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This week, European leaders will huddle in intense meetings, trying to work out a comprehensive plan to solve crushing debt problems.
Higher stakes are hard to imagine.
If all goes well at a summit in Brussels, the political leaders will make an announcement Friday, spelling out their long-term commitment to a plan to loosen a choking tangle of debt troubles. If they can't agree on a plan, the EU debt crisis could lead to the kind of financial chaos that economists say surely would hurt the United States.
"They have to fix this in a matter of days or weeks, not months," said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist for IHS Global Insight. "This is the single-biggest threat to the global economy — and to the U.S. economy."
The threat is so serious that last week, the U.S. Federal Reserve began working with the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and Swiss National Bank to help pump dollars into Europe's banks. That extra money created enough "liquidity" to keep loans flowing in Europe and prevent a panic.
That coordinated action came in the wake of rumors that a major European bank was about to collapse. The central bankers' move helped tamp down fears of an impending credit crunch, but did not address the underlying problem of excess debt. As Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said, Europe's problem is "a solvency crisis, not a liquidity crisis."
Americans still looking for work or facing the prospect of losing a home may be wondering why the Federal Reserve is taking action in Europe. They may feel this country has enough problems of its own to keep U.S. central bankers busy.
But economists are unanimous in saying the United States has an enormous stake in this week's negotiations in Europe. Here are some reasons why:
First, the European Union, made up of 27 countries, is the United States' single biggest trading partner. Americans and Europeans do roughly a half-trillion dollars worth of trade with each other every year.
Because of those elaborate ties, U.S. and EU manufacturing orders tend to move closely in tandem, rising and falling at the same time. At the same time, U.S. corporations derive many of their profits from Europe.
So Behravesh says U.S. stock prices would likely drop if exports to Europe, or profits from Europe, were to drop. That would dampen any expansion plans for U.S. businesses, he said.
For a coal miner in West Virginia or a corn grower in Iowa or a chemical plant worker in Texas, sales to European customers are vital to maximize jobs, exports and profits.
"A hit on U.S. corporate profits in Europe would come back and haunt us in the form of slower hiring," Behravesh said.
But Americans not only trade with Europeans, they compete with them. U.S. manufacturers are trying to sell goods to customers in Asia and the rest of the world. Unfortunately for U.S. factory workers, Europe's troubles have driven down the value of the euro, giving eurozone manufacturers a currency advantage.
As a result, German exports have been booming, rising 18 percent between mid-2009 and mid-2011, according to Sebastian Mallaby, a senior fellow for international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. Economic studies show that growth over the period would have been only 10 percent if not for the cheap-euro advantage, he said.
But the trade and profit issues pale compared with the really big threat posed by the EU debt crisis, i.e., the possible collapse of major European banks.
A banking crisis in Europe would hit this country, too, because large financial institutions are global these days. Many Americans may look in their own wallets and find an HSBC credit card in there. That company is based in London. Others may have their savings deposited with ING — that's a Dutch company.
This financial integration can bring new products and services to customers around the world, but it also brings new risks. The risk comes from the banks in Europe that own bonds issued by European governments. If Greece, Spain, Italy or others suddenly were to default on their debts, those banks could find themselves becoming insolvent as their assets become worthless.
If major European banks were to collapse, loans could freeze up — and financial panic could spread around the globe. Economists all say that would be a very chilling scenario that inevitably would severely damage the U.S. economy.
European bankers and political leaders are scrambling now to make sure that doesn't happen. EU Economics and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said last week that Europe is entering a "critical period of 10 days to save the eurozone." That 10th day comes this Friday at the Brussels summit.
Friday's summit is now "being seen as the likely deadline for one last, final chance for Europe to put together 'the plan,'" said Otis Casey, a credit analyst with Markit, in a written assessment of the EU's troubles.
With all the stories of economic woe across the Atlantic, we've decided to look at what Europe's debt crisis means for this country, so we've invited an NPR senior business editor Marilyn Geewax. Welcome, Marilyn.
MARILYN GEEWAX, BYLINE: Hi. It's good to be back.
CORNISH: So a few days ago, our own Federal Reserve Bank stepped into this crisis, right? The Fed joined other central banks to make it easier for banks about the world to get their hands on dollars. So why would we do that? Because at first, it seemed like the U.S. really wouldn't get too involved in this.
BYLINE: Well, it can seem like Europe's troubles sound so far away and especially at a time when our own job market is still weak. Home prices are still falling. You'd think we'd have plenty of things to worry about right here at home. But really, we are so tied to the European economy that the United States cannot afford to ignore this European debt problem.
CORNISH: But how does it actually affect us?
BYLINE: Well, there's several ways. I'll start with just the simplest one. The European Union has 27 countries and together they're our single biggest trading partner. We do about a half a trillion dollars worth of trade with Europeans and, you know, they're very good customers. That means U.S. corporations get a lot of profits from Europe. Those profits help prop up our stock market.
So Americans have a lot of interest in seeing Europe continuing to grow. Believe me, whether you are a coal miner in West Virginia or a corn grower in Iowa or maybe a chemical plant worker in Texas, you do not want to see your European customers cutting back on their spending. We need Europe to stay healthy to maximize our own exports and our profits.
CORNISH: OK. So that's the issue of trade. I mean, are there any other connections that we can better understand this?
BYLINE: Well, we don't only trade with Europe, we also compete with Europe. We want to sell our goods to customers in Asia and the rest of the world. So if Europe's troubles are driving down the value of their euro, they have an advantage over us. German exports have been booming for a couple of years now in large part because this falling euro has given them a competitive advantage.
CORNISH: So it makes their goods cheaper?
BYLINE: Exactly. Think of it this way. Say you're a customer in China and you're trying to decide between a German car and an American car. If their currency is cheaper for you, well, the German car is going to be the better bargain, even if it really isn't the better vehicle. So that's a pretty unfair competitive advantage. But everything we've talked about has really just amounted to small potatoes compared with the really big issue. And that has to do with the banks.
CORNISH: So what is happening with the banks? And by banks, you mean the Europe's banks or what's happening here in the U.S.?
BYLINE: Well, it's both. Because whether we like it or not, big financial institutions are global today. You know, if you looked inside your own wallet, you might find a HSBC credit card. That company's based in London. Maybe you've got your savings with ING. That's a Dutch company. The reality is that our financial systems are really woven together. And unfortunately, the banks in Europe own a lot of the debt that was issued by those European governments. So if Greece or Spain or Italy, or any of those countries suddenly defaulted on their debts, those European banks would find themselves becoming insolvent.
They'd be holding a lot of worthless assets and that would be horrible for us. Remember in 2008 how bad the financial markets were when they were melting down?
CORNISH: I've got to say, I've got a feeling of deja vu here.
BYLINE: Yeah. Remember, we all remember that feeling pretty well. Three years ago, it was U.S. housing debt that triggered this. It could be that European government debt could trigger the same kind of contagion. But the big thing is coming up this week. In Brussels, the European leaders are going to get together. They're going to try to come up with a comprehensive plan and some economists are actually fairly optimistic at this point. They think everyone understands how high the stakes are, but don't break out that French champagne just yet because they've got a lot of work to do to really address the core problem of dealing with all of that government debt.
CORNISH: NPR's senior business editor Marilyn Geewax, thanks so much.
BYLINE: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Web trading technology company Caplin Systems and "finance-grade" runtime technology OpenFin have partnered to accelerate the adoption of HTML5 for development of high-performance trading applications.
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- Coding to standards and quality: supply-chain application development
- Challenging Some of the Myths About Static Code Analysis
- Strategy: The Hybrid Enterprise Data Center
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- Asset Management For Electronics Industry
- How to Mitigate Fraud & Cyber Threats with Big Data and Analytics
This alliance now builds an integrated solution combining Caplin Trader (a development suite for HTML5 trading front-ends) and OpenFin App Desktop (a secure application container based on Google's Chromium open-source technology) together as one.
The product arrives with the suggestion that it addresses two challenges faced by financial developers when building HTML5 applications.
- First, many end-users in financial institutions run Internet Explorer browsers which are not HTML5 compliant, requiring applications to fall back to HTML4.
- Second, native applications have traditionally been able to provide better user experience including the ability to tear-off panels, pop-up windows, deliver push notifications, and seamlessly integrate with local applications such as Microsoft Excel.
This joint solution claims to be able to address these issues by enabling HTML5 applications to run outside-the-browser with the same user experience and capabilities as native, installed applications.
Caplin Trader's HTML5 content built for trading applications is thereby "enhanced" when running in the OpenFin container, but provides continued compatibility with existing web browsers.
Patrick Myles, Caplin's CTO, said, "By partnering with OpenFin we can now cater to those customers who want to run HTML5 trading apps in a local container on the desktop. We are using OpenFin's API to extend and improve the desktop experience for these users with new features such as borderless popups and drag drop integration with spreadsheet applications."


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Cirque du Soleil is seeking circus performers for roles for our resident and touring shows worldwide plus new creations. The Casting team will be hosting auditions for the following disciplines:
Here's the e-card that our Founder Guy Laliberté sent to all artists and employees to mark the event.
Cirque du Soleil is looking for a professional male dancer for its new show opening in New York City. The principal discipline required is Stepping (body percussion).
The Cirque du Soleil Casting team is hosting open acrobatic auditions in Las Vegas in September 2010 for the following disciplines:
SOP & Newsblaze Columnist Robert Paul Reyes interviews fellow SOP & Newsblaze contributor, and world-renowned celebrity, Will Roberts, "America's Favorite Cowboy Humorist."
Roberts is the country's preeminent Will Rogers Tribute Artist, he produces an audio podcast and a political humor column "Will Says" in several syndicated newspapers around the world.
Roberts dream has come true after 27 years of blood, sweat and lots of hard work as he is now a cowboy performer in the new Cirque Du Soleil show "Viva Elvis".
Dance Magazine features Banana Shpeel Choreographer Jared Grimes in the February issue.
Take a look behind the scenes at the show Varekai and meet Irina Naumenko, hand balancer.
Discover what trampoline and tumbling at Cirque du Soleil is all about!
We are seeking new talent for our existing shows and upcoming creations! Comic theater actors, Verbal & non-verbal clowns and Excellent physical actors, apply online for this audition by clicking on the image.
We are seeking new talent for our existing shows and upcoming creations! Circus Performers of all disciplines with original and innovative acts, apply online for this audition by clicking on the image.


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Alden Gonzalez is the Angels beat writer and a columnist for MLB.com. He's been with the company since 2008.
|There are plenty of things we can pick up from Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues. With only days remaining until all camps are under way, here's the most important of what we might come away with this spring.
More»Harper may start the season in Nationals' outfield
|If the money is right -- and it should be, considering the Marlins' approach to this offseason and their desire to sign a potential five-tool center fielder -- Miami is the perfect fit for Yoenis Cespedes. It's the only fit, really.
More»Cuban outfielder Cespedes set to visit the Marlins
|As we wait for Roy Oswalt, Yoenis Cespedes, Johnny Damon and a few other notable free agents to come off the board, here's a look at the top 10 offseasons by team.
More» The impact of Albert Pujols
|In about a month, the Tigers' Miguel Cabrera, the Marlins' Hanley Ramirez and the Angels' Mark Trumbo will arrive for Spring Training and take grounders at third base, moves their clubs are making to keep their big bats productive and active.
More»Hanley approves switching positions to third base
|The Rangers and Angels were two of the biggest movers during the Hot Stove season. Now, both clubs head toward Spring Training and a season that will witness the two clubs engage in a head-to-head race for the American League West.
More»Washington, Maddux talk about expectations for Yu
|So much about this offseason has been unforeseen and fascinating. But we're not done yet as almost every team is looking to plug those remaining holes or make that final statement before Spring Training opens.
More»Market continues to develop slowly for Prince Fielder
|Perhaps Manny Ramirez really is sincere. Perhaps now he finally realizes just how much his antics, his attitude and, ultimately, his failed drug tests have tarnished what no doubt would have been a Hall of Fame career. Perhaps he's a new man. Perhaps.
More»Hot Stove on the possible comebacks of Manny, Tejada
|Braves general manager Frank Wren has exercised uncanny patience and trust, deciding against making knee-jerk changes to a team that looked good enough to win it all through most of the 2011 season. For that, he deserves credit.
More»Duquette on the expectations of the Braves' rotation
|The end of Christmas doesn't necessarily mean the end of shopping. Actually, with shorter lines, bigger sales and more clarity now that presents have been unwrapped, it's probably smarter to do most of your personal spending shortly after the 25th of December.
More»Notable free-agent infielders still on the market
|The leadoff spot isn't what it used to be, or even what it was originally intended to be. For proof, you don't have to look too far. Just think back to the 2011 postseason.
More» Bourjos cranks a triple to cut into deficit
|Both Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols will almost surely be playing elsewhere in 2012 and beyond. That means the National League Central is now more wide open than ever.
More»Ramirez should be a good fit for the Brewers
|Of new skippers, Bobby V has toughest task
More»Hot Stove crew discusses Valentine taking over Sox
|It's in abundance now, more widespread and more noticeable than ever, even amid the stillness of what has so far been a rather quiet offseason. Opportunity. By adding another Wild Card team in each league, more clubs have an opportunity to be postseason-bound than ever before.
More»Rizzo on Nationals' needs headed into 2012
|With the Winter Meetings fast approaching, and most important, the intricacies of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement ironed out, we should soon start hearing plenty more about the likes of Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Jose Reyes and C.J. Wilson.
More»Wilson headlines list of free-agent starters
|Coming off a 2011 season that saw him earn a two-month stint in the Majors, Greg Halman was heading into the biggest year of his professional life. Now, instead of pondering his future, the Mariners can only look back at the memory Halman has left behind.
|One game won't really give us the time to enjoy the expanded playoff picture, and it will lead to the short sample size and sheer randomness that really has no place in a game like baseball.
More»Joe Torre weighs in on playoff expansion, replay
|As the offseason has unfolded and the free agency of shortstop Jose Reyes has loomed, the thought of the Mets trading third baseman David Wright has been considered by some a matter of when, not if. Here's a crazy thought: What about keeping him?
More»Wright on rumors he could be traded
|Managing in the big leagues is hard enough. Doing so on a team that just won the World Series and was under the direction of the Hall of Fame-bound Tony La Russa for the last 16 years is even tougher. Doing that when you've never even coached in pro ball is astronomically difficult.
More»Mike Matheny is introduced as new Cardinals skipper


text: Has anyone lost ISAAC WORTHINGTON ? In 1850, he ran a ferry over Big Muddy River near the new town of Murphysboro, Jackson County, Illinois. He owned real estate worth $100 and had been born In Ohio about 1820. ISAAC's wife was CLARISSA J. WORTHINGTON, about twenty-four years old and a native of Pennsylvania. They had three year old twins, Jefferson J. and SARAH V. WORTHINGTON. The new baby was named LEWIS. All the children were born to Ill. The Jackson County Historical Soc. would like to know where he went from Murphysboro. Write to: Box 7, Murphysboro, Ill 62966.


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Spots, Stains and Odors Removal
Are you on the lookout for a company that is offering quality cleaning services in Weybridge. If you want your property to get thoroughly cleaned by experienced and professional cleaners, then you have come to the right place!
Stains and Spots Cleaning Experts in Weybridge
Tackle Stains and Odours in Weybridge
First Cleaning is offering quality cleaning services at a reasonable price in Weybridge. With our year long experience cleaning people's premises according to the highest industry set standards, you are surely going to be satisfied by our stain cleaning services!
There are Two Ways in which urine can affect your carpet or fabric:
Immediate effect: Some dyes may undergo noticeable color change (note: this color change is usually reversible unless neglected),
Long-term effect: These effects may not be noticeable initially. Over the succeeding weeks and months, some dyes may undergo permanent color changes. At times dyes can become weakened and tend to bleed. Carpet fibеr may also be damaged by the chemical reactions between the fiber and the stain. Old urine stain smells strongly like ammonia. Wetting or moisture may increase this unpleasant odor. Urine may also support Bacteria Growth in carpet/padding or fabric.
Pet Smell Removing and Pet Urine Clean in Weybridge
We know that pet owners have problems cleaning the animal's feces, urine and removing the unpleasant odor from their property. Some pets are
prone to such "accidents" and will give you unpleasant surprises quite often. That's why you need the services of an experienced pet smell removing and cleaning company like First Cleaning in Weybridge. It's important to pay attention to your pet after treatment. Odors that can't be detected by humans can be picked up by pets; they often return to the 'scene of the crime' and are a "repeat offender". If your pet "surprises" you often, visit a veterinarian, as this might be a signal for a Urinary Tract Infection. However, this sometimes might be caused by other things. A simple change in the pet's diet or environment might stress the animal. This stress will usually manifest itself under the form of carpet or furniture stains produced by the stressed animal. The important thing here is to remove pet stain odor when it first occurs. The longer it remains on your furniture, the harder it would be to remove it.
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Florida coach Will Muschamp introduced his latest coaching hire Wednesday — special teams coordinator Jeff Choate.
Florida coach Will Muschamp introduced his latest coaching hire at Wednesday's press conference — Jeff Choate, who will coordinate special teams and coach the outside linebackers.
Muschamp and Choate said they anticipated a seamless transition even though he was not here for the spring.
"I've known Jeff. He's a guy that I've known probably going back six or seven years in recruiting the state of Texas," Muschamp said. "He's an outstanding evaluator, really good recruiter, coached on both sides of the ball.
"Having worked with someone on our staff (Brent Pease), that certainly helps — and a guy I trust. I trust Brent's opinion. So, it's exciting to have a coach like this at this time of year.
"There's never a good time, but at this time of year, it's good to add a coach to your staff and improve your staff."
Choate coached with Pease at Boise State for six seasons. In 2012, Choate coached the linebackers at Washington State. He was hired after the season to be the defensive coordinator at UTEP.
He went through the spring at UTEP, but then left when Muschamp offered him a job.
"It was a little bit out of the blue, but it was an opportunity that I could not say no to," Choate said. "Having a chance to coach in the SEC and compete at the highest level, I think anybody that's a true competitor wants to challenge themselves against the very best.
"This was an opportunity for me to do that. As hard as it was to say no to the young men at UTEP and to (head coach) Sean (Kugler) in particular, this was an opportunity I could not say no to."
Choate said coming onto the staff relatively late should not be a problem.
"If there's one situation where it would work out, ideally it would be this one," he said. "D.J. (Durkin) and I are very similar in the way we approach special teams, and I had spent some time talking with him and studying some things Florida had done here. We exchanged ideas.
"It's me learning terminology and things. I don't think there will be a lot of technique or scheme that will be adjusted. Without a spring, I don't see there being wholesale changes. We'll tweak some things and have game-plan adjustments.
"But I think we've got to keep it as straightforward as we can in the short term."


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The Smyrna boys basketball team welcomed the arrival of senior guard Dionte Bell with a 61-52 home victory over a winless Caesar Rodney, (0-4), Friday night.
The Smyrna boys basketball team welcomed the arrival of senior guard Dionte Bell with a 61-52 home victory over a winless Caesar Rodney, (0-4), Friday night.
Bell is a recent transfer from the former Campus Community High School in Dover. He led his team to the state tournament last year.
Bell led all scorers with 16 points, led the attack from his pint-guard position, and most importantly, help settle the nerves of his young, less experienced teammates.
"He definitely gave a us a huge lift both mentally and on the court," said Smyrna coach Mike Starkey.
"He was cleared to play for us by the DIAA and our confidence went way up to see him on the court with us," he said.
The Eagles settled in quickly and grabbed a 10-4 lead in the first quarter, as both team attempted to settle into the flow of the game. In the second quarter, however, both offenses got rolling as Smyrna posted 25 points and the Riders scrambled for 19.
Smyrna began to relax a little too early about the time Caesar Rodney started to rally. The Riders offense got going under the hot hands of Collin Moore and Aaron Briggs, and led 43-42 after three quarters.
But instead of getting rattled, the young Eagles dug in their heels and rallied to outscore their opponents 19-9 in the fourth period and take home the 61-52 victory.
"It's great to get that first victory, you can't get two without that first one. We had them down by twelve but let them back in, but we were able to rally at the end," said Starkey.
"We have some positives to build on from this game, but it's a long season, and we still have to find our identity before the end of the season," he said.
Scoring Summary:
Caesar Rodney - A. Kemp 1 0- 0 2 A. Briggs 3 1-1 7 J. Downs 2 0-0 6 A. Miller 2 0-0 4 C. Moore 4 1-2 10 M. Brewah 0 2-2 2 k. Perry 3 0-1 6 S. Bartron 1 2-2 4 V. Cook 2 2-2 7 D. Schuler 1 0-0 2 R. Giles 1 0-0 2 Totals: 20 8-10 52 Smyrna - J. Hunter 4 2-7 14 D. Sudler 1 0-0 3 J. Bradley 6 0-0 12 J. Worthy 2 0-0 6 D. Bell 7 1-3 16 S. Kpana 4 2-4 10 Totals: 24 5-14 61 3-Point Goals: CR 4 ( Downs 2, Moore, Cook) SMY 8 (Hunter 4, Worthy 2, Bell, Sudler)


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Wildcats score all 11 runs
The Taft junior varsity baseball team kicked off the second half of the league season the way they ended the first by winning a game. This time around it was an 11-0 victory over the Wasco Tigers at home Tuesday afternoon.
With the victory, Taft improves to 17-5 overall and 7-0 in the South Sequoia League.
Taft's offense had a string of threes going through most of the game by scoring three runs in the first, second and fourth innings. The Wildcats added two more runs in the sixth to end the rally.
Oscar Nuno and Alex Guzman each led the charge by going 3-for-3 in the game. Guzman also had two runs, two runs batted in along with a double and triple. Jordan Lopez was 2-for-4 with two runs batted in and a double.
Cain Roberts and Christian Palacios each were 1-for-3 with Roberts scoring two runs while getting one of his hits on a double. Will Moore was 1-for-2 with a run scored and a run batted in. Cameron Anderson was 1-for-1 with a run scored and a double.
Matt Osborn scored three times while Noah Parsons and Anthony Martin each scored once. Colt Niblett had a run batted in during the game.
On the pitching side, Osborn threw six innings, allowing a hit and three walks while striking out 10 batters. Parsons pitched the final inning while striking out three batters.
Taft returned for the rematch Thursday afternoon when they took on the Tigers in Wasco.


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More Insights
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- The Challenges Behind Multi-Cloud Management
- Mid-Market Mayem: Cybercriminals Wreak Havoc Beyond Big Enterprises
ReportsMore >>
- Real results: Speeding quality application delivery with DevOps [in financial services]
- How to Create an End-to-End Enterprise Payments Hub
Application (human not computer) language management company LinguaNext has announced a partner program for independent software vendors (ISVs) that want to add any new language to packaged, custom developed, cloud, and mobile applications.
The LinguaNext Linguify platform captures and translates application outputs (screens, print jobs, and files/reports). Its makers say that this eliminates the need to modify applications, issue patches, or perform upgrades.
NOTE: According to a recent survey by Gartner, Inc., customer relationship management (CRM) has edged past enterprise resource planning (ERP) as the top application software investment priority.
If you believe this kind of analyst prediction then there is a potential validation here for a focus on enhancing customer experience, with both mature and emerging regions emphasizing investments in CRM.
LinguaNext has developed a completely new approach to application language globalization. Adding multilingual capabilities to applications has traditionally been a manually intensive effort that took a team of expert developers months or longer to complete.
The Linguify platform enables ANY enterprise application (including mainframe, client-server, web, cloud, and mobile apps) to be localized into multiple languages WITHOUT making any changes to its code or database. The software does this by transforming the output of an application before it can be seen on a display, a printout, or in a file. The actual translations are done manually and stored in a pre-created enterprise-specific dictionary.


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|Funding for a portion of this collection came from a Local History Digital Resource Project grant . The Local History Digital Resource Project is supported by the U. S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian. For more information, please visit: http://www.califa.org/lhdrp.php
|REMARKS OF MAYOR FLETCHER BOWRON AT UNVEILING OF PLAQUE AT FIRST STREET ENTRANCE TO CITY HALL, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1941 So intent are we with the manifold problems of a great city and in planning for a still greater Los Angeles of the future, we do not give sufficient consideration to the significance of our glorious past. In the history [handwritten underline] of the founding and development, growth and expansion of Los Angeles, we are able to determine the underlying reasons that made this city great; not merely in numbers, in wealth, in industries, in beauty, but as a city with a soul, a city with distinctiveness, a city that is different from any large municipality in the world. There is only one Los Angeles, and it is known in the most remote section of the globe, to the utmost limits of civilization.


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The Coastal Living Retreat collection is where 20th century cottage meets 21st century design. As a spiritual successor to the venerable Coastal Living Cottage collection, Coastal Living Retreat features many of the timeless silhouettes of its predecessor now clad in five lustrous new colors with a Cerused Oak top for select dining and living room pieces. This collection's color palette includes: Saltbox White: A clean, pure white—the perfect backdrop for rich pops of color. Spanish Orange: A luxuriant, soft satin orange paint Belize Teal: A deep, vibrant teal-colored satin paint English Blue: A chalky, greyish-blue paint applied with a textured gesso finish. Gloucester Grey: A warm, earthy grey applied with a textured gesso finish. At the center of this collection is the Breach Inlet Bed, whose upholstered headboard incorporates a scalloped profile and is available in three crisply tailored fabrics: Heron Grey Honeycomb: A pale grey, fine-gauge linen texture punctuated by contrasting honeycomb-patterned embroidery Block Island Sand: A heavy gauge, washed ecru linen pattern. Irish White Herringbone: A snug, cream white herringbone cable pattern.
Nothing on this page may be copied or reproduced without explicit permission.
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To request a new password, enter your username or e-mail address and click submit. A new password will automatically be emailed to you.
If you are still having trouble logging on after receiving your new password, please email a


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I couldn't finish 'em. Looks like this's gonna get complicated.
The following tables are incomplete for one or more reasons. If you wish, please examine the table and add anything missing. Remove this notice upon completion.
??? is an enemy in Final Fantasy Dimensions.
Stats Edit
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This is a print of an original Pen & Ink Sketch I did of a local restaurant in the Belmont neighborhood of Charlottesville.
12 by 12 Inches for the Reprint
11 by 10 Inches for the Original
3-5 business days
I'll do my best to meet these shipping estimates, but can't guarantee them. Actual delivery time will depend on the shipping method you choose.
Buyers are responsible for any customs and import taxes that may apply. I'm not responsible for delays due to customs.
Just contact me within: 14 days of delivery
Ship items back to me within: 30 days of delivery
But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective, I can't accept returns for:
Buyers are responsible for return shipping costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value.
(A) Bella + Canvas 3001 Unisex Short Sleeve Jersey T-Shirt with Tear Away Label - This super-soft, baby-knit t-shirt looks great on both men and women. It is an updated unisex tee. This shirt has a slimmer fit.
Sizing Link:
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(C) Childrens: Anvil
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text:
Police log for Dec. 7
Police log
Jan. 7
1:23 a.m. Suspicious-circumstances report on West Ridgecrest Boulevard.
2:05 a.m. Arrest on West Ridgecrest Boulevard for possession of burglary instruments/tools, prowling and driving on a suspended license.
6:36 a.m. Injury traffic-collision report at South Sunland Street and East Ridgecrest Boulevard.
7:21 a.m. Follow up and report on West Ridgecrest Boulevard.
7:52 a.m. Vandalism report at James Monroe Middle School.
8:40 a.m. Vandalism report on South Valley Street.
9:30 a.m. Found-property report on West Perdew Avenue.
10:09 a.m. Found property on North Norma Street.
10:34 a.m. Child Protective Services referral on North Inyo Street.
11:33 a.m. Theft report on South China Lake Boulevard.
11:47 a.m. Petty-theft report on North Erwin Street.
1:08 p.m. Disturbance – subject on West Ward Avenue.
1:26 p.m. Theft report on North Norma Street.
1:31 p.m. Forgery report on West California Avenue.
1:59 p.m. CPS referral on North Sherri Street.
2:38 p.m. Domestic-disturbance report on East Parkview Avenue.
2:59 p.m. Panhandling on North China Lake Boulevard.
3:18 p.m. Missing-person report on West Ridgecrest Boulevard.
4:17 p.m. Disturbance – family on South College Heights Boulevard.
5:07 p.m. Disturbance – juveniles on West Wasp Avenue.
7:39 p.m. Disturbance - family on East Beth Lane.
8:33 p.m. Assist other department on North Norma Street.
8:46 p.m. Petty-theft report on South Margalo Street.
9:01 p.m. Arrest at North Gold Canyon Drive and East Ridgecrest Boulevard for public intoxication and resisting an officer.
9:09 p.m. Disturbance – subject on North China Lake Boulevard.
10:21 p.m. Petty-theft report on South Margalo Street.
10:51 p.m. Warrant arrest on West Station Avenue for damaging a telephone line, disobeying a court order and failure to appear.
11:38 p.m. Warrant arrests on West Station Avenue for possession of a controlled substance and resisting, delaying or obstructing a peace officer.
11:45 p.m. Domestic-disturbance report on West St George Avenue.
Officers made six traffic stops.


text:
Ramapo College Textbooks > Inventing Baby Food
Inventing Baby Food
Publisher:University of California Press
Renting Options
Own it? Sell it back
WRPR hosts sports panel featuring Don La Greca
New faces in NBA playoffs lead to anticipated finals
Ramapo sweeps William Paterson and Rutgers-Newark
CPB hosts relatable comedians for TNL
Ramapo students celebrate Shakespeare's birthday
Ramapo hosts Remembrance Day to honor members
Publisher:University of California Press
Own it? Sell it back
Employers can list job opportunities for studentsPost a Job
Housing Providers can list available housingPost Housing
Post your own housing listing on Uloop and have students reach out to you!


text:
为了使您在Abcam官网的浏览体验更顺畅,请使用最新版本的浏览器比如 Google Chrome
Our Abpromise guarantee covers the use of ab5020 in the following tested applications.
The application notes include recommended starting dilutions; optimal dilutions/concentrations should be determined by the end user.
This peptide may be used for neutralization and control experiments with the polyclonal antibody that reacts with this product and human LXR alpha and beta, catalog ab3584. Using a solution of peptide of equal volume and concentration to the corresponding antibody will yield a large molar excess of peptide (~ 70-fold) for competitive inhibition of antibody-protein binding reactions.
Shipped at 4°C. Upon delivery aliquot and store at -20°C or -80°C. Avoid repeated freeze / thaw cycles.
ab5020 has not yet been referenced specifically in any publications.
Please note: All products are "FOR RESEARCH USE ONLY AND ARE NOT INTENDED FOR DIAGNOSTIC OR THERAPEUTIC USE"


text:
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Posted on August 23, 2013
Sometimes, believe it or else, I repress my first response to one of those questions people ask all the time. I don't know why, because my first thought is often shorter and usually more interesting than the more reasoned response I come out with. For example….
Do you ever dream about books?
Who has time to sleep?
The fact is that the last dream I remember, particularly, involved a hang-up in the selling of the leftovers from the Book Fair, necessitating a second Book Fair two weeks later. I had a LOT of trouble with this, because we had a lot of empty tables at the end pf the first Book Fair, and the volunteers kept wanting to arrange these in aesthetically pleasing patterns. There was also some minor difficulty with the people who were trying to set up a weekend performance of "Chicago" in the mezzanine of the library. THAT interested me because there had been a plan at one time to build a theatre-seating seminar room above those four glass doors which lead out to the parking lot, but….
Why do you sell books that are obsolete?
Did you know that "obsolete" is an anagram of "obese lot"?
The fact is that if I SELL something, then there must be somebody out there who wanted to buy it, and therefore it has not been too obsolete to make us money. If what you meant was "Why do you think you can sell books that are obsolete?" the answer is that no book is obsolete to someone who is looking for it. An Arizona roadmap from 1978 might be obsolete to someone making a trip today, but to someone who is writing a novel set in Arizona in 1978, this is an excellent resource. Whereas, of course, to someone who is writing a novel set in Arizona in 1957, that roadmap is far too NEW, so, once again, your point of view….
Are you accepting books for next year's Book Fair?
No, thanks to this new time machine, I am accepting books for the 2008 Book Fair, so I can get all these copies of the Da Vinci Code off my hands.
The fact is that we are still discouraging book donations until after Labor Day. This is partly so I can locate everything I had to move to make room for all those talliers and checkers during the Book Fair, and partly so I can deal with all these donations which absolutely had to come in in the meantime. I have about 600 books all by one author, and somebody's collection of coffee table books, and a coin-operated music box that would play "Home On the Range" if I could just unstick the overwound key, and there's a really neat resin model of the Cheshire Cat and….
Is there anything you won't sell?
I have utterly refused so far to sell the recipe for tapioca meatloaf. (The CIA is still considering its use in covert operations.)
The fact is that I have mentioned before I am now up to three copies of "Secrets of Making Methamphetamines". I've been hanging onto those for at least three years, partly because I'm not sure what subject they'd go under. I once refused to sell a celebrity love note that had been left in a book as a bookmark. (It was not the least bit of use in blackmail.) And there are two works of art—a sketch and a painting—that I haven't put out for sale, one because of the model and one because of the artist. And I haven't priced that book you inscribed to your significant other, whom you described as a "Luvvly Luvver" and went on to say….


text:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The people of a polarized nation just created a government that looks like them, and it sure looks a lot like the dysfunctional one now in place. The only hope for progress on jobs and everything else that matters is if President Barack Obama and Republicans in Congress find fresh political incentive to compromise.
For the good of the country. Or, this being Washington, the good of their party and their political survival.
The nation's dreaded gridlock is still a four-way intersection in which all the drivers think they have the right of way.
A re-elected president says he has a mandate to raise taxes on the rich. The Republicans running the House say they have mandate to stop tax hikes on anyone. The Democrats who lead the Senate say the election only strengthened their stand, but Senate Republicans still have enough votes to block what they don't like.
In the hours after the election, at least, Republicans and Democratic leaders said they are willing to steer toward compromise, as messy as it may be.
Each side is assessing why and when to give ground in order to get business done, first on fiscal matters, and then perhaps on immigration laws.
The White House in particular was waiting to see the next move from a Republican Party that lost not just the White House race but a little ground in the House and Senate. As Sen. John Cornyn of Texas put it: "We have a period of reflection and recalibration ahead for the Republican Party."
A look inside each camp's political calculus shows voters may see some results.
To start, the Congress and Obama must act because they have created themselves a mess. Nothing big in Washington gets done without a punishing deadline.
Thanks to a series of deals and blown deadlines over the years, the nation on Jan. 1 is due to be hit with tax increases on millions of Americans, plus spending cuts that all sides agree would undermine the military and other basic government functions. The combined hit could throw the economy into recession.
To avoid that, the leaders are talking anew of a grand deal, not a quick fix. As envisioned, it would head off not just the looming fiscal cliff but also open the door for a serious look at reforming the nation's system of taxation and making cost-saving reforms to sacred entitlement programs such as Medicare.
House Speaker John Boehner offered an opening to Obama on Wednesday. "Let's rise about the dysfunction and do the right thing together," he said.
Of course, Boehner and Obama famously fell flat when they reached for such a bargain in 2011, as the country careened toward a perilous default. Boehner said Obama changed the terms, while the White House groused Boehner could not corral House Republicans who did not want to hand Obama a victory before his re-election bid.
"It's not gravy anymore. It's not optional," said Jim Papa of Global Strategy Group, who used to work in the Obama White House legislative office as well as for Democrats in the House and Senate. "It's viewed as something that must get done for the future of the country. So all that's left is to figure out how to do it. And that's what different from last time."
Yet a conflict remains that goes to the core of the fight — indeed, to the core of the election.
Obama insists he will not go for a deal that extends tax cuts for incomes over $250,000. He thinks his win gave a mandate on that matter above all else, and exit polls showed most voters were with him. Boehner said the House would consider raising tax revenue by fixing the tax code and boosting the economy, but not through higher rates.
It is not clear how that standoff will get settled before year's end. And that's just the House.
Obama also still has to deal with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., whose disciplined band of Republicans just got more conservative with the addition of tea party-backed Republicans like Ted Cruz of Texas and Jeff Flake of Arizona. McConnell is up for re-election two years from now in a state that produced tea party favorite, Sen. Rand Paul, who McConnell opposed in the 2010 Kentucky GOP primary.
The president's approach, meanwhile, is heavily influenced by the debt debacle in the summer of 2011. Viewing that as a period of outreach that backfired on him, Obama goes into fiscal negotiations now with no incentive to give ground on what the White House calls tax cuts for millionaires.
"That's not bipartisanship. That's not change. That's surrender," Obama warned in the final days of the campaign. "That's surrender to the same status quo."
Obama's thinking, too, is that Republicans will have to help him fix the nation's broken immigration system or risk alienating a Hispanic population that could torpedo the GOP's electoral power for years.
Voters created this dynamic because they themselves are increasingly polarized. The nation was split 50-48 percent in choosing Obama over Romney. The share of moderate voters in the middle keeps shrinking.
There are signs of hope for compromise.
Karen Fitzgerald of Miami was all but grieving Republican Mitt Romney's loss to Obama. Throughout the election, her friends, most of whom are Democrats, had chided the Republicans on Facebook. On Wednesday, she saw a different theme in their posts.
"Now they're all saying we need to work together and be united," she said. "Maybe we can."
Associated Press writers Christine Armario in Miami and Ken Thomas and Andrew Taylor in Washington, and AP Polling Director Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.
AP White House Correspondent Ben Feller has covered the presidencies of Barack Obama and George W. Bush. Follow Feller on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BenFellerDC


text:
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text:
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text:
In the 1500s, Italy is bursting with some of the most influential and vivid figures in history. Many — like Leonardo da Vinci, who balanced art and the sciences; Galileo Galilei, who turned his telescope to the heavens; and Niccolo Machiavelli, who calculated the ruthless politics of the day — are still remembered even now for their major contributions.
Author Sarah Dunant has drilled down into the Italian Renaissance for over a decade — reconstructing a time of artistic innovation, political corruption and war into captivating, and highly accurate, fiction.
"When one talks about the kind of power of the English Renaissance and Shakespeare and whatever and all of that, I think, 'My God, Italy had these 100 years before,' " she tells NPR's Neal Conan.
"It was the cradle of some of the most profound things about modern Western civilization, and you have to go there if you really want to understand the modern world."
In her latest book, Blood & Beauty, Dunant breathes new life into the story of the brilliant, powerful and notorious Borgia family.
Dunant talks about the process of researching and reconstructing centuries-old history, and some of the truths and myths surrounding the infamous family.
Interview Highlights
On the origins of the Borgia family
"We just lump them in with a lot of other Italian families. But it is the great secret about this family that they don't come from inside Italy. They are, in fact, interlopers. And Italy, and especially Rome, is full of very powerful families, a bit like a kind of early version of The Godfather, who really aren't interested in sharing power.
"So when you come to look at the kind of press that the Borgias have had over the 500 years since they kind of died out, what you're looking at is vested interests out to slander them because they were the interlopers. Now, some of those awful things they did is true, but one of the things that I discovered while researching and writing this book is that there was a great deal more depth and nuance and subtlety and things of interest about the Borgias than our old version of how they used to be."
On how the family came into power
"There is a very interesting moment in Italian history here. Italy is invaded by the French in the 1490s, and the French bring with them something that's going to change warfare, which is they bring lightweight artillery in.
"They bring cannons that you can move fast. And that changes the whole game. And when Cesare Borgia, the Pope Rodrigo's eldest son, makes an attempt to basically carve out a dynastic power structure in the middle of Italy, which is why he's necessarily known as the prince later by Machiavelli, one of the things that he has is he has those cannons from the French army. And that makes an incredible difference to him as a commander and as a power force."
On Lucrezia Borgia as the "first liberated woman" of the time
"That's so untrue. ... She is indeed a really interesting character, but all of those rumors about the murders and all the lovers come from the people who were the enemies of the Borgias who were out to slander her.
"She's actually liberated in a rather different way because she's quite intelligent, and she manages how to make a place for herself in a world which is full of men. ...
"It's her reputation, but what's been so interesting about modern history is historians have gone back and really kind of looked. You know what? The Borgias are like the first sort of celebrities of history, really, and you know how easy it is for the gossip to move about celebrities. And you know how hard, once the gossip's out there, even if it's not true, to get it back. And I think that's what happened with them."
This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. In 1500, Italy bursts with some of the most influential and vivid figures in history, many still remembered by just one name: Leonardo, who balances art and sciences; Galileo, who turns his telescope to the heavens; and Machiavelli, who will soon calculate the ruthless politics of the day.
And then there's the prince himself. But we need full names here, for there is an entire family of Borgias. In her new novel, Sarah Dunant returns to the Renaissance Italy she mined for a series of best-sellers, "The Birth of Venus", "In the Company of the Courtesan" and "Sacred Hearts" to describe Rodrigo, Cesare and Lucrezia, the brilliant, infamous and powerful Borgias.
So who was your favorite Renaissance character? Why? 800-989-8255. Email us, email@example.com. You can also join the conversation on our website. That's at npr.org. Click on TALK OF THE NATION. Later in the program, we look ahead with poet Nikky Finney. But first, Sarah Dunant joins us from the BBC studios in London. Her novel "Blood & Beauty" comes out next month. And welcome back to TALK OF THE NATION.
SARAH DUNANT: Oh, it's great to be back. I just got off a plane from Italy. So I'm very pleased to be here.
CONAN: Well, one of the themes of your book - now there are two ways to look at this. One, is this sort of overarching historical theme, Spain is about to send conquistadors out to follow Columbus to the New World and upset the balance of power in Europe. It's a very interesting moment, interesting theory. Then there is the story that you tell of a Spanish pope.
DUNANT: Yes. Well, well of course we didn't really think about the Borgias as being Spanish. We just lump them in with a lot of other Italian families. But it is the great secret about this family that they don't come from inside Italy. They are in fact interlopers. And Italy, and especially Rome, is full of very powerful families, a bit like a kind of early version of "The Godfather", who really aren't interested in sharing power.
So when you come to look at the kind of press that the Borgias have had over the 500 years since they kind of died out, what you're looking at is vested interests out to slander them because they were the interlopers. Now, some of those awful things they did is true, but one of the things that I discovered while researching and writing this book is that there was a great deal more depth and nuance and subtlety and things of interest about the Borgias than our old version of how they used to be.
CONAN: And it's not as if they were outliers in their practices. They may have been a little bit more extreme from time to time, but everybody did it.
DUNANT: I mean, the point about this period, Neal, and it's so fascinating, is you don't get all the creativity out of the Renaissance without some of the corruption. You don't get all the beauty without some of the brutality. The things that we now think of as some of the great works of the Renaissance were financed by cardinals or rulers who in themselves were pretty corrupt.
So nobody has completely clean hands in this affair.
CONAN: I was - anybody who's read any of your other books know that there has always got to be an artist that is important to the conversation, maybe less so in this one, but Petruchio, his painting "The Chambers of the New Pope", as the story begins. In the meantime, I expected that. I did not expect expertise on the dawn of artillery and its influence on fortifications.
DUNANT: Ah, now if you're going to really write well in history, you've got to get out there and follow the soldiers, I tell you, because history is partly about violence and a lot about politics. And indeed there is a very interesting moment in Italian history here. Italy is invaded by the French in the 1490s, and the French bring with them something that's going to change warfare, which is they bring lightweight artillery in.
They bring cannons that you can move fast. And that changes the whole game. And when Cesare Borgia, the pope Rodrigo's eldest son, makes an attempt to basically carve out a dynastic power structure in the middle of Italy, which is why he's necessarily known as the prince later by Machiavelli, one of the things that he has is he has those cannons from the French army. And that makes an incredible difference to him as a commander and as a power force.
And if you're going to write history well, you've got to know your cannons. You've got to know how they fired, what they did, and in this period of time, Neal, they were like the atomic bomb of the era. You hear people talking about how brutally unfair it is that they should be damaged or killed by something that flies out of them from the sky and crushes them, because that has no courage attached to it.
That's not about meeting the warrior face to face and slugging it out. That's cowardly warfare.
CONAN: The drone warfare of the time.
DUNANT: Absolutely.
CONAN: We're talking with Sarah Dunant about her new novel about the Borgias, "Blood & Beauty". We want to hear, well, your interest in Renaissance characters, who and why. 800-989-8255. Email us, firstname.lastname@example.com. Let's start with Roland, and Roland is on the line with us from Sarasota.
ROLAND: That's right, hi. My favorite Borgia is Lucrezia because she was ahead of her time. She was the first liberated woman. She would have sex with (unintelligible) man, with the best-looking men, then she would kill them.
DUNANT: That's so untrue. Every single thing that you've just said there, Roland, actually is the reason that I wrote the book. She is indeed a really interesting character, but all of those rumors about the murders and all the lovers come from the people who were the enemies of the Borgias who were out to slander her.
She's actually liberated in a rather different way because she's quite intelligent and she manages how to make a place for herself in a world which is full of men.
ROLAND: I agree with you. In those time, the pope, Pope Clement, and they used to have orgies, (unintelligible) orgies in the Vatican. So corruption was a quality then. But I disagree with you. I studied Borgia in Italy many years ago, and that's her reputation, OK.
DUNANT: Well that, yeah, it's her reputation, but what's been so interesting about modern history is historians have gone back and really kind of looked. You know what? The Borgias are like the first sort of celebrities of history, really. And you know how easy it for the gossip to move about celebrities. And you know how hard, once the gossip's out there, even if it's not true, to get it back. And I think that's what happened with them.
ROLAND: I agree with you. They were snobs.
CONAN: Roland, thanks very much.
ROLAND: Thank you so much, I love your show, bye.
CONAN: Thank you very much, appreciate that. Maybe she was not the liberated woman in the way that Roland was describing her. Tell us, though, a little bit about Caterina Sforza.
DUNANT: Well, Caterina Sforza, known as the vigaro at the time, and it's absolutely true, is an illegitimate daughter, rather like Lucrezia is, one of the big main powerhouses in Italy, the Sforzas in Milan. And she's married off to somebody, and she becomes the wife of a papal vicarage. So she runs a city-state in the middle of Italy.
And she basically survives two or three attempts at assassination. And there is one particularly favorite story about her, and it's really hard to know how far it's the truth - and I sit on the fence in the book about it - where when they've actually taken her children as hostage, and they're suggesting that they're going to kill her children unless she surrenders, she walks out on the battlements of her fortress in Forli, and she picks up her skirts, and she says: Do you think that I don't have the tools to make more children?
CONAN: Also reputed to have sent a poisoned garment to the pope.
DUNANT: Yes, she was very, very good at medicine and herbs, as indeed a lot of these women were, and she was probably - she was both an expert on cosmetics and certainly was a good hand at kind of forms of poison, which if you think about it, of course, women really can't really wield daggers and swords, but they can wield poison, and that's I think one of the reasons why Lucrezia has become wrongly famous for it because it's the woman's weapon.
But what she is supposed to have done is to find a piece of cloth and - which had been round the body of a plague victim and wrap a petition to the pope in it. So when the pope opened it, he would actually have his hands on this piece of cloth which was soaked with the kind of pus and germs of the plague, and thus she was hoping to kill him off by giving him the plague.
CONAN: And thus her fortress comes under siege by the pope's eldest son, and, well, the story goes on. We're talking of course with Sarah Dunant about her new novel about the Borgias, "Blood & Beauty". And let's see if we can get another caller in on the conversation. This is David, David with us from Austin.
DAVID: Hi, I had a question maybe you could answer because my favorite folks from the Renaissance, and one of the reasons is there's so many of them and that I think they all look like Jeremy Irons ever since that series came out, but the Borgias with all their conniving and Machiavellianism, did they have anything to do with a lot of the papal policies, particularly having to do with papal celibacy and with priesthood celibacy? And I'll take it off the air. I was just curious if there was a connection there.
CONAN: Having read your book, papal celibacy was not what they were about.
DUNANT: You know, it's really interesting. The Borgias have become infamous for the fact that he - in fact he had seven illegitimate children, Rodrigo Borgia. But what you also need to know is the pope before him had two illegitimate children, and the pope after him had an illegitimate child.
You know, celibacy was one way of putting it. Priests and cardinals and popes were not allowed to marry, but celibacy didn't always mean that these guys were chaste. There's a very different series of standards when it comes to male behavior and female behavior, even within the church 500 years ago. And it was quite possible that you could be in the church, which was after all a profession people in the family took up; you didn't need to be that religious to be part of that profession, and that could well include you having mistresses and having children.
And what I do have to say about Jeremy Irons, though, because I knew he'd come up, is that he's just completely physically and emotionally wrong for the part of Rodrigo Borgia. And I say this with great sadness at this moment because the man who could have played Rodrigo Borgia better than any living actor on this planet died in Italy last night, and that was James Gandolfini.
His Tony Soprano is kind of nearest that I've come to a contemporary version of Rodrigo Borgia, and he would have been stunning in the role.
CONAN: I have to say, though, yes, physically Jeremy Irons wrong of the part, but that voice...
JEREMY IRONS: (as Rodrigo Borgia) Here we are in a snake pit surrounded by venom and smiling vipers, and our son pleads ignorance. Maybe it was you.
CONAN: Well, all right, maybe he doesn't look like Rodrigo, but I'd listen to him read the phone book.
DUNANT: Yeah, but you're suckers for that Royal Shakespeare Company gravely accent, actually. And let's pick him up on that actually because one of the things that I did learn about Rodrigo Borgia as I was researching him, and I began to like him as well as admire him and fear him, was that though he could be ruthless, he also had quite a good sense of humor.
And I haven't been rolling about the aisles watching Jeremy Irons, I must say.
CONAN: Who is your favorite Renaissance character and why? 800-989-8255 is our phone number. Email us, email@example.com. More with Sarah Dunant in just a moment. Stay with us. I'm Neal Conan. It's the TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
CONAN: This is TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News. I'm Neal Conan. Sarah Dunant's new book "Blood & Beauty" is set in Renaissance Italy, as is much of her best-known work. She joins us today to talk about the book and the research she did to bring her characters and her settings to life. And one of the settings she uses is one she has used in previous books, a little bit earlier in history than before, that is the city of Rome.
Sarah, can I ask you to read a passage that describes the city?
DUNANT: OK because it has a kind of checkered history, of course, Rome by this time. Right, this begins Chapter 4: (Reading) Rome, a city born from the milk of a suckling wolf. Rome, the center of the strongest empire the world has ever known. Rome, the birthplace of the Holy Mother Church. Rome, the very word paints pictures of splendor and wonder.
The reality, as any number of visiting pilgrims will testify, is a miserable disappointment, not so much a great city as small islands of wealth poking their heads up amidst a sea of festering slums and wilderness. It is history that is to blame. History, which had made Rome imperial, had gone on to rip out her innards and leave the remains for the jackals and the vultures to feed on.
Centuries of war and neglect have eaten like deep frost into the very structure of living. With no fresh water, no sewage system and precious little employment except the burying of the dead, much of the population had fled or bled with such government as there was undermined by the tribal violence of a few great families.
While other Italian cities - Florence with her cloth and Venice with her ships - were fusing wealth and scholarship in the great rebirth of classical culture, Rome was still waking from the nightmare of the great papal schism. The return of the papacy from Avignon 70 years ago had brought with it the promise of a better future: cardinals, bishops, papal lawyers, secretaries, copies, ambassadors and diplomats all with households to be fed and watered.
CONAN: And those households feed and water themselves and with great - well, a lot of verve, I have to say, in Sarah Dunant's novel "Blood & Beauty: The Borgias". Call, tell us who's your favorite character from the Renaissance and why, 800-989-8255. Email us, email@example.com. And let's see if we can go next to Randy, Randy on the line with us from Virginia Beach.
RANDY: Hi, thanks so much for taking my call.
CONAN: Go ahead.
RANDY: I'm a big fan of this era that you're talking about. I love reading about the birth of Christianity and the Vatican and whatnot. And my question for you is whenever you talk about the Vatican, obviously you're going to talk about the Borgias, but also the Medici family comes into it, too. I was curious: Is there any run-ins in your book or in any research that you've done that shows there was any meeting of the minds between those families?
DUNANT: Oh, well, you know, it's so interesting you should say that because the book begins with a scene in the papal conclave of 1492 when Rodrigo Borgia is basically going to have to buy in enough votes to win the papacy. And one of the people he goes to try and convince is the young son of Lorenzo de Medici, Giovanni de Medici, the youngest cardinal ever to be made. He's only just 18 years old, and he's just arrived in time for this conclave.
Now he is going to go on to become Leo X 25 years later or so...
CONAN: Oh, don't give it away.
DUNANT: Oh, well, no, but everybody knows they get a couple of popes. And the first chapter is a scene between the two men, with Rodrigo trying to persuade Giovanni. And in Giovanni's pocket there is a letter written by his father Lorenzo de Medici, who has recently died, which is advice to his son about entering the kind of cesspit of the papal court in Rome and how it would be very good if he listened and said nothing because vice was everywhere.
And that's a real letter. He actually wrote that.
RANDY: That is absolutely outstanding. I hope one day I can grow up and be you. I love your job.
RANDY: Thank you so much for taking my call. Everybody have a great day.
DUNANT: You're very welcome.
CONAN: Thank you. Where did you find that letter.
DUNANT: Oh, the letter is quite well-known if you know the history of the Medici family. And you can actually see the whole letter, and it is a really good piece of political advice. I mean, one of the things that, you know, you can't help feel - I was listening to you talk about all of those factions in Iraq now before I came on, and I was thinking, yes, that is what history is. Politics is complex. And if you go back 500 years to Italy, and you go back to Europe, what you are looking at is factions everywhere fighting each other.
So the Medici are one faction in Florence trying to protect themselves. The Borgia papacy in Italy are another. The Sforzas are in Milan. The house of Aragon is in Naples. It's a real bear pit there, and you have to be very smart and very ruthless and really on your toes politically to be able to survive in this climate.
CONAN: Let's go next to Ryan, Ryan with us from Palo Alto.
RYAN: Yeah, hi. I really love Cesare Borgia because I think more than any other person at that time, he was forward-looking and kind of had one foot in the past and one foot in the future.
CONAN: And another foot on your throat.
RYAN: But the thing about Cesare was that he had new ethics, he had a revolutionary sense of politics, he had a revolutionary sense of power at the time, and I think Machiavellianism really kind of grew out of him, and must of the Renaissance idea grew out of his power.
DUNANT: It's a really interesting thesis. You know, the thing about Cesare, and I spent a long time in his company, and I say this with a certain level of admiration, is I think the man was a sociopath. I think he had incredibly fast intelligence. I think he had very little empathy about him. But in a funny way that enabled to go out and do the job and not care about the impact of his behavior.
And it's certainly true what you say, that Machiavelli goes on to write "The Prince" some 10 years after he's met Cesare Borgia partly because he's watched Cesare Borgia in action. You know, he arrives just after Cesare Borgia has taken a city, and he sits with him and has a conversation with him, and he takes down word for word what Cesare Borgia says.
And then he sends a dispatch back to Florence saying we just have to come to terms with this guy because this guy's got us by the throat. And one of the wonderful things he says about him is he says he moves so fast that he arrives where he is going before his enemies know where he has left. And that's both classic Machiavellian understanding of pragmatic politics and classic Cesare Borgia, a bit like the cat jumping on the mouse before the mouse has even realized the cat's behind him.
CONAN: Did Cesare murder his brother?
DUNANT: You know, it is one of the great mysteries, and there are a number of mysteries in this family. And to really answer that question, you too would have to read all of the books I read in order to write the novel. I come out with a theory which is different from the theory that the more popular dramas would have, which is of course that he did.
I don't think he did, but I back it up with a lot of stuff that's come out of the history. You know, you won't notice this when you're reading the book with any luck, Neal, but there is an incredible amount in this book that actually comes directly from history, comes directly from historical records or gossip from diplomats or letters written between people.
And if you really study it at the cold face, and you're not looking for sensation, but you're looking for truth, I think what you find is a man who is capable of murdering his brother but actually didn't do it, that somebody else did it. But I'll leave that for you to find out by reading the book.
CONAN: Well, speaking of which, one of the fascinating characters - and Ryan, thanks very much for the call...
RYAN: Yeah, thank you.
CONAN: One of the fascinating characters is the chief of protocol, you would not think that's an important position, but it is very much, in the Vatican, who you make it clear is writing everything down as he goes along, a German.
DUNANT: Yes, and he's a real-life man, you know, Burckhardt is his name, and he's the master of ceremonies. It's his job to know how you should do it in papal matters, which of course is a bit of a challenge at this time because one of the first jobs he has is to marry off the pope's illegitimate daughter. Well, that isn't written down in many of the books about what you do in terms of papal ceremony.
And then actually to have the baptism of her son in the Sistine Chapel. But he also keeps a diary, and we have that diary. Now, there's certain laconism in the diary. There are places where he doesn't speak, so we don't know what his opinion was. It's pretty clear that he disapproves of Alexander.
But also, you know, he is human, and there's an incredible moment in this story when one Alexander's children - I mean, we've given it away now - when Juan Borgia dies, Juan Borgia is murdered, and Alexander, who does love his children, whatever else is his faults, is beside himself with grief. And Burckhardt writes that for three days he's in his room locked up, kind of ululating with grief, sobbing and crying.
And he won't take food, and he won't take water, and there are little groups of cardinals outside the door begging him please to stop crying, and he can't. And even Burckhardt has a tone of sympathy at that moment, and it's bits like when you're reading the history that are just gold dust, and you think oh my goodness, if I can bring that kind of intensity of emotion into a book, then it doesn't matter whether people think I'm making it up, or it's true, they'll have a sense of sinking into the period.
CONAN: Let's get another caller in. This is Diana(ph), Diana with us from Pain Coast - Palm...
DIANA: Hi. Hi.
DUNANT: Hi.
DIANA: Hello. I had a question about Michelotto, the assassin who worked for Cesare.
DUNANT: Yeah.
DIANA: How much is - what is said about him is true? I mean, I've heard that, you know, he strangled two of Cesare's rebellious captains simultaneously on one of their campaigns, and I've heard that he had known Cesare since they were at university in Pisa. And I was just wondering, I mean, what about him is actually true?
DUNANT: Well, actually, you've done a pretty good job historically, there, because there's not much that you can say that's good about Michelotto, except for the fact that he is clearly an extremely loyal follower. And if I were to just add there, Diana, of course, that he comes also from a Spanish family. Those Spanish families stay very close together. You know, the Borgias will always be talking Italian. Michelotto and Cesare will be talking Italian together, and they've grown up together, and he is very much his henchman.
CONAN: You meant to say Spanish Catalan.
DUNANT: Oh, I'm - well, it was - yes, all right. They speak Catalan, but they are all from Spain, that part of Spain, because Spain isn't united at that point. Yeah. And the really interesting thing about Michelotto - and it won't come in this book; it'll come in the next - is that after the whole great enterprise falls apart and the Borgias fail to get their state and Alexander dies, the pope that comes in afterwards, who clearly has an axe to grind, gets hold of Michelotto - he can't get hold of Cesare; Cesare's escaped - and he tortures Michelotto in order that Michelotto should tell him whether or not the pope poisoned cardinals or what did Cesare do, and Michelotto doesn't say a thing. Michelotto refuses to implicate anybody. And in terms of the sheer loyalty of blood in that family, I found myself enormously impressed by that, even though it is quite clear that the man is really quite a ruthless killer.
DIANA: Right. Well, thank you.
CONAN: Diana, thanks very much.
DUNANT: You're welcome.
CONAN: And here's an email about a favorite Renaissance character, Leonardo da Vinci, the first notable figure to challenge Aristotle in 2,000 years in art, mathematics, militaria, architecture, medicine, et cetera, a character in the wings, at least, in this first book.
DUNANT: Oh, yes. You know, he's a - he's in Milan. He's employed by the Sforza Duke in Milan, and he's trying to build that huge horse, which is supposed to be a war memorial to the original Sforza in Milan. And he gets as far as getting it into clay, but he never finally casts it in bronze. And then they need the bronze for the cannons because the French invasion takes place.
And when the French get into Milan - and there's a scene in the book here, but it's absolutely true - the archers used the clay horse as practice, and they smash it down with their arrows. So, of course, we don't have it at all.
But quite soon after this first volume of the book ends, he will be employed by Cesare Borgia. Cesare takes him into the Romagna, where he's taking his cities and fortresses, and he asks him to do some work on fortification.
And, in fact, just a few days ago, I was looking at the plans that Leonardo did for the city of Imola, and he has a city plan that he has done, which he uses compasses in order to get all the measurements, which is breathtakingly accurate and beautiful. It's both actually accurate, but it's also a piece of art.
CONAN: We're talking with Sarah Dunant about her most recent book, the "Blood & Beauty: The Borgias." You're listening to TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
And let's get Jules(ph) on the line, calling from Santa Cruz.
JULES: My favorite Renaissance character is Anne Boleyn, and I'm not too happy with the popular media depictions of her. They depict her as being fairly one-dimensional, and they completely overlook the back story before she ever had a relationship with Henry VIII. And I think that, kind of like Lucrezia Borgia, people just kind of want to jump on the juicy bits of it and not do any deep research into who she actually was and why she did the things that she did.
DUNANT: You know, it is interesting that when you come to women in history, either you ignore them completely or the ones who you make out to be monsters are the ones who become interesting. And I think you are absolutely right. I think she and Lucrezia were both more subtle than history has given them a lot of credit for, though I have to think Hilary Mantel has done a pretty good job on Anne Boleyn in a way.
You know, when it came to looking at Lucrezia Borgia, I must tell you - and this is also true of Anne Boleyn; it's true of all of these women - what you have to remember is that they come into politics and sexuality when they are very young. Lucrezia Borgia is 13 when her father becomes pope, and she's 13 when she marries her first husband. She's 16 when she marries her second. And by the time she marries her third, she's barely 20.
Now, you have to learn very fast the mixture of how you control your emotions, how you play the political game, how you try and keep some privacy, how you're loyal to your family. It's a very hard life for those women, and they have to be very smart, both emotionally and politically, and actually I think that, to a certain extent, both Anne Boleyn and Lucrezia were very smart.
And I really hope that the history that's now being written - and a lot of it is being written by women like myself, and Hilary Mantel and Philippa Gregory - that we're interested in telling the three-dimensional story of these women that, up until now, it's just been fun to slander and talk about sexuality and power.
CONAN: Which raises the question, though: Why are you interested, so much, in the Italian Renaissance when there's that Plantagenet and Tudor mafias you can be writing about?
DUNANT: Oh, because if you're British, trying to work on the Tudors is like trying to go to a supermarket on Christmas Eve and buy food, you know? Everybody's in there. It's overloaded. Everybody's been doing it. You know, I've had the Tudors coming out from both of my ears since I was six years old in school.
And when one talks about the kind of power of the English Renaissance and Shakespeare and whatever and all of that, I think, my God, Italy had these 100 years before. Everything that we achieved in Britain was achieved sevenfold before in Italy. The Renaissance began there. It was the cradle of some of the most profound things about modern Western civilization, and you have to go there if you really want to understand the modern world.
CONAN: Jules, thank...
JULES: There are two - oh, I'm sorry. There are two women in English history who have been extremely important to Western history that I think - one of them most people have never heard of, Katherine Swynford, the third wife of the Duke of Lancaster and then Anne Boleyn. Those two women shifted the course of history by their very presence, and they're both very much maligned. Most people don't know about Katherine Swynford, but the interesting thing about Anne Boleyn is that - and a lot of people don't know - is that she was actually engaged to marry someone else. And Henry decided he wanted her to be his mistress, and he forced her family to break their engagement off. She appealed to Catherine of Aragon for help because she was actually a lady in waiting to Catherine of Aragon, who refused to help her. So her options at that point in time were very few, because her...
CONAN: Jules, I'm afraid we're going to have to hear the rest of that story in another time...
JULES: Sure.
CONAN: ...but thanks very much for the phone call. And, Sarah Dunant, we will await the next book with bated breath.
DUNANT: Oh, Neal, thank you very much indeed.
CONAN: Sarah Dunant joined us from the BBC studios in London. "The Birth of Venus" is maybe her best known, but "Blood & Beauty" will eclipse it. Stay with us. It's the TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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October 17. 2013 9:05PM
Uncommon core? Manchester goes its own way
Manchester's Board of School Committee voted on Wednesday to have the school district develop its own standards rather than rely entirely on the controversial Common Core standards. This is going to be interesting.
The board did not "reject" Common Core. The plan is to use those standards as the "floor" for Manchester and spend the next several months coming up with a unique set that will exceed in academic rigor the standards presented in Common Core. The district is to spend $28,000 on this project. The standards are to be applied in the following academic year.
"I think we're going to revolutionize education in the city, and I think it started last night," Mayor and Board of School Committee Chairman Ted Gatsas told us in an interview yesterday. We hope so. The city's schools could use a little revolutionizing.
But if this were so easy, wouldn't other districts have done it long ago?
Common Core is not a curriculum. It is a set of vague standards students would be expected to meet. The district is planning to develop stronger standards and, presumably, the curricula to go with them. It is great to have high standards, but if the curricula are outdated or flawed, how can students be expected to reach the standards?
Though we meet this vote with some skepticisim, it is encouraging that the board has taken on a complex and risky challenge. It could have passively adopted Common Core and washed its hands. Instead the board voted to do the best it could for the city's children by searching for something better. Despite the risk involved, that was the right call.