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At the Web 2.0 Summit, one of Research in Motion's CEOs (it has two) said that he doesn't think apps are necessary or useful, and challenged the closed way Apple runs its App Store, reports the AFP.
"You don't need an app for the Web," said Jim Balsillie, co-CEO. "We believe that you can bring the mobile to the web. You don't need to go through some kind of control point. That's the core part of our message…It is really not about a set of proprietary rules or about appifying the Web. The Web needs a platform that allows you to use your existing Web content, not apps."
Balsillie emphasized his point by showing flash content that the iPhone and iPad cannot play because Apple CEO Steve Jobs doesn't like the technology, stating that the era of smartphone apps would "pass real quick." When asked what he'd say to Jobs if he met him face-to-face, Balsillie said he'd be surprised, simply saying "you showed up," referring to Apple's unwillingness to attend such events.
Tablets and NFC
Of course, the CEO used the swipes to push RIM's new PlayBook, a tablet that mirror's the design and feel of Apple's iPad. The device will be priced at less than $500 when it hits U.S. shelves in the first few months of 2011.
When the subject of near-field communications was brought up, Balsillie said that RIM will definitely include the chips in its upcoming devices. "We'd be fools not to have NFC in a product in the near term, and we are not fools," he said. Google CEO Eric Schmidt made a splash yesterday when he announced Google would include NFC chips in its devices and really push the technology. Wireless carriers jumped onboard with their own announcement later in the day. NFC allows customers to swipe their phone and use it as a credit card.
RIM's BlackBerry brand has taken quite a hit in recent months, losing smartphone market share to both the iPhone and Google Android operating systems. It hopes products like the PlayBook and Torch keep it in the game.
Is he right? Do we really need an app for that? Or are applications mostly a bridge to the next phase of mobile, which will mostly be about the open web?

subset: commoncrawl


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We Deliver Excellence in a Digital World
DHL Group has made significant progress with Strategy 2020. Due to its geographical spread and wide range of logistics offerings the Group is now better positioned than ever before. With "Strategy 2025 – Delivering Excellence in a Digital World" the company is laying the groundwork to continue its successful growth trajectory beyond 2020.
The four most important trends that have been impacting logistics in recent years will also shape the industry going forward: Globalization, Digitalization, E-Commerce and Sustainability. Strategy 2025 is the Group's response to these. The company will build on these trends to harness the potential for profitable long-term growth within in its core logistics businesses, at the same time stepping up the digital transformation that is already underway across the entire Group.
All efforts are focused on the established three bottom lines of Strategy 2020, which continue to provide the foundation for Strategy 2025. Accordingly, DHL Group aims to be regarded as Employer, Provider, and Investment of choice in all its activities.


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Did you see Jimi Hendrix in concert? Did you meet Jimi Hendrix or have the opportunity to interview him or have some other unique, first-person encounter with Jimi Hendrix? If so, Experience Hendrix wants to hear from you.
Jimi Hendrix
Did you see Jimi Hendrix in concert? Did you meet Jimi Hendrix or have the opportunity to interview him or have some other unique, first-person encounter with Jimi Hendrix? If so, Experience Hendrix wants to hear from you.
Ungano's New York, N.Y. Joined by Elvin Bishop, Buddy Miles and others, Hendrix took part in a jam session at Ungano's nightclub (210 West 70th Street, New York City). Sacha Reins, a writer for French entertainment magazine Best (Issue 39) who just happened to be in the club during the event, later wrote about the evening. "It is beginning to get quite late, and I tell myself that I have to go. I look to the door and get a big shock. Jimi is there with a black guitar in his hand. Buddy Miles follows him. He shakes the hand of the boss, and I hear him asking if he doesn't mind them playing a bit. The three telephone booths near the entrance are immediately occupied. We all want to tell a friend that nice things are about to happen. Less than an hour later the club is full. Jimi is onstage and Buddy is looking for a drum stool big enough to support his enormous weight. "A very young guitar player who has been playing for half an hour wants to leave. He doesn't want to play anymore. Jimi stops him and asks him if they can play together. They try out a rather quick number and Jimi intentionally stays in the background. He waits until the young guitarist regains his confidence. Then he takes his turn. He plays short phrases with long silence intermissions during which one only hears the strong and regular pulsations of Buddy Miles. The silences become shorter and shorter. The phrases are less and less chopped up; they become enchained, stupefying. Jimi had found his groove and under his fingers the strings tell us strange stories that we don't fully comprehend."
Billed as the "Winter Festival For Peace," Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul & Mary) and Sid Bernstein, event producers, announced that their services would be donated and that all proceeds of the event will go to the Vietnam Moratorium effort. The five-hour festival slated from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. will feature Harry Belafonte; Blood, Sweat & Tears; Dave Brubeck; Richie Havens; Mother Earth; Peter, Paul & Mary; The Rascals; The Cast of Hair; Judy Collins, and Jimi Hendrix & his Band Of Gypsys.
Suffering from exhaustion and the effects of a drink laced with an unknown substance taken before the show, Hendrix failed to execute his musical plans this evening. Having completed just two songs, "Who Knows" and "Earth Blues" the only thing Hendrix could do at that point was drop his guitar and sit down on the stage, meanwhile Miles and Cox continue to roll through the back beats. As Alfred Aronowitz later recalled in his New York Post column, "The crowd has already gotten twice its money's worth when Jimi Hendrix stopped playing in the middle of his second number, said 'That's what happens when Earth ***** with Space, never forget that, that's what happens.'" … "Jimi got up, put his guitar down and walked offstage."
"When he came off stage," explained Alan Douglas "he actually fell off the apron. At first I thought he was hurt, but he wasn't. I then ran backstage to the dressing room to see if in fact he was okay. There he was sitting playing the guitar and smiling. I don't know what went through his mind when he was on stage, but the first thing I noticed, it looked like he was having a big rhythm problem. I think he just got fed up."
Backstage, Jimi meets Johnny Winter. In recounting the meeting Winter explains, "I saw Jimi backstage at the Madison Square Garden concert, the one where he just couldn't play. When I saw him, it have me chills. It was the most horrible thing I'd ever seen. He came in with this entourage of people, and it was like he was already dead. He just walked in – and even though Jimi and I weren't the greatest of friends, we always talked, always – and he came in with his head down, sat on the couch alone, and put his head in his hands. He didn't say a word to anybody, and no one spoke to him. He didn't move until it was time for the show. He really wanted to do that gig, but he never should have. It wasn't that it was bad, but his whole thing was inspiration, and there wasn't any. It was just completely uninspired; finally, right in the middle of a song, he just took his guitar off, sat on the stage – the band was still playing – and told the audience, "I'm sorry, we just can't get it together." One of his people said he was sick, and lead him off stage. He was just so unhappy that there was no way that he could play the show. It didn't have anything to do with the group – he had already died!"
1970 Band of Gypsys Blood Dave Brubeck eter Events Harry Belafonte January 28 Jimi Hendrix Johnny Winte Judy Collins Madison Square Garden Mother Earth. Paul & Mary Peter Yarrow Richie Havens Sid Bernstein Sweat & Tears The Cast of Hair The Rascals Vietnam Moratorium Winter Festival For Peace


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KISS It or Diss It
Two artists are going to duke it out every weeknight at 9:00 but you have to vote for your favorite! The winner will move on to the next round and if they win for a week straight, they move into the KISS it or DISS it Hall of Fame! But only YOUR vote determines the winner!


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Puzzle Categories
Download a FREE Solution for your puzzles!
Gear Cube Extreme - White
Object | Mix up and than put back to start |
Difficulty | Level 10 - Mind Boggling |
Brand | Meffert's |
Types | Meffert's Rotational Puzzles, Oskar van Deventer |
Dimensions | 2 1/3 in x 2 1/3 in x 2 1/3 in / 6 cm x 6 cm x 6 cm |
Packaging | Clear Plastic Box |
Read reviews, and write your own!
Product Info
The Gear Cube Extreme is made with a white ABS plastic body. The Idea of this puzzle is to scramble all of the colors and then organize them backmto the start position. This cube has gears throughout its mechanism which causes edge pieces to rotate out of their normal square position, unlike the original Gear Cube, this puzzle has four pieces that are non-geared, which allow two of the six faces to turn at a 90° angle, as opposed to the other four faces that rotate at an 180° angle. The designer of Gear Cube Extreme, Oskar van Deventer from Leidschendam in the Netherlands, started designing puzzles when he was 12, and has now been designing for over 30 years. Oskar originally designed the four non gear edges independently, so that one could convert their Gear Cube into the Extreme version, which he called the Anisotropic Cube. The Gear Cube Extreme is now manufactured by Meffert's Rotations Puzzles. Uwe Meffert, born in Wernigerode, Germany, not only manufactures the puzzles, but has designed many of his own puzzles as well.
Customer Reviews
Disclaimer: These reviews are written by our customers. Puzzle Master makes every attempt to keep these posts informative and relevant. If you find a post objectionable or inappropriate, please let us know by sending an email to [email protected]
This puzzle is excellent. If you can solve the Gear Cube, you'll be ready to take a stab at the Gear Cube Extreme... but it really is much more difficult. It has fewer gears than the Gear Cube... in fact, the four non-geared edges allow you to make quarter-turns along one axis. But this actually makes the puzzle much, much more difficult. It combines the gearing fun of the Gear Cube with the ridiculous difficulty (mine said "12 out of 10" for difficulty on the box...) of other puzzles. Buy it to impress your friends and/or if you want a very difficult puzzle.


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Find a Transvestite Near You on-line!
There is a huge transvestite community located in and around the state of Florida. There is also tons of transvestites that live in the Orlando area. These transvestites are sometimes very hard to find, but they often go on-line to find other men and women who share the same things. Meet yourself a sexy transvestite on-line today. See who's on-line below....
Start Searching Searching is 100% safe.
Check how many Transvestites live in Florida.
Check how many Transvestites live in Florida.


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Dress by Miu Miu, and because of FTC regulations, I'm supposed to tell you I was lent the garment to photograph by the PR offices.
Photo by Spencer, again. I think I was trying to do something Inez and Vinoodh-ish when I stood off to the side. It kind of failed but I like this as a film still? And it might be gimmicky but I enjoy church themes? And my hair looks totally white here, and kind of is totally white in real life, which makes me want to dye it pink, since I wouldn't have to bleach it (which is maybe the equivalent of scraping at my scalp with a chainsaw. A chainsaw that is on fire.) So, time to write another persuasive essay for my parents!


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Why choose canvas Bags for your Promotional Custom Tote Bags? Here are four advantages of canvas as a bag material:
*It's sturdy: Canvas threads are thick and typically tightly woven. Bags made from this fabric can bear heavy loads without stretching or breaking. This is the main reason that so many reusable grocery bags are made from this material. They're also fabulous for students for carrying textbooks and notebooks.
*It's durable: Canvas bags doesn't wear, tear or fray easily. Anything made from it will last for years. This means that your business logo will also last for years!
*It's lightweight: Despite its thick weave, canvas is light and therefore easy to carry. Its strength-to-weight ratio exceeds that of many other fabrics available.
It's naturally water-proof: There's no need to add any kind of waterproofing to this kind of fabric. It has inherent water-resistance qualities. This is another reason it makes such a great material for grocery bags.
*It makes a superior printing surface: This is why canvas has been used for centuries by painters. It accepts the transfer of ink and paint better than any other fabric, yet any color that's applied won't bleed or soak through the material. This is great news for advertisers who will placing their business logos on a Customized Promotional Canvas Tote Bag!
They come in dozens of different colors, so you'll be able to select the perfect one to accent the color and style of your business logo.


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WASHINGTON — The sex scandal that led to CIA Director David Petraeus' downfall widened Tuesday with word the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan is under investigation for alleged "inappropriate communications" with another woman involved in the case. Some of the material was "flirtatious," an official said.
Even as the FBI prepared a timeline for Congress about the investigation that brought to light Petraeus' extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta revealed that the Pentagon had begun an internal investigation into emails between Gen. John Allen and a Florida woman involved in the case.
Some of the 20,000-plus pages of documents and emails between Allen and Tampa socialite Jill Kelley were "flirtatious," according to a senior defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the case publicly. It wasn't immediately clear who wrote the flirtatious notes — Allen, Kelley or both.
Allen succeeded Petraeus as the top American commander in Afghanistan in July 2011, and his nomination to become the next commander of U.S. European Command and the commander of NATO forces in Europe has now been put on hold, as the scandal seemed certain to ensnare another acclaimed military figure.
In a White House statement early Tuesday, National Security spokesman Tommy Vietor said President Barack Obama has held Allen's nomination at Panetta's request. Obama, the statement said, "remains focused on fully supporting our extraordinary troops and coalition partners in Afghanistan, who Gen. Allen continues to lead as he has so ably done for over a year."
It was Broadwell's threatening emails to Kelley, a Petraeus family friend, that led to the FBI's discovery of communications between Broadwell and Petraeus indicating they were having an affair. Petraeus acknowledged the affair when he resigned from the CIA post on Friday.
In the latest revelations, a Pentagon official traveling with Panetta to Australia said "inappropriate communications" — 20,000 to 30,000 pages of emails and other documents from Allen's communications with Kelley between 2010 and 2012 — are under review. The official would not say whether they involved sexual matters or whether they are thought to include unauthorized disclosures of classified information. He said he did not know whether Petraeus is mentioned in the emails.
Allen has denied wrongdoing. He was due to give Panetta a recommendation soon on the pace of U.S. troop withdrawals in 2013. If Allen was found to have had an affair with Kelley, he could face charges of adultery, which is a crime under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The decision by the FBI to hand off the Allen information to the military seems to indicate the issue is not one involving the handling of classified information, but rather some other issue.
The Petraeus case has sparked an uproar in Congress, with lawmakers complaining they should have been told earlier about the probe that has roiled the intelligence and military establishment.
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, called the latest revelations in the case "a Greek tragedy."
"It's just tragic," King said Tuesday on NBC's "Today" show. "This has the elements in some ways of a Hollywood movie or a trashy novel."
The issue of what the FBI knew, when it notified top Obama administration officials, and when Congress was told, has brought criticism from lawmakers, who say they should have been told earlier.
The White House wasn't informed of the FBI investigation that involved Petraeus until Nov. 6, Election Day, although agents began looking at Petraeus' actions months earlier, sometime during the summer. Senate Intelligence Committee chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., complained that she first learned of the matter from the media late last week, and confirmed it in a phone call to the then-CIA director on Friday.
That was the same day Obama accepted Petraeus' resignation, and the 60-year-old retired Army general, who headed U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan before taking charge of the CIA, acknowledged an affair with Broadwell, and expressed regret.
Defending the notification timing, a senior federal law enforcement official pointed Monday to longstanding policies and practices, adopted following abuses and mistakes that were uncovered during the Nixon administration's Watergate scandal of the early 1970s. The Justice Department — of which the FBI is part — is supposed to refrain from sharing detailed information about its criminal investigations with the White House.
The FBI also looked into whether a separate set of emails between Petraeus and Broadwell might involve any security breach. That will be a key question Wednesday in meetings involving congressional intelligence committee leaders, FBI deputy director Sean Joyce and CIA deputy director Michael Morell.
A federal law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the investigation, said the FBI had concluded relatively quickly — and certainly by late summer at the latest — that there was no security breach. Absent a security breach, it was appropriate not to notify Congress or the White House earlier, this official said.
Extramarital affairs are viewed as particularly risky for intelligence officers because they might be blackmailed to keep the affair quiet. For military personnel, adultery is a crime under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
According to two federal law enforcement officials, the FBI initially began a criminal investigation of unsigned, harassing emails that were sent, beginning last May, to Kelley, a Tampa socialite. She and her husband, Scott, were longtime friends of Petraeus and his wife, Holly. FBI agents traced the alleged cyber harassment to Broadwell and during that process discovered she was exchanging intimate messages with a private Gmail account. Further investigation revealed that account belonged to Petraeus, under an alias.
Petraeus and Broadwell apparently used a trick, known to terrorists and teenagers alike, to conceal their email traffic, one of the law enforcement officials said.
Rather than transmitting emails to the other's inbox, they composed at least some messages and instead of transmitting them, left them in a draft folder or in an electronic "dropbox," the official said. Then the other person could log onto the same account and read the draft emails there. This avoids creating an email trail that is easier for outsiders to intercept or trace.
Agents later told Petraeus that Broadwell sent emails warning Kelley to stay away from the general and carrying a threatening tone.
Friends and former staff members of Petraeus told The Associated Press that he has assured them his relationship with Kelley was platonic, although Broadwell apparently saw her as a romantic rival. They said Petraeus was shocked to learn last summer of Broadwell's emails to Kelley.
Petraeus also denied to these associates that he had given Broadwell any sensitive military information.
FBI agents who contacted Petraeus told him that sensitive, possibly classified documents related to Afghanistan were found on her computer, the general's associates said. He assured investigators they did not come from him, and he mused to his associates that they were probably given to her on her reporting trips to Afghanistan by commanders she visited in the field there.
One associate also said Petraeus believes the documents described past operations and had already been declassified, although they might have still been marked "secret."
Broadwell had high security clearances as part of her former job as a reserve Army major in military intelligence. But those clearances are only in effect when a soldier is on active duty, which she was not at the time she researched the Petraeus biography.
The FBI concluded there was no security breach.
Nevertheless, FBI agents conducted a search of Broadwell's Charlotte, N.C., home on Monday. And the criminal investigation continued into the emails to Kelley, including whether Petraeus had any hand in them. At that point in late summer, FBI Director Robert Mueller and eventually Attorney General Eric Holder were notified that agents had uncovered what appeared to be an extramarital affair involving Petraeus.
Broadwell and Petraeus have each been questioned by FBI agents twice in recent weeks, with both acknowledging the affair in separate interviews. The FBI's most recent interviews with Broadwell and with Petraeus both occurred during the week of Oct. 29, days before the election, one of the law enforcement officials said. The FBI notified Obama's director of national intelligence, James Clapper, of the investigation on Tuesday, Nov. 6 — Election Day.
In another twist, an FBI agent who was a friend of Kelley and who passed along information from her to the agents who conducted the investigation, was subsequently told by his superiors to steer clear of the case because they grew concerned that the agent had become obsessed with the investigation, a federal law enforcement official said. Before the case involving Petraeus got under way, the agent had sent Kelley shirtless photos of himself, according to this official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation.
Broadwell co-authored a biography titled "All In: The Education of General David Petraeus," published in January. She wrote that she met Petraeus in the spring of 2006 while she was a graduate student at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and she ended up following him on multiple trips to Afghanistan as part of her research.
Petraeus, 60, told one former associate he began an affair with Broadwell, 40, a couple of months after he became CIA director in September 2011. They mutually agreed to end the affair four months ago, but they kept in contact because she was still writing a dissertation on his time commanding U.S. troops overseas, the associate said.
Petraeus told former staffers and friends that he had regularly visited the Kelleys' home overlooking Tampa Bay. Kelley, 37, served as a sort of social ambassador for U.S. Central Command, hosting parties for the general when Petraeus was commander there from 2008-10.
Jill Kelley regularly kept in touch with Petraeus when he became commander of the Afghanistan war effort, the two exchanging near-daily emails and instant messages, two of his former staffers said. But those messages were exchanged in accounts that his aides monitored as part of their duties and were not romantic in tone, the staffers said.
Petraeus and his family are devastated over the affair — especially Mrs. Petraeus, who "is not exactly pleased right now" after 38 years of marriage, said Steve Boylan, a friend and former Petraeus spokesman who spoke to him over the weekend.
Broadwell, married with two young sons, has not returned phone calls or emails seeking comment.
National Security writer Robert Burns reported from Perth, Australia. Associated Press writers Pauline Jelinek, Nedra Pickler, Larry Margasak and Adam Goldman contributed from Washington.


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A remarkably candid Pope Francis struck a conciliatory stance toward gays Monday, saying "who am I to judge" when it comes to the sexual orientation of priests.
"We shouldn't marginalize people for this. They must be integrated into society," Francis said during an extraordinary 82-minute exchange with reporters aboard his plane returning from his first papal trip, to celebrate World Youth Day in Brazil.
"If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" the pope asked.
Francis' first news conference as pope was wide-ranging and open, touching on everything from the greater role he believes women should have in the Catholic Church to the troubled Vatican Bank.
While his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, responded to only a few pre-selected questions during his papal trips, Francis did not dodge a single query, even thanking the journalist who asked about reports of a "gay lobby" inside the Vatican and allegations that one of his trusted monsignors was involved in a gay tryst.
Francis said he investigated the allegations against the clergyman according to canon law and found nothing to back them up. He took journalists to task for reporting on the matter, saying it concerned issues of sin, not crimes like sexually abusing children. And when someone sins and confesses, he said, God not only forgives -- he forgets.
"We don't have the right to not forget," he said.
While the comments did not signal a change in Catholic teaching that homosexual acts are "intrinsically disordered," they indicated a shift in tone under Francis' young papacy and an emphasis on a church that is more inclusive and merciful rather than critical and disciplinary.
Francis' stance contrasted markedly with that of Benedict, who signed a document in 2005 that said men who had deep-rooted homosexual tendencies should not be priests.
Gay leaders were buoyed by Francis' approach, saying the change in tone was progress in itself, although for some the encouragement was tempered by Francis' talk of gay clergy's "sins."
"Basically, I'm overjoyed at the news," said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of the U.S.-based New Ways Ministry, a group that promotes justice and reconciliation for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and the wider church community.
"For decades now, we've had nothing but negative comments about gay and lesbian people coming from the Vatican," DeBernardo said in a telephone interview from Maryland.
The largest U.S. gay rights group, Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement that the pope's remarks "represent a significant change in tone."
Still, said Chad Griffin, the HRC president, as long as gays "are told in churches big and small that their lives and their families are disordered and sinful because of how they were born -- how God made them -- then the church is sending a deeply harmful message."
In Italy, the country's first openly gay governor, Nichi Vendola, urged fellow politicians to learn a lesson from the pope.
"I believe that if politics had one-millionth of the capacity to ... listen that the pope does, it would be better able to help people who suffer," he said.
Vendola praised the pope for drawing a clear line between homosexuality and pedophilia. "We know that a part of reactionary clerical thought plays on the confusion between these two completely different categories," he said.
Francis also said he wanted a greater role for women in the church, though he insisted "the door is closed" to ordaining them as priests. In one of his most important speeches in Rio, Francis described the church in feminine terms, saying it would be "sterile" without women.
Funny and candid, Francis' exchange with the media was exceptional. While Pope John Paul II used to have on-board talks with journalists, he would move about the cabin, chatting with individual reporters so it was hit-or-miss to hear what he said. After Benedict's maiden foreign voyage, the Vatican insisted that reporters submit questions in advance so the theologian pope could choose three or four he wanted to answer with prepared comments.
Francis did not shy away from controversial topics, including reports suggesting that a group of gay clergymen exert undue influence on Vatican policy. Italian news media reported this year that the allegations of a so-called "gay lobby" contributed to Benedict's decision to resign.
"A lot is written about this gay lobby. I still haven't found anyone at the Vatican who has 'gay' on his business card," Francis said, chuckling. "You have to distinguish between the fact that someone is gay and the fact of being in a lobby."
The term "gay lobby" is bandied about with abandon in the Italian media and is decidedly vague. Interpretations of what it means have ranged from a group of celibate gay priests who are friends, to suggestions that a group of sexually active gay priests use blackmail to exert influence on Vatican decision-making.
Stressing that Catholic teaching calls for homosexuals to be treated with dignity and not marginalized, Francis said he would not condone anyone using private information for blackmail or to exert pressure.
The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit author and commentator, saw the pope's remarks as a sign of mercy. "Today Pope Francis has, once again, lived out the Gospel message of compassion for everyone," he said in an emailed statement.
Speaking in Italian with occasional lapses in his native Spanish, Francis dropped a few nuggets of news:
-- He said he is thinking about travelling to the Holy Land next year and is considering invitations from Sri Lanka and the Philippines.
-- The planned Dec. 8 canonizations of Popes John Paul II and John XXIII will likely be changed -- perhaps until the weekend after Easter -- because road conditions in December would be dangerously icy for people from John Paul's native Poland travelling to the ceremony by bus.
Francis also he solved the mystery that had been circulating since he was pictured boarding the plane to Rio carrying his own black bag, an unusual break with Vatican protocol.
"The keys to the atomic bomb weren't in it," Francis quipped, referring to the case that accompanies U.S. presidents with nuclear launch codes. The bag, he said, contained a razor, a prayer book, his agenda and a book on St. Therese of Lisieux, to whom he is particularly devoted.
"It's normal" to carry a bag when travelling, he said, displaying a simplicity of style that separates him from previous pontiffs, who until a few decades ago were carried around on platforms.
"We have to get used to this being normal."


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Markus van Almsick
This video explains the principles of volume rendering and the art of constructing the right transfer functions. Markus van Almsick explores the drawbacks and extravagant possibilities of this new visualization modality and applies it to real-world data.
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Fear is back in the market.
Investors are worried about slower economic growth in China, a gloomier outlook for U.S. corporate profits and an end to easy-money policies in the United States and Europe. They're also fretting over country-specific troubles around the world — from economic mismanagement in Argentina to political instability in Turkey.
Those fears converged this week to start a two-day rout in global markets that was capped by a 318-point drop in the Dow Jones industrial average Friday. It was the blue-chip index's worst day since last June. The Dow plunged almost 500 points over the two days.
The Dow finished down 2 percent at 15,879 Friday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 38 points, or 2.1 percent, to 1,790. The Nasdaq composite fell 90 points, or 2.2 percent, to 4,128.
As investors shunned risk, small-company stocks fell even more than the rest of the market, and bond prices rose.
Despite the sell-off, U.S. stocks remain near all-time highs after surging 30 percent last year. The S&P 500 is 3 percent below its record high of 1,848 on Jan. 15.
U.S. stocks have not endured a correction — a drop of 10 percent or more over time — since October 2011.
The turbulence coincides with a global economic shift: China and other emerging-market economies appear to be running into trouble just as the developed economies of the United States and Europe finally show signs of renewed strength nearly five years after the end of the Great Recession.
The trouble began Thursday after a January survey showed a drop in Chinese manufacturing activity. Days earlier, China reported that its economic growth last year matched 2012 for the slowest pace since 1999.
"It is interesting how even a mild tremor in China's growth causes such anxiety around the world," said Eswar Prasad, professor of trade policy at Cornell University.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 1.9 percent Friday to close at 15,391.56; Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 1.2 percent to 22,450.06; and Seoul's Kospi dropped 0.4 percent to 1,940.56.
Slower growth in China is bad news for countries that supply oil, iron ore and other raw materials to the world's second-biggest economy. Some of those countries, such as Indonesia and South Africa, were already struggling with an outflow of capital as rising U.S. interest rates drew investors to the United States.
Here's a look at the forces buffeting global financial markets:
Since the global financial crisis hit in 2008, the Federal Reserve has flooded markets with cash to push interest rates lower and encourage U.S. businesses and consumers to borrow and spend. But last month, as signs of growing economic strength emerged in the U.S., the Fed cut back — reducing its monthly bond purchases to $75 billion from $85 billion. It also said that it expected to reduce the bond-buying further "in measured steps" at upcoming meetings.
The Fed meets again Tuesday and Wednesday. Many economists expect the central bank to cut the purchases again — perhaps to $65 billion a month.
The scaling back of the Fed's easy-money policies has hit some emerging markets hard. When the Fed was pushing U.S. rates lower, emerging markets had seen an inflow of capital from investors seeking higher returns than they could get in the United States. Now investment is flowing back to America, hammering currencies in emerging markets.
The South African rand, Russian ruble, Turkish lira, and especially the Argentinian peso — which fell 13 percent Thursday — have been "trounced," said Jane Foley, a currency strategist at Rabobank. "Talk that the U.S. Federal Reserve will announce another reduction in its monthly bond purchases next week … (is also) contributing to a loss of confidence in some emerging markets," she said.
In some countries, concerns over the local political or financial situation have worsened the market volatility dramatically. That was most obvious in Argentina, where the peso this week suffered its sharpest fall since the country's 2002 economic collapse. The government, running short of reserves it could use to buy the currency and keep it from falling, has let the peso drop instead. The country's economic fundamentals are grim: Inflation is believed to be running at about 25 percent to 30 percent.
The peso fell 16 percent in two days, easily the worst performer among emerging markets.
Turkey's national currency, the lira, hit multiple record lows in recent weeks as investors worried about the fallout of a corruption scandal that threatens to destabilize the government. Having a stable government for the past 10 years has been one of the key ingredients in the country's economic revival.
The lira hit an all-time low of 2.33 against the dollar on Friday — from around 2 per dollar in December — despite a $3 billion-intervention by the central bank in foreign exchange markets.
Beyond political problems, the countries that have seen their currencies fall most are those that rely heavily on exports of raw materials used in manufacturing. The Russian ruble was trading at 34.58 per dollar, from below 34 on Thursday. The South African rand weakened to 11.13 per dollar, from 10.98 the day before.
Since the recession, the global economy has relied heavily on China and other emerging markets as the developed economies of the United States, Europe and Japan struggled.
But China's economy is decelerating. It grew 7.7 percent in October-December 2013 from a year earlier, down from the previous quarter's 7.8 percent growth. Factory output, exports and investment all weakened. On Thursday, the preliminary version of HSBC's purchasing managers' index of Chinese manufacturing fell to 49.6, the lowest reading since July's 47.7. Anything below 50 signals a contraction.
China's growth is still far stronger than the United States, Japan or Europe, but is down from the double-digit rates of the previous decade.
Many economists are troubled less by the slower growth numbers than by China's over-reliance on trade and investment instead of spending by its consumers.
"China, and the world at large, would benefit from its shift to a lower but more sustainable pattern of growth that is not so heavily dependent on investment-led growth fueled by bank credit," Cornell's Prasad said.
China's growth is slowing just as the world's rich economies begin to gain momentum.
The 17 countries that use the euro currency appear to be recovering from a debt crisis that tipped them into a double-dip recession in late 2011.
In the United States, households have reduced crippling debt levels and are in better shape to start spending again. The International Monetary Fund expects the U.S. economy to grow 2.8 percent this year, up from 1.9 percent in 2013, and for the eurozone economy to grow 1 percent in 2014 after contracting 0.4 percent in 2013 and 0.7 percent in 2012.
In the U.S., the outlook for corporate profits has already been weakening, and the turmoil in emerging-market currencies could make matters worse.
About two-thirds of the 123 S&P 500 companies that have reported fourth-quarter earnings so far have beaten analysts' estimates, according to S&P Capital IQ, in line with the historical average. But the forecasts for income growth have been falling and could decline further.
As recently as this summer, analysts predicted earnings growth of more than 11 percent for the fourth quarter, but now they expect just half that — 5.9 percent.
Some companies are becoming more pessimistic, too. For the January-March quarter, seven out of every 10 that have talked about their prospects have cut projections, more than average, according to FactSet. The stocks have tanked as a result. Since United Continental lowered revenue estimates on Thursday, for instance, its stock has fallen 6 percent.
U.S.-based multinational companies posted some of the biggest declines on Friday as investors worried about overseas sales. Oracle and 3M have warned that their results could take a hit because of the strengthening dollar. Shares of the companies fell 3 percent.
Companies that rely on overseas sales will bring home fewer dollars if the dollar continues to appreciate against foreign currencies, especially in emerging markets that have been hammered this week. In Argentina, for example, the same amount of pesos buys fewer dollars today than it did last week.
On Tuesday, Europe-based consumer goods giant Unilever said fourth-quarter sales slowed because of weakness in emerging markets. The decline was mostly because of unfavorable currency moves.
"So when emerging markets sniffle," said Lawrence Creatura, a portfolio manager with Federated Investors, "large-cap companies can catch a cold."
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Worldviews Network: Ecological Literacy Programming for Digital Planetariums and Beyond
The Worldviews Network - a collaboration of institutions that have pioneered Earth systems research, education and evaluation methods - is creating innovative approaches for engaging the American public in dialogues about human-induced global changes. Leveraging the power of immersive scientific visualization environments at informal science centers across the US, we are developing transformative educational processes that integrate the benefits of visual thinking, systems thinking, and design thinking. This "seeing, knowing, doing" approach empowers educators with tools and techniques that help audiences to visualize, comprehend, and address complex issues from a whole-systems perspective. The Worldviews Network will make explicit the interconnections of Earth's life support systems across time and space as well as inspire community participation in design processes by providing real-world examples of successful projects that are increasing the healthy functioning of regional and global ecosystems.


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In front of a full House chamber, the CPN Veterans' Organization Color Guard opened Senior Day at the Oklahoma State Capitol on February 25. The five man color guard carried the American flag, Oklahoma flag, Citizen Potawatomi Nation flag, CPN Veterans Organization and POW-MIA flags into the legislative chamber where the pledge of allegiance was recited by those in attendance.
Senior Day at the Capitol is an opportunity for older citizens and those working in industries serving them to learn about legislation affecting the state's aging population. Seniors have the opportunity to meet with politicians and representatives from non-profit organizations working on issues important to them.
The CPN Vets Color Guard is headed by Team Leader Herb Holton. They have served as a color guard for previous activities held by the DHS Aging Division. The team will also serve at a state-wide convention held by the DHS Aging Division this May.
"As we are all veterans, we feel a sincere devotion to God and country while performing under our nation's flag," said Holton. "There are several facets of a veteran's life that brings credit to the tribe, our families and our fellow vets. Performing as the CPN Veterans Organization Color Guard at events like this is just one of the many we enjoy."


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Monday afternoon, I was, with very little warning and only about an hour to do frantic house-cleaning in preparation, interviewed by local TV news channel KEYE 42. The story was about a new Coalition of Reason billboard that's gone up on the north side of town (I haven't actually driven past it yet). And I think I pretty much got the interview because I used to work with a fellow who works at the station. So that was nice of him to recommend me. (In case you're wondering why they came to me and not, say, Matt.) The reporter, Chris Coffey, was a terrific guy and I think the piece does a fine job of being fair all around. And I'm sure you'll all get a huge kick of the B-roll clip, where I'm standing at one of my shelves pretending to read The God Delusion, looking like I just had half a blue whale for lunch. You know what they say about the camera adding ten pounds? In my case it seems to add a whole second Martin. Back to the gym!
So, enjoy. And if you want to register at the site to leave comments responding to some of the charming Christian ones already left, well, it's a free country!
Addendum: I wasn't aware when I posted this just now that another station, KVUE, did a piece on the sign as well, which is embedded in the post below. They didn't talk to me, and as far as I can tell, KEYE's coverage was a lot fairer.


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Kathleen McKinley |
Kathy McKinley is a self-described "conservative activist" who blogs for the Houston Chronicle under the monicker "TexasSparkle." In a recent post McKinley took the "It Gets Better" project to task for what she believes is their culpability in the suicides of LGBT teens:
"These kids were sold a bill of goods by people who thought they were being kind. The "It will get better" campaign just didn't think it through. They didn't think about the fact that kids are different from adults. They handle things differently. They react differently. Why? BECAUSE THEY ARE KIDS. You can grumble all day long how unfair it is that straight teens can be straight in high school, and gay kids can't, but life is unfair. Isn't the price they are paying too high?? Is it so much to ask them to stand at the door of adulthood before they "come out" publically? Because it may save their life."McKinnley's primary confusion about the "It Gets Better" campaign (other than its name) is the assumption that the goal is to encourage teens to come out of the closet, or encourage them to become sexually active:
"Why in the world would you give teenagers a REASON to tease you? Oh, yes, because the adults tell you to embrace who you are, the only problem? Kids that age are just discovering who they are. They really have no idea yet. The adults tell you to "come out," when what we should be telling them is that sex is for adults, and there is plenty of time for figuring out that later."I would like to encourage Ms. McKinley to watch the "It Gets Better" project's founder Dan Savages' video. Please, Ms. McKinley, listen, and tell me if you hear Savage or his partner Terry say anything about teens coming out or having sex. I think what you'll hear them say is that all of the things that most kids, gay and straight, dream of (falling in love, starting a family, having the support of their parents, co-workers and friends) are possible for LGBT teens. I think you'll hear them talk about how difficult their teen years were, and about the fears they had that their parents would reject them, that they'd never find success and that they'd always be alone.
Choosing to have sex is one of the most personal decision a person will ever make. For LGBT people, choosing to come out is another. I have not watched all of the thousands of videos from people who have participated in the "It Gets Better" project. It's possible that there are a few that tell kids to come out right away, or to become sexually active, but I doubt it.
Every video in the project that I have seen has had the same simple message: that the person making it understands how tortuously awful the experience of being Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender in Junior and High School can be, but there is a wonderful world of loving, vibrant, successful, engaged LGBT adults out there and if queer teens can just hang on, just for a few years, they can join it. I doubt that any of the contributors to the project think that hanging on for a few years will be easy. I suspect that most of them remember, with excruciating clarity, contemplating ending those temporary years of terror with a permanent solution and that is why they choose to reach out.
I grew up without role models, where people like Barbara Gittings, Bayard Rustin and Harvey Milk didn't exist . I grew up in a small town where the two men with the pink house were talked about in hushed tones that immediately fell silent when I walked into the room, because it wasn't appropriate for children's ears. I grew up in a world where my mother wouldn't tell me what "gay" meant, where the evening news was turned off if it reported on the AIDS crisis, where I wasn't given words to describe who I was, and so the only word I could find was "alone."
I was lucky. My suicide attempt failed.
I was lucky, I survived, and went to college, and found a church that embraced and loved LGBT people. That's where I met doctors and lawyers and business owners and teachers who were like me. That's where I met two wonderful women who had built a life together for over 50 years. That's where I discovered I wasn't alone and that being gay didn't mean that i couldn't have all of those things I'd dreamed of.
That is what McKinley missed in her blog post. In her haste to lay blame on anything other than the overwhelming prejudice perpetuated by schools, churches and governments against LGBT people McKinley missed the fact that kids need role models. In her rush to shove queer teens back into the closet she forgot that human beings need the hope of a better world, lest they give up in despair.
McKinley got one thing right in her post. She titled it "Are Adults Also To Blame For Gay Teen Suicides? Yes." Adults are to blame for LGBT teen suicides. When adults hide the stunning diversity of God's creation from their children they create a vision of reality that some of those children can't see themselves in. When adults tell LGBT teens that they should be invisible then it is all too clear who is to blame when those teens believe them, and take steps to make themselves invisible permanently.
To all the LGBT kids out there: it does get better. There are adults who care about you and want all the wonderful things you dream of to come true, but you have to hang on. If you need to keep who are secret to remain safe then do so. If you need someone to talk to please call the Trevor Project at 866-4-U-Trevor (866-488-7386).


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"I fight aggressively and with my heart, and the fans like that. They
don't want to see people in there trying to squeak out a victory." - Justin Edwards
Returning to the Octagon this Wednesday for the first time since his October 2012 win over Josh Neer, Justin Edwards minces no words when it comes to his fighting philosophy as he approaches his UFC Fight Night bout against newcomer Brandon Thatch.
"If it was up to me, I'd turn it into a pissing contest every time," he laughs. "If I had my choice, I'd go out and try to grapple with (Gunnar) Nelson and strike with (Brandon) Thatch, but I have good trainers and good management, and they come up with the game plans, and I'm not allowed to have too much input. (Laughs) But if it turns into a standup battle, I'm ready for it. I think my striking's underrated, and if I get a chance to prove it in Indianapolis, I will."
The topic comes up because Thatch arrives in the UFC with six of his nine wins coming by knockout, with the other three ending via submission. So if you're worrying about his striking, he may submit you, and vice versa, a la Donald Cerrone. But Edwards is unconcerned about what's ahead of him, whether on the feet or the mat.
"I feel so comfortable with my standup that I don't see it as a terrible threat," he said. "I know he (Thatch) is a good striker, but I think I have great defense and my striking's good as well. If it was up to me, I'd probably have a kickboxing match with him just to prove who's tougher, but this is MMA, and I'm just gonna go out there and I'm gonna do what I have to do to win. Even though he's a great striker, we can adjust to that and it won't be any problem."
This attitude makes for exciting fights, and Edwards has had his share, but when he talks about listening to his coaches and following a game plan, that doesn't mean he's going to stink the place out trying to outpoint his foe. For a prime example, look at the Neer fight. He didn't stand and trade with the veteran; instead, he used the Iowan's aggression against me and submitted him in 45 seconds. Exciting, effective, and he listened to his coaches, though one of those coaches – UFC and Strikeforce veteran Jorge Gurgel – isn't exactly someone who should be criticizing anyone for deviating from a game plan.
"He'll be the first one to tell you, do what I say, not what I do," laughs Edwards. "He kind of rags on his whole career all the time. He'll say 'look what happened to me; don't be me.' He says he gets his stubbornness from Brazil."
A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Gurgel earned a well-deserved reputation for tossing game plans and his ground game out the window in order to put on crowd-pleasing standup battles. So if anyone knows about Edwards' dilemma, it's Gurgel. And as "Fast Eddy" returns from an injury-induced layoff, the 30-year-old is learning to slow down and look at the big picture.
"At the beginning of my career, (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva would call up my management with a fight, it would be four days after my fight, and I'd say set it up," he said. "I would take it, and I wasn't really thinking about anything careerwise. I just wanted to prove that I belonged in the UFC."
On season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter, a strong showing against eventual season winner Tony Ferguson proved that he was ready, but losing by knockout in that bout kept him from being brought back for the series' Wild Card fight. He went on to fight three times in the second half of 2011, going 1-2, but the win against Neer put him back in business, only to see that momentum fall by the wayside when he was injured and forced out of a February match with unbeaten grappling ace Gunnar Nelson.
"I think that fight (with Neer) might have opened a few eyes, and though I didn't capitalize on the momentum after it, I still feel that if I string together a bunch of wins, you can't really deny people if they're going in there and making progress and winning," said Edwards. "I would have loved to get Nelson right after that, finish him, and keep the ball rolling. But everybody starts at the bottom, and you just want to work your way up. Some people are too eager and don't think about it, but I think it (the layoff) could be a good thing because I'm actually a better fighter now. I'm smarter about my training, whereas I may not have been before and been just too bullheaded.
"A lot of it was my eagerness," he continues. "I was injured in almost all my UFC fights, I was injured on The Ultimate Fighter show, and I really didn't say anything because I didn't want them to pull me out of the fights. I learned from that and I don't have to try to be tough; they (his team) just want me to go in there and perform and win, and so now I'll just do what I have to do to be the best that I can be when I'm in the cage."
So is Wednesday's fight a reintroduction to Justin Edwards or a reminder?
"It's a little reminder," he said. "All my fights have been exciting and I get a lot of praise for that. All my fights have been up for Fight of the Night, and I don't fight smart (Laughs); I fight aggressively and with my heart, and the fans like that. They don't want to see people in there trying to squeak out a victory; they want to see someone that's gonna try and finish the whole time, and that's what I'm gonna do."


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By Jessica Ravitz, CNN
(CNN) — Should Mitt Romney win the presidency Tuesday, it will mark an historic first: a Mormon couple moving into the White House.
What would this mean and look like?
Would there be "dry" state dinners, since faithful Mormons don't do alcohol? Would Secret Service tag along to sacred ceremonies only open to worthy church members? What book would a President Mitt Romney use to take his oath of office?
We can't be absolutely sure about all the answers. But if the practices and homes of devout Mormons like the Romneys — not to mention his history as governor of Massachusetts — are any indication, we can begin to paint a picture of what a Romney-inhabited White House might look like.
First things first: About that oath
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe the Bible is the word of God. But they also believe this about the Book of Mormon, which is subtitled "Another Testament of Jesus Christ."
Given the importance of the Book of Mormon, this question seemed worth asking: Any chance Romney would place his hand on a Book of Mormon at his swearing-in ceremony?
"No, no way Romney would do that," Jana Riess, a religion scholar, co-author of "Mormonism for Dummies," and blogger for Religion News Service, wrote in an e-mail message. "I'm not aware of any Mormon who has sworn on the Book of Mormon instead of the Bible for national office. (I'm not aware of any local officials who have done this either.)"
Most likely, Romney would go back to the Bible he used in 2003 when he was sworn in as governor of Massachusetts — the same one his father, George Romney, reportedly used when he was sworn in as Michigan's governor in the 1960s.
Beyond paint and fabric swatches
Having never been invited over for a meal, we can't pretend to know anything about the Romney aesthetic when it comes to home decoration. But we wondered and asked about specific items that tend to hang in Mormon households.
Randall Balmer, an award-winning historian, author and chair of the Department of Religion at Dartmouth College, speculated that the Romneys — like plenty of Mormons — might display artwork featuring a depiction of Jesus and a photograph of LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson, considered a "prophet, seer and revelator" by members of the church.
Another possibility, said Riess, would be a photo of the Salt Lake Temple where Mitt and Ann Romney were married and "sealed" for eternity in a sacred ceremony in 1969.
Then there's something commonly known as the "Proclamation on the Family," which is often framed and displayed in homes — though rarely in upper-class households, said Joanna Brooks, author of "The Book of Mormon Girl: Stories from an American Faith."
The proclamation features words set forth by LDS Church leadership in 1995, highlighting family and gender responsibilities. Among the points made: Marriage is between a man and woman; the primary responsibility of fathers is to oversee and provide for families; and mothers must first and foremost care for the children.
All of these items could show up in the White House, said Grant Bennett, an old Romney friend who spoke at the Republican National Convention and has known the Romney family since they met through church in 1978.
But he said, "the most quintessential Mormon item would be pictures of their family," including those of ancestors, because "families are forever" and bound for eternity in the Mormon view.
Bennett also suggested that a verse or two of Scripture that is particularly meaningful to the Romneys might be framed and on display.
If any of these things would hang in the White House, they would likely appear in the private quarters where first families are free to do what they please.
That doesn't mean Romney wouldn't be allowed to honor his faith in some way in the Oval Office, but decorative decisions in public rooms — the spaces visited on tours — are subject to committee discussions and advisers on historic preservation, explained Melissa Naulin, assistant curator in the Curator's Office of the White House Museum.
Can I get a cup of coffee? How about something stronger?
In accordance with a revelation received in 1833 by LDS Church founder Joseph Smith, something known as the "Word of Wisdom," faithful Latter-day Saints abstain from coffee, tea and alcohol.
Does this mean a return to the days of "Lemonade Lucy," the posthumous nickname given to the wife of Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th U.S. president, who banned alcohol from the White House?
No, said Cabinet members from Romney's gubernatorial era and a current top aide. They said this health-related observance is not one the Romneys would impose on or expect of others.
"As governor, when Mitt Romney entertained at official functions in the evening, alcohol was served along with soft beverages," said a senior aide who asked not to be identified in stories about religion.
"There was always a healthy cup of coffee for anyone who wanted it," said Renee Fry, a former Cabinet member.
"Cabinet dinner gatherings were not dry," wrote Douglas Foy, who also served in Governor Romney's Cabinet. "Although the governor and his wife did not partake — which the governor often joked about, since he sponsored the gatherings and paid for the wine!"
Storing — and refraining from — food
The LDS Church advises its members to store enough food to feed a family for a year.
Food storage is viewed as a practical measure, one that can come in handy during, say, a crippling superstorm, massive power outages or unforeseen financial hardships.
The practice is rooted in Mormon history. The church's early pioneers, on their trek westward to what is now Utah, experienced great suffering and starvation. They also endured their share of persecution and couldn't rely on the help of others. So having resources squirreled away became a collective comfort.
Any chance that the Romneys would institute White House food storage?
Not because they would need it for themselves or likely anyone else at the White House, but Riess said in these uncertain times, it could be a good lesson in preparedness to showcase to the nation.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see that," she said.
Even if a family storing it doesn't need the food, by having it available that family is poised to help others. Serving those less fortunate or in crisis is big in the LDS Church, and it is a part of another practice that may find its way into the White House if the Romneys move in.
The first Sunday of every month is Fast Sunday, when committed Mormons who are able forgo food and drink for about 24 hours. Coupled with prayer, it has spiritual meaning. It also serves to instill compassion for those who are in need, and to that end Mormons are encouraged to minimally donate what they would have spent on food to the church's welfare fund.
Fast Sunday, or calls to fast at other times, can also bind Mormons together when they pray and fast for a common cause.
A Utah woman created buzz earlier this fall when an e-mail she sent out to friends and family, suggesting they fast to help Romney before the debates, began making the rounds in Mormon circles across the country. A new website, romneyfast.org, also the brainchild of private citizens — and not a church-sanctioned effort — asks people to fast and pray for Romney and his wife Ann this Sunday before America goes to the polls.
When he was governor of Massachusetts, and in general, Mitt and Ann Romney observed Fast Sunday and "always contributed very generously to the fast offering fund," said Bennett, who held church leadership roles with Romney in the Boston area.
What's more, Bennett said that when Romney served as their congregation's bishop — the equivalent of an unpaid pastor — it wasn't uncommon for the two friends to fast more than once a month. At the time, Bennett was one of Romney's two counselors, or advisers.
"Occasionally he would invite me and the other counselor to join him in fasting on a weekday for a specific purpose," Bennett wrote in an e-mail. "For example, one purpose would be to seek inspiration regarding an important decision, another purpose would be to express love, support and solidarity to someone who was ill or going through very difficult times."
Whether Romney would maintain this observance from the nation's highest office, we can't know. But it looks like the White House kitchen staff may be in for a little downtime each month, if they're lucky.
Honoring the Sabbath, going to church and other Mormon observances
Sunday is a holy day for active LDS Church members. It's a time when Mormons attend their local congregation – it's known as a ward, which in Catholic-speak would be comparable to a parish – and worship with their families and community.
The ward closest to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., and likely the one the Romneys would be assigned to, is the Washington D.C. 3rd Ward, which gathers in what Mormons call a "meetinghouse" or chapel on 16th Street NW. The Washington Post described this ward as consisting of mostly Democrats, half who are nonwhite (including plenty of Spanish speakers), and having openly gay members in its leadership.
Riess said while ward assignments are almost always determined geographically, sometimes there are exceptions. And the truth is there just isn't any precedent for how this would be handled for a U.S. president.
How much of his Sundays a President Romney could set aside for his faith is obviously uncertain. We already know he's been hard at work on the campaign trail, Sundays included — though the senior aide we spoke to said he makes efforts to get to church when he can.
One need only look at President Jimmy Carter, who went so far as to teach Sunday school at his local Baptist church, to see how a sitting president can make room for faith, said Balmer of Dartmouth, who counts among his many books "God in the White House: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush."
Romney faithfully showed up at church on Sundays while he was governor, unless an official function got in the way, Bennett said. And when Romney ran for U.S. Senate in 1994 against Ted Kennedy, Bennett — then the ward's bishop — assigned Romney to teach the weekly adult Sunday school class.
"He was in church virtually every Sunday teaching this class throughout the campaign, only occasionally arranging for a substitute teacher," his friend said.
Beyond church, Riess speculated about other observances Romney would uphold.
Mormons reserve Monday evenings for "family home evening," a time when families pray, study and sing together.
Someone serving in church leadership, who didn't want to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject matter, said he doubted the Romneys would observe family home evening since their kids are grown and gone. But Riess suspected that Romney and his wife, especially given the size of their brood — five sons; 18 grandchildren — and the likelihood that family would be passing through, would honor the Monday tradition in some way, even if it was just the two of them.
There's also a practice in LDS Church wards in which men who hold the priesthood — which means the authority, for example, to perform baptisms and offer sacramental blessings — are partnered up to visit other congregation members, ideally once a month, as home teachers.
The LDS Church does not have paid clergy, and this is one way that volunteer ward pastors, or the bishops, can make sure members get personal attention and lessons as needed.
So could home teachers come knocking on the White House doors?
It's possible, said Riess, though obviously there'd be background checks and no unannounced knockings.
But a U.S. president couldn't possibly be expected to regularly home teach others, right?
Probably not. But Romney did step up as governor, Bennett said.
"He both had home teachers, and he was assigned as a home teacher, when he was governor," Bennett said. "He and Ann would ensure they were available for their home teachers to visit, and he was faithful in doing his home teaching."
And then there's the big question: What about the temple?
Many non-Mormons falsely assume the large and often magnificent white LDS temples they see in their cities are where Latter-day Saints go for church. But Mormons gather for Sunday services in meetinghouses or chapels, which are usually plain, unimpressive structures.
The 140 temples currently in operation across the globe are actually closed on Sundays. Mormons view their temples as houses of the Lord, as Riess explained in her book, and they are not places for run-of-the-mill worship. Temples, instead, are reserved for the most sacred rituals — the details of which are not to be discussed outside temple walls.
The temples are so sacred that the doors are not even open for all Mormons; only those deemed sufficiently worthy by local church leadership are granted a "temple recommend" or an entry card.
While sacred ceremonies or "ordinances" for the living — such as weddings, during which couples are "sealed" for eternity — happen inside, there are also rituals performed by living substitutes or proxies for those who have died. These rituals include baptisms, which have been at times a subject of controversy for the LDS Church.
Romney, who long served in church leadership, surely has a temple recommend. But does that mean he'd actually go to the Washington D.C. Temple, which sits about 10 miles north of the White House in Kensington, Maryland?
"If I were him, I'd probably just not go while I was president, if only out of courtesy to other patrons," said our source in church leadership who didn't want to be named. "It's not like it's some kind of 'go often or you'll go to hell' thing. It's just a standard part of being a committed Mormon, which you do if you can find the time."
And a President Romney couldn't go there, let alone anywhere else, without Secret Service. So if he wanted to go, would he be able to? Even Secret Service agents would be turned away from the temple without the right access card.
Not a problem, speculated Balmer of Dartmouth. He said finding qualified agents, if Romney hasn't found them already, would be easy.
It's well-known that the CIA, FBI and, by extension, he said he assumes, the Secret Service recruit at LDS Church-run Brigham Young University. All these agencies, Balmer said, are "looking for people who are good, loyal, patriotic Americans," and many Latter-day Saints, who believe in the divinity of the U.S. Constitution, fit that bill.
So if it would be important for Romney and the first lady to go to the temple, it should be possible.
And Riess said, given Romney's level of faith and church involvement over the years, she can't imagine that he wouldn't want to go. Minimally, she pointed out, there's bound to be a family member's wedding or "temple sealing" he'd want to attend.
"It would be a logistical problem," she said. "But I'm pretty sure they'd find a way."
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The estate of Anna Nicole Smith has failed in its final bid to obtain her late husband's money, seven years after the death of the Playboy model and reality TV star.
A federal judge in Orange County on Monday rejected the effort to obtain about $44 million from the estate of Texas billionaire J. Howard Marshall, whom Smith married in 1994 when he was 89 and she was 26. The oil tycoon died the next year. His will left his $1.6 billion estate to his son and nothing to Smith.
Smith, under her real name of Vickie Lynn Marshall, challenged the will, claiming that her husband promised to leave her more than $300 million above the cash and gifts showered on her during their 14-month marriage. A Houston jury said Marshall was mentally fit and under no undue pressure when he wrote the will.
Over the course of nearly 20 years, the Texas bankruptcy court and local and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, all rejected Smith's various attempts to overturn Marshall's will and trust and to obtain money from his estate.
The efforts continued even after Smith died of an accidental drug overdose in February 2007.
On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter denied a request from Smith's estate to sanction the estate of Marshall's son, E. Pierce Marshall.
"Time spent litigating the relationship between Vickie Lynn and J. Howard has extended for nearly five times the length of their relationship and nearly twenty times the length of their marriage. It is neither reasonable nor practical to go forward," the judge said in his ruling. He noted that it was the last surviving piece of decades of litigation.
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"The American taxpayer has supported the burden of this litigation for many years, and it is time for this suit to no longer 'drag its weary length before the Court,'" Carter concluded, quoting a Supreme Court decision in the case that itself quoted Charles Dickens' "Bleak House."
An email message for Howard K. Stern, the executor of Smith's estate, was not immediately returned Tuesday.
G. Eric Brunstad Jr., attorney for the Marshall family, said in a statement that the family agreed with the judge that it was time to stop the litigation.


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A Thousand Gardens in Africa: The Story So Far
24 Feb 2014
In October 2010, Slow Food launched a new project in Africa…
- The idea: to create food gardens in schools, cities and villages across the continent
- The reason: to give value back to the work done by small-scale farmers; enable communities to chose what they cultivate, eat and market; and to promote sustainable agriculture that conserves biodiversity, promotes local culture, preserves knowledge and supports local economies.
- The target: 1000 gardens in 25 African countries
Today, we have reached our target! Here are some of the key milestones:
October 2010: The project is officially launched
At Terra Madre 2010, we announced our ambitious dream to create vegetable gardens in every Terra Madre community in Africa.
November 2010 – February 2011: The idea gains momentum
Across the continent, Slow Food convivia and Terra Madre communities jump into action, making contact with schools, communities and families that would like to participate in the project.
March 2011: Local leaders from across the continent meet
Thirteen national coordinators come together at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy to develop and discuss the project handbook and define the next phases of the project.
April 2011: The first garden officially opens
In Msindo, a tiny village in southern Tanzania, not far from the Mozambican border, over 200 people come together for the inauguration of the project's first garden. Many walk for hours to be there. The opening of the garden in Tanzania is closely followed by the second garden, in Madagascar.
June 2011: The first regional seminar is held in Kenya
65 participants take part in a three-day meeting, bringing together the project coordinators from Africa's Anglophone countries. Shortly after the event, the first gardens in Kenya and Mauritania are launched.
August 2011 – September 2012: Gardens are created across Africa
Over the following months, gardens are launched in Western Cape, Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), and in Uganda. In September 2011, gardens open in Ethiopia and Somalia, followed by Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mali, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Next up are Cameroon, D.R. Congo and Morocco in February 2012; and Egypt and Tunisia in September 2012.
March – April 2012: Carlo Petrini visits Africa
In Spring 2012, Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini travels to Kenya and Uganda where he visits many local outposts of the Slow Food and Terra Madre network, including food gardens, Presidia, food communities and some of East Africa's many active convivia.
On the move…
October 2012: The project goes on display at Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre
As part of the African delegation to Slow Food's biennial event, 108 coordinators from the project arrive in Turin and a 400m2 living model garden is set up in the center of the event. Products such as vegetables and herbs are displayed, with coordinators taking turns to talk about the project and take visitors around the African garden.
February 2013: Restaurant opens in Burkino Faso
Moussa Ouedraogo opens the restaurant Kilomètre Zero in Napoko educational garden, Burkina Faso, serving traditional dishes using produce grown in the garden.
March 2013: Hope in Mauritania refugee camp
Inside the Mbera refugee camp in southeast Mauritania, where thousands of refugees are fleeing from war-torn Mali, Slow Food representatives plant a garden and inspire the creation of 50 more. In these humble plots, the bright colors pumpkins, melons, chilies, peppers, beets and eggplants stand out against the stark white of the UN tents and provide nourishment and hope to those who tend to them.
17 February 2014: Slow Food for Africa event in Milan
The next phase of the project is launched, to create 10,000 gardens in Africa. Thank you to everyone for your support so far, we hope you'll join us on the next part of this journey!
Find out more about the project at www.slowfoodfoundation.com
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Googling ourselves to death
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, June 18, 2013
At a party a few years ago, a young reporter bounded over to my cluster of social nodders and, with the breathlessness of a born tweeter, chirped: "What's the new hot thing?!"
Without disturbing my mascara, I replied: "Anonymity."
She looked befuddled.
I continued: "To be Googled and to have nothing turn up. That's hot."
Too late, alas, even then.
In these post-Snowden days, the notion of anonymity is ludicrous. But so it has been for some time, though recent disclosures bring pause even to the habitually inured. It is one thing for Mrs. McQueen and Mrs. Harry G. Brown, my elderly dowager neighbors from childhood, to spy on each other through their porch screen doors. It is another for the National Security Agency to compile records of one's phone calls.
Oh, for the days when Mrs. McQueen trumpeted gleefully: "I saw you eating that apple pie!"
While Americans bemoan their loss of privacy — and allow me to ululate right along with you — it is helpful to recall our own role in this gradual process of, shall we say, regurgitative knowingness.
That is, our apparent willingness to show-and-tell every little thing in the quest to be known. Fame and Celebrity are by comparison higher callings than whatever compels strangers to display, say, their tongues (or other points of anatomical interest) in the public forum of social media. These acts of baboonery, not so feigned after all, are unsubtly reminiscent of chimpanzees who, unconsciously aware of the camera's hostile intrusion, try to offend it with grimaces, grins and lingual extrusions.
Now, suddenly we're offended that national security operatives are following our behavior patterns? Cue Cheetah's laugh track.
Whether Edward Snowden, the self-admiring 29-year-old who decided to save us from ourselves if not our enemies, is hero or villain will keep us amused until time tells. Most likely he's a hybrid of the two, the heroic concentrated mostly in his having spawned an urgent and overdue debate about the costs of privacy in the service of security.
Meanwhile, Americans are scrambling to read Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World," the subject of my high school thesis. One of my more ironic literary friends called to recite Joseph Heller's "Catch-22" scene wherein another famous Snowden, mortally wounded, literally spills his guts.
Early infatuation with Huxley and other prescient writers — George Orwell's Big Brother seems suddenly cuddly — made me rationally paranoid, yes, but mostly aware of the tyranny of caring. It comes gently at first — we only want to protect you — but soon-ish becomes oppressive.
Distracted by our gadgets, we hardly notice until a Snowden materializes. We love Google Earth because we can see our very own houses on our very own laptop screens. Wow. But who else is watching?
When I visited then-Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson at his post-9/11 "Command Center" — a vast room filled with gigantic plasma screens and computer arsenals manned by military personnel — he pointed to my South Carolina office building on one of the screens.
I asked Thompson if he could tell me whether my assistant was there. "Not yet, but soon," he said.
Fast forward to the set of CNN's "Parker Spitzer" a couple of years ago when I asked Google CEO Eric Schmidt what options were available to people (like me) who might find his "Street View" a little creepy.
"You can just move," he said.
Well, no, you can't.
There's no habitable place left on the planet where one can move to escape the data stalkers. Speaking of which, a peeve more personally concerning than whether Edward Snowden discovers where I get my tasteful highlights — or, as the Obama campaign mastered, which candidate I might support given my proclivity for same.
Online shopping.
Take one little tiny peek at an item of even remote interest and you are owned by The Thing. Once I Googled a purse that, turned out, cost $1,200. I moved along.
Not so fast, hissed the serpent.
A full year later, I'm reading about immigration reform and suddenly the $1,200 purse slithers into view, imprinting my brain with temptation I didn't invite.
But, yes, I did. I Googled. I oogled. And, though I resisted, I am henceforth captive to an automated data pimp.
Know this: Whatever you have done online is known. Whatever you will do will be known. And thanks to me, not even Mrs. McQueen and Mrs. Harry G. Brown, bless their dear, departed hearts, can ever be anonymous. Or hot.
Email: email@example.com.