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PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Most Americans say nuclear weapon development in North Korea and Iran are critical threats to U.S. interests, a Gallup poll on potential threats indicated.
Eighty-three percent of Americans listed as the top threat the development of nuclear weapons in both of the countries, 2 percentage points ahead of international terrorism, poll results released Monday indicated.
The poll was conducted just before North Korea conducted its third nuclear test last week. Western nations have expressed fear that Iran's nuclear program is to develop nuclear weapons as well, despite Iran's maintaining that it is for peaceful purposes.
After North Korean and Iranian nuclear weapons and international terrorism, Americans are most likely to view Islamic fundamentalism and China's economic and military power as critical threats to U.S. interests, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said. Less than half said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Indian-Pakistani conflict, and the military power of Russia as posing similar threats.
Gallup said the high level of concern Americans give to North Korea, Iran and international terrorism, could suggest these are areas on which the public would like the Obama administration and its new foreign policy team to focus.
Results are based on nationwide phone interviews with 1,015 adults conducted Feb. 7-10. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.


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Wild Make Playoffs With 3-1 Win Over Avalanche
DENVER (AP) — Devin Setoguchi broke a second-period tie and Niklas Backstrom stopped 29 shots, helping the Minnesota Wild secure their first playoff spot in five years with a 3-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.
Zach Parise scored and Pierre-Marc Bouchard added a late empty-net goal for the Wild, who earned the No. 8 seed and will face top-seeded Chicago in the first round of the postseason. Minnesota had a chance to wrap up a spot on Friday, but lost 6-1 at home to Edmonton.
Backstrom came up big in the third period, turning aside 15 shots. He improved to 24-5-3 against the Avalanche.
Ryan O'Reilly had the lone goal for Colorado, which finished in last place in the Western Conference. It remains to be seen if coach Joe Sacco is retained after the Avalanche failed to make the playoffs for a third straight season.
The Wild were thought to be almost a lock for the postseason after investing $196 million in free agents Ryan Suter and Parise. But they had to sweat it out to the last game of the regular season.
Just a month ago, the Wild led the Northwest Division but swayed down the stretch, going 5-8-1.
They had no wiggle room as Columbus — tied with the Wild for the final spot heading into the last game — rallied to beat Nashville, 3-1. Minnesota held the tiebreaker over the Blue Jackets, provided the team beat Colorado.
Minnesota had a 5-on-3 advantage for 55 seconds in the third period, only to be stymied by Semyon Varlamov. The Avs goaltender also stopped Jason Zucker on a breakaway moments after the penalty expired.
Colorado pulled Varlamov with around 1:30 remaining, but struggled to work it into the Wild zone. Bouchard sealed the win by hustling down the ice and tapping the puck into the net with 3.4 seconds left.
Setoguchi gave the Wild a lead midway through the second period when he wound up and lined a slap shot past a screened Varlamov on a power play.
Minnesota caught a break early in the second when a goal by Chuck Kobasew was disallowed after replay officials ruled the puck went in on a kick. Kobasew's right skate knocked it past Backstrom, who was livid when officials signaled for the goal.
The play went under review for several minutes, before the referee announced it no good, drawing boos from the crowd.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere rested after hurting his groin the night before, giving the start to Varlamov. Giguere went out late in the third against Phoenix and Varlamov helped the Avalanche to a shootout win.
Varlamov, who turned 25 on Saturday, was kept quite busy by the Wild, stopping 30 shots.
Parise gave Minnesota a quick 1-0 lead when he scored on a backhanded shot early in the first. The team kept the pressure on Varlamov, but couldn't add another as he turned back 15 shots in the period.
Late in the opening 20 minutes, Colorado tied it when Gabriel Landeskog dug out a puck in the corner and fed it to O'Reilly, who beat Backstrom with a wrist shot.
This might have been the last NHL game for Colorado's Milan Hejduk, who recently said he's going to contemplate his future in the offseason before reaching any sort of decision about coming back for a 15th season. It's been a tough season for Hejduk, the last remaining link to the 2001 Stanley Cup squad. He had a career-low 11 points and missed time with shoulder and torso injuries.
The 37-year-old Hejduk is second in franchise history in games (1,020), fourth in goals (375) and fifth in assists (430). He's also just the third Czech-born player to reach 800 points, joining Jaromir Jagr and Patrik Elias.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

subset: commoncrawl


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Making audio and video calls between computers over Skype is now so common that the company's name has become a verb. People ask others to "Skype me" or say they are "Skyping."
But the Luxembourg-based service had been a bit slow in getting into a couple of areas that other companies have jumped into: mobile video calling, and computer-based video calls involving multiple people. Now, Skype has entered both arenas, and I've been testing the features. A couple of weeks ago, Skype introduced free mobile video calling to its iPhone app and has plans to extend the same functionality to certain Android-based phones running on Verizon's new high-speed 4G network later this year. And, last week, at the Consumer Electronics Show, it launched a paid service it had been testing that allows for group video calling on computers.
My verdict: Like some competing services, Skype's mobile video calling varies greatly in quality and therefore isn't especially reliable. Its computer-based group video calling, however, worked well in my limited tests and is nicely designed.
Video calling between computers is well established. Skype says that, in the first half of last year, 40% of its Skype-to-Skype calling minutes were video, as opposed to audio. But making video calls over mobile phones is a nascent practice, one that began to get serious only last year, when multiple smart phones with front-facing cameras came to market. Apple introduced a free video-calling service called FaceTime that was integrated into the iPhone 4 and later added to the iPod Touch—both of which now have front cameras—and the Macintosh. Various Android phones with front-facing cameras shipped with a video-calling app called Qik, which Skype just bought, though it says it developed its mobile system prior to the deal. Tango launched video-calling apps for both iPhone and Android last year.
Now, Skype has joined the fray. And it brings some advantages. The biggest is its huge subscriber base, from which you can choose to have a mobile video call with anyone whose device includes a camera. That includes not just iPhones, but also computers. You can do video calling between two iPhones, two computers or one of each type of device.
Also, unlike Apple's FaceTime, which works only over Wi-Fi, Skype's iPhone video calling, like those of some competitors, also works over the phone's 3G cellular network, though typically with inferior results. Like other products, Skype allows you to switch between front and rear cameras during a call. Unlike FaceTime, it works with the older iPhone 3GS, though the latter has only a rear camera. It even allows you to receive video calls on an iPad, though you can't transmit video from the tablet, as it lacks cameras.
I tested Skype mobile video calling in two rounds, in both cases between the Washington, D.C., area and New York City. In the first round, I conducted video calls with my son, using both Wi-Fi and 3G. In the second, I conducted tests with a Skype representative. In both rounds of tests, calls made over Wi-Fi on both ends, or even just one end, were better than those made using 3G cellular on both ends. Skype notes this is due to the unpredictability of cellular data network speeds and congestion. And, in both rounds of tests, calls where one party was on a computer, as opposed to both being on iPhones, worked better.
But, in general, the service was erratic. Far too often, the images were fuzzy, or syncing between audio and video was off, or the calls would freeze or crash. Only a minority of the calls were truly satisfactory for more than a few minutes. Skype does warn you if your network quality is too poor for a decent video experience, but, even if the app deems your network connection acceptable, the call may still look or sound lousy.
In the tests with my son, we compared the Skype calls to FaceTime calls and found the latter to be much better, though hardly perfect. In fairness, this was also true when I tested Tango last year, and may have something to do with the fact that FaceTime is Wi-Fi only and is deeply integrated into the iPhone, while Apple doesn't allow third parties like Skype the same level of integration.
In both rounds of tests, incoming regular cellphone calls, even when ignored, disrupted the Skype calls, by either cutting out the audio or freezing the video, or both. Skype claims this is a problem with the iPhone's operating system and it is working with Apple on a solution.
Skype's computer-based group-calling feature worked much better, though my tests were more limited, and were conducted with a group of Skype employees who were using a wired office network connection. (I was on Wi-Fi at my home.)
Group calling, which can handle between three and 10 people, is a feature of the latest Windows version of Skype, and of the latest beta version for the Mac. I tested both and found the Windows version had a few more features, being complete, but both versions did work. You can set up a group in advance in your Skype contact list and call all members with one click, or you can add people on the fly.
In my tests, there were four Skype employees, each at separate computers, plus me. Each appeared in his or her own box on a dark screen and I could optionally see myself in a smaller box. The box containing whoever is speaking is automatically outlined in blue. You can also turn on a cool feature in the Windows version called Dynamic View, which enlarges the box of the lead speaker and moves it to the top of the screen. (Skype says it hopes to add this Dynamic View to the Mac version eventually.)
In contrast to my mobile tests, this more limited test of group video calling provided very good quality, with almost no fuzziness, freezing or syncing issues. I can't say how it would work over slow networks, and Skype does publish minimum bandwidth and processor recommendations for using it. But it worked well for me. The group video-calling feature is part of a plan that costs $8.99 a month, after a seven-day free trial. Skype is running a sale until Feb. 28 that cuts the price by a third if you subscribe for three or 12 months. It also offers a day pass for $4.99 a day.
Overall, I'd say Skype has nailed paid group video calling on computers, but has work to do on its free mobile video calling. Perhaps the advent of faster 4G networks will help make mobile video calls better.
Find all Walt Mossberg's columns and videos at the All Things Digital website, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Our guest blogger, Doug Baum of the Texas Camel Corps, who previously wrote about camels for our blog, writes again to tell us different myths about camels in the USA and how several ended up in Texas. Don't miss our upcoming lecture on Tuesday, Feb. 8 on the creation of the Texas Camel Corp and the immigration of camels to America.
|© Texas Camel Corps
It's an honor to be visiting with you, the readers of the HMNS blog, again. The last time we were together I was bringing my camels to Houston as part of the opening weekend of "Secrets of the Silk Road." This time, I'm blogging about camels in, perhaps, a slightly less exotic locale.
The Great US Army Camel Experiment of the 19th century may or may not be familiar to you. As a reenactor specializing in this bit of arcane military history, it is my pleasure to help guide the reader through the minefield of both information and misinformation.
Let's start with the common myths:
The US Army Camel Corps was a Corps.
It was not. There were no camel-specific groups of soldiers and the camels weren't ridden by the cavalry. In fact, they were hardly ridden at all. The camels, imported from North Africa and the Middle East as a result of federal legislation in 1856, were simply a warehouse item (like a sack of flour or a bale of hay) attached to the 2nd US Cavalry and 1st Infantry at Camp Verde (in the Texas Hill Country), and could be used for transporting loads by any military group that requested them.
The camels were imported to replace the horse.
If you're building a house, would you use only a hammer, or would you also use a saw, drill, level and other tools? The camel was a perfect complement to all the other animals used at the time (like the horse, donkey, mule and ox) and was employed mainly to haul water for those other beasts of burden as well as the soldiers and civilian drivers working with them- water the camels themselves would rarely partake of due to their innate ability to abstain from drinking for great periods of time.
HOLD YOUR HORSES! Yes, horses spooked when first they spied (and smelled) the camels, but this was only true for those horses outside the military realm. Those equines regularly in contact with the camels became accustomed to the recent immigrants and, like the horse and donkeys on my own farm today, they coexisted perfectly with the new additions to the Texas landscape.
The camels were abandoned because their feet couldn't handle the Texas terrain.
Anyone who thinks Texas's desert expanses are any rougher than that of the Sahara, Sinai, Gobi (or any of the dozens of global arid regions camels call home) is clearly unaware only thirty percent of deserts are sandy. Most, in fact, look a lot like our own Chihuahuan desert: rocky, gravel-strewn plains.
Perhaps the best-known myth: After the Civil War, the Federal government simply let the camels loose.
It's well documented where the camels were after the War and to whom they were sold. Remember, these were government property (some might say recovered spoils of war, considering that the Confederacy had been in possession of the more than five dozen camels in Texas during the early-mid 1860s) and Washington would no more release the camels, then, than Congress would leave parked Humvees, today, with the keys in 'em!
Now, with all the mythbusting complete, it's necessary to provide some context.
|photo credit: me and the sysop
Army Camels: The Facts
The 75 camels originally imported between two shiploads from Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey were a mix of Arabian (one-hump) and Bactrian (two humps). The Bactrian lives in a more northerly climate and roughly a dozen were procured while the Army was camel shopping in Turkey, the southwestern-most range of the two-humped camel. The more common Arabian lives across North Africa, the Middle East and into India. Both species adapted well to the Texas climate upon landing in the Lone Star State that fateful month of May, 1856.
The camels were used by the Army, primarily for hauling water and other camp supplies, and were put to major interstate and intercontinental trials in 1857, 1859 and 1860 in addition to regular hauling between Camp Verde and San Antonio, site of Texas's Quartermaster Depot. The Beale Expedition of 1857 saw some two-dozen camels accompany the journey, the goal of which was to connect the Ft. Smith-Santa Fe trail to the border of Arizona/California. The hoof prints and wagon tracks created on this 19th century sojourn would later be paved over and are now recognizable as historic Route 66.
The 1859/60 trips into what we consider the Big Bend region of Texas were conducted by the US Army's Topographical Engineers and were intended to survey new routes to the Rio Grande and scout possible locations for new fortifications. During all the trips, the officers in charge extolled the virtues of the camels. Beale wished for more, commenting numerous times in his journals about their general docility. Hartz and Echols, in charge of the two near-deadly Big Bend expeditions (a paucity of rain had rendered the region bone-dry), literally abandoned their three-dozen unshod mules, noting even "the camels' feet have been abraded to the quick," yet the expedition returned to Camp Stockton (now Fort Stockton) with all the camels.
While the officers offered platitudes, the soldiers' less than positive attitudes toward the camels cannot be overemphasized. Most US servicemen were horsemen from back East, not camelmen from the "East." These fellows had no more interest in working with camels than, say, a rodeo cowboy today would (I have some particular experience in these matters, having traveled the US with my camels!) This lack of willingness to adapt to something new wasn't the death knell, but it didn't help.
But the aforementioned trials (as if we were the first culture to consider using camels!) were doomed almost from the start. Not because of any inherent shortcomings of the camel, rather because of the looming US Civil War. Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, had been Secretary of War prior to the division of North and South and at his urging Congress had appropriated thirty thousand dollars to purchase the camels. This inextricably linked Davis to the camels. His lack of popularity after the War created for the camels an unfair demise and by 1866 the entire fleet of "ships of the desert" was sold.
|photo credit: me and the sysop
"Beale's" camels in California (they'd not returned to Texas) were sold to a freighter named McLeneghan (sometimes identified as McLaughlin) who used the camels to haul salt to the newly created mines in Nevada. The sixty-six camels remaining in Texas were bought by a man named Bethel Coopwood who put the camels to work on a freight line between Laredo, Texas and Mexico City. Both men sold their camels and other entrepreneurs used them for similar purposes, but ultimately the railroad would put all animals out of work (how many of you ride a horse to work today?). Many camels ended up in traveling menageries and as late as 1902 a camel with the US brand on its hip was seen in San Antonio.
Houston Camel Connection
Even in your neck of the woods, Houston had a passing flirtation with camels. A private shipment, separate from the US Army's camels, arrived in Galveston, October of 1852, under suspicious circumstances aboard a boat registered to a British woman named Watson. It was said that the boat was actually carrying slaves and the camels were on board to help cover the tragic stench that emanated from the ship. Regardless, the ship was turned away, but not before Francis R. Lubbock (later the ninth governor of Texas) consented to take charge of the herd. Kept around Buffalo Bayou and herded around the area, Lubbock's camels caused enough panic among horses in Galveston that laws were enacted to keep camels off the streets during daylight hours. I taunted that very law a few years ago, when I presented a program at the 1894 Grand Opera House, by inviting the audience to walk around the block with my camel, David, and me. I'm happy to say that neither David nor I was arrested.
There are some great books about the historic US Army camels. I highly recommend Eva Jolene Boyd's "Noble Brutes," Chris Emmett's "Texas Camel Tales" and May Humphreys Stacey's "Uncle Sam's Camels." Stacey's book is a first-hand account of travels with Beale from Texas to California in 1857 and reads like an adventure story, complete with desertion, Indian sightings and stampeding horses (but not camels!). Better yet, come see for yourself at any of the living history events I'll have camels at this spring. Our next appearance is March 4/5 in Brackettville, Texas at the Ft. Clark Living History Event. Check out our full schedule at http://www.texascamelcorps.com/
Don't miss our distinguished lecture "Bringing Camels to America," given by Dr. Stewart B. Nelson at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 8, 2011. You can purchase tickets here.


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Purdue make quick decision to fire Hope
Recommended Video:
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- A strong finish for Purdue wasn't enough to save Danny Hope's job.
One day after Purdue retained the Old Oaken Bucket and became bowl-eligible for the second straight season, athletic director Morgan Burke announced that Hope had been fired. The school has called a 6:30 p.m. news conference to make it official.
Hope went 22-27 in four mostly injury-ravaged seasons. He ended the school's three-year bowl drought last season and brought Purdue its first bowl title since 2007 by winning the Little Caesars Bowl in Detroit and was given a two-year contract extension in December that runs through the 2016 season.
Last year's late-season success raised expectations inside and outside the program -- expectations that fell flat this season and resulted in too many empty seats in the stands.
The move was not a big surprise.
Speculation had been swirling about Hope's future in West Lafayette since mid-October when the Boilermakers began a five-game losing streak with blowout losses at home to Michigan and Wisconsin.
The rumors grew so loud by Oct. 29 that Burke took the unusual step of issuing a statement that essentially said he would wait until the end of the season before making a decision.
Hope was aware of the talk, too.
"I don't have any idea. But either way, I'm going to be OK," he said when asked about returning next season after Saturday's 56-35 victory Saturday over archrival Indiana. "Like I said, I've learned to live life on the hot seat here at Purdue. Any time that you have a contract that has some weak spots in it, I didn't have a lot of leverage when I came here. I don't have that strong of a contract from a buyout standpoint or a compensation standpoint, any time you're dealing with a contract like that, you can be on the hot seat on a regular basis."
The buyout was only $600,000 and declined by $100,000 each successive year.
Players also had a sense the move was coming.
After Saturday's win, Hope hugged his wife and one of his players before leading the team in singing the school's fight song in front of the student section. Afterward, two players hoisted Hope their shoulders briefly before posing with the trophy that is awarded annually to the winner of the Indiana-Purdue game.
"It was really a special moment. I've never had that happen before," Hope said of being lifted up by his players. "We're a very close football team, a very close football family and there was a point in time this season probably all the way up till about 20 minutes ago, all we had was what was in that locker room -- us -- and we did a great job of locking arms and keeping the down side away and really believing in each other."
During postgame interviews, players expressed support for their head coach, none more emphatically than sixth-year quarterback Robert Marve. He thanked Hope for giving him multiple second chances and allowing him to play this season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Defensive tackle Kawann Short, who is projected to be a first-round pick in April's NFL draft, also credited Hope for helping with his development as a player.
But Hope and his players opened this season by talking about reaching the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis, putting the program back on the national map and possibly returning to a New Year's Day bowl game.
When that didn't happen, it sealed Hope's fate.
"I've worked 85 to 100 hours a week, 50 weeks a year for the last 4 1/2 years to try and return this program to national prominence and we're a long ways away in many phases of our program and what it took was elbow grease and commitment to get us back to where we are right now, where we're in postseason play back-to-back and we've made improvements in every phase of the program. It's just that plain and simple."
Purdue went 5-7 under Hope in 2009, then 4-8 in an injury-plagued 2010, finished strong last year to go 7-6 and won their last three this year to get to 6-6. It's the first time since 2006 that Purdue closed the Big Ten season on a three-game winning streak.
Hope is 57-49 in his head coaching career, which began at his alma mater, Eastern Kentucky.


text: English actor Charles Dance is known primarily for his role on HBO's Game Of Thrones as Lord Tywin Lannister, the icy patriarch behind the nasty House Lannister. Boo! For reasons that apparently go as far as "Wouldn't it be funny to hear stuffy x read naughty y?" Channel 4 tapped Dance to recite a passage of Fifty Shades Of Grey for a segment in its annual The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year program. Hearing Tywin Lannister talk dirty is about as uncomfortable as you'd hope it would be, made all the worse (better?) by his resolute decision to never once peer away from the camera, making direct, piercing eye contact with overheated middle-aged mothers worldwide. [via /Film]


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Peter Quigley named Leeward Community College chancellorUniversity of Hawaiʻi
Mia Noguchi, (808) 956-9095
External Affairs & University Relations
HONOLULU — The University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents appointed Peter Quigley, interim chancellor at Leeward Community College (LCC), to the permanent position at its monthly meeting held this week at the John A. Burns School of Medicine in Kakaʻako. Quigley's appointment is for three years, effective May 22, 2006.
"Peter has brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to Leeward Community College and we're happy to have this permanent status awarded to him as the campus continues its efforts to meet the academic and cultural needs of the expanding Leeward Oʻahu region," said UH Interim Vice President for Community Colleges John Morton.
With more than 25 years of experience in higher education, Quigley has served as LCC's interim chancellor since June 2005, and was previously vice chancellor and chief academic officer of the Leeward Oʻahu campus. Prior to arriving at LCC, he served as dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at Minnesota State University. Quigley has taught at several community colleges and has been a professor of English and humanities at universities in the United States and Europe.
A Fulbright Scholar, Quigley has published numerous articles and a book in the field of environmental literature. He holds a PhD in English from Indiana University of Pennsylvania; MA and BA, both in English, from California State University, Fullerton; and an AA from Fullerton College. Quigley was recently elected president of the Robinson Jeffers Association and is one of four editors of the Jeffers Studies, the journal of record on 20th-century California poet Robinson Jeffers. He also edits the website dedicated to Jeffers, www.jeffers.org.
For more information, visit: http://www.hawaii.edu/admin/chancellors/leeward.html


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I did that back in 1995 when I started my family history. There were three genealogies which had been done - but there were no supporting documents. So I am grateful that <FamilySearch.org> was there and that I was able to use them for free. But that might be changing in the near future.
In a recent press release from them, the word "free" is more clearly defined.
"Where possible, FamilySearch will seek to provide free public access to digital images of original images of original records. Due to affiliate obligations, free access to some images may be available only to FamilySearch members (volunteers and indexers who meet basic contribution requirements each quarter, patrons at Family History Centers, and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who's contributions supply FamilySearch's operations)."
So what does this mean to you?
To me, it sounds like you will have to pay for access unless you fall into one of those categories. Will you be willing to go the local Family History library to do your research rather than turning on your home computer? Are you willing to index so much material per quarter in lieu of paying for access?
They are going to have the software by next year to verify that you are a member of FamilySearch so that you will be able to access future home use.
What do you think?


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Sidney Starr (Hip Hop Tranny) Goes On Maury To Reveal "Born Man Or Woman"! (Reactions From The Crowd)
s/o to 119 Productions
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
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Kelvin Cortis of the Isle of Malta wondered what happened to the Pomegranate Wine recipe.
It was on another page (Making Wines in Texas), but I am posting it here to aid viewers in finding it.
The lowly pomegranate, native to Europe and Asia, was introduced to America as a landscaping curiosity rather than a fruit tree. Once just a curiosity in Eastern gardens, it is both a good ornamental shrub or tree and a delightful taste treat. It also makes an excellent medium wine. Punica granatum, grows to 15 feet in height. A deciduous tree, it sports orange-to-red flowers in the spring and the leaves turn a bright yellow in the fall. In between, dozens of red, thick-skinned fruit grow, typically 3-4 inches in diameter but I've seen them as large as 10 inches. These are packed with hundreds of juicy seeds layered between a white, pithy membrane. New leaves are bronze colored, narrow and glossy, while mature leaves are a deep glossy green. They tolerate any soil and are quite drought tolerant as well, although drought will retard the size of the fruit. They produce best in full sun and tolerate our heat without a problem. The variety "Wonderful" is quite popular in Texas and a good producer. "Albescens" is a white-flowering variety.
If you have to buy pomegranates, the wine will be expensive. If you (or a neighbor) have a couple of trees, the treat is there for the taking and well worth it. You may have to fight with your wife, who undoubtedly knows of the supurb jelly they make, but the battle will be worth it if you can secure 10-15 fruit for your use, depending on their size. The hard part is peeling them and liberating the hundreds of seeds without damaging too many, and for this you'd be smart to wear latex gloves (the stain is insidious). Once you've done that, the rest is just routine.
Peel the fruit and remove the seed-juice sacs from the bitter white membrane dividers. Ten fruit are sufficient if 5-6 inches in diameter, 15 are required for 3-4 inch diameters. Meanwhile, bring the water to boil with the barley in it. Simmer for about 5 minutes, then strain onto the pomegranate seeds, sugar, and lemon juice in the primary fermentation vessel. Stir well. When cool (70-75 degrees F.), add the activated yeast and nutrient. Cover and allow to ferment vigorously five days, then strain into secondary fermentation jar and fit with fermentation trap. When wine clears, rack and bottle. May taste in six months, but improves at one year. [Adapted from C.J.J. Berry's First Steps in Winemaking]
My sincerest thanks to Kelvin Cortis of Malta for this request.


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Law student Courtney Kiehl fights for victims' rights
Law student Courtney Kiehl fights for victims' rights
Courtney Kiehl did not grow up wanting to be a lawyer. She wanted to be a gymnast and spent up to 40 hours per week training with her coach and her team in the North Bay area of California. Ten years ago, she disclosed to her mother and then to authorities that her gymnastics coach had been sexually abusing her nearly every day for over a year. With her disclosure, seven other girls came forward and her life dramatically changed.
"You move from focusing on yourself and what happened to you to the bigger picture. What can we do to stop this?"
— Courtney Kiehl, Penn State Law student and co-founder of the Abused Children Heard Everywhere Foundation
"You move from focusing on yourself and what happened to you to the bigger picture. What can we do to stop this?" Kiehl said. Together with another victim, Kiehl launched the Abused Children Heard Everywhere (ACHE) Foundation whose mission is to provide a forum for victims of abuse to share their stories.
"That was something that was missing at the time. Each story is unique and sharing is the path to healing," she said. After launching the foundation, she appeared on radio and television programs including ESPN's "360" and ABC's "Good Morning America."
At UCLA, Kiehl majored in sociology and became involved in victims rights' organizations including forming a coalition across all of the University of California campuses that brought together domestic violence and sexual abuse organizations on campus. When considering law schools, she gravitated toward Penn State because she saw an opportunity to continue to advance her work in victims' rights. She is set to graduate in 2015.
"When something big, like the Sandusky scandal happens, it raises awareness and attracts more people and resources to the issue. I looked at Penn State and thought 'big school, big opportunity,'" she said. Since becoming a full-time law student Kiehl has not had much time to focus on ACHE but she considers victims' rights the cause of her life.
"A lot of people can't handle this type of work or don't want to. Because I can handle it, I feel like I have a duty and obligation to do this type of work," she said. Since joining Penn State Law she has been active in a national student movement concerning Title IX called Know Your IX, which helps students better understand their rights especially in the area of gender-based crimes. As part of April's Sexual Assault Awareness Month on campus, she has helped organize events including Legal and Ethical Aspects of Sexual Assault Cases at 6 p.m. April 15 at the Law School.
This semester she is a member of the Family Law Clinic and in addition to her caseload, she has been involved with policy issues.
According to Jill Engle, professor of law and director of the Family Law Clinic, "Courtney demonstrates an extraordinary capability to empathize with her clients in the Family Law Clinic without becoming enmeshed with the emotional struggles that accompany their family legal problems. Her professionalism in this regard is exactly what family law clients need, and her tenacity and dedication to this work after what she experienced is truly remarkable."
Last summer, she interned with the Domestic Violence Legal Aid Clinic in California and this summer she will work with the National Crime Victim Law Institute in Oregon.
Kiehl's perspective continues to expand on the legal and policy issues surrounding child sexual abuse, "I've begun to look lately at the perpetrators. It's clear that what we are doing now is not working. This isn't just one big group of people. Some of these offenders don't understand the legal issues surrounding consent so there may be a segment of the bigger group that would benefit from education which could lead to prevention of some of these crimes. … We've made some progress, but we have a long way to go."


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Dear Coalition members, supporters, and curious future allies,
As you know, last Friday was John Russo's last day as the City Attorney of Oakland. His plan to roll out a series of gang injunctions across Oakland was met with strong, well organized opposition and a firestorm of controversy. Unable to take the heat, Russo is moving on to take a position as City Manager for Alameda. As Russo and OPD chief Anthony Batts seemed to be the only genuine proponents of the gang injunctions, Russo's resignation signals a major victory in the fight against the use of injunctions in our city.
Our work together to build a broad, diverse, dynamic movement against gang injunctions helped apply pressure to Russo and the City Attorney's office, exposed their wasteful use of city resources during tight economic times, and ensured that the voices of people across Oakland were heard.
We know this fight is much bigger than any one person. And the fight against the implementation of the pending injunction in the Fruitvale and the temporary injunction in North Oakland continues. We need to keep up the opposition to the injunctions even as we continue to demonstrate ways of building the kind of neighborhood safety that really works in the long term. As we take a moment to celebrate the tremendous victories we have already won, as we move into the next phase of this struggle for self-determination, our commitment and solidarity are more important than ever.
We're including the following video to remind ourselves why we're happy to say goodbye to John Russo:
Oakland City Attorney John Russo Says Goodbye from Critical Resistance on Vimeo.


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With a narrative centering around infidelity and murder, Carrie Underwood's new single, "Two Black Cadillacs," isn't exactly a lighthearted number. But it sure is compelling.
Sitting down for a video interview with Steve Grunwald of Detroit station WYCD yesterday, Carrie admitted the song was rather dark. But she also said her latest album (Blown Away) is on the whole very much unafraid of the dark.
"This album kind of skews unintentionally darker," she explains. Though, she says, that darkness "wasn't something on purpose."
As for "Two Black Cadillacs," the narrative behind that song in particular turned out to be just too compelling to pass up.
"When we were writing it, the story was just so juicy," she says (Carrie cowrote the song with Josh Kear and Hillary Lindsey). "It's such a visual song, you can see it all playing out in your head when you're listening."
"Hopefully the video will complement that," she adds.
The video for "Two Black Cadillacs" is due for release in January. In the meantime, Carrie has released a trailer that feels very cinematic and, yes, plenty "juicy."
Watch a video of featuring the full Carrie Underwood interview on WYCD, and see photos from the Blown Away Tour's stop in Detroit on Sunday night.
– Kurt Wolff, CBS Local


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Doesn't it sometimes seem like every time there's good news about the economy, it comes with a big, infuriating catch?
Take housing. Over the last few months, economists have been noticing glimmers of good news out of the real estate market -- signs that home values may have finally bottomed out and are now turning a corner. There are more buyers and fewer houses sitting around on the market. And according to new stats from from Fannie Mae and CoreLogic, prices kept chugging higher through June, as illustrated in the chart below.
If the trend holds, it would be a blessing for the economy, which has been held down by a veritable housing depression. But here's that catch I mentioned. One of the reasons home prices are finally on the march, it seems, is that so many homeowners are underwater on their mortgages. Roughly 23 percent of borrowers owe more to the bank than their houses are worth -- which means selling isn't really an option. As the Wall Street Journal explains today, that's kept the supply of available houses down, even as demand has gone up.
So the housing market is getting better for some homeowners, largely because of the financial misfortune of others. A bit perverse, huh?
Should prices rise enough, some of those underwater homes will suddenly be worth enough to sell. That could be trouble for the market if there aren't enough new buyers out there ready to snap them up. If there are, we're in the clear.
But this also raises an interesting public policy issue. Liberals -- myself included -- have advocated letting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do wide-scale mortgage principal reductions as a way to get the economy back on its feet. On the one hand, that might be good for families' finances. But on the other, it might mean of a flood of new properties with for-sale signs on their lawns, which could knock prices back down. That, of course, is that last thing anybody needs right now.
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to email@example.com.


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Assuming you are in a six- or eight-team league -- and not one of those screwy leagues that ends in Week 17 -- the fantasy football playoffs have arrived. If your team made the playoffs, give yourself a loud slap on the back.
(If your team did not make the playoffs, why are you reading this and causing yourself additional agony?)
We will all scrutinize our lineups more than ever going forward, and that has less to do with us wanting to win our league and more to do with us not wanting to end up losing because we benched the wrong player.
It sounds simple, but this is the best advice I can give you: Always, always, always start your best players. No matter what.
I'm going to cause myself some agony by giving an example of this. Last year, in Week 15, I decided to get cute and bench Ray Rice in favor of Jonathan Stewart. Stewart ran for 137 yards, which was nice, but Rice piled up 233 total yards and two touchdowns in the Ravens' impressive home beatdown of the Saints.
That decision cost me my season (and, making it worse, I was ridiculed by the Ravens' public relations staff after each big play).
It's natural to feel anxious while deciding whether, for example, you should start Torrey Smith or Reggie Wayne as your third wide receiver this week. But always make sure the Ray Rices of the world are in your starting lineup. Losing always hurts, but it stings more when you outsmart yourself by leaving a guy like that on your bench.
Ray Rice, playoff superhero: If you own Rice, you were probably thrilled with the boost he gave you Sunday evening. His 200-yard performance against the Browns surely elevated quite a few Rice owners in the fantasy playoffs, and he is poised to save the day for fantasy owners in the playoffs. The Ravens' next three opponents -- the Colts, Chargers and Browns -- all rank in the bottom seven in the NFL in rushing yards allowed.
Matt Forte, playoff spectator: Forte owners have gotten bad news. Forte is out for the next two weeks and maybe longer after suffering a knee injury Sunday. Forte has been an unexpected fantasy stud this season, racking up more than 100 total yards a game for the Bears. Hopefully, if you own Forte, you own his backup, Marion Barber III. He will be hot on the waiver wire and is worth starting in Forte's unfortunate absence.
Fantasy penthouse: Cam Newton threw for 204 yards and a touchdown, ran for three touchdowns and even had a 27-yard reception. Shonn Greene outscored Ray Rice and Chris Johnson thanks to his three TDs. Percy Harvin had eight catches for 156 yards and two scores. Rob Gronkowski did his thing again.
Fantasy doghouse: With Rice running wild, Joe Flacco was good for just four fantasy points. LeGarrette Blount rushed for just 19 yards. DeSean Jackson mailed it in Thursday. Brandon Pettigrew had 13 receiving yards.
The wire: 1. Barber has fewer than 80 touches this season, so he should be rested and ready to rumble. … 2. Malcom Floyd is presumably healthy after catching four passes for 108 yards and a touchdown. … 3. We know about Mike Wallace, but Antonio Brown is worth starting, too. … 4. If you have a roster spot to burn, consider Ricky Williams, who would be very valuable if -- knock on wood -- Rice gets injured. … 5. Santana Moss should have a nice week as the Redskins try to keep up with the Patriots. … 6. Christian Ponder has looked good.
I'm here to help you: But I've been really swamped with the Ravens beat, so I haven't been checking the blog comments as much as I'd like. If you have a question, email me and I promise I will get back to you in a hurry.
Extra point: Fred Davis will miss the rest of the season as he serves a suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy. The waiver options at tight end in your league probably aren't all that enticing, but if you can get a player like Jermaine Gresham, Dustin Keller or Ed Dickson, you might luck into a decent performance.
Matt Vensel is a reporter for The Baltimore Sun who uses this column to tinker with his fantasy football team on the clock. Send your questions and comments to email@example.com or @mattvensel on Twitter.
Assuming you are in a six- or eight-team league -- and not one of those screwy leagues that ends in Week 17 -- the fantasy football playoffs have arrived. If your team made the playoffs, give yourself a loud slap on the back.


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The Government has welcomed the release of a report on the digital skills landscape in New Zealand and says it's committed to training and upskilling more New Zealanders with the expertise they need for a 21st century economy.
- Hon Clare Curran


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By Karin Calloway
Mushroom Bisque
Heavenly, divine, ethereal and delicate are all words I would use to describe the perfect Mushroom Bisque. Could such distinction actually be given to a bowl of soup? My answer is a resounding "Yes!"
But, could such a bowl of soup be simple to prepare? My answer is "yes" once again. And, I think you'll agree with all of the above claims once you've had a bowl of my Mushroom Bisque.
Most bisque recipes call for the addition of heavy whipping cream, but I found that I can achieve a luscious creaminess by stirring in a cup of reduced fat sour cream just before serving. Ladle the soup into bowls for a fabulous first course, or serve with a big tossed salad and some crusty bread for a light lunch or supper.
Stir remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into the mushrooms until melted. Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in the canned broths and sherry. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in sour cream and heat through without boiling. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.


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No decision made on Ten Commandments plaque at school
Connellsville Area Junior High School covers up monument
No final decision was made at a school board meeting Wednesday night regarding the future of a plaque of the Ten Commandments at Connellsville Area Junior High School.
Connellsville Area Junior High School covered up a plaque of the Ten Commandments and is preparing to move it off the property in response to a letter from Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Someone ripped off the wooden board covering the monument sometime during the school board meeting Wednesday night. Several people outside the school said they did not know who did it and that they had no problem with the person who did.
"I thought it's interesting that it's been here this many years and we never had a complaint before, and now all of a sudden, somebody brought it to light that we need to remove it," Connellsville Area School District Superintendent Dan Lujetic said.
Lujetic told WTAE Channel 4 Action News reporter Ashlie Hardway that the school district consulted with its solicitor, who advised school officials that they would not be able to win a legal challenge.
"If we fought this, which we considered doing, we'd spend a lot of taxpayer money on something we can't win, so we decided not to pursue that," said Lujetic.
But that doesn't mean residents aren't in favor of keeping the monument.
"Every single person that's contacted me has been in favor of fighting to keep the monument here or moving it to make it more prominent, but I have not talked to one person who said they agreed we should remove it," said Lujetic.
Connellsville Church of God has volunteered to prominently display the five-foot monument and possibly light it up at night.
"I've had calls from people from Ohio coming and saying, 'What can we do?' Contractors and electricians (are) calling to donate things. They want to make this a community affair, and so do I," said the Rev. Nelson Confer.
While the plaque would be on church property, it would be placed near a driveway that leads to the school, meaning that school visitors would drive past it.
"I really don't feel it should be taken down. When is it going to stop in this country as to how far can those who do not believe in God go?" Connellsville Area parent Robin Mowry said.
"The ones that believe should not have to hide their belief, and I think it should be open for everybody to see," said another parent, Olive Bigley.
School board President Jon Detwiler told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the church will get the monument, pending board approval.
Despite past court decisions which have upheld the separation of church and state at public schools, several parents and students told the board to take the issue to court if they needed to.
"Our Supreme Court yielded to the demands of one person. I don't believe in giving in to bullies, and I believe if you believe in something strongly, you fight for it," Connellsville resident Virginia Work said.
The school board voted to delay their decision as they wait to see what happens with a New Kensington-area school district which is facing a similar lawsuit.
The Americans United for Separation of Church and State is a Washington D.C.-based organization.
Americans United emailed the following statement to WTAE Channel 4 Action News: "We wrote a letter in this instance because we received a complaint from a concerned member of the community and because the law on this matter is crystal clear: it is unconstitutional for a public school to display the Ten Commandments. Americans United opposed governmental displays of the Ten Commandments because it sends the message that the government endorses the Commandments' religious sentiments despite the commands of the United States Constitution, which require the government to remain neutral with regard to religion."


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Cleveland Metroparks has an annual budget in excess of $150 million which supports the Park District. The primary revenue for Cleveland Metroparks is from real estate and personal property tax in Cuyahoga County and Hinckley Township of Medina County.
Cleveland Metroparks is operated under guidelines of the Ohio Revised Code. The Park District maintains financial integrity as it continuously purchases a supply of goods and services to operate Cleveland Metroparks. The Purchasing Division processes over 28,000 purchases annually, including more than 240 bid packages. Bids include commodity items (such as automotive supplies, aggregated stone, paper products, animal feed, office supplies, janitorial, and other services) and construction contracts (such as paving, building renovation, facility construction, etc.).
To bid on Cleveland Metroparks commodity or construction postings please register with Public Purchasewww.publicpurchase.com (see Become a Registered Supplier for registration instructions).
Bid specifications and plans are provided, without qualification to all requesters. Specifications may be obtained by registering with Public Purchase. Cleveland Metroparks advertises all bids by public notice in The Plain Dealer at least once in a 15-day period prior to public bid opening. Companies that wish to submit bids are encouraged to register with Public Purchase to obtain bid documents, addendums, etc. Future bid announcements are released via Public Purchase or can be found under Open Bids on our website. Once the bid number is selected the vendor will be redirected over to Public Purchase.
All bids are due (as per the specification) in writing to Administrative Offices, 4101 Fulton Parkway, Cleveland, OH 44144-1923 by 2:00 p.m. (EST) by the date listed in the specification. No late bids will be accepted.
Daily purchases (below the bid level amount) are also routinely competitively priced. All vendors are welcome to demonstrate their services and products to staff. To present products or services to Cleveland Metroparks arrange an appointment with the Purchasing Division by calling 216.635.3224. Some Cleveland Metroparks managers are also qualified to enlist a vendor as "active" by providing the Purchasing Division with the vendor's company name, address, phone number, federal tax identification number, and representative name. When a new vendor makes a "sale" to Cleveland Metroparks, they become an "active" vendor. The vendor remains on the "Vendor List" and will retain that status unless a two-year period passes without purchase activity.
Cleveland Metroparks maintains purchasing procedures that ensure fairness and objectivity in conjunction with the Park District's mission of conservation, education, and recreation. For more information on purchasing procedure, call 216.635.3224 or email email@example.com.
Como proceder para establecer relaciones comerciales con los Metroparks de Cleveland
Download How to Conduct Business with Cleveland Metroparks brochure (English and Spanish)


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Home > Patients & Visitors > Health Library > Diabetes: Taking Care of Your Feet
When you have diabetes, your feet need extra care and attention. Diabetes can damage the nerve endings and blood vessels in your feet, making you less likely to notice when your feet are injured. Diabetes can also interfere with your body's ability to fight infection. If you develop a minor foot injury, it could become an ulcer or develop into a serious infection. Ulcers can be found on the bottom of your feet, or on the top or bottom of your toes. With good foot care, you can prevent most of these problems.
Caring for your feet is easy. Most of the care can be done when you are bathing and getting ready for bed. Preventing injury to your feet is merely a matter of wearing properly fitted shoes and socks at all times.
These steps can help keep your feet healthy:
Here's how you can get started caring properly for your feet.
Current as of: December 20, 2019
Author: Healthwise StaffMedical Review: E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal MedicineAdam Husney, MD - Family MedicineKathleen Romito, MD - Family MedicineDavid C. W. Lau, MD, PhD, FRCPC - Endocrinology
Current as of: December 20, 2019
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine & Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine & David C. W. Lau, MD, PhD, FRCPC - Endocrinology
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Learn how we develop our content.
To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise.org.
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Our interactive Decision Points guide you through making key health decisions by combining medical information with your personal information.
You'll find Decision Points to help you answer questions about:
Get started learning more about your health!
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Chicago Bear
Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 240
Location: Chicago
Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 11:03 pm
Post subject: Stuffed Calamari
I tried a recipe last weekend for stuffed calamari that was an enormous amount of work, and the end result was really disappointing. The stuffing was a mixture of chopped and sauteed tentacles, onions, garlic, parsley and sherry. Too much calamari: not good to stuff squid with squid.
Does anyone have an excellent recipe for stuffed calamari, or know of a restaurant where they had stuffed calamari that they loved? Help!
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Joined: 29 Jan 2005
Posts: 342
Location: Chicago and other places
Posted: Wed May 18, 2005 10:54 pm
Post subject: Re: Stuffed Calamari
CB: I can't vouch for these recipes, because I only like fried calamari, but my friend, Claire, loves stuffed calamari. I gave you two recipes; and I agree, squid stuffed with squid is just
That's like pepper-stuffed peppers!
These babies are so easy. and they make you look awfully clever. you buy the baby calamari, mix the stuffing. use the leftover stuffing as a salad, grill the calamari for 3-4 minutes and you're done. grill the scallops at the same time and you're a hero!
3 calamari tubes per person
1 fennel/ anise bulb
1 can cannellini beans
1/4 preserved lemon
fresh parsley
lemon juice
olive oil
harissa (see below)
here's what you do:
the calamari: buy around 3 tubes per person, run your finger around the inside to make sure that all of the cartilage has been removed...rinse them out and pat them dry
the stuffing: mix 1 tin of cannellini beans (rinsed and drained) with 1/2 cup parsley (chopped) and the rind from a 1/4 preserved lemon (finely diced)...12 grinds of the pepper mill, a splash of olive oil and you're done. now, use a teaspoon and fill each calamari tube (you'll only get a couple of spoons in each tube). douse the stuffed calamari in a little more oil and keep in the fridge until you're ready to cook them (this can be done hours ahead)
the salad: mix the leftover stuffing mix with some finely sliced fennel (anise)...about 1/2 a bulb...or the lot if you don't want leftovers...a dash more olive oil before you serve it all (maybe some fresh oregano leaves and lemon juice)...and that's it!
grilling: make sure that the calamari are lightly coated in olive oil so they don't stick to the grill. get the bbq good and hot, place the tubes on the grill. cook 2 minutes, turn, cook another 2 minutes. done!
oh! wait...harissa. okay, lets make this easy. soak about 1/3 cup chili flakes (seeds and all) in 2 tablespoons of warm water. set aside. measure 1 tspn of each: coriander seeds, fennel (or caraway) seeds, ground cumin, sea salt, black pepper. mix these in a grinder or blender. add the chili flakes and 2 tablespoons of chopped mint. pulse the blender then add the juice of 1/2 a lemon and 1/3 cup olive oil and pulse again. done!
before you taste this, beware: it's bloody hot! harissa is an african chili sauce. the faint of heart can calm it down by adding a 1/3 cup tomato paste...or serve it alongside some tzatziki.
The Scallop recipe:
pancetta wrapped scallops
skewered on rosemary twigs
these are the perfect partner for the stuffed calamari as they cook as quickly and they both look so cosy on a platter together
here's the skinny:
try and get yourself some pepper crusted pancetta...just for the spice factor. no sweat if you can't; prosciutto or bacon will do
I buy frozen scallops (the biggest that I can find)
couple of reasons
first: I lay them out on a plate lined with paper towel (not touching) so that they thaw in nice round shapes. once they lose their shape, or split, they just don't look as good
second: they are easier to handle if they are still a little frozen
so: uncoil your pancetta, cut a strip about 10 inches / 25 cm...wrap it around a scallop (double over any excess pancetta) and then grab a twig of rosemary which has had the leaves stripped off it (or use a skewer if you've no imagination)...pierce the twig through the pancetta and semi-frozen scallop. repeat until you have 3-4 scallops on a twig
place the scallops kebabs on some paper towel and set them in the fridge to finish thawing until you are ready to grill them
douse them in a little olive oil, toss them on a hot grill. 2 minutes a side...a little more if you want the pancetta super crispy...and serve them with some paprika sprinkled over (thank you, bobi) or some maresh pepper flakes or (let's make it easy) more harissa!
and while you're at it, shave some parmesan on top...heck, put some on the salad as well!
The bruschetta recipe:
the goods
12-14 boqeurones fillets
1 baguette
olive oil
fresh parmesan
arugula / rocket leaves
1 lemon
fresh parsley
active time: 10 minutes
serve with:
pancetta wrapped scallops on rosemary twigs
stuffed baby calamari
beverage: chianti
Boquerones bruschetta
boquerones are tender, juicy white anchovy fillets. so far removed from the whiskery old things you're used to fishing off the pizza
for a salty little start to the meal, toast some rounds of ciabatta, top with a leaf of arugula, a boquerones fillet, a slice of good parmesan and finish it all off with a sprinkle of chopped parsley, a squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil.
And now for recipe two; I hope that you enjoy them.
Shopping list: Calamari:
8 - Calamari Bodies and Tentacles (cleaned)
Ingredients for Stuffing:
8oz Duck Breast (cooked)
8oz Veal (cooked)
1/4 each - Yellow, Red, Green Peppers (sauteed)
1 Cup Baby Spinach (sauteed)
3 Cloves Garlic
Salt, Pepper, and Onion (to taste)
Ingredients for Balsamic Reduction:
2 Cups Balsamic Vinegar
How to Prepare the Stuffing:
Grind all stuffing ingredients together.
How to Prepare the Balsamic Reduction:
Cook over low heat until reduced by half.
Cooking Directions:
Stuff Calamari bodies with filling. Leave room as filling will expand. Roll bodies and tentacles in virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, chopped onion and garlic. Bake Calamari bodies in pan under broiler till one side is dark golden brown. Add tentacles to pan and cook an addtional minute. Serve brown side up on bed of greens. Drizzle with Balsamic reduction and serve.
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
Groucho Marx
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Chicago Bear
Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 240
Location: Chicago
Posted: Wed May 18, 2005 11:19 pm
Post subject:
DQ, both recipes look fantastic, and I'm going to try them next time I'm allowed in the kitchen. I also searched on the net, and Bobby Flay has one recipe that looked promising.
The goal is to fit it all in.
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Joined: 13 Apr 2005
Posts: 213
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 2:19 am
Post subject:
DQ: I think you need to start your own blog!!!
Life is too short to drink cheap wine.
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Joined: 29 Jan 2005
Posts: 342
Location: Chicago and other places
Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 2:50 am
Post subject:
Nah-h-h, that would require "effort". I just come here for
But, thanks for the comment, JustMe.
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
Groucho Marx
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Joined: 13 Apr 2005
Posts: 213
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 2:06 pm
Post subject:
And all this posting is not effort?
Life is too short to drink cheap wine.
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Chicago Bear
Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 240
Location: Chicago
Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 3:16 pm
Post subject:
Here's news that has nothing to do with stuffed calimari. Last weekend my brother and I were on the eastern shore of Maryland, at the Waterman's Restaurant in Rock Hall. We ordered a dozen of the hard crabs and a pitcher of local beer. It's very nearly a perfect meal. It takes a lot of time to extract all of the meat from each crab, and because of the Bay's seasoning on the crabs, it's thirsty work. If you pick crab and drink beer at the right pace, you'll never fill up on crab and never drink too much beer. We were at it for three hours, and by the time we were done, 18 crabs and two pitchers of beer were gone.
The goal is to fit it all in.
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Joined: 29 Jan 2005
Posts: 342
Location: Chicago and other places
Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 5:59 pm
Post subject:
So, Chicago Bear, you achieved the much sought after goal of Mankind: You became a Perpetual Motion Machine! Energy input=Energy output!!!
I'll be looking for your picture on the cover of Scientific American next month.
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
Groucho Marx
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Chicago Bear
Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 240
Location: Chicago
Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 6:13 pm
Post subject:
Based on scientific evidence, no one has ever gotten fat from eating crabs and drinking beer.
But, because there's never such a thing as too much scientific evidence, I feel like it's necessary to conduct the experiment over and over again to make sure that the conclusions are valid.
I've also proven that drinking beer without eating crabs can definitely make you fat. Not being completely convinced, however, this is an ongoing experiment as well.
The goal is to fit it all in.
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Mann Packing, based in Salinas, CA, released a new video and ad campaign at the recent United Fresh 2013 convention in San Diego, which looks to reinforce the sustainability features of its lidless vegetable trays.
Last fall the company redesigned its vegetable platter and removed the familiar black plastic portion of the package commonly used as the lid.
The company decided to redesign the platters after conducting research into what consumers want in fresh item packaging, said Christine Keller, director of marketing and innovation.
The research found that 92 percent of consumers asked said they did not use the black trays for serving as intended (even when instructions prompt them to do so); and when told about the positive impact removing the lids would have on the environment, the same 92 percent said they would be happy without them.
Mann uses one of its own executives in this video, which takes a humorous approach in driving home the sustainability message.


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After searching on several forums for a while IW as unable to find similar posts, so I was hoping I would be able to get some help. I want to convert a string literal into an operation, however I'm not sure how to start. Here's a (bad) attempt I've made so far
class test { public static void main (String args[]) { String eq1 = "x/2+6"; double eq2 = eq1; // <- want "double eq2 = x/2+6;" System.out.println (eq2); } }


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Here is a great list of online videos showing how to use and get the most from No Hands SEO.
General No Hands SEO Video Guides
Comprehensive Settings Explanation Updated (1 hour 16mins)
Advised No Hands SEO Settings (15mins) (How I personally use No Hands SEO)
Add Profile Wizard Guide (40mins)
How to write effective custom comments (22mins)
How to use the new Article Input Controls
Link Quality Video
Integrated Services Videos
Integrate with No Hands Indexer
Integrate with No Hands Pinger
Text Spinner Integration (7mins) (How to use text rewriters to make comment writing much quicker)
No Hands Proxies Videos
No Hands Proxies is a fully automated proxy harvester that is the absolute next best thing to private proxies and is available now. All No Hands Proxies video guides are posted to the main website video guide page.
In Depth Guides to No Hands Proxies
Getting No Hands Proxies Setup
No Hands Proxies Settings in depth
No Hands Proxies Output Proxy Options
Set Proxy in Windows from No Hands Proxies (Updated)
Test your proxy list with No Hands Proxies
How to use No Hands Proxies and No Hands SEO together
How to harvest and output Google passed proxies
As always if you have any requests relating to video guides then just post them below or in the feature requests section and I'll do my best to get a video about that uploaded.


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Tuesday Is Election Night, Be Careful What You Tweet
Depending on whom you ask — and, indeed, how much you even care — Tuesday night is going to be a long one.
If you buy the arguments of the prognosticators leaning on the latest national polls, such as this one from The Wall Street Journal and NBC News, the race will come down to the wire, with the results of several states in doubt probably until the wee hours of Wednesday morning.
That's what we've come to expect in our elections since 2000, when, after all the states were tallied, Florida was so excruciatingly close that the election wasn't fully decided until mid-December. The 2004 election was similarly close, coming down to a statistical razor's edge of fewer than 120,000 votes in Ohio. While in 2008 the election was wrapped as networks called the race before midnight Eastern Time, all the expectations are that this year will be more like 2000.
As the sun sets across the nation and people gather in bars and private homes and other places to watch the results, the evening should go according to a fairly well-established script. As polls close in each time zone, professional media organizations, including the TV networks, newspapers and the rest, will be adhering to a strict embargo on releasing data gathered from exit polls. For example, the first wave should come at about 7 pm ET (4 pm PT), when polls begin to close in the eastern states. Another round of polls will close every half hour until 9 pm ET, and then will close hourly after that until 11 pm, with the last states, Alaska and Hawaii, set to close at 1 am on Wednesday. (You can read more about the poll closings and the nuances of media policies for calling the race in each state, in this interesting column from The Wall Street Journal's Carl Bialik.)
During that four-hour window, there's going to be a lot of nonsense spouted on Facebook and Twitter, which since 2008 have emerged as vital, though often incorrigible, parts of the national conversation. Some of what you may read there as the day wears on may be true, and some will be planted in order to discourage or encourage voters from one side or the other at a vulnerable moment, when polls are still open. Nearly all of it will be exaggerated, and some will be downright false.
It's at moments like this when the urge to hit the "Retweet" or "Like" or "Share" button will be greatest, because of the sense of emotional urgency coupled with the perception that time is short.
During the recent outbreak of destructive weather in the Northeast, we saw a variant of this, and I even fell for it myself. In my Facebook stream, I shared that picture said to be of Hurricane Sandy that turned out to be a Photoshop combo of the Statue of Liberty and a pic of a supercell thunderstorm. Oopsie.
Another example — thankfully, I didn't fall for this one — was the widely circulated picture of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington, D.C. Taken in September during a heavy rain, it was later said on Twitter to show elite soldiers standing guard during Sandy. Whoops again.
No one wants to be that person who gets a "Fake!" in their Twitter or Facebook streams. No one wants to be responsible for an errant tweet going viral — especially when it's wrong.
So consider this a public service announcement. On Election Night, think before you retweet. Share and "Like" with caution. We'll all know what's really going on with the election results soon enough.
(Image is the iconic photo of President Truman, holding up the most famous incorrect newspaper headline in history.)


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Characteristically for AMG, the heart of the Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 4MATIC Coupé is the engine, a 5.5-litre V8 biturbo engine with an output of 410 kW (557 hp), 700 Nm of torque (Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S 4MATIC Coupé: 430 kW (585 hp) and 760 Nm) plus a turbocharger providing an immediate response.
An optimum conversion of output into tractive power is facilitated by the automatic transmission AMG SPEEDSHIFT PLUS 7G-TRONIC with barely perceptible shift times for extremely sporty power transmission.
With the Adaptive Damping System ADS PLUS, the air suspension AIRMATIC – available as standard or an option depending on the engine – reduces road roar and tyre vibration characteristics, whilst also ensuring excellent driving dynamics. The damping at each wheel is adapted to the driving situation and road surface condition.


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Destructoid: A year removed from the PlayStation Move's launch, one should expect that tech demos and minigame compilations would be out of the door to make way for the kind of genuinely rich experiences that were promised.
Carnival Island is a compilation of minigames that demonstrate the technology of the PlayStation Move.
Oh well. Same time next year?


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Conservation and Environment in Costa Rica: Monthly Updates
Conservation in Costa Rica - Monthly Update June 2012
To start off with this month I can't wait to tell you about progress at our Macaw Project because finally, after more than 3 months of hard work we have our chick (we called it "Bubu") looking out of the nest. For the first days we could only see its beak at the lower edge of the nest-hole but just a few days after our Macaw baby already seemed to have gained enough strength to put out its whole head. Since then we can watch it for a few hours every day while it is looking at the suddenly very big world curiously and waiting for its parents to bring it some food.
We have also observed that the parent's behavior changed as well; they take more time to go for longer flights and so leave the nest and their chick alone for hours. A couple of times it seemed to us like the parents tried to motivate their chick to leave the nest by screaming from another tree for minutes before finally entering the nest. We think it might just be another 2-3 weeks until the chick leaves the nest completely and the staff and volunteers who have been here for a longer time and so saw more of the whole process of the work and the effort we have put into this project are more than excited to see what will happen next in our Macaw-family!
After a long time of planning we finally got to start a new project here in the park which is called Bio-Digester. It is a new bio-system which we will use to gain energy in forms of gases out of recycled resources that we will then use for cooking. The principal idea is that we will build one big tank in which we will collect the waste products out of the bathrooms and the kitchen sewage. The decomposing gases building up in this big tank will be enough to cook our food every day. When we start using this completely organic system we will also stop using chemicals in the kitchen (like soap or chlorine) and replace all of that with biological cleaning products.
So far we already started making a trench that will contain the tubes leading from the bathrooms to where we will eventually build the big main-tank. For us and our volunteers this means a lot of digging and hard work but we have a really strong group of hard working volunteers at the moment that has helped us a lot and we already came very far with our work in this short time! When we will finally start to use the Bio-Digester, Barra Honda will be a pioneer with this new energy system in Costa Rica's national park system.
After finishing this one of the next plans is also to build a compost tank in which we will put all the kitchen left overs, old leaves and grass that we have to cut along the trails and on the football-field and even the used toilet-paper. After about three months in the tank together with water it will be decomposed far enough to give it to farmers who can use it to fertilize their fields. These projects will bring us one step further to gaining the "blue flag" which in Costa Rica is only given to areas that have a zero-impact on nature and surrounding areas which means that everything that will be bought in the town will be reused, recycled. It would also set a very good example to other national parks in Costa Rica.
At the start of this month we also had our main-trail repaired by huge machines that made the trail flat again so it is easier to drive on it down to the entrance of the park. The men who did the trail were also kind enough to drive with one of the machines over our football field that got a bit bumpy over the years. A few days after we had our first game there, this was as always very fun!
Unfortunately they also broke our water-pipe that supplies water for the whole camp. The act of repairing is not a big deal and doesn't take very long but I think it means a lot to show the volunteers how it is done to repair things like this. At home you would probably just call a mechanic but here in Barra Honda we do these jobs ourselves.
It has rained a lot in the last weeks and months so that the waterfalls will soon have water again so during the last weeks we made new transects for our frog projects close to the big waterfalls where you can find a lot of different frog-species in the wet season. So we will be able to start our frog projects again very soon. We also made new transects for the camera Project: The Camera Project is one of our biggest and longest projects we have here in Barra Honda. At this time we have done it for 3 years already, paused for a few months and now we start in 2012 with the 4th year. Each time the cameras stay out in the forest for one whole week taking pictures of whatever is moving in front of the camera.
If we are lucky we get a pretty good picture of a mammal standing in front of the camera. At the moment we have a friend of Eduardo who is called Deiver making a study on ocelots and margays. We will let him use our sensor cameras for doing the project in our park. So in the coming weeks, maybe months we will put our cameras at places where we have got a picture of ocelots and margays before or where we know that these animals live. So we hope to find out more about the cats and where they are found in the forest!
Lisa Kubik
Assistant Manager
Barra Honda National Park
June 2012


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WASHINGTON, April 21, 2014 – The Defense Department has dealt effectively with the Heartbleed computer vulnerability, but individuals must do their parts as well, DOD's deputy chief information officer for cybersecurity said.
Richard A. Hale spoke about Heartbleed during an interview with American Forces Press Service and the Pentagon Channel.
Heartbleed is a vulnerability in the software used to scramble the interactions between a Web server and people using that server. People who do online banking or e-commerce are vulnerable to having passwords and logins stolen.
"The software is used in many Web servers on the Internet, but not all servers," Hale said. "Some are vulnerable to this flaw."
Heartbleed undermines the encryption process on secure websites, email, instant messaging and likely a variety of other programs and applications, officials said, potentially putting users' sensitive personal data — such as usernames, passwords and credit card information — at risk of being intercepted by hackers. Hackers who intercept that information, they added, could then use it to access users' personal accounts.
Cybersecurity specialists learned of Heartbleed on April 7. "The people who wrote this software immediately fixed the flaw," he said.
New software is available to fix systems. "The flaw is starting to go away, but this is a massive undertaking," Hale said. "It is a widely used software used on thousands of websites and thousands of different network products.
"The government is doing the same thing," he continued. "It's looking at all of its websites and ensuring that they are either not vulnerable or the vulnerability is fixed as quickly as possible."
Heartbleed has no effect on DOD classified networks, and minimal effect on DOD unclassified sites, he said. "We have an aggressive process to find this vulnerability and eliminate it immediately," Hale said. "Really, what the department did immediately was block the exploitation of this vulnerability at the boundary between the department's network and the Internet."
Common access cards and the PIN numbers associated with them are not affected by Heartbleed, he said, but service members and their families still need to take action.
"You should go to your bank's website … and check whether the bank software has been fixed or whether it is vulnerable," he said. "If it is fixed, then I recommend changing your password. It is best to assume that your password might have been compromised and change it."
The Department of Homeland Security, through the National Protection and Programs Directorate, is leading a whole-of-government response to the threat posed by the Heartbleed security vulnerability by issuing guidance to the public and key stakeholders.
Officials recommend that people refrain from logging into a website and changing their password until they've confirmed that a patch is in place on the site to protect users from the Heartbleed vulnerability. If the Heartbleed patch is not yet in place, they explained, changing the password would be useless and could give an attacker the new password.
In addition, officials recommend starting with the sites that contain the most sensitive personal information, such as banking and credit card sites and email and social media accounts. It's a good idea, they added, not to re-use passwords.
Over the next few weeks, officials said, people should closely monitor their accounts for suspicious activity — purchases they didn't make or messages they didn't send or post. They also should be aware that websites requiring the user to enter personal information such as credit card or bank account numbers should be secure — the URL, or Web address, should begin with https, officials added.
Phishing attacks via email could seek to exploit concerns about Heartbleed, officials warned. The attacker would send an email purporting to be from the user's email provider, bank or another frequently used website and providing a link for the user to click on to change the password. To be safe, officials recommend, go directly to the websites to change passwords, and type the link yourself, rather than clicking on links embedded in emails.
The DHS website, http://www.dhs/gov, has up-to-date information on Internet security threats to include Heartbleed.


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Craigslist has something for everyone, including disgruntled late night talk show hosts and those looking to break into the business.
The San Francisco-based classifieds site is bringing the two together to offer the "chance of a lifetime."
In Conan O'Brien's ongoing quest to single handedly take down the network that has all but shown him the door, the talk show host has put "The Tonight Show" for sale on Craigslist.
"I'm not even sure that I have the authority to do this, but while I still can, I decided to sell the Tonight Show on Craigslist," O'Brien said on his show Thursday night. "We're going to get some calls. This is real. Buy the Tonight Show. You may never get a chance like this again."
On Friday night's show, O'Brien said he received over 3,000 offers -- "most of them from creeps and perverts looking for casual encounters," he said.
His favorite offers? A storage shed, somebody's grandparents and a cat.
So what do intrepid buyers get in return for their cats and grandparents? The sale includes the studio NBC spent more time building than using for Conan -- at least according to Kenneth the Page. The Tonight Show band could be part of the deal, too.
How much does the Burbank fantasy cost? The funnyman is willing to trade the whole dream for a pair of Coldplay tickets, or the best offer available.


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Busted (band)
Busted was an English band consisting of James Bourne (rhythm guitar; born September 13, 1983), Charlie Simpson (lead guitar; born June 7, 1985), and Matt Willis (then called Matt Jay; bass guitar; born May 8, 1983) which formed in 2001 and disbanded on January 14th 2005.
A Present For Everyone (2003)Edit
- Loving you would be so easy, Loving you would be so great.
- "Why"
- How can I try to explain? Your story never seems to stay the same.
- "Why"
Busted (2002)Edit
- And thinking of her name, is driving me insane.
- "Psycho Girl"
- Another tired afternoon, another dusty motel room.
- "When the Day turns into Night"
- I ran in slow motion, away from him, but he caught up with me, kicked my teeth in.
- "Loner in Love"
- What chance do I have now, I can't even grin.
- "Loner in Love"


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Projects Abroad Human Rights Office – Cape Town, South Africa – Monthly Reports
Projects Abroad Human Rights Office - Cape town - Monthly reports - October 2011
This month has been busy for PAHO, especially with the arrival of our Global Gap Year volunteers. Our social justice projects are progressing well, with a new soccer project in the works. Our mock trial program is also making huge steps and having a profound impact on both the children we are working with and the volunteers. On the legal services side, we have had many interesting cases this month, including a Road Accident Fund case, a medical negligence case, and some very interesting asylum seeker cases. Here's a summary of this month's activities
Social Justice Monthly Update
Manenberg Soccer Project
The aim is simple. Through sport, we hope to provide a positive outlet for the young people of Manenberg, particularly those at risk of falling into the local gang and drug culture that is so prevalent in large parts of the community. We have been in partnership with Self-Help Manenberg for a number of years, setting up sustainable, community driven projects that seek to promote positive attributes such as discipline, team work and mutual respect. Most recently we have been assisting the people of Manenberg with setting up a weekly soccer league, catering for age groups ranging from 12 to 24 years. This has allowed us to develop a new partnership with the Silvertree Community Centre, based at the heart of the Manenberg community, away from the more recognised gang territories. This partnership has provided us with facilities in which to operate these leagues by utilising the large indoor space available.
Our project however remains at an early stage, as the possibilities for further expansion remain great. Through our partnership with Silvertree we are not only hoping to expand our soccer programme, but also the range of sports we offer to include, among others, Netball and Table Tennis. At present, the facilities we have available require a great deal of rejuvenation, particularly the playing fields immediately outside of the community centre. We are currently in contact with local businesses and both local city and provincial government authorities to help assist us with this rejuvenation, so that we are able develop purpose built sports pitches that are sustainable and will serve the community at large.
Mock Trial
The mock trial group in Ruyterwacht has been progressing quickly. They are very bright and motivated. They have had lessons in public speaking, debate form and etiquette, analyzing arguments, and court room procedures. The group went to the Wynberg Magistrate's Court and performed a dry run through of a case script given to them the week before from Advocate, Mr. Ruiters. Despite only having the material to look over for one week, the kids did a phenomenal job in their designated roles. Mr. Ruiters taped the whole case and will use it for educational purposes, teaching students and social workers about sexual violation. The group is going back for their final run-through of the case next Wednesday, November 9th. They have made their own additions to the script to make it their own and are excited to be prepared and perfect their roles next week. The group is also interested in doing another mock trial in which they will prepare their own opening and closing statements and questioning of the witnesses. This will happen at the end of November or early December.
Manenberg Girls
For the past couple of weeks, some of our volunteers have been going to Manenberg to recruit and meet with girls about starting a new project in Manenberg. The girls are generally between 15-24 years and are school dropouts and young mothers, many of whom do not work. The girls brainstormed ideas about sports (e.g. netball and soccer), a swimming carnival, dance competition, etc. The volunteers are trying to find sustainable activities that the girls themselves can run and the volunteers can step in for support. The girls made it very clear that they do not just want to talk; they want to be active. The new program will kick off with a high tea function at the end of November; it is hoped that the activities will be up and running before the end of the year.
St. Annes
This month, volunteers focused on access to health care.
This month, volunteers focussed on gang culture around Cape Town. Volunteers took an article from the Cape Times website about violence in Lavender Hill which is a local township. The volunteers discussed how violence can tear a community apart from the inside out. The boys discussed how they feel about gangs and how they would like to get out of their gangs, but it's difficult because they are surrounded by them. They brainstormed ways to fix gang violence and how to change the communities.
Legal Services
Recently, we have cases where clients have signed documents that have precluded them from further legal recourse. In one case, the client originally came to us concerned about his unfair dismissal from a supermarket. He lost his job due to false accusations, namely that he had not turned up for work one day when he had, in fact, been present. At a meeting arranged by his employers between himself and two lawyers acting on behalf of the supermarket, he had been encouraged to sign a Mutual Termination of Employment Agreement. Even though he had signed this under false pretences, having been told that he would subsequently be allowed to speak to his boss who would consider reinstating him to his former position, this contract was binding. Due to caveat subscriptor, which assumes that the signatory has a full understanding of any document to which he puts his name, and the nature of the contract which he signed, this case could no longer even be considered a dismissal; it was a mutual agreement, leaving him no recourse.
Road Accident Fund
A woman came in to see us regarding a Road Accident Fund claim. Her husband died in a car accident in 2004. She has been seeking compensation ever since from the Road Accident Fund. Her application was refused because the police said that it was her husbands fault. The accident was very serious. Along with our client's husband, 17 people were killed. Our client has had multiple attorneys, some have said that the accident was his fault, and others have said that it was not. Our goal is to investigate the claim and see if we can get compensation for her.
Medical Negligence
We have another client who has been seeing us regarding his son who has cerebral palsy. We believe that the client may have a legitimate medical negligence claim and we have been attempting to find an attorney who could take this case pro bono. We consulted with an attorney from DSC attorneys who explained that she too believed that there might be a case of medical negligence, but there must be sufficient proof so that the client can win the case on behalf of his son. The client signed power of attorney forms so that DSC attorneys can represent the client's son in court. She warned the client that the legal proceedings could take years, but she will arrange an expert to evaluate all of the hospital records to conclude whether t client's son's cerebral palsy is a result of medical negligence. If the case is successful, the client would be eligible to receive damages.
Asylum Seekers
One of our cases involves an asylum seeker from Zimbabwe. The client worked as an accountant for the EU and was a signatory for the EU's development assistance funds which are channelled through NGOs as to rural areas, as a result of the EU sanctions against the Mugabe regime. The areas that receive this funding are strengthening areas of MDC political support, the Mugabe opposition party. In late 2009 the government secret service, which is widely regarded as Mugabe's personal police, began harassing our client; coming to her house repeatedly and interrogating her about her job. One night, after a few months of this, they came to her house and took her husband for detainment. After being released from a four day detainment, he died in a hospital a few days later from internal injuries. Our client then fled with her three children to a different city, but was forced to return to her job in Harare to support her family after three months. Upon her return the harassment began again, eventually resulting in her own detainment where she was beaten. After her release she and her family fled to Malawi, but that did not work out and they returned to Harare again. In September, when the harassment did not stop, out of fear for her family's safety, our client came to South Africa. Her original application for asylum was rejected, but we helped her prepare a Notice of Appeal and she has a hearing before the Refugee Appeal Board on December 5th. This is the first time PAHO will represent a client at an appeal hearing and Sanjay, myself and Edward are working hard to prepare a strong case.
Volunteer Research
There are a number of opportunities in South Africa to apply for community grants, from local governments and national banks, to international organisations and individuals. As a sideline project, one of the volunteers decided that it would be beneficial for Projects Abroad and their partners to have a reference list of the different types of grants available and how to contact these organisations. The advantage of this information is that Projects Abroad can let project partners know of relevant grants that may be used for particular initiatives and to help the individuals who use their services. Furthermore, by helping project partners apply for grants, both Project Abroad volunteers and the organisations develop skills that will increase their understanding of funding processes and articulating the values and objectives of their initiative. Ideally, this would become a springboard for both Projects Aboard and their partners to build long-term links with other community stakeholders.
Finally, we are very proud of our volunteer, Samuele Pavan. Tragically, two of his friends back home in Italy passed away in a car accident. In their honor, Sam decided to collect funds from friends and family members in their honor to donate to a local organisation. Sam was able to raise 22,000 rand to Philisa Abafazi Bethu, a program that focuses on gender based violence and child abuse prevention in Lavender Hill.