pound-feet of torque, making it the most powerful drivetrain offered in the new Touareg. This also means the Touareg Hybrid shares the same 7700-pound towing capacity as its gasoline-only and diesel counterparts.
The combined electric and gasoline motors put their power to the wheels through Volkswagen's new eight-speed automatic transmission, an evolution of their six-speed automatic that now features two overdrive gears instead of one. From there, power travels through a Torsen limited-slip differential to all four wheels, with 60 percent of the power heading to the rear during normal driving. This all wheel-drive drivetrain is standard on all Touareg models.
This 4Motion system will also be the only drivetrain offered in the U.S.; there will be no two-wheel-drive variant, and we will not get the more-capable 4XMotion drivetrain offered elsewhere in the world with its heavy-duty transfer case. While 4Motion isn't as capable off-road, Volkswagen says most of its U.S. buyers won't know the difference, and the Touareg Hybrid will be just as capable off-road as the non-hybrid variants.
The beauty of the Touareg Hybrid's powertrain really comes from the computer that controls it. Because the electric motor can fully decouple from the gasoline engine, the Touareg Hybrid can leave from a stop and operate under EV power up to 31 mph thanks to a 288-volt, 1.7 kilowatt-hour Nickel-Metal Hydride battery that replaces the underfloor storage in the cargo compartment. As the electric motor reaches its limits, the torque converter between it and the transmission begins to slip, allowing the electric motor to spin up and act as a starter for the gasoline engine by closing the dry clutch. Once the gasoline engine is started, the dry clutch closes and the torque converter slowly locks back up to meld the two motors seamlessly. In normal driving, the whole process takes just 0.7 to 0.8 second, though it can be done in as little as 0.4 to 0.5 second when Sport Mode is engaged.
Because the gasoline motor can be restarted so quickly, the computer can shut it down any time it's not being used. While many hybrids will only shut off the gasoline engine at stops, the Touareg Hybrid will shut its engine down whenever possible, even while you're driving down the road. Volkswagen calls this a "coast" mode, and it typically activates whenever you take your foot off the gas. The electric motor will bleed off a small amount of power to keep the vehicle's electrics going, then fire up the gasoline engine again as soon as you put your foot back on the gas. This allows the engine to shut down long before you reach a stop sign or red light, or even just while slowing down for traffic, maximizing efficiency. Volkswagen says the coast feature will even work at speeds up to 99 mph, though using Sport Mode will reduce its operation to speeds under 44 mph.
Far more impressive than the drivetrain's engineering, is how smoothly it goes about its business. Around town, the shut down and restart of the gasoline engine is barely detectable-- usually only noticeable at all when accelerating from a stop, where we found it typically occurred around 13 mph under normal driving. Out on the highway, the only way to tell if the gasoline engine is on or off is to glance down at the tachometer, its engagement and disengagement from the drivetrain is completely unnoticeable. Even more exciting is the fact that this technology is easily scalable, so Volkswagen will have little trouble adapting it to other models. Indeed, the Jetta Hybrid prototype uses the same technology in a transverse layout.
The result of all this advanced technology is that the Touareg Hybrid is both the fastest and most powerful of the line. The Touareg Hybrid will hit 62 mph in 6.5 seconds according to Volkswagen, a full 1.3 seconds faster than either the V-6 gasoline or V-6 diesel models. Thanks to its extra power and roughly 400 pounds of weight savings on all models from the previous generation, the Touareg Hybrid gets 29 mpg on the combined European test cycle. That's considerably better than the 24 combined mpg the gasoline model gets on the Euro cycle, though not quite as good as the diesel's 32 combined mpg, helped by its impressive highway fuel economy. U.S. numbers haven't been released yet, but it may well best the Lexus RX 450h, which returned 23 mpg during a recent Motor Trend comparison. Either way, it should be a substantial improvement on the current model's 14 mpg city and 20 mpg highway EPA ratings.
The Touareg Hybrid's power is plenty evident on the road. Though normally docile to save fuel, dropping the hammer will put all 375 ponies and 425 pound-feet to work with gusto. Together, they have no trouble hustling the nearly 5000 pounds they're saddled with, especially when taking off from a stop and while passing. Acceleration is impressive for a vehicle this size, and it carries itself well thanks to double-wishbone independent suspension on all four corners. Adaptive Roll Compensation helps the Touareg stay flat in corners and the supremely comfortable seats offer enough bolstering to keep you from moving around too much in hard corners. It's not a sports car, after all. It should be noted, though, that our test vehicles were equipped with an optional air suspension that will not be offered in the U.S.
Not quite as much can be said for the steering. Though nicely weighted, the meaty steering wheel offers very little detail on the goings-on of the front tires. And while there's no dead spot on center, the steering feels a bit slow and the turning radius isn't anything to write home about. The brakes on the Hybrid model are fairly impressive thanks to aggressive regenerative braking that only engages when you depress the brake pedal, not while coasting. It even becomes more aggressive in Sport Mode to help you brake later in the corners. On non-hybrid models, however, the brakes were less confidence-inspiring with considerable pedal travel and less bite than you would hope for with this much weight to slow down.
When you're not playing around in Sport Mode, Volkswagen has an array of high-tech features to help you get down the road safely. Adaptive Cruise Control works even in stop-and-go situations while a Lane Departure Warning system vibrates the steering wheel when you begin to drift. Another system monitors the vehicle ahead and warns you when a rear-end collision is imminent, while another places sensors all the way around the vehicle to warn you about nearby obstacles you may not see before you hit them. Driving the crowded streets of Florence, though, we found many of these systems a bit too aggressive to the point of being irritating in rush hour traffic. The Area View camera system was also slightly disappointing as the perspectives offered on the infotainment screen were more difficult to get used to than similar technologies offered by other automakers, but we're told this system probably won't be offered in the U.S. anyway.
That infotainment system is otherwise unassailable. The user interface is simple and straightforward and the navigation system offers 3D views of the terrain as well as the outlines of buildings. Tapping on a building will even bring up any information available on it, which is typically limited to major landmarks. Also embedded in this system is an optional and impressive Dynaudio stereo backed by a 620-watt amplifier and a 60-gigabyte hard drive.
Complementing the infotainment system is a massive high-resolution, full-color display in the center of the gauge cluster. It can display a number of vehicle functions from hybrid power control to stereo settings to navigation instructions. Most helpful are the pictures of the turn you'll need to execute at the next intersection when using the navigation system, particularly when approaching a European roundabout.
Stepping away from the gizmos, the new Touareg's interior is likewise impressive. On our topline testers, the materials quality, design and fitment neared Audi levels and the enlarged interior was certainly noticeable. An inch-and-a-half stretch to the wheelbase gives rear seat passengers an impressive amount of legroom even with tall front seat passengers, and the rear seats are just as comfortable as the fronts. Cargo space is up by one cubic foot with the rear seats up and 2.5 cubic feet with them folded to an impressive 58 cubic feet. A third-row seat is still conspicuously absent, and rumor has it that Porsche is to thank for this, as the new Cayenne shares the same platform and Porsche reportedly had no interest in seven-passenger seating. All the better for the rear-seat passengers, though, as this means their seats can slide fore and aft and recline.
The new Touareg will find its way to European showrooms in April, but U.S. customers will have to wait until late October or early November for our models, all of which will be launched simultaneously. Joining the Touareg Hybrid in U.S. showrooms will be two V-6 models, a 276-horsepower, 3.6-liter gasoline version that produces 266 pound-feet of torque and a 3.0-liter turbocharged diesel that makes 236 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque. Both engines are carried over from the previous-generation Touareg.
To reduce complexity, Volkswagen has seriously curtailed the packages and options for the new Touareg. Where the current model can be had in up to 170 different combinations, the new model will offer just 12 by packaging popular options together. Just three packages will be offered, one with bi-Xenon headlights, navigation, backup camera, and power seats, one with leather, wood trim and a massive panoramic sunroof and one with the Dynaudio sound system, smart key, alarm and heated seats and steering wheel. The first package will come with 18-inch wheels, the second with 19-inch wheels, and the third with 20-inch wheels. The Hybrid will be a stand-alone model and fully optioned. A towing package is also offered.
In the U.S., Touareg sales are currently split roughly in half between gasoline and diesel models, but the introduction of the Hybrid could shake up the mix. As no one has yet offered the same model with both diesel and hybrid options, it's unclear how the hybrid model will affect gasoline and diesel model sales, though Volkswagen says it expects the hybrid to account for three to five percent of U.S. sales and five percent of sales globally. Pricing hasn't been announced yet, but at least a small increase from current prices is expected and the fully-optioned Hybrid model will likely top the range.
Touareg sales have taken a beating over the past few years, first at the hands of $4 per gallon gas then from the faltering economy. It ended 2009 with sales down 35 percent while the smaller Tiguan sales grew 60 percent over the same time period. The new Touareg is definitely good enough to win back buyers on its own merits, but it remains to be seen how many buyers will flock back to large SUVs as the economy and fuel prices remain unstable. Sales may never again see the record highs of a few years ago, but it won't be because buyers are unhappy with their Touaregs.
2011 Volkswagen Touareg | |
Base price | $45,000-$50,000 (est) |
Vehicle layout | Front engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door SUV |
Engine | 3.6L/276-hp/266-lb-ft DOHC 24-valve V-6, 3.0L/236-hp/406-lb-ft turbocharged diesel DOHC 24-valve V-6, 3.0L/333-hp/324-lb-ft supercharged DOHC 24-valve V-6, plus 47-hp/101-lb-ft electric motor |
Transmission | 8-speed automatic |
Curb weight | 4500-5000 lb (mfr est) |
Wheelbase | 113.9in |
L x W x H | 188.8in x 76.4in x 67.3in |
0-60mph | 6.5-7.8sec (mfr est) |
EPA city/hwy fuel econ | N/A |
CO2 emissions | N/A |
On sale in U.S. | November 2010 |