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Power struggle on Baghdad streets as Maliki replaced but refuses to go
Iraq\'s president named a new prime minister to end Nuri al-Maliki\'s eight-year rule on Monday, but the veteran leader refused to go after deploying militias and special forces on the streets, creating a dangerous political showdown in Baghdad.
Washington, which helped install Maliki following its 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, congratulated Haidar al-Abadi, a former Maliki lieutenant who was named by President Fouad Masoum to replace him.
Maliki said in a televised speech the president\'s decision to name a replacement for him was a "dangerous violation" of the constitution and, flanked by political allies, he vowed "we will fix the mistake."
Maliki\'s son-in-law, Hussein al-Maliki, called the move "illegal" and said it would be overturned in court. "We will not stay silent," he said.
Washington delivered a stern warning to Maliki not to "stir the waters" by using force to cling to power.
A Shi\'ite Muslim Islamist, Maliki is blamed by his erstwhile allies in Washington and Tehran for driving the alienated Sunni minority into a revolt that threatens to destroy the country. Leaders of Iraq\'s Sunni and Kurdish communities have demanded he go, and many fellow Shi\'ites have turned against him.
U.S. President Barack Obama said the naming of a new prime minister was an important stride for Iraq toward rebuffing Islamic State militants, who have overrun large swathes of northern Iraq.
Obama said he spoke with Abadi to congratulate him and to urge him to quickly form a new cabinet that is broadly representative of Iraq\'s different ethnic and religious communities.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also praised the naming of Abadi and urged him to seek a broad-based government acceptable to all components of Iraqi society, the United Nations said.
The new political crisis comes just days after Washington launched its first military action in Iraq since pulling its troops out in 2011. U.S. warplanes have bombed Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State, who have marched through northern and western Iraq since June.
Washington says it is taking limited action to protect a Kurdish autonomous region and prevent what Obama called a potential "genocide" of religious minorities targeted by the militants.
The Pentagon said U.S. airstrikes conducted since Friday have slowed the operational tempo of the Islamic State but are unlikely to substantially weaken the group.
U.S. aircraft on Monday hit four Islamic State checkpoints and destroyed several of the group\'s vehicles near Mount Sinjar, where thousands of people of the Yazidi religious sect have taken refuge, the Pentagon said.
Washington is also directly supplying weapons to Kurdish fighters, U.S. officials said. The weapons were supplied by the Central Intelligence Agency but the Pentagon may soon start arming the Kurds, the officials said. They declined to specify when the supply program began or what sort of arms it included.
Islamic State fighters made new gains against Kurdish forces despite four days of U.S. airstrikes, while Baghdad, long braced for the Sunni fighters to attack, was now tensing for possible clashes between Maliki and rivals within the Shi\'ite majority.
President Masoum asked Abadi to form a government that could win the support of all groups in a parliament elected in April. In remarks broadcast on television, Masoum, a Kurd, urged Abadi to "form a broader-based government" over the next month.
Abadi urged national unity against the "barbaric" Islamic State, which has driven tens of thousands from their homes as it swept aside Baghdad\'s troops to consolidate a "caliphate" in Iraq and Syria.
"We all have to cooperate to stand against this terrorist campaign launched on Iraq and to stop all terrorist groups," he said in broadcast remarks after meeting Masoum.
As police and elite armed units, many equipped and trained by the United States, locked down the capital\'s streets, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry aimed a stark warning at Maliki against fighting to hold on to power.
"There should be no use of force, no introduction of troops or militias in this moment of democracy for Iraq," Kerry said. "The government formation process is critical in terms of sustaining stability and calm in Iraq and our hope is that Mr. Maliki will not stir those waters.
"There will be little international support of any kind whatsoever for anything that deviates from the legitimate constitution process that is in place and being worked on now."
Under Iraq\'s post-Saddam governing system, designed to avert conflict by giving all groups a stake, the speaker of parliament is a Sunni and the largely ceremonial president a Kurd. Most authority is wielded by the prime minister, a Shi\'ite.
Maliki\'s opponents accuse him of abusing the system by keeping key security posts in his own hands instead of sharing them with other groups, alienating Sunnis in particular by ordering the arrest of their political leaders. Islamic State fighters were able to exploit that resentment to win support from other Sunni armed groups.
Maliki\'s Shi\'ite State of Law bloc emerged as the biggest group in parliament in the April election, but does not have enough seats to rule without support from Sunnis, Kurds and other Shi\'ite blocs, nearly all of which demand he go.
He has nevertheless stayed on in a caretaker capacity while arguing that the constitution requires his bloc to be given the first opportunity to form a government. He has used courts before to keep power: in the previous election in 2010, when State of Law was second, a court let him form a cabinet.
A U.S. official insisted Washington had not been involved in the selection of Abadi but said "everybody is pretty relieved that they have chosen somebody and that it was not Maliki".
Maliki also appears to have alienated his supporters in Iran, the regional Shi\'ite power, which has sent military advisers to help organize the battle against the Islamic State. Iraq\'s most influential Shi\'ite cleric, Ali Sistani, all but ordered Maliki to leave power on Friday, declaring that politicians who cling to power were making a "grave mistake".
Obama says a more inclusive government in Baghdad is a pre-condition for more aggressive U.S. military support against the Islamic State. He has rejected calls in some quarters for a return of U.S. ground troops, apart from several hundred military advisers sent in June.
The Islamic State, which sees Shi\'ites as heretics who deserve to be killed, has ruthlessly moved through one town after another, using tanks and heavy weapons it seized from soldiers who have fled in the thousands.
On Monday, police said the fighters had seized the town of Jalawla, 115 km (70 miles) northeast of Baghdad, after driving out the forces of the autonomous Kurdish regional government.
On Sunday, a government minister said Islamic State militants had killed hundreds of people from the small, Kurdish-speaking Yazidi religious sect, burying some alive and taking women as slaves. No confirmation was available for the killings.
Thousands of Yazidis have taken refuge in the past week on the arid heights of Mount Sinjar, close to the Syrian border. The Islamic State considers the Yazidis, who follow an ancient faith derived from Zoroastrianism, to be "devil worshippers".
A U.N. official said on Monday that thousands of Yazidis have been able to escape in the past three days with help from Kurdish security forces and others. But the official said many are still trapped on the mountain.
The bloodshed could increase pressure on Western powers to do more to help those who have fled the Islamic State\'s offensive. They have already dropped supplies and U.S. aircraft have been bombing the militants since Friday.
Source: Reuters
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Senator Howard M Metzenbaum
When Howard M. Metzenbaum retired from the U.S. Senate in 1994, Ohio Citizen Action decided to honor him by presenting an award in his name. Throughout his years of service in the Senate, Senator Metzenbaum's name was synonymous with principled tenacity.
Sen. Metzenbaum passed milestone consumer protection laws, including plant closing legislation, food labeling, and orphan drug legislation, and saved taxpayers billions of dollars. After his retirement from the Senate, he served as Chairman of the Consumer Federation of America, where he continued his unparalleled service, helping stop the proposed takeover of Blue Cross by Columbia HCA, protected meat inspection standards, and fought for consumer protections in the telecommunications industry. Senator Metzenbaum died in 2008, at the age of 90.
Ohio Citizen Action
Howard M. Metzenbaum Award recipients
Marilyn Wall and the Miami Group of the Sierra Club, Cincinnati (2016)
Marilyn Wall
Marilyn Wall and the Miami Group of the Sierra Club were honored for their diligent and successful work on the combined sewer overflow issue and watch-dogging the Metropolitan Sewer District.
Michelle Alexander, author and civil rights advocate, Columbus (2013)
Michelle Alexander
Michelle Alexander received the 2013 Howard M. Metzenbaum award for her brilliant, courageous and influential work attacking both the stubborn roots of racism, and at best, misguided drug policy in America, and her ability to raise the profile of her message.
Alice and Staughton Lynd, activists, teachers, historians, authors, lawyers, Youngstown (2012)
Ohio Citizen Action Board President Dr. Anne Wise with Staughton and Alice Lynd
Staughton Lynd, a renowned attorney, historian, and activist, was principal administrator of the Freedom Schools in the Mississippi Summer Project of 1964 and chaired the first anti-Vietnam war march in Washington D.C. in 1965. Alice Lynd has been a tireless advocate against the death penalty and, during the Vietnam War, counseled hundreds of young men facing the draft. They have worked side-by-side with people facing injustice in communities throughout the world, from Vietnam to El Salvador.
The Lynds have authored many books, including four collaborations: Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians; Nonviolence in America: A Documentary History ; Rank and File: Personal Histories by Working-Class Organizers, The New Rank and File, and recently their joint autobiography, Stepping Stones: Memoir of a Life Together.
The Lynds moved to Youngstown in 1976, where they both worked for Legal Aid and were deeply involved in campaigns against the closing of the steel mills and on behalf of people harmed by toxic chemical exposures. When a Supermax prison was built in Youngstown, they devoted themselves to fighting injustice in the prison system and uncovered the root causes and stories behind the 1993 Lucasville Prison riot.
- Photo gallery: Howard M. Metzenbaum Award honoring Staughton and Alice Lynd
Caroline Beidler, Marietta, Community Activist (2010)
Caroline Beidler
Fifteen years ago, Caroline Beidler discovered that the "dream home" that she had moved into in Marietta was under daily assault from a terrible chemical odor, which she tracked to the nearby Eramet manganese refinery. Caroline then began to do everything she could to tackle this problem, including founding a local citizens group, the Neighbors for Clean Air; recruitiing technical and scientific experts from around the country; supporting the plant's workers when they were locked out; organizing many local events, and working on a "good neighbor campaign" with Ohio Citizen Action.
The campaign to clean up Eramet culminated in 2008 with a commitment by the company to invest $150 million in pollution prevention, and sparked the University of Cincinnati to launch a nationally significant investigation of the health hazards caused by manganese exposure.
Susan Hyatt, Senator Metzenbaum's daughter, commented, "Dad would be very proud to have his name associated with the work that Caroline Beidler is doing. She exemplifies the citizen action that dad so valued and she is proof that one person can make a significant difference."
- Event photos
- Caroline's acceptance speech
James Thindwa, Community Activist (2009)
James Thindwa
James Thindwa grew up in in Zimbabwe, where his family was involved in the fight against British colonial rule, and he moved to the U.S. to go to college. He was conducting further graduate studies at Ohio State when he joined the staff Ohio Citizen Action as a canvasser in Columbus in the early 1980s. He became the Indianapolis canvass director for Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, and returned to Columbus in the early 1990s to direct our Columbus canvass office. James' stellar career as an community organizer and leader has been characterized by his compassion for those who are struggling, keen political observations, and a deep commitment to social justice. He has been an inspiration to literally thousands of canvassers from Ohio, Indiana, and throughout our canvassing network over the last 25 years.James recently joined the strategic campaigns staff of the American Federation of Teachers in Chicago, following seven years as the director of Chicago Jobs with Justice.
- Event photos
Phil Donahue, Producer, Body of War, documentary and television pioneer (2008)
Phil Donahue
When The Phil Donahue Show aired in 1967 on WLWD-TV, it was the first time America had seen a host implement audience participation and challenge everyday people on controversial issues. During the course of Donahue's Emmy-winning show, he interviewed some of the most influential figures in history such as Martin Luther King Jr., and a wide array of politicians, celebrities, and ordinary citizens. Fearless and unstoppable, Donahue epitomizes the ideal of "standing up for what is right." On September 14, 2008, Phil Donahue received the Ohio Citizen Action Howard M. Metzenbaum Award at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. Six hundred people attended the ceremony and viewed Donahue's riveting documentary, Body of War. When Phil Donahue was introduced at the ceremony, he was described by Susan Hyatt (Senator Metzenbaum's daughter) as a "pioneer and innovator," and was honored for his "unwillingness to be silenced."
- Event photos
- More event photos
Debra Cochran, Community Activist, Pageville (2006)
Debra Cochran
When Debra Cochran, a resident of Pageville in Meigs County, began hearing news reports about DuPont's contamination of drinking water with the Teflon chemical C8 in 2002, she wondered whether her children's health could be harmed by the chemical. Debra used her experience as an educator to research and prepare informational materials about the dangers of C8, and began attending and speaking at any public meeting where the issue could be brought up, including the board meetings of local water supplies, the Chamber of Commerce, and other civic meetings. She used a variety of tactics to bring the issue into the open, including proposing a petition to have DuPont removed from the American Chemistry Council's "Responsible Care" program. Debra worked closely with the Environmental Working Group in Washington, D.C., the national organization which exposed many of DuPont's internal documents about the dangers of C8, and Ohio Citizen Action to organize a successful public meeting at Meigs High School in June 2004. She appeared in newspaper articles from the Washington Post and New York Times to the Marietta Times and Athens Messenger, and national radio and television, including ABC's 20/20. In the past two years, Debra and her family have inspired everyone they know with their courage, mutual support, and faith in confronting a serious injury to their daughter Kimberly. Debra and her husband C.W. have been instrumental in forming the new Athens Chapter of the Ohio Brain Injury Association.
- Event photos
Stu Greenberg, Environmental Health Watch, Cleveland (2005)
Stu Greenberg
Stu has dedicated his life's work to making his community and, by extension, the world a better place. Over the last 21 years, he made Environmental Health Watch a key environmental advocate both locally and nationally. Through his leadership, Environmental Health Watch brought millions of federal dollars to Cleveland to begin the clean-up of the city's huge environmental lead problem. These efforts have made Cleveland a national leader in urban lead remediation, although Stu points out that Cleveland still has far to go in ensuring lead-safe housing for all of its children. Environmental Health Watch not only became a national leader in strategies to eliminate childhood lead poisoning but also expanded its focus to a wide range of healthy housing issues. Environmental Health Watch is referenced nationally for its expertise on healthy homes and childhood environmental health issues.
- Event photos
Laura Rench, Citizens for the Responsible Destruction of Chemical Weapons, Dayton (2004)
Laura Rench
As an organizer with The Citizens for the Responsible Destruction of Chemical Weapons, Laura Rench led a campaign which prevented the US Army from shipping VX hydrosylate, a byproduct of VX nerve gas, into the Jefferson Township community of Dayton. She organized hundreds of neighbors to protest the proposal, helped get 35 government entities and community groups to pass resolutions against the proposal, and pressured the county to withdraw a sewage treatment permit for PermaFix. In October 2003, the Army withdrew its proposal to ship the nerve gas to Dayton. After continued citizen pressure, the company has now been cited for 48 violations of environmental laws, neighbors of Citizens for the Responsible Destruction of Chemical weapons continue to press for changes at the facility.
- Event photos
Teresa Mills, Buckeye Environmental Network, Columbus (2003)
Teresa Mills
Teresa Mills is one of the most important environmental activists and relentless fighters for environmental justice in Ohio. In 1994, Teresa turned from a housewife to an activist as she led her neighborhood to victory over the Columbus trash-burning power plant. Since this victory, she has gone on to become nationally-recognized as one of the best and most reliable resources on toxic pollution issues and organizing to win against corporate polluters. Teresa is now the director of the Buckeye Environmental Network, which she and others formed to offer guidance and technical assistance to citizen groups facing toxic hazards.
- Event photos
Art Minson, civil rights and union activist, Akron (2002)
Art Minson, Jennifer O'Donnell and Alonzo Spencer.
Art Minson has been a community activist in Akron, Ohio for more than half a century. He received the Metzenbaum award in recognition of his lifetime of leadership on civil rights, with the United Rubber Workers and the Coming Together project, as a community activist with East Akron Community House and National People's Action, as a leader of the Millenium Fund for Children, and as a leader of Ohio Citizen Action's local and statewide toxic chemical right-to-know campaigns.
- Event photos
Baldemar Velasquez, Farm Labor Organizing Committee, Toledo (2000)
Baldemar Velasquez
Baldemar Velasquez is the founder and president of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), a union of migrant farm workers working for better quality of life. Baldemar is an inspirational leader, minister, and musician who has dedicated his life to organizing. His union won unprecedented representation agreement with the Campbell's Soup Company, and has now organized a national boycott of Mt. Olive Pickles. Headquartered in Toledo, FLOC is a national and international leader for workers rights and health and safety.
Galen 'Butch' Lemke, beryllium activist, Elmore (1999)
Butch Lemke
Butch Lemke worked at the Brush Wellman beryllium facility in Elmore, Ohio for ten years making parts for American weapons. In 1970, he was diagnosed with chronic beryllium disease, an incurable lung disease caused by exposure to beryllium dust. For 15 years, although to an oxygen tank, Butch crusaded to help other victims of the disease and to expose conditions at the Brush Wellman facility. He spurred a major investigative series in the Toledo Blade, and helped organize support networks for victims of the disease. Butch died in 1999, and the Metzenbaum award was presented posthumously to his family.
Noreen Warnock, Allen County Citizens for the Environment, Bluffton (1997)
Noreen Warnock
Noreen Warnock received the award for her work in dealing with the biggest polluter in the state, BP America. In 1987, Warnock helped organize the Allen County Citizens for the Environment. Her group has prevented industry from locating a hazardous waste incinerator in Allen County, defeated a land-farm for hazardous waste, organized Mother's Day rallies to highlight environmental issues, and forced the reduction of tens of thousands of pounds of toxic emissions from the BP plant.
Lisa Crawford, FRESH, Fernald (1996)
Lisa Crawford
Lisa Crawford founded Fernald Residents for Environmental Safety and Health (F.R.E.S.H.), a non-profit organization whose grassroots efforts have resulted in the shut-down and subsequent clean-up of the former Fernald nuclear weapons facility. Mother, wife, and full-time volunteer coordinator at the Pauline Warfield Lewis Center, Lisa has made time to serve as president of F.R.E.S.H. since 1985. Lisa's dedication has brought worldwide attention to the issues and concerns of living in the shadows of a nuclear weapons facility.
Alonzo Spencer, Save Our County, East Liverpool (1995)
Alonzo Spencer
The first Metzenbaum award was presented by Senator Metzenbaum to Alonzo Spencer at Ohio Citizen Action's 20th Anniversary kick-off celebration in Cleveland in November 1995. Here's what the Senator said when presenting the award:
"We are here not only to celebrate Citizen Action's 20th anniversary, but to honor Alonzo Spencer, who has led a brilliant fight against the WTI incinerator in E. Liverpool. I can't miss this opportunity to state my firm conviction that the WTI incinerator should be shut down, immediately and permanently.
"As everyone knows, the sordid history of the ownership and permitting of this plant are enough to warrant locking the door, but all that aside, the plant is simply a public health menace: no school kid should be forced to breathe into their lungs the lead and other toxics this plant puts into the air 1,200 feet away: and no incinerator should be sitting on the bank of the Ohio River. Any accident is a major disaster for every town and city down the Ohio and into the Mississippi. (If this seems unlikely, look up the 1988 Ashland Chemical spill into the Ohio River for a preview).
"So, we honor Alonzo Spencer first because he is right. He was right about this 15 years ago, and he's right tonight.
"But being right is not enough. Alonzo Spencer has also been tenacious, pursuing angle after angle in organizing opposition to the plant. No level of government, no jurisdiction has been safe from him. Just when the company thinks they have him beaten, he's back. He's stubborn. He's my kind of citizen.
"But he's been more than that – because he knows you can't do this kind of thing on your own. Alonzo is the leader of a strong community organization dedicated to wining this fight – called Save Our County—and they've been together for 15 years. Some groups break up after their first block party. This remarkable group has faced the toughest odds, and made WTI a national symbol of the dangers of hazardous waste incinerators.
"For all these reasons, I'm honored to be able, on behalf of Citizen Action to present him with the first Howard M. Metzenbaum Citizen Action Award."

subset: commoncrawl


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Sometimes in life, you find a special friend. Someone who changes your life just by being part of it. Someone who makes you laugh until you can't stop. Someone who makes you believe that there really is good in the world. Someone who convinces you that there really is an unlocked door just waiting for you to open it. This is forever friendship. When you're down and the world seems dark and empty, your forever friend lifts you up in spirit and makes that dark and empty world suddenly seem bright and full. Your forever friend gets you through the hard times, the sad times an dthe confused times. If you turn and walk away, your forever friend follows. If you lose your way, your forever friend guides you and cheers you on. Your forever friend hold your hand and tells you that everything is going to be okay. And if you find such a friend, you feel happy and complete because you need not worry. You have a forever friend, and forever has no end.
– Unknown


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The Dearborn Street two-way protected bike lane.
In 2012 the Emanuel administration kept the momentum going for walking, biking, transit and public space improvements, with a number of big projects announced and/or completed. For Newcity magazine's annual "Top 5 of Everything" issue, I submitted the following lists of the most important or interesting sustainable transportation and parks stories of the year. Did I miss anything?
Top 5 Wheelie Exciting Chicago Bicycling Stories
Hundreds of cyclists provide input for 645-mile Streets for Cycling Plan 2020 network
Comrade Cycles, Chicago's first worker-owned bike shop, opens in Ukrainian Village
Couriers from around the globe gather here for Cycle Messenger World Championships
Final plans for Bloomingdale trail and "linear park" released; construction slated for 2013
CDOT builds Chicago's first two-way protected bike lane downtown on Dearborn Street
Bollywood dancing at Open Streets on Milwaukee Avenue.
Top 5 Not-So-Pedestrian Local Walking Stories
Chicago's speed camera ordinance passes, paving the way for safer walking conditions
Make Way for People plan to turn alleys, cul-de-sacs and parking spots into mini parks
City releases first-ever comprehensive Pedestrian Plan
Open Streets ciclovia expands to include Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park / Bucktown
Mayor Emanuel announces $100 million plan to complete the Chicago Riverwalk
The CTA Yellow Line's new Oakton-Skokie station. Photo by Jeff Zoline.
Top 5 Rapidly Developing Transit Stories
CTA announces 5-month closure of south Red Line, $240 million 95th St. station rehab
Both CTA and Metra hike farecard prices
Sparkling new CTA stations open at Green/Pink Morgan and Yellow Oakton-Skokie
Amtrak train hits 111 MPH downstate, paving the way for high-speed service to St. Louis
Jeffery Jump debuts; plans for bus rapid transit downtown, and on Western, Ashland
Park district rendering of Northerly Island redesign.
Top 5 Blossoming Chicago Park District Stories
Rahm announces $290 million plan for 800 parks & rec projects citywide in next 5 years
Construction starts on four new boathouses along the Chicago River
$5 million Northerly Island rehab will add topography, native habitats and campsites
Take the Field plan earmarks $12 million for sports fields in underserved communities
North Grant Park, now Maggie Daley Park, will get climbing sculptures & skating ribbon


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In 1898, the U.S. Department of Agriculture created a special department of men called Agriculture Explorers to travel the globe searching for new food crops to bring back for farmers to grow in the U.S.
"These agricultural explorers were kind of like the Indiana Joneses of the plant world," says Sarah Seekatz, a California historian who grew up in the Coachella Valley, the date capital of the U.S.
These men introduced the country to exotic specimens like the mango, the avocado and new varieties of sweet, juicy oranges. But of all the exotic fruits brought, the story of the biblical date — and its marketing, cultivation and pollination — remains one of the most romantic of all.
David Fairchild, a botantist who helped found the Agricultural Explorer program, was one of the first to travel to Baghdad to investigate dates.
"He chose Baghdad," says Seekatz, "in part, because he remembered One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, and ... stories of Aladdin, Sinbad the Sailor and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. The book was a well-known childhood tradition for generations of Americans."
In 1900, Fairchild's colleague and fellow USDA explorer Walter Swingle studied date-growing in Algeria. As Swingle took temperature readings and soil temperature, he decided that the conditions were very much like those in California's hot, arid Coachella Valley, sometimes referred to as the American Sahara. Deep aquifers existed under the California valley providing perfect conditions for dates.
Unfortunately, planting date seeds does not yield commercially viable dates. Seeds vary, and you never know what you'll get. So Swingle brought back large offshoots cut from the bottom of the palms that would produce trees identical to the parent tree.
"It wasn't easy," says John Popenoe, a horticulturist whose grandfather, Fred Popenoe, owned a nursery at that time in Altadena, a few hours from the Coachella Valley. "These date offshoots are 60 pounds or so. They have to be cut off the mother palm with a big chisel."
Swingle's date palm offshoots thrived in the Coachella Valley and farmers began clamoring for more. In 1911, John Popenoe's grandfather sent his sons Paul and Wilson on a world tour, including a stop in Iraq, to collect date palms to sell at his nursery. They kept separate accounts of their travels, some of which are maintained by the Coachella Valley Historical Society.
"In Basra, the port from which Sinbad the Sailor always set sail on his hair-raising adventures, we entered the world's greatest date growing country," wrote Paul Popenoe.
The Popenoe brothers encountered some hair-raising adventures as well. Paul almost died of typhoid fever. Wilson suffered from malaria. As they traveled by camel to the Wadi Samali region of Oman, searching for the delicious Fard date, they were shot at.
"After Paul's recovery from typhoid," Wilson Popenoe wrote, "we bought several thousand young date palms along the banks of the Shatt-el-Arab River [in southern Iraq]. We went up to Baghdad and bought several thousand palms in that region. After having been shot at once more, we experienced relief when our 9,000 palms were safely stowed on board a tramp steamer and headed down the Persian Gulf."
In the Red Sea, some of the offshoots washed overboard in a storm. The ship was short of drinking water, and Wilson had to trade his typewriter to the captain to keep the date palms watered.
The Arabian palms finally landed at Galveston, Texas, and were shipped overland in 17 freight cars to California. It was the first commercial introduction of date palms to the Coachella Valley.
Stoking Arabian Nights Fantasies
"Between 1900 and 1930, America has a love affair with the Middle East going on," says Seekatz.
In order to market this new fruit and promote the region, Coachella Valley date growers began capitalizing on the exotic imagery and fantasy many Americans associated with the Middle East.
"The Arabian theme was a way to interest people in coming to what otherwise was a rather forbidding, trackless desert," says Pat Laflin, whose family has owned Laflin Date Gardens since 1912. "It made it seem more exotic, more romantic. They needed something to dress up the dry sand."
They also dressed up the towns.
"In 1904, Walters became the town of Mecca. There was Oasis, Arabia and Thermal. Investors from Los Angeles would take the train out to the Coachella Valley, where they'd be greeted by guides dressed in Arabian costumes and taken on camelback out to a proposed development called The Walled Oasis of Biskra," Seekatz says.
Hollywood stoked the craze, says Seekatz. Films like The Queen of Sheba, Cleopatra and the blockbuster 1921 silent movie The Sheik, starring Rudolph Valentino, inspired women's fashion, architecture, jewelry, packaging and ad campaigns.
In 1922, the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun fueled peoples' interest and imaginations even more. Along with the mummies and priceless treasures found in the tomb, one item in particular caught the attention of people in the Coachella Valley: preserved dates.
"One man from the area," says Seekatz, "actually wrote to try and obtain dates from King Tut's tomb to put on display in his date shop."
During the 1950s, date shops dotted California Highway 111 from Palm Springs to Mecca, attracting tourists. There was the Pyramid Date shop, where you could purchase your dates in a pyramid. Sniff's Exotic Date Garden set up a tent like those used by nomadic tribes of the Sahara.
One of the most well-known date shops that still exists today is Shields Date Garden, established in 1924. Floyd Shields lured in customers with his suggestively named lecture and slide show.
"For miles along the highway," says Seekatz, "there were large yellow billboards urging people to see 'The Romance and Sex Life of the Date.' "
The Sex Life Of The Date
"There are pictures in the pyramids of priests doing a ceremony around the female palms, waving the male flowers to increase the pollination," says Doug Adair, owner of Pato's Dream Date Garden in Thermal, Calif.
And they still hand-pollinate dates today to ensure a reliable, successful crop. Francisco Paniagua was a palm worker, or palmero, for decades and is now a farmer with an orchard neighboring Adair's. During the spring pollinating season, he climbs up into the fronds of 50-foot female date palms. He works his way around the spiky branches of the crowns, spraying little puffs of yellow pollen gathered from the flowers of a male palm tree onto each flower of the female trees.
Adair grows several kinds of dates, including Bahri dates, which are golden yellow and can be eaten unripe or ripened. "The Bahri comes from southern Iraq around Basra. The tradition in that area goes back thousands of years to when Alexander the Great passed through ... This is what he would have been eating, Barhi dates — the fruits of his victory when he conquered the Persian Empire," says Adair.
The International Festival Of The Dates
In the late 1940s, the Coachella Valley farmers and boosters revved up their marketing strategy by hosting an annual International Festival of the Dates. Business and civic leaders encouraged townspeople to dress up for the duration.
"If you went to a movie in Indio, your ticket might be taken by someone in harem pants," says Seekatz. "At a restaurant, your waitress might be wearing one of those little boleros. Or the produce guy at the grocery story would be dressed as a genie."
"The first Date Festival I went to was in 1950," says Pat Laflin. "The pageant uses the Arabian Nights theme. They chose Queen Scheherazade and the princesses. And they always had a genie, elephants and camels. Lots of chiffon, sequins, and the costumes showed quite a bit of flesh."
An outdoor stage was constructed with domes and minarets designed by a Hollywood set designer. "It was supposed to look like Baghdad," says Laflin, "or something people imagined Baghdad looked like."
The camel races were a huge draw. And there were elaborate exhibits of all varieties of dates in the Taj Mahal building.
"I think people were really trying to pay homage to the place where their new crop had come from. But it's an exotification of an entire group. It's problematic, but it reflected popular conceptions in America of how the Middle East was," Seekatz says.
Today's World
The Coachella Valley High School sports teams have been known as the Arabs since the 1930s, a moniker that has become controversial in recent years.
"The picture is of an Arab that looks rather fierce. Which is what you want your football team to be. But in today's world, there's an Arab group that felt it was offensive. So the high school is in the process of re-evaluating," says Laflin.
Since the 1970s, the demographics of the Coachella Valley have been changing.
"A lot of these mom-and-pop date growers sold their date groves to large-scale, industrial agricultural producers," says Seekatz. "Newcomers were not attached to the story of the date gardens and the region's long connection with the Middle East. The area began to market itself as a place where industry could grow."
During the 1970s and '80s, the American perception of the Middle East was changing as well. Politics and the media brought the region into sharp reality. The fantasy images of harem dancers and genies gave way to TV coverage of the oil embargo and the Iranian hostage crisis.
"People were concerned that it would hurt to be associated with the Middle East," says Seekatz. "But a lot of people were still invested in the agricultural heritage of the date and its Middle Eastern origins."
Returning To The Oasis Of Boudenib
Gardens of date palms stretch mile after mile through the Coachella Valley. More than 90 percent of the dates harvested in the U.S. are grown here. One of the most popular varieties is the Medjool date.
"All the Medjool dates can be traced back to a single oasis in Morocco," says Doug Adair. Nine offshoots taken from the Oasis of Boudenib, Morocco, are the source of all the present trees.
But now, in Morocco and Algeria, where the Medjool originated, the palm has been wiped out by disease. Some Americans are trying to help by giving back. Laflin and her husband, Ben, have sent back healthy stock from their date garden to the areas where the Medjool once flourished.
The Laflins visited Boudenib in 1995. It's over the Atlas Mountains from Marrakesh and far out into the desert.
"When we got to Boudenib, the mayor came out to greet us. It was a big occasion," remembers Pat Laflin. "He said, 'Why would anyone from the United States want to come to Boudenib?' We had worked with the Medjool dates for so many years, and to see where they originated was very meaningful to us."
Additional features, photos, recipes and music can be found at kitchensisters.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Create & Run Facebook Sweepstakes
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In addition to the Facebook specific features, you can also include actions for your Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram followers as well as creating custom entry actions and auto-subscribing entrants to newsletter lists in our email service provider account. All of your data is accessible with real-time reporting and can be exported to spreadsheets.
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To help you learn more about Fairbanks Alaska & plan your visit to our great state, we have made available here a number of resources.
Fairbanks, Alaska, 358 miles north of Anchorage (by way of the Parks Highway), likes to think that it (instead of Delta) is the end of the Alaska Highway. Its central location makes it the focal point for the tiny villages scattered throughout the surrounding wilderness, and Fairbanks is a staging point for North Slope villages such as Barrow and the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay. Yet, unlike Anchorage, it still retains its down home "frontier" feel. It is contained within the North Star Borough, similar to a county, but which is roughly the size of New Jersey!
Alaska may be known for its harsh winter climate, but Fairbanksans prefer to enjoy their wonderful summers to the fullest while they can. The Interior has temperatures ranging from 65 degrees below zero in the winter to 90 degrees above in the summer. Gardening is big in the Interior.
[Photo of gold panner is courtesy the University of Alaska Archives; Musher is David Arlan Rogers.]
Fairbanks is called "The Golden Heart of Alaska," a reference to the character of her people as much as to the location in Alaska's interior, or to the discovery of gold in 1902.
Because we are just 188 miles south of the Arctic Circle (above which the sun neither sets during the summer solstice, nor rises during the winter solstice) we also have very long summer days. The shortest winter day of the year has less than three hours of sunlight, the longest (around June 21) never really ends, though officially it has over 21 hours.
[Photo of Denali (Mount McKinley)]
We hope that with our site we are able to answer your questions about our city, and that you will even consider visiting in the off season, too. Many of our attractions - the Aurora Borealis (northern lights), dog races, etc., cannot be enjoyed in quite the same way in the summer. And besides, winter rates are often lower. Please take advantage of our search engine to explore this site - it will often make your seach much quicker. It is below the menu on the left.
Our State Is: now known as "The Last Frontier" but before that it was known as "The Land of a Thousand Smokes" due to activity of 140 volcanoes (52 of which have been active since 1760) and earthquakes. But it is a huge state, with room for a wide variety of landscape, from small waterfalls like this one, to huge mountains, flat treeless tundra, hot springs, glaciers, and on and on. We cannot do our state justice describing it here, or even showing you pictures. You have to experience our state. And much of the fun of the trip is here, in the Interior.
Click here for more Help with this site:
[Disclaimer: Information in this site on specific attractions is presented for your information and convenience in planning your trip only. Because our purpose is to tell visitors about Fairbanks, we are happy to list non-profits for free on the appropriate page (like churches) and will also update existing information if you email us. For a charge, we will add approved links from businesses to the appropriate page on this site, add a text paragraph with links, or even write you a page of your own. See our faq page for more information and prices. ]
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For questions regarding this site, or for site updates, please e-mail our webmaster at "thewebmaster" @ "fairbanks-alaska.com" after first removing the spaces and quote marks. See the FAQ for info on advertising on this site. This site of information is provided & Copyright©1998-2015 by Aurora WebMasters, all rights reserved. This page last modified: Saturday, December 20, 2014.


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The NYC Diamond District runs a strict battery of test on all of the diamonds that pass through. One of the things that we test for in our labs is the highly misunderstood phenomenon called Fluorescence. This is when trace minerals within the diamond cause it to react under our special ultraviolet lights. People used to believe that any diamond with fluorescence was not as valuable as one without. It was seen to be a negative occurrence for a diamond. We now know that this is not always the case.
The most common color exhibited by fluorescence is blue. The blue fluorescence in an otherwise perfect diamond can actually improve the appearance of the diamond by making it clearer that it actually is. In other words, a certain amount of blue fluorescence improves the clarity of some diamonds, in particular, those with a lower than perfect clarity rating.
Some people actually prefer the bluish tint that a large amount of fluorescence brings to a diamond. Only 1/4 to 1/3 of all diamonds show signs of fluorescence. Of those, 95% are blue. The next most common color of fluorescence appears yellow. Any other color would be possible but exceedingly rare.
Fluorescence is graded on a special scale from None to Very Strong. A diamond with a very strong fluorescence may appear slightly oily but this effect was only found in 2% of the fluorescent diamonds studied by the GIA. (Gemological Institute of America) The fact is that when people were asked to choose between two diamonds without knowing that one had a high fluorescence grade, many of them chose the fluorescent diamond without knowing.
When purchasing diamonds, there are those who look for blue fluorescence because it can make the diamond look clear. A strong yellow fluorescence makes the diamond look dull in UV light. The thing to remember is that the sun is a source of Ultra Violet light and will have an effect on how your fluorescent diamond looks. The NYC Diamond District always test every diamonds and includes its fluorescence grade in the certification. Whether you are looking for fluorescent diamonds or clear, NYC Diamond District is your diamond source.


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Privacy Policy
Amazing Celebrations & Events is privileged to have your trust and your business. We respect your privacy and will do everything we can to protect your personal information in our office and on our website.
Occasionally we may offer subscriptions to our newsletter, post a survey or a online poll that our website visitors will need to submit an email address to subscribe to our online services. We may also offer prizes and accept entries into our online contests. We will never sell or trade your email address, or personal information to any individual or business entity.
What information do we collect?
We may collect information from you when you register on our site, subscribe to our newsletter, respond to a survey or fill out a form. When ordering or registering on our site, as appropriate, you may be asked to enter your: name, e-mail address, mailing address or phone number. You may, however, visit our site anonymously.
What do we use your information for?
- Any of the information we collect from you may be used in one of the following ways:
- To personalize your experience (your information helps us to better respond to your individual needs)
- To improve our website (we continually strive to improve our website offerings based on the information and feedback we receive from you)
- To improve customer service (your information helps us to more effectively respond to your customer service requests and support needs)
- To administer a contest, promotion, survey or other site feature
- To send periodic emails
- The email address you provide may be used to send you information, respond to inquiries, and/or other requests or questions.
How do we protect your information?
We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information when you enter, submit, or access your personal information.
Do we use cookies?
Yes (Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computers hard drive through your Web browser (if you allow) that enables the sites or service providers systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information. We use cookies to understand and save your preferences for future visits and compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future.
Do we disclose any information to outside parties?
We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others rights, property, or safety. However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.
Third party links
Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third party products or services on our website. These third party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.


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The Fedora Ambassador Day for North America, a FAD, will focus on planning future events, reviewing and updating ambassador processes, and improving ambassador coordination within the Fedora community. FADNA will be held on January 17, 2012, one day prior to FUDCon Lawrence.
Event Location and Accommodations
The FADNA meeting location will be determined once we know if space is available at Learned Hall on Thursday and/or if transportation from the hotel to the campus is available.
Conference Room
Room 3152 in Learned Hall, University of Kansas
Tables and WiFi will be available. Chairs are optional.
SpringHill Suites
Lawrence, KS 66044
(785) 841-2700
More information about the hotel and transportation options is available on the FUDCon event page.
Wednesday, Jan 16th, 2013
- Attendees arrive.
Thursday, Jan 17th, 2013
- 9:00am: Meet in the lobby of SpringHill Suites if you want a ride to Learned Hall
- 9:30am - 10:00am: Introductions, Logistics, Wireless access. Review Agenda so we're all clear. (inode0, rbergeron)
- 10:00am - 12:00pm: Event planning and collateral review
- 12:00pm - 2:00pm: Food and VRAC.
- 2:00pm - 4:00pm: Budget, swag procurement & distribution, regional leadership growth. (inode0) (?)
- 4:00pm - 5:00pm: Wiki maintenance. (?)
Thursday Night Ambassador Dinner
- Time
- Location: TBD
- address goes here
- phone number goes here
- Google Maps link goes here
FADNA Results
FY14 Budget
At the FADNA, the FY14 FAmNA budget was approved for submission.
Events and Event Owners
Major Events for FY14 | Event Owners (Tentative) |
SELF | Ben Williams |
TLF | Unknown |
ILF | Unknown |
LFNW | Jeff Sandys |
NELF | Mario |
Scale | Scott Williams |
OSCON | Robyn |
RH Summit | Robyn |
PyCon | Toshio |
CPOSC | Jon Stanley |
LinuxCon NA | Robyn |
Grace Hopper | Leslie |
OLF | Unknown |
The following lists of SOPs may need to be found, edited, reorganized, or written. Please add other SOPs or questions that you think should be answered.
How do I propose and plan a:
- Release party
- Install Fest
- Event with a Fedora booth
Event box and Booth
- What is an event box?
- When do I need it?
- How do I request it?
- How do I return it?
Ambassador Kit
- What is an Ambassador Kit?
- When do I need it?
- How do I get an Ambassador Kit?
Trac and Tickets
- What is the FAmNA trac for?
- What is the other FAmNA trac for?
- What types of things should I submit to each trac?
- What information should I include in an event ticket? Expense ticket? Event box ticket? Swag request ticket?
IRC Meeting
- How do I run a FAmNA meeting?
- How do I get a topic on the FAmNA meeting agenda?
- What do I do with/Where do I put the IRC Meeting logs?
- Our primary objectives during FADNA 2013 are:
- Solidify FY14 event schedule and identify possible event owners
- Review and evaluate ambassador and event processes including sponsorships, handling funding requests and expenses, getting mentors and the whole concept of mentoring, effective use of trac tickets, coordinating with other Fedora groups such as the Program Manager/Release schedule and Marketing
- Review and evaluate current swag and outreach collateral, determine what (if any) collateral should be retired, updated, or created
- Make contributing easier
- Spring clean Ambassador and Event wikipages
- primary goal
- In addition, we will attempt to complete the following secondary goals as time allows:
- Identifying the best candidates to teach new skills to (in relation to folks from other Distros- as well as other types of geeks like gamers
- Creation of local Fedora groups
- secondary goal
Ideas and Deliverables
Deliverable | Description | Owner(s) | Time (duration) |
List of Ambassador marketing materials needs to give to marketing to produce, prioritized. | Cover deliverables and ideas including: Marketing Flyer and how it can be updated; Generic slide deck template for presentations / events, Slide deck with talking points for each cycle, Laptop show, enhance generic Talking Points, rewrite elevator pitch. Discuss whether existing materials that marketing produces are useful for Ambassadors. Lots of other ideas welcome. Not sure yet on time needed. | Robyn Bergeron | 1.5-2 hrs |
SOP / Process for handing off Marketing information to Ambassadors each cycle. | What is the best / most effective way for Marketing to disseminate Talking Points, etc. to Ambassadors each cycle? How can we be more helpful? Work more with FAMSCo, have 2x per cycle joint meetings, other ideas? No more than one hour needed. | Robyn Bergeron | 1 hr |
Discuss mentoring in North America | It seems even with the amount of ambassador mentors that manatees (aka mentorees) who initiate the mentoring process do not complete the tasks in front of them. Perception? or Process? What is the issue here, and how do we fix it? | Clint Savage MarkDude | 60-90 minutes |
I did it! | A talk about something I did that I didn't think I could do before until I actually did it. | Dan Mashal | 1-2 hours probably) |
Swag Procurement and Distribution | With a couple of years under our belts doing this it is time to take a look at it from a different perspective (hindsight). Goal: Improve processes, eliminate Max (meant only in a really friendly way), keep stock, know who has stock, etc. | inode0 | 45-60 minutes |
Growth of Regional Leadership | I'm really keen to involve more people in several key areas to keep the ship moving. We have always encouraged the growth of swag producers but not so much in the distribution chain or the regional leadership itself. When is it time for new regional leadership? Is that construct still even useful? Goal: Leave with a reason to not think that if herlo, lcafiero, and ke4qqq went away we would collapse. Or put another way, leave with a plan to engage more ambassadors in the leadership process and in all other areas of FAmNA. | MarkDude | 45-60 minutes |
Budget | While budget "authority" has been shifting from the direction of FAmSCo in the direction of regional leadership there are some practical problems that remain. Goal: Develop a more clearly defined budget process allowing regional leaders to make meaningful budget decisions and be responsible for FAmNA spending Fedora resources in an accountable fashion. | inode0 | 30-45 minutes |
Wiki | The FADNA wiki pages could use review and maintenance. For example, it takes a bit of navigating to find this page. Wikis tend to experience sprawl of sorts and pages get lost. Goal: Develop ideas which will help in keeping the wiki organized and updated. | Ivan Makfinsky (and inode0 can help) | |
Event Planning | What do you do when you have an event to organize? What are the things you need to know when you are organizing an event, whether it's representing Fedora to a LUG, or tabling at a larger expo? Goal: Have ambassadors be both knowledgable and comfortable with planning events at any level. | MarkDude | 2 hours (coffee included) |
How to embrace disgruntled users of other distros | With the past/present/future unpopular changes in several distros there are a lot of long time GNU/Linux users that were/are/will be roaming the Free Landscape. How do we make ourselves stand out to these people | Dan Mashal | 1 hour |
"Event box inventory and what should be in every box" | Make Sure that all 3 Event boxes have what is needed for an event except for Swag | Ben Williams | 1 hour |
Logistics and Considerations
Recordings and Notes
Per requests during the 12/12/2012 FAMNA meeting, we'll try to take notes and/or record key parts of the FADNA and uploaded the materials for the Ambassadors who can not attend.
Details go here.
# | Full Name | Hotel | Thursday's Dinner | Arrival Details | Departure Details | Est. Travel $$ excl Hotel |
Comment |
1 | Clint Savage | yes | yes | Wed 8:31PM (MCI) | Mon 2:35PM (MCI) | ~300 | |
2 | Dan Mashal | yes | yes | Wed 4:32PM (Omaha, NE) | Mon 4:57PM (Omaha,NE) | $500 | Flying in from SJC to OMA for FUDCON/FADNA and driving down with rdieter |
3 | Ben Williams | yes | yes | Wed 1:06PM | Mon 10:am | ||
4 | Jon Disnard | yes | yes | Wed 7'ish | ~400 | Traveling from DFW area | |
5 | Sarah White | yes | yes | Wed 6:55PM (MCI) | Sun 4:25PM (MCI) | ~200 | Has rental car, transporting nb and Herlo |
6 | Robyn Bergeron | yes | subject to not having other logistical things going on | Wed 1:42PM (MCI) | Mon 2:45pm (MCI) | no comments atm :) | |
7 | Dan Allen | yes | yes | Wed 6:55PM (MCI) | Sun 4:25PM (MCI) | Arriving and departing with the crazy graphite6 | |
8 | Your name here |
Local people
- Ian Weller (hosting FUDCON)
Planning Prerequisites
See the How to organize a FAD list; you can keep your to-do list here.
Completed work item- Work out budget
Decide on Dates and LocationArrange Facilities- List Resources
- Be Somewhat Structured
Arrange Lodging- Arrange Refreshments
- Arrange a Social Event
Beefy MiracleSpherical Cow cutout is needed.- Another action item
- Another action item
Planning Brainstorming
- Proposed Purposes and Goals
- Update from inode0 11/13/2012:
- have a pretty good idea of the schedule of events we want to cover in the next fiscal year
- have a pretty good idea of what merchandise we want to produce in the next fiscal year
- create a proposed budget as detailed as possible based on 1 & 2 for the next fiscal year
- Help people polish some new presentations they might want to give on Fedora
- Solving logistical problems or discussing how to get new ambassadors or having more mentors
- Planning who is covering what for major events in the coming year or so
- Are there any swag/distribution issues or ideas for improving those processes
- Can ambassadors help promote Fedora things within the Fedora Project (like FADs for non-ambassadors)
- Evaluating the how-to-get involved processes/updating them then making how to videos about them :)
- Media/educational campaigns such as videos for local cable access, or even a weekly/monthly cable access show featuring open source, specifically fedora?
- Can ambassadors work more effectively with marketing or should ambassadors tackle some neglected tasks in that area
- Fix processes that are confusing or not well documented (handling funding requests, getting mentors and the whole concept of mentoring, effective use of trac instances)
- Location: Agreed from FAMNA (Tuesday Sept 25th) Day before FUDCON 2013 in Lawrence Kansas January 17, 2013
Plan Outline
- Location: Lawrence, Kansas
- Date: 17 January 2012
- Schedule
- Participants arrive at THIS_TIME_AND_DATE
- Schedule item
- Schedule item
- Schedule item
- Participants leave at THIS_TIME_AND_DATE
- Important skills (one or more)
- skill
- skill
- skill
- Personnel (people who might fit the bill)
- Name (location, role) Confirmed? (Y/N)
- Name (location, role) Confirmed? (Y/N)
- Name (location, role) Confirmed? (Y/N)
- others?
- Other considerations
- Contributor V can offer a living room for evening social gatherings.
- Contributor W has a car and is willing to do airport pick-ups.
- Contributor X needs as much advance notice as possible.
- Contributor Y has a schedule that is better on Fridays than on Tuesdays, and prefers weekend times after 4:28 AM.
- Contributor Z is allergic to peanuts.
If you want funding - you will need to talk to newly formed OSAS - talk to Ruth Suehle. If you can find other ways to fund your FAD, that's great too!
Contributor | Dept | Arrv | Dept | Arrv | Cost |
Name | Travel to FAD, departure | Travel to FAD, arrival | Travel from FAD, departure | Travel from FAD, arrival | Ticket cost |
Name | Travel to FAD, departure | Travel to FAD, arrival | Travel from FAD, departure | Travel from FAD, arrival | Ticket cost |
Name | Travel to FAD, departure | Travel to FAD, arrival | Travel from FAD, departure | Travel from FAD, arrival | Ticket cost |
- Travel: $A for airfare, bus, train, etc. funding needed to get attendees to the FAD
- Housing: $B for hotel, etc. needed to have attendees sleep during the FAD
- link to hotel room booking website, if applicable
- Space: $C for renting space to hack in, if applicable
- address and travel details for the space
- Supplies: $D for anything else you may need
- item
- item
- item
Total budget: $A+B+C+D


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Heimish Love On Me Full Size Solid Maxi Dress
Heimish Love On Me Full Size Solid Maxi Dress
This elegant dress is designed to make a statement while keeping you effortlessly chic throughout the day. This maxi dress offers a soft and breathable feel against your skin. The short sleeves provide just the right amount of coverage for a versatile look that can be worn from day to night. The classic round neck adds a touch of sophistication, making it suitable for various occasions. One of the standout features of this dress is the side slit, which adds a modern twist and allows for ease of movement. Whether you're attending a casual outing or a formal event, the side slit adds an alluring touch, showcasing your legs with grace and style. But we didn't stop there. This dress also comes equipped with a practical side pocket detail. Perfect for storing your essentials like keys, phone, or lipstick, the side pocket adds convenience without compromising on the dress's sleek silhouette. Say goodbye to the hassle of carrying a purse and enjoy the freedom of having everything you need at your fingertips.
- Pattern type: Solid
- Style: Casual
- Features: Split
- Neckline: V-neck
- Length: Maxi
- Sleeve length: Short sleeves
- Sleeve type: Regular sleeves
- Hem shaped: Straight
- Sheer: No
- Body: Not lined
- Material composition: 95% rayon, 5% spandex
- Stretch: Highly stretchy
- Care instructions: Machine wash cold. Tumble dry low.
- Made in Mexico
- Model information:
Tiffany-height 5'9", bust 46", waist 37", hip 48", size 1X, jeans size 14W
Anastasia-height 5'9", bust 34", waist 25", hip 35", size S, jeans size 3
- Product measurements:
S: bust 42 in, length 48 in
M: bust 44 in, length 49 in
L: bust 46 in, length 50 in
1XL: bust 48 in, length 51 in
2XL: bust 50 in, length 52 in
3XL: bust 52 in, length 53 in


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If you're a real estate agent, odds are you haven't been closing as many deals lately.
A slowdown in new construction and a short supply of existing homes for sale have pushed housing prices so high that would-be buyers are either finding themselves in bidding wars or sitting on the sidelines.
"We're hearing things from our real estate agents that we haven't heard in three years about homebuyers stepping back from high prices," said Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman on the real estate firm's second quarter earnings call this month.
What's eating the housing market, in the midst of what otherwise looks like upbeat growth? In part, it's a victim of the economy's success: The Federal Reserve is seeking to keep inflation in check by raising interest rates, making mortgages more expensive.
Related: How Washington could actually make housing more affordable
Meanwhile, a crackdown on immigration as well as tariffs on imported lumber have made it more difficult and expensive for builders to obtain the labor and materials they need to construct homes. That's especially true in hot urban markets, where land is expensive and zoning can be restrictive, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
Freddie Mac forecast on Monday that the housing market will stay slow for the rest of the year. But it doesn't see any real trouble on the horizon. "The healthy economy and robust labor market should support homebuyer demand," the mortgage giant wrote.
Here's what's happening in the housing market now.
1. New home construction
New home construction surged following the recession, but has moderated in recent months. That has left many markets with a persistent lack of supply. That's not just true in the for-sale market — the rental vacancy rate is also nearly as low as it's been since the early 1990s.
2. Housing prices
The slow growth of new housing stock has driven up home prices quickly, especially in hot markets like San Francisco and Miami. (Other markets, like Detroit, still haven't regained the value lost during the Great Recession, according to data collected by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.)
Although the closely-watched Case-Shiller Index showed on Tuesday that home price growth slowed slightly in June, the 20-city composite measure topped its pre-recession high at the beginning of 2018.
3. Existing home sales
Low inventory and high prices have slowed down the entire housing market, which is mostly made up of previously owned homes. Existing-home sales fell for the fourth straight month in July to their lowest level in over two years, the National Association of Realtors reported last week.
"Additional inventory will help contain rapid home price growth and open up the market to prospective homebuyers who are consequently — and increasingly — being priced out," National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun wrote on Monday.
That creates a drag on the job market as well, since it makes it more difficult to pick up and move to a new city for better employment opportunities. Americans are already relocating far less than they used to.
4. Foreclosures
Foreclosures plagued the housing market during the financial crisis as borrowers struggled with loans they couldn't afford and homes prices plunged. These days, borrowers are in much better shape, but there are signs that foreclosures are on the rise again.
The housing analytics firm Attom Data Solutions found that foreclosure starts are increasing again for the first time since 2015. The trend is particularly visible in hurricane-hit cities like Houston, but also increasingly expensive places like Los Angeles.
"We're seeing enough in these bellwether markets that I think it's an inflection point," says Daren Blomquist, senior vice president for communications at Attom.
Related: How America's foreclosure capital came back from the dead
But as with the rest of the housing market, that turn in the numbers likely isn't a sign of impending collapse. The loans having the most trouble are those that the Federal Housing Administration insured in 2014, when the agency was backing off on the very tight standards it had imposed during the great recession.
"In '14, what you begin to see is a loosening of the underwriting, but not an irresponsible loosening," says David Dworkin, a former Treasury Department and Fannie Mae official, who is now president of the National Housing Conference. "I think we're seeing a return to a more normal market."


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I am honored to announce that my Pampas Cat picture is a finalist in the terrestrial wildlife category in the Big Picture Natural World Photography Competition, organized by the California Academy of Sciences.
Congratulations to all the winners and finalists of this years competition! I would like to especially congratulate Nayan Khanolkar for the coolest camera trap shot of a leopard I have ever seen and Pete Oxford, who is the definition of a conservation photographer, and a personal hero of mine.
You can see the overall category winners here:
and the other terrestrial wildlife finalist images here:
Finally, you will be able to see all the pictures in person starting July 29th, 2106. I hope you are able to!
This Pampas Cat photograph was taken as part of the Cat in Thin Air project and would not be possible without the help of the Andean Cat Alliance, Juan Carlos Huaranca Ariste, Alejandra Rocio Torrez Tarqui, and Ma Lilian Villalba. Thank you to all of you!
*If you are interested in purchasing any of the pictures displayed in this post, please check out my fine prints page for pricing.*


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Greenville, N.C. • Going after four Democratic congresswomen one by one, a combative President Donald Trump turned his campaign rally Wednesday into an extended dissection of the liberal views of the women of color, deriding them for what he painted as extreme positions and suggesting they just get out.
"Tonight I have a suggestion for the hate-filled extremists who are constantly trying to tear our country down," Trump told the crowd in North Carolina, a swing state he won in 2016 and wants to claim again in 2020. "They never have anything good to say. That's why I say, 'Hey if you don't like it, let 'em leave, let 'em leave.'"
Eager to rile up his base with the some of the same kind of rhetoric he targeted at minorities and women in 2016, Trump declared, "I think in some cases they hate our country."
Trump's jabs were aimed at the self-described "squad" of four freshmen Democrats who have garnered attention since their arrival in January for their outspoken liberal views and distaste for Trump: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. All were born in the U.S. except for Omar, who came to the U.S. as a child after fleeing Somalia with her family.
Taking the legislators on one at a time, Trump ticked through a laundry list of what he deemed offensive comments by each woman, mangling and misconstruing many facts along the way.
Omar came under the harshest criticism as Trump played to voters' grievances, drawing a chant from the crowd of "Send her back! Send her back!"
Trump set off a firestorm Sunday when he tweeted that the four should "go back" to their home countries — though three were born in the United States. Trump has accused them of "spewing some of the most vile, hateful and disgusting things ever said by a politician."
He expanded on his criticisms in Greenville.
Among his complaints against Tlaib, Trump correctly reported that she had referred to the president by the "F-word," adding, "That's not nice, even for me." Trump himself had unloaded a vulgarity earlier in his speech, denouncing the Russia probe of his campaign and administration as "bulls---."
As for Ocasio-Cortez, Trump fumbled over her name and declared, "I don't have time to go with three different names." He then referred to her as just "Cortez" as he challenged her complaints about dire conditions at migrant detention centers at the border.
In a lighter moment, Trump wondered if Pressley was related to Elvis Presley, then pivoted to more serious points, claiming she thought people of color should "think the same."
As for Omar, Trump unfurled a whole list of complaints, including a false accusation that she voiced pride in al-Qaida.
Before he left Washington, Trump said he has no regrets about his ongoing spat with the four. Trump told reporters he thinks he's "winning the political argument" and "winning it by a lot."
"If people want to leave our country, they can. If they don't want to love our country, if they don't want to fight for our country, they can," Trump said. "I'll never change on that."
Trump's harsh denunciations were another sign of his willingness to exploit the nation's racial divisions heading into the 2020 campaign.
His speech was filled with Trump's trademark criticisms about the news media, which he says sides with liberals, and of special prosecutor Robert Mueller's Russia probe. Mueller had been scheduled to testify Wednesday on Capitol Hill, but it was postponed. Trump brought him up anyway. "What happened to me with this witch hunt should never be allowed to happen to another president," he said.
He also talked about illegal immigration, a main theme of his first presidential bid that is taking center stage in his re-election campaign. He brushed off the criticism he has gotten for saying that the congresswomen should go back home. "So controversial," he said sarcastically.
The four freshmen have portrayed the president as a bully who wants to "vilify" not only immigrants, but all people of color. They say they are fighting for their priorities to lower health care costs and pass a Green New Deal addressing climate change, while his thundering attacks are a distraction and tear at the core of America values.
The Democratic-led U.S. House voted Tuesday to condemn Trump for what it labeled "racist comments," despite near-solid GOP opposition and the president's own insistence that he doesn't have a "racist bone" in his body.
Trump hasn't shown signs of being rattled by the House rebuke, and called an impeachment resolution that failed in Congress earlier Wednesday "ridiculous." The condemnation carries no legal repercussions and his latest harangues struck a chord with supporter in Greenville, whose chants of "Four more years!" and "Build that wall!" bounced off the rafters.
Vice President Mike Pence was first up after spending the day in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and visiting troops at Fort Bragg. "North Carolina and America needs four more years," Pence said.
It was Trump's sixth visit to the state as president and his first 2020 campaign event in North Carolina, where he defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016.


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A Norwegian Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson, Fargo Revenge Flick
In Order of Disappearance, available on Netflix and Amazon, stars Stellan Skarsgard as Nils, a droll snow plow driver who seeks to revenge the murder of his son at the hands of a bunch of drug dealers in some snow plagued town somewhere in Norway. What follows is a part Rashomon, part Fargoesque tale of murderous revenge bundled up with comedic moments and lots of snow.
I give it a Mr. Wonderful's maximum thumbs up.
BTW – you probably will recognize Skarsgard. He was in Good Will Hunting, and the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo among many.
More info on the movie here on IMDB.


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Coming July 2016 from New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Pepper Winters...
Add THE ARGUMENT on Goodreads
THE ARGUMENT releases in July 2016! If you would like to be notified as soon as THE ARGUMENT goes live, please feel free to sign up for the Release Alert Newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/120b5
From the New York Times Bestseller Pepper Winters comes a snarky standalone full of romance.
They say the key to a good relationship is one with no drama.
They say you're not trying hard enough or married the wrong person if you fight.
Sorry, but I call bulls***.
I've had plenty of relationships: some sweet, some happy, most an utter failure.
Until I met Harriet.
Our first conversation was an argument.
Our second conversation was an argument.
Our entire connection was based on…yep, an argument.
We tore up the rules of chance encounters and polite first meeting etiquette. And after the week I'd had, I was ready for a punch-up.
Hell, I craved one.
And Harriet was there to antagonise me.
The first time we met, we spent every hour from dusk to dawn, arguing.
And when the sun rose, neither of us wanted to stop.
Because there was something so refreshing about being honest. Saying exactly what you thought. Picking faults just because you itched to fight.
It was only supposed to be one night. A night where the town was our battlefield, the clubs a microphone to our bickering, and the stars a listener to our squabbles.
Only…I wasn't ready to say goodbye.
You see, arguing turned out to be the best damn thing I'd ever experienced.
So, instead of agreeing to the terms we'd set, I revoked them. I went home with her. I refused to leave. And our argument turned into something so much more than a random quarrel.
It turned into war and our love wasn't sweet…it was hostile.
Pepper Winters is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today International Bestseller. After chasing her dreams to become a full-time writer, Pepper has earned recognition with awards for best Dark Romance, best BDSM Series, and best Hero. She's an multiple #1 iBooks bestseller, along with #1 in Erotic Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, and Erotica Thriller. She's also honoured to wear the IndieReader Badge for being a Top 10 Indie Bestseller. Pepper is a Hybrid Author of both Traditional and Self-published work. Her Pure Corruption Series was released by Grand Central, Hachette.
Her books have garnered foreign interest and are currently being translated into numerous languages, including already released titles in Italian and Turkish. Audio Books for her entire back-list will be available in 2016.


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In order to create your unique project file please add content by selecting 'Add to Project' on any relevant content page. You can then re-order, title and export your unique project PDF.
Select any mix of Product pages, Product configurations, Case Studies and Application features by clicking the 'Add to Project' button. They will appear on this whiteboard page. Drag and drop them into your preferred order, add a title and some details, then Save and download them to your PC as a PDF - ready to send to your client. Individually 'Remove' the pages to create another new Project.


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Published on Apr 02, 2024
Lyndsay Williams of Microsoft Research's Cambridge UK lab is the inventor of the Smartquill,a pen that can remember the words that it is used to write, and then transform them into computer text . The idea that "it would be neat to put all of a handheld-PDA type computer in a pen," came to the inventor in her sleep . "It's the pen for the new millennium," she says. Encouraged by Nigel Ballard, a leading consultant to the mobile computer industry, Williams took her prototype to the British Telecommunications Research Lab, where she was promptly hired and given money and institutional support for her project.
The prototype, called SmartQuil, has been developed by world-leading research laboratories run by BT (formerly British Telecom) at Martlesham, eastern England. It is claimed to be the biggest revolution in handwriting since the invention of the pen. The sleek and stylish prototype pen is different from other electronic pens on the market today in that users don't have to write on a special pad in order to record what they write. User could use any surface for writing such as paper, tablet, screen or even air. The SmartQuill isn't all space-age, though -- it contains an ink cartridge so that users can see what they write down on paper. Smart Quill contains sensors that record movement by using the earth's gravity system, irrespective of the platform used. The pen records the information inserted by the user. Your words of wisdom can also be uploaded to your PC through the "digital inkwell", while the files that you might want to view on the pen are downloaded to Smart Quill as well.
It is an interesting idea, and it even comes with one attribute that makes entire history of pens pale by comparison-if someone else picks your SmartQuill and tries to write with it- it won't. Because user can train the pen to recognize a particular handwriting. Hence SmartQuill recognizes only the owner's handwriting. SmartQuill is a computer housed within a pen which allows you to do what a normal personal organizer does .It's really mobile because of it's smaller size and one handed use. People could use the pen in the office to replace a keyboard, but the main attraction will be for users who usually take notes by hand on the road and type them up when returning to the office. SmartQuill will let them skip the step of typing up their notes.
SmartQuill is slightly larger than an ordinary fountain pen. Users can enter information into these applications by pushing a button on the pen and writing down what they would like to enter .The SmartQuill does not need a screen to work. The really clever bit of the technology is its ability to read handwriting not only on paper but on any flat surface - horizontal or vertical. There is also a small three-line screen to read the information stored in the pen; users can scroll down the screen by tilting the pen slightly.
The user trains the pen to recognize a particular handwriting style - no matter how messy it is, as long as it is consistent, the pen can recognize it. The handwritten notes are stored on hard disk of the pen. The pen is then plugged into an electronic "inkwell" ,text data is transmitted to a desktop computer, printer, or modem or to a mobile telephone to send files electronically. Up to 10 pages of notes can be stored locally on the pen . A tiny light at the tip allows writing in the dark. When the pen is kept idle for some time ,power gets automatically off.
" Display technology used in SmartQuill
" Handwriting recognition and signature verification
" Display scrolls using tilt sensors
" Communication with other devices
" Memory and power
• SmartQuill isn't all space-age. It contains an ink cartridge so that users can see what they write on paper. Hence a simple application of SmartQuill is that it write notes on paper. This information recorded in the pen is then downloaded to PC .
• The information stored in the pen can be input to other devices such as mobile phones, printers ,modems,desktop computers etc for different applications.
• It also provides handheld computer applications such as digital diary, contacts, calculators etc.
• It is used for receiving pager and e-mail messages. This is possible through recent technology involved in SmartQuill, the wireless messaging system which allows two way communication between devices .
This software embedded in the microprocessor of the pen is used to recognize handwriting of the user. Pen works in conjunction with a regular PC on to which users install special handwriting recognition software. The handwriting recognition software translates movements in to text on screen.
Handwriting recognition software constitutes two major phases:
1. Handwriting transcription
2. Handwriting recognition
Handwriting transcription
In this phase,the recorded acceleration signals are then transcripted to it's original form. Here this aspect is solved using 'simple' double integration method in order to retrace the pen tip movement on paper.
In order for this principle to work properly,we have to solve two main problems:
Firstly, we have to know pen's spatial orientation in order to withdraw the earth gravity component to the measured accelerations.Secondly , we have to succeed in the double integration, which is to solve all the derivation problems due to this method.
By tilting the pen, user can choose applications and scroll through with out using scroll buttons. Below is an image of SmartQuill tilting Screen designed by Lyndsay Williams for BT Labs in 1997. The pen would align text if it was held in left or right hand so the text was the correct way up for left or right handed people. This was done by using Micro Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) tilt sensors to measure tilt angle to earth . The SmartQuill microcontroller read the angle and then mapped the large screen display onto the small 4 line display. SmartQuill could also scroll through pages of display by tilting it in the hand and power off if no hand movement was detected or pen was flat on a desk. The demonstration unit below shows display inverting as SmartQuill was inverted in the hand. The choice of words was limited to what characters the LCD display driver could show while upside down (left hand picture) – only 14 of the 26 letters of the alphabet were usable. These 14 characters were then processed by anagram software to produce 900 words that used these characters. The shopping list below was produced from this limited dictionary to demonstrate the text inversion .
Earlier SmartQuill models developed by BT laboratories communicated with the PC via a radio transmitter, but the current prototype hooks up to a PC via a cable and electronic docking station called an "inkwell." .The data stored in the memory is uploaded to the personal computer when it is placed in to a docking station. An electronic docking station is a small cabinet to which a laptop or notebook computer can be attached for use as a desktop computer ,usually have a connector for externally connected devices, such as hard drives or scanners and ports that can be linked to components such as keyboard, monitor and printer. It can also be connected to printer,modem or mobile phones to send data electronically.
The output accelerometer signals from the pen are digitized with a National Instrument capture card with a frequency Fe of 1000Hz and a low pass filter at Fc=1/3*Fe .
Future models could receive e-mails and pager messages via a wireless messaging system .This enables two-way wireless communication with other computing devices .
SmartQuill has 4MB EEPROM memory. At a time, up to 10 pages of notes can be stored locally on the pen. The data is stored in the memory on the pen until it is uploaded to the personal computer. SmartQuill works by measuring the pen's movements and matching them to the movements that produce letters and words programmed into its memory. It's similar to the way a microphone detects sound.
SmartQuill is powered by AAA battery. It will run for about 25hrs on a single AAA battery. The pen exhibits automatic power on/off system. The pen will power down after a period of no movement. So it supports automatic on/off system.
SmartQuill isn't all space-age. It contains an ink cartridge so that users can see what they write on paper. Hence a simple application of SmartQuill is that it write notes on paper. This information recorded in the pen is then downloaded to PC .
The information stored in the pen can be input to other devices such as mobile phones, printers ,modems,desktop computers etc for different applications.
It also provides handheld computer applications such as digital diary, contacts, calculators etc.
It is used for receiving pager and e-mail messages. This is possible through recent technology involved in SmartQuill, the wireless messaging system which allows two way communication between devices .
SmartQuill synchronizes files, e-mails and messages to PC.
SmartQuill can be used for voice record and supports speech recognition. Voice record is made possible through ADPCM speech compression .
SmartQuill also allows third party to add on applications.
One of the major asset is that SmartQuill does not need a screen to work. This is possible through revolutionary "Spatial Sensing" system which uses semiconductor accelerometers. Accelerometers senses pen/hand movement instead of shapes.
SmartQuill provides intuitive user interface.
Security – Security is another important feature.It is made possible through two facilities:
• It enables handwriting recognition .User can train the pen to recognize a particular handwriting style. The symbols regularly used by user gets stored in the memory, by frequent use of the pen. Hence the pen accepts only the owner's handwriting and rejects intruders handwriting.
• It enables signature verification.Hence Passwords could be enterd in the form of signatures .
The SmartQuill is also a 3D-mouse, when twisted in air in a certain way it enables scrolling of the screen. It also automatically detects left or right handed use.
Power saving
• Small screen size requires less battery power .
• No movement of the pen causes auto power down
SmartQuill is all mobile, smaller in size and enables one-handed use.
The estimated cost of this futuristic pen is around $200.SmartQuill supports two factors: small size and convenient use. The future of SmartQuill ensures all computation power the user needs right inside the pen. Reducing the size of handheld computers can only be taken so far before they become unusable. Keyboards become so tiny you require needle-like fingers to operate them and screens that need constant cursor controls to read simple text. The introduction of SmartQuill is the best solution for this problem.
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