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COLUMBIA — Democrats accused Gov. Nikki Haley Thursday of misusing the state's planes by taking her campaign-paid videographer with her on flights around South Carolina, while her spokesman countered that there is nothing illegal about it.
Zach Pippin accompanied Haley on taxpayer-funded flights on 17 days between March 2012 and last month, according to Aeronautics Commission records. Pippin is considered a part-time employee of the Republican governor, paid $30,133 from her campaign account between January 2012 and February 2013, according to her campaign filings.
Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, said if Haley wants her videographer with her, he or Haley needs to pay his way or let him drive separately. Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Columbia, called on Haley to reimburse the state $400 for each leg Pippin has flown since she took office.
Haley's office dismissed the criticism.
Her spokesman, Rob Godfrey, said it's legal for Pippin to be on the plane to film Haley at official functions. An opinion from a state Ethics Commission attorney confirms that. The videographer can fly at the governor's invitation, provided the trips follow state law barring the planes' use for bill signings, press conferences and political functions, ethics attorney Cathy Hazelwood wrote in an opinion that the governor's office sought in February.
Assuming the trips conform, there is no reason to reimburse, Hazelwood wrote.
Godfrey disagreed that Pippin's function is to film for Haley's commercials. His videos are posted on the governor's website and YouTube and distributed through her email list. His presence on the planes with Haley does not add to the flights' cost to taxpayers.
"When she came into office, Governor Haley wanted to make sure every citizen who couldn't make it to an event — and every reporter — could still see for themselves the work she's doing and listen to the questions and her answers," Godfrey said. "To that end, we hired a videographer and, rather than pay him with tax dollars, paid him with campaign funds, just as the law allows."
Even if Pippin's flights are legal, Lourie said, they are inappropriate.
An amendment inserted in the Senate's 2013-14 budget plan during floor debate Thursday would make the issue moot.
Senators voted 26-14 to sell the two state planes, with supporters saying that would end the recurring accusations of their misuse by government officials.


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To the editor:
An exchange student in a large college's chemistry class kept rubbing and stretchign his back until the teacher asked him what was wrong.
The student told him he still had a bullet in his back; he had been fighting communists in his own country, and they had shot him while trying to escape.
In the middle of his story, the student asked the teacher if he knew how to catch wild pigs, as they did in his country. The teacher thought it was a joke, but was assured it was not. The student continued:
"You find a place in the woods and put down some corn. The pigs find it and begin to eat. You continue to feed them and finally put up a section of fence. The pigs get used to it and come back for more.
"You feed them some more and add a second section of fence. After a while, you add a third section. By now, the pigs don't notice the fence. You now add a fourth section of fence, which has a gate.
"By now, the pigs are used to the fence. Once they're inside, you slame the gate on them, trapping them inside. The pigs soon accept their enclosure and captivity."
The student said this is what was happening to America. The government keeps spreading the wealth around, as promised. This includes supplemental income, tax credits for earned income, unfair tax exemptions, tobacco and liquor, dairy subsidies, payments to not plant crops, welfare and medicine and care to the millions of illegals.
Just a little at a time, until one day the gate will be closed. We'll be trapped, just like the pigs in the cage.
Do you think "free" is OK? Who is spreading the corn?
May God help us if this happens. I think it will.
Don Hoover

subset: commoncrawl


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The Destiny beta is set to conclude at the end of today. So with that in mind, Shacknews would like to offer up a graphical comparison across all versions of Bungie's latest adventure. Watch the video below to get a good look at Destiny, as seen on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Take a look and judge for yourself which version looks the best or whether the current-gen versions stand up to their next-gen counterparts.
The final version of Destiny arrives on all of these platforms on September 9.


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Pakistan's flood-affected earn wages while rebuilding communitiesOct 19, 2010
|Drains being built in Pashtoon Garhi
Bala, Nowshera District.
(Photo: UNDP)
Islamabad — Three months after the worst floods in Pakistan's history began to sweep through the country, United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations are continuing to support efforts for early recovery amid the large-scale destruction and suffering.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched job-creation initiatives at two locations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province aimed at offering a means for affected populations to earn a living again and restart their lives while rebuilding their communities.
The cash-for-work initiatives in the districts of Charsada and Nowshera include removal of rubble from streets, drain construction, paving of roads, and debris disposal. Some 1,500 employees are working five days per week and receive the equivalent of between US$4.70 and US$7.00 for six hours' labour.
One of 189 workers in the Nowshera community of Pashtoon Garhi Kandi Bala, 35-year-old Wahid Khan said: "The work allows me to buy food and clothes for my family. Without it, I don't know what I would do. The project brings us hope and gives us a chance to look beyond the destruction."
In addition to the initiatives in Charsada and Nowshera districts, UNDP is in the process of partnering with 18 national non-governmental organizations to expand early recovery programmes into other areas of the country.
Throughout the country, the floods have affected more than 20 million people, over 10 percent of Pakistan's total population, and killed about 2,000, with damage or destruction to nearly 1.9 million homes in an area of at least 160,000 square kilometres.
The US$250,000 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cash-for-work programme is part of a one-year early recovery programme to restore livelihoods through job creation, repair basic community infrastructure, and strengthen local government offices to get public services running again.
"The cash-for-work projects are bringing immediate benefits to people and their communities," said Rabia Khattak, Chief of UNDP's Crisis Prevention and Early Recovery Unit. "But to succeed they have to reach many more people, and this requires sustained support from our national and international partners."Contact InformationIslamabad:
Ludmila Tiganu
Tel. +0301 8540364
New York:
Sebastian Naidoo
Tel: +1 212 906 6202


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Lo all,
As some of you may have seen from the front page, we're building an archive of LXF articles on the site -- currently accessible as PDFs, with some to be Wikified in future for updating.
Right now, we have a selection of articles from LXF 69 and earlier, with more to come. If you're not a Newsletter subscriber, sign up and you'll get early notification of new PDFs, before anyone else
Lastly, if there's a particular article some readers would like to see in PDF format, let me know and I'll see what I can do. (No guarantees, especially if it's a very recent article).


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Debate about a proposed constitutional amendment requiring Minnesota voters to show photographic identification intensified Wednesday.
Among the disputes, the two sides of the question appearing on the Nov. 6 ballot disagreed about whether a military ID would be acceptable.
A television commercial by Our Vote Our Future, the umbrella group opposing the amendment, shows a veteran complaining that elections officials could not accept his ID.
"Supporters of the voter restriction amendment are asking Minnesotans to trust them: pass this amendment with no specifics, and we'll fill in the details later," spokesman Eric Fought said.
Those behind the amendment say Fought's group is wrong.
"It's a blatant lie and they know it," said Dan McGrath, chairman of Protect My Vote. "The voter ID amendment was carefully crafted to accommodate a wide variety of government-issued identifications, including military IDs."
While the proposed amendment requires a "valid government-issued photographic identification," if voters approve the amendment Nov. 6 next year's Legislature will decide exactly what that means.
Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Duluth, released a statement against the amendment, saying it sets up barriers to voting.
"I recently visited the nursing home near my home in the city of Cook, and I discovered that only one of the 28 residents had a government-issued photo ID with their current nursing home address," he said. "Under the voter restriction amendment, 27 of these senior citizens would be forced to cast a 'provisional ballot' that would not be counted until they can prove their change of address to the government."
The conservative Taxpayers League of Minnesota plans radio commercials for the amendment.
League President Phil Krinkie, a former state lawmaker, said photo IDs are common in society.
"Our goal is to educate voters that the requirement of an ID to vote is a common sense solution to ensure integrity in our election process and nothing more," Krinkie said.
State, campaign split cost
Gov. Mark Dayton has been traveling the state in recent days to campaign for Democratic legislative candidates.
On Wednesday, he spent time in Bemidji working for candidates as well as meeting with officials about a sign hanging from a newly built trail bridge.
Republicans tweeted complaints about flying to Bemidji at state expense. They were half right.
The state airplane used in the trip came with a $3,312 charge, Dayton Press Secretary Katharine Tinucci said, which will be split equally between the state and Dayton's campaign committee.
When asked if Dayton would have flown to Bemidji just to discuss a sign on the bridge, Tinucci said that he flew to Thief River Falls for a ceremonial ground-breaking for a stop light that he had promised during his campaign two years ago.
City officials want the sign to say "Welcome to Bemidji." Two Democratic lawmakers were at the meeting, but no Republicans.
The meeting came right after the governor campaigned for fellow Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidates.
The city hopes for a more attractive sign on the new bridge at the gateway into the city. But the Minnesota Department of Transportation expresses concerns about public safety, considering the sign would be adjacent to stop lights on one of the busiest intersections in town.
A silver GOP lining?
The Minnesota Republican Party faces financial woes this election season, which has prevented it from providing much help to its U.S. Senate candidate.
But state Rep. Kurt Bills of Rosemount said the good news is that since he is getting little financial help from the party, the GOP cannot tell him what to do.
"I'm my own guy," Bills said. "Maybe I'm here at the right time."
Bills added: "It would be nice to have a state party, but we will get it done anyway. They are rebuilding."
The Republican candidate trails U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar in polls, and he has not seen much of a spotlight during the campaign.
Even so, he said, people know him well enough. "I think so. We just have to walk by faith and get it done."
Addresses may be updated
The Minnesota Vehicle Services Department plans extended hours on election day to update addresses on driver's licenses and state identification cards.
Some driver examination stations will be open until 7 p.m. Nov. 6 to update addresses, but exams will not be given after normal hours.
Those staying open late are in Anoka, Austin, Bemidji, Detroit Lakes, Duluth, Hastings, Mankato, Plymouth, Rochester, St. Cloud, and Virginia.
Absentee time short
Military and other overseas voters are running out of time to cast absentee ballots.
Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said such voters should contact their Minnesota county auditors' offices right away to begin the absentee process. Ballots must be back in Minnesota by election day, Nov. 6.
John Hageman of the Bemidji Pioneer contributed to this story.


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Crowdsourcing Journalistic Pressure On Congress To Get Answers About DHS's Treatment Of US Citizens At The Border
from the join-in dept
Perhaps even more horrifying than the treatment that they all went through was the complete lack of response to any and all journalistic questions about this. The DHS basically refused to return any calls and just ignored the matter. Abdurrahman was able to get one person from one of the border crossings on the phone at one point, and was basically told that he wasn't going to tell her anything. The sheer lack of accountability, concern or transparency was both shocking and depressing. Since then, On the Media has continued to try to get answers... and has come up empty. Homeland Security and Customs and Border Patrol appear to be taking the position that maybe if they ignore this situation it'll go away.
Not likely.
In talking their situation over with some experts, the OTM team was told that the way to deal with this was to get Congress to hold DHS accountable, and the way to do that is to have constituents of Representatives who have oversight authority concerning DHS to call their Reps and demand answers. OTM has tried calling their own Reps without much luck, so they've instead decided to crowdsource the journalistic effort. They're asking basically all of their listeners to put on their journalist hats, and to call Congress, asking some specific questions. If that listener happens to be represented by someone on a DHS oversight committee, it connects you directly to that office. Otherwise, they'll pick randomly from the list (of course, non-constituent calls tend to have less sway with Congress).
To make this even easier, they've built a tool to make it easy to call Congress, complete with the list of questions they'd like you to ask and a form to fill out the answers. Oh, and they've made the whole thing embeddable. It's at the bottom of this post. For those who think this doesn't have an impact, you should never underestimate the power of phone calls to your Representatives. They tend to have significantly more influence that most people expect.


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The Rolling Stones have always been fond of bringing other musicians up on stage to jam with them, and on their most recent "50 & Counting" tour they've had a special guest every night. It is always fun when a band bring an unexpected artist up on stage, because it can take a song in a completely different direction. Here we list ten of the best guest appearances with the Rolling Stones, spanning most of their career. Please share your own favorites in the comments section!
Axl Rose & Izzy Stradlin - "Salt of the Earth"
When Axl Rose and Izzy Sradlin were going to join the Rolling Stones on stage in Atlantic City in 1989, they had been asked what song they wanted to do. When they requested "Salt of the Earth" the Stones reportedly had to relearn the song, as it had not been played live before, aside from the version on The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, which is just Mick and Keith singing to a backing track. The contrast of Axl's high register vocals to that of Mick Jagger's work really well for the song, and it certainly look like Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood were enjoying playing something out of the ordinary. Being how "Salt of the Earth" has only been performed a handful of times, the performance with Axl and Izzy is quite unique.
Dave Grohl - "Bitch"
The Stones have had many guests on their latest "50 & Counting" tour, but Dave Grohl must have been one of the highlights, especially judging from the audience response when Grohl takes the stage. Mick doesn't even have to introduce the Foo Fighters main man, he is instantly recognizable. Grohl both sings, and play his Gibson Trini Lopez guitar, and even takes a solo. Dave Grohl has an ability to make anything he plays sound like his own, and that happens with "Bitch" as well. The song is much heavier than how the Stones would normally play it, much thanks to Grohl's power chords and wailing guitar solo. Check out a video of the performance:
Jack White - "Loving Cup"
Jack White appeared on stage at the Beacon Theatre in New York City for the taping of Martin Scorsese's concert film Shine a Light, where he does a duet with Mick on "Loving Cup." The folksy feel of the Exile on Main Street song, is perfect for White's post-White Stripes folk-rock sound. White told Rolling Stone about the experience: "...for years at White Stripes shows, we played "Loving Cup" [over the PA] as the crowd was leaving. I just wanted to harmonize with Mick. I didn't necessarily want my own verse. But he said, 'Take one.'" If you watch the film, you'll notice the often somber looking White actually has a big smile on his face.
John Mayer - "Champagne and Reefer"
John Mayer has played with the Stones on a couple of occasions, most recently on May 15 this year in Anaheim, CA. Mayer got to play the Muddy Waters classic "Champagne and Reefer." Aside from playing the guitar, this was one of Mayer's first live vocal performances since his throat surgery last year. Mayer got to do two solos, which both meshed really well with Ronnie, and Keith's playing. John really does have a distinct tone, which makes him stand out in a crowd, even when playing with such legends as the Stones.
Muddy Waters - "Mannish Boy"
There are a number of songs that could be chosen from this performance. Mick and the boys dropped in on a Muddy Waters gig at the Checkerboard Lounge in 1981, and ended up joining Muddy on stage. The entire show has been released on both CD and DVD. The 10 minute "Mannish Boy" is one of the highlights, with Waters and Jagger trading vocals back and forth. The Stones look overjoyed to be playing with their hero, and when Buddy Guy steps up on stage, and borrow the mike, Jagger looks almost ecstatic. The song is a great example of how you can do so much with so little - a simple lick that is basically repeated over and over. But it is the subtle nuances in Keith and Ronnie's guitar playing that make the song something special.
Jeff Beck - "I'm going Down"
It took Jeff Beck for the Stones to dust off the Don Nix cover "I'm Going Down." There is a studio version of the band doing it on the Metamorphosis album. The live version from last year with Jeff Beck is about twice as long as the studio recording, with blistering guitar solos from Beck, Wood, and Richards.
Stevie Wonder - "Uptight (Everything's Alright) / (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
In 1972 the Rolling Stones toured together with Stevie Wonder. While seeing both acts on the same night must have been amazing, it would have been a once in a lifetime opportunity to see Stevie on stage together with the Stones. Do a search on Youtube and you will find an amazing medley of Stevie Wonder's "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" with the Stones "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." Stevie turns the Stones rocker in to a funky beast fit for Wonder's own repertoire.
Buddy Guy - "Champagne and Reefer"
Yes, this song appear twice on this list, but that doesn't matter since it is two completely different performances. While John Mayer's guest spot on the song has a more modern flavor, the version that blues legend Buddy Guy did with the Stones on their Shine a Light film is a true down-and-dirty blues classic. Guy wails on the microphone, and play his polka-dotted guitar as if it's all he's ever done.
Mary J. Blige - "Gimme Shelter"
Mary J. Blige is the only singer aside from Rolling Stones backup vocalist Lisa Fischer who has ever come close to do the original vocals by Merry Clayton justice. Obviously the Stones liked Mary J's performance as well, since she was invited to sing with them twice during their anniversary tour last year, first in London on November 25, and then in New York a couple of weeks later. Check out a video of the performance:
The Black Keys - "Who Do You Love"
Charlie Watts got some help when The Black Keys joined the Stones on stage in Newark last year for the Bo Diddley song "Who Do You Love?" A second drum kit was brought out and Keys drummer Pat Carney helped Watts keep the beat. The other half of the Black Keys, Dan Auerbach, joined in on guitar and vocals. The duo has certainly come a long way from their basement days in Akron, Ohio. Is this perhaps the only time the Rolling Stones have had two drummers on stage? Let us know in the comments.


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KEY LARGO, Fla. (AP) — A 71-year-old Georgia man has died while snorkeling off Key Largo.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office reports that John Marshall of Johns Creek, Georgia, was with nine others while snorkeling off a 25-foot private boat on Thursday afternoon. Shortly after noon witnesses say they saw Marshall on his way back to the boat. When they saw him again he was face down in the water.
Deputies say as Marshall was pulled onto the boat, another boat with a doctor on board pulled up and the doctor began CPR.
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission crews arrived and brought Marshall to the marina, where he was pronounced dead.
An investigation continues and an autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.
(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
- Dolly Parton on Christians condemning homosexuals: 'The sin of judging is just as bad as any other sin'
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The agreement provides for annual wage increases with full back-pay, retoactive to October 1, 2010; limits employee health and welfare contributions rates; freezes co-pays and deductibles for the life of the contract; improves working conditions; provides bereavement leave, pay for training, rule classes and boot allowances; establishes single-day vacations and preserves guaranteed extra boards.
Chicago Rail Link provides switching and terminal services over 72 miles of trackage in Chicago and customized intermediate switching services through the Chicago Terminal complex. In addition to serving the Port of Chicago, it is the contract-switching operator for CSX at the Bedford Park Intermodal Facility and also provides storage to railcar owners, such as Chicago Freight Car and Helm. It is owned by OmniTRAX, Inc.
In other labor news, a final and binding arbitration decision was reached March 25 between Amtrak maintenance-of-way employees and Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED). The agreement goes into affect immediately and includes wage increases that are retroactive to January 1, 2010. BMWED members, active or retired, who earned money during the period in question will be given back pay and Amtrak agrees that there will be no delay in calculating and distributing the back paychecks.
The arbitration panel also found that three administrative work rules previously agreed to by other crafts (direct deposit of paychecks, biweekly pay and defining the start of the work week with respect to payroll as Monday) to be a part of this newly negotiated agreement with Amtrak.
Additionally, a tentative agreement on a new labor contract has been reached between Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1277, which represents LACMTA's maintenance employees. An ATU membership vote should take place over the next month.
The last labor contract expired July 1, 2013 and ATU has since honored terms of the old agreement. If approved, the new multi-year pact would be retroactive to last until July 1.


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Sams Teach Yourself HTML and CSS In 24 Hours 107
|Sams Teach Yourself HTML and CSS in 24 Hours (8th edition)
|Julie C. Meloni and Michael Morrison
|Ray Lodato
|A very useful text on web page coding using XHTML and CSS.
Overall, the book is divided into five parts: Getting Started on the Web, Building Blocks of Practical Web Design, Advanced Web Page Design with CSS, Advanced Web Site Functionality and Management, and Appendixes.
Part I: Getting Started on the Web provides the customary introductory material, suitable for beginning users. After describing the seemingly obligatory "history of the web", the first hour concludes with discussions of how to choose a web hosting provider – a topic rarely covered in the books I've read. The second hour teaches how to get web pages uploaded to a web server using FTP, and how to distribute content in a file-based structure without a server. The next two hours then cover the basics of XHTML 1.1 and CSS 2. For both XHTML and CSS, very clear instructions on how to validate your coding help insure that your pages follow the standards.
The next 9 chapters comprise Part II: (Building Blocks of Practical Web Design). This part goes into detail regarding web page coding. Starting with text alignment using paragraph tags and lists, the book has a good collection of text formatting tips using CSS as the preferred style methodology. Tables and links are covered in the next two chapters at a pretty standard level. I found the chapter on using color had a lot of good information, but I believe a beginning user would find it somewhat confusing – especially when hexadecimal notation is introduced.
The next three chapters of this part of the book cover images and multimedia. I liked the focus on getting the right sizing for photos and banners, and the tutorial on how to place the images on the web page (including wrapping text, image maps, and clickable images). I was disappointed in the limited coverage of tiling and GIF animation. The multimedia chapter was a pleasant addition – one I have rarely seen in web design texts. The discussion was tilted toward Microsoft technology, so my testing worked properly only under Internet Explorer at first, however I finally managed to get Firefox to deal with the embedded object. Some information was given for embedding YouTube links, also. I would have liked to have seen more information on the parameters for the WMP object coding. The last chapter in Part II covers frames – both framesets and iframes – with only basic information.
Advanced Web Page Design with CSS is the main topic of Part III. These six chapters dig into the important aspects of CSS alignment. One chapter focuses entirely on margins, padding, alignment and floating, and provides a nice introduction to the full discussion of the CSS box model in the next chapter. Reformatting lists was the principal target of the next chapter, leading to a discussion of navigation bars (horizontal and vertical) in the chapter after that. This is where I started picking up on some irregularities that escaped a review. For example, even though this was supposed to be standard XHTML, I noticed some list item ending tags missing from the examples. Granted, browsers still display the list properly, but this should have been caught before printing.
The last two chapters in this part cover modifying text display using mouse actions, and fixed versus liquid layouts. I liked the mouse techniques to modify a displayed image based on which thumbnail image the mouse is over. It's a simple little method that looks very nice on the page. The liquid layout chapter gave me some problems at first. My attempts didn't work the same under different browsers at first, but when I went back over them while writing the review, they worked just fine. I'm still at a loss to understand what was wrong, so I suspect those starting out may have a similar experience.
The final major part, Advanced Web Site Functionality and Management, wraps up some miscellaneous issues. First, they cover how to create a modified CSS profile to make the web page more print-friendly. The next chapter provides an introduction to JavaScript. Unfortunately, this is where I found some more non-standard XHTML code. Web-based forms are covered only at a high-level in hour 22. The authors do provide examples of each type of form field, with CSS code to neaten up the page, but it appears to be a very cursory handling of the topic.
The final two hours go over the basics of keeping your web site organized, and how to publicize the site on major search engines. The book wraps up with a final part for the two appendixes, containing useful links to further information and a general XHTML and CSS reference.
Teach Yourself HTML and CSS in 24 Hours appears to be a properly authoritative text that would help you create a standards-based web site. Like most texts of this type, it does not reference web design software such as DreamWeaver. Rather, it addresses understanding exactly what code standards-based browsers will handle, and how you can manipulate them to create exactly what you want. The two main disappointments with the book are the obvious errors in the later chapters, and the lack of downloadable examples from the publisher's web site. That said, the content is so worthwhile, I rated it an 8 out of 10.
You can purchase Sams Teach Yourself HTML and CSS in 24 Hours (8th edition) from amazon.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.


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07 March 2006
Paradise Now, Wins!by sabbah
They say: "If you made a bad film, you made it alone. If you made a good film, you all made it." And that's what "Paradise now" did. A good film by all means! The film won more than the academy award. Won the hearts of the millions who saw it. Won the position that it was placed in. Won the controversy around it and it's message reaching out. Won the media coverage given to Palestine and the Palestinians and spotting the light on the Israeli occupation. Won the sympathy and understanding of the world.
13 February 2006
Israel lobbies against "Palestine" tag at Oscarsby sabbah
Israeli and U.S. diplomats and Jewish groups are lobbying organisers of next month's Academy Awards not to present a nominated film (Paradise Now) about Palestinian bombers as coming from Palestine, an Israeli newspaper reports.
1 (2 marks)


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And remember the kooky Athens Olympics mascots?
What were they thinking?
Anyway, here's what the Chinese were thinking:
The mascots were presented as Bei Bei, Jing Jing, Huan Huan, Ying Ying and Ni Ni - which, put together reads in Chinese "Beijing welcomes you!"See, it makes plenty of sense.
"They reflect the cultural diversity of China as a multiethnic country," said Liu Qi, President of Beijing Organising Committee.
"They represent the enthusiasm and aspirations of our people, Liu Qi added.
Coloured in the five hues of the Olympic rings, the mascots also represent the sea, forests, fire, earth and air.
IN THE COMMENTS: Starless:
"A panda, a carp, a Tibetan antelope, a swallow and the Olympic flame...What are the contents of Ed's freezer?"


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The Drexel InterView TM is a half-hour, original series featuring interesting people and interesting talk. Hosted by best-selling author, critic and Drexel University Distinguished Professor of English Paula Marantz Cohen, each episode features an interview with a noteworthy figure. Guests reflect a diversity of opinions and backgrounds and come from fields including art, politics, science and business. The show's host, Paula Marantz Cohen, brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in a wide range of subjects. In addition to her Drexel teaching, she is the author of nine books, including the award-winning Silent Film and the Triumph of the American Myth (Oxford UP) and the best-selling novel, Jane Austen in Boca (St. Martin's Press). She writes regularly for The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Times Literary Supplement, and The Yale Review, has a bi-weekly column on the online journal, TheSmartSet.com, and is a co-editor of jml: The Journal of Modern Literature. Her newest novel, What Alice Knew (Sourcebooks), a literary thriller, published in September, 2010.
Visit the Website: http://www.drexel.edu/thedrexelinterview


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Value Line is regarded as the best independent research available. More than just recommendations, Value Line provides the rationale behind its picks for greater understanding.
Value Line recently initiated coverage of Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (ALSN), in its flagship product, The Value Line Investment Survey. The company is the world's largest manufacturer of fully-automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles and U.S. military vehicles. It also produces hybrid-propulsion systems for transit buses. Its products are used in on-highway trucks, including those for distribution, refuse, construction, and fire, as well as school and transit buses. Its transmissions are also used in motorhomes, off-highway vehicles, and equipment, primarily for energy and mining. The business was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It has about 2,800 employees, with more than 90% of those based in the United States. The company's shares began trading on the NYSE on March 15, 2012.
The Allison brand is well recognized in the auto parts industry. The company introduced the world's first fully-automatic transmission for commercial vehicles over 60 years ago. Management estimates that in 2012, it sold roughly 62% of all fully-automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty on-highway commercial vehicles. While 78% of 2012 revenue was generated in North America, Allison also sells goods in Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa. The company sells its products through a network of roughly 1,400 independent distributors and dealers around the globe.
Allison attributes its strong performance, compared to manual or automated manual transmissions, to lower maintenance costs, reduced vehicle downtime, ease of operation, and improved driver comfort. This is particularly true in urban environments that have a significant amount of "start and stop" activity. The company's transmissions also provide increased fuel efficiency and faster acceleration. As a result of these benefits, many customers are willing to pay a premium for its transmissions. It has developed over 100 different models that are used in 2,500 different vehicle configurations.
The company's biggest market segment is on-highway, North America, which represented 38% of total sales in 2012. Off-highway and hybrid transit bus revenues in North America were 13% of sales, while sales to the U.S. military were 14% of the total. The majority of the revenues from the service, parts, and support equipment group were also generated in North America. Allison's top five original equipment manufacturers accounted for 45% of 2012 sales. Its top three customers are Daimler (DDAIF), which represented 13% of sales, and Navistar (NAV) and Oshkosh (OSK), which both represented 11%. Most customers have long-term supply agreements with the company, with the average length of these agreements at 5 years.
The company's primary manufacturing facilities are located in Indiana, where it has seven plants. It also has customization and parts distribution in the Netherlands, Brazil, China, Hungary, India, and Japan. To support low-cost manufacturing and a regional presence, Allison has opened plants in India, and Hungary over the past couple of years.
While Allison is the largest manufacturer of fully-automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles in the world, it still faces stiff competition from numerous manufacturers of manual transmissions, automated manual transmissions, and fully-automatic transmissions. Some of the company's customers are original equipment manufacturers that manufacture transmissions for their own products. However, they have typically continued to purchase Allison's products because of their quality and reliability.
In terms of risk, the company has a significant amount of debt. As of March 31, 2013, it had nearly $2.8 billion of long-term debt on its balance sheet, or about 67% of total capital. Its sales are highly concentrated, so a loss of any of its top five customers would result in a material adverse affect on operations. Given that military sales represented 14% of total sales in 2012, a reduction in U.S. government spending could also hurt results. In addition, two companies, Carlyle and Onex, each held more than 40% of the company's equity, so they have the ability, through the Board of Directors, to control the appointment of management and influence business decisions.
Business prospects at Allison remain mixed. Since sales are driven by commercial vehicle production, they are highly correlated with macroeconomic conditions. While commercial truck and bus production volumes in North America are projected to grow, they will likely remain below the average from 1998-2008 for at least another couple of years. Sales in 2012 were $2.1 billion, slightly below the prior year's tally, and sales are expected to decline further in 2013, likely by another 5% to 10%.
Some end markets remain choppy, and the off-highway business has been reporting weak demand from hydraulic fracking applications. However, the company should see rebounding demand for its North America on-highway business in the coming quarters. It is also making good progress on expanding its international presence. For example, while roughly 75% of the North American medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicle market is equipped with fully-automatic transmissions, management believes less than 5% of international markets have this feature. This is clearly a huge opportunity for Allison.
At the time of this article's writing, the author did not have any positions in any of the companies mentioned.


text: I have three Samsung Android products which come with tons of Samsung's bloatware. I've already made the choice with Google Play for my source of applications. I've never used any of the Samsung junk hogging up my memory and storage space. I don't have any more interest in Tizan than in a WinPhone as neither will run the media and apps I've already purchased from Google Play. I'm sure most iPhone/iTunes users feel the same. So how much room is there left in the market for a fourth option? Remember WebOS from HP? Not much market left I think.


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Story highlights
- Music and theme songs continue to be among the most memorable parts of TV
- With the arrival of prestige TV series, music on television is also gaining in esteem
- Young Emmy-winning composer Bear McCreary sees a "renaissance in the industry"
When you think back to your favorite TV memories, often music is intertwined.
Whether it's the theme song from "Gilligan's Island," "M*A*S*H," "Cheers" or "Batman," it's often the thing people remember more than anything else about a show. But were they ever on the same level with, say, the themes from "Star Wars" or "The Godfather?"
Over the past decade, we've seen the rise of television as prestige entertainment. And we've had memorable theme music to go along with it, from "The Sopranos" to "Dexter" to "Mad Men."
Two of the most noteworthy themes from the recent era, "Battlestar Galactica" and "The Walking Dead," come from the mind of young Emmy award-winning composer Bear McCreary, who has been in demand ever since "Battlestar." For example, he won that Emmy for the Starz TV series "Da Vinci's Demons," and most recently, he's composed the theme for the high-profile network series "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." and the upcoming Starz series "Black Sails."
McCreary recently spoke to CNN about what goes into TV music in the 21st century, and whether it now stands shoulder to shoulder with movie scoring.
CNN: How did you first find yourself in this line of work?
Bear McCreary: I've never wanted to do anything else for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I loved film and television and loved music. I was always keenly aware of music in film and television, more so than anyone else I knew.
When I'd go see a movie, my friends would talk about the cool spaceships (and later, the hot chicks). But for me, I would talk about how Jerry Goldsmith used the French horns instead of the English horns to signify a different character, or what Danny Elfman or Elmer Bernstein was doing. These were my heroes growing up, so it never occurred to me to do anything else with my life. It was predestined almost. I'm very lucky that I got into it, because there's literally nothing else I would be interested in doing in my life.
My first project was "Battlestar Galactica," which put me on the map in a big way in science fiction. Even the horror and suspense genres, action shows -- I do a lot of work in that environment. When (creator) David Goyer called me about doing "Da Vinci's Demons," it was the first time I was asked to do a historical period piece, so I leapt at the opportunity. One of the things that makes it different -- when you're doing regular TV, or science fiction especially, you can't really argue with how music sounds. You can do whatever you want. It doesn't mean it's always tasteful, but there's no right or wrong. I really wanted to embrace the restrictions of that time period -- Renaissance instrumentation, Renaissance melodies -- I really wanted to evoke that period. The problem was Goyer wanted to do the opposite of that. It was a very modern adventure show. What ended up happening is actually a hybrid of both ideas. We ended up with this unique hybrid. When you hear it, ends up sounding like the show -- it doesn't sound like anything else.
CNN: At what point in the process of making a TV episode is the music composed?
McCreary: I definitely know what's coming. I'm aware of where the stories are going. But ultimately that's to get some preliminary ideas in the back of my mind. I look at the finished video to figure out what it needs -- are there shortcomings? Are there storylines not quite being communicated? And that's when I sit with the showrunners and get from them what they want the audience to feel and what stories they want to track. Then I go back to my studio to add all that narrative connective tissue in a language that still stays true to the sound of the show.
CNN: "The Walking Dead" has a memorably haunting theme. How did you approach making music for the apocalypse?
McCreary: It's funny, I had dealt with the end of the world in "Battlestar Galactica," "Caprica," "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles." Even with "Eureka," I had done it. After a while, I had a feeling, wow, I'm the end of the world guy!
With "The Walking Dead," I wanted to focus on the opposite of that. I wanted to let the apocalyptic events unfold naturally. I try to focus on the actors' performance and try to support them. They're the ones who react -- they are us. When Rick crawls out of the hospital for the first time among all the bodies, the music -- given what he's seen and probably smelled at that time -- is pretty reserved. And that I think also heightens the tension. Horror is a particularly tricky genre for television. It's hard enough to scare an audience and keep them on the edge of their seat for two hours. You really have to pull out a lot of tricks to do that. We're on hour 50 of "The Walking Dead" and these producers are keeping people on their toes, and keeping things fresh and keeping it scary. So a subtle approach helps that, because when you have a really long duration story, you want to conserve your energy as much as possible.
CNN: What is your favorite type of scene to score? Your most challenging scene?
McCreary: It's very hard to say. I thrive on diversity. Action scenes are fun until you do a million of them. Emotional scenes are great until you get too many in a row. My favorite type of scene is one that has layers to it, narratively. I like scenes that when I look at them, it's not obvious what the music should be doing. Should it be scary? Should it be funny? What is the character thinking? If the slightest shift in the music will make you feel sympathy to one person over another, that's really fun and that puts the composer in a powerful position.
There was a cue in "The Walking Dead" -- in the third season, the fourth episode, a major character died. I'm a bit of a method actor when I write, I can't write music for a scene without completely taking myself to this emotion and trying to channel my feelings into music. When people watched it, they were gutted and heartbroken when they saw this scene. I had to watch it probably 70 times. I would be weeping sometimes, my stomach hurt. I was truly miserable doing that scene. But the key turned out pretty good and moved people. Those sort of scenes are not fun to do. The process is not my idea of a good time, but the rewards are much higher.
CNN: What are your favorite TV themes of all time?
McCreary: The first TV theme that really popped up for me was "The Simpsons." Danny Elfman's interesting, harmonic take, using the tritone, which sounded a little weird. I remember picking that up on the piano and wondering why that note was weird. What stoked me as a kid was "Mission: Impossible." It is in 5/4. It is one of the handful of famous television theme songs that are not in 4/4 or 3/4. No one realized what they were hearing. It's very sophisticated scoring.
CNN: Where do you think TV music is today?
McCreary: (TV has) been a proving ground for actors, writers and directors. It's changing -- it's less the training ground to hone your skills and go onto movies. Now, you get good at your skill and you get onto really incredible television shows. The scores on TV are so satisfying. For me -- to take it back to "Da Vinci" -- it feels like a bit of a renaissance in the industry.
CNN: I saw that they recently created an instrument based on Leonardo da Vinci's design -- a hybrid of a piano and cello.
McCreary: I heard about the designs on the codex for this and planned to build this and do something with it for a future episode, having no idea this guy had built it. Of course I was thrilled when this went up on the social media radar. It just puts Leonardo as a pop culture figure in the mainstream -- though he never really left. The mechanics are different, like a rotating keyboard and the hurdy-gurdy engine. David Goyer and I are talking about it and we've got some ideas cooking.


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DETROIT -- Baseball's bizarre new reality in 2014 is most evident right here in the visiting clubhouse at Comerica Park, where a bunch of guys who barely know each other are suiting up to play a baseball game.
These are not the New York Yankees of old.
Heck, these aren't even the New York Yankees of April.
These are the New York Yankees of August, a club that was revamped, retooled and strangely revitalized on the fly. A club that -- despite torching 2012 Cy Young winner David Price to the tune of nine straight hits on Wednesday night -- we can call an "underdog" without irony.
"They did a good job of recognizing what's real," Chase Headley, the Yankees' new third baseman, says about the club's new concoction. "Sometimes in baseball, things can look a lot different than they are. Over the course of a season or half-season, numbers can really be skewed. I think they did a good job of identifying players they thought could help."
The new guys have helped, on the whole. Headley and his fluid hot corner defense. Martin Prado and his versatile, valuable bat and glove. Brandon McCarthy and his reclaimed cutter. Stephen Drew and his shift to second base.
All of these guys were struggling in their former homes, but the Yankees felt they were all worthwhile risks in the bid to keep faint hope of one last Derek Jeter October alive. And it certainly doesn't hurt that Michael Pineda came off the DL slinging 97 mph heat or that Masahiro Tanaka -- a one-man show in the season's first half -- is throwing a simulated game here Thursday with an eye on a September return.
The Yankees spent a good chunk of this season with 80 percent of their Opening Day rotation on the pine, their infield defense in disarray and their bats looking more like busts than "Bombers." But August has been kind enough to at least keep them in that crowded wild card conversation, where they sat two and a half games behind the Mariners for the second spot going into Thursday's action.
"We've had a lot we've had to deal with," says manager Joe Girardi. "A lot of people have walked through that door and put on the Yankee uniform. I don't know how many, but I know it's a high number."
Fifty two. That's the number. Including a franchise-record 31 pitchers.
And this brings us back to the central point about these Yankees and about baseball in 2014: Money can't necessarily buy you stability, which means money can't necessarily buy you victories, which means, at some point, you've got to make some truly sound analytical decisions if you're going to survive.
"The organizations that aren't as smart and don't capitalize on the things they need to just fall behind," McCarthy says. "The organizations that are consistently on top of new and evolving trends are the ones who keep staying there, year after year."
Well, we've known some variation of this theme for a long time, right? Moneyball in Oakland and The Extra 2% in Tampa Bay and whatnot.
But if the 2014 standings don't illustrate just how pertinent and pandemic this point has become, consider the excellent research the Providence Journal released earlier this week. The paper examined a decade's worth of payrolls and win totals and determined that the correlation between spending and winning has fallen so far in the past few years that you'd have a slightly better chance predicting playoff participants by using an alphabetical order of their home cities as you would using their salary totals.
The Yankees may illustrate this recent trend line this better than anybody else because they tend to spend more than anybody else.
In fact, from 2002-2013, the Yankees led the Majors in payroll. Every. Single. Year. These were their final American League results, based on regular season record:
2002: Best (tied)
2003: Best
2004: Best
2005: Best
2006: Best
2007: Fourth-best
2008: Fourth-best (missed the playoffs)
2009: Best
2010: Second-best
2011: Best
2012: Best
2013: Eighth-best (missed the playoffs)
So in a 12-year stretch of outspending everybody, the Yankees had the league's best record eight times and only missed the playoffs twice -- and the first of those absences would have been addressed had a second wild card slot existed, as it does today.
The Yankees made it all very simple: You may not be able to buy a World Series title, but if you were pulling in ridiculous revenues and applying them on an annual basis, you could buy your way to a postseason berth at a fairly frequent rate. Plenty has happened over the past decade, though. And in 2013 and again here in '14, we've finally seen the trends' effects on this franchise.
The crackdown on performance-enhancing drugs (including amphetamines, which are a bigger deal than people give them credit for) has revealed more natural aging curves. The proliferation of profitable local and national television deals has allowed even some of the smaller-market teams to lock up their young talent in its prime years. Revenue sharing spreads the wealth, a reality that has cost the Yanks more than $250 million since 2003. Additionally, caps have been placed on amateur and international spending -- changes that will take years to reveal their full effect.
Those aforementioned aging curves, more than anything else, are why the Yankees are where they are. Let's remember that a long, long time ago (as in, March) when the Yankees were still healthy and had the full complement of their payroll, it was entirely justifiable to be skeptical of them. On Opening Day, Baseball Prospectus gave them just a 30.8-percent chance of reaching the playoffs and just a 14.5-percent chance of winning the East, and those mathematical percentages felt correct.
The Yankees really did enter this season as underdogs, and the label was entirely self-inflicted. Because in 2014, if you're expensive, you're probably old and prone to strains and statistical setbacks.
Oh, sure, the Yankees had, for a short time, made attempts to curb their spending, to get under the $189 million luxury tax threshold for 2014. But ultimately, they couldn't help themselves, primarily because they didn't have the young talent in their system to fix things quickly. That eighth-best record in the AL in '13 simply wasn't The Yankee Way, and something had to be done about it.
So they committed $85 million to a 30-year-old catcher (Brian McCann) who had played just 102 games the previous season. They committed $153 million to a 30-year-old center fielder (Jacoby Ellsbury) who had played just 92 games combined in 2010 and 2012. They threw $45 million at a 36-year-old Carlos Beltran, just because they could. And they invested $175 million in Tanaka praying he would make a quick adaptation to American League while simultaneously praying their other nearly $200 million arm, CC Sabathia, could still eke out at least one more year of brilliance.
Tanaka was a gem, until he got hurt. Ellsbury has been solid, albeit inconsistent. McCann has been substantially more productive in the second half than he was in the first. All told, however, the Yankees haven't gotten what they paid for. For much of the year, they have been a bloated, injury prone disappointment, as was the case a year ago.
Look around their clubhouse now, though, and you get the sense they're finally getting the message about what it takes to build a winner in the current climate. They put a greater emphasis on their defensive effort and their flexibility when they added Headley, Prado and Drew. They paid more attention to McCarthy's FIP and pitch selection in Arizona than they did to his inflated ERA, and they bought low.
Basically, they targeted the kind of undervalued assets that small-market clubs use to survive, and that's allowed them to persevere, however tenuously, in the postseason picture.
Let's be clear about one thing, though: Money made this happen, too. The Yankees took on approximately $12 million in 2014 salary when they added Prado, McCarthy and Drew, and Prado is under contract for another $11 million each in '15 and '16.
"There aren't many teams that would have the flexibility to pick up all three of us in one window," McCarthy said. "So that might be unique to the Yankees. But there are still littler moves that keep happening. You can spend a lot of money, but it's making sure you're spending it properly."
On the surface, the Yankees appear to be figuring that out. Overspending in free agency is inadvisable. Overspending in the international market, as the Yanks did this summer when they flew past the cap to add talent to a depleted farm system, is a much more sensible for the long haul. And when you do add money to the Major League payroll, try to avoid overly long entanglements and put a value on versatility and adaptability.
Maybe the Yankees figured all this out too late to save 2014, but Girardi and the boys are sure giving it a shot here in the home stretch, and it's been interesting to watch. They have become the face of baseball's new fiscal reality:
Overlords in payroll, underdogs in reality.


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University News
Drabik Awarded Centennial Honors Scholarship
December 17, 2013
MACOMB, IL – Wheaton High School North senior Joseph Drabik, of Wheaton, IL, has been selected for Western Illinois University's Centennial Honors Scholarship, which covers four years of tuition, fees and a residence hall room at the school.
High school students with an ACT score of 32 or higher and a grade point average of 3.5 or higher are eligible for the scholarship.
Drabik said he will likely major in forensic chemistry at Western.
At Western, Drabik said he hopes to participate in club sports.
In high school, Drabik participated in both symphonic and jazz bands and was a member of the Spanish and National honor societies.
After graduation from WIU, Drabik plans to join a federal or local criminal investigative department.
For more information about the Centennial Honors Scholarship, contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at (309) 298-3100, or email email@example.com. Additional scholarship opportunities can be found by visiting wiu.edu/scholarship.
Posted By: WIU News (email@example.com)
Office of University Relations


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Here's another round of cheese reviews, based on picking up little wedges of cheeses I've never tried before. Will this be a recurring feature? Perhaps. There's a whole world of cheese out there with all sorts of individual flavors and backgrounds, much like wine. Maybe in ten years after I run out of wine, cheese, and food to write about, I'll start grousing about spatula design three times a week. Stay tuned!
As always, click on the photo for a larger version.
Mimolette was commissioned by Louis XIV and was a favorite of Charles de Gaulle. That thick tan rind is made by the actions of the cheese mites, who leave their dander and excrement behind while digging holes in the cheese. Sounds revolting but I've had worse. The cheese is delicious: rich and savory, slightly tangy, firm, dry, and much like aged Edam. The rind tastes like a handful of dirt and made me wonder if dried earthworms taste the same. Note: it is not recommended that you eat the rind on Mimolette. Even the rind-loving French find it tough and unpleasant.
Maître Moutardier is a relatively new Swiss-made cow's milk cheese that's blended with mustard seeds and meant for snacking. I'm a mustard fanatic, and always have at least three different styles in my fridge, and that's not counting the neon-yellow French's that The Roommate eats. This has a flavor of mild Swiss but the mustard flavor is extremely restrained. Only with strong chewing does the flavor start to emerge.
Cashel Blue is the first farmhouse bleu cheese from the Emerald Isle, and is made by hand in County Tipperary.
It's a long way to Tipperary,
It's a long way to go.
It's a long way to Tipperary
To the sweetest girl I know!
Our Scout Troop had a version of of this WWI song about going to camp. And then there were the unofficial lyrics about invading the girl's camp across the lake, which will not be printed here.
I picked it out because I didn't have any strong moldy cheese in the house. It performed admirably when smeared over a steak and allowed to melt slightly. While it definitely has a strong, pungent quality, it's also creamier and softer than many bleu cheeses out there. It would not crumble well, but sliced beautifully.
Idiazábal is a sheep's milk cheese from Spain. Hard and dry, initially mild in flavor but with a pronounced ovine aftertaste. Has a sort of piney tinge to it, which the article informs me comes from the smoking process. Glad to know I'm not crazy or that the cheese didn't get hit with Pine-Sol during an overzealous cleaning session at the grocery store. A good addition for a tapas bar, and I'd love to try it with a good Albariño.
Oka is made by monks at the Abbaye Cistercienne d'Oka in Québec. Now, what I don't know about Canadian cheese could fill a small government-subsidized bibliothèque des fromages in Montréal. The history of this cheese indicates that it's based on Port Salut but produced by a group that came to North America in the late 1800s after getting kicked out of France. It's a nutty, earthy semi-soft cow's milk cheese that that tastes somewhere between Jarlsberg and Brie. Quite nice with some fresh grapes and a bit of ham. Warning: in a hot Memphis summer I think this would last about ten minutes outside before melting and oozing off the plate.


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Bulldogettes reach out
When Savannah Neff went on her coach's Facebook page and read of the grief and concern being poured out from someone she respected and appreciated, she knew something had to be done to help. The Coahoma High School sophomore came up with an idea. After talking with Coach Mitzi Bell to get permission, the Bulldogette basketball player and her teammates are organizing a donation drive to help the families whose lives have been uprooted by the current fires in Bastrop.The Bastrop fire, destroying well over 25,000 acres of land and over 500 homes, is being called the worst fire in Texas' history. According to the Texas Forest Service, it has destroyed more than all of the other Texas fires combined this year.Coach Bell coached and taught in Bastrop for years and knows many people affected by this fire. When her players saw her concern for friends and families, they knew they had to do something."It is so refreshing," Coach Bell said. "All too often, we see kids with their hand out, wanting something, but these girls are reaching their hands out to help."It is not the first time, the group has pulled together to help others. Last month, the team completed a drive to help Howard County residents affected by recent fires. Before that, it was their Adopt an Angel program, where the girls collected money and bought Christmas presents for Coahoma youngsters. So when Neff came to Coach bell, asking if it would be alright to do something for the people in Bastrop, the coach was not surprised."It has become their nature, to care about other people," Coach Bell said of the girls in Coahoma's basketball program. "I have always believed my job was not to build better basketball players, but better people. And these are some great girls."The Bulldogettes will be in the Bealls parking lot at the Big Spring Mall Saturday, Sept. 17 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. accepting donations.Aaron Custer, Coahoma ISD's Ag teacher has volunteered to drive the items to Bastrop where they will be given to the local Red Cross volunteers.Coach Bell said it would be impossible to transport large items, due to space. Items suggest for donation include: shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, razors, socks, under garments, diapers, cases of water and clothes.Coach Bell said gift cards for Wal-Mart and HEB would be really appreciated."The cards would be very easy to transport," she said. "Plus, the people would be able to purchase exactly what they needed."


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LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Police are investigating an assault that left a man seriously injured Monday night.
Lexington Police say they found the victim unresponsive on Silverleaf Drive around 8 p.m.
The victim is at UK Hospital for his injuries.
Police tell WKYT everyone involved knows each other, and that they do have a person of interest.


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Chocolate is a bringer of joy. It gave me even more joy when I saw that each bar of Green & Black's chocolate that I bought came with a free taster bar of cherry chocolate. Some days it's all good.
This cake has a lot of chocolate in it as well as cocoa powder. And then, in case you were worried it might not be quite chocolate-y enough, it's covered with a chocolate icing. Here it is before the icing has set – it's so glossy and mirror-like that you can see a reflection of the plug socket on the wall:
Make no mistake – this is a big cake. When I took it out of the oven I was stunned at just how much it had risen and assumed that it would sink a bit, as most squidgy cakes do. It didn't. It remained as proud as it was straight from the oven. Just to repeat: some days it's all good. Here it is nude:
And here's how it looked before icing. You'll notice that I flipped the cake – so the top, which goes a bit craggy during baking, becomes the bottom. The advantage to this is that you get a perfect flat surface to pour your icing over; it makes the result that little bit more professional looking.
Before it sets the icing is shiny – it reminded me of a freshly opened conker. This is a cake that benefits from good ingredients (not that I'd ever advocate using bad ingredients). Buy the best quality chocolate you can – I used Green & Black's 70% cocoa content; any higher percentage than this and it will be too bitter.
One thing I did find was that this cake takes hours to cool down so make it early in the day if you intend to keep it in an airtight container and serve the next day. The cake will keep for several days but you must refrigerate it.
The last thing I would say is that, on glancing down the ingredients list you might think that this looks a rich and sweet cake. I'm not going to lie and say it isn't but it's nowhere near as heavy as you might expect and is very, very eatable!
For the cake:
250g unsalted butter
250g dark chocolate (I used 70% cocoa content Green & Black)
150g self raising flour
150g plain flour
60g cocoa powder (I used Green & Black)
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
550g caster sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons of oil (I used ground nut oil but any light oil will do)
125ml buttermilk
For the glaze/icing:
150g unsalted butter
150g dark chocolate
How to make:
- preheat oven to 160°C/fan oven 140°C/315°F/ Gas mark 2-3 and grease a 23cm springform or loose bottomed cake tin. Line the tin with greaseproof paper and ensure that paper comes up at least 2 inches above the rim of the tin as this cake rises a lot and you'll be heartbroken if it overflows and sticks to the base of your oven.
- Put the butter, chocolate and 185ml of hot water into a saucepan and stir over a low heat until smooth. Remove from the heat.
- Place the flour, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl and stir in the sugar. Don't panic at the amount of sugar – it's there to take the bitterness out of the chocolate.
- Make a well in the centre of the dry mix and add the eggs, oil and buttermilk. Using a large metal spoon, or using an electric beater on a low setting, combine.
- Little by little, add the chocolate butter mix to the bowl ensuring you combine it thoroughly. I used my kitchen aid for this but a hand held electric beater will be fine. You can do it by hand but the sheer volume of the mix will make it hard work.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out virtually clean. The cake is squidgy so you don't want a completely clean skewer. Mine took just under 2 hours.
- Leave to cool in tin. Remove from the tin when completely cold.
- Now make the icing. Melt the butter and chocolate together over a low heat.
- Leave to cool slightly – if you pour it over the cake at this point it will be too thin and you won't get a nice thick covering on the top and sides. It takes quite a while to cool and thicken.
- Pour over the cake and allow it to run down the sides.
- Bask in glory at the wonderful thing you have made.
- Eat.


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Learn about the retirement of UI for iOS and end user options
Progress® Telerik® tools have always been about empowering developers to do their best work in less time. Over the past 15 years, we've expanded our product portfolio to keep pace with the latest technologies, trends and innovations. As developers needs change and evolve, we adapt our offerings accordingly, by both adding new products for new technologies, as well as retiring products that have served their purpose, thus ensuring that we are focused in investing our efforts in the products that provide the most value to you as a developer.
Taking this decision was not easy and multiple factors were taken into consideration. As times are changing so are mobile development trends. Native mobile application development has become the preferred method for creating mobile apps for iOS or Android, and existing cross-platform frameworks can hardly compete. We have always stood for developer productivity and we believe the road to productivity is paved by skill reuse and targeting multiple platforms with a single code base to deliver truly native applications.
We are focusing on products in our portfolio which enhance your productivity by working with the most popular and rising development platforms. In that way, we'll continue to provide the best UI and productivity tools to help developers keep pace with the latest trends and technologies.
Staying true to our calling, we are increasing our investments in tooling around the latest technologies developers need. This includes .NET related products like UWP and Xamarin, our JavaScript offerings of Kendo UI for Angular 2 and the brand-new Kendo UI for React, and our cross-platform mobility offering through NativeScript, to just name a few.
To provide you with as smooth a transition as possible, UI for iOS product support will continue for one year before ending on April 20th, 2018 and the accompanying Support and Learning resources will remain available. However, effective immediately there will be no new features or product updates.
We understand that this might be an inconvenience and we strongly encourage you to go ahead and try out our Telerik UI for Xamarin product and create native cross-platform apps.
In addition, we're ready and will do our best to answer any questions or comments you might have. Drop us a line at the email below.


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Separate names with a comma.
Discussion in 'Bug Reports' started by mistwang, Mar 19, 2008.
We will add an option to store vhost template members in a standalone flat text file.
Ruby Rack Support?
How about Ruby Rack support?
Will PHP 5 come bundled in?
probably will not, just build your own from the web console.
There are a lot of advantages in performances and scability with LSWS but one of the most disadvantages is poor server status againts another webservers
Apache has a server-status with minimal reports but lighttpd's server-status is great!
I would strongly suggest Server-status feature which has a lot of requests
Another requested feature is improved BW throtteling options for static files such as mod_limitipconn for apache which supports FILE TYPE, MIME TYPE and DIRECTORY
Or at least same feature per VHost not globally
my download servers got overloaded at every peak without these limits! i cant limit max connections globally because of my another customers
That would be really great to have this features in LSWS 4 and i cant wait
Thanks goes to LSWS Developers, Specially George
Any timeline for 4.0 release?
I second that, it's been quite a gooood time since the development for 4.0 started.
Really looking forward to this.
Yes, can't wait!
4.0b3 release package is available now
I have to agree with you there. The latest beta has improved the status page quite a bit it's a lot easier to use now. But the one thing that is lacking is a quick way to see where all the requests are going to. It's great there are 5 requests to domain.com but where on domain.com?
It would also be neat if somehow a basic server-status could match up with the control panels way of showing it. That way in cPanel for example the apache status link still shows something but this time coming from litespeed. But I don't know how feasible that would be but then it would make it really a drop in.
Still love litespeed a lot more than Apache though
A better status page has been requested many times on this forum. I would also like the Apache Status page in WHM to be integrated with Litespeed's.
This would be amazing. The only reason we're sticking with Apache conf's is because our hosting admin software uses templates for each virtualhost, and changing over to your XML format would be a hassle.
Any ETA on 4.0 release? Is anyone using 4.0 in production? I have about 10-20 web servers I'd like to migrate over and we just got a FreeBSD binary to play with.
We use it on all our servers which is shared hosting. So for us that is the production level.
Have you had any issues since making the upgrade from to RC1? Do you think with the added features and easier transition from Apache 2.2 than you would get with version 3.3.24 makes up for any instability or bugs there might be?
Is v.4.0RC1 quite a bit easier to install and configure, especially with cPanel?
We're running RC1 without issue. We only use lsws and do not have Apache running at all. Everything runs great and cPanel plays nice with lsws so it does not know of anything.
The only headache we have is with frontpage as cPanel changed it's scripts recently for changing permissions and I have yet to figure them all out so that I can modify them to work with lsws. With frontpage use going down every day it's not a huge deal at this point for us.
Do you think v. 4.0RC1 would be easier to install and configure than version 3.3.24?
The only difference between them is with 3.3.24 we'd have to run Apache still to proxy back shtml files for ssi. With 4.0RC1 we do not have to do this so using the whm plugin you can build the matching php then have the plugin switch lsws to port 80 and shutoff apache.
OK, thanks tony
Will this be in 4.1?


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Checking in on… the SECPosted by rtmsf on January 5th, 2010
Paul Jordan of Wildcat Blue Blog is the RTC correspondent for the Southeastern Conference.
- Kentucky 15-0
- Tennessee 10-2
- Florida 11-3
- Vanderbilt 11-3
- South Carolina 8-5
- Georgia 7-5
- Mississippi State 12-3
- Mississippi 11-2
- Alabama 10-4
- Auburn 8-6
- Arkansas 7-7
The big story in the SEC this week was the arrest and indefinite suspension of four Tennessee basketball players — Tyler Smith, Melvin Goins, Cameron Tatum and Brian Williams. The group was arrested on a myriad of drug and weapon charges. Some of the charges were felonies, and given the recent problems with UT's football program, it is hard to imagine any scenario in which the players may step back on the court this season. It is a big loss for the Vols, as the players had accounted for 33 points a game. Elsewhere, South Carolina dismissed forward Mike Holmes from the team for repeated rule violations. Holmes is the second starter lost this season for the Gamecocks as Dominique Archie was also lost for the season due to injury.
Kentucky continues to be the class of the SEC in the rankings, holding onto their #3 ranking in both the AP Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today poll. Tennessee is #15 in the ESPN/USA Today poll and #16 in the AP Top 25. Mississippi remains the third ranked team at #14 in the AP poll and #16 in the ESPN/USA Today. Florida is hovering just outside the top 25 and may re-emerge with another strong week or two.
Kentucky's DeMarcus Cousins was named SEC Player of the Week again after averaging 18.5 points and 15.0 rebounds in two Wildcat wins. Cousins also won the Freshman of the Week award last week for his double-double performances against Drexel and Long Beach State. This week, that honor goes to Vanderbilt's John Jenkins, who averaged 17.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3 assists in a pair of Commodore wins.
The parade of cupcakes ends later this week as SEC play officially gets underway. What else really needs to be said? As of right now, the SEC has seven teams with 10 wins already, and you have to consider each strong tournament teams right now. Let's see how these teams hold up as it goes within the conference from here on out.
- 1/5 – #2 Texas (13-0) @ Arkansas (7-7) – 7:00 PM – ESPN2
- 1/5 – #17 Georgia Tech (11-2) @ Georgia (7-5) – 7:00 PM – ESPN360
- 1/6 – Charlotte (10-3) @ #15 Tennessee (10-2) – 7:00 PM – ESPN360
- 1/9 – Florida (11-3) @ Vanderbilt (11-3) – 12:00 PM – ESPN2
- 1/9 – Mississippi State (12-3) @ #16 Mississippi (11-2) – 1:30 PM – ESPN360
- 1/9 – Alabama (10-4) @ LSU (9-5) – 5:00 PM
- 1/10 – #1 Kansas (13-0) @ #15 Tennessee (10-2) – 4:30 PM – CBS
TEAM UPDATES (ratings are AP, ESPN/USA Today)
Kentucky (#3, #3)—John Wall set a UK record for assists with 16 as UK crushed the Hartford Hawks 104-61 on Tuesday night. DeMarcus Cousins added 19 points and 12 boards and Darius Miller scored a season high 16 points to key the 'Cats win. On Saturday, Kentucky endured a sluggish first half and then pulled away in the second half to defeat bitter in-state rival Louisville 71-62. Cousins led the way with 18 points and 18 rebounds. Patrick Patterson and John Wall both had 17 points. Kentucky, at 15-0, is off to their best start in 40 years.
Tennessee (#16, #15)—Wayne Chism had 15 points and nine rebounds, and Tennessee dominated inside for a 66-59 victory over Memphis on New Year's Eve. JP Prince and Tyler Smith had 12 and 11 to lead the Vols in the rivalry game.
Florida—Florida breezed to a 43-13 halftime lead against Presbyterian and then coasted for a 79-38 win. The Gators outrebounded the Blue Hose, yes, the Blue Hose, by a 48-24 margin. Chandler Parsons led the way with 21 points off the bench and Alex Tyus had 16 points and 13 boards while Erik Murphy had a double-double (16 pts, 11 boards) off the bench. Chandler Parsons hit a dramatic 75-foot shot as time expired in OT to give the Gators a 62-61 win over NC State. The three-pointer was Parson's only FG of the game. Vernon Macklin had 14 points and Erving Walker 13 to lead the Gators in scoring.
Vanderbilt—Freshman reserve John Jenkins scored 15 points to lead Vanderbilt to an 86-48 victory over Manhattan. Eleven players scored for the Commodores, the third straight game that Vanderbilt had at least 10 players score. AJ Ogilvy also came off the bench to add 12 points. John Jenkins scored a career-high 20 points to lead Vanderbilt in an 82-46 rout of Southern Mississippi. The freshman guard was 6-of-6 from 3-point range and the Commodores shot a season-high 64.3 percent (9-for-14) from beyond the arc. Jeffery Taylor had 14 points off the bench and Ogilvy had 10 points in his return to the starting lineup as Vandy blasted Middle Tennessee 73-53. Vanderbilt proves to be one of the SEC's deeper teams as five players scored in double figures.
South Carolina—The Gamecocks battled back from a 21-point halftime deficit, but it was not enough as they fell short to the Boston College Eagles 85-76. Devan Downey had 29 points and Brandis Raley-Ross 13, but SC fell to 8-4 on the season. Baylor made a clean sweep of its two games in the SEC, this time stopping the Gamecocks 85-74. Downey had 20 points and Lakeem Jackson 19 but it was not enough to stop the Gamecocks' second loss of the week.
Georgia—Trey Thompkins had 12 points and 13 rebounds as the Bulldogs dusted the Pepperdine Waves 64-47. Travis Leslie and Ricky McPhee also scored in double digits for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs were no match for the Missouri Tigers on Saturday as they were routed 89-61. Leslie was the only Bulldog in double digits with 18 points as the Bulldogs had only 6 assists against 23 turnovers.
Mississippi (#14, #16)—Ole Miss set a school record for three-pointers with 14 as they beat Jackson State 90-75. Terrico White hit 7 of 10 from beyond the arc and scored 29 points to lead the Rebels. Zach Graham added 14 points.
Mississippi State—Jarvis Varnado scored a season-high 23 points and tied his career-best 17 rebounds as Mississippi State won its ninth straight with a 77-68 victory over San Diego on New Year's Eve. The Bulldogs used their superior inside game to take control of the game late in the first half and maintained its lead throughout the game. Kodi Augustus added 17 points. MSU also suffered a tough loss at the hand of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 55-52. Jarvis Varnado had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulldogs and Dee Bost added 13 off the bench.
Alabama—JaMychal Green scored 19 points and had eight rebounds to lead Alabama to a 77-65 victory over Tennessee State. Senario Hillman added 15 points and six assists for the Crimson Tide, who have won three of their past four games. Mikhail Torrance scored 19 points to lead Alabama over Toledo 67-50 on Monday night for their third straight win. Justin Knox added 14 points and Green had 12 for the Crimson Tide who have put together a three-game winning streak for the third time this season.
LSU—LSU is starting to look like a team that will not be able to compete in the SEC as they got thumped by Xavier 89-65. LSU has gotten blown out of a couple of matchups against NCAA-level teams so far this season. Bo Spencer, Tasmin Mitchell and Storm Warren accounted for 49 of the Tigers 65 points. The Tigers also blew a 12-point second half lead in the second half and went down to Utah, 61-59. Warren (21 points) and Mitchell (19 points) accounted for over two-thirds of the Tiger's points. LSU snapped their three game losing streak with a 83-60 romp over McNeese State. Mitchell and Spencer had 19 and 18 points, respectively, to lead the Tigers.
Auburn—Lucas Hargrove had 20 points and 13 rebounds as Auburn overcame a sluggish start to beat Charleston Southern 77-62 on Tuesday night. The Tigers fell behind 22-15, but turned up the pressure and forced 22 turnovers. Frankie Sullivan added 10 points and six steals for Auburn. Brendon Knox scored 18 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double and Auburn defeated Georgia Southern 95-75. The Tigers shot a season-high 54.2 percent from three-point range (13 of 24), including a 4-5 effort by Sullivan who finished with 15 points.
Arkansas—The Razorbacks had a chance to get a good statement win but were blown out at home by Baylor, 70-47. Jemal Farmer, Rotnei Clark and Marshawn Powell were the only Razorbacks to show up as they scored 38 of Arkansas's 47 points. Arkansas had a chance to redeem themselves against #24 UAB but suffered a heartbreaking 73-72 loss as UAB scored at the buzzer. The Hogs got good games from Powell (22), Washington (18), and Clark (16) but those three accounted for 56 of Arkansas' 72 points.


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Summer employment dispatches: Jane Marie Russell L'14
Editor's Note: Each summer Penn Law students hone their skills through a wide array of private and public sector internships across the country and around the world. Generous financial support and fellowships for international and public interest work enable students to pursue diverse assignments in the U.S. and abroad. This dispatch from Jane Marie Russell L'14 is one in a series of firsthand accounts by Law School students about how their summer employment opportunities are preparing them for their legal careers. Russell is working at Holland & Knight LLP in Miami, Florida, where she grew up and plans to practice in litigation after graduation.
Practicing what I have learned in a city that I love
Working at Holland & Knight LLP this summer in Miami has been an incredible experience. I grew up in Miami and worked here prior to law school. As much as I love Penn Law, I wanted to come home to work here during the summer and after graduation. The Magic City is the capital of Latin America and attracts international business from around the world. I knew that practicing law here would be a fulfilling and exciting opportunity.
As a summer associate, I have applied the education and skills I have developed at Penn Law. Over the course of the eight-week program, we receive a variety of assignments that expose us to different practice areas. Most of my assignments have been in Litigation, which is my area of interest, but I have also had exposure to Corporate and Health Care work. Having taken Constitutional Criminal Procedure, Evidence, and Professional Responsibility have really helped me this summer. It is a lot easier to work in a firm when you already have an idea about the ethical and courtroom rules that govern the practice of law.
Writing has been of central importance to my experience at Holland & Knight. Classes like Legal Writing and Appellate Advocacy have been the most helpful during my internship. Working on the Journal of Constitutional Law and writing a Comment have also helped me hone my editing and Bluebook-ing skills.
The summer program at Holland & Knight has also been a lot of fun. Every week is filled with social events so that we summer associates can get to know each other and the firm. Events have included practice-group luncheons, dinners with the associates, and after-work events with partners. The lawyers here really make us feel welcome as part of the firm family. They also teach us the importance of giving back to the community. Lawyers at Holland & Knight are encouraged to volunteer, and as summer associates, it is no different. We have participated in a Small Claims Clinic, completed research memos for pro bono cases, and even helped clean up a local beach.
Working at Holland & Knight means a lot to me as a law student, as well as a hometown girl who grew up going to the beach on Key Biscayne, on cruises from the Port of Miami, and to restaurants in the Brickell area. To now work at one of the most respected law firms in the city and overlook Biscayne Bay from my office is like a dream to me. I feel very blessed to attend a law school where I have the opportunity to practice what I have learned in the city that I love.


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Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association Coaches Code of ConductThe Board of Directors of Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association, Incorporated (Mass Youth Soccer) and the leaders of the affiliated Leagues are concerned about the conduct of all coaches and referees during games at all levels, from recreational to premier to ODP.
We want to ensure that games are fair, positive and enjoyable experiences for all of the children and adults involved. A soccer game should be friendly and unifying - a spirited social and athletic occasion for players, coaches, referees and spectators.
To clarify expectations of coach conduct, we jointly expect all coaches to conform to this Code of Conduct:
Think about what you're doing during a game! Uphold the Spirit of the Game! If you follow the expectations described above, the spirit of the game will be alive and well in Massachusetts and will grow, along with the enjoyment of all.
Coaches who don't follow the expectations described above will be disciplined or removed.
site design by ed mcgowan


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Maude, the first thing I saw today on my computer screen was a nosie to kiss and when I scrolled down there were some pawsies to kiss as well. I am so glad to hear you are clingy because it saves so much time if one does not have to chase you to deliver all those kisses;)
And apart from being a very pretty kitten girl with the most adorable aquamarine eyes you are also very active with that tap- and you even climbed on a high high roof. I am sure you were purrfectly safe up there but I am still glad you didn't repeat the exercise.
Have a lovely day, sweet Maudie girl. It must be so much fun to watch you grow up :)


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If you've been programming for any length of time, you know the "joy" of working with someone else's code. When taking over a project, the first inclination I've seen with most programmers is to go in and format everything to what they'd like (or duplicate functionality). This is where the problem comes in, the trend that Michael Kimsal talks about in his new blog post - something he wonders about being an "antipattern".
I was discussing things with my brother the other day and I came up with a problem which he helped name. I'm currently maintaining some code, and it's quite a jumble. One of the things I can tell is that one of my predecessors began adding new sections of code to clean up the logic in other areas of the code. However, what never happened was the clean up of the old code, so now there's two places where the same set of data is retrieved in different ways.
He proposes the name "Multi Master Data" for the situation - two different sources, living in the same code, doing the same thing. Of course, he also mentions a situation where this type of problem can cause real issues, especially when trying to track down a bug (a bang your head on the desk moment).


text: james langevin Tuesday, February 12, 2013 By Lydia Rogers • Feb 12, 2013 Power is being restored to most of RI customers following this weekend's snow storm. The State Senate votes on nominees for the new Board of Education. These stories and more on the RIPR Morning News Podcast. Do you have insight or expertise on this topic? Please email us, we'd like to hear from you. firstname.lastname@example.com