text:
My final day at Slate was pleasingly ordinary, and included a tricky travel problem, a blown deadline, and several blog posts about politics on the general theme of people Doing It Wrong. Yet I'm really done now—I am at the Texas Tribune Festival this weekend, hence the travel—and can't stick around much longer. You've met that guy, right? The one who keeps saying goodbye at the party then keeps appearing for progressively awkward goodbyes? If not, I'll illustrate:
No one wants to be in that position. So for all the fun I've had at Slate, for all the time I could spend pointing to our—suddenly their—fantastic coverage, it's time to admit that I've already done that, here and here. You should subscribe to Slate Plus. You should follow the team at Bloomberg Politics. And you should be tingling with excitement about what Slate's political reporters do next. As if through osmosis, this place makes you a better writer, reader, and debater of fine points in comment sections. My goal with this blog and with my stories and podcasts was to cover politics as if you and I were having a conversation, with plenty of context and digression. I learned that from Slate.
To the commenters: Thank you for all the lively and funny and "oh, I didn't think of that"-filled conversations. I would have engaged in more of them, had I not learned that the busiest threads were often the ones where people made jokes about my typos. This is the Internet, and typos can be fixed in real time instead of crying over a botched print issue. But more people should follow the example of Auros Harman and traumatize writers directly, by emailing them about their pratfalls, instead of snarking below the posts. Every moment you spend publicly dunking on a writer for forgetting an "L" in "Hillary Clinton," and insisting that this error of eyesight or finger movement proves that the author's entire argument or story is worthless, is a moment you could have been working on the great American novel.
And in closing: I was going to write a quick item yesterday about the 1987 folk album/interview tape released by then-Burlington, Vermont Mayor Bernie Sanders. Asawin Suebsaeng beat me to it, and beat me to my angle, of talking to music critics about the relative worth of this art.
I talked to a critic anyway.
"It's funny," wrote Pitchfork senior editor Ryan Dombal in an email. "Bernie's spoken word parts make this weirdly distinct and actually more powerful than it would be otherwise. It's like if Dylan was a little out of it after dental surgery and decided to crash Peter, Paul and Mary's 'Blowing in the Wind' session."
Readers: Live every day like you're high on novocaine and crashing a folk music studio session.
Chris Christie, Better Than Ever
The unstoppable Robert Costa talks to a bunch of Republicans from all sectors of the party and finds them cheery about Chris Christie's future. Yesterday, NBC News reported that a nine-month DOJ probe of Christie's role in Bridgegate found nothing. And because Costa is Costa, he even got Chuck Laudner, who literally drove Rick Santorum around Iowa in 2011, to praise the Christie resurrection. "To have that not hanging over his head puts him back where he started from," says Laudner, an activist who you would never expect to back the New Jersey governor.
My only argument about any of this: Christie is fundamentally better off because Bridgegate happened. Before the story, Christie was assumed to not just the 2016 Republican frontrunner but a beltway-approved, Morning Joe-feted savior of the Republican Party. You can look at the Judicial Network ads that follow Christie along every trip to South Carolina to see how that plays.
The scandal removed Christie from that position, and bestowed a new one upon him. He was now, like Scott Walker and like Rick Perry (and Richard Nixon, etc and etc) a Republican trying to do his job before being attacked by the thuggish, criminalizing Democrats. He was no longer an MSNBC morning hero; he was the subject of hundreds of segments that linked him to corruption. Christie discovered the right's enemies, and now he's back, attacking state Democrats who keep investigating him as "people who are addicted to MSNBC and the front page of your papers."
Washington's Acting Roles
Earlier this week, Debo Adegbile, President Obama's choice to head the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, withdrew his name from consideration. He is not the first presidential nominee to do so: Adegbile joins 70 or so other would-be Obama appointees since 2009 to withdraw their names for jobs that require Senate confirmation. At least half were due to political pressures, estimates Ian Ostrander of Texas Tech University. That was the case for Adegbile. Despite excellent credentials, Republicans (and even some Democrats) found him controversial because he served as a defense lawyer for Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was on death row for killing a police officer in Philadelphia. The Senate first rejected Adegbile's bid in March.
More than a thousand executive and judicial office positions are taken up by presidential appointments with approval from the Senate. But filling them has never been harder. Republicans are loath to approve presidential picks for even the minutest office. Alas, changing rules to curb the filibustering of executive nominations—the "nuclear option" Senate Democrats pushed through last autumn—has become a reason for partisans to double down on slowing approvals.
Nominations use to move to a vote by unanimous consent from the Senate chamber. Today, this happens more rarely: The Senate leader must now call what's known as "cloture" to compel his colleagues to vote. A chart from Sarah Binder of the Brookings Institution shows the rise in clotures—so far this year, Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, has had to file 16 clotures a month, compared with seven a month in 2013. Many of these were simply to compel votes on nominations.
This has left agencies to be run by "acting" or temporary officials. That's not entirely new; there was a quip during the second Clinton administration that Washington seemed to have more acting roles than Hollywood. But unprecedented levels of partisanship and obstructionism mean acting heads are likely to become the norm, says Robert Rizzi, a partner at Steptoe & Johnson, a Washington law firm.
Impermanence at the top is likely to leave an agency neutered, says Paul Light of New York University. Acting heads have the same legal authority of permanently installed ones, but their temporary status usually means that they will forestall making big decisions. Acting chiefs are limited to serving for 210 days, which makes it hard to have any long-term outlook. The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is already on its second temporary agency head.
The Obama administration says it is working to find a new nominee to replace Adegbile. Whoever it turns out to be, he or she will likely face a long slog. The vetting process has lengthened, as have wait times for getting confirmed. (The Senate took an average of 60 days to confirm Obama executive appointees in 2009, compared with 49 days for Clinton's in his first year, and 51 for Bush Sr.'s.) Even the paperwork is a bigger headache than it used to be. Security clearance questionnaires—first introduced amid the witch-hunting McCarthyism of the Eisenhower years—have lengthened to more than 100 pages. The only thing more frightening than a communist, it seems, is a fresh new bureaucrat.
The Gaffe Police Are Back to Make Politics Glib and Boring
This is my final day at Slate, and if I'm gonna go out, it's gonna be while defending Joe Biden from the gaffe police. My bias is clear: Joe Biden is one of the last products of a bygone political era, before the tracker, before the Twitter news cycle, when politicians could hang out and say whatever. For this, for his refusal to be predictable and boring, he is regularly pummeled. Sometimes rightfully so—he probably should not have referred to "Shylocks" in Iowa this week, because it is the year 2014.
Sometimes—often—the shaming is unwarranted. We have an example of that today, in the reaction to Biden's comments at a DNC women's conference. Biden was on a familiar tear about how the Republican Party intends to win the midterms by tightening access to the polls in swing states. This was not always so. "It was Republicans who expanded access to the polls," said Biden. "It was Republicans in the Judiciary Committee who expanded Motor Voter. It was Republicans that were involved—guys like Mac Mathias, Packwood, and so many others."
Mac Mathias was a liberal Republican from Maryland who retired uneventfully in 1986; Bob Packwood was an Oregon senator who resigned in disgrace in 1995, after the Washington Post broke the news that he'd sexually harassed women for years. Undoubtedly, this is what Packwood is known for in 2014, and reporters have universally branded this a gaffe. Packwood "isn't really the kind of person you should be speaking well of at a women's conference," writes WaPo's Aaron Blake. "For a Democratic Party who has made such a big deal of the GOP's supposed 'war on women,' praising someone with Packwood's history is a really bad idea."
Leave aside the old trope that the "war on women" can be neutralized by pointing out that Democrats have not condemned this or that creep in the party. Leave aside that Bill Clinton, who was impeached after lying about an affair with an intern, remains a popular figure in the Democratic Party, and that his wife is expected to be the party's next nominee. Leave aside JFK's dalliances, and FDR's, and Ted Kennedy's, etc. No reporter in the room has actually produced a woman who was offended by Biden's reference to Packwood, just as they are unoffended by the Democrats listed above.
No, more than that, reporters have chosen to forget why the Packwood scandal was so searing. Packwood was one of the Republicans best liked by women's rights activists. Packwood, elected in 1968, introduced an abortion legalization bill before Roe v. Wade was decided. As the Republican Party became uniformly pro-life, Packwood held out to the extent that Gloria Steinem raised money for him. You don't have to spend much time looking for Packwood stories to find one NARAL lobbyist's account of how Packwood opposed a right to life amendment at the apogee of the Reagan revolution.
At one point, despite the fact that it looked like we would easily defeat the measure, Packwood suggested that he filibuster the proposal. We could not say no to him, so we went along with him, letting him have his day in the spotlight. Indeed, when we suggested that we could get other Senators to join him, he demurred, saying he could do it alone. So, we watched him read the U.S. Constitution with a catheter attached to his leg.
This was the impression people had of Packwood when the allegations broke. He was fighting a re-election campaign; he lied; he won. Weeks later, the reaction to his resignation was colored by the fact that he'd defrauded voters. And it was tragic, for women's groups, because they'd trusted their increasingly lonely Republican ally while he'd been harassing women.
There, that's the short version of the story. Packwood's famous for the scandal, but if he died tomorrow, you'd probably see obit-writers struggling to contrast his downfall with all the reasons that Steinem, et al. had trusted him. The history of pro-choice Republicans, 1986's tax reform, and the less-partisan Senate are all skewed by the presence of Packwood, but he was there, and—hey!—Joe Biden mentioned it. And because people like to be retweeted, and to feign outrage, this becomes a gaffe, instead of a harmlessly off-key reference to one of Washington's great, strange, self-destructive careers.
Hey, Data Journalists: Lay Off the Scottish Referendum Pollsters
The final average of polls in Scotland's independence referendum pointed at a narrow 52-48 victory for the "No" campaign. (Fine, fine: The "Better Together" campaign, if you want to be a stickler.) The final result was 55-45 for "no." The gurus at UK Polling Report concede that this looks like "some systemic error," and that a final YouGov survey might have revealed that one in 50 voters ended up changing their minds as they closed the door on the polling booth. YouGov's final "recontact" showed a 54-46 break for "No," close enough to the result.
Yet this cannot save the pollsters from a Nate Silver post titled "The Scotland Independence Polls Were Pretty Bad." Silver admits that he "behaved like a television pundit" last year when he was asked about the vote by a Scottish audience if "No" had a chance. "If you look at the polls," he said then, "it's pretty definitive really where the no side is at 60-55 percent and the yes side is about 40 or so."
And it was definitive. In all of 2013, the only poll that had "Yes" cracking 40 percent was conducted by the Scottish National Party. For much of 2014, the "No" lead was steady, with the occasional close result spurring a few wouldn't-it-be-funny-if news stories, then fading. It stayed like this until the last two weeks of the campaign, when a debate win by the SNP's Alex Salmond over Better Together's avatar Alistair Darling preceded a "Yes" surge.*
Now, it's true that if you locked yourself in cryo-freeze nine months ago and expected a "No" win, you'd have been right. Just as you'd have been right if you said "I bet the frontrunner, Mitt Romney, wins the GOP nomination" in 2011, and ignored everything else that happened. If you want to shake your head at the reporters who wrote that "to walk through virtually any Scottish town this week was to be confronted by an apparently unassailable army of people voting Yes," you can!
But you would have missed a panic that changed the future of 5.4 million Scots. The "No" coalition, composed of the three main British parties, responded to the "Yes" surge by pushing up or amending their own promises for further Scottish devolution. They had been expected to offer some of this stuff in six-odd months, in party manifestos. Instead, they tried to head off a "Yes" win by assuring wavering voters that unemployment programs, some housing programs, and significant taxing powers be devolved to the Scottish parliament. Banks and investors threatened to bolt the country. Ironically, this decision of "yes" or "no" was less binary than the standard U.S. presidential election. When one of our candidates wins, he wins. When the "Yes" campaign got close to winning, the "No" campaign made huge concessions, and this simply wouldn't have happened had the polls stayed at 60/40 for "No."
Silver points out that a YouGov poll that showed "Yes" surging "did so only because of its weighting procedures" and "on an unweighted basis, it had 'no' ahead by about 6 percentage points." That's an imporant point, being lost elsewhere. But what does it tell us about how "No" should have responded? Should they have rested comfortably in the knowledge that the "Yes" surge was slowing? Should they have promised less to Scots? Even if that unweighted poll had been dead-on, they'd have seen the union saved by a 53-47 margin, down from the 20-point margin of a few months previous.
*Correction, Sept. 19, 2014: This post originally misspelled Alistair Darling's first name.
The Senate's Roll Call Vote on Syria, Explained
Yesterday, as the Senate was smelling jet fuel* and voting on the continuing resolution that would fund the government and throw some coin to rebels in Syria, I was at the Liberty Political Action Conference down the highway from D.C. The annual event gathers together the more directly political, election-centric elements of the Liberty Movement—Ron Paul's faction—and offers up some networking, speeches, and training. First Sen. Rand Paul trashed the CR, then Michigan Rep. Justin Amash joined the pummeling.
"You saw they stuck arming the Syrian rebels in a bill to fund the government?" Amash asked the crowd. "About a year and a half ago, they were complaining about the fact we didn't have a 'clean CR.' This year they want to throw things into it!"
So why wasn't there more resistance? Because the numbers were not there. The thinking in Rand Paul's camp was that a filibuster could only delay the vote by a day. Better to make an impassioned speech, work the crowds at a friendly conference, then head to California for some GOP events that had long been scheduled. The roll call confirms the wisdom of Paul's plan—only 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats voted "no."
Who were they? On the Republican side, Paul was joined by Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the "three amigos" who regularly cast libertarian votes. Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts, who is fighting a surprise challenge from an independent candidate, voted no; his colleague and NRSC chairman, Sen. Jerry Moran, stuck with him. Both Idaho senators and both Wyoming senators voted no, as they are perhaps the least vulnerable members of the upper house in America. Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions voted no after his amendment to end the DACA program was tabled; Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, retiring at the end of the year, joined him. (Nevada Sen. Dean Heller was also a "no," citing "too many uncertainties.")
On the Democratic side, it may irritate Secretary of State John Kerry that both of his state's senators voted "no." Sen. Ed Markey, who holds the old Kerry seat, faces an easy re-election in six weeks. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's vote was more notable (even if, as I think, the 65-year-old freshman senator never runs for another office) because her progressive fans had been waiting for her to stake out any kind of foreign policy position. They were upset when she repeated the standard administration line on Israel's Gaza war this year. They are calmed, a bit. Warren was joined by senators from blue states, including New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who at 47 is considered a possible national candidate someday.
But the only Democrat facing a tough race who voted "no" was Alaska Sen. Mark Begich. His opponent, Bush administration veteran Dan Sullivan, said he would have supported the vote. Every other Democrat facing re-election in a swing state this year voted "yes."
*A Capitol Hill expression, which is less well-known than I sometimes think, meaning they want to jump on the planes and go home already.
A Clever Attempt at Explaining Away a Vote Against the Farm Bill
Rep. Tom Cotton has yet to blow away Sen. Mark Pryor in Arkansas' Senate race. Molly Ball has you covered on all the reasons why. Unlike Rep. John Boozman, a Republican who defeated the state's other Democratic senator in a massive landslide, Cotton has a voting record that Pryor has enjoyed punching holes out of. But Cotton is fighting back, with this explanation of why he opposed the farm bill.
Very clever, even if the verb usage is a bit much. The farm bill was not suddenly transformed into a food stamp bill; it's a long-standing agreement that food stamp funding be packaged with farm bill money, so that urban members are forced to lock arms with rural members. Also, 17 percent of Arkansans are on food stamps. But 83 percent of them aren't—important to consider, when you're counting votes.
In Defense of Congress Leaving Town Without a New War Vote
Today, the House of Representatives and the Senate will recess, allowing members to campaign for re-election—or, if they're retiring, to take calls from people begging them to transfer money from their respective campaign accounts. The two bodies will do this without holding any new votes on the intervention in Iraq and Syria, apart from the continuing resolution, which will fund the government with a nice side pocket for Syrian rebels.
Should Americans be offended by this? On the one hand, it's great for the parties—they get to carp about the lack of will from the other side. (See this National Review attack on Senate Democrats, whose "response to ISIS" is identical to that of House Republicans.) Republicans are slated to win more seats, and in key races they're more comfortable attacking Democrats and the president for letting these terrifying, beheading-centric terrorists flourish.
It's less fun if you're a member of Congress who believes the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force have been stretched out of all proportion. At today's Conversations with Conservatives, a monthly Heritage Foundation event with a half-dozen or so House Republicans, some Class of 2010 members worried about intervening in Syria without a new AUMF. South Carolina Rep. Mick Mulvaney pointed out that loose AUMF language had been circulating (thanks to departing Rep. Frank Wolf), but it was not encouraging.
"It was very broadly defined, in going after terrorists or terrorism," said Mulvaney. "I'd personally like to see it limited in duration. I think the fact that we're scabbing on a military effort in 2014 based upon a resolution that was passed 13 years ago shows some very poor decision-making."
"No one who voted for the AUMF in 2001 envisioned that in 2014 a president of the United States would use that authorization to invade another country," said Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador. "We should go after the people who killed the reporters. We should have limited strikes."
Labrador, who often aligns himself with the libertarian wing of the party, cited an old Ron Paul argument. George W. Bush had won the presidency in 2000, calling for a "humble foreign policy." What happened to that? "We need to be a bit more humble in our advocacy for the use of force."
But no one was throwing up hurdles on the way back to their districts. Over in the Senate, there was talk about an authorization vote after the election, but nothing now.
My headline is only half-serious. It's hard to look at Congress's complain-and-leave approach to the war as anything serious, or anything like its constitutional obligation. Still: Compare this moment with the weeks before the 2002 election. The Bush administration demanded a vote on authorization for a possible war in Iraq before a midterm election that largely came down to elections in red states like Missouri, Georgia, and South Dakota. (Republicans lost South Dakota narrowly, but won Minnesota after Sen. Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash.) Democrats were asked to take a vote, which was not particularly related to the timing of the war, at a moment of maximum political danger.
This year, the Congress is being allowed to punt and blame the president if anything goes wrong. Progress!
Ex-Im Bank Creates New Jobs for Political Consultants
I wrote yesterday about how the introduction of funds for Syrian rebels into the continuing resolution bollixed up the conservative fight against the Ex-Im Bank. The Club for Growth, which had warred against the bank, withdrew its "key vote." Conservatives were suddenly freer to back a CR that extended the Ex-Im charter into September 2015, several government shutdowns from now.
Suddenly, via Damian Paletta and Brody Mullins, we have a pro-Ex-Im super PAC founded by a businessman who specializes in "business-to-business services for importers and exporters," and is not named George Costanza.
Maybe "suddenly" is the wrong word to use here. Ex-Im has already been drumming up business for D.C. "strategists"—don't call them lobbyists!—who can work over members, op-ed pages, and social media in defense of free money for Boeing. Hamilton Place Strategies, for example, has been relentless in sending dignitaries onto TV and finding small businesses that can talk to the press about how great Ex-Im has been. The Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers have been out there, too.* They said they would be in the summer, when I asked whether the club/Koch/Tea Party push against Ex-Im was going to work. "I don't sense that there's a massive grassroots opposition to Ex-Im," the chamber's senior director of international policy told me.
It depends what "grassroots" means. This hasn't been a front-burner issue, ever. It was a signifying issue that Republicans belatedly realized they could run on, to make Democrats look like tools for big business. The club was even scoring hits on Elizabeth Warren for supporting Ex-Im. "It's shameful that someone like Elizabeth Warren, who has spent her entire career demonizing Wall Street and big corporations, is siding with them on the Export-Import Bank," the club told Zach Carter last month.
The trolling will have to pause for a little while. If this CR passes, the pro-Ex-Im corporations have bested the anti-Ex-Im corporations and libertarians. And some consultants and ad-makers will be able to pay off mortgages as the fight drags into 2015.
*Correction, Sept. 18, 2014: This post originally misidentified the National Association of Manufacturers as the National Organization of Manufacturers.
From Fringe to Mainstream: How We Learned to Panic About Terrorists Crossing the Border
Seven years ago, as he trudged toward a pre-Iowa caucuses withdrawl from the GOP presidential race, Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo released a campaign ad that doubled as a horror movie. Soundtrack: an ominous ticking sound. Visual: a hooded man with a backpack sneaking around a mall and dropping his well-concealed bomb next to a populated plaza. The ad ended with a "boom," in case the message was lost on anyone.
The ad got barrels of free ink, which helped, because there was only about $100,000 in the Tancredo campaign account. Immigration restrictionists declined to comment on it. The press generally saw the ad as a kooky production from a fringe candidate. The GOP went on to nominate John McCain for president, despite his once and future support for comprehensive immigration reform.
It didn't occur to me until after I wrote about David Perdue's latest ad in Georgia that this sort of border panic is now in the Republican mainstream. Perdue, a businessman and first-time candidate, is on the air with this image:
The first problem with this ad is that the Texas Department of Public Safety did not quite say that. An Aug. 28 bulletin obtained by Fox News warned that "a review of ISIS social media messaging during the week ending August 26 shows that militants are expressing an increased interest in the notion that they could clandestinely infiltrate the southwest border of US, for terror attack." Perdue's campaign hit the trusty delete key on "an increased interest in the notion," etc., turning chatter online about how ISIS thugs would like to attack through Mexico into proof that they could do it right now. Just look at that grainy video of ISIS members walking through a desert! Is it the desert closest to you? Maybe! But these were just messages on social media, in the same forums where ISIS supporters have promised bombs in American embassies and attacks on New York City. They have been too busy getting blown up by airstrikes to pull that off; intelligence estimates say they're not even close.
But that's not what David Perdue says, or James O'Keefe says, or Rick Perry says. Three years ago, as Jesse Walker reminds us, Perry was telling Republican voters that "we know that Hamas and Hezbollah are working in Mexico" with designs on attacking America. The subsequent lack of Hamas attacks in Corpus Christi has done nothing to Perry's credibility—he is still asking fellow Americans to fret about terrorists creeping over the border. It's a spectacular campaign of misdirection, given that the problem posed by ISIS is that some sympathizers are already living in the West, traveling around legally.
Walker's whole column is worth reading, and it's worth watching how many more campaigns discover the "terrorists crawling through the desert" image. Other campaigns are attacking Democrats and the Obama administration for not seizing the passports or revoking the citizenship of Americans who sign up with Islamists. That's a much trickier and more resonant debate. Unlike the "terrorists on the border" attack line, it has not gotten a chance to look ridiculous after the panic settled.


text:
Women's Clothing & Footwear
Women's clothing from Celtic & Co.
Check out our women's clothing range. UK internet sales of women's clothing continue to be one of our fastest growing areas alongside our recently introduced leather and suede footwear collections.
Buy the latest women's clothing and footwear from Celtic & Co. Shop for our latest seasonal designs, crafted exclusively from natural yarns, across our clothing and footwear ranges. You can browse for one of our latest timeless classic pieces of ladies knitwear or find a pair of one of our signature styles of women's shearling boots - whatever you are looking for - style, value, natural yarns or comfort and warmth - you will find something here at Celtic & Co.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
GREENCASTLE — Every so often, various circumstances force teams to grow up quickly.
Returning just two players with any varsity experience from a year ago, the Greencastle-Antrim girls basketball team entered the 2012-13 season knowing it would need to weather the inevitable learning curve early if they hoped to remain in contention late.
If Friday night's impressive 59-44 victory over Shippensburg was any indication, the Blue Devils are clearly ahead of schedule.
Paced by a career-high 27 points from standout Chloe Hoover, G-A continued its progression in commanding fashion, overwhelming the visiting Greyhounds throughout all four quarters, at one point leading by as many as 25 in the second half.
"Tonight was a big step in the right direction," G-A head coach Mike Rhine said. "I really can't say enough about these girls. Everyone has a role on this team and when everyone does their role like they did tonight, this is the result."
While Hoover's sensational performance stole the show, which also included a game-high 15 rebounds, the Blue Devils received significant contributions across the floor, beginning with all five starters scoring in the opening quarter.
As a result, G-A (3-3, 2-2 MPC-Colonial) wasted little time setting the tone, establishing a 18-6 lead at the end of the first before a Jane Herman 3-pointer extended the advantage to 23-8 early in the second.
Needing a spark, Shippensburg (2-5, 2-3 MPC-Colonial) found some success by implementing a full-court press, temporarily stalling the Blue Devils' attack while cutting the lead to 28-18 at the half.
Unfortunately for the Greyhounds, G-A's double-digit margin abruptly grew into an insurmountable deficit in the third.
The Blue Devils opened the second half on a decisive 18-3 run, highlighted by 11 points from Hoover along with a Meghan Hirneisen jumper and a Hannah Crist lay-in off her own steal, granting G-A its largest lead of the game at 46-21 with two minutes remaining in the quarter.
Down by 20 entering the fourth, Shippensburg attempted a spirited rally, as buckets by Brooke Porter, Sarah Lyman and Alicia Johnson drew the Greyhounds within 13 at 53-40 with time winding down.
Still maintaining a comfortable cushion, Herman essentially delivered the dagger at the 1:50 mark of the fourth, draining her third 3 of the game to swing the momentum back in G-A's favor.
Fittingly, Hoover capped her memorable outing by burying her only make from beyond the arc at the buzzer, putting an exclamation point on an all-around, convincing victory for the Blue Devils.
"Chloe is just a fantastic basketball player," Rhine said of his junior captain. "She's our leader and when she gets on a roll, she's hard to stop. The girls look to her and she delivered for us again tonight."
Herman finished with 12 points, complementing Hoover's double-double, followed by eight points from Hirneisen and seven from Crist.
Johnson led the Greyhounds with eight points while Porter recorded seven in the loss.
Despite receiving a break from the classroom over the holidays, the Blue Devils will continue their ongoing progression on the court, returning to action on Thursday as a participant in the Lower Dauphin Christmas Tournament.
Greencastle-Antrim 59,
Shippensburg 44
SHIPPENSBURG (44): Alicia Johnson 4 0-1 8, Brooke Porter 3 1-2 7, Sarah Lyman 3 0-2 6, Alysia Clawson 2 2-3 6, Drew Lovett 2 2-3 6, Allyson Fetter 2 2-3 6, Kylee Miller 1 2-5 4, Kayleen Sydner 0 1-2 1. 3-point field goals: 0. TOTALS: 17 10-21 44.
GREENCASTLE (59): Chloe Hoover 10 6-8 27, Jane Herman 4 1-1 12, Meghan Hirneisen 3 2-2 8, Hannah Crist 3 1-1 7, Katie Gelsinger 2 0-0 4, Shelby Stouffer 0 1-2 1. 3-point field goals: 4 (Herman 3, Hoover). TOTALS: 22 11-14 59.


text:
Strategy Analytics views the Verizon Wireless award of LTE contracts to Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson as critical for the two vendors, positioning them for substantial 4G market share. The Strategy Analytics Wireless Network Strategies service report, "The LTE Battle is On: Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson Contract Wins Arm them for Market Leadership," projects that early leaders will take substantial market share, as operators seek to work with proven solutions when capex budgets are tight.
The company's senior analyst, Susan Welsh de Grimaldo, noted, "Given its leadership role in awarding spectrum suitable for 4G, the US is positioning to take an early lead in LTE deployment. Verizon Wireless' award of key contracts to Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson will provide these vendors with invaluable real-world lessons learned ahead of vendor selection in many other countries."
Speaking from the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Phil Kendall, service director, Strategy Analytics, observed, "Despite the weak global economy and lack of spectrum awards to support LTE build-outs in many European and Asian markets, the battle is now on for LTE contracts. TeliaSonera made the first public LTE awards to Ericsson and Huawei in January, and now Verizon's selection puts additional pressure on Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks, and Nortel, as vendors jockey for position in anticipation of substantial LTE awards between now and the 2012 timeframe."


text:
edesignz needed a new other design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 151 designs submitted by 57 freelance designers.
Original dragonfly graphic - can be stylized look.
Require a dragonfly graphic for a client so I can incorporate it into their logo.
Supplied as an Illustrator CS2 format.
Must use purple or mauve colour.
Would prefer it's a simple/stylized version.
Realistic looking.


text:
Shooting-anniversary vigils scheduled to honor victims
Clackamas Town Center hosts a memorial and candlelight vigil titled Remembrance and Resolve from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, the one-year anniversary of the shootings at the mall. Held on the north side of the shopping center near the theater, the public vigil will include a moment of silence for the victims.
West Linn High Schools Choir will begin the vigil. Speakers will include clergy and members of the victims families.
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in Americas Oregon Chapter will host a memorial event called No More Silence Saturday, Dec. 14, starting at 10 a.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem, 5090 Center St., in honor of the 20 children and six adults murdered one year ago at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
This vigil asks concerned citizens to join moms across the nation to make noise about gun reform. Moms in Oregon will honor the Newtown and Clackamas victims and all victims of gun violence through bell ringing in lieu of a moment of silence.
Members of Moms Demand Action will call on Congress to immediately enact common-sense reforms such as comprehensive background checks for gun purchases. The grassroots movements members have been instrumental in securing significant legislative victories at the state and local levels, including the passage of strong new gun laws in California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and New York.


text:
Simply show up at our meeting points, no Pre-booking required!
Hidden Berlin & ALL Main Sites.
Hitler & WWII – The final days
Memorial Site Tour
Behind the Wall
Kaisers to Komissars – Prussia's wonderland!
Reunited and Revived
Destruction & Rebirth
Saxon Kings, WWII destruction and more
Treasures of the Ancient World
Insider Tour Berlin has been pioneering cutting-edge English-language walking tours of Berlin since 1996. Our internationally renowned Berlin sightseeing tours take you to all the main sites (and some lesser-known ones!) with guides who supply a gripping narrative on this city's history, character and contemporary state.
Our highly acclaimed and professional Berlin tour guides deliver well-informed and riveting accounts of the stories behind Berlin's turbulent history - from its very origins as a pagan fishing village, through to the opulent Prussian and Bismarck eras, taking in the first World War, the Weimar era, Third Reich Berlin, WWII, Cold War Berlin, the fall of the Wall, finally culminating in the forming of this trendy, transparent, alternative and optimistic capital of the new Germany. Insider Tour Berlin also conducts specialised walking tours on Battlefield Berlin, Berlin's Third Reich & Cold War history, Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial Site, Contemporary/Alternative Berlin and of course Potsdam, the Prussian town just outside the city.
Originally from the quirky and beautiful city of Bristol, England, Chloe is an adopted Berliner who has quickly fallen in love with this creative, eccentric and historic city....Read more


text:
Portage is probably Gentoo's most notable innovation in software management. With its high flexibility and enormous amount of features it is frequently seen as the best software management tool available for Linux.
Portage is completely written in
Most users will work with Portage through the
$ man emerge
When we talk about packages, we often mean software titles that are available to
the Gentoo users through the Portage tree. The Portage tree is a collection of
Whenever you ask Portage to perform some action regarding software titles, it will use the ebuilds on your system as a base. It is therefore important that you regularly update the ebuilds on your system so Portage knows about new software, security updates, etc.
The Portage tree is usually updated with
# emerge --sync
If you are unable to rsync due to firewall restrictions you can still update
your Portage tree by using our daily generated Portage tree snapshots. The
# emerge-webrsync
To search through the Portage tree after software titles, you can use
For instance, to search for all packages who have "pdf" in their name:
$ emerge search pdf
If you want to search through the descriptions as well you can use the
$ emerge --searchdesc pdf
When you take a look at the output, you'll notice that it gives you a lot of information. The fields are clearly labelled so we won't go further into their meanings:
* net-print/cups-pdf Latest version available: 1.5.2 Latest version installed: [ Not Installed ] Size of downloaded files: 15 kB Homepage: http://cip.physik.uni-wuerzburg.de/~vrbehr/cups-pdf/ Description: Provides a virtual printer for CUPS to produce PDF files. License: GPL-2
Once you've found a software title to your liking, you can easily install it
# emerge gnumeric
Since many applications depend on each other, any attempt to install a certain
software package might result in the installation of several dependencies as
well. Don't worry, Portage handles dependencies well. If you want to find out
what Portage
# emerge --pretend gnumeric
When you ask Portage to install a package, it will download the necessary source
code from the internet (if necessary) and store it by default in
# emerge --fetchonly gnumeric
When you want to remove a software package from your system, use
However, a
# emerge unmerge gnumeric
When you remove a package from your system, the dependencies of that package
that were installed automatically when you installed the software are left. To
have Portage locate all dependencies that can now be removed, use
To keep your system in perfect shape (and not to mention install the latest
security updates) you need to update your system regularly. Since Portage only
checks the ebuilds in your Portage tree you first have to update your Portage
tree. When your Portage tree is updated, you can update your system with
# emerge --update world
Portage will then search for newer version of the applications you have
installed. However, it will only verify the versions for the applications you
have explicitly installed - not the dependencies. If you want to update every
single package on your system, add the
# emerge --update --deep world
If you have altered any of your
# emerge --update --deep --newuse world
Some packages in the Portage tree don't have any real content but are used to
install a collection of packages. For instance, the
If you ever want to remove such a package from your system, running
Portage has the functionality to remove orphaned dependencies as well, but since
the availability of software is dynamically dependent you first need to update
your entire system fully, including the new changes you applied when changing
USE flags. After this you can run
All this is handled with the following three commands:
# emerge --update --deep --newuse world # emerge depclean # revdep-rebuild
# emerge gentoolkit
As we stated before, Portage is extremely powerful and supports many features that other software management tools lack. To understand this, we explain a few aspects of Portage without going in too much detail.
With Portage different versions of a single package can coexist on a system.
While other distributions tend to name their package to those versions (like
There are also packages that provide the same functionality but are implemented
differently. For instance,
Software in the Portage tree can reside in different branches. By default your system only accepts packages that Gentoo deems stable. Most new software titles, when committed, are added to the testing branch, meaning more testing needs to be done before it is marked as stable. Although you will see the ebuilds for those software in the Portage tree, Portage will not update them before they are placed in the stable branch.
Some software is only available for a few architectures. Or the software doesn't work on the other architectures, or it needs more testing, or the developer that committed the software to the Portage tree is unable to verify if the package works on different architectures.
Each Gentoo installation adheres to a certain
[blocks B ] gnome-base/bonobo-activation (from pkg gnome-base/libbonobo-2.4.0)
!!! Error: the gnome-base/bonobo-activation package conflicts with another package. !!! both can't be installed on the same system together. !!! Please use 'emerge --pretend' to determine blockers.
Ebuilds contain specific fields that inform Portage about its dependencies.
There are two possible dependencies: build dependencies, declared in
To fix a blockage, you can choose to not install the package or unmerge the
conflicting package first. In the given example, you can opt not to install
!!! all ebuilds that could satisfy "bootsplash" have been masked.
!!! possible candidates are: - gnome-base/gnome-2.8.0_pre1 (masked by: ~x86 keyword) - lm-sensors/lm-sensors-2.8.7 (masked by: -sparc keyword) - sys-libs/glibc-126.96.36.19940808 (masked by: -* keyword) - dev-util/cvsd-1.0.2 (masked by: missing keyword) - media-video/ati-gatos-4.3.0 (masked by: package.mask) - sys-libs/glibc-2.3.2-r11 (masked by: profile)
When you want to install a package that isn't available for your system, you will receive this masking error. You should try installing a different application that is available for your system or wait until the package is put available. There is always a reason why a package is masked:
emerge: there are no ebuilds to satisfy ">=sys-devel/gcc-4.2-r4". !!! Problem with ebuild sys-devel/gcc-3.4.2-r2 !!! Possibly a DEPEND/*DEPEND problem.
The application you are trying to install depends on another package that is not
available for your system. Please check
!!! The short ebuild name "aterm" is ambiguous. Please specify !!! one of the following fully-qualified ebuild names instead: dev-libs/aterm x11-terms/aterm
The application you want to install has a name that corresponds with more than one package. You need to supply the category name as well. Portage will inform you of possible matches to choose from.
!!! Error: circular dependencies: ebuild / net-print/cups-1.1.15-r2 depends on ebuild / app-text/ghostscript-7.05.3-r1 ebuild / app-text/ghostscript-7.05.3-r1 depends on ebuild / net-print/cups-1.1.15-r2
Two (or more) packages you want to install depend on each other and can
therefore not be installed. This is most likely a bug in the Portage tree.
Please resync after a while and try again. You can also check
!!! Fetch failed for sys-libs/ncurses-5.4-r5, continuing...
(...)!!! Some fetch errors were encountered. Please see above for details.
Portage was unable to download the sources for the given application and will try to continue installing the other applications (if applicable). This failure can be due to a mirror that has not synchronised correctly or because the ebuild points to an incorrect location. The server where the sources reside can also be down for some reason.
Retry after one hour to see if the issue still persists.
!!! Trying to unmerge package(s) in system profile. 'sys-apps/portage' !!! This could be damaging to your system.
You have asked to remove a package that is part of your system's core packages. It is listed in your profile as required and should therefore not be removed from the system.


text:
The Morning Charm
A colorful sunrise at CapeRoyal, Northrim, GrandCanyon
Calm before the Eclipse
This is back from the Idaho Great American Solar Eclipse.
As we got ready for Solar Eclipse 2017, the morning had its serene calmness to it. First ray of lights hitting the McGown Peak that in turn shows its Golden wealth as the snow caps reflect the light back.
Which is the best camera?
Answer: The one that you have at hand and is in working condition.
Before I go further into the details lets get the EXIF for this image out of the way.
Exif: iPhone X, 1/40s, f/1.6 @ 4mm (28mm FF equivalent)
Saturday afternoon, I was driving back from a birthday party. While driving I saw this huge puffing streak of clouds. I had an intuition that this would be an amazing sunset. Called my friend to see if he would be interested in driving to either Rockwall Harbor or Lavon Lake. Unfortunately, he had some errands and was busy. So I decided to head with my wife and her mom.
I came home, quickly grabbed my camera, two lenses, my filter bags, tripod and shutter release and was all set to visit Rockwall lake. We arrived at this harbor well before 20 mins of sunset. Quickly scouted a spot, assembled my tripod and mounted the lens on the camera. All the people walking by watching me could tell that I was really excited. Well, now all I had to do was turn ON the Camera and compose my shot, so I did. My camera won't start, toggled the ON and OFF switch thrice, but no luck. Then I decided to check the batteries and noticed I left all my batteries at home.
So here I was kicking myself, as the blue hour approached, the colors began to turn up and it was beautiful. Though I could not manage to get the image with my DSLR I did witness an amazing sunset and mobile photo did not disappoint
A tranquil sunset at Colorado Point
Continuing the journey of Mark Metternich Ultimate SouthWest 2017 Workshop from Tatahatso Point, on the 4th day, we came at this beautiful, yet surreal location. This was yet another one of those 2 - 3 hours off-roading which was a fun yet thrilling experience.
We arrived at this spot hoping to image a distant thunderstorm that would be in the general direction of sunset, but however, the storm had its own plan and it drifted northwards. The purple-pink ambiance that you see on the right is where the storm went, making a clear path for sun rays to hit the canyons, through which the Colorado river flowed
This point is aptly known as "the Colorado point" (yes, I googled, there are no references of it) because this is where the Little Colorado River flowing from New Mexico, joins the main steam of the Colorado River. I do have a beautiful picture where the tributary meets the river but I will save that for next time.
This image was initially intended as a panoramic shot, but after a close critique with my friends, I decided to crop it into a single image.
Maroon Bells - The First light
Shot this exactly a month ago, right about the time when falls colors started to bloom in Aspen, Colorado. The very famous - Maroon Bells at Maroon lake. Crowded with hundreds of photographers (no exaggeration, literally 300+), I managed to get a decent composition next to a young couple who were generous to make some space for me and my tripod.
Backstory: With all the hotel prices skyrocketing near Aspen for the weekend of Sept 24th (per night over $350), Khushboo and I did a compromise and managed to get a hotel about 2:15 hours away from Aspen. Sunrise was accounted at 7:24 am but Civil twilight for 6:59 am. It snowed that night (Yay, first snow in Aspen), so we knew road conditions may not be ideal and would have to account for some extra time. As a result, we woke up at 3 am and hit the road by 3:45 am. As it turns out we reached Maroon lake by 6:15 am, only to find a jammed up parking situation. With things clearing up, we rushed to the location just to find it swamped with photographers as ants would swamp on a drop of honey. Fortunately, a young couple allowed to lay my tripod near their setup and flexibility of my 16-35mm lens, helped me capture the first light falling on the Maroon Bells.
Sunset at Wotan's Throne - Cape Royal
Standing at an elevation of about 7600 feet, Wotan's throne is I believe one of the most magnificent views of the Grand Canyon, located in Cape Royal on the North Rim. Whether you go there at Sunset or Sunrise, you will be amazed at the lights and the majestic view you get. The distant horizon which is basically the plateau of the south rim, Grand Canyon, is perfectly horizontal and gives the illusion that the Wotan's throne and the sky at the horizon are two different frames stick together.
As we (Tour group of Mark Metternich) came here and settled our camera, the sunlight falling through the gaps in the clouds, made distinct rays passing down the edge of the mountains of the right. The scene was really majestic.
Through the gaps
Shot this on the tour - The Ultimate Southwest, led by Mark Metternich.
As we arrived at Cape Royal, the setting sun started to throw some colors on the clouds at a distant. This was uplifting as we didn't have much luck with clouds till this day. Mark carefully guided us to a point that would really give an emphasis on the scene we were shooting. And I'm being really polite by stating the location as "a point", as, in reality, we (or I) would not have dared to think to go there for a sake of photo. But as he started to jump on the rock (which was really an edge), inspected the friction beneath it, and how much support it has, we were assured that we can lay our tripod & cameras there.
Our objective was to shoot close-ups shots of Wotan's Throne (which I did and will post the shots after a break), the drama that distant sunset was causing in the rifts and the valley to the right of Wotan's Throne was incredible. This is one of the shot. The edge shown in the frame is the last point followed by several feet of straight drop.
Dragons Eye
Do you see the eye? In Upper Antelope Canyon, there is another jewel that you can see, if you stand in right place and look up in right angle. It is called Dragon's eye.
Handheld bracketed shot to accentuate the true colors seen during that. And yes, apologies for the noise in the image, this was another one of those 10000 ISO shot.
A lonely heart in the slots
In the upper Antelope Canyon, there are various spots that you can look up and put them into shapes. One of them is this Heart shaped opening.
Sunset by White Rock Lake
3 Days, 3 Sunsets, 3 Lakes from DFW area.
Decided to go to White Rock Lake to get some shots of birds in flight.
Disappointingly didnt find anything great and by the time I reached it was too late as the light was almost gone and with birds photography it becomes extremely difficult to capture any good shots in low light.
I was about to head home then as slowly but steadily colors in the sky started to pop. This is what I managed to get from the deck at WRL
Sunset by Lavonia Park
Time was ticking as the Sunset was approaching and I had no opnion on where to shoot tonight's sunset which per sunsetwx.com was going to be a nice one.
Friends had planned to go down to Lewisville Lake, but drive there was not possible before the last light of the sun was already down. Looking for large water bodies around, I stumbled across Lavonia Park and so I decided to drive there. Unlike my last image, this time I reached there 10 minutes early. Quickly scouted for a foreground object and was lucky enough to find this metal piece.
As the Sun was setting the golden hour didn't look as great as it was predicted, but as the blue hour came by, things changed instantly. Sky lighted with highlights of red and joyful smile rose on my face. Couldn't had been much happier about this image.
Sunset by Rockwall Harbour
Driving out to an event, I noticed that the Sunset will be phenomenal today. Took a diversion and reached out to one of my favorite sunset spot at Rockwall Harbour.
Shot with Irix Firefly f/2.4
Long Exposure Sunset at Lake Grapevine, Murrells Park
One of the difficult Long Exposure Photography that I executed till date. Moving clouds at horizon were throwing of my exposure calculation much and making it really tricky to get it right. This is a total of 251s at f/18 with 10-stop ND.


text:
Zanetti emotional upon Inter comeback
Inter captain Javier Zanetti made his return from a ruptured Achilles tendon on Saturday and admitted it was an emotional comeback.
The 40-year-old has been sidelined since he sustained the injury at the end of April, with the defender's retirement slated for just a few weeks after.
Due to not being able to end the season as an active member of the squad, Zanetti was offered a one-year contract extension and took a place on the bench for last weekend's 3-0 win over Udinese following his gruelling rehabilitation.
Zanetti did not play in Udine, but did make his comeback as a late substitute in Saturday's 2-0 win over Livorno at San Siro and confessed it was an emotional occasion.
He told Sky Sport Italia: "I feel great emotion, as at the age of 40 after six months out it wasn't easy.
"Right from the day of the operation, I always said I wanted at least one more game in front of my fans. I could ask for nothing more.
"I have to thank the immense crowd, the president, all those who stayed close to me from the medics to my team-mates and everyone who wanted me to come back on to the pitch.
"I'm glad my comeback coincided with an important victory for us."
Inter head coach Walter Mazzarri added: "There's something special about him (Zanetti). He's world class and was a reassuring presence for the team as soon as he came on."
Zanetti also had kind words for club president Massimo Moratti, who, after selling the club to businessman Erick Thohir, attended his final home match as majority shareholder.
"Our bond goes beyond that of president and captain," Zanetti added. "The president deserves this applause and more for all he's done for Inter.
"We need to get back into the race for something important. The table will tell us where we end up, but with this spirit we can go far."


text:
Couple rides across US on unicycles to honor Syrian refugees
EUGENE, Ore. - After a unicycling performance in Switzerland, a 10-year-old Syrian refugee approached unicyclist Dustin Kelm.
The boy said his parents had been killed in the violence in Syria one week prior.
And that's when the light bulb turned on - and Dustin and Katie Kelm took off.
"The Refugee Ride is us on these two big, 36-inch wheeled unicycles riding coast to coast to bring hope and help to Syrian refugees."
October 6 in Eugene, they are 93 days, 14 states and 3,350 miles into their journey.
They started in Savannah, Georgia.
They'll wrap up soon at Yachats after, they say, North America saved some of the best for last: Oregon.
"The McKenzie Pass. Going from Sisters to Belknap Hot Springs was an amazing ride," Dustin said. I wish I could do it again."
The whole way, they've done it with Syrian refugees in mind.
"They've fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and so we're riding with just the clothes on our backs for the last 93 days on the Refuge Ride to bring hope and help to the Syrian people," Dustin said.
On their bikes, they carry one change of clothes, some gear and emergency equipment.
The Kelms ride 40 miles per day.
On every 10th day or so, they rest.
"Most mornings we don't want to get up and get out in the cold and start moving with sore legs," Katie said, "but we know even our worse day on this ride is so much better than what the refugees are experiencing in their best circumstances."
Learn more about the Refuge Ride online.


text:
Nobody can verify anything in this video, but the guy who uploaded it to YouTube says it shows cops beating "alleged teenage rioters on bicycles" who were trying to flee the city center last night. Instead, the cyclists got caught out on Jutland Street, near Manchester's Piccadilly Station, and a bit of the ol' headstomping took place.
A few selections from the YouTube comments:
"Leave them all bleeding at the sidewalk. P[r]oves how shit at fighting chavs actually are!"
"Awww diddums, some little dickheads got a smack. Fully deserved."
"Fuck the water cannon, bring on the flamethrowers."


text:
Choose Your Support
Customer Support
Questions about your order or about the website?
Choose from the following:
Local Support
Questions about a product or a service you see on our site?
Choose from the following:
Office Safety Products & Patient Monitoring > Resuscitation Devices
Quick Order
Type item number or scan barcode
Item Number Required
Please enter a Patterson Item Number in the correct format. Examples are: 123-1234, 123 1234, 1231234, 071231234, 07-123-1234
Patterson Item #:


text:
Welcome to Sugar-Free September!
It always used to be said that fat is the enemy- recent studies are suggesting that in fact it's not fat we should be steering clear of, but sugar.
Aside from an increased risk of diabetes, a high-sugar diet has been found to increase weight gain; risk of heart disease; risk of cancer – the list goes on.
I'm no expert so rather than explain all the scientific theory behind what too much sugar does to your body, I suggest you do your own research on the intranet – here are a few articles and websites I've found particularly interesting.
I Quit Sugar blog (and book)
I don't believe in the demonization of food and that sugar should be Public Enemy #1 – and I'm certainly not going to completely cut it out of my diet. But I do need to lose weight and I think this might help – and we could all do with eating less sugar.
Scroll to the end for some links to some of my favourite sugar-free recipes.
An old school friend of mine, who writes a brilliant parenting blog called Single Mother Ahoy, cut out sugar for a month last year and saw some really positive benefits. Earlier this year I bought the book I Quit Sugar on her recommendation, and did a good job of cutting down on sugar for a couple of months before my wedding. I didn't cut it out entirely, as a health professional I visited recommended 5 sugar-free days a week and eating a little sugar on the other two days if I wanted. It's worth emphasising that this included foods with hidden or natural sugars – from fruit to bread (there can be up to 3g of sugar in a slice of processed bread) and even potatoes – starch converts into glucose when it is digested and potatoes have a very high proportion of starch. So 5 days out of every 7 I didn't eat potatoes or bread, which meant I had to make some big changes in my typical lunches and dinners!
I also was advised to stop eating breakfast as the only way my body would use up its fat reserves but this seems to be quite a controversial point and I've read a lot saying you need to kick-start your metabolism in the morning by eating something. I haven't eaten breakfast (other than rare occasions) for several months now, but I haven't really noticed much effect in terms of extra weight loss (if everything else in my diet remained the same) so I'm going to go back to having small, healthy, protein-rich breakfasts. But definitely sugar free!
Last month Vicky at Single Mother Ahoy asked who wanted to sign up to take part in Sugar Free September with her again this year and I did so immediately. She has a Facebook group specifically for this challenge that you can join to get support and ideas.
I post my meal plans on my blog every week and will be sharing a sugar-free recipe every Wednesday, along with some links below to get you started. I'm also going to do a '5 sugar free breakfast ideas' post this Saturday so look out for that if you are struggling to think of ideas!
However, if you want to avoid sugar entirely, you might not be so keen on the other recipes on my blog. I want to point out that I normally try to eat quite healthily – I don't make cakes that often, don't eat out a lot at the moment, and most meals during the week are healthy. But posting a recipe for grilled chicken and vegetables, or poached salmon and broccoli, isn't really that interesting – which is why the recipes I post are often more indulgent. Also, I don't post things right away so there will be some recipes going up this month for things I've made previously. I just wanted to point this out so people don't start posting comments asking why I say I'm doing sugar-free September and then posting recipes that are full of sugar!
My blog is designed to be a bit of something for everyone and I think it's good to strike a balance between healthy eating and occasional treats, so I will continue to share recipes for cakes and other sweet treats while mixing in healthier meals, as I normally do, but with some extra sugar-free recipes this month.
Some people think going sugar-free means cutting out refined sugar so continue to eat fruit; others replace caster sugar with honey or even sweetener. I think at least for this month that defeats the purpose of Sugar-Free September so my recipes will be as purely sugar-free as I can get them.
So here are some recipes that you might enjoy, and will help get you started if you are taking part in Sugar-Free September. If you are, let me know in the comments how it goes!
(come back this Saturday for some more ideas)
Bacon and cheese omelette (note: cheese does have a very small amount of natural sugar)
Sugar-free coconut milk pancakes
Easy lunchbox salads
Quinoa cheese tartlets
Roast cauliflower, sumac and rocket salad
Spiralized courgette with carrot, lemon and tuna
Slow cooker Thai green beef curry
Low-carb fish pie with cauliflower mash
Spiralized vegetables with broccoli pesto
Chicken en papilotte with orange veg
Butternut squash quinoa risotto
Spiralized salmon and broccoli balls with carrot pineapple rice (leave out the pineapple)
Spiralized butternut squash with prawns and mascarpone (cheese has a small amount of natural sugar)
Roasted cauliflower steak with stilton
Prawn Mooli stir-fry
Sausage ragu with spiralized butternut squash
Chicken topped with homemade houmous


text:
The JetFlash 720 flash drive more than satisfies the modern urge for high-speed in a small form-factor. Its tiny metallic design allows the JetFlash 720 to fit unobtrusively into a USB port. Its ergonomic design makes it easy to handle. What's more, it won't protrude from the dashboard or block access to controls when plugged into a car stereo. Liven up your road trip with the JetFlash 720!
View or download the product sheet for detailed product and ordering information.
Find drivers, manuals, FAQs, or software updates for your product.


text:
2013 Deep Research Report on Global and China Vitamin C Industry was a professional and depth research report on Global and China Vitamin C (Food Grade Feed Grade Pharmaceutical Grade) Industry.
To Read The Complete Report with TOC Visit: http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/analysis/158782
Firstly the report describes the background knowledge of Vitamin C, including Vitamin C ((Food Grade Feed Grade Pharmaceutical Grade) Concepts Classification production process technical parameters; then statistics Global and China 14 Manufacturers Vitamin C product 2010-2016 Capacity production cost price production value Gross margins and other relevant data, statistics these enterprises Vitamin C products, customers, raw materials, company background information, then summary statistics and analysis the relevant data of these enterprises. and get Global and China Vitamin C 2010-2016 production market share, different Type Vitamin C production market share, Global and China Vitamin C demand supply and shortage, Global and China Vitamin C 2010-2016 production price cost Gross production value gross margins, etc.
To Browse All Reports visit: http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/
At the same time, the report analyzed and discussed supply and demand changes in Vitamin C market and business development strategies, conduct a comprehensive analysis on Global and China Vitamin C industry trends. Finally, the report also introduced 10KT/year Vitamin C project Feasibility analysis and related research conclusions. In a word, It was a depth research report on Global and China Vitamin C industry. And thanks to the support and assistance from Vitamin C industry chain related experts and enterprises during Research Team survey and interviews.
To Buy The Copy Of This Report visit: http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/analysis/158782


text:
China Scraps Controls on Lending Rates
China took a key step in its drive to liberalize its financial system on Friday, announcing it would scrap its curbs on lending interest rates. Michael Casey explains the impact on Asian and global economies.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... ay ay mm mm ... Chinese army or one ... way ... to ... instill some important thinking we forms to tells what they are what they all mean my Casey ... the estate post on the in news may come close to it again this time it's it's it is nice and has a right to ... sell on explains how important this is I think it's it's inherent outside ... I don't know what he ... was a little braver ... the ... that we all know nothing about what sustains them and loves talk but this only the scrapped before on ... interest rates when it ... gets from a notice that the critical word yes ... the the the the the step but here is that that China has long had a two tiered system when it put a rate ceiling on deposit rates rise and a bit more on the grounds ... that the recipe to make money for the bank's listeners but was not because he had this huge pool of sightings by from from China's prodigious service ... Kelley into ... it and banks is that they have no choice but to to to give the money to ... and only receiving Baylor and that's a source of financing banks of been added to that end to ... an ongoing flood of money for not stated the prizes into what we now often see is cool speculation in property and CDs from those cities to say that the group one end of that that that that now that belies the main unit that pop out of the ... St ... it eschewed could mean it is in fact more money ... available this is stated that has been a positive response amounts of money on the dollar was responsive to what happens in China scene is is a form of stimulus ... but the reality is most of ... the many Doherty happen Seattle at the right significantly higher just a hint of that cap ... so it's not a pool all without that whole rather ... it's the thought likely to drive that much down below him and the real real issue is going to be the deposit right that's that's the that's the big elephant in the room a unit because ... it to challenge the to the Chinese on this is if a ruse that ... aam ... they then you have ... the cost of funds rising dramatically for the financial system you have to suck me rethink but the financial system is ... the media states with the dune by taking this step and often not the other ... is too entrenched the lodge ... the big four ... banks that dominate lending in some respects the concentration of power on a liberalizing ... because ... the ... fly by night chatted banking offer Edison of being shot up right in timing they go to very high by this big money markets bike recently ... that he had been barring in ... short the Maya Mountains ... aam and one when he added now the right now we have to compete with banks have the advantage of these low deposit rates ... in eighteen eighty in about one bank's connections to really try to compete the summer that this is so is this last ... so the Anita banking reforms and eighty and in lending rates new media thought is I'll ... be this is some way to stimulate the economy but it doesn't sell like that ... sounds like it's more just ... a way for them to re form the system which some women find it abit a suspect wanted is a little Isaiah's and bit by bit payout allowing it to shreds ... CEO things to react more to the market prices rather than ... state to take so that ... that's that's one part of it ... the other side to this story is that those of great concern about the bill the Senate banking industry and in ... the rise of these on deregulated wealth management programs which that that that the authorities feed when driving speculation ... and everybody that there was this a lot of ... borrowers that what I would hit bonds ... and that that it has stepped in to fill that void ... that they're very concerned about what the of the risks are in ... the Senate ... that pot of what they doing here is to some respect make it even harder for those guys and and to to have a much more manageable this and the reason the ISI photos to leading to this question is who is ... this going to have an effect on ... other Asian ... economies or even global economy ... well you get down to the extent to which some banks will win and Moeller right now there is that didn't get there is ... a bit more credit going to tire of it when demand is probably why he did see the Aussie dollar ... rise ... but ultimately the net effect isn't big and kind of real big effect on high for the rest the Weld is going to be to stop the flow when maintains that the entire financial system and that is given the deposit rates ... and this is an bought me one of the couple can Priceline is money they can ... leave will go in and will win in China that is going to be a profound to its ... full full for Asia for the rest the world ... this is a step in that direction but ... Vinit doesn't Sun Times is really just don't get too far from that process because they know me enormously disruptive so ... far I didn't have enough problems right now it's owing to the Catholic anti Iraq now would be extremely dangerous but yet this is a step toward that anyone belies a tinny shift was enough for racism and corruption are my Casey excellent thank you very much thank you


text:
Herman Cain has risen from the lower tier of Republican presidential candidates to front-runner in a heartbeat of political time. The growth and intensity of his support has been a true American phenomenon. But now his position is at risk, as his campaign faces a crisis: a Politico report that Cain was accused of sexually suggestive behavior toward at least two female employees when he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.
The two women complained that Mr. Cain had subjected them to language and behavior they found uncomfortable, according to Politico. They received financial settlements in the range of five figures each and left the restaurant trade group, the article adds.
"Politico has confirmed the identities of the two female restaurant association employees who complained about Cain but, for privacy concerns, is not publishing their names," said the story, which was written by multiple political reporters.
How much trouble is Cain in? Quite a bit, at the moment – though that could change, depending on where this story goes in the days to come.
First off, the Cain campaign's handling of the story has not been adroit. Spokesman J.D. Gordon has blasted it, without denying its facts.
"Fearing the message of Herman Cain, who is shaking up the political landscape in Washington, inside-the-Beltway media have begun to launch unsubstantiated personal attacks on Cain," said Mr. Gordon.
Gordon has also said that Cain had told campaign officials that he was "vaguely familiar" with these charges, however.
Confronted directly on a Washington sidewalk, Cain himself ignored a question about the allegations, and asked a reporter whether he'd ever been accused of sexual harassment himself.
Yet the Politico piece is lengthy and detailed as to whether these harassment allegations occurred. Cain will have to deal with them directly at some point – in person, and probably at length. On Monday, Cain did say on Fox News that in the past he had been "falsely accused" of sexual harassment.
Second, Cain has few political allies to help fight through this mess.
His staff is undersized by national campaign standards. He hasn't received many endorsements from establishment figures – something many of his supporters consider a badge of honor. He just doesn't have many surrogates who will flood onto cable news chat shows to stand up for him.
Third, the Politico report suggests there was money involved. If true, the payment of financial settlements in these cases could appear damaging to ordinary voters. It's one thing to have an underling complain about your behavior. It's quite another to pay them to go away.
That said, details could matter here. At the top levels of US business, nuisance claims are made and settled every day, notes Jennifer Rubin on her conservative-leaning Washington Post blog "Right Turn."
But if Cain was a party to any payouts, he would have had to sign them, making his claim of "vague" memory of the incidents problematic, Ms. Rubin notes. Furthermore, we don't yet know if there were other such cases, or whether any of the women who alleged poor behavior on the part of Cain actually filed a lawsuit or some other official action against him. If these things happened, Cain may have a much harder time getting past this incident.
Erick Erickson, editor of the conservative RedState blog and himself a former lawyer, notes that settlements of sexual harassment cases can reach into six figures, and that a five figure payout may be just "go away money."
Mr. Erickson also raises the point of where the story came from. He implies it came from one of Cain's political rivals – and only one of them has enough money and experience to have a fully developed opposition research arm. (We'll fill in the dots here and say that person's initials are "Mitt Romney.")
"I think people are finally starting to take Herman Cain seriously," writes Erickson.
Many of Cain's supporters say the thing they like best about him is that he is not a politician and seems a true outsider. They may see the allegations of sexual harassment as a plot by the establishment to damage a perceived threat. It's thus possible that the Politico story won't cost him many votes from his base, after all.


text:
$7.99 Stitched Slots by Tim Holtz
The sandwich requires use of a pair of Cutting Pads and the machine's included Platform; when using the Essentials Platform or Solo Platform & Shim, the Extended Adapter or Solo Adapter is required. Because of their intricacy, Thinlits Dies may require up to three passes to cut. If extra ejection is needed for easier separation of the die-cut from the design, place wax paper between the Thinlits Die and your material and then cut. These dies can also emboss when the machine's included Platform is combined with an Impressions Pad and Silicone Rubber sheet. The diagrams on the Platform offer easy guidelines about how to make the perfect Sizzix sandwich.
Product #662697


text:
Contact NowCold Rolled ASTM B861 Gr2 Gr7 Gr9 Gr12 Seamless Titanium Alloy Tube and PipeASTM B338 Titanium Tube for Heat Exchanger 1.Material:Gr2 Gr7 Gr9 Gr12 2.Standard:ASTM B338 3.Size(mm):OD8.0*T(1.0-1.5)*L 4.Application: Industrial Use 1.Specifications: 2. Allowable Deviation of Outer Diameter (mm) 3. Allowable Deviation of Wall Thickness is not more than±10% of the Nominal WT....Read More
Contact NowDuplex Stainless Steel Seamless Pipe/Tube S31803, S32205, S32750,Super Quality Stainless Steel Pipe by Anneal ,Solid SolutionDuplex Stainless Steel Seamless Tube / Pipe S31803 S32205 S32750 1) Commodity name: Duplex Stainless Steel Seamless Tube / Pipe S31803 S32205 S32750 2) Process method: Cold drawn 3) Surface finish: Annealed/pickled 4) Material: s31803 s32205 s32750 s32760 5) Standards: ASTM A789,ASTM A790 6)...Read More
Contact NowAPI 5L GR.B ERW SSAW Carbon Steel Welded Tube Plain Ends, MS Sprial Pipes Power Steel TubeSpecifications Welded Tube O.D.:219~3048mm W.T.:5.4~25.4mm L:5.8~20m Standard/Mat:API 5LGr.B X42~X80 /EN10224/AWWAC200 ASTM A36, A500, A39, A53 Welded TubeRead More
Contact NowASTM ASME A 789/SA 789 SS31803 Seamless and Welded Ferritic-austenitic Stainless Steel Tubing for General ServiceSpecifications Stainless steel welded pipes, stainless steel seamless pipes and tubes Features: 1) Commodity: seamless and welded austenitic stainless steel pipes 2) Process method: cold drawn / cold pilgered 3) Surface finish: annealed / cold pilgered 4) Material: TP304, TP304L, TP310 / S,...Read More
Contact NowASTM A53 GR.B Carbon Steel Seamless Pipe and Pipe Fitting for Oil Pipeline,Gas PipelineIntroduction Of Seamless Steel Pipe: The chemical and mechanical properties of our seamless steel pipe are those prescribed by current API, ASTM, ASME, and applicable CSA standards. Customers use our seamless standard and line steel pipe for a variety of critical applications, including the...Read More
Contact NowASTM ASME A 213 SA 213 SS304 304L Seamless Ferritic and Austenitic Alloy Steel Boiler, Super Heater and Heat Exchanger TubesProduct Description Description & Name: ASTM A213 / ASME SA 213 Heat Exchanger Tubes Standard: ASTM A213 /ASME SA 213, ASTM A269/ASME SA269, A312, A511, A789, A790, A376, EN 10216-5, EN 10297,DIN 17456, DIN 17458, GOST 9941, GOST 9940, JIS G3446 JIS G3447 JISG3448 JIS G3459 JIS G3463 JIS G...Read More
Contact NowASTM B338 Gr2 Gr5 Welded Titanium and Titanium Tube for Condensor and Exhausting SystemTitanium Seamless tube: 1)Speicification Range: OD: 1.5mm------500mm WT: 0.15mm------20mm Length: Less than 15m 2)Standard and Materials: ASTM B337-----Gr. 1, Gr. 2, Gr. 3, Gr. 7, Gr. 9, Gr. 11, Gr. 18 ASTM B338-----Gr. 1, Gr. 2, Gr. 3, Gr. 7, Gr. 9, Gr. 13, Gr. 14 DIN17861-----Ti1, Ti2, Ti3,...Read More
Contact NowASTM ASME A 269 SA 269 SS316/316L Seamless and Welded Austenitic Stainless Steel Tubing for General ServiceStainless Steel Tubes And Pipes Specification: Seamless:O.D 1.5mm---450mm WT 0.15mm---55mm Weld: O.D 6.5mm---2000mm WT 0.5mm---40mm Standard: ASTM A312、ASTM A213、ASTM A269、ASTM A511 ASTM A789、ASTM A790 JIS3463、JIS3459、 DIN2462、DIN17458、DIN17456 Material: 304(0Cr18Ni9)/304L(00Cr19Ni10)...Read More
Contact NowASTM B622 Hastelloy C276 UNS N10276 Nickel Alloy Seamless Tube/pipeASTM B622 Hastelloy Tube/Nickel Alloy Hastelloy C276 Tube Specifications Hastelloy tube 1.OD: 1/2"~12" 2.WT: Sch10s~Sch160 3.Standard: ASTM B622, ASTM B366 4.hastelloy C276 tube Physical properties/ hastelloy tube: 5.hastelloy C276 tube hastelloy C276 tube Alloy minimum mechanical...Read More
Contact NowASTM A106 GR.B API 5L Gr.B SMLS Steel Pipes Tubes SCH 120 Carbon Steel Pipe for Building MaterialSeamless, ERW, LSAW steel line pipe in API for oil, gas and water. SCH20, SCH40, SCH80, SCH120, SCH160 Standard: API 5L PSL1 OR PSL2/ASTM A106 Size: OD:17.1-1422mmWT: 2.31-50mm Surface:3PE, 3PP, Black paintings or clear varnish plastic caps, bevels MILL TEST CERTIFICATE IN EN 10204/3.1 1,...Read More


text:
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has established an energy storage target of 1.325 GW for Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas and Electric by 2020, with installations required no later than by the end of 2024.
The decision will increase California's installed energy storage capacity sixfold from its current 35 MW (excluding large-scale pumped hydro storage), says the California Energy Storage Alliance (CESA).
According to the CPUC, the guiding principles of its decision are grid optimization, the integration of renewable energy, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050, per California's goals.
The commission's action, CESA reports, sets targets for California's investor-owned utilities and direct access providers to procure a specified amount of energy storage every two years through 2020, with targets increasing with each solicitation. Some energy storage facilities are expected to come into service as early as 2015, the advocacy group adds.
The CPUC says its decision directs the utilities to file separate procurement applications containing a proposal for their first energy storage procurement period by March 1, 2014.
The decision also establishes a target for community choice aggregators and electric service providers to procure energy storage equal to 1% of their annual 2020 peak load by 2020, with installation no later than 2024, the CPUC states.
'Storage is a game changer that can help people manage their energy use and expand the capacity of renewable resources to provide power to homes and businesses,' says Commissioner Catherine J.K. Sandoval. 'This decision will spur investment and innovation in energy storage and help Californians unleash their creative and economic power.'
This multi-stakeholder process and final decision were set in motion by A.B.2514, which became law in 2010, CESA notes. According to the organization, under A.B.2514, the CPUC was required to open a proceeding to consider developing energy storage procurement targets for California utilities to integrate grid-scale storage into the state's electrical power system if determined to be viable and cost-effective.


text:
Friday, September 09, 2011 - Mattias and Danek
In casting tonight, Geoff says his favorite is Julius Cesta. I concur wholeheartedly.
Mattias Solich is from Chocen. What a fabulous looking guy he is with a great body, and the rest of him is good too. We have already done a solo shoot and a screen test with Mattias. The screentest is online today.
Oleg Bukhtin is living in Prague. He is a very cute guy, and quite nicely built. He has a lovely ass. Although he didn't get hard in his casting we brought him in for a shoot and he had no problem in that department. We have also done a duo with Oleg.
Jan Kupka is from Hradec Kralove. He is a good looking guy, with a nice, slim body. He also has some nice equipment which it would be good to see in action.


text:
I wondered if development is underway on the next set of Castle cards. Enjoyed collecting the first set...though still many chase cards to find
I also noted that some episodes in seasons 1 and 2 were not represented with a card. Curious if some of those will be included in future sets.


text:
This week Beryl of Cinemon Girl picked Toasted-Coconut Custard Tart. I almost skipped this week since I had my recipes out of order and hadn't even started on this tart when I sat down to write this post. I'm not much of a coconut fan and neither is Mr. Mimi. However, two of our children love coconut, so I quickly put together this tart for them. There are times I hear them bantering back and forth about how special they are because mom made something just for them.
This is a fairly easy recipe to whip up. The crust is Dorie's stand by press in crust, filled with a thick rum and coconut flavored pastry cream and topped with sweetened whipped cream. It was very creamy and rich with a slight crunch on top from a sprinkle of toasted coconut, and the buttery crust on the bottom was a nice base for the smooth filling. I chose to 1/2 the recipe and it made three mini tarts, one each for my coconut lovers, and one to taste for the rest of us. Although us non-coconut lovers ate just our mandatory taste-test bite, Boy Mimi was licking his plate and "offering" to finish off the rest of these little tarts.
adapted from Baking From My Home To Yours
For the Custard
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
6 large egg yolks
1/3 cup cornstarch
pinch of salt
pinch or coriander
1 tbsp Malibu rum
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut, toasted
1 9-inch sweet tart shell, baked and cooled
For the topping
1 cup cold heavy cream
3 tbsp powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp Malibu rum
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Bring milk to a boil. In a large saucepan, whisk together sugar, yolks, cornstarch, salt and coriander until well blended. Whisk in 1/4 cup of hot milk to temper the yolks, then whisk in the rest of the milk. Continue whisking over medium heat and bring to a boil. Whisk an additional 1 or 2 minutes then remove from heat. Whisk in rum and vanilla and let sit for 5 minutes. Then whisk in the butter, stirring until custard is smooth. Stir in the toasted coconut. Transfer to a container, cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.
To make the topping, use a stand mixture with whisk attachment or a hand mixer to whip the cream to medium peaks. Add the powdered sugar and beat to firm peaks. Whip in rum and vanilla.To assemble the tart, whisk the custard vigorously to loosen it then scrape into the crust. Spoon the whipped cream over the tart and spread evenly to the edge of the custard. Sprinkle with toasted coconut.
printable recipe
This really was a good tart, I just don't like the stringy coconut in my creamy filling. Next time I would use coconut milk to make the pastry cream and only put the toasted coconut on the top of the tart. If you want the recipe for this tart visit Beryl at Cinemon Girl or you can find it in Dorie's book. Visit the TWD blogroll to see what the other bakers made this week.


text:
The Product
Giving a traditional hoop the touch of boldness, this product is simply a must-have for the experimental fashionista. Team it with a simple, yet feminine casual outfit for a trendy look.
The Philosophy
Every Cyankart product is made-to-order and hand-inspected from corner to corner. With this, we can: ensure high-quality products, remain environmentally conscious by preventing excess waste, and most importantly, offer our employees a livable wage and health benefits. We promise 100% satisfaction.
Shipping & Delivery
This product is eligible for Free Shipping.
All products are dispatched within 1-2 working days and are delivered within 2-5 working days. An email confirmation with shipping information will be sent to the registered email address for tracking the status of your order.


text:
And Now, Our Creature Presentation - Kids with Down syndrome can have difficulty with fine motor skills, so games and puzzles with just a few large pieces to work with are often a hit. Especially good are games like this Monster Toss -- its level of difficulty can be adjusted to custom-fit the child and her developmental stage. Try starting out close, and then slowly moving farther back!
Speak to Me - For kids with autism, focus on cause-and-effect toys (push a button, get a response), especially those that promote interaction by encouraging a verbal reply. Vtech's Tote & Go Laptop Plus does just that, teaching letters, words, and more through fun games and friendly characters.
Spin Doctor Anything that spins is often a draw for children with autism, as they tend to like repetition; gear sets are a smart choice. The Gears! Gears! Gears! Lights & Action Building Set by Learning Resources has a motor, lights, glow-in-the-dark stickers... heaven!
Baby, You Can Drive My Car Consider games that adapt to fit the developmental stage of a child with Down syndrome. The object of Rush Hour is to move vehicles out of your car's way to escape the gridlock. Players progress at their own pace, tackling four levels of difficulty.
Just Say Dough Glow in the Dark PlayFoam can be squished and formed into luminescent creatures. But it doesn't stick to hands and offers tactile stimulation -- bonuses for kids with sensory integration impairments. Accessories included.
Paint Life Grand! Think open-ended crafts for kids with ADHD because focusing on directions can be hard. Instead of paint-by-numbers, get a kit that gives plenty of creative license, like Paint a Rock Pet. Also available in a turtle.
In the Loop For kids with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, or any condition that affects the motor systems, look for toys that work with their limited movements. A good choice if he uses a wheelchair: the Infinite Loop. It increases upper-body dexterity and concentration as he opens and closes the tracks to keep the ball on its path. Two balls of different weights, for two difficulty levels, are included.
Tunnel They'll Love There are two sides to sensory integration impairment: It makes some kids feel overstimulated by the world and causes others to seek out more interaction. For those who like to escape, a tent-and-tunnel combo is ideal. ($69.95; pacificplaytents.com)
Bigger is Better Children with cerebral palsy often have involuntary, spastic movements, so toys with big parts are better. Lego's chunky Duplo Basic Bricks fit the bill.
Trunk Show Juvenile arthritis can limit movement in certain parts of the body, so choose a toy that gently works the area that's compromised. Because slow and easy gestures are used to catch the cascading butterflies, Elefun is ideal for kids who have trouble with their upper joints.
- -All toys were found on parenting.com --


text:
Revs will look to become the first two-time SuperLiga champion when they face Monarcas Morelia at Gillette Stadium
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution will look to become the first-ever two-time winner of SuperLiga when the club hosts Monarcas Morelia in the championship match of SuperLiga 2010 on Wednesday, Sept. 1, at Gillette Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and Telefutura will televise the game nationally in Spanish.
The Revs, who won SuperLiga 2008 and still stand as the only tournament winner from Major League Soccer, will face Morelia for the second time in 2010. The final will be a rematch from earlier in the tournament as the Revolution claimed a 1-0 victory over the Mexican side in the group stage on July 20 at Gillette Stadium.
Tickets for the championship match start at $22 and will be available through all Ticketmaster outlets and through the Revolution Ticket Office at 1-877-GET-REVS.
SuperLiga, now in its fourth year, is the annual summer tournament pitting top teams from Major League Soccer and the Mexican Priméra División against each other. Four teams from each country battle for border bragging rights through the group stage, where the top two teams in each group advance to the semifinal.
The Revolution, which has a 7-0-1 all-time record against Mexican teams in SuperLiga, became the first-ever team in tournament history to run a 3-0-0 record in group play and to post three consecutive shutouts in the three-game round. Claiming the top spot in Group B, the Revs finished with nine points – ahead of second-place Monarcas Morelia, who had four points and suffered a 1-0 loss to New England.
In the semifinal round, the Revolution used penalty kicks to advance to the final, playing to a 1-1 draw against Puebla F.C. in regulation. The Revs punched their ticket to the final following a 5-3 victory in penalty kicks, where goalkeeper Matt Reis made a save on Puebla's Edgar Lugo in the fourth round, setting up Kenny Mansally's game-clinching conversion for the Revs in the fifth round. Mansally also scored the Revs' goal during the run of play.
Morelia advanced to the championship behind a 1-0 victory against the Houston Dynamo in Houston on Thursday night. Miguel Sabah scored just after the half to put Morelia up, sending them through to the final.
Visit revolutionsoccer.net and superliga2010.com for ongoing coverage of SuperLiga leading up the championship match on Sept. 1.
The Revolution (4-9-3, 15 pts.) returns to action on Saturday, Aug. 7, when the club hosts rival D.C. United at 7:30 p.m. at Gillette Stadium. Comcast SportsNet and 98.5 The Sports Hub will carry the game live. Visit revolutionsoccer.net for more information, or call 1-877-GET-REVS for tickets.


text:
Send Results to This Email:
Street Address:
Street Address:
One of the biggest U.S. mortgage processing companies has agreed to pay $121 million to resolve states' claims that it wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners who should have been allowed to stay in their homes.
The settlement agreements between Lender Processing Services Inc., based in Jacksonville, Fla., and 46 states and the District of Columbia were announced Thursday.
Under the settlement, the company will be required to reform its business practices and to correct foreclosure documents as necessary. The agreement prohibits unauthorized people or those without first-hand knowledge of the facts laid out in documents to sign them. The money goes to the states and the District of Columbia.
The settlement follows similar accords totaling $6 million that Lender Processing signed previously with Colorado, Delaware and Missouri. The company says that leaves Nevada's complaint as the only unresolved state case.
The state attorneys general alleged that the company engaged in unlawful practices including "robo-signing," in which it automatically signed off on foreclosures without properly reviewing documents.
Lender Processing said it increased its legal reserve by $48 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31. The balance of the reserve was $223 million as of Dec. 31, the company said in a news release.
Lender Processing also said it has continued to resolve civil lawsuits against the company.
In April 2011, the company signed a consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and two other federal agencies in which it pledged to change its loan processing procedures.
"Today's settlements are another major step toward putting issues related to past business practices behind us," company President and CEO Hugh Harris said in a statement. He said Lender Processing remains committed to improved compliance with regulations and strong operations.
The federal government and 49 states struck a $25 billion settlement last February over foreclosure practices with five major banks: Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.
In January, federal regulators signed settlements with 13 big banks that ended a review of mortgage loan files required under a 2011 federal action. Combined, the banks will pay $9.3 billion. They are Aurora, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, MetLife Bank, Morgan Stanley, PNC Financial Services, Sovereign, SunTrust, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo.
Lender Processing reached a separate settlement with Missouri last August over criminal allegations that phony signatures were used on foreclosure documents by its now-closed subsidiary DocX. Under the deal, Lender Processing agreed to pay Missouri $1.5 million and another $500,000 to reimburse the state attorney general's office for the cost of the investigation.
The company shut down DocX in 2010.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 1995 -
by The Daily News Publishing Co. Inc. - All Rights Reserved


text:
LOS ANGELES — California Treasurer Bill Lockyer is warning that the state teacher retirement system is rapidly running out of money.
Lockyer predicts the plan that pays benefits to retired public school educators won't exist in 30 years unless it's fixed.
The Ventura County Star reported (http://bit.ly/18MC0Wm ) Saturday that Lockyer says a budget expert recommends that the state kick in another $500 million of taxpayer dollars to the teacher fund for each of several years to cut its unfunded liability.
He says if nothing is done the California State Teachers' Retirement System "implodes" in 30 years.
The newspaper said his remarks were made in a speech in Ventura County Thursday.
Information from: Ventura County Star, http://venturacountystar.com