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The Inside Story of the Oklahoman Behind the Biggest Military Intelligence Leak Ever by Denver Nicks.
Editor's note: Since it was first published in September of 2010, "Private Manning and the Making of Wikileaks" has been widely considered the definitive article on the life of Bradley Manning. It is the first article to correlate Manning's whistleblowing with that of the Silkwood/Kerr-Mcgee scandal, the first to extensively mine his social network for clues about his upbringing, and the first to debunk the common (and still pervasive) media myth that Manning was a troubled child with emotional problems. The reporting below, by Denver Nicks, offers the most nuanced and complex portrayal of Manning to date and has been cited by several national outlets for its in-depth analysis of this enigmatic Oklahoman.
Midnight, May 22nd, 2010. Army intelligence analyst Private First Class Bradley E. Manning is sitting at a computer at Contingency Operating Station Hammer, east of Baghdad. He is online, chatting with Adrian Lamo, an ex-hacker and sometimes-journalist based in San Francisco.
"Hypothetical question," he asks Lamo. "If you had free reign over classified networks for long periods of time... say, 8-9 months... and you saw incredible things, awful things... things that belonged in the public domain, and not on some server stored in a dark room in Washington DC... what would you do?"
Manning, 22, is probing Lamo for guidance–and approval.
"I can't believe what I'm confessing to you," he types.
Outside of the chats, little is known about Bradley Manning. We know that he grew up in Crescent, Oklahoma, a town made famous by one of the biggest whistleblowing events in American history a decade before Bradley was born. Currently, he's in solitary confinement at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, awaiting trial, and unable to speak to the press. His family and many of his close friends have been advised not to talk to the media. If the allegations against Private Manning are true, the 22-year-old from Oklahoma is responsible for the biggest leak of military secrets in American history.
Records of the chats, which continued over several days, portray a dejected, disillusioned soldier. His long-distance relationship has ended, he's been demoted from Specialist to Private First class after he struck another soldier and the army has removed the bolt from his rifle out of concern for his mental state.
"I'm a total fucking wreck right now," he tells Lamo.
Brad feels alone, invisible, like his career and his relationship–the life he had finally built after years of drifting–is falling apart. For months, he'd been disenchanted with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He points to a specific instance, in which, investigating 15 detainees for printing "anti-Iraqi literature" he found that the paper in question was merely a scholarly critique of corruption in the government and brought the revelation to an officer.
"He didn't want to hear any of it," he says. "He told me to shut up and explain how we could assist the FPs in finding *MORE* detainees."
Brad had lost faith in the American military as a force for good in the world.
"I don't believe in good guys versus bad guys anymore," he tells Lamo. "Only a plethora of states acting in self interest."
In further chats with Lamo, Brad describes how he used his security clearance and computer skills to access confidential government networks and download classified material, including video of American soldiers killing civilians, hundreds of thousands of internal military reports and more than 260,000 diplomatic cables. Disclosure of the classified material, he says, will have implications of "global scope, and breathtaking depth." He tells Lamo he's been delivering the classified information to Julian Assange, the quixotic founder of the shadowy whistleblowers website Wikileaks, which is releasing it publicly for the world to see.
The information he allegedly unleashed into cyberspace reverberated across the globe. The anti-war Left seized upon the leaks as evidence that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are unjust and unwinnable. The Taliban promised to kill those Afghans who, the documents reveal, have collaborated with the Americans. President Obama said the leaks endanger the lives of American troops. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor predicted the leaks will lead to a new free-speech ruling in the supreme court, which could overturn the precedent set in the Pentagon Papers case, the foundation of modern-day jurisprudence on questions of national security and freedom of speech.
Crescent, Oklahoma is stamped out in a one-square-mile rectangular grid and bisected by Highway 74, which becomes Grand Avenue in town. On this main thoroughfare is "the stop sign," a frequently referenced landmark when locals give directions. There is the gas station, where men gather in the mornings to talk and drink coffee; the Baptist church – one of 15 churches in town – an unadorned, rectangular block, with a plain white spire and beige metal siding; Kelly's Café, where locals fill the dining room to capacity at lunchtime. A towering, white grain elevator looms over the skyline. There are a few empty shells of buildings on Grand Avenue, but Crescent lacks the bombed-out look of crumbling decay visible in so many small Oklahoma towns. The cliché is unavoidable–Crescent, by all appearances, is a happy, healthy little town.
Crescent's favorite son is Geese Ausbie, the "Crown Prince of the Harlem Globetrotters," but there's another character who isn't as cherished, a 28-year-old woman who spoke up in 1974 and got the world's attention.
Several miles south of town, on the Cimarron River, a decommissioned Kerr-McGee plutonium plant sleeps in quiet, conspicuous retirement. The plant was closed in 1975, a year after plant employee Karen Silkwoodwas last seen alive at a union meeting at the Hub Café (now closed, across the street from Kelly's). After the meeting, Silkwood drove south on Highway 74 toward Oklahoma City to meet with a reporter from the New York Timesallegedly carrying documentation of gross safety violations at the plant. Silkwood's car was discovered crumpled in the embankment, its driver dead. The documents were never found.
An Oscar-nominated film was made about the incident, and the name Silkwood became a rallying cry for union organizers. But, for Crescent locals, the story is more than lore. Many in Crescent know someone who worked at the plant with Karen Silkwood, and for years the town's residents shared an association with whistleblowing and martyrdom.
Perry's Roadhouse is several miles south of town and effectively Crescent's bar. Bumper stickers decorate a back wall: "Don't steal, the government hates competition," and "U.S. Government Philosophy: If it ain't broke, fix it till it is."
Perry's isn't far from where Silkwood died on the same highway, and a few questions from a reporter still get locals speculating. An acquaintance says Silkwood was a drug addict. Perry heard that Kerr-McGee got the state to resurface the road, covering the skid marks before they could be analyzed. A friend of a friend says she backed into a telephone pole, putting the dent in her back bumper that, some believe, is evidence she was run off the road. Invariably, someone will add that Karen Silkwood was not from Crescent and lived in Oklahoma City.
The memory of the Silkwood incident lurks far in the background of life in Crescent–for the most part, people don't particularly care to talk about it, and, polite that Crescent locals are, when they do, most don't have much to say. Still, the story remains unsettled. When Bradley Manning was growing up it was 20 years less settled.
Several miles north of Crescent, on Highway 74, a paved county road turns off the highway and into the countryside. The Manning family lived out here, in a two-story house in the country, near the end of a gravel road before it turns to dirt. Trees obscured the view of the house from the street and cast shadows over the property. There was an above ground swimming pool and a bountiful garden that produced what one neighbor called the biggest asparagus stalks he'd ever seen. The house was isolated and quaint. Neighbors were a quarter mile and more away. Brad grew up here with his older sister, Casey, his mother, Susan, and his father, Brian.
Brian Manning spent five years in the navy in the late 1970s, working with the high tech naval systems of the day. He studied computer science in California and went to work for Hertz Rent-a-Car as an Information Technology manager. While in the Navy he spent time at Cawdor Barracks, in Wales. He married a Welsh woman, Susan, and moved with his family to Crescent, from where he could commute to the Hertz office in Oklahoma City.
By all appearances, according to people who knew the family, Brian Manning, who did not respond to interview requests, was a difficult man to live with.
"He was just real demeaning," said Rhonda Curtis, a neighbor. Another neighbor, who asked to be called James, put it more bluntly.
"Brian's a dick."
Brian Manning's own words, however, contradict the image of a domineering jerk. While his son was in Iraq, in December of 2009, Brian posted on Brad's Facebook wall:
"Happy Birthday Son!... Did your gift arrive? I sent it yonks ago."
When Bradley returned home briefly on leave, in January 2011, his dad posted again, "Welcome back son!"
Less than a minute later, apparently after reading that his son's profile listed Potomac, Maryland as his hometown, Brian added, "and your hometown is Crescent, Oklahoma."
As a little boy, Brad was high-strung and abnormally intelligent. Like his parents, he has always been smallish.
"We used to think of him kind of like a cocker spaniel," said Rhonda Curtis.
"He was just a little nerd," said Danielle, Rhonda's daughter, and a childhood friend of Brad's. As kids, she and Brad rode bikes around the neighborhood, swam in his pool, played Super Mario Brothers at her house and Donkey Kong at his.
Bring up Bradley Manning in Crescent, and you're likely to hear that he was, "too smart for his own good." He was a promising saxophonist in the middle school band, always excelled in the science fair, and starred on the quiz bowl team. On bus trips to quiz bowl competitions around Oklahoma, he and a small group of friends passed the time talking about ideas and big-picture questions of right and wrong.
"We'd talk about stuff that, for that age, was pretty deep," said Shanée Watson, who recently graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "We discussed morality and philosophy a lot—I know that sounds weird, but that's what we did."
He was polite and obedient in class, with no disciplinary record at all from his elementary and middle school years. He did not, however, shy away from confrontation.
"You would say something, and he would have an opinion, which was a little unusual for a middle school kid," said Rick McCombs, currently the school principal, who was a high school history teacher and coach when Brad was in school. "Don't get me wrong, we had the cut-ups and the clowns and the mean ones and the bullies and those kinds of things, but this young man actually kind of thought on his own."
While still in elementary school, Brad first expressed an interest in joining the U.S. military.
"He was basically really into America," said his friend Jordan Davis, in an email. "He wanted to serve his country."
Brad's school bus ride home was an hour long, and acquaintances say he spent most of the trip quietly doing his homework, while other kids had paper ball and spit wad fights.
Johnny Thompson, whose bus stop was last on the route, just after Brad's, recalls a quiet but not exactly anti-social kid. "After everyone else was gone I'd actually go over there and talk with him a little bit," Thompson said. "He was pretty nice if you were nice to him."
As Brad got older his playfulness receded. He stopped playing with neighborhood kids, spending more time on the top floor of his home where he had his computer–this was the late 1990s, just as the Internet was becoming a truly global phenomenon, with, literally, a world of opportunity for a young man who felt increasingly alienated from the community he lived in.
Events in Brad's life collided to put tremendous stress on the boy. As his peers were confronting their own sexuality in a context that was, at worst, prudish and ambivalent towards it, Brad was shouldering an added burden.
While Brad was in middle school, Brian Manning came home one day and announced he was leaving Susan. He moved out abruptly. Eventually, Susan and Brad moved into town, to a small rental house near the Baptist church. Brad's grades dropped. Amidst the disintegration of his family, pubescent Brad was coming to terms with his own sexuality. Shanée Watson recalls Brad gathering she and Jordan Davis near a tree at Jordan's grandmother's house to give them the important news. Brad told them that he would very shortly be moving with his mom to Wales for high school. He also told his two best friends he was gay.
This moment warrants pause. Bradley Manning, still effectively a boy, had few friends, and his family had all but fallen apart. In a time before Facebook and sustained long-distance friendships, he was leaving his two best friends for what could easily have been the last time (for Shanée Watson, it was). He didn't need to tell them he was gay in order to confess a hidden affection, to explain a behavior or even to allow his friends to know him better–in a short time he would be gone. And yet, presumably, for no other reason than that he was who he was and wanted to live honestly in his own skin, he felt compelled, in a conservative, religious town, to confide in his friends that he was a homosexual. Not only must it have taken tremendous courage for such a young man, it displays a crucial aspect of Brad's personality. As his Facebook profile still says today, "Take me for who I am or face the consequences!"
Brad moved to Wales with his mother to a much bigger small town, Haverfordwest, population 13,367, where he attended high school. He was teased for being effeminate but was not, apparently, open about his homosexuality. Friends say he was quiet and kept his personal life to himself. He'd stopped playing the saxophone, got into electronic music and spent a lot of time on the computer. Though small and provincial itself, Haverfordwest must have been an exotic metropolis compared to Crescent.
After finishing high school, he returned to the United States, moved in with his dad in Oklahoma City and went to work for Zoto, a software company. Brad's strained relationship with his father cut that living arrangement short – the situation turned toxic, at least in part because of his homosexuality, and his dad kicked him out. He was homeless, moved to Tulsa and stayed with his friend Jordan Davis. He eventually moved into a south Tulsa apartment near Davis's, lived alone, and worked low wage jobs at F.Y.E., a retail entertainment chain, and Incredible Pizza.
Brad drifted from Tulsa to Chicago to Potomac, Maryland, in the outer suburbs of Washington, D.C. He moved in with an aunt and began to get a steadier footing. He had jobs at Starbucks and Abercrombie and Fitch, took classes at a Community College, and had enough money and stability to take a trip back to Chicago for the Lollapalooza music festival.
Not long after his trip to Lollapalooza, in the late summer of 2007, Brad joined the army. He'd long expressed interest in serving, and the army was a natural next step for an unsettled but talented and ambitious young man.
"I think he thought it would be incredibly interesting, and exciting," Jordan Davis told me in an email. "He was proud of our successes as a country. He valued our freedom, but probably our economic freedom the most. I think he saw the US as a force for good in the world."
Brad did basic training at Fort Leonard, in Missouri, but he sustained a nerve injury in his left arm, and his future in the army was put on hold. That Christmas on Facebook he posted cheerful pictures of a visit with his family in Oklahoma, including pictures of his father. After the holidays, Brad returned to basic training in Missouri. He graduated in April 2008 and moved to Fort Huachuca, in southern Arizona, excited to be back in contact with the civilian world. "Hit me up on the phonezors if you can!" he posted.
While at Fort Huachuca, Brad was reprimanded for putting mundane video messages to friends on YouTube that carelessly revealed sensitive information. The infraction must not have been serious, because by August he'd graduated from training as an intelligence analyst with a security clearance.
After Fort Huachuca, Brad was stationed at Fort Drum in upstate New York. It was an election year, and Brad was pulling for the celebrity freshman senator from Illinois, Barack Obama. Also on the ballot that year was California's Proposition 8, which, in a significant setback for the gay rights movement, banned gay marriage in the state when it passed on Election Day.
Just days later, Brad went to a rally against Proposition 8 in front of city hall in Syracuse, New York, and an hour and a half from Ft. Drum. At the rally, a soldier was interviewed anonymously by high school senior Phim Her for Syracuse.com, a local news website. The soldier was Bradley Manning.
"I was kicked out of my home, and I once lost my job [because I am gay]," he told her. "The world is not moving fast enough for us at home, work, or the battlefield." Brad told her that, for him, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy is the worst thing about being in the military. "I've been living a double life," he said.
After Proposition 8 passed, Brad's Facebook wall becomes a flurry of activity, much of it related to the gay rights movement, though most updates were ordinary messages from a happy young man, newly in love. He spent the holiday season in the Washington, D.C. area, and just before Christmas announced a relationship with a new boyfriend. He began posting more often than ever. "Bradley Manning is a happy bunny." "Bradley Manning is cuddling in bed tonight." For an active duty soldier, he was remarkably transparent about his sexuality on his Facebook wall. After returning to base: "Bradley Manning is in the barracks, alone. I miss you Tyler!" And, "Bradley Manning is glad he is working and active again, yet heartbroken being so far away from hubby."
Over the next several months Brad's posts are nearly all related to progressive politics or his boyfriend. He seems happy and confident, comfortable in his life and positive about the future.
In September 2009, his relationship status changed to single, and posts between he and Tyler tapered off, though they maintained friendly communication. This was likely a safety measure in light of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. A month later he deployed to Iraq.
Brad arrived in Iraq in late October 2009. His infrequent status updates are mostly mundane: "Bradley Manning has soft sheets, a comforter, and a plush pillow... however, the war against dust has begun," and "Bradley Manning is starting to get used to living in Groundhog Day."
After gay marriage failed on the ballot in Maine, he posted, "Bradley Manning feels betrayed…again." In late November he posted, "Bradley Manning feels forgotten already," but for the most part, he remained positive. The holidays brought a flood of well-wishers, but Brad was notably quiet. Considering what was to follow, Brad's wall posts from this period are strikingly boring.
At the end of January 2010, Brad returned to the U.S. for a brief visit. He landed in D.C. just as a massive blizzard blanketed the city, and his plans were partly derailed. But as he left he wasn't dispirited: "Bradley Manning is hopefully returning to his place of duty over the next few days. Hope I don't get caught up in this next storm," he posted on February 8.
This is the period in which Brad is accused of having leaked at least some documents to Wikileaks. Bradley Manning is officially charged with leaking classified information between November 19, 2009, and May 27, 2010. In his chats with Adrian Lamo, Brad references a "test" document he leaked to Julian Assange (presumably to verify Assange's identity), a classified diplomatic cable from the U.S. Embassy in Reykjavik, sent January 13, 2010. Wikileaks posted the document on February 18, 2010.
If Brad was indeed the source of Reykjavik13, as the document has come to be known, he had to have leaked it sometime before mid-February, and Wikileaks tends to take time to analyze and verify the authenticity of leaked documents, if possible. Brad didn't return to Baghdad from his visit home until February 11, and he left for home on January 21. If Brad leaked Reykjavik13, he almost certainly did so sometime over the eight-day period from January 13, 2010, when the cable originated, and January 21, 2010, when he left Baghdad for the United States.
The timing debunks the overarching narrative in the media that Brad was an anti-social outcast lashing out at the world and crying for attention when he decided to leak military secrets. On January 14, 2010, the day after Reykjavik13 originated, Brad posted, "Bradley Manning feels so alone," to his Facebook wall–perhaps this is the period when he decided to become a leaker. He appears distraught, there is no doubt, but hardly the emotional wreck portrayed in the Lamo chats that took place months later.
Over the next several months, when Brad may have leaked most of the documents, he appears happy and carefree. His posts are peppered with smiley emoticons. On March 14, he "wishes everyone a Happy Pi Day!" Not until April 30, after a change in his boyfriend's relationship status does his emotional state seem to deteriorate. That day he posts that he "is now left with the sinking feeling that he doesn't have anything left…" Days later, on May 5, 2010, he says he "is beyond frustrated with people and society at large," and the next day he "is not a piece of equipment."
This is Brad's last Facebook post. Later that month he apparently initiated a chat with Adrian Lamo, who had recently been profiled in Wired Magazine. Brad, it seems, broke down to Lamo and over a series of days confessed his shocking breach of U.S. military security.
The magnitude of classified material Brad is suspected to have leaked is astounding. He appears to have leaked the Collateral Murder video, in which American soldiers in an Apache helicopter gleefully gun down a group of innocent men, including a Reuters photojournalist and his driver, killing 16 and sending two children to the hospital, a video of the 2009 Granai airstrike in Afghanistan, in which as many as 140 civilians, including women and children, were killed in a U.S. attack on a suspected military compound, a cache of nearly 100,000 field reports from Afghanistan, known popularly as the Afghan War logs, about 260,000 diplomatic cables and a set of as many as half a million documents relating to the Iraq war that, even on their own, likely constitute the biggest leak of military secrets in history.
Lamo notified the authorities.
Brad's Facebook status, on June 5, 2010, probably posted by someone else, reads: "Some of you may have heard that I have been arrested for disclosure of classified information to unauthorized persons. See [link to the Collateral Murder video]." He'd been arrested days before, and was then being held in Kuwait, before being transferred to the brig at Quantico.
Brad currently faces three counts of unlawfully transferring confidential material to a non-secure computer–military jargon for leaking state secrets. If convicted, he could spend a half a century in prison. U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) has called for his execution.
On July 25th, 2010, Wikileaks released the Afghan War Logs. The documents reveal hundreds of civilian deaths in unreported incidents, rapidly escalating Taliban attacks, and indications that the Pakistani intelligence service, ostensibly a U.S. ally, works intimately and supportively with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. The Guardian called the logs "a devastating portrait of the failing war." The New York Times called them "an unvarnished, ground-level picture of the war in Afghanistan that is in many respects grimmer than the official portrayal."
Critics of Wikileaks accused the group of publishing documents that included the names of Afghan informants, putting their lives in danger. Wikileaks withheld publication of 15,000 documents to redact the names of others to whom the leaks could bring harm, and claims to have invited the Pentagon to help—though the Pentagon denies this. The Pentagon has said that it will not cooperate with Wikileaks under any circumstances, has called on the group to stop publishing leaks and demanded that it immediately return all classified material. The Daily Beast has reported that the Pentagon now has a 120-person strong "Wikileaks War Room" to minimize harm from the leaks, to try to preempt them and to collect information to be used, at some indeterminate future date, in prosecuting Julian Assange for espionage.
Wikileaks anticipated becoming an enemy of the state. Quietly and without fanfare, with threats to its existence rising, Wikileaks uploaded to its website an encrypted document called "Insurance file", which has been downloaded more than 100,000 times to date. The file is about 20-times bigger than the Afghan War Logs. If – or when – Wikileaks releases the password for the file, the whole world will know what it contains. In Wikileaks, the Pentagon is confronting a challenge like none before. The agent was Assange, but the raw material likely came from Bradley Manning.
Since its debut on the world stage in 2006, Wikileaks has posted a document leaked from Somalia's Islamist rebels, the contents of Sarah Palin's email account, documents temporarily discrediting now-vindicated climate change scientists, internal papers from the Church of Scientology, the membership list of the pseudo-fascist British National Party and more. Big scoops all, but not until Collateral Murder and the Afghan War Logs did the American government initiate a concerted effort to shut the website down. Once a source of newsworthy if mostly innocuous revelations, Wikileaks has officially become a threat to national security. If the allegations against him are true, Brad made Wikileaks what it is today.
The last day I spent in Crescent was a bright Sunday morning. I sat on a bench not far from the Hub Café, where Karen Silkwood spent some of her last moments. As trucks lumbered down Grand Avenue and drivers waved hello, the town came to life.
I went to Sunday school at the Baptist Church. In the class for young adults I attended, we discussed the familiar troubles of jobs, children, and romance–troubles Bradley Manning is unlikely to experience for many, many years, if ever again. Toward the end of class we bowed our heads, and Rick McCombs, the principal of Crescent schools, led a prayer for Bradley Manning and his family.
After church, I spoke with Johnny Thompson, Brad's old buddy from the long bus ride home. We met up at a gas station and talked about his life growing up in Crescent: the boredom, the tragedy of the closing of the arcade in the laundromat, the ridicule from kids in bigger cities, the independent streak instilled in him by being a social outcast in a small town. At the end of the interview, I turned my recorder off and started to stand. Thompson asked me to turn it back on.
"Just one last thing," he said. "No matter what he did, every memory I have of him is just a little kid I talked with on the bus. It don't even really seem right that he's some big criminal right now."
Thompson, a stonemason, has the hulking look of an overgrown boy soon to become a man. His dark, smoky eyes are fidgety and uncertain, betraying a humble, earnest sensitivity.
"I was worried that they might execute him."
Thompson had caught my eye days earlier when he mentioned in passing that he was reading the classic subversive novel written by Oklahoma City native Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man. I asked if I could interview him later. He said sure, then walked away. As I too walked toward my car, he turned and added, "Not everyone in Crescent's a bunch of rednecks."
Denver Nicks is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. His work has appeared in The Daily Beast, AlterNet, High Country News, and other publications. His next assignment takes him to Karachi, Pakistan, where he'll be reporting for Express Tribune.


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53 years ago, in 1964, Myrtle Allen opened a restaurant in her own house in the wilds of East Cork to celebrate the connection between agriculture and gastronomy, uniting the pioneered a whole food movement of farm to fork eating which has inspired chefs and cooks not only in Ireland but all over the world.
Most recently we went to Denmark for the launch of Christian Puglisi Farm of Ideas and Seed Exchange Festival in Lejre – north of Copenhagen. Christian is one of the Nordic regions most inspirational chefs – his restaurant Relae is in the World's Top 50 restaurants and he also owns Manfred and Baest. The latter is a pizzeria with a difference, where the mozzarella is made from the raw milk of the Jersey cows and the cured meats and salami are all handmade and cured in the kitchen.
He has a total commitment to sourcing the very best raw materials which becomes more and more challenging for restaurants. Consequently a growing number of young chefs are buying farms or entering into contract with farmers so they can grow their own produce, rear animals and poultry and produce milk to make homemade butter, cheese and yoghurts.
Equally important from Christian's viewpoint is to connect his chefs with how flavourful and nourishing food is produced.
Christian's chefs drive up from Copenhagen to the 27 acre farm on a rota basis each day to harvest and prepare freshly harvested produce for that days menu. This opens their eyes to the challenges of food production, how crops and yields are affected by the weather, pests and disease. The chefs and cooks become much less arrogant and appreciative as they begin to absorb the reality of nature.
Christian freely acknowledged how influenced he was by Myrtle's philosophy and the organic gardens, micro dairy and farm animals reared on the organic farm surrounding the Ballymaloe Cookery School.
Christian stated aim is to connect gastronomy with agriculture, an admirable and obviously badly needed initiative at a time in history where we are becoming more and more disconnected from the source of our food.
Recently, a chef in a top Irish restaurant was astonished to learn that if he picked all the runner bean flowers there would be no runner beans – it was news to him that the flowers turn into the beans……
Christian hopes that chefs from all over the world will gather at the Farm of Ideas to share knowledge and learn from each other. There were inspirational talks on the importance of seed saving and delegates had brought seeds from all over the world to swap with others or to contribute to the Danish Seed Bank. Carlo Petrini of Slow Food International came from Turin to give the keynote address and Sean Brock from Husk Restaurant, Charleston, USA were among the inspirational speakers who spoke passionately on the need for biodiversity, education and local seed banks at a time when the climate is obviously challenging and some crops are already failing as the temperatures change. If this is a subject that interests you look up and support the work of the Seed Savers, even if it's only in a tiny way…
Hot Tips
Mizen Seed Project needs your support. In an effort to create wildlife friendly areas around the Mizen area, JP McCarthy is asking people to save seeds from their own gardens. He will provide paper envelopes for the seeds and ask you to return them to the Mizen Seed Project, c/o Nellie Cotter, Little Way Charity Shop, Main Street, Schull where they will stored safely over the winter and resown and planted on within the Mizen community. Tel: JP McCarthy 086 199 1334
For those of you, who are interested in knowing more about ancient grains, check out Amazing Grains published by Kyle Books. Lots of interesting information and some very tasty recipes.
Just Cook It
Join us here at the Ballymaloe Cookery School on Friday October 6th for an afternoon of hands on cooking. Delicious recipes using fresh produce from the farm and gardens. The afternoon starts with a short demonstration, then pop on your apron and into the kitchens to cook, one tutor with every six students. Then sit down together to enjoy a relaxed and delicious informal dinner. You will leave confident, inspired and with a selection of recipes that you can cook again and again at home for family and friends. www.cookingisfun.ie
Going Gluten Free
As anyone who is coeliac, or who cooks for someone who has a gluten intolerance, will testify, it can be challenging to produce really delicious, balanced meals. Finally, help is at hand – on Saturday October 7th, this intensive half day course is ideal for those on a gluten free diet who faces the dilemma of longing to taste 'real' food. You'll learn about a whole range of tasty and easy to prepare dishes including gluten free sweet and savoury pastry, crackling salmon with coriander pesto and gluten free raspberry muffins. Advice on alternative ingredients and lots of baking tips will help take the mystery out of successful gluten free cooking. www.cookingisfun.ie
School Lunch Box Suggestion
Anzac Biscuits
Makes 30
4 ozs (110g) rolled oats
4 ozs (110g) sugar
4 ozs (110g) desiccated coconut
4 ozs (110g) plain flour
Pinch of salt
2 ozs (55g) ground almonds
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon golden syrup
4 ozs (110g butter
2 level teaspoons bread soda
Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325ºF/regulo 3. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Put the water, golden syrup and butter into small saucepan, bring to the boil and take off the heat, add the breadsoda and stir. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Roll the mixture into balls and place onto a greased baking tray (leaving room to spread out), flatten with a fork. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.
Christian Puglisi's Cooked Onions, Buttermilk and Nasturtium
Serves 6
Blanched Spring Onions
1 kg small white spring onions, peeled and halved lengthwise
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Fine grain salt
60 g Buttermilk and Crème Fraîche Dressing see recipe
2 bunches nasturtium, leaved picked and torn, stems cut into 1 cm lengths
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Sea salt
Buttermilk and Crème Fraîche Dressing
100 g crème fraîche
15 g freshly squeezed lemon juice
200 g buttermilk
Fine grain salt
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over a high heat. Add the onions to the boiling water and allow the pot to come back to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and simmer until the onions are just cooked, but still slightly crunchy, 8-10 minutes. Transfer the onions to ice water to cool. Drain the onions in a colander and pick apart the onion shells, discarding the tougher outer layers. Transfer the onions to a large bowl and dress with olive oil, lemon juice and salt.
Next make the dressing. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the crème fraîche and the lemon juice to combine. Slowly pour in the buttermilk, continuing to whisk, until the mixture is slightly thickened, approximately 5 minutes. Season with salt.
For each serving, place a spoonful of the buttermilk and crème fraîche dressing in the centre of the plate. Place a torn nasturtium leaf inside each onion shell and place on top of the dressing. Starting from the left side, plate 10 to 12 onion shells, one behind the other, until the dressing is covered. Place 5 or 6 nasturtium stem pieces between the onions, slightly angled upward. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, 3 sprays of lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt.
Taken from Christian Puglisi's A Book of Ideas, published by Ten Speed Press, USA
Christian Puglisi's Potato, Seaweed and Pecorino
Serves 6
Potato Noodles
1 kg large Marabel potatoes, peeled
1 kg 3% Salt Brine, see recipe
Clarified butter, see recipe, melted
40 g Gracilaria seaweed, washed and julienned
Sea salt
Pecorino Sauce
125 g Pecorino Romano cheese, cut into 3cm cubes
250 g water
Fine grain salt
Pickled Green Sea Lettuce
500 g water
250 g red wine vinegar
30 g fresh green sea lettuce, washed
Clarified seaweed butter
100 g clarified butter
5 g green sea lettuce powder, see recipe
Slice the potatoes on a Japanese turning vegetable slicer with the noodle attachment, making the longest noodle possible. As you cut the noodles, put them straight in a large bowl with the salt brine. Transfer the potatoes and the salt brine to a vacuum bag and vacuum seal it. Keep in the fridge overnight. The following day, drain the potatoes in a colander, discarding the brine. Pull out 8-10 long potato noodle strands, bunch them together into one long line and cut them into 50cm lengths. Place the long bunch on a work surface and fold it in half crosswise. Brush the potatoes with clarified butter and place 4 small bundles of the julienned seaweed on top in different places. Using long tweezers, pinch the folded end of the line of potato noodles and tightly roll the noodles into a small bundle, then coil the bundle into a tight oval shape. Place the potatoes on parchment paper in a bamboo steaming basket. Repeat this process until you have 18 potato bundles. Place the steaming basket over a saucepan of boiling water over high heat and steam until the potatoes are just cooked, but not soft, approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt.
Next make the pecorino sauce: – combine the cheese and the water in a Thermomix, set it to 60°C (140°F) and puree for 5 minutes until smooth and well combined. Season with salt.
(note that this makes more pecorino sauce than you will need for this recipe).
Pickled Green Sea Lettuce:- preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F). Combine the water and red wine vinegar in a bowl. Dip the sea lettuce into the mixture for no more than 30 seconds, then place in a single layer on parchment paper. Place a baking sheet in the oven for 5-10 minutes, and then transfer the parchment paper onto the hot baking sheet to warm but not cook the sea lettuce, approximately 1 minute.
Clarified Seaweed Butter
In a small saucepan, warm the clarified butter, then stir in the green sea lettuce powder.
(note that this will make more butter than you need for this recipe)
For each serving, place 3 bundles of potato noodles on a plat and top with 3 spoonfuls of the warmed pecorino sauce. Place 3 or 4 pieces of the warmed pickled green sea lettuce around the bundles and on the sauce. Drizzle with warmed clarified seaweed butter.
Clarified Butter
500 g unsalted butter
Slowly melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Do not stir the butter or move the saucepan. After 10-12 minutes, the melted butter will separate into three layers: foam, fat and milk solids. Skim the foam from the surface of the melted butter and discard. Gently pour the fat into a heat resistant container, leaving the milk solids behind. Discard the milk solids. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Green Sea Lettuce Powder
250 g fresh green sea lettuce, washed
Place the sea lettuce in a single layer and dry overnight at 65C (150F) in the dehydrator. The following day, transfer to a Thermomix and process until it has become a fine powder. Sift the powder through a fine sieve set over a bowl.
(Note that this yields more Green Sea Lettuce Powder than you need for this recipe).
3% Salt Brine
1 kg water
30 g coarse grain salt
Combine the water and salt in a Thermomix and process until well combined. Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Taken from Christian Puglisi's A Book of Ideas, published by Ten Speed Press, USA
Christian Puglisi's Sheep's Milk Yoghurt, Radishes and Nasturtium
Serves 6
Sheep's Milk Yoghurt Mousse
125 g heavy cream
200 g sheep's milk yoghurt
Cooked Radishes
250 g different coloured small radishes, halved lengthwise
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Fine grain salt
2 bunches of nasturtium, separated into leaves with 3 cm of stem attached
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
In a bowl, whisk together the cream and the sheep's milk yoghurt. Pour into a siphon bottle and charge with one C02 cartridge. Shake the siphon bottle until the mousse is smooth and can hold stiff peaks.
Blanch the radishes in boiling salted water until just cooked, but still slightly crunchy, 30 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on size. Transfer to ice water to cool. Drain in a colander. Season with olive oil, lemon juice and salt.
For each serving, place the cooked radishes in a pile in the centre of the plate. Siphon enough sheep's milk yoghurt moussed on top of the radishes to cover them. Place the nasturtium leaves, with stems facing out, on top of the mousse, covering it completely. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt.
Taken from Christian Puglisi's A Book of Ideas, published by Ten Speed Press, USA

subset: commoncrawl


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Following the residencies and preparatory workshops that began in 2015, artists and researchers are presenting an unprecedented rousing of the Mucem's collections through Bilingual document: a dual exhibition presented at Fort SaintJean and the Centre for Conservation and Resources, featuring a sound walk that links the two sites and a book.
The Mucem houses in its reserves the collections from the former Musée National des Arts et Traditions Populaires, created in 1937 by Georges Henri Rivière. Artisanal or preindustrial vestiges of a bygone era, the objects assembled here are the bounty of methodical collections conducted during field surveys, enriched by objects acquired since the opening of the museum. The question of the dual nature of the object, split between popular art and scientific discourse, was at the heart of Rivière's project. But what about these collections now dormant in the Mucem's reserves? An uneasy feeling seizes visitors at the sight of these curious and sometimes obsolete time capsules. While a few objects may be called upon for a specific exhibition, how can we mobiliser the collection in a more general way within the framework of a museum of civilisation? How can we activate a document, even make it perform, by reflecting its bilingual nature: an object with an aesthetic or poetic status, while also testifying to its ethnographic value? Could art be, paradoxically, the way of reviving these trophies?
Including works by Jean-François Chougnet, Yo Barrada, Omar Berrada and M'barek Bouhchichi, Jean-Roch Bouiller, Marie-Charlotte Calafat, Erik Bullot, Sabrina Grassi, Yaël Kreplak, Franck Leibovici, Florent Molle, Uriel Orlow, Abril Padilla and Pascal Riviale.
Curated by Sabrina Grassi and Guest Curator Erik Bullot
External Link →


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I ran across a music blog this evening. It's called noisenoisenoise and Dave, the author, has a discerning taste in music that I can appreciate - so I thought I'd share. He say's he's "total rock snob" and that's fine, I like his selection of music so I really don't care if he's a snob. There are a bunch of artists I like (fIREHOSE, Lord High Fixers, Lubricated Goat, Lydia … [Read more...]
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Pho Saigon Restaurant
Authentic Vietnamese cuisine, made with love and a lot of beef bones. Now offering take-out & dine in!
Meet Us
Pho Saigon is the Pioneer Valley's premier Vietnamese restaurant. We're a family-owned and operated business, dedicated to sharing our passion for the intricate flavors of Vietnamese cuisine in a warm and approachable setting. Since 1998, we've been serving our hearty pho beef noodle soups, along with other Vietnamese favorites like Hanoi-style meatballs, spicy lemongrass soup and sugarcane shrimp sticks.
Thank you to all our fans and regulars for voting us "Best Vietnamese Restaurant" in the Valley Advocate awards for over 10 years. We appreciate your support!
What To Eat
Hungry? Download our menu to see what it's all about.
Food MenuSpecialty Drinks Menu
Some Nice Things Folks Have Said About Us
"Springfield has some of the best Vietnamese food in the country...Pho Sàigòn is beautifully decorated, from the orange Vespa in the window to the family's personal Vietnamese lacquerware. The servers are so friendly, I want to move in." --Daily Hampshire Gazette
"Every time we visit Pho Saigon in Springfield, we come away with one regret – we don't often enough get to enjoy the sophistication of Vietnamese cookery as practiced there." --Springfield Republican
"At this Vietnamese restaurant, eating by number unveils flavors that are anything but rote...Of several outstanding dishes, the Cha Ca Thang Long (55) is a beautiful thing consisting of catfish marinated in a spicy, peppery sauce and crispy around the edges. It was superb, with tender boneless fish with piquant sauce drenching both noodles and a salad." --Valley Advocate


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The AMMO SHADERS are a new type of product designed to create a variety of effects on all types of models in a simple and fast way. The transparent and ultra-fine paint allows all skill level of modelers to apply stunningly realistic effects that seemed impossible before.
From fading effects to wear and tear, shadows and highlights, altering the colours to different hues, this new range can even be applied to effect base colours like a filter. The SHADERS range give your model a dynamic and interesting finish in just minutes, making these colours perfect for modellers new to the hobby. The all new characteristics allow modelers to create effects that until now could only be achieved using more complex techniques such as glazes, washes, or filters.
More experienced modellers enjoy the convenience of applying advanced and complex effects with finesse and ease. The new SHADERS are not just another paint, but a new way of applying professional effects quickly and easily.
- Create effects with light and volume
- Quickly change the tone of any colour combination
- Easily add dirt effects and emphasize panel lines
- New product for quick effects
- Doesn´t need to be diluted. Non toxic
- Airbrush application with simple water clean up
- Correct or clean within several hour working time
- Unique formula with super fine pigment


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The president won't be able to look to organized labor. Unions are overwhelmingly opposed to a deal thatCommunications Workers of Americaposters refer to as on Steroids."NAFTA "
The president won't be able to look to major environmental organizations. The Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth and other green groups are outspoken in their opposition.
The president won't be able to look to progressive farm groups. The National Farmers Union is explicitly opposed to using a fast-track approach that would allow trade agreements to move through Congress with limited debate and without amendments.
In fact, if Obama decides to ramp up his advocacy for a free-trade strategy that progressive Americans tend to see as a threat to workers, farmers, the environment, human rights and democracy, he won't be able to count on many traditional allies to stir up grassroots support in the states. That's one of the reasons there remains considerable uncertainty about whether the president really will—in a speech that is expected to focus on income equality—spend substantial time talking up a trade agenda that has drawn broad opposition from House and Senate Democrats and so much of his base.
If the president does go all in for the TPP, he will find himself in strange company—with groups that promote policies that critics argue are responsible for the growing gap between a wealthy few and an increasingly impoverished many.
There is, for instance, one group that maintains an extensive network of political connections in states across the country and is enthusiastically on board for "the expedited conclusions and approval of the TPP."
That group is the American Legislative Exchange Council.
ALEC, the corporate-funded organization that stirred considerable controversy several years ago with its advocacy on behalf of so-called Stand Your Ground gun laws and restrictive Voter ID rules, produces so-called "model legislation" for introduction by conservative state legislators. Last fall, the ALEC board of directors approved and circulated a "Model Policy" that celebrates the TPP and declares that it "will be an impetus for further bilateral and multilateral trade agreements…"
Expanding trade along lines established by the North American Free Trade Agreement and the permanent normalization of trade relations with China has always been on ALEC's agenda. The multinational corporations that cover the group's expenses, and help to define every aspect of its agenda, have long embraced an approach that allows them to move factories and jobs from country-to-country in order to lower wages and avoid labor, environmental and human rights regulations.
ALEC's model policy on the TPP even makes respectful reference to President Obama and his administration. That's ironic, as ALEC members have been among the most ardent critics of the president's policies.
Not long ago, the group published a "State Legislators Guide to Repealing Obamacare." Yet, ALEC now highlights the Obama administration's support of the TPP "as one-part of its strategy to increase competitiveness and employment in the United States…"
So ALEC is urging state legislators who have been busy trying to block implementation of the Affordable Care Act to get their states to formally endorse the TPP. The model policy concludes:
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the legislature of [INSERT STATE] call(s) on Congress to support negotiations for a comprehensive, high-standard and ambitious Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement that will provide a platform for regional trade and economic integration…
ALEC's International Relations Task Force, which is co-chaired by a representative from Philip Morris International, declares on its webpage that it "promotes both bilateral and multilateral free trade frameworks, initiatives and partnerships." ALEC has a long history of being at the forefront of fights to sell the trade agenda outlined in the North American Free Trade Agreement and other deals backed by Democratic and Republican presidents.
Indeed, the task force that's promoting the TPP says, ALEC's international policy work is persuasive "precisely because our policy directives are backed by our public and private sector members—American state legislators from all 50 states and some of the world's largest corporations."


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Vimeo On Demand is not currently available to new sellers. To start selling content today, use Vimeo OTT.
Content Ratings help us keep Vimeo On Demand titles accessible to as many people as possible. In a content rating, we ask creators to tell us if their VOD works contain nudity, violence, profanity, or drug/alcohol references. Based on the categories selected — or not selected — one of the following badges will appear on the Vimeo On Demand page: All Audiences, Mature, or Not Yet Rated.
When setting up your VOD page, you will be asked to rate the work you're selling. The rating you choose should apply to all the work you're selling. Choose the appropriate rating ("All audiences" or "Mature"), then, if applicable, select one or more of the mature content categories. This rating will be applied to your VOD page. You can return to your VOD settings at any time to update your rating.


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The flavors of the Pinotage grape variety as an art print on various high quality materials.
What flavors are in a wine? The decorative wine aroma pictures by Armin Faber and Thomas Pothmann clearly show what is in red and white wines from different wine-growing regions in Germany and Europe. The photographs were created from an idea by the well-known sommelière Christina Fischer and from Guy Bonnefoit's tasting notes.


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Most home business opportunities are overdone and oversaturated. With most home based business opportunities that are promoted in magazine and websites the options are all the same; start a day care center, become a personal shopper, site at home and stuff enveloped and so on. While a dedicated person can make income, and sometimes great incomes, from such ideas, the market can only handle so many work at home personal shoppers. Ebooks however, are in a market that is only just starting to see entrepreneurial interest. Ebook authors are starting to be called 'info entrepreneurs". They compile high quality information or write their own fiction ebooks and sell them online. Some people are able to secure very comfortable full time careers from this, and yes, they do it 100% from their own home.
Ebook Entrepreneurship
Being an ebook entrepreneur is no easy feat. It will require long hours of research and writing, web design and gaining a little knowledge about ecommerce. However, the payoff could be huge. And unlike many other home based businesses you won't be limited to your region. The beauty about ebooks is that you can publish them and then distribute them throughout the world. You could get orders from Indonesia, Canada, USA, France and so on. This global opportunity doesn't apply to many other work at home opportunities.
Ebook Stores Don't Open & Close
Another defining feature of Ebook Entrepreneurs is that they don't have the regular 9-5 hours of operation. You will sell ebooks while you're awake and while you sleep. Not bad huh? Most of the work that goes along with setting up an Ebook business is done in the beginning stages. This industry is front heavy, but after you set up your infrastructure you can continue to sell with very little daily maintenance.
Not Just For Authors
Likewise, ebook authorship is not just for authors. Anyone who has an interest in anything could write about their interest and convert in into an ebook. Some of the best ebooks are actually from unknown authors and some of the highest selling ebooks have been written by unknown authors who have a knack for online promotion.
If nothing else, Ebook publishing it is something worth consideration. Ebooks may not replace traditional paperback books, but they certainly are gaining popularity at a rate that should make all authors stop to think about how they could use ebooks to their advantage.


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As President Joe Biden works to overhaul U.S. health care policy, few challenges will loom larger for his health secretary than restoring access to family planning while parrying legal challenges to abortion proliferating across the country.
Physicians, clinics and women's health advocates are looking to Xavier Becerra, Biden's nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services, to help swiftly unwind Trump-era funding cuts and rules that have decimated the nation's network of reproductive health providers over the past four years.
But Becerra's in the middle of confirmation hearings this week. And though he fought the Trump administration's family planning restrictions as California's attorney general, he will, if confirmed by the Senate, face a U.S. Supreme Court dominated by Republican appointees, plus other increasingly conservative federal courts that have backed efforts to restrict reproductive health services.
The leader of Biden's Health and Human Services team will also have to contend with an energized anti-abortion movement — a movement eager to leverage political power in red state legislatures to finally achieve its decades-long quest to ban abortion outright.
Any Biden administration efforts to preserve the right to an abortion and other family planning services could set up new legal battles between the federal government and states.
"It's a minefield," says Mary Ziegler, a law professor at Florida State University who has written extensively about the history of the nation's abortion debate.
"Expectations on both sides are extremely high," she says. "And the Supreme Court may force the issue to the top of the agenda if it does something aggressive to restrict abortion."
The outlines of the brewing showdown came further into focus Tuesday as Becerra faced opposition from a number of Republicans on the Senate health committee on the first of two days of confirmation hearings.
"For many of us, your record has been ... very extreme," Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., told Becerra at the hearing, accusing him of being "against pro-life." More than three dozen groups opposed to abortion rights have urged the Senate to reject Becerra, who has been a longtime advocate for abortion rights and federal support for contraceptives.
By contrast, Becerra has drawn strong support from abortion rights groups, which have applauded his efforts challenging Trump restrictions on family planning services. "He will be a great partner," says Alexis McGill Johnson, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Becerra, whose wife, Dr. Carolina Reyes, is an obstetrician, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, after which his nomination is expected to move to the floor of the Senate next week for consideration by the whole body.
Successive presidential administrations since the 1980s have restricted or expanded federal support for family planning, depending on which party controlled the White House.
But tensions between the two sides intensified under President Donald Trump, making the task before Biden and Becerra that much more delicate.
Trump, who relied heavily on political backing from religious conservatives, moved more aggressively than his GOP predecessors to curtail access to abortion and clamp down on federal funding for clinics that provide reproductive care.
Organizations such as Planned Parenthood that long received federal money through the half-century-old Title X program were forced out of it when the Trump administration effectively barred recipients of federal aid from providing abortions or counseling women about the procedure.
That move, in turn, led to widespread staffing cutbacks at clinics across the country and huge drops in the number of people able to get family planning services, according to health care providers.
"We're seeing so many fewer clients," says Brenda Thomas, chief executive of Arizona Family Health Partnership, which coordinates the state's Title X program. Thomas said the number of patients in Arizona's program dropped 24% in 2019 after the Trump administration issued the new rules; it then declined an additional 40% in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic further hampered services.
In Missouri, a provider operating three family planning clinics left the program, leading to a 14% decrease in patients getting services through Title X, according to the Missouri Family Health Council.
And in California, the Title X restrictions led to a 40% reduction in patients in 2019, says Lisa Matsubara, general counsel at Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California.
Like many other family planning advocates, Matsubara says Biden needs to do more than just reverse the cuts. "We don't want to just, like, go back to what it was before the Trump administration," she says. "We're really looking and hoping that the administration really takes the necessary steps to expand access."
Biden has pledged to rewrite the family planning regulations so clinics providing reproductive health services can return to the program.
Within days of taking office, Biden issued an executive order to reverse other family planning restrictions imposed by the last administration, including rescinding what's come to be called the global gag rule that prevented international aid groups that receive U.S. funding from counseling pregnant patients about abortion.
Rolling back some federal policies, like the restrictions on international aid, are relatively simple. Biden and Becerra likely also could quickly reverse Trump-era restrictions on mifepristone, a pill used to induce abortion early in a pregnancy.
But rewriting rules on funding for family planning or reissuing other complex regulations could be considerably more fraught, experts say.
"Both sides have really learned how to maximize use of courts," says Alina Salganicoff, who directs women's health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health policy nonprofit. (Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of KFF.)
"If anyone understands the legal challenges, it's Becerra," Salganicoff says. "But these are thorny issues. There are questions about how the Biden administration can move forward and how fast. And there's no question they are going to be sued."
After taking office, Biden said his administration would review the Title X restrictions, which are also under review by the Supreme Court.
As California attorney general, Becerra sued to stop the Trump administration rules. The case was rejected by lower federal courts, though a separate lawsuit in Maryland challenging the rules was successful, setting up the case for the Supreme Court.
Last month, the court issued its first abortion-related decision since Trump appointee Amy Coney Barrett replaced Ruth Bader Ginsburg, upholding a Trump-era rule that blocked mail delivery of mifepristone.
Many legal experts see more substantial court fights on the horizon as conservative-leaning states pass increasingly restrictive abortion laws.
Just last week, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, signed a bill barring abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat can be detected with ultrasound, or about five or six weeks after a pregnancy begins.
The South Carolina law was temporarily blocked by a federal judge after Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit.
The Supreme Court has never upheld a law as restrictive as South Carolina's. But the high court is the most conservative it has been in decades, raising the prospect thatjustices may reconsider the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which recognized the right to an abortion.
That could force Biden — and potentially Becerra — to step much more directly into efforts in Congress to safeguard abortion rights, says Ziegler, the Florida law professor.
"There will be huge pressure on the Biden administration to do big, bold things," Ziegler says.
KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program ofKFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
Copyright 2023 Kaiser Health News. To see more, visit Kaiser Health News.


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Joy Theatre
318 N. St. Paul Street,
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Joy's Theaters Inc.
Previous Names: Circle Theatre, Showcase Theatre, Uptown Theatre, Little Theater
Nearby Theaters
The Circle Theatre opened on December 25, 1923 as a live theatre, and was operated by E.H. Hulsey. It operated for 15 years as a legit house with the Circle Player, followed by the Little Theatre. On April 1, 1934 it was renamed Uptown Theatre. It was closed in 1938 after running into deficits throughout the decade.
On August 31, 1943, Joy Theatres Inc. of New Orleans opened its 63rd location at the former Circle Theatre and it was renamed Joy Theatre. It was a third/fourth run ultra discount movie theatre. By June 1948, there was no more Joy, as the theatre was closed.
It hade several mixed uses over the years, including storage, office space and church services. On April 27, 1977, it was demolished.
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Two downtown theaters utilized the nameplate, Joy Theater. The first can be found under the Strand Theater in Dallas where the Hippodrome was renamed the Joy followed by the Wade, Dallas, Downtown and finally Strand. This entry is for the Joy Theater that began as the Circle Theater.
The first live theater to be built since 1893 in Dallas since the Opera House, E.H. Husley opened the 1,100 seat Joy Theatre's original nameplate, The Circle Theatre on Christmas Day 1923. Hotel magnate Conrad Hilton had always wanted to try show business and operated the Circle for one year breaking even. The Circle was home to the Circle Players and under new management, their slogan was, "If you can't go to Broadway, we'll bring Broadway to you." Again, new management the following year under John L. Corvo spoke to the challenges of the business environment. Late that year, original owner E.H. Hulsey was back in charge and took a chance on motion pictures.
Hulsey started with a high profile road show of MGM's "Ben Hur." After selling out the first show, Hulsey would soon position his Circle as one of the potentially major movie houses in the South when he invested $25,000 on Warner Brother's Vitaphone synchronizer bringing sound pictures to downtown Dallas. He got Warner's "Don Juan" which did phenomenal business. "The Better Olé" was next and the Al Jolson short sparked with audiences. Hulsey allowed Saenger Amusements to book the films. But Hulsey sold his lease to new owner Raleigh Dent. Dent made what would turn out to be a business decision that would change the fate of the Circle Theater forever.
Determining Vitaphone releases to be too sporadic, Dent had the Vitaphone equipment removed in 1927. The Arcadia Theatre on Greenville Ave. in Dallas installed the equipment in time for a preview screening of Al Jolson's seminal "The Jazz Singer" and the rest, as they say, is history with every Dallas theater on Theater Row converting to sound pictures except one: The Circle.
The Circle's next shot at cinematic glory came when it booked a high profile road show of Paramount's blockbuster to be, "Wings" to be accompanied with a 20-piece orchestra. But Paramount decided to revamp the road show with a Vitaphone disc instead of the live accompaniment and the Circle lost the booking at the last minute to the Melba which placed the Vitaphone equipment just in time to secure the booking.
Businessman and Neiman-Marcus co-founder Herbert Marcus backed the Circle financially in 1928 under the direction of James R. Saville who took over for Aldis Bartlett and changed the flagging theater's name to the Showhouse. But there would be no more profitable years for the Showhouse which struggled mightily during the Depression era. James J. Hayden hit some high points with his stock company but closed down the theater in January 1932. It re-opened in 1934 under film veteran J.S. Groves who installed a cooling system in the auditorium and changed the name of the theater to the Uptown Theatre. Finally, in 1937, the theater got its biggest live theater boost when The Little Theater moved into the space and the theater got its fourth name, The Little Theater. That situation proved challenging as street noise infiltrated performances constantly in the non-soundproofed facility and the space was deemed to be dirty and technologically challenged. The Little Theater moved out in 1938 and the Circle was used sporadically including occasional shows and sermons.
On August 21, 1943, Joy Theatres Inc. of New Orleans opened its 63rd location at the former Circle Theatre and it was renamed the Joy Theatre. The first program was "Leopard Men of Africa" and "Tanks a Million." It was a third/fourth run ultra-discount movie theatre. By June 1948, there was no more Joy, as the theatre equipment was removed and the theater went dark. It was used just a month into its vacancy by a crook who drilled a small hole from it to the neighboring drug store as the crook made off with narcotics and cash. From there, the space was used for more productive but non-cinema related things including storage, office space and church services. In 1951, a million dollar renovation turned the Circle/Joy into an office building ending any hopes of its auditorium housing a theater. On April 27, 1977, the Circle/Joy was demolished.
While the ultimate fate of the theatre wouldn't have been different had a decision to stay with sound film in 1927 been made, there's no question that the Circle would have been more fondly remembered as a Cinema Treasure in local theater history. And certainly it might have avoided having five names doing business as the Circle, Showcase, Uptown, Little Theater, and Joy.
reopened as Uptown on April 1st, 1934. Grand opening ad posted.
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One of the things I like about Mumbai is the mouth watering street food that you get, especially the chaats available in every street corner. Juhu beach, while a very crowded place is quite different from the beach near our house in Hong Kong where apart from the waves and the wind there was hardly a soul around. Amid the crowd in the Juhu beach are several chaat and other food joints which are hard to miss. While my Hubby advises me not to have street food because of hygiene factors I always end up having atleast the pani puris :). No trip to this beach is complete without having those delectable Chaats and food that they serve there and one among their specialties is this Tawa pulav which I had infact never even heard of earlier. I liked it a lot because of the crunchiness of the vegetables and the masala's which add a distinct flavor to the rice and here comes the recipe.I am sharing some photos to get the feel of juhu beach.
1 Cup Basmati rice
1 1/2 Cups Lengthly chopped mixed vegetables(Carrot,Beans,Alu,Capsicum,Gobi florets)
1/4 cup Fresh/Frozen Green peas
1/4 Cup chopped Tomato
2 medium onions thinly sliced
1/2 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
2 tbsp pav bhaji masala(the key ingredient in this pulav)
1 tsp Kitchen king masala(optional,i generally add this to some kind of pulav's and sabzi)
1/2 tsp Garam masala
1/2 tsp red chilli powder(add if you want extra spicy stuff)
2 tbsp coriander leaves
2 bay leaves
juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp Butter
- Soak Basmati rice in water for 10-15 mins and cook the rice.(Cook in large amount of water with a spoon of oil and strain it when the rice is cooked or you can even pressure cook it).Spread the rice on a wide plate which helps the granules to be separate.
- Heat Oil and butter in a thick bottomed Tawa or Pan,add the bay leaves,fry the Onions until translucent,then add ginger-garlic paste and then add the Veggies,peas and fry them for approx 6-7 mins until they are crisp(prick alu with a fork,if it is cut easily then it is done).
- Remove some portion of the vegetables from it and add pav bhaji masala,kitchen king masala,garam masala,red chilli powder,salt and the cooled rice to the remaining vegetables and mix gently on high flame and remove it from the stove and do the same procedure for the remaining rice.
- Sprinkle lemon juice and finely chopped coriander leaves all over.( Here, i did not add coriander leaves).
- The best way to do is mixing them in small portions in order to get a nice fluffy rice and a good smoking flavor to the rice.
- Serve it piping hot with some simple onion raitha.
I am sending this to Nag's 'Ravishing Rice' Event Which was originally started by Meeta.


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Girls 👸
Rise Minions Maker
A minion is a devoted servant of his master. Since ancient times, minions have been looking for a ruler worthy of their service. Create your own minions and become their master! Choose hairstyles, clothes and accessories to your liking. Experiment with colors and accessories, you are only limited by your imagination. Which of the minions is worthy to take a place in your great corporation? You decide!


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[ Fresh As Daisy |
Double Braided Bun
With Added Hair
- 3 hr3 hr
- 135 US dollars$135
- Fresh As Daisy Kids Spa
Cancellation Policy
SOLON POLICY UPDATE 2024 we ask you to realize that when you forget your appointment or fail to cancel with enough notice, we miss out on an opportunity to fill that time slot, and our standby clients miss the chance to receive our services. Since we realize that it is easy to forget an appointment made weeks in advance, all our appointments are confirmed 24 hours in advance. • Less than 48 hours' notice will result in a 100% loss of deposit. • "No show" will likewise result in 100% loss of deposit. • Cancellation of an appointment prior to service will result in a 50% loss of deposit • 48 Hours' notice is needed to reschedule an appointment in order to not loss your deposit. Should you arrive more than 10 minutes late for your appointment, we cannot guarantee that we will provide your service, however if we are able to a $20 late fee will apply. The purpose of this cancellation policy is to enable us to inform our standby clients of any availability, keep our schedule filled, thus providing better service for each one of our established and future clients. If shampoo service is NOT requested, hair must be clean, de-tangled and somewhat product free. Our Stylist WILL NOT braid dirty hair. ONE ADULT Chaperone PER APPOINTMENT. If you arrive early, please DO NOT enter until it's your scheduled time. Our salon is a child friendly space so please be mindful of telephone conversations. We rarely duplicate another stylist work; we will not change style mid-way. Before service begin please communicate clearly with the stylist, desired size, length, bead colors etc. We try to keep our website updated however if you have a " unique or specific" style in mind that is not listed on our site you MUST send pictures of the sides, front and back prior to booking appointment for pricing. If for some reason you are not satisfied with service received, please make this known BEFORE leaving the salon. In the event of an emergency and we need to cancel or reschedule your appointment we will give you as much notice as possible.
Contact Details
Fresh as Daisy Kids Spa & Salon, 9305 Glenwood Road, Brooklyn, NY, USA
+ 9176509402


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Copyright and Notices© Copyright IMPORTANT NOTE: descriptions of insurance coverage on this web site are for informational purposes only and may not apply, or be included on your policy. Please contact us to confirm coverage provided on your insurance policy or policies your are contemplating purchasing. Coverage may not apply in all states. For complete details of coverages, conditions, limits and losses not covered, be sure to read the policy, including all endorsements.
Some Content Provided By: © Insurance Information Institute, Inc. - Used With Permission ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. |


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Something is wrong in Florida's Indian River Lagoon.
Over the past year, record numbers of dolphins, manatees and pelicans have turned up dead in the 150-mile-long estuary that runs along Florida's Atlantic Coast. Bouts of algal blooms have flourished in the waters. All the signs point to an ecosystem that is seriously out of balance. The crisis has mobilized scientists, residents and elected officials in Florida.
An Ailing Lagoon
Florida has gotten a lot of rain this year. While that's good in some ways, for the lagoon it spells trouble. As Lake Okeechobee has risen, water managers have diverted much of the excess flow down canals, taking it West to the Gulf of Mexico — and east to the Atlantic.
Dennis Hanisak of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce uses a small pontoon boat to check on a network of monitors that keep track of the lagoon's vital signs — temperature, pH, salinity, oxygen levels and other factors like turbidity and water color.
Along the lower end of the Indian River, Hanisak says, the lagoon is looking sick. "This year with the Lake Okeechobee discharges," he says, "we see very low salinities, we see very high nutrients. We see very high water color. We see high turbidity."
The fresh water lowers the salinity in the lagoon and carries silt and other solids that make the water murky. Perhaps most critically, water from Lake Okeechobee carries high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus, pollutants that Hanisak says have had a big impact.
A Plague Of Algae
Because of the release of water from Lake Okeechobee, the lower end of Indian River Lagoon this summer has been beset by large algae blooms, some toxic. They've killed off delicate sea grass beds and dealt a blow to a regional economy that depends on the lagoon for recreation and commercial fishing.
It's the third year in a row of bad news in the lagoon. In 2011, the northern end of Indian River was devastated by an algae superbloom, an event that was followed last year by a different outbreak.
"We have reached a tipping point in the Indian River lagoon now," says Brian Lapointe, a research professor at Harbor Branch who has investigated the algal blooms and the death of marine mammals in the lagoon. In the past year, more than 60 dolphins and 120 manatees have died. At least with the manatee deaths, he says, the cause is clear.
As sea grass has died, Lapointe says, manatees have turned to eating a type of macro algae, a red seaweed that has become toxic with the lagoon's changing chemistry. "This is what they're left with to eat. And they're eating a lot of this — 40, 50 pounds a day or more," he says.
Crisis Declared
The algae blooms, along with the manatee and dolphin deaths, have led many in Florida — including politicians — to declare a crisis. Florida's Senate formed a select committee to search for answers.
"We are past the time for talking and power points and deliberations. We are here to find some short-term solutions to the current environmental crisis," said Sen. Joe Negron, who chaired a recent hearing in Stuart, a town on the St. Lucie estuary.
Speaker after speaker told the committee that there are no short-term solutions. The Army Corps of Engineers, which maintains the levees and water level in Lake Okeechobee, says releases of polluted water from the lake are unavoidable. Because of all the rain, they're necessary to avoid a possible catastrophic breach of the lake's levees.
The only real answer, scientists say, is to stop draining Lake Okeechobee into the Indian River lagoon and restore its natural flow through the Everglades to the south. That's a long-term solution still many years and billions of dollars away.
Septic Tanks Galore
But stopping the water releases from the lake would still address only part of the problem in the lagoon. A larger issue — one that may be even harder to deal with — is septic systems. In three counties on the lagoon, Lapointe told the committee, there are 237,000 septic tanks.
"Do the math. Over 1 million kilograms of nitrogen a year are going toward the Indian River lagoon from septic tanks alone," he said.
Crisis or not, there's little political will in Florida to begin requiring communities to move residents off septic tanks.
In his 40 years of work on the Indian River lagoon, Lapointe has seen similar crises come and go. A few years of drought may ease the algae blooms. Politicians may lose interest. But, he says, if the lagoon's health has indeed reached a tipping point, the way that communities and elected officials react this time will have long-term consequences for the river.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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"Serial MRI of 20 patients treated with the decompression table shows in our study up to 90% reduction of subligamentous nucleus herniation in 10 of 14. Some rehydration occurs detected by T2 and proton density signal increase. Torn annulus repair is seen in all."
Eyerman, Edward MD. Simple pelvic traction gives inconsistent relief to herniated lumbar disc sufferers. Journal of Neuroimaging. Paper presented to the American Society of Neuroimaging, Orlando, Florida 2-26-98.
Full Text of the Study 50+ Traction/Distraction/Decompression Article Abstracts
"Eighty-six percent of ruptured intervertebral disc (RID) patients achieved 'good' (50-89% improvement) to 'excellent' (90-100% improvement) results with decompression. Sciatica and back pain were relieved." "Of the facet arthrosis patients, 75% obtained 'good' to 'excellent' results with decompression."
C. Norman Shealy, MD, PhD, and Vera Borgmeyer, RN, MA. Decompression, Reduction, and Stabilization of the Lumbar Spine: A Cost-Effective Treatment for Lumbosacral Pain. American Journal of Pain Management Vol. 7 No. 2 April 1997
"Results showed that 86% of the 219 patients who completed the therapy reported immediate resolution of symptoms, while 84% remained pain-free 90 days post-treatment. Physical examination findings showed improvement in 92% of the 219 patients, and remained intact in 89% of these patients 90 days after treatment."
Gionis, Thomas MD; Groteke, Eric DC. Surgical Alternatives: Spinal Decompression. Orthopedic Technology Review. 2003; 6 (5).
"All but two of the patients in the study improved at least 30% or more in the first three weeks.""Utilizing the outcome measures, this form of decompression reduces symptoms and improves activities of daily living."
Bruce Gundersen, DC, FACO; Michael Henrie, MS II, Josh Christensen, DC. A Clinical Trial on Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Using Vertebral Axial Distraction Delivered by a Computerized Traction Device. The Academy of Chiropractic Orthopedists, Quarterly Journal of ACO, June 2004
"Distraction results in disc rehydration, stimulated extracellular matrix gene expression, and increased numbers of protein-expressing cells."
Guehring T, Omlor GW, Lorenz H, Engelleiter K, Richter W, Carstens C, Kroeber M. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Germany. Disc distraction shows evidence of regenerative potential in degenerated intervertebral discs as evaluated by protein expression, magnetic resonance imaging, and messenger ribonucleic acid expression analysis. Spine. 2006 Jul 1;31(15):1658-65
Full Abstract of the Study 50+ Traction/Distraction/Decompression Article Abstracts
Spinal Decompression Therapy "...allowed imbibition and complete reduction of the visualized herniation." "Spinal decompression therapy provided an effective means of treatment for this patient's symptoms resulting from discal herniation (extrusion) with associated impingement of the adjacent nerve root." "MR imaging proved to be a useful and non-invasive technique in monitoring the efficacy of decompression therapy as it applies to this case." "Decompression of the spine proved to be superior to the other forms of conservative care when applied to our patient. The patients' results were both subjectively favorable and objectively quantified."
Treatment of an L5-S1 Extruded Disc Herniation Using a DRX-9000 Spinal Decompression Unit: A Case Report. Terry R. Yochum, DC, DACBR, Fellow, ACCR, and Chad J. Maola, D.C. Chiropractic Economics, Vol 53: Issue 2.
Full Text of the Case Study 50+ Traction/Distraction/Decompression Article Abstracts
Click here to view case studies on actual patients in our office.
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EMAIL THE AUSTIN CHIROPRACTIC CENTER, PC 2500 West William Cannon Drive, Suite 206 Austin, TX 78745


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Some Highlights
- The COVID-19 pandemic is causing an economic slowdown.
- The good news is, home values actually increased in 3 of the last 5 U.S. recessions and decreased by less than 2% in the 4th.
- All things considered, an economic slowdown does not equal a housing crisis, and this will not be a repeat of 2008.


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Personalised Engraved Black Multi Leather Purse
- Genuine Soft Leather Medium Size Flap Over Purse
- Push Button Closure
- RFID Blocking Technology
- 12 Card Slots
- 1 ID Window
- 4 Sections for Bank Notes
- 1 Zip Pocket located at the back of the purse
- 1 Zip Pocket located at the top of the purse
- Front Compartment for bank notes, receipts, or bank cards
- Gift Box Included
- Size (Purse fully closed) – L16.2cm x W2.5cm X H9.5cm
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Disclaimer - Please note all personalisation is engraved and not printed, the colour of the engraving will be different depending on the colour of the product, the black font in the personalisation box is for placing your text only.