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BEIJING (AP) The International Olympic Committee held a disciplinary hearing Thursday to consider barring Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou from the Beijing Games for her role in a drug-testing scandal in Athens four years ago.
Thanou and fellow Greek sprinter Kostas Kenteris missed doping tests on the eve of the 2004 opening ceremony, and claimed they were injured in a motorcycle accident the same day.
The pair eventually pulled out of the games and returned their Olympic accreditations. They were not sanctioned by the IOC but were later suspended for two years by the International Association of Athletics Federations.
Thanou returned to international competition in 2007 and has qualified for the Greek team in the 100 meters for the Beijing Games.
IOC president Jacques Rogge said Thursday the committee had reserved the right in Athens to open disciplinary procedures against Thanou and Kenteris if they sought accreditation for future games.
A three-man panel met Thursday to consider the case, but Rogge said he had not yet received any findings.
The panel will make recommendations to the IOC executive board, which is expected to make a ruling early next week. The women's 100 meter heats are set for Aug. 16.
The IOC can bar athletes from the Olympics if they are considered guilty of improper conduct or bringing the games into disrepute.
The hearing into Thanou's eligibility is not connected to her claim to the 100-meter gold medal won by Marion Jones at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Thanou finished second in the race.
Jones was stripped of all five of her Sydney medals after admitting earlier this year that she was doping at the time.
The IOC has put off any decision on the reallocation of Jones' medals until it receives all the files in the BALCO steroid investigation in the United States.
A lawyer representing Thanou said Wednesday he planned to sue the IOC for failing to hand her the medal.


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Skip to comments.Noted Researcher Urges New Scientific Study of UFOs (note the source)
Posted on 06/26/2012 12:22:28 PM PDT by RoosterRedux
UFO researcher Robert Hastings recently addressed The Society for Scientific Exploration's 31st Annual Conference here. His presentation, "Unexplained Aerial Incursions at Nuclear Weapons Sites Demand a Renewed Scientific Interest in the UFO Phenomenon," examined declassified U.S. government documents confirming ongoing UFO activity at American nukes-related facilities since 1948.
In September 2010, Hastings' "UFOs and Nukes" press conference drew worldwide media coverage when seven U.S. Air Force veterans revealed dramatic incidents during which several ICBMs mysteriously malfunctioned just as disc-shaped craft were observed hovering near them.
CNN streamed the press event live:
Following the conference in Boulder, Hastings said:
"Among the 130 veterans I have interviewed are nuclear missile launch officers who report UFOs monitoring and even disabling their weapons. To dismiss these accounts as mere fantasies or fabrications is to suggest that those who held the fate of the entire planet in their hands during the Cold War were dangerously demented or otherwise untrustworthy. Surely, this was not the case. Similar incidents have been revealed by Soviet military veterans.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
I often use the "Space Aliens committed 911" against truthers to try and out-kook them. Blaming things on Space Aliens is a convenient way of not having to explain a lack of evidence.
The "Pepp Aeroshell," shown here at the White Sands Missile Range park, was used to test the parachute that NASA planned to use to "soft land" the Viking spacecraft on Mars.
It and its predecessor test craft probably explain about 99% of the "flying saucer" sightings in the western U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s.
As an aside, you've got to admire that guy for his "do." It takes a lot of courage or gumption or something to be televised with that pile of hair.
I have to admit that I have wondered a few times if the real reason we (humans) haven't blow each other (ourselves) up with nuclear weapons might just be...that we weren't allowed to.
Considering that the UFO craze began in the 50s as the US was testing all kinds of secret rockets and aircraft, I think a huge number of 'sightings' can be explained in such a manner.
40 days to touchdown on Mars. Seems like an overcomplicated landing procedure but I understand why. I'm a little surprised this one isn't getting more press.
I think we spend enough money on stupid stuff already!
You're not suggesting that studying shrimp on treadmills is stupid, are you?;-)
oh yeah, anyone can tell that's a weather balloon...
Henceforth, I will have a hard time believing these sightings are anything other than drones from some government somewhere. I don't know how long ago the black ops around the world produced the first drones but I am quite sure it was long before I heard of them.
I would rather funnel the money used to fight global warming to UFO studies. If we find intelligent life they can help us fix the problem. If we don't find intelligent life it would be money better spent.
I am continuously surprised that people have failed to make the obvious connection between UFO's and Bigfoot.
Good point. We could split it between UFO's, ghosts, big foot and Nellie.
Not as stupid as studying alien invasions from the outer reaches of space! But Stupid, YES!
Apparently these things - whatever they are - tend to hover over nuclear silos.
One is reminded of the activities of Chekhov and Uhura in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, crouched in concealment catching photons from the reactor of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise in order to restore the drive system of their captured Klingon bird of prey...
Yes, sorry - Trekkie here.
But are their experiences of abduction the result of lucid dreams or are they real?
I have no idea.
But if one reads the work of John Mack of Harvard, Budd Hopkins, or David Jacobs of Temple Univ, one understands that whatever is going on is either real...or virtual reality.
To deny these experiences outright points to an ignorance of study or an unwilling to apply the rigors of investigation out of fear.
I don't have the answer...but denial that something is happening is, well, supposition arrived at because of fear. In short, it is simple psychological denial!
You are not afraid, are you?
Though I am afraid...I will not give in to fear. I know the answer.
Ask me and I will tell you how to protect yourself from this alien attack.
FWIW, this attack (I believe) is not alien (well, in a way it is). It is demonic.
And there is only one way out...only one cure!
kinda looks like he's striving for the 'lando molliari' look
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US Sailing Announces 2009 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics
Portsmouth, R.I. (March 16, 2009) -- US SAILING, the national governing body for the sport, is proud to announce the new 2009 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG). Fueled by elite sailing talent and leadership, the Olympic Sailing Program is building momentum towards the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Weymouth/Portland, England. The new team consists of rising sailing stars as well as many top sailors in the world, including 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist and US SAILING's Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Anna Tunnicliffe, 2008 Olympic Silver Medalist Zach Railey, 2008 Paralympic Gold Medalist Maureen McKinnon-Tucker, 2008 Paralympic Bronze Medalist John Ruf and 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist Allison Jolly.
Based on results at US SAILING's 2009 Rolex Miami OCR, US SAILING selected the top three boats in each Olympic and Paralympic class for the 2009 USSTAG. Two boats declined to pursue Olympic/Paralympic campaigns, so the Star and SKUD-18 classes include the top two boats. The 10 Olympic classes chosen to compete at the 2012 Olympic Games are: Laser Radial (women), Laser (men), Finn (men), Men's RS:X, Women's RS:X, 49er (men), Men's 470, Women's 470, Star (men) and Elliott 6m (women). The three Paralympic classes chosen for the 2012 Paralympic Games are: 2.4mR (open), SKUD18 (mixed) and Sonar (open).
The members of the 2009 USSTAG are (listed in order of USSTAG ranking):
Laser (Men's One Person Dinghy):
Brad Funk (Plantation, Fla.)
Clay Johnson (Toms River, N.J.)
Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.)
Laser Radial (Women's One Person Dinghy):
Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.)
Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.)
Emily Billing (Clearwater, Fla.)
Finn (Heavyweight Dinghy):
Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.)
Andrew Casey (Alameda, Calif.)
Bryan Boyd (Annapolis, Md.)
Men's RS:X (Men's Windsurfer):
Ben Barger (St. Petersburg. Fla.)
Bob Willis (Chicago, Ill.)
Jimi Sobeck (East Quogue, N.Y.)
Women's RS:X (Women's Windsurfer):
Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.)
Lisa Kremer (Worthington, Minn./ Sioux City, Iowa)
Solvig Sayre (Vineyard Haven, Mass.)
Men's 470 (Men's Two Person Dinghy):
Stu McNay (Newton, Mass.) and Graham Biehl (San Diego, Calif.)
Adam Roberts (San Diego, Calif.) and Nick Martin (San Diego, Calif.)
Hans Jensen (Duxbury, Mass.)
Women's 470 (Women's Two Person Dinghy):
Erin Maxwell (Stonington, Conn.) and Isabelle Kinsolving (New York, NY)
Molly Carapiet (Belvedere, Calif.) and Molly O'Bryan Vandemoer (Redwood City, Calif.)
Alison Jolly (St. Petersburg. Fla.) and Darby Smith (Marblehead, Mass.)
49er (Skiff):
Erik Storck (Huntington, N.Y.) and Trevor Moore (North Pomfret, Vt.)
Joey Pasquali (Santa Cruz, Calif.)
Jonny Goldsberry (Sausalito, Calif.) and Charlie Smythe (Austin, Texas)
Star (Men's Keelboat):
George Szabo (San Diego, Calif.) and Rick Peters (Barrington, R.I./Venice, Calif.)
Andrew Campbell (San Diego, Calif.) and Brad Nichol (Miami Beach, Fla.)
Elliott 6m (Women's Match Racing):
Genny Tulloch (San Francisco, Calif.), Jen Morgan Glass (Seattle, Wash.) and Jamie Haines (Jamestown, R.I.)
Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.), Jackie Schmitz (Washington, D.C.) and Emily Hill (Miami, Fla./New Haven, Conn.)
Katy Lovell (New Orleans, La.), Alice Manard (Charleston, S.C.) and Dana Riley (San Rafael, Calif.)
Paralympic Classes
2.4mR (Open One Person Keelboat)
Mark LeBlanc (New Orleans, La.)
Scott Danberg (Cooper City, Fla. and Stamford, Conn.)
SKUD-18 (Mixed Two Person Keelboat)
Scott Whitman (Brick, NJ) and Julia Dorsett (Westchester, Pa. and Boca Raton, Fla.)
Karen Mitchell (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) and Bob Jones (Issaquah, Wash.)
Sonar (Open Three Person Keelboat)
Paul Callahan (Cape Coral, Fla. and Newport, R.I.), Roger Cleworth (Lithia, Fla.) and Tom Brown (Castine, Me.)
Rick Doerr (Clifton, NJ), Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Marblehead, Mass.) and Hugh Freund (South Freeport, Me.)
Jen French (St. Petersburg, Fla.), Michael Hersey (Hyannis, Mass.) and Brad Kendell (Tampa, Fla.)
"We're excited about the new team because we've never had this many Olympic and Paralympic sailors return this early in the quad, which is a sign we're delivering more support to the sailors," said Olympic Sailing Chairman Dean Brenner (Wallingford, Conn.). "We're also excited to see a new generation of talented sailors dedicated to Olympic excellence."
US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics members are consistently ranked the top sailors in the world by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). Anna Tunnicliffe has been ranked number one in the world in the Laser Radial class since April, 2008. She is also number one in the ISAF Sailing World Cup standings, after winning gold medals at US SAILING's 2009 Rolex Miami OCR in January and Sail Melbourne in December 2008. USSTAG members Stu McNay and Graham Biehl are also ranked first in the Men's 470, thanks to a gold medal at Rolex Miami OCR and a silver at Sail Melbourne; Scott Whitman and Julia Dorsett are first in the SKUD-18 class after setting an event record by winning every race in Miami.
In addition to these athletes ranked number one in the ISAF Sailing World Cup standings, 12 other USSTAG boats are ranked among the top five in the world in their respective classes, based on their top performances at US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR, the second of seven ISAF Sailing World Cup events. In the Star class, George Szabo and Rick Peters are second, while Andrew Campbell and Brad Nichol are fourth in the world. In the Women's 470, Erin Maxwell and Isabelle Kinsolving are third and Molly Carapiet and Molly O'Bryan Vandemoer are in fifth place. Paige Railey is fourth in the Laser Radial, while her brother Zach Railey is fifth in the Finn class. Genny Tulloch, Jen Morgan and Jamie Haines stand in fourth place, while Debbie Capozzi, Jackie Schmitz and Emily Hill are fifth in the new Women's Match Racing event. In addition to Whitman and Dorsett's first-place standing in the SKUD-18 class, Karen Mitchell and Bob Jones are ranked fourth in the class. In the Sonar class, Paul Callahan, Roger Cleworth and Tom Brown are ranked second, Rick Doerr, Maureen McKinnon-Tucker and Hugh Freund are third and Jen French, Mike Hersey and Brad Kendell are fifth. The U.S. dominated US SAILING's 2009 Rolex Miami OCR in January by winning 12 medals, which was the most medals of any country competing.
The Olympic Sailing Program is focused on developing a strong, cohesive team and training culture to ensure high performance for the next four years leading up to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Weymouth/Portland, England. Goals for 2009 include continuing to support team members and instituting a more collaborative culture of knowledge sharing and joint training. The program also wants to give team members every opportunity to become the very best in their classes and compete at the top international regattas, including the ISAF Sailing World Cup events and Olympic and Paralympic class world championships.
"We want to start this year off with a high level of activity and build momentum for the rest of the quad," said High Performance Director/ Head Coach Kenneth Andreasen (Tampa, Fla.). "We have a strong group of talented sailors who are showing great promise. Most importantly, they are working extremely hard, and I am sure the results will follow."
US SAILING provides these top athletes with financial, fundraising, logistical, performance (including coaching and on-and-off-the-water fitness training) and marketing and communication support. The USSTAG is led by Olympic Sailing Program Chairman Dean Brenner (Wallingford, Conn.), Olympic Director Katie Kelly (Barrington, R.I.), High Performance Director/Head Coach Kenneth Andreasen (Tampa, Fla.), Commercial Director Dan Cooney (Marion, Mass.), Communications Director Marni Lane (Norwalk, Conn.), Olympic Coordinator Sarah Hawkins (Newport, R.I.) and coached by Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.), Luther Carpenter (Laporte, Texas) and Leandro Spina (Miami, Fla.). Team members must be eligible to represent the U.S. in the next Olympic and Paralympic Games, remain a member of US SAILING and commit to weight requirements as appropriate in the nominated class.
The USSTAG is proud to be supported by several outstanding sponsors, including the team's first-ever title partner, AlphaGraphics, as well as Gold level partners Rolex Watch USA and Atlantis WeatherGear. The team is also sponsored by Silver partner Sperry Top-Sider and Bronze partners LaserPerformance, Harken and Team McLube.
For more information about the 2009 USSTAG, please visit the new team web site, http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/, and click on "Teams."
About the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics and US SAILING
The US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics is managed by the United States Sailing Association (US SAILING), the national governing body for the sport of sailing and sailboat racing. The top boats in each Olympic and Paralympic class are selected annually to be members of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. US SAILING supports these elite athletes with funding, coaching and training. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US SAILING provides leadership for the sport of sailing in the United States. US SAILING offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country. For more information about US SAILING, please visit: ussailing.org. For more information about the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, please visit: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/


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Best Place to Find Domestic Bliss
With dozens of well-curated vintage shops spanning all decades, West Palm Beach's Antique Row is a street of hidden treasures just waiting to be rediscovered.
Cedric DuPont Antiques
The cornerstone of Antique Row is the mammoth white building housing Cedric DuPont Antiques. DuPont has long been a fixture in the Palm Beach antiques market, and when he moved his showroom to the Row, many rejoiced. Within the 20,000-square-foot building, you'll find glorious eighteenth and nineteenth century European antiques, including many rare treasures.
3415 S. Dixie Highway, 561-835-1319
Côté Jardin Antiques
Côté Jardin specializes in seventeenth and eighteenth century European decor such as marble tables, small statues and well-worn wooden armoires. Wander into the garden in the back to find outdoor furnishings as well as a cottage that was a tea room about a decade ago. Côté Jardin has acquired so many pieces that it has been leasing a second unit two doors south since January and is opening a store in Los Angeles this month.
3627 S. Dixie Highway, 561-805-7571
Lars Bolander
Lars Bolander is a design genius. To enter his shop on Antique Row is to get a glimpse of the Swedish decorator's aesthetic, which has been called everything from bold and graphic to style-bending and quirky. For our money, a Bolander design is always tasteful and remarkably pleasing to the eye. His shop offers unusual antiques, many sourced from around the world and oozing a tranquil Asian sensibility.
3731 S. Dixie Highway, 561-832-2121
Devonia Antiques
We have a thing for old china and crystal, and we satisfy our fetish at Devonia. This charming little shop is jam-packed with vintage and antique china, such as a circa-1950s Meissen Blue Onion service for 12. The crystal is fantastic, too, particularly vintage Moser stems and some deaccessioned pieces from the Saint-Louis Crystal Museum.
3703A S. Dixie Highway, 561-429-8566
Continued on Page 2


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The Rise and Fall of Dallas Restaurateur Mico Rodriguez
How the man behind Mi Cocina built a restaurant empire and destroyed himself in the process.
Sometime during the holiday season last year, Michael "Mico" Rodriguez—the high-profile founder of the Mi Cocina chain, the godfather of Dallas Tex-Mex—secluded himself in his downtown Republic Tower penthouse and began slowly killing himself. His professional and personal worlds were crumbling around him. He felt like a fraud.
He dealt with his demons by drinking as much as a case of Heineken a day. He withdrew from the world. His cellphone voicemail was full, because he refused to answer it. He passed the days sitting in the dark, watching his favorite movies over and over: Citizen Kane, The Godfather, and It's a Wonderful Life.
As the slow-motion crash stretched into a month, a flower arranger named Ricky McLane was the only person who regularly saw Rodriguez. The friend and former waiter at the Mi Cocina in Highland Park Village brought him groceries and urged him to eat. McLane watched the movies with him, listening as Rodriguez obsessed over the cinematographic elements of each film. Rodriguez drew inspiration from the movies, pointing out detail on wood moldings in one film and saying he'd put that in a restaurant some day.
But Rodriguez knew he wouldn't be designing a new restaurant anytime soon. In fact, his slide into depression and his self-quarantine were due largely to his career implosion. Months earlier, he had stepped down as CEO of the M Crowd Restaurant Group, the company that emerged from the tiny 12-table Tex-Mex restaurant he founded 18 years ago in a foreclosed strip mall.
It was an ignominious end to a spectacular success story. Penniless and fresh out of rehab, Mico Rodriguez had coaxed three partners to back his fledgling restaurant. Bob McNutt, owner of Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana (maker of the original "DeLuxe" fruit cakes); Ray Washburne, CEO of real estate investment firm Charter Holdings; and Ray's brother, retired businessman Dick Washburne, backed Rodriguez with $82,500, a tiny investment that ballooned into a portfolio of 22 restaurants and the chic lounge Twenty2. Last year, M Crowd generated an estimated $78 million.
"He really changed the way people look at Tex-Mex," says Monica Greene, founder of Monica's Aca Y Alla and a friend of Rodriguez's. "He was able to create elegant, expensive environments. He was able to convince people that they could spend $14 on enchiladas. That was pretty bold."
But as his ground-breaking culinary dynasty grew, Rodriguez self-destructed. He whittled away an initial 50 percent stake in the company down to 22 percent by last year, mostly to fuel a high-flying lifestyle that included fine art, designer clothes, luxury cars, and expensive homes. He was in the process of cashing out his remaining shares in M Crowd when he retreated to his penthouse.
And while he watched his three movies, his business partners were gearing up to take legal action against him, alleging he had long been diverting M Crowd revenue into his own pockets. "Mico was really good at hiding things," says M Crowd partner Dick Washburne. [Editor's note: Washburne has for years dated D Magazine's dining critic, Nancy Nichols.]
His problems didn't end with business. As his partners were hounding him, Rodriguez and his wife were in the thick of a divorce that would be the final chapter in their nearly 20 years of contentious matrimony. He hit bottom days before Christmas, drinking himself into a stupor, his body shuddering with delirium tremens. "His disease had taken over," says his ex-wife, Carolina Galvan-Rodriguez. "I didn't think he was going to make it. I thought he was going to die."
On December 17, Galvan-Rodriguez finally persuaded her ex-husband to check himself into a locked detox unit at Presbyterian Hospital. Her intervention came just in time, according to one source, as his blood alcohol level was so high that it could have killed him. He was released shortly before New Year's Eve.
McLane says Rodriguez was grateful for his second chance when he returned to his penthouse. He was committed to turning his life around. He vowed to stay sober. "He was humble," he says. "He felt like he had been given another chance." McLane says Rodriguez went back to his old self, brainstorming on legal pads, making long lists of ideas, concepts, and new projects. Several Dallas investors approached him with interest in backing Rodriguez in new restaurant ventures. He drafted plans for a pair of Mexican restaurants in New York City.
Then, as this story was being researched, Rodriguez disappeared again, renewing his friends' concern for his welfare. They wondered, as did the Dallas restaurant community, whether Mico Rodriguez's long fall from grace was finally complete.
===His problems didn't end with business. As his partners were hounding him, Rodriguez and his wife were in the thick of a divorce that would be the final chapter in their nearly 20 years of contentious matrimony. He hit bottom just days before Christmas, drinking himself into a stupor, his body shuddering with delirium tremens.!==
The rise of Mico Rodriguez is a classic story of hard work and ambition overcoming long odds. In published reports—Rodriguez refused to comment for this article—he has said his work ethic and his passion for the restaurant business were instilled in him by his mother and stepfather, Ana and Butch Enriquez, who managed several El Chico restaurants and founded Mia's Tex-Mex Restaurant on Lemmon Avenue in 1981. Rodriguez remembers working as a water boy at an old El Chico on Lovers Lane. He scooped guacamole. He made iced tea. At the age of 9, he graduated to chopping and dicing.
In 1976, he dropped out of Thomas Jefferson High School and plunged headlong into the nightlife on Greenville Avenue, earning money as a doorman, waiter, and bartender. "I would see him, and he always had a lot of girlfriends," says his ex-wife, Galvan-Rodriguez, who has known him since they were both young children. "He always worked hard, and he always had money and a car."
He took the helm of Mia's in 1983 as general manager, logging long hours. He learned to cope with the endless nights and weekends with the rush of drugs and alcohol. "I [was] having a good time," Rodriguez told the Dallas Morning News in 2001. "I'm sniffing here and drinking there. But I got to the end of my rope when I figured it's either death or jail."
In an episode that would repeat itself years later, Rodriguez checked himself into a lockdown rehab program in January 1989 after one final drink: a 7 am Bloody Mary served at the Melrose Hotel. Rodriguez stayed sober for 15 years.
But soon after his release, his stint at Mia's ended over a dispute with his mother and other members of his family. According to former M Crowd public relations man Wayne Broadwell, there was friction between Mico and his brother Paul, then co-owner of Mia's and a driving force behind the Greater Dallas Restaurant Association. "He and Paul were estranged," Broadwell says. "I don't know if it was a competitive thing. Probably."
From the beginning of his post-Mia's career, what Mico Rodriguez lacked in formal education or resources, he made up for with chutzpah. Real estate investor Ray Washburne, a regular at Mia's who was served by Rodriguez, recalls the day in late 1990 that he got a call from Rodriguez at his office. "He said, 'Hey, Ray, this is Michael Rodriguez. I'd like to come see you to talk about a restaurant,' " Washburne says. "And my response was, 'Well, who are you?' "
Washburne agreed to meet Rodriguez for lunch at a Chinese restaurant on Motor Street, near Stemmons Freeway. There, Rodriguez showed Washburne a list of celebrities that were regulars at Mia's, including Dallas Cowboys legends Chuck Howley and Roger Staubach. Rodriguez told him that he had planned to call each of them but decided to call Washburne first. Washburne asked him why. "He says, 'Well, because I see your name in the society pages all the time, so you must have a lot of money,' " Washburne says.
Broke and just a year out of rehab, Rodriguez asked Washburne for $25,000. Washburne agreed on the spot. "He was a sincere guy," Washburne says. "I observed him working at Mia's, and he was a very hard-working guy. He was a popular person. People were attracted to him."
Washburne drove around Dallas with his girlfriend, scouting restaurant locations. They eventually settled on a site in Preston Forest Village, on the southwest corner of Preston Road and Forest Lane, a property in foreclosure. Washburne negotiated a lease on a space at an end of the strip that was deserted. It was, he would later discover, a sweet spot. "There was no Mexican restaurant anywhere for miles in any direction," he says. His $25,000 investment quickly became $77,500. "That's when I went to get my brother Dick to come in and Bob McNutt, who was my old college roommate," Washburne says. The total investment crept up to $82,500, which included last-minute expenses on opening night. Carolina Galvan-Rodriguez says they paid their partners back in four and a half months. "Band of brothers, they called themselves," she says.
Rodriguez and his wife worked doggedly in their 12-table restaurant with nine employees, she in the front of the house, he in the kitchen. Their concept received a powerful boost when Juanita Miller, wife of real estate mogul Henry S. Miller, took a liking to Mi Cocina's margaritas. In 1993, she convinced her husband to slip a Mi Cocina into Highland Park Village after Miller let the lease lapse for Los Vaqueros, a restaurant that had been in the shopping center for 20 years. "She's the one who put us on the map," says Galvan-Rodriguez. "That's when developers started looking at us, and a lot of opportunities opened up. We got a lot of 'A' locations. We were blessed." Whole chapters of Dallas restaurant culture would soon be rewritten.
Rodriguez instilled Mi Cocina with contemporary styling that used clear forms, soft curves, and bright colors discharged with precision and understatement. "Whatever the industry's doing, I'm not doing," Rodriguez said in 1993. "I don't do loud tablecloths and neon beer signs. I can't handle colored walls. Good taste is good taste." Rodriguez's chain expanded to locations in Lake Highlands, Bent Tree in North Dallas, and the Dallas Galleria. His ascension to local restaurateur legend was nearly complete.


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Omaha, Nebraska 68102
United States
|Areas of Practice
|1) Real Estate
|Creighton University (B.A., 1996; J.D., magna cum
|Most recent firm
|Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP
|Relevant Jobs
Paralegal - Real Estate
Chun Kerr LLP, an established 21-attorney law firm, seeks an experienced full-time paralegal with background in commercial and real property, transactions, tax or estate/trust work. Duties inclu...
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Land Use Associate / Attorney
USA-CA-San Francisco
Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP is seeking a skilled and motivated land use associate / attorney with a minimum of 4+ years experience for its San Francisco office. Experience in land use, CEQA,...
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Senior Legal Counsel
USA-MO-Kansas City
Senior Legal Counsel Duties : This position focuses on corporate/commercial transactional work for Epiq Systems, Inc. and its affiliated and subsidiary companies including drafting, evaluating, and ...
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Anthony Ciasulli is a senior counsel in Morgan Lewis's Real Estate Practice. Mr. Ciasulli represents both developers and lenders in connection with commercial, residential, industrial and resort real estate.
Brian M. Jazaeri is a partner in Morgan Lewis's Litigation Practice. Mr. Jazaeri represents clients in complex commercial litigation, with a particular emphasis on class action matters and financial services, healthcare and technology litigation.


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Fire on the Mountain - Page 2
"A very surreal sight"
The Waldo Canyon fire started on June 23rd. Before being contained, it claimed 18,247 acres of forest, 346 homes (and damaged an additional 50) and two lives. 32,000 people were evacuated from Colorado Springs and the surrounding area as images of a tower of fire and smoke cascading down the mountains and toward the city went viral online.
"The fire ranks as the most destructive fire in Colorado's history," says Bob Street of the El Paso County Search and Rescue (EPCSR).
Street says dry conditions and high winds were to blame for the fire's quick spread. EPCSR Chief Larry Dunn noted that winds from a nearby thunderstorm prompted the firestorm that convinced O'Neill the race had to be canceled on Tuesday, June 26.
"Tuesday evening I was at the Blodgett Trailhead, a location popular with hikers and runners and location of many of our missions," Dunn says. "There was fire on the ridges and slopes, torching, some homes still burning, and thick, thick smoke … a very surreal sight indeed, with a few homes still lighted, but mostly just our headlights and red and blue warning lights and the fire reflecting off the smoke."
Friends of The [Pikes] Peak had a trail crew working on the south slope of the mountains when the fire erupted on the 23rd, according to the organization's president, Michael Cotter. "We were not in any danger, but to see the smoke plume rise above Almagre Mountain was a sobering experience," he says. "Based on the size of the plume and how quickly it rose you could tell it was a huge, fast-burning fire."
Eventually, nearly all trails on the western edge of Colorado Springs were closed, including Barr.
"Obviously, the fires hit really close to home," says Pikes Peak Road Runners President, Michael Shafai. "Our club and other running groups in the area conduct training and social runs on affected trails. One of our more popular club races, the Pony Express, is held in the Rampart Reservoir area, and judging by aerial views of that area, we may need to relocate that race, which is held in the fall."
Shafai also says he is concerned about the diminished aesthetic value of the surrounding mountains.
"While most of the forest is still intact, it's difficult to ignore the charred trees and brush in the foreground," he says. "As trail runners who appreciate the glory of the mountains, we are sad to see such devastation."


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Bajoran Provisional Government
this wiki
The Bajoran Provisional Government was the government of the Bajoran people, established on Bajor following the withdrawal of Cardassian occupational forces in 2369. It succeeded the Bajoran Occupational Government.
Structure Edit
The chief executive of the Provisional Government was known as the First Minister, who was elected every six years. (DS9: "Shakaar")
There were a number of Ministers who served in the Provisional Government and were known collectively over the duration of the government as the Ministers' Court, Bajoran Council, Board of Ministers, Chamber of Ministers and Council of Ministers. (DS9: "Past Prologue", "Dramatis Personae", "The Homecoming", "The Alternate", "Rapture", "In the Cards")
One high-ranking minister was the Minister of State. (DS9: "Duet")
Relationship with religious leaders Edit
The secular Provisional Government shared its authority with the leaders of the Bajoran religion. The Vedek Assembly held much influence, with prominent Vedeks often engaging in political matters, such as negotiating treaties. (DS9: "Life Support")
The Kai, spiritual leader of Bajor, exercised a great deal of political influence over the Provisional Government. Disputes between the Kai and the First Minister of the government, while rare, could be extremely divisive. While it was not forbidden for the Kai to serve as First Minister, such concentration of power was discouraged. The Kai was permitted to engage in foreign policy, including negotiating and signing treaties on behalf of Bajor, in consultation with the secular authorities. (DS9: "Emissary", "The Collaborator", "Life Support", "Shakaar", "Rapture", "In the Cards")
The Emissary, Benjamin Sisko, also had significant clout in the Provisional Government. Ministers sought his advice on political programs and schemes. Any measures endorsed by the Emissary were likely to pass the Council of Ministers. (DS9: "Shattered Mirror", "Call to Arms")
Agencies and institutes Edit
The Provisional Government maintained a number of executive agencies that assisted in the administration of its affairs. It also oversaw several institutes for science and the arts. These included:
- Bajoran Agricultural Ministry
- Bajoran Archaeological Institute
- Bajoran Center for Science
- Bajoran Executive Committee
- Bajoran Freight and Shipping Authority
- Bajoran Intelligence
- Bajoran Ministry of Commerce
- Bajoran State Museum
History Edit
- See also: Bajoran history
The first year Edit
One of the Provisional Government's first actions, following its inception, was to request a Federation presence in the Bajoran system. This was realized through the establishment of a starbase there, known as Deep Space 9. Although officially under Bajoran control, Deep Space 9 was commanded by a Starfleet officer, Commander Benjamin Sisko. Following his assignment to Deep Space 9, Sisko assigned a Bajoran, Major Kira Nerys, as his executive officer, who also served as his liaison officer, coordinating relations between the Federation and the Provisional Government. (DS9: "Emissary")
Further actions taken that year included the release of all Bajorans imprisoned for killing Cardassians during the Occupation and the enforcement of new building codes. (DS9: "A Man Alone", "Dax")
With the Federation's help, the Bajoran government began attempts to perform a massive energy transfer by tapping the molten core of its fifth moon, Jeraddo. Minister Toran was in charge of the energy project and to ensure that the moon's occupants were evacuated. Toran refused to hold up progress for three stubborn hold-outs, Mullibok, Baltrim and Keena, and forced Kira Nerys to remove the residents. She did so under protest. (DS9: "Progress")
When Aamin Marritza was arrested aboard Deep Space 9, and evidence of his presence at Gallitep was discovered, Minister of State Kaval congratulated Sisko for imprisoning Marritza, telling him he had performed a "special service" for Bajor. He refused to listen to Sisko's argument that Starfleet did not have grounds for holding the Cardassian, bluntly stating that "we will have him". He later placed Kira Nerys in charge of the investigation. (DS9: "Duet")
Troubled times Edit
By early 2370, the Provisional Government was becoming increasingly unpopular. Its members were seen as political opportunists and its decision-making was hampered by in-fighting. With the death of the Kai, Bajor was left without a strong central authority. Civil strife ensued, with factional and religious tensions brought to the surface. In this environment, the xenophobic Alliance for Global Unity emerged as a threat to the survival of the Provisional Government. Unbeknownst to the Chamber of Ministers, the Circle was led by Minister Jaro Essa, who saw an opportunity to advance his own political ambitions.
Jaro perceived a threat to his rise to power, in the popularity of the war hero Li Nalas, recently freed from a labor camp on Cardassia IV. Jaro dealt with it by transferring Major Kira Nerys to a surface post, and assigning Li to DS9. Without Li's unifying influence, riots erupted across the planet. Disgruntled Bajorans angrily demanded a new government that could stand on its own. Armed with weapons purchased from Kressari traders, the Circle clashed with Bajoran Militia forces with increasing frequency. The Provisional Government was forced to deploy troops in Bajor's capital to put down unrest. However, the Militia was unable to stop the Circle; each potential conflict led to a further withdrawal.
Jaro soon attracted support from Bajoran religious and military leaders, including Vedek Winn and General Krim. The coup was only foiled when Major Kira and Jadzia Dax arrived on Bajor with recently uncovered evidence regarding the Circle's weapon suppliers, in a shipping manifest. Cardassians, finding advantage in the Circle's disruption of Bajoran politics, had surreptitiously supplied the faction through intermediaries. The manifest, with a Cardassian Gul's thumb signature, convinced the Chamber of Ministers in time to avert the coup. (DS9: "The Homecoming", "The Circle", "The Siege")
Later that year, the Chamber of Ministers argued about irrigating the Trilar Peninsula for two days. (DS9: "Sanctuary")
Another major crisis in that year for the Provisional Government was the arrival of three million Skrreea refugees through the wormhole from the Gamma Quadrant. Their leader, Haneek, believing that Bajor was Kentanna, a promised land for the Skrreeans, petitioned the Provisional Government to allow them to settle on the planet. The Provisional Government considered Haneek's request, but in the end denied the Skrreea permission to immigrate, noting that it was having difficulty fixing the planet's existing problems. (DS9: "Sanctuary")
Later that year, the Chamber of Ministers agreed to hand over three Cardassian dissidents – Natima Lang, Rekelen and Hogue – to the Cardassian Union in exchange for the release of a half-dozen Bajoran prisoners. (DS9: "Profit and Loss")
Sometime prior to 2370, the Provisional Government announced the Ilvian Proclamation. This declared that every Bajoran who was a member of the Bajoran Occupational Government was sentenced to exile, and included a list of named individuals so exiled. (DS9: "The Collaborator")
Kalem Apren was the First Minister in 2371. When he died from natural causes, Kai Winn Adami briefly assumed the position. Bajor was almost plunged into another civil war due to Winn's heavy-handed attempts to reclaim soil reclamators from farmers in Dahkur Province. However, farmer and former Bajoran Resistance leader Shakaar Edon was able to win significant popular and military support for his cause. He entered the subsequent election for First Minister and won after Winn was forced to withdraw from the race. (DS9: "Shakaar")
That same year, the Bajoran government expressed concern to Benjamin Sisko about Elim Garak's presence on Deep Space 9. Some Ministers in the government called for Garak's removal from the station. Sisko felt that he had no choice but to agree to their request, unless he could show them how Garak might be useful to them. Sisko used that to persuade Garak to participate in a clandestine mission to rescue Kira Nerys from the Obsidian Order on Cardassia Prime. (DS9: "Second Skin")
- After 2371, the term "Provisional Government" was no longer used and the term "Bajoran government" came to be used consistently. It is unclear whether this reflected an official status change in the Bajoran state.
In 2373, the Bajoran government successfully petitioned the Federation for membership. However, the Council of Ministers voted to delay their acceptance after Captain Benjamin Sisko, having had a series of visions, warned that it was too soon to join – that doing so would destroy Bajor. Sisko was later confronted by Admiral Charlie Whatley, who asked Sisko to contact the Chamber of Ministers and convince them that he was mistaken, but Sisko refused. (DS9: "Rapture")
Later that year, the Bajoran government declined to intervene when Hagath and his associates sold weapons within the Bajoran system. Hagath had sold weapons to the Bajoran Resistance, and it was felt that the Bajorans at least partially owed their freedom to Hagath and people like him. (DS9: "Business as Usual")
The Dominion War Edit
Later that year, the Provisional Government signed a nonaggression pact with the Dominion following its endorsement by the Emissary, who argued that it was Bajor's only chance of survival. With the Federation forced to abandon Deep Space 9, the station was occupied by Dominion and Cardassian forces, who were officially welcomed into Bajoran space by Major Kira on behalf of the Provisional Government. (DS9: "In the Cards", "Call to Arms")
In 2374, Major Kira went to the Council of Ministers, asking them to lodge a formal protest against the planned execution of Rom. However, Weyoun had previously informed Kira that any protest by the Bajoran government would fall on deaf ears. (DS9: "Favor the Bold")
In early 2375, the Provisional Government accepted a request from Senator Kimara Cretak of the Romulan Star Empire to build a field hospital on the Bajoran moon Derna to treat injured Romulans. When evidence emerged that the Romulans had begun arming the facility with plasma torpedoes, the Council of Ministers objected to this action and demanded that the Romulans remove the weapons. The Romulans refused, forcing the two allies into a tense stand-off. The Council of Ministers authorized Colonel Kira Nerys to blockade the hospital, providing her with twelve ships. (DS9: "Image in the Sand", "Shadows and Symbols")
Military Edit
The Bajoran Militia was the military arm of the Bajoran Provisional Government, originally made up of many former resistance fighters from the Occupation of Bajor.
Although ostensibly under the control of the Provisional Government, some members of the organization, such as General Krim, supported the Alliance of Global Unity's unsuccessful coup attempt in 2370. After the Circle's attempt was defeated, Krim and the Militia confirmed their allegiance to the Provisional Government. (DS9: "The Circle", "The Siege")
Economy Edit
The main currency unit on Bajor was the lita. (DS9: "Necessary Evil")
People Edit
The following individuals were members or agents of the Provisional Government:
- First Ministers
- Ministers
- Liaison officers to the Federation
- Bajoran Milita
External link Edit
- Bajoran Provisional Government at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works


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Tonight is a great appetizer for two consecutive Satudays of top notch MMA action.
Upstart organization Bellator is having another round of tournaments this season. The lightweight tourney features great talent Roger Huerta trying to run through the field in order to face champion and top five in the world lightweight Eddie Alvarez. His battle there starts tonight. Expect him to have his usual high energy flair. There will also be featherweight and welterweight tournaments, with the featherweight favorite (IMO) being Team Quest member Joe Warren, who made it to the finals of the Dream Grand Prix with NO MMA experience. He's a fantastic wrestler who I expect to breeze through this tournament. The Welterweight division features Dan Hornbuckle, who has had some great fights in Japan (but he's not fighting tonight). Free on Fox SportsNet at 8:00.
Then Saturday doesn't need any hype. B.J. Penn is facing another UFC lightweight challenger in Renzo Gracie product Frankie Edgar. Expect Penn to either toy with him as a cat to a mouse for a few rounds with his boxing before finishing him with a rear naked choke on the ground.
Then Anderson Silva will defend his belt against Damian Maia, who is a fantastic BJJ player (and that's about it). If Maia can get through Silva's ridiculous MMA muay thai and get Silva to the ground, it will get interesting. But that's a long shot.
And 43 year old Renzo Gracie himself will be making his UFC debut against WW legend and notorious asshole Matt Hughes. Looking forward to this one. The rest of the card is great too, but there's more the next Saturday with...
Strikeforce Nashville (and it's free on CBS!) Gilbert Melendez, Strikeforce LW champ (and training partner of the greats Nick Diaz and Jake Shields) will square off against Dream champ Shinya Aoki. This will be a battle between a great boxer and a great submission expert. Also, Mo Lawal will fight Gegard Mousasi (awesome fight) and Jake Shields will face Dan Henderson! Look for Henderson to pummel the undersized MW champ, and then watch Shields leave Strikeforce to enter the UFC, drop back down to WW and challenge Georges St. Pierre. Reality star Jason Mayhem Miller will also be fighting.
This is a huge week of MMA. UFC 112 is, IMO, a better card than UFC 100. Two out of three of these events are free, so if you're new to the sport, enjoy the show. And buy 112. You will not regret it.
(Hope FightDr enjoyed the Nick Diaz plug.)


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Seagate Technology, the world's largest maker of hard disk drives, has announced resignation of the company's current chief executive officer and president and appointment of the new chief exec and president. Apparently, the new CEO is not particularly new: he already was the head of the company during the tough times in 2001 and 2002. The appointment of the new chief executive may be an indicator of major restructuring of the firm.
The board of directors has unanimously appointed Stephen J. Luczo, the company's chairman, as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Mr. Luczo will continue to serve as chairman of the board of directors. Mr. Luczo, who used to be chief executive of Seagate Technology from 1998 to 2004, succeeds William D. Watkins as chief executive officer.
"Seagate is a strong company and we are making measurable progress toward regaining our longstanding product leadership position across all markets. I look forward to working closely with Seagate's talented employees around the world to build upon our success and accelerate the improvements we are making in our business," said Mr. Luczo.
According to analysts, the return of Mr. Luczo to the chief executive role is likely to mean numerous changes for the company. At first, he should try to fix obvious weak points of Seagate's business, particularly lowering mobile hard drive market share.
"Seagate fell short on the 320GB and 500GB models for notebooks and Western Digital really ramped up and took over in that business," said says Krishna Chander of market research firm iSuppli in an interview with BusinessWeek web-site.
There are other products that Seagate would better promote more actively: external hard disk drives as well as solid state drives (SSDs). External hard drives are hardly a truly mass product, but they are sold with substantial price premium over traditional internal devices. Back in 2008 the total available market of external HDDs was 12 million, but while Western Digital shipped 3.7 million units, Seagate only managed to supply about 600 thousand, according to iSuppli. SSDs are also not a large product category, but it seems that companies like Hitachi, Samsung and Toshiba are better prepared to expand in the growing market of flash-based storage solutions than Seagate.
It is not exactly clear how Mr. Luczo wants to get the hard drive maker back on track of further rapid development. One of the ways could be an acquisition of another player, for instance Fujitsu's hard drive business, but analysts say that this is not really likely to happen as credits are hard to get, whereas Seagate itself has only $1.15 billion in cash. What is likely is that Stephen Luczo will stay CEO of Seagate while the company is being rebuild and will resign once the reforms are deployed.
"Luczo does not want to do the day-to-day operation He'll want to reposition the company and then hand it off to someone else," said Mr. Chander.
Mr. Luczo has held various senior management positions at Seagate over the last 15 years. He currently serves as the company's chairman of the board, a position he has held since June 2002. He served as CEO of Seagate from July 1998 until July 2004. During this time, Mr. Luczo successfully led the Company's privatization in 2000 and subsequent public offering in 2002, and Seagate announced some of the most important new products in the company's history. Mr. Luczo joined Seagate in October 1993 as senior vice president of corporate development and later served as president and chief operating officer from September 1997 until being appointed CEO.


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Good piece by ESPN's Pasquarelli, commenting on what could be a very intriguing QB carousel this off-season.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/s ... id=2338046
Drew Brees, Chad Pennington, Daunte Culpepper, Brian Griese, and Aaron Brooks.
All five have been to a Pro Bowl, and the best could be yet to come with all five. They're all still young, and capable of giving a team 4-5 pretty damn good years. They all won't. But 1-2 of this group will end up prospering somewhere.
Each come with risks, or they wouldn't be available. Where do these guys end up?
Patrick Ramsey and David Garrard are likely to be dealt from Wash and Jax repsectively. Vince Young, Leinart, Jay Cutler are all set to be high picks in the NFL Draft.
Lets take a look at the current QB status of each of the 32 NFL teams ...
New England - Brady
Miami - ????? (Frerotte? Rosenfels?)
Buffalo - Losman/Holcomb
Jets - ?????? (Pennington to be cut?)
Cleveland - Frye/Dilfer
Inbred - Roethlisberger
Ravens - ??????
Bengals - C.Palmer
Indy - Manning
Jax - Leftwich (Garrard to be dealt?)
Hou - Carr
Ten - McNair (will groom Young/Leinart)
Den - Plummer
Oak - ????? (Collins, Tuiasasopo)
KC - T.Green
SD - P.Rivers
Was - Brunell
Phil - McNabb
Dal - Bledsoe
NYG - Eli Manning
Chi - Grossman/Orton
GB - Favre
Min - Culpepper/B.Johnson (Culpepper to be dealt/cut?)
Det - ????? (Harrington/Garcia?)
Car - Delhomme
TB - Simms
Atl - Vick
NO - Leinart or Young
Sea - Hasselback
StL - Bulger
Ariz - Warner (just reupped)
SF - Alex Smith?
With the off-season just getting underway, any predictions on how the carousel shakes down this spring?


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Business of Photography12 NEW POSTS THIS WEEK
Issues related to running a photography business
Home > Community
This personalized page enables you to view postings from the photography forums that interest you most, combined on one screen (click "customize" if you want to narrow or broaden the view)
Hover over a forum title to read its description
* NEW indicates the total number of posts submitted in the past week.
Discussion Forums. At least three thousand new messages every day. A description of each of our forums is at left.
Member ratings, stories/comments, and reviews: our Neighbor Section is a place to rate or share your experiences with photography retailers and individuals selling and buying photo gear.
Classifieds and Auctions. Buy and sell cameras.
User Directory. Search for a photo.net member
Who's Online? See which photo.net members are on-line.


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From the Manufacturer:Few flavors are as distinctly tantalizing as the cool, minty vibrancy of Peppermint Extract. Use in cake, cookies, frosting and ice cream dishes. Add to chocolate sauces and hot chocolate drinks. Peppermint is the necessary ingredient in candy canes and peppermint patties.
Peppermint Flavor Extract
2 fl oz Liquid / Item #072104


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In our continuous effort to improve the deviantART experience, we're publishing Site Updates to keep members informed and to gather feedback. Below is a list of recent changes to the site, bug fixes, and feedback that was brought up by members in the last Site Update.
What's New
A Preview of deviantART's New Thumbnails
The current deviantART thumbnails (the smaller versions of deviations) have served the community well for years; however, there's always room for improvement. We've created a new style of thumbnail, which hopes to solve the problems with the current thumbnails.
The current deviantART thumbnails (the smaller versions of deviations) have served the community well for years; however, there's always room for improvement. We've created a new style of thumbnail, which hopes to solve the problems with the current thumbnails.
Read more about the new thumbnails and find out how you can preview them.
Comment Business Cards
On a site like deviantART where tens of thousands of comments can occur in one conversation, this addition hopes to add some extra information and context to the conversation. On each comment, we now display whether or not the member is a new member, as well as their basic information like age, sex, country, and artist type.
The visibility of this information matches the settings of your profile (if you hide your age on your profile, it'll be hidden on your business card). You can adjust the visibility of your age and sex in the "Personal Information" section of your general account settings. Your country and artist type can be modified using the deviantID widget on your profile.
Remove from Favourites
In the past Site Updates, many people have requested that it be easier to remove deviations from your Favourites, rather than having to go to each of the deviation pages. We just added a "Remove from Favourites" option to the pencil menu of your Favourites that will make managing them a bit easier.
Download Sta.sh Stack as .ZIP
A few weeks ago, we released the ability to download a Sta.sh stack as a ZIP to Beta Testers. The feature has now been rolled out to everyone.
You can now download an entire Sta.sh stack all at once in an easy to access .ZIP file. Whether you're sharing images with friends or co-workers, collaborating on a piece, or if you simply want a quick and easy way to get to your files from a different location, it can now be done even faster and with one click of a button. The "Download All" button is located at the bottom of a Sta.sh stack.
All Deviants Can Now Write Critiques
Sometimes you come across a deviation that deserves special attention. It catches your eye in such a way that you're compelled to craft a response that goes above and beyond a normal comment. Or perhaps a fellow deviant is having a tough time with a particular aspect of their work, and you know just what they need to take their art to the next level.
Sometimes you come across a deviation that deserves special attention. It catches your eye in such a way that you're compelled to craft a response that goes above and beyond a normal comment. Or perhaps a fellow deviant is having a tough time with a particular aspect of their work, and you know just what they need to take their art to the next level.
For these situations and more, we've given everyone the ability to write a Critique.
Community Projects Gallery Changes (Part 1)
We've made some changes to the structure of the "Holidays" category under "Community Projects."
Bug Fixes
- The list of "Recent Blogs" for each group listed in the Groups Portal was not updating. Fixed by muteor
- Journal thumbnails were briefly broken in IE8. Fixed by shadowhand
- Various display issues were fixed with the Slideshow button. Fixed by muteor
- User gallery browsing by category was broken for non-leaf categories. Fixed by lendrick
- The "Send A Note" modal ignored members' Mature Content settings and displayed Mature Content thumbs anyway. Fixed by muteor
- Fixed some issues with the layout of the footer for narrow browser widths. Fixed by lendrick
- Journal publishing preview ignored the specified heights of an image. Fixed by shadowhand
- Some links to the Points terms of service information were broken, and information itself needed an updated style. Fixed by muteor
- The "Give Points" modal sometimes thought it was a llama modal. Fixed by ZombieCoder
- The Bolt award, an annual award given to staff, received a visual uplift to its widget. Fixed by shadowhand
- The list of categories in the submission process included a few categories that would redirect deviations to the more suitable "Scraps" section of your gallery. This caused confusion among members and has been frequently requested to be removed. We've removed these categories to eliminate confusion. Read more about this change.
- There was a bug interfering with the right mouse click button while using the Basic Brush. Fixed by mudimba
- When dragging an item or stack, the page now scrolls along. Fixed by samshull
- The login form was missing labels in IE8. Fixed by samshull
- Hovercards on Sta.sh items no longer appear when dragging to select multiple items. Fixed by samshull
- The "flat" view in Sta.sh, which showed you all of your items without stacks, was removed because of the lack of usage. We feel that this mode was unnecessary and provided little benefit to members.
- If there is an error with the inputted CSS of a Journal Skin in Writer, you no longer lose your changes after seeing this error. Fixed by DEVlANT
- The CSS declarations "text-shadow" and "box-shadow" are now properly validated in skins. Fixed by kemayo
- Various bugs were fixed with the new HTML improvements available to Beta Testers. Writer no longer has any issues displaying the text "<3" or any other non-HTML tags. Writer no longer breaks self-closing HTML tags which use a trailing slash like img tags. Fixed by kemayo and Alisey
- No more prolonged display of ugly broken image thumbs when uploading to Sta.sh through Writer. Fixed by kemayo
- Writer only renders manually entered HTML code if we recognize the HTML tag entered. Fixed by kemayo
- Writer entries which are too long will now give an error message explaining this, rather than just "unknown error". Fixed by kemayo
- Dragging a file onto Writer while another sidebar section is open no longer results in the Sta.sh section overlapping the other one. Fixed by kemayo
- Thumbnails in Writer are now more consistent with thumbnails in published entries. Fixed by Alisey
Your Feedback
- In widgets on profiles, all deviations should be able to have a "full view" mode, rather than just images under 900 pixels by 900 pixels. From *AngelicDragonPuppy
- In deviantART muro, there should be an option to flip a layer horizontally or vertically without flipping the whole canvas itself. From deKirbyGal
- After favouriting an artist's artwork, it should show you other images that members also liked from the artist. From Vexcel
- Add the option to easily use your own art from your gallery, scraps, or Sta.sh as your avatar. From =KissTheSunrise
- Create a system where you can see the activity of the people you're watching, such as the artwork they favourited, commented on, or artists they've added to their watch. From `Gwendolyn12 in the Suggestions Forum
Discuss these ideas!
- Related artwork on deviation pages. ~YoukosForbiddenLove suggested a feature that would show related artwork on deviation pages. For example, if you viewed a photo of the Eiffel Tower, you would see other photos of the Eiffel Tower. It's important for deviantART members to be exposed to new artists. This feature could encourage others to discover new artwork and would increase the visibility of your artwork to people who might be interested in it.
- Macro gallery changes. We're looking for feedback about changes to the macro gallery. Please leave your feedback on that article.
Have a suggestion, idea, or feedback? Leave a comment on this article!
Find a bug? Report it to the Help Desk! (Be as detailed as possible!)


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European Commission, UN Environment step up cooperation to protect the world's oceans 20/12/2016 00:00:00
Mushrooming Cooperation 05/12/2016 00:00:00
Naysan Sahba, Director of UNEP's Division of Communications and Public Information, noted the daunting task the world faces if it is to feed the projected global population of 7 billion rising to nearly 10 billion by 2050.
"In the next few years, food consumption is expected to increase by around 30 per cent due to population growth, while the effects of climate change are expected to reduce agricultural yields by up to 5 per cent in some areas," said Mr. Sahba.
"We need to take immediate action to save food, improve livelihoods and conserve the environment. Solutions and opportunities exist. But we need to seize the moment and create the needed momentum," he added.
A key theme of discussion on day one of the congress was the Think.Eat.Save: Reduce Your Foodprint initiative which was launched by UNEP in January 2013 in support of FAO's SAVE FOOD Initiative and the UN Secretary General's Zero Hunger Challenge.
The Think.Eat.Save initiative aims to accelerate action and provide a global vision and information-sharing portal for the many and diverse initiatives currently underway around the world to transform the way producers and consumers use natural resources.
Worldwide, about one-third of all food produced - worth around USD 1 trillion - is lost or wasted in producing or consuming food. This loss occurs mostly at the production stages - harvesting, processing and distribution - while food waste typically takes place at the retailer and consumer end of the food-supply chain. Food wastage carries direct economic and environmental costs and depletes the natural resources base that underpins food production.
UNEP scientists agree that well-functioning ecosystems - in the form of healthy arable land, healthy soils, plentiful water and resilient fisheries - are essential to meeting the world's growing food needs. Improving ecosystem management and maximizing resource efficiency will not only increase the amount of food produced, but will also improve the state of the environment upon which food production is dependent.
The impact of progress towards smarter food production and consumption will be significant. According to the UNEP and World Resources Institute (WRI) Creating a Sustainable Food Future
report, cutting the rate of food loss and waste in half by 2050 would close the food gap by 20 per cent.
Experts are however calling for immediate and swift action. While food consumption is expected to increase sharply and climate change is set to reduce agricultural yields, the task of feeding a growing population may become insurmountable if food loss and waste is not reduced.
Food Loss refers to food that gets spilled, spoilt or otherwise lost, or incurs reduction of quality and value, before it reaches its final product stage. Food loss typically takes place at production, post-harvest, processing and distribution stages in the food supply chain.
Food Waste refers to food that completes the food supply chain up to a final product, of good quality and fit for consumption, but still doesn't get consumed because it is discarded, whether or not after it is left to spoil. Food waste typically, but not exclusively, takes place at retail and consumption stages in the food supply chain
For more information, please visit the SAVE FOOD Congress 2014 website
Contact: Melissa Gorelick, UNEP Information Officer, +254 20 762 3088/ +254 71 621 4041 email@example.com


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New York state must step in
To the editor:
Train advocates have used local media to launch repeated personal attacks against advocates for an inexpensive Adirondack Rail Trail that could bring thousands of visitors to our communities and businesses. After targeting other trail advocates with personal attacks, recent Adirondack Daily Enterprise Guest Commentaries (Nov. 13 and Dec. 10) have targeted yours truly. You'd think I had revealed state secrets to the Russians.
How might I have provoked such personal attacks? I have presented evidence regarding how ill-suited the state-owned Remsen-to-Lake Placid transportation corridor is for commercial freight, passenger or long-distance excursion rail service. I have offered evidence regarding the very substantial long-term costs of expanding Adirondack Scenic Railroad operations to the full length of the corridor, and the related potential taxpayer burden. I have discussed the valuable economic benefits the Adirondack Rail Trail would bring to our region. When a train advocate has published misleading claims, I have in some cases offered evidence to refute them. In other cases I have not responded, especially when the vitriol has been so outlandish. I have repeatedly called for a civil dialogue on rail vs. trail, based on evidence and not personal attacks.
Here are some distinctions between evidence-based advocacy and personal attacks. If you present objective and authoritative economic data or other relevant evidence, that's good. Discuss assumptions that serve as the basis for your numbers. Feel free to present evidence that disagrees with your opponent. However, if you criticize others as individuals, or insult them, or judge them, or engage in name-calling or innuendo, you are engaging in a personal attack and have no basis to claim the moral high ground. Evidence contributes to the public dialogue, but personal attacks detract from it.
When one person attacks, our whole region is harmed. Whether we prefer rail or trail, we must all recognize that a community that embraces or tolerates venomous personal attacks will discourage many talented people from participating in government or public policy discussions. In fact, I recently spoke with a very well-respected local person who told me that he avoids any public policy engagement because he is unwilling to expose himself to such attacks. Given the seriousness of the challenges we face, we need to be able to enlist all of our region's substantial talent.
This newspaper-based debate deteriorates by the day and is taking on an increasingly menacing tone. The state of New York must step in soon, declare its decision to reopen the management plan for the corridor, and describe their processes and decision criteria for this important public policy decision. New York state's economic development experts should serve in a lead role since this is primarily about improving the economy of the region. We'll all be allowed to submit our evidence. The state's review should be an open, objective and transparent process, leading to a fair, evidence-based decision that should be supported by everyone.
Alternatively, economic development authorities and other experts from the state could be brought in to examine the evidence and arbitrate a settlement of this issue between rail and trail advocates, local governments, representatives from the business community and other key stakeholders. Recent budget news from Franklin and Essex counties is troubling enough to make this an urgent issue that must be resolved as soon as possible.
David Banks
Board member, Adirondack Recreational Trail Advocates
Lake Clear


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Post your agenda points please.
£100 monthly grant applications:
Cold Coffee, an interactive performance booked at the forest during the festival.
No More Masterpieces, a theatre performance at the forest during the festival.
Bunny Huggers, an animal rights street clowning workshop in September, possibly at the forest.
IKTOMS tour friends of the forest coming up from London to do a few nights of performing at the forest during the festival.
Alex Tobin's trip to Japan.
'The Opening', a zine 'for the ladies' for the zine fair this month. Anyone know if Rosie got funding from forest publications and free photocopying for this instead? I will try to speak to her.
Marimba workshops at the forest.


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Orie Pudder, 78, of Sugar Grove, passed away Saturday September 21, 2013 at the Cleveland Clinic.
Orie was born July 15, 1935 in Hacker Valley, W.V., a son of the late Ora and Grace (Cutlip) Pudder. He served in the Navy Reserves for a number of years, and worked as a barber for 56 years. He was a proud member of the Warren Co. Horseshoe League, a member of the Stillwater Lodge F&AM in Youngsville, a life social member of the Sugar Grove Vol. Fire Dept,a member of the Sugar Grove AmVets Club, a 47 year member of the Sugar Grove American Legion and a 43 year member of the Jamestown Moose Club. Orie enjoyed bowling, woodworking, hunting, taking care of his roses, feeding the birds, and spending time with his family. Spending time at his barber shop in Sugar Grove was a social experience for all that came to him. He will be missed by all that knew him.
He is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Ruth (Ayling) Pudder, whom he married on November 5, 1955, a son David (Amy) Pudder, a daughter Diane (Rick) Lowe, grandchildren, Tom Pudder, Adriane (Chase) Barnes, Tamara Pudder, Keely (Jake) Zafuto, Tyler (DonnaRae) Lowe, 2 great grandchildren Torrina and Zella, 2 sisters Thelma Hayes and Wanda Rucks, a sister in law Juanita Haslet, and many nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother Harold Pudder and a nephew Randy Pudder.
Friends will be received on Friday from 57 p.m. at the Sugar Grove Vol. Fire Dept, at which time a celebration of life service will be held at 7 p.m. Burial will be in the Lottsville Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, PO Box 7262, Hillsborough, NJ 08844, the American Heart Association, 7272 Greenville Ave. Dallas, TX 75231, or the Busti Vol. Fire Dept., 886 Mill Rd. Jamestown N.Y. 14701
The Nelson Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Youngsville have been entrusted with all arrangements. Condolences to the family may be made at www.nelsonfuneralhome.net.


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2012's Taiping Houkui marks a change in style from years past. This year, two shoots of young leaves are pressed together into one hearty strip. This is a style of making Hou Kui that has appeared in just the last few years. The previous method yielded a pressed shard, 8.5 cm long, with one slightly opened bud and two or three leaves that were flattened and dried into a strip less than 1 cm wide. The new method yields a wider leaf (about 1.5cm) and presses together two sprigs of one bud and three leaves into a denser, wider strip. With this more robust strip, the tea is more durable, less prone to breakage, preserving whole leaves and thus preserving the lightness of their flavor as broken leaves will typically brew a stronger cup of tea.
JRS22 wrote:I began my day with Tai Ping Hou Kui from Seven Cups. The picking standard was slightly different this year, and the tea is even more delicious than I recall.
The tea brews well at a higher temperature and longer times than I've used in the past, with better results than more gentle brewing. The only difficulty is that I want to use a smaller pot/gaiwan to brew the tea in a more concentrated fashion, but I'll need a tall thin pot to accommodate these leaves.
shinobicha wrote:blairswhitaker -
which of the two gyos do you prefer?
I have tried both I think; a couple years ago I had two Kuradashi gyokuro from Hibiki-an. Surprisingly, the cheapest of the 3 versions they offered was better than the most expensive, which may have gone bad (I'm not sure, but I do know the "Pinnacle" was not worth the $ at all, while the "Super Premium" was great).
I have a bag of Kanro in the cupboard, looking forward to it.
Postby blairswhitaker » Oct 24th, '12, 21:13
Well out of the two I prefer the kanro. It is a bit more lively and just a nicer umami flavor to me. The hibiki an kuradashi is to me a classic example of that type of tea, very very sweet and what I can only describe as "smooth". I actually have the hibiki an organic gyokuro that i prefer over both of these. I have been drinking a lot of aged gyokuro this year so i may just be enjoying the fresher flavors as a change of pace
My morning green tea today was Ippodo tenka-ichi this is a very nice, deep umami gyokuro.


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13406 E. Philadelphia St. Whittier, CA 90608
Whittier College offers talent scholarships, valued from $1,000 to $12,000, to entering freshmen and incoming students who demonstrate superior promise in music, art, and theatre. A student does not have to major or minor in these subjects, thereby allowing him or her the opportunity to pursue a liberal arts education while simultaneously continuing their participation in the arts.
Talent Scholarships in Music are awarded to students by the Music Department and are renewable throughout a student's four years of study, provided the recipient:
To apply for a Talent Scholarship, interested freshman and incoming students must:
Please download the appropriate Music Talent Scholarship Application Packet for copies of the application materials listed above, submission deadlines, and more information.
2013-2014 Music Talent Scholarship Application Packet (for incoming freshmen)
2013-2014 Music Talent Scholarship Application Packet (for transfer students)
Please note that students may also apply for talent scholarships from the Art and Theatre Departments, but if offered multiple talent scholarships, the student can only accept an award from one department and must decline all other offers.


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Hey guys, I'm a Freshman at BU this year and the closest field is Boston Paintball in Chelsea. Anyone looking for another guy on the team? I'm able to play, but I also row so it might be a hindrance, lemme know and PM me!!
Looking for a Team!
Started by splatman917, Sep 05 2012 10:33 PM
5 replies to this topic
Posted 05 September 2012 - 10:33 PM
Posted 06 September 2012 - 09:21 AM
I play at BP Maynard....Chelsea is FPO is it not?
Posted 07 September 2012 - 10:00 PM
I play at BP Maynard....Chelsea is FPO is it not?
Posted 10 September 2012 - 07:10 PM
I'm a current high school senior and BU is one of my top choices. So I'll definitely let you know if I decide to go there. But Northeastern is also up there so one way or another i'll hopefully end up in Boston. I know it's a year from now but if you get anything started I'll jump on board with it next year. But for now, I just gotta ask, what's their policy about bringing markers on campus?
My Feedback 4/0/0
Posted 17 September 2012 - 07:14 PM
60% of the time it works every time.
Posted 23 February 2013 - 12:36 PM
i didn't get your PM, send it again if ya want
0 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users


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Bose Companion 3 Series II multimedia speaker system
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Grimm wins gold in kayak; Togo gets first medal
BEIXIAOYING TOWN, China (AP) Alexander Grimm of Germany won the gold medal Tuesday in single kayak slalom, using a pair of clean, fast runs, and an athlete from Togo took the bronze to win that country's first medal ever in a Summer Olympics.
Grimm, ranked No. 3 in the world, won the gold medal in a combined time of 171.70 using a pair of clean, fast runs.
He ducked and weaved around the gates. Every flawless run - without even the tip of the paddle touching the gate - earned a "wonderful!" or two giant thumbs up on the scoreboard.
"I've got a massive party ahead of me," he said.
Fabien Lefevre of France won the silver.
Benjamin Boukpeti of Togo slammed his paddle in the frothy water to celebrate his country's first medal in the Summer Olympics.
The crowd wildly cheered on Boukpeti as he neared the end of the whitewater course. He slapped hands with fans from his kayak, and his paddle snapped in half, although he hardly seemed to care.
"I really don't know yet what this quite represents," Boukpeti said though a translator.
Boukpeti kissed his fists before he thrust them into the air on the medal stand and hopped up and down several times before the medal was placed around his neck, his parents watching nearby.
"I tried to give people some entertainment," he said. "I tried to make them vibrate a little."
Boukpeti was the last competitor to negotiate his one-man kayak through the strategically placed gates, and the crowd was behind him from the start. His ride was clean and his combined time was 173.45 seconds.
He hugged and kissed his French mother and Togolese father after he crossed the finish line and said, "They showed me it was possible."
Boukpeti speaks French and lives in Toulouse, France. He was born in France and only visited Togo, in West Africa, once as a young boy. He developed through a program in France, but shoulder injuries ended his career there. The 27-year-old represented Togo when he competed in the 2004 Athens Games.
Michal Martikan of Slovakia won the gold medal in single canoe slalom, his first since Atlanta.
Martikan won silver in Sydney and Athens, finishing second both times behind France's Tony Estanguet. Estanguet finished a surprising ninth in his first run on the whitewater course and did not qualify for the finals.
David Florence of Britain won silver and Australia's Robin Bell took home bronze.
Martikan was only 17 when he won the gold medal in 1996 in Atlanta. He is the No. 1 ranked canoeist by the International Canoe Federation and his combined time of 176.65 seconds was nearly 2 seconds better than Florence's time.
Estanguet, the French flag-bearer at the opening ceremony, couldn't believe he wouldn't add another gold medal to his collection.
"It was a very bad race for me," he said. "It's very difficult for me to explain why I was out."
Estanguet was an outspoken critic of the Chinese government and said earlier this year "the situation in China is certainly intolerable" and that it was "unbearable for us sports people."
He said after his run that nothing has changed his opinion of the country.
"No, but these games can be a great games," he said. "China has been very motivated to welcome these Olympic Games."


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About the author: Brian Van Pay is a Maritime Geographer with the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. He is currently on the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy on the Arctic Ocean.
My previous four entries discussed some of the details of the type of data we are collecting in the Arctic Ocean in cooperation with Canada and why we are doing so. For this entry, I'll give an overview on what it is like to live onboard an icebreaker for a month.
When not working there are plenty of activities to keep the crew and scientists occupied including bingo and movie nights, the occasional science presentation, and a well-equipped gym. Good pictures can be had from the ship's bow if you are willing to brave temperatures in the single digits or below zero if you factor in the wind chill, but sometimes temperatures reach the high 20s or even low 30s while in the ice. Otherwise, the bridge offers a good view too.
The scenery is sometimes simply flat and white with fresh fallen snow, but it is usually more varied with open black water or spectacular bright-blue, multi-year ice. Sometimes different ice floes will push into each other and create pressure ridges that can reach four meters high. Even though you cannot observe it from the ship, the entire ice pack is always moving at about 0.25 miles per hour or more, so even if the ship stops in the ice, its navigation systems say otherwise.
There is the occasional jostle when the Healy hits a large chunk of ice or its diesel engines power through an ice field. At night, it feels like someone is rocking you to sleep, although every so often it feels like someone is trying to toss you out of bed! Since there are no waves, there is no regular up-and-down motion, and no need to reach for the Dramamine. Coast Guard personnel who master the art form of driving the Healy begin by learning the ten commandments of icebreaking. Such commandments include: keep power in reserve during difficult ice conditions and avoid wedging a ship into a narrow lead.
Other than the Louis, we have yet to encounter another vessel during our journey and we don't expect to do so. I haven't seen a plane fly overhead yet either. We saw eight seals within the first day of departing Barrow and since then about four or five more. We did see our first polar bear and her cub last week, but they were just over a mile away. Even so, we have seen plenty of bear tracks and even a set of fox tracks.
There are three meals a day, plus midnight rations or "mid-rats," which ensures no one goes hungry. As a precaution, the Healy carries enough food to last the winter, should it become icebound. It has never happened, but it is good to be prepared. There are about 10 hours of darkness now every night and we gain about 10 more minutes of darkness every 24 hours. Fall is definitely here and we are beginning preparations to head back home.
Interested in hearing some answers to the tough questions posed in the comments section below each entry? Then check back for my next entry on DipNote.
Editor's Note: Read Brian's previous entry about cooperation with the Canadians aboard the Louis.
John in Greece writes:
Dear Brian, you've made us live: emotions, colors, pictures, landscapes, even bears: LIFE, that 99,99% of us would not have the chance to watch, if YOU were not there.
YOU became our eyes! And this is wonderful. Thank you very much for what you offered me (personally) through your posts and photos (and I look forward for more).
I hope that all these, give you a little more strength to hold out at nights when "it feels like someone is rocking you to sleep, although every so often it feels like someone is trying to toss you out of bed!".
(In fact, it's difficult for most of us to understand the difficulty of what -- among many many others -- you are perfectly describing, if you have not been there, like us. To me you are a real hero!)
P.S. I hope this will make you laugh a bit: if you are using a Digital SLR, apply a Skylight filter.
Susan in Florida writes:
Hi Brian -- thank you for another great posting and beautiful photo. I second John in Greece's comments. You have done a good job of making us feel as if we are right there on the Healy! I have traveled, over my life, and always enjoyed it. On one of my journeys I had an opportunity to sail home on the QE II from Southampton, England. I thought, why not? This will be an adventure. Well, it was! I spent all five days we were at sea at the highest point on the ship, due to seasickness. I never imagined that I would be a poor sailor. I could not wait to get into NY harbor. I think I cried when I saw the Statue of Liberty. Okay, that is exaggerating a little, but not much. I was the first person off the ship. I love the ocean, but I found being aboard the ship very confining, even though it is huge, and once you are out there on the open sea, you realize how very impressive the Atlantic Ocean is. I will always remember that the tankers that you would see on the horizon, looked like tiny toy boats. So Brian, I think you are very brave. Have a good and safe trip home. Looking forward to your next entry.
John in Greece writes:
Clarification: Great photos Brian! I don't want to be misunderstood due to my "poetic" P.S. I meant that Brian indeed linked together ideas like sky and earth: the last human frontier!
(that's why HE DOES NOT need a Skylight filter that improves contrast)
I also suggest to all Bloggers to hit: http://mgds.ldeo.columbia.edu/healy/photos/aloftcon/2008/ -- and travel even more with the brilliant Brian "lenses"!
New P.S.: (this time to Susan) Great description Susan! You are not exaggerating at all. You are very lucky you had this wonderful life experience. Continue "challenging".
Susan in Florida writes:
@ John in Greece
John, thankfully I did travel more after that but stayed with planes, trains and automobiles! And I did see some of Greece -- what a beautiful country.


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Haiti has a long history of instability and is currently in economic decline. It has been ranked by the United Nations as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The United Nations Development Program estimates that nearly 80 percent of Haitians live on less than $2 per day and more than 55% of the total population lives under $1.25 per day.
Human resources for health services are very limited, with 1 doctor and 5.5 nurses or nurse auxiliaries for every 12,000 people. In rural Crochu, Haiti, only 7% of births are attended by a skilled birth attendant, compared to 99% in the US. Government expenditures on health care account for only 4.5% of the government's overall budget, and 79% of health expenditures are out-of-pocket.
Haiti has an infant mortality rate of 52 per 1000 live births. 11.6% of children under the age of 5 are underweight and 29% are stunted. According to 2010 WHO data (post-earthquake), common causes of death for children under age 5 include: injury (56%), pneumonia (10%), and diarrhea (7%). The maternal mortality rate is 630/100,000.
With a death toll in the thousands and millions of Haitians left homeless, injured and struggling to survive, the 2010 earthquake was the worst disaster to hit the country in 200 years. Hurricane Matthew has been declared the worst disaster to strike since the earthquake, devastating roads, homes and access to safe water.
Since the 2010 earthquake, Haiti has continued to experience a series of lesser known disasters: Hurricanes, flooding, droughts, cholera epidemic, and food shortages. Man-made disasters have been linked to the political and economic instability that has marked much of Haiti's history.
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© 2016 Medical Teams International. All rights reserved


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Discover A Bad Boss Before It's Too Late
You've made the decision to take a step in a different direction with your career. Regardless of the circumstances which led you to start looking for a new job, the reality is that you're searching for something offering good pay, competitive benefits, and meaningful responsibility in an organization with opportunities for professional growth. Even if the job posting looks enticing and the interviewing team has dazzled you with promises of a dream job, applicant beware.
If you have read my past columns, you can probably recall a time or two when I've shared something I recognized early on in my career as a training and development professional: people don't quit their job, they quit their boss. In fact, according to a study from Florida State University, 40 percent of U.S. business workers think they work for a bad boss. Their definitions of what made their bosses bad included broken promises, failure to give credit or recognition, invasion of privacy, and sacrificing employees to cover up for personal mistakes made by management.
The bad boss dilemma isn't isolated to the business sector. A 2012 poll by the Gallup Organization found that 60 percent of employees working for the government are unhappy in their jobs. The study found that while government employees may enjoy good pay, great benefits and sufficient vacation time, unhappy respondents were miserable because of – you guessed it – having a bad boss.
Whenever you take a new job, there will be unknown variables you have to take a leap of faith about once you've signed the offer letter. However, there are some things you can look for during the interview process to help you determine what you'd really be in for as an employee. By checking out the work environment, listening carefully to what they say, and watching body language closely, you can tell if the boss is one to avoid. Look around, what do you see?
Do the employees look happy? Is everyone happy, talking kindly and looking content working? Or, does the workplace have a negative, prison-like vibe to it where nobody is really interacting positively?
As the boss enters the interview room or walks the halls, do the employees seem genuinely happy to greet them? Or, do they give an obligatory nod and forced smile?
Is the boss able to communicate with you effectively? Are they able to articulate sound answers to your questions about departmental goals and the performance feedback process?
While you are talking, does the boss seem to be genuinely interested in hearing what you have to say? Or, do they seem distracted and hurried? Are they taking notes and maintaining periodic eye contact? Or, are they glancing at the clock or checking their phone?
Does the boss appear to be boastful and arrogant by talking primarily about themselves and dominating the conversation, which should be more focused on getting to know you as the candidate?
Are references made by the boss of employees needing to "prove themselves"? If so, this might be a micro-managing boss to work for.
Is it evident that the boss seems clueless about the specific details of the job or how success is measured? Are they unable to give you intelligent answers to your questions but try to cover it up by dancing around the subject? If so, this could potentially be a boss who is not respected by their employees or peers due to being in a position that is over their head.
Does the boss make your interview feel more like an interrogation with their rapid fire, condescending questioning style? This could be a "Negative Nelly" boss who is quick to criticize the efforts of others.
It's important to remember that if you're looking for a long-term career move, no amount of pay and benefits will solve the emotional and physical stress caused by a terrible manager. Such stress can cause symptoms including insomnia, depression, muscle tension, irritability, a sense of hopelessness and feelings of impatience or dissatisfaction within your personal relationships.
Follow your gut and don't try to explain away the signs. Happy job hunting.
Elizabeth P. Cipolla is a Regional Director and Senior Consultant with JL Nick and Associates, Inc. She is a business communications professional specializing in the areas of leadership training, creative recruitment strategies, employment branding, professional development and executive coaching for nearly 15 years. Her leadership experience comes from various industries including marketing, mass media, apparel, education, manufacturing, non-profit agencies and insurance. To contact Elizabeth, email her at firstname.lastname@example.com or visit JL Nick and Associates' website at www.jlnick.com.