text:
Ryan Nelsen's playing days are almost over. Now the accomplished defender will turn the page in his soccer career and try something different as he moves into the coaching world with Toronto FC.
After carrying two jobs for the past two weeks, the uncertainty surrounding Nelsen's arrival in Toronto ended on Tuesday when the 35-year-old announced he would be leaving Queens Park Rangers at the end of January to join Toronto FC on a full-time basis. It's great news for Toronto FC, and a scenario that the club likely always knew was coming.
I get the impression when they introduced Nelsen as head coach in early January, Toronto FC was well aware of his arrival date – they just couldn't say anything as they didn't want to step on QPR's toes. If they had made it clear then that Nelsen had just three weeks left in the English Premier League, it would have severely driven up the transfer fee for any defender QPR boss Harry Redknapp was trying to sign as a replacement. It's a shame there wasn't a way around the situation as the confusion about his start date really did create a cloud around the appointment of Nelsen.
With Nelsen's arrival time settled, as of next week, he will be concentrating full-time on his new career as a head coach. He will likely play his final game for QPR when they take on Premier League champions Manchester City at Loftus Road on Tuesday, and then he'll join up with the TFC squad for pre-season training in Florida.
There's little doubt the leadership skills shown by the New Zealander during his impressive career will stand him in good stead as he takes charge of the team, but a lack of coaching experience is something that will continue to be a talking point. I got the chance to talk with Nelsen this week at Toronto FC's media day. He's well aware there are skeptics out there, but is confident he can win them over.
"My whole career, there has always been people that said you're not good enough," he said. "There are always people out there that will be skeptical. That's life."
"I will put my head down and work hard. I really like a challenge and this is a really good one. Eventually, the only way of changing any skeptics is by putting a product on the field that fans can be proud of."
We all know about Ryan Nelsen's qualities as a player. Will he want a team that reflects the way he played the game? What can we expect from a Ryan Nelsen side?
"You've got to accentuate the strengths of every player when they have the ball and hide the weaknesses," said Nelsen. "It's 11 bodies with one mind. We must be organized and hard to break down. We should be solid but ruthless and when we have the ball, hopefully everyone plays to their strengths and we can entertain," he explained.
There have been many times during its six-season history that the club's fans have heard grandiose statements about new eras and winning mentalities, but every time they have so far fallen short. Nelsen has a quiet confidence about the task ahead as he looks to replicate the success he has had during his playing days.
"I have a great desire to be successful and to win. It's in my DNA and I want it to be Toronto FC's DNA. I want to change the whole identity of this club. This organization and the fans are so far ahead of what the product on the field has been over the years; it's time the on-field product catches up," he said.
For a full interview with Toronto FC Head Coach Ryan Nelsen, listen to this week's TSN FC Podcast with Luke Wileman and Jason de Vos.
Leafs Lunch is joined by TSN Leafs Reporter Mark Masters.
Luke, Jason & Kristian recap the week for Canada's MLS teams, talk New York City FC's start, plus EPL and Champions League talk as well.
Luke, Jason and KJ look ahead to the MLS season just prior to the news of a new collective bargaining agreement, plus EPL talk as well.


text:
Beautiful People (Don't Travel Economy)
Show type: Edinburgh Fringe 2008
Welcome aboard sleezyJet! A camp character comedy twisted 'flight' performed by Robert Yule. SleezyJet staff include the rambunctious redhead, husband hungry had hostie, Aleix VanAirBurst.
Older Comments
marcus shepperdson - 21/08/2008
A great show - very funny-warm generous babe.
Bernd - 19/08/2008
Great show, laughed my ass off! Go and see it!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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The Associate degree is granted to persons who file a petition for Graduation in the Office of Admissions and Records, who are not on academic probation, and who have completed a minimum of 12 of the last 18 semester units of the required college curriculum of 60 degree applicable semester units at Glendale Community College.
Associate in Arts Degree
Associate in Science Degree
Graduation Requirements 2012-2013 (pdf)
Graduation Requirements 2013-2014 (pdf)
Graduation Requirements 2014-2015 (pdf)
Graduation Requirements 2015-2016 (pdf)
Graduation Requirements 2016-2017 (pdf)
For official course and program descriptions, consult the Glendale Community College Catalog.
Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents.
They can be downloaded by clicking on the icons below.
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Glendale Community College


text:
The Co-Prophet of the End Times Has Written Mitt Romney a New Campaign Jingle
William Tapley is a lot of things: "Third Eagle of the Apocalypse," "Co Prophet of the End Times," and talented songwriter.
Yes, Tapley believes that "Mitt Romney, A Hero in My Mind" is just the song the Republican candidate needs to mobilize his base.
Weirdly, it doesn't say much about Mitt at all — it's really more of a warning about President Obama's plan for world destruction and the impending apocalypse.
World War III, that's Obama's plan for you and me
What a crock, it's the only hope he's got
He can't be elected on his record, it's a crime
He should resign
That's why I'm voting for Mitt Romney
He's a hero in my mind
Is Romney really a hero, William Tapley? Or is he just our best defense against the antichrist?
Wonkette wonders if this song is a parody, but judging by Tapley's body of work, it's legit. Either that or he's put an awful lot of work into this "Third Eagle of the Apocalypse" character. Here's Tapley talking about zombies and the Book of Revelations.


text:
Fotosearch/Archive Photos/Getty Images
There's gold in them thar hills! Or is there? Test your knowledge of California in the 1800s to see if you can distinguish between what's real and what's fool's gold.
Start Quiz »
You scored
0 out of 30
Question 1 of 30
The first missions in California were founded in …
the 18th century
To understand California in the 1800s, it's important to understand that missions were already firmly established.
the 19th century
the 17th century
Question 2 of 30
By the 19th century, California was divided into districts called ...
military zones
The presidios were military districts designed to protect missions and land.
Question 3 of 30
Who had control of California until the early 1800s?
Spain held California as a colony.
the United States
Question 4 of 30
In 1821, California became …
an independent republic
part of the United States
a Mexican colony
After breaking with Spain, California was part of Mexico.
Question 5 of 30
"Californios" referred to whom?
white colonists
Spanish Mexican settlers
Those of Spanish or Mexican descent born in California were Californios.
native peoples
Question 6 of 30
After becoming a Mexican territory, how did California change?
Catholicism became mandatory.
Nobody would trade outside the region.
Traders, trappers and farmers flourished.
Ranching and trade became easier without Spanish rule.
Question 7 of 30
In 1834, the missions of California began to be …
parceled out to political allies
both of the above
The missions were abandoned, and land was sold off to white transplants or wealthy Mexicans.
Question 8 of 30
How were the missions supposed to help native peoples?
The natives were to be taught skills, converted and then left to run their communities.
In theory, the missions were designed to "teach" the California Native Americans autonomy.
The natives were to be enslaved.
The natives were to be left alone.
Question 9 of 30
How did the missions end up working?
Everyone was thrilled and worked happily together.
Each Native American community ran its own government.
No community was ever considered ready for independence.
Essentially, the "Mission Indians" (as they were called) were never allowed to leave the missions.
Question 10 of 30
By the end of mission life, how had the Native American population fared?
The population flourished.
The population was slowly declining.
The population was cut in half.
Between disease and unhealthy living conditions at the missions, the Native American population was half of what it was before European influence.
Question 11 of 30
When did the first pioneers from Missouri leave for California by wagon?
The sunny coasts beckoned early, in 1841.
Question 12 of 30
However, what kind of United States residents had first come overland in 1826?
duck hunters
Already itching to get the furs of the bountiful state, trappers and traders first started coming overland in 1826.
Question 13 of 30
By 1846, the native population of California was less than 100,000, but there were how many permanent, foreign residents?
The population was starting to grow with immigrants and those seeking land and fortune.
Question 14 of 30
How did the Bear Flag Revolt start?
a friendly game of football
a bloody coup
Some Americans took horses from a Mexican military officer.
In 1846, Americans captured a group of horses despite being a relatively small minority of the California population.
Question 15 of 30
Another group of Americans soon captured what California settlement?
San Diego
San Francisco
They captured Sonoma, raised the bear flag and declared themselves the Republic of California.
Question 16 of 30
The United States declared war on Mexico in May of what year?
By January 1847, less than a year later, the war was already over.
Question 17 of 30
What was the treaty wherein the United States received California (among other lands)?
Treaty of San Francisco
Treaty of Mexico America
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was named after the neighborhood where it was signed, near Mexico City.
Question 18 of 30
When did the first reports of gold start trickling in from California?
A New Jersey man was the first to report finding gold in California in 1848.
Question 19 of 30
By August 1848, how many hopeful gold miners were camped out around the area of the gold find?
The gold rush was truly a mad dash.
Question 20 of 30
How many people traveled by boat to California in 1849?
Forty thousand people sailed into San Francisco Bay to find their fortune.
Question 21 of 30
How many people attempted the overland wagon trail to get to California that same year?
Six thousand wagons carrying about 40,000 more people tried the land route in 1849.
Question 22 of 30
By 1853, how many "49ers" had traveled to California?
And all 250,000 got SO RICH. Just kidding, barely anyone struck gold.
1 million
Question 23 of 30
California wanted to be admitted to the union as …
a slave state
an abolition state
The Compromise of 1850 saw that California be admitted as a free state.
not a state
Question 24 of 30
What was the estimated value of the gold mined during the gold rush in California?
$450 million
$1 billion
$2 billion
The value was $2 billion. So no small potatoes, but again, it wasn't like millionaires were being made daily.
Question 25 of 30
California sided with whom during the Civil War?
the Union
It aligned with the Northern cause.
the Confederacy
Question 26 of 30
After the Civil War, what labor problems began to appear in California?
Unions were unhappy with Chinese labor wages.
Chinese immigrants were working for lower costs than the white workers.
Nobody wanted to work.
All the white workers went on strike.
Question 27 of 30
What did the Chinese Exclusion Act do?
banned Chinese workers from high-paying jobs
banned Chinese workers from working for lower wages than whites
banned Chinese workers from entering the country
The 1882 act was a drastic policy shift, turning the United States from a country that accepted all immigrants to one that discriminated based on ethnic background.
Question 28 of 30
When was the Chinese Exclusion Act repealed?
It wasn't until 1943 that the act was repealed, after several extensions and even more limitations for Chinese residents of the U.S.
Question 29 of 30
Chinese people who had already immigrated to the United States were also forbidden to …
travel to other states
come back after leaving the United States
This meant that families were permanently broken and stranded.
marry American women
Question 30 of 30
What grew out of the Chinese Exclusion Act?
more visas
a surge in illegal immigration
As legal immigration became impossible, illegal entry into the country gained traction.
less green cards


text:
Deeplinks Blog posts about Digital Video
Over the holidays, video hosting site Veoh won another victory under the DMCA safe harbors, this time against Universal Music Group (UMG). The ruling should put to rest the argument that transcoding and other activities necessary for making content accessible on the web are not covered by the DMCA's Section 512(c) safe harbor for storing material on behalf of users (i.e., hosting user-generated content). This is good news not just for Veoh, but also for YouTube and every other site that hosts material uploaded by users.
Yesterday, EFF filed petitions (1, 2) with the Copyright Office seeking DMCA exemptions for three categories of activities that do not violate copyright laws, but that are still jeopardized by the DMCA's ban on bypassing technical protection measures used to control access to copyrighted works (i.e, DRM). The three exemptions are for:
Once again, thanks to DRM, a new product ends up less useful than the one it replaces. This time, it's the new family of Apple Macbook laptop computers that gets the downgrade.
Yesterday, we wrote about the McCain-Palin campaign's letter to YouTube, highlighting how DMCA takedown notices can make online speech disappear from the Internet, even when the claims of infringement plainly lack any merit.
Today, we bring you YouTube's response. YouTube's response points out, much like we did yesterday, that the McCain-Palin campaign's proposed solution (human review of DMCA takedown notices targeting videos posted by political candidates and campaigns) favors speech from one particular class of users. YouTube says that it "tri[es] to be careful not to favor one category of content on [its] site over others, and to treat all of [its] users fairly, regardless of whether they are an individual, a large corporation, or a candidate for public office."
Yesterday, the McCain-Palin campaign sent a letter to YouTube describing the troubles it has been having with bogus DMCA takedowns targeting its videos:
[O]verreaching copyright claims have resulted in the removal of non-infringing campaign videos from YouTube, thus silencing political speech. Numerous times during the course of the campaign, our advertisements or web videos have been the subject of DMCA takedown notices regarding uses that are clearly privileged under the fair use doctrine. The uses at issue have been the inclusion of fewer than ten seconds of footage from news broadcasts in campaign ads or videos, as a basis for commentary on the issues presented in the news reports, or on the reports themselves. These are paradigmatic examples of fair use...
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- Uncategorized


text:
The result is a 50% increase in its smartphone conversion rate, the e-retailer reports.
Bill Siwicki
In late 2011, web analytics drove web-only retailer Coastal Contacts to build a mobile commercesite as it saw a steadily increasing number of visitors browsing its e-commerce site on smartphones.
Fast forward a year and the contact lens and eyewear e-retailer was again digging into its analytics, this time looking for ways it could improve its m-commerce site, built and maintained with m-commerce technology vendor Mobify.
"When we launched the mobile site we partnered with Mobify and relied on some of their experience and expertise and on our own thoughts to create a very good mobile site for the first crack at it, knowing we would come back to it," says Braden Hoeppner, vice president of web sales at Coastal Contacts. "The intent was never to launch a site that was perfect from the get-go. We went in with our eyes wide open, knowing that we don't know everything about mobile, so we needed to start transacting and find out what the customer wanted to do. Mobile 2.0 was always on our mind; let's build, analyze, then go back and tweak. Analytics played a key role in evaluating everything we do."
One of the biggest changes was made to the top-level navigation. Coastal Contacts determined after looking at how customers interacted with the navigational elements that the e-retailer was presenting the mobile customer with too many options all at once. The merchant offered a vast array of refinements to choose from in order to get to a page with products that closely matched customers' needs. This style of navigation was stalling customers right from the start.
"Mobile phones keep getting faster and give us the ability to make navigating the site faster and easier to get to the next step," Hoeppner says. "Now navigation is, am I interested in contacts or glasses, next I choose metal or plastic, and so on. Let's get them into the glasses section so they can narrow things down in steps."
Another big change driven by analytics was made to product pages—namely, where Coastal Contacts placed calls to action. The way the e-retailer was stacking information pushed many of the calls to action below the fold and off the screen for some smartphones. Fewer shoppers were adding products to their carts in these instances, analytics revealed.
"Analytics helped us hone in on those devices and screen sizes, which often weren't the screens we were looking at in our office," Hoeppner says. Coastal Contacts then changed its product pages to feature the Add to Cart button in a more prominent position.
Today, 20-30% of web traffic stems from mobile devices and they account for 15-20% of web sales, the e-retailer reports. Hoeppner says since launching the second generation of its m-commerce site late last year the company has seen a 50% increase in its smartphone conversion rate.
Hoeppner declines to reveal what it cost to redesign the m-commerce site. Mobify says it can cost a retailer between $100,000 and $150,000 for a thorough m-commerce site redesign, focusing on improving conversion and ensuring the site works well on popular new mobile devices. Hoeppner says work on the site will continue.
"The key thing is to keep the process more of an evolution than a revolution," he says. "The 2.0 site was us learning a bunch of stuff and deciding to tackle a bunch of issues at the same time. We measure ROI based on the impact the changes have on the conversion rate. Going forward it will be a continuous investment in the platform, watching our data to see where customers have problems and building things to meet customers' needs."


text:
Our best selling personalized mints are individually wrapped in your logo.
Give your corporate logo a colorful twist with this sweet and fun promotional candy: pick the colors of licorice to match your company logo.
Just a handful of these yummy Hershey's Chocolate Kisses promotional candy satisfies the sweet tooth craving.
What better place than a waiting or reception area to give your customers a flavor-Burst custom candy?
These promotional candies combine great taste and great advertising all in one.
This Rainbow Bubble Gum custom candy brings out the kid in all of us and is individually wrapped making it a perfect handout.
This old-fashioned imprinted jar displays your logo and provides a tasty treats
The irresistible combination of gourmet chocolate custom mints and your logo.
A full color logoed candy tube filled with your choice of Red Hots, Jelly Beans or Gum.
Wrap your logo around these decadent chocolate custom candy treats wrapped around a mini sandwich cookie.
Satisfy your sweet tooth with an assortment of candies that offer full-color custom packaging to showcase your company, school or event.
More custom candy, more flavor, and even more impact for your message when you choose individually wrapped Mega Mints.
Promotional pill bottle filled with promo candy is fun medicine.
Promote your brand by giving this promotional candy pack filled with Sour Patch Kids to clients and sweeten everyones day!
The holidays taste so much better after you have given this custom candy in a festive gift box to clients, coworker and business associates.
Recipients of this custom candy tin will certainly be able to "taste the rainbow" as they enjoy the Skittles filling and view your logo imprinted on the top of the tin.
Give your logo a colorful backdrop with custom candy packaged inside a window tin that's imprinted with your logo.
Put your brand in your client's hand and in their mouth with these delicious customized chocolate buttons, similar to M&M brand candies, that are imprinted with your logo.


text:
- NFL.com
- |
- Fantasy
- |
- NFL Mobile
- |
- Watch Games
Main Content
Reviewed by 1 customer
The women's line had different mesh fabric than the men's jersey. The cut was shorter and the arms were smaller on the women's cut. If you are well endowed, buy the men's version.


text:
Bringing about a green economy is about radical resource efficiency, green jobs, clean technologies, and enabling frameworks for more sustainable consumption and production.
GRID-Arendal highlight inspiring examples from everyday life, whilst addressing economic activity based on social, natural, and financial capital. It is not one or the other, but it is about finding an integrated and balanced way to work with all three.
Natural capital supplies a stream of benefits, without which human life would cease to exist. These benefits flow as long as the ecosystem is carefully nurtured and kept intact. Like a business, living from income and reinvesting in the capital makes sense.
Ecological limits are rapidly converting "economic growth" into "uneconomic growth" - that is, throughput growth that increases costs by more than it increases benefits, thus making us poorer not richer. A green economy fosters a more long-term effective economic activity, not just bigger in short terms.
"The larger system is the biosphere and the subsystem is the economy. The economy is geared for growth, whereas the parent system doesn't grow. It remains the same size. So as the economy grows, it encroaches upon the biosphere, and this is its fundamental cost."
- Prof. Herman Daly, former senior economist at the World Bank


text:
Sperry Top-Sider Audrey Boat Shoe
Sorry, this item is sold out!
Looks like you've got more shoe shopping to do - have fun!
Looks like you've got more shoe shopping to do - have fun!
Item # 292347
Ready for boating season or just want to take on the nautical trend? The Sperry Top-Sider Audrey is a fantastic boat shoe that pairs perfectly with your jeans or capris!
- Leather upper
- 2-eye lace-up
- Cushioned insole
- Flexible rubber non-marking sole
- Imported
- View more Sperry Top-Sider
By: Goetz
Location: Portland, OR
March 25, 2014
so adorable
"I just received these last week and I couldn't wait to wear them on Friday. They fit perfectly and are oh, so adorable. I love the colors. They are comfortable and fun. Great for spring!"
By: SouthernYankee
Location: South Carolina
March 22, 2014
boat shoe beauty
"colors ran true on my monitor - deep bright pink and dark navy.My only complaint with this shoe is probably a personal problem: I can't keep them tied."
Click anywhere to close this.


text: Next → Reflecting on Iraq at Ten Years ← Previous This Day in History: LBJ Proposes Voting Rights Legislation You might also like... Miller Center Senior Fellows (11/30/16) Escaping Quagmires: Ted Kennedy and the 2003 War in Iraq (09/27/16) Ted Kennedy and Health Care Reform (08/25/16) Day 8: "We Lit the Menorah with the President" (12/08/15) Day 7: "You Know, There's Never Been a Hanukkah Party in the White House" (12/07/15) Presidential Speech Archive American President: A Reference Resource Presidential Recordings Presidential Oral Histories ← Return to Riding The Tiger March 19, 2013 By Carah Ong Leffler Assesses Bush Administration's History and Legacy Ten Years after the Invasion of Iraq President George W. Bush addresses the nation from the Oval Office at the White House Wednesday evening, March 19, 2003, announcing the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. PD-USGOV-POTUS Today marks the tenth anniversary of the American invasion of Iraq. In a new article for Diplomatic History, Melvyn P. Leffler, Faculty Associate in the Miller Center's GAGE Program and Edward Stettinius Professor of American History in the History Department at the University of Virginia, reviews what officials from the George W. Bush administration have written about selective key foreign policy events during the administration. Leffler acknowledges that while memoirs can be self-serving, they can also offer "valuable insights into the motives, thoughts hopes, fears and personal relationships within an administration." In the article, Leffler highlights areas of agreement and disagreement between the officials. He also assesses the foreign policy decision-making process in the administration and the leadership style of the president. According to Leffler, Bush administration officials generally agree that foreign policy was not a top priority when they entered office. Rather, the Bush administration's main agenda focused on tax cuts and education reform. With regards to national security, the main focus centered on accelerating the ballistic missile defense program and transforming the Pentagon. "Nowhere in these memoirs," writes Leffler, "is there any indication that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell, Ashcroft or Rice assigned high priority to a prospective terrorist attack, an omission that would come to haunt administration officials, and no one more than Rice." After the September 11, 2011 attacks, the overriding concern of President Bush and officials in his administration was to prevent another attack. The memoirs also reveal that after the attack, the administration operated under fear and deep uncertainty. Leffler finds general consensus in the memoirs that invading Afghanistan was conceived of as the first of a sequence of actions. The administration sought to go on the offensive in the war on terror. According to Leffler: Top officials wanted to go after all terrorists and all states that harbored them, not at once, but sequentially. They were not focused on Osama bin Laden, or al Qaeda alone; they wanted to destroy Jemaah Islamiya in Indonesia and the Abu Sayyaf group in the Philippines as well as challenge the Chechen terrorists and the Basque separatists. Nor were they focused exclusively on the perpetrators of 9/11. Despite accounts otherwise, Leffler shows that the memoirs reveal that planning for the war in Iraq only began in the wake of 9/11, the anthrax scares and signs that al Qeada might have been seeking WMD. Leffler finds that not all administration officials believed that Saddam Hussein was linked to 9/11 or even necessarily to al Qaeda. While Vice President Dick Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz did believe it, President Bush did not and Donald Rumsfeld was uncertain. Meanwhile CIA analyst Paul Pillar, Richard Clarke and Colin Powell thought it was nonsense. However, the Bush administration was convinced that they had reason to act and they were impelled by a sense of power to do so. According to Leffler, the memoirs inadvertently illuminate: the hubris and self-confidence of officials who believed the country had been savagely attacked, and who felt they had the power and right to wage war, wreak revenge, topple defiant (and much weaker) regimes, and spread American values and institutions – values and institutions that in their view had proven their vitality and appeal in the victories over communism, fascism and Nazism. The memoirs also reveal that war on Iraq was not on the administration's agenda before 9/11. Rather, it was designed to thwart the possibility of another attack. Leffler also finds consensus on the reasons for going to war with Iraq: What is clear in the memoirs is that the administration went to war in order to deal with a range of perceived threats – not to promote democracy, not to transform the Middle East, and not to secure supplies of oil…Virtually every memoir makes clear that officials in the Bush administration did believe that Saddam had WMD (specifically biological and/or chemical weapons) or would soon acquire them or seek to develop them. On the timing of the decision to go to war, there is much ambiguity across the accounts. Leffler writes: The ambiguity stemmed from the fact that, according to Tenet, "there was never a serious debate…within the administration about the imminence of the Iraqi threat." Bush acknowledges that he never convened a decisive meeting or asked for a full discussion. Rather than blunting attacks by critics about post-invasion reconstruction failures, in their memoirs top administration officials only blame each other. And there was clear disagreement about what those efforts should entail. For example, while Bush's memoir emphasizes that democracy promotion became a "central" objective after toppling Saddam, Rumsfeld and Feith insist they wanted to hand authority over to Iraqis (mostly Iraqi exiles). Furthermore, Leffler argues that the memoirs confirm a dysfunctional decision-making process throughout the Bush administration. Cheney and Rumsfeld, for example, attack Rice for the way in which she conducted business at the National Security Council, while Rice acknowledges the challenges she faced in dealing Rumsfeld, Powell and Cheney. Dysfunctionality is also highlighted in the divisions over the so-called "freedom agenda." While Bush and Rice came to view nation-building as essential to nurturing U.S. security interests after the invasion of Iraq, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Feith and Zakheim rejected or derided the "freedom agenda." While the memoirs note flawed administrative structures and ineffective decision-making procedures, Leffler finds: The president's overall leadership style is praised more often than not in these memoirs, even by critics of his policies… He may have been intellectually incurious, as some colleagues suggested, but other interlocutors found him knowledgeable, engaged, vigorous, highly focused, and a good listener. Almost everyone liked Bush's folksy manner, humble demeanor, and good wit. In contrast, his toughness, refusal to doubt himself, and determination to act boldly wrought both admiration and criticism from his advisers and subordinates. None doubted that Bush was, in fact, the decision-maker. Leffler concludes that the memoirs leave many essential issues unresolved. For example: Why did top administration officials pay little head to the warnings of an attack prior to 9/11? After the invasion of Afghanistan, why did they focus on Iraq, rather than Syria or Iran? Why was planning for what came after the invasion of Iraq so marginalized and disorganized? Leffler notes that scholars will have to wait for the release of full archival collections in both the United States and Iraq until these and many, many other issues can be addressed more clearly. Read the full article, "The Foreign Policies of George W. Bush Administration: Memoirs, History, Legacy," by Melvyn P. Leffler here. Tweet Date edited: 03/19/2013 (4:00AM) Comments Rules for Comments We reserve the right to remove any post or user. Things that will get comments edited/deleted: Offensive or abusive language or behavior Misrepresentation (i.e., claiming to be somebody you're not) – using a "handle" is fine as long as it isn't offensive, abusive, or misrepresentative Posting of copyrighted materials Spam, solicitations, or advertisements of any kind We hope these rules will keep the discussion lively and on topic. Commenting is not available in this channel entry. ← Return to Riding The Tiger


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Skip to comments.FBI takes charge in law enforcement probe of Boston Marathon explosions
Posted on 04/15/2013 6:47:02 PM PDT by Nachum
WASHINGTON The FBI is taking charge in the criminal investigation of the explosions at the Boston Marathon.
The announcement came Monday night at a news conference in Boston whose participants included Richard DesLauriers, the agent in charge of the FBI in Boston.
Also on Monday night, the FBI said it had set up a phone line for members of the public to call with information about the explosions to contact the law enforcement agency. The call-in number is 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), prompt (hash)3.
No piece of information or detail is too small, the FBI said in urging the public to respond.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
TWA flight 800...deja vu
Paging Timothy McVeigh.
Bill Ayers
Bernadine Dohrn
The Weather Underground and the terrorism of two of Obama's earliest political supporters!
Go on your local news blogs and remind people!
Much faster response time than Benghazi!
Cover-up or Gosnell-ing?
I'll bet the commie 'RATS still think that they can stop this kind of crap with a good dose of anti-Second Amendment laws. IT'S THE PEOPLE, DUMB@$$!
Obama made certain that he had his DOJ offical there as well.
How conviennnnent...
If it's not a terrorist thing and just a random killing, why would the FBI have jurisdiction?
If not to control the release of information?
The Speedway bomber and Charles Manson and Co..
Never waste a crisis...Need I say more?
OK, what liberty's are we going to give up now?
Frickin Bad Investigators.
The local cops will solve this and the feds will take the glory and/or do their masters bidding and cover up facts and conceal the truth.
This is coming from experience....
I think it was a crazy video.
We need to get rid of guns, so nutcases can start throwing bombs.
President Obama said that the full resources would be devoted to this case. I understand the carnage and such but there was ZERO response from Zero when a bomb was mailed to Joe Arpaio last week.
I remember the 1960s and 70s. The Weather Underground bombs wreaked similar deaths and mutilations.. where are the bombers today? They remained in "the Establishment" all through the years and are part of the Democratic Party New Normal.
One bomb exploded on a window ledge outside a San Francisco police station station just after the night shift roll call on Feb. 16, 1970..
5 pounds of shrapnel, including dozens of sharp metal staples and numerous bullets. The thrust was directed inside the station.
"I was blown all the way across the room, around 30 to 40 feet [but] none of the shrapnel really struck me too much. It really was just a matter of seconds and inches," reported an officer.
One officer was partially blinded by shrapnel . . . Sgt. Brian McDonnell was thrown across the room, and he suffered numerous cuts from the staples (mostly in the neck and head IIRC). He died two days later. Several other officers suffered severe shrapnel wounds. Sgt. McDonnell's injuries were so severe that everyone was surprised that he remained alive for two days.
Many believe that the bombers are known but they come from prominent and influential families (as did most the radicals of those days) and have immunity.
IMO there was a half-assed attempt to prosecute the "guilty as hell, free as a bird" POS pukes. Within the past few years San Francisco police personnel have been told by the DOJ to shut the hell up about the murderers of Sgt. McDonnell.
Well let's see.. Islamist murderers are excused as "workplace violence" or drones of Bush/Cheney, American left wing murderers appear to have immunity.. that pretty much leaves just a few that could be guilty, namely us I guess.
Or the terrorist killing of our diplomat in Afghanistan recently.
more like the anthrax search, but they'll drain Boston Bay if they have to once their inept profilers give them a clue!
I was stuck in traffic on Storrow Drive around 5:15 when a long line of large Black SUVs decided they had to go right down the center of stop and go traffic. It looked like they were heading to the scene of the crime after finishing lunch, coffee, and the donuts leftover from the morning shift.
DOJ = THAT Holder, you mean ?
Isn't one of the liberal terrorist teaching at Columbia now?
I think they used claymores:
M18 Claymore mine
Anyone with direct experience with them? I talked to an X-Army buddy of mine who was around them in Vietnam who had explosive experience, but did not use Claymores.
Another clue was the color of the explosion. Some of the photo's showed a pink hue to the explosion. Not sure what explosive would do that.
The FBI stood up to the Obama people on Benghazi - they might be the 'good guys' in this mess.
Holder has his people on it. We're saved.
Katherine Boudin was one of their friends. She threw butyric acid into the lobby of a hotel during the 1968 Chicago Democratic convention. She escaped when a Greenwich Village town house blew up in the early 1970s because of the home-made bomb factory in it. Several of her comrades were killed. I have Bill Ayers's book in which he writes about this. She was on the run, and in late 1981 she engaged in a Brinks-type holdup that left three guards dead. She was given a long prison sentence. She has been released and she is now teaching at Columbia University in NYC. Prior to her 1981 arrest, she had been on the run. She had a three-year-old son, Chesa, who was then reared by Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn
If you want to protect somebody, call the Secret Service. If you want foreign intelligence, call the CIA or NSA. If you want a press conference, call the FBI.
Sounds fishy to me
bomb sniffing dogs -"just a drill"
Remember, Butch Napolitano said we are safer than we have ever been. She's out there buying 1.6 billion rounds of ammo to use on Americans and for guards at the FEMA camps, but no one is watching the borders. Butch is just another one of the Food Stamp President's failed cabinet appointments.
That pink hue is the vaporized mist of human remains.
The claymor is a directional anti-personnel mine, used for ambushes.
I noticed several buildings near the explosion still had their windows intact. Makes me think it was shrapnel bomb rather than a blast one.
I doubt it. The FBI once had a good reputation, but it has been just a tool for the Progressives since Slick Willy.
I'm thinking maybe simultaneous explosions caused by static electricity in half empty fuel tanks.
Reports of projectile shape is said to be round steel & lead balls.
The photo with wounds I have seen indicated ball injury not shrapnel.
That makes sense. If you look at the blast, it is pretty large. I have never seen a claymore detonated. Have heard about pink mist claymores.
They are set up to remote detonate or use trip wire, infared or laser.
I think you are on to something there.
You could probably search for what type mine the Iranians have which is similar to a claymore. Or maybe the N. Koreans.
Very Fishy indeed. What did they know and when did they know it? Another false flag?
Better beef up the DHS and ATF.
Didn't look pink to me; could have been the film.
Not sure I could go back to the photo on the web again, but have seen photos that don't have a pink hue.
But they no longer use "film" in a camera today. They use sensors in the camera that generate the digital image.
So the Benghazi Team is hard at it.
Wait... how can the FBI investigate a terrorist attack considering that after Obama came to town, there is no such thing as a terrorist?
........"devote full resources".............LOL.........what a liar........!
Which video are they going to blame this on?!
This, I'm afraid, is just a firecracker compared to what these jihadi's dream about at night with their 4 year old wives...........
Instead of 3 people dead next time, it could be 300,000 or 3 million! And, geez, look who our head man is! He's one of em!
Absent effective policy from the top, a nuke in a major city is just a matter of when, in my opinion (and I hope I'm wrong).
Do not be surprised that if the perps(s) turn out to be member(s) of the Saudi Tea Party this whole thing will gradually go away unless they can find a white Christian Veteran to blame it on.
Most likely an improvised claymor type, such as a grapeshot charge. Can be directional. Looking at the blast scene I did not see any craters, which usually indicates a directional blast.
They have jurisdiction, basically, when they say so. Thusly was it in Hoover's day, too. Does anyone wonder why he stuck his nose in the Lindbergh kidnapping? Then again, for a long while they didn't intrude on investigations of clear national importance. The Dallas police were the ones who nabbed Lee Harvey Oswald (and let him be killed). But if was hit or miss in the past, it's less so now, and not just because of the endless federal laws. They can slap the words "national security" onto anything and who's gonna say boo?
Don't ya know the fbi will steer the investigation to fit some damn agenda they have.
NO confidence in the fbi doing anything
It was some Christian white rednecks with guns
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Canucks Add Depth in First Day of Free Agency, Still Facing Uncertainty with Luongo
Thomas Drance
July 05 2013 05:18PM
On the first day of free-agency a year ago the Canucks signed Jason Garrison in the early evening. So it's still possible that more moves are forthcoming from Griffiths Way (and we don't mean moves of the Jeremie Blain variety). But regardless, the opening "frenzy" period of free-agency is drawing to a close and I feel comfortable recapping the action from a Canucks perspective.
The Canucks mostly stood pat, as everyone and their grandmother's milkman expected, laying down a couple of bunts and adding Yannick Weber and Brad Richardson in free-agency. Mike Gillis said he was looking for "specific things" in terms of depth players in free-agency, and we'd imagine Weber's right-handed cannon for the power-play and Richardson's status as a live body that plays centre fit the bill. In total Mike Gillis and the Canucks added two players for a grand total of three million over two years, adding only 1.8M in committed salary cap-space for next season. Yey austerity!
Meanwhile there were no extensions for Dale Weise, or Chris Tanev, or Jordan Schroeder were announced, though on the bright side at least Chris Tanev wasn't inked to a predatory offer sheet. The biggest news, however, was out of Las Vegas where Roberto Luongo still hasn't commented publicly on his "still in
purgatory Vancouver" status, and has yet to confirm that he'll even report to training camp. At this point Luongo's silence speaks volumes, and is by far the bigger story than the signing of depth players like Richardson and Weber.
Read past the jump.
On Depth
There's a lot of negativity surrounding the Canucks at the moment, and I suppose that's to be expected when you combine the ugly optics underpinning the Cory Schneider deal, the teams 1-8 postseason record over the past two seasons, and the clubs continued lack of forward depth. But realistically the Canucks remain in good shape and will handily compete for the postseason in the as yet to be officially named "Division A."
Going into next season, the Canucks have one of the best (if not the best) blue-line groups in the division (Los Angeles' blue-line is weaker with the addition of Jeff Schultz, the loss of Scuderi and the probable continued absence of Willie Mitchell). Though Vancouver's continued lack of bottom-six forward depth is galling, the Canucks survived the regular season as a one line team a year ago and so long as Kesler is in shape (and plays more than 35% of the clubs games) should at least have a second line this upcoming season.
Yes the team absolutely needs better Ryan Kesler insurance than Jordan Schroeder is likely to provide if they want to be considered a serious "contender" next season. But unlike most observers I see no reason to believe the bottom has fallen out on this club as of yet.
Along with solid top-end talent at forward and a quality blue-line, the Canucks still have an all-world netminder under contract in Roberto Luongo. High-end skilled forwards, a solid blue-line and a world class goaltender: that's a nice package as a whole.
Of course, that rosy equation becomes undone if Roberto Luongo decides to retire, hold out, refuses to report to training camp or whatever. Luongo has yet to comment on the record about remaining in Vancouver, he's cancelled publicity interviews related to his playing in the World Series of Poker while representing the BCLC, and he generally seems pretty unsatisfied with his situation.
Which is totally understandable. Luongo is said to have checked out of Vancouver a while ago mentally, and his treatment this past season - where he was most often a backup, was yanked off the ice moments before the trade deadline, and was benched in favour of a stil injured Cory Schneider in games three and four of the postseason - probably didn't help matters.
Mike Gillis was asked on the Team 1040 whether or not he had any indication that Luongo would refuse to report and what options Luongo might be considering at the moment. Gillis answered with the following:
"I don't have any indication that he's going to (refuse to report). I'm going to go down there and meet him as soon as we sort of get settled down here after this. His options are I guess to not play hockey or to come back to us. Y'know it's obviously been a difficult situation with a lot of things being reported that are completely inaccurate throughout the whole time here. I'm not in the business of looking back and throwing people under the bus, and talking about things that may have been or could have been different, but the decision was made..."
So Gillis isn't in the business of "looking back and throwing people under the bus" when it comes to the topic of the Luongo debacle. That certainly seems like a convenient opinion for the executive who'd be first in line to get thrown under that bus to hold, no?
Overall Gillis and the Canucks did okay at the margins on the first day of free-agency - especially considering that their hands were tied with regards to the upper limit of the salary cap. I quite like the Richardson addition in particular, and Weber seems like a solid depth gamble who can maybe help on the power-play. At a combined cost of 1.8 million against the cap, it's tough to complain, and it's not like there was a plethora of talent being signed to reasonable contracts today (Clarke MacArthur aside).
Still the negativity surrounding this club persists, and is evident everywhere you look on Twitter or anywhere else on-line. I'm reminded of last weekend's draft when the club did well - yes, even on the Cory Schneider return - but it was all overshadowed by the persistence of the Luongo debacle.
If Luongo reports to camp and provides the club with Luongo-like above average goaltending, which we ultimately expect him to do, the Canucks will very probably compete with the Sharks and the Kings for the Division A crown next season. The result is fine.
But the curdling scent of the botched goaltender trade process still lingers and overwhelms. It stinks and will continue to so long as Luongo remains in the wilderness.
"we won the division, full of teams you think are better than the canucks"
Strawman. I have never said the Canucks are worse than Edmonton, Calgary, Colorado and Minnesota.
They should be better than each team.
" It certainly looks like (Kassian's) starting on the top line, so CoHo got us a top 6 winger... So what's your complaint?"
Being given every opportunity to succeed in the Anson Carter mold does not make Kassian a top 6 winger.
He's essentially still a prospect. And he may very well be a power forward nomad. Vancouver is stop number 2 if you are keeping score.
"And now we have Horvat in the pipeline too. Who could be Coture."
If you're going to make that kind of comparison, you should really go with Hodgson which is now Kassian.
And Horvat is a prospect. Many will fail and the majority fail to hit their ceiling. Not that Horvat has the ceiling of a Couture...
"As for resigning the roster, only two top 9 players, Roy and Raymond, aren't returning"
"Holy crap, Gillis is addressing our needs"
If you believe downgrading from competent, proven and more expensive NHLers to fliers and prospects from one of the worst farm systems in the NHL, then, yes, he is addressing needs.
Insofar as the Canucks are going to ice a lineup featuring a "third line centre" in name if nothing else.
"Skill, puck possesion, goaltending and shot suppression, is how teams win cups. In that order."
You might want to tell the GM who has downgraded the skill in favour of size which has left the organization depth chart rudderless.
"Gillis and Gilman have...locked the core in for their prime years all at discounts compared to market value"
The reason very few impact players reach free agency is because virtually all teams lock up their core players. Specifically big market cap teams. This is not a skill so stop falsely attributing this to Gillis/Gilman.
"You're acting like a jerk"
Thanks for playing.
@Thomas Drance
"increased production which is a stupid standard for judging team quality anyway".
I'm surprised someone writing on an analytically-driven and statistically-inclined website would write something like this.
I have no idea if hockey has any semi-reliable projection systems.
But if this type of idea were suggested on Fangraphs, one would be laughed out of the forum.
Expecting more production out of an aging core of players with an average opening day age of 31 is a bad bet.
When projecting the ROI of MLB free agent contracts, a deduction of 0.5 WAR/season is a rough estimate often used for players on the decline phase of their career.
Considering the average age of the core 10 will be 31 when the season begins, it is perfectly appropriate to start deducting WAR or whatever the equivalent is in hockey.
That's likely part of the reason the Canucks' shot differential slipped last year.
As for guys like Kassian & Gaunce (who seemingly has a better shot at making the team than Schroeder based on comments by Gillis), projections absolutely should be tempered.
I can't imagine that any statistical projection would expect the Canucks to be BETTER next year considering the current makeup of the roster...
So let's be realistic here instead of resorting to the "if everything breaks right" JP Ricciardi assessment.
I agree with NM00
@non descript
Make Luongo the captain again? Are you sure you want that? I guess so, seeing as Luongo was such a captain in the Boston series. Let's just face it, we all know that Luongo couldn't even captain a pajama party. Plus, I thought Vancouver was done with all his meltdowns? Are we now rewarding failure? Oh, wait, forgot it's the Canucks, yes, yes we do reward failure. And if you play well for us, YOU GET TRADED.
Make Luongo the captain again? Are you sure you want that? I guess so, seeing as Luongo was such a captain in the Boston series. Let's just face it, we all know that Luongo couldn't even captain a pajama party. Plus, I thought Vancouver was done with all his meltdowns? Are we now rewarding failure? Oh, wait, forgot it's the Canucks, yes, yes we do reward failure. And if you play well for us, YOU GET TRADED.
From someone with the name Sarcasm Mode, this is too funny.


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Comments: This string lasts me for about 12 sets, on average. I am a 4.3 level player. Overall, this is a good sting.
After about 6 sets it gets about 4 lbs looser. So you have to sting it tighter than you want at the beginning and it gets looser than
you want at the end. Kind of tricky to deal with. My only complaint is the colors are painted on and aren't the same all the way
thru. Which means if you buy the darker colors, you leave black marks on all the balls when you play. However, the black lasts a
little bit longer because you have to wear thru the paint before you get to the string.
From: Ivana, 9/13
Comments: This is a good all-around string and kind of an industry standard for syn gut. What is very annoying is
the reel price. It is less expensive to buy sets! It's a good string but for the reel price there are just as good of strings that cost
From: Anon, 4/13
Comments: I use this string on my crosses and they take the shock out of the shots that would normally get when
stringing all poly. I string it with Luxilon Savage and it gives me consistent shots. I dont know about how long they last when
using spin because my mains are the Luxilon.
From: Anon, 2/13
Comments: This is an excellent string for the price. I have tried them all, from the cheapest synthetic guts to the
fanciest of all natural guts. I keep coming back to Prince Synthetic Gut DF 16 gauge. I can no longer justify spending more money
on other strings. The Prince Synthetic Gut performs very well. If you don't know where to start on strings, start here with Prince
Sythetic Gut DF 16.
From: Anon, 9/12
Comments: Prince Synthetic Gut DF has been my "staple" string for years now! It is a
firm feeling (but not stiff or board-like) synthetic gut, but still has a lot of feel and playability.
Unlike a lot of other player's reviews on here, I do think that the Duraflex adds a good
amount of durability over other syn guts and the original Prince Syn Gut. I have strung
this string at various tensions, and have found that 58-60 lbs gives the best blend of
power and playability on my midplus frames. An excellent string at an even better price!
If you're looking for a hybrid string to soften up some poly or kevlar mains, I would
suggest the Prince Original Syn Gut however. It is a bit softer but still has a lot of the
same characteristics.
From: Brandon, 9/12
Comments: I blended this with a 17g Black Buffalo (Tiger Strings) Poly & Synthetic and it just feels great. Every hit I
don't even need my vibration dampener. It has a lot of confort. I just installed yesterday, but I play 3 hours a day so lets see how
it works
From: Hector, 8/12
Comments: Overall, a great deal for the money. These stings are very predictably stiff stings; you know how they
are going to react, they are consistent shot to shot, they have decent power & decent feel (a little stiff for my liking, but are still
fairly arm friendly) and are overall a good value for the money. Their durability is really bad for big topspin hitters. I would
literally break them every 30 minutes, over and over again. I hit with tons of topspin, so I break strings a lot no matter what I use
- with that being said, I string my own rackets and these are inexpensive strings so it keeps the stinging costs down - I just have
to spend a lot more time stringing!
From: Tim, 4/12
Comments: Great strings. It has great feel and spin, but only lasts about a
week. It is a cheap string to replace though.
From: Anon, 8/11
Comments: I use this string in a blend with Luxilon ALU Power 16 in the mains at 60 lbs and loved it. You get lots
of pocketing and spin while still keeping some pop and power. I am a hard, heavy hitting junior player and play about 20 hours a
week. This setup usually lasted me two weeks, which is not too bad for a poly/synthetic blend. If you are looking for a solid,
inexpensive string to blend with a poly, give this a shot, you really can't go wrong with it.
From: Anon, 7/11
Comments: My string only lasted me about 6 weeks but good playability for the first five weeks.
From: tom, england. 6/10
Comments: Only use this string because it's inexpensive. Strung @ 58lbs, plays very stiff and board-like. Spin
potential is very low especially when hitting kick serves and I don't get a lot of feel from the stringbed. Ball seems to pop off the
string as opposed to the cradle-like effect that I look for where the ball sits on the stringbed for longer. Might have to string
looser than usual to achieve this effect. On the positive side, these strings offer very good control.
From: Alfred, Toronto, ON, Canada. 6/10
Comments: These strings were ok for the first couple of hours of play, but they just went down hill from there. The
strings lost their tension very fast and I popped them with less than a couple of days play on them. I play 5 to 6 days a week and
these could never keep up with my regular play.
From: Boone, Columbia, SC, USA. 06/10
Comments: Last time I got my racquet restrung I got Volkl Power Fiber, which had a really nice feel to it. After about
two months of playing every day, those strings broke and my dad took the racket to be restrung. He asked the guy at the shop for
more durable strings. I got my racquet back with these in the racquet. Boy do they suck. I can't seem to find consistent strokes
with them. Sometimes the ball won't even get close to going over the net, and sometimes it just sails way over the court. I was in
fact playing very well with the Volkl Power Fiber, and now my level of play have been severely reduced. I don't know what makes
these so bad but I can't wait for the day that they break. DO NOT GET THESE!!!
From: Bob0974, CA, USA. 06/10
Comments: This is a solid and predictable string. You won't have trampoline issues with this string. It doesn't last
more than 30 minutes in my racquets, however. I pop the 7th main string in the middle every time and it is consistently under 30
minutes of play with freshly (and I mean just off the stringer fresh)strung racquets. Great feel, but if you are a high level player
who pops strings quickly, you had better use this as a cross string with a polyester string in the mains. I am a former tour player
and now academy coach, so I have a lot of experience with string. This is a solid string, but it's durability really depends on your
level of play and your style of play as well. Heavy toppers look elsewhere unless you use it as a hybrid.......
From: Brett, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA. 5/10
Comments: I just had this string strung on my Wilson Black Whisper Hybrid at 55 and I love the feeling. At first I
wasn't used to the feeling but now it's so awesome. A lot of control and spin on the ball and now it's hitting more into the middle
of the court and sometimes toward the person. I can feel the crispness of the string and hear the sound. For some reason before, I
couldn't hit the ball in the sweet spot but with this string, it's hitting more in the sweet spot. Got this in silver and I love the color.
I'm thinking of increasing my tension to 56 and seeing what it would do.
From: Jenny, San Jose, CA, USA. 05/10
Comments: Good strings for the price but one of the main reasons I didn't like this string too much was because of
the lack of spin.
From: Anon. 3/10
Comments: This is a good feeling string at 55-62 lbs in a Wilson 6.1, and offers good
performance/price point for about 6-10 hours of hitting. If you don't break it, you will start notching by then and will need to re-
string anyways== particularly if you are good enough to hit in the sweet spot most of the time. I have strung my own racquets
for years, and find this is a good all-around string.
From: ANON 4.0+, Acton, MA USA. 2/10
Comments: Great string! This string allows for a good amount of spin and power but it is not very durable.
Although it is a great string for the price I prefer other more durable strings.
From: Antonio, Milan,Italy 02/10
Comments: I recently switched to this string from Luxilon Timo 18's. For my level, noticed that the strings are much
more forgiving in my ground strokes. But at the cost of getting more control, I have lost some speed off of my serve. But, I like
these strings much better overall in relation to the Lux Timo string; that was killing my arm. I'm just a little worried at the
longevity of this string because I've recently begun to hit hard enough to break strings.
Head Microgel Extreme Pro MP
String tension: 58lbs (The strings didn't move at this tension)
Kevin, Maple Heights, OH, USA 01/10
Comments: This string is all right overall, just the right amount of spin, power and control. I like polyester strings
the best.
From: Justin, Auckland, New Zealnd. 11/09
Comments: The fact that Prince sells their pre-strung racquets with this string should tell you that it's their most
basic, no frills string. My O3 Hybrid Tour I bought used as a backup racquet about a year ago came with it. The tension still seems
okay, then again - I don't use the stick much. It works well for backhand slices. But the contact feel and sound are not great for
hard groundstrokes, just too mushy.
From: anon. 08/09 CA, USA
Comments: I refer to this as a "default" string. If you are undecided about what multi-filament to use, and natural
gut is too expensive, or you just want a 'cheap-but-good' string, then simply go for these. I've had it strung in about 10 different
racquets, between 55-60lbs, and they always feel good to me. It's not the best in any single category, but it rates up there for
value+all-round performance.
From: Andrew, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. 04/09
Comments: I use this string at 50 pounds tension in both of my Babolat AeroPro Drive racquets. Lots of pop, plenty
of control on flat, slice, topspin groundstrokes, and nice depth and control on volleys. I hit fairly hard, and I've experienced no
problems with durability. It's a first-rate, extremely cost-effective string that I will continue to use.
From: Jeff, Baton Rouge, LA. 4/09
Comments: This string was not good, I actually only got it by complete accident. I'm a high school player and I just
didn't like the way it felt, not to mention the lack of spin. I prefer polyester strings and found that the Babolat Pro Hurricane is
probably the best string I've ever had.
From: Gus, Bloomington, IL, USA. 3/09
Comments: Used to play with original Prince Synthetic and thought I'd give the Duraflex a go. Great feel but does
not last. I play relatively flat forehands and single-handed backhand. Got this string with my new Speedport Black strung at 58lbs
and thought the 16 gauge would give me better durability. Unfortunately not, as I only managed 4 hours of tennis before the
strings snapped. During that short time, I thought the strings had good feel and helped generate decent spin when needed.
On a scale of 1 - 10 (10 being best)
Feel: 7
Spin: 6
Durability: 1
Tension stability: string didn't last long enough to find out
Comfort: 5
Power: 6
Control: 6
From: Jamboi, Malaysia. 2/09
Comments: I play this in the mains and in the crosses is the Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power 16 gauge. So far it is
great. My serve has been great because I have complete control over it. I have been been a few inches from the lines. I am a lefty
so it gives me a big advantage. I string it at 55 lbs and I use the Prince O3 Speedport Tour.
From: anonymous, PA, USA. 2/09
Comments: This string is for a more beginning to intermediate level players. Once you get more advanced, you
start to get a little picky on what your prefer.
From: jason, La Palma, CA, USA. 1/09
Comments: I don't often explore with strings and I've played with this one for about a year now. I try to think that
my skill does most of the work and consider the string only a small part of my gameplay. That being said, it was a decent string,
more neutral if anything. Nothing spectacular, but nothing detrimental either.
From: Chris, West Sacramento, CA. 1/09
Comments: Terrible string for a player who plays more than a couple days a week. As a college player who played 6
days a week for 6 weeks, I burnt through a whole reel by myself on my Prince tour. I broke on average a string every 4 hours or
so, so not recommended for power hitters. Although, the price is decent though, but comprable to the durability.
From: Sean, Plainfield, Il, USA. 12/08
Comments: The best string ever very good feel good for spin. It gives you enough power. I play every day for 6
hours a day but the only bad thing is the durability it only last me 1-2 days.
From: Kevin, East Quogue, NY, USA. 7/08
Comments: Good string but breaks after about 4 or 5 days of hard play. Good all around string.
From: Steven, KY. 7/08
Comments: Excellent playability and feel. However, I would not recommend it to hard hitters, since it wears down
fairly quick. Lasted me a month before it snapped.
From: Ivan, Pittburgh, PA, USA. 6/08
Comments: I was satisfied with the string. It works great for, moderate aggression. I would recommend it, it's the
best yet from the company, and I put it on my stick.
From: James, Austin, Texas, USA. 6/08
Comments: This is a good string for light to moderate hitters. It provides decent control and is somewhat durable.
For better power and control, I use this string in the crosses with Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power Rough in the mains. It may still
break after a few weeks, but the combination works very well.
From: Jeff, NC, USA. 4/08
Comments: For the relatively flat hitter, this string is great. It's on the low-end for cost, the feel is nice and the
durability is OK. I live in a humid climate and don't play with an overwhelming amount of power, but I do like to serve and volley
and this string holds up great for about 2 weeks. After that, it is either fraying, broken or so loose I just cut it out. For the price, I
can't complain. Awesome low-cost string for the touch/angle player,;hard-hitters should look elsewhere.
From: Morgan, Brunswick, GA. 3/08
Comments: This is not a good string for the money. If you get enough tension for spin, it gets harsh and breaks
quickly. Anyone who likes this string should be in heaven with regular Wilson Sensation. It lasts longer with good tension and has
much better feel, all for about the same price! Really no comparison.
From: Chuck, Atlanta, GA, US. 2/08
Comments: I am also from Santa Clara and my experience with this string was awesome. I was using Gamma
Professional before, but when I switched, my kick serve doubled in spin! Power is simply immense. In the Triad 4.0 Midplus the
strings do not budge a bit, which makes games much more consistent.
From: Anon. 2/08
Comments: My favorite synthetic gut string, but I don't use it because it breaks too fast =(. and by the way, what's
crazy is another person posting here, Mani, is in the same tiny city that I live in!! What a small world.
From: Victor, Santa Clara, CA, USA. 12/07
Comments: This string is very nice. The durability is better than the multifilament. The feel, comfort, power, control
and the sound it makes when making contact with the ball are nice. Overall it is a very good string.
From: Mani, Santa Clara, CA, USA. 12/07
Comments: The Duraflex isn't so durable, not even close to Prince Synthetic orginal, but it has really nice pop,
power, spin, and control. Overall it's a really good string, but it's not for string breakers
From: Shawn, USA. 11/07
Comments: This string is very good if you want to see what kind of string you should use in your racquet. It doesn't
last long and feels very spongey. Overall it is just average. I am a 4.0 player and whenever I get a new racquet, I string it with
From: Marco, Chicago, Illinois, USA. 10/07
Comments: This is a really good string for such a cheap price. After I broke my strings on my Babolat, the stringer
strung my Babolat Pure these and they feel a lot more stable. I only played for 1.5 hours yesterday, but the spin and control is
very good. This is a very good string for such a cheap price.
From: Will, Troy, MI, USA. 5/07
Comments: First, I must confess that all string feels pretty much the same to me, with tension being the primary
difference in feel. Regarding this string, I have found it to be okay. It seems to break early, but I'm a big hitter. I would
recommend it to softer hitters or players who are not yet sure what tension they like and are experimenting a bit with their stick.
From: JBN, Draper, UT, USA. 3/07
Comments: This is a quality string! I have used this string for over 8 years. I am a (5.0) topspin baseliner and have
no complaints about the durability of this string. News Flash: If you are a hard hitting baseliner, you will break strings no matter
what you use!! I have tried different strings over the years but keep coming back to what works. This string is in all my Head OS
iRadicals @ 64lbs.
From: Zahrod, Oakland, CA, USA. 10/06
Comments: This string is very average to me. It takes a lot out of me to produce topspin. Another thing is the
serving; it takes a lot for me to do a kick serve or a flat. A redeeming quality is the price tag. It is very cheap since almost
everyone. If anyone wants major spin and power, try a different string.
From: Jimmy, Branchburg, NJ, USA. 9/06
Comments: I have been playing with Prince Synthetic Gut for nearly 20 years and still using it now. It is perfect for
all types of players. As you approach the breaking point, the tension loosens up noticeably.
From: David, Hong Kong. 9/06
Comments: Great String! Like previous posters said, it does lose tension quicker than normal but at the price it's
not big deal! I just string up this stuff in my 300G all the time. I break a string every 3-4 hours but since I string myself I don't
have any problem with that! I can't get enough of that initial feel. It plays amazingly crisp!
From: Mike, MA, USA. 9/06
Comments: I'm a 5.0 hitter with quite a bit of topspin. This string isn't bad at all for the price, but before you buy it
you need to consider this. Prince synthetic with duraflex doesn't last long, especially if you hit with spin, and it looses tension
VERY fast. If you buy this string because you like the price and have your own string machine so you don't mind the constant
stringing, try switching to Wilson extreme synthetic. Its durability is just as bad, but has MUCH better tension retention. For the
rest of you, stick with this string, it's not too bad.
From: Boris Spatsky, Cupertino, CA, USA 09/06
Comments: This is an unbeatable performance bargain. I used to be a certified professional (P2) and a certified
USRSA stringer, and for the money you just can't beat good old duraflex. Sure, it's not going to perform like natural gut or a type
flight synthetic (Gamma Live Wire), but it's so cheap! It does tend to lose tension faster than some other strings, but if you string
your own racquets then you can afford to string them all the time with this stuff. When I was a junior, I used to buy this by the
reel in 17 gauge and just string my sticks all the time.
From: Paul, LA, CA 08/06
Comments: I have been using this string for about 4-5 years now and have loved it since I started using it.
However, I do have one problem with it, I go through at least two racquets a day when I train a lot and only about 1 per match
when playing tournaments back to back. I play on clay during the summer and indoor hard courts during the winter and on both
surfaces I have this problem. I do play with a lot of topspin and power but I still find this a problem seeing as I never really get a
good use out of one racqet. That being said I do avoid the problem of the quick tension loss when breaking strings this often. I
start with and new racquet and therefore the right tension often which makes the string greatt. But, I would not recomond this
string for anadvanced player who trains a lot and plays tournaments regularly.
From: Adam, The Netherlands 08/06
Comments: These strings wore down in two months and I�m only 10 years old. I would suggest the Babolat
Conquest strings.
From: Graham, Jackson, Tennessee, USA 07/06
Comments: These strings have great play. But within maybe an hour, they start to lose their tension
and become loose. If you'r a big top spin player or a big hitter, they're going to break frequently.
From: Nick
Fremont, CA 3/10/06
Comments: I've been using this string in my Ti Radical MP for a few years now, and what I would
highlight would
be: starts off great, trails off rather quickly. I do actually like this string overall, and I don't break it much, mainly
since my frame
has a dense string pattern, but the performance over a short time really drops. I have 3 identical frames and
when I cycle
through them I do notice a difference in playability (not that it gets terrible, just not nearly as crisp as when you
start). My bottom
line: price is good, string is good and if you are under 4.5 you won't even notice, but don't expect to get much
pristine crisp play
from these strings if you like to crush the ball.
From: Ivan, FL, USA. 11/05
Comments: Before trying this string I was using Wilson Stamina, which I had it strung at 57lbs.
Wilson Stamina
lasted a very long time, played decently but for some reason I didn't really think if was for me. Based on the tons
of positive
feedbacks I decided to give PSGD a try and I was fairly impressed with the string. I strung it at 53lbs and still I
think it gives me
more control than my previous string. PSGD also seems to pocket the ball really well, though perhaps doesn't
hold tension as well
as Wilson Stamina. After 15 hours of play the string still plays very well (I have flat strokes), so I now think PSGD
is my syn gut of
From: Virgilio, Italy. 10/05
Comments: I bought a Babolat Pure Drive racquet and it came strung with this string in yellow. I
was going to cut it
out and restring the racquet with my usual choice of Luxilon Big Banger. I gave this a try, however, and what I
can say is
playability and feel is as good as from Luxilon, if not better. String is very arm friendly and has tremendous
control, every ball fell
into the court, I was simply amazed. The big negative about this string is that it moves a lot, your fingers will
burn after one
match from adjusting the strings. If you don't mind that, it is the best string for the money.
From: Tom, Wayne, NJ, USA. 9/05
Comments: I just hit with this string for the first time last night and all I can say is WOW!!! I used to
play with
polyester strings (LUX BB ALU Power and ACE) but after a while they hurt my arm and shoulder. I would get
pains in my arm every
time. Polys are too harsh if you don't plan on changing the strings often cause they lose tension very quickly. As
for the PSGD that
I tried, I had it strung @ 62lbs on my Head Flexpoint Radical Tour and it was an amazing feeling. I was taking
big cuts at every
ball and I found that the control was excellent. The string was crisp a bit due to the high tension but felt very
comfortable and
arm friendly. Didn't feel a thing, no pain whatsoever. Shots that were hit in the sweetspot felt amazing. I never
had that feeling on
a clean strike before. Another amazing thing that I noticed is that my strings hardly even moved. I know polys
have this aspect to
them but I didn't expect it from a SG. The last SG that I tried was the Head FXP and I hated it, no feel whatsoever
and no power,
not to mention that the strings were all over the place after every shot. I find that the PSGD is not super powerful
but it has good
pop, even though I provide all the necessary power. As for durability, that still remains to be seen since I've only
played with it
about 2+ hours so far. I expect it to snap pretty fast due to my racquet�s stringbed (16x19) but we will see. I
would recommend
this string to anybody, it offers everything that you would want in a string. And for the price that it is selling, it
quite possibly
could be the best buy available.
From: John, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 9/05
Comments: This is an excellent string. It has great feel but if you hit hard or a lot of spin this string
will not last
long. When I used it I would pop it everyday, so I hybridized it with polyester for it to last longer. If you don't play
often or are
now starting this is a great string for you.
From: Liam, St.Lucia. 9/05
Comments: I tried this Prince string and only got 5 hours of play on it. I tried Luxilon Big Banger
ALU 16L power
string and
it lasted 10-15 hours of play but was expensive at around $30. Now am hitting with gamma 15 marathon and
getting about
12-15 hours
of play time at around $21. Have not noticed a significant difference in feel.
From:Dennis City, State, Country: Sacramento, CA
Comments: I am a top level player who cannot see why anyone would use an
expensive polyester or gut. This string simply has it all, and no matter what I try, this string
beats them all. This is a traditional and somewhat durable string for its composition. Thanks
Prince for sticking to the basics.
From: Rupert, Los Gatos, CA, USA 07/05
NTRP: 5.0 Semi Professional Junior
Comments: This string is definitely one of the top synthetic gut strings on the
market. It has a great balance of feel
and ball bite. But, as with most playable strings, it just doesn't last. It survived about 7 hours
of rallying, no match play. If you're
a chronic string breaker, don't bother.
From: Anon. 7/05
Comments: This is easily the best string I�ve ever used. I will use now every time
I play. I recommend this string to everyone playing tennis. I play with this strung at 63lbs, very
From: Joe Mama, Chestwater, United Kingdom, 07/05
Comments: This string blows on durability if you are a player who hits hard with
a lot of spin. I'm a 4.5-5.0 High School varsity player and this string lasted me only 5 days.
The touch and feel is great but doesn�t make up for the amount of time it lasted. Prince
lightning XX lasted longer than the prince Synthetic Gut with Duraflex and felt a lot better.
Right now I�m using the Luxilon Big Banger ALU 16L power string. It is very weird at first.
Doesn�t hit like any synthetic gut strings but is great on durability. I would recommend it for
string breakers
From: James, Medford, NY, USA. 05/05
Comments: Any racquet that I did not know the strings of that played great
(some demos) had these strings. I will certainly
buy a few sets. 4.0, Prince Original Graphite OS.
From: Andrew, Greenville, NC, USA. 03/05
Comments: I use this string on my Wilson PS 6.5 (oversized). Playability is
awesome and the string moved crazily as in
most other nylon string. It lasted about 25-28 hours for me. My NTRP is about 3.5. Moving
to Tecnifibre Spinfire 17 & Luxilon Big
Banger Ace 18.
From: Pat, Hong Kong. 03/05
Comments: These strings are great to hit with and have a great feel to them, the
price is great and everything, but it's not as
durable as I hoped it would be. Otherwise, it�s all good.
From: Daniel, The Woodlands, TX, USA. 02/05
Comments: Not recommended for string breakers who don�t have their very own
stringing equipment, the price really adds up.
From: Eugene, Bingjamton , NY, USA. 02/05
Comments: I use this as a cross string with natural gut as the main string. This
string holds its tension better than the original. It keeps my gut mains locked in place and
after 5 hours of play, has maintained its tension well. My wet weather frame is strung with
this and the price/playability ratio is superb. The BEST synthetic gut.
From: Bill, Calgary, Alberta. 01/05
Comments: I really like this string. It plays better than any other string I've played
with. It breaks about once a week for me but other than that, it's a great string.
From: Corey, Lincoln, NE, USA. 9/04
Comments: These strings last long enough for me and play very well. I string
this in my Prince More Attack S920 @ 58lbs and I love it. The feel of the string is good. This
is one of the best strings at a price you can afford.
From: Damian, Garden Grove, CA, USA. 9/04
Comments: This string has lots of power and pop to it. It feels crisp when you hit
a ball very hard. I have been playing with it for 2 weeks now, and it still feels very fresh.
From: Colin, Anchorage, AK, USA. 8/04
Comments: Though a good value, this string has never seemed to last long on
my Yonex V-CON 17s. Longevity is definitely an issue, I break a string every 3-4 days, so I
don't recommend this for heavy hitters. Spin, comfort and power are limited. For me, this is
just a basic cheap and easy string. Not bad for the price, though
From: Tommy, Columbus, Ohio, USA. 7/04
Comments: Stop reading, and just click on BUY. This is the best string in the
market in terms of price and playability. There are no others like it.
From: Vicente, Doraville, GA, USA. 4/04
Comments: It is great in the beginning, but it losses the crisp feeling in a short
period of time. It has good durability, and I definitely think it is worth the price.
From: Eduardo, Monterrey, M�xico. 2/04
Comments: These strings are awesome. I've been using it for a year and I'm
really happy with it. It feels great when I play and it lasts long. You Should Try It!
From: George, Hattiesburg, MS, USA .12/03
Comments: I've used Prince Synthetic Gut Duraflex for years because I am too
lazy to try new strings. In retrospect, this string played excellently when it's about to break.
Otherwise, it's just ok for banging around with.
From: Rich C., Queens, New York, USA. 11/03
Comments: I've tried most of the premium multi's out there and while they feel
good, they are no match for Prince Synthetic Gut w/ Duraflex. This string feels better and is
more durable than most $12-15 strings. I love it. Plenty of pop and the feel is soft but crisp
at the same time. IMO, this is unquestionably the best string value in the game.
From: David, SC, USA. 11/03


text:
|Posted by david bushnell on May 24, 2001 at 14:26:17:
|In response to Re: New basement shower installation
: Terry,
: We are installing a new shower in the basement using a ceramic tile base on a cement floor. The drain has already been relocated to the proper position and the next step is to pour another thin layer of concrete over the floor in order to get the proper slope to the drain.
: The shower base size will be 34"x58" inside. The concrete base will be 38x62 to accomodate a 4" glass block wall half way down one side and the end of the shower.
: The questions are, what should be the thickness of the contoured concrete. We were planning 2 inches at the edges with a slope of 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the edge to the drain.
: What is the proper type or mix of conrete. We were planning portland cement and sand in a ratio of 5 to 1.
: Is is necessary to install a water proof membrane between the existing floor and the new concrete since the base will be poured on a basement floor and butting on cement board?
: What would you recommend for a sill height above the shower base? Please note the shower base is quite large and the opening will be at the far side of the base.
: How long should I wait for the cement to cure until I install the mosaic tile on the base?
: Thanks for any help you can offer.
: Dave
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With an early-morning traffic jam, lines around the corner that took two and a half hours to navigate and "quite a few rock stars singled out in on-site interviews," one could say the Centura Health job fair was a smashing success.
With the 212,000-square-foot Castle Rock Adventist Hospital prepared to open in late summer, eager applicants from all over the metro area and some who flew in from out of state packed the Douglas County Events Center April 5, hoping to secure one of the 200 available positions — most of which are in the field of nursing.
"We knew there was interest, but to have lines out the door starting at 7 a.m. is just amazing," said Kelly Wooten, Centura HR director.
According to Wooten, who said the hospital continues to add positions daily, more than 500 applicants got inside the doors in the first four hours of the eight-hour fair, and lines were still wrapped around the corner outside at that time.
Once inside, applicants had their medical licenses verified and went through a pre-screening process with a recruiter. If successful, they secured an on-site interview.
"We've had just a ton of interest in creating the nursing culture here from the beginning," said Mike Selvage, Centura Chief Nursing Officer. "There's been no previous way here, so you have the opportunity to set the way. It's exciting."
Selvage said plenty of likely hires were identified in the opening hours of the fair and that following a second screening, offers would be made within a matter of a few business days.
For those who did not find the right fit at the Castle Rock location, specifically new graduates, Wooten said the fair was being used to help find careers for qualified individuals at some of Centura's sister hospitals, both in and out of Colorado.