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Last month The Wild Hunt asked five members of the community — Thracian polytheanimist Anomalous Thracian of the blog Thracian Exodus; Mambo Chita Tann of Sosyete Fos Fe Yo We; priestess, author, blogger, and Solar Cross Temple board member Crystal Blanton; OBOD Druid and Under the Ancient Oaks blogger John Beckett; and Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF) Druid Rev. Sean W. Harbaugh — for their thoughts on sacrifice. The following continues the conversation with part two of that interview.
How is sacrifice separate from blood sacrifice? Does blood sacrifice include personal blood offerings or is it limited to animal sacrifice?
"Blood sacrifice is not a term that I use and I would argue it as vague and somewhat useless. Ritual bloodletting would be more appropriate in this context, if I am reading the question correctly, as it is general enough to include many things, such as: ritual cutting of one's own flesh to create a bond or pact with a spirit; ritual cutting of a sexual partner's flesh in a ritual or ceremony; ritual cutting of an animal (not for the purpose of killing, but for producing the essence of a specific animal's life force); "marking" a person with your own essence under certain ritual circumstances, whether for positive (protective, warding) or negative (hostile, magically infectious) reasons. Similarly cutting one's self to feed one's own blood to a specific deity — exactly as you might use, say, a goat, but without an immediate death — could be considered a sacrifice, and is still generally categorizable as "bloodletting." I would hesitate to call anything that does not involve intentional death a sacrifice, in personal use of the term, but I would consider "the feeding or offering of blood, without death, to a deity or spirit" to be a form of sacrifice when circumstances call for it. Note: In many traditions, there are HEAVY restrictions upon forms of bloodletting of this sort, as the spirits and deities in question will take this as indication that the person being bled is "food," and they will be regarded as such." — Anomalous Thracian, Thracian Exodus
"We do not ever offer human blood in Haitian Vodou, despite stereotypes to the contrary. Blood can be offered in the rituals around making animal offerings, which almost always become food for ritual participants, once the spirits have taken their share. It is possible to consider sacrifice in the sense of other offerings of great worth that are given to the spirits, such as the great amount of effort, money, resources, and time an entire Vodou sosyete will dedicate to initiation ceremonies or annual observances of special ritual, but we still do not place these offerings as being more precious or higher than the ultimate sacrifice of an animal's life to provide protection, blessing, and sustenance for that sosyete and its members." — Mambo Chita Tann, Sosyete Fos Fe Yo We, Haitian Vodou
"There are many different types of sacrifice, and it is not limited to blood sacrifice. Different traditions access this differently. I personally do not practice blood sacrifice, but I have made personal blood offerings. I honor the life force of the individual, and the power of the divine within me, adding magic in the process." — Crystal Blanton, Daughters of Eve
"Blood sacrifice is a subset of sacrifice, a particular form of sacrifice. It can include personal blood offerings or it can include animal sacrifice." — John Beckett, Under the Ancient Oaks
"Sacrifice often is confused with "blood offerings." Blood sacrifice really doesn't have a place in a modern Neopagan context, yet there are established cultures that still perform blood sacrifices. In a modern Druid context, sacrifices are often things such as whiskey, grains, flowers, prayers, poems, songs, and anything else that is a tangible item used to give to the gods. There are instances where Neopagans will sacrifice some of their own blood as a form of blood oath, but that is a rare instance. Killing of a live animal is another form of archaic sacrifice or offering that really is not something that is all that common in a Neopagan context. Most of us purchase our meat already slaughtered for consumption, but there are ways to offer a portion of that meat as a sacrifice in the form of the shared meal." — Rev. Sean W. Harbaugh, Druid, Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF)
Do modern Paganisms stand to gain anything positive from giving offerings and sacrifice to the Gods? What about blood sacrifice?
"As a Polytheist who does not really identify as a Pagan, I can't speak for "modern Pagans." I believe that authentic religious traditions — rather than psychological models drawing from religious terms or structures, or social movements similarly using the aesthetic of religion for artistic, activist, or community-centered reasons, etcetera — should have trained specialists who handle the navigation of sacrifices to the respective gods of said group, assuming that said gods request, require, or even accept sacrifices. Not all gods like bloodshed or death. As for "blood sacrifice," I will take this to mean "ritual bloodletting" (as indicated above), and again say, that while I cannot speak for Modern Paganisms, I can state that magically and religiously there is great potency in these technologies which can be certainly used for 'gaining something positive.'" — Anomalous Thracian
"Giving offerings to the gods cannot possibly be a bad thing. Like prayer and interaction with one's religious community, I tend toward the belief that you can't get enough of it. Giving special offerings that take effort, non-blood sacrifices, are just more of the same. I do not believe that Pagans need to give blood sacrifice unless and until they understand the context of that act, have trained personnel who can perform it for them, and have a distinct need to do it: either because they need to share ritual food, they are in a place where they need to butcher their own meat and they choose to sacralize that act by offering their food animals to the gods, or their gods demand it of them and no other options are satisfactory. Even in the last case, I still believe it is imperative and necessary for context and training to occur first. As I stated in the PantheaCon panel, I expect that most modern Pagans, living in countries where they do not have to butcher their own meat and practicing religions that have lost their connection to customs where blood sacrifice was practiced, will never need to do this, and their deities would not ask it of them as a result." — Mambo Chita Tann
"Our relationships with the Gods dictate the value of sacrifice within a particular context. Much of what we would gain would be within the relationship itself, and that would depend on the practitioner and the God(s) in question. To make a broad, sweeping statement here about gain or loss would be devaluing to the individual and cultural relationships of varying practitioners of the craft." — Crystal Blanton
"I have mixed feelings about blood sacrifice. On one hand, it would do us all good to get a first-hand understanding of where our food comes from and a first-hand understanding that what we are eating was itself alive only a short time ago. On the other hand, butchering animals requires skills you just don't learn unless you grow up on a working farm and the only thing worse than not sacrificing is sacrificing clumsily – the animal should not suffer needlessly. Beyond that, I look at the community and legal problems blood sacrifice brings to some of the Afro-Caribbean religions – that's not a battle I care to fight. But when you move beyond the issue of blood sacrifice, there is unquestionable benefit from sacrificing to the Gods. It brings us into closer relationships with Them, and it forces us to consider our relationships with food and with the non-food offerings we may be asked to give." — John Beckett
"Absolutely, yes. We gain their blessings and we build our relationships with them through sacrifice. As far as blood sacrifice goes, in my years as a pagan and decade plus in ADF I have rarely heard it mentioned. I think we as Neopagans should focus on how we can use practical items to sacrifice in ritual, rather than trying to focus on something that is uncommon." — Rev. Sean W. Harbaugh
Where does volition and willingness come into sacrifice?
"Pretty much everywhere. Consent is sacred at every step; consent of the person performing or contemplating the sacrifice, consent of the sacrifice itself, consent of the one who raised or produced the sacrifice, consent also of the spirit or deity in question." — Anomalous Thracian
"Constantly. If a thing is done against one's will, it cannot be a sacrifice, period. If a person is forced to make an offering, that is no sacrifice, it is compulsion, and no good spirit or deity accepts that as sacrifice. In Haitian Vodou and in all the other traditions I know of where animal sacrifices are performed, no one would ever offer an animal without that animal's permission; again, to do so without it would be compulsion and would not be a proper sacrifice. Even in halal and kosher ritual, from Islam and Judaism respectively, the animal must be awake and willing to be sacrificed; it cannot be knocked out before the knife is used. This is causing some issues with animal rights activists, most recently in Denmark, for example; but the alternative, to knock an animal unconscious and then kill it, would be completely wrong in that sacrificial tradition — while it may appear to the untrained eye of an animal lover looking at a video to be "kinder" to do this, an unconscious animal is unable to give consent and thus it is both cruel and, from a sacrificial standpoint, unholy/wrong. Those who understand butchery know that there are techniques to kill an animal without pain, and all who perform halal and kosher rituals must be certified as trained." — Mambo Chita Tann
"Volition means the act of making a decision, and willingness simply means being prepared to do something. As in all rituals, we have to properly prepare ourselves. In many traditions it means putting on special ritual clothing, setting up an altar, smudging ourselves, ritual bathing, and other things to prepare us for the act of ritual. In ritual, we decide who we are going to sacrifice to and why. We always need to enter ritual with a purpose, and we should always have a reason for sacrifice—even if it is just to build a better relationship with our gods. A ritual without a purpose is a waste of everybody's time." — Rev. Sean W. Harbaugh
Does volition come into play in animal sacrifice, does it matter, and if so, how is it obtained?
"Yes. There are various methods for this, from speaking with the animal directly and observing its behavior (or hearing back, if the asker can communicate with animals directly), and so forth. The ritual structure being employed should provide the structures for ascertaining this. If they do not, they should maybe be reevaluated in order to ensure that they are completely understood and trained." — Anomalous Thracian
"In terms of how we obtain it: In Haitian Vodou, animals are raised explicitly for the purpose of food and for ritual-related food or ritual purposes where the animal cannot be eaten afterward. These animals are raised by hand, by the community that will sacrifice them. Before they are sacrificed, they are washed, decorated, and prepared by the community. They will be led into the peristyle (the Vodou temple), and presented with a number of various foods. One of these foods is chosen ahead of time as being the official sacrificial food. The animal is told what will happen, and that if it is willing to be sacrificed, that it should eat the official food to signify this. Only if the animal eats the special food will it be presented to the spirits for sacrifice. If it eats anything else first, it must be let free because it is not willing to do the work. It has been my experience that the willing animals not only go immediately to the official food, they will eat all of it, and not even touch the other food (which will be the same: for example, three identical piles of corn for a chicken). They also act like they know what is happening, and they do not fight when they are picked up by the butcher, etcetera. It is a profound experience that is observed with the greatest amount of kindness and dignity. The animal has one life, and is being willing to give it up for us — how could we be less than respectful of that?" — Mambo Chita Tann
"It would have to come into play. A person has to choose to sacrifice an animal, and that is the very definition of volition. In a Neopagan context, I find the notion of animal sacrifice not necessary except for rare exceptions." — Rev. Sean W. Harbaugh
Should animal sacrifice have a place in modern Paganisms, reconstructionisms, and Witchcraft?
"As I am none of these things, I do not feel that it is my place to answer for them. That said I believe that animal sacrifice should have a place in any authentically lived religious tradition which has spirits or gods which request or traditionally receive such things." — Anomalous Thracian
"Until and unless those practices have a stated need for animal sacrifice – and I believe that most of them never will – I would say no. Should that become necessary, for logistical reasons (i.e., not living in a land with easy access to food animals, refrigeration, etc.), or should the gods require it, then I would believe that those same gods would provide access to the proper context, training, and ability to do so. Vodouisants themselves have this situation. Very, very few individual Vodouisants perform animal sacrifices, and even those who do, do not do it on a daily or regular basis. In the cases where that is a necessary event, there are trained personnel that one can go to, who will perform it on your behalf. I rarely perform that act in the United States; it is simply less necessary here, given our modern conveniences when it comes to food. Even in Haiti, I do not perform it often, and in all cases, I have access to trained personnel who can help me with the sacrifices I am not trained to perform myself. Everything is community-based. Modern Paganisms would have to define the same sorts of communities before they would even know if that was something they were going to need to do. If it ever happens, I believe it would be a long time in the future." — Mambo Chita Tann
"In general, it could have a very important place, but unless it can be done right it shouldn't be done at all." — John Beckett
"In most instances I do not think animal sacrifice really has a place in modern Neopaganism. I do know of a heathen farmer who raises his own pigs and ritually sacrifices one, but this is a rare situation. In a modern context, there simply are alternatives to sacrifice that are every bit as effective." — Rev. Sean W. Harbaugh
What is the nature of sacrifice in terms of transactions between spirits, Gods, and other entities?
"Sometimes sacrifices are a form of payment. Other times they are a form of celebration. Sometimes it is a transaction, sometimes it is praise; always it is reverent." — Anomalous Thracian
"Depending on the context and the nature of the sacrifice, the sacrifice can reinforce connections by being a thanksgiving for help that has been given; it can be made as a promise for future action; it can be given as a substitute for someone else's life (as I mentioned above). Sacrifice can represent a total offering of the self to the deities or spirits, or it can be a payment for an expected reciprocal benefit. There is no general meaning that applies to all sacrifices from all people to all spirits or gods – each one, like its nature as a unique and special thing, has a unique and special meaning." — Mambo Chita Tann
"The nature of sacrifice is that which defines our relationship with the gods (and Kindreds). There are many reasons for sacrifice, and that defines what exactly is being asked or expected in the transaction. Here are few types of sacrifices as our Arch Druid Kirk Thomas has discussed in his various works:
1. Transactional sacrifice is the most common form of sacrifice where the sacred object is offered, and in the nature of hospitality, a gift is given in return. The basis of ADF's Return Flow portion of ritual is "a gift calls for a gift." The best one can offer is given, and the blessing and gratitude from the gods is given in return. 2. Piacular Sacrifice was a common Roman offering given during ritual to ask for recompense in case the offerings given weren't enough or good enough. It is based on the fact that humans are inherently flawed, and the offering is given to acknowledge that. This type of sacrifice is still seen in the Roman Catholic Church. 3. The appeasement sacrifice is a type of offering given to a being or god to leave you alone. It is literally the "take this and leave" offering. Generally, this type of offering is given to beings not aligned with the ritual being worked, and they are given an offering out of respect to acknowledge they exist, but they are not part of the work being performed. 4. The shared meal is a type of sacrifice where a portion of the cooked food is offered to the gods. This is a very common ancient and Neopagan practice. 5. Chaos mitigates cosmos is a type of sacrifice that uses a series of offerings to recreate the cosmos in a ritual setting. This type of sacrifice goes back into the pan Indo-European creation story of Man and Twin. Man kills Twin and Twin is dismembered to create the world and cosmos. The chaos is the unknown or Otherworld, and Man takes his place as king of the Otherworld. This type of offering is meant to recreate this, but without any actual bloodshed." — Rev. Sean W. Harbaugh
What about relationship; how does it play into the idea of sacrifice?
"I cannot imagine giving a sacrifice without having a relationship both with the being receiving the sacrifice and the community that would benefit from it; either in the form of food/reversion of the offerings, in the benefits gained from the sacrifice, or both. One might give a random gift to a stranger, for example, but it would be unlikely that one would give a random stranger the most expensive, most wonderful thing one owned. Sacrifice is a special event in the already-existing relationship between beings." — Mambo Chita Tann
"Sacrifice strengthens relationships: between worshipers and their Gods, and among members of a religious community." — John Beckett
"Sacrifice is as much about building relationships with the gods as any other reason. It is an act of hospitality. When we open sacred space, we invite the Kindreds into the ritual as family and kin. That relationship is built on sharing and trust. We sacrifice to solidify our relationships and make them stronger. Sacrifice allows the gods to give us their blessings and strengthens their bond with us." — Rev. Sean W. Harbaugh
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Florida's Scottie Wilbekin, coach Billy Donovan earn AP SEC honors
ATLANTA (AP) -- After an unbeaten run through the Southeastern Conference, top-ranked Florida reaped its rewards Monday.
Scottie Wilbekin was picked as The Associated Press Southeastern Conference player of the year, while Billy Donovan took the coaching honor for the second season in a row.
Kentucky freshman Julius Randle was selected as newcomer of the year.
The AP awards were announced one day after Florida defeated Kentucky 61-60 in the championship game of the SEC Tournament. The Gators (32-2) were named top overall seed in the NCAAs and will open against either Albany or Mount St. Mary's in the South Regional.
Wilbekin and Randle were unanimous choices to the All-SEC first team, joined by Tennessee forward Jarnell Stokes, Florida forward Casey Prather and Missouri guard Jabari Brown.
Wilbekin averaged 13 points and 3.8 assists a game. More important, the 6-foot-2 senior guard was the unquestioned leader for the Gators at both ends of the court, making amends from two suspensions that threatened his future with the program.
He missed the first five games this season for an undisclosed violation of team rules, after behind held out the first three games the previous year.
"I think when he went through that, our guys were like, 'OK, it happened one time, 'blah, blah, blah.' But now it happens again, guys start pulling back, saying, 'OK, man, is this guy about us? Does this guy even care about us or our team?'" Donovan said.
Wilbekin worked hard to rebuild the relationship with his teammates, and it showed on the court.
"He had to go through a long process of showing these guys that he cares and he's committed to them," Donovan said. "I think once he got through the end of that process, I think our guys kind of put their arms around him and were like, `Wow, coach made this guy go through a lot.' A lot of that had to do with me wanting to help him restore his credibility inside the team, and he had to do that and he's grown from that on and off the court."
Wilbekin was named MVP of the SEC Tournament. During hard-fought wins in both the semifinals and final, he would gather the team around him when things weren't going Florida's way.
"Coach can't talk to us all the time," he said, "so we try to huddle ourselves and say the right things among ourselves."
Donovan repeated as coach of the year with Florida becoming the first team to go 18-0 in SEC games during the regular season. The Gators won three more games at the Georgia Dome this past weekend for their first tournament title since 2007.
"Anytime you get those coaching honors or coaching awards, a lot of it is because you've got a good group and they've done a great job," Donovan said. "I do think that when individual awards come out, it's much, much more of a reflection of the people around you. Even with Scottie's award, I'd say the same thing. It's more of a reflection of the people around him. I think for me, it's the players and the coaching staff, the people I have around me."
Randle emerged as the top player from Kentucky's latest group of heralded freshmen. While some thought the Wildcats (24-10) underachieved -- after all, they started the season No. 1 and there was even speculation about whether they could go unbeaten -- the 6-foot-9 Randle led the conference in rebounding (10.5 a game) and ranked 10th in scoring (15.0).
Kentucky was seeded eighth in the NCAAs and will open Friday against Kansas State in the Midwest Regional.
"I feel like our chemistry is getting better," Randle said. "We're becoming a better team, getting better every game."
Stokes, a 6-8 junior forward, helped Tennessee (21-12) join Florida and Kentucky as the only SEC schools in the 68-team NCAA field, ranking second to Randle in rebounding (10.3) and 12th in scoring (14.7). The Vols will face Iowa on Wednesday in a first-round game at Dayton.
Prather was another of Florida's senior leaders. The 6-6 forward paced the Gators in scoring at 14.2 points per game.
Brown, a 6-5 junior guard, led the SEC in scoring with an average of 19.8 points.
Florida landed another player on the All-SEC second team: senior center Patric Young. He was joined by Tennessee forward Jordan McRae, Alabama guard Trevor Releford and a pair of LSU forwards, Johnny O'Bryant III and Jordan Mickey. McRae and Releford both slipped to the second team after making the top squad in 2013.
The 66th annual AP All-SEC team was selected by a 12-member regional media panel.

subset: commoncrawl


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by Lovehoney
on 3 May 2017
Written by Lovehoney. For collaborative posts between Lovehoney team members and guest authors Covering simply everything


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Pasadena Police Department Hopes To Improve Motorcycle Safety
Pasadena Police Department Hopes To Improve Motorcycle Safety
Police to increase enforcement aimed at dangerous riders and careless motorists
The Pasadena Police Department will be conducting a specialized Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Operation on Saturday, August 25 in an effort to continue lowering deaths and injuries. Extra officers will be on duty patrolling areas frequented by motorcyclists and where motorcycle crashes occur. Officers will be looking for drivers and riders who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol and cracking down on traffic violations made by motorcyclists as well as other vehicle drivers that can lead to motorcycle collisions, injuries and fatalities.
While motorcycle fatalities had been on the rise in California, increasing 175 percent in the last decade, from 204 killed in 1998 to 560 killed in 2008, the trend has changed. In 2009, California experienced a 29.6 percent reduction with 394 motorcyclists killed, and preliminary 2010 numbers indicate another 10 percent drop to 353 motorcyclists killed.
The Pasadena Police Department has had one fatality involving a motorcyclist this year.
Riders can receive training through the California Motorcyclist Safety Program. Information and training locations are available at www.CA-msp.org or 1-877 RIDE 411 or 1-877-743-3411.
Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.


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Observer: System Redux
- 1 player
- PS5 VersionVibration function and trigger effect required
- PS5 game streaming supported only with Premium subscription
- 1 player
- PS5 VersionVibration function and trigger effect required
- PS5 game streaming supported only with Premium subscription
Observer: System Redux is the definitive vision of the award-winning cyberpunk thriller, rebuilt and augmented for the next generation.
Enjoy massively reduced loading times thanks to the SSD and experience an augmented level of immersion with the Dual Sense controller. Feel object resistance, surface texture, damage feedback, heartbeat simulation and more thanks to the adaptive triggers and haptic feedback.
Veteran Observers can dive deeper into this dystopian reality thanks to three brand-new side cases to solve. "Errant Signal", "Her Fearful Symmetry" and "It Runs in the Family" add another layer of depth to the game's story while exploring thought-provoking themes of a future that soon might become our present.
On top of that, System Redux offers expanded gameplay, which includes new game mechanics, new secrets to find, redesigned stealth, additional neural interrogations, and quality-of-life improvements made with the help of the Observer community.
Newcomers get the chance to experience one of the most thrilling cyberpunk stories in all its next-gen glory: boasting 4K resolution, upgraded textures, new animations, models and effects, and transformed with jaw-dropping Ray-Tracing and HDR lighting.
The year is 2084. The future has turned out much darker than anyone could imagine. First, there was the Nanophage. A digital plague that killed thousands upon thousands of those who chose to augment their minds and bodies.
Then came the War, leaving both the West and the East decimated and shattered. With no one left to seize power, corporations took over and forged their own crooked empires.
You are a tool of corporate oppression. Feared and despised, you hack into the darkest corners of your suspects' minds. You creep into their dreams, expose their fears, and extract whatever your investigation may require.
You are an Observer.
You play as Daniel Lazarski, an elite investigator of the future portrayed by late cyberpunk icon Rutger Hauer. As an Observer, you hack into the minds of suspects to extract clues and evidence. Anything they felt, thought, or remembered can and will be used to solve your case.
Using a device known as the Dream Eater, hack into the minds of the dead and dying to relive their final moments, to explore their fears and obsessions. Delve into these twisted neural mazes and search for clues that will help you find the elusive killer. But beware: the deeper you go, the greater the risk of losing your own sanity.
Enter a world ravaged by war and cyber-plague, where life is cheap and hope is scarce. Where most people will do anything to escape their grim existence. Virtual realities, mind-altering drugs, neural implants - pick your poison and drift away into a blissful oblivion. But remember, no matter how deep you go, you can never hide from an Observer.
- Platform:
- Release:
- 11/11/2020
- Publisher:
- Genre:
- Horror
- PS5 Voice:
- English
- PS5 Screen Languages:
- English, French (France), German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish
- PS4 Voice:
- English
- PS4 Screen Languages:
- Chinese (Simplified), English, French (France), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish
Download of this product is subject to the PlayStation Network Terms of Service and our Software Usage Terms plus any specific additional conditions applying to this product. If you do not wish to accept these terms, do not download this product. See Terms of Service for more important information.
You can download and play this content on the main PS5 console associated with your account (through the "Console Sharing and Offline Play" setting) and on any other PS5 consoles when you login with your same account.
See Health Warnings for important health information before using this product.
Library programs ©Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. exclusively licensed to Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe. Software Usage Terms apply, See eu.playstation.com/legal for full usage rights.


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Ingredients (yield 4 to 5 pastries, each dia. 4- 5 inches or 10- 13cm)
- 1/2 basic danish pastry dough
- 2 medium all purpose-potatoes (i.e. not too starchy nor waxy)
- 1/4 cup (or to taste) goat cheese
- salt and pepper
- 2 Tbps chopped scallions
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 Tbp butter
- a few thinly sliced pepperonis
- 1 egg, beaten (egg wash)
- some poppy seeds
- 4 sage leaves
- Roll the danish dough to 1/2-cm thick, and cut out 8 circles, each in 4.5-inches/12-cm diameter. Cover, rest in refrigerator while you're making the filling
- After the potatoes cooked, peeled, add cheese and mash, salt and pepper to taste. Add scallions. Set aside.
- Saute the onion with butter and a pinch of salt until it's caramelized. Set aside.
- Take out 4 round doughs, lay them on work table, spread some onion on each circle, scoop mashed potatoes on top, spread more onion on top and a slice of pepperoni. Cover the filling by adding another round dough, brush some egg around the edge of the bottom dough, fold up and crimp. After you assembled all the pastries, cover, let them rise in 70F room for an hour. In the meantime pre-heat the oven to 375F
- Before the pastries going into the oven, egg wash, sprinkle poppy seeds and put a sage leaf on each top. Bake until they turn golden brown, 15 - 20 minutes. Serve warm.


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Hundreds of businesses forced to close their doors during the continuing investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings could be denied insurance coverage for lost sales because of terrorism exclusions built into many policies, public officials and attorneys said Monday.
The exemptions — written into roughly 4 in 10 commercial insurance policies, according to the Congressional Research Service — would allow insurers to reject so-called business interruption claims made by some of the more than 400 companies that have been shuttered since a pair of bomb blasts killed three and wounded 282 others on Boylston Street last week.
"The only ones that do have terrorism insurance are the large office buildings," said Boston City Councilor Michael P. Ross, whose district covers the Back Bay area that remains a crime scene. "Certainly the mom-and-pop businesses are not covered, so that means that this is a straight loss for them."
The Back Bay Response Team, a new city-run task force, has created an online questionnaire for businesses, aimed at gauging their insurance status. It is directing those needing legal aid to the Boston Bar Association, which has assembled about 100 lawyers willing to help file claims, pro bono.
"Some businesses don't seem to know exactly what they have, and we're starting to work with them on those issues," said Sheila Dillon, the city's Neighborhood Services director, who is leading the response team.
Among the uncertain is iFixYouri, a Florida-based electronics repair company whose Newbury Street store was closed most of last week. The company's marketing vice president, Michelle Zausnig, said she had several phone conversations with insurance representatives but has received no decision about whether a claim will be paid.
"We're a small business, and we lost a lot of money last week," Zausnig said. "I know that sounds selfish, considering what some others lost, but it hurts."
Marathon Sports president Colin Peddie said his company's insurance policy does not contain a terrorism exclusion and he is confident he will receive some compensation for damage caused by the first explosion, which erupted just outside his Boylston Street store's door, and for lost sales. But he does not know whether an insurance settlement will match the lost income during what is typically one of the shop's best weeks of the year.
Only a handful of businesses suffered property damage from two pressure cooker bombs allegedly planted near the Marathon finish line by brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Many more have been hurt by the aftermath of the attack — a painstaking examination of the neighborhood by federal investigators, which still kept six city blocks cordoned off Monday.
Under another circumstance — a gas main explosion requiring street closures, for instance — these companies almost certainly would be reimbursed for lost profits by their insurers. But after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, insurers sought to exclude acts of terror from business interruption policies. The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 created a program in which the federal government shares costs with private insurers. Businesses have increasingly purchased terrorism coverage options since, as prices have declined.
Nevertheless, a report published last fall by the Congressional Research Service estimated only 60 percent of American businesses are insured against damages and losses resulting from a terrorist attack.
Despite the exclusions, "I would hope that insurance companies would do the right thing here for people who have suffered," said Thomas O. Bean, a partner at Verrill Dana in Boston and one of the city bar association's volunteer lawyers.
Insurers are unlikely to pay claims out of sympathy, however. Frank O'Brien, a spokesman for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, said his group's member companies understand they may face public criticism for denying claims.
"We're human beings, as well, so that stuff hurts," O'Brien said. "But one of the fundamental pillars of insurance — and of business in general — is that the contract is the contract. Sometimes, we might be perceived as uncaring or heartless, but insurers can only price their products based on the risk they're willing to take on."
Businesses that are not covered by insurance could have few other options. It appears the One Fund Boston is unlikely to aid companies, based on the precedent set by other victim compensation funds administered by attorney Kenneth Feinberg, tapped to lead the nonprofit organization by Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. Businesses will not be eligible for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In the end, companies may be advised to make a peculiar argument — that the Marathon bombings were, in fact, not terrorism and therefore not subject to exclusion.
Though the attack has been widely labeled terrorism, it has not received an official designation from Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew for insurance purposes — a requirement for exclusions to apply.
"Strangely, some of these businesses don't want it to be called terrorism," said Randy Maniloff, an attorney who often represents insurers and who edits the trade newsletter Coverage Opinions. "It's a weird dichotomy."
Casey Ross and Jenn Abelson of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Callum Borchers can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @callumborchers.


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Pentagon Likely to Cut Furlough Days
WASHINGTON – Defense department civilians will likely face up to five fewer unpaid furlough days than originally planned, as Pentagon leaders scrimp to find up to $900 million in savings in the final months of the budget year that ends Sept. 30, officials told The Associated Press.
Officials said no final decisions have been made, but they believe civilian workers will be forced to take six to eight unpaid days off rather than the 11 days that had been scheduled. The move comes as workers begin their fourth week of furloughs – a decision that riled department employees and prompted many to complain directly to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel as he visited military bases earlier this month.
Hagel has been saying that budget crunchers have been doing all they can to find saving to shorten the furlough time. Defense officials said Monday that they do not expect an announcement this week because the numbers have not yet been finalized.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter by name publicly.
They cautioned that the savings are for this year only, and won't affect likely budget cuts in 2014, if members of Congress don't act to avoid automatic, across-the-board cuts slated for next year.
About 650,000 department civilians have been taking one furlough day each week since early July. The furloughs were expected to save roughly $2 billion.
According to one defense official, current budget projections suggest that if Pentagon budget chiefs find about $500 million in savings, the number of furlough days will be shaved to eight. If they can find $900 million, the furloughs will be cut to six days.
Officials said the savings are the result of a number of things, including penny-pinching by the military services and Congress' decision to give the Pentagon more flexibility in moving money around between accounts.
During a recent swing down the East Coast to bases in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida, worried defense workers peppered Hagel with questions about the furloughs and their job security. And they gasped in surprise as the Pentagon chief warned that budget cuts will probably continue next year, likely triggering more furloughs and, possibly, layoffs.
Facing $37 billion in budget cuts this year, Pentagon leaders initially announced the 11 furlough days, arguing that they needed to shift money to other priorities, including combat training, flight hours, and efforts to bring tons of equipment home from Afghanistan. Since then, budget chiefs have been analyzing the numbers in a persistent effort to find unspent dollars as they neared the end of the fiscal year.
The Pentagon faces the prospect of an additional $52 billion budget cut in 2014 unless Congress and the White House come up with a deficit-cutting plan.
About 85 percent of the department's civilians have been subject to furloughs. The bulk of the exempt employees are foreign nationals or workers not paid through appropriated funding. Nearly 7,000 defense intelligence workers are also exempt, along with about 29,000 workers at Navy shipyards, where officials worried that the harm to shop maintenance would end up costing more than the salary cuts would save.


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It's been an astonishing 40 years since classic children's TV show Sesame Street debuted in 1969, and the Muppet characters are still flapping strong.
While the show has won hundreds of awards for its educational content and Jim Henson's amazing characters, the show's musical heritage is the jewel in its crown. Indeed, a character from Sesame Street is (and probably always will be) the only puppet ever to appear before the US Congress when in April 2002, Elmo testified in urging support for increased funding in music education. Go Elmo!
However what really gets music fans talking are the countless musical guest stars who've appeared on the show over its 40 year history. From Ray Charles to Kiss's Paul Stanley (really), you can find pretty much every one of them on YouTube but to celebrate the anniversary, we've chosen 11 of our favourites.
Oh, and make sure you read to the end for a special drumming guest star from another show.
Yes, that one.
Here are just 11 of MusicRadar's favourites…
Norah Jones
Jones plays Don't Know Why - wondering with Elmo why 'Y' is missing
"1,2,3,4…" A cute re-write of the indie princess's iPod tracking hit but more importantly - don't those chickens look like ZZ Top?
Paul Simon
Simon plays Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard… in a fake schoolyard. There's probably something deep to say about that.
Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson is a legend. But what the f*** is he singing? And as for that sweater…
Destiny's Child
100% cute. And we don't mean Michelle, Kelly and Beyonce.
LL Cool J
Dope, fresh, fly…an' all that. Animals "hip-hoppin' on the wall" we like. Watch here!
Billy Joel
Billy, Oscar and a signer. "This really made me angry", says the Grouch. He's correct.
Most REM fans hate Shiny Happy People but (whisper it) Shiny Happy Monsters is impossible not to love. And yes, guitarist Peter Buck is officially The World's Most Uncomfortable Man.
James Blunt
The Radar office says this is the best thing James Blunt has ever done. Finish that sentence for yourself.
Stevie Wonder
No Muppets featured or required - just Lil' Stevie at his sublime best.
Johnny Cash
Nasty Dan sung by 'Johnny Trash' to Oscar the Grouch in a garbage can. "You're like me / Rotten as can be". Poetry.
Bonus Muppet Time!
Buddy Rich vs Animal
This might not be from Sesame Street - it's from The Muppet Show - but we have to share, as it's a slam-dunk of double-drumming genius.
Liked this? Now read: 10 best acoustic guitars under £300 and The best music-making apps on the iPhone


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Wouldn't this be a fabulous gift for the upcoming holidays? Imagine the look on their faces when they bite into one of these? Priceless. They'd say "oh my gosh there's cake inside my peanut butter cup!" That's reason enough to make them.
I mean who doesn't love a little cake with their peanut butter? And why not throw them into a nice cute little milk chocolate cup?
Ever since I made my first homemade peanut butter cup way back in 2009 I've always had it in the back of my mind to kick them up a notch, somehow, someway. Finally I thought of putting cake inside when all this cake ball madness came about from Bakerella.
I hope some of you make these, they are a lot of fun. Enjoy!
cake filled peanut butter cups
recipe by vanillasugarblog.com
print recipe
Cook notes:
I only made 12 (regular size muffin tins) with this. You could go ahead and make a lot more, but I only wanted 12. The rest of the cake batter I used them for cake pops.
One could make these cups smaller, like mini's, but it might be hard as you have to put a layer of cake batter in there and a layer of pb filling—you need the room that a regular sized muffin tin has.
I used milk chocolate for this, you could try dark; I don't know how that would taste.
I used devils food cake for this as I wanted something that would go nice with peanut butter. But feel free to experiment and use any type of cake filling you desire.
Cake filling:
1 box devil food cake mix
1 can cream cheese frosting
Peanut butter filling:
1 cup of plain or crunchy peanut butter (use a pb that is not runny or too oily)
2 TB confectioners sugar
3 TB of crushed graham crackers, finely crushed
Milk chocolate cups:
About 2-3 cups of melted milk chocolate
Pastry brush
Bake cake according to directions on box. Let cool, then crumble cake into large bowl or use a food processor to crumble. Then mix the cake crumbles with the can of cream cheese frosting. Mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill for an hour.
Line a regular muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Melt the milk chocolate over a double boiler. It's best to use this so this way we can go back and reheat what we need in steps. Take pastry brush and gently line the bottoms and sides of the cupcake liners with melted milk chocolate; do this a couple times as we want a nice thick bottom and sides to hold all the stuffing inside. Let the chocolate harden in the fridge or on the counter.
Make the peanut butter filling by combining the peanut butter, confectioners' sugar and crushed graham crackers. Mix well, cover and store in fridge.
Take your chilled cake batter and scoop out "almost golf ball" size and place into hardened chocolate cups; flatten just a bit. Make sure to leave room around the edges for pouring chocolate. Then take your chilled peanut butter filling and make a smaller ball than that of the cake batter and place on top of the cake batter. Once you've done all the cups, let this sit in the fridge to harden up a bit.
Go back to your chocolate over the double boiler and melt chocolate again. With a spoon, take the melted chocolate and filled the sides and tops of the peanut butter making sure to cover everything in chocolate and giving the cup an overall good seal.
You can either let these harden on the counter or if you can't wait the fridge.
cake filled peanut butter cups
62 comments:
- Anonymous10/11/11, 7:25 AM
Oh what a wonderful idea, and it gives me a few ideas of my own :)... bad ideas...
*kisses* HH - Kathleen10/11/11, 7:29 PM
Okay.....a brilliant addition to my list of "Must Make" goodies for the holidays! My 6 yr old niece is a pb cup afficiando, so I can't wait to try these out on her! :)
Again....I bow to your greatness! - Anonymous10/13/11, 5:39 PM
I haven't been this excited for a recipe since... I don't when I've ever been this excited for a recipe. Looks absolutely amazing!!
ReplyDelete - Anonymous6/10/12, 10:27 AM
These would be even better (if possible!) with a chocolate macaroon shell or just chocolate coconut! They look incredible
ReplyDelete - Anonymous7/3/12, 1:21 PM
I'm making these today for a 4th of July party tomorrow. I'm so excited!!
ReplyDelete - Anonymous7/19/12, 10:28 PM
I made these as minis and gave them out to all my friends- they were a HUGE hit! all my guy friends are begging me to make them again. I think the mini size makes them easier to handle- they aren't so rich that way. They are a little bit harder to make mini though.
ReplyDelete - Anonymous7/14/13, 9:17 PM
I made these tonight to take to work tomorrow. They look delicious!


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WE'VE MOVED! Please visit our new website at www.ymcaarts.org.
June 28th: Visit our new website, www.ymcaarts.org, for information on the Downtown Writer's Center, and other arts programs offered by the Arts Branch of the YMCA of Greater Syracuse. We hope to see you soon!
The Downtown Writer's Center is a program of the YMCA of Greater Syracuse, and a member of the YMCA National Writer's Voice network of literary arts programs.
2004 programs of the Downtown Writer's Center are made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.


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As promised, Crate's official "Fun in the Sun" giveaway winners; THREE in total! The lucky crafters will receive a special Pier Prize Pack direct from the AC warehouse! Thank-you to all whom commented - we love hearing from you! Congrats to...
I absolutely, positively LOVE your mini!!! I really am loving all the inspiration and this collection. My favorite iare the photo slide frames! Genius! Would love to win this collection! Thank you for the chance to get my hands on it! Ann P., Forest Grove, Oregon! Posted by: Ann P | May 29, 2013 at 09:17 AM
album Christine! I LOVE the whole collection but my most favorite is
the Red alpha with the slide frames coming in a close second! Thanks
for the chance to win!
Rhonda from Ohio Posted by:
rhonda nickol |
May 29, 2013 at 03:19 PM
A beautifully done, cute and sweet album. Simply adorable. I admire your talent and creativity. I absolutely LOVE Crate Paper products, I can't even pick a favorite because I love everything about the Pier collection! Thank You, Michelle from Le Sueur, MN. Posted by: Michelle Mumphrey | May 29, 2013 at 11:37 PM
Please contact Crate Paper with your information at [email protected]
Hello, Magda here on this fine Friday with a fun, everyday quick tip for utilizing the beautifully designed frames from The Pier collection. When I first spotted them in my box, right away I fell in love, but hadn't a clue how to use them! One day, out of the blue, an idea came to mind - literally, out of no where! I can use them as background material...
The concept is simple; dress up the frames with favorite patterned papers, decide upon a eye-pleasing composition that not only highlights the frames themselves, but the subject matter as well. Keep the embellishment arrangement simple - the photo and frames are the Star of the show! Finally, spritz on a tiny bit of mist and finish with a title and voila! And there you have it, a fun and cool collage without complication. :)
Here's the background-making process in action:
If you're a card maker, then you'll like this supplemental project I created following the same concept, but with a fresh, bright color palette and cascading flower bouquet. Note, the flowers are a blend of the Maggie Holmes and On Trend collections. Love violet and turquoise together - they're a perfect Spring pair!
Have a wonderful weekend - and if you've any ideas to share with our audience concerning the frames, feel free to mention them! The benefits of sharing creative ideas are numerous and "framing" is fun :)


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"Santa Ana city leaders apparently reached consensus Monday on appointing an interim city manager to fill the slot left open by the firing of City Manager Paul Walters," according to the Voice of OC.
Council members emerged from their closed session just after 7 p.m. and announced a decision, but said they couldn't disclose the candidate's name yet because they were still negotiating terms. Then Councilwoman Michelle Martinez said the new interim city manager's name would be made public in about a week.
So much drama when there is a darn good chance that the interim city manager will be Gerardo Mouet, the Santa Ana Parks and Rec Agency director. Scratch that. Apparently former Buena Park/Stanton City Manager Kevin O'Rourke might become Santa Ana's highest paid temp, I mean interim City Manager. He currently works as a consultant who specializes in figuring out how to pay for retired public employees' pensions, according to this link. He was previously an interim City Manager in now bankrupt Stockton.
The Voice of OC also reported that "Over the coming weeks Santa Ana residents will have an opportunity for formulating a citywide vision for tackling these tough issues. City officials will be holding strategic planning meetings with the community for the first time in recent memory. Martinez also publicly pledged on Monday that the city would involve residents in its search for a permanent city manager."
Shouldn't the City Council and their staff be doing the strategic planning? That is what we elected these people to do. But Martinez says that the residents will be involved in the search for a new city manager – does that mean that the Council wants to be able to blame the residents when their schemes inevitably backfire?
Are these people so completely lacking in vision that they want to outsource their own jobs to us? If so why don't they just admit that and resign so more capable residents can take their places?
Trust me – this is not how most cities are run. Just look at what our neighbors in Tustin just did. According to the O.C. Register, "Tustin employees and council members gathered this month in the Tustin Library to contemplate the city's future. Department leaders asked council members for their feedback on changes to city programs and staffing during the workshop."
You see folks, that is how it is done. The elected Council members work with the city staff to come up with solutions and strategies. This collaborative B.S. that Martinez is slinging is not business as usual in most Orange County cities.
Remember that these very Council members, with the exception of the two new ones – Amezcua and Reyna, sat on their hands, since 2006, and allowed former City Manager Dave Ream to wreck our city's finances. Then they blamed Paul Walters, firing him as City Manager, even though he saved our city last year by producing a budget that the Council, on their own, would never have conceived.
So now they want us to tell them who to hire to replace Walters? Are you kidding me? What are we paying this lazy lot for?


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On Jan. 14, 2010, senior executives at Molina Healthcare in Long Beach, Calif., called their staff together for a somber meeting. The company had done poorly the previous quarter, they announced. Dozens of people in the IT department would have to be let go.
What the fired employees didn't know was that the previous day, the US Department of Labor had approved applications for 40 temporary workers from India to be placed at Molina, through a company called Cognizant.
The fired employees — all US citizens or green card holders — were earning an average of $75,000 a year, plus benefits; the new workers, brought on H-1B visas, earned $50,000, with no benefits, according to a lawsuit filed by the ex-employees. The lawsuit alleges that Molina was flush with cash at the time, and that the real reason employees were fired was their nationality.
"The business model is to replace Americans," said James Otto, their attorney.
Not just at Molina, he said. "It's happening across the country."
The issue of "offshoring" American jobs has sparked emotional debate for decades, ever since factories began moving to cheap-labor destinations like India and China. But over the last dozen or so years, a quieter transformation has been taking place: the transfer of high-tech jobs to non-US citizens here in the United States.
H-1B visas, which allow immigrants who are sponsored by their employers to work in the United States for a limited term, have become ground zero in the looming battle in Congress over the complex issue of immigration reform. Supporters of the program argue the US economy badly needs more high-tech workers from overseas. Americans aren't studying enough math and science, the argument goes, so we must look elsewhere to grow our economy.
"In Silicon Valley, Austin, Chicago, or anywhere else in the United States I hear from CEOs that the H-1B visa system is inadequate for today's human capital marketplace," Robert Greifeld, CEO of the firm NASDAQ OMX, told Congress in 2011. The cap on visas "is robbing America of the next generation of great companies."
Vivek Wadhwa, a former H-1B visa holder, speaks about foreign high-tech workers in messianic terms. "We can either trip up the entrepreneurs who are going to reinvent America and save the world, or we can fix this problem," he told the same congressional hearing. "It's imperative that we allow Silicon Valley, our entrepreneurs, our technologists to do their magic and to save us."
But if these workers have such superior abilities, why not make it easier for them to become Americans? Why bring them here on temporary H-1B visas that keep them chained to the company that sponsored them for years?
The reason that many employers use H-1B visas is not because of foreign workers' special skills, but because these workers come relatively cheap.
Twenty percent of the 134,780 H-1B petitions approved last year went to just four firms: Cognizant Technology Solutions, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and Wipro. The latter three are among India's biggest outsourcing giants. Cognizant, headquartered in New Jersey, grew out of a partnership between Dun & Bradstreet and an Indian firm.
Iconic US companies, including Walmart and 7-Eleven, hire these firms to do IT work. The outsourcers can do it inexpensively, not only because they ship some of the work to India, but also because they bring temporary workers to the United States. Sometimes temporary workers come, learn the job, and take the work back to India for good. Other times, the job stays here but is filled by a rotating cadre of H-1Bs. When Molina Healthcare fired its IT staff, it didn't apply for H-1B workers to replace them. It got them through Cognizant, the largest consumer of H-1B visas last year.
Indeed, outsourcers have hijacked the H-1B program. Consider that Facebook, the epitome of a tech company that can seek out the world's best talent, was approved for just 307 H-1B workers. ExxonMobil got 58. The vast majority of participating companies got just one or two. Yet Cognizant got 9,281 of the visas. Tata got 7,454.
People are starting to notice. Cognizant is named as a defendant in the Molina case. And it isn't the only one to face a lawsuit.
Tata agreed in February to pay $29 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by Indian workers who were forced to hand over their US tax refunds to the company. Some 12,800 Indian workers are eligible for a payout from the lawsuit, which was brought by a Tata employee who worked at a Target in Hayward, Calif. Meanwhile, a criminal grand jury in Texas is investigating allegations that Infosys asked American employees to falsify paperwork in order to evade restrictions on the number of H-1B workers it could bring from India.
Wipro, which has a large presence in Massachusetts, appears to be the only one of the four left unscathed.
US newspapers haven't paid much attention to these legal battles. But the Indian press has been all over the story, speculating about what a change in visa rules would mean for India's outsourcing industry.
It is no secret that Cognizant's business model rests on importing foreign employees. Cognizant explains clearly to its investors in its SEC filings that tighter restrictions would damage its bottom line. "The vast majority of our technical professionals in the United States and Europe are Indian nationals," the company wrote in 2011.
But on Capitol Hill, Cognizant's lobbyists don't highlight its Indian workforce. A glossy eight-page hand-out entitled "Cognizant: An American Success Story" declares, "We create jobs in America," and, "Our US employee base is some 23,000 strong."
This is highly misleading, said Ron Hira, associate professor of public policy at Rochester Institute of Technology, who researches outsourcing and immigration policy. Almost all of those 23,000 workers, he said, are foreign nationals on guest-worker visas. (Alan Alper, a Cognizant spokesman, declined to say what percentage of its US workforce is American. He also said the Molina lawsuit is "without merit." A spokeswoman for Molina also said there was "no basis for legal claims" against the health care firm.)
The notion that the American economy sometimes needs an influx of temporary workers has been around for more than a century.
In the 1800s, Chinese laborers built railroads in California, but the Chinese Exclusion Act kept them from becoming citizens. During World War II, thousands of Mexican "braceros" were brought to harvest fields left empty by farmers who had gone to battle. After the war ended, thousands of braceros were deported.
Not since the braceros have so many workers been transported so systematically into the United States on the assumption that they will go back home.
Many temporary workers want to stay here, but can't. Their companies won't help them get green cards. Advocates say more H-1B visas are needed because green cards take too long for fast-moving high-tech firms.
That doesn't explain why the biggest users of H-1B visas help so few temporary employees become citizens or permanent residents. Cognizant sought 669 green cards for employees last year. Wipro sought 30. Infosys sought 21. Tata sought only four.
The reality is that once employees get green cards, they command an American salary and can go elsewhere if they don't receive it. Much of the competitive advantage of having that worker disappears. Employees on H-1B visas understand this all too well. Online discussion forums are full of workers strategizing about how to escape companies that haven't given them a raise in years. On one forum, a person identifying himself as a Cognizant employee wrote that he suspected his bosses of deliberately submitting shoddy paperwork for his green card to keep him longer in a low-wage job.
When the H-1B visa program was invented in 1990, no one expected that Indian companies would be its biggest subscribers. "Exploitation of the H-1B by outsourcers is a new abuse," said Bruce Morrison, a former Connecticut congressman who authored of the 1990 Immigration Act, which gave birth to H-1B visas. Morrison said the law — which vastly expanded employment-based green cards — was designed to curb the abusive practice of bringing temporary workers to fill permanent jobs. He crafted the bill with different professions in mind: nurses, physical therapists, and mechanics who serviced data processing machines, many of whom were from Taiwan and Korea.
"Rather than increase H-1Bs, we need to increase green cards — and deliver them to new hires immediately," Morrison said. That "would eliminate the disincentive to hire Americans."
But some companies have become addicted to H-1Bs. For them, the visas created a dream workforce: Young people with no family obligations who feel grateful for the chance to work long hours for relatively low wages. Workers who literally can't leave for better-paying jobs. Disposable people who go home after three years or six years — just when they start getting expensive.
While some temporary workers might be magical geniuses capable of saving the US economy, many are not. Jay Palmer, principal consultant for Infosys, describes in court documents how the company brought workers straight from school — "freshers" — who needed months, if not years, to get up to speed. Some were being paid in rupees sent to Indian bank accounts, according to Palmer's lawyer, Kenneth Mendelsohn. He said they survived on a stipend paid through a debit card, as they worked for the oil-field services firm Baker Hughes in Texas. "Six or eight Indians were living in a two-bedroom apartment."
Cognizant, Tata, and Infosys are not even the worst offenders. Smaller staffing companies known as "body shops" have been known to charge H-1Bs the cost of their airfare — a practice reminiscent of indentured servitude.
But the biggest problem with H-1B visa abuse is not the treatment of foreign workers. It's the way it distorts the US tech sector, exacerbating the very scarcity of American tech talent that the visas are supposed to solve.
John Miano programmed computers for 17 years. He used to work as a tech consultant for Dun & Bradstreet. He once helped clean up a coding project at AIG that went astray after AIG replaced its own tech staff with temporary workers.
But then Miano lost his job.
"As the business world around us becomes more and more competitive, large companies such as ours must find new ways to become more nimble," executives at Dun & Bradstreet explained in a memo in 2000. "To assist us in this endeavor," they wrote, they were going to hire Cognizant and Wipro.
Miano was one of the first to see what was happening to Americans in the computer industry. "We were on a death march," he said. He formed a computer programmers' guild and even testified before Congress. In 2002, he gave up and went to law school.
Try telling Miano that we need more H-1Bs because American kids don't study enough computer science. "Why should they?" he asks. "There's no future in it for them."
But even Miano doesn't want to get rid of the H-1B program. He just wants to reform it so that it only brings the magicians who boost our economy, not the braceros who ruin it.
I am not a nativist. Immigration makes this country strong. But let's dispense with the fiction that all temporary workers are living the American dream and doing work that Americans can't do. H-1Bs should be for companies that want highly skilled foreigners to work for them, not for factory farms of entry-level laborers leased out to the highest bidder. We can't allow them to make it impossible for firms that hire Americans to compete.
What if, instead of increasing the number of H-1B visas, we gave citizenship more quickly to more highly skilled people? And what if, instead of harping on how unqualified Americans are for these jobs, we celebrated companies that train and hire Americans?
Neeraj Gupta came to the United States from India on a student visa. Later, he got a H-1B visa. Eventually, he became a citizen. Recently, he founded Systems In Motion, a technology services company. Instead of bringing H-1Bs, he hired Chris Miller, an underemployed man from Novi, Mich., who worked at a furniture store. After the company's training program, Miller became one of his best employees.
"The right investments in our people can make the US an engine for job growth in the technology industry," Gupta told a congressional committee two weeks ago.
"Our people," Gupta had said. Let's invest in our people. Right here in the United States.
Farah Stockman can be reached at email@example.com. Follow her on Twitter @fstockman.


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Clown Shoes Tramp Stamp
Today I have a beer I have enjoyed on tap but haven't gotten around to sampling from a bottle yet. Clown Shoes is a newer brewery out of Massachusetts that appears to have been founded at the end of 2010 inspired by the Dogfish Head / Beer Advocate collaboration for the 2010 Extreme Beer Fest which resulted in wrath of the pecant. While a relatively young brewery they appear to have large catalog of brews that I have been enjoying sampling on tap over the past few months they have been in our market. Their beers are contract brewed by Mercury Brewing Company (formerly Ipswich Brewing) out of Ipswich, MA and if their beer names are any inclination they appear to have a lot of fun. This colorfully named Belgian-style IPA is brewed with Columbus, Amarillo and Centennial hops and was bottled 8/2012.
Pours a deep reddish orange hue that is very opaque and slightly hazy looking. Over three fingers of tight off white bubbles are easily created and stay suspended for many minutes eventually subsiding leaving a good deal of lacing along the glass. Smells of apricots, orange peel and grapefruit rounded off with a pleasant bitterness and some delicately spicy Belgian yeast phenols. The flavor is full of light pitted fruit notes. Apricot, orange, grapefruit & mango are most prevalent followed by contrasting malt characters and assertive bitterness in the finish. The combination of Belgian yeast and assertive American hops create an enjoyable earthy (slightly phenolic) yet citrusy flavor throughout. Alcohol is present in the flavor but is quite complimentary, and at 7% ABV it's not going to hurt anyone. Body is medium and the mouthfeel is slightly chewy and slick yet still very quaffable. The label says this beer is not subtle and that is definitely a fact, particularly when you allow it to warm up a bit. If you've been digging the Belgian IPA trend as of the past few years this is definitely one that is worth your time. Overall this brew provides plenty of citrus to keep us hop heads happy, yet contrasts with just the right amount of malt and phenolic belgian notes to give you the best of both worlds. Give it a shot and ride your bike.


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100 Smart Place
Slidell, LA 70458
A beautiful smile can brighten your life! If you are continuously hiding your chipped, stained, or cracked teeth from others, it's time for a change! Robert Rooney, D.D.S., a trusted Slidell area dentist, can fix chips, cracks, and stains to reveal a great new smile - and a new you. You'll look so good you'll wonder why you waited so long!
Slidell area restorative dentistry at Robert J. Rooney, D.D.S. can produce natural-looking results. If you have a damaged or missing tooth, we can help.
Our highly skilled team will assess your need for a crown, bridge, implant or other procedure to restore or improve your smile. Our goal is to provide quality dental care for your life-long oral health.
For comfortable dental hygiene treatment in the Slidell, Louisiana area, Dr. Robert Rooney is known for having a gentle touch. The friendly team at Robert J. Rooney, D.D.S. provides teeth cleaning for a whiter smile.
Maintaining good dental hygiene is the foundation for healthy teeth and gums. We're committed to helping you have a lifetime of oral health.
Robert J. Rooney, D.D.S. is a trusted Slidell area dental implants practice providing natural-looking, comfortable tooth replacement. We make it our mission to use a gentle touch during the process.
We hold ourselves to the highest standards to replace missing teeth and provide you with natural-looking results. Our goal is to restore your confidence and your bright, healthy smile.
You're unique, and you deserve quality, individualized care. Dr. Robert Rooney believes your dental experience should blend the best of the personal and the professional. At Robert J. Rooney, D.D.S. in the Slidell, Louisiana area, we take the time to get to know you and understand your dental needs. Dr. Rooney and his staff are dedicated to providing you with top-quality dental care designed exclusively for you.
59070 Amber St
Slidell, LA 70461
A beautiful smile can brighten your life! If you are continuously hiding your chipped, stained, or cracked teeth from others, it's time for a change! Paul Dugas, D.D.S., a trusted Slidell area dentist, can fix chips, cracks, and stains to reveal a great new smile - and a new you. You'll look so good you'll wonder why you waited so long!
We understand you have a busy life, and "going to the dentist" is one more task you need to check off your ever-growing "to-do" list. That's why here at Paul E Dugas DDS, located in the Slidell, LA area, we offer people hours, not office hours. Dr. Dugas and his staff put your needs first by providing flexible scheduling options to ensure you obtain an appointment that is convenient and workable for you.
Dr. Paul Dugas has a gentle touch and provides comfortable cleaning for a whiter smile. Offering sedation dentistry in the Slidell, Louisiana area, Dr. Dugas assures you that a bright, healthy smile is the result of regular, preventative, professional dental cleanings.
There are a variety of payment options available to our valued patients. Paul E Dugas DDS accepts debit cards, credit cards, checks and cash, and even offers convenient monthly payment plans for those who qualify. Call our Slidell area dental office today to discuss the right financial options for you.
Paul Dugas, D.D.S. is proud to be a trusted Slidell area Zoom!® teeth whitening dentist. Our patients love the short amount of time the tooth whitening treatment takes as much as they love the results.
You'll be able to relax in our comfortable surroundings. In just about an hour, you'll have a sparkling white smile!
Morris, Garrett B D.D.S.
4520 Clearview Pkwy
Metairie, LA, 70006-2308
Endodontic Associates Llc
190 Cross Gates Blvd
Slidell, LA, 70461-4179
Cyril Richard ,D.D.S. DMD P.C
30061 College Drive
Walker , LA, 70785
Lester, Daniel G D.D.S.
1431 Peterman Dr
Alexandria, LA, 71301-3433


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Job Description
Health unit coordinators, or unit secretaries, assist in maintaining patient and unit records, ordering supplies, transcribing orders, coordinating patient activities for the unit and serving as liaisons between staff, patients and visitors. Health unit coordinators work in health care settings such as hospitals units, clinics, public health care agencies, or nursing homes. They serve as the communications link among departments, physicians, nursing staff and patients and visitors. They may work with computers. They may work full or part-time, day, evening or night shifts.
Educational Programs/Qualifications
High school students should study health, computer courses, biology and chemistry. Formal training is required, usually through a six-month to one-year program at a community or vocational-technical college.
Links to Additional Career Information
- www.healthjobsstarthere.com
- www.californiacareers.info
- salarysurfer.cccco.edu/SalarySurfer.aspx
- American Health Information Management Association
www.ahima.org - Salary/Wage: Click here
- www.youtube.com/watch
- www.youtube.com/watch


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Astronauts have been able to view Earth from space for decades, but, surprisingly, only in the last decade have photographs of our planet's nighttime lights become commonplace. Space stations orbit so fast that landscapes below are blurred in ordinary photos, and it was only after a the development of fast-tracking cameras and light-sensitive, high-speed digital chips that a book like this could be produced. The traceries of light in these photos are evidence of humankind's
presence that can't be seen in daylight. Lights cluster in places of dense population and development, outlining continental shores, networks of roadways, the chain of industrial developments along the Trans-Siberian Railway, and of course the sprawl of cities. Magnified views of the great metropolises of the world are so detailed you can clearly identify major thoroughfares and civic centers. But the majority of the Earth's surface remains dark at night—vast stretches of Central Asia, the Arctic, the Sahara Desert, most of the Australian continent, and the oceans. That should remind us how precious is habitable land on our globe, and how delicate is the balance between civilization and nature.


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If you've picked up a pair of Apple's new EarPods, you've probably read that Apple designed them to fit all types of ears. That hasn't stopped many reviewers from pointing out they're a little loose and prone to falling out. The fix? A little sugru, that moldable silicone we love so much.
Instructables user juniortan picked up a pair and says they're a little loose in his ears, but all it took was a touch of sugru around the outside of the EarPods to fix the problem. He explained you only need a little bit—maybe 1/5 of the pack—to customize both earpieces, and once the sugru has dried nicely, they'll fit like a glove. Plus, you can always press down the sugru or add more to get a perfect fit. We've shown you how to repair damaged earbuds before with Sugru—it makes sense that it can also be used to improve the fit of the ones you have. Check out the link below for a full step-by-step, complete with photos of the finished product.
Customize the Fit on your EarPods | Instructables


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The National Museum of American History collects artifacts of all kinds—from gowns to locomotives—to preserve for the American people an enduring record of their past. We have more than 1.7 million objects and 22,000 linear feet of archival documents in our collection.
Featured Object Groups
Search Tips
As you use our collection database, please keep the following in mind:
- Our database is a work in progress. We are constantly conducting research, acquiring new objects and documents, and adding more context to our records. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
- The search includes material from multiple sources. A search returns items held in the museum's curatorial divisions, Archives Center, and libraries. Filter controls in the right column allow you to limit your search by data source or other criteria. Click the "Results from All Smithsonian Collections" tab to see objects housed at other Smithsonian museums, archives, and libraries.
- Most of our collection is not on public display. Only a small percentage of our collection is displayed at any given time. Some records will indicate if an object is on display, but the status is subject to change and online information may not be current.


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Unleashing NC's future
Published 12:00 am Sunday, July 28, 2013
'This is the formula that will unleash North Carolina's economic potential." So says Gov. Pat McCrory in a press release issued Friday after the close of the General Assembly.
For the sake of the state and its growing population, North Carolinians hope the governor is right.
But McCrory's predictions and his genuineness fall into doubt when his office sends out a press release touting, among other things, the fact that the budget funds teacher assistants in kindergarten and first grade. The release neglects to mention that budget writers cut funding for teacher assistants in grades two and three. Third grade is the year in which students are supposed to mature from learning to read to reading to learn, a point McCrory emphasized earlier this year. They'll have to master that skill with less help in the years ahead. What potential will that unleash?
Political spin hardly began with this governor and legislature. But this budget and the overall agenda that won approval this summer appear to contain some unspoken motives.
Certainly the so-called voter ID bill is much more than an effort to make sure voters are who they say they are. In addition to requiring government-issued identification to vote, the law shortens the early voting period, stops election-day registration and ends straight-ticket voting, a convenience exercised by some 34,000 Rowan County voters in 2012 — 19,470 Republicans, 14,228 Democrats and 329 Libertarians. Look for a press release touting the fact that North Carolina will have 10 days of early voting — not mentioning that we used to have 17. Does that unleash potential or rein it in?
Tax cuts are the real force expected to "unleash the state's economic potential," and some tax cuts were in order. North Carolina stood out for having the highest corporate income tax in the Southeast. Thanks to the legislature, we could soon have the lowest. And the state's three-tier personal income tax rate will change to one that treats everyone the same, from janitor to CEO — a flat 5.8 percent.
Those who don't consider a low, flat tax rate to be the holy grail wonder if some of the legislature's other moves might hinder the great unleashing. For example, are corporations so focused on tax rates that they'll overlook the government's fading support for public education, once the state's great pride? And what will this tax structure do to widen the gap between rich and poor as it expands the sales tax? Time will tell. We've yet to digest everything the legislature has done, but McCrory appears to be blessing it all. This experiment in governance was not totally of his making, but it's his nonetheless. The changes it unleashes will have a large impact on the state and McCrory's political future.


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Notice how easy it is to focus attention within space. By regulating attention in space, the processes of time and causation (chain of mental events) also are easily regulated. Focusing one-pointed attention in a specific space in the inner world of meditation is a real key to transcending time, space, and causation. Start with this image, but then close your eyes and place attention in the space of the navel center, heart center, throat center, or eyebrow center, and similarly go deep into the stillness and silence, which is there. Start with 15-20
seconds. (This is a yoga meditation practice called trataka.) |
click it again for SoHum mantra This site is devoted to
presenting the ancient teachings of Yoga Meditation |
1. Count
Down |


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From Bioinformatics.Org Wiki
Bioinformatics.org provides associate (non-voting) membership to individuals. This type of membership is divided into two categories: Professional and Basic.
Professional (dues required)
- All of the benefits of the "Basic Membership" (see below) plus...
- Unlimited job announcements in the Career Center
- A 20% discount on educational services provided by Bioinformatics.org
- Discounts on conferences and materials sponsored by Bioinformatics.org, when available
- Optional IMAP4 and POP3 email account using the Bioinformatics.org domain name
- Optional Linux shell account with some storage space and a Web directory
Dues: USD $75/year
For people residing in Low Income and Lower-Middle Income nations, according to the World Bank's List of Economies, the dues are reduced to USD $15/year. Please contact us about this discount.
If you're currently a Basic Member, upgrade today.
Basic (free)
- Create and join groups and projects
- Subscribe and post to forums
- Personal page for tracking your own activities
- Post your biographical statement and photograph
- Post your curriculum vitae, viewable by your colleagues and potential employers
Dues: none
Current members
- To find members, try our search feature.
- Bioinformatics.org members are encouraged to submit short biographies as part of their member profiles. Click here to the ones that have been submitted.


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Secrets Revealed: Fed Unveils Bank Loans Made During the Crisis
A massive cache of documents released by the Federal Reserve Thursday reveals that banks from every corner of the globe, large and small, turned to the U.S. government's emergency bailout program for help as the credit crisis exploded in late 2008.
In addition to global banking giants such as Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), the documents show numerous, small regional banks tapped the Fed's discount window, especially banks from areas hard hit by collapsing real estate markets, such as California.
Dexia, Erste Group and Depfa, were among the foreign banks that turned to the Fed as credit markets dried up and banks had no other alternative but to seek U.S. government bailout dollars.
Other big foreign borrowers were Norinchukin Bank of Japan, Bank of Scotland, and Germany's Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg and France's Societe Generale.
The Fed released the trove of information after a lengthy court battle initiated by media outlets including FOX Business, which sought the data under the Freedom of Information Act.
In 2008, as the financial crisis was gaining steam and many banks were bleeding money as a result of vast investments in toxic subprime loans, the U.S. government agreed to a series of emergency measures designed to bail out faltering banks by providing loans through the Fed's discount window, often referred to as the lender of last resort.
According to the documents released Thursday, the peak for lending was Oct. 29, 2008, with $111 billion in discount-window borrowing. About $50 billion of that day went to Dexia and Depfa.
FOX Business initially sought information on the use of the bailout funds for American International Group (NYSE:AIG) and the Bank of New York Mellon, and later sought similar data on the bailout funds for Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C).
FOX Business asked the Treasury Department to identify, among other issues, the troubled assets purchased by the government, any collateral extended by the banks, and any restrictions placed on these financial institutions for their participation in this program.
But the Fed refused to name banks that borrowed funds through the discount window or provide any other information related to the emergency programs for fear there would be a run on banks tied to bailouts.
FOX Business and Bloomberg News subsequently argued in lawsuits that the public had a right to know where the money went and how much was borrowed.
Sifting through the documents one broad theme emerges: all the large banks used the discount window to some extent, though the use of this so-called lender of last resort was generally a small part of their total emergency borrowing through other Fed programs. Goldman Sachs, for instance, tapped the window for $50 million, a tiny amount for a firm that size.
In some cases, the documents reveal a bank failure occurring in real time. Washington Mutual, for instance, started borrowing from the discount window on Sept. 18, 2008, with an initial loan of $2 billion. But it then borrowed another $2 billion every night until Sept. 25, when JPMorgan bought it.
Discussing the rationale for withholding the information, Jay Ritter, a finance professor at the University of Florida, said the Fed in late 2008, as it was lending money to desperate banks, feared "a self-fulfilling prophecy."
"The Fed was legitimately concerned if it revealed which banks were having trouble it would become a self-fulfilling prophecy and a death-knell for those banks," he said.
In effect, he said, if investors or depositors think there's going to be a bank run the chances are good there will be a bank run.
On the other hand, the secrecy surrounding the Fed's discount window flies in the face of other U.S. securities laws, namely the Securities and Exchange Commission's "mandate that all material information should be disclosed to investors for publicly traded corporations," said Ritter.
The FOIA complaint was filed by FOX News Network, LLC, as owner of FOX Business.
Kevin Magee, Executive Vice President of FOX Business Network, said at the time, "The Treasury has repeatedly ignored our requests for information on how the government is allocating money to these troubled institutions. In a critical time like this amidst mounting corruption and an economic crisis, we as a news organization feel it's more important than ever to hold the government accountable."
In early 2009, a federal judge ordered the release of some documents from Treasury. Much of the information contained in the documents was redacted, leaving thousands of blank documents, whited-out sentences and page after page of little more than lists of email recipients, senders and subject lines.
Meanwhile, Treasury was still able to file what's known as a Vaughan index, which allowed it to hold back some information. Citing attorney-client privilege, the government held back a lot. That's the material now being released.
Courts have repeatedly ruled in favor of FOX Business. In separate rulings, federal judges said Congress rather than the Fed should decide whether withholding the information best serves the national interest.
Despite the court victories, release of the material provided on Thursday had been held up on appeal. Specifically, a trade group called the Clearing House Association [CHA], which represents some of the biggest U.S. banks, had sought recently to have the case heard by the Supreme Court.
The CHA argued in its court filing that the Fed has never revealed the identities of borrowers from its discount window, the lending facility where banks get short-term funding and the source of the 2008 emergency loans.
But the Supreme Court ruled last week that it would not hear the case, forcing the release of the information by the Fed. The Fed, essentially conceding the battle to the media outlets, did not join the appeal by the CHA.
In an unrelated FOIA battle, FOX Business fought successfully last year for the repeal of a measure included in the recent financial reform bill that made it easier for the Securities and Exchange Commission to withhold information from the public. President Obama repealed the controversial provision in October following bi-partisan criticism of its inclusion in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform bill.
While that same bill has forced the Fed to increase its transparency, one area had been isolated for continued secrecy – the Fed discount window. Thursday's release gives the public access to that information.
Steven G. Mintz, who has argued several FOIA cases on behalf of Fox Business, said earlier this week in response to the Fed's release of the material, "It's been a long time coming. I am very pleased that the American public will finally be able to learn who borrowed money from the Fed discount window during the financial crisis."