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Penn State DuBois Campus Students
Introduce Children to Exotic Species
Penn State DuBois Wildlife Technology student Chelsea Clark presents a red-eared slider turtle to a fourth grade class at Moshannon Valley Elementary School.
HOUTZDALE, PA – Students in Penn State DuBois' Wildlife Technology Program put their skills and knowledge to the test recently when they were asked to switch sides of the desk and become teachers, themselves. The students visited fourth graders at the Moshannon Valley Elementary School. They introduced the youngsters to several exotic species of animals found in Pennsylvania using interactive games and activities.
"An exotic species is a species not native to an area," explained Wildlife Technology Instructor Keely Roen. "All of these were non-native species to Pennsylvania that have either become problems or are in competition with native species." Roen said those species are usually artificially introduced in a variety of ways. Sometimes it's because people have let exotic pets free in the wild. Other times it's because the species came to this country or state as stowaways in shipments of plants or other cargo from other countries.
The species that the Penn State students made presentations on included red-eared sliders, a variety of turtle native only to the southern United States, but a popular pet turtle that often finds freedom in natural areas where it does not belong. Students also presented information on stink bugs, feral pigs, European starlings, and the chestnut blight, a fungus native to Asia that nearly wiped out the American chestnut tree in the early 1900's.
To make the presentations both educational and fun, the Penn State DuBois students guided children through art activities like making feral pigs out of clay, and using paper plates to make model turtles. The wildlife students also used colorful posters with photos of animals and insects to give the children visual examples of the species being covered.
According to Nisa Makowiecki, fourth grade teacher at Moshannon Valley, her students learned a great deal, and the timing of the visit was just right. She said, "The Moshannon Valley fourth grade students have been learning about how changes in ecosystems affect our world. The Penn State DuBois Exotic Species Presentations gave the students a visual depiction of the concepts they have been learning in their science class. The Penn State students created engaging, hands-on projects that brought their science book to life."
"I think it was important to introduce the students to a topic that isn't normally talked about in class," said Penn State DuBois student Mandy Marconi. "Overall, we wanted to make the youth aware of the exotic species in a fun way that both educators and learners could enjoy."
According to Roen, the lesson plans, games, and activities that her Penn State DuBois students designed for this visit were a valuable part of their education, as well.
"If they end up in a job working as a park ranger, or for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, or for any number of conservation agencies, they'll have to create games and lessons to educate the public and interested groups," said Roen. "In those professions, you never know when you might be asked to do a program. These professionals are asked to instruct programs for kids and organizations all the time. This prepares them for that."
In gauging feedback from these demonstrations, the wildlife students from Penn State DuBois are already skilled presenters. Makowiecki said, "The fourth grade students wrote reflective essays about what they learned from the Penn State presentations. For example, one fourth grader wrote that she learned about how a change in a food web affects all the animals. Another student wrote that he now knows that releasing a non-native turtle like the red-eared slider into the wild could harm the native turtles. These are just a few examples of the many concepts the fourth grade students learned from the Penn State DuBois Exotic Species Presentations."


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Despite the current rebound the long-term prospect for higher growth rates is subdued due to structural weaknesses and the negative impact of sanctions.
Political situation
Head of state: President Vladimir Putin (since May 2012)
Head of government: Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (since May 2012)
Form of government: Government formed by the Party United Russia and non-partisan technocrats
Population: 147.0 million
Domestic politics: continued stability - but at the expense of democracy
Nationalistic sentiment has risen since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis and the annexation of Crimea, supported by aggressive propaganda through the state-controlled media. Playing the nationalist card, especially in relation to the EU and the US, appears to be the key to keeping approval ratings up.
Any opposition has been marginalised by a hardening of authoritarianism: hardliners have effectively been given license to attack liberals and crack down further on independent media and non-governmental organisations.
The upcoming September 2017 parliamentary elections will be tightly managed and most likely keep the current government in control.
Relationship with the EU and the US remains tense
Since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis in early 2014 the relationship between Russia and the EU and US has gradually deteriorated. Russia´s intervention in the civil war in Syria added another area of conflict to the already strained relationships.
Moscow´s annexation of Crimea in March and its tacit support of separatist forces in Eastern Ukraine triggered several rounds of sanctions from the EU and the US, mainly in the form of frozen assets, travel bans on Russian and Crimean individuals, long-term financing limitations restricting access to EU/US capital markets for major Russian banks and some oil and defense businesses and restrictions on the export of certain types of products to Russia, including dual-use technologies and high-tech equipment for the oil industry. Russia itself imposed retaliatory sanctions on the import of food and agricultural products from the EU, the US, Australia, Canada and Norway.
The EU/US sanctions may have a very significant impact on the Russian economy in the longer term. In particular, they will influence the refinancing capacity of major domestic corporations and banks.
Economic situation
A modest economic rebound in 2017 and 2018
Russian GDP growth has rebounded since H2 of 2016, and after two years of contraction the economy is expected to grow about 1.5% in 2017 and 2018. This recovery is mainly due to the rebound in oil prices. Private consumption, investments and exports are expected to pick up again.
The rouble has strengthened again on the back of higher oil prices, by about 20% since March 2016. Together with a strong harvest that helps to curb food prices (which are still elevated due to the on-going sanctions that Russia has imposed on EU imports), the rouble appreciation is having a positive effect on inflation: the increase in consumer prices is expected to slow down to just about 4% in 2017 and 2018. This should sustain the rebound in private consumption, which is expected to increase 2.6% and 2.8% respectively.
Both the rouble appreciation and decreased inflation have provided the Central Bank with more leeway to lower interest rates, which have been decreased to 9% (after having reached an all-time high of 17% in December 2014). This should also support the economic rebound.
The Central bank allows the rouble to float. This has an impact on inflation if the currency depreciates, but also acts as a shock absorber for the current account, which is expected to remain in surplus in 2017 and 2018. At the same time, the fairly large international reserve position of Russia hardly erodes as capital outflows are contained.
Russia´s short-term economic policy during the previous recession has been rather prudent. Despite very low public debt of about 10% of GDP and pressure from the low oil price on the budget, the government deficit has been kept within acceptable margins. In 2017 and 2018 fiscal tightening is expected, with lower deficits of 2.1% of GDP and 1.3% of GDP respectively. The government has confirmed its plans to balance the budget by 2020, using a fixed USD 40 per barrel oil price. Any extra revenue generated by a higher oil price will be used to further build up currency reserves.
Major structural weaknesses remain
Despite the on-going economic rebound, the long-term prospect for higher and sustainable growth rates remains subdued, as structural weaknesses and the negative impact of sanctions on productivity and investment will continue to weigh on growth.
The Russian business climate is plagued by uncertainty regarding property rights, a weak transport infrastructure and lack of competition in goods and services markets. The authorities failed to seize the opportunity during the windfall years to strengthen Russia's economic structure and enhance its non-oil potential by prudently investing high oil revenues in other industries to diversify the economy away from the dominant oil and gas sector.
There is an underlying deterrent for investments, badly needed to modernise the energy sector and help to diversify the economy. Even before the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, the investment level was too low and foreign direct investment too limited, partly due to an unfriendly business climate and the firm grip of the state on large parts of the economy. This is now exacerbated by the international sanctions imposed by the EU and the US that aim to prevent technology transfers and financing to Russian firms, especially in the energy and military sectors.


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Oprah Winfrey: Justin Bieber Is The New Michael Jackson
Justin's dream to become the next Michael Jackson is fulfilled now that Oprah deemed them one in the same in anticipation for her 'Oprah's Next Chapter' interview with the Biebs, airing on Nov. 25. We all know what happens when Oprah gives her seal of approval!
"Justin Bieber is a phonemenon," Oprah proclaims on the Nov. 25 episode of Oprah's Next Chapter, where she interviews the "Beauty And A Beat" singer.
"I haven't done an interview like this since Michael Jackson in 1993," Oprah tweeted on Nov. 19.
"There's never been a star like you," Oprah tells Justin in this new preview clip, tweeted by Justin on Nov. 23. "What do you mean by that," Justin asks in an attempt to appear humble.
"Obviously, lots of people compare your audiences to Michael Jackson's audiences — the screaming fans; and your audiences to the Beatles' fans. I mean, when I saw the crowd last night, it reminded me of myself and Paul McCartney where girls are gaga. Those tremendous legends, who really changed the face of music for our culture, did not have a stardom like yours — like a rise of stardom like yours. You are a product, to a great to extent, of social media. Therefore, there's never been a star like you," Oprah says.
"Thank you," Justin politely responds.
In the very same interview, Justin will talk about his on-again off-again relationship with Selena Gomez. Be sure to tune in to OWN on Nov. 25 at 9PM ET!
What do YOU think, HollywoodLifers? Is Justin comparable to Michael Jackson?
— Chris Rogers
More Justin Bieber News:
- Justin Bieber & Selena Gomez: Did They Break Up Over A Photo?
- Justin Bieber & Selena Gomez: Did Jealousy Cause Them To Break Up?
- Justin Bieber & Selena Gomez Broke Up Over Miley Cyrus?


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Ancient artifacts found during German police raid returned to Kosovo
PRISTINA, Kosovo Kosovo's culture minister says seven smuggled artifacts dating as far back as 4,000 B.C. are being returned to the country some seven years after they were found during a police raid in Germany.
Memli Krasniqi said Friday the artifacts were found by German police in 2005 in a sports bag belonging to two Serbs during an unrelated criminal investigation. Among them are an ancient terracotta figurine and the head of a cat made of clay.
Authorities believe they were meant for sale to private collectors. It took experts years to authenticate them and confirm they belong to Kosovo.
Serbia relocated some 1,200 artifacts from Kosovo's main museum to Belgrade during NATO's 78-day bombing that eventually ended the Kosovo war in 1999. Their ownership is hotly debated.


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Joe Johnson, Amar'e Stoudemire among the most problematic contracts in NBA
Joe Johnson, 31, has three years and almost $70 million remaining on his contract. (Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
By Rob Mahoney
On Tuesday, we rolled out a list of the best value contracts in the NBA, and today we examine the other end of the spectrum. The term "overpaid" is used too often as a scarlet letter, affixed to a player to inspire scorn and ridicule as if it were his fault to be paid so much. But in reality, players are worth whatever the market (or at least some freewheeling general manager) will pay them. With that in mind, we've assembled a list of the most problematic contracts in the NBA -- not the biggest and not the worst, per se, but those that give their respective teams the most trouble. (Contract lengths and values include the 2012-13 season in its entirety.)
Joe Johnson (Brooklyn Nets): Four years, $89.3 million
Gerald Wallace (Brooklyn Nets): Four years, $40 million
Brooklyn's whirlwind offseason forged a playoff team overnight but also locked the Nets in to a limited core for the next half-decade. Such was the cost of even attempting to re-sign Deron Williams. In making Brooklyn the most attractive option available, general manager Billy King liquidated most every remotely decent asset available to acquire the comically compensated Johnson. He also signed Wallace to a large, long-term deal that created immediate cause for concern.
As useful as Wallace was in Charlotte and Portland, the relationship between his age (he was 30 at the time of re-signing) and playing style (at his best, he relies on athleticism and abandon) practically ensured that the last two seasons or so of that contract would be painful for Brooklyn to bear. But Wallace bucked that preliminary projection by flailing almost immediately. There's just not much room for him to help as a range-less wing alongside two interior big men, though both Avery Johnson and now-interim coach P.J. Carlesimo have insisted on playing him in such a capacity. According to NBA.com, the Nets perform slightly better offensively with Wallace out of the lineup -- a sobering thought in that he's only likely to decline further as the seasons wear on.
Johnson has been slightly better, but he also hasn't seen his efficiency rise in the way that many expected. Playing alongside Williams, Wallace and Brook Lopez was supposed to free up Johnson for more open shots and more unencumbered production. Instead, his effective field goal percentage (52.1) is lower than it was throughout much of his Atlanta tenure, his shooting frequency has decreased and his turnover rate has remained more or less the same. He's still a solid player and incredibly useful to Brooklyn's glacial half-court offense, but the quality of his play does little to validate the short-sightedness of his acquisition.
Planning to re-sign Williams -- who was, at the time, a justifiable max free agent -- and Lopez, the Nets' most promising young player, made good basketball sense, but in the aggregate those signings also contribute to the problem. Brooklyn is already projected to pay the luxury tax for four consecutive seasons beginning with this one, and that's before factoring in the incoming salary in a potential trade involving Kris Humphries and MarShon Brooks and the deals that could be added via the taxpayer mid-level exception. It's not an exaggeration to say that this team has almost completely capped out, as the mounting salary and acquisition of tough-to-move contracts has left the Nets with precious little mobility.
Amar'e Stoudemire (New York Knicks): Three years, $65 million (third-year early-termination option)
See above, though replace Johnson, Wallace, Williams and Lopez with Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler. One might be tempted to think that the Knicks have more pieces to fiddle with than the Nets, considering that New York has a handful of manageable sub-mid-level deals on the books. But I doubt that teams are lining up to take on the long-term deals of Steve Novak (four years, $15 million), Raymond Felton (four years, $14.9 million), Marcus Camby (two years at $10 million, with a nonguaranteed third year) or Jason Kidd (three years, $9.3 million). That leaves the Knicks more or less stuck with their two best players and a pricey third in Stoudemire, whom almost no team will take back in a potential deal because of his massive, uninsured contract.
Carlos Boozer (Chicago Bulls): Three years, $47.1 million
Boozer has become an easy target as far as his contract goes, but he's also a very solid player who has played a huge role in keeping the Bulls afloat this season. In a vacuum, he's a great asset. But he's also somewhat inessential when Derrick Rose is in the lineup, and his contract presents a one-man tax burden.
For that reason, Boozer will remain a fixture in trade rumors and is a possible amnesty candidate, if only because his contract is the only one significant and dispensable enough for the Bulls to consider shedding. The amnesty option, in particular, would be far more difficult (and fruitless) than many think. Not only would such a decision require the Bulls to eat a massive amount of salary, but Chicago is hardly capable of managing the departure of Boozer without any productive return. Even if they opted to amnesty Boozer, the Bulls wouldn't have any cap space until Luol Deng's contract expires in 2014, leaving Chicago to fill a void in the rotation and the scoring column without all that many resources to do so. A possible trade would help offset some of that on-court loss, but it likely wouldn't solve Chicago's tax problem. Hence, the problem. Boozer is at the center of the Bulls' financial concerns but likely can't be liquidated without making them a significantly worse offensive team.
Andrew Bynum (Philadelphia 76ers): One year, $16.9 million
This is just a disastrous coincidence of contract expiration and potential season-ending injury. The Sixers rolled the dice last August to acquire the injury-prone, free-agent-to-be Bynum, giving up their best player (Andre Iguodala) and three first-round picks (including Nikola Vucevic and Moe Harkless). It was a worthy gamble at the time, but Bynum hasn't played a single game because of a knee injury and suffered a setback in his first day back at full-speed practice. I've already discussed the quandary facing the Sixers regarding Bynum's free agency, and suffice to say it's a complete mess. As it stands, they'll have to choose between doubling down on a player who could miss an entire season on their dime (with more possible recovery still to come) and folding on a costly acquisition.
Rudy Gay's trade from Memphis to Toronto gave the Grizzlies much-needed financial flexibility. (Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Rudy Gay (Toronto Raptors): Three years, $53.7 million (third-year player option)
Andrea Bargnani (Toronto Raptors): Three years, $32.2 million (third-year early-termination option)
DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors): Five years, $41.3 million
Landry Fields (Toronto Raptors): Three years, $18.8 million
The acquisition of Gay is the most exaggerated example in the Raptors' recent run of adding counterproductive contracts, but Gay's cap hit is only so painful because of all that came before it. Lucrative extensions for the Bryan Colangelo-drafted Bargnani and DeRozan form the basis of the Raptors' cap problems, while two flubbed mid-level signings (Linas Kleiza and Fields) only serve to exacerbate the gloomy outlook. Add it all up and you're looking at a team that's over the projected cap line through 2015, may pay the luxury tax in 2014 and is far from a contender. We have yet to see what Colangelo might get in a potential deal centered on Bargnani, but even a financially beneficial deal would leave the Raptors in more or less the same place, with a potential new deal for Kyle Lowry looming in 2014.
Gay's contract alone would be tough for any team to handle, much less one so early in its team-building cycle. The Raptors didn't have all of their core pieces in place, and now they're left with that same, underwhelming foundation, a massive contract eating up much of their cap and hopes for the future pinned to Gay, DeRozan, raw big man Jonas Valanciunas and rookie wing Terrence Ross. There are worse places for a team to be, but that group -- and the Raptors' cap reality -- don't bode well for Toronto's upward mobility.
Jeff Green (Boston Celtics): Four years, $36 million
Green's contract was regrettable as soon as it was signed, and now serves as an albatross as Celtics president Danny Ainge continues to toy with the idea of turning over his roster. The passing of the trade deadline has tabled those discussions until the summer, but Boston is without Rajon Rondo, staring down the decline of Paul Pierce's and Kevin Garnett's careers and burdened with mid-level contracts. Trading those will be trickier than you might expect; Jason Terry, Brandon Bass and Courtney Lee might be useful to the right team, but getting a potential trade partner to part with young assets (or even good contracts) will prove difficult.
Green's deal is by far the worst of that mid-level bunch, as his inconsistent play and undefined contributions make him far less stable a player than his salary would suggest. Good on Green and his agent for convincing the Celtics that he had this much value, but this deal could stand between Boston and a clean slate.
Richard Jefferson (Golden State Warriors): Two years, $21.2 million (second-year player option)
Andris Biedrins (Golden State Warriors): Two years, $18 million (second-year player option)
Many up-and-coming teams are assumed to have the means to continue along their trajectory: young players who will improve over time; a coach who will learn to use his roster even more effectively; and the cap structure to add pieces to complete the picture. The Warriors, however, aren't so lucky.
Though Golden State certainly has young talent and an improving coach in Mark Jackson, it's also bumping up against the tax line for next season, and that's before taking into account possible new deals for valuable reserves Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry. The unproductive Jefferson and Biedrins (who are owed a combined $19.2 million this season and $20.1 million next year) account for much of that salary problem, clogging up the Warriors' cap through the end of next season. Golden State still has the kinds of assets that could be used to entice teams into a trade, but it's a shame that a senseless use of the amnesty provision -- the Warriors cut the $4.1 million expiring contract of Charlie Bell before the 2011-12 season -- has precluded the team from wiping away Biedrins' contract and creating some financial wiggle room.
Dirk Nowitzki is in the midst of his worst offensive season since his rookie year. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks): Two years, $43.6 million
The oddest inclusion on this list, in that Nowitzki is worth every penny of his deal. He willingly took a slight pay cut to lessen the Mavs' tax payments, and in the process facilitated the building of a championship roster. Parades were thrown, champagne was guzzled and the Mavs went home with their first title.
But those days are long gone, and Nowitzki's large contract now sits in the middle of a makeshift rebuilding plan. Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Vince Carter, Jared Cunningham, Jae Crowder and Bernard James are the only Mavericks under contract beyond this season, and yet those six alone (only four to five of which are proven rotation players) will account for almost 70 percent of Dallas' room under the cap next season. A good chunk of that belongs to Nowitzki, making him both the most compelling reason that any free agent would want to come to Dallas and the biggest logistical reason why a max-level target won't fit neatly into the Mavs' cap room. Owner Mark Cuban and GM Donnie Nelson can keep their Dwight Howard hopes alive by trading Shawn Marion to a team with cap room, but even that option would leave Dallas to contend with a roster of Nowitzki, Howard (who would be voluntarily leaving money on the table and coming to a lesser team), Carter and spare parts.
Even the best-case scenario is a bit of a bleak picture. Nowitzki is still equipped to be a team's best offensive player and is ultimately paid a fair wage. But his current contract just doesn't jive well with this kind of rebuilding plan, making it incredibly difficult for the Mavs to rally from their current (and rare) slump.
Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers): Two years, $58.3 million
Pau Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers): Two years, $38.3 million
Metta World Peace (Los Angeles Lakers): Two years, $15 million (second-year player option)
Steve Nash (Los Angeles Lakers): Three years, $27.9 million
Dwight Howard (Los Angeles Lakers): One year, $19.5 million


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Booze Review: Pabst Blue Ribbon
Have you ever had a thirst for piss but aren't as ambitious as Bear Grylls? Well, Pabst Blue Ribbon is the next best (worst?) thing, if you're into that. It also doubles as good way to let people know that you're a piece of shit who has no self-respect for themselves. Nice job, kid.
Grade: D-
Smells Like:
Your middle school's boys' locker room, minus the Axe body spray and puberty smell.
Tastes Like:
Liberal tears after Hillary Clinton lost the election.
Typical Drinkers:
– Anyone and everyone named Seth.
– People who are vegan for "health reasons" but also chain smoke American Spirits and trip on acid regularly.
– Political science majors who still have Bernie 2016 stickers on their laptops.
– Nihilists.
– People who carry around a copy of The Communist Manifesto and think Karl Marx is Jesus.
User Comments:
– "Open your eyes, man! American Democracy is an illusion!"
– "All I'm saying is we need to rise up and seize the means of production to empower the proletariat."
– "Who the hell gave this beer a blue ribbon? I wouldn't even give PBR a participation ribbon."
– "I asked for a beer and you gave me this crap? I'm honestly triggered, I thought we were friends."
– "Yeah, I studied abroad in Barcelona last semester. It like, really changed my life."
Best Described as a Drink Superior To:
Drinking your own piss.
Can I Drink This In My Safe Space?:
Yes. But don't you dare drink a Budweiser in there unless you're a jingoist, xenophobic jerk.
Tell Me More About How We Can Empower the Proletariat:
Ok, Comrade. Once the bourgeoisie become severely outnumbered by the working class, we can revolt and install a new government regime.
Is PBR Gluten-Free?:
It has very little, but you probably don't actually have a gluten allergy, so suck it up.
We Mixed it With:
The cheapest plane ticket we could find to a Scandinavian country.


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Weddings have been much on our mind here recently, as one of our daughters was married on our anniversary this spring—as we were married on my in-laws' anniversary, and my in-laws were married on my mother-in-law's parents' anniversary—4 generations sharing a wedding date, 96 years of tradition!
But today I turn to my side of the family: September 1st marks the 55th anniversary of my parents' wedding, and this is my favorite group photo from the album. Dad and the groomsmen are, sad to say, all deceased, and all are still so missed. Mom and her bridesmaids are all still happy and healthy. And the flower girl still has a smile to charm your heart.
The three groomsmen are two of my dad's five brothers: best man Vincent (Dad's identical twin), brother-in-law Bill (husband of Dad's sister), and brother Joe. Bill was a little bit of a controversial choice for a Catholic wedding, as he and my aunt were divorced from their first spouses and were each other's second spouse. Devout a Catholic as my dad was, he could recognize when a rule or convention should be ignored. Uncle Bill was always a beloved member of the family, and to this day I love to see him as a part of my parents' wedding.
The three bridesmaids were two of my mom's three sisters, Rita and Martha, and (in the middle) her friend Marcia. Marcia had been one of mom's roommates when she lived and worked in town, had known my dad for some time, and set my parents up on a blind date. Marcia was a convert to Catholicism, and if I remember correctly, my mom was her sponsor. Marcia and Mom are still dear friends; I last saw Marcia and her husband at my sister's wedding 10 years ago.
The flower girl was my dad's niece Jan. The youngest (with his twin) of eight children, my dad had a number of nieces and nephews by the time he married.
Mom's dress was a near-white ice blue, and about 20 years later she recycled her veil to be my youngest sister's first communion veil. Her string of pearls was my dad's wedding gift to her, something that her daughters have been sure to mention to prospective husbands when our turn came to marry! I have always liked that rosaries were a part of the bridesmaids' nosegays, as prayer was always an integral part of my parents' marriage and family life.
The wedding was very early in the day, at 9:00 or 9:30 I think. After a reception, the party continued out at the farm (my mother's parents' home) until late in the evening.
Looking at this photo of my parents on their wedding day has always given me joy, and now a little bittersweet feeling too. Those strong young men are all gone. My parents were looking with hope into a future that ended up bringing some challenges and sorrow as well as all the joys of raising a family. My parents' marriage produced six children, twelve grandchildren, and (so far) five great-grandchildren. The "hope" and "joy" parts of their marriage continue in the lives of their descendants.


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- About
- Details
- Postage & Returns
- Reviews
Creativity XL Extra Large Purse with Wristlet Strap by Kipling. Destined to be your favourite pouch, the Creativity XL has three convenient storage pockets to help you keep your essential keys, make-up, media or wallet right by your side. In a larger size than Kipling's popular Creativity, this version has a removable strap for grab-and-go style.
- Zipped closure
- Main compartment with 3 gussets contains:
- Zipped inside pocket
- Kipling monkey key ring
- Size: 21.5 L x 13.5 H x 4 W cm
- Volume: 1 Litre
Want help with ordering or need more information? Can't see what you want? Call us! If Kipling have it, we can get it cheaper than anywhere else on-line!! Please contact us on 01637 876698 & we'll be happy to help!
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For shipping large items of luggage outside mainland UK, please contact us as an additional charge will be required.
Returns Policy
If you want to return your order within 14 days of having received your goods. A full refund will be issued if it is clear the products haven't been used or damaged in any way & in their original packaging. When returning items you will be responsible for them until they reach us. Postal costs incurred by yourselves will not be reimbursed.


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Arizona Republican wanted information about what it would take to achieve 90 percent effective control of the border.
Sen. John McCain switched gears suddenly Wednesday, withdrawing his support for Jeh Johnson's confirmation for secretary of the Homeland Security Department over a flap about stalled immigration reform.
At a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Johnson's confirmation, McCain, R-Ariz., started out reiterating positive comments he has made about Johnson, saying, "I've known you a number of years, and I'm very pleased you will be taking on these new responsibilities. I view you as an outstanding public servant. I'm confident that your confirmation process will be very smooth."
But that happy talk disappeared abruptly when Johnson said he could not promise to give McCain information from DHS about what it would take to achieve 90 percent effective control of the U.S. border. The senator then did an abrupt about-face, saying Johnson's demurral would cost his support for the DHS nomination.
"As we work …, the eight of us, to complete this comprehensive immigration [reform], which is stalled, as you know, in the House, ... one major reason why it's stalled is because [of] a lack of confidence in border security," McCain said. "I want to know if you will give this committee the exact metrics that are needed sector-by-sector so that we can attain 90 percent effectiveness on the border."
McCain said that Congress has responsibilities to secure the border, and unless DHS helps it figure out how, it cannot do its job.
"We have our responsibilities here…. So as much as I admire and appreciate you, unless you can tell me that, you will give the information that this committee has the right to have, I cannot support your nomination," McCain said.
When Johnson said he wanted to be helpful but couldn't make a promise, McCain called that response unacceptable.
"Let the record show you will not give a yes or no answer. Therefore I will not support your nomination until I get a yes answer," he said.
Johnson attempted to show he was trying.
"Before I commit unequivocally to your question—and part of me very much wants to do that—I think I need to talk to people at DHS."
In an interview with National Journal Daily after the hearing, McCain said he did not believe Johnson would provide the information because the White House would not allow it.
"The White House, we are told, ... that when we were putting together comprehensive immigration reform that the White House told Homeland Security not to give us that information," he said.
"I will not approve of his confirmation, because it is clearly information the Congress needs to make its decisions," he added. "I'm not encouraging anybody. I act by myself on all of these things."
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told NJ Daily that he was unsatisfied with Johnson's answers about Americans' privacy rights regarding domestic drones and said he was undecided on whether he would back Johnson's confirmation.
Still, lawmakers and analysts monitoring Johnson's confirmation overwhelmingly expect to see the administration's former drone lawyer, who is credited with paving the way for the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, confirmed.
"When you are confirmed—I'm not going to say if—because you are going to be confirmed," said Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., the ranking member on the Homeland Security Committee, during the hearing.
"I personally want to thank you for stepping forward. I think it is the most difficult position of all of the Cabinet secretaries.… It is clear to me that you are an honorable man, … which is exactly what we want."


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Ryan has shared knowledge and best practices to support and enhance our strategic tax planning.
The greatest long-term value we provide is the transfer of our knowledge. We believe that the more we educate our clients, the stronger our relationships with them become.
Ryan's strategic advisory services improve overall tax performance—providing innovative solutions to address the issues and errors that we identify—and creating greater opportunities for clients to improve efficiency, become more strategic in their approach to tax, and deliver outstanding value to their shareholders.
Consulting Focus & Expertise
Audit Representation
Strategic Planning
Tax Compliance Outsourcing
Tax Research
Voluntary Disclosure and Registration
Ryan manages the audit process from beginning to end, ensuring that we minimise our client's burden to the fullest extent possible. Our professionals handle the arduous process of producing records for the state and securing files required to build the case, determining which issues merit an appeal and the likelihood of success for each. We manage the day-to-day information flow between our client and the taxing authority to ensure timely, complete, and accurate responses and assist with accelerated dispute resolution processes to reduce the costs and other burdens associated with audit defence activities. As needed, we meet with auditors, dispute resolution officers, administrative hearings attorneys, and other agents to clearly identify all positions that impact our client's ability to achieve a favourable outcome.
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We understand the importance of constructive relationships with taxing authorities. We also understand that respect is earned. From informal conferences to administrative level appeals, our goal is to resolve tax controversies quickly and professionally. And when disputes can't be resolved through simple negotiation, we're prepared to fight for our clients' interests for as long as it takes. Our Audit Representation provides a comprehensive range of services, including:
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Ryan's Strategic Planning services focus on our client's overall tax performance, creating greater opportunities to measure and improve efficiency, develop a more strategic approach to tax, and deliver outstanding shareholder value. Through benchmarking current performance, identifying best practices in relation to peer and historical performance, and measuring the delta between reality and the potential of our client's tax department, Ryan provides a clear strategic plan for transforming the tax function into a Tax Competency Centre.
Ryan professionals help our clients plan and implement processes and technologies that improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their tax operations. We assess tax positions and develop strategic plans that include transaction structuring, business reorganisation, and alternative filing positions. And we ensure that the efforts of our clients' tax departments are positively impacting the overall strategic objectives of their organisations.
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Ryan leverages years of experience and best practices to help our clients design and implement proven planning strategies for mitigating risk, minimising tax liabilities, and improving efficiency and effectiveness through a suite of services, including:
- Alternative filing positions
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Ryan's Tax Compliance Outsourcing services help clients effectively manage their compliance processes, allowing them to focus on the broader strategic vision for total tax performance. Our comprehensive suite of outsourced tax compliance services are designed to meet internal Sarbanes-Oxley requirements, streamline tax operations, and provide a proven approach to compliance management and reporting.
Our professionals possess a breadth of expertise in tax administration and process improvement, delivering a tremendous return on investment and providing a wealth of best practices, as well as a proven roadmap for enhancing the strategic value of the tax department. We assist clients in proactively managing costs and employee resources, eliminating manual processes, minimising overpayments and errors on returns, and reducing risk and the likelihood of notices and penalties.
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Through Ryan's comprehensive suite of Tax Compliance Outsourcing services, our clients can reallocate their tax resources to higher-value initiatives while improving efficiency and leveraging industry-leading tax knowledge and expertise. Services include:
- Account reconcilliation
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Ryan's Tax Research services cut through complicated and constantly changing state and local tax rules to uncover the issues that truly matter to our clients. Our researchers not only analyse the law, they evaluate and verify individual circumstances to apply the law to each possible scenario.
Our seasoned professionals are well versed in preparing tax matrices for all types of industries, writing opinion letters on the tax consequences of complex and unusual transactions, preparing requests for administrative rulings on intricate issues, determining nexus and filing requirements, and reviewing specific transactions to ensure that our tax decision solutions are accurate and consistent. Additionally, we provide research and update services to the taxability matrices we develop.
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Ryan has an experienced team of professionals that research complex and evolving tax issues, legislation, and developments to identify and address the potential tax implications of multi-jurisdictional operations. Our Tax Research services include:
- Nexus determinations and filing requirements
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Ryan's Voluntary Disclosure and Registration services assist corporations in negotiating voluntary disclosure agreements (VDAs) with the most favourable results possible. We have experts in each tax specialty who have assisted clients with VDAs in many jurisdictions. We assist clients with single or multiple negotiation requirements, involving one or multiple tax issues. Ryan professionals have years of experience and maintain constant contact with the tax jurisdictions to ensure the most up-to-date VDA information is readily available to our clients.
As part of any engagement with a client, we first analyse all of the facts attributed to the business and activities taking place in a respective jurisdiction. We then work with our client to determine potential exposure and possible methods to minimise that exposure. This process might entail determining whether a client's customers have accrued and remitted tax, the customers' current audit status, and possible back billing of taxes. We customise each project to maximise client value and simultaneously interact with multiple jurisdictions, so we can efficiently complete the engagement. In all instances, our clients receive a closing agreement or a signed agreement with each tax jurisdiction to clearly define their exposure.
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Ryan assists clients in registering and settling past taxes, if applicable, and paying the correct amount required under each jurisdiction's VDA programme. We are often able to negotiate prospective agreements when our client's fact pattern presents the opportunity. Our Voluntary Disclosure and Registration services include:
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While our clients recognise that our expertise in tax recovery is world class, they are increasingly focused on prospective tax improvement as the regulatory climate and market dynamics change. We have responded by leveraging tax recovery as a "means to an end," creating opportunities for our clients to achieve greater performance across their total tax function with a suite of value-added consulting and advisory services. We work through their particular tax issues, we share what we know, and we pass on our extensive knowledge.Unmatched Results
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Integrated End-to-End Tax Services
Ryan is focused on your overall tax performance—providing innovative solutions to the underlying causes of the errors we identify—and creating greater opportunities to measure and improve your efficiency, develop a more strategic approach to tax, and deliver outstanding value to your shareholders.


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The MBC-SAM9G35 ARM9 Board is an ARM embedded board produced by Embest, integrating the Atmel AT91SAM9G35 ARM926EJ-S-based processor operating at 400MHz frequency. This CPU can support WinCE and Linux. The board has 128MB DDR2 SDRAM, 256MB NandFlash, 4MB DataFlash, 64KB Serial EEPROM, and 128B one-wire EEPROM.
Ships from: China Lead time: 1 week


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SOE's Secret Weapon Centre: Station 12
The full story of Aston House in the Second World War has never been told before. Its activities were top secret and as important to the Allied war effort as those of Bletchley Park, but in a different way. Situated near Stevenage, Aston House was one of many British country houses requisitioned during the Second World War by the Special Operations Executive (SOE).
Born out of Bletchley Park, where it began life as SIS Section 'D' (for Destruction), Station 12's scientific and military personnel invented, made and supplied 'toys' for the Resistance, Commandos, Special Boat Service and SAS. Included in their deadly arsenal were plastic explosives, limpet mines, pressure switches, tree spigots, incendiary bombs, incendiary liquids and arrows, and a variety of time fuses. They worked on the tools for famous operations, such as the St Nazaire and Bruneval Raids and the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich.


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- 4 Beds
- 2 Full, 2 3/4, 1 Half Baths
Property TypeResidential – Single Family
SubdivisionVail Village West 1
Listing Date05/16/19
Year Built2018
AreaWest Vail South
Lot Size0.29 Acres (12,632 SqFt)
Parking2 Car Garage
Property Description
Fantastic four-bedroom single family home in a desirable and convenient West Vail location, recently completed in the spring of 2019. Numerous features include sleek modern finishes, abundant storage, a stunning main floor master suite, large closets, lavish kitchen, and secondary family room. Exterior finishes include wood siding and copper paneling, with a patio and large deck for enjoying the outdoors. A rare find within the Town of Vail, this is a must see property for anyone in this market.
Presented By
- Mountains
- Hiking/Pedestrian Trail
- Cable Available
- Deck
- Fireplace - Gas
- Multi-Level
- Patio
- Vaulted Ceilings
- Cable TV
- District Sewer
- District Water
- Electricity Avail.
- Natural Gas Avail.
- Snow Removal
- Trash Pickup
- Natural Gas
- Radiant
- Ceiling Fan
- Dryer
- Washer
Financial Information
About West Vail
Occupying a wider swath of the Valley than the Villages and East Vail, West Vail offers distinctly different environments on its northern and southern hillsides. The south side features lush wooded alpine terrain interspersed with meadows while the more exposed north side offers dramatic views and an abundance of sunshine year round. Divided into several neighborhoods, the area has a commercial center with groceries, shops, and restaurants and a close knit mix of locals and second home owners. Properties in West Vail range from simple condominiums to elegant single-family homes, all of which are a quick 5-10 minute Town shuttle away from the heart of the Village.
Area Market Data
4 Beds 5 Baths
5 Beds 5 Baths
5 Beds 5 Baths
We get asked this question a lot. Below is a tool that gives you the ability to see what the market is like in your community. Find out what homes like your own are selling for right in your back yard. Simply enter in your address, choose the proximity of the search and find out market data for other homes that are selling near you.
While we'll provide you with plenty of information, this is a snapshot of your market data and there are real people behind the high-tech and automated tools. If you would like more detailed information or help in understanding the results we are here to help.
Until then, enjoy the tools!
The data relating to the real estate for sale on this website comes in part from the Internet Data Exchange program of the Vail Multi-List Service, Inc.
Copyright © 2020 Vail Multi List, Inc. (VMLS). The information displayed herein was derived from sources believed to be accurate, but has not been verified by VMLS. Buyers are cautioned to verify all information to their own satisfaction. This information is exclusively for viewers' personal, non- commercial use. Any republication or reproduction of the information herein without the express permission of the VMLS is strictly prohibited.
Listing courtesy of LIV Sotheby's International Realty - Covered Bridge


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For the Hand's on & experienced Spanish speaker Vehicle Mechanics looking for a change of pace.Ditch the overalls & say hello to fresh suit because we are currently on the hunt for you to join the IT support team here in Dusseldorf for a well-known company in the vehicle industry. Speak near native Spanish, have experience in a garage working with Cars & looking to earn between €45,000 €55,000 gross per annum? Keep reading & get in touch today.
What will you do in this job?
As part of the IT Support team, you will be responsible taking incoming calls and emails from various clients and customers, advising them on how to resolve technical issues in relation to their vehicles. You will help clients when it comes to the logistical questions and where necessary advice both customer and clients on the best technical solution for their wants and needs.
Who will you be working for?
Our client is a big player in the tech industry of the vehicle industry. They pride themselves on offering tech solutions based on excellent quality and innovation. They are currently looking to grow their IT team here in Dusseldorf with new & motivated Spanish speaker like yourself.
Who are we looking for?
For this IT Support job, we are looking for you to have a near native level of Spanish and an excellent level of English (no German required) – You will need excellent communication skills (verbal & written).
You have hands on experience in working in vehicle mechanics in a workshop and/or garage - this hands-on experience is crucial for your application – without it we cannot consider you for this job.
You have an excellent understanding of car electronics and are capable of discussing issues over the phone to customers with ease.
Where would you be working?
Work in the capital of the North Rhine Westphalia state of Germany - Dusseldorf. One of Germany's most prestigious industrial and financial centers with affordable housing, a vast variety of multicultural individuals accompanied with a great modern lifestyle with all that Dusseldorf can offer.
Interview & Salary
For this Spanish IT Support Job the interview process is pretty straight forward – first there will be a phone interview and depending on the recruiter you could be asked to sit another phone interview or come to Dusseldorf for a face-to-face interview.
When it comes to salary you can expect to earn between €45,000 - €55,000 gross per annum and there is a relocation package available but this is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Interested & looking to hang up those overalls? Pop us a call on +353 15 24 24 20 today for more information.


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- Alberta
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Stephen Ellsesser, MLB.com:
Both Lopez and closer Jonathan Papelbon were warming up in the Boston bullpen in the top of the ninth, but with Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and Youkilis coming to bat in what would have been the top of the 10th inning, Francona went to Lopez.Amalie Benjamin, Globe:
Both Jonathan Papelbon and Javier Lopez were warming. The easy choice would have been the closer, at least for most teams. But Red Sox manager Terry Francona rarely uses Papelbon in tie games on the road, so Lopez it was, trying to steer last night's game against the Indians through the bottom of the ninth, to get to a 10th inning in which the Sox could come through for their 12th straight win.I know that Playoff Assassin Tito cannot rule the roost for every single game of the regular season, but Francona made not only a risky choice, but a terrible choice.
At least two better options were staring him in the face. Why not look to Manny Delcarmen, who had thrown only 11 pitches the night before? Choosing Lopez over Papelbon (it feels insane even typing that) did not put the Red Sox in the best position to win, or even in the best position to get to the tenth inning.
It would be impossible for the Red Sox to score the go-ahead run if they never got another chance to bat. Making that opportunity possible should have been Tito's main goal at that point. Instead, Francona was charting his pitching plans for the bottom of the tenth inning and, seemingly like clockwork, his poor strategy backfired.


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I was absolutely terrified to tell my boss I was pregnant recently. I actually had nightmares about it. But when I got up the nerve, he gave me a huge smile and said, "Congratulations!" I couldn't believe I had stressed about it so much.
To #2, there is no way they would revoke their offer to you just based on you being pregnant. In this day and age, I'm sure they're smart enough to know you could slap them with a lawsuit. I think as long as you're past the first trimester and the highest risk of miscarriage, the respectful thing to do is let them know asap so they can make arrangements.
To #1, you especially should let them know immediately. Your change will affect other people's schedules and they have a right to know asap so they can plan their own vacations, etc.
I had the same experience Fizzy did telling my PI about my pregnancy.
I believe if you have a contract in place already, it would be illegal for them to revoke your job on the basis of a pregnancy. And in both cases, the considerate thing to do is let them know ASAP so that they can make arrangements for coverage. If you waited until you started to tell them, I think it would come across as though you were trying to hide something, and would probably irk them more.
I agree. Transparency is always the best choice. You should not start a long term relationship with deception. Most places are now very comfortable with parenting issues, and I hope that was part of your decision-making originally. It's scary, but I imagine you will find that the outcome is much better than you worry it will be.ReplyDelete
Yes, tell them as soon as possible, and do so without apologizing. If you announce your pregnancy in a straighforward manner and with happiness, I think you'll find a better reception. Whenever I've had to tell my various bosses about my pregnancies (and there have been 5 now), I tell them something like, "I wanted to let you know that my husband and I are expecting another baby in December. Could we talk a little about how to best arrange the schedule so that the other partners are affected as little as possible?" The only exception I'd make would be for #2- if you haven't yet signed a contract, I would wait until that is complete before telling them. Like others have said, I'm pretty sure it would be illegal for them to get rid of you because of a pregnancy.ReplyDelete
I just want to throw out there that you aren't eligible for FMLA until you have worked for a year at most places, meaning you ARE NOT guaranteed a job when you come back...
I agree with Fizzy for #1 though, and it would be interesting to know what the Program Director meant by that statement- as in "oh, we're glad for your sake you took time off" or "oh, we dodged a bullet by her taking off"...hopefully it is the first and not the second, if it is the second it sounds like things will be an up-hill battle.
Having had my second child as a second year resident, I can happily say there have been no problems with scheduling. Pregnancy is a possibility for any working woman, and all employers (including residency programs) are aware of this. They can give you the time off and cover for you. That's already built into the organization of residency. In my case with both vacation and FMLA, 12 weeks was the maximum time off allowed without necessitating a repeat of second year from the beginning. I agree with everyone above that the earlier you tell your program director, the better off everyone else will be, especially you. Carrying around the anxiety of pregnancy and not being able to tell anyone is a stress in itself (not good for you or baby). So tell them and be done with it. No one said this will be easy though. A child in medical school is a bit easier than in residency, especially as an intern. Good thing is it's all shift work since work hour restrictions have changed. That will work in your favor I believe.ReplyDelete
Several years ago we hired a NP who was pregnant and didn't tell us right away. Several of my partners were miffed that she didn't disclose that. I think that telling them as soon as possible in both situations is for the best. You obviously should wait until 2nd trimester and for #2 until you have a signed contract, but I would hope it wouldn't be an issue otherwise. I'm debating as to when to tell my partners that baby #2 is on the way. I'm 9 weeks today and we have a meeting tonight. Haven't had an US yet, but we're like a family and I think i'll just tell them. not that they'll be surprised or anything. =) It's just that we have a PA due a month before me and two of my other partners are either TTC or will be soon. Oh well!ReplyDelete
I told during both my pregnancies after week 12. The first was 4 weeks into my fellowship with a mercurial program director. The second was 6 months into my new academic job. Both went surprisingly well and both appreciated long lead times and that I told no one before them (you know the grapevine). Directors/chairman/partners in this day and age who aren't expecting women to get pregnant are kidding themselves. I believe as more women rise up and as more men work with equal numbers of men and women doctors, this will be less of an issue...unfortunately, I think it's the next generation who will benefit the most, not mine.ReplyDelete


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In Era 3 it's now possible to buy all ship classes from Mesophon. My personal impression is that you would be insane to build ships yourself given how cheaply Mesophon sells some of them, especially because ship costs are based on a deprecated metric (the era 2 ship power values, which are otherwise not even in the game anymore!)
Justification follows:
Selling resources to Mesophon: How much is an AE worth?
When you sell resources to Mesophon (either through a T&E trade route or with transports), Mesophon pays you AEs. In theory for all resources 1 ae = 20 WUs. AEs are not subject to attrition, unlike ships and most resources, so you always get maximum value out of them. In practice, AEs can be obtained much more cheaply; I will use Hexacarbide, Light Jumpdrives and Organic Food as three example trade goods, explaining my reasoning below:
Mesophon pays 0.5 aes/ton for Hexacarbide. Hexacarbide has a supply-chain-adjusted WU cost (SCI WU cost is sensitive to the trillum cost of refining hexacarbide) of 5 WUs per ton at "abundant" frequency and 10WUs per ton at "major" frequency (assuming that the trillum supply is of the same magnitude as the hexacarbide supply) Abundant deposits of both trillum and hexacarbide are common throughout the galaxy, so we can easily assume that all of our traded Hex comes from abundant deposits.
Trading hexacarbide, getting 1 ae costs 10 WUs
Mesophon pays 0.002 ae / ton for Organic Food (only T&E can trade this efficiently, since you would need millions of jumptransports to move it around). Organic food has no supply chain and very low WU cost , 0.04 WU/ton; on Earthlike worlds this is reduced to 0.02 WU/ton; on Ocean worlds it's ~0.2286 and on Desert Worlds it's 0.032 WU/ton. Let's assume all our food is coming from Ocean worlds, which are common throughout the galaxy. (My New Agraria empire last year was structured around organic food sale.)
Trading organic food, getting 1 ae costs 11.43 WUs
Mesophon pays 4 aes/unit for light jumpdrives. Light jumpdrives are made from trillum but are primarily a value-added product, with ~90-95% of their value coming from the WUs used to build them. This means a trading empire with poor planets can build light jumpdrives anywhere and resource deposits will form only a minor element of their ae value. Lets assume all our jumpdrives are using trillum mined at "major" abundance, which means they cost 80 WUs per unit.
Trading light jumpdrives, getting 1 ae costs 20 WUs
Clearly, a trading empire wants to exclusively sell raw materials extracted from abundant deposits, although selling organic food is also viable if there are more earthlike and ocean worlds than are needed to supply the extactor worlds. Worlds without abundant deposits should serve as hubs, foundations, infantry academies and citadels. Selling ship components is a sucker's game. Now what about buying?
Buying ships from Mesophon: What will an AE get you?
Mesophon ship sale prices are based on the OLD (era 2) ship power values. The ratio of AE cost to ship power was AEcost = era2power x 1.2, rounded to 2 significant digits.
This results in some incredible bargains on low-tech ships! Look at some of these examples:
Anywhere "WU equivalent AE value" exceeds the rate you getting for selling minerals, you can buy that ship class from Mesophon more cheaply than you could build it directly! This is because a major element of ship cost is their direct unit WU cost; their resource WU cost can be reduced by using abundant minerals, but the direct WU cost is never directly discounted by any game mechanic. In a Mesophon purchase, you get to use 100% discounted WUs if that is what you are selling to Mesophon. For an empire selling "abundant" minerals at 10 WU/ae, pretty much any low-tech ship is available instantly from Mesophon at or below its direct-build cost using the same abundant resources!
Since AEs do not undergo any attrition, if you sell resources for a week and then buy a ton of ships, you are also getting the equivalent of a full week of production all at once without the normal losses from attrition during the 1-week period, which I believe can be 30-40% depending on ship class (some calculus is involved).
Change Mesophon's ship costs to reflect supply-chain inclusive WU cost. I recommend using the equation (AE_Cost = SCI_WU_major_abundancy_cost/8) * ((minTL+2))/10). This makes all ships slightly more expensive to buy than build even getting the best possible deal, but trading empires will still get the benefits of no attrition, instant fleets, obscurity (nobody knows how many aes you have) and not having to muck around with complex supply chains, not being dependent on chronimium abundance to get high-tech ships, getting capships in distant locations without having to ship them across the galaxy, etc. Adding a minTL modifier for ship classes makes high-tech ships slightly more expensive than their low-tech equivalents, which I think is a decent compromise since they normally require more complex economies to build.
It might also be worth considering a very small "tax" (attrition) on AEs as well.
Here are SCI WU costs, for reference:


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Travis Wood, Joe Mather lead way as Cubs down Mets
CHICAGO -- Joe Mather changed uniform numbers and did a pretty good impression of the player that inspired him to wear No. 21.
With reinforcements on the way in Chicago, more positive changes might be coming for the Cubs.
Mather homered and Travis Wood outpitched Johan Santana, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 6-1 victory over the New York Mets on Monday night to snap a four-game skid.
Mather swapped his No. 16 for 21 earlier in the day to honor Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente.
"I had it in high school, it's always been a favorite number of mine," Mather said. "I always see the highlight of Roberto Clemente running around. I see the 21 on his back and I like that. I always wanted myself to look like that."
He broke it in by hitting a two-run shot over the left-center field wall off Santana after a two-out walk to Geovany Soto to give Chicago a 2-0 lead in the fourth.
That was all the run support Wood (2-3) would need.
He struck out six and scattered five hits over seven scoreless innings to earn his second straight victory.
"The life on his fastball was about as good as we've all seen it," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "He was beating guys that are good fastball hitters. He was beating them all night."
The 25-year-old lefty has given up just eight runs in 31 2/3 innings this month. Four of those five starts came against former Cy Young Award winners.
"You always want to bring your A-game, but when you're going against guys like Johan, you know you have to bring it," said Wood, who beat Jake Peavy in his last start. He has also faced Justin Verlander and Barry Zito this month.
The Cubs scored four unearned runs in the seventh inning with help from three Mets errors, including three-base miscues by third baseman David Wright and right fielder Lucas Duda.
Chicago beat a left-hander for just the fourth time in 20 chances this year.
Santana (5-4), a two-time Cy Young winner, gave up five hits and two runs over six innings. He struck out six and walked three.
The Cubs threatened to add on in the sixth with runners on second and third and one out, but Santana struck out Soto looking, and after walking Mather, got Luis Valbuena to ground out to strand three.
"That's the thing about baseball you always have to execute and do the little things," Santana said. "The little things make the difference and that made the difference tonight. One little pitch and one little mistake changed the ballgame."
Wright singled in the seventh to extend his hitting streak to 15 games. Ike Davis homered with two outs in the ninth for the Mets.
The Wrigley Field wind played a big role in Chicago's four-run seventh as a pair of popups each turned into three-base errors.
Pinch-hitter Adrian Cardenas led off with a high pop in front of home plate. Catcher Mike Nickeas yielded to Wright, who fumbled the ball toward the backstop. Two batters later, Darwin Barney's bloop to right field was dropped and booted away by a running Lucas Duda.
It got even uglier when Ronny Cedeno misplayed Starlin Castro's grounder with the infield in, allowing Barney to score.
"It's that kind of night. We don't make those mistakes," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "Unfortunately it came back tonight to haunt us."
Collins had expressed concern about his team's energy when talking with reporters before the game. The team didn't get into Chicago until 4 a.m. Monday morning after losing two of three to the Yankees in an exhausting weekend series.
New York mustered six hits and didn't score until Davis' home run off of James Russell with two outs in the ninth.
"We were a little flat," Collins said. "They're human beings and the adrenaline knock out for a while, and the fact that they got about probably five or six hours of sleep didn't help either."
Though they didn't need it Monday, help is on the way for a scuffling Cubs offense, which had scored the fourth fewest runs in the majors coming into play Monday.
Sveum confirmed that highly touted prospect Anthony Rizzo would be promoted on Tuesday. The 22-year-old left-handed first baseman is hitting .345 with 23 homers and 62 RBIs in 69 games at Triple-A Iowa.
Game notes
The Mets designated OF Vinny Rottino for assignment and selected the contract of LHP Justin Hampson from Triple-A Buffalo. Hampson, 32, had not pitched in the majors since Sept. 28, 2008, with San Diego. He tossed a scoreless eighth. ... Collins said RHP Bobby Parnell will be the team's closer with Frank Francisco (left oblique strain) on the 15-day DL. ... OF Jason Bay (concussion) rode a stationary bike on Monday. He is scheduled to begin baseball activities by the weekend according to Collins. ... Cubs RHP Ryan Dempster (right lat tightness) threw off of flat ground Monday and it `'went well," according to Sveum. Dempster is eligible to come off the DL on Sunday, but Sveum said a July 6 return in New York is more likely. ... RHP Dillon Gee (5-5, 4.27 ERA) will take the hill for the Mets in the middle game of the series on Tuesday against RHP Randy Wells (1-2, 4.91).
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Phillies' Didi Gregorius says he'll wear facemask during games due to kidney condition
Didi Gregorius, who missed two months of the 2011 minor league season after being diagnosed with a kidney condition, said he'll wear a facemask during games since he's at high risk playing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Texas Rangers don't expect to have Willie Calhoun (hip) for start of season
Willie Calhoun is expected to miss the start of the season because of a hip strain, but the Rangers think Robinson Chirinos (ankle) can avoid the injured list.
Yankees' Aaron Judge returns to action after stiff neck
Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, who was out of the lineup because of neck stiffness since Saturday, returned Wednesday with a bang, hitting a home run off James Paxton.
Orioles' Anthony Santander says he missed start of summer camp after positive COVID-19 test
Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander confirmed he missed the start of summer camp because he tested positive for COVID-19.
Reports: Mets ace Jacob deGrom's MRI on sore back comes back clean
Jacob deGrom and the Mets averted a serious scare Wednesday when an MRI showed nothing to be concerned about, according to multiple reports.
Yelich reacts to fake boos: 'What am I, at Wrigley?'
Christian Yelich has the best reaction to receiving fake boos during the Brewers' intrasquad game at Miller Park.


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Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Michele Arthur
This piece is at the top of the stairs so it is one of the first things you see. The round piece is attached to a painted screen. You can't see it here, but there is a piece of thread that connects this piece to another circle-on-a-painted-screen piece (more like a morning-time one), with origami birds attached to the thread. Not sure yet how I feel about the thread and origami birds, but I like the individual screen pieces.
Most of the paintings were orange and black, or orange or black. This piece is called Moonless Mountain. Wendy White posted on Forrest Bess recently, and one of my reasons to visit Chop Suey was to try and find a Forrest Bess book - I didn't find one but my FB radar was up and my mind was very much in tune with these paintings. Here is a page of Forrest Bess paintings.
It cracked me up reading her labels, the prices were $33, $99, $111, $222, $333, $444, $555, $777, with one for $5,432.10 and another 3,000,000 rubles. It was all so random - perfect and funny for Richmond because nobody ever buys anything anyways. There was no painting for $666.
Some of these cell-phone photos are so bad. The wall around the one above is too white, and around the orange painting below so blue - but it was all the same color.
So simple, so little done here, but it is clearly finished. I wonder if it happened for her as easily as it looks like it came? I sometimes am able to make a painting just happen, but that usually surprises me. More often I'll make something that looks like it came a lot easier and quicker than it did.
Fingerprint windowpeople and one small antenna.
The black one has a smaller canvas glued to it, and an asteroid or shooting star. I think that asteroid is cut from a magazine or something, it isn't painted. There is a texture to the smaller glued-on canvas that I was associating with the moon and craters before I stood in the right light and saw that it was a handprint.
Here is that little one viewed from an angle.
Michelle Arthur at Chop Suey closes March 5th
4 comments:
- Anonymous said...
I just wanted to thank you Martin for your beautiful gift! It is hanging on the wall of my studio, I plan to photograph it and post it if you don't mind. I love the tendril ends, it is a fragile and sweet object.
- Hans said...
Thank you very much for the link to Forrest Bess.
- Anonymous said...
MM - You are very welcome. Your comment on the finding post was so nice.
Hi Grijsz!
- Anonymous said...
i am looking at these pictures now and thinking i need to go back to enjoy this show again.
Grijsz - i went to your blog and saw the older paintings you posted. i want one of your paintings someday. maybe i will get one when i come to Tusheti.
if i opened a gallery i would definitely give you a show. do you want to have a makeshift show somewhere? i would be happy to try and organize something for you somewhere, if you don't mind showing in a coffee house or something like that.


text: Seungwhan Youn wrote: > > >>> I hope you noticed that this clock hierarchy is a _very_ board specific thing. > >>> We can easily place SoCs' shared stuff in arch/arm/plat-samsung (or similar) > >>> Any suggestions, where do we place code shared by SMDK-boards ? > >> > >> plat-samsung would probably be fine for that also - create a file called > >> common-smdk or something. Some other things have gone for a plat-smdk > >> style approach too, though I'm not sure how tasteful I find that > >> personally. > > Even though I would personally like to have EPLL control for a device > > in machine specific manner as part of its driver, I accept your opinion. > > > > Claude, let us create one arch/arm/plat-samsung/smdk.c to do common > > stuff for SMKDs like EPLL control. What do you think ? > > Actually if we add this file on plat-samsung, board-init will be > separated two-part, one is machine(board) specific and other is all > smdk specific. So, If it doesn't make confusion to other guys who > wants to add settings for their features on board-init, it looks good > to me. But I think that we also have to listen Mr. Ben Dooks and Mr. > Kukjin Kim's opinion about this before we get a conclusion. Hi all, I think, basically it'd better if could control clock stuff in each driver for it when need it such as clk_get, clk_enable and so on. Actually there is no policy/protection for EPLL usage in plat-samsung or plat-s5p now and need to sort out other similar case for it also....so in my opinion, right now to proceed with the current style is helpful to me and will consider it in the future. Thanks. Best regards, Kgene. -- Kukjin Kim <kgene.kim at samsung.com>, Senior Engineer, SW Solution Development Team, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.


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Virginia #1: medium flavor, strength and body in a mild, smooth smoke.
My experience with Mac Baren Virginia #1 is entirely with the bulk form. For someone who has been smoking a pipe since the late 1960's, I'm a relative late-comer to the Mac Baren line. Because of Mac Baren's reputation for tongue bite, I denied myself half a lifetime of Elysian pleasure on the basis of hearsay! The lesson learned: never trust authority or consensus in matters of taste; sample it for yourself.In discussing my experience with other smokers I have come to the conclusion that, like the division among people who can and cannot tolerate artificial sweeteners, pipe smokers of the world are in one of two camps: those whom Mac Baren tobaccos sting like an angry wasp, and those for whom it is ambrosia. So if you've been heeding the questionable caveat about Mac Baren bite, give it a try for yourself. You may be very pleasantly rewarded.Virginia #1 is composed of honey colored shreds of coarsely rubbed flake with a predictably grassy, sweet aroma. My supplies of the bulk tobacco arrive at the perfect moisture level for immediate use -- but then again I prefer my Va.'s to lean toward the dry side: supple, but not obviously moist. This is not a very fussy tobacco to pack and light. I just randomly stuff the shreds into the bowl and fire it up.It has a true Virginia taste sharpened and intensified by the flake pressing process, and is sweetened to perfection. My guess would be that it's cased with a water solution of brown sugar, and nothing else. Mac Baren product specialist Per Jensen states that Virginia #1 is the only Mac Baren product composed of only Virginia tobacco leaf. From what I can tell, that would be primarily lemon and orange, and perhaps a little red.Virginia #1 immediately generates a comforting volume of luscious smoke with a racy Virginia flavor, caramel sweetness, and a mix of citrus zest and salinity that begs you to draw on it non-stop -- not because it fails to satisfy, but because it satisfies so well! It has a medium depth of flavor and nicotine strength delivered in a very mild and smooth envelop of smoke. It does create a very gentle, almost negligible peppery sensation on the margins of the tongue, but nothing even faintly approaching bite; ascribe it to the natural piquancy and spicy attitude for which Va. flakes are renowned.As the bowl progresses, the tobacco flavor holds its own, but the blend loses its initial balance between tartness and sweetness: as the smoke progresses to the bottom of the bowl the sweetness fades, causing the citrus finish to become more noticeable.This blend not only tastes great, but you have to intentionally puff like a locomotive to coax even a slight nip out of it. Further, it is so mild tasting it makes a great all day smoke: totally well behaved, and a candidate for anybody's go-to smoke. For an in-depth video tour of Mac Baren visit:http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/pipe-manufacturer-retailer-spotlight/mac-baren-tobacco-factory-tour/
Return to Virginia Tobacco Reviews


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Friday, 25 January 2013
Photography - My Coin Collection
Posted by N K Sran at January 25, 2013
I am a computer engineer from India who likes to paint, mainly oil on canvas and charcoal sketches. I compose poetry occasionally. Also like to read books, study languages and play badminton. I started publishing on my blog 'Live Your Hobbies' in 2012 to get connected to the world through my hobbies. I hope you will like walking through it.
2 comments:
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Carrying power plugs - especially Britain's big ones - can be the bugbear of any gadget-laden traveller. But one designer may have come up with a solution: a folding plug.
Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com
Although still just a prototype, designer Min Kyo Choi has essentially rewired a traditional UK three-pin plug measuring roughly 48 x 44 x 46mm into a flat-pack design that's just 48 x 44 x 10mm.
By fixing the live and neutral pins onto a twisting body, both can be rotated from a horizontal to vertical position so that they sit underneath the plug's earth pin. At the same time, the plug's body can be folded closed like a book – reducing much of its bulk.
When it comes to slotting the plug into an outlet, the process is as simple as twisting the two bottom pins into the horizontal position and opening up the two flaps.
A fuse slots into the plug's handle
In between the flaps there's a finger slot for pulling the plug out of the socket once you're done. This section also contains the plug's fuse – shown in red in the video.
No plans to mass produce the plug have been announced. ®


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Tucson General Info
Posted 15 October 2012 - 09:33 AM
Marriott Start Pass- West end of 22nd street (Where it becomes Starr Pass blvd)- arguably the nicest Tucson has to offer. Very pretty hotel with convention facilities, endless river pool restaurants, major golf course, and a visible Milky Way.
Lodge in The Desert- sort of the traditional best hotel in Tucson. It's older, but has just been remodeled. It has first rate food, but is in the city so everything is nearby.
Doubletree on Alvernon- This has a conference center and decent food. It is very central for going anywhere in town, but not one of the highest end resorts. I've stayed here and it is nice, and should be reasonably economical.
Loew's Ventana Canyon Resort- This is in a beautiful area of to the Northeast of the city. The food is good, though the overall hotel is starting to look a little dated. The main thing here is golf, and it is not well located for getting to the convention center.
Westin La Paloma- a famous resort and outwardly an equivalent to the Marrriott Starr Pass. It has, however, seemed to be having management difficultites the last couple of years, which have regularly showed up with them getting sub-par reports on their restaurants from the health department. I mention this since it is commonly found on web searches.
Hilton El Conquistador Resort- This one is up north, and is the one resort I haven't attended events and conferences at. For whatever reason it's the one folks here seem to forget exists, but I don't know why that is.
Hilton on East Broadway: A regular high-rise hotel. It's in an unusual location to find it. Note 22nd street, one major block south of Broadway is much faster for moving east and west than broadway, which is congested and ends in an incomprehensible knot in the downtown area.
Residence Inn- There are several of these around town. If you aren't familiar with them, they have a sort of living-room/ kitchenette equipped room type so they have space for a few days. The food they have is a basic breakfast and snacks in the evening. This is not restaurant style dining, but they have space, will have a hot tub, and are economical.
I'm sure others will have suggestions as well.
Posted 15 October 2012 - 09:38 AM
Pima Air and Space Museum- huge and extraordinary variety.
Titan missile museum
Davis Monthan AFB boneyard (tour is thru the air museum).
The Desert Museum (living exhibits)
The international wildlife museum (basically a huge collection of stuffed animals from all over the world- kids seem to like it).
Tucson Zoo (small, but they've tried to make it nice).
Tucson Botanical Garden (large variety of desert plants, and in town so it isn't far).
Kitt peak- about an hour out, has day and night programs (not for the advanced observer).
Mount Hopkins- about an hour south on I-19, has striking scenery, visitor's center has a guided tour up the mountain.
Large Binocular Telescope- this is 2 hours out, so it's a bigger deal, and requires reservations.
Saguaro National Park: Tucson is bracketed by it on the east and west- no real park facilities; just enjoy seeing the giant cacti.
Collosal Cave- park at the east end of Old Spanish Trail road- scenic area and an unusual underground cavern.
Chiricahua National Monument- 2 hours from Tucson on I-10- quite a striking set of natural rock formations near where a lot of the famous western stories happened. The less I tell you, the better the pleasant surprise.
Posted 15 October 2012 - 09:56 AM
Bring a camera.
Posted 17 October 2012 - 03:21 PM
For the ladies (and a few of us guys), there is a museum that has all sorts of elaborate dollhouses and the like. I think it's called the Tucson Miniatures Museum or some such and I believe it's on Fort Lowell Road or Grant Road. Some of you CN'ers in Tucson might be able to offer more information on this rather unique museum.
Posted 18 October 2012 - 09:19 PM
Of those hotels listed, which is closest to the venue? I only need a place to crash Saturday night, Sunday at the most, before I head off for the real reason I'm flying out there.
Posted 19 October 2012 - 12:20 AM
Depending on what time of day you are getting in, the Marriott Starr pass is about the easiest to get to downtown from, traffic wise.
If you're getting in late and expect to be drained, staying by the airport makes more sense, though it isn't especially convenient.
Posted 19 October 2012 - 10:38 AM
Posted 19 October 2012 - 12:07 PM
Unfortunately, while there is much to see around the University of Arizona campus, it has the worst traffic in the city. I urge everyone to really look at a map of where the convention center is with particular attention to where one needs to go to significantly away from there. S main becomes 10th avenue to the south of the convention center, which makes this one of the easiest routes to a major access corridor; 22nd, which spans the city, and avoids bad traffic 24/7. If you want to cross town, 22nd is fastest. 22nd also makes for an easy rule of thumb- better parts if town are to the North of it. With that said, compared to where I last lived, New Orleans, Tucson simply doesn't have a bad part of town.
To the north of the convention center is Speedway, which along with Broadway and Grant also cross the city, but have significantly heavier traffic (Friday this will be a concern). It is possible to get to Broadway directly, though confusing (see the map). Broadway has lots of good places to eat along it as does Speedway.
Several of the hotels on my list are in this area. The Doubletree is at the geographic center of the city, is next to a large park which includes the zoo and a driving range, and is basically convenient to everywhere but the observing sites. If you get on Alvernon where it crosses broadway next to the doubletree, there are a few odd features. First, this street actually starts down south of the airport running e-w, then turns north as Alvernon, and crosses Valencia (Tip- this is the easy way to-from the airport). It goes up to just south of golf links (a major e-w) and you have to take what looks like a highway off ramp to stay on Alvernon, because the main roadway turns east to become Golf Links (again, odd). The next major cross street is 22nd, and the good news is you're in the part of the city organized as a Cartesian grid. If you run west from here, you will pass the Reid park zoo, then later go by to the south of downtown, and eventually wind up at the Starr Pass Marriott.
If you go east on 22nd, you can turn left on craycroft or wilmot to get to the nicest general purpose shopping area in the city, and the crossings with broadway and speedway come with many dining choices nearby.
Continuing north on Alvernon, the doubletree is on the right with a driving range on the left. At broadway there is a shopping center with a very popular sushi place called sushi garden and a subway (I'm trying to remember what else is there). Continuing north on Alvernon there are crossings at Broadway, Speedway, and Grant. Basic services like pharmacies and such can be found along here with a McDonald's and a large Fairfield inn. There is also a fancy Chinese restaurant named Gee's which had unusual food- the main dishes are served with rice on the side and have a meat portion, which though perfectly prepared, will have no vegetables of any kind with it. If you ask for that, they come on a separate plate and not in a form compatible with the main dish. So, I haven't figured out what the deal is, and it hasn't come up since there are a bunch of options of all kinds near us.
From there, Alvernon becomes a sort of Stealth "Route 1" shortcut which slaloms along and becomes River Rd on its way to the northwest of the city. This isn't obviously useful for getting to the convention center, but it's the easiest way to get to businesses on Oracle, such as Starizona, without getting into the UoA traffic.
The Northwest has the most congestion with Oracle really serving as the single primary route. The main restaurant nexus there is around Tucson Mall, which is the largest mall in the city.
The oddest thing about Tucson is how a city of a million people gives the impression of being a small town. And it's this unique layout which seems to have a lot to do with that.
Posted 19 October 2012 - 01:12 PM
Posted 20 October 2012 - 10:33 AM
Posted 22 October 2012 - 01:48 AM
Posted 24 October 2012 - 08:44 PM
Posted 25 October 2012 - 12:42 AM
Posted 26 October 2012 - 03:30 PM
Indeed, that's not a problem. There's a LaQuinta at Wilmot and Broadway, for example, and there's a Hampton Inn right near there. Everything one needs to live is near that corner, and a few things one doesn't.
I didn't want to put this in the Sat Dining thread, but since Rich gave a good leadin
For any of you who MUST have pork roll and other "New yawk" grub, Just west of Wilmot and 22nd is "Tony's". It's a small hole in the wall place with good food and friendly staff. Think of it as an Italian Deli.
Posted 27 October 2012 - 09:58 AM
Posted 27 October 2012 - 10:33 AM
I'm sorry, but I have no idea on Gus Balone's.
Indeed, that's not a problem. There's a LaQuinta at Wilmot and Broadway, for example, and there's a Hampton Inn right near there. Everything one needs to live is near that corner, and a few things one doesn't.
I didn't want to put this in the Sat Dining thread, but since Rich gave a good leadin
For any of you who MUST have pork roll and other "New yawk" grub, Just west of Wilmot and 22nd is "Tony's". It's a small hole in the wall place with good food and friendly staff. Think of it as an Italian Deli.
Posted 28 October 2012 - 09:37 AM
Posted 30 October 2012 - 12:46 PM
The show will be held at Las Cazuelita's Event Center, 1365 W. Grant Road.
Posted 30 October 2012 - 01:21 PM
Posted 30 October 2012 - 03:26 PM
Posted 30 October 2012 - 06:15 PM
I'm staying at Days Inn Convention Center. Should be a short walk & I really valued that over a nicer, more distant place.
That's the kind of lodging I'm looking for--something cheap and close. I wonder if I should make reservations?
Posted 30 October 2012 - 08:11 PM
I booked a room for 2 nights (09 -11 Nov) at The Quality Inn on Oracle (couple of miles north of Starizona) on 09 Oct, for $71/night - it's listed for $80/night right now.
Posted 30 October 2012 - 09:21 PM
Posted 30 October 2012 - 10:03 PM
Posted 30 October 2012 - 11:19 PM
Parking at the convention center isn't especially difficult or easy- you may be doing a bit of a walk, anyway, though.


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Yesterday, I wrote about the difficulties of putting Barack Obama's ambiguous pledges for "reform" at the NSA into concrete action, and concluded that no one at the White House had bothered to do any groundwork before giving a speech. As it turns out, the White House didn't even bother to wait for all of the evidence to come in before setting policy — even as murky as the policy in the speech was. The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) investigated the Section 215 metadata collection and surveillance programs and concluded that they are illegal, a threat to privacy, and should be cancelled rather than reformed:
An independent executive branch board has concluded that the National Security Agency's long-running program to collect billions of Americans' phone records is illegal and should end.
In a strongly worded report to be issued Thursday, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) said that the statute upon which the program was based, Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, "does not provide an adequate basis to support this program."
The board's conclusion goes further than President Obama, who said in a speech Friday that he thought the NSA's database of records should be moved out of government hands but did not call for an outright halt to the program. The board had shared its conclusions with Obama in the days leading up to his speech.
The divided panel also concluded that the program raises serious threats to civil liberties, has shown limited value in countering terrorism and is not sustainable from a policy perspective.
Why not wait for the PCLOB to finalize its conclusions before making a decision on policy? Maybe Obama figured the PCLOB would agree with him; it has a certain lapdog reputation, enhanced by the fact that it hadn't ever acted from its inception in 2004 until the Snowden revelations prompted its first substantive action in November of last year. If so, why not wait for the political cover?
More likely, Obama decided that he wanted to keep the Section 215 programs no matter what the PCLOB concluded. Again, though, the better option here is to wait for the PCLOB to report and then announce that he will follow the recommendations of his own presidential commission (which had an even stronger lapdog sensibility) while paying lip service to whatever concerns the PCLOB might raise.
The PCLOB took more care with its public case than did Obama. The administration used the case of al-Qaeda operative Khalid al-Midhar, who coordinated the 9/11 attack while in San Diego via cell phone. The White House argued that the current Section 215 surveillance would have allowed the NSA to detect the entire 9/11 cell, but the PCLOB report concludes that the problem wasn't detection — it was communication:
"The failure to identify Mihdhar's presence in the United States stemmed primarily from a lack of information sharing among federal agencies, not of a lack of surveillance capabilities," the report said, noting that in early 2000 the CIA knew Mihdhar had a visa enabling him to enter the United States but did not advise the FBI or watchlist him. "…This was a failure to connect the dots, not a failure to connect enough dots."
Second, the report said, the government need not have collected the entire nation's calling records to identify the San Diego number from which Mihdhar made his calls. It asserted that the government could have used existing legal authorities to request from U.S. phone companies the records of any calls made to or from the Yemen number. "Doing so could have identified the San Diego number on the other end of the calls," though, it noted, the speed of the carriers' responses likely would vary.
Now, the White House is stuck with having to answer this unexpectedly harsh blast from a panel that few thought was capable of independence, after making his grand NSA speech last week. Obama's back on the defensive instead of controlling the media space, thanks to this unforced error. And this time, as McClatchy notes, Obama will have to explain himself in a lot more detail:
President Barack Obama's response to the international uproar over the nation's surveillance programs is leaving Americans with more questions than answers.
Where will millions of phone records be stored? What protections will foreigners have? Which secret documents will be declassified?
In what was designed to be his defining speech on the issue last Friday, Obama announced few specifics.
"For every answer he gave, there are several new questions about how he plans to implement these changes," said Elizabeth Goitein, a co-director of the Brennan Center for Justice's Liberty and National Security Program. "Ultimately, the full effect of these reforms remains to be seen."
The Pew poll that McClatchy features shows just how poorly that speech went.
President Obama's speech on Friday outlining changes to the National Security Agency's collection of telephone and internet data did not register widely with the public. Half say they have heard nothing at all about his proposed changes to the NSA, and another 41% say they heard only a little bit. Even among those heard about Obama's speech, few think the changes will improve privacy protections, or make it more difficult for the government to fight terrorism. …
Reflecting the limited impact of Obama's address, overall approval of the program and opinions about whether adequate safeguards are in place were no different in three nights of interviewing conducted after the speech (Jan. 17-19) than during the two nights of interviewing conducted prior to the address (Jan. 15-16).
Only 21% thought Obama's "reform" would increase privacy protections, and only 13% thought it would adversely impact the ability to fight terrorism. More than seven in ten on both questions think it made no difference at all. That's what happens when speeches substitute for real action, and assumptions are made before all the facts are in.