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Makes 12 cupcakes
A rich chocolate cake with a creamy mousse topping, this is a classic cupcake combo for chocolate lovers. Of course, you can use this cupcake without the mousse for all your basic chocolate cupcake needs. Prepare the mousse first so that it has time to set, and garnish the cupcake with a berry and chocolate shavings, if you like! This recipe is modified from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World.
For the mousse:
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (one package is usually 12 ounces)
12 oz extra firm silken tofu (the vacuum packed kind)
1/4 cup plain soy milk
2 tablespoons agave syrup or maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the cupcakes:
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract, chocolate extract, or more vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed or regular
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
Prepare the Mousse:
Crumble the tofu into a blender. Add the soy milk, agave and vanilla extract. Puree until completely smooth. Set aside.
In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips. Obviously you don't have a double boiler so take a small sauce pan and fill half way with water. On top of that place a small sauté pan. Fill the sauté pan with chocolate chips and bring the water to a boil. Use a rubber spatula to mix the chocolate as it melts. Once melted, remove from heat and let cool for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the chocolate to the tofu and blend until well combined, use the spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender every so often.
Transfer the mousse to an air tight container or a bowl covered in saran wrap and let chill for an hour.
Prepare the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and other extract, if using, to the soy milk mixture and beat until foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are OK).
Lightly spray the liners with cooking spray and pour batter into liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
To assemble:
Once the mousse is chilled and set and the cupcakes have cooled, remove from the refrigerator and stir with a fork to a spreadable consistency. Fit a pastry bag with a wide decorating tip. Fill the bag with mousse and pipe it onto the cupcake in a spiral, starting from the outside in or in. Add chocolate chips or chocolate shavings if you are feeling especially fancy pants.
Chill the cupcakes or a half hour to let the mousse set again and serve cold.


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Related Content
Press Release
Little Rock -Christopher R. Thyer, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas; William J. Bryant, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Little Rock District Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); and Scott Ellington, District Prosecuting Attorney for the Second Judicial District of Arkansas; announced the unsealing of a 62-count indictment charging multiple defendants in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, with multiple drug charges. An investigation into large-scale drug trafficking resulted in the arrests of 21 defendants on methamphetamine and marijuana charges Thursday. Those arrested are scheduled to appear before United States Magistrate Judge Jerome T. Kearney at 1 p.m. today. Four defendants remain at large.
"The result of many hours of investigation by dedicated law enforcement agents and officers is clear – drug traffickers will be arrested and prosecuted to the maximum extent of the law," stated Thyer. "We continue to target the networks supplying meth across the northeastern region of Arkansas to take the dealers, the drugs, and the weapons out of our communities."
ASAC Bryant added, "Methamphetamine continues to be the number one drug threat to the citizens of Arkansas. As you can see in this case, it not only affects our urban areas but also our rural areas such as Manila, Arkansas. As a result of a great team effort of federal, state, and local law enforcement, this drug trafficking organization was dismantled."
"The Arkansas State Police has made an unconditional commitment toward working with all law enforcement agencies and provide whatever resources we can to remove from our communities those individuals who provide a source of illegal drugs," said Colonel Stan Witt.
District Attorney Ellington added, "I want to thank U.S. Attorney Chris Thyer, Bill Bryant and the DEA, Colonel Stan Witt and the Arkansas State Police, and the other federal agencies who assisted our local officers with the investigation and execution of this operation. It is good to know that when we run up against a significant distribution organization as we saw in this instance, we only have to ask for assistance and they are willing to step up and take the lead in the investigation and apprehension of those bringing methamphetamine into our community. I also want to thank our Drug Task Force for their tireless efforts in this case and every case they work."
Yesterday, federal, state and local law enforcement arrested 17 defendants during an early-morning operation focused in Blytheville. Roy Witherspoon, age 30, of Blytheville, was arrested Thursday night. One defendant, Renaldre Jackson, age 22, of Blytheville, was already in federal custody after pleading guilty to another drug charge. Two others, Quinton Wiencek, age 41, of Chaffee, Missouri and Timothy Sheard, age 35, of Jonesboro, Arkansas, were in state custody on unrelated charges. Cordero Lockhart, a/k/a "KO", age 25; Antwon Bailey, a/k/a "Pee Wheezy", age 27; Tamika Petty, age 26; and Jamal Shontal Piggie, a/k/a "Joker", age 27; all of Blytheville are still at large. More than $50,000 in drug proceeds, multiple cars and motorcycles, drug paraphernalia, and several firearms were seized from multiple houses during the operation.
The DEA investigation began in late 2011 and early 2012. Multiple undercover operations and numerous law enforcement actions, including multiple seizures of methamphetamine were conducted by the DEA and 2nd Judicial Drug Task Force.
The Indictment handed down by a Federal Grand Jury January 7, 2014, charges 25 defendants in sixty-two separate counts stemming from a large-scale investigation into methamphetamine and narcotics trafficking in Northeast Arkansas. Four defendants live in Southeastern Missouri, one in Oklahoma, and one in Little Rock. The charges include conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, aiding and abetting distribution of methamphetamine, misprision of a felony, and use of telephone to facilitate a drug trafficking crime. 24 of the defendants were charged with conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. Each defendant charged with conspiracy will face a possible sentence of not less than 10 years to life imprisonment. All 25 defendants also face from one to three telephone counts which carry a statutory sentence of not more than four years imprisonment.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA and the ATF Cape Girardeau Field Office, with substantial assistance from the 2nd Judicial Drug Task Force, which includes officers from the Jonesboro Police Department, Blytheville Police Department, the Osceola Police Department, Craighead County Sherriff's Office and the Mississippi County Sheriff's Office. Assistance was also provided by the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force, ATF Little Rock Field Office, FBI Jonesboro Field Office, United States Postal Inspection Service, United States Marshal Service, the Arkansas State Police, the Arkansas National Guard, and Little Rock Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chris Givens.
An indictment contains only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

subset: commoncrawl


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Our holiday gift guide is live
Get ready for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the holiday shopping season with our annual holiday gift guide. You'll find sections for Gadgets, Games, Guy Stuff, things for her, Movies, TV, Stocking Stuffers and things for the home.
You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook for content updates. Also, sign up for our email list for weekly updates and check us out on Google+ as well.
Posted in: Lifestyle, Stuff to Buy
Tags: 2012 holiday gift guide, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, For Her, For the Home, gadget stocking stuffers, Gadgets, games, gift guide, gift guide for guys, gift guide for men, guy stuff, Holiday Gift Guide, holiday gift guide for guys, holiday gift guide for men, Movies, stocking stuffers, TV


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Clean Pro Troy
Best Gutter Cleaning Service in Troy MI !
Clean Pro Troy is the best provider of gutter cleaning services in Troy MI. Our unique qualities are our years of experience, prompt service, attention to detail and concern for safety. We offer gutter cleaning services that are affordable near you.
Troy is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. Its population was 87,294 at the 2020 U.S. census, making Troy the most populous city in the county and the 13th most-populous municipality in the state. Troy is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit, located about sixteen miles (25.7 km) northwest of downtown Detroit. Troy was organized as a township in 1827, and sections of the township incorporated much later into the cities of Birmingham, Clawson, and Royal Oak. The remainder of the township incorporated as the present-day city of Troy in 1955.
Avon Hollow, Avon Pointe, Beach Road Park, Belle Cone Gardens, Birwood Wall / West Eight Mile Neighborhood, Blackstone Park, Boulan Park, Brookedale Woods, Brooklands Park, Charing Cross, Eddington Farms, Eight Mile Wyoming, Evergreen Lahser 7/8, Eyster's Avon Estates, Eyster's Avon Gardens


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TechRadar Verdict
- +
- +
Decent image quality
- +
- -
A bit on the noisy side
Why you can trust TechRadar
Epson has been one of the driving forces behind LCD technology, so we were interested to see how the EB-W10 measured up.
The projector comes in an attractive white plastic case that weighs a more than portable 2.3kg. Its design is ideal for the frequent traveller, as its curved corners make it easier to slip into the supplied carry case, while the lens is protected by a built-in cover that you'll need to manually open to use.
The focus and zoom rings are neatly sculpted into a hollow, so they won't get damaged during a rough journey.
The EB-W10's controls are clearly labelled, which makes this projector simple to set up and use. On the top of the device you'll find the standard array of buttons allowing access to the control menu, hardware sourcing and volume and keystone correction.
There's a comprehensive mix of connectivity options on the rear. For those with an older laptop there's an analogue VGA port, while the HDMI socket means newer machines can be connected. We didn't have any problems connecting the EB-W10 to our test laptop; it was quick and easy and instantly sourced itself.
The 2600 ANSI lumens rating means this is an extremely bright projector that's capable of being used in most rooms without restricting external light. Image quality was sharp and bright, with whites being particularly crisp – making it ideal for presentations and slide shows.
It also handled our test DVD well, with little or no sign of lagging during action scenes. With a 37dB rating, this is the loudest projector on test, but not overly so. If this is an issue, dropping the projector down into eco-mode helps reduce the noise level without impacting too much on the quality of the displayed image.
The Epson EB-W10 is a great-looking and easy-to-use projector. We found it simple to set up and image quality is more than acceptable for the asking price.
Follow TechRadar Reviews on Twitter: http://twitter.com/techradarreview


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Sam Altman's article this weekend exploring the topic of equity grants got me thinking about what startups offer new employees. While there are general notions in the industry about what equity to offer to folks at various stages of a startup's lifecycle, there is little data available that shows how equity grants and compensation more generally compare across innovation regions. I was also interested in seeing if there was a difference in compensation between startups that allowed remote work, and those that did not. The difference turned out far larger than I expected.
Getting this data turned out to be pretty easy. These days, AngelList has become one of the most important talent clearinghouses in the startup ecosystem. The system has placed hundreds of engineers, designers and others into startups, and the website offers quite a wealth of data for analysis. I downloaded four HTML pages from AngelList on April 17 – the jobs pages for Silicon Valley, New York, Boston, and Remote Ok startups – and used Python's Beautiful Soup library and some basic stats packages to analyze the pages (for those interested in doing more analysis, AngelList also offers a pretty comprehensive set of APIs).
Startups list their salary and equity range by role on AngelList, and the site also shows the number of applicants applying to each startup in the past week. To do this analysis, I simply averaged the salary and equity ranges together for each role, generating midpoints to compare across startups. Given the way compensation negotiations typically work, this seemed the simplest and fairest method.
Equity and compensation
First, let's get a general sense of the startup labor economy in each of the three innovation centers. Boston is the smallest, with 125 startups looking for employees, and a total of 296 roles available. This compares to 537 startups seeking 1,318 roles in New York City, and 1,251 startups seeking 3,235 roles in Silicon Valley.
Proportionally, Boston's labor market is about a fourth the size of New York's, and one-tenth the size of Silicon Valley's. As an observation, the number of startups that are hiring doesn't seem to correlate well with the venture capital dollars flowing into these regions in the first quarter of 2014 based on MoneyTree's report. Boston and New York had similar capital investments, even though their talent markets are quite differently sized.
Silicon Valley startups are willing to give out slightly more cash to employees, but are significantly more stingy when it comes to equity grants in the early days of the company. To do this analysis, I deleted a handful of clearly erroneous and outlier data points from the analysis (unless the bubble has finally arrived, I don't think engineers at startups are making $135 million in salary these days!)
The average salary in Boston and New York were about even, at $85,300 and $84,300 respectively. Both were behind Silicon Valley, where the average posted salary was about $94,500. Interestingly, the top paid jobs in all three locations were for business and operations roles.
Altman wrote in his weekend post on equity grants that "As an extremely rough stab at actual numbers, I think a company ought to be giving at least 10% in total to the first 10 employees, 5% to the next 20, and 5% to the next 50. In practice, the optimal numbers may be much higher." When we turn to equity, there is definitely a regional difference, as the following table shows:
In the early stages of a startup, Silicon Valley founders appear to be significantly more stingy than their East Coast counterparts, offering less equity than similarly-sized startups in Boston and New York. However, the tables turn in the growth stage of a company, when Silicon Valley begins to offer significantly more in equity on average than the other two innovation centers. Part of this can be explained through competition — once a startup has received funding, salaries are quite similar across the board, and so Silicon Valley startups have to compete more on equity grants.
Numbers of applicants
Another interesting point of analysis is the applicant numbers in these three cities. Altogether, Boston had the smallest pool with 836 applicants applying to its startups, compared to 4,783 applicants in New York and 12,793 applicants in Silicon Valley. More importantly, the mean average number of applicants per startup is quite variable across regions. Boston had 6.7 applicants per startup, which pales into comparison with 8.9 applicants per startup in New York and an average of 10.23 applicants in Silicon Valley.
There are several possible reasons for this:
- AngelList may be more dominant in its home base of San Francisco;
- Talent turnover is higher in the Valley than elsewhere, and
- There could just be many more entrants into the Silicon Valley talent pool than in other places.
The general size of the talent pool is critical for the talent that startups receive, as the chart above shows. Five startups in Boston received more than 20 applications, compared to 61 startups in New York (where the top startup for applications was none other than AngelList itself with 61).
The real difference comes when we look at Silicon Valley. Incredibly, 17 startups had more than 60 applications apiece, and 171 startups received more than 20 applicants just last week. Five startups had more than 80 applicants: AirHelp, SpoonRocket, Storefront, Quora, and Last. Clearly, there is a frenetic pace of hiring going on these days in the Valley.
Remote work
There are huge complaints from many engineers outside of the innovation power centers that companies are not willing to receive applications from non-locals. AngelList allows users to search for companies willing to accept remote work, and I also did a statistical analysis on these companies. There were 1,378 companies that were interested in remote workers.
One thing that immediately popped out at me was that the companies offering remote work are remote themselves. San Francisco represented about 200 of the 1,378 remote-seeking startups, with New York City coming in with 158 and Los Angeles at 75. Other major world cities like London, Toronto and Vancouver had significant presences, and altogether, there were more than 300 cities represented offering remote work on AngelList.
When we look at the average equity grant across the 2,113 remote roles available, there is a striking difference between different regions and remote startups in the early stage. Remote startups with fewer than 10 employees offered 2.7 percent equity on average, compared to 1.66 percent in Silicon Valley. Perhaps startups outside of the Valley have a harder time getting access to talent, and thus are willing to increase the incentives. Once startups hit growth, the equity grant at startups tends to coincide with the individual regions.
Concluding notes
Ultimately, startups are competing in a labor market for talent. That talent has a lot of choices on where to go, and with platforms like AngelList, it is probably better informed about the market than at any time in history. One of the key ingredients that I read from this data is that Silicon Valley workers are more confident about their startups' outcomes. Thus, employees are willing to accept smaller equity packages than at startups in remote cities where success appears harder to attain.
One other comment is worth making. Since websites like AngelList quickly propagate information across the industry, the compensation bands for startups are astonishingly similar these days. A direct recommendation from this observation for founders: do not be afraid to try something different than other startups. Offer more salary, or more equity, or some other compensation that separates you in the market. Ultimately, you can't build a company without great people, and those people are going to cost more than you probably want. It'll be worth it in the end if you're successful, or it won't matter if you're not.


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[2b2k] No, now that you mention it, we're not overloaded with information
On a podcast today, Mitch Joel asked me something I don't think anyone else has: Are we experiencing information overload? Everyone else assumes that we are. Including me. I found myself answering no, we are not. There is of course a reasonable and valid reason to say that we are. But I think there's also an important way in which we are not. So, here goes:
There are more things to see in the world than any one human could ever see. Some of those sights are awe-inspiring. Some are life-changing. Some would bring you peace. Some would spark new ideas. But you are never going to see them all. You can't. There are too many sights to see. So, are you suffering from Sight Overload?
There are more meals than you could ever eat. Some are sooo delicious, but you can't live long enough to taste them all. Are you suffering from Taste Overload?
Or, you're taking a dip in the ocean. The water extends to the horizon. Are you suffering from Water Overload? Or are you just having a nice swim?
That's where I think we are with information overload. Of course there's more than we could ever encounter or make sense of. Of course. But it's not Information Overload any more than the atmosphere is Air Overload.
It only seems that way if you think you can master information, or if you think there is some defined set of information you can and must have, or if you find yourself repeating the mantra of delivering the right information to the right people at the right time, as if there were any such thing.
Information overload is so 1990s.
[The next day: See my follow-on post]
Categories: infohistory, too big to know dw


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This article is more than 1 year old
Microsoft confirms code-execution bug in Windows apps
'Cannot directly be addressed in Windows'
Microsoft on Monday warned of a vulnerability in Windows applications made by third-party developers that allows remote attackers to execute malicious code on end-user PCs.
The company's security team is still investigating whether any Microsoft programs are susceptible to the so-called binary planting or DLL preloading attacks. Until patches are available, it said admins should run a new software tool that changes the way Windows loads application library files or disable several networking features to blunt attempts to exploit the flaw.
"Loading dynamic libraries is basic behavior for Windows and other operating systems, and the design of some applications require the ability to load libraries from the current working directory," members of the Microsoft Security Response Center wrote here. "Hence, this issue cannot directly be addressed in Windows without breaking expected functionality. Instead, it requires developers to ensure they code secure library loads."
The advisory confirmed previous reports that the attacks exploit a weakness in the way programs load associated libraries. The corresponding binary files can be located in a variety of directories, including those on networks controlled by a malicious hacker.
The attack works because many applications ignore best security practices and search for the library based only on the file name, rather than the full directory path, the advisory said. When the current working directory is set to one controlled by the attacker, it's possible to cause load a malicious file.
The advisory didn't say how many applications are vulnerable. In an interview last week, Mitja Kolsek, CEO of application security firm Acros Security, said his company has identified about 200 Windows susceptible programs and warned there could be more.
H D Moore, CSO and chief architect of the Metasploit project, has said at least one component of Windows is also vulnerable.
Microsoft's advisory repeated Moore's previous guidance that admins disable WebDAV and block outgoing SMB connections on ports 445 and 139. Redmond has also released a software tool that changes the way Windows searches for DLL files. Different versions of Windows requires a specific versions of the tools. Download locations are here. Microsoft has additional details here and here.
Moore has also published this post with a wealth of information. ®


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For non-urgent information and assistance on exhibiting at the Melbourne Home Shows, please do not hesitate to contact: [email protected] or use our enquiry form.
About EEA
Exhibitions and Events Australia (EEA) was established by Jane Ford, Managing Director. Its directors have 37 years of experience developing many of Australia's best trade and consumer shows. Our focus is on staging excellent exhibitions that meet our client's unique requirements, both exhibitors and visitors.
EEA's committed and passionate team understand the importance of identifying and meeting customers' expectations and tailoring solutions to ensure each client has a personalised and rewarding exhibition experience. Our business is about fulfilling your objectives and you will find our experienced and flexible team have all the exhibition knowledge and understanding needed to ensure our events deliver the best outcome possible for you.
Exhibitions and Events Australia is well known for its innovative and exciting events, delivering on promises, ethical trading and offering true return on investment. These values are reflected in the company's growth and high customer and staff retention rate, with the business doubling in size since 2005.
Media Enquiries
Applications from the following media to cover the event will be considered for eligibility to obtain a media pass:
- Editors
- Pic Editors
- Journalists
- Home/Interiors/Design bloggers
All pass requests and media enquiries can be directed to:
Home Shows Marketing Campaign Team
E: [email protected]
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by Presenters and Exhibitors at the Home Show are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Exhibitions & Events Australia Pty Ltd. All visitors are encouraged to draw their own opinions and conclusions based upon the information presented to them.


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Many streams that maintain a text cursor also display some visible indication of it. The object that represents this display is (somewhat confusingly) also called a cursor.
cursor [Protocol Class]
Summary: The protocol class that corresponds to cursors. If you want to create a new class that behaves like cursor, it should be a subclass of cursor . Subclasses of cursor must obey the cursor protocol. Members of this class are mutable.
cursorp [Function]
Summary: Returns t if object is a cursor; otherwise, it returns nil .
Summary: The :sheet initarg is used to specify the sheet with which the cursor is associated.
Summary: The instantiable class that implements a text cursor. Typically, ports will further specialize this class.
cursor-sheet [Generic Function]
Summary: Returns the sheet with which the cursor cursor is associated.
cursor-position [Generic Function]
Summary: Returns the x and y position of the cursor cursor as two values.
(setf* cursor-position) [Generic Function]
Summary: Sets the x and y position of the cursor cursor to the specified position. For the details of setf* , see C.4, Multiple-Value Setf
cursor-visibility [Generic Function]
(setf cursor-visibility) [Generic Function]
Summary: Returns (or sets) the visibility of the cursor cursor . The visibility is one of :on (the cursor will be visible at its current position), :off (the cursor is active, but not visible at its current position), or nil (the cursor is to be deactivated).
display-cursor [Generic Function]
Summary: This draws or erases the cursor cursor . If state is :draw , the cursor will be drawn. If the state is :erase , the cursor will be erased.


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There are 10 or 20 year payment plans available for construction fees.
Show All Answers
The connection to the system is strictly voluntary.
There will be no new charges unless you are connecting to the system.
Natural gas is less expensive than propane.
The Las Cruces Utilities Department operates with rates and not tax dollars.
The Gas section will work with customers on gas pressure delivered across meter, to aid with plumbing issues.


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Office of the Spokesperson
November 14, 2014
The Departments of State and Education celebrate the 15th annual International Education Week November 17-21, 2014. During this week, literally thousands of events will be held around the world to highlight the benefits of global learning and student exchanges.
To understand why this is important, we have only to consider the consequences when people lack what international education provides – namely an objective understanding of the world that exists outside the narrow boundaries of our own communities and lives.
We know that, in some places, children are educated to see the globe as divided between "us" and "them." They are told that personal fulfillment can only come by refighting ancient battles or by crushing the dreams of another.
That is the opposite of the kind of learning we honor during International Education Week.
At the Department of State, we see international education as a core component of our diplomacy. This is because, in the work we do every day, we see how vital it is that young people absorb what true international education teaches: how to think critically, the importance of civility, and a willingness to respond to contrary opinions with hard questions — not bitter denials or an insistence on dogma.
The development of these abilities is essential, but it does not happen automatically. It happens because of the dedication of our educators and the leadership of the academic community. It happens because so many top universities have made a commitment to helping our young people learn more about themselves by learning first-hand about the world. It happens because many businesses and foundations understand that global education is an extraordinarily wise and effective investment in the future.
The United States welcomes international students because they help bring a new and wider perspective into classrooms, because they contribute more than $27 billion each year to our economy, and because – upon returning home – they contribute to a better understanding of American ideals, policies, and culture.
Wherever I go in the world, I run into foreign ministers, prime ministers, businesspeople and activists who have studied in the United States. Here in the United States, I interact constantly with talented men and women who have spent a part of their education in study abroad. Recent surveys are clear that major employers value the skills and experience that international education provides.
It is evidence of this issue's importance that President Obama has placed a strong emphasis on reaching out to young leaders on every continent and to do so by increasing both the size and the diversity of our student exchange programs. As Secretary of State, I echo this call and urge U.S. students from all walks of life to take advantage of the opportunity to study abroad.
It has been said that all history is a race between education and catastrophe. Obviously, that is a race we must win, and international education provides a platform for victory.


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The Lift T-shirt Bra
We set out to create the world's most comfortable bras and we think we might have cracked it. No.5 is a rare combination of softness and support with just a little extra lift. We spent two years developing the shape of the cups. They're moulded with a new and extremely flexible foam which is 140% more breathable than a traditional padding. The underwire is light and flexible.
Most of the support in a bra comes from the waist band. No.5 has seamless wings that distributes the load over a large surface. The broad straps offer great weight distribution and recovery and the signature hook in the back makes criss crossed straps work smoothly for the first time. Crossing straps add extra support in the outer part of the cup, if you like that. The inside is flossed to prevent sliding. A sense of freedom in every, single detail.
We found an amazing high quality micro fabric. It stretches in all directions and has an extra smooth surface that stays beautiful.
Micro fabric: Polyamid. 74% recycled material. Blue Sign approved.
Foam: Polyamid. 0% recycled material.
Lining: Polyester. 100% recycled material.
Straps: Polyamid/Elastan. 46% recycled material.
Carbon footprint: 3,5 kg CO2 (calculated for biggest size and darkest colour.)


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In 2012, a year in which 2,327 rockets and 230 mortar shells were fired into Israel from Gaza, 16,553 Palestinians entered Israel from the Palestinian run territory to receive medical treatment in Israeli and PA hospitals. Additionally, during 2012, the Israeli civil administration for the territories financed life-saving medical treatments for 20 Palestinian children (including marrow transplants and kidney transplants) worth more than 1,500,000 NIS ($405,000).
Harriet Sherwood's latest piece, 'British surgeons carry out first organ transplant in Gaza', about a volunteer medical team from Royal Liverpool hospital training Palestinian doctors in Gaza to perform transplants, completely ignored Israel's continuing medical-related humanitarian assistance to citizens of the Hamas run territory, and, instead, focused on restrictions and alleged shortages in Gaza's hospitals.
Sherwood wrote the following:
"A team of British surgeons has carried out Gaza's first organ transplants as a pilot for a long-term plan to train local medical staff to perform the operations.
"I cannot express my happiness," said Ziad Matouk, 42, who was born with one kidney and was diagnosed with renal failure several years ago. "I'm proud to have had one of the first transplant operations in Gaza. I want to hug and kiss all the doctors."
Two patients underwent kidney transplants at the Shifa, Gaza's biggest public hospital, which is beset by overcrowding, chronic power cuts and shortages of drugs and equipment. The operations were conducted a fortnight ago by a volunteer medical team from the Royal Liverpool hospital.
Matouk, whose wife donated one of her kidneys, hopes to return to his job as a falafel vendor in Maghazi refugee camp, central Gaza, within six months. The couple had sought a transplant in Cairo, but were rejected as unsuitable at a state hospital and could not afford the fee at a private hospital. "We were desperate," said Matouk.
Then, there was this passage:
"Israel heavily restricted imports to Gaza between 2007 and 2010, and continues to control the flow of goods in and out of the Palestinian enclave." [emphasis added]
Of course, contrary to the clear suggestion conveyed in that sentence, Gaza has a border which Israel does not control.
As we noted (and pointed out to Guardian editors) in 2011, about a story titled "10 highlights of Palestine", by Sarah Irving, which alleged that "Israeli border authorities…control all routes into the West Bank and Gaza", Gaza borders Egypt, which has been in control of Gaza's Rafah crossing since 2005.
We discovered Irving's curious geographical error by use of our blog's extremely expensive, highly sophisticated satellite technology (i.e., maps we found online), which showed the following:
So, it would seem reasonable to conclude that the Islamist Egyptian government bears some responsibility for medical aid and goods flowing into the Islamist governed Palestinian state on its border.
In 2011, it took Guardian editors nearly a month to correct Sarah Irving's omission relating to Rafah, upon which they added the following text:
This article was amended on 15 December 2011. The original said the Israeli border authorities controlled all routes into the West Bank and Gaza. This has been corrected.
We look forward to observing how long it takes them to correct Harriet Sherwood's latest error about Gaza's southern border.
Related articles
- An open letter to Harriet Sherwood, by Dr. Yakov Nagen (cifwatch.com)
- At the Guardian, the French kill Islamist militants, while Israelis kill children. (cifwatch.com)
- Guardian falsely claims that "almost no" construction materials have entered Gaza (cifwatch.com)
- CiF Watch prompts correction to Guardian claim on Gaza construction imports (cifwatch.com)
- Harriet Sherwood 'Likes' Facebook group which 'pokes' at Israel's legitimacy (cifwatch.com)
- Guardian omits tiny detail regarding Khaled Meshaal's dream to "liberate Palestine" (cifwatch.com)
- 'The Jewish state which ruined Christmas in Bethlehem': A Guardian Production (cifwatch.com)


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A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
Nationwide Study Examines Common Heart Procedures
Patients undergoing angioplasty, stent placement more likely to be overweight, smoke, have high blood pressure
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Researchers looked at data from nearly 2 million patients who underwent heart catheterization procedures at nearly 1,500 facilities in the United States between Jan. 1, 2010, and June 30, 2011.
In cardiac catheterization, a long, thin, flexible tube (catheter) is inserted into a blood vessel and threaded to the heart. Through the catheter, doctors can conduct diagnostic tests and treatments on the heart.
About 1.1 million patients in the study underwent diagnostic cardiac catheterization and more than 940,000 underwent angioplasty and stenting, known as percutaneous coronary intervention.
Of the patients who had such intervention, nearly 80 percent were overweight, including 43 percent who were obese. Other risk factors for heart disease also were common. Eighty percent of patients had high blood cholesterol levels and 82 percent had high blood pressure. Nearly 28 percent of patients were current or recent smokers.
The study also found that 70 percent of patients who underwent procedures had heart attacks or other acute symptoms. About 18 percent had stable angina and 12 percent had either atypical symptoms or no angina.
Among patients who were suffering a severe heart attack and arrived at a hospital capable of performing angioplasty, the average time from arrival to treatment was 64.5 minutes. For patients who had to be transferred to another hospital, the average time from arrival at the first hospital to treatment was 121 minutes.
Cardiac catheterization was conducted through an artery in the thigh in just over 90 percent of procedures, rather than through an artery in the wrist.
Low-volume facilities (those that conduct fewer than 200 of these procedures per year) accounted for only 4 percent of the total number of percutaneous coronary interventions during the study period.
The findings appear online and in the Nov. 13 print issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
"These data will be of interest to the cardiovascular community because they show us where we are and where we can find opportunities for quality improvement," lead author Dr. Gregory Dehmer said in a journal news release.
Copyright (c) 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
- More Health News on:
- Angioplasty
- Coronary Artery Disease
- Heart Attack


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Each of our Wheel of Flame candles represents a different terrain you might visit on a tabletop game campaign. Your game master can light a new candle every time you venture into a different realm, setting the stage — and the mood — with an evocative scent. Lair of the Dragon has a musky and smoky scent, like incense.
These candles also have a hidden treasure: a metal die from Norse Foundry! You will find a beautifully crafted and satisfyingly heavy D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D20, or percentile die embedded in the wax, emerging after several hours of burn time. *Dice finishes and colors are random and may vary.*
Each candle is 8oz and has about 50 hours of burn time. We use 100% soy wax and cotton wicks. The labels are Calliope Candleworks originals, with artwork by Wilson Swain and typesetting by Brett Jackson. Shipping time depends on stock availability. Processing/production time can be 2-4 days followed by USPS shipping 2-4 days.


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Huntsman Corporation have announced plans to launch a global transformational change program across its Advanced Materials division, as part of an on-going strategic plan designed to improve the company's manufacturing efficiencies, enhance commercial excellence and ensure its long-term global competitiveness.
Weak economic conditions in key global markets, combined with rising fixed costs and continued volatility in the cost of raw materials, are driving Huntsman's Advanced Materials division to implement an improvement program which will align resources to focus on attractive higher-growth markets. The company expects benefits to the business in the range of $70 million.
Huntsman, a global leader in differentiated chemicals, says its Advanced Materials business will further increase its focus on opportunities in industries such as aerospace, adhesives, high-performance coatings, power generation, green electronics and large-scale engineering projects which will drive maximum value for all stakeholders
James Huntsman , President of the Advanced Materials division, added: "The planned program is designed to ensure that the Advanced Materials business is strongly positioned to compete successfully in a challenging marketplace." He continued, "We will continue to invest significantly in our Business, in order to help our customers around the world address some of the engineering challenges they face over the coming years to produce lighter, more efficient materials."
The transformation program is scheduled to begin in the first quarter 2013, with full implementation expected to be completed over the next 18 months.
Source: Huntsman


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Xfer Communications + Cybersecurity Assessments
We perform cybersecurity assessments and offer cybersecurity support to companies in the Warren, MI area. Our cybersecurity consulting experts have vast experience in improving security for businesses. Contact us today to learn more!
Technology has changed and advanced the way businesses operate. We can communicate with clients across the globe, utilize remote access technology, accept payments, and collaborate with clients and partners across the globe. Businesses of all sizes have a sizeable technology integration that offers many benefits, but used incorrectly can leave your network open and accessible to predators.
Cybercriminals and cyberattacks are growing in frequency across SMBs and large organizations. When technology opened and connected the world, it also created opportunities for cybercriminals. Hacking techniques such as malware, cyber theft, and dark web data sales are amongst the bread and butter of cybercriminals. Often times, the small to medium-sized business market is an easy target as SMBs may lack adequate cybersecurity systems and processes in place.
If you think your business is too small to be at risk of a cyberattack, think again.
Xfer Communications Offers Superior Cybersecurity Consulting
For the last 10 years, Xfer Communications has been fighting cybercriminals by providing sophisticated cybersecurity solutions to protect your data, your employee data, and you client data too. Xfer Communications is a local preferred cybersecurity company, trusted by businesses of many sizes and verticals. Our team has training and certifications from the world's leading IT security providers such as Cisco, Microsoft, Sophos, and more.
Data Security
XFER Communications professionals will work with your business to implement proper monitoring, management, and reporting measures to appropriate parties.
Internal Security
Your internal network security includes anti-virus, malware, spyware, and spam software solutions, plus many other defensive measures and recovery methods.
Risk Management
The identification, evaluation, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and efficient application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the chance or impact of adverse events.
Third-Party Assessment
Performing a proper third party risk assessment allows business owners to understand the level of risk in each vendor relationship, and make informed decisions to mitigate and manage those risks.
Identity & Access Management
Defining and managing the roles and access privileges of individual network users and the circumstances in which users are granted or denied of those privileges.
Cyber Security Awareness
We believe that an effective cybersecurity measure begins with awareness. You and your employees should be up to date and informed about how cyberattacks are performed and how to respond to them.
Trust your cybersecurity support services to the experts.
We've been helping SMBs and corporations across a variety of verticals strengthen and increase their cybersecurity practices. Our team can perform an initial cybersecurity assessment to discover your current strengths and weaknesses and create a strategic plan to build up your security posture.


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Science & Engineering | News
Three multi-institutional projects are advancing their efforts to develop the architectures that may underlie the Internet of the future.
Through a $15 million from the National Science Foundation, the projects will move their development work into the limited test phase. The projects had been awarded three-year, $8 million grants back in 2010 to begin work on building a "more trustworthy and robust Internet." With the new funding, the work done to date will be tested in real-world settings, which follow on some limited pilot tests.
The awards are being made under the Future Internet Architectures–Next Phase (FIA-NP) program.
"These deployments will leverage, and enable us to deepen, our work on secure network operations, including providing a highly available infrastructure and secure authentication mechanisms," said Peter Steenkiste, professor of computer science and electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and principle investigator for one of the projects awarded an NSF grant, called Deployment-Driven Evaluation and Evolution of the eXpressive Internet Architecture (XIA). "They will enable us to build and test a robust XIA network, and establish best practices for using our architecture, including support for mobility and enhanced cybersecurity."
The aim of XIA is to address "the growing diversity of network use models, the need for trustworthy communication, and the growing set of stakeholders who coordinate their activities to provide Internet services. XIA addresses these needs by exploring the technical challenges in creating a single network that offers inherent support for communication between current communicating principals — including hosts, content, and services — while accommodating unknown future entities."
In its new phase, XIA will be tested "a vehicular network deployment in the city of Pittsburgh and a large-scale video delivery environment," according to NSF.
Partners with CMU on the XIA project include Boston University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Duke University.
The second project, Named Data Networking Next Phase, is being led by the University of California, Los Angeles. Its aim is to shift "the communication paradigm from today's focus on 'where,' i.e., addresses, servers and hosts, to 'what,' i.e., the content that users and applications care about."
"The success of a new architecture requires broad community involvement and widespread experimentation across the world," said Lixia Zhang, lead researcher for the NDN project and professor of computer science at UCLA, in a prepared statement. "NDN has built significant momentum through a commitment to a similarly open approach that has spurred substantial interests from both academia and industry. We are in the planning stage of establishing an industry consortium grounded in an open innovation model that aims to limit proprietary intellectual property claims on core elements of the architecture," Zhang said.
For its next phase, the NDN project will be tested in partnership with UCLA Facilities Management and Open mHealth.
Partner institutions in the NDN project include University of Arizona; University of California, San Diego; Colorado State University; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; University of Memphis; University of Michigan; and Washington University.
The final project funded under FIA-NP is being led by Rutgers University. Called "Next-Phase MobilityFirst Project - From Architecture and Protocol Design to Advanced Services and Trial Deployments" (or just "MobilityFirst"), the project is geared toward creating an architecture for the Internet that centers on mobility "as the norm, rather than the exception."
"The Internet is at a historic inflection point, with mobile platforms and applications fast replacing the fixed-host/server model which dominated the Internet since its inception," said Dipankar Raychaudhuri, distinguished professor and director of WINLAB at Rutgers University and principal investigator for the MobilityFirst project, in a prepared statement. "This fundamental shift presents a unique opportunity to develop an efficient, robust and secure next-generation Internet architecture in which wireless devices and mobile applications are primary drivers of a new design."
According to NSF, "MobilityFirst will be tested in three distinct network trial environments: a mobile data services trial with a wireless internet service provider (5Nines) in Madison, WI; a content production and delivery network trial involving WHYY and other public broadcasting stations in Pennsylvania; and a context-aware public service weather emergency notification system with end-users in the Dallas/Fort Worth area."
Partner institutions in the MobilityFirst project include Duke University; University of Massachusetts-Amherst; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; University of Michigan; University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and University of Wisconsin-Madison.
"Our goal with FIA-NP is to support research that builds upon the tremendous success of the FIA projects to date," said Keith Marzullo, director for the Computer and Network Systems Division at NSF, in a prepared statement. "Specifically, we are seeking to take the existing FIA designs from early prototypes to more sophisticated architectures that are tested and evaluated via advanced prototypes in one or more relevant environments. These projects are just the beginning of what it would take to create a full scale Future Internet, but the ultimate goal is the design and deployment of a network that serves all the needs of society."
Additional details about the program can be found on the NSF Future Internet Architecture Project site.
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Welcome to Los Rios River Runners
Whitewater Rafting in Taos, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque for over 40 Years
Trust yourself and your family to New Mexico's First, Best, and Most Experienced Rafting Company.
No rafting company in New Mexico has more experience whitewater rafting in the Santa Fe and Taos area than Los Rios River Runners. Our guides are fun-loving individuals, highly-trained far beyond federal requirements, and dedicated to providing you with the best possible rafting tour experience. Many of our guests have become friends over the years and return to raft with us every season.
Los Rios River Runners was founded by legendary Rio Grande guide and storyteller Cisco Guevara in 1978, to enable local residents and visitors to Santa Fe and Taos to experience the beauty and majesty of the river canyons of northern New Mexico. Cisco continues as president of Los Rios, in day-to-day charge of all rafting tour operations.
Over the past four decades, Los Rios River Runners has led the field in developing river rafting in northern New Mexico. Rafting access to these spectacular river canyons is severely limited by the Bureau of Land Management in order to preserve the wilderness, and Los Rios has more access to more stretches of river than any other company.


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Ja Rule
Name at birth: Jeffrey Atkins
Ja Rule's 1999 solo debut album, Venni, Vetti, Vecci, launched the hit single "Holla Holla" and made the 23-year-old a hot new icon of "thug rap" style. Born Jeffrey Atkins, he grew up in the tough, drug-riddled Hollis neighborhood of Queens, dropped out of high school and began building a music career under the nom de rhyme Ja Rule. His second album, Rule 3:36 (2000), included the hit duets "Between Me and You" (with Christina Milian) and "I Cry" (with Lil' Mo); Pain Is Love (2001) included the hit "Always on Time," a duet with his protege Ashanti. As Ja Rule racked up hit after hit, he became the poster artist for Murder, Inc., the music label overseen by controversial producer Irv Gotti. (Murder, Inc., a sub-label of DefJam Records, was later renamed as simply "The Inc.") Ja Rule also stayed in the news thanks to his violent verbal feuds with rappers DMX and 50 Cent, and in 2007 he was brought up on gun charges after partying with Lil Wayne (Ja Rule reached a plea agreement in late 2010 and was sentenced to about 16 months in jail). Ja Rule's other albums include Pain is Love (2003), Blood in My Eye (2004, with the hit "Clap Back") and R.U.L.E. (2004). Onscreen he has appeared with Vin Diesel in the summer hotrod flick The Fast and the Furious (2001) and with action star Steven Seagal in Half Past Dead (2002).
According to a 2003 article in New York magazine, Ja Rule "was raised a Jehovah's Witness and spent much of his young adulthood performing 'field service' (door-to-door proselytizing) for the faith."
Copyright © 1998-2017 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved.


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Cleaning Up
Directed by Clement Virgo
Story by David Simon & Ed Burns
Teleplay by George P. Pelecanos
"This is me, yo, right here." - Wallace
Greggs' condition has stabilized but McNulty is distraught and determined to feel guilty about her being shot. Drinking heavily, he's been unable to bring himself to visit her in the hospital or even call. "Avon Barksdale," he tells Daniels, "was just a way for me to show everyone how smart I was and how fucked up the department is. It was never about Avon Barksdale; it was just about me." Daniels calls him on his self-pity and says the case will move forward with or without McNulty.
Stringer arrives at the Pit and collects beepers from everyone in the operation. He gives cell phones to 'DAngelo and Bodie and orders everyone else "off the air." And when they do use a cell phone, he instructs, use it just to set up a meeting and then talk face to face.
Freamon has convinced Shardene to wear a wire to work, in the hopes that he'll pick up incriminating conversations. When she does, it's clear she's risking a lot with little hope of overhearing anything important. She's frightened, too, and begs Freamon to let her off the hook, but he needs one more thing. He wants to insert a fiber-optic camera and mike in the wall of Avon's and Stringer's office and needs inside information on its precise location. Shardene agrees to help once more.
Avon's attorney Levy helps Stringer and Avon focus on their vulnerabilities. Together they enumerate their weak points and come up with what is essentially a hit list, which includes the security guard who lied to save 'DAngelo as well as Little Man, who killed Orlando, and Wallace, who can connect them to the death of Brandon.
Burrell tells Daniels the investigation is finished now that the wiretaps are useless, and he holds out the possibility of a promotion for Daniels. Daniels nevertheless resists, pointing out that the court order is for 90 days of wiretaps, and that it hasn't yet expired.
Pearlman is taken aback when her boss inquires as to why Daniels' team is pulling campaign-finance reports on local politicians, and volunteers that he's checked his own contributors' list and is returning money to people he doesn't know. "I want you to take it back to whoever's on the hunt and make it clear they have no quarrel with me," he tells her.
When Avon and Stringer express interest in Wallace's whereabouts, 'DAngelo reassures them that Wallace is out of the game and in fact has moved away. When they persist, he tells them, "Let the boy be." Wallace, however, is bored in the country and returns to the projects to ask for his job back. Bodie and Poot are dispatched to kill him and they do.
Burrell summons Daniels to his office to meet Sen. Clay Davis, whose driver had been picked up with $20,000 in cash from the projects. "That was a mis-understanding of no concern of the police," Davis assures Daniels. Daniels leaves after persisting in his interest in the twenty grand, and Davis is furious: "You need to put his ass on a foot post so far out in the sticks he's gonna see the Philadelphia cops working towards you," he tells Burrell.
With a wire installed in Avon's office, the squad can see Stringer and Avon packing things up to move. They also see Avon asking 'DAngelo to make a New York City run that evening to pick up drugs. Reluctantly, 'DAngelo agrees, and before he leaves, the squad attaches a tailing device to his car. He's stopped and arrested after he makes the pickup, and is defiant when Daniels and McNulty try to flip him by showing him pictures of Wallace and the security guard Avon had murdered. "That's how you take care of your own?" McNulty asks him. But when Stringer and Levy come to visit him in jail, he is defiant with them, too. "Where's Wallace, String?" he asks over and over. As they leave, 'DAngelo yells that he'll get his own lawyer.
'DAngelo's mother visits her brother, Avon, angry that he's put her son at risk. When Avon says he's sorry, she says, "Sorry ain't gonna get him out of jail." Avon reminds her that he's provided her with a car and an apartment. "We all got a lot to protect here," he says. "You need to remind him of that."
Daniels is again on the carpet in the office of Burrell, who once more demands that the investigation end and Barksdale be arrested. Daniels protests that with the slender evidence he has, he can only put Barksdale in jail for a short time, and reminds Burrell that "these are the people responsible for dropping a police." Burrell threatens Daniels that if he doesn't end the case, Burrell will release a compromising FBI report that could end Daniels' career. "You'd rather live in shit than let the world see you work a shovel," Daniels says. "You can order warrants and I'll serve 'em, but as long as I have days left on those dead wires, this case goes on."
Outside Orlando's, a S.W.A.T. team readies itself for action, but when Daniels and McNulty arrive, they simply knock on the club door and enter when it's opened. There is no drama, Daniels cuffs Avon and, leaving Stringer to ponder the future, marches Avon out.
In the Detail Room, Sydnor says to Freamon, "Best work I ever did. Just feel like this ain't finished." At the Pit, the courtyard is empty. For the first time in a long time, no drugs are for sale.


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Editor's note: Jack M. Balkin is Knight Professor of Constitutional Law at Yale Law School. His latest book is "Constitutional Redemption: Political Faith in an Unjust World" (Harvard University Press 2011).
New Haven, Connecticut (CNN) -- Very soon, Congress will raise the debt ceiling. If it does not, it would be the greatest unforced error in American history, a self-inflicted wound that is as disastrous as it was avoidable.
Suppose, however, that the tea party gets its way, and the debt ceiling is not increased. What are President Barack Obama's options?
We are having a debt-ceiling crisis because Congress has given the president contradictory commands; it has ordered the president to spend money, and it has forbidden him to borrow enough money to obey its orders.
Are there other ways for the president to raise money besides borrowing?
Sovereign governments such as the United States can print new money. However, there's a statutory limit to the amount of paper currency that can be in circulation at any one time.
Ironically, there's no similar limit on the amount of coinage. A little-known statute gives the secretary of the Treasury the authority to issue platinum coins in any denomination. So some commentators have suggested that the Treasury create two $1 trillion coins, deposit them in its account in the Federal Reserve and write checks on the proceeds.
Opinion: Both parties are wrong on debt talks
The government can also raise money through sales: For example, it could sell the Federal Reserve an option to purchase government property for $2 trillion. The Fed would then credit the proceeds to the government's checking account. Once Congress lifts the debt ceiling, the president could buy back the option for a dollar, or the option could simply expire in 90 days. And there are probably other ways that the Fed could achieve a similar result, by analogy to its actions during the 2008 financial crisis, when it made huge loans and purchases to bail out the financial sector.
The "jumbo coin" and "exploding option" strategies work because modern central banks don't have to print bills or float debt to create new money; they just add money to their customers' checking accounts.
The government has not discussed either option publicly. There are three reasons for this. First, there may be other legal obstacles to using these options that we don't know about. Second, because these devices could be used over and over again, they might scare investors and be politically unacceptable. Third, the president's political strategy has been to obtain a congressional deal lowering the deficit, and these solutions would take all the pressure off Congress.
However, that calculation could change if the president believes that Congress is simply unable to pass anything, a conclusion he has not yet reached.
Assume that the platinum coin and exploding option strategies are not available. What else can the president do?
Like Congress, the president is bound by Section 4 of the 14th Amendment, which states that "(t)he validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law . . . shall not be questioned." Section 4 was passed after the Civil War because the framers worried that former Southern rebels returning to Congress would hold the federal debt hostage to extract political concessions on Reconstruction. Section 5 gives Congress the power to enforce the 14th Amendment's provisions. This does not mean, however, that these provisions do not apply to the president; otherwise, he could violate the 14th Amendment at will.
Section 4 requires the president not to put the validity of the public debt into question. If the debt ceiling is not raised in time, there will not be enough incoming revenues to pay for all of the government's bills as they come due. Therefore he has a constitutional obligation to prioritize incoming revenues to pay the public debt: interest on government bonds and any other "vested" obligations.
What falls into the latter category is not entirely clear, but a large number of other government obligations -- and certainly payments for future services -- would not count and would have to be sacrificed. This might include, for example, Social Security payments.
To be sure, the president could keep paying Social Security if he could keep the total amount of debt constant by redeeming bonds in the Social Security trust fund for cash and immediately selling new bonds to replace them. But the money coming in may not be able to keep pace with the money going out. Even if he tries his best, the president may not be able to pay every Social Security check in full on time.
If the president stopped paying parts of Social Security or other government programs that the public relies on, we would have a partial government shutdown. This would quickly put enormous pressure on Congress to raise the debt ceiling to make it possible to resume normal government operations.
Thus, even if Social Security and other social safety net programs are not part of "the public debt," under Section 4, failure to pay them promptly and in full will probably lead to a political solution to the debt crisis within a week or so. The closest precedent is the 1995 government shutdown precipitated by the Republican-controlled Congress' battle with President Bill Clinton.
Assume, however, that even a prolonged government shutdown does not move Congress to act. Eventually paying only interest and vested obligations will prove unsustainable -- first because tax revenues will decrease as the economy sours, and second, because holders of government debt will conclude that a government that cannot act in a crisis is not trustworthy.
If the president reasonably believes that the public debt will be put in question for either reason, Section 4 comes into play once again. His predicament is caused by the combination of statutes that authorize and limit what he can do: He must pay appropriated monies, but he may not print new currency and he may not float new debt. If this combination of contradictory commands would cause him to violate Section 4, then he has a constitutional duty to treat at least one of the laws as unconstitutional as applied to the current circumstances.
This would be like a statute that ordered the president to hire 50 new employees provided that none of them is a woman. The second requirement violates the Constitution, so the president can hire the 50 employees and ignore the discriminatory provision.
Here the president would argue that existing appropriations plus the debt ceiling create an unconstitutional combination of commands. Therefore he chooses to obey the appropriations bill -- which was passed later in time anyway -- and ignores the debt ceiling. He orders the secretary of the Treasury to issue new debt sufficient to pay the government's bills as they come due.
The big test would be whether the markets treat these new bonds just like older bonds. If they do, or if they demand only a slightly higher interest rate, the president will have avoided economic Armageddon and saved the country's economy -- and the world's. The president and Congress can then move on to the real issue: fighting about future appropriations and revenues.
At this point, the president should ask Congress to ratify his actions by raising the debt ceiling. If they do not, he can continue the process until they do. His actions might set a precedent: Knowing that the president will invoke Section 4, congressional threats of using the debt ceiling to extract political concessions will become a defunct strategy in the future.
In fact, this was one reason why Section 4 was put into the Constitution in the first place.
An angry Congress may respond by impeaching the president. However, if the president's actions end the government shutdown, stabilize the markets and prevent an economic catastrophe, this reduces the chances that he will be impeached by the House. (After all, he saved the country.) Perhaps more important, the chances that he will be convicted by a two-thirds vote of the Senate, which has a Democratic majority, are virtually zero.
The public may regard an impeachment trial as a waste of time, since the ultimate result is clear. In addition, the president will point to the shutdown and the impeachment when he runs against his political opponents in the 2012 election, arguing that they did nothing to save the country from calamity while he has risked impeachment to protect the republic.
The final possibility is that members of Congress will sue the president for ignoring the debt ceiling. Under existing Supreme Court precedents, groups of individual congressmen would not probably have standing to sue. It is possible that a contrived suit could be created by bond holders, but courts will probably see through it. Moreover, even if the bond holders have standing, the courts will likely treat the constitutional issues as nonjusticiable under the "political question" doctrine, as they do in the case of war powers.
In fact, the struggle between the president and Congress is similar to recent disputes over the president's power to use military force to protect national interests or in emergency situations. If the courts won't intervene in the Libya affair, they probably won't intervene here.
It is still unlikely that things will get this far. Our Constitution, however, was designed to deal with extreme situations when ordinary politics fails. Let us hope that our institutions do not fail us now.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jack M. Balkin.


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Cross-posted at Caroline Heldman's Blog.
On Monday, Mother Jones released a video recorded in May of presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaking at a $50,000-a-plate fundraiser in the Boca Raton home of "private equity party boy" and "sexy party" host, Marc Leder. A hidden camera caught controversial remarks about Israel, Iran, and a joke about being more electable if his parents had been born in Mexico, but the topic of this post is Romney's use of the 47% Meme.
The 47% Meme is the idea that half of Americans take from rather than contribute to tax coffers. It sometimes surfaces in the form of the "takers vs. makers" frame. I have encountered this "argument" for years on Fox News, so it is surprising to see it gaining national attention now. Romney did a superb job articulating the 47% Meme in response to a question of how he might win in November:
There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them.
Many myths start with a kernel of truth. The 47% Meme is loosely based on the statistic that 47% of Americans pay no income tax (down to 46% in 2011). This meme is wildly dishonest since people pay a host of other federal, state, and local taxes. It's about as honest as saying a person doesn't eat vegetables because she only eats carrots, celery, bell peppers, cucumbers, and cabbage, but not broccoli.
So who is paying taxes, and what taxes are they paying?
Federal Income Tax
The Tax Policy Center finds that two main groups comprise the 46% who do not pay federal income tax: (1) The poor whose subsistence-level income is not taxable, and (2) those who receive tax expenditures. This chart shows that the lion's share of tax expenditures goes to senior citizens, children, and the working poor, with the notable exception of 7,000 millionaires who paid no income tax in 2011.
Other Federal Taxes
But enough about income tax since this narrow focus only serves to further the misleading 47% Meme. The chart below shows a more accurate picture of who pays federal taxes. If we don't count retirees, only 8% of Americans pay no income or payroll taxes.
Americans also pay federal excise tax on gas, liquor, cigarettes, airline tickets, and a long list of other products, so virtually every American pays federal taxes in some form. And contrary to the 47% Meme, poor and middle-class Americans actually pay a greater percentage of their income in federal payroll and excise taxes than wealthier Americans.
State and Local Taxes
When it comes to state and local taxes, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy finds that the poor pay more in state and local taxes in every state except Vermont. As the chart below indicates, state and local taxes are regressive, meaning that those who can least afford to pay, pay more.
Romney has apologized for the inelegance of his statements, but stands by their substance, despite ample data debunking the dependency (above) and entitlement bases for the 47% Meme. I don't believe that Romney believes that half of the people in the U.S. are pathetically entitled "victims." He is a smart person, and this is a ludicrous line of reasoning. But what does it say about our bitterly partisan nation that heaping unmitigated scorn on the poor brings in big bucks from the base?


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This Driftwood Tan 12" x 12" Shoemaker 1550 Series Vent Cover is designed to fit and cover a 12" wide by 12" high opening. Shoemaker has a complete line of products designed for homes, offices, stores, and many other commercial applications. The quality and simplicity of this floor register are only two of the many reasons why Shoemaker Manufacturing leads the field in innovative air-grille design for real world applications. The Shoemaker 1550 Series Floor Register is designed with a honeycomb construction that has an anti-shock property, giving it optimum weight-to-load bearing capacity and bending strength that helps support foot traffic. This register has fixed bars at 0° deflection. The blades on this floor register run parallel to the longest dimension. The core and the frame are on the same level to provide a smooth appearance. The Shoemaker 1550 Series Floor register comes with a recessed screwdriver-operated opposed blade damper. It is used to regulate the airflow through linked sections of adjacent blades that rotate in the opposite direction. Compared to other damper types, an opposed blade damper maintains a more even airflow. It also provides better control over the airflow in all operating positions. A recessed screwdriver-operated damper prevents any unnecessary adjustments of the damper setting. The standard color of this grille is driftwood tan, but it is also available in soft white and designer colors. Unlike other products, Shoemaker grilles have a baked-on textured polyester powder coat that can resist scratches and does not wear or fade out easily. The Shoemaker Manufacturing Company leads the field in innovative air-grille design and it guarantees that its products are free from defective materials. Be sure to measure the hole opening size instead of measuring the face plate of your old grille. This grille is designed to fit over a 12" x 12" existing hole or duct. Refer to the Specification Sheet for more information.
Product: | Vents and Terminations |
Air Grille and Registers | |
Manufacturer: | Shoemaker |
Use: | Heating and A/C |
Ducting and Venting | |
Mpn # | 1550-12X12 |
Weight | 5.76 lbs. |


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Ex-Chelsea Housing Director Pleads Guilty To Salary Charges
The former executive director of the Chelsea Housing Authority pleaded guilty Tuesday to four federal counts of deliberately hiding his bloated salary from regulators, a case that sparked a call for statewide reform of Massachusetts housing authorities.
Michael McLaughlin, 67, of Dracut, was charged last month with knowingly concealing his salary in annual housing authority budgets from 2008 to 2011 and submitting the false figures to state and federal regulators.
McLaughlin resigned from his job in 2011 under pressure from Gov. Deval Patrick after The Boston Globe reported that his annual salary had topped $300,000.
During a plea hearing in federal court Tuesday, McLaughlin admitted he had falsely reported his annual salary as $160,415 in 2011, when his actual salary was at least $283,471 and his total compensation was at least $324,896. He also admitted under-reporting his salary in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock scheduled sentencing for May 14.
Under a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, McLaughlin has agreed to cooperate with investigators. The agreement does not name any other potential targets of the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore Merritt said McLaughlin falsely stated his salaries in annual budgets that were approved by the housing authority's board of commissioners with "very little, if any, review." Those budgets were submitted to the state Department of Housing and Community Development and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Merritt said McLaughlin was hired in 2000 with a starting salary of $77,500. By the time he resigned in 2011, his salary was $360,000, a figure Merritt called "exorbitant" when compared with the salaries of other public housing authority directors. McLaughlin was the fifth-highest paid housing director in the country, even though he supervised just 900 housing units, Merritt said.
In response to questions from Woodlock, Merritt said McLaughlin's motive appeared to be to conceal his high salary from state and federal regulators so they would not investigate and take steps to stop him from receiving that amount. There was no salary cap by HUD, Merritt said.
"They would have done whatever they could to rein it in," Merritt said.
McLaughlin did not speak during the hearing, except to answer a series of questions from the judge about his background and whether he understood his legal rights. Both he and his attorney declined to comment as they left the courthouse.
Gov. Deval Patrick has proposed streamlining the state's public housing system by eliminating its 240 local public housing authorities and replacing them with six regional agencies aimed at saving taxpayer money and eliminating corruption. The state has a total of 83,000 public housing units for low-income families and elderly residents.
Under Patrick's legislation, filed last month, local communities would retain control over land use and redevelopment decisions, said Lizbeth Heyer, the state's associate director for public housing.
"The reforms seek to reorganize the resources inside the system - the financial resources, the staff and the operating systems, accounting systems, maintenance systems - to more efficiently deliver services to tenants in every single community," Heyer said.
Patrick's proposal, which must be approved by the state Legislature, has been criticized by some local housing officials and lawmakers.
Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray has said he is cooperating with an investigation into possible campaign finance violations by himself and his political committee by accepting donations raised by McLaughlin. State campaign finance laws ban public employees such has McLaughlin from soliciting or receiving campaign donations.
Murray has acknowledged that McLaughlin was a political supporter, but that he never asked McLaughlin to raise campaign money for him. He has also said he was unaware of McLaughlin's inflated salary.
This article was originally published on February 19, 2013.
This program aired on February 19, 2013. The audio for this program is not available.


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McDonald's high-profile advertising sign in Piccadilly Circus has been overhauled to become a "gigantic interactive visitors' book."
Leo Burnett, the fast-food company's creative agency, has created a fictional world called "Little Piccadilly".
As people pass the McDonald's screen, they will be invited to create their own animated character on the website LittlePicca.com and send it to the screen through their smartphone. The character will then appear on the screen in "Little Piccadilly" shortly afterwards.
The characters will be rotated on the sign, meaning each character effectively becomes a permanent resident on the sign. The sign will work 24/7, 365 days a year and the background will change to reflect the real-time weather and season conditions, such as rain, sun, night.
The agency claims this will make it the world's first digital advertising screen to be fully interactive. The new creative was unveiled on March 24. For the past week, the sign was hidden from view by a digital curtain while the team tested the technology.
The creative was devised by Leo Burnett's Pansy Aung and Anna Sweet, developed by Amanda Julius and Elisa Frediani, with creative direction from Charlie Martin and Ben Lunt, and art direction from Russell Brown. The illustrator Stanley Chow designed the characters and Pirata London and Holler handled the front-end development, with the back-end development by DEP.
McDonald's says this new sign reflects the "democratic values" of its brand, by allowing everyone to make their mark on one of the world's most visited places.
There are more than 300 million possible combinations of illustrated artwork and animations, so the same thing will never be shown twice. Little Piccadilly is a long-term initiative and the agency plans to add new functionality over time, such as messaging and real-time games.
Nathalie Pomroy, the director of marketing at McDonald's, said: "Little Piccadilly is the next step in McDonald's digital journey, allowing people to interact with this iconic landmark in a unique and exciting way. We hope that passers-by will enjoy the fun interactive elements of this, creating their very own Little Piccadilly resident for all to see. We have embraced recent innovations in the digital media field, and as new trends develop and as the interactive media industry reaches maturity, we will continue to look for innovative ways to communicate with our customers."


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Despite wave after wave of startups vowing to kill email, electronic mail has never been stronger. It seems the best way to live with emails is to let AI steal the job of writing them.
EasyEmail, emerging from Y Combinator's latest batch, is aiming to get inside your inbox and help you navigate future messages using the past as a guide with an autocomplete-like feature.
After downloading the Chrome plugin, the service spends 10-20 minutes pouring through your sent messages and building up a good idea of how you write emails. From there, the service lounges in your "compose message" window bringing the insights of autocomplete to the body of your message. The interface can get a little crowded and the utility takes some effort curating responses early on which you can actively delete from future suggestions.
Compared to the predictive text features on your phone which may complete a word or two, EasyEmail is ambitiously trying to complete your sentences based on how you usually complete your sentences in emails.
Your mileage with the plugin will depend strongly on what you use it for. In its earliest iteration the app seems most useful to those trapped in sending a lot of monotonous messages. If you're working in something like sales or PR where you're making the same pitch over and over again and dealing with a lot of the same questions, I can imagine the time saved is a lot more palpable. For me, the plugin was surfacing a lot of nonsense for the sake of quantity over quality, clearly communicating that there's still a long way to go in improving the plugin's smarts.
What may be more useful to a broader base of users is how the plugin lets users define hotkeys and bring up oft copy-pasted bio info or links into the body of their emails without the pain of searching for the info over and over again.
Co-founder Filip Twarowski tells TechCrunch that the next step here is finding how you respond to certain people and catering responses so that suggestions are more casual with acquaintances and more formal with people that might be managers or work associates.
EasyEmail has a great deal of promise as a tool and is clearly tackling some big challenges. Depending on how you use it, the plugin is a lightweight add-on that could save you a load of time navigating the minutiae of sending tons of emails.


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Once upon a time, while working for an auto maker's captive finance company, an accident left my right hand in a cast. I couldn't write or sign my name.
As a branch-office supervisor, I was responsible for completing a checklist on repossessed accounts to ensure all the required steps, from repossession to disposal, had been completed.
I was supposed to initial a box by each completed task. But because I couldn't write, I assumed my boss would understand if I marked a simple check in each box. I didn't know my boss very well.
"Shortcuts are not acceptable!" he bellowed.
Some of the shortcuts I witness in dealerships create compliance concerns. Here are some of them.
Product pricing. In a perfect world, the customer signs various documents disclosing the acceptance and pricing of finance and insurance products: the menu, buyer's order, contract and registration form.
Sometimes the product price does not print on the registration form. Instead it is either left blank or prints as N/A. Other times, the dealer-management system picks up the wrong price, perhaps printing the price of the vehicle service contract on a maintenance-agreement form.
If that happens, the form in the file either shows a free price (blank or N/A), wrong price or correct price that has been handwritten in. Often, when the price belatedly is corrected, the customer has not initialed the change.
This begs the question: Exactly what does the customer's copy show? Let's hope it is consistent with the dealer's copy. Otherwise, there could be some "'splainin'" to do if the customer ever decides to file a complaint or suit, and the file is requested in discovery.
Not having the DMS properly programmed to accurately load a deal is risking the validity of the transaction.
Used-car buyer's guide disclosure. The Federal Trade Commission's used-car rule is very specific about the language that must be used to properly disclose any remaining warranty.
Most dealers have a solid process to properly make this disclosure. For example, the used-car rule says shorthand terms such as "factory warranty remaining" are insufficient disclosures. The vendors who manage the buyer's guide process for dealers generally have the correct, safe-harbor language.
The process falls apart when a used vehicle is sold before the vendor has had an opportunity to put a correct buyer's guide on the vehicle. Or it breaks down when the salesperson gets lazy and handwrites a buyer's guide instead of taking the actual guide off of the vehicle.
Thinking you are saving time by taking a shortcut leads to non-compliance of federal law.
Signing customer's name. People get busy. Salespeople can fail to get the customer's signature on the privacy notice. F&I managers can forget to have the customer sign the gap-insurance enrollment form.
Almost every dealership employee understands that forging the customer's signature on a form is a crime. Others rationalize that the customer did agree or knew that they agreed to the privacy policy or signed a menu and contract agreeing to purchase gap, so it is OK to sign the customer's name.
Still, you are forging a signature.
Not reading buyer's order/RISC.During your next management meeting, ask how many of your managers have read and understand each section of the buyer's order, the retail installment sales contract and the lease agreement. After all, they are likely signing these documents on behalf of the dealership.
Isn't it reasonable to expect them to know what they ask customers to agree to?
Sometimes a shortcut is just being lazy instead of understanding the basics of your job. Don't let shortcuts short-circuit your work.
Gil Van Over is the President of gvo3 & Associates, a nationally recognized compliance consulting firm that specializes in F&I, Sales, Safeguards and Red Flags compliance. Gvo3's website is www.gvo3.com.


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Scott Pelley asked that his name not be put in the title of the CBS Evening News.
"I lost that fight," he says.
He's also asked management not to launch a publicity campaign when he makes his debut as the network's new anchor on June 6. And why is that?
"Because it's not about me…The anchor is the least important part of it, if you ask me."
Wait, there's more: "I sometimes think the cult of personality surrounding anchor people at all the networks goes too far."
You may be getting the impression by now that Scott Pelley is no Katie Couric. He is a dogged correspondent with a serious demeanor, as self-effacing a person as you might find at the network level. "TV anchors get far too much credit for the work of others," he says.
The 53-year-old San Antonio native is the first to admit he's not flashy. "I'm not much for being a personality…If you need flashy, you've got to go elsewhere," he says. "I am going to speak to the audience as one of them. I hope people watch me on the broadcast and see themselves. Someone who cares deeply about the country."
Pelley quickly emerged as a frontrunner when one of his biggest fans, 60 Minutes executive producer Jeff Fager, was elevated to chairman of the news division in February. Pelley, he says, embodies the "ensemble" approach of the Sunday newsmagazine.
"I want it to be a reporter who has credibility," Fager tells me. "The story is the star. The viewer first and foremost is looking for credibility. This guy's covered more stories than just about anybody who ever took the job. That's why he's so the right pick."
If Pelley lacks a certain degree of showmanship, that may be because he's never been an anchor before, at any level. But he has decades of reporting experience, topped by his seven-year stint at 60 Minutes, where Pelley and his team have won 14 Emmys and five Edward R. Murrow Awards, among other prizes.
Pelley's goal is to showcase the correspondents. "There are people around the world who risk their lives for the broadcast every day," he says.
A White House correspondent during the Clinton years, he reported from Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf War, from Lower Manhattan on 9/11, and repeatedly from Afghanistan and Iraq. Pelley also has covered the tsunami in Japan, the shootings in Tucson, and the BP oil spill.
As a CBS correspondent for 22 years, Pelley doesn't face the same adjustment as Couric, who came from the NBC culture when she joined the network in 2006. He's not accustomed to the freewheeling atmosphere of a morning show, as Couric was at Today. Nor does he enjoy her global celebrity, although that didn't help her lift the newscast out of third place. He is the solid, steady, and safe choice for a network that took a bold and costly gamble the last time around.
Pelley is a protégé of fellow Texan Dan Rather, without the folksy sayings. Rather sent him a handwritten note within an hour of Tuesday's announcement. He will be the least well known of the network anchors, with first-place Brian Williams benefitting from his comedy sideline ( New York magazine recently swooned over his late-night appearances) and second-place Diane Sawyer having achieved superstar status well before she left Good Morning America for the anchor chair.
Couric, who is exploring a syndicated talk show with both CBS and ABC that would also include a news role, praised her successor in a statement: "Scott is a great reporter and a real gentleman, who cares deeply about the news. I know he'll put his own unique imprimatur on the broadcast and will do a great job carrying on the rich tradition of the CBS Evening News." Pelley says he hasn't talked to Couric but that she has been "so sweet and welcoming" when he has auctioned off tours of CBS at charity fundraisers.
Pelley says he wants to bring the network's "DNA" to the newscast, stressing "original reporting, unique insight, and fairness." He says he obviously won't have time for the kind of storytelling pioneered by 60 Minutes but wants viewers to feel they have learned something each night.
His main job, says Pelley, will be as managing editor, leading the way on story selection, editing, and rewriting. His goal is to showcase the correspondents. "There are people around the world who risk their lives for the broadcast every day," Pelley says.
He plans to do plenty of field reporting. As if to underscore the point, he is just back from Iraq and was coughing from what he called "Baghdad crud."
Pelley's first job was at 15—he lied about his age—when the Lubbock Avalanche Journal hired him as a copy boy. "I was smitten with this business," Pelley says. He wrote a fan letter at 16 to the late 60 Minutes producer Don Hewitt. Being the CBS anchor, he says, "is not anything I ever thought was possible."
Fager's "news is the star" approach runs counter to today's celebrified age, when television journalists routinely promote themselves by blogging, tweeting, and working the circuit (which is why Williams pops up on 30 Rock). And changes in viewing habits can be glacial: NBC Nightly News has been No. 1 since Williams succeeded Tom Brokaw in 2004, although ABC's World News was more competitive last week, drawing 8.3 million viewers to NBC's 8.9 million (CBS clocked in at 5.7 million). Pelley's old-school approach may produce good journalism without lifting his network out of the ratings basement. And no one at CBS wants to raise expectations, especially after the first-woman hullabaloo that surrounded Couric's launch.
"I'm not worried, I'm excited," Fager says of Pelley's ascension. "Does that take us out of third place right away? I don't think so. But we're going to be proud of it."
Howard Kurtz is The Daily Beast and Newsweek's Washington bureau chief, and writes the Spin Cycle blog. He also hosts CNN's weekly media program Reliable Sources on Sundays at 11 a.m. ET. The longtime media reporter and columnist for The Washington Post, Kurtz is the author of five books.


text: CNN originally published this travel tribute to the brokenhearted this past Valentine's Day. But with tonight's U.S. TV "The Bachelorette" season finale featuring bachelorette Desiree Harstock trying to rebound from last week's devastating dumping at the hands of contestant Brooks Forester – and at least one of the remaining contestants certain to get the worst news of his life – we feel compelled to help out with the damage control by republishing this breakup travel advice. — Breaking up in a foreign land isn't as bad as you might imagine. For one thing, you're saved the torment of going into emo meltdown in front of familiar faces. Even better, if you or your soon-to-be ex choose your locale wisely, breaking up can actually be rather pleasant. These destinations can ease the pain of saying, or hearing, those fateful words. 1. Museum of Broken Relationships, Zagreb, Croatia It's comforting to know you're not the only one in a bad relationship. The Museum of Broken Relationships in Croatia's capital collects and exhibits dramatic love tales and objects submitted by the heartbroken. Donations include an axe that was used to destroy an ex-girlfriend's furniture and a wedding dress that represented one lady's recovery and growth from a failed marriage. There's also a sizable collection of underwear, handcuffs and a cell phone with a short description attached: "It was 300 days too long. He gave me his cell phone so I couldn't call him anymore." Museum of Broken Relationships, Ćirilometodska 2, 10 000 Zagreb; +385 1485 1021; open daily (June 1-September 30) 9 a.m.- 10:30 p.m.; daily (October 1-May 31) 9 a.m.- 9 p.m.; brokenships.com 2. 'Sleep together shop,' Tokyo There's nothing like a lonely bed to remind you just how bad your life sucks. But Tokyo has it covered. Japan's capital has taken the maid and butler café culture to the next level with Soine-ya, a "sleep together shop" allowing male customers to sleep next to a girl for a fee. The shop insists it's not what you think – Soine-ya enforces a strict code of conduct to prohibit any sexual requests. The first outlet opened a few months ago in Akihabara and a second is opening in Kabukicho, the red-light district. Minimum charge is ¥3,000 (US$32) for 20 minutes. Extra services are available, such as staring at each other for a minute (¥1,000) and stroking the girl's hair for three minutes (¥1,000). There's also a female-oriented version – Soine Prime offers (non-sexual) time with boys for heartbroken women. Soine-ya, 3F, KN Building, 2-11 Akihabara, Sakuma-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; +81 3 5829 6274; soineya.net 3. Divorce Hotel, The Hague, the Netherlands The Hague is the best place in the world for a divorce, according to Jim Halfens, CEO of Divorce Hotel. Divorce Hotel is a service that gives couples looking to split a place to sort the paperwork quickly and comfortably. "We only work with hotels which meet our criteria: boutique hotels with minimum of four stars," says Halfens. "Hotels where people feel at home and possibilities outside the hotels are important, as well." The Carlton Ambassador Hotel in The Hague is Halfens' favorite. It's a wonderful location for shopping, popular beaches and good food, he says. Proof that Divorce Hotel can help you avoid any Hollywood-esque hysterics, one soon-to-be-divorced couple asked to sleep in the same room during the divorce procedure. "They started together and they wanted to end it together," says Halfens. www.divorcehotel.com 4. Any nightclub, Ibiza, Spain You can replace the misery of a breakup with the despair of a hangover in Ibiza – one of the best nightlife destinations in the world. "Nowhere else have I seen a stripper rock a saxophone solo hanging from the ceiling naked, or the blast of a wind tunnel built into a dance floor, or parade floats and foam dropped from the ceiling like it's the Fourth of July indoors," said our "nightlife connoisseur" in this article about the world's best party cities. Hot party-goers, great music, absurd scenes and long party hours will help you through those sleepless nights. It's just better to be single here. 5. Wellness and meditation retreats, Thailand/India Pristine beaches, tranquility and mediation retreats can offer some remedy for doleful souls. Kamalaya Wellness Retreat and Holistic Spa is tucked away in the southeastern Thai island of Koh Samui. Various wellness programs – detox, stress and burnout, yoga, sleep enhancement – are provided among palm trees and boulders, a perfect tonic for pent up bitterness. More chronic sufferers of lost love could opt for the Global Vipassana Pagoda, a massive dome-shaped meditation hall on the outskirts of Mumbai that can house more than 8,000 people. Vipassana is an ancient Buddhist way of meditation for self-awakening. A course usually runs for 10 days and participants meditate 10 hours per day. The best part: all that silence means no need to argue with the ex. Kamalaya Wellness Retreat and Holistic Spa, 102/9 Moo 3, Laem Set Road, Na-Muang Koh Samui, Suratthani; +66 (0) 77 429 800; three-night personal yoga synergy and meditation retreats from THB 54,600 (US$1,833); www.kamalaya.com Global Vipassana Pagoda, next to Esselworld, Gorai Village, Borivali (West), Mumbai; +91 22 3374 7501; free (by donation only); www.globalpagoda.org These are but a few suggestions. What are you tips, recommendations or even experiences of travel breakups?