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By Andria Cheng
With the death toll from last month's garment building collapse in Bangladesh topping 1,100, major apparel retailers H&M and Zara parent Inditex said on Monday they would sign a legally binding agreement to shoulder the costs of fire and building safety improvements in the South Asian country, raising pressure for others including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. /quotes/zigman/245476 /quotes/nls/wmt WMT and Gap Inc. /quotes/zigman/227242 /quotes/nls/gps GPS to follow suit.
Swedish fashion chain H&M said it will support the five-year Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, initiated by international and Bangladeshi labor unions and backed by several non-profit worker rights groups including Washington-based Worker Rights Consortium. H&M's endorsement of the accord is crucial because it's the largest apparel buyer in the country, Worker Rights Consortium, or WRC, told MarketWatch, adding it estimated Zara to be the third-largest buyer. It said Dutch retailer C&A and U.K-based retailer Primark have both also signed on.
"It's an enormous breakthrough," said Scott Nova, WRC's executive director, in an interview.
Calvin Klein parent PVH Corp. /quotes/zigman/5785329 /quotes/nls/pvh PVH and German retailer Tchibo, have also endorsed the accord.
Major terms of the agreement will involve companies helping to pay up to $500,000 a year each to help fund the operating costs of the program. On top of that, they'll be responsible to help shoulder the costs of any building repairs to ensure it's "financially feasible" for its suppliers, WRC spokeswoman Theresa Haas told MarketWatch. She said WRC estimated it would cost a total of $3 billion to renovate 5,000 factories in the country over five years.
She said Wal-Mart, which the group said is the second largest apparel buyer in Bangladesh and Gap, also a major player, have still not endorsed the accord and are conducting their own voluntary programs that she said are not "legally enforceable."
Wal-Mart spokesman Kevin Gardner told MarketWatch that the retailer's goal is "to positively impact global supply chain practices both by raising (its) own standards and by partnering with other stakeholders to improve the standards for workers across the industry." Wal-Mart in March implemented a series of sourcing standards after a November factory fire in Bangladesh killed 112.
J.C. Penney Co. /quotes/zigman/237947 /quotes/nls/jcp JCP hasn't made a decision about whether to support the agreement as there are other proposals being developed by groups including American Apparel and Footwear Association and National Retail Federation, spokeswoman Daphne Avila said. She said Penney is actively working on changes including a policy to prohibit the use of factories within multi-use buildings.
Sears Holdings Corp. /quotes/zigman/95136 /quotes/nls/shld SHLD spokesman Howard Riefs said the retailer also has its own inspection programs and is reviewing all available options, including assessing the discussed accord.
Gap said it takes its commitment to improve working conditions very seriously. The company, which said it currently contracts with 78 factories in Bangladesh, said it was among the first global brands to take "tangible actions" in the country, including a commitment of financial support of up to $22 million. It didn't specify what the amount was for what kind of improvements in the country. Gap also said it's ready to sign the accord, which it described as "historic," if a modification on how disputes are resolved in courts can be made.
Nike Inc. /quotes/zigman/235840 /quotes/nls/nke NKE hasn't responded to a request seeking comment.
Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported that activists are pressing some Western retailers to contribute more than $70 million to a fund that would compensate victims of the collapsed building.
More than 1,800 garment workers have been killed in preventable fire and building safety accidents in the country since 2005, WRC's Haas said.
— Andria Cheng
— Follow her on twitter @AndriaCheng


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For more information contact:
T.E. McHale 310-783-3169
Dan Layton 314-614-9763
Honda Ready as 2013 IndyCar Season Opens
TORRANCE, Calif. (March 19, 2013) – Seven teams and a dozen full-time entries will lead the Honda effort as the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series opens Sunday with the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The manufacturer and its Honda Performance Development racing arm are seeking their seventh competitive manufacturers' championship and 10th consecutive Indianapolis 500 victory.
Honda's expanded 2013 IndyCar lineup has combined for four Indianapolis 500 victories, six IndyCar drivers' championships and 68 – over one third – of Honda's 196 IndyCar race victories, as the manufacturer closes in on its milestone 200th win since entering open-wheel competition in 1994.
The Chip Ganassi Racing organization serves as Honda's anchor team, and is led by four-time series and defending Indianapolis 500 champion Dario Franchitti, Honda's most successful driver in IndyCar competition with 31 race wins. All of Franchitti's IndyCar successes have come with Honda power, making him the manufacturer's most decorated driver in North American open-wheel racing.
Franchitti is partnered at Target Chip Ganassi by two-time series champion Scott Dixon, who also includes an Indianapolis 500 victory (2008) among in his 29 race wins, all but five of them scored with Honda power. Dixon's series championships came in 2003 and '08. He and Franchitti are the only active drivers with multiple IndyCar titles to their names.
The three-car Ganassi lineup is rounded out by the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Charlie Kimball, who returns for his third season with the team and Honda power after a career-high second-place finish at the Honda Indy Toronto in 2012.
Simon Pagenaud, the 2012 IndyCar Rookie of the Year, returns to lead an expanded two-car effort from Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Pagenaud will be partnered by fellow French driver Tristan Vautier, who graduates to IndyCar competition after claiming the Indy Lights championship last year with the Schmidt organization.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing also expands to field a full-time two-car effort led by Graham Rahal, son of team principal Bobby Rahal and the youngest race winner in IndyCar history. The younger Rahal was just 19 when he won his IndyCar series debut at the 2008 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. James Jakes will undertake his third year of IndyCar competition driving the second RLLR entry. Mike Conway, the 2011 Grand Prix of Long Beach winner, will join the team in a third entry at Long Beach and selected other events.
With seven career IndyCar victories to his name – including the 2012 race at Texas Motor Speedway – veteran Justin Wilson returns to Dale Coyne Racing. The second Coyne entry will be shared by both Brazilian veteran Ana Beatriz, who will start the season at St. Petersburg, and by Justin's younger brother, Indy Lights graduate Stefan Wilson, who will launch his IndyCar rookie season at select road-course and street-circuit events.
Takuma Sato, who battled Franchitti in a thrilling finish to the 2012 Indianapolis 500, continues with Honda for a fifth season of IndyCar racing, but moves to the A.J. Foyt team, as the two-time pole winner seeks his first IndyCar race win.
After an impressive rookie season in 2012, promising young American racer Josef Newgarden returns with Honda power to Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing. Returning to Barracuda Racing/Bryan Herta Autosport with Honda power is Canadian veteran and previous race winner Alex Tagliani.
All will utilize the all-new Honda Indy V6 engine, which is designed, manufactured, developed and maintained by HPD. Designated the HI13RT, the turbocharged, direct-injected engine is a development of the power plant that made its racing debut in 2012.
"We've been encouraged by the performance of the new Honda Indy V-6 and the improvements we've made during the off-season," said Roger Griffiths, HPD Technical Director. "We believe we have a great lineup of teams and drivers, including a good balance of both proven champions, race winners, and promising new stars. We're looking forward to the start of the 2013 season on the streets of St. Petersburg, and taking on the challenge presented by Chevrolet in the battle for the Manufacturers' Championship."
An extensive fleet of Honda pace cars, safety cars and support vehicles are used in the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series, led by a new 2013 Honda Accord Coupe, which will lead the field to the green flag at St. Petersburg and throughout the season, driven by three-time Indianapolis 500 champion Johnny Rutherford. The 278-horsepower, 3.5-liter Honda Accord Coupe was transformed by HPD into an official IZOD IndyCar Series Safety Car to join and complement the existing IndyCar series fleet.
Modifications to the already high-performance standard Accord include Sparco seats and four-point racing harnesses; an HPD high-performance brake system, with four-piston calipers, competition rotors, racing pads, and stainless brake lines; a Honda Genuine Accessory aerodynamic body kit, consisting of front, side and rear under-spoilers; and Firestone Firehawk high-performance tires, mounted on Enkei alloy wheels. An exclusive graphics theme completed the conversion from a showroom Accord Coupe to an IZOD IndyCar Series Safety Car.
"The high-performance new Honda Accord Coupe is the perfect match for the IndyCar Safety Car fleet," said Mike Accavitti, Senior Vice President of Auto Operations for American Honda. "With its larger and more powerful 3.5-liter engine, featuring enhancements provided by HPD, it is perfectly suited to lead the IZOD IndyCar Series field."
Honda has been a fixture in North American open-wheel racing since 1994, and has played an active role in the growth of the IZOD IndyCar Series – as both a Manufacturers' Championship competitor and single engine supplier – since joining the series in 2003.
The company scored its first Indianapolis 500 victory in 2004 with Buddy Rice; Manufacturers' Championships in 2004 and '05; and became engine supplier to the entire IZOD IndyCar Series in 2006. Honda supplied racing engines to the full, 33-car Indianapolis 500 field every year from 2006-2011, and for a record-six consecutive years -- and the only six times in event history – the '500' ran without a single engine failure.
The 2012 Indianapolis 500, won by Dario Franchitti, was Honda's ninth consecutive "500" triumph – both against competition from other manufacturers and as sole engine supplier. Honda has a total of 196 race victories in open-wheel racing, 65 in Championship Auto Racing Team (CART) competition and 131 in IndyCar.
Founded in 1993, HPD is the technical operations center for high-performance Honda racing cars and engines and competes at race circuits around the world from its headquarters in Santa Clarita, California.
In addition to its efforts in Indy car racing, HPD spearheaded championship-winning efforts in the 2009-2012 American Le Mans Series, and in the LMP2 category at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in both 2010 and 2012. HPD offers a line of race engines for track applications from prototype sports cars to karting; for professional, amateur and entry-level efforts.
2013 Honda IZOD IndyCar Series Lineup
Team Car Driver
A.J. Foyt Racing #14 Honda Dallara Takuma Sato
Barracuda Racing/Bryan Herta #98 Honda Dallara Alex Tagliani
Chip Ganassi Racing # 9 Honda Dallara Scott Dixon
#10 Honda Dallara Dario Franchitti
#83 Honda Dallara Charlie Kimball
Dale Coyne Racing #18 Honda Dallara Justin Wilson
#19 Honda Dallara Ana Beatriz/Stefan Wilson
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing #15 Honda Dallara Graham Rahal
#16 Honda Dallara James Jakes
Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing #67 Honda Dallara Josef Newgarden
Schmidt Hamilton Racing #77 Honda Dallara Simon Pagenaud
Schmidt Peterson Racing #55 Honda Dallara Tristan Vautier
Honda HI13RT Specifications
Engine Type Turbocharged, fuel-injected, aluminum alloy V6
Displacement 2.2 liters (134.25 cubic inches)
Valve Train Dual overhead camshaft, four valves per cylinder
Crankshaft Alloy steel, four main bearing caps
Pistons Forged aluminum alloy
Connecting Rods Machined alloy steel
Engine Management McLaren Electronics Engine Control Unit (ECU); Honda
fuel injection driver control unit and Drive-By-Wire (DBW)
electronic throttle control
Ignition System Inductive
Injection System Electronic combined direct and indirect fuel injection
Lubrication Dry sump system, featuring both pressure and multi-stage
scavenge pumps, with a front-mounted oil tank
Cooling Single mechanical water pump feeding a single-sided cooling system
Transmission Six-speed sequential, paddle-operated, with a hand-operated clutch
Fuel IZOD IndyCar Series-mandated E85 race fuel
Weight Approximately 250 lbs. (112.5 kg.), series-mandated minimum weight

subset: commoncrawl


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BERLIN 2001 REVIEW: Life is Beautiful -- and Danish; Dogma 5's "Italian for Beginners"
by G. Allen Johnson
(indieWIRE/02.13.01) — Oh, those pesky Dogma auteurs. Here they had us thinking that they were out to reinvent cinema, when really all they wanted to make was genre films.
But oh, what genre films they are. On the heels of last year's rephrasing of the movie musical, Lars von Trier's "Dancer in the Dark," along comes the group's minimalist take on romantic comedies, "Italian for Beginners," which is officially Danish Dogma 5, and has the distinction of being the first Dogma film to be directed by a woman, the uncredited Lone Scherfig.
Scherfig, like her illustrious predecessors, has made a compelling, free-flowing film that should be a strong contender for Berlin's top prize, to be handed out Sunday. Though properly nasty in the first half of the film — at times, "Italian for Beginners" is a savagely funny jet-black comedy with almost a gothic bent (thus fulfilling the enfant terrible credentials all Dogma directors must display). The plot sweetens in the latter half without betraying the characters, and without ceasing to be hilarious. It may go down easy, but Scherfig doesn't take the easy way out.
Set in a small Danish town, "Italian for Beginners" focuses on six characters whose lives have fallen in such despair that their only source of continued happiness is a weekly Italian class they share.
Andreas (Anders W. Berthelsen) is a pastor who has come to take over the town's church months after his wife's death. He is staying at the local hotel, where he instantly bonds with a lonely concierge, Jorgen (Peter Gantzler). Jorgen has a crush on the pretty young Italian waitress at the hotel cafe, Giulia (Sara Indrio Jensen), who is constantly at odds with the manager, Hal-Finn (Lars Kaalund), an openly abrasive man who speaks fluent Italian and dreams of playing for an Italian soccer team. If he doesn't want to fill a customer's order, he tells them to fuck off.
Meanwhile, two women — a hairdresser, Karen (Ann Eleonora Jorgensen) and a baker's assistant, Olympia (Anette Stovelbek) — are having problems as the only caretakers of their respective parents, who are both ill and cranky.
As frustrations with their lot in life builds, their only outlet is the Italian class, which not only gives them a taste of the world beyond their hamlet but also becomes a source of dreams — they'd love to go there someday. As one replies, when asked if she is married: "No, but I take Italian lessons."
Not even the death of their Italian instructor, one of the customary darkly humorous jolts the film provides, can dampen their enthusiasm. They continue to show up for class even though no one will teach them, and finally the caustic Hal-Finn agrees to step in.
Shot in digital video, which is now typical of Dogma films (even though item nine of the original Dogma manifesto dictates the film be shot on 35mm film — but who's keeping score, item eight intones, "genre movies are not acceptable"), and obviously improvised by the talented cast from Scherfig's working script, "Italian for Beginners" actually makes loss and loneliness fun.
When Jorgen confides to Hal-Finn that he has an impotence problem and hasn't had sex in four years, an incredulous Hal-Finn asks, "What about that maid I saw you with?" Jorgen sheepishly answers, "No, I couldn't do it." Shaking his head, Hal-Finn replies, "Oh, and she was in uniform, too."
In a sharply executed sequence, Andreas is to preside over two funerals, the first being Olympia's father. Confused mourners arriving for the second funeral have to be sent away. In between services, the smitten Andreas takes Olympia out for coffee, and the date extends past the starting time of the second funeral. Other romantic comedy conventions are turned on their ear, such as a running joke that has Hal-Finn, who has a crush on Karen, being unable to get a haircut when he goes to her shop.
Even in the editing, Scherfig has a fresh take. When Olympia drops a china cup after receiving a surprise, the director cuts away before the inevitable, cliched shattering.
The funny part about all this is that much of the Dogma manifesto is ludicrous, and most of its auteurs seem to know it. Von Trier has made four films since creating the creed with Thomas Vinterberg in the spring of 1995, but only one, "Idiots," is Dogmatic. Scherfig, who made two films with all the bells and whistles prior to "Italian for Beginners," spent the past weekend here in Berlin telling reporters how she craved to return to working in "film in the classic style."
But give the movement credit. It has reinvigorated world cinema — and not just the Danish product — and anticipated the no-budget DV craze we have now. "Italian for Beginners" is fresh and exciting, with a demanding, intelligent script and performances so precise, so fine that anyone who is interested in the craft of acting should see this film. Others who should see it: Any incurable romantic who can take a little salt and pepper with that sugar.
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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's national coach Victor Vucetich says he has been notified by the country's soccer federation that he is no longer in the job, according to an interview posted on Thursday night on ESPN.com.
Vucetich presided over a win and a defeat in Mexico's final two CONCACAF World Cup qualifying group matches, as the side scraped through the qualifiers after coming up short against Costa Rica a week ago despite a home advantage.
Reporting by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Simon Gardner


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Situated in the village of Jackfield, within the beautiful Ironbridge Gorge world heritage site in Shropshire is the workshop of bespoke bike builders Peter Bird and Robert Wade. This duo have nearly sixty years of combined experience of working with bicycles and together they have been offering bespoke steel frames since the early eighties under the Swallow name.
Swallow have never offered a production run of any frame, instead their customers are involved in a lengthy and totally individual experience that offers everything an off-the-peg purchase cannot. Both Peter and Robert have quite a collection of bicycles, many of which showcase both their exquisite attention to detail and the sheer creativity involved in their builds. We take a closer look at Robert's personal Swallow 953, a bike that he built to both acknowledge his own cycling history and to commemorate his influential father, Harry Wade.
The styling behind Rob's Swallow was dictated by pro bikes of the '60s and '70s, in particular the combination of rich colour schemes, bright chrome and beautifully polished alloy parts used in this era. Another influence was Rob's first bike, a flamboyant blue Elswick with shiny alloy parts, it cost £45 and amazingly he still has the original receipt. Rob's dad also insisted that he had a Brooks saddle, just like the one he rode back in the 1930s and, once again, something Rob also still owns today.
This frame decal of Harry Wade is similar to those used by pro riders on their frames through the 1950s to the '70s
Peter Bird founded Swallow back in 1981 in a shed at his parents house in Essex, but before this he had completed an apprentiship as a goldsmith. What this means today is that each frame from Swallow includes a solid silver hallmarked plate initialled by either Peter or Robert, it's also signed off with the date the bike was completed. The silver work doesn't end there though, each frame also comes with a solid silver head badge and customers can even opt for silver soldered construction as used on this frame.
The componentry for this build was selected with both performance and style in mind whilst an effort was made to source from European sources, or where possible from companies still producing in the original factories rather than outsourcing from China or the far east.
As with all of Swallow's creations, Rob's bike is made to measure ensuring all contact points are perfectly positioned for fit, comfort and performance. Tyre clearance is generous compared to modern carbon frames and harks back to the days when roads were not so good or unmade, and wider section tyres were used.
Tube dimensions are described by Rob as modern "classic" with 31.7mm down tube and 28.6mm top and seat tubes. The seatstays are 16mm single taper whilst a 1-in steerer was chosen to keep things elegant whilst allowing for the ahead stem and threadless headset.
Peter's roots as a goldsmith means that each Swallow bike gets a solid silver hallmarked plate of identification
Frame Specification
- Frame and forks tubing - Reynolds 953 stainless steel
- Lugs and fork crown – micro cast stainless steel
- Bottom bracket shell – micro cast steel with stainless steel cable guides
- Brake bridge – micro cast stainless steel
- Top eyes – machined stainless steel
- Frame ends - micro cast stainless steel
- All braze-ons and bosses are stainless steel – the bottle bosses and 'dead ended' to prevent water entering the frame
- Headbadge and number plate – solid sterling silver
- Construction - silver soldered
- Weight - frame only approx. 1600g
Bike Specification
- Groupset – Campagnolo Athena 11speed including Record threadless headset.
- Handlebars and seat post – Nitto
- Handlebar stem – custom made Swallow
- Saddle - Brooks limited edition Swallow in white – this is the first time in their history Brooks have produced a white saddle
- Handle bar tape - Brooks
- Wheels - Royce Racing hubs, Mavic Open Pro rims (32 hole) with Sapim Laser Spokes
- Tyres - Vittoria Open Corsa Evo SC 700x23c
The polishing involved for many components on this bike took around 12 hours in total


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[Page 591]
On the first day of the German occupation twenty Jews were shot by the Germans due to their denunciation by Poles that they were communists. Grenades were thrown into Jewish homes in order to frighten the Jewish population and, therefore, many of the Zolkiew Jews dispersed: some to Lublin, some to Chelm and some to other places. Later, when it became a little quieter, many of the Jews who ran away returned to Zolkiewke [the town name is spelled in three different ways].
It again became turbulent in 1942. I remember how I came home frightened on a Friday night. I learned from the Judenrat [Jewish council created by the Germans] that Krasnystaw Jews informed the Judenrat that the gentiles in Zolkiewke had seen a great deal of Jewish clothing in Belczec. With tears in my eyes, I told this to my wife and said to her: Ester, light a candle; it is bad, we have to part. We kissed each other with a heavy sobbing.
The entire Shabbos [Sabbath] day passed with trembling and fear. At night on Shabbos the Gestapo entered the [home] of the most respected Jew in the shtetl, Avigdor, and he scaped in a hurry. A gendarme chased after him and shot him. He remained lying in a pool of blood on the road that led to the church.
A few days later, in May 1942, there was a great turmoil. It was four o'clock in the morning. The Gestapo drove the Jews from their houses and Jews were grabbed in the street. They brought everyone to one place. Poles with rifles also helped catch the Jews, searched and rummaged in every corner. There was a great downpour at that time, a storm with thunder and lightening.
One of the boys asked a German where they were being taken and he was shot immediately. A woman of 50, who also asked something of a Gestapo member, was shot, too.
I had prepared a bunker earlier that was located outside the city where huts had been erected in which to live when a fire took place in the shtetl. On the eve of the war, my wife and children and I escaped to the bunker in the middle of the turmoil. My daughter later left for the shtetl to see what was happening. She told us that all of the Jews were standing at the market square, surrounded by S.S. and Gestapo men and by armed Poles. We did not know what to do. I went out to ask a Pole who lived near the huts. He said to me:
[Page 592]
Moszek zie niema rady was Wysiediajon. (Moshek, it is bad; I have no advice; you will be deported.)
We left the bunker and went to the marketplace. I said to my wife: What happens to all of the Jews will also happen to us.
We were driven from the marketplace in storms and rain. We dragged ourselves the entire night with sacks on our backs and at around one o'clock in the afternoon we arrived in Krasnystaw. The storm and the rain did not stop. We all wanted to die on the spot; preferably let them shoot us.
From Zolkiewke to Krasnystaw is 28 kilometers. We left many dead on the road. We already knew that they were driving us to Sobibor, which is 90 kilometers from Zolkiewke.
In Krasnystaw we met Jews from other shtetlekh, such as Trabin, Wysoka and Krasnystaw Jews.
We all stood outside for an entire day until the next morning and the rain continued to pour down. Then we were taken to the railroad. Transports already stood there. Germans stood with two pails, loudly ordering us to give up our gold, silver and everything we had before we were allowed into the wagons. Meanwhile, we were photographed.
Six thousand Jews were driven into the transport. The doors of the freight wagon were sealed. There was not a bit of air and many people, mainly children, lost consciousness and died.
We arrived at Sobibor on Thursday at six at night. Sobibor is one kilometer from Wlodawa. This was a small train station of only a few old buildings not far from the Las Kresowy forest. There was a sawmill and not far away a deep, thick forest extended for many miles.
The Gestapo set their dogs on us as soon as we left the train wagons. Each member of the Gestapo was one meter and 80 centimeters [five feet nine inches] tall. They set the dogs on us and they tore pieces of flesh from our bodies.
The camp was right at the station. It was located on a smaller plot. It was enclosed by wire. The women were ordered to go to the right, the men to the left. Men and women and women and children were separated brutally. There was a great uproar and cry to the very heavens. The strong outcry of Shema Yisroel [Hear O Israel the central prayer of Judaism] could truly have split the highest heaven. They also took my wife and children from me by force.
After this work, we were placed in rows and the Gestapo declared: Whoever wants to work should
[Page 593]
step out. We did not know which was better and what we needed to do. Eighty men stepped out and I, too, was included. We were taken to another camp.
There was a pit in the second camp where clothing belonging to the Jews who had been shot was burned along with body parts. Under the guard of armed Ukrainians we lay one after the other and we each expected that death would come at any moment. We said goodbye to one another. We lay down on the ground, stretching one head to another and in such a state we lay an entire night and an entire day. We preferred death rather than living like this.
Twenty-four hours later we were taken away to the previous camp that was near the railroad. Of the 6,000 transported I did not meet anyone there. I did not track down my wife and children, my brother, Hershl, and Zawl Hochman. I only found my son, Yisroel, my nephew, Hershl's son Yeshayale and my cousin Matys, Zawl's son. They told us that everyone already had been gassed.
We worked for a time at sorting the clothing of the dead and then we were given various work.
We saw how they were bringing transported Jews. 5,000 to 6,000 Jews were brought in a transport. Jews from Poland, Czechoslovakia, Holland and from Ukraine were brought to Sobibor. During the winter, transports arrived with frozen children and adults. They would be severely beaten when they left the train.
The frozen ones in the wagons were taken in carts across the shines (rails) to be buried. Later, there were special machines with teeth (lorkes) that threw out the dead bodies from the wagons and scattered them in the fields.
I remember how once a transport arrived of several thousand Jews in striped suits with yarmulkes [skullcaps] on their heads and with bottles at their side. They were all numbered and stamped with Majdanek Camp. We did not know why they had been brought here because if it was to kill them, they could have been gassed at Majdanek. They looked like corpses. Extinguished eyes protruded. They asked us to give them a piece of bread and water. When the Germans gave them a piece of bread, 20-30 people threw themselves on it. They asked us what kind of camp this was. We were afraid to tell them. I recognized several of them; they were from my shtetl of Zolkiewka and from the neighboring shtetlekh.
They waited in the yard for a long time. The Gestapo and Ukrainians came at night and they began to heavily beat them. In the morning, at dawn, we counted 3,000 dead. At 8 o'clock in the morning, they were taken to the gas ovens where they were burned.
I was in the hell of Sobibor for 18 months. There were two barracks in the camp at the very beginning of my arrival. Later the death camp was enlarged, There were
[Page 594]
20 barracks erected. The gas chambers were in a separate place. They had a sloping floor and when a door was opened the people slid down. Five hundred men were let in at one time. A member of the Gestapo watched to see if the victims were dead through a small window on the roof. Then they were removed, buried or burned. They were buried during the first half-year. After the German defeat at Stalingrad, they brought a machine and it drew the dead from the earth to be burned.
All of Sobibor was a field of dead people and dogs dragged hands and feet before my eyes.
When they would bring the transports to Sobibor they would sort [the people] into three camps. The first camp was for tailors and shoemakers, carpenters, plumbers, bakers. The second camp was for workers to sort the clothing and items from the dead. Therefore, they had to work naked. The third camp was for those taken to be gassed.
* * *
I worked in the second camp and then I worked as a tailor in the first camp.
When things grew worse on the front and the Red Army was approaching Kiev, a smaller transport arrived in Sobibor. We saw and sensed that our end was near. In great secrecy, we, approximately 100 men, organized to take revenge on our murderers and, perhaps, some of us would succeed in saving our lives.
It was impossible to escape from the camp. There were three walls around the camp with barbed wire. On two high guard booths also stood armed Ukrainians. Two hundred Germans stood on guard around the camp who were organized in three shifts. In the background of the forest stood a division of armed Ukrainians with an S.S. man.
(Photo, caption: Shimeon Yakov Marmeriwtshe Binsztok, Shlomola Binsztok with his wife and children, perished in the gas chambers of Sobibor. Bayla Joba Szmoragd-Binsztok died in Paris in 1936. May their souls by bound in the bond of life.)
[Page 595]
The Germans had mines in certain places. It was even difficult for a bird to fly out, even more so for a person.
Therefore, we were ready for everything and the thought of rising up in a rebellion was very developed. We did not know how to do it because we did not yet have any weapons.
A young man from Warsaw worked at sorting the clothing. He hid tin cans of benzene among the clothing and he wanted to ignite the barracks full of clothing and himself at the designated moment of the beginning of the rebellion. He was still young, but he said with determination: It would be better to die kiddush haShem [in the sanctity of God's name as a martyr] than to perish at the Germans' hands, but perhaps as a result you will be saved. We called off the project because we learned that our hypothesis was incorrect that setting fire to the barracks would create chaos among the Germans and Ukrainians and perhaps we would be able to escape during the uproar. We calculated that first they would murder us and then run to put out the fire in the barracks.
Several days passed in hesitation and reflection about how we should begin the uprising against the cruel murderers. We finally came to a decision that we, the professional men, should [be the ones to] begin.
There were 20 Gestapo men in the camp itself who administered the camp internally with the Ukrainian guards. We thought if we succeeded in suddenly attacking and murdering them it would create panic among the Ukrainians and then we could break the wire fences and disappear into the woods. Since recently each S.S. man had been assigning work to the artisans because of the defeat on the Russian front, it we discussed among us whether we should call each of the S.S. men at the same time to be measured or to see the completed work, or to see if something needed to be repaired.
There were separate workshops. There were several workers in each workshop. We would find a solution with one S.S.-man
I led my tailor's table with nine workers. We were entrusted to make the start.
This took place at Sukkous time [at the time of the Feast of the Tabernacles], 1943.
We were sewing a civilian suit for the untersturmfuhrer [second lieutenant] Neumann. I let him know that he should come to be measured for the suit because it already was finished. He came immediately, riding on a horse, tying it to a fence.
When the sadist entered my workshop, I shouted: Achtung [attention]! All of the workers in the workshop stood up. He took off his belt with the revolver, laid it down on the table opposite him and stood erect.
The workshop had three rooms and a kitchen. One room was for sleeping, one room for the hatmaker, where a Jew from Turobin sewed hats for the murderers.
A mirror stood in the room where I did the measuring and in order that he not see what was happening behind him I earlier had moved the mirror a little.
[Page 596]
A Russian Jew, who fell into captivity and had been deported to Sobibor was given [the task] of killing Neumann. This Jew was hiding with the hatmaker with a sharp, small hatchet in his jacket. The S.S.-man noticed him when he entered my room and immediately asked: What is this man doing here? I answered: He is here to smooth down the hatmaker's table. When I buttoned the jacket, the Russian attacked Neumann from behind and split his head with the hatchet. He fell immediately and we stabbed him with a sharp knife in order that he not make any noise and we dragged him, dead, into the hatmaker's room, covering him under the bed with rags.
We needed to liquidate the S.S.-man in the kitchen in the same way. However, he did not have time to come.
Other S.S.-men were also liquidated at the same time. The obersturmfuhrer [first lieutenant] Gretschus had slaughtered the above-mentioned Warsaw youth. The S.S.man Beckman had a Warsaw servant. Three concentration camp inmates entered and they stabbed him and his servant with a dagger.
Eighteen S.S.-men and Beckman's servant were killed by our fighting group. Two members of the S.S. remained in the camp.
A group of 30 Jews worked in the forest under the watch of a member of the Gestapo. They came straight to the roll call that took place once a day. Since we already had weapons from the murdered S.S.-men, we immediately shot the member of the S.S.
A commotion began at the guard posts when the Ukrainians heard a shot. However, they did not know what had happened. We began to cry out in Polish: Czerwona Armia w Warszawie [The Red Army is in Warsaw.]. The Ukrainians were confused and attacked us. We entered a second camp where the weapons arsenal was located and [gathered more weapons]. Meanwhile, a Volks-Deutsch [ethnic German], a Pole from Lublin, began shooting at us with a revolver. We shot him. However, shooting at us by the Ukrainians at the guard posts and by the Germans who stood around the camp began immediately. However, the Ukrainians each had only five bullets. They were not given many bullets because they were not trusted by the Germans. They immediately fell silent. The initiative was in our hands. The two S.S.-members hid in the cellar, afraid that we would make an agreement with the Ukrainians.
We began to run to the wire. Several 100 wormed their way out of the death camp, but about 30 Jews fell dead at the wire because there was a great deal of shooting by the Germans. We ran into the forest and divided into groups. I escaped with eight men. I lost my son, Yisroel, from my hands. I
[Page 597]
learned after the war that my only son perished with my nephew Yeshayale, Hershl's son.
The fate of the escapees to the forest was difficult. It was worse that we had separated into small groups. The Poles attacked the Jews in the forests. Approximately 40 Jews who had escaped from the Sobibor camp lived to see the full revenge against the Germans. In my group were: Leib Feldhendler, the son of Rabbi Yosele, and Jews from Izbica and Krasnystaw. However, they suddenly disappeared from among us and I never saw them again.
* * *
I remained in the forest only with the above-mentioned Russian Jew. He was named Moshe. He began to ask me to go with him because he was in a strange country and did not know the Polish language.
We wandered together through the forest and steppes. I looked around at night, as we were not far from the train line near the Wieprz River. I could swim across the river, but he could not. We wandered around for two days without food. We tried to find long poles and tie them together with the laces from our shoes so that we could use them to cross the river. But the sun began to rise We left for the side where there was a bridge. He said: With God's help, we will cross the bridge safely. He had left his hat on the Sobibor wire, so he made a hat for himself with his striped scarf that was seen from afar.
We went to the bridge. There was a hill near the bridge, and when we went up on it we saw two German civilians speaking to each other. We ran by them and safely crossed the bridge. This was at Minkhah [after noon prayer] time. We changed direction on the right side of the Wieprz River, went across the cemetery and highway and out on into the fields where we found beets. We snatched some to eat and we took several beets with us.
We ran constantly in great haste until we went out onto the highway from Zolkiewka. We knocked at a peasant's [door] and asked for a piece of bread. However, he did not give us any. A second peasant opened a small window and gave us bread and milk. The Russian Jew paid him for it with a gold chain from a watch.
Night fell again. There was a beautiful full moon. We rested in a woods near the Biala court. However, we heard shooting from a machine gun. I wanted to go in another direction. The Russian Jew advised me that we should go straight with the road. I obeyed him.
Immediately on the road opposite the court, six members of the S.S. sprang out with a shout: Halt, hands high, hands high! We raised our hands and stopped.
They surrounded us and led us into the court From where were we coming? They asked and we
[Page 598]
answered that we were Poles and were going to Krasnystaw. The searched us to see if we had any revolvers and they found a few beets and pieces of bread. They found a thimble on me and they laughed.
They understood that we were Jews. They calmly asked us if we wanted alcohol. The Russian Jew jumped in with Russian words, saying that we were traveling from Krasnystaw and going to Gorzkow to work. When they asked: Why are you traveling at night, we answered: We want to arrive at work before dawn. Good, they answered and they deliberated among themselves whether to shoot us in the forest or to send us to the head man in the court for him to decide.
Finally, the entrance to the court was 100 steps away. Four S.S. men remained on the highway and two members of the S.S. led us to the court. I went several steps in front.
There was a barrier to the court in front and a military hut. On the right were bushes, a garden and a few stalls. Approaching the barrier, I sprang into the bushes. The guard shouted, Oh-oh! and began to shoot with his rifle. The two S.S. men also began to shoot at me. However, I ran with great haste. I fell into the swampy marsh where I could sink in.
I barely crawled out from the swamp and went onto the highway. I ran approximately four kilometers until the day was beginning. Outside of the village of Wisniow that was near Gorzkow, I entered a deep valley and I lay under a bush for an entire day. People passed by and did not notice me. At night I approached the village of Poperczyn, where I had a peasant acquaintance. Coming to his house, I saw his son who shouted: Jezu kochany, powiedz mi Moszek skond ty sie wzionl? Dear Jesus, tell me, Moszek, from where have you come?
I told him that I had escaped from the Sobibor death camp, but he should advise me what I could do now and I asked him to let me stay in the barn a day or two. He told me: Crawl in the haystack and I will bring you food. I gave him a string of pearls, brought from the camp.
I was with him for two days. Then he advised me to go the Lublin woods because there were Jewish partisans there and the woods were thick.
Not far away on the road, four kilometers from the above-mentioned village, was a peasant acquaintance of mine, Ganslowski. I went into his attic quietly and snuggled into the straw. It was a hundred steps from the German gendarmerie. At night I went down and woke him. From where have you come, they all asked. They covered the windows and asked me to speak quietly. I asked them if I could stay with them for two weeks. Ganslowski explained that the house was not far from the highway and the gendarmerie was nearby. I drank a glass of tea, said goodbye and left. He asked me to tell him
[Page 599]
where I was going. I did not tell him the true direction because I had hidden my things [at his house] before the deportation.
From Ganslowski I left for the village of Gany. I went to a peasant. His dogs attacked me. I knocked on the window and called Panie Stechirzu, otworz! (Mr. Stechirz, open!). He did not know who it was and he came out with his wife and children, undressed. He recognized who I was. They gave me food. He put me to sleep in the house, but I immediately went into the stable attic to sleep better.
In the morning, the peasant consulted with his entire household about what they should do with me. The son-in-law felt they should chase me away, but the old peasant said that Moszek is not a dog and if he has come to me, he is destined to survive. It was decided that they would keep me. They kept me for seven months. I did a little tailoring. During this time various searches took place. However, I was not found.
A month before the liberation, a German requisition division arrived in the village, surrounded the village, searched and rummaged. I was in the attic and I covered myself with chaff. The female peasant came in and searched for me with great difficulty, saying that I should quickly escape because if not they would all be lost. However, I
[Page 600]
did not come out from under the chaff and I only came out after the departure of the German requisition division.
The front came closer to the village. It was harvest time; I hid in the fields among the grain. Shooting started, I lay for a time among the rye until the Soviets arrived. Amidst the rye, I heard the Russian language and the peasant's wife came running, telling me the news that I was free.
* * *
I left for my shtetl Zolkiewka. I did not meet any Jews. Everyone looked at me with sorrowful eyes. I found a Polish tailor and went to work for him. With him I earned a pair of pants and a jacket. However, I was not in the shtetl for long. A young gentile entrusted me with a secret that the peasants were contemplating killing me and the priest reproached the peasant in the village of Gany for hiding me.
I reached Lublin. Because of the events in Poland, I left Lublin and went to Austria.
When I traveled to Lublin, I stopped in the court where the S.S. men had kept us at night. There, a young gentile told me how the Russian Jew had been heavily tortured until he was shot. This Russian Jew, Moshe, actually was the one who began the revolt in the Sobibor death camp.
JewishGen, Inc. makes no representations regarding the accuracy of
the translation. The reader may wish to refer to the original material
for verification.
JewishGen is not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in the original work and cannot rewrite or edit the text to correct inaccuracies and/or omissions.
Our mission is to produce a translation of the original work and we cannot verify the accuracy of statements or alter facts cited.
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Copyright © 1999-2019 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 20 Sep 2013 by MGH


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- Description
Create an amazing Balloon Banner to wow your guest!
Fill the hall of your celebration with festive balloons that celebrate the guest of honor and match your decorations with our lime green latex balloons. These plastic balloons can be inflated with helium or air, and are a pretty, solid lime green color when inflated. They're 11" in diameter and available in bags of 100! With enough balloons to help you make a balloon bouquet, balloon banner or simply adorn every corner of the party space with color, our lime green latex balloons are a practical purchase for any celebration.
Lime Green - Party Latex Balloons - 100 ct:
- Each balloon measures 11" in diameter when inflated.
- Balloons are made of solid-colored latex and can be inflated with air or helium. ·
- Balloons are shipped deflated.
- Reviews and Q&A
- Warning: Choking Hazard


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Mayor's Office
Mayor Chris Beutler today urged residents to participate in the new Taking Charge Lincoln satisfaction survey. Randomly selected households will begin receiving surveys through the mail later this week. When that survey ends in February, residents who did not receive a mailed survey will be asked to fill out the survey online at lincoln.ne.gov. Mayor Beutler said the Taking Charge process and surveys have given residents a greater voice at City Hall and have impacted decisions on City programs and the budget.
"Good government is government that listens and responds," Beutler said. "To be the best organization we can be, we must listen to our customers, the people of Lincoln, Nebraska. That's why it is so important for the public to take the survey and tell us how we are doing. It's your City and your opportunity to help us keep Lincoln strong and vibrant."
The City has partnered with the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center (PPC) since 2008 on efforts to implement outcome-based budgeting, which ties programs to the goals that citizens what local government to accomplish. The process has included surveys and public meetings. (A timeline is attached.) Most of the questions were included in 2009 satisfaction survey so that the City can spot changes in attitudes and developing problem areas. Survey topics include transportation, parks and recreation, economic development, neighborhood life, public safety, libraries, healthy behavior, sustainability, and trust in local government.
While the 2009 survey was conducted by phone, the new survey is being sent by mail to randomly selected households. Using mail will save the City thousands of dollars over the cost of a phone survey and is more inclusive. Phone surveys do not include cell phone users and can exclude younger adults and lower-income families.
The University's Bureau of Sociological Research (BOSR) is handling data collection to ensure that appropriate research practices are followed. The PPC says about 600 responses from the mail survey are needed to have confidence in the results at plus or minus 4 percent. Responses to the later non-random online survey will be analyzed separately from the mailed version to protect the generalized projections of the results.
The City also is lowering the survey cost by including research questions on household weatherization. The survey will include questions on energy-related home improvements and programs that can assist people in completing these improvements.
Beutler said this year's Taking Charge Lincoln satisfaction survey is "a tribute to intergovernmental partnership and cooperation" and thanked the PPC and BOSR for their participation and assistance. "Our long relationship with the Public Policy Center has created our Taking Charge public engagement process and together we are garnering national attention for how we are reaching out to you, our 'bosses' in Lincoln."
More information on the partnering agencies is available at ppc.nebraska.edu and bosr.unl.edu.
Beutler urged residents to watch for the mailing from the BOSR and to respond in a timely manner. The adult in the household who has had the most recent birthday will be asked to fill out the survey. "You will be doing an important service for your community as your opinions will help the City Council and me improve the quality of our City services and respond to your needs," Beutler said.


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Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Eat'n Park Coupons
Looking for Eat'n Park coupons? Here on our blog is a good place to start. We often post coupons for our blog readers, so check back frequently. Click here to check out the coupon section for our most recently posted coupons.
The best (and most convenient) way to get Eat'n Park coupons is to sign up for our email club. You'll get a coupon just for signing up, plus a special coupon for your birthday and for your anniversary. Additionally, we often include special offers in our monthly newsletters. Just click here to join now!
Our Facebook fans and Twitter followers also get exclusive benefits like coupons and notifications when we have special offers. Click here to become a fan on Facebook, and here to follow us on Twitter.
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About the blog
Throughout this blog, we hope to share a bit of our culture with you through stories, recipes, and other information that we think you'll enjoy. More importantly, we hope you'll share with us – we want to answer those questions you've always had about Eat'n Park (how did we come up with that name, anyway?) and we want to hear your ideas, feedback, and hopefully, a few compliments too!
So, please feel free to comment on postings that pique your curiosity. We'll do our best to respond to questions within 72 hours. Please keep in mind that we are a family restaurant; comments containing offensive language will not be posted.
Blog Archive


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To wrap up our introduction to the new NativeSunJax.com website, we'd like to share two more areas of the site that underscore what Native Sun is all about. It's a place to do much more than shop for products you know you can trust — it's where you can turn for information that can make a difference in the way you live and take care of yourself and your family.
Why Native Sun
Our quality standards and the people behind them are what makes Native Sun unlike any other natural/health food store, and it's been that way since the very beginning. Read about the personal journey that led to the opening of Native Sun.
Get the stories behind the products we carry along with details that help you sort out the facts you need to be an informed Native Sun shopper. We'll be adding to the Learn library frequently, so check back often for the latest articles.
Thank you for being part of the Native Sun community. We love to hear from you about how we can make our stores better and the same goes for our new website!


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Next Episode of Good News Week is
not planed. TV Show was canceled.
Each week, Paul & two Captains will lead teams of comedians, media personalities, politicians and "special" guests as they decipher, dissect, deconstruct & completely misrepresent the news of the week. (Source: Ten)
Looks like something went completely wrong!
But don't worry - it can happen to the best of us,
- and it just happened to you.
Please try again later or contact us.


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Ballet white sports nylon drawstring gym sack pack and rope bag.
Quality Gym Bag
Premium Rucksack gym sack. The product shown in the picture above will be the product you will receive, with the variations you chose at the time of ordering.
The kids will love these colourful personalised gym bags to go Back to School with. A great way for you kids to keep all there stuff together. With there name on the bag, they won't loose it...
Great for swimming being water resistant, light weight with two draw string shoulder straps. The corners have metal Eyelets to stop ripping and aid the draw string when doing up the bag.
One large main compartment with black drawstring closure. Drawstring design for shoulder or backpack carry.
Main features of the bag:
- Material: 210D Polyester.
- Dimensions: 45.5cm x 34cm.
- Capacity: 11 liters.
- Available in White
- Water resistant.
- Light weight.
- Metal eyelets.
UK Shipping:
Free UK shipping option is offered at check out with fast shipping options with signed for and next working day for quicker shipping options. We try our hardest to produce and ship your product as fast as we can. In fact, we will usually make your product in following 24 hours, from receiving your order.
Your order will usually dispatch within 2 to 3 working days, using the Royal Mail 24 service for a quick and efficient service.
As you would expect there are busy times such as at Christmas, dispatch times may take slightly longer.
If you need something urgently then you can always add a note to your order or use the next working day delivery option,
We will email you just to let you know your order has been dispatched.
If your order has not reached you within 5 business days, the best first step is to contact your local post office in case they are holding the package for you.
When an order is shipped using a track able service, tracking information for deliveries will generally be added to your order history Email.
If you are buying a gift to be delivered elsewhere, the 'billing' address must be your own, however, you can choose a different 'delivery' address. We do not include any invoices or payment information in the packages sent out, this is all emailed to you at the address provided on the order.
International Shipping:
We offer International delivery services world wide. Orders are shipped Royal Mail Airmail and areusually delivered within 7-14 days.
Shipping rates for all destinations can be found by clicking the Estimate Shipping at check out , where you enter your delivery destination to get a shipping estimate.
Whatever message you want or if you are adding a photo to your gift, it's always free and simple!
We have laid the options out on the product page, just click through to choose size, colour ext. If there is a text box, this is usually for personalisation, the other instructions you can let us know any changes in colour or additional text.
Just type the text you want to appear on the product in place of the example. But please do check your order form for the correct spelling and capital letters, as this will be copied directly on to your product.
If you do notice a mistake in your order details, please message us as soon as you can, we may be able to make the correction before it is printed.
The other instructions box is there for you to give us clear instructions if you want to change anything, or if you run out of space in the personalsation box. Remember the clearer your instructions are the easier we will make you product look as you intended.
If we have any queries we will always contact you for clarification or if you are worried just give us a call or contact us here, so don't worry just go ahead....personalise away.


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You've been asking for it, and now we have it!
Satisfy your dog or cat's instinctual cravings with Taste of the Wild. Made with real roasted meats and supplemented with fruits and vegetables, these grain-free formulas provide a superior taste sensation, highly digestible energy and natural antioxidants to support a healthy immune system and overall health.
For the canines, try:
Wetlands Wild Fowl: made with lean proteins like quail, duck and turkey that are roasted and smoked for great flavor.
Pacific Stream: made with smoked and fresh salmon.
High Prairie: is made with lean meats like bison and venison that are roasted for great flavor.
For the felines, try:
Rocky Mountain Feline: Made with real roasted venison and smoked salmon and supplemented with fruits and vegetables.
Your pets crave a taste of the wild. Go ahead and give them one.


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P l a y i n g B l i n d
There was once a monkey, clutched to the branches of a tree, in the thick of a green rainforest, that sees an extraordinary thing. That its eyes blink.
It cannot believe what it sees. Because at that moment its gaze is transfixed to the ground, on the lookout for a leopard.Fear is what breathes life into every living creature. In this game for survival, every moment remains critical, vital. The punishment for laxity is quick and severe. There will be no looking back.
The monkey is petrified. It has experienced a moment of complete helplessness. It's a moment when a curtain falls before the eyes, dissolving reality into a whiff of smoke. It is only a moment, but a moment, before reality reappears before the eyes. As the cold golden eyes of a leopard, only closer.
Having survived that moment, the monkey is bothered with a greater fear. What's wrong with its eyes ! It closes them, it opens them again, trying to assert its control. It twitches its arm, wiggles its tail, squeaks with its mouth - all seeking some comfort. But the monkey is still bothered, there is a force, invisible, troubling it. What was wrong with its eyes !!
Again, it closes them slowly, this time for longer. It is dark, thick as a night. The monkey hears sounds - pleasant sounds, alarming sounds, sounds from afar, sounds from the deep. It can hear sounds from other monkeys in the herd. It has to get back to them. Can it get back to them, in the darkness ?
This is a game it has never played. The monkey opens its eyes. Everything is as it had been. No sight of the leopard anywhere close. The monkey closes its eyes again. The game is now on.
It feels for the grip of the branch with its arms. It moves along it slowly, carefully feeling the wood as it tapers gently into a tiny twig. The monkey knows what it has to do, it has done this thousands of times. The reflexes are stored deep down inside its body.
It jumps.
The ground gives way underneath its feet. Its fingers clutch gently against the vacuum. Then slowly, the ground reappears, firmly touching the feet. The feeling sinks in with a very strong smell. A smell the monkey has just felt. Just like the blinking of the eyes.
The monkey keeps moving across the branches. Then it jumps over to the ground, and starts walking on all fours, taking in the smell of the wet grass as it moves along. It comes across a tiny stream of water. It crosses it gingerly, feeling the ripples of the water across its legs. Its feet can touch the round pebbles on the surface. Where will the next step lead to ?
Its feet get onto the hard ground again. The monkey can now feel the sharp rays of the evening sun, tickling across its skin. There are sounds of birds, coming gently from a stationary point. There, is a tree.
The monkey feels for its trunk, and then starts climbing it. It moves across its branches. It can hear sounds of other monkeys nearby. They are close. It moves gingerly across the tree in that direction.
But it comes to an end. The monkey knows what it has to do.
It jumps, taking a strong plunge with its legs, manoeuvring its tail as a prehensile instrument. And slowly, it lands onto the firm branches of the next tree.
There are hurried cries from alarmed birds. The monkey moves forward. It feels instinctively for a fruit. There, it picks it up and puts it into its mouth.
The monkey opens its eyes. The fruit is delicious.
There are green leaves all around. Thin veins are running across each one of these leaves. Thin veins in yellow. Then, there are the birds. They have brilliantly colored feathers. Each one of these feathers is split into thousands of tiny little hairs. The monkey looks around - the earth is huge. The possibilities are endless.
It stands up on its hind legs. In the orange evening sun, it is standing erect, no longer blind.


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Rob Ryan landed on his feet with the New Orleans Saints, but he's still surprised his year began with a job search.
"Oh yeah, look, I was a little shocked," Ryan told ESPNDallas.com after watching a Dallas Mavericks-Golden State Warriors game on Saturday night. "I knew they had to do something after an 8-8 season. They choose me to be the guy, sure."
Translation: Jerry Jones was looking for a scapegoat and I was his choice.
"Better coaches than me have been fired," Ryan said. "Just not many."
That Ryan is full of bluster (or something else) is nothing new. That said, it's easy to see his side in this case. The Cowboys' defense lost five starters to season-ending injuries, while his unit's best player -- linebacker DeMarcus Ware -- was a shell of himself due to wrist, elbow and shoulder problems. The unit finished 19th in overall defense and came within one win of a division title.
Ryan's personality can rub people the wrong way, and perhaps that played into his ouster from Dallas. But Ryan and his defense wasn't the reason the Cowboys couldn't get over the hump last season.
It remains to be seen if Jones' decision will be one he ultimately regrets.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.


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Lola Ya Bonobo
Bonobos (Pan paniscus) are a great ape species found exclusively in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are endangered and may become extinct in the next 75 years. Only between 50,000 and 75,000 remain in the wild today. You can help us protect this species by supporting the Lola Ya Bonobo Sanctuary.
See us on 60 Minutes!
Intrepid reporter Anderson Cooper journeyed to Lola ya Bonobo and the release site. Watch him fall in love with the bonobos!
Photo courtesy of CBS News 60 Minutes
What We Do
Our Mission
Lola ya Bonobo is the world's only organization to provide lifetime care to bonobos orphaned by the illegal trade in endangered wildlife. We are on the front line in the battle to protect bonobos in the only country they are found – The Democratic Republic of Congo.
How We Help
How We Help
Orphan Bonobos
We rescue orphan bonobos from the illegal bushmeat trade, rehabilitate these bonobos at Lola ya Bonobo, and when possible release them back to the wild at Ekolo ya Bonobo.
of your donation goes to directly to Lola ya Bonobo
goes to overhead in the U.S.
How You Can Help
Bonobo Adoptions
Join us for bonobo updates!


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Naproxen sodium is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to relieve mild to moderate aches and pains. Naproxen sodium overdose occurs when someone accidentally or intentionally takes more than the normal or recommended amount of this medication.
This is for information only and not for use in the treatment or management of an actual poison exposure. If you have an exposure, you should call your local emergency number (such as 911) or a local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222.
Poisonous Ingredient
Where Found
Naproxen sodium is sold under a variety of different brand names, including:
Anaprox DS
Note: This list may not be all-inclusive.
- Eyes, ears, nose, and throat
Ringing in the ears Blurred vision
- Gastrointestinal system
- Diarrhea
- Heartburn
- Nausea
- Stomach pain (possible bleeding in the stomach and intestines)
- Vomiting
- Heart and blood vessels
- Circulatory failure
- Lungs
- Slow,
labored breathing
- Wheezing
- Slow,
- Nervous system
Agitation Coma
- Confusion
- Dizziness
- Headache – severe
- Incoherence (the person is not understandable)
- Movement problems
- Skin
- Rash
Before Calling Emergency
Determine the following information:
- Patient's age, weight, and condition
- Name of the product (ingredients and strengths, if known)
- Time it was swallowed
- Amount swallowed
- If a doctor prescribed the medicine for the person
However, DO NOT delay calling for help if this information is not immediately available.
Poison Control, or a local emergency number
In the United States, call 1-800-222-1222 to speak with a local position control center. This hotline number will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions.
This is a free and confidential service. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. You can call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
What to expect at the emergency room
The doctor or nurse will measure and monitor the patient's vital signs, including temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure. Symptoms will be treated as appropriate. The patient may receive:
- Activated charcoal
- Tube through the mouth or nose into the stomach to wash out the stomach (
gastric lavage)
Expectations (prognosis)
Recovery is likely.


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Surrounded on almost all sides by water, Port Townsend is a picturesque village that makes the perfect choice for a wonderful holiday. When renting a holiday home in Port Townsend you can enjoy the beautiful parks, beaches, art galleries, museums and much more. Renting a holiday home in Port Townsend will also put you at the gateway to the beautiful Olympic Peninsula and the Olympic National Park. Discover the charm of this seaside town with a maritime heritage that has gracefully moved into the twenty-first century, all from the comfort of a cozy holiday home, apartment, condo or cottage rental.
For those who rent a holiday home in Port Townsend to enjoy the water, there are many activities to choose from. If you bring your own boat, there are numerous places from which to launch your vessel. You can also go whale watching, rent a kayak, rent a charter or take a ferry boat to the San Juan Islands on the Puget Sound Express. If you like seafood, Port Townsend is one of the best places to fish or catch shellfish in the United States. There are also numerous regattas, races and events, including the Wooden Boat Festival in September. Your holiday home or holiday condo puts you close to a variety of aquatic activities.
Port Townsend boomed during the 1800s and many imposing buildings were erected. Some of these old structures still remain and the downtown area is now designated a National Historic District. Of these historic structures many are now holiday rentals, while others have become art galleries, specialty shops, restaurants and gift stores. If you rent a holiday home or rental apartment in September you can go on the annual Port Townsend Victorian homes tour. On the tour, you'll visit some of the oldest buildings in town including a few private homes, a hotel, a museum and Chapel Bay, one of the oldest buildings in town.
The combination of history and natural beauty draws artists to Port Townsend and its surrounding area. Your Port Townsend holiday rental puts you in the middle of a vibrant art community. There is a wealth of art galleries in the downtown area, and a monthly Arts Walk provides local artists an outlet to exhibit and sell their work. The sizeable population of artists provides a sense of sophistication and with it a cornucopia of activities to a town of less than 10,000 people. From your holiday home in Port Townsend you can also enjoy whale watching, sailing, biking, hiking, quaint shops, fine restaurants, and museums.
Renting a holiday home in Port Townsend will take you back in time, but you will still enjoy all the modern conveniences of Washington's Victorian seaport.


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Memorial Day weekend has many meanings to many people. Some celebrate the history of our country while others simply enjoy the days off of work and a sign that summer is quickly approaching. This holiday marks the beginning of warm weather, BBQs, family bonding, and beach days. Grab your nearest trims and start constructing some of the greatest DIY's for the fun filled weekend you have ahead of you.
Make it and Love it DIY Flag Tee


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Summer Makeup: The Bright Sunset – Yellow, Orange, & Red
Summer Makeup: The Bright Sunset – Yellow, Orange, & Red
I just can't help it! The latest shades to join the permanent range at MAC are all bright, they're so *summer* and it's not even technically spring yet! Oh, well… call it fashionably early? Hm. Whatever. This was just me having a little fun late at night 🙂 If you want to wear it yourself and make it a little more tame or "everyday" (but I mean, it is bright!), use a more neutral highlighter (maybe Nylon) rather than going with color up to the brow bone. I'd rock it either way! 🙂
You will need the following…
- Eyes: MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot (neutral beige base), (yellow gold), MAC Golden Lemon Pigment (yellow gold), MAC Going Bananas Eyeshadow (soft bright yellow), MAC Goldenrod Eyeshadow (golden orange-yellow), MAC Free to Be Eyeshadow (coral), MAC Red Brick Eyeshadow (orange-red), MAC Nylon Eyeshadow (golden highlighter), Urban Decay Bourbon 24/7 Liner (brown), Chanel Exceptionnel Mascara (black)
- Cheeks: Dior Vintage Pink Blush (pink with peach)
- Lips: MAC Bronze Shimmer Lipstick, MAC Lychee Luxe Lipglass
- Brushes: 226 (fluffy crease brush), 219 (pointed crease brush), 214 (smudge brush), 249 (flat, firm brush), 239 (fluffy shadow brush), 116 (dense blush brush)
- Substitutes: Going Bananas = Nylon + Bright Sunshine (or Chrome Yellow)
For eyes, start by applying Soft Ochre paint pot as your eyeshadow base all over the lid with the 249. With the 239 and water-based mixing medium (or water), apply Golden Lemon pigment all over the lid portion. Using the 239, apply Going Bananas eyeshadow on the inner third of the eyelid. Next, apply Goldenrod eyeshadow on the middle third of the eyelid and lightly blend with the inner corner. Darken the outer third of the lid with Free to Be eyeshadow with the 239, gently brushing it into the lower crease. Next, define the crease by applying Red Brick eyeshadow with the 226. Lightly tap and brush Going Bananas eyeshadow directly above the crease to soften. To finish the eyeshadow look, sweep Nylon eyeshadow as a highlighter on the brow bone. Bring everything together by applying Bourbon eyeliner on the lower lash line, and Going Bananas eyeshadow lightly patted below the lower lash line with the 219 brush. Finish by sweeping lashes with Exceptionnel mascara.
For cheeks, apply Vintage Pink blush to the apples of the cheeks and sweep upwards towards the temple with the 116.
For lips, apply Bronze Shimmer lipstick first, and then layer Lychee Luxe lipglass for a complementing lip.
Check out more photos!


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Capturing thin parts in 123D Catch
last post by yhy630
5 years ago
Has anyone used the new Makerware 2.2.0?
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1 year ago
last post by Kiteman
5 years ago
Embed a 3D viewer in your Instructable
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5 years ago
Call for pre-made parts!
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5 years ago
123D Design for iOS update out now!
Transformational experience for Instructables Artist-in-Residence
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5 years ago
Anyone using 3D printing to fix everyday stuff?
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5 years ago
Anyone using 3D printing to fix everyday stuff?
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6 years ago
The winners for the Steal Public Art challenge have been announced!
We've extended the Steal Public Art challenge!
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5 years ago
123D's first weekly challenge has begun - Steal Public Art


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Really enjoying Odin Sphere. Just found out Odin had been manwhoring himself with the enemy.
I couldn't help picturing it after... it was weird.
I thought it was leaps and bounds better than P3 after playing both. Kind of like New Vegas after playing FO3.
Quote from: Dice on September 24, 2012, 10:28:24 PMI couldn't help picturing it after... it was weird.The only thing weird was you picturing it.
I manage to find this lever, which in turns opens up the way to a second lever. I then pull that one, which initiates a sequence which shows one of the kids getting killed. Then my character goes over there and ends up dead as well. This happened to me 3 times.
Quote from: Lard on September 25, 2012, 06:18:46 AMQuote from: Dice on September 24, 2012, 10:28:24 PMI couldn't help picturing it after... it was weird.The only thing weird was you picturing it. Yeah. I mean, come on, he's the Norse equivalent of Zeus. Well okay, he's not THAT promiscuous, but still, there is a reason why he's referred to as the "All-Father".
Trying to figure out how to reset a GBA save... state on the cart. My copy of Gradius Galaxies already has stuff unlocked :(Anyway, beat the first real boss in Megaman Zero 1. Feelin' pretty huzz about that. It only took me god knows how many tries. Can you still beat him even if you fail to save the reploids in the smash pit?Actually, Zero and Warioland 3 have me both thinking about Metroidvanias lately. And why I sort of dislike Symphonia of the Night in retrospect. I kind of want to write about my thoughts on this when I get them more organized.


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The "green revolution" is here, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers wants its members and prospective members alike to join the green rush for lucrative jobs.
IBEW's Working Green Web site explains the training it provides for jobs in solar, wind, biomass, nuclear, and clean coal, and it offers potential trainees information and links to sign up at hundreds of training centers nationwide. More than 70 training centers now offer photovoltaic training; IBEW offers a 40-hour wind turbine "boot camp"; the National Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee, a partnership of IBEW and union electrical contractors, created a Green Jobs curriculum from more than 70 green training lessons and offers apprenticeship programs at 285 training centers across the country.
"Green energy offers our country not only the opportunity to lower our carbon footprint but a chance to resurrect the economic model of shared prosperity that built our middle class in the first place," IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill says in a quote posted on the site, which indicates more than $50 billion in federal stimulus money is designated for training and investment in renewable energy, which is expected to generate more than 20 million jobs by 2030.
The AFL-CIO's blog hailed the Working Green site yesterday.
Growing demand for home renewable energy (RE) systems is getting the attention of the fire service this summer, with online discussions and articles exploring the hazards firefighters may face if called to extinguish a fire at a residence equipped with photovoltaic panels, a wind turbine, or another type of RE system. Volunteer firefighter Dan Fink of Masonville, Colo., has written a copyright PowerPoint "Renewable Energy Systems and Firefighter Safety" presentation for firefighters and commanders that explains how to identify such systems, hazards (electrocution, overheated wires and boxes, hot liquids, hydrogen gas buildup in battery rooms, fuels, chemicals, and broken glass), and precautions.
Information for homeowners about RE system placement and fire safety is available from numerous sources, including this guidelines document offered by the Milpitas (Calif.) Fire Department.


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North Dakota RV Dealership Since 1988
From our humble beginnings as a small North Dakota RV dealer to a "dealer of choice" in the Upper Midwest, Capital RV Center proudly offers a full line of fifth wheels, travel trailers, diesel pushers, class a motor homes, class c motor homes, pop up campers, truck campers, andtoy haulers. Plus you'll find a professional RV Service Department with certified technicians and a fully-stocked RV Parts Department. "Word of Mouth" about the experiences enjoyed here and the knowledgeable, well-trained staff of 70 strong has kept customers coming back time after time to our two ND RV dealership locations in Bismarck and Minot.
Motor Home, Towable & Toy Hauler RV Sales
Be sure to view our Internet RV Specials and RVs for Sale, including fifth wheels, travel trailers, toy haulers, diesel pushers, class a motor homes, and class c motorhomes. We sincerely hope you will give us the opportunity to earn and keep your business!


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Destination Immersion®, our promise of stay longer, experience moreSM is at the heart of every Azamara voyage. It's an idea we try to incorporate in everything we do from ship to shore. Our on shore experiences and onboard activities are unlike any other cruise line—they're designed to deliver authentic moments that bring you closer to local life and culture. And that's what travel should be about.
It's land travel, by ship. And it's something you'll only find on the voyage for those who love travel.
Become a part of it – sign up now to receive special offers, travel quizzes, immersive destination blogs from fellow travelers, and more. Then discover Destination Immersion for yourself.
New to Azamara Club Cruises? Sail on your first voyage with us, and enjoy automatic enrollment into our exclusive Le Club Voyage loyalty program. Or join Le Club Voyage online now. Earn points for Le Club Voyage, and Celebrity Cruises' Captain's Club on every voyage. Plus, Royal Caribbean Crown & Anchor Society members receive benefits that include:
Platinum/ Emerald = Explorer
- 60 free internet minutes
- 1 free bag of laundry for every 7 nights
- 15% savings on signature Spa treatments
- LCV get together
Diamond/Diamond Plus/ Pinnacle = Discoverer
- 90 free internet minutes
- 1 free bag of laundry for every 7 nights
- 20% savings on signature Spa treatments
- Gift Shop savings: 5% savings when spending $1,000 or more in Fine Jewelry, or 10% savings when spending $2,000 or more in Fine Jewelry*.
- LCV get together
- Discoverer and above get together
Compare your points in the Crown & Anchor Society with Le Club Voyage below.
Azamara Club Cruises
Le Club Voyage
Celebrity Cruises
Captain's Club
Royal Caribbean International
Crown & Anchor Society
|Preview (0 points)
|Preview (0 points)
|Adventurer (0-149 points)
|Classic (0-149 points)
|Explorer (150-299 points)
|Select (150-299 points)
|Platinum (30-54 points),
|Emerald (55-79 points)
|Discoverer (300-749 points)
|Elite (300-749 points)
|Diamond (80-174 points),
|Diamond Plus (175-699 points),
|Pinnacle (700+ points)
|Discoverer Plus (750-2,999 points)
|Elite Plus (750-2,999 points)
|Discoverer Platinum (3,000+ points)
|Zenith (3,000+ points)


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If you like all of these great freebies and deals, make sure you sign up for my newsletter.
You can print a coupon for 40% off of any regular priced item at Hobby Lobby. Just click on the Get Coupon button in the top right hand corner to get your coupon. This coupon is good through 10/3/15.
Image Credit: Hobby Lobby


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Sarah Polley's fascinating documentary "Stories We Tell," opening Friday, offers many storylines worth discussing. The actress/filmmaker, who uses the movie to pursue the real identity of her father and the truth about her late mother's life, easily has the brains to put her mouth where her money is. Yet our interview at the Hotel Palomar comes to new and unexpected life at the mention of one of Polley's countrymen: Justin Bieber.
"I feel like he's been really mistreated," the 34-year-old director ("Away From Her," "Take This Waltz"), who lives in her native Toronto, says with a laugh. "It makes me really sad. [He's] somebody who had their entire childhood taken from them ... And the fact that he's wigging out a little bit more than most 19-year-olds right now is not at all surprising. He's within his rights, and he should have five years of license to behave any way he wants."
I note that Polley (seen in "The Sweet Hereafter" and "Go") was famous in her teens and turned out fine. Not every young girl in the world was in love with her, she counters. As might be expected from anyone with a young child herself—Polley's left hand still bears a star stamp from taking her daughter to the Chicago Children's Museum—she brings the issue back to parenting, and encouraging performance without forcing adult pressures on teenagers. "Why not let them have a childhood?" the filmmaker asks. "When our kids say, 'I want to be a doctor or a fireman,' you're like, 'Yeah, you can be,' not, 'OK, let's support you to do that at 12 years old because that's your passion.'"
Family has been on Polley's mind a lot lately. She spent about five years making "Stories We Tell," which features interviews with her family members as she seeks to learn more about her mom (who passed away when Polley was 11) and follows up on years of family rumors about how she doesn't look like her siblings. Numerous times during the process, the director nearly quit.
"There was just this general feeling of nausea around, this inevitable feeling of, 'Oh my God, I've involved all these people in telling this story; what if some of them regret having it out there?'" she says. "'What if my siblings regret having spoken about this?'"
Fortunately for her, nearly all of Polley's family immediately agreed to participate—she didn't pressure the few possible participants who declined—and approved of the finished product. Despite her own frequent reservations, Polley pushed forward, almost out of a sense of being glued to the screen from behind the camera. "There was such a process of discovery and not knowing where it was going and letting it form and it changing gears and changing directions so much that I kind of wanted to know what happened," she says. "It was hard to walk away from it when I didn't yet know what it was going to be."
Her inquisitiveness comes naturally—Polley's one of the few interview subjects who wants to know background information about her interviewers. She has explored issues of fidelity and family turmoil in her other films as well but claims any parallel between "Stories We Tell" and "Take This Waltz," in which a woman (Michelle Williams) contemplates cheating on her husband (Seth Rogen), was unconscious.
Polley now recognizes there are echoes, though. "Subconsciously I must have been really influenced by my parents' story on some level," she says. "I think that a lot of filmmakers return to the same territory over and over, and usually it's probably because there's something in them or in their past that they're trying to get, whether consciously or unconsciously."
Much of those issues deal with memory and the elusiveness of truth about the past, something Polley says is backed up by science. She cites a recent article that indicates when we remember something, we're not actually remembering it. We're recalling the last time we remembered the event. "It's like a game of broken telephone with yourself," she says. "So I think that we're crazy to think that we have the truth, and everybody else is wrong."
Regardless, "Stories We Tell" has exposed Polley's family life to the world, and other families' lives to her. Rather than reacting to the film, people often share their own stories with Polley after screenings.
I'm more interested in her real-life, "Mamma Mia"-like quest for genetic confirmation. (Polley says she saw the Abba musical recently and couldn't believe the similarities, albeit with less singing in her film.) Has she heard that Khloe Kardashian has long been dogged by the same rumors about possibly having a different father?
"I think I'm going to seem like I live under a rock right now," says Polley, noting that she could probably identify Kim but not the Kardashians and has no advice for Khloe. If there was a reality TV show being made about Polley, she might not have conducted her documentary investigation.
Then again, Polley's life was somewhat public at 19 or 20, and she freaked out even more than the Biebs, with incidents "that actually affected people more deeply than going shirtless through an airport lineup."
She doesn't want to listen to his music but would be glad to talk to him about his problems. He wouldn't be the first to open up to her.
Watch Matt on "You & Me This Morning," Friday at 6:55 a.m. on WCIU, the U
Want more? Discuss this article and others on RedEye's Facebook page.


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The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) describes itself as "a bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the nation's 50 states, its commonwealths and territories. NCSL provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on the most pressing state issues."
Affiliated with NCSL, is the NCSL Foundation which was created by NCSL as a "nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation that offers opportunities for businesses, national associations, nonprofit organizations and unions seeking to improve the state legislative process and enhance NCSL's services to all legislatures."
While the descriptions sound benign, the access to legislators NCSL and the NCSL Foundation provide to fossil fuel interests and other corporate "sponsors" sounds a lot like lobbying. Sourcewatch defines lobbyists as those who do "work on the behalf of their clients or the groups they're representing to convince the government or others involved in public policy development to make a decision that is beneficial to them."
Nowhere in the descriptions of NCSL or the NCSL Foundation is the unique access to state legislators granted to corporate funders characterized as lobbying.
In fact, William Pound, NCSL's Executive Director, said in an interview with Checks & Balances Project at NCSL's 2012 Fall Forum in Washington, D.C., that legislators are being educated, not lobbied.
However, this access has been called "stealth lobbying" by Steve Horn and Sarah Blaskey in a recent Truthout piece.
According to the NCSL Foundation website, there are many ways for fossil fuel interests to "educate" state legislators. They include:
- Opportunity to participate in the annual standing committee new officer orientation session
- Regular forums with NCSL officers and NCSL standing committee officers
- Opportunity to suggest topics to standing committee officers
- Opportunity to attend NCSL Executive Committee subcommittee meetings
- Invitations to attend receptions and dinners with legislative leaders at yearly NCSL leadership meetings
In addition, with legislators from 40 out of the 50 states earning an average of $35,326 for their work and an average staff of 3.1 per member (or 1.2 staff in some states),[1] it raises questions of how much time and resources they have to research issues versus relying on positions posted by corporate sponsors or NCSL papers which corporate sponsors have had input on, according to Pound.
Given the role of Michael Behm as the Vice President of the NCSL Foundation and a Senior Vice President for Stateside Associates, a lobbying firm focused on lobbying state-centric groups like NCSL and the Council of State Governments (CSG), the partnerships being enabled by NCSL between legislators and fossil fuel interests should not be surprising.[2] This is especially true, given that many of Stateside Associates' clients are also NCSL Foundation's sponsors.
According to the current list of sponsors on the NCSL Foundation website (dated 1/31/12), fossil fuel interests such as Exxon Mobil and America's Natural Gas Alliance contributed $142,500, an increase from FY 2011 (July 2010-June 2011) when fossil fuel companies donated $100,000[3].
Perhaps the increase in contributions from fossil fuel interests, coupled with their ability to "review" NCSL policy papers, explains the change in positions on hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) between 2010 and 2012. A 2010 policy paper provided a relatively balanced look at the costs, financial and environmental, associated with fracking. However, a June 2012 paper raises and dismisses the potentially devastating costs that fracking poses to states and the environment.
NCSL's activities sound suspiciously like those of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which is now facing a lawsuit under the Tax Whistleblower Act with the Internal Revenue Service. Common Cause filed the lawsuit after accusing ALEC, legally a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, of "massive[ly] underreporting" the amount of lobbying it was undertaking.
While 501(c)(3)'s can engage in some lobbying, it cannot be the majority of its activity. According to Mother Jones, "The suit alleges that ALEC exists primarily to give corporate members the ability to 'lobby state legislators and to deduct the costs of such efforts as charitable contributions.' "
Checks and Balances will continue monitoring NCSL and other like-minded organizations that interact with legislators for purported "educational" purposes that could possibly be masking stealth lobbying activities.
[1] From NCSL website: http://www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/legislatures/full-and-part-time-legislatures.aspx
[2] Horn and Blaskey write in their Truthout piece about how Behm and his other Stateside Associates colleagues take over organizations such as NCSL to influence state legislators on behalf of corporate interests.
[3] No figures were listed in the FY 2011 annual report. Therefore current sponsorship level amounts were applied to derive the $117,500 number.


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Father and son on the log
Said in my post yesterday that the Duthie boardwalk is such a grand entrance, it's like riding up to a mountain bike cathedral. Once inside the park, I immersed myself in the scene. It's one I hadn't been a part of for decades. The wheels are bigger, bikes better, suspensions taller, but what I noticed the most was more families, women, and girls. The vibe was like Cross races are now, but without all the NC-17 party racing.
In Nikes
I'm covering dirt again for several reasons and one of them is that I want to ride without cars harshing my buzz. More photos from Duthie are lightboxed on G+ and Flickr.
Father and daughter out riding


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You read about it in Car Craft and Popular Hot Rodding. Maybe you saw one at the drag strip and or the local cruise. Dealers didn't know much about it. In fact, it wasn't even listed in the showroom brochures or the standard dealer sales albums. "It" was RPO L78. Although it was a total mystery to most dealers, those who knew the magic option code could buy the meanest, most powerful big-block in the Chevelle arsenal.
Unless you lived near a Chevrolet performance dealer like Yenko, Berger, Gibb, Rosenthal, Indianatlantic or Rathmann, the chance of finding anL78 on the showroom floor was somewhere between slim and none. You had to know how to get your mitts on a Special Product Order form and fill out the right information, then get the dealer to order it for you. You gave him your deposit and then you waited six to eight weeks for the hauler to arrive with your L78 Chevelle.
What was the L78? It was 375 hp wrapped up inside a 396-cid engine. There was only one other option that made the L78 look mundane, and that was the L89, which parked a set of aluminum cylinder heads atop the iron-block 396, but retained the same 375hp rating. The L78 was an expensive option ($252.80), but the L89 was even more ($647.75). As enigmatic as the L78 was in the showroom, thanks to magazine coverage, 9,486 L78 Chevelles were ordered in 1969. The RPO Z25 Super Sport package was now an option (RPO Z25) on any Chevelle V-8 hardtop or convertible. Along with specific emblems on the grille, front fenders and the blacked out taillamp panel, the SS package also featured a domed hood and power front disc brakes. Sales of the 1969 SS option were strong, with 86,307 rolling out of dealers' doors.
Part of the L78 SS396 package was the F41 heavy-duty suspension. The F41used firm springs, a large stabilizer bar and firm shocks up front, along with a four-link coil spring rear configuration with firm shocks. The rear lower control arms were boxed by a plate welded across the sides for reinforcement. A rear stabilizer bar was bolted to the inner sides of the control arms. The upper arms were braced to handle the massive torque of the L78. The optional 14x6 sport wheels with F70x14wide oval bias belt tires put a wide footprint on the ground, however they'd go up in smoke when the wood was laid to the L78.
The L78 396 had a 375hp rating measured at 5600 rpm and peak torque of 415 lb-ft came on at 3600 rpm. The L78 was fitted with aluminum impact extruded 11.0:1 domed pistons, with drop forged steel rods weighing 27.84 ounces. Down in that beefy four-bolt main block was a forged steel crank. The mechanical valvetrain used 1.70:1 rockers and a cam that measured 316 intake and 302 exhaust, with an overlap of 80 and a lift of .5197. The iron-head L78 shared the same valves with its aluminum head L89 sibling-- 2.195-inch intake and 1.845-inch exhaust. A Holley four-barrel with 1.686 primary and secondary throats was fitted to a dual-plane aluminum intake. Hefty cast-iron exhaust manifolds led back to dual exhausts and an optional dual-chambered exhaust (the best $30 option you could order) and then out to 2.0-inch pipes. Not only was this system more efficient, it was one of the sweetest sounding stock exhausts on the street.
Transmission choices for the L78 started with the standard three-speed manual and two four-speed manuals, either the M20 wide ratio or the M21or heavy-duty M22 close ratios. While the rest of the industry was installing Hurst shifters, Chevrolet stubbornly insisted on using Muncie shifters and linkage. Popular Hot Rodding magazine noted, "The Muncie linkage wouldn't go into second on three out of four tries over 15attempts. The linkage was horrible." An 11-inch clutch was standard.
For the first time, Chevrolet offered the M40 Turbo Hydra Matic three-speed automatic transmission with the L78. For the M40, the standard shifter location was on the column. When the optional console was ordered, the shifter moved to the floor. Astern was a heavy duty differential with 8.875-inch rear and standard 3.55:1 ratio, with optional gears ranging from 3.07:1 right up to a frame-twisting 4.88:1.
Just how fast was a stock 1969 L78 Chevelle right out of the box? Hot Cars magazine tested one in their February 1969 issue, recording a 14.07/101 mph. Popular Hot Rodding magazine tested a 1968 L78 SS Chevelle and found they could get the car down to the high 13s with just a set of Casler slicks. A better shifter and linkage, headers and a proper setup could whittle the L78's time down into the low 13s.
This 41,500 mile LeMans Blue 1969 L78 SS396 Chevelle is from the Rick Treworgy collection in Punta Gorda, Florida. Rick has a preference for the fastest factory Chevys, and his '69 L78 SS396 is one of the hottest in his collection. It's also rather unusually optioned out. It has the RPO U14 gauge package, which placed the 120 mph speedometer in the left opening and a clock in the small center opening. The right hand opening contained gauges for oil pressure, fuel, battery and water temperature. They surrounded a small 8000-rpm tachometer with a 5700-rpm redline. The tach was down from the driver's line of sight and difficult to read.
When Rick's car was ordered, the buyer sprung for the gauge package but passed on a radio, opting instead to specify the RPO U57 8-track stereo tape player with four-speakers. Only 12,635 Chevelles were ordered with the tape player. The Parchment interior is fitted with the optional Strato bucket seats and console. Optioned out like Rick's SS396 Chevelle, it was hard to find a musclecar that combined performance and comfort better. It was Chevrolet's fastest Chevelle available without a COPO order. Nothing stood out from the pack like the 1969 L78 SS396.