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Congratulations on being employed in the newest Right to Work ("RTW") state. This special notice is intended to inform Wisconsin's private-sector employees–i.e., those employed by private companies and business entities–of their rights under this important new law. [If you are a public-sector employee go to the Special Legal Notice to Public-Sector Workers in Wisconsin]
Summary of Your Rights
1. Wisconsin's RTW law allows you to stop financially supporting an unwanted union. It gives you the choice whether to be a union member or pay union dues–or not do any of those things. It's your choice, not the union's or your employer's.
2. The RTW law only applies to collective bargaining contracts entered into, renewed or extended after the new law's effective date, which will be on or about March 11, 2015. If you are subject to a contract pre-dating the law's effective date, you can be compelled to pay union dues or fees until that contract expires, is renewed or is extended.
Detailed Explanation of Your Rights
Q: What does the new Wisconsin Right to Work law do?
A: It frees you from having to join or financially support a labor union as a condition of employment. Under prior law, you could be forced to pay union dues to keep your job. Under the new RTW law, you will have the right to be a nonmember and not pay anything to a union.
Q: Are all private-sector employees covered by Wisconsin's RTW law?
A: Wisconsin's RTW law applies to most private-sector workers, but it does not apply to employees of airlines, railroads or those working on property subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction. Although railroad and airline employees and those working on exclusive federal enclaves cannot be required to join a union, they may be required to pay union fees as a condition of employment. If you are an airline or railroad employee, click here for an explanation of your rights. If you work on federal property for a private-sector employer and do not know whether the property is subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction, call the Foundation at 1-800-336-3600 for further information.
Q: When will I enjoy the protections of the RTW law?
A: The RTW law takes effect on March 11, 2015. The law does not affect union collective bargaining agreements entered into prior to that date. Individuals subject to pre-existing contracts are not protected by the RTW law until those contracts expire, are renewed, or extended.
Thus, if on or about March 11, 2015, you are not subject to a union contract that requires membership or payment of union dues as a condition of employment, you are immediately protected by Wisconsin's RTW law. However, if you are subject to such a union contract at that time, then you will not enjoy the protections of the RTW law until that contract expires, is renewed or is extended. Once you are protected by the RTW law, no subsequent contract can require you to be a member or pay any dues or fees to the union.
Q: How can I exercise my rights under Wisconsin's new RTW law?
A: In order to fully exercise your rights to not pay union dues and fees, you must be a nonmember of the union. Voluntary union members, while they cannot be fired from their jobs for failure to pay union dues under the RTW law, may still owe dues and fees to the union on account of their continued membership in the organization.
If you are not a union member, you do not need to do anything to exercise your rights under the RTW law. Your employer should cease compelling you to pay union fees when the RTW law becomes applicable to you. However, it may be good practice to send your employer and union a letter notifying them of your rights and intentions. This is particularly true if you are currently paying service fees by means of payroll deduction (see below).
If you are currently a union member and wish to exercise your rights under the RTW law, send the union and your employer a letter stating that you are resigning effective immediately from the union and no longer wish to pay dues to it. You should check your union's constitution and bylaws to see if it has any provision specifying to whom a resignation must be submitted.
The union may assert that resignations must be submitted only during a specified time period. That is untrue, because federal labor law allows employees to resign at any time. If you encounter this response, you may contact the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation for further
assistance by calling 800-336-3600 or clicking here.
Q: If the current contract in my bargaining unit was entered into on or before March 10, 2015, is there anything I can do now to reduce the amount of dues I am forced to pay the union, until such time as I can cut off all dues payments under the RTW law?
A: Yes. Because Wisconsin's RTW law will take a few years to become fully effective in all workplaces, many employees will not be able to cut off all dues immediately. However, all employees can immediately exercise their legal rights to refrain from formal union membership, and to refrain from paying that portion of the dues spent on politics and other nonbargaining activities. This can be accomplished by sending a letter to the union informing it that you wish to be a nonmember and object to paying dues for politics and other nonbargaining activities. That will reduce the amount of compulsory union fees that you must pay. Upon becoming subject to the RTW law, those compulsory fees should cease entirely.
Q: What if I am paying my dues through payroll deduction?
A: If you wish to exercise your rights under the RTW law and previously authorized direct deduction of union dues or fees directly from your paycheck, in addition to resigning your membership you should also revoke that "check-off" authorization by notifying both the union and your employer in writing that you are revoking it.
The dues check-off authorization form that you signed may contain a restriction on the period during which it can be revoked. Even after Wisconsin's RTW law becomes effective for you, the union may claim that you still must wait until the designated "window period" arrives to revoke the authorization and cease paying union dues or fees. Whether such restrictions remain binding after Wisconsin's RTW law becomes effective is legally questionable, and may depend in part on the exact language of the form. If the union refuses to honor your revocation of a check-off authorization that you signed, you should contact the Foundation for further assistance by calling 1-800-336-3600 or by clicking here.
Q: Will exercising my rights under Wisconsin's new RTW law affect any other terms or conditions of my employment?
A: No. It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee based on his or her membership in a union. You will remain fully covered by any bargaining contract negotiated between your employer and the union, and the union will remain obligated to represent you. Any benefits that are provided to you by your employer pursuant to the bargaining contract (e.g., wages, seniority, vacations, pension, and health insurance) will not be affected by your resignation from the union.
The union can exclude you and other nonmembers from its "internal" activities, such as participating in union elections, union meetings, and contract ratification votes. If the union itself offers "members-only" benefits, you might be excluded from receiving those, including continued participation in a union's members-only benefit plan. (Participation in an employer-sponsored or jointly-sponsored pension plan provided as an employee benefit under the contract cannot be adversely affected by nonmembership in a union.)
As a nonmember, you cannot be disciplined by the union for any post-resignation conduct. Furthermore, nonmembers are not subject to union rules, including those against working during a strike. (If you are a union member, and you work during a strike, the union could potentially fine you and sue you to collect that fine in state court.)
Q: Where can I turn to get help or answers in exercising my rights under the RTW law?
A: You may contact the Foundation by calling 1-800-336-3600 or by clicking here if you have any questions about your ability to immediately resign, object to paying full dues, and revoke your check-off authorization when Wisconsin's RTW law becomes effective for you. The Foundation has established a legal task force to assist Wisconsin employees in taking full advantage of Wisconsin's RTW law. We know that many questions and issues will arise as the law is fully phased-in for each worker.
Q: Is there a sample letter that I can use to claim all of my rights under current law and the RTW law when it becomes effective?
A: Yes. Click here for a sample letter to use if you decide to resign from a union and revoke your dues check-off authorization. Though not legally required, you may want to send the letter by certified mail, return receipt requested to both the union and employer, so that neither can claim that it did not receive your letter. If your union and/or employer refuses to honor your resignation, objection, and/or dues deduction revocation, contact the Foundation immediately at 1-800-336-3600 or click here for assistance, because most claims of this type must be filed within six months of the rejection of your resignation, objection and/or revocation.
The Foundation neither encourages nor discourages you from resigning, objecting, revoking your dues check-off, or eliminating the union from your workplace. Those decisions are yours alone. The Foundation is simply explaining your legal rights in light of Wisconsin's RTW law. If you have any questions, or feel that your legal rights need to be protected, please call the Foundation at 1-800-336-3600 or click here.


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Feng Yu-Ho
Feng Yu-Ho served in the 22nd PS of the 4th PG.
As Japanese troop advanced on Wuhan, the temporary capital of the Chinese government, the 4th PG was made responsible for the air defence of the city and was based at Fencheng.
On 18 February 1938 the Japanese attacked the town with a reported 16 bombers, escorted by 26 fighters. In fact the actual composition of the Japanese force was 15 G3M bombers escorted by 11 A5M carrier fighters. The G3Ms were from the Kanoya Kokutai and led by Lieutenant Commander Sugahisa Tuneru. The escorts were from the 12th and 13th Kokutais and led by Lieutenant Takashi Kaneko of the 12th Kokutai.
According to Japanese accounts, there were low clouds over Wuhan, which caused a lot of confusion. Following warning from the air raid warning net, the Chinese interceptors began taking off at 12:45. First came eight I-15bis from the 23rd PS based at Hsiao-Kan led by Captain Lu Ji-Chun. Then came eleven I-15bis from the 22nd PS led by Captain Lee Kuei-Tan, commander of the 4th PG, which took off from Hankou Airfield at 13:00. Finally, ten I-16s of the 21st PS led by the commander Captain Teng Ming-Teh took off from Hankou Airfield at 13:10.
The first Chinese interceptors to encounter the Japanese were the I-15bis from the 22nd PS led by Lee's flight, which included Lieutenant Cheng Hsiao-Yu in the no. 2 position, Lieutenant Chang Kuang-Ming as no. 3 and Lieutenant Pa Ching-Cheng as no. 4, were climbing steeply at about 1500 meters south west of the airfield three minutes after take-off. Japanese planes from the upper rear intercepted them from an altitude thought to be at 4000 meters. Other Chinese accounts indicate that six A5Ms attacked the first six aircraft in the Chinese formation and another 6 (sic) attacked the two flights of five bringing up the rear. It would appear that it was the 12th Kokutai A5Ms led by Lieutenant Kaneko that attacked Captain Lee and the first two flights of the 22nd PS. Other A5Ms, including those from the 13th Kokutai, attacked the two rear flights of the 22nd PS. Caught by surprise, the 22nd PS was hard hit and the Chinese planes were badly scattered. Badly shot up in the initial attack, Lee managed to regain control and headed back to Hankou Airfield. Witnesses on the ground saw him attempting to land his stricken I-15bis. Unfortunately, it would appear that Lee's fuel tanks had been hit and were leaking because, while on final approach, the I-15bis suddenly burst into flames and crashed. Lee, the youngest Commanding Officer of the 4th PG at the time, was killed. Cheng and Pa were hit at the same time and spiralled down. Chang was attacked by three Japanese aircraft more than a dozen times. He damaged one of the enemy aircraft, and landed without injury to himself but counted over 210 bullet holes on his aircraft, including three rounds lodged in his parachute pack seat. Pa was killed when his aircraft crashed but Cheng spiralled down and landed safely. After landing he found his rudder cable severed by a Japanese bullet.
At the rear of the 22nd PS formation, things were just as desperate when they engaged the Japanese at 3000 meters south-west of Hankou. Lieutenant Wang Yi was shot down and killed. Captain Liu Chi-Han, 22nd PS leader, claimed to have shot down the A5M attacking him in a turning fight. However, Liu's own engine was also hit in the fight and it exploded shortly afterwards, forcing Liu to bail out. While descending in his parachute, two A5Ms came in to strafe Liu. Liu recalled that the Japanese bullets zipped by "like hailstones". After dodging couple of passes, Liu allowed his body to go limp and "played dead". Thinking that the Chinese pilot had been killed, the Japanese broke away allowing Liu to land safely. Lieutenant Li Peng-Hsiang, also in the rear of the formation, came under attack by a 13th Kokutai A5M flown by shotai leader PO1c Mitsuga Mori. Lieutenant Wu Ting-Chun tried to intervene by attacking from above and behind Mori. However, Mori turned sharply away from the attack, causing Wu to collide with Li. Wu managed to bail out and survive but Li was killed. According to other sources Wu claimed to have downed a Japanese fighter, and then crashed into another one. On returning, Mori claimed to have downed two other I-15bis (his first 4 victories of a total of 9 – 4 in China). Feng Yu-Ho claimed two Japanese aircraft and Chang Ming-Sheng claimed a Japanese light bomber.
Arriving from Hsiao-Kan, the 23rd PS I-15bis led by Captain Lu Ji-Chun saw the surviving 22nd PS planes being chased all over the skies by the Japanese A5Ms. Joining the melee, the eight I-15bis of the 23rd PS took the heat off the 22nd PS, allowing the badly mauled survivors to escape. The Japanese A5Ms, having come off their success against the 22nd PS, were fighting well with their flights largely intact. The 23rd PS soon found themselves at a disadvantage. It would appear that the Chinese fighters were not able to effectively support each other in the fight. Once again, individual Chinese fighters found themselves under attack by flights of three A5Ms. Somewhere in the melee, Captain Lu was isolated, shot down and killed. Lieutenant Wang Yu-Kun, after claiming to have downed two A5Ms, came under attack by three others. Wang's controls were shot away and the I-15bis went into a long glide towards fields north east of Wuhan. The Japanese planes continued to fire on Wang's plane but, fortunately, the Chinese pilot was not hit. The I-15bis eventually crash-landed in a field, Wang was knocked unconscious but he survived with only a bruised right leg. Liu Chung-Wu and Hsin Sau-Chuan each claimed a victory. Hsin was so close to the Japanese aircraft he shot down that lubricants of the Japanese aircraft splashed on his windshield and totally obstructed his vision and he had to break off action.
Just as it appeared that the 23rd PS was going to suffer the fate of its sister squadron, the tables were turned with the arrival of ten I-16s from the 21st PS. Having climbed to 3500 meters north-west of the airfield, the 21st PS led by Captain Teng, saw the A5Ms dive from approximately 4000 meters altitude and attack the 22nd PS south west of Wuhan. Arriving on the scene with an advantage in altitude, the I-16s were able to surprise the Japanese, which were tangled in a dogfight with the 23rd PS. This time, it was the turn of individual Japanese fighters to be attacked by the Chinese in flights of three. Lieutenant Liu Chi-Sheng scored a solo kill and then joined Captain Teng and Lieutenant Yang Ku-Fan to attack another A5M which was engaged in a turning fight with Lieutenant Liu Chung-Wu of the 23rd PS. Together, the four Chinese fighters shot down this hapless A5M. Lieutenant Yang Ku-Fan then joined with Lieutenant Li Wen-Hsiang, Lieutenant Wang Teh-Lian and Lieutenant Han Sen to down another A5M. Finally, Lieutenant Huang Yuan-Po, Lieutenant Wang Teh-Lian and Lieutenant Kung Yeh-Ti combined to down a fourth A5M.
Soviet volunteers also took part in this combat and according to the recollections of the volunteer Aleksey Dushin, about 10 o'clock in the morning they took off on an alert and at an altitude of 4500 m found themselves under cumulus clouds. An arrow on the ground pointed out the direction from which the Japanese would appear. After a ten-minute flight along this course they turned and flew back, and straightaway they discovered about 1500-2000 m beneath them, three flights, each of nine Japanese bombers flying in a tight formation. Moments later Japanese fighters appeared flying above the clouds. They began to dive on the Soviet volunteers on a meeting course, with the initiative remaining with them. Three Japanese attacked Dushin, and consequently he shot at all three. A cone of bullets, in his words, found one aircraft, but it did not burn. Two A5Ms began to fire at him, but he was rescued by the manoeuvrability of the I-15bis. Dushin was able to escape from them by diving, but on the way out the third Japanese caught him. But an I-16 came to his rescue, which later turned out to have been flown by Aleksey Blagoveshchenskiy (or Ivan Puntus according to other sources). Dushin then chased after "his" Japanese and opened fire at a distance of 25 meters. But the guns suddenly ceased, out of ammunition. Nonetheless the A5M made an unnatural climb upward and vanished from the pilot's field of vision. Several days later a Japanese fighter was found in this region, in Dushin's opinion, the very same one.
Blagoveshchenskiy fought an air-combat with a leader of a Japanese group of fighters and he shot down the Japanese fighter. His own fighter was however damaged and he suffered from a damage control stick, hits on the armour plate and tears on his flight suit.
It seems that Georgii Konev claimed an enemy aircraft in this combat while flying an I-16 and Ivan Puntus claimed an A5M. Leytenant Dimitriy Kudymov (I-16) also claimed an A5M.
In this combat was the commander of the I-15bis squadron N. A. Smirnov killed together with a second volunteer. After the death of Smirnov the commander officially became A. S. Zingaev, though the "chief" of the group remained Blagoveshchenskiy himself. Totally the Soviet volunteers claimed five victories in this combat.
Four Japanese pilots were lost in this combat. They were Lieutenant Takashi Kaneko (Class no. 57), leader of the escorting fighters, PO1c Shigeo Miyamoto (Otsu 1), Sea1c Hiroji Hayakgawa (Pilot 29), all from the 12th Kokutai and PO1c Inao Hamada (Pilot 34) of the 13th Kokutai. In addition, one A5M from the 13th Kokutai was damaged and the pilot, NAP3c Airora Sao, badly injured by two bullets. For their part, Japanese pilots claimed a total of 15 I-15bis (including one probable), two I-16s and one SB. The Chinese pilots totally claimed at least twelve Japanese aircraft in this combat. Captain Lee Kuei-Tan, Captain Lu Ji-Chun, Lieutenant Pa Ching-Cheng, Lieutenant Wang Yi and Lieutenant Li Peng-Hsiang were killed during the battle.
Feng Yu-Ho ended the war with 2 biplane victories, these being claimed while flying Polikarpov I-15bis.
Kill no. | Date | Time | Number | Type | Result | Plane type | Serial no. | Locality | Unit |
1938 | |||||||||
1 | 18/02/38 | 13:00- | 1 | A5M (a) | Destroyed | I-15bis | SW Hankou | 22nd PS | |
2 | 18/02/38 | 13:00- | 1 | A5M (a) | Destroyed | I-15bis | SW Hankou | 22nd PS |
Biplane victories: 2 destroyed.
TOTAL: 2 destroyed.
(a) Claimed in combat with A5Ms from 12th and 13th Kokutais, which lost four A5Ms with a fifth damaged while claiming 15 I-15bis (including one probable), two I-16s and one SB. The 4th PG claimed at least 11 A5Ms (and one damaged) and one light bomber while losing at least nine I-15bis (no I-16s) and getting one I-15bis damaged. The Soviet volunteers claimed 5 victories while losing two I-15bis.
Chang Kuang-Ming, 1998 World News Weekly August 1998 kindly provided by Tom Chan
Polikarpov I-15, I-16 and I-153 Aces - Mikhail Maslov, 2010 Osprey Publishing, Oxford, ISBN 978-1-84603-981-2
Most information kindly provided by Raymond Cheung and Tom Chan.
Additional information kindly provided by Erich Wang.

subset: commoncrawl


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A zine made by Dash Snow and Leo Fitzpatrick.
On The Way to the Clap Clinic came packed with The Journal : Issue XVIII in the winter of 2006 - so yes, we understand it's sort of dated. In that issue of The Journal, Leo Fitzpatrick interviewed and photographed Dash Snow and then the two went off and made this zine together (with some help from Susan Quist). That issue of The Journal has been out for a while now, but since not too many people got to see the accompanied zine, we thought we would throw it up (or part if it anyways) for everyone to take a look at.
Dash Snow and Leo Fitzpatrick
On The Way to the Clap Clinic
Published by The Journal
96 pages, full color
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Maybe it was to honor May Day or perhaps it was just resting up to commemorate today's Cinco de Mayo holiday. For whatever reason, Capitol Hill's lawmakers took a break from lawmaking all last week, but they are back tomorrow for a session lasting the rest of the month. And they do have their work cut out for them. Joining me now to talk about what's coming up in Congress is NPR congressional correspondent David Welna. Thanks for being here, David.
DAVID WELNA, BYLINE: Sure, Rachel.
MARTIN: So, what's happening? What is one the upcoming agenda?
WELNA: Well, in the Senate, they're picking up where they left off, trying to pass legislation that would make payment of your state's sales tax mandatory for what you buy on the Internet. There's some resistance to this from anti-tax Republicans. But since it's seen as a boost to brick and mortar small businesses, the bill's expected to pass. Its fate is less certain in the far more tax-averse GOP-controlled House. And that House, meanwhile, is expected to vote on Republican-sponsored legislation that would set priorities for paying the nation's creditors in the event the Treasury runs out of money and has to, at least partially, default on the debt. And this raises the specter once again of a big debt-ceiling limit crisis, like the one in the summer of 2011. And even though that episode damaged Republicans in the polls, some of them are, nevertheless, gung-ho about having another debt ceiling showdown, but this time with a list of who gets paid first and who gets stiffed. Don't expect that bill to go very far in the Senate if it does pass the House.
MARTIN: David, we've been hearing talk for months about some kind of potential grand bargain that would address a lot of really complicated issues before Congress. Any chance of that coming together?
WELNA: Well, Rachel, it's not clear, though. We found out in the past week that thanks to reduced spending by the federal government, the debt ceiling likely won't be reached until sometime next fall rather than during the summer. And that gives more breathing room for finding a deal. And to that end, House Republicans are planning a retreat this month to figure out strategy for dealing with the debt ceiling and a grand bargain. And we also have the Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Dave Camp, and the Democratic chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, likely coming out this week with a proposal to simplify the tax code. The biggest sticking point may be Democrats' insistence that a revamping of the tax code lead to higher tax collections, while Republicans insist it be revenue-neutral.
MARTIN: OK. So, another big issue that has been top of mind in Congress has been immigration. There was a bipartisan bill that is now in the Senate. David, where does that stand right now?
WELNA: Well, it's moving along at a fairly fast pace in the Senate. The Judiciary Committee this week starts to mark up or amend that Gang of Eight bill that would give a lengthy path to citizenship for millions of immigrants who are here illegally. One thing to watch is whether Democrats try to add a provision that would recognize foreign same-sex spouses for legal immigration. Republicans warn such a provision could sink the entire bill if it's added, given the strong GOP resistance to Congress giving its blessing, as it were, to same-sex marriages.
MARTIN: OK. So, as you survey the upcoming agenda, as someone who looks at these things a lot, anything else that caught you eye about what Congress will be taking up soon?
WELNA: Well, I'd keep an eye on a hearing that the House Oversight Committee is holding on Wednesday on the attacks in Benghazi, Libya that killed four Americans on 9/11 last year. The chairman, Darrell Issa, has titled that hearing Benghazi: Exposing Failure and Recognizing Courage. And while he hasn't released witness lists yet, he's hoping to have several whistleblowers testify who he claims the Obama administration has tried to silence. And this week, it'll also be interesting to see what lawmakers have to say about reports of chemical weapons being used in Syria. There's clearly not much stomach in Congress, nor in the entire nation, for getting involved in another protracted armed conflict. And yet at the same time, Republicans are chiding President Obama for what they say is blurring the redline he drew on chemical weapons in Syria. And we're likely to hear more about Obama's renewed pledge to close the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where 100 of the 166 inmates are on hunger strike.
MARTIN: NPR's congressional correspondent David Welna giving us an update on the upcoming congressional agenda. David, thanks so much.
WELNA: You're quite welcome, Rachel.
MARTIN: You're listening to NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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- Home
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Residential Ownership Incentive
The Zephyrhills Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) will grant $5,000 to incentivize the purchase of a home within the CRA District. The grant is intended to incentivize home purchases within distressed neighborhoods as catalyst projects and to improve the owner-occupancy rate in the CRA District and encourage a neighborhood friendly walkable community. This grant is not down-payment assistance, funding will be provided following the property sale closing and required documentation is submitted to the office of the Zephyrhills Community Redevelopment Agency.
Grant Guidelines
Please read the entire Grant Guidelines and Procedures before completing the application.
1. The subject property must be located within the Zephyrhills CRA District.
2. Any person who has filed for homestead exemption in the Zephyrhills CRA Overlay District at any time during the past 18 months prior to the date grant application is received by the Zephyrhills CRA is not eligible for grant program.
3. Only single-family homes are eligible for grant program, legal nonconforming multifamily structures, duplexes and triplexes can be considered only if converted to single family residence.
4. The grant program requires grant recipient, as defined by person or persons as listed on Warranty Deed of subject property, file for homestead exemption on subject property within 7 days of closing on subject property, NO EXCEPTIONS. Confirmation of Homestead Exemption from the Pasco County Property Appraiser must be provided. The filing of Homestead Exemption does not automatically mean you will receive exemption in same year.
5. If more than one person is listed on Warranty Deed of subject property, all those named on Warranty Deed must provide signatures on all grant forms, no exceptions.
6. The home purchase must be an "arms-length" transaction, property must change ownership to a buyer who is not a family member or has any business relation with the seller.
7. Refinancing a home does not qualify an individual for this program.
8. No demolitions will be permitted.
9. Any and all restoration of housing must meet all applicable zoning and code requirements, CRA Design Guidelines and any other applicable requirements as determined by the City of Zephyrhills Planning Department. Zoning and CRA Design Guidelines will be based on a single family residential zoning category. If the applicable CRA and/or Historic Preservation (within designated areas) Guidelines are not met, upon notice by the Zephyrhills CRA the applicant will pay the entire $5,000 grant back to the Zephyrhills CRA within 15 business days. If the funds are not repaid on time, the owners will be considered in default and interest will accrue at 18% per annum.
10. Grant recipient as defined by person or person as listed on Warranty Deed of subject property, must continuously maintain owner occupancy with homestead exemption for a minimum period of five (5) years. No exceptions.
11. The grant is not retroactive. Only one grant per structure is permitted.
12. Should grant be approved a five (5) year interest-free lien for $5,000, will be placed on the property. If the homestead exemption has remained on the property continuously for the five (5) year period, and there is no evidence that during the five (5) year period the property was not owner occupied/residing on subject property, the lien will be forgiven and will be removed.
13. Should grant be approved and requirements for continuous five (5) year homestead exemption not be fulfilled and/or applicant vacates subject property prior to fulfilling the owner occupancy requirement, applicant will pay the entire $5,000 grant amount to the City of Zephyrhills CRA within 15 business days of notification. Should grant amount not be repaid within 15 business days, owner will be considered in default and interest will accrue at 18% per annum.
14. The CRA Board of Commissioners reserves the right to deny an application at any time without cause.
Program Procedure
The potential buyer will submit the following to the Community Redevelopment Agency:
- Grant Application. (Applications are available at Zephyrhills City Hall (5335 8th Street), or by contacting CRA Director Gail Hamilton, at firstname.lastname@example.com
- Affidavit stating Grant Recipient will continuously maintain ownership of subject property and file for homestead exemption for a minimum period of five (5) years.
CRA staff will review the application for compliance with program guidelines and forward a recommendation to the CRA Board. The CRA Board of Commissioners will have final authority for approval of the grant awards. Written confirmation of grant approval will be sent to applicant along with grant agreement and W-9, all forms must be completed and signed by applicant/property owner and returned to the CRA Office.
Upon grant approval and submittal of all required signed documents a five (5) year, interest free, forgivable lien will be placed on the property. If the homestead exemption has remained on the property continuously during the five (5) year period, and if there is no evidence during the five (5) year period the grantee was not residing on the property, the lien will be forgiven and removed.
Should the grantee vacate the home prior to fulfilling the five (5) year occupancy requirement or sell the home to a third party, the grantee shall pay to the Zephyrhills CRA the entire grant amount of $5,000 previously received within 15 business days of vacating the property. Should grant amount not be repaid within 15 business days, owner will be considered in default and interest will accrue at 18% per annum.


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When liquids collide – Photographer captures amazing images with high-speed photography
These stunning ultra-high speed photos of water droplets were captured by photographer, Ronny Tertnes, 48, from Bergen, Norway. They show the water's displacement as various liquids are being dropped in. Ronny, who works full time as an IT administrator, set up his camera and flash rigs to capture the exact moment a droplet hit the surface, sometimes causing several drops to collide into each other. (TwoByTwoEditorial.co.uk)
(Photographs by Ronny Tertnes/TwoByTwoEditorial.co.uk)
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4125.0 - Gender Indicators, Australia, Aug 2013
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 27/08/2013
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More women than men in less secure jobs More women than men in Australia continue to work in jobs that provide less security and stability, according to a new report released today by the Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Today's release of Gender Indicators, Australia brings together a variety of ABS and non-ABS data to look at the differences between men and women, and how these differences are changing over time. ABS Director of Living Conditions Statistics, Caroline Daley said that in November 2012, 22 per cent of female employees and 17 per cent of male employees were in casual work without the stability of leave entitlements - a situation that remains largely unchanged since November 2008. 'This difference between men and women was apparent across all age groups up to 64 years of age, and for 8 out of 19 industry divisions', she said. Some of the lowest paid industries in Australia such as Accommodation and Food Services, Arts and Recreation Services and Retail trade tend to employ the highest proportion of female employees without paid leave entitlements (61 per cent, 48 per cent and 34 per cent respectively). 'It is concerning that 23 per cent of male and 30 per cent of female employees who are lone parents with dependent children, are casual employees without paid leave entitlements'. 'However, I should note, some of these employees might be attracted by work flexibility which enable them to balance paid work with family, study or other activities'. 'In contrast, only 11 per cent of male and 20 per cent of female employees in couple relationships with dependent children are working without leave entitlements', she said. More information can be found in Gender Indicators (cat. no. 4125.0) available for free download from the ABS website (www.abs.gov.au) Media notes:
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Workers cast adrift by technology. Last week we learned that the economy added 236,000 jobs in February. Better than a sharp stick in the eye, to be sure. But it still isn't enough. Average job growth over the past six months has been about 190,000. At this rate, it will take the economy 5 years to absorb the increase in the ranks of the unemployed since 2007, plus new workers entering the labor force. And don't forget the 8 million working part time who would prefer full time employment, 3.6 million more than in 2007.
How do we square persistently tepid job growth with the other big economic news of the week, that the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit new highs? Why can corporate profits be strong while employment growth remains weak? This brief essay will address only one of the many reasons: This recovery has simply left many workers behind.
The technological wonders that allow us to borrow a book without seeing a librarian, fuel our car without seeing a cashier, or book a meeting with a dozen people without seeing a secretary or making a single phone call have revolutionized the workplace. The trend is most apparent in the manufacturing sector. Just since 1987, the amount of "stuff" produced per labor hour has more than doubled.
Each technological advance renders another occupation obsolete. The trend is not limited to manufacturing. Many repetitive legal tasks can now be done by software, speeding the work of paralegals and new associate attorneys. "Speeding the work" means that we need fewer of them to accomplish the same tasks. TurboTax and its competitors have made it easier to file your taxes without the aid of an accountant. Technology has also exposed local labor to global competition. Radiologists in Chennai or Shanghai can interpret X-rays as easily as a radiologist on site at our local hospital.
Research confirms what we would conclude from observation: Recessions accelerate the speed at which technology replaces labor[*]. Firms cut jobs when sales falter and cost cutting spurs investment in labor saving innovation. As a consequence, many of the jobs don't come back when sales improve. The workers who had filled these jobs have been cast adrift—what they know is no longer needed by our economy.
Jobs left unfilled? Yet businesses report that some positions remain chronically unfilled as applicants lack the requisite skills. In a perfect world, workers whose jobs have been lost to automation or offshoring would smoothly transition to new positions, with training available to help them prepare.
The real world doesn't work this well. Neither the knowledge of the need nor the training to meet is always available. This is where community colleges play a critical role. In our community, the Economic Development and Innovative Workforce Services division of Monroe Community College was created specifically to address the training and workforce needs of the region from both a business and individual worker perspective.
Skills needs survey. In partnership with the Rochester Business Journal and the Center for Governmental Research, MCC is conducting a survey of local business to identify chronically unfilled positions in the Rochester area economy. In keeping with its mission, MCC will use the data from this survey to inform training programs that will specifically address local worker pipeline deficits faced by industry, and help put displaced workers back to work. As a major contributor to the Workforce Development initiative of the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council, the policy implications raised by the survey will inform the Council's workforce development strategy. If your business is contacted, please take a few minutes to respond. In a hypercompetitive global economy, investments in our workforce will make a lasting difference to our economy.
[*] See Nir Jaimovich and Henry E. SiuNir. The Trend is the Cycle: Job Polarization and Jobless Recoveries. March 31, 2012. http://goo.gl/pIB9X


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Adobe Potatochop
Adobe Potatochop CS4 Logo. How boring. | |
Adobe Potatochop CS4 box. Notice the crappy cover design and pretty finish. | |
Maintainer(s) | Adobe Systems |
Stable release | None |
Preview release | Adobe Yusho |
Operating system | America's and Britain's Fast Food Chains |
Software license | Proprietary software |
Percentage of users | 2% |
Adobe Potatochop CS4 is the industry standard software for chip production amongst chip shops the length and breadth of England. Available with a number of plugins, including the most recent 'extra crispy' update, it is, along with Adobe Suppersready and Adobe Fritolayers, one of Adobe's most well known pieces of software.
Released first in the United States, it is currently available for Pringles XP and Pringles Vista under the slogan "Once you chop, you can't stop" and also for Apple Mac as CS4 (Chip Shop 4). The latest version of this popular software is bundled as part of the CS Studio range, along with Adobe Fritolayers, and the recently acquired Macromedia Frites, Macromedia Fryworks and Macromedia DreamGriddler.
Current Crop
Adobe Potatochop CS5 (CS stands for Chip Shop, and replaces the previous numbering system, which was utilised up to Version 7.01) represents the cutting edge of Potato Manipulation Software. The latest version allows to mix potato breeds, improves rendering backgrounds so that you can add more potatos, and model 3-D potatos.
Maintaining much of the traditional interface, many feel that with a minimum of training, anyone, from first time users to seasoned professionals, can benefit from using this effective and comprehensive program.
Online Communities
Such has been the success of Adobe Potatochop amongst the potato manipulation fratfritterternity entire online communities have arisen, offering everything from advice for basic "chipping" through to advanced potato sculpting. The most popular are SpudWorld, PlanetPotatochop and Worth1000KingEdwards.com.
In recent years the term "potatochopping", and to a lesser extent "potatochipping", have become neologisms, having come to mean "potato manipulation" (often regardless of the actual software or hardware utilised). The shorter term "chopped" (or occasionally "chipped") is also frequently used.
This term should not, under any circumstances, be confused with the term 'Photoshopping', a derogatory term for poor image manipulation. Example of use: Some may claim that the popular television show What Not To Wear utilises excessive Photoshopping.
International Differences
Whilst the generic name 'Potatochop' is recognised the world over, there exist certain differentiations from country to country in attempts to aid recognition in a particular culture. Thus, each nation in which Potatochop is released has its own particular version name. The following table provides a breakdown of each of these. Whilst the generic name 'Potatochop' is recognised the world over, there once exist certain differentiations from country to country in attempts to aid recognition in a particular culture. Thus, each nation in which Potatochop is released has its own particular version name.
Name of Country | Regional Variation in name | Additional Plugin |
Britain | Adobe Potatocrisp | Fish and Chips |
United States | Adobe Potato Fries | Freedom Fries* and Hamburger |
Canada | Adobe PommeFrite | Poutine and Le Back Bacon |
Australia | Adobe Pertaidercheep | Feesh and Cheeps |
New Zealand | Adobe Pertaiderchup | Fush and Chups |
*This was changed back to "French Fries" in 2006.
Adobe Potatochop has a wide range filters, the most popular are:
- Skinned
- Blanched
- Crunchy Fries
- Greasy Fries (used by fast food chains nationwide)
- Curly Fries
- Crinkle-Cut Fries
- McDonald's fries
- TV Snacks Instant for Microwave , With Cancer
File Formats
- DFD: Deep Fried Document. The original version.
- COD: Cheese and Onion Document. Also available with battered cod.
- FFD: Freedom Fries Document. The most common format in the United States version, compatible with the French Fries plugin.
- CHIP: British version of the FFD format. Includes pea whet.
- PMF: Linux only "Penguin Meat Format." Incompatible with PETA based operating systems.
Software Plugins
- Extra Crispy. Known internally as Potatochop 1.1, addressed many malfunctions including lack of a free plastic spork and over-inked newspaper.
- French Fries. Released in US version as Freedom Fries (changed back to French Fries in 2006).
- Deep Fried Mars Attachment. Released in Scotland. Mods also available for deep fried Curly Wurlies and Galaxy Caramel. A Twix fix is expected to be released in the next upgrade.
- BBQ. Billed as the 'Hottest update yet' by Adobe.
- Lite. Low in poly-unsaturated fat version.
- Filters. For removing imperfections in the oil, darkening the fries, etc.
- Chipxar. File format for 3-D potato files.
Over the years, a variety of companies have attempted to compete with Potatochop, with products such as:
- Tater Chop Pro from Corel (originally from Jasc)
- Corel POTATO, also from Corel
- Potato Chipper from Microsoft (a component of Microsoft Kitchen)
- Potatochopper Implements from Adobe themselves
- The SPUD, an open-source GNU potato-manipulation software
- iChop, part of Apple's "iEvenmorecrapwemade" suite.
While some of these products have made inroads into the low-end market, none have made much impact on professional chip production. Adobe Potatochopper still accounts for the majority of the sales at Fry's (a Silicon Valley fast food chain popular among geeks and known for reflecting industry trends), and remains the most pirated by far (because pirates need plenty of starch in their diets).
More recently, a Free Kitchenware project (not free as in beer, or free as in speech, but free as in free for 90 days and then only three low low payments) called GINSu (GINSu Isn't Necessarily Safe-u) has gained popularity among home and professional chipmakers alike. GINSu was created by the UC Berkeley eXperimental Cooking Facility (hence its XCF native fry format) under the direction of master chefs from Japan.
Like Adobe Potatochop, GINSu slices, it dices, it juliennes with ease. It can chop through a tin can, and still cut a tomato like butter. Now how much would you pay? But wait, there's more! GINSu also comes with Chip-Fu, which allows users to write their own macro (very large) programs to produce a batch of custom chips non-interactively (for example, using CGI, the Common Greasepit Interface). It's more than amazing!
However, GINSu is missing some features which many professional chipmakers require, such as support for Pantone crispiness matching and ability to store in Adobe's popular Portable Deepfried Format.
See also
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'Capello given Russia reins'
Former England manager Fabio Capello, tipped to become Russia's new coach, has already been given the job, according to national team captain Andrei Arshavin.
"Russia's national coach has been appointed - he is Fabio Capello. We wish him success in his new job," Arshavin wrote on his personal website (www.arshavin.eu).
The 31-year-old Arsenal player, widely considered Russia's most influential footballer, could have had inside information into the affairs of the Russian FA (RFU).
However, the Arsenal forward might have jumped the gun announcing Capello's appointment as according to the official RFU line, talks with the 66-year-old Italian will continue next week.
Capello, who quit as England boss in February, came to Moscow on Thursday to meet Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko and acting RFU chief Nikita Simonyan.
Mutko, who described the talks as "productive", said the RFU would name a new coach early next week.
Local media reports on Saturday claimed RFU would hold the final round of negotiations with Capello on Tuesday.


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One year after the inauguration of the Old Bridge of Mostar, ten Culture Ministers from South East Europe will meet on the Venetian island of San Servolo on November 25 to 26 to discuss the issue of cultural heritage as an instrument for reconciliation and for economic and social development. Branko Crvenkovski, the President of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will also attend the conference, which is organized by the Italian government and UNESCO.
Participants will take stock of the impact of the inauguration of the Old Bridge of Mostar and announce measures to protect, restore and promote cultural heritage, which they intend to place at the service of economic and social development.
The Old Bridge of Mostar, which was destroyed during the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has become a symbol of reconciliation since it was restored and inaugurated in July 2004. Inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List last July, the bridge drew over 250,000 tourists in 2004 and 500,000 in 2005.
Croatia is attracting a large number of visitors again, particularly to world heritage sites such as Dubrovnik and Split. But visitors are shying away from the other countries of the region, despite the return of stability and the fact that they are home to 30 World Heritage Sites.
After addresses by the culture ministers of South-East Europe and two culture ministers from the Baltic States, the Macedonian President, Branko Crvenkovski, will invite the participants to meet in 2006 on the shores of Lake Ohrid, a World Heritage Site.


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DETECTIVES have been given additional time to question a 26-year-old man in connection with the murder of a former York businessman.
Beverley Magistrates this morning granted Humberside Police an extra 36 hours to detain the suspect in custody.
The Norton man has been held for questioning at a police station in Hull since being arrested in Malton on Monday evening.
More than 100 police officers and staff are now investigating the death of antiques dealer Peter Battle, 56, who police say may have lain dead for weeks on the lounge floor of his home, Whisker Cottage in Full Sutton near Stamford Bridge.
Detectives said yesterday they had reason to believe items such as silver cutlery, rare coins, sovereign and half-sovereign rings and a black and silver Advent laptop may have been stolen since Mr Battle died, and they urged anyone offered such items for sale to contact police. They also asked anyone who had spoken to or seen Mr Battle since Boxing Day to contact them.
Detective Chief Inspector Alistair McFarlane, of Humberside Police, who is leading the inquiry, said Mr Battle was known to deal in silver and gold and in particular half-sovereign and sovereign rings, coins and cutlery.
He regularly frequented auction houses in the Yorkshire area and was a regular trader on the internet auction site eBay.
DCI McFarlane said there was no sign of a break-in at the rural cottage, and police believed someone had visited the property after his death, which a post-mortem examination had confirmed was caused by severe head injuries.
"We also have information suggesting that a person or persons may have been visiting the property in the weeks preceding the discovery of Mr Battle's body," he said.
He said police were speaking to auction houses, including those in York, as well as eBay, to ascertain if anyone had been attempting to sell such items.
Mr Battle, who previously ran a computer repair business based in Acomb and was director for a marketing firm, Barton Trott Battle, based at Clifton Moor, conducted a lot of business in recent times through eBay, but his last transactions on the site were in mid-December.
DCI McFarlane said police broke into the cottage last Thursday after a concerned friend, who was unable to contact Mr Battle, raised the alarm. They found him suffering from severe head injuries, probably caused by a blunt instrument.
Officers were yesterday searching undergrowth on the road between Full Sutton and the A166 for any items of significance, including a possible murder weapon.
"We have a substantial number of officers and staff working on the investigation with forensic examination of the scene continuing and other lines of inquiry being actively pursued," said DCI McFarlane.
"This is a serious crime and we are keen to bring the killers of Peter Battle to justice.
"If you know anything which may assist us in our inquiries phone Humberside Police on the non-emergency number 101 quoting log number 492 of February 7, or directly to the incident room on 01377 208989. Alternatively, calls can be made anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."
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Add "Insight and Inspiration - Joseph Campbell Quotes" to your iGoogle page. |
JCF Publications News:Goddesses Now Available
By David_Kudler In 1980, when JCF president Robert Walter was working as Joseph Campbell's editor, the two men drew up a list of books that Campbell felt were important to publish. At the top of that list was a book on the feminine divine.
For more than thirty years, that project languished.
Edited by Dr. Safron Rossi, a Goddess scholar as well as the archivist at OPUS Archive and Library's Joseph Campbell Collection, Goddesses: Mysteries of the Feminine Divine brings that dream to life. Rossi pulled together Campbell's writing and lectures on the subject of the history of the mythologies of the feminine and created a sweeping narrative of the Goddess as She has appeared in the myths of the world's cultures. As far back as we have records of mythic thinking — back to the days of the cave dwellers — the image of the divine feminine as creator, as nurturer, and as devourer has been a prime expression of our species' metaphysical worldview. In this volume, Campbell explores the development of that mythologem, that fundamental mythic image, from the paleolithic Venus figurines, to the goddesses of Old Europe and the first human cities, to the subjegation of the feminine through the Bronze Age, through to the renaissance of the feminine in the late Classical and European traditions.
Heavily illustrated, thought-provoking and entertaining, Campbell's Goddesses is a book for the ages.
Collected Audio Series I Complete! By David_Kudler Seven lectures have been added to Joseph Campbell Foundation's site, each available for download as our Thank You gift with a donation to the Foundation of $5.99. All 30 lectures in Series I are now accessible at jcf.org. These will eventually be available over iTunes and Amazon; however, if you download from JCF, every dollar of your donation goes to production of the previously unreleased lectures in Series II and III. Read More... Mythos III Now Available! By David_Kudler
TIME Honors The Hero By David_Kudler
A Joseph Campbell Companion Now an eBook! By David_Kudler
Joseph Campbell "Comparative Mythology" mini-eBook By David_Kudler Mythic Dimensions Hardcover / Download Bundle These pieces, along with nine other essays ranging in subject from the numerology implicit in the Goddess mythologies to the erotic irony of modern novelist Thomas Mann, are included in the collection The Mythic Dimension. This volume was reissued in 2008 by New World Library as part of the Collected Works o Joseph Campbell series. Donors who request The Mythic Dimension when they contribute at the $20 level are able to download "Comparative Mythology" for free while supplies last; as a special Thank You, JCF Associates are able to request both book and download when they contribute $15. Request Mythic Dimension Hardcover/Download Bundle New Campbell Audio Titles - Available Now! By David_Kudler
Joseph Campbell's Classic Myths to Live By Now an Ebook By David_Kudler San Anselmo, CA, 6/17/2011 — The Joseph Campbell Foundation (JCF) has released Myths to Live By, the first ebook title in its Collected Works of Joseph Campbell series. This edition is currently available through Apple's iBookstore®, Barnes and Noble's Nook Store®, Google eBooks®, and Amazon's Kindle Store®. It is also available to donors directly through the Joseph Campbell Foundation website (JCF.org/ebooks). |


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Most of the parents included in a new study reported some infant feeding and activity behaviors that are believed to increase a child's risk for obesity later in life.
The study found that many of these "obesogenic" behaviors were highly prevalent among all of the parents, regardless of their race or ethnicity. Black parents were more likely to put children to bed with a bottle and report TV watching, while Hispanic parents were more likely to encourage children to finish feeding and to report less "tummy time" -- when a baby lays on her belly to play while a parent supervises.
"These results from a large population of infants -- especially the high rates of television watching -- teach us that we must begin obesity prevention even earlier, " said Eliana M. Perrin, MD, MPH, lead author of the study, associate professor of pediatrics in the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and UNC-Chapel Hill's associate vice chancellor for research. The study will be published in the April 2014 issue of the journal Pediatrics.
The study included a large, diverse sample of 863 low-income parents participating in Greenlight, an obesity prevention trial taking place at four medical centers: UNC, New York University, Vanderbilt University and the University of Miami. Fifty percent of the parents were Hispanic, 27 percent were black and 18 percent were white. Most of the parents in the sample (86 percent) were on Medicaid.
Among all of the parents, behaviors that are thought related to later obesity were highly prevalent. Exclusive formula feeding was more than twice as common (45 percent) as exclusive breastfeeding (19 percent). Twelve percent had already introduced solid food, 43 percent put infants to bed with bottles, 23 percent propped bottles instead of holding the bottle by hand (which can result in overfeeding), 20 percent always fed when the infant cried, and 38 percent always tried to get their children to finish their milk.
In addition, 90 percent of the infants were exposed to television and 50 percent actively watched TV (meaning parents put their children in front of the television in order to watch).
"What this study taught us is that we can do better. While we don't know the exact causes of obesity, families of all races and ethnicities need early counseling to lead healthier lives. That counseling should be culturally-tailored, and we are hoping our research sheds light on the best ways to do that," said Dr. Perrin, who is a practicing pediatrician.
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Today Fox Nation went after Joe Biden's Gun Violence Prevention Task Force by reporting that one of the members is the father of a young man who was convicted in 2008 of plotting a Columbine-style attack at his school. But that was only half of the story.
Thomas Nee was president of the Boston Police Patrolman's Association. He was selected to be a member of the task force due to his life-long career in law enforcement and his 30 year association with Biden. Unfortunately, he also happens to have a son who ran afoul of the law.
Joseph Nee was a teenager when he reportedly conspired with his friend, Tobin Kerns, to commit an assault on the students and faculty of his Marshfield, MA, school. He was convicted and sentenced to nine months, with another two years of probation. The defense noted that it was Joseph who went to the police to report the plot, which resulted in his arrest and that of his friend. Consequently, due to Joseph's renunciation of the activity and cooperation with law enforcement, no one was ever actually threatened or harmed.
The article posted by the Fox Nationalists featured the sensationalist headline "Member Of Biden's 'Gun Control Task Force' Has Son Convicted Of Planning Columbine-Style Attack." The clear intent on the part of Fox was to tarnish the task force's reputation in order to bias public opinion against its work. None of the details were included by Fox or the Breitbart News column which was its source.
Also not included was the fact that the President of the NRA has also had family problems with regard to criminal gun use. David Keene's son was convicted of shooting at another man in an incident of road rage. The younger Keene was sentenced to ten years in prison for attempted murder.
To the extent that Fox desires to discredit Biden's task force by publicizing the actions of a single member's family, the NRA should be similarly liable for the actions of the spawn of its president. If anything, these kids are a warning sign of the potential risks associated with growing up in families where firearms are revered. Both of these fathers were ardent gun advocates and users, and they raised their kids in households where such weaponry was commonplace.
However, neither of these fathers can reasonably be prohibited from involving themselves in the public discourse on gun violence because of the actions of their sons. And this one-sided effort by Fox to impose a form of censorship via smear tactics is unconscionable, unethical, and further evidence of their unfitness to be regarded as a credible news enterprise.


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JERSEY CITY – With the 2013-2014 academic year set to begin next week, some Jersey City parents say they are struggling to cover expenses as they try to buy required uniforms for their children's schools.
One parent activist who raised the issue at the Aug. 27 School Board meeting said several single parents have told her they are finding it difficult to pay for uniforms, particularly uniforms that must be purchased from specific vendors.
The price of required clothing for student uniforms can vary widely, depending on which school the child attends. While many schools sell shirts, with required school emblems, and allow parents to buy slacks, dresses, and skirts in the mandated school colors, other schools require parents to purchase uniforms from specific vendors.
Students at the Ezra L. Nolan School (MS 40), for example, are required to purchase their uniforms from Jay's School Uniforms, where a winter shirt can cost as much as $18. Students at the Frank R. Conwell School (PS 3) are required to get their uniforms from the website FrenchToast.com. Short sleeved shirts on the site can range from $8.98 to $12.98, depending on the size, while long sleeved shirts can range from $9.98 to $14.98, prices that are lower than Jay's.
School Board Trustee Vidya Gangadin said at the Aug. 27 meeting that she is able to buy her children's school clothes at Kid's Town which, she said, "is very cheap."
The uniform issue is no trivial matter, as parents told School Board members Wednesday. Students who show up at school in clothing and colors that do not meet school uniform requirements can be suspended, and parents believe that too many uniform-related suspensions could cause the school district to report them to the Division of Youth and Family Services.
Maryanne Dickar, chief of staff with Superintendent Marcia Lyles, confirmed yesterday that "school uniform decisions have been made at the school level," and the decision as to where parents must buy uniforms is not set by the Board of Education or the school district administration.
However, Dickar added, "We want to ensure that no policies place an undue burden on families. Schools will provide uniform shirts to any family that needs support. We are also reviewing current practices with an eye to keeping uniform costs down." – E. Assata Wright


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Comets: The Delivery System What'sNEW since 1998
Hoyle and Wickramasinghe also discuss another means of space travel which solves the radiation problem: comets. And even before that danger was known, the idea that comets could contribute to life on Earth was afoot. Among others, Isaac Newton endorsed it. "Newton considered the continual arrival of cometary material to be essential for life on Earth" (5). Some Basic Facts about CometsComets are like cats. They have tails, and they do precisely what they want — David LevyComets, as astronomer Fred Whipple figured out, are made largely of ice. Much of the ice in comets is frozen water, but ices of other compounds such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are also present. And comets contain, we have recently learned, a large amount of more complex organic compounds. These organic compounds may be limited to a mixture of molecules such as the original Miller - Urey experiment was able to produce, or they may be even more closely related to life; we can't be sure from here, yet. In the interior of a comet, under layers of opaque organic material, viable cells would be shielded from radiation. Of course, freezing slows or stops metabolism, so cells could exist there in suspended animation. A few larger comets such as Halley's comet have orbits that bring them as close to the sun as Earth is. Even fewer comets, called "sungrazers," actually strike the sun, or pass so close that they are destroyed by it. Most comets reside at distances far beyond that of Pluto, in orbits not confined to the plane in which the planets' orbits lie. They are so numerous that the total mass of comets in solar orbit may be as great as the total mass of the planets. Slight gravitational disturbances caused by the outer planets or neighboring stars can change a comet's orbit completely, steering some closer to the sun, others completely away. When a comet nears the sun, some of its surface material ablates away, making the comet's "tail." This process usually begins somewhere between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars. Some of the discharged material is gas, some of it is dust. Each makes a different kind of cometary tail. Dust and larger debris left by comets remain for a while in solar orbit. Earth often passes through the orbits of cometary debris, causing meteor showers such as the Perseid meteor shower around August 10 every year, when we cross the orbit of comet Swift-Tuttle. Thousands of tons of cometary dust, debris and larger fragments fall to Earth every year. Starting in the late 1960's, U.S. military intelligence observers doing surveillance against enemy missile attacks began to observe and photograph comets and other objects as big as thirty to fifty meters in diameter exploding in the upper atmosphere. From 1975 to 1992, 136 such objects were observed — about eight per year. That information was kept classified until 1993-1994 (5.5). It's worth remembering that four billion years ago, when life on Earth first appeared, the number of comets nearing the sun was hundreds or thousands of times greater than it is now (6). The study of comets today is rich with surprises. For example, comet Hyakutake, which was easily visible to the naked eye in March, 1996, was first discovered by a Japanese amateur astronomer using binoculars. Astronomers were surprised to learn "Hyakutake contains abundant ethane and methane, compounds never before confirmed in comets" (7-9). On March 27, 1997, NASA announced that a year-long study using Hubble and several Earth-based telescopes shows that the trace ices in the nucleus of comet Hale-Bopp are somehow segregated from water-ice (10). And on April 21, 1997, astronomers on the Canary Islands reported that Hale-Bopp has a third tail of a kind not seen before; it is composed of sodium gas (11). Following so many new findings, comet theorists are completely rethinking how comets are formed and what they contain. Perhaps in the process they should consider biological causes for some of the unexpected phenomena. For example, on Earth, ethane comes from methane, and methane is made from carbon dioxide by bacteria. This process could happen on comets as well. Comets Reaching EarthMany objects that fall into Earth's atmosphere from space are destroyed by heat before they reach Earth's surface. Only the very largest objects have enough momentum to penetrate the atmosphere without slowing down much. The largest comets are in this category. Imagine the fate of living cells deeply embedded in the ice of a large comet. The high heat requirement to melt ice, and water's extremely high heat of vaporization could offer some protection to the cells during a fast trip through the atmosphere. And landing in the ocean would soften the impact. Still, the heat generated by such explosions can be enormous.Christopher Chyba, Paul Thomas, Leigh Brookshaw and Carl Sagan wrote a study of this problem, published in Science in 1990, entitled "Cometary Delivery of Organic Molecules to the Early Earth" (12). They carefully calculate the heat generated by high speed impacts with Earth, and then conclude that life's building blocks (not whole cells) could arrive intact. It is reasonable to extend their conclusion to cells, by expanding the scope of their study. Chyba and his coauthors in 1990 admittedly do not examine the case of a comet exploding before impact. However most comets, indeed most large meteoroids of any type except iron ones, would explode before impact. In 1992 Chyba and Sagan (13) did address the explosion of comets in the atmosphere and found that for the delivery of intact organic compounds at least, this method of transfer was far more effective than comets that collide with the surface. The best known atmospheric explosion of a meteoroid happened eight kilometers above Tunguska in central Siberia on June 30, 1908. The explosion flattened the forest for roughly 15 kilometers in every direction. The object was most likely an asteroid, perhaps 60 meters in diameter, because a comet would have exploded higher in the atmosphere. Our knowledge of this event is indirect because no one investigated the site until twenty years after the explosion (14). A similar atmospheric explosion, again over Siberia, occurred in 1947. We know that atmospheric explosions before impact by comets and asteroids are common. An explosion in the air would be much gentler than a collision with either Earth's hard surface or the ocean. Matter on the trailing side of a comet exploding in the atmosphere would be significantly slowed by the jolt. And matter located there would also be the best protected from the heat generated during atmospheric entry prior to the explosion. In March 1965, an object estimated at 7 - 8 meters in diameter exploded 30 kilometers over Revelstoke, Canada. This time investigators arrived promptly and recovered many fragments a few millimeters in size. Most of these were not altered by heat, proving that a plausible delivery mechanism for cells exists (15). In a new development, on May 28, 1997, NASA announced observations that comets as large as houses — "thousands per day" — actually break up and are destroyed at 600 to 15,000 miles above Earth. Dr. Lewis A. Frank, the principal investigator for NASA's Polar spacecraft instruments, described their descent as a "relatively gentle 'cosmic rain'." (16-16.2)
There are, as we see, several plausible methods of delivering cells in comets from space to Earth. Of course, our case for the presence of bacteria in comets would be stronger if we could actually find on Earth fossilized bacteria in a meteorite that came from a comet. Is this possible? Not all meteorites were necessarily ever embedded in comets. Most meteorites appear to be fragments of more solid objects such as asteroids or even other planets. However, a minority of meteorites, about 4 percent, are different from the rest. They are called carbonaceous chondrites. They contain a much higher percentage of carbon, from .35 percent to 4.8 percent versus a mean of .1 percent for ordinary meteorites. Their chemical composition makes them more susceptible to destruction by heat; the proportion of them entering the atmosphere may be as high as 50 percent (18). We know from the recovered fragments that the object that exploded over Revelstoke, for example, was a carbonaceous chondrite. Among astronomers there are several theories about how carbonaceous chondrites came to be different (19). Recently scientists have determined that "salt-rich fluids analogous to terrestrial brines" flowed through the veins found in them (20), and that they were formed very early in the development of the solar system (21). The most accepted theory today is that they are remnants of spent comets.
By 1975, however, Nagy was no longer sure that the objects he and Claus had seen were extraterrestrial microfossils. In 1982, now looking at traces of amino acids from the Murchison meteorite, Nagy was cautious and noncommittal as to where they came from.
Nearly ten years later, German geologist and paleontologist Hans Dietrich Pflug also examined fragments of the Murchison meteorite. Using a new and difficult technique with the fragments, Pflug isolated and photographed some startling things. The photographed forms resemble fossilized cells and virus particles. Pflug considered the arguments for and against Earthly contamination as the source for the fossils and is convinced that the fossils came from space (27). But he is officially noncommittal as to whether they are actually what they look like — cells and virus particles. "There is no convincing evidence that the forms are more than 'organized elements,' possibly some kind of prebiotic structures," he now says. Today the consensus is that all such fossils are Earthly contaminants, but the case is not settled. More research is needed. Recently, new and better methods to conduct this kind of research have been developed by NASA researchers examining the meteorite from Mars designated ALH 84001. Fortunately, similar methods are now being applied to the Murchison meteorite, and the preliminary results are startling. Pictures made available in July, 1997, show microscopic forms in Murchison that look very lifelike (27.5).
Dust and SporesMost of the debris that comets shed is a fine dust. In fact, dust is the form in which the greatest volume of organic compounds is delivered to Earth; far more arrives that way than in larger meteorites or the largest impactors such as whole comets (28, 29). The fate of tiny dustlike particles falling to Earth is very different from that of larger objects. The effect of the thin upper atmosphere on particles as fine as single spores or viruses as they enter it at high speed can be to slow them while heating them only mildly, for only a few seconds.Hoyle and Wickramasinghe calculated that a particle the size of a typical bacterium might get briefly heated to 500 degrees C. They then cite studies in which E. coli were subjected to close to twenty seconds of flash heating of up to 700 degrees C and survived (30). E. coli do not normally live in a hot environment; they live in our intestines. There are archaebacteria, however, that thrive at well above the boiling point of water, and many bacteria form heat-resistant spores. It is reasonable to assume that the sporulated forms of some of these could survive flash heating even better than normal E. coli can. An array of cellular equipment that could help bacteria survive sudden heating is their set of "heat-shock" proteins. According to the textbook The Molecular Biology of the Gene (31): "In almost all kinds of cells subject to heat shock, certain proteins (about 17 in E. coli) begin to be made much faster than usual.... Remarkably, some heat-shock proteins of widely different species are closely related; in fact, there are even similarities between those of bacteria and those of eukaryotes.... [W]e have no idea what function they have in common that is essential to save cells from the rigors of a sudden temperature rise...." The response time of heat-shock proteins is less than a minute in the eukaryotic cells that have been observed for this response. In prokaryotic cells the response would be much quicker, because transcription is simpler and translation begins immediately. The writers of the quoted text do not consider that these proteins could help cells survive the heat of atmospheric entry. But why couldn't they? (31.5) After being released as dust by a comet, before entering the atmosphere, bacteria would be subject to radiation damage for a short while at least. Interestingly, certain bacteria, such as Deinococcus radiodurans, can survive a dose of nuclear radiation 3,000 times stronger than the dosage that would kill a human (32). There has never been radiation that strong on Earth. If life originated here from nonliving chemicals, and if evolution works according to the darwinian paradigm, the evolution of that survival capability is hard to explain. In fact, Dr. Kenneth Minton, one of the scientists who studied these bacteria, said, "Deinococcus radiodurans would be a good vector for panspermia" (33). Anomalous Behavior by Some CometsWhen a typical comet nears the sun, it vents gases and dust from various places. This has been thought to happen because the sun's heat on the comet's irregular surface causes cometary material to boil off asymmetrically. However, some comets like Chiron and Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 exhibit unusual behavior; they sputter and brighten too far from the sun for this mechanism to work (34-37). Hale-Bopp is another comet in this category (38). Even Halley's comet had an unexpected outburst in 1991; it brightened by a factor of 300 while it was outbound and well beyond the orbit of Saturn. The strictly chemical explanations of these anomalous events rely on processes that would run out of supplies within a few hundred years.M. K. Wallis and Wickramasinghe (39) proposed another explanation; namely, that a cycle of surface freezing, compression, and cracking may cause compressed liquid or gas to squirt from a comet's interior. A third possibility, which Hoyle and Wickramasinghe have considered, is that cellular metabolism may be under way on some comets. This metabolism could generate gasses that could, directly or indirectly, account for the brightening. The recent discovery of abundant methane and ethane in the coma of comet Hyakutake (40) strengthens this possibility. In any case, the anomalous brightening of these comets needs explaining. The presence of liquid water or even life on the comets could help explain it. More research would help here as well.
References1. Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe, Lifecloud: The Origin of Life in the Universe. Harper and Row 1978.2. J. Secker, P. S. Wesson and J. R. Lepock, "Damage Due to Ultraviolet and Ionizing Radiation during the Ejection of Shielded Microorganisms from the Vicinity of 1 Solar Mass Main Sequence and Red Giant Stars" p 1-28 v 329 Astrophysics and Space Science. 1994. (Jeff Secker's website.) 3. Jeff Secker, Paul S. Wesson and James R. Lepock, "Astrophysical and Biological Constraints on Radiopanspermia" p 184-192 v 90 n 4 Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. August 1996. 4. Paul Parsons, "Dusting off panspermia" p 221-222 v 383 Nature. 19 September 1996. 5. Donald K. Yoemans, Comets. New York: Wiley Science Editions 1991. p 350. 5.5. William J. Broad, "Earth is Target for Space Rocks at Higher Rate Than Thought" p B9,B14, The New York Times. 7 January 1997. 6. Christopher F. Chyba, "Extraterrestrial amino acids and terrestrial life" p 113-114 v 348 Nature. 8 November 1990. 7. Michael Mumma et al., "Detection of Abundant Ethane and Methane, Along with Carbon Monoxide and Water, in Comet C/1996 B2 Hyakutake: Evidence for Interstellar Origin" p 1310-1314 v 272 Science. 31 May 1996. 8. Kim Peterson, "Hyakutake Produces Another Surprise" p 1263-1264 v 272 Science. 31 May 1996. 9. Ron Cowen, "Bright Comet Poses Puzzle: Hyakutake's tails of mystery" ScienceNewsOnline, June 1, 1996. 10. "Hubble and IUE Hale-Bopp Observations Surprise Astronomers, NASA News Release 97-55, March 27, 1997. 11. Malcolm W. Browne, "Hale-Bopp Has 3d Tail" p B11, The New York Times April 22, 1997. 12. Christopher F. Chyba, Paul J. Thomas, Leigh Brookshaw and Carl Sagan, "Cometary Delivery of Organic Molecules to the Early Earth" p 366-373 v 249 Science. 27 July 1990. abstract 13. Christopher F. Chyba and Carl Sagan, "Endogenous production, exogenous delivery and impact-shock synthesis of organic molecules; an inventory for the origins of life" p 125-132 v 355 Nature. 1992. 14. The Sibirian Center for Universal Catastrophe is a new resource on the Tunguska event. 15. Christopher F. Chyba, Paul J. Thomas and Kevin J. Zahnle, "The 1908 Tunguska explosion: disruption of a stony asteroid" p 40-44 v 361 Nature, 7 January 1993. 16. NASA newsrelease 97-112, 28 May 1997. 16.1. William J. Broad, "Tiny Comets May Have Big Impact" The New York Times, May 29, 1997. 16.2. see also NASA Sees Comets Entering Atmosphere, this website. 17. David W. Deamer and Gail R. Fleischaker, Origins of Life: The Central Concepts. Jones and Bartlett Publishers 1994. 18. Edward Anders, "Pre-biotic organic matter from comets and asteroids" p 255-257 v 342 Nature. 1989. 19. John G. Burke, Cosmic Debris: Meteorites in History. University of California Press 1986. p 304-307. 20. Ian D. Hutcheon, "Signs of an early spring," doi:10.1038/379676a0, p 676-677 v 379 Nature, 22 Feb 1996. 21. Magnus Endress, Ernst Zinner and Adolf Bischoff, "Early aqueous activity on primitive meteorite parent bodies," doi:10.1038/379701a0, p 701-703 v 379 Nature, 22 Feb 1996. 22. George Claus and Bartholomew Nagy, "A Microbial Examination of Some Carbonaceous Chondrites" p 594-596 v 192 Nature. 18 November 1961. 23. Bartholomew Nagy, George Claus and Douglas Hennessy, "Organic Particles embedded in Minerals in the Orgueil and Ivuna Carbonaceous Chondrites" p 1129-1133 v 193 Nature. 24 March 1962. 24. Harold C. Urey, "Origin of Life-like Forms in Carbonaceous Chondrites" p 1119-1233 v 193 Nature. 24 March 1962. 25. Harold C. Urey, "Biological Material in Meteorites: A Review" p 247-166 v 151 Science. 14 January 1966. 26. Keith Kvenvolden, James Lawless, Katherine Pering, Etta Peterson, Jose Flores, Cyril Ponnamperuma, I. R. Kaplan and Carleton Moore, "Evidence for Extraterrestrial Amino-acids and Hydrocarbons in the Murchison Meteorite" p 923-926 v 228 Nature. 1970. 27. Hans D. Pflug, "Ultrafine Structure of the Organic Matter in Meteorites" p 24-37 Fundamental Studies and the Future of Science, Chandra Wickramasinghe, ed. University College Cardiff Press 1984. 27.5. See Fossilized Life Forms in the Murchison Meteorite, this website. 28. Christopher Chyba and Carl Sagan, "Endogenous production, exogenous delivery and impact-shock synthesis of organic molecules: an inventory for the origins of life" p 125-132 v 355 Nature. 1992. 29. Edward Anders, "Pre-biotic organic matter from comets and asteroids" p 255-257 v 342 Nature. 1989. 30. Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe, Our Place in the Cosmos. J.M. Dent Ltd. 1993. p 79. 31. James D. Watson, Nancy H. Hopkins, Jeffrey W. Roberts, Joan Argetsinger Steitz and Alan M. Weiner, The Molecular Biology of the Gene, 4th edition. Menlo Park, California: The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc. 1987. p 485. 31.5. Farajollah Maleki, Afra Khosravi, Ahmad Nasser, Hamid Taghinejad, and Mitra Azizian, "Bacterial Heat Shock Protein Activity," doi:10.7860/JCDR/2016/14568.7444, J Clin Diagn Res., Mar 2016. 32. Michael J. Daly and Kenneth W. Minton, "Resistance to Radiation" p 1318 v 270 Science. 24 November 1995. 33. Malcolm W. Browne, "Odd Microbe Survives Vast Dose of Radiation" p C1,C5 The New York Times 28 November 1995. 34. J. L. Elliot et al. (26 others). "Jet-like features near the nucleus of Chiron" p 46-49 v 373 Nature. 5 January 1995. 35. Ron Miller, and William K. Hartmann, The Grand Tour: A Traveler's Guide to the Solar System. Workman Publishing 1993. 36. Matthew C. Senay and David Jewitt, "Coma formation driven by carbon monoxide release from comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 1" p 229-231 v 371 Nature. 15 September 1994. 37. Alan S. Stern, "Chiron illuminated" p 23-24 v 373 Nature. 5 January 1995. 38. Nicolas Biver et al., "Substantial outgassing of CO from comet Hale-Bopp at large heliocentric distance" p 137-139 v 380 Nature. 14 March 1996. 39. M. K. Wallis and N. C. Wickramasinghe, "Comet Halley's Remote Outburst" p 228-230 v 112 The Observatory. 1992. 40. Douglas Isbell and Jim Sahli, "Chemical Measurements of Comet Hyakutake Suggest a New Class of Comet" release 96-108 NASA HQ Public Affairs Office. 31 May 1996. Related ReadingM. E. Bailey, S. V. M. Clube and W. M. Napier, The Origin of Comets. Oxford: Pergamon Press 1990.William J. Broad, "The Comet's Gift: Hints of How Earth Came to Life" p B9,B12 The New York Times April 1, 1997. William J. Broad, "Spotlight On Comets In Shaping of Earth" p B7,B11 The New York Times June 3, 1997. Cristiano Batalli Cosmovici, Stuart Bowyer and Dan Werthimer, eds., Astronomical and Biochemical Origins and the Search for Life in the Universe: Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Bioastronomy, IAU Colloquium No. 161, Capri, July 1-5, 1996, Editrice Compositori 1997. Note especially: Sara Schechner Genuth, Comets, Popular Culture, and the Birth of Modern Cosmology. Princeton University Press 1997. (Lots about Isaac Newton.) Roland Meier et al., "Deuterium in Comet C/1995 01 (Hale-Bopp): Detection of DCN" p 1707-1710 v 279 Science. 13 March 1998. "The observed values... imply a kinetic temperature above 30 K in the ... interstellar cloud that formed the solar system." Bartholomew Nagy, Carbonaceous Meteorites, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company 1975. William R. Newcott, "The Age of Comets" p 94-109 v 192 n 6 National Geographic, December, 1997. Paul J. Thomas, Christopher F. Chyba and Christopher P. McKay, eds., Comets and the Origin and Evolution of Life. Springer-Verlag, New York, Inc. 1997. Related WebsitesThe Leonid Sample Return Mission from Space Science News at Marshall Space Flight Center, 16 November 1998.Chemical Measurements of Comet Hyakutake Suggest a New Class of Comets: News release 96-108 from NASA JPL. Meteorites and Comets: Organic Matter and Exobiological Hypotheses, 1834-Present: a large, categorized, annotated bibliography in "The Net Advance of Physics" by N. Redington and K.R. Keck at MIT. SpaceViews: Comet Hale Bopp. SpaceViews is a monthly publication of the Boston chapter of the National Space Society. Stratospheric Dust: part of Planetary Materials Curation at NASA JSC. NASA researchers: Comet shower triggered life on Earth by Don Knapp on CNN Interactive, April 17, 1997. Comets, maintained by Ron Baalke, JPL, NASA. Comets, one of Bill Arnett's Nine Planets, an excellent resource. The Comet Hale-Bopp Home Page at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, contains more than 3,200 images, including one obtained by a California astronomer the night after the comet was discovered in July 1995. The Near-Live Comet Watching System at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC, contains more than 1,300 images. Astronomers from Australia, Asia, Europe and the Americas have submitted images, which have been captured by everything from professional observatory equipment to the backyard gear of an amateur astronomer. The archives include photographs of the comet over San Francisco; Dublin, Ireland; and Genoa, Italy. UMass Astronomers Report Comets May Have Introduced Interstellar Chemicals to Earth by Arthur Clifford, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 9 October 1996. SKY Online's Comet Page by Sky Publishing Corporation, 1998. | |||||


text:
Life on Bagath had been wonderful for Crick.
The verpine ex-Jedi had received a fair share of death threats, burnt effigies, and more - true enough. But the solar radiation was nice, and there weren't a lot of bothersome, stray electromagnetic frequencies.
Crick had been away from other verpine a long time - knowing all too full and well the dangers of being in a hive - long enough to have dropped the "he" that had been forced into his frame by the lack of males in the home hive.
"He" had picked it back up again to give the humans - oh, and most of the locals were humans - something to reference him with, other than swear words.
It was a strange thing. You started letting other people call you "him," and then you were doing it yourself, before long.
But here he was safe from danger. He tended a nerf herd, came to town every few months, traded for a few necessities and got out of town before blaster fire was exchanged.
He'd been safe for years. That was new. Every other home Crick found himself in was reduced to ash, vapor, or a series of massacres. He had always escaped, mainly because when others would fight or rally or defend the queen, he would run.
He was an excellent runner. He didn't use a speeder, or kybuck, or varactyl, like most of the local nerf herders. He didn't need to and he couldn't afford one. He couldn't afford a lawyer, either, which was why, when he found himself in front of the Justice of the Court over nerf-rustling charges, he was sentenced to a trial by combat rather than asked to present his case.
"I suppose it's too late to, uh, talk this out?" Crick asked.
The judge, Sa Kiram, a large, dried out mon calamari who'd gotten the post due to an accident with a dianoga, handed Crick a single-shot blaster. Crick briefly considered using it on the mon-cal before he noticed the bailiffs - men brandishing fully automatic weaponry and lounging about in a way that suggested a severe need to blast something sentient.
"Take ten paces and fire." Sa Kirim said in a voice that seemed like it was coming through a mouthful of gravel. "The last man standing possesses the aforementioned nerf."
Crick started walking. The nerf were his. He'd implanted each and every one of them with a subdermal RFID chip just to avoid this sort of nasty business. Gorak, the burly, scarred human who was about to turn and fire upon him, had convinced the local slaughterhouse owner to tell the authorities that the nerf belonged to Gorak.
Gorak planned to sell them quickly to an offworlder after blasting Crick.
Crick wished that he had his lightsaber-cane. A single shot? It seemed almost worth trying to block!
He reached out with the force, and got nothing other than some odd coloration in his field of view.
"Eight, nine, ten!" The judge stopped short.
Crick turned and fired first - his reflexes were pretty impressive.
His aim, on the other hand, was impressive only to people who are impressed by watching a legion of stormtroopers miss a man-sized target at ten meters.
"Heh heh." Gorak laughed to himself. The crowd roared with chants. They wanted verpine blood on the floor, and Crick wanted to disappoint them.
Gorak took a careful aim just as Crick jerked to the side. His chitinous exoskeleton seared a bit as the bolt struck, burning the sleek, bone-like covering, but doing no real damage.
The crowd shouted for blood and a couple of more self-determined bigots lept out onto the Floor of Justice, which was conveniently covered in sawdust for easy cleanup.
Except for one corner.
"Hold on, hold on!" Judge Kirim shouted into the air as one of the bailiffs shot a scraggly settler in the back of the knee. "This here is a floor of Justice, not a lynching tree!"
Crick knew where the lynching tree was.
"In the case of a trial by combat, if the offending party is wounded while the offended party is not, then the offending party shall be subjected to a trial by ordeal. This is the law!" Kirim shouted.
"Die-agh-oh-nah!" The crowd started to chant. A lot of them were drunk, so it took a few tries. "Die-agh-oh-nah! Die-agh-oh-nah!"
"Do you want justice?!" Kirim shouted over the amplifier. "Do you want freedom?" He asked for no apparent reason. "Do you want to see the...."
There was a pause for drama and Crick enjoyed it because it was a few more seconds of life.
The crowd roared approval. Or murder, from Crick's point of view. The jedi hadn't taught him much before the massacre, but he'd learned a few very interesting things about point of view.
"Then choose your weapon, Hezveth "Crick" Aza'bat!" Kirim shouted. He sounded more and more like an over-the-top announcer at a gladiatorial match than a judge, which, Crick had to admit, was quite fitting and honest.
"Dianoga. Dianoga." Crick mumbled to himself. The crowd (and the Mon Cal judge) had been pronouncing it incorrectly, as they did with most words in Basic. "Wicked beast. Seven eyes. One tentacle. Just cut off the tentacle and avoid the eyes. Right. No problem." He was fairly certain he remembered that from the Jedi Archive.
"I choose my shepard staff." Crick said. He tried to sound humble but sounded like someone with a trick up his sleeve. He didn't have sleeves, but he did have a lightsaber fastened into the body of the staff.
"Very well!" The judge-executioner-announcer said. "Should you die..." He sounded quite sarcastic. "...your nerf will go to Gorak!"
Crick took his ground near the grate where all the sawdust fell through into a murky pit.
"Only one man has survived the diagona!" The mon-cal said, mangling the pronunciation as much as the dianoga had mangled men. "Will Crick be the second? Only one thing is certain! Justice WILL BE SERVED!"
The crowd was eating it out of his hand. For some of them it would be the only meal of the week that wasn't moonshine or sawdust.
The door sprung open and the noise was incredible. Crick tried to relax, focus on the force, but as usual it did nothing but blur his vision and show him horrific visions of the future where he was surrounded on all sides by the sort of flesh that digested things.
An eye poked up through the oily haze of the water. Crick saw it.
A tentacle lashed forward and Crick snapped the lightsaber into action on the tip of his staff. He swung it downward as the tentacle snaked for him, and chopped it off, neatly. It fell onto the sawdust and writhed around.
The crowd gasped at the lightsaber. For a brief moment all that could be heard in the cavernous Hall of Justice was the hum of the weapon.
Crick raised his hands in triumph. "Yes! Yes!" he gloated. "My nerf! My herd! My..."
One of the other six tentacles Crick did not think existed grabbed him by both legs and hauled him underwater. The lightsaber cane clacked against the sawdust floor and shut off. The crowd went wild.
"I guess it was seven tentacles and one eye." Crick thought, as the firm arm hauled him towards a gaping maw. "Not seven eyes and one tentacle. That doesn't even make sense!"
The teeth closed behind him, and the gullet sucked at him, hauling him down. He was not particularly glad that he had not been cut in half or drowned. He could, apparently, hold his breath for quite some time, if he had to.
Which he did.
Peristalsis dragged him deeper. Thick mucous covered the way back up. His air was running out.
Crick had run from a lot of things, but somehow, he knew, this was the end.
The muscles grew thicker. The mucous followed suit.
Then, an eruption of heat and acid rushed around him, he felt himself carried upward, out - and then, he was free!
Free! He swam for the surface, hauled himself onto the disgusting sawdust. It stuck to him, stuck to the vile bile, the mucous and stomach acids.
The dianoga floated up behind him, thrashing for a few moments. Then, it sank. The judge looked at him, great big mon-cal eyes gone wide.
"That explains why he didn't eat me!" The mon-cal said. "He's allergic to shellfish."
Kirim regained his composure quickly, though.
"The winner of the trial by ordeal is the man known as Crick!" He bellowed.
Gorak came running. "What? Wait, what?!"
Crick raised his lightsaber cane high to a slow and regretful applause.
"You are hereby given the herd of nerf!" Kirim said. "but your crime will not go unpunished! You must be... exiled."
"Good." Crick thought to himself, before counting the nerf.
"Great." He sighed. "Any bidders?" He shouted over the rising din.
Gorak rubbed fingers together. "Ship's comin', bug-man. Comin' to take these nerf away."
Crowded into the herd of nerf, Crick sighed against a dingy, shit-stained bulkhead as the cargo transport plied through the void of space and headed for a world with few nerf or vegetarians.
"Captain, we've got a bit of an issue." The navigator said. Crick held his hands in his head, though that didn't help the ship-ful of radio waves from tingling his antenna.
"Looks like an asteroid on the scopes."
Crick felt it out there, cold and heavy and moving thousands of kilometers each second. The metal in it howled with radio waves as it passed through the ionosphere of the planet below.
"Uh, come in Bagath central. Come in." The navigator said.
There was a terrible orange glow. A white flash that blinded both pilot and navigator and thankfully did not cause the nerf to stampede.
"I can't see! I can't pilot! Where are we going?"
There were screams.
Crick was used to that.
"Get up here, buggy! Someone's gotta fly this thing!" The pilot shouted.
Piloting was not something that Crick knew how to do.
Oh well. How hard could it be?
They Shoot Verpine, Don't They?
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