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This is almost too good to be true. It's taken only a handful of years for Title Town to completely revert back to the blubbering, blundering, sad-sack Boston we all know and love. It has been eight years since the Patriots won a Super Bowl. Eight! That is almost an entire decade of complete and total futility.
Remember Title Town? Remember when Duck Boat parades seemed an annual rite?
My god, the Duck Boat parades. [looks up to sky into bitter, driving New England snow storm] Whyyyyyy?!?!?!?! Why did you make me drunk with the taste of success? It used to be easier. It used to be tolerable. We would lose and we could go on living life. Happy to wallow in our own terrible brand of losing. We've flown to close too the sun.
It was always the moments when victory slipped from our grasp - destiny skittering through Buckner's wickets; Grady leaving Pedro in; too many Bruins on the ice in Montreal - that shined brightest in memory, their retelling a kind of community glue.
Somewhere, in all the winning, we forgot about that.
Somewhere in all the winning, we took the Duck Boats for granted. Do I need to remind you of the Duck Boat processions? The first one was more than 10 years ago. 10 YEARS! T-E-N. Y-E-A-R-S-! If you had a kid back during the Duck Boat Procession era it would be something like 10 years old. Maybe even 11. Think about that.
That first Duck Boat procession in 2002, for the first of three Super Bowl wins in four seasons, was a salve for a fandom that had prided itself - defined itself - by its unrequited love for teams that never won it all. An annual Duck Boat debauch felt like something we had earned after cheering on the Bruins in vain for a generation, the Patriots for a lifetime, and the Red Sox forever. Even the Celtics, with all those banners, had fallen into a prolonged drought.
Even the successful team was kind of unsuccessful for a little while. It's enough to make you crazy. But back to the Patriots, specifically. It's pretty unfair to just be kind of dominant. It's almost like having some mysterious cardiovascular problem that even House, M.D. can't solve.
"It's pretty heartbreaking. I feel like I'm watching the same episode of a bad TV show each year," said Marc O'Brien, 38, a bartender at Anchovies restaurant in Boston's South End. "I can't believe we haven't gotten at least that fourth ring. I think we should have five, minimum. They could have been the best team ever."
It's basically over for the Pats. And the Sox, too. They're hopeless. The only hope, really, are the Bruins. The real problem now, though? The children. Specifically, the kids who missed out on the whole "awful, but we kind of love them for being awful" teams are so screwed up from these teams winning all the time and then all of a sudden not winning. It's like being from somewhere terrible but, importantly, that terrible place never experienced the success. It does not have the bitter memories of those Duck Boat debauches to remind the city of its own stinking failure.
Our hopes now rest with the Bruins, Stanley Cup winners in 2011 and among the favorites this year. And one dynasty is not enough for fans who expect four - like Sullivan's sons, ages 14 and 11, who grew up believing that rooting for a team is only about championships and success.
"Look at Cleveland," he said. "How would you want to live in Cleveland? How bad would it be to a Cleveland fan?"
To be fair, even people from Cleveland don't want to live in Cleveland. Terrible sports teams are just the peanut on top of the shit sundae. Besides, within this very same column, the argument is made that Boston used to be losers like Cleveland. And Bostonites used to revel in being lovable losers. So, there's got to be something else, other than perennially losing, that sets Boston apart from lesser cities.
"It's not just in sports," observed Bill Zeoli, 47, who has held Patriots season tickets since 1994 and would have been in New Orleans now if the team had made it to the Super Bowl. "It's a self-important-Boston thing: We're better than everybody else because we're the Cradle of Liberty and we have all these educational institutions and we know better than you. That sort of thing."
On Super Bowl Sunday, New England fans sulk as the sun sets on Title Town [Boston.com]


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Learn about the art and history of Chinese ceramics at a symposium Oct. 13 at the University of South Carolina.
After a morning workshop, the symposium will feature a series of afternoon presentations at McKissick Museum and an evening lecture at McMaster.
All events are free and open to the public.
"This symposium, which follows 'Eye to the East,' a large show of Chinese ceramics, which was on display in 2009 at the Columbia Museum of Art and sponsored by the Confucius Institute, presents the best scholarship on Chinese ceramic art in the history of South Carolina," said Dr. Tan Ye, director of the Confucius Institute.
Ye said people who attend will leave with a rich understanding of the ancient traditions, artistry and influence of Chinese ceramics, including pottery and porcelain.
The daylong event will begin with a workshop and ceramics demonstration by Jiansheng Li, a ceramic artist from Jindezhen, China, and Gary Erickson, a ceramics professor at Macalester College, from 10 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. in McMaster College, Room 103.
Afternoon sessions will be from 3 – 6 p.m. on the museum's first floor and will feature presentations on the tradition and history of Chinese ceramics and how to authenticate them. The schedule includes:
· "Authenticating Chinese Porcelain" by Xinyu Shen, senior research fellow at the Hangzhou Historical Museum;
· "Lost Art: The Ceramics of Xixia Kingdom" by Tian Hang, an artist and historian of Chinese ceramic art;
· "The Art of Porcelain Capital Jingdezhen" by Li;
· "Jingdezehn and Me" by Erickson; and
· "Ceramic Art in Taiwan" by Virginia Scotchie.
B.J Zhang, a Chinese artist and USC graduate student in art, will share his views on contemporary Chinese art in a presentation at 8:15 p.m. in McMaster College. His talk is titled "Modern Art in China and Me."
An exhibit of Southern pottery influenced by Chinese ceramic traditions will be on display in the second floor of McKissick Museum. Included will be examples of the alkaline-glazed stoneware tradition from Edgefield along with master works from the Jugtown Pottery in Seagrove, N.C.
The Chinese Ceramic Art symposium is co-sponsored by USC's Confucius Institute and the College of Arts and Sciences' department of art. For more information, contact Sandra Sabo in the Confucius Institute at 803-777-7660 or via email at firstname.lastname@example.com.
USC is the first research university in South Carolina to establish a Confucius Institute (CI) in collaboration with the Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) and the Office of Chinese Language Council International, a division of the Chinese Ministry of Education. For more information about the CI, its programs and events, visit the website: www.cas.sc.edu/ci

subset: commoncrawl


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New Paltz 5
Farmingdale State 0
The Farmingdale State women's soccer team finished the regular season schedule today with a 5-0 loss against New Paltz (10-6-2) in New Paltz, NY. The Hawks overpowered Farmingdale with a 25-5 advantage in shots, scoring two goals in the first half and three in the second.
Freshman Jennifer Anselmi (Garnerville, NY/North Rockland) scored the game-winner for New Paltz at the 25-minute mark, followed by goals from sophomore Stephanie Potts (Cortland Manor, NY/Lakeland) and junior Alison Fliegel (New Hyde Park, NY/New Hyde Park). Senior Amanda Picarelli (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) added the final two goals for the Hawks. Freshman goalkeeper Sarah Boccard (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville) made 3 saves for the win.
Pam Baione (Farmingdale, NY/Plainedge) made six saves in defeat for the Rams.
Farmingdale State takes a 7-7-1 record into the Skyline Playoffs as the #4 seed. The Rams will face #1 seed Stevens (16-2, 6-0 Skyline) in Hoboken, NJ on Wednesday, November 2nd, a time has not yet been announced.


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Chicago White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy put on a show Friday for a large contingent of national media gathered for his spring debut against the Los Angeles Angels. Peavy threw two hitless innings, with 16 of his 26 pitches going for strikes.
Peavy, coming back from surgery on a muscle that controls movement in his shoulder, allowed only one baserunner, on a walk. He followed that with a double-play grounder by Torii Hunter. Peavy was sharp and appeared to use most of his pitches, which hit more than 90 miles an hour on radar guns. He struck out two batters and got two fly ball outs. …
UPDATE: DV Dyck tweets:
Ozzie Guillen says "right now Peavy is our fifth starter." That would mean an April 8 debut in KC.


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This looks interesting for $399:
Get the power of a full-sized laptop in the ultra-compact ASUS Eee PC 4G, which offers a full QWERTY keyboard, 7-inch screen, and preinstalled Linux operating system. (This laptop is also compatible with the Microsoft Windows XP operating system.) You'll be able to stay connected to email and the Internet easily thanks to the Wi-Fi LAN (802.11b/g), and communicate via video chat and VoIP with the Webcam integrated into the display's bezel. Because it uses flash memory instead of a hard drive (with 4 GB of storage), the Eee PC is optimal for weathering rough handling and sharing space in overstuffed bags.
Compact and highly portable at just 32 ounces, the Eee PC 4G has a 7-inch wide color TFT LCD with an 800 x 480-pixel resolution (WXGA). Under the hood is a 900 MHz Intel Mobile CPU with integrated Intel graphics processor, 512 MB of RAM (not expandable), and 4 GB of solid-state flash memory. With the dependable solid-state disk, you get unparalleled shock-protection and reliability. In addition to its wireless LAN, it also offers wired Fast Ethernet connectivity and a 56K modem. The Eee PC includes software for Web browsing (Firefox), email, OpenOffice 2.0 for creating and editing word processing documents and spreadsheets, and a suite of other productivity software to help keep you on track.
You get three USB 2.0 ports, a VGA output for connecting to external monitors, headphone and microphone jacks, and a Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot. The Eee PC measures 8.9 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches, and it weighs 32 ounces. The 4-cell, 5200 mAh battery provides up to 3.5 hours of battery life (depending on usage). It's backed by a 1 year warranty for parts and labor.


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Over 21 million of Americans aged 12 and up are fighting some form of substance abuse disorder. 80% of them are addicted to alcohol and every 1 out of 8 people who abuse drugs are also addicted to alcohol. Maui Recovery offers an efficient clinical treatment of substance abuse to those, who want to break this life-destroying habit. The program offered by the facility is unique and allows obtaining long-term results. It targets the actual cause of the problem and helps patients battle a variety of issues.
Secret of Efficient Clinical Treatment of Substance Abuse
A substance abuse disorder is a medical condition, so like all the rest of them, it has an underlying cause. It might be difficult to find it, as one can't identify a psychological issue as easily as bacteria, which causes cold. However, professionals studying human behavior and psychology can help the patient find what exactly pushes them to such unhealthy life choices.
In the majority of cases, people turn to drugs or alcohol because they suffer from some childhood trauma, shame, guilt, low self-esteem, or a psychiatric disorder. In many situations, it's a combination of those elements with unique personal experiences that exacerbate the problem.
The Maui Recovery clinical drug and alcohol treatment program is focused on identifying and resolving those issues. The program also includes the treatment of chemical addiction and therapy if it's necessary. Maui Recovery clinicians develop a personalized plan for every patient based on their history.
The thing that truly sets apart the Maui Recovery clinical treatment of substance abuse and trauma is their approach to families. The experts working at this center understand the importance of support for their patients. The so-called 'circle of support' also participates in the program, helping the person overcome their 'inner demons'.
At Maui Recovery, advanced clinical solutions coexist with ancient Hawaiian rituals. Together, they create a treatment plan that takes the patient on a healing journey for their body, mind, and soul.
Maui Recovery offers treatment programs not only for substance abuse but also sex addiction, trauma, codependency, depression, abuse recovery, compulsive behaviors, mental health issues, and more. Their treatment plans address physical, emotional, and spiritual issues to provide a comprehensive result. The center also offers family services, where every member of the family gets the help they need and all of them are brought together to support each other.
Media Contact
Company Name: Maui Recovery
Contact Person: David Naylor
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: 800-919-2066
Address:22 Waimahaihai St
City: Kihei
State: HI 96753
Country: United States
Website: mauirecovery.com


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Based on the methodology of the history of the western book, recent histories of the Chinese book have first targeted the printed book in a commercial context. However, the European book evolved in very different circumstances from a technical, political and religious...
Reading, writing and book production marked the life of Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585) almost in its entirety. The present study retraces the biographical, social ...
POUR UNE HISTOIRE TRANSNATIONALE DU LIVRE : Martyn Lyons et Jean-Yves Mollier, « L'histoire du livre dans une perspective transnationale » ; Jean-Pierre Drège, « Considérations brèves sur l'histoire du livre chinois dans une perspective transculturelle ».
Alexandre Vanautgaerden's research shows that Erasmus never ceased to adapt, depending on each type of text, the layouts of his books to best control their reception. A reversal of the traditional countdown of the exegesis of Erasmus's works, ...
The series of Regional Catalogues of Incunabula of the Libraries of France was begun in 1979, providing a thorough bibliography of the different works printed between 1450-1500 and present in the different libraries of France...
Étienne Dolet (1509-1546) provoked passionate reactions, both during his lifetime and after. Resurrected as the "martyr of the Renaissance" at the end of the nineteenth century, Dolet has served as a lens for studying the religious problems...
Guillaume BERTHON, « "Estienne Dolet, amy singulier de Clement Marot". Dolet éditeur du Valet de Marot contre Sagon (François Juste, 1537) » ; Gérard MORISSE, « Et même les lettrines partaient de Lyon vers Médina del Campo…(1553) ; Micheline RUEL-KELLERMA
Victor Hugo's 1856 Les Contemplations was an immense success, selling out its first edition within days. The present work is a facsimile edition of the copy offered by Hugo to his lost daughter's brother-in-law, Auguste Vacquerie...


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Gerald Finzi
Gerald Raphael Finzi (1901-1956) was an English composer. He is recognised as a leading exponent of the early to mid twentieth century English pastoral style, despite being of Italian-Jewish parentage – both Sephardic and Askenazim. London born, he grew up and studied there and elsewhere before, at the age of 32, moving to the country. In 1938 he settled with his artist wife on a farm, converted to suit their divers needs - which included Finzi's interest in apple growing - in Hampshire.
He is known mainly for his songs – practically all to words by English poets. His cycle of Shakespeare songs; "Let us Garlands Bring" is a particular favourite. His greatest love, however, was the poetry of Thomas Hardy. He wrote dozens of settings, with 7 opus numbers, from as early as 1921 right up to his death – he usually had several "on the go" at any one time and a series of his late songs was collected and prepared for publication by his widow and son after he died.
His vocal proclivities extended to choral works, both sacred and secular, where his sympathetic treatment of the words are as evident as in his songs. On the secular side, a major work is "Ode to Intimations of Immortality", a setting for tenor, choir and string orchestra of all but two parts of William Wordsworth's great work of the same name. His best major sacred work – also usually for the same forces - is "Dies nativitas" ("Day of birth".) Both these works, after decades of neglect, have enjoyed popularity, both "live" and on record, in recent years. He wrote many choral pieces – anthems and the like – for the annual and ancient "Three Choirs Festival" (he shares this distinction with some of the great choral composers of the age – Edward Elgar, Hubert Parry, Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams – men who were major influences on his music).
His pastoral side is most evident in his orchestral music. The early "Severn Rhapsody" is about as bucolic as you can get without mooing; and as firm as Vaughan Williams and George Butterworth in its statement of time and place. He wrote, or attempted to write - some of his concertante works failed in their original forms – works for cello and piano with orchestra.
He is notable as a composer for the clarinet: as well as his "Five Bagatelles" for clarinet and piano (later orchestrated) he extended his love of the English lyric by transforming three soliloquies from Shakespeare's "Love's Labours Lost" to short pieces for clarinet and orchestra. His "magnum opus" though, is possibly his Clarinet Concerto, considered one of the great concertos for that instrument of the twentieth century.
Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVhWOZOlFso Two songs from "Let us Garlands Bring" sung by a young Janet Baker, one of the great singers.


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Michael Jackson's Cause of Death Unclear, Additional Tests Needed: Coroner
Drugs eyed as pop icon Michael Jackson dies after suffering cardiac arrest.
June 26, 2009 -- Clues about the underlying cause of the death of pop icon Michael Jackson are still in short supply -- and likely will remain so for several weeks, according to forensic pathologists.
The Los Angeles County coroner's office announced it concluded Jackson's autopsy at 4 p.m. PT today, but the determination of the cause of the pop star's death has been deferred because the medical examiner ordered additional toxicology, neuropathology and pulmonary tests.
Craig Harvey, operations chief of the L.A. County coroner's office, said the tests will take four to six weeks to complete, at which time he anticipates being able to issue a final cause of death.
Harvey added that the coroner found "no indication of any foul play on the body of Mr. Jackson."
Watch "Michael Jackson: The Man and His Music" on a special edition of "20/20" TONIGHT at 9 p.m. ET.
But according to a senior law enforcement official briefed on the initial investigation of Jackson's death, it's probable drugs played a part. He told ABC News that Jackson was "heavily addicted" to the powerful pain killer Oxycontin and received "daily doses" of it and of another pain killer, Demerol.
The Los Angeles police were told Jackson received an injection of Demerol one hour before his death, the official added.
Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Charlie Beck said Friday in a press conference that the robbery/homicide division has been in contact with Conrad R. Murray, the doctor present at Jackson's home when 911 was alerted.
Jackson's Autopsy Results: Why the Delay?
Delays of several weeks between the death of a celebrity and the release of their final autopsy report are not uncommon, as seen in the past.
There are many factors that can contribute to this delay, not the least of which is the fact that while preliminary tests of blood and urine can often be performed quickly, other processes can take more time.
"The preliminary results will be available early -- within 48 hours -- for many substances; however, other levels may be sent to other laboratories with required analytical capabilities that will need time to run specific assays," said Dr. Christopher Holstege, director of medical toxicology and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. "That could take weeks depending on the priority that is being placed on those samples."
Teasing out the exact levels of each of the possible drugs involved could also require more extensive testing. In Jackson's case, because pain medications may have been involved, the possibility that the interactions between multiple drugs is a distinct one, noted Dr. Paul Christo, director of the Pain Treatment Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
"If you are on multiple medications ... if you combine these medications and take any one in excess, then that can tip you over the point where you lose the ability to breathe well," Christo said. He added that if Jackson happened to be taking alcohol at the time as well, it could magnify this effect.
Those Close to Jackson Knew He Wasn't Well
Like law enforcement officials, Jackson family attorney Brian Oxman suspects drugs led to his death. Oxman claims Jackson's family tried "many times" to get Jackson off the many prescription painkillers he took for years. He confirmed that a doctor was summoned to Jackson's home the night before he died.
"Michael was not feeling well the night before… the doctor was summoned," Oxman told Robin Roberts on "Good Morning America" today. "I don't know why."
"I don't want to jump to conclusions, and I don't want to point fingers," Oxman said. "We don't know what Michael Jackson perished from, but what I do fear is that it was the medications."
Oxman, who was at the hospital with the Jackson family when he died, said Jackson first started taking pain medication after his hair caught fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial in the early 1980s. The drugs subsequently became a regular part of his life when Jackson later fell off a stage and suffered a broken leg and a cracked vertebrae.
"I spoke to family members. I said if this situation arises where Michael perishes because of these medications ... I will not hold my tongue," Oxman said. "I will speak out and I will speak out loud about the overmedication of Michael Jackson."
Oxman noted that the stress of Jackson's upcoming tour may have put him under tremendous pressure.
"Michael was rehearsing and working extremely hard," he said. "I think he was in discomfort because he was working so very hard."
Jackson's 2005 trial on child molestation charges also created a burden on the star that Oxman said changed him for good.
"I don't think that Michael ever fully recovered," he said.
Defense attorney Ben Brafman, who represented Jackson during that case, agreed.
"When I knew him during the trial, he was extraordinarily frail physically and emotionally unstable -- a 45-year-old 12-year-old," he told ABC News. "So thin and gaunt -- it was almost impossible for me to imagine him going through a grueling trial proceeding."
Brafman added Jackson "didn't strike me as someone who could survive much longer."
Family friend Mark Lester, also the godfather of Jackson's three children, said he never saw any signs of Jackson's use of prescription pain medication or that he was in ill health in the days leading up to his death.
"There was no indication of anything other than Michael focusing his everything on this set of concerts," he said from London this morning.
Lester said that, if called to do so, he would absolutely step up to care for Jackson's children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II, but that there would be no shortage of people willing and able to take them in.
"Michael has a large family," he said. "I'm sure the children will be well looked after."
Lester said he was unsure if the children had been told about their father's death.
"The kids were everything to Michael. They were his whole life," he said. "He was a very active and involved father."
Jackson's Sudden Cardiac Arrest
The Los Angeles Fire Department was called to Jackson's residence at 12:26 p.m. PT Thursday. Paramedics performed CPR on Jackson, who was not breathing when they arrived at his home. He was rushed to L.A. Medical Center, six miles from his home.
Oxman said there was complete pandemonium at the hospital where Jackson was pronounced dead after doctors worked on him for more than an hour.
"Nobody knew what was happening," he said. "We couldn't even speak."
While Jackson's family and friends were inside the hospital trying to understand a life without Jackson, fans began to gather outside.
"It was one of the most eerie experiences of my life at the hospital," Oxman said. "The fans gathered, there were thousands of them. To hear 'Billie Jean' and 'Beat It' echo off the walls of the hospital" was surreal.
Jackson's older brother, Jermaine Jackson, 54, told the media that emergency room doctors worked to resuscitate the pop star for one hour after he arrived at the hospital.
"They were unsuccessful," he said. Michael Jackson's personal physician was with the singer when he collapsed at his home and worked to revive him.
"May Allah be with you, Michael, always," Jermaine Jackson said.
Chris Connelly, an ABC News contributor, was one of the last people to interview Jackson, and said today that the pop star was "determined to convey that he had greater things ahead of him."
"The word he spoke with the greatest emphasis was the 'More!' that he exclaimed when I asked if he could still do all his famous moves and hit all those notes at the age of 50," said Connelly of his August 2008 phone interview with Jackson.
Connelly asked Jackson if he had received his AARP membership, a question that garnered a laugh from the star.
"In an all-too-short life that in so many ways was filled with enigmatic emotions, or troubling ones, his laugh sounded fresh, clear and altogether genuine," said Connelly. "If only there had been more of those."
Jackson's death came less than a month before the start of a scheduled series of so-called comeback concerts. From July 13 to March 6, 2010, Jackson was scheduled to perform 50 soldout concerts at London's O2 Arena.
Fans last heard from Jackson during a press conference in London last March, where he assured about 2,000 fans that his upcoming concert would be his "final curtain call."
"I just want to say that these will be my final show performances in London," he said to the screaming crowd. "This will be it. When I say this is it, this will be it."
Groomed for Stardom
Born Michael Joseph Jackson in Gary, Ind., in 1958, the King of Pop was the fifth of nine children of Joe and Katherine Jackson. Both parents instilled a love of music early in their children's lives: Katherine taught them folk music while Joe, a budding guitarist, managed them and molded their musical work ethic.
Michael was 4 years old when he started singing with his older brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon and formed the original Jackson 5.
The brothers were discovered by Motown singers Diana Ross and Gladys Knight and pianist Billy Taylor after a performance at the Apollo Theater in New York's Harlem. Motown Records founder Berry Gordy would soon sign them to a contract.
Gordy's investment paid off: The Jackson 5 broke through to national stardom in 1969-70 with four consecutive hit songs. Energetic, dancing prepubescent Michael was the standout of the group.
"I saw so much of myself as a child in Michael," Diana Ross told a reporter in 1970. "He was performing all the time. That's the way I was. He could be my son."
From 'Thriller' to Oddball
While still a member of the Jackson 5, Jackson made his first solo album, "Got to Be There," in 1972. He began to define himself as a solo artist with the 1979 release of "Off the Wall." However, he became an international phenomenon when "Thriller" sold 16 million copies worldwide in 1983.
Propelled by songs such as "Beat It" and "Billie Jean," as well as his unique "moonwalk" dance and his music videos, "Thriller" became the second-greatest-selling album of all time. He appeared in magazines worldwide as fans imitated the moonwalk and wore the single sequined glove and high-water pants he popularized at one point. Not even an accident during the filming of a Pepsi commercial in which his hair caught fire could stop Jackson from becoming a pop icon.
After "Thriller," Jackson's physical appearance began to change drastically. The headlines didn't focus on it at the time, but when Jackson released "Bad" in 1987, he appeared to have much more feminine facial features.
His complexion, once brown, morphed into a pasty white. His once-flat nose was reshaped, his cheekbones were more defined and his hair -- once a Jeri-Curled Afro -- was straightened.
Jackson denied having extensive plastic surgery and blamed his change in skin tone on vitiligo, a pigment disorder.
Then his behavior appeared to become increasingly odd, with reports that he slept in a hyperbaric chamber and tried to buy the Elephant Man's bones. In 1991, around the time of the release of "Dangerous," he began calling himself "The King of Pop" with no explanation but in apparent homage to his influence and his record-breaking success as an artist. However, Jackson was still recognized primarily for his talent and perhaps perceived as benevolently eccentric.
The Child Molestation Cloud and Trial
But Jackson's career took a darker turn in 1993 when a 12-year-old boy accused him of molestation. Jackson always denied any wrongdoing and was never charged in that case. Santa Barbara County, Calif., prosecutors decided not to pursue a criminal case when they said the alleged victim refused to testify. Jackson ultimately settled a civil suit filed by the boy's family for a reported $20 million. But suspicions of child molestation continued to follow Jackson and he went on trial in 2005 after a boy who appeared with him in "Living With Michael Jackson" accused him of wrongdoing.
Jackson raised eyebrows during the documentary when he talked about his fondness for having innocent sleepovers with children at Neverland. While holding hands with his accuser in his criminal case, he said, "Why can't you share your bed? The most loving thing to do is to share your bed with someone."
Jackson insisted the practice was innocent and involved nothing of a sexual nature. "I give them hot milk, you know, we have cookies. It's very charming. It's very sweet. It's what the whole world should do."
However, Santa Barbara County prosecutors did not think the practice was so innocent, and the documentary led to a raid of Neverland and Jackson's arrest for child molestation.
A California jury of eight women and four men acquitted Jackson of molestation, attempted molestation, playing minors with liquor, and conspiracy stemming from an alleged attempt to hold hostage the accuser and his family at Neverland after the documentary aired. Jackson's defense argued that the alleged victim and his family made up the allegations in an attempt to get money.
Clouded Legacy
In the last decades of his life, headlines focused less on Jackson's music and more on his bizarre behavior, marriages and child molestation suspicions. His record sales dwindled. Jackson's last studio album, 2001's "Invincible," sold just more than 2 million albums (8 million worldwide) -- successful to most artists but a disappointment for the "King of Pop." Despite hitting the top of the music charts worldwide, Jackson hadn't had a No. 1 single in the United States since 1995's "You Are Not Alone."
Jackson was married briefly to Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis. A three-year marriage to his dermatology nurse, Debbie Rowe, followed, and she bore him a son and a daughter, Prince Michael I and Paris. Jackson had a third child, Prince Michael II, by another, unidentified woman in 2002.
Jackson stirred outrage when he dangled a then-infant Prince Michael II from the balcony of a Berlin hotel in November 2002. He denied purposely endangering his child, and German authorities decided not to pursue charges.
There have been reports of financial trouble ever since his 2005 child molestation trial. Last year, he was forced to sell his famous Neverland ranch. In April, 2,000 items from his Neverland estate will be up for auction at the Beverly Hills Hilton. The entire sale is estimated to bring in between $1.5 million and $3 million, according to Darren Julien, the head of Julien's Auctions, which is conducting the sale.
It remains to seen whether Jackson will be remembered primarily for his music or the child molestation scandals that followed him. Despite his acquittal, some critics -- and former fans -- had lingering questions about his friendships with young boys that lasted to his death.
Though he dubbed himself "The King of Pop," Jackson also believed he was a modern-day version of Peter Pan, saying that he never had a childhood. He said he built his Neverland ranch not only as a refuge for himself but for children -- especially those who are ill or less fortunate -- to enjoy.
Jackson's fans and detractors will always debate his public persona, but his legacy in the music industry is undeniable. He won 18 Grammys in his career and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, as both a solo artist and member of the Jackson 5. Jackson's revolutionary videos for "Thriller," "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" put MTV on the map. His influence is found in some of today's chart-toppers, such as Usher, Justin Timberlake and Alicia Keys, who say they grew up listening to him. Jackson was also a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
ABC News' Russell Goldman, Sarah Netter and Dan Childs contributed to this report.


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Lauren Barra, KF16, Kenya
"A startling new statistic from the World Health Organization," the BBC announcer sounded from my taxi's radio. "There are only two registered medical professionals for every 1,000 Kenyans…" As I drove through the bustling, overcrowded streets of downtown Mombasa, I took a deep breath and was reminded once again – my work here is not going to be easy.
The BBC announcer continued to explain that this data is even more sobering for poor, uninsured Kenyans who rely on government-funded hospitals. A recent economic survey showed that only 19 public health officials and 18 doctors are available per 100,000 Kenyans. Public doctors are often overwhelmed with patients and it's not uncommon for Kenyans to pass away waiting to receive essential care. Insured patients have the option to go to a private facility and have a much better chance of receiving quality care. Few Kenyans in this region can afford traditional health insurance plans and families suffer devastating setbacks if one member falls seriously ill.
Maisha bora kwa jamii yako – "Better life for your community"
In the coming weeks, Yehu will introduce a new loan product to provide affordable health insurance to rural borrowers. Yehu partnered with CIC Insurance to create the Afya Imara or "strong health" loan. For around $140 a year, Yehu members can purchase a combined in-patient and out-patient family insurance policy, with no HIV-AIDS exclusion. To ensure this product is accessible to all borrowers, Yehu aims to offer Afya Imara loans for as low as 2% below the market rate.
The Afya Imara loan is one of many responsive loans Yehu offers to address the unique concerns of their community. Their value statement explains, Yehu Microfinance endeavors offer responsive, competitive products that meet the needs of our rural clients. To accomplish this, Yehu has developed a diverse portfolio of loan products, including:
- Traditional Business
- Maji ni Uhai (water)
- Elimu (school fees)
- Mabati (housing)
- Sikukuu (religious)
- Top Up
- Emergency
- Poultry/Meat Goat
The Sikukuu loan, for example, offers support specifically for Mombasa's Islamic population. Many Muslim borrowers reduce their business hours or close stores entirely during the holy month of Ramadan. Sikukuu enables them to cover costs of food and housing until they can return full-time to their businesses. Yehu experienced its best performing month ever in August, largely due to the popularity of its Sikukuu loan. Similarly, Yehu provides the Elimu loan to ensure borrowers have enough money to keep their children in school, while the Mabati loan provides roofing material and supplies for their homes.
Maji ni Uhai – "Water is Life"
Responsive lending has also led to important accomplishments in water distribution. Securing clean drinking water is an enormous challenge in coastal Kenya. To overcome this obstacle, Yehu has developed a water loan product to provide clients with an uninterrupted, sustainable supply of clean water for domestic and commercial use. Although it's fairly new, the Maji ni Uhai or "Water is Life" loan is one Yehu's best-selling products. Borrowers can chose from three types of loans:
- Water tanks
- Water connectors
- Fresh water wells
To learn more, I visited Zainab, the first water loan recipient in Yehu's Kisauni branch. Before Zainab took out her loan, water would only come twice a week to her village's communal pumps. Villagers pay 3 KES (about 3 cents) per 20 liters, when available. However, the supply is very unreliable and people are usually forced to borrow from neighbors or pay high premiums at the store.
Zainab serves as her group's Center Chief and has a long, flourishing history with Yehu. For her sixth loan, she purchased a 3,000-liter tank for 20,100 KES. In addition to supplying water for her home, Yehu's tank also enables Zainab to sell water during times of need. To prepare for her application, she researched nearby pumps to determine ideal loan size. Too small – she loses out on an opportunity to serve the most customers. Too large – water could stagnate and breed bacteria. Cost of piping and other infrastructure must also be included in her loan estimate and application.
After the application is approved, Yehu purchases the water tanks directly and delivers to borrowers. These tanks can store one to two days' supply of water and Zainab charges 10 KES per 20L – more expensive than pumps, but far more affordable than buying at a store when supplies are low. Only 10 months later, Zainab repaid her loan and now enjoys strong profits.
As I was leaving, I asked Zainab if she planned to take out another loan with Yehu. She nodded her head enthusiastically, "Of course."
The longer I spend in Mombasa, the more I realize that microfinance alone is not enough to create real change in a community. Borrowers will only thrive if they first have a solid foundation in health care, housing and education. Part of what prevents Yehu clients from reaching the next rung on the economic ladder is that they are so vulnerable. Malaria is a constant menace here – it kills 1 million people each year, mostly among children living in Africa. Droughts and ever escalating food prices threaten to unravel even the strongest businesses. Responsive loans play an enormous role in shielding clients from these risks and providing stability in their communities. As Yehu has demonstrated, offering business loans is not enough – MFIs must also learn to listen to clients and effectively respond to their needs.
Lauren Barra is serving as a Kiva Fellow with Yehu Microfinance Trust in Mombasa, Kenya and Tujijenge Tanzania in Dar es Salaam. Click here to loan to a Yehu borrower or join the Yehu Lending Team.


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Tariq Khattak, Islamabad, Pakistan.
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Thanks for visiting my blog!I've been a swimmer all my life and over the last several years I've done many challenging open water swims for charity all around our Islands which include the Sound of Barra & the Sound of Harris and both the Little & the Big Minch Channels to name a few.Having a real passion for open water swimming, I spend a lot of my spare time looking for and discovering amazing new swim spots around the Islands. I set up The Hebridean Sea Swimmers group in 2011 for all swimmers that live in or visit The Hebrides and it now has over 650 members. I regularly meet up with visiting swimmers as I love to show off our Islands stunning coastline. I finally decided to make this passion my dream job and team up with Cheggs at SurfLewis & Harris to offer Open Water Swim lessons and Guided Wild Swim Adventures. I am a qualified STA Swim Coach and RLSS Lifeguard and have years of experience and great local knowledge of the islands environment. Swim safety is of paramount importance to us as is making sure everyone has fun! If you have any questions about any of the swims we offer or anything at all please get in touch, we are happy to help.Visit https://www.surflewis.com/open-water-sea-swimming-lewis-harris for more info.We hope to be part of your Hebridean adventure soon!
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The central Texas road with the nation's fastest speed limit at 85 mph has recorded its first fatal accident, on the same day that it began charging drivers.
The driver of a Honda Civic died after it collided with a Chevy Tahoe in the southbound lanes of state Highway 130 around 1:45 p.m. Sunday. The victim, Martha Melinda Harris, 60, of Lockhart, Texas, had just entered the toll road from the ramp, Mustang Ridge Police told NBC News.
The driver and the passenger in the Chevy Tahoe suffered minor injuries, KXAN.com reported.
Police are still investigating the cause of the accident and did not say how fast the cars were traveling.
Wild hogs, however, were not a factor in the crash, police said. Four crashes between vehicles and hogs took place during the first night the toll road opened.
Tolls had been waived for the 41-mile final leg of the roadway, which connects the Austin and San Antonio areas, so drivers could try it out after it opened Oct. 24.
But on Sunday, the SH 130 Concession Co., which developed and manages the toll road through a contract with the Texas Transportation Commission, began charging on the new section.
Tolls for the full stretch of road range from $6.17 for motorists with state electronic toll tags to $8.21 for those without, The Associated Press said.
85 mph! Texas to open toll highway with fastest speed limit in nation
Since the repeal of the 55-mph national speed limit for U.S. highways in 1995, 34 states have individually raised their speed limits to 70 mph or higher on portions of their roads, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.
Other roads in the Lone Star State also have high speed limits: On some highways in rural West Texas, drivers can legally cruise as fast as 80 mph, the AP reported. Utah is the only other state in the country with posted speeds at 80 mph, with that as the limit on portions of Interstate 15, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The first 85-mile an hour speed limit signs are going up on a stretch of Route 130 outside of Austin, Texas. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
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- Woman fired over racist anti-Obama Facebok post
- Obama lays wreath, honors nation's veterans
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Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook


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Spotlight on Linux: Zenwalk Linux 6.4 "Live"
Linux Journal: It is quite an ambitious project as it offers and maintains five different editions. The Standard Edition is the flagship version for the project. It's a complete system for desktops, laptops, and servers. The Core Edition is a basic version of Linux with no X server, no graphical environment, and no applications. It's for those who like to build their own system their own way. The Live Edition is the installable Live CD that will boot any of 12 common languages. And finally, there are the alternative graphical environment editions: the GNOME Edition and the Openbox Edition.


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Die Hard…Or Not At All
We have both lived in our small home town for 12 years. There is one route through the centre. After the first 3 years, the local council changed the road markings at a junction. You no longer had to make a right turn in order to exit the town, you just had to continue. You still drove on exactly the same roads but there was no longer a need to signal.
However, despite the fact that this change was made 9 years ago, both of us automatically signal a right turn as we approach the former junction...unless we make a conscious effort not to do so. We are not the only ones. I frequently follow drivers who signal needlessly at this junction and a knowing smile of empathy appears on my face. Old habits die hard…or, in this case, not at all.
The original pattern of neural pathways that must be triggered when approaching this junction seems deeply and irreversibly ingrained. The flow of neural information needs to be consciously re-routed each time. This got me thinking about pedagogy, (sad but true), particularly 'effective questioning'. Read on…
There is a place for 'lower-order' recall questions but I have been in many classrooms and settings where they are the only type of question posed to learners. Sometimes, it is just a straightforward 'Who was Henry VIII's second wife?'.
Sometimes, it's the 'finish my sentence' variety, '…and the day after Tuesday is…is….hands up…anyone?''
Then there is the 'guess what's in my head' question – a recall disguised as a higher-order question – 'How can we use Pythagoras's Theorem in real life?…C'mon…you should know the answer…I told you last week!'
Encouraging learners to engage in higher-order thinking, beyond recall, requires 'thoughtful' questioning from the practitioner. Of course, many of you reading this may have attended courses on 'Effective Questioning', 'Higher-Order Thinking Skills', 'Bloom's Taxonomy' and 'Revised Bloom's Taxonomy'! You may have walked away with handouts of 'levels', 'question starters', etc. etc. You may even have walked away with inspiration and good intentions!
Despite the best efforts of your course presenter/trainer, it is unlikely that you walked away with a new, deeply-ingrained pattern of neural connections – unless, of course, your trainer was Derren Brown! Your automatic, habitual style of questioning is probably deeply and irreversibly(?) engrained. Effective questioning, one of the pillars of formative assessment, may not come naturally to you. Eek! What to do?
Speaking personally, I was educated and 'trained' in the traditional recall style. This was the pattern that I heard from my teachers and to which I responded. It is no effort for me to emulate them and think of recall questions. However, when I started to think about how I could engage my learners with 'better' questions, I found myself quite challenged. It was not as easy as simply following a 'starter' pattern listed on a handout. But, like most skills, the more I practised and experimented with formulating 'thinking' questions, the more comfortable I became with the process…and the results.
However, I can still slip into the habit of closed answer or recall questions, especially in a potentially stressful situation. The old neural patterns kick in and I have to consciously over-ride them.
Many moons ago, after attending a 'thinking skills' course, I scoffed at the idea of preparing questions in advance of a lesson, believing that any educator worth their salt would be able to create questions as needed. Since then, I've reassessed that view. I have always invested time and effort into preparing physical resources. Effective questions are a powerful resource. It seems strange to me now that I baulked at the idea of preparing questions to deeply engage learners with their learning. I can forgive myself because it was not part of my original training as an educator and thankfully, experience has been a wise and challenging mentor.
The good news is that by putting in the effort to design effective questions we are engaging and exercising our own grey matter in higher-order thinking activities…and I like it when educators actually model the skills they want to develop in their learners, instead of blindly following a commercially produced script. They call it integrity…I think. 🙂
OK. So, old habits die hard (…or not at all) because we may be up against forces at a molecular biology level – myelination and the like! That is forgivable. Knowlingly condemning learners to day after day of 'Guess what's in my head?' is not. I echo this sentiment for every aspect of education where educators resist developing their own pedagogy because they believe they are 'too set in their ways'. If we are are in the business of learning we need to be model learners…and sometimes we need to unlearn…and sometimes that can be tough…but in the words of John McLane "Yippee-ki-yay [ inset plural noun of your choice ]..!
For those of you who like/need to know this stuff…
*The image used is a portion Sylvester (The 7th Doctor) McCoy's costume from The 'Dr Who Experience', Cardiff.
** 'Yippee-ki-yay + expletive' is the character John McLane's catchphrase, in the 'Die Hard' movies…when he leaps into action and violently destroys the bad guys/gals.


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Have you ever seen a review test many dozens of game titles showing you performance on more than just games like F.E.A.R., DOOM 3, and Quake 4? Several months ago during a conversation with NVIDIA the idea of doing a multi-site article was brought up by NVIDIA and Legit Reviews was interested in the article because one has never been done before. The article would be one of the most in-depth platform reviews ever done and we signed up to help out in the series of articles. NVIDIA spear headed the articles by getting the interested sites together and came up with the final team of sites and then let them do as they pleased. The end result turned out being a collaborative effort with nine well known hardware sites creating a series of articles that would span across 9 sites, cover over 60 gaming benchmarks, and put 3 ATI CrossFire and 3 NVIDIA SLI platforms to the test.
The amount of work, money and time that has gone into this article is nothing short of amazing. Each site that benchmarked game titles averaged between 100 to 200 hours testing today's most popular games on six different platforms. Legit Reviews was picked to do one of the uncommon benchmarking sections and the results were nothing short of amazing. By tackling this article we were able to benchmark 8 game titles that we have never benchmarked before, which gives gamers around the world a better idea of what platform is right for their needs.
To help judge the performance levels of different graphics cards we built three platform levels to use for the series of articles. The test systems were picked by pricing and we selected $1000 for the budget system, $2000 for the mid-range systems, and an unlimited budget for the high-end systems. When we started planning for this series of articles the Intel Core 2 Duo processor was a number of months away from being launched, so we used AMD Athlon 64 X2 processors for all of the testing. Even today with AMD's drastic price cuts we feel that this article still serves its purpose as AMD's processors still pack awesome price versus performance.
Since Legit Reviews has the second to last part in the article please take the time to take a look at the other sites and take a look at the entire picture of what this group of sites is trying to do.
Before we tell you what the test systems are let's go ahead and clear up the air before we get any further. The article was started with the help of NVIDIA, but each site was able to do as they pleased when it came to testing. Legit Reviews picked each and every game that we tested in this article on our own and the game settings and resolutions were picked out by Brian Wallace here at Legit Reviews. All of the graphics cards were picked out by the group of nine sites under the direction of Josh at PenstarSys. Legit Reviews worked with both ATI and NVIDIA during the duration of the article to make sure our testing was balanced and fair. After the platform graphic solutions were picked Legit Reviews had full control of the games and tested we conducted, so ATI/NVIDIA fan boys need not worry as no sides were taken on this article.
Comments are closed.


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Today was the day of the Red Sox victory parade through Boston. (Predictably, a ton of my co-workers called out. I worked. Sadly, my only experience with the parade was with the insane commute to work and drunken commute home.)
Reader Greg sent me this image. I've covered the topic enough times, but it's timely and appropriate.
Thanks, Greg.


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Age of Mythology
This game transports players to a time when heroes did battle with monsters of legend and the gods intervened in the affairs of mortal men.
Taking on the role of one of nine ancient civilizations, players guide their people to greatness by commanding all aspects of their empire: gathering resources, raising massive armies, waging war against enemies, establishing profitable trade routes, building new settlements, enhancing production or military might with improvements, exploring new frontiers, and advancing through four distinct ages.
The demo allows you to play one of the nine civilizations found in the full game. You advance through the third age on two random maps, or play through five scenarios.
No local download file is associated with this listing. Clicking the Download link will redirect your browser to a page from which the application can be obtained.


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A poll of 4,903 people by the Beeb's foodie mag Olive has proved what anyone south of Lancashire has always known: tripe is completely disgusting and no-one in their right mind would touch it with a ten-foot fork.
And before the good burghers of Manchester get shirty and start banging on about how they remember their dear old grans boiling up cows' guts in milk with onions and how absolutely smashing it was, Cockney-fave jellied eels came in a well-deserved second in the enlightening probe.
Unsurprisingly, the legendary deep-fried Mars bar - cause of 73 per cent of Glaswegian coronaries - secured third place, narrowly beating kids' all-time no-no, brawn, and congealed pig's blood in a tube (black pudding) into fourth and fifth places, respectively.
Oh yes, the enlightening bits of the poll are that the UK's former national dish, chicken tikka masala, earned 17th spot, but at least managed to beat faggots, sandwich spread and banana custard in the nation's affections.
Olive editor Christine Hayes proclaimed: "British cuisine has finally earned some well-deserved respect in the culinary world but there are some dishes, no matter how classic or traditional, which are unlikely to pass your lips."
Here's that list in full. It requires a strong stomach:
- Tripe
- Jellied eels
- Deep-fried Mars bar
- Brawn (meat from the head of a pig)
- Black pudding
- Tapioca
- Faggots
- Marmite
- Semolina
- Beetroot (in vinegar)
- Pickled egg
- Haggis
- Sandwich spread
- Cockles (in vinegar)
- Spaghetti hoops
- Banana custard
- Chicken tikka masala
- Kippers
- Rhubarb
- Tinned tomato soup


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"Don't trust your employer to say everything's all right," says Al Bouchard, a member of NH COSH and an advocate for workers injured by chemical exposure.
Re-Awakening the Spirit of 1912
NASHUA — Keeping their fingers crossed that the biggest legislative battles of the year are behind us, union members and labor allies rallied in Nashua on May 5 to raise spirits for whatever struggles lie ahead. The "Solid as Granite" rally drew about 75 people to the Greeley Park band shell.
The mood was defensive and defiant sixteen months into an intense State House battle that isn't over yet. "We will not be intimidated. We will not go away," shouted Mark MacKenzie, president of the NH AFL-CIO.
With two right-to-work-for-LESS bills tabled in the State Senate, prospects are good that Speaker of the House Bill O'Brien's anti-labor onslaught has been stopped. But the Speaker, who recently took other proposals sidelined by the Senate and re-attached them as amendments to other measures, may have more tricks up his sleeves.
"Do not let up on any of us," said Rep. Mary Gorman, one of ten local Representatives recognized for their "dedication to the middle class."
The role of unions in creating and defending the middle class is by now well established. Labor would be making a mistake, however, if it fails to connect with the issues facing people who aspire to the middle class. Diana Lacey, president of the state's largest union, was the only labor speaker who explicitly linked labor's agenda to the needs of the poor.
Lacey, whose mom migrated from Mexico, also linked labor's agenda to the importance of stopping the Arizonification of America. She was also the one who mostly clearly identified labor with "the 99%."
MacKenzie also understands that labor's fortunes are tied to other sectors, including "the religious community who care about the labor movement."
"That's how we gonna take back the state of New Hampshire," MacKenzie said. I'm not sure we ever really had it, but his point is well taken. With O'Brien already running again for Speaker, the 2012 election is looming large for labor.
Other speakers included Robert Sherman of the Nashua Federation of Teachers; Paul O'Connor from the Metal Trades Council at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard; Magnus Pardoe of the Nashua chapter of SEIU 1984; Ed Foley of the Sheet Metal Workers; Ed Barnes of the Mail Handlers; Craig Lange of the new union of Community College adjunct faculty; and Laura Hainey of the AFT. Matt Murray, editor of NH Labor News, served as emcee. Gerry O'Connor spoke about growing up in Lowell and made reference to the "Bread and Roses" strike of 1912.
If the New Hampshire unions are working hard to stand their ground and defend the status quo, labor activists and scholars a few miles south are looking back to 1912 in order to look forward. The 100th anniversary of the landmark "Bread and Roses" strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts has occasioned a variety of cultural programs, including last week's Academic Symposium. 300 people ranged between several buildings in the city's historic mill district for workshops on topics as diverse as "Music and Culture and Labor History," "The Strike and Immigration in the Classroom," The Importance of Strike Activity in Building New Unions," and "The Legacies of Labor's Response to Racism."
One hundred years ago thousands of workers, mostly immigrants and about half women, walked out of Lawrence's mills when employers cut their pay. According to the Bread and Roses Centennial Committee,
What started as a wage protest quickly became a fight for better conditions both on and off the job. The strikers angrily complained about mistreatment by overseers and a job pace that made them work "like horses." They also objected to a premium system that held part of their expected earnings hostage to month-long production and attendance standards.
After eight weeks of strike activity led by the Industrial Workers of the World, the bosses gave in and granted a 15% pay hike, with the biggest raises going to the lowest paid workers.
The Centennial is "an incredible event for my family being able to reclaim our own history," said Donna San Antonio, whose grandparents participated in the 1912 strike and who now teaches educators.
While there were plenty of professors at the symposium, everyone present seemed eager to apply scholarship to current struggles for workers and immigrants. That group includes the last unionized textile workers in the city, 500 UNITE HERE Local 311 members working at Polartec. "We continue to fight for bread and roses in our community," said Juan Williams, who spoke at a lunchtime plenary that also featured AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.
At an afternoon workshop other Polartec workers explained that they have better benefits than non-union workers in the city and that the union helps them solve workplace problems. "If you have no union and someone doesn't like you, there's no way to defend yourself," said a worker named Tony. Another worker, Anya, said she has developed leadership skills through her union activity. "Thanks to the union I have the opportunity to go anywhere to express myself," she said.
Formerly known as Malden Mills, the company where the Local 311 members work had a massive fire in 1995. In the aftermath, the company shrunk from 2500 workers to 1000 and got bought out by Versa, a private equity firm which tried to cut benefits. But the union is hanging on.
Labor's resurgence is an essential ingredient of halting the drift toward plutocracy and lifting up the spirit of 1912.
In the words of James Oppenheim's now famous poem,
No more the drudge and idler,
Ten that toil where one reposes,
But a sharing of life's glories:
Bread and roses, bread and roses.


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Restrictions on Homeschooling in Idaho Averted
- 2003 10 Jul
HSLDA recently informed its members of a threat to Idaho homeschoolers. The Governor's Task Force was considering a proposal for mandatory registration, testing, and oversight of homeschoolers.
The response was overwhelming. Hundreds of letters flooded the Task Force, making quite an impact. The message that homeschoolers do not need or want any more regulation was heard loud and clear.
Governor Dirk Kempthorne created his 2020 Blue Ribbon Task Force during October 2002. The 47 members of the Task Force were assigned to five committees including an Education Committee. Each committee was charged with the task of producing a "blueprint that will guide development of an efficient, effective system of government that we hope will serve Idaho for at least the next 20 years."
Each committee then generated and considered "Draft Recommendations" attempting to fulfill this goal within the area of its jurisdiction.
Recently, the Idaho Coalition of Home Educators (ICHE) received a report that a Draft Recommendation concerning home education was under consideration by the Education Committee. Ray Smelek, of the committee, responded to the ICHE's inquiries and forwarded a copy of the Draft Recommendation which he had drafted in consultation with personnel from the Idaho Department of Education.
The Education Committee considered the Draft Recommendation at its final meeting on, June 24, 2003. If adopted, it would have then been presented to the full Task Force on that same day. If approved by the Task Force, the Recommendation would have been forwarded to the Governor to begin the process of seeking its implementation.
Mr. Smelek, to his credit, after hearing arguments from Barry Peters of ICHE, promised he will personally recommend to the Education Committee "no action" on the Draft Recommendation on Homeschooling.
The Draft Recommendation provisions required:
Mandatory registration and oversight of all homeschoolers by their local school districts;
Required testing of all homeschoolers on the Idaho Standard Achievement Test (ISAT);
Forced remediation and reassessment of any homeschool student failing to score at grade level as required of public school students;
Truancy and juvenile criminal prosecution of students and parents failing to comply with these requirements.
The Education Committee of the Task Force, after an hour of debate, declined to approve the Draft Recommendation which called for registration and testing of homeschoolers. This is the good news.
However, every member of the committee still expressed concern for the "children whose parents are failing to actually teach their children at home." Although the immediate threat is over, a threat still exists.
The Executive Director of the Idaho Education Association (IEA) successfully introduced a motion asking the Governor for greater study of whether there is a need for regulation of homeschooling. The IEA's motion passed with only two dissenting votes. The committee report is expected to be sent to the Governor in seven weeks.
Barry and Res Peters of the Idaho Coalition of Home Educators were told that the Governor had been impressed with home educators and is generally supportive of homeschooling. However, had he been faced with the approval of his own appointed Task Force, it would have been almost impossible for him to ignore the recommendation for the testing and registration of homeschoolers. Barry Peters stated, "The cooperation between Idaho homeschooling groups and HSLDA, produced a surgical response to all of the right people at just the right moment."
Homeschooling works without needless government oversight. HSLDA thanks all those who wrote to the committee to support of parents' right to choose homeschooling. Homeschooling has a proven track record of academic success and has earned the right to be left alone.


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I learned quite a bit about Apple from the NYTimes article by Duhigg and Bradsher. One particularly striking passage:
In mid-2007, after a month of experimentation, Apple's engineers finally perfected a method for cutting strengthened glass so it could be used in the iPhone's screen. The first truckloads of cut glass arrived at Foxconn City in the dead of night, according to the former Apple executive. That's when managers woke thousands of workers, who crawled into their uniforms — white and black shirts for men, red for women — and quickly lined up to assemble, by hand, the phones. Within three months, Apple had sold one million iPhones. Since then, Foxconn has assembled over 200 million more.
This discussion about the flexibility of Chinese labor highlights that the lack of American competitiveness is not simply due to high wages and living standards in the U.S. It is the entire supply chain that makes production in China so appealing to firms. Americans would protest living in a dorm attached to their factory and being woken up at midnight to start a 12 hour shift. But that is exactly what makes China so enticing for businesses.
Yves Smith fills in much of what the article left out. But here I want to make a connection to economic theory. This article reminded me of my undergraduate macroeconomics course in the Spring of 2008. The economic crisis was just setting in, and one of my classmates asked the professor if the solution was simply to cut wages, so that American firms would be competitive again. The professors answered: "Yes. That's right." End of story. The same professor repeated this claim in a panel discussion on the crisis, claiming that decreasing the prices of factors of production will make U.S. firms globally competitive once again. Duhigg and Bradsher demonstrate the danger of assuming away production to a black box "production function." The production function approach ignores supply chains and institutional arrangements surrounding production, and leads certain economists to make quite silly proclamations. Cutting wages in the U.S. will not make U.S. factories more competitive; China has an entirely different supply chain that simply does not exist in the United States.
One person who does study global supply chains and institutional arrangements is economic sociologist Gary Gereffi (note: again, interesting economics happening outside of economics departments). He also directs the Center for Globalization, Governance and Competitiveness at Duke University, which has mapped Global Value Chains in North Carolina. (The website is quite fascinating to explore.) This approach to studying the global economy looks at the supply chains, and where each stage takes place and how much value is added at each step in the process. This is a type of economic analysis, very different from what academic economists do, that should prove more useful in understanding global competitiveness and production.


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Monday, September 22, 2008
Cinnamon Ice Cream (Gluten Free)
I grew up in rural southwestern Virginia. Land of apples, hunting season, and the Statler Brothers.
Yes, the Statler Brothers. What? You've never heard of them?
Well, once these men were BIG in the world of country music and they just happened to have roots in the tiny little town of Staunton, Virginia.
Every fall my dad would pack us all in the van to go on the drive to Staunton. Dad wanted to get a glimpse of the wonderous fall mountain foliage, visit a discount book store, and get dinner at the Statler Brother's Restaurant.
I don't know if the Statler's actually owned that restaurant, but I DO know that they served up some mighty tasty cinnamon ice cream.
I loved that ice cream. It tasted like a crisp fall morning and warm apple pie. It tasted like the beginning of the holiday season. It tasted like apple butter, church potlucks, picking out pumpkins and everything else I loved about that beautiful time of year. I ate that ice cream as slowly as I possibly could to make it last. And I've never forgotten it.
When we were first married Michael would look at me strangely when I sprinkled cinnamon into my vanilla ice cream.
M - "What are you doing?"
Me - "Making cinnamon ice cream."
M - "Cinnamon?? ice cream??"
Me - "Yes. It's lovely. It tastes like apple pie! Want some?"
M - "No. You're weird. But I love you anyway."
I think we had this conversation several times before Michael came to accept cinnamon ice cream as the norm in our household.
I learned an incredibly easy recipe for making ice cream at home earlier this summer. It's frugal, fun, and a great guest pleaser! This ice cream is frozen simply by pouring it into ice trays or a container like this and placing in your freezer. You don't need an ice cream maker, you just need a few simple ingredients, a crisp fall afternoon, and good memories. Enjoy!
Cinnamon Ice Cream
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
1 cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon cinnamon (or as much as you'd like!)
Plan to make this ice cream 4-5 hours before serving. Mix all ingredients together and pour into ice trays or into a large shallow container, like this deviled egg tray. Place in freezer and stir occasionally. Serve when frozen.
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12 comments:
I simply love cinnamon! I'm having cinnamon ice cream everytime I have the chance to. My boyfriend also thinks that cinnamon ice cream is weird.. ;) But they don't know what they are missing! Thanks for the recipe!ReplyDelete
I love cinnamon as well! Cinnamon reminds me of all things fall, Thankgsgiving,& Christmas. Cinnamon helps stabalize our blood sugar. I bet that's why it goes well with so many sweet things. Cinnamon is great for diabetics.ReplyDelete
I would love to try this. I can taste it already on a piece of warm apple pie! I was planning on making some applesauce cake this week...I bet this would taste great with it!
Oh, my -- sweetened condensed milk and cinnamon, I can't think of anything better!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousSeptember 22, 2008 at 7:52 PM
Although I'm a northerner, I was introduced to cinnamon ice cream on a trip to Dallas, and I fell in love with it. I too, have been known to sprinkle cinnamon on vanilla ice cream and stirring it in.ReplyDelete
Oh! That sounds wonderful! I absolutely adore cinnamon, so it in ice cream sounds perfect.ReplyDelete
My hubby thought the same thing about cinnamon ice cream until he tried it, now it's a favorite! I've been perfecting my recipe to post on my blog when I saw yours; yours is easier! But the world can't have too much ice cream... ;)ReplyDelete
Love your blog! ~Li
I do that, too! And sometimes put on a maraschino cherry or two (or five!)ReplyDelete
Before going dairy free, I'd use Breyer's Vanilla Bean ice cream, sprinkle the cinnamon, add a bit of whipped cream on top and then do the cherries ... it's one of my most missed dairy-filled pleasures.
It really is all about the simple things - yum, yum, yum!
My favorite Italian restaurant served cinnamon ice cream 20 years ago, when I was a regular customer. I loved it with chocolate cake as much as fruit cobblers. I bet I could make this with coconut milk and sugar. Hmmmm.ReplyDelete
Oooh - cinnamon ice cream? I need to try this recipe (and hide it from my kids). I LOVE cinnamon -- as a kid a "treat" would be butter and cinnamon/sugar on toast. On ice cream would be even better :)ReplyDelete
As if I didn't love you already I find one more thing that you and I have in common. Well five if you count the Statler brothers. If I ever get to Virginia I will bring you my gluten-free snickerdoodles cookies, which are to die for with cinnamon ice-cream and we will sit on the porch listen to my Statler Brothers album, which is older than my 41 years and share recipes. By the way if you want to enjoy some of the old episodes of the Statler Brothers tv show there are lots of videos of You Tube. LOL.TonyaReplyDelete
Oh My! Cinnamon is my favorite spice. I can not wait to try this. I have everything needed. Have to run, I am going to get this stirred up and in the freezer NOW!ReplyDelete
That looks delicious. I love cinnamon and the Statler Brothers. My mom and dad were huge fans and I enjoyed them also. I haven't heard their music in a long time though.ReplyDelete
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Hempfield Township woman who left U.S. arrested in Dubai
Patricia Lynn Keller charged with stealing $217,000 from Tri-County Occupational Medicine in Youngwood
A Westmoreland County woman who left the country was arrested in Dubai and brought back to face charges that she stole more than $200,000 from her former employer in Youngwood.
Patricia Lynn Keller, 64, of Hempfield Township, had been wanted ever since she missed a February 2011 court date, according to county detectives.
She appeared before District Judge James Albert and waived her preliminary hearing Thursday on charges of theft by unlawful taking, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and forgery.
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County detectives said they learned that Keller flew to Moscow before going to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, so they added a charge of flight to avoid apprehension and a charge of default in required appearance to her list of charges in July 2011.
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County detectives said Keller is suspected of stealing about $217,500 from the medical practice of Tri-County Occupational Medicine, operated by Dr. Andrew Stroh.
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"I'm really, really sorry," Keller said as she left court Thursday.


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Making Progress on Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) at COP 18by -
The international climate deal reached in Durban, South Africa last December marked an important milestone in designing a system for measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) of countries' greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions-reductions efforts. In 2014, all countries will submit verifiable biennial reports with information on their GHG emissions, actions to reduce emissions, and support received or provided to other countries for emissions reductions. The Conference of the Parties (COP) also strengthened guidelines for developed countries' (Annex I) GHG inventories, an important milestone for building trust among all countries.
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While COP 17 mandated revising guidelines by 2014 for developed countries' national communications (i.e., a document submitted in accordance with the Convention and the Protocol informing other Parties of activities undertaken to address climate change), it failed to begin a similar process for developing countries, whose guidelines are similarly outdated. The Durban text also failed to establish the accounting rules required to prevent the double counting of GHG emissions, where both buyers and sellers of carbon offsets count emissions reductions toward their mitigation targets. COP 18 must build on the momentum generated in Durban to ensure a cost-effective, credible MRV and accounting framework. In particular, Parties must:
Agree to a standardized format for Annex I parties to report their emissions, actions, and finance;
Finalize the verification process for all countries' biennial reports;
Revise the Kyoto Protocol articles on measurement, reporting, verification, accounting, and compliance in light of the newly agreed MRV guidelines. (Note: This is a complex exercise which is not covered in this blog.)
Agree to the necessary steps for development and adoption of voluntary guidelines for developing countries to perform domestic MRV on their pledged mitigation activities;
Ensure adequate support is provided for developing countries to meet their MRV requirements.
Why Are MRV and Accounting So Important?
MRV will improve policy implementation. Parties' success in achieving or surpassing their current emissions-reduction pledges and future commitments will depend on effective policy implementation. Through their first biennial reports and later biennial update reports, Parties will be able to communicate best practices, challenges, and lessons learned on policy implementation and deployment of international climate finance. The UNFCCC could facilitate information exchanges among countries. Government officials could then learn from their peers' experiences, replicate successes, and support each other (financially or otherwise) when facing challenges.
A strong accounting framework will ensure environmental integrity. As highlighted in WRI's joint submission with UN Environment Programme earlier this year on ways to increase ambition under the Durban platform, the absence of consistent, comparable, transparent, and accurate accounting rules for emissions would risk weakening the Cancun pledges and any commitments under the new international climate agreement to be adopted in 2015. It also could lead to "double-counting," where both buyers and sellers of carbon offsets count emissions reductions toward their mitigation targets, resulting in increased emissions of up to 1.3 GtCO2e in 2020.
Information ensures accountability. The UNFCCC needs more information about the diverse, pre-2020 pledges of developed and developing countries. Understanding underlying assumptions and methodologies is essential to track progress on emissions-reduction goals. Parties should ensure that developed and developing countries provide all remaining details about their pledges in a timely manner.
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Success on MRV and accounting issues in Doha could involve the following actions:
1) Ensure a Robust Verification Regime
COP 18 can ensure a cost-effective, robust verification regime by finalizing and adopting the modalities for international consultation and analysis (ICA) for developing countries, only parts of which were agreed to in Durban. There are now three options on the table for how to conduct the technical analysis and how to differentiate between the verification process for Annex I and non-Annex I Parties. To ensure sustainability of the process, we need a compromise that balances manageability, adequate financial support and technical assistance, and effective use of existing institutions.
Additionally, the expansion of reporting and verification requirements to 192 countries (instead of 40 developed countries) has significant resource implications. Already, there is a scarcity of capable experts available to review Annex I countries' biennial reports. Parties will therefore need to think creatively and pragmatically about how to scale up the human and financial resources. These issues will need to be taken into consideration when Parties revise the review guidelines of Annex I national inventories and national communications, with the goal of adopting revised guidelines by COP 19.
2) Standardize Reporting Formats
Parties in Doha are expected to adopt common reporting format tables for Annex I that enhance the transparency of reporting and accountability of developed countries' actions.
Although a similar process to adopt standardized reporting formats for developing countries was not mandated in Durban, COP 18 is expected to agree on a process to adopt voluntary domestic MRV guidelines. These will help developing countries meet their reporting requirements both domestically and internationally. A decision could call for wider collaboration for producing guidance that could enhance institutional arrangements and governance, estimate the effects of GHG mitigation actions, and reduce the risk for double counting of GHG reductions between measures taken, policies, and carbon market projects in a sector.
3) Develop Consistent Accounting Rules
The COP could consider requesting that the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA) develop consistent, complete, comparable, transparent, and accurate accounting rules applicable to pre-2020 and post-2020 commitments. Such rules will be particularly important in the design of the new market-based mechanism in order to avoid double-counting and ensure offsets' environmental integrity. The COP could also mandate that developed and developing countries provide all remaining details about their pledges in a timely manner, including through workshops, technical papers, and/or standardized formats.
COP 18 needs to finish what Parties started in Cancun and made progress on in Durban. With five parallel negotiating tracks in Doha, there is no doubt that delegations will be spread thinly. However, the fact that more than 10 MRV-related issues are up for discussion in this round of negotiations signals their importance to the international community. Transparency matters in the road for an ambitious, equitable, international climate deal. It's critical that MRV and accounting receive the attention they deserve to prevent loopholes and ensure that countries make real progress on bridging the emissions gap.