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Did This Social Media Alt-Porn Entrepreneuress Win Mega Millions?
Two lucky souls hit the Mega Millions jackpot last night: one of them lived in the South Bronx, and the other one in San Gabriel, California. Looks like the West Coast winner (update: isn't) an Alt-Porn goddess named Annaliese Nielsen.
Ms. Nielsen runs a porn site called GodsGirls, and no, it doesn't prominently feature BARELY LEGAL CHOIR CHICKS, though surely, there's one out there that does. GodsGirls is an "alt-porn" site (read: tattooed, pierced hipsters, often with asymmetrical and/or dyed hair, nekkid) that also has a social networking component to it! Genius. Per the site's FAQ:
"What the fuck is this site?"
godsgirls.com is an alt porn/alt erotica site with a lot of really really amazing, 100 percent exclusive pictures that you can't see anywhere else. the ladies are very lovely and some of them have tattoos and piercings and rebellious haircuts. it also features a community set up to act as a place for the wonderful sort of people who might subscribe to this site to get to know one another and exchange telephone numbers and jokes and funny websites and maybe even get married and have a family and then we could run a sweet commercial featuring happy love connections made between site members like the ones you see for jdate or eharmony or whatever. wouldn't that be fantastic? or you can just talk about boobs and politics because meeting people from the internet is dangerous and scary.
Yes! Like J-Date, except for non-denominational fans of pierced people porn. Like-minded folks, as it goes. And why do we think Ms. Nielsen won? Let's turn to her Twitter—which sounds naughty, but it isn't!—as pointed out to us by our friend Igor at (the mildly NSFW) Driven By Boredom:
Sure sounds like a winner to me. Also: the winner's from San Gabriel, which is where Nielsen supposedly hails from.
Notably, Nielsen's last Tweet came in around fourteen hours ago, which doesn't look to be the typical output by her. If you won the lottery, you think you'd be on Twitter today? Sorry Evan and Biz, but your consolation prize is that you've had your first life-changing lottery winner liveblog! Maybe she'll throw you a buck.
In the event this does turn out to be true, we wish America's Newest Multimillionare a fruitful life henceforth with all the cold, hard cash she's gonna have. Of course, for her sake, we (A) hope she's right and (B) gets someone good to tell her what to do with it in lieu of circumventing the common ruin a windfall of money can bring. In the mean time, all of you hardworking, morally rigid suckers can get back to work (and dreaming). Today, the universe apparently enjoys the business of naked girls more than whatever you do. Sorry.
Update: Well, we had a question, we got an answer: she didn't win. Tragedy and the power of social networking! We were rooting for her, too. The universe isn't down with porn enough to merit giving one of its burgeoning businesswomen a windfall of cash, it appears. On the plus side, we've narrowed down the field of possible Mega Millions winners by one. Someone in San Gabriel: you still have a chance!


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Records Show Christie Administration Canceled Meetings After Jersey City Mayor Didn't Endorse
Documents Back Up Jersey City Mayor's Claim that He Was Cut Off
Documents released Monday indicate that meetings arranged between top commissioners to Gov. Chris Christie and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop were abruptly canceled without reason last year—providing evidence of Mr. Fulop's claim that he was cut off after he decided not to endorse the governor.
The documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal through a public records request showed communications between Mr. Fulop and Christie administration staff members arranging the meetings in June and July, until the commissioners all...

subset: commoncrawl


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Template:Cub Scout Geography/req
From MeritBadgeDotOrg
Mobile Menus: Cub Scouts - Scouts BSA - Venturing - Sea Scouts
Belt Loop Requirements
Complete these three requirements:
- Draw a map of your neighborhood. Show natural and manmade features. Include a key or legend of map symbols.
- Learn about the physical geography of your community. Identify the major landforms within 100 miles. Discuss with an adult what you learned.
- Use a world globe or map to locate the continents, the oceans, the equator, and the northern and southern hemispheres. Learn how longitude and latitude lines are used to locate a site.
Academics Pin Requirements
Earn the Geography belt loop, and complete five of the following requirements:
- Make a three-dimensional model of an imaginary place. Include five different landforms, such as mountains, valleys, lakes, deltas, rivers, buttes, plateaus, basins, and plains.
- List 10 cities around the world. Calculate the time it is in each city when it is noon in your town.
- Find the company's location on the wrapper or label of 10 products used in your home, such as food, clothing, toys, and appliances. Use a world map or atlas to find each location.
- On a map, trace the routes of some famous explorers. Show the map to your den or family.
- On a United States or world map, mark where your family members and ancestors were born.
- Keep a map record of the travels of your favorite professional sports team for one month.
- Read a book (fiction or nonfiction) in which geography plays an important part.
- Take part in a geography bee or fair in your pack, school, or community.
- Choose a country in the world and make a travel poster for it.
- Play a geography-based board game or computer game. Tell an adult some facts you learned about a place that was part of the game.
- Draw or make a map of your state. Include rivers, mountain ranges, state parks, and cities. Include a key or legend of map symbols.
Please report any issues with this page.


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Got girth? Leave each and every one of your nerve endings sweetly satiated with the substantial Randy, a shorter, wider silicone dildo often requested by customers.
Goes Great With This
Got girth? Leave each and every one of your nerve endings sweetly satiated with the substantial Randy, a shorter, wider silicone dildo often requested by customers. At 5 3/4" long by a chunky 2 1/4" in diameter, it can work in harnesses using a 2" ring, or do the job all by itself.
Please refer to our Returns Policy for this item.
Note: We are proud to proclaim that each one of these dildos are individually hand crafted right here in the United States. Because these items are hand mixed & handmade, there could be slight color variations from what is pictured.
Brand: Vixen Creations
Product Details
Color: Purple or Black
Length: 6.5 inches
Insertable Length: 6 inches
Diameter: 2.15 inches
Warranty: Lifetime
- Anal-safe
- Harnessable
Reviews & RatingsRate and Review It
Customer Reviews
On the positive side, this dildo has a great shape and the length is just perfect for me. I like the color, and it has the appropriate amount of ability to bend. For those reasons I can't say this is a terrible product.
I have an interest in thicker toys and have been looking for something with those attributes (shorter, not a chunk of plastic) while this meets those criteria, practically, it isn't a useable toy for me. Something about the way it is curved, or else it is 1/2" too thick... It is just bad - not useable in any way. Just not quite right, but if you're looking for something really big get one and try it.
When it first showed up I was very intimidated by the size, definitely bigger than I thought! But after getting over my nerves I can definitely recommend this product. Takes a little patience to get in, but will leave you feeling deliciously full. Not a lot of space left to try and get a vibe next to the clit, but well worth it. Good for solo play, wouldn't recommend for first timers.
I couldn't even insert any part of this gigantic dildo! I guess I'll keep it in the closet for after I pop out a few kids! This guy was waaaaayy bigger than I expected. It's like king kong's dong!
Goodbye cucumbers, hello, Randy. This became an instant favorite. After several minutes with my big vibrator, I was ready for all I could get, and Randy really delivered the best feeling ever. Goes in with only a little effort, and once there feels absolutely heavenly. The only thing as good as a big dick is another one. From now one I am a size queen forever.
I love girthy, not too long designs: natural, or man-made. This has both. I love it. Gets me off every time (w/a bullet)!
One night, when I was sleeping, my husband awakened my pussy and I to the incredible feel of a large sausage. From that unexpected experience I learned that I like BIG ones, no, make that LOVE big ones. So, he bought Randy, and somehow painstakingly hollowed it out enough that he could wear it over his dick, in a harness. Now, when we have sex, it seems to go on twice as long, and I am thrilled beyond words by the incredible size and feel. It's just one teeth-rattling orgasm after another, especially when we add the Hitachi vibrator.
My husband and I are newlyweds, and we are so horny we are having sex at least once every day, and usually a lot more than that. Unfortunately, his new job has him out of town often, so I needed something to satisfy my enormous new sexual appetite. Picking Randy was the smartest move I could have made. It is quite large, but just needs a good shove to get in, and, once there, stretches and stimulates me in the most amazing way. My husband is jealous, but gets extremely aroused watching me make love to Randy, with one huge orgasm after another.
My husband's cock is just average size, but there are four college boys living next door, and, while three are also about average, the fourth is an incredible 9" x 2 3/8". Fully as long as I can accomodate (very) comfortably, but almost too big around for oral sex. Well, ... almost. So, when it came time to pick out a dildo, I was naturally inspired to get a very large one, and Randy has been perfect. The purple color is sexy, the smooth texture ideal for extended use; and between the huge girth and the ripple behind the head, my G-spot and my whole pussy gets stimulated in a wonderful way I did not think possible. Every woman should have one to take to bed with her. With or without a partner, or partners, if she is that lucky.
This dildo is my favorite one ever. My girlfriend and I have used many different dildos to date and this one far surpasses any other in pleasure and comfort. It takes a little shove to get in, but after that the stimulating affect is amazing. It works great with a harness, thigh harness, or by itself. I definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys penetration. I can't get enough of it.
This is not the toy to purchase if you are a first time user! This was way too big, difficult to insert, and borderline painful to attempt to use.
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Luxury Europe - Sales Consultant (Mon-Fri)
- Recruiter
- Red Planet Recruitment
- Location
- London, England
- Salary
- £27,000 - £30,000 per annum + comm + benefits
- Posted
- 21 Mar 2019
- Closes
- 04 Apr 2019
- Ref
- Sector
- Tour Operator
- Job function
- Sales
- Hours
- Full Time
- Contract Type
- Permanent
Luxury Europe - Sales Consultant. My client is a successful travel brand with a reputation for delivering a highly desirable product range and customer service excellence. The role is responsible for creating luxury holidays to European destinations and offering the highest levels of customer service delivery at all times and via every communication channel. Currently expanding at a phenomenal rate, this travel brand is now looking for sparkling travel consultants to join them on their journey for success.
The Role:
- Be the face of the company to our client's customers
- Your mission will be to simply create some of the most amazing luxury European travel experiences, which are tailored to their customers' needs and tastes, whilst offering top class 5* service
- You will have the ability to comprehend, capture, as well as interpret customer information, ensuring you take ownership of the full customer journey experience by following through with all commitments
- Will be ultimately responsible for planning, selling and implementation of the luxury European holiday itineraries
- Use correct telephone techniques when dealing with customers and maintain the highest standard of courtesy and efficiency whilst achieving the customer service standards on every call
- Will maximise revenue by up-selling & cross selling adding on of ancillary products including car hire, travel insurance, airport parking and transfers
- Deal with clients, mainly by telephone & email enquiries, help them with their travel plans and put together travel arrangements in place for them
- Provide professional written communication when dealing with e-mail enquiries or confirmations
Now Let's Talk About You:
- Minimum of 3 years tailor-made experience in retail travel or tour operation
- Proactive & hungry for success and have an excellent track record in travel sales
- Real passion for travel, be pro-active, self-motivated & enthusiastic and possess good all-round European luxury city breaks/beaches destination product knowledge
- Must be an excellent communicator
- Resourceful and calm when working under pressure
- Ability to exceed customer expectations
- Excellent listening skills
- Hardworking and passionate
- Experience in using Worldspan, Galileo, Sabre or Amadeus
Our client is offering a super package including competitive basic salary of £27,000 - £30,000 per annum, plus benefits and sales commission.
Located in plush offices in London, this company has a fabulous working environment and atmosphere.
Important, Please Note: It is unlawful to employ a person in a UK-based role who does not have permission to live and work in the UK. You should make yourself aware of how immigration laws apply to your situation prior to applying.
Similar jobs


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Cracked, when I was a kid, was an extremely poor knock-off of MAD, but I really have to applaud what that brand is doing online. Totally different from the editorial mission of the old magazine, but much better. And not just because it provides me lists for the weekend.
This one documents the 10 Most Terrifying Video Game Enemies of All Time, and while the poison-head crabs from Half Life 2 give me the shivers just reading the words, only Evil Otto from Berzerk has an actual, real life body count (two people died playing the game).
Naturally, they had to have missed someone's all-time pants-wetting foe, so let's hear it in the comments. Mine was the Dark Trooper Mark 1 from Dark Forces. Its electronic shriek, the creepy, clanking walk, those red eyes, and the screen instantly flashing red as it hacked away. I hated it far worse than its upgraded cousin, or the sewer monsters.
The 10 Most Terrifying Video Game Enemies of All Time [Cracked]


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Why, I thank you greatly for the comment. And yes, you could have used Comicollage mail, but more people READ it this way. *inno*. It really was fun to do. Especially the little details like adding a reflection of MC in my kitchen table, most noticable in panel one. But I sooo wish we had chair backs that were less.. annoying. Oh well, I managed.
I sucked him up in the real world because, hey, I figured that turnabout was fair play.  He did it to ME once, so, hey, why not. At least I didn't tie him up.
Okay. Back to random wandering around. Oh, and did anyone notice what shirt I'm wearing in the comic?
Erin
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Chaos, Inc. -- Serving all your villainous needs.
http://chaosinc.keenspace.com
Comicollage -- Seven cartoonists, one comic, zero sanity.
http://comicollage.keenspace.com


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We are please to announce the Image-Line Remote 1.1 update is now available. IL Remote is a FREE for Android and iOS, Tablet, Phablet or Phone, user-configurable virtual MIDI controller application for FL Studio, Deckadance 2 and plugins. Just open FL Studio 11.0.4 or Deckadance 2.3 (not yet released) on your computer, enable Image-Line Remote on the MIDI settings and then open IL Remote on up to 15 Android and or iOS devices. The connection is made automatically over a Wi-Fi network. Get it here:
Android (Google Play)
iOS (iTunes Apps)
What's new?
- New splash screen with FL Studio or Deckadance targeting
- Deckadance support
- MIDI channel selector for all controls
- Mixer scrolling (now with 99 Mixer channels)
- MIDI channel override for Container contents
- Keyboard scale highlighting
- Custom scales for Harmonic Grid
- Increased sensitivity range for Jogwheels
- "Send on/off" option for knobs and Jogwheels
- Color of selected controls are now added to the custom color list
- Many small bug-fixes and improvements
Why not visit the Image-Line Remote users forum for support, to discuss usage and to share presets with other users.
Use the included controller tabs or you can edit and create your own. IL Remote allows you to add custom tabs and controls including Pads, Faders, Knobs, Jog Wheels, Mixer, Clip Launcher, X/Y Controls, Piano Keyboard, Harmonic Grid and Containers. There are a complete range of customization options for each control so that you can create virtually any virtual MIDI controller to suit your needs.
FL Studio 11.0.4 (or higher). See a tutorial on setting up IL Remote here or the user manual here.
Deckadance 2.3 (or higher). The Deckadance update to support IL Remote is coming soon.
Android 3.0 or higher
iOS 5.1 or higher
Is this available for Windows 8 Phone: Not at this time. We will looking into it.
What about Kindle Fire: The IL Remote APK is available for download here from the user forums and can be side-loaded. Instructions are also linked on the page. Just log into your account or create one to get access.
Can I connect via USB rather than Wi-Fi: Not at this time. Please note that the transmission latency of MIDI over Wi-Fi and USB will be almost identical, the largest latencies in the system are related to touch interface detection. Reports from the field with over 30,000 people using the system are that the Wi-Fi connection is stable and robust.
I can't get FL Studio and IL Remote connected: Please check...
- Are you using FL Studio 11.0.4
- Did you select 'Enable Image-Line Remote" on the MIDI settings?
- Are both your computer and mobile device logged into the same Wi-Fi Network?
- Did you see this video
- Check your network router's admin settings and the configuration for IP Filtering, MAC filtering and internal firewalls.
- Still no joy? Ask for support in the IL Remote users forum we will collect your information and try to get it working.
I can't get Deckadance and IL Remote connected:
Deckadance 2.3 is required and has not yet been released.


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The NVIDIA-Setup-Application say that my graphics card is not supported!
It is the driver that is listed for the Geforce Go 7300!
Popular Guides
View more guides at Linux Wiki Guides
This is a guide to running Linux with the Lenovo 3000 N200 laptop.
|Lenovo 3000 N200
|Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0GHz
|Optical Drive
|NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300
|10/100/1000 Ethernet, Intel 4965 802.11agn Wireless, Bluetooth
|4 x USB2.0, 1 x Firewire
|Optical Drive
|See notes below
|See notes below
|Use iwlwifi driver
|56K Modem
|Not Tested
|Not Tested
|Card Reader
|Not Tested
|Fingerprint Reader
|Use libfprint
|Use this driver
The NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 found in the N200 works with both the open source 'nv' module as well as nvidia's proprietary module. However you will need to use the proprietary module to get 3D support.
The wireless controller requires the iwlwifi driver. However depending on the distribution used this may be difficult to install. An up to date Fedora 7 installation (one which has all the latest updates installed) supports this controller out of the box and when Ubuntu 7.10 is released that will also have builtin support. Have a look at the guide below for more details.
Like the wireless support it depends on your Linux distribution on how well the sound in the N200 works. If it does not work out of the box then try adding the following line to your /etc/modprobe.conf (or your distribution's equivalent) file:
options snd-hda-intel model=lenovo
If you already have a line in your modprobe.conf file which starts with
options snd-hda-intel then you should add
model=lenovo to the end of that line. If the audio still doesn't work then you will need to compile and install the latest ALSA drivers (use at least version 1.0.15rc2)
Linux compatibility for the Lenovo 3000 N200 varies depending on the Linux distribution used. For the easiest installation you should use something with kernel version 2.6.22 or higher.
On using old distributions GRUB may have problems starting from the DVD-ROM, in that case you can install LILO.
The NVIDIA-Setup-Application say that my graphics card is not supported!
It is the driver that is listed for the Geforce Go 7300!
i have a Lenovo 3000 N200 , and when i first bought it, the built-in webcam was working fine , but suddenly i won't work anymore , i've tried everything , but it keeps saying that i don't have a webcam and i need to lug one in
what is Base System driver.my laptop lenovo 3000 N200 notebook,32bit and Window 7 Ultimate operating system it shows that base system drivers not installed.how can i solve this.please someone help me to get rid this problem
I am having a Lenovo 3000 N200 type-0769 32bit with Window 7 Ultimate version.I am unable to listen sound without headphone while its working nicely with headphone.Anyone can help me to sort out this problem.
I am having a Lenovo 3000 N200 type-0769 32bit with Window 7 Ultimate version.I am unable to listen sound without headphone while its working nicely with headphone.Anyone can help me to sort out this problem.
Well, I do posses the same laptop with Windows 7, it just worked great for a longer time while using KLM-Codec/321 players. the speakers were broken once i started using VLC and hearing at peak of 400% for theatric experience.
If u are using VLC the problem might be the speakers got crashed and u got to replace them. On the other hand when the win7 audio driver fails the same issue would come.
To test if the issue is with win7 or h/w issue. Before taking to a service executive u can test by a live demo of linux releases like ubuntu,mint etc and play a tone if played then great, just re-install ur win7 else u got to visit SE who should possibly fix it for u…
Aux deux intervenants dans la langue de Molière: lachez XP et passez sous Linux ça marchera mieux!
Just performed a smooth install of Ubuntu Natty Narwhal alpha 3 on this laptop.
Great results , my 2008 laptop has begun a new life complete with Unity, LibreOffice en Mozilla 4
quand j'ai formater mon PC portable, avec windows XP j'ai perdu les caractéristique de mon PC Lenovo,telque gravure, les jeux spécifique de mon PC et d'autre lié à celui ci je veux les récuperer mais comment?
Grub have a bug with the DVD ROM on this model, the device is hidden, the option is to use LILO for boot
Guys I have a 3000 N200 0769 model needing ethernet controllers. I need the drivers for the Broadcom 10/100/1000 Ethernet, Intel 4965 802.11agn Wireless items.
help please
my WIFI is not switching on but my bluetooth is. i use a lenovo 3000 n200 0769 a58
please help me
i have some problems with my modem (IBM Lenovo N200 3000)linux cannot detect my modem please help me
i have dual boot, rhel5 installed on Lenovo 3000 N200 series. But the graphical mode is not running and linux is not able to detect my ethernet card.
Hope for Help???
i have latop lenovo 3000 N200, and i have operating system Windows xp and i can't use my Wireless network,,,,,,please help me ……………….
ubuntu 8.10
every thing ok
except nvidia 7300 go
i installed the 177.80
and the title bar get dark when i move the mouse croser on it
and i have black flash flickering
Ubuntu 8.10
Lenovo 3000 N200-0769
My specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo 1,83Ghz (T5550), 4096MB, HDD 250GBD, DVD-RW,
15,4 TFT (1680*1050) VibrantView
256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300
56K + 10/100 lan + Wireless (a,b,g) + Bluetooth
1 x FireWire 400 / 4 x USB 2.0 / 1 x VGA / 1 x Cardbus + FPR + Webcam
Almost everything works out of the box, except fingerprint reader.
only sound
3000 n200 0769 aa4. Linux Mint. works perfectly out of the box, but sound needs to add the line on alsa-base menu
Optical drive missing fix
The solution for my Optical CD/DVD drive missing is to install the Linux distro using the Lilo boot loader. This worked for me using Mandriva 2008.1 Free
No optical drive
I have tried many Linux distros on my Lenovo 3000 n200 0687-A31.
All but Foresight and Slackware Linux don't detect the DVD drive after installing.
Anyone know of a solution?
DVD-ROM problem
I have one Lenovo 3000 N200 type 687, before install fedora 9, in window xp i saw and use dvd rom but after install fedora both xp and fedora can't use dvdrom (not see in my computer), folder cdrom in /media/ not found
sound card problem on Centos5.1
I have a problem with Centos5.1 as my sound card doesn't work i updated my system to the latest update but still the problem is existent, can any one help me please.
i have latop lenovo 3000 N200 type 0769 ,, and i have operating system Fedora 9 and i don't know how i can use my built in web cam ,,,, i'm not familiar well with Linux operating system ,,,,,,
please try to explain to me in details how i could install it and also how i can use it in chatting
i have the same problem using the inbuilt webcam of the 3000 N200 type 0769.Am not sure about the systems being talked about.please help.
Sound Problem with Kubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04
1) sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base
2) In the editor, add the following line at the end of the file:
options snd-hda-intel model=lenovo
if there's already a line with the text "options snd-hda-intel", then just add
at the end of the line.
3) restart
Sound problem fix
I had a weird problem with my soundcard.
First it worked perfectly, but after updating the drivers and putting the model=lenovo option in place it refused to work…
But after a long night I read somewhere on the internet I had to enable the internal modem and then it would work.
I first though it was but after a while I thought I'll give it a try
And miraculously it worked…
So if your soundcard is failing, check if the internal modem is enabled in your BIOS
Kubuntu: Solving the sound problem
With kubuntu 7.10 those problems are already solved. The only change that is needed is to make a modprobe.conf file with the line:
options snd-hda-intel model=lenovo
and save it in /etc/modutils and in /etc/modprobe.conf
Note that although the wifi network works out of the box, I have not been able to make the signal light to turn on or blink… although it works really fine.
with lspci I get the following output :
06:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation Unknown device 1713 (rev 02)
So basically I have to load the Broadcom kernel driver in order to have the network working.
The module is already in the kernel and named "tg3". However, doing modprobe tg3 didn't worked, just did nothing. I tried with "modprobe tg3 tg3_debug=1" but didn't had more output.
I came to the broadcom official website and downloaded the driver named "linux-3.81c.zip", and after installing the kernel-headers package from the install cdrom I recompiled it (make && make install) and reloaded it "modprobe tg3" again.
And it worked !
I don't know why the kernel version of this driver is broken but anyway recompiling from hand the official driver from broadcom make it work !
Note that although the network works, I have not been able to make the signal light to turn on or blink… just like for the wifi issue of the previous comment.
Hope this can help someone :)


text:
Advanced Search
Availability: Out of StockStock Level: LowProduct was added to our catalog on Tuesday 28 August, 2012.
KAOS IS BACK! Thousands of years ago, the Skylanders Giants fought epic battles in Skylands but were banished to Earth. With a new threat looming, it's time to bring them back to join forces with the Skylanders. Only you can put them on the Portal of Power® to unleash their strength in the ultimate battle to save Skylands. Only purchase this pack if you already own Skylanders Spyro's Adventure.
Portal Owners Pack includes:
1-Video Game
1-Skylanders Figures
1-Character Collector Poster
1-Sticker Sheets with Secret Codes
1-Trading Cards


text:
Tmatt did a rather comprehensive look at how framing will play a big part in media coverage of the Obama Administration's mandating of what religious institutions should and should not offer in their employee benefits. I had to point out a rather dramatic example (even if it gets a bit meta) of the role framing played in a San Francisco Chronicle story by Joe Garofoli:
The battle is over how to frame this issue -- as an example of a government mandate trampling on "religious liberty," as conservatives believe, or as a health policy concern vital for women, as liberals contend.
Well if that isn't a scare quote example for the ages.
This is a news story. I made sure to check when I first came across this. I can't imagine a journalistic argument for scare quoting "religious liberty" and not scare quoting the hot mess on the other side of the equation. The fact is that no scare quotes are needed at all when describing how the two sides are framing a topic.
If I may note a silver lining here -- I'm having to focus on silver linings as the media coverage we're being subjected to is not exactly at a high point this month -- this issue is being fought on such drastically different fronts that even casual readers are figuring out that reporters are framing the topic in one way or another (unless they're playing it straight and presenting the competing arguments well).
I wanted to point out how framing can also be drawn out via the use of polls. I was first interested in this when I read about the wide play received by a Public Policy Polling poll that was commissioned by Planned Parenthood. Some news outlets, believe it or not, forgot to mention that the poll was commissioned by an interested party.
Another poll that received wide coverage was done by Public Religion Research Institute. This is a group with strong ties to political progressivism but most polling outfits are somewhat partisan (although there are, of course, exceptions). Different polling groups tend to come up with fairly different results. But I thought it might just be interesting to look at the questions that this (and another poll on the other side of things) asked and then at the results.
The PRRI poll on the HHS mandate had two sections. The first section had four thing that respondents were asked to "completely agree, mostly agree, mostly DISagree or completely disagree" with. Here they are:
a. American Muslims ultimately want to establish Shari'a [PROUNCIATION [sic]: Sha--REE--uh] or Islamic law as law of the land in the U.S. b. American Muslims are an important part of the religious community in the U.S. c. Methods of birth control should be generally available to teenagers age 14 or older without parental approval. d. All employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception or birth control at no cost. {New}
The second part has two questions to be asked after this statement is read:
There is currently a debate over what kinds of health care plans some religious organizations should be required to provide. Do you think [INSERT; RANDOMIZE] should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception or birth control at no cost, or not? What about [INSERT]?
The two options are:
a. Religiously affiliated colleges and hospitals b. Churches and other places of worship.
That poll, which was widely covered, was put out with the press release "Majority of Catholics Think Employers Should Be Required to Provide Health Care Plans that Cover Birth Control at No Cost." The Washington Post reporter who covered the Planned Parenthood campaign against Komen wrote a piece about how the Obama White House senses it's gambit here is going to work out really well. Here's a sample:
But while Catholic leadership has blasted the new regulation, polls show that a majority of Catholics are actually more supportive of the provision than the rest of the country. A poll out Tuesday from the Public Religion Research Institute finds 52 percent of Catholic voters agreed with the statement, "employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception and birth control at no cost." That's pretty much in line with overall support for the provision, which hovers at 55 percent -- likely because Catholics use contraceptives at rates similar to the rest of Americans.
Now, savvy readers of GetReligion, what do you find most interesting about the polling questions? I'll weigh in down in the comments.
Now, let's look at a Rasmussen Reports poll and its questions:
1* Should health insurance companies be required by law to cover all government-approved contraceptives for women, without co-payments or other charges to the patient?
2* If health insurance companies are required to cover all government-approved contraceptives for women, without any charges to the patient, will that increase the cost of health insurance, decrease the cost of health insurance, or have no impact on the cost of health insurance?
3* The requirement to provide contraceptives for women violates deeply held beliefs of some churches and religious organizations. If providing such coverage violates the beliefs of a church or religious organization, should the government still require them to provide coverage for contraceptives?
4* Should individuals have the right to choose between different types of health insurance plans, including some that cost more and cover just about all medical procedures and some that cost less while covering only major medical procedures?
5* Should the government require every health insurance company and health insurance plan to cover the exact same set of medical procedures?
This was pushed out under the headline "50% Oppose Gov't Mandate for Religious Organizations to Provide Contraceptives." This poll didn't receive much coverage, outside of conservative media.
Isn't it interesting how PRRI and Rasmussen conducted their polling? Does anyone have any idea what PRRI was going for by asking those questions about sharia? Isn't it interesting how divergent the results were?
Does this make you suspicious of certain polls? And isn't it interesting that we even put questions of religious liberty up for polling? How does that affect news coverage? For instance, listening to NPR this morning, one got the idea that this issue should be decided based on how many Catholics use birth control. This makes no sense on any level.
On that note, a bleg. I was reading Lisa Miller's opinion piece in the Washington Post today where she argues with no citation that 99% of all women have used birth control during their lifetime. What in the world does that figure even mean? Assuming that abstinence is included (and how could it not be with a figure of 99%), shouldn't it be 100%? But where the heck is the citation? It's nowhere to be found. Later she asserts that 98% of Catholic women have used contraception in their lifetimes. How in the world are we defining contraception? I wanted to find out where that number linked to but the Washington Post citation for it led into an Ouroboros of citation -- it merely linked to another article by a Catholic who supports legalized abortion where the figure was cited. Only that time it didn't even bother an attempt to substantiate. Having seen this figure thrown about in the media repeatedly, could anyone help me find the original study? Not that I don't implicitly trust everything I read in the paper ...
Polling image via ThinkStock.


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The image of Justice blindfolded, holding her scales, is familiar from courthouses all over the United States and the world. Sadly, in its Thursday ruling in the case of PLIVA v Mensing, the U.S. Supreme Court made a decision that makes one wonder if that blindfold made the court unable to see the right thing to do.
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The court ruled in a 5 to 4 decision that companies that make generic drugs, which account for close to 75 percent of all drugs dispensed in America, cannot be sued under state laws for not disclosing all the risks they know about the drugs they make.
Federal law says that generic drug makers have to use the exact same warning labels as name-brand drugs. Some state laws require changes or updates as new information about drug risks are discovered. That happens because generics come into use many years after name-brand drugs have been available, or because generic drug makers get more information from doctors and patients about risk since so many more people take the generic versions. The court said they did not care what the generic manufacturer might know. State law has to yield to federal requirements and federal law says the warning labels must be exactly the same, new knowledge or not.Story: Generic drug makers not liable for failing to list side effects
This makes no sense at all. The intent of the federal law was to make sure that generic drug manufacturers did not get cute with their labels and "forget" to mention risks known from the name-brand versions of the same drug. It was not to hide new knowledge about risk from you and me.
This is one lousy decision. Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote for the majority said as much. He acknowledged that drawing a distinction about disclosing safety data between name-brand and generic versions of the same drug surely "makes little sense" to those who might get hurt as a result. Still, even in the face of common sense, he and the majority decided to put on their blindfolds and adhere to a pedantic interpretation of the relationship between federal and state law rather than protecting your health and mine. This might get a round of applause in business circles, but it stinks as public policy.
This horrid decision shouldn't be the final word on setting the duties of manufacturers to warn those taking drugs about the latest and best information they have about risk. Congress should move quickly to amend federal law to make it clear that when it comes to disclosing risks, it should not matter who makes a drug.Story: Heiress's nurse inherits $30 million — but should she?
The only thing that should matter is disclosing known risks about drugs on labels, websites and in communications to doctors. To do otherwise is to leave Justice blindfolded, unable to comprehend how the highest court in the land could not see clearly the need to protect consumers from harm.
Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., is director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania.
© 2013 NBCNews.com Reprints


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Every week we get together to genuinely worship God, listen to relevant teaching, and grow closer to Him and each other. We have 2 convenient service times at 7pm and 9pm so come and worship Jesus!
Back to All Events
Earlier Event: February 20Student Led Prayer
Later Event: February 23English Club


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I HAD no intention of making chocolate ice cream. I wanted only the perfect chocolate pudding.
For years, when striving to make the ultimate, silky, profoundly fudgy chocolate pudding, I invariably looked to Grandma. Oh, not to either of my Grandmas, who relied on boxed mixes with pallid results. But to an iconic silver-haired Grandma whom I envisioned stirring a pot of farm fresh milk, eggs, cornstarch and melted chocolate to a creamy, intense perfection.
For over a decade, I happily stirred my way through pudding recipes from the most tried-and-true grandmotherly sources I could find: Fannie Farmer and "Joy of Cooking," Better Homes and Gardens magazine, and spiralbound Junior League cookbooks.
And all the puddings were pretty good — jiggly and smooth, with addictive sticky skins that I greedily peeled off and ate while standing in front of the fridge. But none was quite good enough to send me back for more.
At restaurants, chocolate pudding was an entirely different creature, one that had nothing to do with Grandma. Luscious and sexy, with a haunting bittersweet flavor and a texture like a silk camisole, it was less family matron than femme fatale.
So what did these puddings have that mine didn't, other than possibly a whole lot of heavy cream?
To find the answer, I called Deborah Snyder. Currently the pastry chef at Alto and L'Impero in New York, she is the author of a seductive chocolate pudding that's seared into my memory from a meal long ago at Lever House, where she used to work.Continue reading the main story
I explained my pudding fantasy to her, and she quickly set me straight, booting my American grandmother out of the kitchen and installing a French grand-mère.
The problem with the stove-top puddings I'd been stirring up, she said decisively, was the cornstarch, which interfered with the satiny feel and deep chocolate taste.
The pudding I craved was in fact a classic French pot de crème, basically a baked chocolate custard. Steamed long and slow in a water bath, baked custards use the thickening power of egg yolks to set the mixture: no starch required. I have made pot de crème many times, but never thought of it as a pudding. For a second opinion, I called another stellar dessert maker, Karen DeMasco at Craft in New York. (She is leaving the restaurant next month.) She quickly concurred, explaining that her gorgeously rich chocolate pudding is based on pot de crème.
So why didn't her menu call it pot de crème or chocolate custard?
"People respond to the word pudding," she said. "They have more of a connection to it than to custard."
The chocolate pudding family tree originated with custards, which can be baked, steamed or stirred together on the stove like custard sauce or crème anglaise. Without chocolate, custards date at least to the Middle Ages.
Custards usually rely on eggs to thicken a liquid, typically milk or cream. The idea of thickening custard with cornstarch came from Andrew Bird, an Englishman whose wife was allergic to eggs. In 1837 he began marketing his cornstarch-based Bird's Custard Powder, still a staple in the United Kingdom.
Puddings using cornstarch quickly took hold in the United States, and in 1918 My-T-Fine put out the first boxed pudding mix.
Whether made from scratch or a box, cornstarch puddings — faster, more convenient and less finicky than baked custards — became the American pudding standard. Eggs were often used for extra richness, but the primary binding was cornstarch.
Back in my kitchen, I tried something new. If I wanted an American-style pudding that was ultraluxurious, the trick would be to reduce the cornstarch and increase the eggs and chocolate to compensate for the loss of thickening power.
At the same time, I would make pot de crème and pit it against my best stove-top efforts.
But why stop there? I'd also investigate flan, which is baked custard gilded with caramel. And what is ice cream? Frozen custard!
I started with cornstarch pudding, replacing much of the milk with heavy cream and adding extra egg to bring up the luxurious character. I figured a good brand of milk chocolate would intensify the sweet creaminess.
The gentle milk chocolate flavor, I thought as I licked the spoon, made me crave a big bowl of whipped cream to eat with it, and it occurred to me that layering the warm pudding and whipped cream with bananas would certainly be a fine thing. It was: the chocolate banana pudding beat all my grandmotherly versions by a landslide.
One pudding down, I turned to pot de crème, combining Ms. DeMasco's and Ms. Snyder's recipes, which were pretty similar. To heighten the bitterness, I combined bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate, along with a healthy dose of salt. Then I waited many long, long hours while the custards baked, set, cooled and thoroughly chilled.
A bonus of stove-top custard is the immediate gratification of licking the pudding pot while it's still warm. Sophisticated pot de crème calls for more adult patience.
Still, the payoff was big. Dense yet buoyant, with a bracing, profound chocolate flavor, the custard instantly melted into a velvety puddle on my tongue. It was every bit as good as restaurant pudding, and I could make it at home.
I had two pudding winners and almost stopped there. But a few days later my refrigerator was puddingless, and I reconsidered. The tug of pudding runs strong and deep.
My flan was inspired by Mexico, seasoned with chili powder and anise. Since I was making caramel anyway, I whipped up a pepita praline, which is just hulled pumpkinseeds mixed with caramel, to lay on top of the flan.
The most exotic of my custards, it came out lighter and fluffier than the others, with haunting, spicy nuances and a honeyed caramel topping. This was dinner party pudding at its zenith.
Lastly, I indulged in the most distant cousin in the pudding family: frozen custard. Its relatives are thickened by long, slow baking or starch, but with ice cream, the freezer does all that for you.
Of all my custard experiments, my chocolate ice cream was the fastest and simplest. Maybe this was because, in an attempt to make it more of a pudding, I added extra egg yolks and chocolate to my usual recipe. With salted cashews and chocolate chunks mixed in, it was easily one of the best chocolate ice creams I've ever made.
My pudding family reunion is over for now. But I know sometime soon I'll start craving a better acquaintance with the rest of the family: the butterscotches, the vanillas and the tapiocas.Continue reading the main story


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PLEASANTON — Developers can now access and manage building permits online or by phone, thanks to a new service the city of Pleasanton introduced recently.
The new Citizen Access online portal allows citizens and businesses to schedule inspections, check the status of a permit or inspection or check for property information directly from the Internet at any time, 24 hours a day.
A Voice Permits system allows customers to schedule, re-schedule and listen to inspection results from any touch-tone phone.
Bob Dolan, director of the Community Development Department, said in a press release that the new service delivers an easy and convenient way for the city to expand its e"'government services as well as increases the efficiency of city service.
The new Citizen Access system is powered by software from Accela Inc. The new Voice Permits telephone system is powered by software from Selectron Technologies.
For more information on the new online services, contact Dennis Corbett of the Building and Safety Division at 925-931″'5304, firstname.lastname@example.com, or visit the Citizen Access portal at www.pleasantonpermits.com.
To access the Voice Permits system directly, call 925-931-5322.
Contact Katie Nelson at 925-847-2164 or follow her at Twitter.com/katienelson210.


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For Seniors: Organize Your iBooks Library on iPad 2
On the iPad 2, e-books are organized in your iBooks library. E-book in the iBooks library are normally organized so that the most recently downloaded title is displayed in the top left corner of the first bookshelf. However, if you prefer, you can organize your e-books in collections (logical groups). You can also change the library view.
Change your view of the iBooks' library
Normally, e-books are displayed on shelves in the iBooks library, but you can change the view as needed.
Start iBooks and tap the List button.
Your books appear in a list.
To display the list alphabetically by title or author, tap the appropriate button on the bottom of the screen.
To display the list by category, tap the Categories button on the bottom of the page.
Your titles are displayed by category titles such as Fiction, Mysteries & Thrillers, or Literary.
To return to Bookshelf view at any time, tap the Bookshelf view button.
E-books are displayed once again on bookshelves, with the most recently downloaded book first.
Use the Edit button in List view to display Delete buttons for all books in the list. Tap a book's Delete button (which looks like a minus sign) to delete the book, and then tap the Done button to exit the Edit function.
Organize e-books in the iBooks library in collections
iBooks lets you create collections of books to help you organize them by your own logic, such as Fiction, Business, and Cooking. You can only place a book in one collection, however.
To create a collection from the Library bookshelf, tap Collections.
A dialog box appears.
Tap New, then type a name for the collection and tap Done.
Tap Books.
The dialog box closes and the collection is added to the Library.
To add a book to a collection from the Library, tap Edit.
Tap a book and then tap the Move button that appears in the top left corner of the screen.
A dialog appears.
Tap a Collection to move the book to.
The book is moved to the collection you selected.
With a collection displayed, you can delete a book from the collection by tapping Edit, tapping the book, and then tapping Delete. To delete the collection and return books to the Library as individual titles, tap Edit, tap the minus sign to the left of any collection, and then tap Delete.


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The financial challenges facing school districts across the country are many. Add to that a need to provide healthier lunches to more students and the strain can become overwhelming.
The foodservice industry works with schools to deliver solutions that cut waste while saving money. Learn how the foodservice industry continues to work with schools in our new video.


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Don't disappoint Dad with another necktie this Father's Day. Instead, consider giving him a one-of-a-kind gift.Try your hand at a DIY gift or purchase a present that creates an experience for the whole family to enjoy. Here are some inexpensive gift ideas that will put a smile on any dad's face:
- A personalized apron. Dads who love to cook or grill can use this practical gift throughout the summer during barbeques and cookouts. Decorate a canvas apron with paint or fabric—save on supplies with Joann Fabric coupons. Have the kids help and let their imaginations run wild.
- A popsicle stick photo frame. This is an easy and fun gift for younger children to make. With the warm weather quickly approaching, cool down with a few popsicles and use the sticks to create the frame, or pick up a pack of popsicle sticks from your local craft or dollar store. Glue the ends of the popsicle sticks together and decorate with paint, buttons, sequins, colored cotton balls—the list is endless. Get great deals on photo prints at Shutterfly or Snapfish and insert a special picture of the family in the frame so Dad can display it on his desk or his nightstand.
- Tickets to his favorite concert or sports game. Buy tickets from TicketsNow and enjoy a night out with the whole family. To make the gift even more special, create a ticket collage to package your gift and memorialize this and all future events.
- A homemade coupon book. This is a great gift for older children to put together. Give Dad redeemable coupons for tasks like mowing the lawn, washing the car or homemade breakfast. Design your own coupon book or print out these coupon templates.
Get inspired with more crafty ideas for Dad on our Pinterest page. Looking for great deals on creative gifts for Father's Day? Check out our roundup of 50+ offers from top online retailers or our best Father's Day Deals.


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So...Lemon Loaf Cakes, I made this treat today. The beauty of making something at the last minute is that you can use the advice of many bakers who are not procrastinators.
The verdict...delicious! The cake had a tight crumb and was very tender. I think a bit more salt would help and maybe some lemon oil to up the lemon flavor. Next time I make this I will serve it with a fresh blueberry sauce and whipped cream.


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25 Main Street
Tiburon, CA 94920
Perched on a historic dock overlooking San Francisco Bay, the aptly named Waters Edge is the only waterfront hotel in the seaside town of Tiburon. Our back deck affords a comfortable place to watch sailboats bobbing lazily in the water as waves lap against the docks, all against the majestic backdrop of Angel Island and the San Francisco skyline. Many of our guestrooms enjoy similar views, as well. Inspired by Eastern seaboard architecture that feels right at home on the water, Waters Edge exudes romance, relaxation, and global sophistication. The unique amenities of this Marin County boutique hotel include a bountiful continental breakfast delivered daily to your guestroom, a fireplace in every room, and an afternoon wine-and-cheese reception. Right next door to the hotel, you can catch the Tiburon Ferry to both Angel Island State Park and San Francisco's famous Ferry Building.


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Trent Munro Surf Academy
LocationsNew South Wales » Coffs HarbourNew South Wales » Port Macquarie
ServicesSurf School Schools with qualified surf instructors offering lessons and courses with equipment hire to individuals or groups, whether you are a total beginner, an intermediate surfer or an experienced surfer looking to improve your ability. Accommodation Surfer friendly places to stay near some great surf spots. Including camp-sites, hostels, hotels, B&Bs and surf lodges.


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After pouring millions of dollars into in-house data centers, companies may soon find that it's time to start shutting them down. IT is shifting from being an asset companies own to a service they purchase.
Something happened in the first years of the 20th century that would have seemed unthinkable just a few decades earlier: Manufacturers began to shut down and dismantle their water wheels, steam engines and electric generators. Since the beginning of the Industrial Age, power generation had been a seemingly intrinsic part of doing business, and mills and factories had had no choice but to maintain private power plants to run their machinery. As the new century dawned, however, an alternative started to emerge. Dozens of fledgling electricity producers began to erect central generating stations and use a network of wires to distribute their power to distant customers. Manufacturers no longer had to run their own dynamos; they could simply buy the electricity they needed, as needed, from the new suppliers. Power generation was being transformed from a corporate function to a utility.
Almost exactly a century later, history is repeating itself. The most important commercial development of the last 50 years — information technology — is undergoing a similar transformation. It, too, is beginning an inexorable shift from being an asset that companies own in the form of computers, software and myriad related components to being a service that they purchase from utility providers. Few in the business world have contemplated the full magnitude of this change or its far-reaching consequences. To date, popular discussions of utility computing have rarely progressed beyond a recitation of IT vendors' marketing slogans, laden with opaque terms like "autonomic systems," "server virtualization" and "service-oriented architecture."1 Rather than illuminate the future, such gobbledygook has only obscured it.
The prevailing rhetoric is, moreover, too conservative. It assumes that the existing model of IT supply and use will endure, as will the corporate data center that lies at its core. But that view is perilously shortsighted. The traditional model's economic foundation already is crumbling and is unlikely to survive in the long run. As the earlier transformation of electricity supply suggests, IT's shift from a fragmented capital asset to a centralized utility service will be momentous. It will overturn strategic and operating assumptions, alter industrial economics, upset markets and pose daunting challenges to every user and vendor.


text: A couple years ago, I painstakingly handmade about a bazillion gift tags. I silk-screened each one, cut them out individually, and then applied grommets and string. It was a long and tedious process (I actually got a blister on my finger from trimming out so many!), but the result was […] Read More »


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Venezuela's Marxist president, Hugo Chavez, will be attending the meeting of Mercosur, the South American Common Market, in Rio de Janeiro, on July 31, for the formal induction of Venezuela into the trade group as a full member. The move is controversial for a number of reasons, not the least being that Chavez's increasingly dictatorial regime is being granted membership at the same time that Paraguay, a founding member of Mercosur, has been suspended from membership for its impeachment in June of President Fernando Lugo, a revolutionary comrade and protégé of Chavez.
The governments of Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil, all headed by radical-left presidents, joined Venezuela's Chavez in denouncing the Lugo impeachment as a "coup," even though the action had been legally carried out by a united Congress, and Paraguay's Supreme Court had ruled that the process had meticulously followed the Constitution's requirements. Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay are full members of Mercosur, while Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru are associate members. Chavez has been trying to get Venezuela into Mercosur for years, but has been blocked from doing so by opposition within the Paraguayan Congress. The Lugo impeachment provided Chavez and his key allies — Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, and Uruguayan President Jose Mujica — the pretext they desired to remove the Paraguayan obstacle.
Paraguay's President Federico Franco, who was constitutionally installed following Lugo's impeachment, points out that it is Chavez and his Mercosur comrades who have actually engaged in a coup, by illegally suspending Paraguay's membership and inducting Venezuela in violation of the Mercosur treaty.
"The incorporation of Venezuela is null and void, illegitimate in its origin," said President Franco, as reported by MercoPress on July 24. He added that the Mercosur treaty is very clear "and states that all decisions must be unanimous, and having left Paraguay out (suspended) the other members are violating a substantial aspect" of the compact.
Franco, who was elected as vice president under Lugo, was sworn in as president on June 22 to fill out the remainder of Lugo's term, which runs until August 2013.
Chavez Croons to "Beloved Comrade" Dilma Rousseff
"I've had a most satisfying chat with President Dilma, our most beloved compañera. She confirmed I'm invited to the Mercosur summit," said Chavez on July 20 via his Twitter@chavezcandanga. The message was followed by a second tweet in which he asserted, "Venezuela to Mercosur! This is really GREAT! A new Venezuela! A new South America! New Geopolitics!"
The Chavez-Rousseff political love affair is nothing new; there are plenty of videos on YouTube from broadcasts over the past couple of years in which Chavez and Rousseff express their love and admiration for one another, as well as their revolutionary solidarity. (See here for Chavez' 2010 "hugs and kisses" bouquet to Rousseff congratulating her on her election victory.) Rousseff, the former terrorist and chief of staff to her predecessor, President Luis Inacio "Lula" da Silva, now presides over the world's sixth largest economy (Brazil overtook the United Kingdom this year) and Latin America's most powerful country. And, like her "beloved compañero," Hugo Chavez, she is using her newfound power and wealth to spread Castro-inspired, Havana-style revolution throughout the hemisphere.
President Rousseff did not attend this year's gathering in Caracas, Venezuela, of the communist-socialist São Paulo Forum, SPF (Foro de São Paulo, or FSP, in Portuguese) but was represented there by her communist Workers Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores, or PT, in Portuguese). Hosted by Hugo Chavez July 4-6, the annual confab drew hundreds of leaders representing dozens of communist, socialist, and radical environmentalist parties throughout the hemisphere, as well as from China, Russia, Vietnam, Lebanon, Iran, France, Spain and Greece, among others.
Founded in 1990 in the city of São Paulo by Brazil's Worker's Party and Cuba's Communist Party, the São Paulo Forum (SPF) has become the premier instrument of hemispheric communist-socialist forces that aim at nothing less than Sovietized Latin America. (For background on the São Paulo Forum, see here, here, here, and here.)
For the past couple of decades, while the SPF has been making alarming inroads throughout Latin America, the U.S. State Department and the major U.S. media have almost completely ignored its existence. Strangely, so too have most conservative U.S. politicians, analysts and publications. While Hugo Chavez's dramatic anti-American antics and his subversive schemes can be counted on to elicit reactions from America's "right-wing" commentators, the much more serious unified SPF efforts — of which Chavez's actions constitute only a part — go largely unnoticed and unremarked. In fact, Chavez's overtly radical persona and his notoriously anti-American diatribes serve to make Rousseff, Lula and other SPF leaders appear moderate by comparison, even though they are every bit as radical as Chavez and his main mentors, Fidel and Raul Castro.
SPF Tentacles Strangling Freedom in the Hemisphere
The reach of the SPF is formidable; its members now control the main political offices in most of Latin America. In Brazil, the Workers' Party (PT) of Lula and President Rousseff works closely and openly with the Communist Party of Brazil and the Brazilian Socialist Party, both of which have members serving in the Rousseff government. Valter Pomar, a top PT official and a longtime adviser to both Lula and Rousseff, serves as the executive secretary of the SPF and is its most quoted spokesman. Venezuela, of course, is ruled by Chavez's United Socialist Party of Venezuela, which plays a major role in setting (and funding) the SPF agenda.
Other countries controlled by SPF members include:
Bolivia — headed by President Evo Morales and his Movement For Socialism;
Cuba — headed by Raúl Castro and the Communist Party of Cuba;
Dominica — headed by President Roosevelt Skerrit and the Dominica Labour Party;
Dominican Republic — headed by Leonel Antonio Fernández Reyna and the Dominican Liberation Party;
Ecuador — headed by President Rafael Correa and the PAIS Alliance;
El Salvador — headed by President Mauricio Funes and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN);
Nicaragua — headed by Daniel Ortega and the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN);
Peru — headed by President Ollanta Humala and the Peruvian Nationalist Party;
Uruguay — headed by President José Mujica and the Broad Front;
To the countries listed above should be added Argentina, where President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has adopted the full FSP socialist agenda and closely identifies with Chavez, Castro, Lula, and Rousseff. However, since Argentina has a large and influential Jewish population, Fernandez de Kirchner, out of political expediency, has been forced to steer away from endorsement of the SPF's official program, which is anti-Israel and militantly supports Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the PLO.
SPF to the Rescue for Chavez's October Election Campaign
Hugo Chavez, who has held power since 1999 (longer than anyone else currently in office in Latin America, unless one considers Raúl Castro simply an extension of Fidel) is believed by many political observers to have a fairly safe lead over Henrique Capriles Radonski, his challenger in the October presidential elections. In addition to his control over the media and his access to virtually unlimited funds through the state oil production and many other state companies, Chavez can, and does, use his political mobs and government offices to intimidate and silence opposition and reward supporters. However, his oppressive "Bolivarian revolution" is wearing thin with many Venezuelans, and even many erstwhile liberal-left supporters in the United States have been forced to acknowledge that his authoritarian tendencies are looking more and more like Cuba's totalitarian repression.
On July 17, the Washington, D.C-based Human Rights Watch released a devastating 133 page report, "Tightening the Grip: Concentration and Abuse of Power In Chavez's Venezuela," which documents the Chavez regime's systematic destruction of liberty. "For years, President Chávez and his followers have been building a system in which the government has free rein to threaten and punish Venezuelans who interfere with their political agenda," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "Today that system is firmly entrenched, and the risks for judges, journalists, and rights defenders are greater than they've ever been under Chávez."
This is not the first or only accusation of widespread human rights abuses by the Chavez government; reliable and verified reports have been regularly published for years. However, the abuses have now become so widely known and publicly recognized that Chavez is feeling genuine pressure on the issue. On July 26, Chavez's Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro announced that Venezuela will soon be pulling out of the Organization for American States (OAS) regional human rights convention, as well as leaving the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The planned withdrawals are, in themselves, a strong vindication of the claims by many of Chavez's opponents and critics and will not play well with voters.
Brazil's Lula da Silva, who was not able to attend the SPF personally, nevertheless let it be known via video that he wholeheartedly supports his longtime comrade. Reuters reported on July 9:
Lula himself dived into the race on Friday, warmly endorsing his friend Chavez in a video played at the Forum of Sao Paulo, a socialist conference hosted by the government in Caracas.
"With Chavez's leadership, the people have made truly extraordinary achievements ... these must be preserved," Lula said. "Chavez, count on me ... count on the solidarity and support of every leftist militant, every democrat and every Latin American. Your victory will be our victory."
But Lula and the PT are sending more tangible assistance in the form of political consultant Joao Santana, nicknamed the "maker of presidents." Santana has managed campaigns for Lula, Dilma Rousseff and other regional leaders. He is credited with devising the makeover of Lula from a rough-and-tumble communist union leader to a "moderate" acceptable to the middle class voters and business owners. Santana coached Lula on all matters concerning image, from trimming his beard and donning a suit and tie, to dropping his Marxist rhetoric, smiling more often and adopting campaign messages that emphasized greater economic prosperity through programs that sounded benign. Santana did the same for Rousseff, helping transform her from a raging, armed Castroite radical to a chic fashionista who sells socialism wrapped in verbiage that sometimes sounds almost as if she is advocating free market economics.
Now Santana is working to soften Chavez's belligerent image and bellicose rhetoric. The Mercosur coup is undoubtedly a key part of the PT/Santana campaign strategy, aimed at making Chavez look more mainstream and showing Venezuela's voters that Chavez has scored a major diplomatic victory that will pay off in the form of economic dividends for workers and consumers.
Related articles:
Olavo de Carvalho on Communism in Latin America
Putin Recharged: What Now for Russia — and the World?
Resurgent Communism in Latin America
South American Union Selects Socialist Leaders
Tensions Grow as Socialists Slam Ouster of Paraguay Leader as "Coup"
Photo: Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez speaks as he is accompanied by a Brazilian commission at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, July 25, 2012: AP Images


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Reds trade Hanigan in three-team swap
CINCINNATI -- Veteran catcher Ryan Hanigan was dealt from the Reds to the Rays as part of a three-way trade on Tuesday that also included the D-backs.
Cincinnati received left-handed starting pitcher David Holmberg from Arizona in the transaction. Reliever Heath Bell is headed from the D-backs to Tampa Bay and Minor League left-handed pitcher Justin Choate is going from the Rays to the D-backs along with a player to be named.
CINCINNATI -- Veteran catcher Ryan Hanigan was dealt from the Reds to the Rays as part of a three-way trade on Tuesday that also included the D-backs.
Cincinnati received left-handed starting pitcher David Holmberg from Arizona in the transaction. Reliever Heath Bell is headed from the D-backs to Tampa Bay and Minor League left-handed pitcher Justin Choate is going from the Rays to the D-backs along with a player to be named.
Hanigan was also signed to a three-year, $10.75 million contract by Tampa Bay. He would have been a free agent after the 2014 season.
Hanigan, 33, became expendable when the Reds signed free-agent catcher Brayan Pena to a two-year, $2.275 million contract early last month. The Reds also have Devin Mesoraco, who seems likely to become the primary catcher.
Prospect acquired by Reds
- David Holmberg, LHP: Originally drafted in the second round in 2009 by the White Sox, Holmberg has now been traded twice in his career (the White Sox sent him and Daniel Hudson to the D-backs at the Trade Deadline in 2010). Holmberg spent much of the last two years at Double-A Mobile and made his Major League debut in August 2013. He posted a 2.75 ERA and a 116-50 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 157 1/3 innings at Mobile this season. Holmberg commands all four of his pitches well and isn't afraid to attack hitters. His fastball sits in the low-90s with good sinking action. His changeup is his best offspeed pitch and both his slider and changeup are average offerings. Holmberg has a good feel for pitching and with his combination of stuff and polish, he could soon reach his profile as a middle-of-the-rotation starter.
-- Teddy Cahill
"This gives Mesoraco the opportunity to develop into a No. 1, frontline catcher that we think he can be," Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. "Pena will be a quality backup and good bat off of the bench. It gives Devin the chance for more playing time."
The Reds' 40-man roster now stands at 39 players, including the signing of free agent reliever Manny Parra, who agreed to terms on a two-year, $5.5 million contract last week.
Holmberg, 22, has spent most of the last two seasons at Double-A Mobile, where he was 5-8 with a 2.75 ERA in 26 starts this season. In 157 1/3 innings, he allowed 138 hits and 50 walks while striking out 116.
In the lone Major League appearance of his career, on Aug. 27 vs. the Padres, Holmberg pitched 3 2/3 innings and allowed three earned runs, six hits and three walks. He was ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the D-backs' system by MLB.com.
Originally a second-round pick of the White Sox in the 2009 Draft, Holmberg was traded, along with pitcher Daniel Hudson, to Arizona for pitcher Edwin Jackson on July 30, 2010.
"Our goal was to try and improve our pitching depth and trying to find the best young starting pitcher we could add to the organization," Jocketty said. "I have to be honest with you that Holmberg was one of the guys we had at the top of the list. It was a measuring point for other clubs we talked to. This was the best deal we thought we could make. We're very happy with him."
Jocketty began exploring deals to move Hanigan during last month's General Managers Meetings.
"We weren't really satisfied with some of the matchups with other clubs," Jocketty said. "I talked to [D-backs GM] Kevin Towers, who said, 'I might be able to match up with another club and work a three-way deal with Hanigan.' That's what transpired."
The trade with the Rays was worked out a couple of days ago with a window left open for Hanigan's agent to work out an extension with his new team.
"I wasn't sure what the Reds were going to do, then when they signed Brayan, I kind of felt like they were going in a different direction," said Hanigan. "But I understood what they were doing and after that happened, I kind of just took it in stride and developed a relationship with [the Rays] when I was allowed and got to know these guys on a fairly quick basis."
Respected for his defensive and game-calling skills and his ability to get on base as a patient hitter, Hanigan still endured the worst offensive season of his career in 2013.
Limited to 75 games, Hanigan batted .198 with a .306 on-base percentage with two homers and 21 RBIs. Injuries nagged throughout the year that included two stints on the disabled list because of a strained left oblique and a sprained left wrist.
Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2002, Hanigan reached the big leagues in 2007. He is a career .262 hitter with a .359 on-base percentage.
Behind the plate, Hanigan worked with a rotation that had four starters throw 200 innings in 2012 and had a Major League best 3.04 catcher's ERA. His caught stealing percentages -- 48 percent in '12 and 45 percent in '13 -- were both best in the league.
This season, Hanigan caught three of the Reds' five complete games and 10 of the staff's 17 shutouts.
"It was tough to trade Hanigan," Jocketty said. "It got to the point where we had one year before he became a free agent. Sometimes, you have to make some tough business decisions you don't like to make. Hani did terrific job for this organization. Everybody really likes him as a person, as well as a player. We also tried to keep in mind places where he might want to play. I know Tampa was an area. They had interest in him for a couple of years. Hopefully this works out well for him."
Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Mark My Word, and follow him on Twitter @m_sheldon.


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There are "rumors flying around" that Apple is "sniffing around" upstart mapping company, Waze, says Mike Butcher at TechCrunch.
Waze does user-generated mapping data. People who use Waze are contributing the data to its database. It encourages people to contribute through gaming-mechanisms. So, if you drive a certain distance, you get points. And, the more people who use Waze, the better Waze is.
Prior to Apple and Google making turn-by-turn directions available for free on the iPhone, Waze was the best option for free driving directions on the iPhone.
Butcher's report on Apple's interest seems very thin right now. If anything is happening between the two companies it's likely in very early stages.
However, it makes a lot of sense for the two to link up.
Before Apple's maps were officially released, Waze's CEO Noam Bardin warned us that it was going to be a mess. "Apple went out and partnered with the weakest player," Bardin said. "They're now coming out with the lowest, weakest data set and they're competing against Google, which has the highest data set."
He added, "What's going to happen with the Apple maps, is that you're literally not going to find things ... When you do find them, they might be in the wrong place or position geographically. And if you do have it, the route to it may not be the optimal route."
He was right! Perhaps with Bardin at Apple, he could help orchestrate a big turnaround for Apple Maps.
And why would he want to sell? You know, aside from the big check he'd get from Apple?
From his perspective, Waze faces intense competition from Google and Apple. It's unclear how tiny Waze can compete against those two companies. It's also unclear how Waze monetizes its data. Taking an exit with Apple, and getting a lot of money to work on one of Apple's biggest flaws would be a big promotion for Bardin and his team.
Don't Miss: 13 Things That Became Useless In 2012


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I have created an informal survey to satisfy my personal curiosity if anyone actually uses SVG today and, if so, for what purpose. There was a time late 90s when SVG seemed to be a competitor to Flash, but that time seems to have come and gone, or has it?
The survey will stay open till end of February 2008. Results posted in March to my blog (check back here).
There are 10 questions total: Click Here to take survey


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I love Amano, but that picture kinda harkens to some of his creepier artworks (at least with how the girl looks like an abandoned porcelain doll you find in your grandma's attic).Love the rest of the image and I'm stupidly jealous EU is getting such a lovely release.EDIT: On that note, it's pretty damn surprising we've got Amano art for a Ubisoft game. Holy crap
So why again am I pre-ordering a download-only title?


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Getting In
Schools & Colleges
- College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences
- College of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
- College of Business & Economics
- College of Education
Welcome to Office of Facilities at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where we aim to provide quality service through planning, building, operating, maintaining and enhancing the campus of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. As part of the University body, members of our team are serving this community around the clock.
We can all do our part to keep our buildings and campus clean, safe, and energy efficient. If you see an Emergency or an area that requires maintenance, please make the Facilities Department aware. In case of an Emergency inform Dispatch or University Police immediately. For regular maintenance needs inform the Building Representative. To put in a maintenance request online use the WORK REQUEST link under our QUICK LINKS section. To find more information about Facilities check out other links.
All work requests MUST be submitted via Mainsaver our Work Request system, each building has a Building Representative that is responsible for generating work request. If your building representative is not available any employee of NC A&T State University is allowed access to Mainsaver, but we ask that you contact your building representative if you are going to submit a work request.
To gain a Username and Password for Mainsaver contact AggieHelp Desk 334-7195
DO NOT use Cherwell to generate work request for the Physical Plant.
If a work request is not submitted we CANNOT guarantee that the request will be fulfilled.
In case of an Emergency call Dispatch and report it; as well as submit the work request._____________________________________________
Dispatch Number: 336.285.4530
After Working Hours: 336.334.7675
Aggie Pop-Up Shop to Open Oct. 21 on Elm Street
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is opening a "pop-up" at 201 S. Elm St. on Monday, Oct. 21, just in time for homecoming. The grand opening celebration will feature appearances by Mayor Nancy Vaughan and Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr., a food truck, and a store full of the latest and best Aggie gear.
Alumnus and Oscar-Nominated Filmmaker to Keynote N.C. A&T Fall Convocation
Oscar-nominated, Student Academy Award-winning filmmaker and 2011 alumnus Kevin Wilson Jr. will deliver the keynote address for fall convocation at N.C. A&T, Thursday, Oct. 24, at 10 a.m., in Harrison Auditorium.
List Ranks N.C. A&T in State's Top 10 Best Colleges for Jobs
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is one of the top 10 best colleges for jobs in North Carolina, according to job-finding website Zippia.com.
Points of Pride
Largest HBCU
N.C. A&T is the largest public HBCU in the nation
N.C. A&T is the No. 1 producer of engineering degrees on the undergraduate level awarded to African Americans.
Admired CEO
Chancellor Harold Martin Sr. is named among the Triad's Most Admired CEOs by the Triad Business Journal.
Academic Excellence
The university's Center for Academic Studies in Identify Science is the first and only National Intelligence Science and Technology CASIS in the United States.
Higher Research Activity
N.C. A&T is classified as an R2: Doctoral University of Higher Research Activity by the prestigious Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
Teaching / Research
N.C. A&T is the highest-ranked public school for combining research and teaching by the Wall Street Journal.
Engineering Professor and Student
N.C. A&T is an inaugural and pioneering tenant of the innovative Union Square Partnership for healthcare training.
2016 MEAC Champs
N.C. A&T Women's Basketball team are the 2016 MEAC Champions
Bowl Champs
Aggies win 2015 Inaugural Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl and Black National Championship.
Tarik Cohen
Running back Tarik Cohen broke the university and MEAC record becoming the MEAC all-time leading rusher.
Hall of Fame
The 1968 Aggies football team was inducted into the N.C. A&T Sports Hall of Fame as the first A&T team to win a black college national championship.
Aggie Track & Field
Three track & field athletes are named to the NCAA All-Academic team for excellence in their events and in the classroom; maintaining a minimum 3.25 GPA.
Kim Terrell-Kearney
Former professional bowler Kim Terrell-Kearney named N.C. A&T bowling coach
Track & Field Ranking
The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association ranked A&T men's track and field team among the top-25 in program history.
Gail Wiggins
JOMC Professor Gail Wiggins selected as the NABJ Educator of the Year
PALO! Lyceum Series
The Band PALO! performed at N.C. A&T for the Lyceum Series
CD - Jazz Preeminence
A&T Theatre arts performs first production of "Radio Golf" by African American playwright August Wilson.
The Theatre Program at A&T was the first accredited Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) at an HBCU in North Carolina; second in the nation.
Black Nativity performances
The Theatre Arts Program is nationally ranked by Black Broadway as one of the top five Theatre Arts programs for African American students
Travis Alexander
Travis W. Alexander has been named National Conductor for the 105 Voices Of History National Concert Choir


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Botany of Desire
|Episode Description
|Sunday, Sep 2, 2012 - 1:00 AM
Based on Michael Pollan's best-selling book, this special embarks on an exploration of the human relationship with the plant world as seen from the plants' point of view. Frances McDormand narrates this program that shows how four familiar species - the apple, the tulip, marijuana and the potato - evolved to satisfy human yearnings for sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control. The program visits Idaho to discuss the commercial growth of the potato, which was originally domesticated in Peru more than 8,000 years ago. G
|More Botany of Desire on WORLD (MT)
Sunday, Sep 2, 2012 - 1:00 AM


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Former Redskins and Broncos running back Clinton Portis says he played through concussions more times than he can remember during his nine-year NFL.
"The truth is I had a lot of concussions," Portis told Mike Freeman of CBS. "It was just the way things were at the time. I'd get hit hard and be woozy. I'd be dizzy. I'd take a play off and then go back in. Sometimes when I went back into the game, I still couldn't see straight. This happened all the time. Sometimes once or twice a game."
Portis said he thinks he had more than 10 concussions, but he really doesn't know for sure.
"I can't put an exact number on it," he adds. "I just know it was a lot. I stopped counting at some point."
Portis does not, however, have the kinds of health problems that some players suffer in retirement.
"I have a few aches and pains," he said, "nothing major. None of the, 'I can't stand up or walk' stuff. I got away from the game at the perfect time. To be 31 and retired and spending time with my kids, I love it."
Here's hoping Portis can continue to say that for many more years of retirement.


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Nation & World
German art trove includes unknown work by Marc Chagall, a Jewish artist Nazis hated
Even for the most stunning art find in recent memory, an untitled, and hitherto unknown, work by Marc Chagall seems to hold a special place among the hundreds of paintings found by German tax investigators in a Munich apartment almost two years ago.
The work is only one among more than 1,400 discovered in the apartment of 79-year-old Cornelius Gurlitt, now nicknamed by German news media as the "Nazi Treasure Hoarder." But it has drawn special attention in part because Chagall, who died in 1985, was everything the Nazis hated in the art world. He was Jewish (Robert Hughes, the late and famed Time magazine art critic, once called him "the quintessential Jewish artist of the 20th century") and he was modern. The Nazis labeled his work "degenerate."
Meike Hoffmann, an art historian from Berlin's Freie University whose career has been devoted to the art the Nazis stole, hated and were thought to have destroyed, seemed genuinely moved as she talked about the Chagall during a news conference Tuesday.
"A beautiful Chagall watercolor," she said while looking up at a washed-out projection of the painting, which shows a kissing couple, a tipped-over chair and more beneath three moons. "An allegorical dream scene that was not listed and was so far unknown to the art world."
The notion of introducing the world to a new Chagall summed up much of the value of the collection.
"To have discovered these works of art was to discover an immense feeling of joy," she said.
Estimates have placed the value of the collection at as much as a billion euro, or $1.35 billion. But those trying to figure out to whom the works legally and morally belong, and whether there are criminal charges to pursue for possessing so much that had been taken by the Nazi regime, said it was too soon to talk about monetary value.
"Their value to humanity cannot be rated highly enough," said Reinhard Nemetz, the Augsburg, Germany, prosecutor tasked with determining if the collection represents a criminal case.
Nemetz revealed a bit more about the circumstances of the discovery of the collection, which was thought to have been assembled primarily before World War II by a Dresden art dealer named Hildebrand Gurlitt, who had been commissioned by Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels to dispose of what the Nazis dubbed "degenerate art" – modern art that the Nazis considered un-German, Jewish or Bolshevist. After Gurlitt died in a car accident in 1956, the artwork apparently remained in the possession of his wife, then passed to the control of their son, Cornelius, after her death.
Cornelius Gurlitt came to the attention of German customs inspectors in September 2010, Nemetz said. The inspectors were curious about why he was carrying 9,000 euros, about $12,000, in cash when they questioned him as he crossed into Germany from Switzerland. Cornelius Gurlitt said he was returning from having sold a small piece of art. More than a year later, in February 2012, tax inspectors looking for evidence of unreported income raided his apartment, Nemetz said.
What they found in a single, dusty room of an apartment in an upscale Munich neighborhood was astounding – hundreds of pieces of art – "paintings, prints and works on paper," said Nemetz – hidden behind stacks of canned foods, some of which had expired in the 1980s. The curtains in the room appeared permanently drawn, to prevent sunlight from damaging the works. Only 121 of them were framed, but the art, Hoffmann said, was "well preserved."
"The collection is of extraordinary aesthetic quality and great academic value," Hoffmann said.
Hoffmann, who has worked quietly on cataloging the collection since it was discovered, said she had only evaluated 500 of the works thus far. Chagall was, of course, hardly the only artist in the collection. There were three works by Pablo Picasso.
There were also works by Henri Matisse, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Otto Dix, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Ernst Barlach, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Oskar Kokoschka, Emil Nolde, Kaethe Kollwitz, Franz Marc, Paul Klee, Max Beckmann and Max Liebermann.
Not all was modern. There were also works by masters from the 16th to 19th centuries: Albrecht Durer, Gustave Courbet, Carl Spitzweg and Canaletto.
"Individual research on the artists will profit a lot." Hoffmann said of the find. "Figuring out what was looted and from whom will take a long time."
As an example of why, she noted Courbet's "Girl with Goat." The painting was actually purchased by the Gurlitt family in 1949, four years after the end of the war. But she noted that at that time it was considered lost to the world, so the sale may not have been legal. Even with a postwar sale, figuring out the ownership is highly complex.
Nemetz, the prosecutor, said that authorities were considering charges of tax evasion and embezzlement. He wouldn't go into details on why embezzlement, but he did note that in 1937 when the Nazi government removed 21,000 works of art from public museums in Germany, the museums were only rarely compensated with "art swaps" and often were not compensated at all. The Nazis handed what they had seized to four art dealers, including Cornelius Gurlitt's father, to sell.
If the works were not sold, and the museums never paid for their works, courts could rule that that means they never officially left the museums' possession.
In any case, Gurlitt lived off the grid, unregistered, not in the German health care or pension systems. In addition to the apartment in Munich where he kept the art, he is known to have a ramshackle home in Austria and a bank account with more than half a million euro ($675,000).
The German magazine Focus reported that he was thought to live off of the occasional sale of one of the works from the collection. His most recent sale, according to news accounts, was "The Lion Tamer" by Max Beckmann, for 864,000 euro ($1.16 million). Press reports said that after the dealer he used for the sale noted a legitimate legal claim to the work, Gurlitt worked out a deal with the legal owners and split the money down the middle.
News interviews with Gurlitt's neighbors have gleaned little about the man, other than that he refused to let anyone into his apartment, even when he was required to have a water meter replaced. He was described as seldom at home, and officials said he appeared to have kept the apartment dark, to protect his artwork from sunlight.
As many as 200 of the found works are on international missing art lists, other reports have said.
Officials said they will not put the collection online. Some works could go to heirs as restitution, and those heirs may not want it known that they have such art in their homes. They also said that keeping the collection offline would reduce the number of frivolous claims.
McClatchy special correspondent Claudia Himmelreich contributed from Berlin.


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Openstack, Big Data and Cisco Cloud Software at Cloud Connect Next Week
Next week is Cloud Connect in Santa Clara and Cisco's Cloud Software group will have a big presence.
While we have plenty to talk about on how Cisco is helping customers build their cloud, we also want to listen to our customers plans and needs. We are bringing some of our engineers and architects so you can engage directly with them. There are three things you can see next week.
CITEIS – Cisco's, in production, private cloud.
See how it was built, the results in agility and cost, and best of all see a demo. Not a fake demo but the real thing.
Of course, we will also be showcasing our award winning cloud automation software, Cisco Intelligent Automation for Cloud (CIAC) (formerly newScale and Tidal), which provides the self-service catalog and orchestration to our private cloud
OpenStack and Cisco Cloud Software
The big news, for me is that we will be demonstrating, live for the first time our cloud management software working with the Diablo release of OpenStack Nova running on UCS. Diagrams will be on hand.
Here are some highlights of how this is built:
- The Cisco Cloud Portal is used for a professional, extensible portal with strong role-based access control. This enables a service provider or enterprise to deliver just the right amount of visibility to a user.
- A service catalog displays a variety of services, not just VM's the order manager enables that shopping experience and the policy manager makes sure the proper rules are set and consumption governance is enforced. These are must have functions for OpenStack to work in an enterprise environment.
- The Cisco Process Orchestrator provides all the back end automation that talks to the Openstack API's using the EC2 api and Eucatools to provision Openstack instances. Interestingly, we used a set of workflows developed for our own private cloud, so rather than add, we had to remove functionality such as updating the CMDB, integrating with Microsoft Active Directory and various other internal systems.
- Finally, you can see the lifecycle manager which keeps track of the subscriptions to all the different kinds of resources being consumed. What's cool, and make sure you get a demo, is that a) any cloud resource can be tracked, and b) made visible in the portal through its own portlet.
Big Data Hadoop on Cisco
We will be also be talking up Cisco for Hadoop and Big Data solutions. We have a great story on our hardware, and this is now getting extended to our software stack as well. Cisco is already a leader in workload automation for business process management. We'll be talking about how we are extending this capability to the next generation analytics.
By the way, here's a prior presentation on some interesting benchmarks for Hadoop on Cisco UCS and Nexus:
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