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Academic conferences tend to be fairly sedate affairs, at least to the uninitiated, and the American Anthropological Association's (AAA) annual meetings are usually no exception. But this year's, held recently in Washington, D.C., was a downright raucous gathering, certainly the liveliest and most intemperate since the divisive days of the Vietnam War, when some anthropologists were attacked for willingly or unwittingly abetting violent counter-insurgencies. There was some serious name-calling ("torture-deniers," even "war criminals") as well as threats to name names, censure or expel certain colleagues.
The reason for the furor was a small but growing number of colleagues who are collaborating with the U.S. government's war on terror. Two years ago, the CIA quietly started recruiting social scientists, advertising in academic journals and offering princely salaries of up to $400,000. But in the past few months the Pentagon has taken its work with the ivory tower to a new level. In September, Washington turned a pilot project called Human Terrain Teams into a full-fledged, $40 million program to embed four- or five-person groups of scholars including anthropologists, sociologists and social psychologists with all 26 U.S. combat brigades in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Although it's too early to fairly assess how these new field teams are faring, some preliminary reports are encouraging. From Afghanistan, the 4th brigade (82nd Airborne Division) reported a 60-70% drop in attacks and a dramatic spike in capture of Taliban and allied Pakistanis and Arabs after anthropological advisers recommended redirecting outreach from village elders to focus on the local mullahs. One mullah was reportedly so moved after being invited to bless a restored mosque on the nearby U.S. base that he quickly agreed to record an anti-Taliban radio ad. "That sounds too good to be true, and I am sure there are other sides, but the principle is certainly logical, which is whoever is in charge is the one you want to deal with," says James Peacock, an Indonesia expert at the University of North Carolina, who chaired an ad hoc AAA commission to study the profession's involvement in national security matters. (He notes it is the same lesson Holland learned in Indonesia, in 1870 from a Dutch anthropologist, Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje, who helped end a 30-year war with independent-minded Aceh province virtually overnight.)
In the wake of the colossal mishandling of the Iraq occupation, this new partnership manifests the military's renewed appreciation of the importance of culture. "The more unconventional the adversary, and the further from Western cultural norms, the more we need to understand the society and underlying cultural dynamics," argues Montgomery McFate, a Navy anthropologist, and early advocate of what she says is best described as anthropologizing the military, not militarizing anthropology.
Yet many in the profession contend that any collaboration of this nature compromises their field's integrity. Anthropology deployed under such circumstances will become "just another weapon... not a tool for building bridges between peoples," argues Roberto Gonzalez, an associate professor of anthropology at San Jose State University and leading member of the Network of Concerned Anthropologists.
Because of their field's tainted history as the "handmaiden of colonialism," modern anthropologists have always been on guard to avoid anything that smacks of exploitation or oppression of their subjects. Core professional ethics standards require voluntary, informed consent from subjects, and that anthropologists (like doctors) do no harm. But the AAA is not actually a certifying body, which means that despite fervent petitioning, it has no real power to ban members from working with the national security agencies leaving it to individuals to decide where to draw ethical lines.
Even anthropologists who are already working with the military acknowledge that this is a major challenge. "You are trying to be loyal to two communities your subjects, and to the brigade you are attached to. It puts you an impossible situation," says one of the dozens of civilian anthropologists working within the military, who requested anonymity because of his opposition.
Given such ethical dilemmas, it's no wonder that Washington is also trying to develop its own in-house expertise in the social sciences. As it now does to help recruit experts in foreign languages, the government has begun programs to attract anthropologists and other academics before they develop any of their profession's qualms. Typically, students are connected with an intelligence agency early on in their academic career, attending special summer camps and soaking up the agency's own unique culture. David Price, who teaches the history of anthropology at St. Martin's University in Lacey, Washington, notes that such cultivation can end up defeating the purpose. "The intelligence agencies are [seeking social scientists] because they want to get smarter, to think outside the box, but it is very clear to me this will just reinforce what the box is," he says. "They are trying to capture their minds before they enter the class, so that they will already be thinking in agency-like way so these programs will have the opposite effect."
In any event, it will tbe years before the government can be self-sufficient in these increasingly important fields of study. "Across all the services, if you could wave a magic wand and make all the changes that needed to happen in professional military education overnight, in 20 years they would have caught up in terms of cycles of how long it takes to build general officers," explains Kerry Fosher, an anthropologist currently teaching Marines. "Until that happens, intelligence and pre-deployment training have to spin at triple time in order to make up for the fact that the schools are not yet spitting out people who can be more intelligent consumers of cultural information."
Nor is there any guarantee that more social-science expertise in the U.S. military will mean more enlightened policy. "We had a lot to tell [the Administration about post-invasion governance] before they actually invaded but they were clearly so completely besotted by the idea that this was going to be a quick strike," says William O. Beeman, an Iran expert and chairman of the AAA's Middle East chapter. "They just blew us off, they absolutely would not talk to us, [and] it is no satisfaction to be able to say, 'we told you so, and we were right.'"


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U.S. aims to "unite the world" against Iran
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration was taking its case against Iran to the world Wednesday, trying to stir up an international response to charges that the Islamic republic plotted to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S.
"It's critically important that we unite the world in the isolation of and dealing with the Iranians," Vice President Joe Biden said on "The Early Show" Wednesday. "That's the surest way to be able to get results."
Mr. Obama's top national security aides have said the administration will lobby for the imposition of new international sanctions as well as for individual nations to expand their own penalties against Iran.
The State Department sent a cable to all American embassies and consulates around the world telling them to put the Iran case before their host governments. The officials said the cable, sent late Tuesday by Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and classified secret, tells them to detail the evidence against Iran as presented by federal prosecutors.
Clinton: Iranian plot "dangerous escalation"
Iran rejects U.S. plot claim as "childish"
Read the criminal complaint (PDF)
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the classified cable, said the document instructs diplomats to ask nations to consider appropriate steps in response to the alleged scheme. The cable does not suggest any specific measures against Iran, the officials said.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice is to individually brief members of the U.N. Security Council on the foiled plot Wednesday, the officials said.
Biden said that U.S. action against Iran could go beyond sanctions, but added that "we're not going there yet."
Biden said the Iranians "have not only decided to assassinate someone, they have taken on the basis in which ... nations deal with one another." However, he refused to speculate on whether the alleged plot was undertaken at the behest of the upper reaches of Iran's government
U.S. issues terror alert after foiled Iran plot
The Quds: Iran's shadowy terrorist trainers
In other broadcast interviews Wednesday, Biden called the purported plot "really over the top."
Other top administration officials expressed similar sentiments.
In comments Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the plot signaled a "dangerous escalation" of Iran's support for terrorism.
In an Associated Press interview Tuesday, Clinton said "this really, in the minds of many diplomats and government officials, crosses a line that Iran needs to be held to account for."
She said she and President Barack Obama want to "enlist more countries in working together against what is becoming a clearer and clearer threat" from Iran.
"The U.S. began to brief individual members of the Security Council on Tuesday about the Iranian plot, diplomats on the council said, anticipating support for a council meeting and a new round of tougher sanctions on Iran," said CBS News Foreign Affairs Analyst Pamela Falk, from the U.N.
"Although China initially opposed a new round of sanctions on Iran, they have formed a closer trade relationship with Saudi Arabia in recent years and if they are forced to chose between their dislike for sanctions and their relationship with the Saudis, their support for a resolution might be in play," Falk reports.
Britain's government said Wednesday it was consulting with the U.S. and others over new international sanctions against Iran. "We would support any measures that help hold Iran accountable for its actions," said Steve Field, spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Clinton and other U.S. officials said the alleged plot is a gross violation of international law and further proof that Iran is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, a label Washington has for decades applied to the Iranian government. The officials said it also underscores concerns that despite its denials Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian atomic energy program.
"The idea that they would attempt to go to a Mexican drug cartel to solicit murder-for-hire to kill the Saudi ambassador? Nobody could make that up, right?" Clinton said shortly after U.S. prosecutors accused two suspected Iranian agents of trying to murder Saudi envoy Adel Al-Jubeir. The purported plan was to carry out the assassination with a bomb attack while Al-Jubeir dined at his favorite restaurant.
Mr. Obama called al-Jubeir on Tuesday to declare that the foiled assassination plot was a "flagrant" violation of U.S. and international law, the White House said. The president expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia and said he was committed to ensuring the security of diplomats in the United States. White House press secretary Jay Carney disclosed broad outlines of the call in a statement.
Iran's parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, called the Justice Department's claims a "childish game."
"These are cheap claims. By giving it a wide media coverage, it was evident that they are trying to cover up their own problems," Larijani told an open session of the parliament Wednesday.
"They (Americans) suffered a political stroke and learned that they had begun a childish game," he said. "We have normal relations with the Saudis. There is no reason for Iran to carry out such childish acts."
In New York, Alireza Miryousefi, head of the press office of the Iranian mission to the United Nations, sent Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon a letter "to express our outrage" over the allegations.
"The U.S. allegation is, obviously, a politically-motivated move and a showcase of its long-standing animosity toward the Iranian nation," the letter said.
The State Department late Tuesday warned Americans around the world of the potential for terrorist attacks against U.S. interests. It said Iranian-sponsored attacks could include strikes in the United States.
In the AP interview, Clinton predicted an Iranian denial, but added: "We want to reassure our friends that the complaints against Iran are well-founded."
Saudi Arabia is the main Sunni Muslim power center in the Middle East, and the one most closely allied with the United States, Iran's declared enemy. Iran is the most powerful and influential Shiite Muslim state. The two have long vied for power and influence across the region. Saudi Arabia and other countries like Bahrain have accused Iran of trying to create dissent in their countries this year, during democracy movements across the region.
But it is not clear what motive Iran might have had for trying to kill the Saudi official. An assassination might have ignited anti-American sentiment in Saudi Arabia and beyond by highlighting the close relationship, which is one explanation for Iran's alleged involvement. Yet Iranian fingerprints on the killing surely would have meant retribution that Iran's military is ill-prepared to meet.
The U.S. criminal complaint said the Iranian plotters hired a would-be assassin in Mexico who was a paid informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and told U.S. authorities all about their plot, which they code-named "Chevrolet."
Manssor Arbabsiar, a 56-year-old U.S. citizen who also holds an Iranian passport, was charged along with Gholam Shakuri, who authorities said was a Quds Force member and is still at large in Iran. The Treasury Department listed addresses for Arbabsiar in two Texas cities -- the Austin suburb of Round Rock and the Gulf city of Corpus Christi -- and prosecutors say he frequently traveled to Mexico for business.
FBI Director Robert Mueller said many lives could have been lost. But Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said no explosives were actually placed and no one was in any danger because of the informant's cooperation with authorities.
Shortly after the announcement, the Treasury Department announced economic penalties against Arbabsiar and four Quds Force officers it says were involved. The Quds force is a feared special operations wing of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard military unit.
The Obama administration has often said that no option is off the table with Iran, a position that a U.S. official said had not changed Tuesday. But the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the policy publicly, said the emphasis now is on increasing diplomatic and economic pressure on Iran.
Clinton said the U.S. was still willing to talk to Iran about addressing concerns over its nuclear program, but made clear Tehran would have to prove it was interested in such a discussion.
The alleged target was Al-Jubeir, a commoner educated at the University of North Texas and Georgetown University who was foreign affairs adviser to Saudi King Abdullah when he was crown prince. A month after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, in which 15 of the 19 Arab hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, Abdullah sent al-Jubeir to the United States to rebuild Saudi Arabia's image here. He was appointed ambassador in 2007.
The Saudi Embassy said in a statement that it appreciated the U.S. efforts to prevent the crime. "The attempted plot is a despicable violation of international norms, standards and conventions and is not in accord with the principles of humanity," the statement read.
The complaint alleges this past spring that Arbabsiar approached the DEA informant, who he believed was associated with a well-known Mexican drug cartel with access to military-grade weapons and explosives and has a history of assassinations. Justice Department officials say Arbabsiar initially asked the informant about his knowledge of plastic explosives for a plot to blow up a Saudi embassy.
But through subsequent meetings in Mexico over the past six months in which they spoke English, secretly recorded for U.S. authorities, Arbabsiar offered $1.5 million for the death of the ambassador. He eventually wired nearly $100,000 to an account number that the informant provided, authorities said.
Arbabsiar was arrested Sept. 29 at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and was ordered held without bail during his brief first court appearance Thursday afternoon. Prosecutors said he faces up to life in prison if convicted.
The complaint said that after his arrest, Arbabsiar made several calls to Shakuri in which they discussed the purchase of their "Chevrolet," and Shakuri urged Arbabsiar to "just do it quickly."
No one answered the door Tuesday at Arbabsiar's two-story home, decorated for Halloween, at the end of a cul-de-sac in the Austin suburb of Round Rock. A neighbor said he frequently saw Arbabsiar walking around smoking cigarettes and talking on a cellphone in a language the neighbor did not understand. Public records show Arbabsiar has been married at least twice and has a history of arrests in Texas for offenses that include evading arrest and theft.
David Tomscha told The Associated Press in an interview that he and Arbabsiar once owned a used car lot together in Corpus Christi, Texas. Tomscha said Arbabsiar was likable, but a bit lazy, and "sort of a hustler."
Biden also appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America," and NBC's "Today" show.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Add subtle sparkle to your project with white and silver craft glitter flecks in this glossy lacquer. Small, thin tip makes it easy to outline stamped images or add detail. May cause smearing when applied directly to ink. Shimmery flecks display better on darker colored paper. * 0.5 fl. oz. (15 ml)


text:
|"Are you a wizard or not?"
The title of this article is conjectural. Although it is based on canonical information, the actual name is a conjecture and may be supplanted at any time by additional information released from canonical sources. If this occurs, please move this page to the appropriate title.
- "Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved in a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers ("policemen") over a number of highly aggressive dustbins. Mr Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of "Mad-Eye" Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder."
- —Rita Skeeter, reporting in the Daily Prophet[src]
In 1994, Alastor Moody owned a number of dustbins which he kept outside of his residence, ostensibly as a deterrent against intruders. On either 31 August or 1 September, 1994, an alleged disturbance by one of his neighbours caused the supposedly enchanted dustbins to be set off and fire rubbish everywhere. When the police arrived to investigate, one of the dustbins was still going off. Arthur Weasley was sent to investigate.[1] This incident was later reported by Rita Skeeter in an article in the Daily Prophet.[2]
Bartemius Crouch Junior later revealed that he had in fact set off the dustbins himself. This served as cover, allowing the disturbance that the neighbours heard to be passed as off as alleged intruders.[3]
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First mentioned)
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 12 (The Triwizard Tournament)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 14 (The Unforgivable Curses)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 35 (Veritaserum)


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Joy Franco
Dean's Scholar
Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering
Why did you choose your major?
From my earliest days, I loved the feeling of creating beautiful things. It began with crayon drawings on walls and sheets, progressed through painting and pastel drawings, and resulted in me starting community college as a studio art major. When I took my very first physical science course, Introduction to Astronomy, it was the first time I learned of the four fundamental forces of nature. It occurred to me that if I studied physical sciences I could create things on an even greater scale. I learned about mechanical engineering from a friend and it was a natural choice. I love being able to build things that function reliably in real life. Mechanical engineering affords me that experience. Through my major I have learned computer programming, how to build electrical circuits, how to analyze the forces acting on a component, and how to create a theoretical model to predict movement. My major gives me hands on experience building projects with team members. Despite the myth, engineers do not work alone. There is a great deal of satisfaction in working with a team to achieve a goal, and successfully reaching that objective together.
What does receiving this particular award mean to you?
This award represents the recognition of my mechanical engineering professors who I greatly admire. Dr. Burford Furman, who nominated me for the award, is a tremendous role model and accomplished engineer, and it is a terrific honor for me to receive his acknowledgement. The award represents both a recognition but also a vote of confidence in my ability to represent engineering and SJSU. Thus, the award provides an additional impetus for me to continue working to the greatest of my ability and holding myself to the highest standard of excellence.
Who has been instrumental in your life and/or who has contributed to your academic success?
My father set the best example for me to be an honest person and to live by a moral code. He showed me how to confront the consequences of my actions, no matter how grave. I would not be here without the encouragement and support of my professors. So many of them saw a flicker of potential within me, and they selflessly fanned that wisp of smoke into a flame. Finally, my loving friends have been instrumental in my academic success. They were so excited for me when I reentered school, and they always believed in my ability to make the dream a reality. I am very lucky to have their support.
Did you overcome any hardships or adversities during your life, that has helped shape who you are today? And if so, could you please briefly elaborate?
Until the age of eleven, I lived in poverty with my mother and often her husband (my stepfather). He was a violent man and the voracious cycle of domestic violence swept through our family from husband to wife, mother to child, and sibling to sibling. Our family was torn apart by generations of abuse, crime, and poverty. At age eleven, I went to live with my father and began healing the wounds of my childhood, but those wounds got much worse before they truly healed. I struggled to find my identity between my mother's Mexican-American heritage and my father's European-American. I felt no familial or cultural allegiance. My mother's family taunted me with words like "guera" (dysphemism for "white-girl"), but I carried my poor, Mexican-American upbringing in my heart and felt like an imposter around my father's family. I belonged nowhere. I always felt like the smelly child with holes in her shoes, clothing from donation's bags, and food from Second Harvest. On the outside, people judged me as a typical, middle class white girl. Inside, I could not shake the memories of homeless shelters, police responders to domestic violence calls, and the generically wrapped gifts from strangers at Christmas time.
It took me a very long time to heal those wounds, and to reclaim my life. Regardless of the pain they brought me, those wounds shaped me into a strong, self-sufficient woman. Today, I appreciate every blessing in my life, no matter how small, because I remember the times when I had nothing. There were times when my soul was so broken and I felt so alone in this world that I felt like giving up on life. I was so tired from always having to fight, that I just wanted to lay down and rest. Whenever this happened, I searched for beauty in the world. I searched for a reason to keep living and I found it in the clouds, the ocean, a bumblebee, and in the stars. I thought about these things that continue existing no matter how adverse the environment. I refused to give up. I refused to continue being a victim of my upbringing. Life shaped me into a fighter—teaching me to never give, never give in, and to never surrender. As Mark Twain wrote, "It's not about the size of the dog in the fight, it's about the size of the fight in the dog."
What would you say to other students to encourage or inspire them to attain academic excellence?
Attaining excellence in any endeavor in life is about motivation, determination, and believing in yourself. You have to connect with your own motivation for being in school, finding the answer to "why am I here?" That motivation must then grow into determination. You have to be determined to do the work, come hell or high water. Finally, you have to believe in yourself. You have to shut out the noise that says, "You can't do it. You are too stupid. You are not smart enough. It does not really matter. What's the point?" It does matter, and you can do it. Do not let the peanut gallery dictate your path in life.
Where would you like to be in 5-10 years?
I am applying to graduate schools this fall, and hope to finish my PhD in mechanical engineering within the next six years. This will allow me to become a professor, researcher at a university, and mentor to college students. My research interests are in characterizing the role of mechanical properties in neurological disease states. I hope to use this interest to contribute to the field of biorobotics, which gives mobility and autonomy back to physically disabled persons. Outside of my research and technical interests, community service is a part of my civic duty. I want to go back to my community and help those children find their way, and not fall victim to the same cycle that nearly destroyed my life. I would also like to make significant contributions towards increasing literacy and teaching practical math skills to women in developing nations.
A few words from her nominating professor:
"Joy Franco is a 'standout' among the Mechanical Engineers. She is PhD bound, very sharp, has overcome a challenging past, and is a leader in the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) organization. I have had her in one of my classes and have worked with her on defining an ambitious directed study opportunity with a professor in the Biology department."
- Professor Buff Furman


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From the earliest days of the Christian Church the deacon has been intimately associated with the ministry of the Bishop and Priests. In the primitive Church of the Apostolic and Post Apostolic age, as witnessed to in the Christian Scriptures, the deacon was described as a minister in the liturgicalassembly and preacher of the word. The deacon prepared catechumens for entrance into the Church and was a dispenser of aid and food to the poor and distressed. The very term "Diakonia"announces the central characteristic of this Order, the deacon is called to service. The witness of Saint Irenaeus already understood the apostolic appointment of the "seven" men in Acts 6: 1-6 to take care of the Greek speaking widows and orphans as the institution of the diaconate. Saint Paul refers to deacons in his exhortation in Philippians (1:1) and Saint Timothy lists the qualities and virtues which all deacons are expected to possess and exercise in their ministry (Tim 3:8-13).
The witness of the Fathers of the Church certainly acknowledges the importance of the diaconal ministry in the early Church. Saint Ignatius of Antioch says that it would be impossible to have the Church without bishops, priests and deacons. He speaks of the deacon sharing in the ministry of Christ. The deacon is a minister of the Church of God. In the Patristic Age the deacon continued to assist the bishop in the administration of the community, performing the sacred rites, and providing charity.
After the fifth century there was a steady decline in the permanent diaconate in the Latin Church. From the early Middle Ages the diaconate remained only as a traditional order that men received as part of their preparation for ordination to the sacred priesthood. There were occasional exceptions to this rule hover, Saint Francis of Assisi, for example, was ordained a deacon but not a priest. In the sixteenth century the Council of Trent directed that the permanent diaconate should be restored to the Latin Church but this directive was not carried into effect. The reality was that the permanent character of this Order was abandoned by the Latin Church for many centuries.
The permanent character of the Order, however, was restored and renewed when the Second Vatican Council (October 30, 1963) called for the reestablishment of the ministry of the Permanent Deacon for the Universal Church. On 18 June 1967, Pope Paul VI carried out the desire of the Council when he published the Apostolic Letter Sacrum diaconatuus ordinem in which he reestablished the permanent diaconate in the Latin Church. The Council, in its Dogmatic Constitution of the Church (Lumen Gentium 29), echoes the ancient image and concerns of the New Testament when it speaks of the ministry and nature of the diaconate:
"At the lower end of the hierarchy are deacons, upon whom hands are imposed 'not unto the priesthood, but unto a ministry of service.' For strengthened by sacramental grace, in communion with the bishop and his group of priests, they serve the People of God in the ministry of the liturgy, of the Word, and of charity. It is the duty of the deacon, to the extent that he has been authorized by competent authority, to administer baptism solemnly, to be custodian and dispenser of the Eucharist, to assist at and bless marriages in the name of the Church, to bring viaticum to the dying, to read the Sacred Scriptures to the faithful, to instruct and exhort the people, to preside at the worship and prayer of the faithful, to administer sacramentals, and to officiate at funeral and burial services. Dedicated to duties of charity and of administration, let deacons be mindful of the admonition of Blessed Polycarp: 'Be merciful, diligent, walking according to the truth of the Lord, who became the servant of all'(Lumen Gentium #29)."


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Welcome to my first post as a full time blogger for State of Search. In this post, I am going to recap on some of the features within Google AdWords that have been launched over the past year which we should all be considering when managing campaigns in 2012.
With Paid Search (PPC) costs continuing to rise, it has become more important than ever to pay attention to how you are managing PPC campaigns. Google AdWords in particular has seen Cost per Click costs increasing significantly over the past year and this is set to continue as more advertisers start joining the PPC marketing game.
In addition to rising costs, PPC platforms are continuously adding new features and tools, which we all need to be aware of to ensure campaigns are running efficiently and are not wasting money.
Automated Rules
Although this was launched in late 2010, I wanted to include this feature within this post as this is definitely one of the tools that everyone should be aware of and using.
Automated Rules was a long awaited feature in AdWords that many advertisers have been crying out for and moving forward, I can see this taking the place of some of the bid management tools that are available. Bid management tools won't become redundant as they have a lot more uses than just automating rules, but for smaller PPC campaigns, the AdWords Automated Rules feature can really help to optimise campaigns faster.
The rules allow you to schedule automatic changes to different sections of your campaign based on the criteria that you set. Some basic examples of how the rules can be used are:
* Adjust CPC bids based on position
* Pause keywords/ad groups that have not converted and have spent over a certain amount
* Increase CPC bids for keywords with a high conversion rate
* Enable ads that include a promotional offer late on a Saturday night when the offer goes lives
Tip for 2012 – Login to your AdWords campaign and have a play around with the feature, setting up some basic rules until you find your feet before moving onto more advanced rules. You must remember that having rules setup should not detract from your manual optimisation and checks, they should just be used to help you speed up and keep on top of the management.
Launch Date – 7th December 2010
Conversion Optimizer and Enhanced CPC Migration
Google announced that anyone using the Conversion Optimiser or Enhanced CPC and have selected Optimise for Clicks within their campaigns will automatically be migrated across to Optimise for Conversions ad rotation and Optimise for Clicks ad rotation in February 2012. They claim that studies have shown that migrating campaigns from Optimise for Clicks to Optimise for Conversions generates an average increase of 5% in conversions.
Tip for 2012 – If you have any campaigns that you do not want switched over to Optimise for Conversions, you need to complete this Opt-Out form before the close of play on 31st January.
Launch Date – February 2012
Top of Page Bid Estimates
At the beginning of September 2011, AdWords launched Top of Page Bid Estimates which approximates the Cost per Click (CPC) bid needed for your ads to appear regularly in the top positions above the search results.
Ads that appear at the top of the results typically get more traffic but this isn't a target that you should necessarily be going after. Different markets and companies will have different goals and driving more traffic won't always mean you get more conversions; so think about what it is you are trying to achieve before increasing bids for ads to appear at the top of the page.
Tip for 2012 – Monitor the Top of Page Bid Estimates for your keywords and adjust CPC bids accordingly.
Launch Date – 1st September 2011
Product Listing Ads in the UK, Germany & France
Product Listing ads were tested in the US for the majority of 2011 and at the beginning of November they were rolled out to the UK, Germany and France. These ads can drive a significant increase in CTR and Conversion Rate as advertisers are able to showcase their entire product inventory to relevant searches.
Research and analysis has shown that searchers are twice as likely to click on a Product Listing ad when compared to a standard text ad in the same location.
Product Listing ads make it very easy for you to show relevant products that you have listed in your Google Merchant Center to customers that are searching online for the product. You don't require any keywords or ad text for these ads to run as they are automatically triggered when someone's search matches an item in your account.
Tip for 2012 – If you have products listed in a Google Merchant Center, set up the link between AdWords to get started. Product Listing Ads are different to Product Extensions so make sure you are clear of the difference:
1) Product Extensions – Require ad text and keywords
2) Product Listings – Do not require ad text or keywords
Product Listings
Launch Date – 1st November
Paused Ads Review
At the start of September last year, AdWords announced a change that could significantly affect the vast majority advertisers, the reviewing of paused ads.
This means that from 6th September last year, all ads are reviewed by their Quality Control Team even if they are paused; any ads that do not meet their approval are subsequently marked as disapproved. Emails are then sent to the account owner and if the ads are not updated or deleted, it can seriously impact the account.
We have had a number of new clients come to us since September that have had their account shut down because they have not paid attention to the disapproved email notifications. Although it can be possible to get your account back on some occasions, Google are really clamping down on the amount of time they have to spend providing administration for accounts and if you lose the account it is very hard to get it back.
Top tip for 2012 – Ensure all paused ads are checked and if you no longer need them, delete them!
Launch Date – 6th September 2011
Bid per Call in the UK and US
In addition to bidding for clicks, AdWords have now made it possible to bid for phone calls when ads are shown in the Google search results on computers and tablets.
If phone calls are a valued lead source for your business, this could really work for you. Some companies are willing to pay more for phone calls and with this feature they could set their phone call bid price at £5 and click bid at £1.
Using both features can help to boost your Ad Rank as your phone call bid and phone call Quality Score can directly factor into this. Higher ranked ads are shown more frequently and can therefore drive more phone calls and clicks to a business.
Tip for 2012 – If your business values phone call leads, opt in for this and give it a go and monitor the call volume you receive as a result. This is a new feature in AdWords so you do need to keep an eye on performance and stop using if it isn't suitable for your business. It is only available in the UK and US at present and you will need to use the Google phone call forwarding option to allow you to track performance within your AdWords Account.
Launch Date – 25th October 2011
Top vs. Side Ad Performance Segmentation
As most of you will know, there is a huge difference in performance of ads that appear above the search results to those that appear down the right hand side. The top positions will drive more traffic to a site, but this doesn't necessarily drive more conversions.
In July last year, AdWords launched the Top vs. Side Ad Performance Segmentation which allows you to measure results based on the placement position of the ad. I have worked on many AdWords campaigns and have seen varying results so I really do think it depends on the nature of your business and your own goals as to where best to place your ad.
Tip for 2012 – Get into the habit of using this segmentation when you are optimising an AdWords campaign and if you see your ads driving good results and margins from the right hand side positions, you can bid down to save costs and increase revenue. Likewise, if it is traffic that you are after, you want to be in the top positions so you can bid higher if your ads are falling down to the right hand side.
Launch Date – 13th July 2011
Longer Headlines
We all know how much Google love testing and the launch of longer ad headlines came from an experiment whereby they were continually testing variations of the search results to optimise performance for advertisers and searchers.
In ads that appear to have a distinct sentence which ends with the correct punctuation, the description in line one is moved to the headline and is separated with a hyphen symbol. This is only available for some of the top placement ads and does not currently impact the results on the right hand side.
Their testing found that ads with a longer headline generated a higher Click through Rate (CTR) when compared with other ads in the same position.
Some examples:
There is not a settings option that allows you to opt in for this but you can increase your chances of Google showing your ads with a longer headline by ensuring that each line of ad text is a distinct sentence and ends with the correct punctuation.
Tip for 2012 – There isn't currently anyway of knowing which ads were shown with a longer headline, which makes it impossible to analyse performance statistics. I am sure AdWords will integrate some form of reporting at some stage but for the time being, we can write ads with sentences vs. non sentences and measure the results in this way.
Launch Date – 3rd February 2011
Connecting Google +
The launch of Google+ Pages gave businesses another way to get closer to customers online. On 9th November last year, they announced that you can link your Google+ Page to your AdWords campaigns, which means that all +1s from your Page, website, ads and search results get added together and shown as a single total.
Google did a study which showed that 71% of shoppers say that recommendations from family or friends do impact their purchasing decisions. Having your total +1 score shown within your ads may potentially result in a higher Click through Rate (CTR) and extra conversions.
You can link your AdWords campaigns with your Google+ Page using the Social Extension within the Ad Extensions section of AdWords.
Once it has been linked and running for a short time, you can also segment your reporting in AdWords to show social interaction performance metrics in three categories:
1) Impressions with personal annotations – (impressions where the viewer had a friend or contact who +1'd your brand)
2) Impressions with basic annotations – (impressions that included an anonymous count of people who +1'd your brand)
3) Impressions without any social annotations
Tip for 2012 – Firstly I would recommend setting up a Google+ Page for your business if you haven't already done so and secondly, link it with AdWords and monitor the results. If social continues to grow as it has been and Google continues to push Google+, then I can see this having a positive impact on AdWords campaign performance.
Launch Date – 9th November 2011


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After arriving safely in Skövde for The 5th International Conference on Open Source Systems (more on that later), I finally had some time to reflect on the Swedish Mozilla Meetup event in Stockholm last Tuesday, which was a fantastic opportunity to meet with enthusiastic Swedish Mozilla community members and others that were still just curious about our project and what we do to help promote the open web.
There were four presentations during the event, where I was one of the presenters. I talked about community-powered support and SUMO, including the unique challenges Mozilla has with user support of a very popular open source product, and the importance of localization.
The artist currently known as Tomcat gave a presentation about Mozilla QA and the many opportunities that exist for people to participate. One of our Swedish community members — incidentally also a Bruce Willis clone — Robert Nyman walked us through the process of creating an extension for Firefox that replaced all headings on web pages with the titles of the popular Die Hard movies. Finally, Mozilla's European community marketing star William increased everyone's excitement of the imminent launch of Firefox 3.5 by demonstrating various ways we can all help with community marketing to further promote Firefox, open standards, Mozilla, and our mission. Interestingly, some people in the audience didn't even know that Mozilla had a marketing team in the first place!
The slides of all presentations can be found on the meetup wiki page. I rarely put a lot of text on my slides anymore and instead use images and illustrations as a compliment to the actual "verbal delivery" of the presentation, so my deck may or may not be very useful in itself.
A big, big thanks goes to our favorite Liverpool native and Eskilstuna resident Patrick Finch for organizing this first Mozilla Sweden meetup event. Although I offered to work with him on it from the very beginning, being the hard-working, independent, and professional person that he is, he just took the project and ran with it — and as usual, it turned out incredibly well.
Photos from the event can be found on Flickr under the stomozcom tag.


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A simple, yet profound idea
Our goal is to record the stories of American immigrants - whether they're naturalized citizens, permanent residents, refugees and asylees, or persons on temporary visas - and share them with as large of an audience as we can reach.
Who we are
Green Card Youth Voices UPDATE!
We are excited to announce that "Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from a Minneapolis High School" has been awarded the GOLD MEDAL AWARD for Best Multicultural Non Fiction Chapter Book in the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards. The Moonbeam Awards were founded as a way to open up book awards in children's publishing to all types of publishers and genres and to bring attention to the under-sung children's books and their creators. Each category has gold, silver, and bronze level awards.
In September of 2015, Green Card Voices recorded 30 stories of immigrants from Wellstone International High School. These courageous youth coming from 13 countries sat with GCV team in the studio for several days and shared stories of family, school, change,
and dreams. After recording their stories, it became obvious to all that these powerful narratives needed to be shared with a wider audience. With the Wellstone teachers, Green Card Voices decided to create a book as a vehicle to generate awareness and take the stories outside the all immigrant classroom. The book was published in May, 2016.
Green Card Voices
Launched in 2013, Green Card Voices' mission is to share various stories of our nation's 40 million immigrants and put a human face to the current immigration debate. Simply, we hope to introduce immigrants to their neighbors.
Our organization focuses not only on capturing individual stories, but also on demonstrating the incredible breadth of the immigrant population. We want to show that immigrants work on our farms, serve our food, teach our children, create our technologies, and start our Fortune 500 companies.
We're traveling the country and listening to those with the courage to share their journey, documenting each story in an authentic and unbiased way. The chronicles of those whose stories we capture are both awe-inspiring and thought provoking, portraying the diversity of the immigrant experience in the United States.
Immigrants have played a vital role at each turn in our nation's history, and they continue to do so today. By sharing these stories, we can instill a sense of pride in our nation's immigrant population and thank them for all of their contributions.
Here is what some people have to say about us:
Students identified strongly with the photos [and] I found it powerful.
— Katie Murphy-Olsen, Wellstone International High School
People are touched by the creativity and art of the exhibit.
— Dylan Fresco, Actor, Writer, Musician, Educator
[The Green Card Voices exhibit] gave [our immigrant students] hope. They saw the variety available for them to do with their lives.
— Tara Kennedy, Wellstone International High School
Green Card Voices gave the feeling of a mirror for immigrant families […]and provided a window for white students into other's worlds.
— Kathryn Mackin, Mahtomedi High School
Gorgeous photos [in the exhibit]. They lend themselves to be engaging.
— Kathy Seipp, Robbinsdale Middle School
What a great service – thank you, thank you, thank you!
— Mark Ritchie, Minnesota Secretary of State
Thank you so much for connecting Minneapolis Central Library with an offer of a Green Card Voices display. The library is proud to celebrate the diversity of new Americans and pleased to recognize the contributions of immigrants to so many facets of American life. I know that many of our patrons paused at the display to read the inspirational stories and reflect on their own family history as immigrants to this country.
— Marcelyn Sletten, Senior Librarian, Hennepin County Minneapolis Central Library
This is a very good project. You have succeeded in moving the discussion to a very human level, which is where it should be. People and their pictures tell their stories, not some hothead on TV or radio. Well done.
— Anonymous, Hosmer library visitor
I just wanted to express my gratitude for giving me the opportunity to interview with you and share my story. I really enjoyed meeting you and the rest of the group. You made me feel very welcomed. I really appreciate the work that you all are doing and I am very happy that I could help.
— Irma Marquez Trapero, Paralegal, immigrant from Mexico
I am so proud of our libraries and for Hosmer community's initiative in particular. As a kid of a Duluth librarian this has always been in my blood, but I truly am proud to see collective work, including this fantastic photo exhibit. Thank you!
— Monica Travis, Hosmer library visitor
Love this project! Beautifully constructed and such a powerful evidence of the fact that every person has a story. Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to share this site with students in Idaho!
— Teresa Clark, Storyteller, Author, Historian
The photo exhibit and stories of immigrants are great – it is very educational to address that immigrants are not only from Mexico.
— John Xavier, Hosmer library visitor


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Crystal Dice
Invented by Michael Bowling of Tuscon, Arizona, and covered by U.S. patents, these crystal dice are unlike any dice you have ever seen before. Instead of the usual polyhedral dice which are in the shape of platonic solids, these are elongated and are shaped just like a magic crystal you might find on a pendant.
Crystal Shaped D100 10 Sided Dice (Red, Discontinued by Manufacturer)
Regular price
Sale price


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When I found out my dear friends Nicole and Marty were getting married I knew I had to make them a wedding quilt. Their wedding colors were festive and bright: yellows, reds and pinks so I knew what colors I would use, but I didn't know what the design would be. One day I was walking around my parent's Berkeley, California neighborhood and I saw the most beautiful quilt hanging on a wall through someone's window (I was admiring their garden, I swear I wasn't just walking around peeping in windows!) and was inspired to make this quilt.
To make a 75-inch by 84-inch quilt:
- Twenty to Thirty 1/4 yards of quilt weight fabric in a spectrum ranging from bright pink to pale yellow
- 3 yards of Kona Cotton in Snow (This fabric is no longer available. Check out our Spectrum Cotton fabric here!)
Prepare Fabrics
- Wash, dry and press all fabrics.
- Divide the 1/4 yards equally into four sections, so that the colors gradually lead into one another along a spectrum as in the picture above (the pinks gradually transition into the oranges etc):
- Group A: Bright Pink to Orange
- Group B: Orange to Bright Yellow
- Group C: Bright Yellow to Medium Yellow
- Group D: Medium Yellow to Pale Yellow
Cut Fabrics
Cut the colorful 1/4 yards and Kona Cotton as explained below. Keep the prints in spectrum order as pictured above:
- Group A: Cut 25 pieces 12.5-inches X 3.5 inches long. (Note: As you can see above I didn't use an equal amount of each fabric. The ones I really liked I used more of. There are no rules as long as you have 25 pieces).
- Group B: Cut 25 pieces 12.5-inches X 3.5- inches
- Group C: Cut 25 pieces 12.5-inches X 3.5- inches
- Group D: Cut 22 pieces 12.5-inches X 3.5- inches
- Kona Cotton: Cut 96 pieces 12.5-inches X 3.5-inches
The cutting is the most tedious part of this project, I promise! I recommend cutting the colorful prints one day and then the Kona Cotton on another day in order to keep your sanity!
Prepare For Piecing
Make sure that your cut fabric groups (A, B, C, and D) are organized so that it is clear to you which group is which. It is also important that the colors of each group are all going the same way:
- Group A should be arranged so the bright pink pieces at the top of the stack and the orange pieces are on the bottom.
- Group B should have orange on the top and bright yellow on the bottom.
- Group C should have bright yellow at the top and medium yellow at the bottom
- Group D should have medium yellow on top moving to pale yellow at the bottom.
Piece Vertical Strips
Follow the piecing guide below to piece the 25 vertical strips. I pieced my quilt by pinning and sewing one vertical strip at a time so that I wouldn't get confused about the color order while sewing, but you can organize your piecing however you feel comfortable. Always take the top piece from the specified color group as you work your way down the vertical strip.
All seams should be sewn with a 1/4-inch seam allowance.
Download and print this piecing diagram so that you can check off each strip after it's been pieced. Keep the strips in order once you piece them. If you want to be extra organized you could write the strip's number on it's edge with an erasable fabric marker.
A = a piece from Group A
B = a piece from Group B
C = a piece from Group C
D = a piece from Group D
White = Kona Cotton
Cut Vertical Strips
Cut the tops and bottoms of the vertical strips as shown in the diagram above. (For example: strip 2 cut 9-inches from the top and 3-inches from the bottom). Please note that some of the strips are not cut. Download and print the cutting diagram so that you can read the measurements more clearly. Remember to keep the strips oriented so that Group A is at the top and Group D is at the bottom.
After you are done cutting the strips they will all be the same size and you'll be ready to sew the top together!
Sew Top
If you'd like to download and print this diagram, you can do so here.
When piecing long strips like these with a lot of horizontal seams you may find that some of your strips are a bit longer than others. This is a common situation and nothing to worry about, you can compensate for any difference by pinning. Begin by carefully aligning the corners and edges of your strips. Place pins at each corner and then another in the center, then place a pin between each pin. Continue adding pins between pins until your pins are about 2-inches apart.
Sew all seams with a 1/4-inch seam allowance.
Sew strips 1-8:
- Sew strip 1 to the left hand edge of strip 2, keeping both strips are oriented with Group A fabric at the top and Group D fabric at the bottom.
- Sew 1-2 to 3
- Sew 1-2-3 to 4
- Sew 1-2-3-4 to 5
- Continue in this manner through strip 8, set aside.
Sew strips 9- 17 as above, set aside.
Sew strips 18-25 as above, set aside.
Sew the first panel (strips 1-8) to the second panel (strips 9-17). Double check that you're sewing strip 8 to strip 9 and going in the correct order. Then sew the last panel (strips 18-25) to the rest of the quilt being sure to sew strip 17 to strip 18. Now you're top is together and you can see the cool zig zag design!
Quilting and Binding
Knowing myself and knowing that I only had a year to get this present to Nicole and Marty, I decided to leave the quilting to the experts! I sent my finished and pressed quilt top, along with a backing fabric and a binding fabric, to a long-arm quilter. They did the quilting by "stitching in the ditch" along the long edges of the strips, using an off-white thread. The quilter I used is no longer in business (sad!), but an internet search will definitely turn up some options for you! Or if you'd like to take another route and do the quilting and binding yourself, please check out our quilting tutorials here and our binding tutorials here!


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Tabby Cat - Legend
April 20, 2015
Legend tells us that as the baby Jesus shivered in the manger on the night He was born, a tiny kitten jumped into the humble crib to warm Him with its fur. Mary touched the little tabby cat to thank it for its gifts of love and warmth, bestowing her initial "M" on its forehead. Since that day, tabby cats have been known for the characteristic "M" on their foreheads, a symbol of gratitude for love so gently given.


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1 Like
Qiao Jia Da Yuan Jia Qi County in Shanxi Province, warburg, 54 kilometers south of Taiyuan, south east view of the town is only 2 km. It is also known in the central hall, the Qing Dynasty famous commercial and financial capitalists Joe Yong mansion. Was built in the Qing Dynasty Qianlong, there were twice after upgrading, first expansion, the continuous efforts of several generations, in a magnificent building built in the early Republican groups, and embodies our unique style of the Qing Dynasty in northern residential .
Shanxi located at Mt. Taihang west, east of Yellow River. Name of the Shanxi, because of occupies Mt. Taihang west to acquire fame. Was called since old times ?Biaolishanhe?. Spring and Autumn Period time, most districts for Jin all, therefore abbreviation ?Jin?; The Warring States initial period, Han, Zhao, Wei three divide the Jin, because and calls ?the Three-Jin?. The entire province total area 156,000 square kilometers, the total population nearly 34,000,000 people, presently govern Taiyuan, Datong, Shuozhou, Yangquan, Changzhi, Xinzhou, Luliang, Jinzhong, Linfen, Yuncheng, Jincheng and so on 11 locally administered levels, altogether 85 counties, 11 county-level cities, 23 municipal districts. Provincial capital Taiyuan, provincial government in the Taiyuan Municipal government east street. Rich tourism resources in Shanxi Province, historical monuments, scenic spots more. There are more famous Yungang Grottoes, Mount Temple group Jinci, Yingxian Wooden Tower, Yongle Palace,Xuankong Temple , Hukou Waterfall, Temple state solution, such as Hongtong large tree.


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Chinese Bloggers Mourn Big Yellow Duck Demise
More In Hong Kong
- Disconnect: Traders Wait, and Wait, for Shenzhen Trading Link
- Quiet Racing in Noisy City: Formula E Comes to Hong Kong
- Despite Recent Tensions, Chinese Olympians Welcomed in Hong Kong
- Hong Kong's New Brew Scene: A Barrel of Challenges
- Luxury's Pain as Others Gain in Hong Kong and China
- Why This Summer Hasn't Been the Splashiest for Hong Kong's Swimmers
On Wednesday morning, one passionate question united China's microbloggers: What happened to the big yellow duck?
This month, a 54-foot yellow inflated duck sailed into Victoria Harbor, triggering a jubilant response from tourists and locals and wall-to-wall media coverage, as well as a tidal wave of waterfowl-inspired products. On Wednesday, though, pictures showing the giant duck had evidently melted into a yellow puddle prompted an anguished outcry across social media around the world. "#DEVASTATED," ran one hashtag on Twitter. "Is @#%! nothing sacred," another user mourned.
Microbloggers in mainland China, though, seemed particularly affected. By Wednesday noon, the hashtag "Big Yellow Duck" had shot up to the No. 1 position as the most blogged-about topic on Sina Weibo. (The hashtag "Little Yellow Duck," another term of endearment for the oversize toy, meanwhile occupied the No. 3 position.)
"Who shot and killed the duck and turned it into duck soup?" wrote one distressed microblogger.
Some mourned the fact that they hadn't managed to take a photo with the duck before its untimely deflation. "Don't die! I still haven't had the chance to make a pilgrimage and come worship you, big yellow duck," wrote another user, adding multiple weeping-face emoticons to evoke her distress. (Others used emoticons of lit candles to display similar feelings.)
Others quickly turned to speculation about what had gone wrong, with many joking that avian flu had felled the bird. "The duck got bird flu and didn't eat ban lan gen," wrote one, citing a traditional Chinese medicine for colds and flu.
Some fingered too much love from the crowds as the culprit. "The duck got played with so much it broke," wrote one. Hundreds of thousands of fans have already visited the bird, according to the organizer behind the duck's installation, Harbour City shopping mall.
On Wednesday, Harbour City tried to assuage people's grief. "We are just doing normal checking," said Sandy Lee of Harbour City. "Because it's Victoria Harbor, the waves are strong," which had likely caused any leaking, she said. No vandalism was involved, the mall said.
Ms. Lee said the duck will be fixed as soon as possible.
Prior to its incapacitation, the duck had already prompted numerous web tributes—including its own Cantopop homage—while simultaneously attracting visitors from Singapore to Shanghai.
So far, the duck has been on display for more than 10 days, prompting some to joke it had died from working overtime, with a number of users reposting a photo of the crumpled duck with a speech bubble reading, "The facts prove that continuously working overtime is not good for you!"
Created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, the duck, which has already visited nine countries around the world, is slated to remain in Hong Kong until June 9.
-- Te-Ping Chen. Follow her on Twitter @tepingchen.
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In September of 2005—relying upon the AALS Directory of Law Teachers-- I sent letters to approximately 426 American law professors listed as having taught the subject of legal history. I asked each professor, rather naïvely, but straightforwardly: "Given your background as a teacher and scholar of legal history .... What do you think are the most creative moments in Anglo-American law?" I also alerted each recipient of my epistle that I was contemplating writing an article (and eventually a book) on the topic and would, if I used their response, give academic credit for the thoughts.If this study proves anything, it is that legal historians as a group are very helpful people. Blomquist continues:
Much to my surprise, I received numerous assorted responses to my query of the most creative moments in Anglo-American legal history—some by letter, some by e-mail and some by handwritten note.The author goes on to detail these responses from various legal history luminaries, carefully citing to the letters and e-mails you wrote in.
Blomquist describes his project in this abstract:
In most cultural contexts creativity is viewed as an unalloyed virtue. Law is different: given the inherently conservative and slow-moving pace of legal evolution, innovation in the law is viewed by many observers as problematic. Yet American revolutionaries, constitutionalists, legislators, chief executives, judges, administrators, scholars and activists have creatively changed the law for over two centuries in mostly positive ways with some admittedly questionable innovations. This article makes a bold new proposal -- the articulation and ranking of America's most creative legal moments -- designed to energize and clarify our synoptic thinking about the nature of legal creativity.I won't spoil the surprise by posting Blomquist's ranking, but first on the list is the Constitution of the United States and the ratification debates. Marbury v. Madison weighs in at #6. Richard Posner, Economic Analysis of Law (1973), at 54, and Hart & Sacks, The Legal Process (1958), at 55, outrank the creation of the United Nations, which comes in at 59. Earth Day is on the list. You can find the rest here.
Starting with the opinions of numerous eminent legal historians on the most creative moments in Anglo-American law, we will explore the meaning of creative moments in law, and advance to analytically compare legal creativity with other kinds of creativity (corporate, artistic, military and rhetorical). Then we will heuristically entertain a ranking of the top hundred moments in American law and a justification for the ranking.


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Paul Craig Roberts
February 15, 2011
I popped the champagne cork to celebrate the Egyptian people's success in driving out of office the American puppet, Mubarak. However, as I wrote on February 1, Mubarak's departure doesn't guarantee that his successor will not find himself wearing the same American harness. As Gerald Celente puts it, "Meet the new boss, same as old boss."
It remains to be seen how much of a revolution has occurred. Marx and Lenin would be put off by the idealistic jubilation over a spontaneous revolution that caused Mubarak to resign after a couple of weeks of protests. Marx and Lenin would say that nothing has changed. The materialist basis of the old order is still in place: the elites, the police, the army, the bureaucracy, the U.S. Embassy. Moreover, no vanguard has appeared to lead the revolution to completeness. Marx and Lenin would heap scorn on the prevalent idea that the material interests of the old ruling order, which is still in place, have been brought in line with the material interests of the Egyptian people.
- A d v e r t i s e m e n t
- {openx:49}
Marx and Lenin, believed that no revolution could succeed that did not destroy all representatives of the old order. The effective force in history, Marx and Lenin said, was violence. The Bolsheviks murdered every member of the Czar's family in order to obliterate any hope that the old order could be reinstated.
How many revolutions have succeeded without violence? Even the American Revolution was violent, and not merely against King George. Colonists who thought of themselves as British and remained loyal to England were dispossessed and had to flee to Canada. Although not Marxists, the American revolutionaries were unforgiving.
Perhaps what we have witnessed in Egypt is just the opening stage. If Egyptians find out that not much has changed, they will erupt again in a more decisive manner, this time under focused leaders. If this revolution is put down, the next development could be civil war, leading on to Celente's prediction of regional wars developing into the first "great war" of the 21st century.
The elites are greatly outnumbered, and in every country the elites have monopolized resources and opportunities and possess more wealth and income than they know what to do with. http://www.opednews.com/populum/linkframe.php?linkid=126917 The few armed with vast wealth are unlikely to prevail against the many armed with vast anger.
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Still, too much should not be given to Marx and Lenin. Material interests are important, but they are not all. There is good and evil in the human breast. People can change their mind. The Soviet Empire was not overthrown by a revolution. It collapsed because the ruling class, the communists themselves, changed their minds, acknowledged the wrongness of their system, and let go of it.
Perhaps this will happen in Egypt and elsewhere.
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts is the father of Reaganomics and the former head of policy at the Department of Treasury. He is a columnist and was previously the editor of the Wall Street Journal. His latest book, "How the Economy Was Lost: The War of the Worlds," details why America is disintegrating.
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text: These are for top loading engraving machines where the brass engraving cutter knob screws into the top of the spindle. It is important that you choose a tip size when placing your order. The tip of the cutter has various clearance angles and will help remove the chips while you engrave. The taller the letters or characters the larger the tip size should be. For example; for 1/4" tall letters you should use a .020 or .030 tip but for 1/8" tall letters a .010 or .015 tip would be better. All of our top loading engraving tools come with the brass knob.


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I'm back and fuzzy in the brain! Our trip was magical. Being in Paris with your best friends when you're not starving college students really is an incredible experience. Now I don't want to take a vacation without my friends in tow. The Husband is thrilled about that.
I took an obscene amount of photos that I haven't sifted through yet, so for now here are some iPhone shots of our days in Paris!


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Lately I've become really interested in the way fiction authors play with the form of narrative in their work. There are essentially two ways of doing this: one, to write within a set of self-imposed constraints to transcend the traditional relationship of a reader to a book (on the more experiential side of the spectrum), or two, to create something which via its form relinquishes or bestows narrative control (on the more interactive side of the spectrum).
I wrote hypertext fiction for a creative writing class in high school, but my first formal exposure to this type of literature was during a college class on Latin American literature, when a teacher described "Hopscotch" by Juilo Cortazar. It's a stream-of-consciousness novel with 99 chapters of "expendable" content, which can be read with an alternate table of contents provided by the author to supplement the main story. The final two chapters loop together, allowing the reader to choose which ending to the story they prefer.
This type of fiction inhabits an interesting narrative space, one in which the reader is both creating the work of fiction for themselves, but also participating as one single element in a work that's larger than and which incorporates them. The author is both completely in control of the world, and also relinquishes control of the reader's experience.
It's easiest to think of this duality in the context of a video game; a game maker creates the world, sets up the story and characters and so on, and can either force the player down a particular path of play, or leave the world open to exploring and molding to their own preferred method of gameplay. But this can also apply to books (or at least written, printed works of fiction that may be loosely defined as books), and that's what I'm specifically interested in today.
My reading list is as follows:
(The Unfortunates, via)
- House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski – a novel with multiple layered stories told in footnotes by an unrelated, unreliable narrator on an academic study of a nonexistent documentary film about a transdimensional house. The layout, colors and presence of the type itself is also related to the narrative experience.
- Hopscotch (Rayuela) by Julio Cortazar – described above, this book can be read in order as presented or in a pattern provided by the author, with the reader choosing their own ending.
- Dictionary of the Khazars: A Lexicon Novel in 100,000 Words – presented as an alphabetically-arranged dictionary, this book is the fictional historical record of an Indo-European tribe who vanished in the 10th century. It can be browsed and read in any order, there are lots of cross-references between sections, and there are two versions, "male" and "female", with minute differences.
- The Mixquiahuala Letters by Ana Castillo – an homage to Hopscotch, this book has three ways to read the letters in this episolary novel about two female artists: "one for the conformist, one for the cynic, and one for the quixotic."
- 253 by Geoff Ryman – a hypernext novel presented online, describing the seven carriages on a Bakerloo Line train, each with 36 seats filled with passengers, as it travels from Embankment to Elephant and Castle. I'll be starting with the driver.
- The Castle of Crossed Destinies by Italo Calvino – two groups of travelers have lost their voices and must tell their stories using tarot cards; "A narrator at each place interprets the cards for the reader, but since the tarot cards are subject to multiple interpretations, the stories the narrators offer are not necessarily the stories intended by the mute storytellers."
- Heart Suit (McSweeney's Issue 16) by Robert Coover – a story told on thirteen interchangeable playing cards (shown below)
- Life: A User's Manual by Georges Perec – this book uses a 10×10 grid (and is meant to be similar to a chess board) to dissect and reassemble the inhabitants and contents of a Parisian apartment building, playing with collage-style art, word games and acrostics to create a "completed jigsaw puzzle"
- The Unfortunates by B.S. Johnson – published in 1969, this is a box that contains a collection of loose and gathered books of printed pages, making 27 chapters total; the first and last chapters are marked as such, and the order of the others is left to the reader. As one Amazon review says, "It's a story told as chapters that appear as flashbacks, or real events depending on where they fall in your random sequence." (shown at the top of this post)
- McSweeney's Issue 22 – this issue is "a three-part exercise in inspired restriction — of author, of content, and of form." My specific interest is in the Oulipo writing in the third section. Oulipo is a French movement from the 60s which "seeks to create works using constrained writing techniques"; the repertoire includes both The Castle of Crossed Destinies and Life: A User's Manual, listed above. It's also responsible for "A Void", Perec's novel written entirely without the letter "e".
- The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne – written in the 18th century and described today as "the first hypertext novel" due to its meandering plotlines, branching stories and stylistic flourishes. It's also supposed to be very funny to boot.
- Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges – a dense collection of puzzle box stories, essays, book reviews for books that haven't been written, obituaries for people that never lived. Frequently described as "dense", "intensely cerebral" and "influential", which I generally take to mean it's often assigned in literature classes to give context to later, easier works.
- Webcomics by Scott McCloud – McCloud has long been at the forefront of explaining the how and why of comic making and reading, and he's also done a lot of playing around with comic form using the internet, making the argument that online, comics aren't limited to the prescribed dimensions of the printed paper pages; works include an infinite canvas comic and a "zooming" comic (clicked to reveal the next panel from within the current one).
- Meanwhile: Pick Any Path. 3,856 Story Possibilities. by Jason Shiga – like choose-your-own-adventure/chutes and ladders (or snakes and ladders, if you're in the UK) in graphic novel form.
- Interactive Audio Novel on Spotify by Hurts and Joe Stretch – a choose-your-own adventure that takes advantage of the Spotify file system
Some cut-up/fold-in/assemblage/collage art books:
- The Ticket That Exploded by William S. Burroughs – Oulipo/Dadaist book examining language of a virus and social revolution through technology
- Diary of An Amateur Photographer by Graham Rawle – collage-style mystery with a very unreliable narrator
- Woman's World: A Novel by Graham Rawle – a pulp noir constructed from 40,000 text fragments cut from 1960s women's magazines
And some ephemera-based storytelling:
- Dennis Wheatley – via Wikipedia: "During the 1930s, Wheatley conceived a series of mysteries, presented as case files, with testimonies, letters, and pieces of evidence such as hairs or pills. The reader had to inspect this evidence to solve the mystery before unsealing the last pages of the file, which gave the answer. Four of these 'Crime Dossiers' were published: Murder Off Miami, Who Killed Robert Prentice?, The Malinsay Massacre, and Herewith The Clues!."
- S (Ship of Theseus) – Conceived of by J.J. Abrams and written by Doug Dorst, this is a novel with papers tucked into the pages, and several stories playing out via notes written in the margins.
- Cathy's Book: If Found Call (650) 266-8233 – An ARG-inspired book, Cathy's Book is a young adult novel with alternative reality game elements by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman, illustrated by Cathy Brigg
- The Jolly Postman – "A Jolly Postman delivers letters to several famous fairy-tale characters such as the Big Bad Wolf, Cinderella, and the Three Bears. Twelve of the pages have been made into six envelopes and contain eight letters and cards. Each letter may be removed from its envelope page and read separately."
- Griffin and Sabine – A back and forth correspondence told through postcards and letters, some of which are inserted into the pages
And of course, the more I research the more books I find to add to the list. This is the core, though, and it's inspired me to try and create one work of hypertext/interactive/experimental fiction each month or so, so I'm sticking to it for now.


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Winter camping at Ontario Parks
Consider booking a yurt or heated cabin getaway now or face being left out in the cold this winter at Ontario Parks.
For those hearty souls looking for a winter escape that doesn't involve hibernating or migrating, the parks' roofed accommodation could be the answer.
"We're seeing more young families who camp in summer at Ontario Parks book winter yurt or cabin adventures especially at parks that have skating, snow tubing and tobogganing," said Lori Waldbrook, senior marketing specialist.
This makes it easy for families, couples and groups of friends to visit Ontario's signature landscapes this winter, she added.
Get your yurt on
Traditional yurts originating in the 13th century were portable, bent wood-framed dwellings used by nomads in Central Asia.
The tent-like structures have been adapted in Canada and the U.S. at ski resorts and campgrounds and are semi-permanent, canvas-covered structures mounted on a wooden deck above ground.
At Ontario Parks, they are ideal in the winter as they have electric or propane heating and lighting, bunk beds, tables, chairs and plywood floors.
All winter yurts and cabin rentals have heat and electricity and most are accessible by cars.
Yurts sleep six while cabins accommodate five or more to provide warm, dry winter digs.
Let the snow fly
Ontario Parks provides details about three of the seven "dramatically different" provincial parks with winter activities and roofed accommodation.
First of all is the Pinery Provincial Park on Lake Huron that has a new camp cabin and deluxe yurt this season.
These are the latest accommodations to be added at the park west of London, Waldbrook said.
The park has 12 furnished campsites, each of which has an eight-sided yurt, at the Riverside campground located beside the picturesque Ausable River.
The yurts are attached to a wheelchair-accessible platform and have bunks for sleeping, table and chairs, electric lighting and a heater. As well, a gas barbecue and picnic shelter is supplied with each facility.
Pinery's visitor centre is open most days and guided nature hikes on trails are held on select dates throughout the winter.
There are 38 kilometres of cross-country ski trails that form a series of loops and in the centre of the park is a heated chalet and toboggan hill.
Expect to see flocks of black-capped chickadees, red and white breasted nuthatches and the tufted titmouse at Picnic Area 9. Owls also breed in the park in the winter.
On Family Day Weekend in February, an Owl Prowl is planned while snowshoes and cross-country skis are available for rent and the tobogganing hill is lighted at night. www.ontarioparks.com or www.pinerypark.on.ca
It's a howl at Killarney
Hear the wolves howl at Killarney Provincial Park on the north shore of Georgian Bay.
"Don't be surprised if you hear one of the park wolf packs howl at night," said park superintendent Chuck Miller.
The forested park in Killarney offers a "ski-in yurt adventure" with sleds available to carry gear to the accommodation located about a half-kilometre from the park gate in the George Lake Campground.
There are 30 kilometres of groomed classic ski trails in a backcountry wilderness setting and summer portage routes become winter snowshoe trails.
Some winter activities include the Christmas Bird Count and Activity Day on the Family Day Weekend. www.parkreports.com
Spot a Canada lynx
A perfect place to spot and photograph the elusive Canadian lynx in the wild is Quetico Provincial Park, west of Thunder Bay. The park's Dawson Trail Campground is close to an area in the park populated by snowshoe hare, a winter food source for lynx.
Accommodation is available in one of the campground's heated yurts easily accessed from Highway 11.
Skiing and snowshoeing are available on 25 kilometres of groomed trails from the cozy yurt. www.ontarioparks.com
Here's where to order
Reservations for winter roofed accommodations are now being accepted for stays at seven provincial parks at www.ontarioparks.com
In addition to Pinery, Killarney and Quetico, the parks are Algonquin, MacGregor Point, Silent Lake and Windy Lake.
Details on the parks with winter activities and fees for yurts ($91.50 a night plus the reservation fee of $9.50 online or $11.25, call centre) and cabins are at www.ontarioparks.com
There is also a parks locator at www.ontarioparks.com
The Ontario Parks' ski report will be updated as soon as the snow flies at www.parkreports.com/skireport


text: Main Content Constitution-VIII friendly link Printer Friendly index and updates Search within this Statute for STATE CONSTITUTION (EXCERPT)CONSTITUTION OF MICHIGAN OF 1963 Article VIII EDUCATION DocumentTypeDescription Article VIII § 1SectionEncouragement of education. Article VIII § 2SectionFree public elementary and secondary schools; discrimination. Article VIII § 3SectionState board of education; duties. Article VIII § 4SectionHigher education institutions; appropriations, accounting, public sessions of boards. Article VIII § 5SectionUniversity of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University; controlling boards. Article VIII § 6SectionOther institutions of higher education, controlling boards. Article VIII § 7SectionCommunity and junior colleges; state board, members, terms, vacancies. Article VIII § 8SectionServices for disabled persons. Article VIII § 9SectionPublic libraries, fines.


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Being your slave what should I do but tend
Upon the hours, and times of your desire?
I have no precious time at all to spend;
Nor services to do, till you require.
Nor dare I chide the world without end hour,
Whilst I, my sovereign, watch the clock for you,
Nor think the bitterness of absence sour,
When you have bid your servant once adieu;
Nor dare I question with my jealous thought
Where you may be, or your affairs suppose,
But, like a sad slave, stay and think of nought
Save, where you are, how happy you make those.
So true a fool is love, that in your will,
Though you do anything, he thinks no ill.
Sonnet 57: Translation to modern English
As your slave, what else should I do but spend my time waiting to do whatever you want me to? I don't have any valuable time to spend, or any tasks to do until you need that. Nor do I dare complain about the endless hours as I watch the clock, waiting for you, my sovereign, nor contemplate the bitterness of separation after you've said goodbye to your servant. Nor do I dare allow my jealous thoughts to wonder where you may be, or speculate about what you may be up to, but like a forlorn slave, I wait, thinking of nothing except how happy you're making whoever you are with. Love makes such a fool out of one that he thinks nothing about whatever you do to satisfy your ideas.


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|Biosequences .. Software .. Molbio soft .. Network News .. FTP
Okay George, you've led us on long enough and you are starting to come across as a troll. Its time for the bottom line. What is your point? "George Hammond" <ghammond at mediaone.net> wrote in message news:3A3BE786.5235C70 at mediaone.net... > Wayne Parrott wrote: > > > > George Hammond wrote: > > > > > GH: You've totally missed the point. I DON'T WANT TO CONTROL ANYTHING. > > > What I want to know is, what is the Standard Deviation of plant > > > growth in the "real environment" when we are talking strictly about > > > a crop of geneetically identical plants? > > > Now, somebody in agriculture must KNOW the answer to this, say > > > for potatoes, or onions or some other asexual crop plant. > > > > It depends on the variety and on the trait, and it depends if you are talking > > about the SD within a field or between fields. For something like flower color, > > the SD would be close to zero. > > GH: Right, I understand that. > > > For something like height or yield, it would > > fairly uniform within a field (barring spots which are overly wet/dry, or > > otherwise inappropropriate), > > GH: YES, this is what I'm talking about, "gross overall size", > I'm NOT concerned with "specific traits". > There is such a thing as a "growth curve" for > ALL plants and animals and the "plateau" of this > curve represents what we call "maturity", or > "terminal growth". > However, there is reason to believe that there is such > a thing as a "theoretical growth curve" for any given > genetic species, and that in fact, since a large cloned > plant population has a "terminal growth variance"; that very > few plants EVER achieve this "theoretical growth curve". > Would you agree with this speculation? > > but could be quite large between fields, depending > > on how distant they are. Breeders generally call this genotype x environment > > interactions. Genotypes are known which are more stable across environments than > > others. In the end, the SD is difficult to predict without measuring it. > > GH: Yes, it is the "between fields" SD that I am talking about. > You apparently agree that such a thing exists and can be > measured. > > > > > Keep in mind that plants need not reproduce vegetatively to be genetically > > identical. Hybrids from inbred parents (as in a field of corn) are genetically > > identical. So are inbred plants (as in a field of soybean) and apomictic plants > > (as in dandelions). > > GH: yes, this is most interesting. One researcher pointed > out that laboratory mice have been purposely inbred for > thousands of generations, so that within a strain, they > are virtually genetically identical. > My question would immediately be "how much of a growth curve > variance" could these genetically identical mice manifest. > > You see; the question here is nothing but the old NATURE-NURTURE > discussion.... with a NEW TWIST. > It is now hypothesized that higher animals, and probably plants, > have something which we could call a "nominal maximum genetic > size", and that in the natural environment, very few IF ANY > individual specimens EVER ACHIEVE IT. > The object then, becomes the task of PROVING THIS CONJECTURE. > > > > > Because of the variability that a given variety of genetically identical plants > > exists, seed companies generally avoid having a central breeding station. > > Instead, they depend on having multiple breeding stations, each one breeding for > > the immediate vecinity. > > > > GH: I see. BTW, on the question of "nominal maximum genetic > size", I think it should be mentioned that "giant vegetables" > are a NATURE (genetic) effect and not a NATURE (environmental) > effect. Seeds for "giant vegetables" have an altered "cell > division gene" that makes the cell-division much more rapid > and that accounts for their giant size. > This is further evidence, that for any GIVEN GENETIC SPECIES > there is such a thing as a "maximum genetic size" of > the adult. > > -- > BE SURE TO VISIT MY WEBSITE, BELOW: > ----------------------------------------------------------- > George Hammond, M.S. Physics > Email: ghammond at mediaone.net > Website: http://people.ne.mediaone.net/ghammond/index.html > -----------------------------------------------------------


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Will Blizzard in Northeast Cause Any Sporting Events to Be Canceled?
The blizzard wreaking havoc throughout the Northeast may cause some trouble in the sports world.
The Boston Bruins will host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, which should go off without a hitch, since the Lightning are already in Beantown. However, the real trouble may take place after the game, when the Bruins have to head to Buffalo to meet the Sabres on Sunday night.
The Celtics are slated to host the Nuggets on Sunday, but it remains to be seen if the Nuggets will be able to fly into Boston.
Meanwhile, the college ranks have already canceled some games. Hockey East has postponed eight games set for Friday and Saturday, with the earliest possible makeup scheduled for Sunday.


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Today I bring you an interview from Orianthi - a rising superstar guitarist and the musical prodigy of Michael Jackson. Only 24 years old, the talented Orianthi has opened concerts for her idol the guitarist Steve Vai, traded solos with the Latin legend Carolos Santana, performed with Carrie Underwood and shared the stage with the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson. After listening to her music, I can say that Orianthi has infused her music with the same skill and charisma of each of those superstars.
ut in addition to making music, Orianthi uses her talent to do good. This Tuesday, June 21, Orianthi will perform at the Michael Bolton Charities Celebrity Concert to benefit women and children at risk. Come witness this powerful performance as and join me as I report from the show. You can get my VIP Splash Discount by putting in the "MBC" Code at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts site (Bushnell.com).
Here is my Q&A with the giving, beautiful and very talented Orianthi.
DAVID: The music industry is filled with drama and stereotypical artists. Still,
you cut through the hype and found your own fit. What inspiration has
made you into the one-of-a-kind artist that you are today?
ORIANTHI: The reason why I started playing electric guitar was because of Carlos
Santana. He is such an amazing player and he doesn't fit into any box. He also
has a very positive message in his music.
DAVID: How old were you when you realized you had a talent for music? When was it you decided to pursue music as a career?
ORIANTHI: I knew I wanted to be a musician when I was 6 and when I first picked up my guitar and played along with Elvis and Roy Orbison. I wrote my first song when I was 7 and it was called "Spin Your Jackets Around".
DAVID: Everybody in the music industry or who is trying to get in it can
acknowledge just how much work really goes into building a successful music
career. How do you feel about people with record deals that are all auto tune
compared to people such as yourself that have an authentic voice?
ORIANTHI: I think some people are born to Entertain. They just have those
personalities and they are great at it. Their forte isn't singing so they use
auto tune, etc... But they have a lot of talent in entertaining.
DAVID: There are many new music platforms that are in their infancy and the
industry is in transitional state of learning what exactly the "new music
industry" is. Can you share what a singer needs to succeed in this day and
ORIANTHI: You have to think outside the box. The world is changing every day, the
music industry is so different but I think the more creative you are the better.
DAVID: What is the ultimate message you want to convey through your music?
ORIANTHI: I like to write tunes to move people with the melodies. I really enjoy
writing but being able to play shows and bring people together is such a great
DAVID: Constantly you are referred to as 'Michael Jacksons Prodigy' and you have
the musical talent to reinforce that title. What was your relationship with him
like? Also, what were the most powerful lessons he taught you? How did he inspire you?
ORIANTHI: It was such dreams come true working with MJ and I am truly grateful
for the time I had with him. I learned so much! He wanted us to reach higher and
do our best all the time; he had a very encouraging energy!
DAVID: How did you get involved in helping the Michael Bolton Charities?
ORIANTHI: Michael Bolton is such an amazing singer and he invited me to play on
his tune "Steel Bars" and I had a lot of fun doing that. I think it is so great
when artists use their voice to help other people and it is really great to be a
part of the benefit.
DAVID: What are your relationships with other artists involved if any?
ORIANTHI: I met Delta Goodrem a while ago when we played together at "Stand Up To Cancer". She is super talented and is an Aussie so it's great to see her again and be a part of the show.
DAVID: What can the audience expect to hear from you Tuesday night?
ORIANTHI: Lots of guitar solos! ;)
DAVID: Women's and Children's charities- what inspired you to help this cause with
so many others to choose from?
ORIANTHI: It's such a great feeling being able to play shows for a great
cause to help people in need. If we all try to help one another the world will
be a much better place.
DAVID: You're making music that makes a difference in social good- how does that
make you feel?
ORIANTHI: Great. I hope to inspire and help people with my music.
DAVID: Should all artists do the same- find their cause and help out?
ORIANTHI: Yes definitely finding causes and making your fans aware to help out
is such a great idea.
DAVID: What are your next projects coming up?
ORIANTHI: Working on my next album right now and it should be out very soon! It's
going to be more rock/blues.
DAVID: What are you last words to all the readers?
ORIANTHI: Thank you for your support. peace and love.
See you all TONIGHT at the Bushnell Theater! And follow her http://www.orianthi.com/
Published on Jun 20, 2011


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SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — Students and staff of the Marshwood Middle School paid their respects to almost one hundred local veterans during the school's 12th annual Veterans Day celebration Friday.
Packed inside the school's gymnasium, the community gave a warm standing ovation to a group of veterans who slowly filed in during a bagpipe processional. Veterans in attendance Friday served in World War II, and the Vietnam, Korean War, Afghanistan, and Iraq Wars.
"I'd like to thank all of the veterans for your courageous efforts that you have done for us back here in Maine," said superintendent Mary Nash in her opening remarks. "We wish you well and thank you for your service."
Nash also highlighted the tremendous efforts of several soldiers originally from Maine.
One of those soldiers, Army officer Lewis Millett of Mechanic Falls, Maine, received the Medal of Honor — the military's highest decoration — during the Korean War for leading the last American bayonet charge. Millet led two platoons up a hill against opposing forces — encouraging soldiers to continue pushing forward while throwing hand grenades and wielding a bayonet during the hand-to-hand fight. Millet is the last soldier to win the Medal of Honor for hand-to-hand combat.
"He distinguished himself and was gallant above the call of duty," she said. "This is a tremendous story of personal courage."
Nash also highlighted the bravery of Master Sergeant Gary Gordon — a Lincoln, Maine native killed in Somalia on October 3, 1993. On that day, Gordon and two fellow snipers battled their way to a downed Blackhawk helicopter, which had been shot down in Mogadishu. Gordon was killed providing relief to the crew of the downed helicopter. His efforts were later depicted in the 2001 film, "Black Hawk Down."
Anthony Bourbon, the school's assistant principal, also offered remarks during a tribute to several World War II veterans in attendance Friday.
"I'd like to say thank you for the freedom you have given us," Bourbon said. "I hope our young people in this school building acknowledge that and understand the sacrifices all of our veterans have made for this freedom."
And, students also played a central role in Friday's celebration. Each grade level presented a particular project they had been working on throughout the past several months.
Students in grade 6 demonstrated their work to help wounded veterans — such as completing a walk-a-thon to raise money and awareness about the issue. Students also chatted with several soldiers who returned home with injuries sustained during combat.
Seventh grade students presented a tribute to the USS Thresher — a 278-ft attack submarine built at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and later launched on July 9, 1960. Although the submarine was considered one of the most advanced during its day, it sank on April 10, 1963 in the Atlantic Ocean — killing all 129 on board.
A moment of silence was held during Friday's ceremony to honor those who died on the submarine. Students also held up signs that displayed the names of all 129 victims of the accident.
Lastly, eighth grade students took to the stage Friday to honor those who served in the Korean War — a war largely forgotten by the American public. Grade-eight students educated the public about the cause, outcome, and aftermath of the war before asking Korean War veterans to stand for a round of applause.
Friday's celebration included several slide shows, powerpoints, and musical selections that were sung by the Marshwood Middle School chorus.
South Berwick resident Malcolm Kenney, a member of VFW Post 577, Pease Greeter, and active community member, was also honored during Friday's ceremony for his remarkable work with various organizations. Kenney was described as "an extraordinary individual," "an outstanding person," and "a great friend" by those who spoke on his behalf Friday.
Heartfelt ceremony honors veterans in South Berwick for their sacrifices and service
SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — Students and staff of the Marshwood Middle School paid their respects to almost one hundred local veterans during the school's 12th annual Veterans Day celebration Friday.


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Arts and Culture
"There is something for everyone's cultural taste in Belleville"
Belleville offers a thriving arts and cultural community with something for everyone. Symphony, ballet, theatre and concert events are just a sample of the culture in Belleville.
As well as scheduled events, the city has a number of permanent year round attractions to entice visitors. Explore the galleries, enjoy live theatre productions or take a tour of one of our museums.
Glanmore National Historical Site
Belleville Scout Guide Museum
The Regimental Museum
Hastings Heritage Centre
The Quinte Symphony
The Quinte Ballet School of Canada
Pinnacle Playhouse
The Empire Theatre
The Empire Square Live
Galaxy Cinemas
Quinte Film Alternative
Quinte Arts Council
Gallery 121
John M. Parrott Art Gallery
Belleville Art Association
Savour the Chill (February)
Downtown Docfest (March)
Quinte Sportsman Boat & RV Show (March)
Quinte Home & Renovation Show (March)
Walleye World Live Release Fishing Tournament (May)
Victoria Day Celebrations (May)
Plein Air Festival (May)
Big Music Fest (June)
Quinte Garden Tour (June)
Canada Day Celebrations (July)
Waterfront & Ethnic Festival (July)
Rotary Loves Kids Event (July)
Big Brothers Big Sisters Quinte Ribfest (August)
Regional Farm Show & Plowing Match (August)
Quinte Exhibition (September)
Downtown Art Walk (September)
Santa Claus Parade (November)
Empire Square Live (Seasonal)
Farmer's Market (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, throughout the year)
Quinte Ballet School Concerts (Seasonal)
Belleville Lions Concert in the Park (Seasonal)
Quinte Symphony Series (Year-round)
Pinnacle Playhouse Series (Year-round)
Belleville Festival of Lights (November & December)