text:
Petkovic wins Family Circle Cup, her first WTA title in 3 years
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Andrea Petkovic ended a surprising week at the Family Circle Cup by winning her first WTA tournament in three years, outlasting Jana Cepelova for a 7-5, 6-2 victory Sunday.
Petkovic was once ranked ninth in the world before several injuries slowed her progress and cost her much of the 2012 season. She entered this one seeded 14th, ranked 40th in the world and with few expectations about her first clay-court event of the season.
Instead, Petkovic's powerful forehand and grind-it-out mindset helped her oust three straight top 10 seeds in No. 4 Sabine Lisicki, No. 9 Lucie Safarova and No. 6 Eugenie Bouchard on the way to the finals.
The 26-year-old German used that same formula against Cepelova, a rising 20-year-old from Slovakia competing in her first WTA final.
"I still have a long way to go for me and I have a lot of potential," Petkovic said. "But I feel I'm on the right track."
Cepelova led 5-4 and was a point away from capturing the first set. But Petkovic rallied to win that game and begin a run of eight in a row to take control of the match.
"I have to let loose and play like I can," she told herself.
Petkovic was energized after winning the crucial game and quickly broke serve to move in front. She took the set a game later and continued her run to build a 5-0 lead that Cepelova could not overcome.
For Petkovic, the victory was more gratifying than her two other career WTA wins because of all her struggles. She was 177th in the world in March 2013 and was beaten in the second round of French Open qualifying, a loss that had her contemplating giving up the game.
This "is a different feeling," she said. "Now, I'm much more grateful. It's more rewarding."
Petkovic dropped to the ground when Cepelova's final shot landed out of play. She jogged to the net to hug her opponent, waved to the crowd and did a celebration dance as fans applauded.
Petkovic earned $120,000 for her third career WTA victory, which was her first since winning in Strasbourg in 2011.
Petkovic's victory closed a week of surprises at the Family Circle Tennis Center. Only one of the tournament's top 10 seeds made it through to the final four and it was the first time a WTA tournament included three semifinalists 20 years old or younger since Amelia Island in 2008.
Cepelova had a stunning run of her own, topping world No. 1 Serena Williams on Tuesday night to set the stage for plenty more unexpected results. Cepelova became the Family Circle Cup's first unseeded finalist since Elena Vesnina in 2011.
Cepelova didn't expect a long visit here, arriving without her coach, trainers and hitting partners. She typically ordered room service at the hotel and had to scrape around to find hitting partners to warm up before matches.
"Before the tournament, if somebody told me you'll be in the tournament finals I would not believe them," Cepelova said with a smile. "But it was a really nice week.
Cepelova is also projected to move up some 30 spots in the rankings to around 50th in the world when the new list comes out next week, the WTA said.
Petkovic won the title in her second appearance here. She had reached the round of 16 last year, but had to withdraw from a match against Caroline Wozniacki. She was on the phone with her father, Zoran, after the win. Father and daughter now have Palmetto State success in common.
Zoran Petkovic was one of the leading singles players at the University of South Carolina in the early 1980s. He told his daughter stories of how Americans on campus loved wearing "cowboy boots and blue jeans," she recalled, laughing.
"He was very happy, very emotional," Andrea Petkovic said of their phone call. "I don't know if he was tearing up, though."


text:
At Patronis the goal is for each child to enjoy and appreciate art, to become proficient in a variety of media, and have a working understanding of the Elements of Art and the Principals of design. Students attend art every third day for one semester. During that time students are exposed to a variety of experiences that not only cover the Sunshine State Standards for art, but also touch on many language arts, math, science, and social studies standards as well. Students are encouraged to see their environment in a creative light, try new things, appreciate all forms of art, feel good about and take pride in their creations, work together, and work safely. Students are assessed using the Sunshine State Standards; "Talent" is never a factor when evaluating success.
Art events that showcase Patronis students' work include, but are not limited to, The Bay County Fair, Nature's Gallery, The Nelson Building Display, The Bay County Library Display, Beach Bay Optimist Club Art Contest, and The Best of Bay Art Show.
Be sure to check back to see pictures of student work.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Vatican City, Sep 13, 2013 / 05:09 pm (CNA).- One of Pope Francis' former teachers says in a new book that the Holy Father has never supported a Marxist-based liberation theology.
"In the Argentinean Liberation Theology, social Marxist analysis is not used, but rather a historical-cultural analysis, not based on class warfare as a determining principle for the interpretation of society and history," said Argentinean Jesuit priest Fr. Juan Carlos Scannone.
"I think that the pastoral work of Bergoglio is understood in this context."
Fr. Scannone's remarks are included in an extensive interview in the recent book "Francis Our Brother Our Friend" (Ignatius Press, 2013) authored by CNA's executive director Alejandro Bermudez.
The book's release comes amid speculation by Vatican analysts regarding liberation theology, a controversial school of thought that developed in Latin America in the 1950s. Liberation theology has been criticized as a Marxist interpretation of the gospel, focusing on freedom from material poverty and injustice rather than giving primacy to spiritual freedom.
Although the meeting was not listed among the Pope's official private audiences, the Vatican confirmed that at the request of Archbishop Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Pope Francis this week received Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez, the Peruvian theologian credited with being one of the founders of liberation theology.
Archbishop Müller's personal friendship with the 85-year-old theologian – who is thought to have become a Dominican in the late 90's to avoid being under the jurisdiction of the current Archbishop of Lima, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani – has sparked speculations about how much Pope Francis supports the "official acceptance" of theology of liberation at the Vatican.
The speculations from some Vatican analysts grew after the official Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, ran a short essay from Fr. Gutierrez.
The essay was originally published as part of a book co-written with Archbishop Muller, published in Germany 14 years ago and recently translated to Italian. Gutierrez was in Rome for the presentation of the Italian edition.
However, Fr. Scannone – who taught Pope Francis during his formation period – contends that "there are different currents" within Liberation Theology, which he has studied extensively.
The Argentine current, he said, "which never used Marxist categories or the Marxist analysis of society, but rather, without disregarding the social analysis, it privileges a more historical, cultural analysis."
"My opinion is that the Argentinean line of Liberation Theology, that some call 'Theology of the people,' helps understand the pastoral work of Bergoglio as Bishop, just like many of his affirmations and teachings."
"There are things that I believe marked Bergoglio in a special way, above all the issue of the evangelization of the culture, an issue of popular piety," the priest said, observing that it is part of the Pope's personal "style" to speak "about the faithful people."
When Pope Francis came out on the balcony of St. Peter's after first being elected, Fr. Scannone noted, "the first thing that he did was to ask the faithful to pray for him so that God would bless him, before he gave the blessing to the people. That is very much him."
"He always supports this type of theology and I believe that formed part of the environment where he did his pastoral work," Fr. Scannone continued. "In fact, the issue of popular piety and the evangelization of the culture, and the enculturation of the Gospel are key to this current of theology."
Tags: Pope Francis, Liberation Theology
You may also like »
The 'theology of the people', according to Pope Francis
In a previously unpublished 2012 lecture, Pope Francis explains the inner sense of the...
Pope urges lawmakers to embrace faith over 'theology of duty'
Saying Mass for some 500 Italian parliamentarians Thursday, Pope Francis warned them of the...
'Chasm' exists between Pope, liberation theology
Even though Pope Francis is deeply concerned for the poor and has been praised by liberation...


text:
Fishing can be a phenomenal and fun activity for children and youngsters. Fishing can be a very fulfilling sport; you and your family can fish rather than dealing with the hectic routines of day to day life in Rialto, and enjoy the outdoors. Families regularly enjoy the outside air, find out about the earth, and even create great memories. Best of all, fishing is quality time spent together talking, laughing and sitting next to each other. It can be a perfect game for little children, on the off chance that you present it emphatically. For some families, the experience of fishing with live bait, and catching fish that later become dinner, can be a memory making experience that lasts a lifetime.
Here are some of the thought to make your fishing trip successful in Rialto with your kids.
Rialto Live Bait Well
Best Ways To Go Fishing With Kids?speed on the water image by Pix by Marti from Fotolia.com
If you have your eye on a fancy new bass boat, but can't afford much more than a simple older one, don't fret. One of the most useful features of a bass boat-its high casting deck, with all that storage space underneath- can be added to a cheaper, simpler open boat. You could, of course, just cut a piece of plywood and tack it in. But a solid, well-built and water-resistant deck is well worth the extra effort, adding to the boat's value when it comes time to sell.
You May Also Like
- How to Build a Roof Over a Deck
Decks are for enjoying the outdoors, entertaining friends and family, and escaping everyday life for a few hours at a time. Unfortunately,...
- How to Prepare Marine Plywood for a Boat Deck
Using marine plywood as the final deck surface aboard a vessel is a viable alternative to many other products. Marine plywood uses...
- How to Add a Live Well to Your Small Boat
Enhancements to a small boat improve the fishing experience. A live well allows the fisherman to keep bait or caught fish alive...
- How to Build a Deck Attached to a House
Are you thinking about building out a deck for your house? If you are handy with tools and like to build things...


text:
by Bernard McNamara
Australia has won Gold at the Under 18 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships (Div II, Group B) in Belgrade this morning, defeating Serbia 4-1 in the Final.
The victory over host nation Serbia puts Australia on top of the Group B table and secures a promotion to the Division II Group A for 2018.
It was a nervous wait for the Australians, who had to rely on Spain beating the Netherlands in a close game to give them a chance to play for the gold medal.
We were all watching the Spain game and hoping it would give us the opportunity to play for gold, said Australian Coach Steve Laforet.
It was either gold or nothing this year, which was a bit scary.
Now with the gold medal in his pocket, Laforet reflected on the progress his team made in such a short period of time.
Im over the moon about this gold medal and promotion, said Laforet.
Six months ago this would have been a dream for us but today its a reality, the boys really worked hard and they stuck to the system.
Australian forward Findlay Wood was an impressive presence in the Gold medal game: scoring a hat trick and picking up an assist, while goalie James Downie from the Sydney Bears was equally dominant in the net: stopping 20 of 21 shots.
Australian defenceman Declan Bronte was named the games MVP, as the Australia's defence rallied and held off the Serbian offense for the final two periods, after conceding a single goal in the first period.
The Gold medal caps off an impressive tournament for the young Australians: Tyrone Bronte finished tied first among all scorers with 12 Points (6 goals, 6 assists); his line-mate Findlay Wood, led all goal scorers with 9 goals in 5 games; and James Downie was named goalie of the tournament with a 93.14% save percentage.
As the Australian U18s World Championship team savours their win, the Australian Mens' team, the Mighty Roos prepare for their own World Championship campaign with a week-long pre-tournament training camp in Europe, before the competition kicks off in Romania on 3 April


text:
Oxlade-Chamberlain deserves England chance
Brought to you by
Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain continues to impress at the Emirates Stadium, taking every chance that's come his way thus far.
The former Southampton starlet moved to north London in the summer transfer window, having gained valuable experience in senior football during his time at St. Mary's.
Arsene Wenger was, at first, reluctant to throw the England U21 international into action. A cameo appearance in the 8-2 defeat to Manchester United was the only taste of Premier League football for 'the Ox' in 2011.
However, the 18-year-old's potential was clear for everyone to see, with goals in League Cup and Champions League appearances the icing on a cake of fine performances during both competitions.
Pressure was mounting on the Gunners' manager to give Oxlade-Chamberlain a start in the top flight, and it came against the Red Devils in the 2-1 defeat on January 22.
His substitution was met with jeers from the club's supporters, as the teenager had made a great impression against Sir Alex Ferguson's side. He was Arsenal's main threat during the game, and grabbed an assist for Robin Van Persie's equaliser.
If Wenger didn't know it already, the winger has quickly become a firm fans favourite, and only added to his reputation in the 7-1 thrashing of Blackburn over the weekend.
Oxlade-Chamberlain scored twice and again picked up an assist in the win, which has led to louder calls for Fabio Capello to include the player in his next England squad.
The Italian is an admirer of the £12 million youngster, and was reported to be considering a 'fast-track' process to get the player involved at Euro 2012 only a fortnight ago.
Reports yesterday claimed that this will begin against Holland at the end of the month, with Oxlade-Chamberlain in the mix for a call-up to face the Dutch at Wembley on February 29.
With all the furor around John Terry and the situation surrounding the Three Lions captaincy, a call-up for 'the Ox' seems like the easiest decision the ex-Real Madrid chief could make.
It's not just an easy decision either - it's the right one.
Oxlade-Chamberlain is in better form than any other England winger at the current time.
Ashley Young has only just come back from injury at Manchester United, Stewart Downing has struggled for consistency at Liverpool, Aaron Lennon is injured at Spurs and Theo Walcott is no longer guaranteed his place under Capello. He's also struggled to maintain top form this season, by his own admission.
It could be argued that the other top English performer in the position this season has been Scott Sinclair, who has been the architect of many positives at Swansea City this term.
Whilst neither could expect to be an instant starter for England, their inclusions would be a refreshing young change on the international stage, and would also bode well for the long-term aspirations of the nation.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has refused to get pulled into the international hype though, and insists he's focused on life with the Gunners rather than breaking into the Three Lions fold.
"Obviously it [England call-up] would be very nice, but I have just got to keep my feet on the ground and take it step by step," said the youngster post-Blackburn.
"I am focusing on Arsenal at the moment, and am in the under-21 squad. All I can do is concentrate on what I am involved in."
Stuart Pearce has already passed on several glowing reports to senior management, most notably after a hat-trick against Iceland for the Young Lions back in October.
With pace, skill, crossing, passing and finishing all part of his disposal, Oxlade-Chamberlain already looks like a player with the talent capable of adapting to the international stage.
And, if Capello follows the lead of Sven Goran-Eriksson, who picked Theo Walcott for England's 2006 World Cup squad, the Ox could be braced for even bigger things this summer.News Now - Sport News


text:
Mon, 07/04/2011 - 17:00
The newly structured National Security Agency – which has replaced Egypt's State Security Investigations Disservice – has hired a team of left-wing therapists with questionable sexual orientations to rehabilitate former State Security tortures and help them find their "inner-child."
The former tortures are currently undergoing an intensive program of meditation, crystal healing, and knitting, all the while focusing on trying to detect that inner voice of innocence inside each of us that reportedly says things like, "goooo" and "mamaa".
Veteran torturer El Sayed Eshta says that while he has failed to detect any child-like voice inside him, he has lately began appreciating things like sunsets and cotton candy. "I also feel more in touch with my feminine side, you know?" he added with a drop of his wrist.
Zongar Zabbeer, a freelance torturer who also works part-time as Eshta's assistant, told EKT that the therapy program has helped him a lot in dealing with the post-traumatic stress of having been a torturer for over 15 years.
"It's not an easy job," he said. "There's nothing easy about being mean to people ya3ni, even if you are only lightly electrocuting their sensitive areas. Every night when I closed my eyes I would hear their screams and it just really affected my sleep patterns and quality of life. But now I sleep like a baby."
A therapist involved in the program told EKT that currently the most effective technique to rehabilitate torturers was to get them into practicing light forms of S&M instead.
"Torture and sadomasochism are really quite similar if you think about it," she said. "In many ways S&M is like a nicotine patch for those trying to quit torture. Plus most of the men seem to enjoy getting dressed up in black, tight leather as well."
However, the therapist also said that one of the problems with these "S&M healing sessions" was that they often got out of hand, with many of the torturers tending to escalate matters to include things like mutual electrocution while engaging in hardcore unprotected intercourse.
"But that's okay," said the therapist, "so long as it brings them closer to reuniting with their inner-child."
Nevertheless, while the rehabilitation program is proving largely successful, many in the Ministry of Interior continue to call for its end.
"This is all a waste of time," said one ministry official with a PhD thesis in fighting torture titled How to Turn a Blind Eye. "Egypt has long ago solved problems like torture, corruption, and even severe erectile dysfunction among members of the political elite, by simply turning a blind eye to the core issues."
Others have suggested merely reshuffling torturers to different governorates, hoping that a change in scenery might rectify their ways. This technique has already been effectively used with Egypt's formerly corrupt governors.


text:
Ravens officials said Thursday they won't extend an open invitation to fans again without first passing out free tickets, after this week's Super Bowl celebration at M&T Bank Stadium where larger-than-expected crowds amassed and an 11-year-old boy was trampled.
Tiffany Hodge said she brought her son to the stadium from East Baltimore with hopes that he could see his hero, running back Ray Rice, but an unruly crowd overwhelmed them and both were knocked unconscious. She said her son, Tyrek, suffered a concussion, an injury to his eye, and still has a swollen face.
"I was holding my son's hand, but instantly it was gone," Hodge said in an interview Thursday. "It was too late. They had already trampled on top of us."
An estimated 200,000 people packed downtown for a parade that began at City Hall and ended at the stadium to celebrate the championship team on Tuesday.
Ravens team president Dick Cass said that neither the team nor police anticipated a crowd that large. He said police "did an extraordinarily good job of controlling the crowd and avoiding any major safety issues."
"In the future, if we had to do it again, we would have a ticketed event at the stadium," Cass said. "They would be free tickets, but we would hand out tickets so people would know they could get into the stadium. If you didn't have a ticket, you couldn't go. I think that was probably the major potential safety issue. Next time we do this, we'll know better."
Most fans enjoyed the event without incident, according to police and team.
A few blocks from the parade route, a teenager was fatally stabbed as people were leaving the event. City officials said there was no connection to the parade, but police Thursday released video that shows a purple-clad suspect attacking 15-year-old Deontae Smith as others dressed in Ravens gear look on. Deontae's mother said he skipped school to attend the parade and questioned whether police played down the killing.
During the parade, some fans broke past the barriers along the parade route and marched behind a Humvee carrying linebacker Ray Lewis. And videos have circulated on the Internet showing people scaling the iron fences at the stadium and swarming one entry point, after officials said the facility had reached its capacity.
Patrick Gleason, a team spokesman, said team and Maryland Stadium Authority officials will meet soon to review how the event was handled, but he said security was adequately prepared and no more people required medical assistance than on a normal game day. As for the fans who scaled the fences, Gleason said police officers were alerted to the situation and responded quickly.
Gleason said he was aware of the Tyrek Hodge incident but not the extent of his injuries.
Cass said he had never seen anything like the Super Bowl event. Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said at the rally that team officials had expected 30,000 fans and thought they might have to open the stadium's upper deck to accommodate the crowd. Ravens fans actually filled all stadium seats and much of the field.
"I don't think any NFL team had had a celebration quite like that, with that type of crowd, as large as it was, both on the streets and in the stadium. So, it was amazing, and I know our players were moved by it, deeply moved by it," Cass said. "With the benefit of hindsight, we did not anticipate the size of that crowd. I don't think the police anticipated the size of that crowd."
911 records for the Police Department's Central District, which includes downtown, show that from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. police received double the number of calls compared with the same period last year. There were several calls for assaults and disorderly conduct, but few reports were written, with the calls coded as "abated" or "no police service necessary."
Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts, in an email Tuesday night to members of the department, said he was impressed by his and other agencies' "fluidity to engage and move resources on the fly to ensure the safest conditions possible under extreme circumstances."
"Like John Harbaugh said about the Raven's Super Bowl victory, it may not have been pretty … and when thousands of people decided to join the parade to M&T Bank Stadium, many of us were agreeing with that statement," Batts wrote. "But, like the Ravens, we got the job done and did it in championship fashion."
Batts called the stabbing a "sad stain on an otherwise excellent performance by the City of Baltimore."
Hodge said the experience for her son was "traumatic." She said attending games is expensive, so the opportunity to see players at a free event was an obvious draw. They hopped the No. 40 bus to City Hall but decided to head toward the stadium when they heard the team's arrival would be delayed.
The stadium was closed before the parade arrived because it had reached capacity.
At the stadium, Hodge said the gates were closed and some people were waiting. She didn't see security or police. When someone opened the gate, she said fans started pushing forward. Tyrek was wearing boots, tripped, and fell.
Hodge believes that a concession worker grabbed her son and pulled him to safety, while a security guard eventually pulled her out of the crowd. A police report for an "injured person" confirms that Tyrek suffered head trauma after a "mob of people, 150 to 200, forced themselves through" Gate C, at the southeast corner of the stadium.
"A lot of people took things a little too far," the mother said. "With a free admission to get in, that is going to create a huge crowd."
Baltimore Sun reporters Jeff Zrebiec and Carrie Wells contributed to this story.


text:
Unit 2 Outline [pdf] | Unit 2 Content Primer [pdf] | Unit 2 Workbook Questions [pdf] | Student Site
What are the building blocks of our brains?
This unit explores the neuron as the primary building block of our brains. During this unit students learn how the neuron is put together and how it does what it does, and what can happen when different parts of the neuron fail to function as a result of a neurological disease. Students experience an engineering problem in which they are challenged to collaborate to design a faster, more efficient neuron.
- 2.1: What is the structure of a neuron?
- 2.2: How do our axons transmit electrical signals?
- 2.3: How fast do our neurons signal?
- 2.4: What do our neurons need to work efficiently?
- 2.5: What can go wrong?
- Assessment opportunity: Unit 2 Quiz Questions


text:
Stand out from the competition with your very own team riding kit. Perfect for cross country, arena eventing, NSEA championships etc.. these high quality tops with matching hat silks can come in your team colours. We can add your your team logos, names - in fact we can try to make them just how you want to! With suppliers like Equetech, Super Cross Country, Shires to name a few we have hundreds of colours, designs and budgets to suit everyone
We also offer personalised individual kits too, No Minimum order!
Contact us directly at firstname.lastname@example.com for a personal quote or to discuss your requirements.


text:
ATLANTA, Ga. – Emory University (14-0) used a seven-run sixth inning to break open a tie game en route to an 8-1 win over Birmingham-Southern (5-2) at the Emory Softball Field on Saturday.
The Panthers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning on a Danielle Rucker RBI double, scoring Joanna Jernigan.
Megan Light doubled and scored on an Alyssa Pollard single to left to tie the game 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth.
With the game tied 1-1 in the sixth, Emory scored seven runs on four hits to take an 8-1 lead. Natalie McLaughlin and Moria Sullivan had RBI singles to score the first two runs and Light drew a walk and Claire Bailey was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Pollard delivered the big blow with a bases clearing triple.
BSC had five hits in the game with Taylor Bassett going 2-for-2. Brittany Berkopec, Rucker, and Elizabeth Ballew had one hit apiece.
Bethany Fronk (4-1) was the pitcher of record for BSC, allowing eight runs on eight hits with a strikeout. Amanda Kardys (9-0) struck out seven and allowing one unearned run on five hits to get the win for Emory.
BSC is scheduled to play Roanoke in game two today at 1 p.m.


text:
Mike founded Trajectify in 2013 to focus on coaching entrepreneurs of young companies and small businesses. He is the veteran of eight diverse startups, both East and West Coast, and has been a fixture in the booms and busts of the last 30 years.
He was a young software geek that grew from CTO to COO to CEO as he developed his strong sense of leadership. Mike honed his management skills with the young companies as they became successful exits and mature businesses, including three IPOs and a bunch of mergers and acquisitions.
His passion to partner with and learn from great visionaries helped start and operate some diverse (and pretty cool) businesses. He co-founded healthy food company (Real Food Works). He co-founded a business incubator (Novotorium). He developed the e-commerce technology and operations at online music pioneer, CDNOW, was part of taking the company public, later becoming CDNOW's CEO and improved the bottom line by $40M with revenues of $150M.
Mike helped turn around a 15 year old telecommunications company, doubling revenues to $25M. He spent a decade in Silicon Valley where he helped build Verity (a pioneer in search engines, IPO and sold to Autonomy/HP) and KnowledgeSet (one of the first companies to put data on a CD). In the Northeast, Mike worked with Infonautics (a pioneer in online information services, that also produced a bunch of great entrepreneurs and patents), and Knite, a spin-out from Princeton University to commercialize an innovation to the spark plug.


text:
Angels Trade Jose Molina
Jose Molina poses for a photo at Salt Lake in April 2001.
As most of you know by now, the Angels yesterday traded catcher Jose Molina to the Yankees for Double-A reliever Jeff Kennard. You can read all about it on the MLB.com site.
Jose would have been a free agent at season's end and turned 32 in June. It's unlikely that a Jose Molina season in 2008 would be much different than a Jeff Mathis season. Jose would have asked for — and deserved — more money. He probably would have asked for a multi-year contract as did his brother Bengie. So Angels GM Bill Stoneman moved Jose while he could get something for him.
Already making the rounds on the fan sites is the news that Kennard was suspended for 15 games in 2005 for a first-time violation of Major League Baseball's minor-league drug policy.
According to an article in the June 29, 2005 edition of the St. Petersburg Times, Kennard blamed an over-the-counter substance.
"I experienced one of my baseball highlights in the All-Star Game before 5,000 fans, then two days later I'm notified of the suspension," Kennard said. "Glutomine is an over-the-counter product I got at GNC (General Nutrition Center). It contained an andro (androstenedione) derivative, a banned substance, and that's why I got busted.
"I've taken it since I've been in pro ball. It accelerates my recovery time. As a set-up man, I pitch a lot of innings, sometimes three days straight.
"I'm slightly embarrassed because they publicized my name. It's out there and automatically people think it's a steroid."
It's water under the bridge as far as I'm concerned, because there are plenty other guys running around in the minor leagues — including the Angels' organization — who have been dinged for one-time suspensions due to over-the-counter substances. But already on some Angels boards we're seeing people who claim to be Angels fans using this as another excuse to bash Stoneman. These people really need to get a life.
More importantly, it means that the Angels have committed to Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis for the balance of the season, for better or for worse. That's a big decision in a pennant race. Napoli has 158 games in the majors, and Mathis 35. I've always been high on Jeff (he was the #3 prospect on last November's annual FutureAngels.com Top 10 Prospects list despite ranking lower on other lists), but as his bat still failed to return this year at Triple-A Salt Lake I began to wonder if at age 24 we were never going to see Jeff's offense catch up to his defense. As I've pointed out many times, Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek didn't even play regularly for Boston until he was 26 — Varitek was 23 when he was drafted — so Jeff still has time but that time was running out.
It may be that Napoli and Mathis evolve into the modern equivalent of the Dodgers' catching combo of Joe Ferguson and Steve Yeager in the 1970s — one better with the bat, one better with the glove. It certainly worked well enough for the Dodgers, who were perennial contenders in that era and appeared in several World Series.
Behind them are Ryan Budde and Bobby Wilson. Wilson is on the 40-man roster. Budde is not. But Ryan was plucked away by the Phillies last December in the Rule 5 Draft, and they would have had to keep him on the parent club roster all year if they wanted to retain him. Ryan suffered an injury in spring training and was eventually returned to the Angels. Wilson began 2007 in Double-A and moved up to Triple-A Salt Lake in early July. Budde should be the next callup if something happened to Napoli or Mathis, but that would require a 40-man roster move.
As for Kennard, he'll report to Double-A Arkansas. The Travs have been hot as of late and are positioning themselves for a possible wild-card slot in the post-season, so Kennard should help their bullpen. In 31 relief appearances (52.2 IP), Jeff had a 2.73 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 47:17 SO:BB ratio. He's allowed only 3 HR which is a good sign, although he turns 26 on July 26. The age factor doesn't seem to matter as much when it comes to setup relievers.
Meanwhile, the fan boards are still aflame with demands for the "big bat," never mind that there are 29 other GMs out there who have yet to find a "big bat" on the market either. That fact seems to have escaped the people demanding yet again for Bill Stoneman to be fired because the Magic Wand has not yet been invented.


text:
U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
Banking Giant Failed to Hire Oklahoma City Woman Because of Gender, Federal Agency Charged
OKLAHOMA CITY – Bank of the West, one of the nation's largest banks, will pay $48,000 and furnish other relief to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.
The lawsuit was filed on July 22, 2011, and settled only five days later. In addition to the $48,000 payment, Bank of the West has agreed to take specified actions designed to prevent future discrimination, including the posting of notices to employees, re-dissemination of anti-discrimination policies and providing anti-discrimination training to employees.
In its lawsuit, the EEOC charged that Bank of the West refused to hire an Oklahoma City woman for the position of branch manager of its Quail Creek branch because of her gender. Although the managers with hiring authority acknowledged that she was the best-qualified candidate for the job, they claimed they denied her the job because she stated she needed two weeks before starting to make child care arrangements. They then hired a male applicant despite his having informed them that he also needed two weeks before starting to make child care arrangements. Bank of the West denies that it discriminated against the female applicant.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. The EEOC filed suit (Case No. 11-cv-0834-D) in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement out of court through its conciliation process.
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," said Patrick Holman, trial attorney for the EEOC. "We believe that when Bank of the West fully understood what happened, it took action to correct its unequal treatment, as this quick settlement demonstrates. We are hopeful that with education and closer scrutiny of lower management, discriminatory actions can be prevented, saving its employees and applicants from unlawful treatment and itself significant costs."
"Over 45 years after the passage of Title VII, discrimination against women in the workplace continues to be a problem," said EEOC Regional Attorney Barbara Seely. "Corporate America must be more vigilant in guarding against job bias affecting female workers or risk action and exposure by the EEOC."
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the Commission is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.


text:
13 May 2014
Behind the DC-8, the scientists on board the DLR Falcon measured the exhaust gas composition.
The research aircraft flew at altitudes of between nine and 12 kilometres during the experiments.
The T-33 of the Canadian National Research Council (NRC) examined the dynamics of the DC-8's wake vortices.
During the research flights, the four CFM56 engines of the DC-8 alternated between regular JP-8 jet fuel and a one-to-one mixture of JP-8 and the biofuel HEFA (Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids). HEFA is obtained from the oil of Camelina plants.
In the morning, the DLR Falcon is towed onto the apron at the Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, California, before a research flight. The Falcon was housed in the same hangar as the SOFIA airborne observatory during the research mission with NASA.
The NASA Falcon was housed together with other research aircraft in a hangar at Palmdale, California for the measurement campaign.
DLR researchers focus on measurements of the biofuel exhaust emissions of soot and sulphur particles, as well as the size and shape of the ice crystals in the condensation trails.
After a research flight, the Falcon is towed past the SOFIA airborne observatory on the way to its parking position.
The DLR Falcon flies with its measuring inlets in the upper part of an engine exhaust gas plume.
Biofuels provide an opportunity to lower the carbon dioxide footprint of air travel and to reduce the potential climatic effects of particle emissions and enhanced cloudiness by aviation. The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) and the Canadian National Research Council (NRC) are tackling this globally topical research area in joint test flights in California from 7 to 16 May 2014. The emissions of a biofuel-kerosene mixture and its effects on the formation and properties of condensation trails are being measured at typical commercial flight altitudes. The flight campaign, which are being led by NASA, involve more than 100 scientists and technicians. Four research aircraft are being used, including DLR's Falcon 20-E. The campaign base is NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, California.
Video – DLR Falcon test flight in the exhaust plume of the NASA DC-8
"Measurements in aircraft exhaust plumes and condensation trails require a great deal of experience and proven measuring equipment," says DLR mission head Hans Schlager from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics."In recent years, DLR has built up this expertise and measurement instrumentation in airborne sampling experiments in the wake of aircraft." The DLR Falcon has been used in various measurement campaigns involving the investigation of emissions and condensation trails left behind by commercial aircraft since 2000.
Research in formation flight
The current research flights are taking place under the ACCESS-II project (Alternative Fuel Effects on Contrails and Cruise Emissions). The four research aircraft being used are flying in formation at typical commercial flight altitudes of between nine and 12 kilometres, headed by NASA's four-engine DC-8. Behind the DC-8, the scientists on board the DLR Falcon and the NASA Falcon measure the composition of the exhaust gas at a distance of 100 metres to 20 kilometres. In addition, a Canadian National Research Council (NRC) T-33 is investigating the dynamics of the DC-8's wake turbulence.
"Our Falcon is an extraordinarily robust research aircraft and ideal for taking measurements in the exhaust plume and in condensation trails," says DLR test pilot Philipp Weber. "Heavy structure loads that not all aircraft are designed for can occur in aircraft wake turbulence." In addition, there are numerous in situ trace gas and aerosol measurement instruments for the Falcon that have been designed for the harsh conditions in an aircraft trail. The DLR Falcon became famous in the Spring of 2010 when, as the Volcano Ash Hunter, it carried out measurements over Germany in the ash cloud from Icelandic volcano Eyjafiallajökull.
The scientific teams and research aircraft complement each other well in the test flights in California. NASA project leader Bruce Anderson from NASA Langley Research Center welcomes the international support: "DLR's expertise and measurement capabilities are making an important contribution to the ACCESS-II campaign." DLR researchers have been working with NASA in the area of atmospheric research for 15 years, laying the foundations for the current joint flight campaigns in California. "For the DLR scientists, working with NASA on this research mission is a real benefit," says Hans Schlager.
Alternative fuel emissions
During the research flights, the four CFM56 engines on the DC-8 are alternately powered by regular JP-8 aviation fuel and a one-to-one mixture of HEFA (Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids) biofuel. HEFA comes from the oil of Camelina plants. In their measurements of biofuel exhaust gases, the DLR researchers are concentrating on the emissions of soot particles and sulphur compounds, and the size and shape of the ice crystals in the condensation trails. It is expected that the combustion of biofuels, in addition to a better carbon dioxide balance, will lead to significantly fewer soot and sulphur particles. Hence, a lower level of soot emissions may lead to larger ice crystals in the condensation trails, which may reduce the impact of aviation on the climate by additional cloudiness.
The results of the NASA, DLR and NRC joint flight tests will also be discussed at the next meeting of the International Forum for Aviation Research (IFAR). An international consortium of 23 IFAR member states will have access to the results of the research programme. IFAR is the active forum for the internationally leading aviation research actors. DLR and NASA play a leading role in IFAR.
In future, DLR will be focusing on the area of alternative fuels under the ECLIF (Emission and Climate Impact of Alternative Fuels) project. "Under ECLIF our research focus is on various types of alternative fuels, and we will investigate both the combustion in the engine and the resulting emissions," says Patrick Le Clercq from the DLR Institute of Combustion Technology. Initial research flights for Project ECLIF with the DLR's A320 ATRA and Falcon are planned for 2015.
Last modified:15/05/2018 12:12:42


text:
Alabama's Plan of Action: Proceedings. Governor's Address. Committee Reports. Roster of Delegates
1946 - Traffic accidents - 26 pages
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
Common terms and phrases
Accident Records Act Regulating Traffic Action Program Alabama Highway Patrol Anniston Ass'n B'ham Beatty Board of Revenue Buren Gilbert carry forward certificate of title Chamber of Commerce city safety Commissioner cooperation coordinate counties and cities county officials county safety program Decatur delegates Department of Public Department of Safety drivers E. N. Rodgers Engineer Engr Folsom Gadsden Governor of Alabama GOVERNOR-NOMINATE JAMES GRADE CROSSING highway accidents Highway Dept Montgomery Highway Director Highway Patrol Montgomery Highway Safety Conference injured Judge of Probate KREML legislation License motor vehicle municipal official County Safety organizations Petroleum pledge Police Dept Birmingham Police Dept Montgomery present President's Highway Safety program of activities Public Safety Montgomery public support recommendations reports Respectfully submitted safety activities Safety Depart speed suggestions Superintendent of Education Supt Talladega tion traffic accidents traffic laws Traffic on Highways traffic safety Tuscaloosa Tuscumbia Uniform Act Regulating W. W.—Judge of Probate Wide Safety Program Women Montgomery


text:
Advisor Publications
Manulife is pleased to provide you with value-added tools and publications to help grow your business.
Advisor Café
AdvisorCafé is a one stop resource for all advisor facing publications including; Advisor Focus, The Advisor Quick Reference Guide and the Market Intelligence Report. We are always adding new content to this convenient app.
Advisor Focus
Advisor Focus is a resource packed with industry insight, thought leadership, sales concepts and practice management articles. The key goal of this publication is to provide advisors with thought provoking insights to share with their clients to build stronger relationships.
Advisor Quick Reference Guide
Published every January, the Advisor Quick Reference Guide puts all the latest facts and figures pertaining to wealth accumulation, generating income, and tax planning at your fingertips so you can easily help your clients.
Promote your business, attract new clients and keep in touch throughout the year. The program includes the newly upgraded Solutions online tool and the award-winning Solutions magazine. Easily share articles, videos or financial worksheets with clients and track campaign results.


text:
If our written feature on Samsung Galaxy S3 vs HTC One X was a bit too much like hard work, why not watch our new video comparison on these two top-end kingmaker Android smartphones?
The award for the most popular of the two has to go to the Samsung Galaxy S3. It has already racked-up nine million pre-orders and is widely recognised as the only phone of 2012 that can compete with the iPhone 5 on the hype-o-meter. The HTC One X is the dark horse contender. It's big, it's high-end, but it's still the underdog of the two here.
Specs-wise they're pretty similar, with 4.7in screens, quad-core processors and the latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. Other than that, thought, they're actually quite different propositions. Want to know why? Watch the video below. Oh, and let us know which one you fancy owning the most in the comments below.


text:
How can the Health Insurance Marketplaces improve consumers' experiences when shopping for, selecting, and enrolling in affordable health plans during future open-enrollment periods? To help answer this question, AIR developed the Marketplace Survey Improvement Guide. The Guide provides seven evidence-based strategies that will help Marketplaces improve the consumer experience by giving consumers accurate and relevant information in a timely manner and helping consumers understand and use that information.
Our Work
Find specific work or narrow your results by type, topic, program, project, or service by selecting your criteria from the choices at right.


text:
The veteran safety market just got a little deeper.
The Eagles have cut Kenny Phillips, a league source told PFT's Mike Florio on Sunday.
The 26-year-old Phillips signed with Philadelphia after spending five seasons with the Giants. Phillips has dealt with a quadriceps injury during the summer.
Phillips could hold appeal to clubs looking to bolster their ranks at safety. It should be noted that the Giants, his old club, lost starting safety Stevie Brown to an ACL tear on Saturday.
When healthy, Phillips was a key contributor in the Giants' secondary for much of his stint in New York. However, he has missed time with injuries to both knees in his NFL career.
A first-round pick in 2008. Phillips has recorded 263 regular-season tackles and intercepted eight passes as a pro.


text:
Lesley-Anne Knight is the Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis, responsible for the management and delivery of its strategic plan.
Caritas Internationalis is a global organisation with 165 member organisations, working in seven different regions of the world and in over 200 countries. Combating the causes and the ef-fects of poverty and inequality around the world lies at the very core of the organisation's mission, and to this end, member organisations provide assistance to the most vulnerable on behalf of Catholic Church around the world. Its European branch, Caritas Europa brings together 48 organisations that focus their activities on issues relating to poverty and social inequality as well as migration and asylum both inside and outside the European Union. A British citizen, Dr. Knight was appointed Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis during the 2007 General Assembly.
Dr. Knight has devoted much of her career to supporting the cause of the poor and social excluded through a variety of organisations. Prior to joining Caritas Internationalis, she was International Director of CAFOD (Caritas England and Wales), and before that she worked for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), OXFAM, and for the UK-based charity HelpAge International.
She has lived and worked in eight countries in Europe, Africa, Latin America and speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German. She holds a degree in English, French, Logic and Metaphysics and post-graduate qualifications in Business Management.


text:
Cloud Moolah Is Changing How Game Developers Monetize by Leveraging the Blockchain
Gaming is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.
Back in the mid-2000s, pursuing a career in game development was considered a second-place trophy compared to mainstream entertainment. Most people didn't consider gaming to ever have a spot in "big business." And worse, if you were one of the pioneers in the eSports space, you were condemned for dedicating your future to the pursuit of professional gaming. Even today's famed YouTube personalities and social media stars were seen as "weird" back then before we started to feel the true effects of the technology boom.
Fast-forward to 2018, and according to Forbes, gaming is a billion-dollar industry and growing—fast.
What originally held back the growth of the gaming industry was two-fold:
First, the technology still had a long way to go. Remember, we were still dealing with flip phones and CDs in the 2000s. Gaming was seen as a male-dominant after-school hobby, enjoyed in a dark basement.
Second, social norms positioned gaming as a male-only hobby for teenagers in dark basements. If you spent time gaming or thinking you could build a career for yourself "playing games," you were looked down upon for putting all your trust in the Internet. Don't forget, there were still plenty of people back then who thought the Internet itself was just a trend.
But today, the gaming industry has matured and diversified. In the United States alone, the gaming audience is about 60% male, 40% female. Furthermore, the concept of "gaming" has evolved from consoles and heavy controllers to mobile games and smartphones. If you ride the train to the work in the morning, chances are you'll see school teachers to investment bankers all playing Candy Crush or something like it from the app store.
With the gaming market primed for rapid growth over the next decade, game developers are asking themselves how they can expand awareness around the games they create—and blockchain technology is right on time.
One of the biggest challenges independent game developers face today is product awareness. It's difficult to get new products into the hands of a global audience, simply because there is no universal payment method. You end up dealing with currency exchanges, banks, long payment processing times (and fees), or there isn't a medium through which you can pay at all. If you're in the U.S and you want to purchase a game from a developer in Southeast Asia, you're going to have a tough time getting ahold of that game.
As soon as you consider the use cases of cryptocurrencies, however, the solution becomes apparent. And by leveraging the blockchain, many of these payment and monetization issues independent game developers face seem extremely solvable.
One blockchain platform that is looking to disrupt the game development space is Cloud Moolah. They have recently partnered with Unity, the most popular game engine in the world, to bring their Moo Store to more than 5.5 million Unity game developers. Through the Moo Store, gamers can then use Cloud Moolah to exchange tokens for both games and in-game purchases, giving independent developers the ability to reach global audiences and monetize in new ways.
"In our years of publishing games in emerging markets in Southeast Asia, we saw what is necessary to give game developers the best shot at success in these challenging regions," said Jonathon Sze, COO/Co-founder of Cloud Moolah. "So we consolidated these localized services and offered them directly to Unity developers globally, enabling efficient local payments and distribution. For us, nothing beats seeing a game developer lights up when we shared what we can do to help them."
Since 34% of the Top 1,000 games and 50% of all new games are made using the Unity Editor, this partnership opens valuable doors for game developers. The alpha version of the Moo Store is slated to launch Q2 of 2018—and with several other partnerships in place, this appears to be the beginning of a new wave of gaming monetization.
"Finding brand partners for blockchain projects is simple: in a perfect world, who will use this product and benefit from it most? Approach those companies, offer them participation at the ground level to help with vision, features, technology. The brand benefits once the final product is to market, the product benefits from having the input of large brands," added Branden Hampton, blockchain enthusiast and advisor to Cloud Moolah.
As blockchain technology continues to solidify itself in 2018 and beyond, it's safe to assume the gaming industry will spearhead a significant amount of its innovation. Cryptocurrencies, for one, are a concept that has been integrated into the world of MMORPGs for decades now. Soon, these age-old gaming concepts will make their way into mainstream society. And as they do, gamers everywhere will see this once "tiny industry" compete with some of the world's biggest businesses.
Leave a Reply
BlockFi Removes Minimums and Fees for Its Crypto Interest Account
BlockFi is excited to announce today that it has dropped all minimums in the BlockFi Interest Account (BIA). BIA clients will no longer have to meet a minimum deposit amount in their Bitcoin, Ether, or GUSD balances in order to earn interest. Additionally, BlockFi has removed the early withdrawal penalty from the account and is now offering one free withdrawal per month to all clients.
When BlockFi first launched the BIA, the price of one Bitcoin was significantly lower than it is today. In March 2019, one Bitcoin cost around $4,000. Since then, the price has more than doubled. Due to client feedback and increasing demand for the BlockFi Interest Account, the company has decided to remove the minimum to earn interest and make its products more widely available to all crypto investors.
"We're thrilled to see the growth in platform activity from crypto investors leveraging our wealth management products. This update to our terms will make our products more widely accessible – which is a key theme of the crypto sector and part of our mission at BlockFi." – Zac Prince, CEO and Founder.
"Earlier this year, we expanded into new markets such as India. By making BIA open to all, we plan to target clients in Latin America, where banking services and credit reporting are limited. U.S.-grade financial products have typically only been available to high net worth individuals in countries like Argentina and Costa Rica. BlockFi's platform leverages blockchain rails to make wealth management products available on a much broader scale." – Flori Marquez, Co-Founder and VP of Operations.
Having recently raised its Series A financing round, led by Valar Ventures, BlockFi is currently focusing its efforts on rapidly scaling its core business, making its current products (BIA and crypto-backed loans) more accessible to a wider crypto audience, and developing new products to expand its addressable market. To this end, BlockFi is actively working on innovative approaches to bring more value to its current clients and crypto investors at large. For example, BlockFi recently added a new feature to the BIA, Interest Payment Flex. With Flex enabled, clients holding Bitcoin, Ether, or GUSD in their BIA can select which of the three offered currencies to receive all their interest in. Dropping the minimums to earn interest is the latest step in this process: this change will allow crypto investors holding any amount of Bitcoin, Ether, or GUSD to benefit from BlockFi's wealth management offerings.
Although there is no longer a minimum balance required to earn interest, accounts are still subject to Gemini's withdrawal minimums: 0.003 BTC and 0.056 ETH. Withdrawals for balances smaller than these amounts may take up to 30 days to process.
Facebook's Libra seeks Swiss payment system license
Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency project is seeking a Swiss payment system license, financial watchdog FINMA said on Wednesday, noting the breadth of the planned services would require broad oversight. The world's largest social media network announced plans in June to launch a cryptocurrency as it seeks to expand beyond social networking and move into e-commerce and global payments, though the plans have drawn intense scrutiny from global financial officials.
"Due to the issuance of Libra payment tokens, the services planned by the Libra project would clearly go beyond those of a pure payment system, FINMA said, noting this mean it would be subject to such additional requirements.
These would extend to capital allocation for credit, market and operational risks, risk concentration and liquidity, and the management of the Libra reserve, it said. "We are engaging in constructive dialogue with FINMA and we see a feasible pathway for an open-source blockchain network to become a regulated, low-friction, high-security payment system," the Geneva-based Libra Association said.
It has asked FINMA to clarify the status of the association and the Libra coin under Swiss supervisory law, the regulatory said. [bit.ly/2kEP7bk]
U.S. Under Secretary of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Sigal Mandelker told reporters in the Swiss capital on Tuesday that cryptocurrency project must meet the highest standards for combating money laundering and terrorism financing if it is to get off the ground.
"Whether it's bitcoin, Ethereum, Libra, our message is the same to all of these companies: anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism has to be built into your design from the get-go," Mandelker said.
Caliber Home Loans Begins Lending on Provenance Blockchain Platform
Caliber Home Loans, Inc. (Caliber), one of the nation's leading mortgage companies, has become the first lender outside of Figure to originate loans directly on Provenance, the industry's leading blockchain platform.
By originating, servicing and financing loans on Provenance, Caliber looks to deliver an outstanding consumer experience while lowering costs, reducing risk, and improving financing execution throughout the entire loan process.
Caliber is originating Caliber Home Equity Line of Credit loans as the first customer licensing Figure SaaS, a best of class loan origination system natively integrated into blockchain. Figure SaaS offers loan origination platforms in home equity and mortgage, and will soon offer multiple other asset classes and product offerings. All will feature full integration into Provenance to deliver origination, servicing and financing benefits.
"We are delighted to be partnering with Figure and offering our customers a distinctive, industry-leading product," said Sanjiv Das, CEO of Caliber Home Loans. "We think the ease and speed of this process is truly unique. Unlike traditional home equity lending timeframes which often stretch out for weeks, our borrowers can now complete the entire process digitally and access their funds in days. We think that's a great solution and gives our customers tremendous flexibility."
Mike Cagney, CEO of Figure, said, "Figure is excited to inaugurate our third-party Figure SaaS platform with Caliber, one of the world's leading mortgage lenders. Caliber's customers are now experiencing our fast, customer-friendly process as well as the efficiencies of the Provenance blockchain platform."
Europe should ignore 'treacherous promises' of Facebook's Libra currency
Facebook's (FB.O) proposed Libra currency could undermine the European Central Bank's ability to set monetary policy and Europe should ignore its siren call of "treacherous promises" ECB board member Yves Mersch said on Monday.
Facebook announced Libra — a new digital coin backed by four official currencies and available to billions of social network users around the world — earlier this year, saying it hoped to launch next year.
"Depending on Libra's level of acceptance and on the referencing of the euro in its reserve basket, it could reduce the ECB's control over the euro, impair the monetary policy transmission mechanism by affecting the liquidity position of euro area banks, and undermine the single currency's international role," Mersch added.
Like regular currencies, Libra would be highly centralized, an "extremely concerning" setup since it is not backed by a lender of last resort and it is ultimately accountable to shareholders, who are not seen as repositories of public trust, Mersch added.
"It is scheduled for release in the first half of 2020 by the very same people who had to explain themselves in front of legislators in the United States and the European Union on the threats to our democracies resulting from their handling of personal data on their social media platform," Mersch added.
Given these challenges, European regulatory and supervisory authorities need to assert jurisdiction over Libra and also need global cooperation to mitigate its risks.
"I sincerely hope that the people of Europe will not be tempted to leave behind the safety and soundness of established payment solutions and channels in favor of the beguiling but treacherous promises of Facebook's siren call," Mersch added.
Facebook Posts Lobbying Retainer Amid Cryptocurrency Controversy
Facebook has hired a Washington-based lobbying firm in light of increased Congressional and regulatory pushback the social media network has received due to its forthcoming cryptocurrency offering, Libra
The social media giant in August retained consulting shop FS Vector for support on "issues related to blockchain policy," according to lobbying registration documents filed with Congress.
Facebook formally unveiled the details of its planned blockchain digital currency initiative in June, which could potentially bring the world's "unbanked" billions into the digital economy by allowing anyone to securely buy, sell or send money to others via Facebook. The proposed digital currency, which has yet to meet regulatory approvals, is set to launch sometime next year.
Announcement of the social network's forays into the digital asset space has since raised serious concerns among lawmakers. Congress in July drafted a bill, titled "Keep Big Tech Out of Finance Act," which would prohibit "large platform utilities"—defined as a tech company that earns annual global revenues of $25 billion or more—from being a financial institution or operating "a digital asset that is intended to be widely used as medium of exchange, unit of account, store of value, or any other similar function, as defined by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System."
House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters (D-CA) in June called for a moratorium and Congressional review of Facebook's Libra project, "given the company's troubled past." Appearing in July on CNBC's "Closing Bell," Waters likened Facebook's cryptocurrency venture to "starting a bank without having to go through any steps to do it."
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell in July posited that "Libra raises many serious concerns regarding privacy, money laundering, consumer protection and financial stability."
President Trump raised concerns about Facebook's proposed cryptocurrency as well, tweeting in July that "if Facebook and other companies want to become a bank, they must seek a new Banking Charter and become subject to all Banking Regulations, just like other Banks."
FS Vector, which was founded in 2018, bills itself as a regulatory compliance, public policy and business strategy advisory firm that specializes in the fintech, cryptocurrency, blockchain and financial services markets.
FS Vector partner John Collins leads the Facebook account. Collins formerly served as vice president of international policy at the American Bankers Association's international subsidiary, the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade. Prior to that, he was a staffer on the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and also led Congress' first work into digital currencies in 2013.
South Korean Blockchain Startups Listing Projects on Overseas Exchanges
South Korean blockchain startups are listing their cryptocurrencies on overseas exchanges one after another. Foreign exchanges have opened the Korean won money market to attract South Korean cryptocurrency projects.
The number of South Korean companies listing their early-stage blockchain projects on foreign exchanges is steadily increasing, industry watchers said on Aug. 18. Medibloc and Temco, which have already listed their blockchain projects on South Korea's major exchanges are seeking to list their projects listed again on overseas exchanges, including those in the United States and Singapore.
Leading global foreign exchanges are scrambling to open the Korean won market to enter the domestic market. Some foreign exchanges, including Binance Labs, are directly accelerating Korean blockchain projects to attract Korean startups.
BW.com, which recently attracted domestic blockchain projects such as Ziktalk, Storichain, Payexpress and Sigma Chain, is planning to absorb domestic cryptocurrency investors by opening the won market by the end of this month. BW.com is a China-based cryptocurrency exchange which ranks among the top 10 in the world in terms of transaction volume. The exchange is regarded as useful for domestic projects to make inroads into the Chinese and Southeast Asian markets.
Sigma Chain, the developer of South Korean blockchain platform Futurepia, undertook the initial exchange offering (IEO) of its own cryptocurrency PIA on BW.com in May, becoming the first Korean company to do so.
Bitholic, which is to change its name to "Bithumb Singapore," also owns a large number of domestic blockchain projects in its portfolio. In particular, BOScoin completed the listing of its cryptocurrency on Bitholic in June. The exchange also supports trading of the cryptocurrencies of such projects as Bezant and Medibloc.
Experts point out that domestic blockchain projects are flocking to foreign exchanges largely due to tougher domestic cryptocurrency exchange market conditions. Investors cannot make or withdraw deposits in the Korean currency at Korean exchanges. Excluding the nation's four largest exchanges, some 200 smaller exchanges cannot open real-name virtual accounts. This is one reason cryptocurrency investors cannot benefit from investor protection.
A low transaction volume is another reason Korean blockchain startups avoid listing on domestic exchanges. Only five or six South Korean exchanges rank among the top 100 in the world in terms of transaction volume. It is no exaggeration to say that 97 percent of domestic exchanges are in danger of going bankrupt due to their low volume of transactions.
Prixbit, a cryptocurrency exchange which closed its operations as of Aug. 9, has failed to overcome its financial difficulties and suspended its cryptocurrency trading services. Many investors criticized the shutdown of the exchange as they were worried about withdrawing their investments.
Binance Announces Open Blockchain Project 'Venus'
Binance announced its plans to initiate an open blockchain project, Venus, an initiative to develop localized stablecoins and digital assets pegged to fiat currencies across the globe. Binance is looking to create new alliances and partnerships with governments, corporations, technology companies, and other cryptocurrency companies and projects involved in the larger blockchain ecosystem, to empower developed and developing countries to spur new currencies.
With its existing global blockchain ecosystem, Binance has already reserved its public chain technology and cross-border payment system for secure operations of new stablecoins. Since its launch last April, Binance Chain has been running securely and robustly and has issued a range of stablecoins, including a BTC-pegged stablecoin (BTCB) and the Binance BGBP Stable Coin (BGBP) pegged to the British Pound. Binance will provide full-process technical support, compliance risk control system and multi-dimensional cooperation network to build Venus, leveraging its existing infrastructure and regulatory establishments.
Binance welcomes additional government partners, companies and organizations with a strong interest and influence on a global scale to collaborate with us to build a new open alliance and sustainable community. We encourage like-minded people and organizations to contact us and discuss the infinite possibilities of the digital world together: email@example.com.
Antelope Water Management Taps Data Gumbo's Blockchain Network for Oil & Gas Smart Contracts
Data Gumbo Corp., a Houston-based technology company that has developed a blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platform to streamline smart contracts for oil & gas, today announced Antelope Water Management, the Austin-based company providing sustainable water solutions for the extractive industries in oil & gas, has adopted Data Gumbo's blockchain network GumboNet™. This is the industry's first use of a blockchain platform for total water management services in US shale plays. Antelope will tap the power of GumboNet to provide customers and vendors across its water infrastructure, treatment, sourcing and disposal services with real-time data transparency, and automation of contract executions and payments.
GumboNet insights allow all of Antelope's customers and vendors in a transaction to be certain of immutable data and measurement accuracy for guaranteed and secure transactions. Antelope's stakeholders and local regulators will benefit from the data certainty to lower overhead costs, reduce outstanding payments between parties, and ensure data certainty for all business transactions.
"As an integrated water management company in the Permian Basin providing tailored management services for water infrastructure, we look forward to incorporating Data Gumbo into each of our business units," said Dustin Brownlow, CEO of Antelope. "Data Gumbo is a game changer enabling us to provide customers, vendors and regulators the best experience that smart contracts can offer. We are excited to add transparency to our operations while removing needless expenses and duplications of efforts to eliminate incorrect data and DSOs through Data Gumbo's blockchain for all stakeholders."
Antelope's deployment moves Data Gumbo into the Permian Basin, the largest producing oil field in the world and into another sector of oil & gas — total water management. Antelope's customers will for the first time be able to derive benefit from self-executing contracts on a secure blockchain platform catering to complex, 24-hr operations without the need for manual oversight.
"Data Gumbo was the first blockchain in offshore drilling and now we are the first in oil & gas water management. We anticipate continuing to break ground across the industry as companies realize the vast benefits we afford them such as security, certainty of data and, most of all, savings to the bottom line," said Andrew Bruce, CEO of Data Gumbo.
Data Gumbo's executives have more than 200 years of oil & gas industry experience across midstream, drilling and completions operations. Built initially for oil & gas but applicable to a multitude of industrial applications, GumboNet is offered by subscription, and uniquely frees companies from building and sustaining stand-alone, in-house blockchain solutions. With an immutable and auditable record that enables counterparties to trust transactions, no party can unilaterally change details, all stakeholders have the same level of transparency and results, and payments can finally be automated for savings and efficiencies.
Binance KYC Leak Highlights Importance of Personal Data Privacy
Last week, cryptocurrency exchange Binance, was at the center of a controversial KYC data leak that resulted in a massive portion of its customer's personal data, privacy, and identity being put at risk.
While the company was quick to dismiss the leak and ensuing panic from its users as nothing more than FUD, calling it a "false KYC leak," in the same official blog post Binance admits that their investigation is still ongoing, and while that the allegedly leaked photos didn't include the crypto exchange's digital watermark, all photos appeared to be tied to a month when Binance had outsourced their KYC process to another third-party firm.
Binance appears to be minimizing the situation in the public eye and deflecting any accountability of their own for not ensuring the third-party firm secured its customer's data.
Hundreds of customer photos uploaded during Binance's KYC process could be seen being scrolled through on a video recording of a Telegram channel where the photos were uploaded as part of a 300 BTC ransom hackers demanded from Binance – that they ultimately did not pay.
The once poster child of the crypto industry known for thwarting hackers and keeping funds "SAFU" has recently come under fire for barring US users from its exchange, only offering 2x margin on crypto trading, and now, leaking potentially thousand of customer's data without taking any responsibility or apologizing to those affected in order to save its image.
Cyber Crime: Over 3 Billion Private Personal Records Leaked Last Year
The leak highlights the ever-increasing importance of personal data privacy in the digital age. Over 3.3 billion people were affected by personal data leaks in 2018, and the trend is only growing. In 2018, the equivalent of 291 different people's personal data was leaked per second. Over 15 billion personal records have been leaked since 2013 when benchmarking first began.
As much as 65% of these leaks involve identify theft, which can involve credit issues, criminal allegations, tax liability, or worse. As much as 13% involve financial access, meaning that cyber criminals were able to directly access financial data and accounts, potentially draining accounts of their holdings – an incident that has become common in the cryptocurrency industry, and elsewhere on the internet.
In 2018 alone, the cryptocurrency industry was exposed to over $1 billion in exchange-related hacks, with nearly all of them involving some kind of data breach or lax security protocol. The rest of the internet is by no means different, with nearly every major internet company or publicly traded corporation experiencing some sort of major data leak over the last decade.
At the start of August, the Entertainment Software Association – a powerful company in the video game industry – leaked the personal data of thousands of industry professionals, journalists, and executives alike. The most alarming issue is that the ESA didn't even hide this information behind any type of security, and ignored repeated attempts from users notifying the company of the security failure.
Neglect like the case with Binance or the ESA exists everywhere in the world and on the internet. Uploading personal data to platforms that aren't secure is at the core of the issue.
Personal data is also easy to come by for cyber criminals, making the matter far worse and widespread. According to data, personal records can be obtained for as little as $30 on the dark web. This includes full name, social security number, date of birth, bank account numbers, and more. Driver's licenses are only $20. Passports fetch up to $2,000 – still relatively cheap to access such important personally identifying data.
How To Protect Personal and Private Data in the Digital Age
Because the issue is so widespread and the trend is only growing each year, personal data protection will only become more important and difficult. Methods and tactics of cyber criminals will improve, and so should the security and safety that companies provide their customers. Better yet, personal data should be kept private, and not required over the internet where sensitive documentation can so easily be leaked.
New systems must ultimately be developed, but many companies can start improving their processes today by accepting responsibility and taking necessary steps to protect their customer's personal data.
One example of a company taking additional steps to protect customer data is PrimeXBT. PrimeXBT is a Bitcoin-based margin trading platform featuring crypto assets (with up to 100x leverage) similar to Binance but also features traditional assets such as forex, commodities, stock indices, and more. The two worlds of digital and traditional finance coming together under one roof make PrimeXBT unique.
PrimeXBT combines the bank-grade security and focus on customer safety from traditional finance with the value of privacy that is the ethos of the crypto industry.
PrimeXBT requires no personal data to be uploaded at all, and ditches the time-consuming KYC process in favor of offering their customers privacy. The company has even in the past taken steps to move its trading infrastructure to Switzerland to ensure customer privacy remains the highest priority. It's one of the few places that exist on the internet where there zero risk of personal data loss or leak, because no personal data is ever required.
In the digital age, personal data and privacy are constantly put at risk unnecessarily. Corporations and companies carelessly require this data, then don't give it the proper protection or care that personal data and privacy deserves.
But until the public begins to vocalize their concerns over personal data and privacy and avoid companies that do not prioritize safety and security, or companies themselves begin to take additional steps and make investments in security, the issue will only grow more severe.
For now, all internet users must do due diligence when using any platform or website which requires personal information to be uploaded, and whenever possible, select a company or website that doesn't require any personal or private information be uploaded at all.
TRON: SUNNetwork Code V1.0 Officially Launched
TRON, one of the world's largest blockchain projects, announced today the V1.0 code release of TRON's side chain solution, Sun Network. Sun Network is a scaling solution built to expand the capacity of the TRON MainNet, incorporating a series of scaling projects such as DAppChain, a smart contract optimized application side chain, cross-chain communications and many more. Among these projects, DAppChain is a side chain scaling project designed to provide unlimited scaling capacity for the TRON MainNet, enabling DApps to run with lower Energy consumption, higher security and efficiency on TRON.
Compared to other scaling solutions, Sun Network has two notable features. Firstly, it supports smart contract transactions, focusing on improving the TPS of the smart contract transactions on the MainNet, as well as lowering the transaction fee. Secondly, the side chain can support more customizable requirements, such as setting side chain incentives, transaction rates, transaction confirmation speed and other parameters, catering to the needs of different developer groups.
The overall solution of the Sun Network will provide unlimited scalability to the TRON MainNet, allowing for more possibilities to the development of TRON DApps and the entire ecosystem. The solution also strives to bring positive impacts to the whole blockchain industry while flourishing the TRON network.
TRON's founder Justin Sun says, "As time goes on, lots of projects have made great progress. We launched the TVM in October 2018. In just 7 months, nearly 500 quality DApps are running on the TRON network. TRON's total account number reached 3,000,000. A total of 410 million secure transactions took place since the MainNet launch. Moving on, the energy-saving, highly secure and efficient Sun Network will contribute to a more active ecosystem of TRON. Community developers will benefit from the network as well. In addition, a series of scaling projects such as DAppChain and cross-chain communications will further expand the overall capacity of the TRON network, as well as improving the TPS and smart contract execution efficiency on TRON."
Sun Network Github Code Overview
This code version of the Sun Network is as follows:
* Side Chain The core code of DAppChain is compatible with the features of the TRON MainNet, Developers can easily migrate DApps on the TRON main chain to the side chain.
* Oracle A relay that supports the interaction of the main chain and the side chain; the TRON main chain will interact with the side chain through the Oracle relay.
* Contracts Managing digital assets across both the main chain and the side chain through contracts, ensures safe transfer of assets between the TRON network and the side chain.
* JS SDK The Javascript-version SDK supports simultaneous interactions with both the main chain and the side chain on TRON, similar to TronWeb of the MainNet.
* JAVA SDK The Java-version SDK supports simultaneous interactions with the main chain and the side chain on TRON.
* SideChain Wallet Cli An implementation of the side-chain command-line wallet based on the above-mentioned Java SDK; interacts with the main chain and the side chain simultaneously through the terminal, similar to Wallet Cli of the MainNet.
ArBinance Makes Arbitrage Trading Easier
Facebook's Libra seeks Swiss payment system license
Metaverse Foundation Launches New DNA Token on RightBTC
BlockFi Removes Minimums and Fees for Its Crypto Interest Account
Binance.US Launches Registration
Bitcoin2 weeks ago
Why You Should Mix Your Bitcoin
Blockchain2 weeks ago
Europe should ignore 'treacherous promises' of Facebook's Libra currency
Technologies2 weeks ago
15 Chinese Arrested for Bribing Internet Café Administrators to Mine Crypto
Altcoins2 weeks ago
Binance Partners with Paxos to Launch USD-Backed Stablecoin 'BUSD'
Business1 week ago
ArBinance Makes Arbitrage Trading Easier
Blockchain1 week ago
Caliber Home Loans Begins Lending on Provenance Blockchain Platform
Blockchain1 week ago
Facebook's Libra seeks Swiss payment system license
Altcoins1 week ago
Metaverse Foundation Launches New DNA Token on RightBTC


text:
Office of Budget & Resource Planning
Provides leadership, guidance and service in the planning and use of resources in a manner that best supports the academic mission of the university and ultimately provides students with the highest quality learning experience.
We hope you will browse through our website using the main categories at left to find specific topics of interest. Use the email link at right to send us any comments or questions you may have about any of the material presented.


text:
Pork with Mushroom Dijon Sauce
"White wine and mustard season a creamy sauce featuring Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup for topping tender, golden pork chops."
white wine, lemon pepper, milk, mushroom, dijon mustard, pork chops, vegetable oil
allrecipes.com - Similiar recipes
Pork with Mushroom Dijon Sauce
pork chops, lemon pepper, vegetable oil, mushroom, milk, dijon mustard, +cream of mushroom soup, +chablis
recipe.aol.com - Similiar recipes
Pork With Mushroom Dijon Sauce Recipe
dijon mustard, lemon pepper, milk, mushroom, pork chops, vegetable oil, +chablis, +cream of mushroom soup
www.cdkitchen.com - Similiar recipes
Creamy Pork Stroganoff
A creamy stroganoff using "The Other White Meat". Marinating the pork for 1 hour up to 8 hours is optional, but recommended. Serve over buttered...
white wine, vegetable oil, pork chops, mushroom, dijon mustard, +butter, +sour cream, +heavy cream, +red onions, +salt, +onions
www.recipezaar.com - Similiar recipes
Fast Fry Pork Chops With Dijon Mushroom Cream Sauce
This makes a lot of sauce so you might want to cut the amounts in half. You can also use pork medallions flattened to about 1/4-inch thickness with a meat...
dijon mustard, white wine, mushroom, vegetable oil, pork chops, +black pepper, +butter, +chicken broth, +garlic, +onions, +parmesan cheese, +red pepper, +salt, +heavy cream
www.recipezaar.com - Similiar recipes
Pork Shoulder with Mustard-Mushroom Gravy
For trained foragers, the autumn forests around Lancaster, Pennsylvania, yield an abundant wild mushroom crop. Celebrate the harvest with this succulent...
mushroom, dijon mustard, pork chops, vegetable oil, white wine, +bay leaf, +thyme, +onions, +shiitake mushroom, +flour
www.epicurious.com - Similiar recipes
Best Ever Chicken
mushroom, milk, white wine, dijon mustard, vegetable oil, +half and half, +chicken, +flour, +salt, +butter
Pork Chops In Chive Cream
white wine, mushroom, pork chops, vegetable oil, dijon mustard, +beef broth, +heavy cream, +salt, +butter, +chives
Pork Stroganoff
vegetable oil, pork chops, mushroom, white wine, dijon mustard, +salt, +black pepper, +onions, +sour cream, +lemon juice, +parsley, +egg noodles
find.myrecipes.com - Similiar recipes
Creamy Pork Chop Dinner
mushroom, milk, pork chops, vegetable oil, white wine, +green onion, +cream cheese, +green beans, +cornstarch, +black pepper, +rosemary, +garlic salt
Can't find what you are looking for? Try our custom google recipe search:
Custom Search
Your Ingredients:
Legend: click ingredients to include or exclude
have this
need to use this
exclude this
Ingredient Informationlemon peppermushroompork chopsdijon mustardwhite winemilkvegetable oil
AboutAbout Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
On the WebFacebook
Twitter Recipe Search Bot
ToolsAdd to your Website
Search alongside Google
Recipe Puppy for iPhone
Vegetarian Search
Vegan Search
MoreSubmit your Recipe
Cooking Q&A
Online Grocery Delivery
Restaurant Gift Certificates
Restaurant Coupons


text:
HOUSTON - Astronauts on space shuttle Atlantis conducted a final inspection of their spacecraft's heat shield Monday in preparation for their return to Earth. As currently planned by NASA, Atlantis will be landing for the final time this week after flying 32 missions since 1985.
The inspection is part of work to ready Atlantis for its safe re-entry into the atmosphere and landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a week-long visit to the International Space Station. The first landing opportunity is targeted for 8:48 a.m. EDT (1248 GMT) on Wednesday, weather permitting.
"I fully expect things will look good and we'll be ready for landing on Wednesday," said NASA mission operations representative Brian Lunney on Sunday.
IN PICTURES: The final flight of the space shuttle Atlantis
Atlantis and its crew are returning home from the International Space Station (ISS) after seven days docked to the orbiting laboratory, where they installed a new Russian research module and changed out six solar array batteries over the course of three spacewalks. The shuttle launched on May 14 and undocked from the orbiting lab on Sunday.
To prepare for their return, Atlantis' commander Ken Ham, pilot Dominic "Tony" Antonelli and mission specialists Piers Sellers, Garrett Reisman, Stephen Bowen and Michael Good spent Monday morning using the shuttle's robotic arm and its 50-foot extension boom to conduct a routine "late inspection" of the orbiter's thermal protection system tiles and reinforced carbon-carbon surfaces, including the wing leading edges and nose cap.
The inspection is to ensure Atlantis was not damaged by micrometeroids while docked to the station, but it will also provide analysts on the ground with the chance to add to the abbreviated survey data that was collected earlier in the mission after a cable snag prevented the use of the extension's primary camera system.
Reisman and Bowen cleared the snag during the mission's second spacewalk, so the boom and its associated sensor package was fully operational for today's survey. Other imagery and engineering data was used to fill in gaps in the post-launch inspection.
"We've convinced ourselves, as a team, through all of the launch imagery that we've recovered via the solid rocket boosters recently, as well as the standard launch imagery, the wing leading-edge sensors, the [modified] flight day two inspection that we got via the digital camera on the orbiter boom sensor system, the rendezvous pitch maneuver images and then images obtained during the first spacewalk that Atlantis and its tile are ready to go and we just need to do the standard orbital debris inspection," explained lead shuttle flight director Mike Sarafin.
Space shuttle inspections have been standard parts of every mission since heat shield damage led to the tragic loss of shuttle Columbia and its crew in 2003. Atlantis' heat shield has already received a clean bill of health after two earlier surveys during this mission. Today's inspection is the final look at the heat shield to make sure nothing has changed while Atlantis has been in space.
While the inspections are going on, Good and Bowen were also scheduled to stow the spacesuits using during the mission's spacewalks for landing. All the astronauts will also take part in exercise sessions to help prepare their bodies for the return to gravity.
On Tuesday, Ham and Antonelli are scheduled to test the wing control surfaces and thrusters that will enable Atlantis' entry glide through the atmosphere while their crewmates will begin packing the cabin for landing and stow the high bandwidth communications antenna that enables video to be sent to the ground.
The astronauts will also take part in one last set of media interviews including one for Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" with comedian Stephen Colbert.
NASA currently plans to retire Atlantis after this flight, but will ready the spacecraft to serve as a rescue ship as a safety precaution for the agency's final space shuttle mission slated to fly in late November. NASA and some lawmakers have been lobbying to take that rescue mission and turn it into a full-fledged extra shuttle flight for Atlantis, but the space agency has not yet received approval to add the flight.
After this mission, only two more shuttle flights remain, on shuttles Discovery and Endeavour, before the orbiter fleet is retired to make room for new technology development and vehicles aimed at sending astronauts to an asteroid or Mars.
- POLL: Should NASA Retire the Space Shuttles?
- Gallery - Photos From the Last Launch of Atlantis
- Wow! Shuttle, Space Station Photographed Crossing the Sun
SPACE.com is providing complete coverage of Atlantis' STS-132 mission to the International Space Station with Senior Writer Clara Moskowitz and Managing Editor Tariq Malik based in New York. Click here for shuttle mission updates and a link to NASA TV.


text:
No fooling, it'll get colder
It may be April Fools Day, but the weather forecast is no joke, WTNH meteorologist Gil Simmons said.
"There is winter air coming in Tuesday through Wednesday, and even though it will be 45 along the shore on Tuesday and 48 on Wednesday, with the wind it will feel like we're back in the 30s,'' he said. "Inland it won't make it out of the 30s.''
But the chilly, windy forecast is just a temporary setback, Simmons said.
The National Weather Service expects things to be even frostier in the Danbury area, where the overnight lows are expected to be in the mid-20s on Tuesday night, at least 5 degrees lower than Bridgpeort.
"It's going to be a roller coaster,'' said Simmons of WTNH.
Today's Opening Day games in New York may be marred by a brief passing shower, forecasters said, but it shouldn't affect the Yankees--Red Sox or Mets--Padres matchups.
Seasonable temperatures and sunny skies return for Thursday, he said.


text:
Sweet Lemonade Peeps To Cure Childhood Cancer
Remember the good ole' days when the only time you could get Peeps was during Easter? Now it seems those marshmallow treats are everywhere.
The days of yellow, pink or blue Peeps has quickly turned into Peeps for every occasion! A Peep lover can get the sweet treat in just about any color, size or shape. You can still buy the original Peeps, but now fans of the Peeps can get them chocolate covered or in any of your favorite flavors.
While shopping with my family, I'm never surprised when I get to the check-out and find a mysterious package of Peeps in my cart. It happened again this weekend.
Normally, I would immediately start asking questions about how these sweet treats ended up in my cart for purchase, and then look from one guilty face to the other. But this time, as I noticed the package of Peeps in my cart, I was hesitant to question. Because these Peeps come with a purpose.
A portion of the purchase of the 'Sweet Lemonade' flavored Peeps is supporting a foundation for childhood cancer. That foundation is Alex's Lemonade Stand.
Shortly before her first birthday, Alexandra "Alex" Scott (1996-2004) was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer.A determined and courageous little girl Alex set up her first lemonade stand when she was four years old, after she received a stem cell transplant in 2000. Alex raised about $2,000.00 to give to her doctors to help other children like her.
Every year after Alex and her family continued to have lemonade stands, raising funds for childhood cancer research. People from around the world also joined in with their own lemonade stands and donated the money to Alex and the fight against cancer.
Alex lost her battle at the age of eight, but with the help of many, millions of dollars have been raised towards her dream of finding a cure for childhood cancer.
The fight against childhood cancer continues however, and you can help by setting up a lemonade stand or donating to the cause.
Maybe I've missed seeing these 'Sweet Lemonade' flavored Peeps on the store shelves, but knowing that some of the proceeds helps support the commitment to end childhood cancer, I will be hoping that my family slips more of them in my cart!


text:
11x14, 16x20, 20x24, 24x30, 30x40, 40x50, 48x60
Camera: Canham 4x5 Inch Metal Field Camera
Lens: 150mm
Film: Kodak T-Max 100 4x5 Inch Black and White Negative Film
Saguaro IV Black & White, Arizona
I recently visited Arizona in my role as a coach with my 15 year old sons ice hockey team. I lucked out, as my family lives there as well…So, the whole family went and we had a mini "vacation". Needless to say, I knew my potential for photographic time was limited. While thinking about the trip, watching the expected weather conditions and condition of the desert at this time of year, I made a plan. I brought a scaled down kit which would enable me to create one type of image. My vision, black and white "portraits" of Saguaro Cacti. A series. I would make one exposure of each Cactus and have a series of eight complimentary images.
In a shoulder bag I brought: my "little camera" (4x5 metal field), one lens (Rodenstock 150mm), 10 film holder (8 sheets black & white, 2 sheets color), contrast filters for black & white and my tripod (which traveled in the hockey bag). On our first morning in Arizona, my eight year old, Toby, and I walked out into the desert to explore. I also observed the Saguaros, the angle of light in the morning, the backgrounds, the feeling, etc. Toby and I had a blast exploring the desert and I had a solid plan.
Two mornings later, shoulder bag & tripod in tow, I headed into the desert alone. I found my happy place and got to work. I was looking for simple, clean compositions to set off the grandeur of these giants of the desert. After I toiled with the first composition, I was able to move along with great confidence and anticipation. I hustled from one Saguaro to another making my selections carefully and thoughtfully. Each composition received only one exposure. Not until I arrived home and hand processed the film did I know each exposure was correct. I am fine tuning the prints to bring out the mood and feeling I wanted to convey. Personally, I feel that the art of shooting larger format film keeps me grounded in the craft of landscape photography, as opposed to turning me into an engineer in the land of software and computers. I like the responsibility of consciously composing each image and setting the exposure relative to the mood I want the image to convey. The art happens when I am in the field feeling the experience, not at my computer weeding through hundreds of images to see if there is something "good" that I can make even better. Simple and traditional is how I prefer my art at this point.
This is part of a series of 8 saguaro portraits that hang beautifully together.


text:
Staff at a private prison where disorder broke out predicted there would be trouble when the workforce was dramatically cut, a union official has said.
Around 50 inmates at HMP Northumberland were involved in the serious disorder on Friday night.
It required the assistance of specially-trained colleagues from other prisons around the North East to stop the trouble around seven hours later.
Terry Fullerton, who represents the region on the Prison Officers' Association national executive committee, said members had raised concerns about staffing levels as far back as December.
He said since then around 130 staff had left, leaving fewer than 200 uniformed staff to guard 1,350 inmates.
"Staff were concerned that the reduction would lead to something like what came to happen on Friday night," he said.
Inmates refused to return to their cells and warned staff to leave the area, which they did, allowing them to take over until a specialist squad of officers was assembled.
On-site services provider Sodexo said an investigation was being held into what happened.
Mr Fullerton believed inmates will have come to realise staffing levels were low enough for them to take over.
He said: "It doesn't take inmates long to realise that staffing levels have reduced, and that there are less of the 'white shirts' that are needed to keep control."
The union official said inmates at HMP Northumberland had been risk-assessed and deemed to be suitable for a category C prison, yet some of them would be convicted murderers, paedophiles and drug dealers.