text:
Welcoming your calls and emails WORLDWIDE!We sell specialize and sell vacations to the Caribbean, Costa Rica, & MexicoCelebrating 32 years in business! Toll-free: 1-877-380-4142
Zoetry Agua Punta Cana
Luxury All-Inclusive Resort
AAA Four Diamond Resort
Zoetry Agua Punta Cana Reservations 1-877-380-4142
Zoetry Agua Punta Cana Wellness & Spa Resort is where your lifestyle is made even more extraordinary by the bounty of Endless Privileges® and the commitment to providing the highest levels of wellness, heart-healthy nourishment and a major commitment to environmental responsibility.
On the striking northeast coast of the Dominican Republic, Zoetry Agua Punta Cana Resort welcomes guests to their all-suite oasis of cane-thatched sanctuaries. Limited to just 96 ultra-luxurious suites, all strategically situated throughout the beautifully manicured gardens of this ocean front Caribbean resort. Guests can spend afternoons swimming in the calm, tranquil ocean waters or relaxing under the shade of a palm tree.
Located on the striking northeast coast of the Dominican Republic, guests are welcomed to the all-suite oasis of cane-thatched sanctuaries. Located just an hour from the Punta Cana International Airport, the spirit here is far, far removed from the hectic tempo of everyday living.
All of the gracious accommodations are luxury suites ranging in size from one-bedroom junior suites to opulent three bedroom havens. The hotel features 96 exclusive suites ranging in size from one-bedroom junior suites to opulent three-bedroom havens. Each suite is finely appointed with the following amenities:
The expansion project added 45-brand-new, thatched roof, ultra-luxurious suites with unique accent décor of exquisite arts and crafts handmade in the Dominican Republic:
The hotel offers a wide variety of daily beach, land and water activities including: two large infinity pools with serpentine water trails and quiet lagoons
Offering 2 bars and lounges serving premium brand domestic and international brand beverages, that includes a lobby and a beautiful beachfront bar.
Spend your morning freeing your mind through yoga and stretching classes, relax in the two pools with serpentine water trails and quiet lagoons, go bike riding or tee-up at one the nearby golf courses. Note: Pool area enhancements include a new infinity pool overlooking the azure sea, complete with a new swim-up wet bar, Caicu, serving up delightful Caribbean cocktails by day, and acting as the entertainment center by night.
*additional costs
Endless Privileges® are the privileges available to all guests providing:
Guests of Zoetry Agua Punta Cana also have the opportunity to enhance and customize their Endless Privileges stay with options to upgrade through the Wellness, Lovers, Cultural, Girlfriends, Babymoon and Golf Experiences.* for a fee
The full service spa is designed to unlock hidden tension, rejuvenate your skin and circulation and invigorate your senses and spirit. Modern treatment rooms for individuals and couples provide the pleasures of Finnish and steam sauna. There's a large indoor pool with Jacuzzi, Inox bubble beds and sensation showers. To this you may wish to add a rich variety of indigenous natural body treatments custom designed for you using local fruits and flowers.
The full-service spa offers elite services and quality products for a refreshing and rejuvenating experience. Guests may choose from a plethora of spa treatments to invigorate their senses and revitalize their skin.
The natural beauty of a seaside world can easily be the setting of an ultra-romantic wedding and honeymoon. The professional wedding coordinators will guide couples through every step - flowers and decorations, food and beverage menus, entertainment, special guest accommodations, legalities . . . anything and everything.
The professional Business Event Coordinators at Zoetry Agua Punta Cana are experts at making sure everything you need for a conference, seminar, retreat or other business function is perfectly provided. The Event Planners will assist you in the coordination of all your indoor and outdoor meeting facilities as well as an A/V or computer equipment needs. The Team will also assist in the coordination of special spa experiences, private parties with live entertainment, transportation, golf outings to the area's best courses and any other tours, special requests or requirements you may have.
I just wanted to send you a quick email to say thank you for taking care of our honeymoon trip. Despite the rather long first day of sitting at the airport, our vacation so far has been absolutely perfect! You recommended the perfect resort for us! Zoetry Agua has been fantastic, not only is it a gorgeous location but the staff are all wonderful and helpful and they even upgraded us when we got here to a swim up suite. I honestly could not hope for a better vacation and I am so glad that you worked with us to make it perfect (in both cost and accommodations). We even found out they are planning to build a Zoetry in Aruba in the next couple years and I can almost guarantee that will be our next big vacation with your help in booking. Thank you again so much!
Kristin & Nathan AnderAbingdon, MD
email: [email protected] Toll-free: 1-877-380-4132Quote Complimentary NewsletterBook your Vacation Package
Zoetry Agua Punta Cana Reservations: 1-877-380-4142
Zoetry Wellness & Spa Resorts
We sell Apple Vacations to Punta Cana - to book your reservations call 1-877-380-4142
Punta Cana is one of the most requested vacation destinations requested by you, web visitors browsing Judy and Maria's Travel website. A Punta Cana Vacation offers vacationing guests spectacular beaches - 40 miles of unspoiled beach line the coast.
Tropical warmth year round. Spectacular all-inclusive hotels offering guests value-added travel at an affordable price. Championship golf, casinos, nightlife and elegant spas. Punta Cana is the land of eternal sunshine and friendly faces. Judy and Maria's Goal: through our photographs, reviews and unique travel experiences we would like to introduce to our web visitors this fascinating country and it's people.
Punta Cana Airport has a beautiful thatched roof and is an open-air design. Upon arriving at the Punta Cana airport, each passenger is required to purchase a $10.00 tourist card before entering customs. After retrieving luggage and clearing customs, arriving passengers will be greeted by their tour company representative and directed to board the correct bus for transfer to their resort.
Travelers will find that Punta Cana has a tropical climate. The hotels are low-rise and beautiful. The grounds are lush and tropical with foliage, lagoons and palm trees along with peacocks, flamencos, ducks, parrots and other wildlife stroll the hotel's grounds. The summer months tend to be very warm and very humid. We suggest cool, loose fitting, cotton clothing – so pack light. The majority of the hotels are very large and spread out – like small cities. This means lot of walking. Some hotels have golf carts and trams to accommodate guests' needs. Punta Cana has so many great hotels that will meet every expectation: golf, scuba, fishing, windsailing, yachting, fine dining, relaxation, spas, children's programs and more. Our sales staff is knowledgeable and available to consult and recommend the perfect resort to meet your expectations.
When to Travel to Punta CanaThe wettest times of the year are May-June and October-November. If you're worried about storms, the Caribbean's hurricane season lasts from June to November. The peak tourist season is between mid-December and mid-April, but this has more to do with the weather in Europe than local conditions in the Dominican Republic. Prices and visitor numbers decline significantly outside these months. Easter and Christmas are the peak local travel periods.
Travel With Minors
Minors traveling with only one parent or adults other than their parents must have a notarized letter from the absent parent(s) authorizing them to be taken out of the country. If the parent is deceased, a copy of the death certificate will be required for check in at the airport. Children under 14 years of age are not required to have photo identification when traveling with parents.
Call Toll-free: 877-380-4142 to book your Apple Vacations Punta Cana Vacation
Toll Free: 877-380-4142 Local: 610-380-1331 Fax: 610-380-0639 637 Farmland Way Coatesville, PA USA 19320
email: [email protected] Quote: Request A Quote https://www.judyandmariastravel.com Judy & Maria's Booking & Bonus Promotions
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Call Judy and Maria's Travel, Inc. Toll-free at 1-877-380-4142 to obtain a vacation quote or to reserve your vacation. Representatives are standing by to take your call or email: [email protected] Quote RequestFree Newsletter
Save on your vacation!
New TSA regulations require that passports be valid for at least six (6) months beyond travel dates. If your passport is set to expire in under six months from your return date, you must renew it prior to travel.
Book Your Excursions, Fishing Trips,
Swim with Dolphins, Airport Transfers and More with Amstar DMC


text:
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Yule Love This, 2008
The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings.
From : "The Walrus and the Carpenter," Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, by Lewis Carroll, 1872.
Obviously, there have been far too many things for me to deal with lately, and blogging (along with cabbages) has fallen by the wayside.
But, I can't let this next weekend (11/22 & 11/23) go by without promoting the annual Yulefest at the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle. Oh, ja... a Yulefesting I will go, and hopefully I will return home with some photographs to post here on my Norwegian-minded blog. So, for those of you who can't actually participate in tasting the pastries and the lefse, you will at least be able to see them!
Image: Norway stamp with image of Yule Nisse.
Posted by Chery Kinnick at 11:07 AM
3 comments:
- Vidar Øverlie said...
Great blogg!
We are looking forward to the photographs :-)
Vidar in Norway
- November 21, 2008
That looks like a lot of fun!
BTW, you're it in the "8 Things About Me" meme :-)
- November 26, 2008
- Chery Kinnick said...
Vidar - thanks much for your comment; it's very nice to hear from someone in Norway. Amy - Good to hear from you; I did my best to address your tag!
- November 30, 2008
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

subset: commoncrawl


text: Vorbis 1.3.6 aoTuV and Lancer patches 2018-04-02 20:17:21 I have updated my aoTuV and Lancer patches (see old thread for reference) for Vorbis 1.3.6.The patches now apply on top of the official libvorbis 1.3.6 sources and must be applied in order.The first patch adds the aoTuV b6.03 changes: libvorbis-1.3.6-aotuv-b6.03.patchThe second patch adds the Lancer optimizations to that: libvorbis-1.3.6-aotuv-b6.03-lancer.patchMy fixes for non-Windows x86-64 are already included in the Lancer patch.Edit: I have setup a repository on GitHub with the changes.Edit2: Official aoTuV b6.03 (2018) has been released on 2018/05/02. It's functionally equivalent to the version posted here, so it does not matter which one you use. However, to apply the Lancer patch, you need to use the official libvorbis 1.3.6 and apply the aoTuV patch posted here first. Last Edit: 2018-05-02 19:26:46 by enzo


text:
Sausage roll twists with tomato dip
Prep: 10 mins Cook: 20 mins
Perfect for kids birthday parties - just make sure the mums and dads don't eat them all!
Nutrition and extra info
- raw, if pastry is previously unfrozen
- Easily doubled / halved
Nutrition: per twist and dip
- kcal95
- fat7.5g
- saturates2g
- carbs7g
- sugars1g
- fibre0g
- protein3g
- salt0.54g
Save to My Good Food
- 1⁄2 a 500g block all-butter puff pastry, defrosted if frozen
- 400g pack chipolata
For the tomato dip
- 6 tbsp reduced-sugar tomato ketchup
- 2 tsp malt vinegar
- 6 cherry tomatoes, finely chopped
Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Roll out the pastry to £1 coin thickness (about 20 x 30cm) and cut into strips about 1cm wide, cutting from the shorter edge. Thin each sausage a little by twisting, then snip in half. Wind one pastry strip around each half-sausage, then place on a baking sheet, pastry ends down.
Bake for 20 mins until the sausages and pastry are golden. Meanwhile, mix together the ketchup, vinegar and cherry tomatoes. Serve in little bowls alongside the sausage twists.


text:
ITTA BENA, Miss. (AP) Davon Usher scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half as Mississippi Valley State earned its first victory of the season, defeating Alabama A&M 79-68 in a Southwestern Athletic Conference game Sunday night.
Darius Tomlin added 15 of his 21 points in the second half, when the Delta Devils (1-11, 1-1) shot 57.1 percent (16 of 28) to expand a 25-24 halftime lead and end a three-game winning streak for the Bulldogs (6-8, 2-1).
Usher made 5 of 8 shots in the second half and all 10 of his free-throw attempts, and he scored nine points during an 18-5 run that gave Mississippi Valley State a 56-41 lead with 8:19 remaining.
Alabama A&M cut the margin to six, 60-54, but the Delta Devils reeled off nine straight points in a 1:11 span, including four by Tomlin.
Jeremy Crutcher and Demarquelle Tabb scored 16 points each for the Bulldogs.


text:
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Granite City Tool Email
Emailing Granite City Tool Customer Support by GetHuman
Customer Service Email
Average reply:
(32 hours)
Expect replies: Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat-Sun 9am-6pm EST
Usually writes back @ 9am
Why do you want to write to Granite City Tool?
Subject: Where to buy
Subject: Complaint
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A different reason
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Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat-Sun 9am-6pm EST
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Granite City Tool Customer Service Email
Email Granite City Tool customer service help at this email address for the fastest reply. Click to indicate what problem you are emailing about and we can share our best customer recommended talking points to include in your email so you get a faster reply and better results. This is the best email address for Granite City Tool customer service. This information is according to 96 GetHuman users who are also Granite City Tool customers over the past 180 days. Email can be a convenient way to communicate with customer service; you can multi-task while you are doing it, and you may already be checking your inbox frequently anyways. But more often than not, Granite City Tool customers want to talk to a real live human being as soon as possible and check it off their to-do list. And so they prefer calling Granite City Tool at their 320-251-8600 phone number instead. The Customer Service department that replies to the emails you send is used to responding to a variety of customer service issues such as Where to buy. When you email Granite City Tool one of their customer service agents sitting in one of their call centers, likely located in null, will get your message in their inbox and reply to you on a first come, first serve basis. That department is open Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat-Sun 9am-6pm EST. If you send an email late at night, you probably won't get a reply until the next business day. It's sometimes hard to find information about how best to contact companies like Granite City Tool by email, so GetHuman gathers information like this from customers so we can share amongst ourselves.
Contacting Granite City Tool
Granite City Tool provides customer service by email and also by phone. There are 3 ways to reach Granite City Tool across 3 communication modes: email, web, phone. In case you didn't realize there was an alternative, the best phone number for Granite City Tool customer support is 320-251-8600. With our free tools, you can check out the current wait time for Granite City Tool and use our Have Them Call Me Instead tool. If you find any mistakes in this information, please let us know below. GetHuman tries to source the best Granite City Tool customer service information from customers so we can share our best hints and tricks with each other. Telling us about any imperfections is useful and helps all of us.
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text:
Since my last post, hola! -- not one but TWO Quebec elections ago, much has changed for Scott in Montreal. The love of my life gave birth to our beautiful (and dare I say, with all modesty, brilliantly telepathic) little girl. That was ten months ago today! And wow, what an amazing thing it is to see a fresh little human being joyously joining three siblings on her mother's side together with two younger ones on mine.
In the midst of that, I have blogged not.
Suffice it to say, Peevey Stevie has been his erstwhile Galacticly Empirical self, all the while supplying the cosmos with little other vision than a long-awaited book about his take on the sport of hockey (mega-yawn), which ought to provide all the fodder needed for Mulcair and Trudeau to lay waste with him in the next election campaign; excepting how that electoral strategy only works in a world twenty or thirty years in the past, when the litmus test of our political leaders still lay in the realm of their abilities to commandeer the written form for inspiration. But let's not forget how video killed the radio star, only to find itself decisively slayed by apps like Sugar Crush. How far did our fearless leader get without resorting to paying or getting FB help, I wonder?
Oh there is so much else worthy of commentary. As you all should know, I cut my blogging teeth railing against Harper and virtually every move he has made as Prime Minister. I have been critical of all the federal parties and their lackluster leadership over the course of the past ten years (but with extra elbow-grease applied to the Conservatives and Québec separatists here and there). I once championed Elizabeth May, and even worked for Ingrid Hein, the GPC candidate running against Justin Trudeau in Papineau riding back in 2008. I think I voted for him though, because it was projected to be tight between him and the BloQuébecois candidate at the time, and I was not keen on being party to splitting the anti-separatist vote.
When I voted for Trudeau again in 2010, I told my sons it was like voting for Spiderman, with Harper being Dr. Doom. "Why would anybody vote for Dr. Doom?" my eldest asked. "Dr. Doom," I said, "has convinced them that HE is Spiderman!"
"But he's not!" my son said, all a-furrow of brow.
"No," I said. "But that is how the Dr. Dooms of the world work." They tell lies that even their own mothers would believe, as convincingly as if they were just describing the colour of the sky.
My other son, at the age of six, boldly declared that he hates Stephen Harper, and wishes for bad things to come to his "texticles."
That's my boy.
- 30 -
BTW: I am calling Habs in 6 vs. NYR


text:
STOCKTON - More than 1,000 friends, family, community members and civic leaders gathered Monday at Bear Creek Community Church to cry, laugh and say goodbye to Misty Jean Holt-Singh.
STOCKTON - More than 1,000 friends, family, community members and civic leaders gathered Monday at Bear Creek Community Church to cry, laugh and say goodbye to Misty Jean Holt-Singh.
She lost her life July 16 while being held captive during an hour-long chase following a bank robbery in north Stockton. Holt-Singh was 41.
She was remembered for how she lived - full force, a cup of ice in one hand, an encouraging word on her lips, a light-up-your-world smile and an abiding passion for her family.
"I miss you, babe," her husband, Paul Singh Sr., said, looking up. He then turned to the packed auditorium and said, "Hug your loved ones, and tell them you love them."
The 90-minute funeral included speakers from her daughter's softball team, from her employer, from her family and from the Sikh community.
Jon Knapp, youth pastor at Lincoln Presbyterian Church, spoke at the end of the service and provided a message of hope.
"God has something to say in the midst of this tragedy, one of the darkest days in the history of Stockton," Knapp said. "We are tempted to believe that death has won another victory.
"But the Bible says love is stronger than death, that love stopped death in its tracks 2,000 years ago on the cross. Jesus turned tragedy into triumph. Faith, hope and love kill death."
Holt-Singh's brother-in-law, Ajit "AJ" Singh, said earlier he took "solace in heaven," knowing one day he would see her again. He said she "lived life to the fullest."
Those who knew and loved her told stories of humor, devotion, warmth and unselfishness.
"Amazing," said Stockton dentist Lester Low, her employer the past four years. "Amazing, simply put, amazing. That was one of her favorite words."
Low told tales of her comical idiosyncracies:
� A love for chewing on ice, a repeated theme during Monday's funeral.
� An interest in banana-flavored Laffy Taffy.
� And pretzels.
� A Las Vegas trip where she got locked out of her hotel room - still wearing pajamas.
� A New Orleans trip where she admitted never having heard of cr�me br�l�e.
Low also spoke from the heart.
"She is a symbol of family and of peace," he said. "We are all linked - Misty, the bank employees, members of the community, law enforcement. My faith assures me will see her again. She helped make an amazing community better.
"Maybe she can bring peace from heaven over our city."
Mayor Anthony Silva and several members of the Stockton City Council attended the memorial service. So did Police Chief Eric Jones and San Joaquin County Sheriff Steve Moore.
Holt-Singh's 12-year-old daughter, Mia Nicole, had accompanied her mother to Bank of the West that tragic afternoon but stayed in the car and watched in horror as her mother and two others were taken hostage.
On Monday, Mia Nicole spoke briefly and softly. "She was my best friend and more. We'd do our hair and nails together. She always told me when we went shopping that if we ever got separated that I would find her by the nearest bag of ice."
Anthony Chavez is one of the parents on Mia's USA Elite softball team. After telling his ice-chewing story, Chavez said, "Misty was always paying it forward. She's a great example of what a true angel is."
There also was a 15-minute multimedia slide presentation that traced Holt-Singh's life, her years involved in sports at Franklin High School, her family life and the ways in which she embraced her husband's Sikh culture.
After the public funeral was a private burial at Cherokee Memorial Park. Nearly 200 family members and close friends took part in a mile-long procession to the cemetery.
In addition to her husband and daughter, Misty Holt-Singh is survived by a 19-year-old son, Paul Singh Jr., her parents and her sister.
Bill Cummins, pastor of Bear Creek Community Church that he founded 25 years ago, opened the funeral service with a series of questions being asked by many Stockton residents:
Why did this happen? Why a bank robbery? Why here? Why now? Why July 16, 2014? Why Misty?
"Thousands of people go in and out of banks every day," Cummins said. "It is normal to ask these questions, but there are no answers this side of heaven."
Contact reporter Kevin Parrish at (209) 546-8264 or email@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @klpRecord.


text:
Lowell has been featured on several occasions on TI. In fact, he was one of my earliest subjects and my first ever phone interview subject, way back in November 2005. It was after that session that Lowell sent me a huge package of tearsheets he'd amassed over the course of his career: several photo album/scrapbooks and a large box of loose clippings, as well as several rolled posters.
I was so stunned at the sheer volume of Lowell's work (all of it absolutely wonderful), I immediately proposed that we collaborate on an "Art of" book, to which Lowell enthusiastically agreed.
Unfortunately life got in the way. The task of scanning, digitally cleaning and repairing, then designing and building the page layouts proved to be too overwhelming for me on top of my other obligations (family, job, and maintaining TI).
After giving me the benefit of his almost limitless patience, Lowell had no choice but to ask that I return all his materials. It was a sad day for both of us to have to concede that the project would not come to fruition. Lowell was incredibly understanding, telling me there were no hard feelings and that he valued our friendship. I was incredibly grateful for his kindness and understanding, and still am.
Well I'm happy to report that Lowell was not ready to give up. Using the approximately 250 hi res image scans I had managed to prepare and the InDesign document I'd begun to build as a starting point, Lowell rolled up his sleeves and set to work.
It took several years... but with dogged determination, tireless effort and the loving assistance of his family, Lowell's dream of a lasting record of his life's accomplishments is at last a reality! His many adoring fans can now purchase The Art of Lowell Hess at either Barnes & Nobles or Amazon.com
The Art of Lowell Hess is a gorgeous hardcover featuring an introduction written by Lowell himself, followed by 150 pages of uninterrupted art in colour and black and white. I'm still a little amazed that he didn't use all of my scans and that there's even more of Lowell's work in the book that I never saw.
So as not to spoil the fun, I've decided this week to run some of the stuff that didn't make the cut - and leave you to be surprised and delighted by what Lowell decided to share with readers in those 150 pages. As he says in his introduction, "I am in the twilight of my career and [reached] my 90th year on the seventh day of February 2011. I was born too late to fully catch the "Golden Days of Illustration" but enjoyed what I did. Now I can sit back and listen to the nice things that people say. I could not ask for anything more."


text:
U.S. oil firm ConocoPhillips is to sell its 8.4 percent stake in Kazakhstan oil field Kashagan for about $5 billion to Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.NS), a state-run Indian group looking to boost production, according to Reuters.
Kashagan, the world's biggest oilfield discovery since 1968, holds an estimated 30 billion barrels of oil-in-place, of which 8 billion to 12 billion are potentially recoverable, with first production expected next year. Start-up of the field has been delayed since 2005 due to cost overruns and disputes with authorities over taxes.
With ONGC's domestic output flat for years, India now buys nearly 80 percent of its oil needs and is the world's fourth-biggest oil importer.
ConocoPhillips, which has been shedding overseas assets to cut debt and increase its investment in lower-cost domestic shale oil and gas, said on Monday the book value of assets related to its Kashagan interest was about $5.5 billion as of September 30, and it would take an after-tax impairment of about $400 million. The deal was expected to close in the first half of 2013.
Fadel Gheit, oil analyst at Oppenheimer, said ConocoPhillips was cutting its losses by selling its stake.
"This project has been plagued by problems," said Gheit. "All along it was poorly handled. It is over budget and behind schedule."
ONGC, India's fifth-biggest company by market value, has been investing to maintain output from its old fields and has capital spending plans of around 340 billion Indian rupees ($6.1 billion) this year and next. It is under pressure from the government to meet rising demand.
With Indian state companies having often lost out to China in bidding for global energy assets, the Kashagan acquisition is the largest ever for ONGC. It is also the biggest outbound deal from India since mobile phone operator Bharti Airtel (BRTI.NS) bought mobile phone operations in Africa for $9 billion in 2010 from Kuwait-based Zain (ZAIN.KW).
ONGC Videsh, the arm of ONGC that invests overseas, said the acquisition would likely add 1 million metric tons (20,000 barrels per day) to its annual production over 25 years, with its share of output significantly higher in later stages of development.
ONGC Videsh's production in the year to March was 8.7 million metric tons.
The deal comes as India pushes to diversify crude supplies away from Iran, which used to provide about 12 percent of the country's 3.5 million bpd or so of imports before sales were hit by western sanctions aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions.
It puts ONGC Videsh into what has been a fraught and expensive partnership between Kazakhstan and some of the world's biggest oil companies, which hope to use the departure of ConocoPhillips to gain greater operating control and extend their production-sharing agreements with the state beyond 2041.
Kazakhstan, home to 3 percent of the world's recoverable oil reserves and the largest former Soviet oil producer after Russia, has sought to revise deals struck with foreign energy companies in the lean post-Soviet years.
Shedding assets
ConocoPhillips, which has been disposing of non-core overseas assets to cut debt and increase its exploration and dividend budgets, has already beaten its target of asset sales worth $20 billion by the end of 2012, including the sale of its stake in Lukoil (LKOH.MM), Russia's second-biggest oil producer.
Last month, Kazakh oil and gas minister Sauat Mynbayev said ConocoPhillips planned to sell its stake.
ONGC was also said to be one of a trio of Indian companies that had bid $5 billion for stakes in six of ConocoPhillips' Canadian oil sands assets, which the Houston-based oil major put on the block early this year.
ConocoPhillips is still evaluating bids for the assets following "substantial" interest, said Rob Evans, spokesman for the company's Canadian operations.
That asset package includes and interest the producing Surmont project, run in a joint venture with France's Total SA (TOTF.PA), and undeveloped leases.
The ONGC deal is subject to government approvals as well as the pre-emption rights of Kazakhstan and other participants in the Kashagan field which is jointly controlled by state-run KazMunaiGas and six international companies, including Eni (ENI.MI), ExxonMobil (XOM.N), Inpex Corp (1605.T), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), and Total (TOTF.PA).
It is unlikely that Exxon or Shell would exercise their right of first refusal, citing the project's ongoing problems, Oppenheimer's Gheit said.
"I'm not sure you want more of a bitter pill," Gheit said.
ConocoPhillips stock was down 0.5 percent at $56.42 in midday New York Stock Exchange trading.
($1 = 55.5850 rupees)


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Jordan Farmar played, at least in the beginning. He ended with a sorta solid 12/4/7, with four threes line, but Avery Johnson's egg timer went off and he realized he hadn't gotten pissed at Jordan Farmar at all yet this season. Farmar played poor defense. But the Nets have 50 losses, so let's assume Farmar wasn't the only one not shuffling his feet. Stoopid as it may be, if Farmar is going to lose minutes to Ben Uzoh (and Deron) because of another Avery Johnson whim, you might want to look elsewhere. Leave him on your bench tonight to see how the guard situation shakes out.
Here's what else happened in a slow fantasy basketball Tuesday.
Deron Williams – Didn't play, but we didn't think he'd play today. Tomorrow is your money melon, Krusty.
LeBron James – Earned his fourth triple-double of the season last night (27/10/12), matching his trip-dub total from last season. Unfortunately, I missed last night's performance 'cause I was in the bathroom.
Mike Bibby – Sank seven threes. No one wins when Mike Bibby shoots 11 threes. Especially the Heat.
Chris Bosh – 10/4/4 and missed all but five of his 14 shots from the field. Pat Riley was struck with the fear that they mainstreamed their starting power forward too soon. Back to paste-eating for Chris.
Anthony Parker – Almost scored his season-high 21 points last night. Simon said 'almost.' You lose. Especially if you've owned Anthony Parker for more than last night's game and the game in which he scored 21 points.
Patrick Patterson – 13/8 in 22 minutes – many of which came during garbage time. The clock's ticking on his production for the rest of this season, which blows now, but will make for an easy sleeper post come summertime. Mmm, I love me some corn on the blog.
Stephen Curry – 35/5/6 in 49 minutes. KaBoOom! Despite his six turnovers, this still ranks as one of his better games of the season. I'm only 62 percent sure that this validates his status as a premiere point guard. It's not too late. Acie Law will miss the rest of the season which pretty much means Curry won't miss another minute of the season.
Dorell Wright – Ice cold. Shot 2-for-13 from the field. If missing 11-of-13 shots is wrong, I don't want to be wrong. (Y'see what I did there?)
Ekpe Udoh – He's averaged 8.7/5, with 2.7 blocks in the seven games he's started. The Warriors are also 2-5 over that span. Coincidence? Yeah, probably.
Serge Ibaka – 19/8, with three blocks. Why can't you be more like Serge, Ekpe?
Samuel Dalembert – 0/6, with a block in 12 minutes. Not sure what happened here. Yo, West Coasters. Fill me in.
Jared Dudley – I said yesterday that I didn't expect a ton from Dudley from here on out. Then he went 21/5/2, with five steals in the Suns loss. So never mind that. Or 'Nevermind' if you believe the Foo Fighters are Dave Grohl's second-best band. Them Crooked Vultures RULE! That's not what I meant. Anyway, Nash and Hill are closing in on seeing their minutes cut, which only works in Dudley's favor.


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When the Houston Dynamo travel to Gillette Stadium to take on the New England Revolution Saturday night, they recognize that both teams have a lot of work to do: If they hope to make a run to the playoffs, they have to start now.
"We are both in a do-or-die situation, so it should make for an interesting game," said defender Bobby Boswell. "Every game is important. You say that at the beginning of the year, but coming down the stretch, it's a little more tangible. You know the points you have to get, and New England is a tough team as we have always had some tough games against them."
Even the newest member of the Dynamo coaching staff is focused solely on getting three points. Recently hired assistant coach Steve Ralston returns to where he played for eight seasons. The longtime Rev will be honored in a pregame ceremony by his former team, but it is what he can bring during the match that will help the Dynamo most.
"I know [the Revolution] better than anyone," said Ralston. "[The staff has] watched plenty of their games already, and all the coaches here know what they are about, but if I can give any help, I will."
Saturday night's game will be the 200th overall game in club history for Houston. They have composed an 82-56-61 record in all competitions. It seems only fitting that Houston and New England square off against each other considering the history between the two clubs, which includes two MLS Cup finals, a SuperLiga final, and more than a few heated regular season matches.
New England enters Saturday night boasting a seven-game unbeaten streak in all competitions; however, the Dynamo are more concerned with their own performance.
"This game we have to focus in on us," said Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall. "We have to look at ourselves, and we need results now. We need results bad. We're looking at ourselves as the main thing."
Dwain Capodice is a contributor to MLSsoccer.com. Questions or Comments can be sent via email to email@example.com.


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No, I'm not talking about watching Stanley Kubric films at odd times of the day.
And no, I'm not trying to quote the movie Clueless. As if!
For the next nine weeks, I'll be helping to run a weekly writers' workshop. It's the same workshop that nurtured my early attempts at poetry and prose, and let to writing fiction. But this time around, I'm a leader in the group. *Gulp* I'm kind of nervous, because I'm basically a self-taught writer of fiction and poetry. (Ooh, maybe now is the time to whip this little certificate out!)
I wonder when that "imposter" feeling will go away.
Anyway, because I'll be devoting several hours a week to this workshop, you'll notice that I'll be pretty sporadicus with my blog posting. (Remember, purposeful misuse of silly words is charming, not idiocy. Or so I tell myself.)
How about you? Have you had a chance to mentor budding writers, or been part of a writing workshop?
Do you suffer from Imposteritis when it comes to hanging out with other writers?


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Sunday, December 14, 2008
Bush Nearly Hit By Shoes
Posted By Glen Maganzini at 12/14/2008 08:55:00 PM
Labels: George W. Bush, Glen Maganzini, Iraq
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Denver Broncos honor Colorado Paralympians
Before their playoff game with the Baltimore Ravens on Jan. 12, 2013, the Denver Broncos honored 13 members of the 2012 U.S. Paralympic Team, all who live in Colorado, as "Broncos Country Heroes" during a pre-game ceremony. Monica Bascio (cycling), Brickelle Bro (swimming), Bryce Boarman (soccer), Jennifer Chew (wheelchair basketball), Dartanyon Crockett (judo), Anna Johannes (swimming), Myles Porter (judo), Michael Prout (swimming), Christina Schwab (track and field), Adam Scaturro (wheelchair rugby), Gavin Sibayan (soccer), Elizabeth Stone (swimming) and Matt Updike (cycling) were recognized individually at the 50 yard line of Mile High Stadium. Each also received a personalized commemorative football.


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Subjects taught at LSE | Services and divisions (administration)
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The Asia Research Centre is working on developing research and events on topics relevant to Taiwan, building on the Centre's history of engagement with Taiwan which can be traced back to the setting up of the Yu Kuo-Hua Chair in International Economics, with support from the Taiwan government, in 1993.
Research and dissemination related to the Taiwanese economy, politics and society have been ongoing. Recent workshops include Europe's Experiences and the Developing Process of Cross-Taiwan Strait Relations, organised with European Union Research Centre, Institute of International Relations, National Chengchi University, sponsored by Mainland Affairs Council, Executive Yuan and Civility and Peace Dialogue hosted with the Taiwan Research Foundation, National Sun Yat-sen University, the East Asian Institute at National University of Singapore, with support from the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.
Various round table discussions have been organised at LSE with Taiwanese policy makers and academics to discuss economy and politics in Taiwan.
Professor Chris Hughes has been studying Taiwan elections over many years. He organises workshops in Taiwan around the time of elections.
The Taiwan Research Programme (TRP) was based within the ARC. It was set up in 2004 to provide a multi-disciplinary study of the cultural dimensions of global issues in relation with Taiwan. This programme is led by Professor Stephan Feuchtwang.
Use of this website is subject to, and implies acceptance of, its Terms of use (including Copyright and intellectual property, Privacy and data protection and Accessibility). The London School of Economics and Political Science is a School of the University of London. It is a charity and is incorporated in England as a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Acts (Reg no. 70527).The registered office address of the School is: The London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK; Tel: +44 (0)20 7405 7686


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A friend of mine had this on her facebook page:
In our time, when men seem more than ever prone to confuse wisdom with knowledge, and knowledge with information, there is coming into existence a new kind of provincialism. It is a provincialism, not of space, but of time (...).
TS Eliot
Its a really interesting quote. The idea isn't individual to Eliot either- C.S. Lewis used the same comparison of a historian to a traveller in his Pilgrim's Regress. I wonder if the attraction had something to do with the growth of mass travel in the early part of the twentieth century- anyway its a great quote!


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I have encountered the USB mouse of death!
The machine is a 2.17 GHz single core with 1.5Gb of RAM and a single 160Mb PATA drive running Vista Home Premium SP2.
I connected the USB mouse and keyboard from a nearby XP Pro SP3 box and tried to boot. At first it wouldn't, then I got to the BIOS screen that gave me a hard drive error message.
I was contemplating taking out the HDD and slaving it to another machine to run diagnostics, but decided to use Hiren's boot CD instead.
I got to the Hiren's screen and realised that neither the mouse nor keyboard were working..........I tried different USB slots with no effect.
OK, I thought, I will try PS2, and disconnected the mouse, at which point the keyboard numlock light came on????????????????
I attached a PS2 mouse and rebooted and the machine went into Windows just fine..............there is nothing wrong with the HDD!!!!!
I have not seen anything like this before, but have made a mental note to check the boot with all USB devices disconnected in future. In this case it took me to the Windows login screen.
It would have been a waste of money to buy a new HDD and go through reinstalling the software.
I know the mouse worked on the XP box, but haven't tried a different USB one on the Vista machine yet.


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Expansion brings out the Fire Mages like a Mage Battle never could…
So I battled away on behalf of all Fire Mages across Azeroth, fighting arguabley a losing battle.
End result:
- Arcane mages love Arcane
- Frost Mages love Frost
- Fire Mages love Fire.
Then the strangest thing happens… Blizzard throws us poor old Fire Mages a rope, while dumping Arcane Mages in a bottomless pit.
So Larisa has come back to the fold.
Velinath has come back to the fold.
How many more Mages have now seen the blazing light and returned to Fire?
Of special note are those loyal to the flame… come on down Pew Pew!
Finally, a new Blogging Flame has been sparked.. check out the latest Fire Mage blog to hit the scene, with the apt URL of http://pyroblast.wordpress.com/ we have Ten Days in Azeroth: Ramblings of a Fire Mage
Gnomer and Out!


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This article is also available and sold as a booklet.
This sermon series includes the following messages:
Please contact the publisher to obtain copies of this resource.Publisher Information
The following is an excerpt from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Romans 13.
Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. (13:1a)
The basic command is simple and succinct: Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. In the broadest sense, every person applies to every human being, because the principle stated here reflects God's universal plan for mankind. But Paul is speaking specifically to Christians, declaring, in effect, that Christianity and good citizenship should go together. And, as he will continue to explain, subjection to the governing authorities includes much more than simply obeying civil laws. It also includes genuine honor and respect for government officials as God's agents for maintaining order and justice in human society.
Because the apostle was writing to the church in Rome, the capital of the empire, some interpreters suggest that he was giving a unique warning to Christians there because of the greater danger to traitors and insurrectionists, real or imagined. Most people did not enjoy the legal protection of presumed innocence, especially in regard to crimes against the state. Long considered a sect of Judaism, with its rebellious inclinations, the church was especially suspect.
But Paul's arguments here, as well as similar teachings elsewhere in the New Testament, make clear that the principle of subjection to human authority applies to every believer, in whatever part of the world and under whatever form of government. Writing to believers who were "scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia" (1 Pet. 1:1), Peter said, "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all men; love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king" (1 Pet. 2:13–17).
As always, Paul followed his own instruction. After being falsely accused of breaking Roman law, he and Silas were brutally beaten, thrown in prison, and placed in stocks in Philippi. But instead of railing out against the ones who had mistreated them and demanding their rights from the authorities, they spent the first night in jail (until the Lord miraculously delivered them) "praying and singing hymns of praise to God" (Acts 16:25).
Georgi Vins is a Russian pastor who, for many years before the fall of Soviet communism, suffered, along with many others, great persecution for his faith. Yet he recounts that, however severe their repression and mistreatment became, pastors and other Christians determined to obey every law, just or unjust, with the exception of laws that would force them to cease worship or to disobey God's Word. Following Peter's admonition, they willingly suffered "for doing what is right," but not "for doing what is wrong" (1 Pet. 3:17). They would not "suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler," but would gladly suffer "as a Christian" (4:15–16).
Believers are to be model citizens, known as law abiding not rabble-rousing, obedient rather than rebellious, respectful of government rather than demeaning of it. We must speak against sin, against injustice, against immorality and ungodliness with fearless dedication, but we must do it within the framework of civil law and with respect for civil authorities. We are to be a godly society, doing good and living peaceably within an ungodly society, manifesting our transformed lives so that the saving power of God is seen clearly.
In his significant book Toward a Biblical View of Civil Government, Robert D. Culver writes,
Churchmen whose Christian activism has taken mainly to placarding, marching, protesting, and shouting might well observe the author of these verses [Rom. 13:1–7] and then they might observe him first at prayer, then in counsel with his friends, and, after that, preaching in the homes and marketplaces. When Paul came to be heard by the mighty, it was to defend his action as a preacher (albeit in the streets) of [the] way to heaven. ([Chicago: Moody Press, 1975], p. 262, emphasis in original)
Be in subjection to translates hupotasso, which was often used as a military term referring to soldiers who were ranked under and subject to the absolute authority of a superior officer. The verb here is a passive imperative, meaning first of all that the principle is a command, not an option, and second that the Christian is to willingly place himself under all governing authorities, whoever they may be.
Paul gives no qualification or condition. Every civil authority is to be submitted to willingly. In his first letter to Timothy, Paul teaches "that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity" (1 Tim. 2:1–2), again with no exception related to the rulers' competence or incompetence, morality or immorality, cruelty or kindness, or even godli- ness or ungodliness. He gives the same instruction in his letter to Titus,to whom he wrote, "Remind them [believers under his care] to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be uncontentious, gentle, showing every consideration for all men" (Titus 3:1–2). He admonished the Thessalonian Christians "to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you; so that you may behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need" (1 Thess. 4:11–12).
During the first several centuries of the church, many Christians were so little involved with the societies in which they lived that sometimes they were considered outsiders in their own communities. They were not unloving, uncaring, or insensitive to others, but they lived very distinct and separated lives. And although they were not pacifists or opposed to civil government, few Christians enlisted in military service or sought government office. The third-century Christian writer Tertullian commented that, under the pagan Roman Empire, Christians were not executed for inflammatory teaching or behavior but for presumed antisocial tendencies. Even though that view was biased, it nevertheless reflected the church's focus on the kingdom of God rather the kingdoms of man. Sadly, that focus does not characterize most of the church today. Even spiritual and moral battles are often fought by worldly, materialistic means. Many of the "weapons of our warfare are… of the flesh" and ineffective, rather than spiritual and "divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses" (2 Cor. 10:4).
The principle of civil obedience applied in the Old Testament as well. Even while His people were captive in the distant, pagan land of Babylon, the Lord commanded them, "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare" (Jer. 29:7).
As alluded to above, there is but one limitation to the believer's obligation under the Lord to willing and complete submission to civil authority: namely, any law or command that would require disobedience to God's Word.
When the pharaoh ordered the Jewish midwives Shiphrah and Puah to kill all male babies when they were born, they "feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live" (Ex. 1:17). Because those women refused to disobey God by committing murder, God honored that civil disobedience and "was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty" (v. 20). When the four young Jewish men named Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were commanded to eat "from the king's choice food and from the wine which he drank," they respectfully refused, because it would have meant defiling themselves by breaking of the Mosaic dietary laws. In order to keep from offending the king, Daniel suggested to the commander that the four of them " 'be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be observed in your presence, and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king's choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.' So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days." God honored and blessed that faithfulness, "and at the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king's choice food" (Dan. 1:12–15).
It is important to note that, even while refusing to do what God had forbidden, those four faithful men of God showed respect for the human authority they had to disobey. Speaking for the other three as well as for himself, Daniel did not demand deference to their beliefs but respectfully "sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself" (v. 8, emphasis added), and he referred to themselves as the commander's "servants" (vv. 12–13). In obeying God, they did not self-righteously or disrespectfully malign, contend with, or condemn civil authority.
Two other familiar accounts of justifiable civil disobedience are also recorded in that book. When King Nebuchadnezzar commanded Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to worship his gods and the golden image he had erected, they "answered and said to the king, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up' " (Dan. 3:16–18). Again God blessed their faithfulness, to the extent that "the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them" (v. 27).
At the instigation of his commissioners and satraps, who were jealous of Daniel's royal favor, a later Babylonian king, Darius, issued a decree "that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions' den" (Dan. 6:7). Daniel respectfully but firmly refused to obey the decree, and the king reluctantly had him thrown into the lions' den. Once again, God honored his servant's faithfulness. "Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he had trusted in his God" (v. 23). Again it is important to note Daniel's lack of malice and his genuine respect for the human authority his conscience forced him to disobey. After being released unharmed, he said "O king, live forever!" (v. 21).
When the Jewish leaders of Jerusalem warned Peter and John "not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus" (Acts 4:18), the apostles replied, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:19–20). The Lord had commanded, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation" (Mark 16:15; Matt. 28:19–20), and therefore to obey those human rulers would mean to disobey their divine Ruler, which they would not do. When Peter and John persisted in their evangelization, the Jewish leaders warned them again, "saying, 'We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.' But Peter and the apostles answered and said, 'We must obey God rather than men' " (Acts 5:28–29).
Like individual believers, a local church is obligated to observe civil laws such as zoning, building codes, fire safety regulations, and every other law and regulation that would not cause them to disobey God's Word. A church is only justified in disobeying an ordinance that, for example, would require acceptance of homosexuals into church membership or of hiring them to work on staff.
In most of the world today, even including many former communist lands, Christians seldom face the need to "obey God rather than men." By far our most common obligation, therefore, is to obey both God and men.
Some years ago, the tax department of the state of California issued a broadly-worded form that required all tax-exempt organizations, including churches, to attest that they did not and would not engage in political activities. A number of local congregations arched their backs, as it were, and refused to sign the affidavit, which resulted in their buildings being boarded up by state officials. Although he had no association with those churches and was not asked by them to intervene, a prominent Christian attorney talked with state officials on the churches' behalf. He explained that a Christian's conscience sometimes requires him to take certain positions on moral issues that relate to civil laws, but that those positions come from religious convictions that are based on Scripture, not on political ideology. Appreciating that explanation, the state officials reworded the form in a way that better protected religious rights. Conflicts do not, of course, always work out that favorably, but churches and individual believers should make every effort to explain carefully and respectfully their reasons for wanting a civil law or mandate to be changed that they believe would force them to disobey God.
In most matters we are to respect and obey civil laws and ordinances, and we are to do it ungrudgingly. Even when conscience leaves us no alternative but to disobey human authority, we do so with respect and with willingness to suffer whatever penalties or consequences may result.
Although He sends His own people "out as sheep in the midst of wolves," our Lord commands us to "be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves" (Matt. 10:16). We are to be alert, cautious, and concerned about what is going on around us and in the world. But that must not be the focus of our attention, and our living in the midst of it must be innocent—free of anxiety, ill will, rancor, and self-righteousness. Men "will deliver you up to the courts, and scourge you in their synagogues," Jesus continued to warn; "and you shall even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not become anxious about how or what you will speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what you are to speak. For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you" (Matt. 10:18–20). Furthermore, "brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved" (vv. 21–22).
Persecution is not cause for rebellion but for patient endurance and righteousness. It is not that a Christian should seek persecution or should not try to escape it when possible. Persecution in itself has no spiritual value. Therefore, "whenever they persecute you in this city," Jesus went on to say, "flee to the next" (v. 23).
Regardless of the failures of government—many of them immoral, unjust, and ungodly—Christians are to pray and live peaceful lives that influence the world by godly, selfless living, not by protests, sit-ins, and marches, much less by rebellion. Like the prophets of the Old Testament, we have both the right and the obligation to confront and oppose the sins and evils of our society, but only in the Lord's way and power, not the world's. In this way, says Paul, our living is "good and profitable for men" (Titus 3:8), because it shows them the power of God in salvation. They see what a person saved from sin is like.


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Why Next Year's Elections Ride on This Week's Budget Action
GOP gamble on Medicare, possible shutdown will shape outcome for Obama, lawmakers.
The outcome of the 2012 elections will be determined, in large part, by what is happening right now in Washington.
For starters, House Republicans today unveiled their version of the federal budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. They are making one very big bet that voters are so eager to reduce the deficit and cut government spending that they will accept massive changes in Medicare and Medicaid programs as necessary medicine.
The biggest gamble is on Medicare. There's no doubt the program that provides health coverage for retirees is a huge drain on the nation's finances and needs to be fixed sooner or later. But by taking a unilateral stab at fixing the entitlement program, Republicans had better be able to clearly explain what they want to do, why they're doing it and what it will mean to Americans of all ages.
Changing Medicare from the current insurance system to one that gives seniors credits to choose from a menu of insurance options won't kick in for another decade.
But there is a much shorter timetable for the GOP to sell the plan to voters -- 17 months. That's the time left before the next election. In that time, Republicans have to convince those at or close to retirement age that the changes won't affect them. They also have to convince younger voters that the changes will be better for them in the long run and that they will able to afford the new coverage.
Of course, they won't be making that sales pitch in a vacuum. You can bet Democrats will hammer away, trying to portray the Grand Old Party as guilty of protecting the wealthy by cutting the top individual and corporate tax rates to 25 percent while hurting the poor with changes in Medicaid and the food stamp program, and the elderly with the sweeping revamp of Medicare.
Facts, alas, aren't central in such arguments. It's all about perception. If Democrats convince voters that Republicans are out to dismantle Medicare and Medicaid, Obama and his fellow party members could have a big day in November 2012. If the GOP successfully sells the idea that it is taking the tough steps needed to save the country from being swallowed by debt -- and that even tougher steps will be needed later if nothing is done now -- Republicans will be poised to control both chambers in Congress and maybe send Obama packing after just one term.
It's far too early to suggest how this might play out. But public opinion suggests the GOP's all-in bet is risky. Yes, most Americans want to do something about the U.S. debt and ballooning federal spending. But strong majorities tell pollsters Congress shouldn't make major changes in Medicare and Social Security, and nearly half say those changes shouldn't be made at the expense of Medicaid programs for those with low incomes, either.
But the 2012 budget is just one reason this week will shape the outcome of the next elections. Both parties are still scrambling to find a way to fund the government for the rest of this fiscal year. They have until midnight Friday (April 8) to compromise or nonessential departments and programs will shut down until an agreement is reached.
The two sides are billions of dollars apart. Last week, with the parties talking, a deal seemed within reach. This week, with the parties yelling, the gap has become a canyon.
If there is a shutdown, it will be short and won't affect most Americans who don't live in Washington or work for the federal government. Essential services will continue and Social Security checks will be issued. Still, blame will be assigned, so both sides will be eager to portray themselves as eager to solve problems the other party created.
Yes, it's a long journey from here to Election Day. But circle this week on your calendar. For one party, it will very likely mark the beginning of the end of their chances.


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text: When a home no longer suits a family's needs, the homeowners are left with a big dilemma: renovate or sell it? Love It or List It Vancouver helps undecided homeowners choose. In each hour-long episode, Realtor Todd Talbot and designer Jillian Harris go head-to-head for the homeowners' final choice to stay or go. Todd's expert knowledge of the real estate market helps target affordable listings to prospective buyers, but Jillian is committed to showing homeowners that, within their budget, she can turn their unwanted house into a renovated home they can love. If the owners make the choice to list it, Jillian's hard work adds to the home's resale value. It's a hard call either way. Which choice would you make?


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State Infrastructure Banks (SIB) were authorized in 1995 as a part of the National Highway Designation Act (NHS) to help accelerate needed mobility improvements through a variety of financial assistance options made to local entities through state transportation departments.
Since Texas was chosen as one of the ten states to test the pilot program, the state legislature authorized the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to administer the SIB program in 1997.
The overall goal of the SIB program is to provide innovative financing methods to communities to assist them in meeting their infrastructure needs.
The SIB program allows borrowers to access capital funds at or below market interest rates.
General Information
The Texas Transportation Commission has approved 1,148 loans totaling more than $616 million from the SIB program. The loans have helped leverage more than $6.0 billion in transportation projects in Texas.
The SIB operates as a revolving loan fund, where the account balance grows through the monthly interest earned and repaid principal and interest payments.
In Texas, SIB financial assistance can be granted to any public or private entity authorized to construct, maintain or finance an eligible transportation project.
Projects must be eligible for funding under the existing federal highway rules (Title 23) to comply with SIB requirements. This usually requires a project to be on a state's highway system and included in the statewide Transportation Improvement Plan.
Work eligible for the program's funding in Texas includes planning and preliminary studies, feasibility, economical and environmental studies, right of way acquisition, surveying, appraisal and testing, utility relocation, engineering and design, construction, inspection and construction engineering.
Current SIB Loans by Region
Some TxDOT districts currently have SIB loans. View the map to find which districts are in each region.
Contact Us
TxDOT Project Finance, Debt and Strategic Contracts Division
State Infrastructure Bank (SIB)
125 E. 11th St.
Austin, TX 78701-2483
(512) 463-9958
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Texas Department of Transportation
All Rights Reserved
Privacy & Security Policy
125 East 11th Street • Austin, Texas 78701


text: I've got four days left until NaNoWriMo is finished. I've broken the 40000 word mark. It took me a bit longer than expected, but I'm still confident that I'll finish in time. I've set myself a little goal today. I want to reach 45000 by the end of the day. I've already written 1500 words today.


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All, got my Aqua Ram. Gotta say, the ergonomics are special. I have been collecting and playing with lights for about 7 years now. This one feels great in the hand. Much better than boring old round.
I thought it was going to be bigger than it is. Really nice mid sized light.
Nice work Don!


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Six stamps feature just some of the Jersey Overseas Aid projects that have taken place since the organisation's inception in 1968.
The stamp sheets give the discerning collector access to all the printer's marks and any additional information on the selvedges. The selvedges include the traffic lights which is a term used by collectors to denote the check dots (or colour dabs) printed in the sheet margins of stamps printed by modern offset litho or photogravure methods. They assist in checking that all the colours have printed correctly.
Most of our selvedge sheets also contain a plate number; a numeral, occasionally with a letter suffix, usually inscribed on the sheet margins to denote the plate from which the stamps were printed - for example 1A.
All our mint/cto products are carefully prepared by our own team and supplied in glassine bags to ensure you receive them in pristine condition.
Jersey Overseas Aid (JOA), an independent international aid agency funded by the States of Jersey, celebrates its 50th year in 2018. Its mission is to help reduce poverty and provide humanitarian aid in disasters and emergencies around the world and in doing so raises awareness within the Island, often inviting local residents to take part in aid projects overseas. Six stamps feature just some of the Jersey Overseas Aid projects that have taken place since the organisation's inception in 1968.


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TORONTO — Participants in JVS Toronto's Kohn Summer Intern Program will be the among those who decide what the Jewish community will look like in 10 years, Michael Soberman, national director of Canada Israel Experience, said last week.
"It's a tremendous obligation on your shoulders," he told about 30 alumni of the internship program, who gathered at the Hillel Wolfond Centre last week for a networking evening with professionals in the Jewish community.
"The community needs people who are going to step up and become leaders," Soberman said, and this program is vital because it fosters leadership skills in young Jewish students. "You may not be able to appreciate the value this internship has, but when you start your careers, you will," he told the students.
The Kohn program, now in its sixth year, was created to help Jewish students have meaningful summer jobs and get an inside look at the type of work available in the Toronto Jewish community. The 10-week program places students with a Jewish organization for four days a week, with the fifth day spent alternating between volunteering in the city and hearing lectures from lay leaders.
"JVS is invested in this program because we're helping Jewish students on their career path and it helps them when they graduate," said Lisa Rae, manager of volunteer and student services at JVS Toronto.
Jessica Parker, a recent Queen's University graduate who attended the event, said the Kohn internship was "professionally helpful" for her career.
"My [internship] supervisor actually cared about teaching me and letting me try different things," she said. "The program is invested in you and in the community, and that's part of why they're doing it."
But despite overwhelmingly positive feedback from the students who take part in the program, there's speculation every year about whether the program will continue.
"It's a real challenge to get enough funding for the program," Rae said. "There are so many charities out there asking for that dollar."
The students said that in addition to helping foster their career growth, the program also had an impact on their Jewish outlook. According to an alumni survey conducted in 2010, 59 per cent of respondents said they had done something different Jewishly as a result of completing the internship, and 50 per cent had begun volunteering for a Jewish organization after their internship ended.
The organizations that host the Kohn interns agree that the initiative is valuable. "It's an amazing program," said Dan Hadad, associate director of new media and campaigns at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), who worked with a Kohn intern last summer. "It exposes the young generation to the wide range of opportunities in the Jewish community."
He said this is especially important, since many students don't realize the diverse jobs available in the Jewish community.
"There's a perception of the typical ways to fight for Israel – like through advocacy at camps and synagogues," Hadad said. "But then there are diverse portfolios within the community like Size Doesn't Matter (SDM)."
SDM is a social media campaign that advocates for Israel by focusing on Israeli culture, technology, arts and innovation rather than the conflict in the Middle East.
Many young people "who weren't relating to traditional advocacy [relate to SDM]," Hadad said. "The Jewish community needs more innovative, out of the box programs like this one."
But students won't have a chance to intern for organizations in this way if the Kohn program can't secure stable funding. "We can't say yes to every organization that wants to have a Kohn intern because of a lack of funding," Rae said.


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Story highlights
- Suspect believed to have no previous criminal record
- He has indicated he believed the world was going to end, officials say
- Peter Keller is suspected of killing his wife and daughter
- The structure was built in a hillside east of Seattle
A Washington state man wanted in the killings of his wife and daughter was believed to be holed up Friday evening in a fortified bunker about 25 miles east of Seattle, authorities said.
SWAT and other teams deployed tear gas into the hillside structure in an effort to smoke out suspect Peter Keller, said Sgt. Cindi West of the King County Sheriff's Office.
"We do believe somebody is in there. We heard something going on, but nothing lately," West said. "We can't send people in there because of safety."
The homemade bunker is outside North Bend near Rattlesnake Ridge Trail, according to the King County Sheriff's Office.
Keller, 41, is not believed to have a previous criminal record. Investigators do not have a clear motive for the slayings, according to West.
"We gathered he had a doomsday attitude ... family and friends have indicated he thought the world was going to end at some point," West said.
Some relatives have termed Keller a survivalist, she added.
Keller was believed to be well armed. "We know he in the past has had a number of rifles, scopes and handguns. He purchased some kind of bulletproof vest," West said.
Clues to Keller's whereabouts came during the processing of the crime scene at his house, authorities said. Citizens also reported seeing Keller's pickup truck near the trailhead.
"This isn't a hole in the ground. This is a large built-up structure," Sheriff Steven D. Strachan said of the bunker. "But hidden. It took some time to find it. In fact our tactical team smelled the wood smoke coming before they actually saw it."
Strachan said Keller's house nearby was set afire Sunday after the slayings, but it failed to spread beyond the kitchen. Authorities found a hard drive with photos, he told CNN Seattle affiliate KING.
One photo was enhanced and it aided in the search for Keller, who authorities said had been building the bunker for at least eight years.
"We believe he has taken pictures from 2004 to the present day," said West.
She said she did not know the precise size of the bunker, made partially of earth and logs.
"We believe it is very large," the spokeswoman said. "He has had plenty of time to work on it."
The sheriff's office earlier this week obtained an arrest warrant for Keller, stipulating two counts of first-degree murder and first-degree arson.
The bunker was found early Friday about 800 yards off the trail. It's possible the bunker has an escape hatch or door, officials said.
The slaying victims were identified as Keller's wife, Lynnettee, and daughter, Kaylene, believed to be either 18 or 19.
According to West, Keller works with a company that refurbishes and sells computers.
SWAT and other teams weren't forcing the situation because of the possible danger involved of rushing inside. And Keller is likely to be well-supplied, officials said.
"There is no urgency. We have him contained," West said.


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From finger foods to tasty beverages, the end of the year brings people together, but being a social butterfly during the holidays could wreck the diet you've been working on the whole year.
Tis' the season to be…. fatty? Between the buffet table and the tasty wine, keeping track of your calories could make you lose your mind!
"Everyone knows, during the holidays, while you're making the party circuit that you can definitely put on a couple pounds,"said Hillary Jovi, 310 Park South bartender.
Try this: the day of the party, cut 100 to 200 calories from breakfast and lunch. That will give you some wiggle room later on without starving to death.
If hunger strikes again, add two teaspoons of chia seeds to iced tea or watered-down juice before leaving the house. The seeds expand to help you feel full longer. But if the problem is self-control, survey the food table first. Pick the most delicious treat, then turn your focus on socializing with family and friends. That will help keep you away from the buffet table.
One last tip? Use a small plate. That will force you to pick less food, leaving you to munch on it longer.


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Click to enlarge
Source: Ofcom Consumer Research, October 2011. Taken from the Ofcom International Communications Market Report, December 2011
Lots more data and charts in the full report here
I love the smell of data in the morning! Interesting and surprising statistics about digital media and devices. Compiled & curated by Dan Calladine, Aegis Media - firstname.lastname@example.com - All views expressed are my own. Please email me if you have any queries, amendments or suggestions. Follow me on twitter - I'm @dancall


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RECIPE OF THE WEEK – Super Sloppy Joes
RECIPE OF THE WEEK – Super Sloppy Joes
Super Sloppy Joes. Rachael uses some surprising ingredients to enhance a classic comfort food.
Total Time: 25 min
Prep: 10 min
Cook: 15 min
Yield: 4 super sloppy sandwiches
Level: Easy
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
1 1/4 pounds ground beef sirloin
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 crusty rolls, split, toasted, and lightly buttered
Garnish: sliced ripe tomatoes, pickles, Deviled Potato Salad
Watch how to make this recipe.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and meat to the pan. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up. Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning. Add sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and combine. When the meat has browned, add onion and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with meat for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 5 minutes longer. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy meat onto toasted, buttered bun bottoms and cover with bun tops. Serve with your favorite sides or sliced tomatoes seasoned with salt and pepper, dill pickles and Deviled Potato Salad. Have plenty of napkins on hand!
Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/super-sloppy-joes-recipe4.html?oc=linkback


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Sunday, February 19, 2006
Kirsten Kindler
One of Kirsten Kindler's wall hangings at ADA Gallery. All of her pieces in this show are assembled from cut-outs of magazine photographs, I think mostly advertisements; it isn't possible to identify the subjects of the original photos. I visited her studio once and she had a row of boxes on her worktable filled with shapes, separated by color. Lots of blues, greens, and darks.
This piece is not touching the wall, it's suspended at the top and casting shadows. I'm not sure if, with a piece like this, she knows what she is making from the start and cuts the shapes accordingly, or if she assembles something unplanned from the shapes she has cut. Maybe a little of both. This whole thing is taped together with scotch tape; it looks very fancy here but up close you can see all the tape and the scissor cuts that have been repaired with tape. It shimmies in the wind when the door opens and closes.
This is an interesting piece to compare to one of Carson Fox's wall hangings. They look similar, but Carson's piece is made of wire and synthetic hair, and brings to mind specifics like hair memorials and mourning. The interpretations of Kirstin's piece are more open, your idea of what the material might be (iron, cloth) shifts along with various associations (a closed gate, an illuminating chandelier).
The recontextualized glossy magazine source imagery is making me think of Paul Ryan's paintings.
One of three mysterious milky rorschachs. Everything is obfuscated - the original source imagery, whatever it was in the magazine, is cut into this sort of creepy rorschach pattern and then placed under a milky piece of glass.
I see a royal insect face-mask, like a character from my Garden story. No, wait, now I see the female reproductive system.
Many many interlocking rings, cut from magazine photos and taped together. Something bridal beautiful and also pond-scum gross. How does this get moved and stored? Click here to see it much larger and better.
Installation at ADA
Kirsten Kindler is the ONLY PERSON to have bought one of my paintings in 2005!!!
6 comments:
- Anonymous said...
is kirsten kindler an mfa at vcu?
- Michael said...
Kirsten work resembles the practice of Scherenschnitte (German for paper cutting). Yet a lot of the traditional Scherenschnitte that you see is modest, if not petite in size. I used to have a small picture of a cat that my ex-girlfriend and I got at an autumn festival in Springs, PA. I loved that cat.
- Anonymous said...
Anonymous - No, she is not a VCU student, I think she went to school in San Francisco (she is maybe 39 or 40) and moved to Richmond with John (ADA owner) eight or nine years ago. He is from the area.
- n8shac said...
Hey Martin, if it's any consolation to you: if I had a choice between buying one of your paintings a month versus paying for student loans, I'd be on a Bromirski Payment plan tomorrow... however, I don't have a choice and such luxuries neither one of us could live on.
Tsk, keep up the good painting!
- Anonymous said...
She went to school in NY and then moved to SF, then on to VA.
- Barbara Ruth Saunders said...
I went to high school with her in New York! She attended Syracuse, then moved to San Francisco.


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I have a folder of png files that have transparent backgrounds. I would like to convert them from the command line and maintain the images' transparent backgrounds.
I'd appreciate any help.
Since jpgs don't support transparency so how can I specify the output jpg's background color's hex value? Right now it defaults to
#ffffff? I have tried this script, but it gives the output jpgs white backgrounds:
mogrify -quality 100 -format jpg *.png
I created these png files in inkscape. I should mention that my goal in converting these pngs to jpgs is to get rid of jagged edges on circular or angular objects. The pngs currently have jagged edges and I read that converting them to jpgs might solve this problem. However converting via the method outlined in Christian Skjødt's answer gives the images even worse jagged edges. Is there a way that I can convert the pngs to jpg and also use anti-aliasing or maybe another technique to get rid of the jagged edges? Thanks for the help.


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Saturday, March 22, 2008
Please don't mix politics with the Olympics
However, as much as I dislike China's policies regarding Tibet, regarding forced abortions and infanticides, harvesting the organs of executed political prisoners, and a myriad of other issues, I do not support a boycott of the Olympic Games in any way, shape, or form. A boycott has happened in two other Olympics - it accomplished nothing, and it was hypocritical to boot.
The United States and its allies (sans Great Britain) sat out the 1980 Moscow Olympics in order to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Did it get the Soviets out of Afghanistan? No, they didn't leave until 1988. Then, four years later, the Soviets and their allies (sans Romania) boycotted the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Did that do any good either? No. In both cases, government officials, diplomats, and the average Joe didn't experience a lick of difference in their lives. Amateur atheletes on the other hand - athletes who dedicated their lives to sport and only had so many chances to make it to the Games - were devastated.
Boycotting an Olympics is hypocritical because that is the only thing that is boycotted; other relations with the country in question go on. Let's say the United States did boycott the Games in Beijing: would we stop trading with China? If what China is currently doing is bad enough for its Olympics to be boycotted, then it is only right that we should stop buying their goods as well. Boycotting an Olympics is an empty gesture that only hurts the athletes and the viewers who have both spent the last four years awaiting the world's best competition.
The interesting part about this state of affairs is that when the Olympics were going on over 2,000 years ago in Greece, wars were actually postponed or suspended while the Olympics were under way. Once the games ended, the war started back up again. Compare that to the modern Olympics when they were canceled in 1916, 1940, and 1944 due to the two World Wars. If a war couldn't stop the ancient Olympic Games, then a disagreement with a host country's policies shouldn't either. In the future, the IOC should circumvent the issue by only awarding the Olympics to countries that have a proven track record as one that does its best to champion human rights, not violate them.
Good Day to You, Sir
13 comments:
- Larry Sheldon said...
How do you feel about the fact that (apparently) some of the athletes can not operate in the polluted air there? What should they do?
- March 22, 2008 3:55 PM
- Law and Order Teacher said...
The government should never, ever get involved with athletics. In 80 they robbed the athletes in the summer Olympics of their lifetime dream. I they think they can survive in the pollution let them go. If they don't let them make that decision. Government intervention is not warranted in this instance.
- March 23, 2008 5:59 PM
I agree. In an ideal world, sports should be treated seperatly from politics. However, there are times when politics interferes with sport and so a reaction is required from the world of sport. For example, the apartheid regime in South Africa affected sports and so sporting authorities (cricket in particular) were correct in establishing a boycott.
- March 24, 2008 4:46 AM
The only responsibility of the the government that I am concerned about in the upcoming Olympics is their role in security for the athletes.
The tragedy of 1972 was executed by the PLO and there are many more Islamic extremist groups today that would like to bring glory to themselves by massacring infidels in such a public venue.
- March 24, 2008 2:00 PM
- W.R. Chandler said...
Oh yeah, the athletic boycott on South Africa did a lot of good - the BLACK athletes from South Africa were banned from international competition too.
Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
- March 25, 2008 12:44 AM
The black atheletes were not being selected for the teams. That was the issue. Apartheid meant that selection was reserved for white players. It also meant that black players from other teams were not permitted to play against white teams in South Africa.
THAT is why the boycott was acceptable.
- March 25, 2008 4:18 AM
- W.R. Chandler said...
donalbain, your claim is not entirely true. I remember a feature done during the 1988 Olympics that followed the plight of black South African track runners and marathoners who were not allowed to compete internationally by the IOC and the IAAF.
Nothing like hurting the people you are claiming to help - it is the leftist way!
- March 27, 2008 12:24 AM
Sorry, but the reason there was a boycott was because of the apartheit policies of the sporting organisations of South Africa. The national sporting organisations of that country had racist policies, both for their own selection processes and for the teams they would play against. It was NOT a coincidence that SA only played cricket against New Zealand, Australia and England while not playing against India or Pakistan or any African nation. It was also not a coincidence that D'Oilivier had to come to England to play cricket (he was non white). Similarly, when he was selected to play for England in a tour of SA, the SA sporting authorities refused to allow him to play in the country. That is why the cricket authorities began the boycott. If you are not willing to play properly with the other teams, then you don't get to play at all. Other sports had similar or identical policies, including, but not limited to rugby, football, AND athletics. In fact, under the laws of South Africa, ANY mixed race sporting event was illegal, including the practice of running black and white in the same marathon.
- March 27, 2008 3:49 AM
Donalbain -
You are using the wrong term. South Africa was banned (barred from attending) by the IOC from the Olympics from 1964-1992. They could not compete even if they wanted to.
In 1976 26 African countries boycotted (refused to attend) the Montreal Olympics because the IOC refused to ban New Zealand after that country's rugby team played a series of games in South Africa.
- March 27, 2008 5:06 AM
They were banned by the IOC because the South African Olympic Committee did not abide by the rules and spirit of the Olympic movement. The South African sporting organisations operated an apartheit system, which is against the IOC charter. As such, they forfeitted the right to take part in Olympic events. The boycotts and bans were the direct result of the evil practices of the SPORTING organisations of South Africa.
- March 27, 2008 11:29 AM
Of course, I should add that in these cases it was SPORTING bodies who operated the boycotts and bans, rather than government. Which is the ideal solution. Crimes against sporting bodies should be punished by the sporting bodies.
- March 27, 2008 11:34 AM
The 1976 BOYCOTT was initiated by several African countries petitioning the IOC to BAN New Zealand whose rugby team (not an Olympic sport) toured South African. The IOC refused to BAN New Zealand and so 26 African countries decided they would BOYCOTT the Olympics as a protest against the IOC's decision which the felt was a sign of support for South Africa.
This affected 300 athletes including many who held world records. The countries that boycotted were: Libya, Iraq, Kenya, Zambia, Nigeria, Gambia, Sudan, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Algeria, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Gabon, Chad, Togo, Niger, Congo, Mauritius, Upper Volta and Malawi.
The boycott changed nothing and New Zealand was not the only country whose rugby team toured South Africa. Why New Zealand was picked as the country to be banned, I don't know.
The only ones who suffered were the athletes whose countries used the boycott as a political statement.
- March 28, 2008 3:00 PM
New Zealand were the only team who had an OFFICIAL tour. The others were "rebel tours" that operated outside the remit of the official sporting authorities.
- March 30, 2008 6:05 AM


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Contra Victor Reppert on the Emotional Appeal of Christianity
I understand the emotional appeal of Christianity. I also understand what isn't so emotionally appealing about it, such as the claim that I am a sinner whose actions offend the creator of the universe. If I were to invent a religion that appealed to me emotionally, I wouldn't pick Christianity.
As a C.S. Lewis scholar Vic knows how the idea of sin plays into Lewis's whole apologetic. In Mere Christianity Lewis appeals to 1) the curious idea that human beings ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot get rid of it; and 2) that we do not in fact behave in that way. We know the Law of Nature; we break it. "These two facts are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in." (p. 7).
From this first chapter Lewis goes on to say there must be a moral lawgiver. In other evangelistic tracts this same curious idea is introduced in order to argue we need a savior. The so-called fact of sin is the basis for two powerful emotional appeals to embrace Christianity. Without it one wonders how many people would embrace it in the first place.
There isn't a person in the history of humankind who doesn't think he did not do something wrong (triple negatives!). Pointing this out and stressing it is the beginning of Christian evangelism and argumentation in most cases.
So contrary to Vic if I were to invent a religion then it seems both obvious and noncontroversial that I should start with something everyone agrees about, that we did something wrong--sometimes terribly wrong. Why? Because we have all done something we think is wrong. And we all have difficulty forgiving ourselves or receiving forgiveness. Forgiveness is a great need for most of us. There are people who spend their whole lives trying to gain redemption. Redemption for the young person who is convicted of murder, the woman who killed a family by driving drunk, the man who was caught cheating on his wife, the executive who blundered and caused his company to go belly-up, the person who lost his job and who's family suffers financially for it, and on and on the list goes.
I wonder how many religions start with the fact that we humans have done wrong? Let me guess that most of them do. It's the first step toward creating a religion. It's something we all agree on. All a religion must do after the needed psychological catharsis is to offer the answer, whatever it is for that religion.
Vic is emphatically wrong.
Let us hear of this argument ne'er again.


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AppleInsider is reporting that one of its readers has received one of Steve Jobs's legendary one-line e-mails in response to his complaints of third-party iPhone app crashes. The e-mail reads, simply, "This is a known iPhone bug that is being fixed in the next software update in September."
The issue seems to manifest at random and prevents any third-party applications from launching. The issue does not seem to affect all users, but it has generated at least one thread on Apple Discussions with 178 replies. According posts there, neither the 2.0.1 nor this week's 2.0.2 firmware update fixes the problem. It appears to be related to the FairPlay DRM, and some users have found temporary relief by deleting applications from the phone and re-syncing them manually. Others had success downgrading to iTunes 7.7 from 7.7.1 and re-syncing apps.
Jobs's terse reply doesn't shed much light on the causes, and is so far the only known acknowledgment of the problem from Apple. And "in September" isn't all that specific regarding how soon the fix is coming; it could be anywhere from two to six weeks. Hopefully knowing that a fix is coming will serve as a modicum of relief for those users experiencing the problem, though I'm sure they'd prefer it comes sooner rather than later.