text:
Queen 'delighted' and Prince William 'could not be happier'
LONDON — A lot of the fuss over the royal baby was media hype but there was a true sense of joy and jubilation late Monday when the news that Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge had a son and heir was finally proclaimed at Buckingham Palace.
We may live in a time of Twitter and other social media but several thousand spectators rushed the main gate of the venerable palace to read news of the royal birth proclaimed in the old way on a wooden easel painted in gold that had been brought to the spot by a liveried footman. And to get themselves photographed beside the parchment announcing the event and the signatures of the four doctors who assisted with the royal birth.
The announcement that the royal family had a new prince — weighing eight pounds, six ounces — first came in a press release via email shortly after 8:30 p.m. local time.
"Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4:24 p.m. Her Royal Highness and her son are both doing well," the release said.
A short time later on Twitter, Buckingham Palace said: "The Queen and prince are delighted by the news of the birth of the baby."
This was followed by word from Prince William, who attended the birth, which took about 11 hours. He simply said: "I could not be happier."
"Wonderful baby, new baby," said Marcus Satchell, the royal gynecologist surgeon, who led the medical team assisting Kate with the delivery.
William intends to spend the night at the hospital with his wife and son
As happened when Prince William was born in the same wing of St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington, no name for the prince was given. The palace said the names — royal babies usually are given four Christian names — would be announced "in due course." It did not elaborate. The favourite names for a boy, according to British betting agencies and public opinion surveys, were George and James.
There was no official explanation of why it took more than four hours after the birth before the news was revealed publicly.
Will and Kate were said by the BBC to have spent this time quietly together bonding with their baby. Underlining his commitment to his family, it was reported that William intended to spend the night at the hospital with his wife and son.
Congratulations immediately flowed in from around the world, including from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who said Canadians were "delighted" at the arrival of the "future Sovereign of Canada."
Gov. General David Johnston, joined his wife, Sharon, in offering their "warmest congratulations."
"We know that this happy event brings great joy not only to Their Royal Highnesses, but to the entire nation as well," Johnston said in a statement.
Proud new grandfather, Prince Charles also weighed in.
"It is an incredibly special moment for William and Catherine and we are so thrilled for them on the birth of their baby boy," Charles said in a statement. "Grandparenthood is a unique moment in anyone's life, as countless kind people have told me in recent months, so I am enormously proud and happy to be a grandfather for the first time and we are eagerly looking forward to seeing the baby in the near future."
[photo_gallery id=285104]
With the birth of a new prince, Britain is destined to be ruled by three generations of kings after Queen Elizabeth is no longer on the throne. That means a new constitutional law on primogeniture, which would have for the first time allowed a firstborn daughter to reign over one of the oldest kingdoms in the world, will not need to be invoked.
It is the first time since the latter days of Queen Victoria's reign that there are three heirs in the direct line of succession to the throne. Prince Charles and Prince William will now be followed by the new prince.
Prince Henry of Wales, better known as Prince Harry, had been third in the line of succession. Harry, who may soon return to Afghanistan as a an army pilot, has been knocked back a spot to 4th in the line to the throne. Prince Andrew moves down from 4th place to 5th place.
Among the hundreds celebrating the royal birth outside Buckingham Palace were several Canadians.
"It's history," said Stella Plant from North Vancouver, B.C., who was born in Britain. "It is unifying and shows how much the British support the monarchy and Queen Elizabeth."
"I grew up with Queen Elizabeth's father (George VI) as king and am extremely excited to be here for this," said Gail King of Oakville, Ont. "I am still upset with Canada for changing the flag and getting rid of the Union Jack in the corner. Thank goodness Ontario kept it."
"We ridicule tradition a lot but what brings us together as families and societies is tradition," said actress Wendy Peace of Toronto, who was clad in a faded Maple Leafs jersey as she took her Great Dane for a walk past the palace. "I find it amusing but I am more interested, I guess, than Americans because I grew up singing God Save the Queen in school."
The baby's birth will be proclaimed Tuesday in a 62-gun salute in the City of London and a 41-gun salute in the royal parks and other places across the kingdom.
The monarchs of Belgium and the Netherlands have recently abdicated, allowing their children to ascend their thrones. This is not thought likely to happen in the United Kingdom. Even as a teenager, Princess Elizabeth made it known that because of her sense of duty to the Empire (later the Commonwealth) she intended to rule for her lifetime.
If you are Prince Charles, the problem with the Queen staying on the job is that although she is 87, she still appears to be in robust health and fully committed to what she does. Her mother, Elizabeth, lived into her 102nd year .
If Charles was more popular there might be a public groundswell for him to replace his mother while she was still living. However, Charles has over the past couple of years slowly taken on more of his mother's public duties.
Given the longevity of the Queen and the fact that William is only 31, the newest prince may not become monarch for 60 or 70 years. Guessing what the kingdom or the monarchy might be like by then is, obviously, rather difficult. But support for the monarchy in Britain climbed to 76 per cent during Kate's pregnancy and is likely to remain at least that high for some time to come.
The popularity of the royal family took a dip after Princess Diana and Prince Charles divorced, but since Diana's death in a car crash in Paris in 1997, the monarchy has been on the rebound. This was underlined during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee last year, which concluded with a trip by royal barge down the Thames brought out millions in the rain to celebrate the occasion with their sovereign.
The childhood of every future king or queen's life has been a fish bowl for decades but there will be unknown, potentially difficult dimensions added by social media. A deal had sometimes protected Prince William from intense media attention when he was a toddler, but that broke down for a while in his youth before the media more or less gave him some space when he attended university and began to see Kate Middleton.
But in an often frenzied, new media world with lots of new players and the advent of telephones that will be able to communicate broadcast quality images instantly from anywhere there will be less time lag when things go well or badly. It is an international game and foreign journalists may be even less respectful of the royals right to some privacy.
The young prince will have a very public life, although it is likely his parents will try to shelter him as much as possible by staying with Kate's parents who, while very wealthy, are commoners and seem sensible and fairly well grounded. Still, the child will be brought up in palaces and attend elite private schools and, inevitably, serve in the armed forces like his father, uncle, grandfather and great-grandfather. It will not always be possible to escape the eyes of the paparazzi.
[photo_gallery id=284733]
How Britain and much of the world will celebrate the royal birth is already known. As happened when William was born in 1982, the fountain in front of Canada House in Trafalgar Square is to be dyed red and blue. The London Eye, the huge Ferris wheel on the South Bank of the Thames, which was not yet built when Will was born 31 years ago, is to be bathed at night in red, white and blue floodlights.
London's almost 200-metre-tall BT tower will announce the birth on a huge LED scroll that can be seen from several kilometres away. Toronto's CN Tower and Niagara Falls was bathed in blue light to announce the birth of a boy.
As in Canada, newborns and their mothers seldom stay in hospital for very long. Barring medical complications, Kate and the baby will make an appearance on the steps of the Lindo Wing within the next 24 hours, as Princess Diana and Prince Charles did after William's birth in the same obstetrics ward.
After doing a turn for the hundreds of journalists and photographers who have been waiting outside the hospital, Will and Kate are expected to immediately return home by motorcade to Kensington Palace. Sometime after that Kate and the baby will join William at Anglesey, an island in Wales, where they have lived in a cottage for several years while the prince flies Sea King search-and-rescue helicopters for the Royal Air Force.
William has been on annual leave from his RAF job since last week. With the birth of the baby the prince begins two weeks of state-mandated paternity leave.
The couple are reported to have decided that they will forgo a full-time nanny. But a maternity nurse from St. Mary's will join them for a few days at Kensington Palace where they will live in a small flat until the $1.5-million renovation of a 21-room apartment, once home to the Queen's late sister Princess Margaret, is completed.
There has been intense speculation in the British media that Kate's mother, Carole, will take a leading role in helping to raise the child, perhaps even moving in with the couple at Kensington Palace for a while. Carole Middleton, 58, the daughter of a builder was raised in a state-funded flat. She and her husband, Michael, met when they worked as cabin crew for British Airways. Carole Middleton has for nearly 20 years run Party Pieces from their home in Berkshire. It is by all accounts a prosperous business which sells party supplies through the mail.
Link to Royal Family infographic.
— Files from The Associated Press


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Joined: 23 Jan 2006
Posts: 1324
Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 7:58 pm
Post subject:
No beef but the veal, Donna? What form of tomatoes?
This thread is driving me crazy--must have these flavors soon!
It's wonderful to have some kind of thinly sliced ham as a lasagna layer too.
I guess my spag bol is pretty boring--it has red bell pepper but no carrot, and both garlic and onion.
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Joined: 14 Oct 2005
Posts: 827
Location: Oakland, CA
Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:34 pm
Post subject:
Just a tube of tomato paste - you thin it out with the milk and some water - or wine.
Saute the aromatics in olive oil, add the meats and saute until they're browned. Then add the tomato paste and milk - and water or wine. Let the whole thing simmer a couple of hours. when it's ready toss the pasta into the ragu! If you need to thin it out some more - add a bit of the pasta water at this time. It really clings to the pasta!
I have been thinking for days about making a pot of Bolognese and now this thread has prompted me to move beyond thinking!
L'appetit vient en mangeant. -Rabelais
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Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Posts: 1196
Location: buried under a pile of books somewhere in Adelaide, South Australia
Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 5:51 am
Post subject:
I love this thread! Even though it's a bit warm here in Adelaide to be thinking of heavy pasta sauces at the moment.
My favourite bolognese sauce is very similar to Swan's, with around 100g finely chopped proscuitto and 250g chopped chicken livers added at the end of the sauce's cooking time.
Doing what you like is freedom
Liking what you do is happiness
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Joined: 23 Jan 2006
Posts: 1324
Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 3:24 pm
Post subject:
Chicken livers! Love them -- though I haven't seen/had any decent ones in years. It must make a
Hi Judy!
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Joined: 14 Oct 2005
Posts: 827
Location: Oakland, CA
Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 11:41 pm
Post subject:
GP - we get dandy chicken livers at the meat purveyor at our farmer's market. The cat is always happy when we buy some! And we know they come from humanely raised chickens.
I am imagining how well that would go in a bolognese! A sauce like velvet!
L'appetit vient en mangeant. -Rabelais
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Joined: 23 Nov 2004
Posts: 450
Location: a Dutchie in HongKong
Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 4:22 am
Post subject:
Guess what I'll be cooking tonight....
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Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 17
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 8:37 pm
Post subject:
I know you guys will be skeptical, but I made a really great vegetarian bolognese this weekend. Tempeh, red lentils and mushrooms stood in for the meat. Super tasty. I'll post the recipe soon!
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Joined: 30 Sep 2004
Posts: 1855
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 3:50 pm
Post subject:
Not at all sceptical Cathy! Have had and made some delicious vegie bolognese! Look forward to your recipe!
Vivant Linguae Mortuae!!
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Joined: 21 Aug 2007
Posts: 552
Location: Central Kentucky
Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 4:17 pm
Post subject:
Cathyeats and David, you've both got me confused.
Bolognese, by definition, is a meat sauce. So how can there be a vegetarian version?
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Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 17
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 4:12 am
Post subject:
Well KYHeirloomer, you are technically correct. I suppose Vegetarian bolognese is an imitation bolognese. But it's really good! The photo on my blog came out super pretty, too.
Next time I am thinking of adding dried shiitake mushrooms, and/or eggplant, and/or fresh herbs and/or cashew milk. And someone suggested a splash of soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. I will be experimenting for some time to come. But for now, this is my fave.
Here's what I did:
Vegan Bolognese Sauce
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 small green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 8-oz. package tempeh, crumbled
8 oz. cremini or white mushrooms, chopped
1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried basil
1/2 c. dried red lentils
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1 28-oz can whole tomatoes, undrained, chopped
1 c. dry red wine
1/4 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 t. fennel seed
1/2 t. salt, or up to 1 t., to taste
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large dutch oven. Add the garlic, onion, bell pepper, carrot, celery and crushed red pepper, and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn the heat up a bit, add the mushrooms and tempeh and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Lower the heat back to medium, stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the remaining ingredients except salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until the lentils are just tender. This usually takes 20 minutes, but I've had some lentils take an hour – possibly because my tomatoes were salted, which can toughen the lentils. So keep tasting it along the way to determine when it's done. If the sauce gets too dry, add a bit of water. Add salt at the end of the cooking time. Serve on whole wheat spaghetti or use in lasagna.
Serves about 8.
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Joined: 21 Aug 2007
Posts: 552
Location: Central Kentucky
Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 3:05 pm
Post subject:
My point wasn't whether it tastes good or not, Cathy----and, btw, your recipe does sound good---but with the use of the word Bolognese.
Doing so just fits your recipe in with the general dumbing-down of culinary terms and techniques that we see among TV cooking hosts, cookbooks, and some writers who should know better. If we're going to communicate then words have to have common meanings understandable by everyone. Otherwise all is chaos.
"Bolognese" refers to a particular meat sauce, with the "ese" ending signifying "in the style of." Sure, there are minor differences, as this threas shows. But meat is a constant. As is the addition of dairy.
What you've made is a vegetarian pasta sauce. What's wrong with just calling it what it is? Or, if it's different enough from other vegetarian pasta sauces, why not call it Sauce Cathy?
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Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 17
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 5:19 pm
Post subject:
Wow, I didn't know my recipe name could stir such controversy! Can I call it vegetarian meat-like sauce?
So are you against names like Vegetarian Shepherd's pie, veggie burgers, etc? Those things help give people a point of reference....
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Joined: 21 Aug 2007
Posts: 552
Location: Central Kentucky
Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 11:10 pm
Post subject:
What I'm against, Cathy, is culinary confusion.
Given your examples:
Yes, I'd be against the name Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie because there's a double confusion there. By definition, Shepherd's Pie is made with lamb. There are other dishes, using a similar approach. For instance, the same dish made with beef is called a Cottage Pie. With venison, a Deerstalker Pie. Etc.
Each of these has it's own flavor profile.
So, if you invited me to dinner and told me you were serving vegetarian shepherd's pie I really wouldn't know what to expect. Unless you mean you're going to serve me a pile of veggies with mashed potatoes on top.
Again, doesn't mean your dish isn't great tasting. Just that it would be a surprise to me when you served it.
"Burger" has become more generic, and, for most people, refers to anything shaped like a patty and served on a bun. If there is no qualifier, we expect it to be beef. Otherwise qualifiers should be used. So the qualifier "vegetarian" does, indeed, clarify. Just as Lamb Burger would, or Fish Burger.
Deep down I'd just as soon that people referred to them as lamb patties, or fish patties. But that's a battle there's no hope of winning.
Let's look at some other real-life examples that have bugged me:
When you read a healthy recipe that instructs you to "saute in wine," do you really know what's expected? Sauteing, by definition, is to cook quickly, over high heat, in a little oil. How does steaming something in wine relate to that? And, by extension, was the octopus I cooked in wine last night sauteed?
What, exactly, is a "zucchini carpachia?" Carpachia is, basically, slices of raw veal, pounded out. Sometimes, nowadays, beef is used. So what would be my point of reference here?
When did any random sized hunk of fish become a "steak?" A fish steak, until recently, meant a specific way of cutting. You started with a whole fish and cut it perpendicular to the backbone in slices an inch or so thick. If you then removed the bones and tied the result into a round, it was called a trussed steak. The skin was left on a steak.
These have always been standard definitions. Yet, just this afternoon at the fish counter, they were selling sea bass "steaks," no two of which were the same size or shape, and with the skin missing. Question: If I give you the recipe for George River Salmon, which calls for salmon steaks, would you know what that means?
So let's bring this back to your recipe. If you ask me to dinner, and tell me you're going to serve pasta with your famous vegetable sauce, I'm lining up with a fork. And if it's as good tasting as it sounds, I'm telling everybody, "hey. You want some great pasta? Finagle an invite to Cathy's."
But when you say you're going to serve vegan Bolognese I'm really lost. I know what a Bolgnese sauce is; it's a pasta sauce made with meat and, usually, some sort of dairy. Your sauce lacks both. Which is why, to me at least, the name does not provide a point of reference.
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Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 17
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 5:28 pm
Post subject:
I've got a simple solution - I won't invite you over for dinner
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Joined: 12 Jan 2010
Posts: 5
Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 7:50 pm
Post subject:
Cathy, I am with you. meat-less bolognese works for me. When's dinner?
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
ONE of my favorite quotes about the state of U.S. politics was offered a couple years ago by Gerald Seib, a Wall Street Journal columnist, when he observed that "America and its political leaders, after two decades of failing to come together to solve big problems, seem to have lost faith in their ability to do so. A political system that expects failure doesn't try very hard to produce anything else." That's us today — our entire political system is guilty of the "soft bigotry of low expectations" for ourselves.
I raise this now because it strikes me as crazy that one of the obvious solutions to our budget, energy and environmental problems — the one that would be the least painful and have the best long-term impact (a carbon tax) — is off the table. Meanwhile, the solution that is as dumb as the day is long — a budget sequester that slashes spending indiscriminately — is on the table.
Shrinking the tax deduction for charity is on the table. Shrinking Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid for the poor are on the table. But a carbon tax that could close the deficit and clean the air, weaken petro-dictators, strengthen the dollar, drive clean-tech innovation and still leave some money to lower corporate and income taxes is off the table. So the solutions that are lose-lose and divisive are on the table, while the solution that is win-win-win-win-win — and has both liberal and conservative supporters — is off the table.
Writing in this newspaper in support of a carbon tax back in 2007, N. Gregory Mankiw, the Harvard economist, who was a senior adviser to President George W. Bush and to Mitt Romney, argued that "the idea of using taxes to fix problems, rather than merely raise government revenue, has a long history. The British economist Arthur Pigou advocated such corrective taxes to deal with pollution in the early 20th century. In his honor, economics textbooks now call them 'Pigovian taxes.' Using a Pigovian tax to address global warming is also an old idea. It was proposed as far back as 1992 by Martin S. Feldstein on the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal. ... Those vying for elected office, however, are reluctant to sign on to this agenda. Their political consultants are no fans of taxes, Pigovian or otherwise. Republican consultants advise using the word 'tax' only if followed immediately by the word 'cut.' Democratic consultants recommend the word 'tax' be followed by 'on the rich.' "
Yes, to win passage of any carbon tax, Republicans would insist that it be revenue neutral — to be offset entirely by cuts in corporate taxes and taxes on personal income. But maybe they could be persuaded otherwise. In an ideal world, you would have 45 percent go to pay down the deficit so that we don't have to cut entitlements as much — appealing to liberals and greens — and have 45 percent go to reducing corporate and income taxes — to encourage work and investment and appeal to conservatives. The remaining 10 percent could be rebated to low-income households for whom such a tax would be a burden.
According to the Center for Climate and Electricity Policy at the nonpartisan Resources for the Future, a tax of $25 per ton of carbon-dioxide emitted — through the combustion of fossil fuels used in electricity production, commercial and residential heating and transportation — "would raise approximately $125 billion annually." This $125 billion "could allow federal personal income tax reductions of about 15 percent or corporate income tax reductions of about 70 percent, if all carbon tax revenues were used to replace current tax revenues. Alternatively, the federal deficit could be reduced by approximately $1.25 trillion over 10 years" — roughly what we are trying to do through the foolish sequester. Such a tax would add about 21 cents per gallon of gasoline and about 1.2 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity. It could be phased in gradually as the economy improves.
Experts believe that the mere signal of a carbon tax would get companies to become more energy efficient. And that's the point. As part of any grand bargain — which will have to include spending cuts and tax increases — introducing a carbon tax into the mix makes all kinds of options easier and smarter.
Alas, right now both sides are trying to inflict maximum pain on the other, rather than framing the debate as: "Here's the world we're living in; here's what we need to thrive; and, if we cut and tax here, we can invest in these 21st-century growth engines over here." Our goal is not to balance the budget. It's to make America great.
SO how come the best ideas are off the table? (Blessedly, Representative Henry Waxman, a Democrat of California, is now working to get some kind of carbon tax on the table.) Several reasons, argues Adam Garfinkle, editor of The American Interest and author of a smart new e-book, "Broken: American Political Dysfunction and What to Do About It."
First, because our democracy today is perverted more than ever by deep-pocketed lobbies and oligopolies. So, "in order to get and stay elected today, you have to raise huge sums of money from corporations, wealthy individuals and dues-laden unions," Garfinkle notes, and all that money leads to "twisted decision-making at the high-politics level" and "regulatory capture" at the bureaucratic-administrative level. The fossil fuel, auto and power companies have bought a lot of politicians to block a carbon tax.
The only way around them, argues Garfinkle, would be for leaders to galvanize the public, but that requires building "governing coalitions" in the center rather than "political coalitions" that can get you elected but little else after that. Obama is belatedly trying to do that; the Republican Party hasn't even tried. "This is what real leaders do," said Garfinkle. "They change the conversation." They don't just read the polls; they shape the polls.
But we can't put this all on lobbyists. It's also our generation. "We're the most self-indulgent generation in American history," argues Garfinkle, always demanding more services than we're ready to pay for. "Too many of us want to be unbound by broader social obligations, but the network of those obligations creates the moral ballast that makes good governance possible."
As Nathan Gardels and Nicolas Berggruen note in their insightful book, "Intelligent Governance for the 21st Century: A Middle Way Between West and East," we prefer a "Diet Coke culture — sweetness without calories, consumption without savings and safety nets without taxes." No wonder anything hard or smart is off the table. We pushed it there.


text:
by Luke Harold
Nearly 13 years ago, more than 100 local residents marched down Germantown Avenue to protest the Fairmount Park Commission's deer cull, which began as an effort to save the ecosystems in the Wissahickon and Pennypack Parks forest from the rapidly growing deer population.
The cull's first year had ended in 1999 with 43 deer killed and removed from the Wissahickon. From the Chestnut Hill Library to Willow Grove Avenue, protesters held signs that read, "Stop the killing, stop the hunt," and "Friends of the Wissahickon – plant hugging deer killers."
Thirteen years and more than 2,000 culled deer later, the Fairmount Park Commission, Wildlife Services, and Friends of the Wissahickon (FOW) still deem the cull necessary to preserve the park's ecosystem. But public advocacy for the deer has waned considerably.
"The number [of protesters] has fallen," said Bridget Irons, co-founder of the now-defunct Friends of Fairmount Park Animals, which generated a strong presence at the early protests. "People think it's unwinnable."
Irons co-founded Philadelphia Advocates for the Deer (PAD), which holds monthly protests of the cull. Eight people attended its last protest in December, and about 15 people came to its most recent protest on Feb. 26 – a far cry from the hundreds who used to publicly voice their support.
Barry Bessler, chief of staff of the Fairmount Park Commission, said he remembered the early years of the deer cull when he always had to answer to local newspapers and television stations.
"Now it barely gets recognized," Bessler said. "Why I think that is? Because we're doing it very well. People were concerned about sharpshooters going into the woods with high-powered rifles. We've proven over these past 12 years that this can be done very safely, very effectively, very efficiently and with absolutely no inconvenience – safety or quality of life-wise – to the general public."
Nearly half of the 2,116 total deer removed were killed in 1999, 2001 and 2002, according to the Fairmount Park Commission. Since that initial downsizing of the population, an average of 142 deer have been killed and removed each year. A high percentage of female deer killed are pregnant, according to Wildlife Services.
"We now are in a maintenance mode, where the deer that we take every year pretty much go toward maintaining a stable level of population," said Bessler.
Bessler said the goal is to have deer populations of about 25-30 each in the Wissahickon and Pennypack Parks, but said he is "not at liberty" to say how many deer are currently in each park. Wildlife Services surveys the deer population each year before the cull.
The cull has been privately funded each year. Bessler said the FPC spent more money in its first few years than it has since, but declined to say exactly how much is spent and that he "[doesn't] know where the money comes from."
Wildlife Services deploys one or two culling "units" of three, consisting of USDA biologists and technicians who drive around the park in pickup trucks, stopping to shoot targeted deer. They use bait stations to lure the deer.
USDA Wildlife Biologist Gino D'Angelo has been deployed in the cull for three years. He declined to say the average number of deer he shoots each night, how many nights a week he is in the park or how many deer are currently in the park.
Mary Ann Baron, a co-founder of PAD, said the lack of information made available to the public about the cull is part of her struggle to gain support for the deer.
"There's no communication to communities other than a blurb on a press release," she said. "It's not made clear what exactly is happening in the park."
During the protests, Baron said she encounters people who aren't aware that the cull is going on. "Many people are outraged that this is actually happening," she said. "It's unfortunate but it's the only way"
David Pope, former president of Friends of the Wissahickon (FOW), and Peter Lapham, former FOW executive director, co-authored an op-ed piece in the Chestnut Hill Local the year after the first cull, explaining the difficulty FOW had reaching the decision to hold a cull.
"This was not an easy or quick decision by any of the FOW Board," Pope and Lapham wrote in February 2000. "For six years we studied and searched our souls as you would expect from an organization that has been the leader in preserving and protecting the Valley for 75 years."
The decision to hold a deer cull was made based on the results of a 1996 study conducted by Natural Resource Consultants Inc. An aerial count of the deer in the Wissahickon Valley showed there were approximately 49 deer per square mile. When a deer population exceeds 28 per square mile, it adversely affects other animal species and vegetation in the area, the study said.
Today, Pope still believes that the cull is necessary.
"It's unfortunate, but it's the only way," he said. "I think the general population realizes the cull is necessary. As distasteful as it may be, it's necessary."
Maura McCarthy, current president of FOW, agreed that the cull is still needed to preserve the park's ecosystem.
"Everyone in FOW loves seeing deer in the park," she said, but there also needs to be a healthy balance."
Baron, when she was a part of Friends of Fairmount Park Animals, recalled asking about the possible use of contraception to regulate the deer population, as opposed to using lethal means.
Jason Wood, a district supervisor for Wildlife Services, said every successful use of contraception to manage deer populations has occurred in a controlled environment.
Contraception is "just not conducive to a free-ranging deer population," such as in the Wissahickon Valley, Wood said.
Bessler said the use of contraception is still in an experimental phase, as far as he is aware.
"A deer that is standing in the Wissahickon today could be standing in Fort Washington State Park tomorrow," he said. "So there's no way to have a controlled operation that involves non-lethal means in a population that is not controlled with some sort of barrier or fence around the park."
McCarthy said she believes it's "unethical" to use contraceptive means if their effectiveness is unproven and could cause the deer pain.
"I would rather lead a free and happy life and have it end suddenly than be doomed to painfully lingering," she said.
Today, Baron and other deer advocates today just want the deer to be left alone.
"Nature has a way of evening things out when left to its own devices," said Jim Harris, a former member of FFPA and an active member of PAD.
Future outlook Pope said that there might have been "some naïve hope by me and others" that the cull would only need to be carried out once, in 1999. But since the deer population increases each year after the cull, Wildlife Services and the Fairmount Park Commission want to make sure a stable population is maintained.
Bessler and Wood meet each year to determine if another cull is necessary. With the exception of 2000, it has been held every year. Deer advocates, however, plan to continue their efforts.
"I grew up here, it's my home turf," Harris said. "I grew up playing in the Wissahickon – it's a sacred place. It galls me that there's killing going on here."
Opponents of the cull are unsure of the difference they can realistically make.
"I don't have dreams of the killing stopping," Baron said, but noted that she was encouraged by the outcome of February's protest, where PAD collected 12 new signatures for its petition.
"We're called a senior group because a lot of us are older," she said. "Doesn't mean anything to us, we're going to be here for years."


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The Mendelssohn. Sold. TBB.
Clubhouse, Exercise Rm, Ground Maint, Playgrounds, Pool, Priv Beach
Garage Att 2 Car, Unit Gar, Covered, Driveway Spc
Dryer Hookup, Energy Star Appliance(s), Microwave, Range, Refrigerator, Washer Hookup
Natl Gas, Programmable Thermostat
1st FBR, Foyer, Master BR w/ Bath, Pantry, Rec Room, Spare Room
Exempt from Disclosure/Disclaimer, Prop Owners Assoc
Listing Courtesy of Rose & Womble Realty Company.


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Open House is a New York-based jewelry project by my friend Monika Wyndham. She's been making these great YES Rings and asked if she could give one away to you guys. She says, "It's one of my favorite things I've ever made, because of the actual positivity it stirs up in people by just seeing the word." I love that.
So if you wanna snag a ring (it will be sized for the winner) all ya gotta do is leave a comment below and let me know in what ways you're a YES person! I'll let Monika pick a winner on Monday.


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Tuesday July 14, 2020
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Deadly Syndrome Stalks the Mexican ElectionsSalem-News.com
"The existence of insecure zones in some regions of the country hurts social harmony and could eventually inhibit the development of democratic life," - Leonardo Valdes Zurita, president of the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE)
(LAS CRUCES, NM) - Call it the Michoacan Plus Syndrome. Exposed during last fall's elections in the Mexican state of Michoacan, kidnappings and other crimes against actual or potential political candidates are now surfacing in Mexico's state and federal elections scheduled for July 1.
In a recent meeting with the Interior Ministry, leaders of the Progressive Movement coalition denounced violent attacks and threats against their members and candidates in seven of Mexico's states including Quintana Roo, Guerrero, Durango, Nuevo Leon, Jalisco, Morelos and Michoacan.
Made up of the PRD, Labor and Citizen Movement parties, the Progressive Movement is running former Mexico City mayor and 2006 presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for president.
Together with Manuel Camacho Solis of the Dialogue for the Reconstruction of Mexico, Progressive Movement leaders Jesus Zambrano, Ricardo Monreal and Luis Walton laid out details of attacks and threats against their candidates in a meeting with Interior Minister Alejandro Poire, according to Mexican media.
Reportedly, a candidate was forced to withdraw from competition in Quintana Roo after a family member was kidnapped and released only on the condition that the contender drop out of the race. A similar incident was also reported in Nuevo Leon, a northern border state wracked by fighting between organized crime groups. In Nuevo Leon, a new form of electoral intimidation was revealed when candidates for state and federal offices received messages demanding protection fees in return for not blockading public events.
The candidates involved in the various incidents denounced by the Progressive Movement were not publicly identified.
In Guerrero, two candidates are reported missing after receiving death threats. Several criminal bands are engaged in a no-holds-barred struggle for the narcotics trade and other rackets in sections of the southern state.
Progressive Movement politicians apparently aren't the only ones targeted for pressure. In March, the leader of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in Coyuca de Catalan, Guerrero, Nabor Bailon Baltazar, went missing along with Francisco Chavez Araujo, a former mayor of the violence-ridden town. Mysteriously vanished while on a trip to the state capital to register Bailon as a mayoral primary candidate, the two men later turned up safe and sound.
Although federal and state authorities have touted the joint Operation Safe Guerrero as bringing stability to the state, suspected bouts of narco-violence continue to rage in some places. For instance, at least six people were murdered in Acapulco on Thursday, March 29.
Killings in the old tourist city mounted even as the Holy Week-Easter holiday season loomed. PRI leaders plan to request a meeting with Guerrero Governor Angel Aguirre to discuss the security situation as it pertains to the elections.
Earlier this month, the coordinator of Lopez Obrador's Morena organization was shot dead in front of his family in the municipality of Atoyac de Alvarez, Guerrero, one of Mexico's prime opium poppy growing regions. Jose Guadalupe Pineda, who was also known as "The Baron of Cacalutla," had held different posts with the PRD and was the leader of the Costa Grande Religious Council.
Violent attacks against individuals associated with political parties were also chalked up in the north during the month of March. Jesus Jaime Gamez Gomez, PRI city councilor in Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, and a primary candidate for the state congress, was shot and wounded in an attack that took place in his city.
On March 24, two women teachers and members of Esther Elba Gordillo's National Alliance Party (Panal) were gunned down at a Chihuahua City bar while in the company of two young men, who were also slain.
Killed in the attack were 42-year-old Nora Edith Rascon Saenz and 24-year-old Mara Ileana Cardona Hinojos. Rascon had been a Panal candidate for the federal legislature in 2009. A state government employee, she also served as Panal's local coordinator of women. It's not publicly known if politics or other motives were behind the slayings.
Also in March, the body of a missing National Action Party (PAN) legislator-elect was among 13 victims exhumed from clandestine graves scattered around Durango. A former mayor of Tepehuanes, Alfonso Pena Pena disappeared only three weeks after being elected to office in July 2010.
In a speech to the special election crimes division of the Mexican federal attorney general's office (PGR), the head of the institution charged with organizing the July 1 presidential and congressional elections acknowledged that insecurity was jeopardizing democracy.
Leonardo Valdes Zurita, president of the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE), said democracy was only viable in a legal environment that gives "certainty" to the overall process. Valdes said threats existed to the "social pact" which emerged in Mexico during the transition from the PRI's long era of one-party rule.
"The existence of insecure zones in some regions of the country hurts social harmony and could eventually inhibit the development of democratic life," Valdes warned.
Valdes said security agencies had an important role in assuring the safety of candidates as well as the unencumbered participation of the citizenry in the political process. "We Mexicans want democracy with freedom, and to vote in peace," he added.
Separately, Interior Ministry Poire said one of the most important challenges of 2012 was to "avoid any infiltration of organized crime and delinquency in the electoral processes."
Valdes' comments came at an event attended by Imelda Calvillo Tello, the new head of the PGR's election crimes investigative unit.
Calvillo's February appointment to the critical job- less than five months before the elections- sparked polemics and criticisms from the PRI and PRD parties. A 24-year veteran of the PGR, the controversial law enforcement official has worked on money laundering matters but is not known to have any special experience with probing the labyrinth of electoral crimes that are committed in Mexico.
The incidents conveyed to Poire during his meeting with Progressive Movement leaders recalled numerous, earlier complaints that emanated from last November's Michoacan state election. The highly-contested race for governor narrowed to a bitter battle between Fausto Vallejo of the PRI and the PAN's Maria Luisa "Cocoa" Calderon, President Felipe Calderon's sister.
Despite widespread claims of fraud, violence and intimidation, Mexican legal authorities cleared the path for Vallejo to assume the governorship in February. Not unlike the disputed 2006 presidential election that was legally tipped in favor of Felipe Calderon, the federal electoral court (TEPJF) came down on Vallejo's side.
In a unanimous decision, the judges rejected a challenge filed by the PRD, PAN and Panal parties that claimed the election was manipulated to Vallejo's benefit by organized crime and episodes of violence, such as the murder of La Piedad Mayor Ricardo Guzman
Ruling that the charges were "unfounded," the TEPJF determined that the election challengers lacked sufficient proof to annul the results. "Unfortunately, insecurity has taken the national territory hostage, in some places with greater intensity" said TEPFJ Judge Flavio Galvan. "Nonetheless, there have been elections."
On the other hand, election authorities ordered a July 1 rematch in the challenged contest for mayor of Morelia, the capital of Michoacan and the state's most important city. That decision was based on alleged media violations during the campaigning.
Progressive Movement leaders Jesus Zambrano and Ricardo Monreal blasted the decision upholding Vallejo's victory, but other PRD leaders, the PAN and rival candidate "Cocoa" Calderon accepted the court's decision. Calderon then went on to gain a senatorial candidacy for the PAN, and to coordinate her conservative party's political work for this year's elections in Michoacan. In the 2011 state election, the PRI had filed a legal complaint with the PGR that accused Calderon of buying votes to win the PAN gubernatorial nomination.
Finally seated as governor, Vallejo called for peace, reconciliation and a crusade "for security and against delinquency."
In the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, meanwhile, the specter of narco disruption resurfaced on March 29, one day before the second leg of Mexico's federal election process commenced.
Reminiscent of episodes from more than two years ago when war erupted between the Zetas and Gulf cartels, groups of people transported from poor neighborhoods blockaded Reynosa's main thoroughfares and an international bridge leading to the United States. Alleging rampant human rights abuses by the military, the shadowy protesters demanded the Mexican army leave Reynosa.
Frontera NorteSur: on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news
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No one expects the housemates on CBS' Big Brother to be paragons of sensitivity or respect, but three-time CBS reality contestant Jeff Schroeder has made headlines for yet another revolting anti-gay rant, which begs the question, "Why does CBS keep bringing him back?" This is a question GLAAD wants answered, and so far the answer hasn't been satisfactory. This most recent incident occurred on the show's live internet feed last night, in which Schroeder got into an argument with fellow housemate Kalia Booker about Harry Potter. The argument started after Kalia (correctly) stated that author J.K. Rowling had originally conceived of the character of Dumbledore as gay, which set off the following exchange:Needless to say, this still doesn't address the main problem. This is by no means the first time Schroeder has delivered a homophobic tirade on Big Brother, however. Back in 2009 during the show's 11th season, Schroeder was caught on camera repeatedly calling housemates he was in fights with anti-gay slurs, including "homos" and the f-word. So what did CBS do to wash their hands of the openly anti-gay reality star? They made him a contestant on season 16 of The Amazing Race, and followed that by featuring him on the CBS web series Around the World for Free in 2010. Now they've brought him back a third time for another chance to win Big Brother. Schroeder was one of a number of past Big Brother contestants brought back to the show, seemingly because it was expected they would stir up drama. But given his already proven track record, CBS must have expected that he would also be bringing openly anti-gay attitudes back with him. Is this the kind of drama they were hoping to see unfold? Is this the type of person they want associated with both the CBS and Big Brother brands? GLAAD had the opportunity to meet with CBS in June to discuss their already shaky track record on LGBT representation on their scripted programming. During that meeting, the network expressed their previously stated intention to improve their programming in this regard, and they can certainly demonstrate that intention by never including Jeff Schroeder on another of their reality programs. Those interested in expressing similar sentiments to CBS can do so by emailing the network at firstname.lastname@example.com, and letting them know that anti-gay rants do not qualify as "good tv."
Jeff : "Who's Dumbledorf.. who is that, the big guy?" Rachel: "Why would she want a gay character?" Jeff (in the background): "That would be perverted!" Kalia explains that she made the character so that her kids and other kids would understand [being gay]. Jeff: "How is he meant to be gay? He doesn't have any gay tendencies..." Kalia (interrupts): "Maybe that's the point! So that people like you don't stereotype gay people". Jeff: "WHAT DO YOU mean stereotypes around gay people? He's in a school with little kids, you can't make THAT GUY GAY!" Kalia: "WHY? Gay men can't work with little kids!?" Jeff: "It isn't right to have it in a little kids book, and have the head master locked away in this magical land, be gay. That isn't the right kind of writing to do." Kalia: "I don't see why not!" Jeff: "Oh I can see your PC view of it, but it's not the right thing to do." Kalia: "WHY is it PC?" Jeff: "Listen, you know what I'm talking about and don't make it seem like your doing the right thing by saying it's not! You are going to let your kids read a story book where little kids go to fantasy camp without their parents and the guy is GAY?" Kalia: "Just because he is gay, doesn't mean there is a thing wrong with him!" Jeff: "GTFO! Don't start with that f'in *****!" ( Kalia is trying to defend herself, Jeff is yelling louder) Don't tell me the right answer for f'n T.V.!..."
We reached out to CBS about both incident and their repeated use of Schroeder, and a representative informed GLAAD that the exchange would not be included on the show's televised broadcast, saying the producers did not find it useful for creating a larger narrative. The video can still be found on TMZ among other places.CBS has also provided GLAAD with a statement in regard to the incident:
"BIG BROTHER is a reality show about watching a group of people who have no privacy 24/7 — and seeing every moment of their lives. At times, the Houseguests make comments, reveal prejudices and other beliefs that we do not condone. Any views or opinions expressed in personal commentary by a Houseguest appearing on BIG BROTHER, either on any live feed from the House or the broadcast, are those of the individual(s) speaking and do not represent the views or opinions of CBS or the producers of the program."


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I have always been a bit of an unorganized person, and it's no more evident than in our apartment. If it weren't for the efforts of my wife, our apartment would probably look like a nuclear bomb went off. I appreciate the value of clean dishes and clean laundry but if both were clean and in piles on the counter and the floor I would be just fine with that.
So it was with much excitement that I took the opportunity to review the LevelUp Zig-Zag gaming storage tower. LevelUp makes several different models of storage towers for the various consoles, with the Zig-Zag one of two designed for use with the Xbox 360. The name is based on the form factor, as from the front, the unit has very much a zig-zag shape to it from bottom to top.
Upon unboxing, the unit requires simple assembly; around 10 pieces that are designed to snap together with little effort with only the guitar holder requiring any tools to attach. All told, from opening of box to setting the completed unit next to my TV stand took less than 10 minutes. There are a couple of green bands that act as gaskets between the shelving sections and the top and bottom of the unit. While they do fit in between mating surfaces, they're clearly more design than function. The green is that of the Xbox 360 accent color, and it does nicely offset the black of the Zig-Zags plastic components.
The Zig-Zag is designed to support 4 standard controllers, a guitar controller, and either 26 games or an Xbox and 13 games. The unit is clearly designed for the Xbox to go on the bottom shelf (there are ventilation holes on the bottom shelf), and it actually indicates that the Xbox should not be placed on the second shelf as it could cause the unit to tip.
Tipping is the only thing I see as a potential issue wit the Zig-Zag. The base of my review unit was slightly malformed in manufacturing so it has a very slight wobble to the right if I lean on it while putting games away. I'm certain this is not a common defect as I did not see the defect in display units in local Best Buys.
There are a lot of things to like about the Zig-Zag, chief among these being the way games are stored. In so many storage units, you're merely given a place to stack games. While it is probably the most efficient use of space, it also means it's really easy to wind up with a bunch of games on the floor when you want to play the game at the bottom stack. With the Zig-Zag, each game slides into a small slot in the walls of the unit which allows you to remove one game without removing any others. The only drawback is that because the games are stored sideways in the unit, you can't see the names of any of the games without walking over to the unit.
The guitar controller attachment seems almost like a throw-in but it actually works pretty well. The guitar slides into a mount that holds it near the nut of the guitar, just below the head stock. Finding a way to store guitar controllers has been a problem since the games have been released and LevelUp used a simple piece of plastic to solve the problem. It takes turning the guitar to get it out of the holder, but it also prevents the guitar from from falling when not in use.
In conclusion, there's a lot to like about the LevelUp Zig-Zag, and with an actual retail of around $50, its well positioned for the money. The issue I experienced with the minor malformation of the base causing a wobble doesn't seem to be pandemic. Further, I ran my xbox for several days straight while completing Mass Effect, and didn't seem to have any overheats or other unexpected behavior placing my 360 on it's side on the shelf. Plus, the Zig-Zag takes up very little floor space and frees up space both in DVD storage and the TV stand.
* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company.
On my 12th birthday, I got a floppy drive, I stayed up all night playing Stock Market for Commodore 64. I owned everyone I knew at the various NHL titles for Genesis. I first learned how to code in LPC in the middle of the night from a heroine addict on the campus of Michigan State University back in 1992 when MUDding was the only ORPG there was. I was a journalism major my first time through college, and have been writing off and on since, and programmed up until 5 years ago, when I put down the tools of ignorance to become a business analyst. I'm a member of several gaming 12 step programs for MMO's, and I don't game nearly as much as I used to. I'm mostly on the lookout for items you haven't already seen reviewed 50 times, whether they are games, or just things a gamer might use. I'm now work out of GN's east coast office in Boston, and looking forward to spending the weekends my fiancee is away with Boston University Women's Hockey playing games while the snow falls. View Profile