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Rangers, Soria finalize two-year deal
Right-hander had 160 saves for Royals before missing 2012 season
By T.R. Sullivan / 12/05/12 12:39 AM ET
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Rangers have signed reliever Joakim Soria to a two-year, $8 million contract, with an option for 2015, but they don't expect him to be ready to pitch until May as he continues his recovery from Tommy John surgery.
"An aggressive projection is [that] he'll be back in May, but we have encouraged him to take it slow and get it right," general manager Jon Daniels said after the deal was announced on Tuesday at the Winter Meetings. "When he's right, he can be an impactful person in the bullpen. When he comes back, we want him to come back once, get it right, and be a big part of our bullpen."
Soria, who spent his entire career with the Royals, underwent surgery on April 3, 2012. He is throwing off flat ground; the Rangers aren't sure when he'll be able to go off a mound.
Soria completed his physical with Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas on Tuesday.
"We got a great review on his physical," Daniels said. "Obviously, eight months off surgery, he's still got a ways to go, but it was as good of a review as we could possibly get."
When does Soria feel he can be ready to pitch?
"I believe that we're going to be ready by the end of the May, maybe," Soria said. "We'll see how it goes first. I'm feeling good so far, and we'll see how it goes the next two months."
Soria will serve as a setup man in front of closer Joe Nathan once he is ready to pitch.
"He had opportunities to close, but the fact he's willing to come and set up for Joe speaks volumes," Daniels said. "He's putting himself second. He wants to win. That's big with him."
Why did Soria opt for a setup role with Texas?
"I've got my house in Arizona, Spring Training is in Arizona. I'm a family guy, and my parents live close to Texas," he said. "Obviously, we've got a great team over there, and I think we can win the World Series. That's one of the main reasons I chose Texas instead of other teams."
Soria feels he won't have any problems adjusting from being a closer to a setup man.
"This is baseball, and I know it's a different role, but I love to be a Major League pitcher and I'll try to do my best anywhere," he said. "Right now I'm a setup man, and that's fine for me, and I'll try to do my best to help this team."
A two-time All-Star with the Royals, Soria, 28, saved 160 games over five seasons (2007 to 2011). In his first four seasons, he had a 2.01 ERA and held opponents to a .197 batting average. In 2011 he slipped to a 4.03 ERA, and opponents hit .259 off him.
"We had interest in bringing Joakim back, it just didn't work out," Royals GM Dayton Moore said. "We had a period of time early on when we had exclusivity with negotiations, and it just didn't happen. He wanted to explore the market, and once you get out there in the market, it's obviously open season, and he was just able to get a better deal right now than we could offer."
In fact, Soria said that the Royals did not approach the Rangers' offer.
"They talked to me, and their offer was not even close to what I was looking for, and we decided to go to free agency," he said.
Nathan missed the entire 2010 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and struggled in his first year back, with the Twins in 2011, going 2-1 with a 4.84 ERA. But the Rangers signed him to a two-year deal last winter, and he ended up with 37 saves in 2012 while being selected to the All-Star Game for the fifth time in his career. He had a 2.80 ERA in 2012, and opponents hit .231 off him.
Soria, if he is healthy, will give the Rangers a veteran setup reliever to go along with left-handers Robbie Ross and Michael Kirkman, and right-hander Tanner Scheppers. The Rangers are not done shopping for relievers, and are also looking for catching help.
Soria could end up as Texas' closer in 2014. Nathan is signed through 2013, after which the Rangers hold a $9 million option, with a $750,000 buyout.
"He's one of our favorites -- one of the classiest, highly professional players and people that I've ever been around," Moore said. "I wish him and [his wife] Karla and his family the very, very best. Our partnership and relationship will always be strong.
"He's a young man, and he'll be in this game a long time. He's overcome a lot with his second Tommy John [surgery], and I'm confident that he'll come back and do very, very well."


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David Wenham strides onto the stage and delivers a searing account of the brutality of life in the penal colony of Australia, written in 1830 by convict Laurence Frayne.
Tex Perkins presents an excerpt from Ned Kelly's stunningly articulate 1879 defence of his outlaw ways. Dina Panozzo delivers a passage from Pauline Hanson's 1996 maiden speech in Federal Parliament, attacking Asian immigration and multiculturalism. Claudia Karvan reads a fiery call to arms from Germaine Greer's The Female Eunuch. Madeleine Madden, granddaughter of Charles Perkins, presents a heart-wrenching account by Bill Simon, a child of the stolen generations, of being torn from his devastated mother.
In 90 minutes and through a range of voices, The People Speak offers an alternative history of Australia. Author and justifiably anointed national living treasure Thomas Keneally, who contributed to research on the project and hosts the event, says that ''the thing that emerges from all the pieces is that these things are from the gut: they are the voices of profoundly felt experience''.
The performance, which was staged in July at Sydney's Carriageworks before an audience of 250, assembles one- to two-minute extracts from a range of speeches, letters, books, newspaper articles and diaries.
In his introduction Keneally explains that ''this is not meant to be a pious history of Australia … this is a history of argument, protests and conflict, and what we hear is often spoken by people on the margins''. The performers include Jack Thompson, John Jarratt, Sophie Lowe, Kelton Pell, Chris Haywood, Alex Dimitriades and Dan Wyllie, with some others - Sam Worthington, Rebecca Gibney, Ryan Kwanten and Matilda Brown - filmed at other locations. The readings are also punctuated with songs: Julia Stone singing I Was Only 19, Tex Perkins doing a spirited interpretation of Waltzing Matilda, and Christine Anu closing the show with From Little Things Big Things Grow.
Rather than covering the centuries of white settlement in strict chronological order, the program moves according to themes: fights for rights by women, indigenous Australians, workers and gays; the defiance of law from Ned Kelly to the Eureka Stockade and the Green Bans; immigration; wars; the republic; conscription.
There are statements from those intent on maintaining the status quo and arguments from those dedicated to rocking the foundations. ''History has been contested ground always,'' Keneally says.
Producer-director Phillip Tanner concedes that you can't provide a comprehensive history in 90 minutes. ''But what you can do,'' he says, ''is move through various important stages of our history.''
The result is a vibrant impression of the development of a country and of a population simmering with dissent and inclined to robust debate. These are passionate pleas from people describing with anger, alarm or dismay what they see as untenable and arguing for change.
The approach to the material is to use snippets of the texts, rather than presenting them in their entirety. It's a history cannily condensed into bite-size chunks, ideal for the Twitter generation.
''We had to make the history relevant but also succinct,'' Tanner explains. ''That was probably the trickiest thing - to keep it flying and to keep it entertaining.
''So we tried to keep it as dynamic as possible, using moving images wherever we could, though that becomes difficult when you're talking about early history, because there were no photographs and we had to rely on drawings or paintings.''
The format is modelled on a project of the same name inspired by the work of US historian Howard Zinn. Tanner explains that Zinn had a ''view of history as being from the bottom up, rather than top down; that democracy starts in the streets, with the people, and not in parliament''.
The original production screened in the US in 2009 and featured Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Morgan Freeman, Sean Penn, Rosario Dawson, Marisa Tomei, John Legend, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder and Pink. An English version a year later starred Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, Ian McKellan, Joss Stone and Keira Knightley.
Employing marquee names certainly makes it a sexier sell, although there are other advantages to using actors to read the words. ''I was astonished by how good some of these people could make them sound, as one always is with actors,'' Keneally says.
''Actors are used to dealing with the subtext of the plainest line, so when they get rich lines like this, they can really go to town.''
Actor Rob Carlton, who presents two pieces, understands the appeal of the project. ''Actors in general are enormously curious about history. We're naturally sceptical of that which we read as a truth. So to have a look at these different streams of information coming through these different characters is a really interesting thing to be involved with.''
Despite the experience of the performers, backstage there were nerves, dry mouths and calls for water. ''It was one of the most exciting things, being backstage with Thomas Keneally and Jack Thompson and Tex Perkins and Claudia Karvan,'' Carlton says. ''All these amazing actors and all of them very nervous. Because we hadn't rehearsed the pieces, we didn't know them by heart, we were reading them. And that's not a usual state for an actor. Normally when we step out on stage, if it's a theatre, we've prepared, hopefully had six weeks' rehearsal. If it's film or TV, we know that we can go again. But here we had a live audience, no rehearsal and off we go.''
Everyone involved hopes The People Speak will engage a broad audience, provide a fresh overview of the nation's history, and stimulate discussion. Maybe even set the bar a bit higher for the standard of our national conversation.
''Certainly when you look at the current state of discourse, it's perhaps a timely reminder to our leaders that they should be thinking about a little bit more than a cheap political point in the 24-hour news cycle and think perhaps about the weight of thought leadership that rests on their shoulders,'' Carlton says.
Beyond that, he reckons that history can be as good as a holiday. ''A good history is like good travel overseas. You learn a hell of a lot more about your own country when you travel overseas, and you learn a hell of a lot more about your own ideological position when you look back through time.''
The People Speak
The History Channel, Sunday, 7.30pm

subset: commoncrawl


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Bomb threat forces evacuations near Ga. State Capitol | News
ATLANTA -- Two bomb threats near the Georgia State Capitol forced the evacuation of buildings housing the state Attorney General's office and the state Supreme Court.
Employees were allowed to return to the buildings shortly before 11 a.m.
Georgia Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Tracey Watson said bomb-sniffing dogs searched several buildings and did not find any explosives.
The state judicial building, home of the Supreme Court and Attorney General's office, are located across the street from the State Capitol building. Three other nearby buildings were also evacuated.
11Alive News reporter Jaye Watson said all streets are now open and that the buildings are all now open.


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POPLARVILLE — Copiah-Lincoln steam rolled Pearl River in men's and women's MACJC South Division basketball action here Monday bringing the 25th-ranked Wildcats' 10-game winning streak to a stunning end via an 83-69 victory, while the Lady Wildcats fell 67-49.
PRCC's men, who entered their game with sole possession of first place in the South after last Thursday's 83-79 double-OT road win over Jones County, dropped to 14-2 overall and 5-1 in division play with the lopsided loss; while its women are now 5-9 and 2-4. CLCC's men, on the other hand, improved to 4-13 and 2-4, while its women are 14-3 and 5-1.
Pearl River and Jones are now tied for tops in the men's division after the Bobcats smacked East Central 90-71 Monday in Decatur.
The Wolfpack took control of the game early. The Wildcats grabbed their only two leads of the night in the opening 2:40 of the first half and managed to knot it up at 8-8 a minute later, but Lamar Williams nailed a three at the 16:33 mark to give the Wolfpack the lead for good. Williams' trey kicked off a dominating 19-8 scoring run over the next 12 minutes that pumped Co-Lin's lead to 41-20 — its largest of the first half.
Jay case hit his second of three treys in the game at the 13:00 mark to give the Wolves a 22-12 advantage and they maintained double-digit leads from there on out.
Xavian Rimmer, an Alcorn State transfer who prepped at Piney Woods School near Jackson, scored five points — a three and a pair of free throws — in the final minute of the first half to pace The River's 5-1 scoring run to make it 42-25 at the break.
After Kaven Bernard out of Assumption High in Napoleonville, La., hit the second half's opening basket to cut the Wolfpack's lead to 15; Case answered by hitting his third and final trey of the contest that kicked off a blistering 25-16 scoring surge over the next 12 minutes to build Co-Lin's lead to 70-43 — it's largest of the game.
PRCC answered with a 17-4 comeback surge to cut the Wolves' lead to 60-74 with 4:30 left. From that point on, the two teams battled to a 9-9 stalemate with Wildcat point guard DeAngelo Coleman out of South Pike High in Magnolia banging in a buzzer-beating trey for the game's final points.
The Wildcats outscored the Wolfpack 44-40 in the second half, while Copiah-Lincoln made 13 trips to the foul line in the second half and swished 18 of 26 attempts.
Tim Harrison paced CLCC with a game-high 20 points, while Case added 19 (three treys, 12 rebounds, three assists), Joseph Cunningham 14 (three treys, four assists), Williams 11 (nine rebounds, three blocks, two steals), Chris Steverson seven (four of four at the foul line), Terrance James five, Fred Fairman, Eric Smith, and Michael Vardaman, two a piece; and Demetrius Mobley one (three assists).
Rimmer led The River with 16 points (three treys, five rebounds, three assists), while Coleman scored 12 (two treys, three steals), Bernard 10, Nick'Laus Warren out of Murrah High in Jackson seven, Jeremy Hollimon of Gulfport High and Frank Snow (eight rebounds), a San Angelina CC (Tex.) transfer from Wellington, Fla., five each; Daniel Grieves, a U.S. Air Force Academy transfer who prepped at St. Stanislaus in Bay St. Louis, four (three steals); Josh Carpenter of Oak Grove high three, Marcus Hogan out of Provine High in Jackson and Derionne Stewart of Picayune High (five rebounds), two each; and Rakeem Esco of Canton High and Devontai Foye of Hattiesburg High, one each.
Pearl River hit a 59.8 percent (17 of 27) from the free-throw line to Copiah-Lincoln's 64.5 percent (20 of 31), while the Wildcats were a dismal 22 of 66 (33.3 percent) from the field to the Wolfpack's 28-of-50 (56 percent) effort. From three-point range, PRCC was nine of 25 (36 percent), while CLCC was an incredible seven of 11 (63.6 percent).
On the boards, The River finished with 38 rebounds (16 offensive, 22 defensive) to Co-Lin's 40 (six offensive, 34 defensive), while the Wildcats committed 18 turnovers to the Wolves' 24.
In the women's game, the first half proved disastrous for the Lady Wildcats, hitting a horrendous 10.3 percent (three of 29) from the field. With 10:50 left before the break, Co-Lin went up by 10 — 14-4 — and closed out the half with a dominating 19-7 scoring run to lead 33-11 — it's largest of the first half — at the intermission.
PRCC actually outscored CLCC 38-34 in the second half only to come up 19 points shy of victory.
Vintrice Briggs paced the Lady Wolfpack with a game-high 14 points (five rebounds, three assists, two steals), while Chanta Poole scored 13 (three assists, four steals, two treys), T'Keya Moore nine (five rebounds, two steals), Ashley Minor seven, Tiffany Sims and Jessica Wilson, six each; Jessica Jackson and Tyrisha Patterson (six rebounds), four each; Kierra Collins three (two steals), and Laura Beth Wright one.
Kalisha Washington out of Murrah High in Jackson led the Lady 'Cats with 12 points (four rebounds, three steals), while Jeronda Beason of Poplarville High scored 10, Rebekah Harwell out of M.C. Perry High in Iwakuni, Japan, nine (five rebounds, two steals), Francheska Bowman out of Choctaw High in Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., eight (five rebounds, four of four at foul line); Daiquari Raine of Poplarville High seven (game-high nine rebounds), Valescia Dixon of East Marion High four (four rebounds), and Lolecia Richardson out of Provine High in Jackson (six rebounds) and Chaquita McGee of Yazoo City High, two each. Joy Grimsley of Petal High hauled in six boards for PRCC.
Pearl River hit 67.9 percent (19 of 28) from the free-throw line to Copiah-Lincoln's 52.6 percent (20 of 38), while the Lady Wildcats were 16 of 60 (25 percent) from the field to the Lady Wolves' 22-of-51 (43.1 percent) effort. From three-point range, CLCC was three of 12 (25 percent); while PRCC zeroed on eight attempts.
The River led on the boards with 49 rebounds (27 offensive, 22 defensive) to Co-Lin's 39 (15 offensive, 24 defensive), while the Lady 'Cats committed 32 turnovers in the game to the Lady Wolfpack's 25.
The two South Division opponents eye women's and men's rematches Thursday, Feb. 21, in Wesson.
PRCC's women and men return to action Thursday when they travel to division rival Hinds in Utica for 6 p.m. (women) and 8 p.m. (men) contests, then return home to host division foe East Central Monday, Feb. 4, with game times at 5 p.m. (women) and 7 p.m. (men) in Shivers Gymnasium in Poplarville.
Co-Lin stuns Pearl River
POPLARVILLE — Copiah-Lincoln steam rolled Pearl River in men's and women's MACJC South Division basketball action here Monday bringing the 25th-ranked Wildcats' 10-game winning streak to a stunning end via an 83-69 victory, while the Lady Wildcats fell 67-49.


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|9 years ago :: May 02, 2009 - 9:10AM #1
Hello fellow gardeners! It's spring in New England USA and the extra warm weather we had last week has forced most of the spring "flowering" trees and shrubs to bloom a little too early. It also caused many perennials such as hostas & daylilies & peonies to send up shoots and begin their cycle. It all looks great but it came so fast I think it's going to be one of those "can't catch up" seasons. Anyway, I thought it might be nice to meet some folks who share my interest in the garden. Kind of like over the fence chats about the various aspects of our hobby. This year I'm going to plant up a new section with herbs. Looking forward to hearing from others. Lily
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|9 years ago :: May 02, 2009 - 10:10AM #2
Hiyas and welcome. I know what you mean about green bursting out all over. That's happening where I am too. I was stunned to see the trees go from bare to leaves in just a couple of days. I think so long as we don't get another freeze before the weather totally turns for the season we'll be OK. You might also want to check out the gardening forum in the groups. community.beliefnet.com/gardening_for_he...
Hope your garden does good by you this year.
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|9 years ago :: May 04, 2009 - 4:14AM #3
I planted an interesting garden, a little on the late side last year. Because of planning my daughters wedding and remodeling our kitchen, we didn't get to redoing our backyard until the first week of August. I put in flowers that bloomed thru Sept. and now are blooming again. I thought I lost 4 plants to the frost, but three came back to my surprise. I live in Calif. about an hour drive from San Francisco in a town called San Jose. We are seeing things blooming pretty fast here and we may have to go on mandatory water rantioning. We are waiting to hear on that.
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|9 years ago :: May 04, 2009 - 8:55AM #4
Hello Anona and LuvBear. Thanks for responding.
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|9 years ago :: May 04, 2009 - 4:37PM #5
Yes, I was born and raised here. By the way, I have a cousin who lives in Washington state who like you was having trouble with the deer. She found the only way to keep them from eating her plants was to put up a fence around her back yard so they couldn't eat her plants. She didn't want to put up a wooden one as she said she has a wonderful view of mountains etc. so she put up some sort of wire fence. Also, my mom and dad had retired to a cute place where they lived out away from the town. They to had deer problems. I seem to remember my parents putting salt lick out to keep the deer from eating their plants that were behind their house.
I have most of my plants on a drip system. That helps quite a bit. I will have to check out the plants you have recommended. I don't think I am familiar with those. I try to make sure I use native plants for our area and ones that can handle drout conditions then sometimes, they can't handle the frost we get.
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|9 years ago :: May 05, 2009 - 10:04AM #6
Thanks for the input on deer. By the way, in what zone are you located? I'm in zone 5. We get frost up until late May. New England weather is quite unpredictable. The local farmers plant corn as early as April...and pray! They often have to re-seed because the ground either gets too wet or stays too cold for successful germination. I just wait till the 3rd week in May before I plant anything tender. When you say "native" are you referring to wildflowers?
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|9 years ago :: May 05, 2009 - 1:38PM #7
I'm talking more native plants for California. We are in zone 8 & 9. I start planting around the first of May. I should be putting in my veg. garden now but my husband is being lazy right now. lol. The garden is full of weeds and he doesn't want to have any thing to do with it. When I do my veg. garden we grow enough to eat and give away 1/3 and freeze the other 2/3's. Thanks for the link to get the news letter. I also get many gardening magaziines. I may have bought that one. I will have to check. I like some of them for the way people have done their yards. I just redid my yard with a yellow brick road and a tinman, and Dorthy, and a Lion and scarecrow. I still have to paint the brick road, and finish the lion and dorthy. This is what we started last August, but didn't get all finnished. We got the plants in, and the brick road in and part of the characters in but with my daughters wedding, and such I couldn't finish the rest.
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|9 years ago :: May 05, 2009 - 4:22PM #8
westlillies - what kind of herbs were you thinking of planting? I live just south of Boston and I'm starting some new gardens, including herbs.
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|9 years ago :: May 05, 2009 - 6:08PM #9
Taurscorpiomoon...hope I got that right...the herbs I have started indoors are lavender, parsley, basil, sage, and hyssop. I already have oregano...its a perennial. And I plan to buy rosemary plants. I'm told they do not germinate very well from seed. So I'll buy plants made from cuttings. It's not hardy so it will have to come indoors for the winter. I also have some spearmint and peppermint that I'm always cutting back because it gets invasive. Oh, I have chives too! There are lots more but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew.
You said gardens...what else are you going to plant?
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|9 years ago :: May 05, 2009 - 8:09PM #10
Interesting Westlillies. I grow some of the same herbs. I keep them under my patio or in the kitchen so I can cut them as I need them for cooking. What herbs do you have Taurscorpumoon? I too would be interested to hear about your garden.
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WASHINGTON — The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, one of the nation's leading gun control groups, said Friday that it wanted the White House to focus its attention on expanded background checks for gun buyers as part of a broad push to reduce gun violence in the wake of the school attack in Connecticut last month.
The group made the recommendations to Vice President Joe Biden. The New York Times obtained a copy of the document, which stresses that ''closing the massive hole in the background check'' system is the group's top policy priority.
''Calling it a 'gun show loophole' trivializes the problem,'' the document says. ''Universal background checks on all gun sales would have a clear positive impact on public safety, and is also clearly compatible with the rights of law-abiding citizens to own guns.''
Dan Gross, the group's president, said he and other advocates still feel strongly about limiting the availability of military-style assault weapons. The group said in its recommendations that any proposals should find ways to ''limit the availability of military-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition that are designed for mass killing.''


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"Lady Lover" is one of the many words out there to describe a lesbian.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Word of the Gay: "Lady Lover"
Posted by Queers United at 12:00 AM
Labels: lady lover, lesbians, word of the gay
1 comment:
- Ray of Sunshine said...
Now, that's what I'm talkin' about...showin' love to my lovely lady! :-)
- February 26, 2009 at 1:54 PM
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Italian prepares for a second ride up to the Space Station
A distress beacon flashes over the snow-covered surroundings. Someone is apparently being evacuated from an improvised shelter. The scene looks strange, somewhat theatrical. But it's not a film studio.
It is miles from anywhere and the snow is Russian. The makeshift tent is in fact a parachute. For all those involved, it is a routine exercise: retrieving a cosmonaut who has just returned from space.
Roberto Vittori has been through this kind of survival training several times. The former Italian Airforce fighter pilot, now an ESA astronaut, recognises the thoroughness of the training given by the Russian instructors at Moscow's Star City where he was interviewed by EuroNews.
"The training is a particularly intense period. We are separated from our families, we have to concentrate a lot and we really must be highly motivated."
All those following courses at Star City are imbued by the history of the place which has seen so many legendary Russian cosmonauts. Today many nationalities are present, all preparing for manned flights to the ISS.
Roberto Vittori already knows the ropes. In April 2002, as part of the Marco Polo mission, he spent 10 days aboard the Space Station. In a few weeks time, he will be the first European to pay a second visit to the ISS.
"Preparation for an astronaut begins at Star City eight months before a mission. In fact I arrived here in August 2004 for my Eneide mission which will blast off from Baïkonur on 15 April. The training involves class studies on space technology and techniques, sessions in the simulators and preparing physically and mentally for the mission ahead."
The Eneide mission will be the tenth time a Soyuz launcher sends astronauts to the Space Station. Vittori will be the flight engineer aboard the Soyuz capsule. With him will be Expedition-11, the station's new occupants for the next six months: veteran Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev and American astronaut and scientist John Phillips. Vittori will be returning with the Expedition-10 crew Leroy Chiao and Salizhan Sharipov.
Roberto Vittori recalls the sensations that he is soon to experience for the second time. "The lift-off is an extremely strong moment. The minutes leading up to engines ignition are very intense. After having completed the pre-launch routines, there is slight apprehension as we wait. Then one hears the flight controller's final count... "3,2,1". The engines start and the capsule starts to vibrate."
"The launch phase passes very quickly. It is a moment of controlled stress, there is a lot to do and one must focus all one's concentration on the tasks to be accomplished."
"Then, suddenly, one is caught by surprise when the engines shut down and one finds oneself in weightlessness. Only then can one review events and realise that we are 200 kilometres above the Earth, having passed from zero to 27,000 km/h in only nine minutes."
"Realising what one has just achieved, there's no feeling of fear, just enormous respect for modern technology which has made it all possible."
Roberto Vittori will once again experience this on 15 April. The ten-day stay aboard the International Space Station will be packed with a programme of experiments – in fact Europeans have become the most important science users of the ISS.
The Italian astronaut will also be preparing the ground for longer duration missions, six months, which will once again be made possible when the Shuttle is back in service. Meanwhile Vittori and all the ISS partners will be thanking the venerable and trustworthy Soyuz launcher system.
EuroNews is a key medium for delivering international information with a European point of view. Broadcast in 79 countries, EuroNews reaches 144 million households in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and North and Latin America via cable, digital satellite and through terrestrial channels. This Space Magazine is produced and broadcast every two weeks, with a new programme starting every second Friday. Each magazine is four minutes long and broadcast 21 times in one week, including evening prime time on Fridays and Saturdays, in order to reach a maximum audience.
Broadcast times


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Summer is Here! Central Library will close at 6 pm on Thursdays and will be closed Sundays until September. Enjoy!
Log in
Taking your music with you these days is a given. Mp3 players (iThings) and streaming media (Hoopla, Pandora, etc.) make your music available pretty much anywhere. But the downside of all that portability and convenience is that those are all lossy formats… in other words, they sound "good enough" to make them listenable, but clearly not what you would expect in terms of quality from an old school analog or high resolution digital recording when brought to life through a decent home or car audio system. But unless you want drag your turntable along with you to the beach (not recommended) or park a computer with a decent sound card in your car's trunk, we're forced to let "good enough" be just that… good enough. That is until now.
Frustrated with an industry built on a tradeoff between maximum convenience and minimum quality, veteran music-maker Neil Young is spearheading an effort to make true, lossless high resolution audio available in a conveniently portable format. Allied with some of the leading technical minds in the sound recording industry, PonoMusic is being launched to offer high resolution digital music available in a convenient iPod-like format. But according to the Pono website, "PonoMusic is more than just a high-resolution music store and player; it is a grassroots movement to keep the heart of music beating. PonoMusic aims to preserve the feeling, spirit, and emotion that the artists put in their original studio recordings."
So, high quality audio can now accompany you anywhere you go… yes, even the beach. But is there really a difference? For the sake of comparison, most mp3 files have a bit rate of 160kbps to 256kbps, 320k if you're lucky. Mp3 of course is a "lossy" format… some of the sound is actually removed in an effort to make the files smaller and more portable… think of a photograph in a newspaper… it looks "ok" at arm's length, but up close you'll see that it's actually a bunch of dots and not really all that clear. Pono, on the other hand, is designed to play high resolution FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) files - we're talkin' full resolution 192kHz/24 bit files that will "fill in" those holes with upwards of 30 times more information than a standard MP3; about four times more than a standard audio CD. The result is said to be nothing short of amazing. And you'll feed your Pono player through a familiar looking online music store not at all unlike iTunes. And yes, your existing mp3 files (and other formats) will work, too, so there's nothing to lose and plenty to gain.
So after a couple of years' worth of prototypes, development, and grass roots promotion, Pono (Hawaiian for "righteous") is preparing to launch later this year with the help of a Kickstarter project. The project hoped to raise $800,000 in capital in 35 days – a lofty goal, perhaps, but enough to put the program on the street and (hopefully) create a buzz among music lovers. Well… the Kickstarter project so far is working… uh… rather well… to say the least. Pono met its initial goal in a mere 12 hours, and as of this writing, the project I hovering just under $4 million… with 28 days still to go!
Here are some pretty remarkable celebrity endorsements of the new system. If you're a music fan like me, you'll probably be salivating after you hear these. And if you're serious about it, log on to the Pono Kickstarter site and ante up… you could land some pretty righteous swag for your efforts.
Music for: Kids, Teens & Tweens


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Supporters of gay rights are celebrating a successful effort to pressure Apple into removing from its store a controversial app created by a group that works to "free" gay people of their sexual orientation. After more than 140,000 people signed a petition at Change.org calling for the app, created by Exodus International, to be removed, Apple bowed to the wisdom of the crowd...As a speech gatekeeper, Apple should embrace free-speech values and go with viewpoint neutrality. It has made a terrible, embarrassing mistake, both because it is wrong to censor and because it will now have a hell of a time deciding which pressure groups to respond to and what counts as offensive enough to censor.
In other words, something is objectionable if enough people object to it. If that's going to be the standard, Apple is going to be seeing a lot more petitions. You can be sure the religious conservatives who found themselves on the losing end of this culture-war skirmish have been taking notes, and are already at work drawing up a list of all the gay-themed apps in the app store that are offensive to their beliefs. What will Apple say the day it gets a petition with 140,001 signatures calling for banning Grindr, an app popular with gay men looking for a quick hit of romance?
If your fingers are itching to type out the news that the constitutional right to free speech only protects you from government censorship, settle down. Free speech values extend beyond what you can get a court to enforce. I am arguing directly to Apple, as a matter of good policy and good values. Obviously, Apple cares about good values and responds, in its conception of good policy, when it is persuaded by arguments about good policy and good values: That's why it engaged in censorship! I'm arguing on the other side of the Change.org petition.


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Plaid Soho Pretty Posies Headband and Clutch SetBack to category
Plaid Soho Pretty Posies Headband and Clutch Set
Creating the pretty Plaid Soho Pretty Posies Headband and Clutch Set is quick and easy! Use the supplies we listed as a guide, or buy supplies in your favorite colors! A.C. Moore has many different items to choose from!
Project Details
- Level:beginner
- Time:1 hour
Project Instructions
1Using Sobo glue, attach flowers to headband.
2Attach button and gem details in same manner.
3Cut handles off of tote.
4Fold tote over to create flap.
5Glue flowers to flap, then buttons and gems.
6Glue ribbon from under flap around to back of bag. Tie bows and glue as shown.
7Glue cut off handles under both ends of flap for new handle. Overlap cut ends and glue. Attach button to finish.


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CNN.com wrote:GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado (AP) -- A federal facility that pumps salty water 14,000 feet into the Earth's crust probably is associated with a magnitude 3.9 earthquake that struck the Utah-Colorado border this month, an official said.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation facility removes salt from the Dolores River, then pumps 230 gallons of brine per minute into deep wells in Utah's Paradox Valley Area.
The process is intended to decrease the salt content of the Colorado River downstream, but scientists say it also lubricates faults.
The facility has caused thousands of earthquakes in the area since 1991, but most have been too small for people to feel. The 3.9 quake, which struck November 6, was felt in Grand Junction, some 60 miles away. No damage was reported.
"We have a seismic network set up for measuring and recording any events associated with the injection process, and it appears this earthquake was one probably associated with that process," said Andy Nichols, manager of the federal facility. "Every once in a while there's a large event felt at the surface, and this was one of those events."
The last large earthquake occurred in May 2000 and registered 4.3 on the Richter scale. An earthquake of magnitude 6.0 or greater are generally destructive.
That event, combined with two significant tremors in 1999, led government officials to reduce the amount of brine injected by a third.


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Enforcing a Modesty Code
Can privately-owned stores dictate how we dress in their store?
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(41) Annette, February 13, 2015 4:02 PM
No Shoes No Shirt No Service
The above is a sign that used to be common in Northern Ontario in the 70's --- while in Rome do as the Romans (if it doesn't contradict your own value system)
Absolutely allowed!!! otherwise we'd all have to live by THE LOWEST of the Lowest standards! no where near Torah values, nor my own comfort zone for that matter.
And I find that it is mostly the secular jews who object to this code in jewish establishments! Even church goers dress better than our own brethren. I expect a proper dress code from my own non observant kids when they come to visit. They will not be going to their own graves saying 'Mum never told me & I didn't know' - conversely If someone comes into 'my store' wearing a balaclava I'd want it OFF at the entrance - or I'd be VERY suspicious of what my next move would be. We ARE what we wear, we ARE what we eat, we ARE what we read, we ARE who we hang out with. In fact that's exactly WHAT makes us.
(40) esti herskowitz, March 9, 2014 3:14 PM
i'm a tour guide in Israel, and in many of the Christian areas, there are signs that say 'no shorts'. they don't differentiate between men and women, it's against an attitude of dress. the Christians who visit these sites are fine with these dictates, it enhances their visit as it enhances their thought process and spirituality level.
there are a lot of parallels that we jews can learn from them. this is not about discrimination. it's about accommodating the people in the store, or the vicinity, in their home turf, where we are visiting. it is about getting in to a mind set , maybe just for a short time, that says something different (and I'd like to think, higher) than our standard day to day routine mind frame. it opens our eyes to other people's thoughts and ideas, and helps us recognize, or at least look for, the divine in our everyday. we should appreciate it,
Anonymous, April 8, 2014 9:19 PM
modesty and tourists
Yes, regarding the christian tourists not minding the dress code; it is more like showing respect, being conscious that the place you're at is not just a place but a holy place.
It helps you to transition into another state of being.
Nothing to do with discrimination , oppression , nor being 'subservient' . I think people are gradually forgetting this and what it means because some are so out of touch with their spiritual life.
(39) Avi, February 17, 2014 4:48 PM
Define Discrimination
I think discrimination should be defined. These days any rules or regulations on people is called discrimination when it is not! asking for all people who want to enter dress a certain way is not discrimination, the world has become so "open" and "liberal" and "enlightened" that the Western world is closed, dark, and limiting.
(38) Anonymous, February 12, 2014 8:33 PM
Many restaurants have a policy of shoes and shirts required.


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Quote from: Carnation on April 13, 2010, 12:57:43 PMDear Old Arthritic Dog that had to be carried up and down the stairs:Rest in peace, Dear Girl. I'm sorry for your loss...*hug*
Dear Old Arthritic Dog that had to be carried up and down the stairs:Rest in peace, Dear Girl.
Dear Pilsner,Why do you insist on waking mummy and daddy up ten minutes before our alarms go off? You know we'll let you out as soon as we get up....why can't you just give us those measly ten minutes? Your mummy and daddy will be eternally gratefull.Love,Mummy
Dear Miss Maddie:I know you enjoy watching for those little furry critters with those long bushy tails. I know you enjoy barking at them when they show up and chatter at you. Those furry critters are just too fast for you. Seriously. You can't catch them.Love,One of your humans
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Interview: Professor Emeritus Howard Ball
- 07-16-2013
- By Jon Reidel
Since Professor Emeritus Howard Ball's so-called retirement in 2002, he's written five books, completed two Distinguished Fullbrights and doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. UVM Today sat down with the former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in July at Henderson's Café to talk about his new book At Liberty to Die: The Battle for Death with Dignity in America and his next book on the important work performed by forensic specialists trying to identify bodies from the Bosnian War.
UVM Today: You could be kicking back and playing golf right now, but instead continue to add to the 30-plus books you've written on constitutional law, civil liberties, civil rights, and the U.S. Supreme Court. What drives you at this point in your career?
Howard Ball: I do it because I love it. I don't see it as work; I see it as dealing with issues that come up that I want to find out more about, and if important enough, write a book about. All I have to do as a political scientist who is dedicated to social injustice is pick up a newspaper or turn on the television. Given my love of exploring, it's not hard to find subjects that interest me and that I'm passionate about. I also play golf, take walks, and even have some horses that keep me company. This is what I'll do until I kick the bucket. I'm headed to the gym right now. I had a heart attack a few years ago and was 65 pounds heavier, so I like to try and keep the weight down. I feel good.
Your latest book on dying with dignity seems like a departure from some of your previous works. What drew you to this subject?
I had written a book earlier about the role of the court in the life of individuals related to birth, abortion, marriage and death issues. Because the court didn't open up the Constitution to enable people who were terminal to get this kind of assistance it was left to the politics of each state. It was an example of the impact of the courts on individual rights.
I'd also taught courses overseas and at Dartmouth and UVM that focused on death and dying, and what struck me was how interested young people were in the subject of death and dying. And then it dawned on me that because people are living longer, these college kids are seeing their grandparents later in life, which means they're also seeing them suffer chronic injury, illness, cancer and dementia. So they are aware of the suffering that the patient experiences, but also the suffering that the family endures. So when I asked them why they were here they'd say, "Well, my grandmother died, and she didn't know anyone anymore because she had dementia," or, "My grandfather had cancer and a lot of pain that he wanted to end, but no one could do anything." The kids were really interested in this question, so a light bulb went off for me that people of all ages are interested in this issue.
You said earlier that you are already working on your next book. What's it about?
On one of my Fullbrights, I visited the scenes of destruction I had written about in an earlier book Prosecuting War Crimes and Genocide. I went to Bosnia and visited the site of the most horrible genocide of the war in Srebrenica and started meeting forensic specialists whose commitment and dedication just blew my mind. I was so impressed with their guts and scientific acumen that I said, "I've got to write a book about them." A number of them are lawyers who switched careers and became forensic administrators and worked with surviving families to get blood samples and other information. One guy had his entire family with him. I have pictures of families not in front of Yellowstone or Disney, but at a death site. They are completely dedicated.
You also see people from Physicians for Human Rights, who have come as forensic specialists from all over the world, using the latest technological devices to identify people and burial sites. There are no maps for these places. This has happened before in places like Germany and Poland where people were executed and removed and property given to ethnic Germans, so what happened in Bosnia is nothing new. What is new is the science and forensic work and DNA advancements. Of the more than 50,000 people who had disappeared by 1995 (in the Bosnain War), only 100 had been found and identified. You had over 120,000 killed by the end of the war. By 2001, they had developed a pattern of scraping bones and taking the DNA from them. Before it was to be used successfully they had to get blood samples from surviving family members, especially the mothers of the missing. Within a year they showed an increase of 500 percent identification, so this was a breakthrough and is now being used in Iraq and other areas that are post-revolutionary war zones. There are still about 15,000 people unaccounted for.
There seems to be a theme throughout all your books despite a wide range of topics.
The basic theme around all of my books is the idea of justice. It's on my license plate. It's been my life. I grew up in the civil rights era. I was one of first in New York City to join the protest against Woolworths for discriminating against blacks in the south. I marched as a student at Hunter College in the Bronx, which was an amazing experience. The famous author and sociologist Michael Harrington who wrote Poverty in America was the head of our sociology department. He brought a lot of local college students together in New York City to support civil rights in a number of ways, including protest marches, petitions, etc., so I've always had a focus on justice.
I give money to Hunter College every year, because without that free education I could not have afforded to go to college. We were a poor family living in a tenement. When I graduated in 1960, I was paying $12 a semester for what was called a bursars fee. They even gave us our books for free. I remember the kids complaining because it was raised from $8 to $12. There are so many of us who but for the grace of God and public university became educated. I was a first-generation student. I remember my father, who was a laborer, was so pissed off at me because I was going to school instead of working. It was a struggle, but I don't know what I would have become without that opportunity.


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Ever wonder what it's like to grow up on Sanibel Island? Soon, a documentary on that very topic will begin production, which will have its premiere at BIG Arts on April 10, 2014.
The film will be produced by long-time Sanibel resident David E. Carter, who has won seven Emmy Awards. His most recent work, titled "Dear Baseball: I Love You," was also produced on Sanibel. That film was honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. His earlier documentary for CROW was also nominated for an Emmy.
Sponsored by Pfeifer Realty Group, the documentary will feature multiple generations of people who grew up on Sanibel. The film will feature some long-time Sanibel residents who either grew up here, or who moved here in their early adult years, and who raised families here.
An additional focus will be on adults who grew up here, and will take a nostalgic look back at their experience growing up here. Finally, current "Sanibel kids" will be featured, with glimpses into their island lives.
One of these segments will include a reminiscence of three girls, now in college, who buried a "time capsule" on the beach. Another features current island teenagers who enjoy traveling to each other's homes by land and sea. Everyone has a Sanibel Story to share.
This documentary will bring these stories together to celebrate our island home.
A website has been developed that will have short film clips and other info on the project as it develops. www.SanibelStories.com is now active, and will be updated frequently.
For more information, event registration and casting, visit www.SanibelStories.com.


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WASHINGTON (AP) — Officials say the Smithsonian's National Zoo panda cam and all other live animal cameras will go dark in the event of a government shutdown. The zoo will be closed to visitors as well.
The Zoo tweeted Monday that "None of our live animal cams will be broadcast." Officials say this includes the panda cam, which has been popular since the birth of a panda cub on Aug. 23.
The zoo tweeted: "The cams (incl. the panda cams) require federal resources, especially staff, to run. They have not been deemed essential …"
On its website, the zoo said all programming and events will be canceled, and all vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle paths will be closed.
Officials said a shutdown would not affect the feeding and care of the animals.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


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I reached for the steaming hot ducky felt rice bag for the umpteenth time. "Thank you, son" I weakly whimper to my fourteen year old.
Lying helpless in bed is not the Mom-image I dream of being for my boys. In spite of the storybook family image I try to write for them over the years, I finally resolve, "I can't write their story."
While my youngest boy perfected the ability to stitch straight seams in his 8th grade class, I am certain he never imagined his Mom would be getting so much use from the ducky bag he made.
Up and down the stairs he runs as he takes care of me, commenting how the bag stinks now. Zapped so many times,the rice burns beneath the soft flannel duckies. I place the bag on my gut where bright red burns have created a design the doctor thinks may never go away.
It's the middle of summer and I have spent weeks in painful misery and long hours in the E.R. I've experienced too many blood tests, cat scans and increased doses of ox-codeine than I care to count.
This is not the plan I envisioned for myself or family this summer. The boys and I were going to cook from Alton Brown's cookbook together. I hoped they would teach me how to lift weights in the garage. I took for granted sitting in my lawn chair cheering on the soccer team, taking videos of their swim meets and watching them improve their stroke.
Instead, I am an absent mom and my husband has taken on the role of Mr. Mom in their summer frolics.
I certainly never planned to listen to the family laughing and splashing in the backyard or conversing around the kitchen table from the misery of my darkened bedroom. I roll over saddened, maybe even ashamed, as I watch my boys walk quietly past my door.
"Please take him out of the room" I whisper to my husband as he shuffles our boy with special needs away from his mom. I can't bear the thought of him being confused or anxious as I groan and weep in pain.
"Feel… better…. Mommy" he carefully tells me.
This is not the perfect family story I wrote for my children. I don't want them to have a helpless mom. They shouldn't have to take care of me at their age. They shouldn't have to completely care for themselves throughout the day.
I should be vibrant, energetic, interacting with them. I should.
I should be cooking for them and driving them for milkshakes.
I should.
I should.
Wrestling with pain…Wrestling with "should's"… Wrestling with God…
He stills my heart.
He reminds me this is what I prayed for over the years. I ask the Lord to grow character in my boys, to make of them godly men. I ask Him to orchestrate opportunities for them to rely on Him in a deep and personal way.
This is their opportunity to experience disappointment, even fear and worry — then learn to lean on and listen to their Heavenly Father. They need to witness the hand of God, to experience their own answers to prayer.
It's what makes faith real.
On my sick-bed I relinquish to God my rights as Mom. I confess my delusions to control the fine details of my children's lives.
Jesus, You be their Master Teacher.
Step into my children's lives when I cannot and should not.
A sickly Momma is not the image I create in their story. But, God is working with them to create His own story in their lives.
He weaves their joys, disappointments and life experiences for His own good pleasure.
I don't want to get in Your way, so Lord I am letting go–again–today.
"Be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him and expect help from Him, He will never fail you"-George Mueller
Friends, it is almost a year since my surgery and diagnosis of Crohn's Disease. I have taken time to get my life back in order and enjoy a pain-free summer with the family. Now it's time to share with you what God keeps trying to teach me at my bedside.


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Christmas is just 26 days away and that special holiday activities in Sherman begin on Saturday when Santa Claus visits Sherman. Parents and children or grandchildren may start the season with breakfast with Santa 9-10 a.m. in the SCS cafeteria. Donations are appreciated, but not necessary. The event is sponsored by the Sherman Chamber of Commerce. You may bring your own camera to take pictures of children with Santa.
Sherman's 26th annual Old Fashioned Christmas will begin that same day with a Christmas craft bazaar at the Stanley Hose Co. fire hall across from Minerva Library on Miller Street. Lunch will be provided by the Stanley Hose Co. Auxiliary. Music will be played from noon to 2 p.m.
The Christmas tree lighting ceremony will take place at 2:30 p.m. in front of the old department store on Main Street. To purchase a bow for the tree, and dedicate it to a person of your choice, contact Jill Pacy at 761-6881. This event benefits the SCS Music Boosters.
More holiday music, provided by the SCS music department, precedes the tree lighting. There will also be Christmas lights at the Yorker Museum throughout the season.
At 6 p.m. on Sunday, the Christmas tureen dinner will be held at the fire hall. Bring your own table service, beverage container and a dish to pass. The dedication of the festival will be made prior to the tureen dinner.
A non-denominational church service follows the dinner and dedication, with seasonal music provided by the area churches.
Music for the holidays at Sherman Central School are as follows (all begin at 7 p.m.):
Elementary Concert - Tuesday, December 11
Junior High Concert - Thursday, December 13
Senior High Concert - Monday, December 17
I'm sure you would all enjoy attending these programs and also the church Christmas programs that I'll have in the paper next week.
The Sherman Village Board will meet Dec. 5 in the village office.
November 29: Jeff Curtiss, Madelynn Ohman
November 30: Nikki Aui, Jeremy Cole, Perry T. Dewey, Christine Hatfield, Boyd Whitehead, Terry Yankoski
December 1: Lindsey Alday, Bailey Feligh, Joel Walsh
December 2: Dick Curtiss, Kathy Emory, Jenessa Nicole Williams
December 3: Joe DeLellis, Ashley Nelson, Melva Rowan, Larsen Howard Swan
December 4: Mark Griswold, Velma Ottaway
December 5: Danielle Martin, Jason Ohlsson, Jesse L. Paddleford, Jon Price
November 29: Craig & Laurie Rubner
December 1: Jan & Sandy Freligh
December 2: Todd & Kimberly Cole


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(Enlarge to read.)
Saturday details, found on the street in Madison. I have no idea how that slip of paper came to rest on the sidewalk near the Wisconsin state capitol.
(Enlarge to see cigarette.)
I know how that cigarette came to be in that hole by the door at The Haze. I saw the man who was smoking it stow it there. I think he planned to come back out for more.
Does a flamingo tablecloth clip, a plastic strawberry, a beer, and a hairy arm require an explanation?
Is this turkey even right? This was a decal with marker-graffiti on the side of an old trailer parked on the street on the East Side. I imagine the turkey is belatedly making his argument for why the turkey and not the eagle should have been the U.S. national bird. In fact, bald eagles are scavengers, and as Ben Franklin wrote:
I wish that the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country, he is a bird of bad moral character, he does not get his living honestly, you may have seen him perched on some dead tree, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labor of the fishing-hawk, and when that diligent bird has at length taken a fish, and is bearing it to its nest for the support of his mate and young ones, the bald eagle pursues him and takes it from him.... Besides he is a rank coward; the little kingbird, not bigger than a sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district. He is therefore by no means a proper emblem for the brave and honest. . . of America.. . . For a truth, the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America . . . a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British guards, who should presume to invade his farmyard with a red coat on.The turkey has personality and energy. He is devoted to our planet and to doing things right.


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Overweight women who took multi-vitamins lost weight, improved cholesterol levels and burned more calories at rest than women who didn't take supplements.
Doctors in a multi-vitamin/mineral study explained that those who are overweight are more likely to have lower levels of nutrients in the blood and may be less able to absorb nutrients.
Researchers wanted to test the effect of nutritional supplements on weight control, blood fats and energy. About 90 overweight women, aged 18 to 55, took a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement, 162 mg of calcium, or a placebo per day. After 26 weeks, the placebo group had lost less than 1 pound, the calcium group had lost less than 2 pounds, and the multi-vitamin/mineral group had lost nearly 8 pounds.
Compared to the start of the study, while there was no change for the placebo or calcium groups for other measured factors, the multi-vitamin group had lower body mass index, lower total and "bad" LDL cholesterol, significantly higher "good" HDL cholesterol, and burned more calories while resting.


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SKIPPACK — An ex-Worcester Township supervisor and former longtime operator of a Montgomery County summer day camp for young boys has been arrested and charged with more than 60 criminal counts related to child pornography after county detectives said they found on his computer and hard drives hundreds of videos of children engaged in sex acts.
John Harris, 67, of the 1100 block of Kriebel Mill Road, was arraigned on Feb. 21 before District Judge Albert Augustine of Skippack on 50 counts of child pornography, eight counts of dissemination of child pornography and eight counts of criminal use of communications facility — all third-degree felonies.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed in district court, a Montgomery County detective assigned to the Major Crimes Unit and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force identified on Dec. 8 a computer that was sharing child pornography, and after a connection was established with the computer, the detective initiated a download and received a file containing eight videos of children under 18 engaged in sexual acts.
Subsequent investigation determined that the computer's IP address was owned by Verizon Online, and after delivering a subpoena to Verizon, the company provided a report on Jan. 10 that identified Harris as the subscriber associated with the IP address, the detective said.
On Jan. 15, a search warrant for Harris' residence was issued by Augustine, and that evening, county detectives — along with members of the Pennsylvania State Police Skippack Barracks and an Abington Police Department detective — executed the warrant and seized a desktop computer, external hard drives and thumb drives from the home, according to the affidavit.
Additionally, authorities said, Harris was interviewed at the scene and provided a written statement in which he admitted to installing software on his computer to search for pornography.
According to the affidavit, a forensic examination of the seized items revealed 12 child pornography videos on the computer, 212 child pornography videos on one external hard drive and 625 child pornography videos on a second hard drive; several of the videos were duplicates, the affidavit states.
Based on those findings, a warrant for Harris' arrest was issued on Feb. 20.
At the preliminary arraignment on Feb. 21, Augustine set bail for Harris at $25,000 unsecured, and Harris remains free while awaiting a preliminary hearing back in Augustine's courtroom that is scheduled for March 3.
Harris served on the Worcester Township Board of Supervisors from 2003 until 2009. Prior to that, he served on the township's planning commission and as the township's volunteer open space coordinator.
Beginning in 1979, Harris and his wife ran the Blue Bell Senior Camp — a summer day camp for boys ages 8 to 14 that was founded by Harris's parents in 1946, according to an interview with Harris published in The Friends of Worcester Spring 2003 newsletter. The Harrises announced in November of 2006 that they were retiring from managing the camp.
According to a 1994 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Robert Cicchinelli — a counselor at the Blue Bell Senior Camp for eight years — was convicted that year of molesting two boys at the camp in 1992 and 1993 and sentenced to three-and-a-half to seven years in state prison. In a related Inquirer article published in 1993, police were quoted as saying that Cicchinelli was fired by Harris the day after Harris found him in the infirmary with a 12-year-old boy while the camp was not in session.
In a short biography published in the Spring/Summer 2013 edition of Natural Lands — the magazine of Natural Lands Trust, an eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey land conservation organization that counts Harris as a member of its Board of Trustees — Harris is described as also having "served on boards for a New Hampshire boys' camp, Oak Lane Day School, and the Academy of Children's Music," and "In 1994, he founded the Pennsylvania Day Camp Association, an organization that supports camp for children with developmental and learning disabilities."
Attempts to reach Natural Lands Trust and the Worcester Township Board of Supervisors for comment were unsuccessful.
According to court documents and state records, Harris is the president of Blue Bell Leasing Company, which rents 10-passenger vans to schools and camps.
Follow staff writer Michael Goldberg on Twitter @mg_thereporter.


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Arcavias is an e-commerce framework for Web shops, consisting of an e-commerce library, an administration interface, and different frontends. It's a modular stack which offers flexibility and speed. Unlike other Web shops, it's not a monolithic application. Instead, you have a choice between several user frontends, and you can adapt them to your needs or write one of your own.
sec-wall is a feature-packed security proxy that supports SSL/TLS, WS-Security, HTTP Auth Basic/Digest, extensible authentication schemes based on custom HTTP headers and XPath expressions, powerful URL matching/rewriting, and an optional header enrichment. It's a security wall with which you can conveniently fence otherwise defenseless backend servers.
WiredTiger is an extensible platform for data management. Its storage engine is optimized for high-throughput, big data applications. It can be configured for write-optimized (row-store) or read-optimized (column-store) access, as well as a hybrid of both. It separates the on-disk and in-memory representations of data, leading to a simpler, more compact file format and a large block I/O tailored for modern storage systems.
Qt-based library with functionality to create highly efficient and fully graphical applications, oriented to computer vision, image processing, and scientific computation. The library features an homogeneous and well documented object-oriented API, with wrapping methods for high performance functionality from libraries such as OpenCV, GSL, CGAL, IPP, BLAS, LAPACK, or Octave library.
AsyncFP is a Scala project with composable actors that interoperate both synchronously and asynchronously. The current focus is on providing a kit for creating high-performance custom NoSQL databases. The small datastore currently under development is a crash-proof in-memory database supporting multiple queries or single update. Updates write to a backing disk file.
A minimalist MessagePack implementation for Java.
A network server gateway solution.


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Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division agents cited eight men on Aug. 16 for alleged oyster violations near the Pumpkin Bay area in St. Bernard Parish.
Korey Lee Jackson, 20, Joseph Roy Kinkella, 19, Mario Edvardo Burgos, 36, Jordan A. Alfonso, 18, all from St. Bernard, Omar Maldonado Ortez, 26, and William Diaz, 22, both from Houston, Texas, Jose Urbina, 24, from Gretna, Charles Edward Johnson 2nd, 26, from Braithwaite were all cited for taking oysters from unleased state water bottoms.
Agents patrolling near the Pumpkin Bay area saw three vessels dredging for oysters on unleased water bottoms. The area in question contains private leases and unleased state water bottoms. Utilizing the department's GPS, agents marked the location before boarding the vessels. The locations were found to be on unleased state water bottoms.
Agents seized and returned 34 sacks of oysters to the water and placed six oyster dredges and three boats under seizure order.
The penalty for unlawfully taking oysters from state water bottoms is a fine of up to $750, imprisonment for not more than 120 days, or both, plus courts costs.
Agents participating in the case were Sgt. Bryan Marie and Sr. Agent Mike Garrity.
For more information, contact Lt. Col. Keith LaCaze at email@example.com or 225-765-2988.


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The Etek4 AM is of an All Metal construction that replaces all of the above composite parts with machined alloy parts.The following features can be found on BOTH Etek4 LT and Etek4 AM models:äóÁ—¢ NEW One-Piece Body äóÁí_íÍ New 3D machining with sleek lines. The Body has an integrated male FRM the same as Ego11 and Geo2 to accept the SL3 RegulatoräóÁ—¢ NEW SL3 Regulator - Internally and performance-wise, the exact same regulator that can be found on the Ego11, CSL and Geo2.1. It allows the Etek4 to run with HP, MP or LP tanks without the need to alter settings and inline regulator adjustments. It has a replaceable and reversible main seal as well as self-purging feature to leave the firing chamber de-gassed after tank removal.äóÁ—¢ NEW Angled Inline Reg Swivel - Similar to those seen on the Geo2.1 and Ego11, the Etek4 now includes its own angled reg swivel.äóÁ—¢ NEW 2012 OOPS - The new OOPS combines a low profile, ultra-easy on/off/purge function and front-mounted hose exit. As with all Eclipse markers since 2007 the Etek4 utilizes the T-Slot Rail. The Etek4 will also accept a POPS ASA.äóÁ—¢ NEW Zick2 Rammer Kit - The incredibly successful Zick2 kit is now to be found as standard on the Etek4. The Etek4 kit utilizes a unique rammer cap to work with the Etek4 rammer housing.äóÁ—¢ NEW Shaft4 Etek Barrel - Like the full-fat Shaft4 barrel, the Etek4 barrel utilizes a 2-piece, reverse threaded construction with a longer rear control bore for increased efficiency and consistency. The barrel is internally finished identically to the Geo and Ego Shaft4 barrel but features simplified external machining. The rear bore is honed to 0.693äóÁ—? diameter and both front and backs are compatible with Shaft4 Boost Kits and Tips.äóÁ—¢ Deftek Feed äóÁí_íÍ Offset Feed. The feed is offset to one side by a small amount. This prevents the balls that tumble into the breech from bouncing excessively and causing breaks and chops..äóÁ—¢ Cure Bolt äóÁí_íÍ Again carried over from the Ego range, the Etek4 now has a Cure bolt as standard, as well as a body-contoured cut at the rear so the bolt blends seamlessly into the marker body. The Cure bolt helps the Etek4 to shoot the most fragile of tournament grade paints without worry of breaks due to the bolt clipping paintballs in the feed stack. The Etek4 will accept Cure3+ and Cure4 upgrade bolts.äóÁ—¢ Direct Mounted Solenoid - The Etek4 Minifold mounts the ever-faithful SMC solenoid directly to the marker body, directly adjacent to the rammer. There is just a single hose taking the LP air from the LPR to the Minifold where it is filtered for added protection against debris.äóÁ—¢ Adjustable LPR äóÁí_íÍ With the same LPR found on the Ego11 and CSL, the Etek4 offers precise control of LPR pressure, without the risk of accidental over-pressurization of the solenoid or rammer.äóÁ—¢ Fully Adjustable Trigger äóÁí_íÍ The Trigger rides in a self-lubricating trigger holder that clips neatly into the frame. This, combined with the magnetic trigger return mechanism, creates a smooth, positive trigger feel. It is adjustable for fore and aft stop as well as magnetic return strength.äóÁ—¢ Break Beam Sensor System äóÁí_íÍ Using the same components and software as the Ego BBSS system, the Etek4 ensures that the marker excels at preventing chopped balls in the breech. When enabled, the Etek4 will only fire once a ball has loaded into the breech. If the BBSS system sees any kind of fault, the software automatically overrides the system and the marker continues to fire at a greatly reduced rate.äóÁ—¢ LED Board - 3 tru-color LED indicators. These 3 clever LEDs allow easy programming of all the user definable parameters by greatly simplifying the programming process. The top LED indicates 10s of units, the middle displays 1s and the bottom shows 0.1 increments.äóÁ—¢ Programmable Firing Modes äóÁí_íÍ Etek4 has user-definable settings for Dwell, Ball-in- Place, Eyes-Off ROF, Capped ROF (un-capped in Semi 1), Debounce, and Firing Mode. As standard the Etek4 has the capability to be set to cover every tourney regulation.äóÁ—¢ Soft Grips äóÁí_íÍ The Etek4 grips follow the same design as the Geo and Ego grips. Comfortable, slim, grippy and soft.


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The Memphis Grizzlies roll into Brooklyn on a six-game winning streak and will try to extend it against the Nets Sunday night.
The Grizzlies registered an 88-82 triumph over the Orlando Magic at home Friday night as Marc Gasol finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Zach Randolph chipped in 16 and 14 for Memphis.
"They came out and they fought right from the start. They fought right until the end. We did enough to win. It wasn't pretty," Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins said.
Mike Conley had 14 points and seven assists in the win.
Memphis has recorded back-to-back 88-82 victories and notched that margin of victory Wednesday over former employee Rudy Gay and the Toronto Raptors. The Grizzlies are second in the NBA in points allowed (89.9 ppg).
The Grizzlies will try to score 100 points on Brooklyn and are 17-0 this season when hitting that mark. The Nets are tough on defense as well, allowing just 95.1 ppg.
Brooklyn looks to get back in the win column when it takes on Memphis Sunday.
The Nets had a four-game winning streak come to an end with Friday's 106-96 loss to James Harden and the Houston Rockets. Harden had 22 points, while the Nets were led by Brook Lopez' game-high 27 points.
"We made a few runs and just didn't get over the hump," said Lopez. "We were right there."
The Nets are 8-2 when Lopez scores 24 or more points. C.J. Watson scored 17 points and is averaging 17.5 ppg in the past four.
Deron Williams added 15 points with 13 assists for Brooklyn, which played without Joe Johnson for the first time this season because of a heel issue. Johnson is questionable and is averaging 17.0 ppg in his first season with the Nets, who have lost 13 in a row to Houston.
Brooklyn, which owns a 19-9 mark under P.J. Carlesimo, is 20-11 at home this season and lost the first meeting with Memphis, 101-77, on Jan. 25 at FedEx Forum. The Grizzlies have won four of the past six encounters with the Nets.


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Standings posted on Section XI's Web site Tuesday morning showed that East Hampton High School's boys soccer team was in first place in League VI with a 7-1-0 record, and that girls volleyball, boys volleyball, and girls swimming were in runner-up spots.
Moreover, boys and girls cross-country were each in third place in their leagues, golf was fourth, girls tennis was fifth, field hockey was eighth among 11 teams in Division III, and girls soccer was last in League V.
The boys volleyball team, whose record as of that day was 4-2 in League III, is to raise money at its match here with Westhampton Beach tomorrow for breast cancer research.
In recent matches, the boys lost 3-2 to Sayville, but rebounded to win 3-0 at Westhampton. The girls, whose sole loss as of Tuesday had come at the hands of Elwood-John Glenn, last week swept Miller Place and Rocky Point, by 3-0 scores in each case. Versus Rocky Point, Melanie Mackin had 11 kills, Charlotte Wiltshire 7, and Raya O'Neal and Carley Seekamp 6 each. In addition, Maria Montoya served 5 aces, O'Neal had 16 assists, and Katie Brierley had 23 digs.
In the division individual girls tennis tournament, East Hampton's Gillian Neubert and Daniella Dunphy defeated William Floyd's Kelsey Henn and Lisa Linn 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-4 Monday in a semifinal-round doubles match. Abby Okin, East Hampton's number-one singles player, was defeated 6-2, 6-0 in the second round by Ross's Sophie Volz, who went on to lose to Mercy's Cassidy Lessard 7-5, 6-2 in the quarterfinals. East Hampton's number-two, Carly Grossman, who had a nice run at the end of the season, won two matches before being ousted.
Volz, a junior from Germany, won all her league matches this fall at number-two.
Ross's team, ranked eighth on Long Island by Newsday, finished second to William Floyd in league play with a 10-2 record. The Cosmos, coached by Vinicius Carmo, defeated Floyd 5-2 under its bubble, but a couple of days later lost by the same score on Floyd's courts.
Given that his team had gone 3-9 last year, Carmo said he couldn't complain.
He added that "our league, League VII, is the strongest in the county. All of us — East Hampton, Mercy, and my team — can do well. East Hampton lost a lot of 4-3 matches — they had bad luck. Our league should do well."
Carmo said Tuesday that Ross had been seeded fifth in the county team tournament, which is to begin tomorrow, with matches at the sites of the higher seeds.
East Hampton's field hockey team fell to 6-6 Monday as the result of a 3-2 loss in overtime at Riverhead. Sophia DePasquale tied the score with a goal in the last minute of regulation, but Riverhead's Maria Dillingham got the game-winner (and a hat trick) with 1:54 left in O.T. Shannon McCaffrey got the assist on DePasquale's goal, which was her 12th of the season.
On Saturday, Becky Schwartz's charges bageled Port Jefferson 5-0. The goal-scorers in that one were Alyssa Bahel, with two, and DePasquale, Amanda Calabrese, and Casey Waleko.
Things have been going swimmingly, by and large, for the girls swimming team, coached by John McGeehan.
The team was 2-1 in league competition as of Tuesday, having lost a close one to Huntington and having soundly defeated West Babylon in meets last week.
East Hampton wound up losing 89-81 to Huntington at the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter on Oct. 9, though going into the final two events the score was tied.
"They were a little deeper than I thought," McGeehan was to say later in the week. "It was a good meet."
East Hampton's outstanding swimmer that day, he said, had been Morgan German, a junior, who recorded personal bests in her 50-yard leg in the 200 freestyle relay, in the 100-meter butterfly, and in her 100-yard leg in the 400 freestyle relay.
She swam the first leg of the 200 relay in 27.72 seconds; she was second in the 100 fly in 1:07.76, and her 1:01.68 was the fastest leg in the 400 relay. East Hampton (German, Lydia Florio, Shannon Ryan, and Marina Preiss) won the 200 relay, and placed second in the 400 with German, Marikate Ryan, Lindsey Stevens, and Laura Gundersen.
Preiss, a junior who swam the 50 and 100 free in the state meet last year, and who, according to McGeehan, is his only competitor with a shot at the states this season, won the 100 freestyle in 54.57 ("23/100ths of a second off the state qualifying time"), and anchored the winning 200 freestyle relay, after which she won the 100 backstroke.
McGeehan added that Florio, one of only two seniors on the team, had in placing second in the 100 breaststroke in 1:17:51 recorded a personal best.
Among the top performers at West Babylon Friday were Gundersen, a senior, who won the 200 freestyle; Preiss, who won the 200 individual medley and the 100 back; Florio, who won the 50 free; German, who won the 100 fly; Stevens, who won the 100 free; Sarah O'Dwyer, a ninth grader in her first year of competition, who won the 100 breaststroke, and the winning 200 freestyle relay team of Shannon Ryan, Mia Karlin-Cappello, Marikate Ryan, and Preiss.


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Forever Young
Do you miss your time at the Heights? While nothing can replace a visit back to campus, treat yourself to a quick flashback by flipping through these senior portraits from issues of Sub Turri dating back to 1913. More than 100,000 photos are included in this retrospective flipbook.
And save the date for Homecoming Weekend, October 17–19, for a trip back to BC!


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annual report layout
Budget $3000-5000 AUD
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We want a professional looking Annual Report.
Please see previous Annual reports at [url removed, login to view]
The Annual Report is about 40 pages.
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Where to Go (by topic)
Academic Advisor Assignment, Registrar's Office
Academic Advisor—Meeting, See Advisor's Department Administrative Assistant
Activity Request Form, CampusNet (Forms & Information Page)
Baylor Fitness Center Payment, Cashier
Baylor Fitness Center Waiver, Student Services or Baylor Fitness Center
Calendar, www.dts.edu/calendar/
Campus Mail Box Assignment, Campus Post Office
Chapel Exemptions, Student Services (Chaplain's Assistant)
Computer Training Classes, Media Center
Counseling Appointment, Student Services—Receptionist
Counseling Referrals, Student Services
Deadlines, www.dts.edu—Respective Department
Distance Education, Registrar's Office
Email Address Update, Student Information Page (CampusNet)
Emergency—Financial, Student Financial Services
Emergency—Student Locations, Student Services
Emergency—Other, Campus Police
Event Services Room Reservations, Facilities & Plant Operations Administration Building
Entrance Interview, Student Services
Financial Aid, Student Financial Services
Health Insurance, Student Financial Services
Jobs (Posting: D.O.S.S. Searching: S.I.P.), Student Services/Student Information Page
Kerygma, Email/Student Information Page/Student Services
Library Tours, Turpin Library
Luke's Closet / Pantry, 4022 Swiss Avenue (click here)
Mail, Campus Post Office
MMPI (Make up), Student Services
Parking Questions, Campus Police
Register for Classes, Student Information Page
Registration Questions, Registrar's Office
Safety Questions, Campus Police
Scholarship Applications, Student Financial Services
Shipping Needs, Campus Post Office
Stamps, Campus Post Office
Student Contact Info, Student Services
SWIM, Student Services—SWIM Advisor
TBTK (By Appointment), Academic Dean's Office
Textbooks Required for Class, Student Information Page
Textbook Orders, Book Store or Student Information Page
Tickets—Community Activities, Student Services
Tickets—Parking, Campus Police
Tuition Management System, Student Financial Services
Tuition—Pay, Cashier
Tuition—Questions, Student Financial Services


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According to the American Heart Association, congestive heart failure (CHF) is the inability of the heart to pump enough blood to the body's organs. Symptoms of CHF include breathlessness, fatigue, and accumulation of fluid in the lungs, veins, or both. Supplements helpful for healthy heart function are:
A Mayo Clinic study found that patients with early-stage CHF who took arginine for six months had better blood flow to the heart and less angina compared with a placebo group. The suggested dose is one to two grams three times per day, up to a maximum of six grams per day.
Researchers examining myocardial biopsies found that up to 75% of all patients with CHF suffered from CoQ10 deficiency. CoQ10 prevents oxidation of LDL - the bad cholesterol - in the blood, a key factor in development of CHF. Most CoQ10 research has used dosages between 90 mg and 200 mg per day. The full beneficial effects of this nutrient may not occur until several months of use.
The journal Phytomedicine reports that standardized extract of hawthorn is effective in helping people with early-stage CHF. Hawthorn appears to increase blood flow to the heart, increase the strength of heart contractions, and reduce resistance to blood flow in the extremities. In one study, subjects with mild to moderate CHF were given 300 mg of hawthorn flower and leaf extract - standardized to contain 2.2% flavonoids - three times per day for two months. Symptoms of CHF - including heart palpitations, chest pressure, and swelling in the extremities - decreased with the use of hawthorn.
According to the American Journal of Cardiology, magnesium supplementation can reduce the risk of arrhythmia - irregular heartbeat. Many doctors now suggest 300 mg per day of magnesium for overall heart health.


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The Dolphins wide receivers have attracted a lot of attention since the start of training camp. Miami is happy now it's for positive reasons.
As was depicted on HBO's "Hard Knocks" throughout training camp, there have been questions about the group's ability. But a lot of the questions were answered during their record-setting performance last Sunday at Arizona.
After catching 12 passes for a franchise-record 253 yards, Brian Hartline now leads the NFL with 455 receiving yards. Davone Bess' performance in the 24-21 overtime loss against the Cardinals was easy to overlook, but he had career-high 123 yards on seven catches.
And now the Dolphins have signed Jabar Gaffney and hope they have solved the depth issue. Gaffney led Washington with 68 receptions last season.
Miami plays at Cincinnati Sunday.


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The United States has dropped far down the ladder in comparing educational achievement with other countries in grades six through twelve
The United States has dropped far down the ladder in comparing educational achievement with other countries in grades six through twelve. No longer are we the leaders or anywhere close to the top.
Bobby Jindal, the Louisiana governor, has been an effective leader in improving achievement in that state. He has put into effect a school voucher program which aims to give low income kids in terrible schools the opportunity at attend better public schools and even private schools.
Here's how it works: public schools receive grades from A to F that tell teachers, parents and policymakers how these schools are performing. A school that receives an F means at least one-half of its students are performing below grade level. Low income students attending a failing school are eligible to apply for a voucher and money that would otherwise go to their local school can be used to pay for tuition at a better performing private or public school.
What Jindal has done is to bring into play an element of capitalism and competition into our pathetic public school system that has been deteriorating at an alarming rate.
Participating parents overwhelmingly like the program and they have given an astounding 93 percent vote of approval. Last year 10,000 students applied for vouchers and 5,000 received them. This year the applicants jumped to 12,000 and 8,000 vouchers were approved. This improvement has been completed with an average cost of 60 percent of what would otherwise be spent.
It sounds like a win-win situation with a Republican governor as a leader out of the black swamp of educational grime. Not so fast. We can't have this go on because already other states are following Louisiana's lead. What will happen to the fraud and the political patriotism that has established itself in public schools? Remember what happened a few years ago in Little Rock when the superintendent laid off about 200 union employees and tried to fire ineffective teachers. The school board consisting of established Democrat partisans reversed his actions and got rid of this insolent superintendent. His sin after all, was an attempt to change things and improve.
In Louisiana the liberals have been fighting the voucher system from the beginning. The teachers unions took it all the way to the Supreme Court. This high court ruled the voucher program was constitutional but that funding it through the general education budget wasn't. So Jindal and the legislature made it a line item instead.
Having accomplished this it would sound like Jindal and those for educational reform have fought valiantly, won the battle and all is well. Not quite. They hadn't considered the enemy facing us in every aspect of today's life – the federal government.
On Friday August 23rd Governor Jindal learned Attorney General Eric Holder was suing to block the schools voucher program. That's right. Destroy the program that is finally starting to bloom. This is consistent with Holder's actions dictated by our president who wants nothing but equality for all even if that means bringing all of us down to the lowest standard of mediocrity. In Holder's mind that's okay as long as no one gets ahead of another.
The Justice Department, despite studies showing the exact opposite, claims the two year old program could interfere with federal desegregation orders in several Louisiana parishes from the civil rights era. What a crock! Jindal says, "It is ironic the Obama administration and the attorney general would actually try to use our civil rights laws to force our minority children to fail in public schools. It is an abomination and completely ridiculous."
What's happening in Louisiana could definitely affect us in Arkansas and in Heber Springs. Some progress is being made in our state but if we really attempt anything different or, heaven forbid, bring in an element of competition, watch out.
Just this week we had a school board election in Heber Springs. Ask this newly elected board member and other members what they are doing to improve our education system that is paid for with taxpayer dollars.
Ask them if they have considered changes such as merit pay for teachers. It is my understanding the only two ways a teacher receives a raise is seniority or take additional college courses. What about performance? Ask them if our administration has competent principals or is there a tendency to use retired athletic coaches as principals whether qualified or not. Also ask them what is being done to retire ineffective
teachers – we all know there are some. We have competent board members and I bet they would appreciate your interest.
(Jerry Jackson of Heber Springs writes his "conservative viewpoint" column each week)


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Why bother with a Patois Bible?
THE struggle for an authentic Jamaican identity continues with the current agonising over the usefulness of a Patois Bible, which is about to be launched on December 9, 2012 at Rev Burchell Taylor's Bethel Baptist Church in Half-Way-Tree, St Andrew.
As with the debates over the acceptance of Rastafarianism and reggae music, Jamaicans are passionately divided about whether patois is an essential Jamaican standard to be formally embraced and held up to the world community of nations as such.
The patois debate must also, like Rastafarianism and Reggae music, await the passage of time and possibly international acceptance, before it will be settled.
It is perhaps unfortunate that we have often had to await outside recognition before deciding within our own Jamaican family that a cultural norm is good and right and genius.
The arguments for and against the Patois Bible reflect the same biases expressed in the contretemps over patois as a language. Our late cultural heroine, Hon Louise Bennett-Coverley, affectionately called Miss Lou, would have been bemused, if not disappointed, by the latest brouhaha over the Patois Bible, after her own struggles so long ago to get acceptance for what was then seen only as a dialect.
We are inclined in this space to embrace the Patois Bible as another of those intrinsically Jamaican products that can enrich the human family well beyond our shores, in much the same way we have bequeathed our musical forms such as mento, reggae and dancehall, among others; our sporting prowess from Hon Herb McKenley to Hon Usain Bolt; our Blue Mountain Coffee, and so much else that is truly Jamaican.
The production of a Patois Bible is another shining example of Jamaican audacity; to think that we can create a language and worship in it. The dynamism of Brand Jamaica makes it such that if we had not done it ourselves, someone else would.
Perhaps the disagreements over the Patois Bible need not be seen as a bad thing. We have always had the 'Againsters' who opposed the building of a national stadium; a national arena; the Emancipation Park; and erection of the nude statues of freed slaves and even the introduction of a seat belt law!
Yet, our disagreements have not stopped us from progressing. Admittedly, we have not managed to erect a new parliament building, nor have we named an eight national hero from noteworthies such as Michael Manley and Bob Marley. But give us time.
It is instructive to note that the $32-million funding for the Patois Bible project did not come from Jamaica, but instead from the American Bible Society; British and Foreign Bible Society; the Wycliffe Group and Spring Harvest, among other overseas donors. The suggestion is that the merit in the project is more recognised externally than internally. It seems to be going the way of all the other internationally accepted Jamaican products.
In the meantime, Professor Hubert Devonish and his team are to be commended for their painstaking and yeoman work. At this stage, only time will tell if they are onto something really big.
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The Effects of Disaster on Women's Reproductive Health in Developing Countries
The objective of this study is to empirically test the effects of disasters which include natural as well as human made disasters such as armed conflict on women's reproductive health in developing countries. Data from 128 developing countries are used. It was found that average number of deaths from natural disasters and armed conflict in the East Asia and Pacific region was not significantly different from the rest of the developing world. The data are examined using structural equation analysis. This study finds that 'armed conflict' in developing countries presents significant reproductive health risks. The implications are discussed.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v5n4p106
Copyright (c) 2013 Ronald J Swatzyna, Vijayan Kumara Pillai
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