text:
The Evolution Of Pizza, Garden grove
Trying to trace the history of the first pizza is a surprisingly controversial subject. Some claim that this popular food is based on early unleavened bread served in the early centuries in Rome. Others trace a connection from modern pizza back to the pita bread of Greece.
It's fairly well established that the first pizza as we know it today was created by a man named Raffaele Esposito from Naples, Italy. Esposito's creation was designed to honor the visit of Queen Margherita to Naples in 1889, and he decorated it with the colors of the Italian flag, using white cheese, green basil, and red tomatoes (tomatoes, which had arrived from the west about 60 years earlier, were originally thought to be poisonous, but by Esposito's time they were already embraced by Italian cuisine).
As the years passed and the turn of the century came about, Italian immigrants brought this recipe with them to America. The first pizzeria was opened in America in 1905. It remained popular almost exclusively among immigrants until the end of World War II, when American soldiers returned to their home soil and brought back a love of the pizza they had discovered overseas. With that, the pizza boom in America began and this food became a mainstream meal instead of an underground Italian snack.
The concentration of Italian immigrants in New York in those olden days explains the fact that many people feel you must visit New York to get true pizzeria-style pizza. It's where the pizza got its American start, after all. And nobody who has experienced New York-style pizza can disagree. New York is famous for its pizzerias, where a true slice of pizza consists of a thin, wide crust loaded with plenty of toppings and marinara and smothered in heady Italian seasonings. A side of garlic bread and some heady pasta and tortellini usually round out the menu. Pizzerias in New York are not for the faint of heart.
In the early 1940s, the city of Chicago, IL took pizza in a different direction. It is believed that the first pizzeria in Chicago was Pizzeria Uno, opened in 1943 by Ike Sewell. Sewell's pizza creation was a new twist on the old New York standard. He created what is known today as deep-dish pizza, where the pizza is sunk low into a deeper pan, and the crust is allowed to rise in thick bubbles around the edges. People flocked to Sewell's pizzeria, and a whole new way of looking at this favorite food was born.
To this day you can find yourself in some pretty heated debates if you argue with a New Yorker or a Chicagoan about what constitutes authentic pizzeria-style pizza. But whatever crust style you choose, pizza is a unique food with a foggy past and a definite appeal that has lasted through many incarnations.
So you're lucky enough to find yourself in New York or Chicago, or any city for that matter that has a true pizzeria, complete with checked tablecloths and plenty of garlic on the menu, indulge yourself in an old tradition and order a slice. After all, it's tradition.


text:
XFN complements and interoperates with a plethora of services and technologies. This document explains how to use XFN with these services and technologies. In addition, guidelines and suggestions are provided for developers wishing to aggregate and merge explicit XFN relationships and implicit XFN relationships determined from centralized social networking sites.
In the past few years, quite a few "social networking" websites have emerged, which have many aspects in common. Each prvoides a web page (typically called a "profile" page) which represents a particular person and a hyperlinked list of their contacts or friends. When contacts and friends are added, they are in turn automatically encouraged to join the site and further its growth.
After two or three of these sites were launched, even their most eager users began to complain about having to re-enter their information over and over. In addition to the inefficiency of data re-entry (which some are attempting to alleviate with import/export functionality), there is the problem of synchronization across all these different sites — when you change some information about yourself or add a friend on one site, it becomes quite a hassle to update all the other sites. Finally, perhaps the biggest problem with such centralized social networking sites is that they are all islands unto themselves. There is no way to make an explicit (and for that matter, with proper authority) statement that a specific page on each of these sites actually represents the same person.
valueXFN presents a simple and easy solution for this identity consolidation problem,
with the new "me
" value in XFN 1.1.
A user with an XFN Friendly blog, blogroll, or web site, can use that site as a nexus for linking together all these otherwise disparate and isolated social networking sites, by linking from those sites to their blog, and then linking from their blog to their particular page(s) on each such centralized social networking site.
Since such sites typically do not allow editing the "rel" attribute of a user's pages,
this usage introduces a special case for handling the "me" value.
For sites that allow you to enter a URL or home page or blog URL as part of a person's profile page,
the "me" relationship can be confirmed with a bidrectional link, where the link to those domains has a rel="me"
even though the link from those centralized social networking domains does not have a rel="me"
This works because the ability to create each of those links, and thus point those pages at each other, demonstrates that the same person has control over them, and thus can declare that those pages represent the same person.
Here are brief instructions for editing your profile page on a few of these sites accordingly:
relationship to a Friendster profile.
Perhaps we could adopt the "Affiliations: " field as a defacto place for storing a plain text home page or blog URL?
relationship to a Linkedin profile.
Perhaps we could adopt the "Interests: " field as a defacto place for storing a plain text home page or blog URL?Although perhaps originally intended as closed and/or proprietary systems, it is possible to spider the various centralized social networking sites' lists of links to people, and infer XFN relationships between them based upon the specific site. In some cases site-specific relationship details can be used to infer more specific XFN relationships.
Note: these suggestions are provided for the purpose of discussion, and anybody actually developing such spidering tools should read, respect, and comply with the terms of service of the site(s) their tools intend to spider.
Here is a list of centralized social networking sites, along with suggestions for how their implied relationship lists could be interpreted in terms of XFN.
XFN relationship.Profile.aspx?uid
and translate according to this table:
Orkut relationship | equivalent XFN value |
haven't met | contact |
acquaintance | acquaintance |
friend | friend |
good friend | |
best friend |
, since none of them has never attempted to distinguish friends vs. acquaintances.
Their effective "Are you my friend yes or no?" protocol has encouraged a lower barrier/critera for "Friendster friends" (aka "friendsters"),
thus it makes sense for their notion of "friend" to be interpreted more as "aquaintance".
Testimonials by current co-workers imply an XFN rel="co-worker"
relationship as well.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Political Prisoners Inside Ethiopia's Gulags
Alemayehu G Mariam
The Plight of Andualem Aragie and Other Political Prisoners in Ethiopia
The "Gulag" prison system in the old Soviet Union was infamous for warehousing and persecuting dissidents and opponetns. The gulags were used effectively to weed out and neutralize opposition to the Soviet state. They were the quintessential tools of Soviet state terrorism. Some called them "meat-grinders" because of the extremely harsh and inhumane conditions. Torture, physical abuse by prison guards, solitary confinement, inadequate food rations and officially instigated inmate-on-inmate violence were the hallmarks of the gulags.
Ethiopia's prison system today are reminiscent of the Soviet gulags in their abuse and mistreatment of political and other prisoners. Let the facts speak for themselves: In a recent column on two Swedish journalists arbitrarily held in one of the Ethiopian prisons near the capital, N.Y. Times' columnist Nicholas Kristoff described the prsion conditions as
filthy and overridden with lice, fleas and huge rats… a violent, disease-ridden place, with inmates fighting and coughing blood… 250 or so Ethiopian prisoners jammed in the cell protect the two [Swedish] journalists, pray for them and jokingly call their bed 'the Swedish embassy'.
The U.S. State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in Ethiopia (April 2011) documented:
…Human rights abuses reported during the year included unlawful killings, torture, beating, and abuse and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces, especially special police and local militias, which took aggressive or violent action with evident impunity in numerous instances; poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of suspected sympathizers or members of opposition or insurgent groups; detention without charge and lengthy pretrial detention… Numerous reliable sources confirmed in April 2009 that in Maekelawi, the central police investigation headquarters in Addis Ababa, police investigators often used physical abuse to extract confessions.
In its 2010 World Report-Ethiopia, Human Rights Watch (HRW) concluded that
… torture and ill-treatment have been used by Ethiopia's police, military, and other members of the security forces to punish a spectrum of perceived dissenters, including university students, members of the political opposition, and alleged supporters of insurgent groups… Secret detention facilities and military barracks are most often used by Ethiopian security forces for such activities.
The U.N. Committee Against Torture (November 2010) validated HRW's conclusions.
The Dewar Report on an Ethiopian Gulag
The regular and secret prisons maintained by the ruling regime in Ethiopia today are among the most inhumane, primitive, barbaric and sadistic in the world. In July 2008, the regime of dictator Meles Zenawi secretly commissioned retired British colonel Michael Dewars, an internationally recognized security expert, to undertake an assessment of the prison system and make recommendations. In his report, Col. Dewars expressed total horror and shock over what he witnessed in one of the prisons he visited in Addis Ababa. He recounted:
I asked to go into the compound where the prisoners are kept. This consisted of a long yard with a shed to one side which provided some sort of shelter. The compound had a wall around it and a watchtower for an armed sentry overlooking it. Inside must have been 70 – 80 inmates, all in a filthy state. There was insufficient room for all these people to lie down on a mat at once. There was no lighting. The place stank of faeces and urine. There appeared to be no water or sanitation facilities within the compound. There was a small hut in an adjacent compound for women prisoners but there had been no attempt by anybody to improve the circumstances of the place. The prisoners were mostly on remand for minor crimes, in particular theft. Some had been there for months….
Col. Dewars concluded:
Detention conditions of prisoners are a disgrace and make the Federal Police vulnerable to the Human Rights lobby…. The prison I saw was a disgrace. No one is recommending a Hilton Hotel, but, if any human rights organization were to get inside an Ethiopian jail, they would have enough ammunition to sink all our best efforts.
Col. Dewars
recommended that the Government should investigate this situation with the intention of improving the current appalling conditions inside Ethiopian prisons, which must brutalise prisoners and their goalers equally… and that senior Ethiopian Ministers and Police Officers visit the prison that I visited.
Over the past several years, I have written extensively on torture and mistreatment of political prisoners in Ethiopia. In my numerous columns on the incarceration of former judge Birtukan Midekssa, the first woman political party leader in Ethiopian history, and other political prisoners, I have pointed out the "soft torture" techniques used to crush her spirit and break her body. She was subjected to prolonged solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, visitation deprivation, daily humiliation and mindless interrogation. Birtukan faced untold suffering in prison. Zenawi could not bear the thought of Birtukan going free; and in a moment frustrated defiance declared: "There will never be an agreement with anybody to release Birtukan. Ever. Full stop. That's a dead issue." In the end she prevailed and became free. Just last week in Washington, D.C., she presented her study on the challenges confronting the Ethiopian opposition and offered specific recommendations for strengthening multi-party democracy in Ethiopia as a Reagan-Fascell Fellow with the National Endowment for Democracy.
Andualem Aragie Inside the Belly of the Beast
Zenawi has replaced Birtukan by another young Ethiopian leader, to be sure several dozens of young opposition leaders, journalists, activists and others. Last week, the former Ethiopian President and current leader of the Unity and Democracy Party (UDJ) Dr. Negasso Gidada reported that Andualem Aragie was severely beaten by a death-row-inmate-turned-lifer while confined in his cell. The facts of Andualem's abuse are shocking. According to Dr. Negasso, Andualem was held in a "windowless cell for 14 people with a number of other political prisoners including Bekele Gerba, Olbana Lelisa and Tilahun Fantahun." About a month ago, a convicted murderer whose life sentence had been commuted to life in prison was allowed to join Andualem's cell. This criminal savagely assaulted Andualem inflicting severe injuries to his head. He was reported to lost consciousness following the assault.The Voice of America reported that "Relatives who have seen Andualem say his head injury appears to have affected his ability to maintain his balance."
This inmate is notorious for his assaultive behavior inside the prison. He has a long record of violence and abuse of inmates. He is known to receive special accommodations for being a prison enforcer for the authorities. Rumors are rife that prison authorities paid the criminal a substantial sum for beating Andiualem.
Prior to his arrest on bogus terrorism charges, Andualem was a rising leader in the UDJ and served as its spokesperson and external relations officer. Andualem is among a new breed of young Ethiopian political leaders, journalists and civil society advocates who are widely respected and accepted. In the months leading up to the May 2010 "election" in which Zenawi claimed a 99.6 percent victory, Andualem demonstrated his unflinching commitment to democracy and the rule of law. With breathtaking clarity of thought, razor-sharp intellect, incredible courage, mesmerizing eloquence, piercing logic, stinging wit, masterful command of the facts and steadfast adherence to the truth, Andualem made mincemeat out of Zenawi's vacuous lackeys in several televised pre-"election" debates. It was a sight to behold.
In September 2011, Andualem and 23 other individuals were "accused under the anti-terrorism law of being members of a terrorist network and abetting, aiding and supporting a terrorist group." Earlier this month, a group of independent United Nations human rights experts (U.N. Special Rapporteurs) condemned the so-called anti-terrorism law and diplomatically cautioned that "the anti-terrorism provisions should not be abused and need to be clearly defined in Ethiopian criminal law to ensure that they do not go counter to internationally guaranteed human rights." Andualem and the others are expected to have their day in kangaroo court on March 5.
Torture, Abuse and Plausible Deniability
Plausible deniability is the ability to deny a fact or allegation, or previous knowledge of a fact by shifting blame on someone else. In Andualem's case, plausible deniability allows Zenawi's regime to deny any awareness or knowledge of a criminal or criminally negligent act by its officials or unofficial agents in the prison. By allowing a notoriously violent criminal to assault Andualem, they aim to plausibly avoid responsibility. In other words, they have sought to remove their fingerprints, handprints, palmprints and footprints from the cowardly criminal act perpetrated on Andualem. But their MO (modus operandi) is well known. Whether they acted through their goons uniformed as prison guards or their deputized convicted thugs, they are exclusively responsible for the safety of all pretrial detainees like Andualem. Regardless of how one looks at it, what happened to Andualem, and has happened to other political prisoners countless times, represents a clear case of extrajudicial punishment (torture) in violation of Ethiopia's Constitution and international human rights conventions.
Speaking of Constitutional and International Law…
The Ethiopian Constitution provides specific safeguards for the safety and protection of pre-trial detainees awaiting trial. Article 16 guarantees that "Everyone has the right to protection against bodily harm.." Andualem has the constitutional right to be secure from violence while awaiting trial. Article 110 of the Ethiopian Criminal Code (Proclamation No.414/2004) specifically requires that "prisoners who are sentenced to rigorous imprisonment or special confinement shall be kept separate from prisoners who are serving a sentence of simple imprisonment or awaiting judgment." The criminal thug who assaulted Andualem should have never been allowed in the area reserved for pre-trial detanees. Article 18 provides, "Everyone has the right to protection against cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." The savage beating of Andualem in plain sight of prison guards constitutes "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment". Article 20 provides that, "During proceedings accused persons have the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law…" Since Andualem has not been found guilty "according to law", he is innocent of the charges and should have been accorded his rights consistent with that presumption. Article 21 guarantees that "All persons held in custody and persons imprisoned upon conviction and sentencing have the right to treatments respecting their human dignity."
International law protects all prisoners, and particularly political prisoners, from inhumane and barbaric treatment. Under Article 13 of the Ethiopian Constitution, the "fundamental rights and freedoms enumerated… shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [UDHR], international human rights covenants and conventions ratified by Ethiopia." Article 5 of the UDHR (incorporated by express reference in Art. 13 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia) prescribes that "no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (ratified by Ethiopia on June 11, 1993 and similarly incorporated) provides that "all persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person."
The U.N. Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment (1988) (Principle 8) specifically provides: "Persons in detention shall be subject to treatment appropriate to their unconvicted status. Accordingly, they shall, whenever possible, be kept separate from imprisoned persons." Article 1 of the Declaration Against Torture (1975) defines torture as "… any act by which severe pain and suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted by, or at the instigation of a public official on a person for such purposes as …punishing him for an act he has committed; or intimidating him or other persons…" Article 16 of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (acceded to by Ethiopia on April 13, 1994) mandates that signatories "shall undertake to prevent… acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment…" Article 5 of the African [Banjul] Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (ratified by Ethiopia on June 15, 1998) prohibits, "all forms of exploitation and degradation of man particularly… torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment." The U.N. Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners (1990) provide that "all prisoners shall retain the human rights and fundamental freedoms set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other Covenants. Articles 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court include torture as a crime against humanity and a war crime.
I write about the law on the protection of the rights of political prisoners to set the record; for I know that preaching the law to outlaws is like pouring water over granite.
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned…
In August 2009, I spoke at a town hall meeting organized by "Gasha for Ethiopia", a civic organization, on the importance of remembering Ethiopian political prisoners:
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends," said Dr. Martin Luther King… Nothing is more important and uplifting to political prisoners than knowledge of the fact that they are not forgotten, abandoned and forsaken by the outside world. Remembrance gatherings at town hall meetings such as this one serve to remind all of us who live in freedom the divine blessings of liberty and the unimaginable suffering of those trapped in the darkness of dictatorship.
Andualem Aragie and countless political prisoners in Ethiopia reamin trapped in the darkness of dictatorship. They have been beaten down and brought to their knees. We cannot hear their whimpers of pain and desperation. Few, other than their tormentors, will be able to see their mangled bodies. Because they have no voice, we must be their voices and speak on their behalf. Because they are walled in behind filthy and subhuman prison institutions, we must unflaggingly remind the world of their suffering. We must all labor for the cause of Ethiopian political prisoners not because it is easy or fashionable, but because it is ethical, honorable, right and just. In the end, what will make the difference for the future of Ethiopia is not the brutality, barbarity, bestiality and inhumanity of its corrupt dictators, but the humanity, dignity, adaptability, audacity, empathy and compassion of decent Ethiopians for their wrongfully imprisoned compatriots. That is why we must join hands and work tirelessly to free all political prisoners held in Ethiopia's public and secret gulags. "Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people."
Uncage Andualem Aragie and All Political Prisoners in Ethiopia!
Previous commentaries by the author are available at: www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ and http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/


text:
New Kind of Extinct Flying Reptile Discovered
A silhouette of the known bones of Eurazhdarcho in position Courtesy of Mark Witton |
A new kind of pterosaur, a flying reptile from the time of the dinosaurs, has been identified by scientists from the University of Southampton, the Transylvanian Museum Society in Romania and the Museau Nacional in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.
The fossilized bones come from the Late Cretaceous rocks of Sebe?-Glod in the Transylvanian Basin, Romania, which are approximately 68 million years old. The Transylvanian Basin is world-famous for its many Late Cretaceous fossils, including dinosaurs of many kinds, as well as fossilized mammals, turtles, lizards and ancient relatives of crocodiles.
A paper on the new species, named Eurazhdarcho langendorfensis has been published in the international science journal PLoS One. Dr Darren Naish, from the University of Southampton's Vertebrate Palaeontology Research Group, who helped identify the new species, says: "Eurazhdarcho belong to a group of pterosaurs called the azhdarchids. These were long-necked, long-beaked pterosaurs whose wings were strongly adapted for a soaring lifestyle. Several features of their wing and hind limb bones show that they could fold their wings up and walk on all fours when needed.
"With a three-meter wingspan, Eurazhdarcho would have been large, but not gigantic. This is true of many of the animals so far discovered in Romania; they were often unusually small compared to their relatives elsewhere."
The discovery is the most complete example of an azhdarchid found in Europe so far and its discovery supports a long-argued theory about the behavior of these types of creatures.
Dr Gareth Dyke, Senior Lecturer in Vertebrate Palaeontology, based at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton says: "Experts have argued for years over the lifestyle and behavior of azhdarchids. It has been suggested that they grabbed prey from the water while in flight, that they patrolled wetlands and hunted in a heron or stork-like fashion, or that they were like gigantic sandpipers, hunting by pushing their long bills into mud.
"One of the newest ideas is that azhdarchids walked through forests, plains and other places in search of small animal prey. Eurazhdarcho supports this view of azhdarchids, since these fossils come from an inland, continental environment where there were forests and plains as well as large, meandering rivers and swampy regions."
Fossils from the region show that there were several places where both giant azhdarchids and small azhdarchids lived side by side. Eurazhdarcho's discovery indicates that there were many different animals hunting different prey in the region at the same time, demonstrating a much more complicated picture of the Late Cretaceous world than first thought.


text:
Comprarcasa's expert in the area is familiar with the properties and the potential buyers, what they're looking for and what makes them buy.
They have access to historical sales records and more in-depth knowledge of their area than anyone else. They know which properties are being sold, as well as how and why.
You are sure to have questions about the legal aspects of a property sale. Comprarcasa will advise you on any formalities that you may have to complete.


text:
Showing Collections: 1 - 1 of 1
Charles Campbell Papers
Identifier: Mss. 65 C17
Scope and Contents
The Charles Campbell papers consist of papers received or collected by Charles Campbell (1807-1876), Virginia historian. The papers fall into four general headings: historical papers collected by Charles Campbell, correspondence, manuscript volumes, and miscellaneous. These include personal and professional correspondence as well as eighteenth century documents collected by Charles Campbell, newspaper clippings, diaries, scrapbooks, and notebooks, covering then period 1743-1896. The papers...
Found in:
Special Collections Research Center


text:
Actual product may differ from picture. Product available for local, in-store pickup only. If shipping is required please call the store before placing an order. Please note that there is a NYS disposal fee for all paint, the prices listed do not include the fee. The cost will be added upon pick up!
14MM Combination Wrench
Master Mechanic, 14MM Combination Wrench


text: Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design Cappuccino set Porcelain cup and saucer by Etienne Carignan A cappuccino cup and saucer set with a unique, distinguished and eye-catching design for coffee breaks. The idea behind this project was to create a desirable, high quality product that would reflect local craftsmanship excellence with design sensitivity. Each piece is made of hand molded porcelain in a local Montreal ceramic workshop. The cappuccino set features a 6oz. cup with a minimalist straight handle and an interesting saucer with a define cup placement area and dimensions to allow snack space. The cups and saucers are stackable and design to fit most standard espresso machines.


text: Hello my name is Vivian Zhang, and I'm currently studying at University of Miami in hopes of becoming a physical therapist. I have lived in two countries, in America for 15 years and Shanghai, China for 5 years. I speak English fluently as well as a bit of Mandarin. I am patient, open, friendly, and love meeting new people! I look forward to meeting you all, and hope to do my best in helping you practice and learn the English language. I also hope to help give you more insight on American culture life style. Coming to a new country can be scary, believe me I know from experience when I moved to China for the first time. But I will do my best to help make your transition to America easier and more enjoyable! Please feel free to make a session with me and I will be glad to tutor you! Booking appointments a day ahead of time is preferred as it allows me to better prepare myself for our session.


text:
This website uses Google Analytics to help analyze how users use this website. The tool uses "cookies", which are text files placed on your computer, to collect standard internet log information and visitor behavior information in an anonymous form. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) is transmitted to Google. This information is then used to evaluate visitors' use of the website and to compile statistical reports on website activity for stoutsrestaurant.com.
We will never (and will not allow any third party to) use the statistical analytics tool to track or collect any personally identifiable information of visitors to our website. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. Neither we nor Google, will link, or seek to link, an IP address with the identity of a computer user. We will not associate any data gathered from this website with any personally identifiable information from any source, unless you explicitly submit that information via a fill-in form on our website.
To learn more about how Google Analytics uses and protects cookies and IP address data, please visit http://google.com/analytics/learn/privacy.html.


text:
The Web Server Logfile dialog presents the log file of the web server in a structured table. This file logs all access attempts and the date/time information with the corresponding status messages of the web server as well as the host name of the accessing computer.
After opening the dialog, the camera will sort the table according to the Date & Time column in descending order (the last entry is at the top of the table). Clicking on the table heads shown as links will sort the table either according to the Status or the Host Name. The column that is currently used for sorting is marked by two arrows "↓↑".
Click on the More button at the bottom of the dialog to display all entries with the HTTP error numbers.
Click on the Reload button to see the entries that have been logged since opening the dialog.
The web server logfile is automatically deleted upon each reboot of the camera. Per factory default, the camera will reboot every Monday between 03:00 and 03:59 hours as defined in the corresponding Time Task.
Column |
Description |
Host Name |
Lists the host name or IP address of the accessing computer. You can use this column for sorting. |
Object of the camera, which had been accessed with a browser. |
Status |
Shows the status messages of the web server (with error numbers in More mode). You can also use this column for sorting. |
User Name |
Displays the user name that had been used for logging in. A hyphen ("-") means that no user name is required for accessing the corresponding object. This is the case, i.e if users are accessing the camera's live screen without having defined a password for the user level (factory default). For additional information on how to protect certain areas of the camera with passwords, see the Users and Passwords help page. |
Count |
Lists the number of access attempts for a specific camera object. |
Date & time |
Shows the date and time information of the last access attempt from a specific host for a specific object. Another access attempt of this host for the same object will increment the Count and will update the time of the last access. This column is used for sorting when opening the dialog (the last entry is at the top of the table). |
The Unauthorized Access message does not automatically mean that camera objects have been accessed without permission. The web server always handles access attempts on protected objects as authorization errors. Once valid user credentials have been entered, the Successful message will be listed for this host. Only if this is not the case, someone had been trying to access the object without permission.


text: Original source URL: http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2006/Halliburton-Detention-Camps31jan06.htm Homeland Security Contracts for Vast New Detention Camps PETER DALE SCOTT / Commentary / Pacific News Service 31jan2006 Editor's Note: A little-known $385 million contract for Halliburton subsidiary KBR to build detention facilities for "an emergency influx of immigrants" is another step down the Bush administration's road toward martial law, the writer says. Also see: FEMA Concentration Camps: Locations and Executive Orders - Friends of Liberty (undated) 3sep04 BERKELEY, CA ‹ A Halliburton subsidiary has just received a $385 million contract from the Department of Homeland Security to provide "temporary detention and processing capabilities." The contract ‹ announced Jan. 24 by the engineering and construction firm KBR ‹ calls for preparing for "an emergency influx of immigrants, or to support the rapid development of new programs" in the event of other emergencies, such as "a natural disaster." The release offered no details about where Halliburton was to build these facilities, or when. To date, some newspapers have worried that open-ended provisions in the contract could lead to cost overruns, such as have occurred with KBR in Iraq. A Homeland Security spokesperson has responded that this is a "contingency contract" and that conceivably no centers might be built. But almost no paper so far has discussed the possibility that detention centers could be used to detain American citizens if the Bush administration were to declare martial law. For those who follow covert government operations abroad and at home, the contract evoked ominous memories of Oliver North's controversial Rex-84 "readiness exercise" in 1984. This called for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to round up and detain 400,000 imaginary "refugees," in the context of "uncontrolled population movements" over the Mexican border into the United States. North's activities raised civil liberties concerns in both Congress and the Justice Department. The concerns persist. "Almost certainly this is preparation for a roundup after the next 9/11 for Mid-Easterners, Muslims and possibly dissenters," says Daniel Ellsberg, a former military analyst who in 1971 released the Pentagon Papers, the U.S. military's account of its activities in Vietnam. "They've already done this on a smaller scale, with the 'special registration' detentions of immigrant men from Muslim countries, and with Guantanamo." Plans for detention facilities or camps have a long history, going back to fears in the 1970s of a national uprising by black militants. As Alonzo Chardy reported in the Miami Herald on July 5, 1987, an executive order for continuity of government (COG) had been drafted in 1982 by FEMA head Louis Giuffrida. The order called for "suspension of the Constitution" and "declaration of martial law." The martial law portions of the plan were outlined in a memo by Giuffrida's deputy, John Brinkerhoff. In 1985, President Reagan signed National Security Decision Directive 188, one of a series of directives that authorized continued planning for COG by a private parallel government. Two books, James Mann's "Rise of the Vulcans" and James Bamford's "A Pretext for War," have revealed that in the 1980s this parallel structure, operating outside normal government channels, included the then-head of G. D. Searle and Co., Donald Rumsfeld, and then-Congressman from Wyoming Dick Cheney. After 9/11, new martial law plans began to surface similar to those of FEMA in the 1980s. In January 2002 the Pentagon submitted a proposal for deploying troops on American streets. One month later John Brinkerhoff, the author of the 1982 FEMA memo, published an article arguing for the legality of using U.S. troops for purposes of domestic security. Then in April 2002, Defense Dept. officials implemented a plan for domestic U.S. military operations by creating a new U.S. Northern Command (CINC-NORTHCOM) for the continental United States. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called this "the most sweeping set of changes since the unified command system was set up in 1946." The NORTHCOM commander, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced, is responsible for "homeland defense and also serves as head of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).... He will command U.S. forces that operate within the United States in support of civil authorities. The command will provide civil support not only in response to attacks, but for natural disasters." John Brinkerhoff later commented on PBS that, "The United States itself is now for the first time since the War of 1812 a theater of war. That means that we should apply, in my view, the same kind of command structure in the United States that we apply in other theaters of war." Then in response to Hurricane Katrina in Sept. 2005, according to the Washington Post, White House senior adviser Karl Rove told the governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, that she should explore legal options to impose martial law "or as close as we can get." The White House tried vigorously, but ultimately failed, to compel Gov. Blanco to yield control of the state National Guard. Also in September, NORTHCOM conducted its highly classified Granite Shadow exercise in Washington. As William Arkin reported in the Washington Post, "Granite Shadow is yet another new Top Secret and compartmented operation related to the military's extra-legal powers regarding weapons of mass destruction. It allows for emergency military operations in the United States without civilian supervision or control." It is clear that the Bush administration is thinking seriously about martial law. Many critics have alleged that FEMA's spectacular failure to respond to Katrina followed from a deliberate White House policy: of paring back FEMA, and instead strengthening the military for responses to disasters. A multimillion program for detention facilities will greatly increase NORTHCOM's ability to respond to any domestic disorders. Scott is author of "Drugs, Oil, and War: The United States in Afghanistan, Colombia, and Indochina" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003). He is completing a book on "The Road to 9/11." go to: http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~pdscott/index.html source: http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=eed74d9d44c30493706fe03f4c9b3a77 7feb2006 The home page of this website is http://www.mindfully.org Please see our Fair Use Notice -- -------------------------------------------------------- Escaping the Matrix website http://escapingthematrix.org/ cyberjournal website http://cyberjournal.org subscribe cyberjournal list mailto:•••@••.••• Posting archives http://cyberjournal.org/show_archives/ Blogs: cyberjournal forum http://cyberjournal-rkm.blogspot.com/ Achieving real democracy http://harmonization.blogspot.com/ for readers of ETM http://matrixreaders.blogspot.com/ Community Empowerment http://empowermentinitiatives.blogspot.com/ Blogger made easy http://quaylargo.com/help/ezblogger.html


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Home > Photos > Historic |
The images in this section have been grouped into 37 galleries. Click on a thumbnail photo to view all of the images in that gallery.
Bonnet House. Also known as the Bartlett Estate, located in Ft. Lauderdale. This section includes 4 galleries of images of the house and grounds, art, plant life, and wildlife. (140 photographs)
Cedar Key. Scenic views of the key including waterways and trees. (11 photographs)
DeSoto National Memorial. This section includes 6 galleries of photos showing armor, campsite reenactments, and views of the park. (139 photographs)
Hernando DeSoto in America. This section includes 7 galleries of still-photos and dialog from the movie "Hernando DeSoto in America." (206 photographs)
Thomas Edison Home. This section includes 5 galleries highlighting Edison's home, lab, and surrounding estate. (87 photographs)
Ford Home. Photographs of the home and surrounding property. (17 photographs)
Goodwood Plantation. Photographs of the plantation, which orginally included 2,400 acres. (4 photographs)
Gregory Plantation. Photographs of the Gregory House, which was built in 1849 by Jason Gregory. It is located in Torreya State Park in Liberty County, Florida. (13 photographs)
Jean Ribault Monument. A replica of the monument left by Jean Ribault on St. Johns Bluff claiming the land for France. (7 photographs)
Kingsley Plantation. Photographs of the plantation, which is located on St. George Island in Jacksonville. (22 photographs) Koreshan State Historic Site. This section includes 2 galleries of photographs based on the Koreshan settlement. (41 photographs) Maclay Estate & Gardens. Photographs of the foliage, sites, and wildlife of the Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park in Tallahassee, shown in 8 galleries. (195 photographs)
Marjorie Rawlings Home. Tour of the Rawlings estate which includes her home, farmhouse, and citrus grove. (39 photographs)
Memorials. Photographs of memorials in Florida, including the Stephen Foster memorial in dedication of making the Suwannee River famous through song. (1 photographs)
Ringling Estate. The sprawling Ringling Estate on Sarasota bay includes a large mansion, art museum, and sculpture garden. (81 photographs)
Spanish Monastery. Photographs of the ancient Spanish Monastery in North Miami Beach, Florida, including the cloister, coats-of-arms, architecture, and more. (66 photographs)
Yulee Sugar Mill. Photographs of historic the Yulee Sugar Mill near Homosassa. (10 photographs)
Home > Photos > Historic |
Florida: A Social Studies Resource for Students and Teachers
Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional
College of Education, University of South Florida © 2004.


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Automatic hubs are used on many 4×4 trucks to disengage the front wheels when four-wheel drive is not needed. Disconnecting the front wheels reduces friction and may improve fuel economy as much as one mile per gallon depending on the vehicle. A one mpg difference may not sound like much, but with gas costing around $3 a gallon these days every little bit helps.
Some trucks and SUVs that are factory-equipped with automatic locking hubs include Ford F150 and F250 pickups, Broncos, Rangers and Explorers, Chevy and GMC trucks, Dodge trucks, Jeep Cherokee and Wagoneer, and Toyota trucks. Applications date back to the early 1980s for the domestic trucks, and as far back as 1976 for Toyota.
The main advantage of being able to disengage the front wheels on the go is that the driver doesn't have to stop, get out of his vehicle and twist a dial on the hub to disengage or engage the front wheels. The automatic hub does it automatically on the fly. The locking mechanism inside an automatic hub is sort of like a one-way clutch. When torque is applied by the driveshaft, it forces the hub to slide in and lock. The hub then remains in the locked position as long as the transfer case remains in four-wheel drive. When the driver shifts to two-wheel drive, the clutch mechanism inside the hub slides back out and releases the hub, allowing the wheel to turn independent of its axle shaft.
There are a number of automatic hub designs, though, and not all are capable of engaging while the vehicle is in motion. Some of the older types require the vehicle to stop and back up a short distance to engage the locking mechanism. Some automatic hubs don't engage in reverse, and others use a vacuum diaphragm to engage the hub (or the axle shaft) when switching between two- and four-wheel drive modes.
There are also aftermarket hub conversions for changing manual locking hubs to automatic hubs, or replacing troublesome OEM automatic hubs with heavy-duty manual locking hubs (which is something most serious off-roaders do to improve traction and durability). On some applications, only one side unlocks when in the 2WD mode. With this setup, the hub on the opposite side remains locked and the axle continues to turn with the wheel. But as long as the transfer case remains in the 2WD mode, the front wheels are not driven. When the transfer case is shifted into 4WD, the unlocked hub automatically slides into position and locks the axle so both front wheels become drive wheels.
Some automatic hubs, like the "Selectro" automatic hubs on Jeeps with six bolt lock-outs, have an "auto" and "lock" position on the dial. This allows the hub to engage as needed or to remain in the locked position all the time.
If a vehicle has been equipped with a locking front differential (such as a Detroit Locker), some type of manual or automatic locking hub is usually required. A locked differential is great for serious off-roading because it keeps both front wheels turning regardless of traction. But it can make a vehicle difficult to handle or steer when driving on dry or wet pavement, or even in snow, loose dirt or sand. Unlocking one or both hubs allows the front wheels to turn at different rates for easier steering and turning when maximum traction isn't needed.
Automatic hubs can be troublesome. The most common problem is the hub won't engage. Mud, rust or worn parts inside the hub can prevent the mechanism from sliding in and locking the hub. The driver may not notice anything is wrong until he finds himself stuck axle deep in mud and realizes the front wheels aren't doing anything. Or, he may hear some grinding noises when he shifts to four-wheel drive and may think something is wrong with the transfer case or front differential.
For the same reasons that prevent the hub from engaging, a hub may also fail to release. Anything that binds the internal mechanism can prevent it from sliding and releasing. The most noticeable symptoms may be an increase in fuel consumption, noise on the highway and/or increased front tire wear.
Diagnosing an automatic hub problem may require test driving the vehicle, or raising a front wheel to see if the hub is engaging and disengaging properly. Put the transmission in park, set the parking brake and raise the chassis so one of the front wheels is off the ground while the other is still on the ground. When the transfer case is in two-wheel drive, the hubs should be released allowing the wheels to turn freely when spun by hand. If the axle shaft turns when you spin the wheel, it means the hub has not disengaged.
To check engagement, rotate the axle shaft backwards. This should lock the hub. Try turning the wheel by hand again. The axle shaft should now turn with the wheel if the hub is locked. If the hub fails to lock, the hub will have to be disassembled and inspected or replaced.
To check release, hold the axle shaft steady and rotate the wheel backwards. You should hear a click as the locking mechanism slides back out and disengages the hub. Rotate the wheel forward again and it should turn freely.
Another way to check the hubs is to raise the vehicle on a frame contact lift so all four wheels are off the ground. Then start the engine and place the transfer case in four-wheel drive and the transmission in drive. If the front wheels don't turn, look at the front axle shafts. If both shafts are turning, but one wheel is not, the problem is a bad hub on the wheel that isn't turning. If the front driveshafts are not turning when the transfer case is in four-wheel drive, the problem is inside the differential (broken side gears) or the transfer case (broken chain, shift linkage, etc.). If the driveshaft between the transfer case and differential is turning, the problem is in the differential. If the driveshaft is not turning, the vehicle is going to need repairs to the transfer case.
Refer to the vehicle owners manual for recommended hub maintenance. For normal driving, the hubs should be cleaned, inspected and lubricated every two years or 24,000 to 30,000 miles. For off-road use or driving in hub-deep mud or water, more frequent maintenance is usually required to reduce the risk of hub trouble.
To service the hub, some disassembly is required. The outer hub cover is usually attached to the hub with five or six Torx screws. Once the cover has been removed, you can loosen and remove the rest of the clips and/or fasteners that attach the hub assembly to the wheel hub. Disassembly and reassembly procedures will vary from one hub design to another, so refer to the OEM service information for the particulars. If you don't have a manual or online service information, disassemble one hub at a time. That way if you can't remember how the parts came apart, you can always refer to the other hub as a guide.
The following information is from Ford service article 95-5-18 and covers the automatic locking hubs on 1983-90 Bronco II, 1983-95 Ford Ranger and 1991-94 Explorer. Ford says that the automatic locking hubs on these vehicles have an O-ring seal between the hublock and wheel hub to prevent contamination. When the hublock is removed, the O-ring seal should be checked for damage. If contamination is found in the wheel end, the source of the contamination may be the hublock seal, the wheel bearing seals or the axle spindle seals.
Hub problems may be indicated if a buzzing noise is heard in two-wheel mode shortly after operating in four-wheel drive. This may occur if one of the hublocks fails to disengage. As the vehicle moves forward, the hub that failed to disengage will rotate its axle shaft through the differential and attempt to rotate the other axle shaft in the opposite direction. This is called differential motoring torque. As one axle shaft attempts to turn the other axle shaft through the differential, that shaft's hublock will attempt to engage causing a ratcheting or buzzing noise. (Note: this same kind of noise may also occur if the front differential contains the wrong lubricant. Ford specifies 56 oz. of F1TZ-19580-A or equivalent gear oil.) If the hubs are noisy or are failing to disengage, Ford recommends replacing both locking hubs.
If you hear a popping or banging noise while driving in four-wheel drive, one or both hubs may be slipping or broken.
Ford used Warn Automatic Hublocks Model M350 on Bronco II and Ranger with the Dana 28 Axle from 1983-90 (through build date 10/4/89). Warn Automatic Hublocks Models M350A and M350B were used on the Dana 35 Axle in Bronco II, Explorer and Ranger for 1990-93 (begin build date 10/5/89). Starting with model year 1994, Ford switched to Warn Automatic Hublock Model M350C on Dana 35 Axle in the Explorer and Ranger.
The Model M350 hublocks are black while the Model M350A, M350B and M350C are white/silver in color. The Model M350 can only be replaced by Model M350 service parts. The M350C service kits should be used as replacements for M350A hublocks (released 10/89 as model year 1990 running change), M350B hublocks (released 4/92 as model year 1992 late running change), and M350C hublocks (released 8/93 as model year 1994 Job 1 change).
When automatic hublock servicing is required for any Ranger, Explorer or Bronco II built from 10/89 through model year 1993, it is advised that both hublocks be replaced. Ford also says that if an M350A or M350B hublock requires servicing, all the hublock components must be removed and replaced with service kit F3TZ-3B396-B, which is essentially the same service kit for the M350C hublock. The cam assembly of the M350A or M35OB should not be used with an M350C automatic hublock body, nor should an M350A or M350B hublock body be used with an M350C cam assembly.
Remove old hublock, remove key from bearing retainer nut and then remove nut.
If replacing a manual hublock with an automatic hublock, also remove the three-piece wheel bearing nut assembly.
Remove the new wheel bearing retaining nut from the cam assembly and install on the threaded spindle.
Using Hex Locknut Wrench (T70T-4252-B), torque the wheel bearing retainer nut to 47 N-m (35 lb.ft.) while rotating the wheel assembly. Back nut off 1/4 turn and retighten to 1.8 N-m (16 lb.in.) of torque.
Align the scallop of the wheel bearing retaining nut with the center of the spindle keyway by advancing the nut clockwise.
Install the retaining key into the spindle keyway. With the garter spring inboard, align the key on the cam assembly with the keyway on the spindle.
Firmly press the cam assembly on the wheel bearing retaining nut.
Caution: Do not pack the hub with grease. Too much grease will cause improper hublock operation and may damage the hub assembly.
For Ranger and Bronco II, model years 1983-90 (through build date 10/4/89), using the Dana 28 axle, install the thrust washer set onto the axle:
a. First, the plain steel washer. b. Second, the needle bearing. c. Last, the spline washer.
For model years 1990-94 (begin build date 10/5/89), Dana 35 axle, install the one-piece spline washer. Install the "C" clip into the axle groove. It may be necessary to push the axle outboard from the inboard side of the knuckle.
For 1995 Ranger, install the thrust washer onto the axle:
a. First, the plain steel thrust washer. b. Second, the plastic unsplined thrust washer. c. Last, the steel spline thrust washer. Caution: Make sure the retaining ring or "C" clip is seated properly in the axle groove for steps 8, 9 and 10.
Make sure the O-ring seal on the flange face of the hublock body is not damaged and is properly positioned in its groove.
Install the hublock body assembly into the vehicle hub and rotor assembly. The hub may have to be rotated to line up the three (3) prongs of the cam follower (found internally to the hublock) with the cam assembly.
Install retainer flat nuts on wheel studs.
Note: Do not force the hublock assembly. If the body assembly will not fit, recheck the alignment of all the components.
Install speednuts on wheel lugs to retain the hublock.
Then install the wheel and torque the lug nuts to 136 N-m (100 LB.FT.).


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This Article originally appeared on BJJ.org. The entire archive of information is now available on OntheMat.comFrom Playboy, September 1989 (Vol. 36, no. 9)
Rorion Gracie is willing to fight to the death to prove he's the toughest man in the west.
The toughest man in the United States holds no official titles and has had only one fight in years. He lives with his pregnant wife and four children, three small sons and a baby daughter, in a modest ranch house on a tidy little street of similar homes in Torrance, California. He is 37, tall and skinny at 6'2″, 165 pounds, and he does not look very tough. He looks mor like Tom Selleck than like Mr. T. He is dark and handsome like Selleck, with wavy black hair, a trim mustache and a charming, self-deprecating smile. He spends more time in the kitchen than his wife does and wears a woman's apron. He has an idiosyncratic high-pitched laugh. He picks up a yellowed newspaper with an account of one of his father's fights, adjusts his bifocals and reads. ""The most savage, stupid bloody desires of the audience were satisfied,"" he says. Then he laughs. "Heh-heh!"
"I never spank my sons," Rorion says, "because my father never spanked me." He spends as much time as possible with his sons. He drives them to their soccer practice in his station wagon. He spends the day with them at the beach.
Rorion once fought a kick-boxing champion and made him beg for mercy in less then three minutes. Before the fight, the kick boxer had stood in his corner of the ring and flexed his muscular arms. He cut the air with savage kicks. The crowd oohed and aahed. Rorion, skinny and stoop-shouldered, stood in his corner and waited. Two minutes and 15 seconds after the bell sounded, he was straddling the kick boxer on the mat in such a way that, if the kick boxer had not surrendered, Rorion would have "choked him out."
Rorion has made a standing offer to fight anyone in the United States, winner take all, for $100,000. So far he has had no takers – for one simple reason. Rorion's fights are fights to the finish with no rules. His fights are merely street brawls in a ring bounded by ropes. Kicking, punching, head butting, elbow and knee hits are all fair play in a Gracie fight. Only the accouterments of a street brawl – broken bottles, ash cans, bricks – are missing. The only purpose of referee serves in a Gracie fight is to acknowledge his opponent's surrender when he taps the mat with his hand or passes out from a choke hold.
Rorion (pronounced Horion, in the Portuguese way) is a master of a kind of no-holds-barred jujitsu practiced by his family in Brazil for 60 years. Gracie jujitsu is a bouillabaisse of the other martial arts: judo (throws), karate (kicks, punches), aikido (twists), boxing (punches) and wrestling (grappling, holds). Its primary purpose is defensive; i.e., to render attackers immobile. Rorion believes that since most real fights end up on the ground 90 percent of the time, Gracie jujitsu is the most devastating of all martial arts, because it relies on a series of intricate wrestling-like moves that are most effective when the combatants are on the ground. All a jujitsu master must do is avoid his attacker's kicks, punches and stabs until he can throw him to the ground and then apply either a choke hold to render him unconscious or a hold in which he can break his attacker's arm, leg, back or neck. A jujitsu fight is like a chess match, in that the winner is usually the one who can think the most moves ahead of his opponent.
Jujitsu originated in India 2000 years ago, travelled to Japan (via China) three centuries ago and was introduced to Brazil through Rorion's family 60 years ago, when a touring Japanese master taught Rorion's uncle some basic moves. His uncle taught Rorion's father and the two men grew enamoured of it, as only two small men with monstrous egos could. They took Japanese jujitsu a step further than their teachers by introducing techniques that required less strength than Japanese style and would make their family the most feared and famous in all of Brazil. Rorion's father, Helio, once fought an opponent in the ring before 20,000 screaming spectators for three hours and 40 minutes, nonstop, before the police finally separated the bloodied combatants. In another ring fight, he so savaged his opponent with kicks to his kidney that many attributed his subsequent death to the fight. When a rival martial-arts teacher once accused the Gracie family of fixing its fights, Helio, surrounded by a taunting crowd, confronted him on the street. He had broken the man's arms and ribs before the police arrested him. He was sentenced to two and a half years in jail for that beating, but the president of Brazil, a fan of the Gracie family, pardoned him within a week.
Rorion laughs and says, "Heh-heh! My dad kicked his butt." He is sitting in the den of his tidy little house, sifting through the many newspaper and magazine articles written about his family, while his sons wrestle, jujitsu style, on the floor.
Rorion holds up a photograph of his father in a kimono taken when Helio was 34. He is small, slim man at 5'8″, 135 pounds, with slicked-back hair, an aquiline nose and a pencil-thin mustache. He is hip-tossing his older brother, Carlos, in an open filed. "That was the year my dad read a Reader's Digest article that said a boxer beat a jujitsu guy," Rorion says. "Heh-heh! My father offered to fight five boxers in one night. At various times, he offered to fight Primo Carnera, Ezzard Charles and Joe Louis. He put up sixteen thousand dollars and told Louis he'd fight with Louis having no gloves, just taped hands. No one took up his challenge." Rorion shrugs. "Louis was on vacation and here was this little bee buzzing in his ear and giving him no peace. Heh-heh!"
Helio reigned as the self-proclaimed toughest man in the occidental world for 25 years. He fought 14 fights in the ring and lost only two of them, one to Japanese master Kimura and the other to a much younger man – in fact, his protege – when Helio, at 42, was out of shape. Helio is 75 now, the patriarch of a family of nine children, including seven sons, and 18 grandchildren. Rorion has a photograph of his father at 73, still fit, gaunt-faced, with his aquiline nose and menacing pale-blue eyes. He is posing in his kimono with three of his sons, Rorion, Relson and Rickson, in their kimonos. Father and sons are standing identically – legs spread, arms crossed at their chests, eyes glaring at the camera – underneath a seal of the Gracie Jujitsu Academy, which Carlos and Helio founded in Rio in the Twenties. Helio's sons have all taught at the academy at one time or another. They are black belts. They are bigger than their father, darker, but the look in their eyes is only a parody of their father's truly menacing look. Except for Rickson. He has his own look. Not menacing but devoid of emotion. The blankness of the supremely confident. Rickson is 29, as muscular as a bodybuilder, with a Marine's crewcut, the high cheekbones of an Inca Indian and a square jaw. If Rorion is amiably handsome, Rickson is devastatingly handsome. Noted photographer Bruce Weber devoted 36 pages of his book on Rio (O Rio De Janeiro) to the Gracies and Rickson. Rickson as a baby being tossed high into the air by his father. Rorion and Relson as small boys on the beach, Rorion hooking his leg behind his brother's before throwing him to the sand. Rickson, in bikini shorts, on his back on a mat in a ring, his legs wrapped around the hips of a muscular black man, also in bikini shorts, who is trying to strangle him.
"Zulu," says Rorion. "A street fighter. He was thirty pounds heavier than Rickson. He threw Rickson out of the ring four times in their fight." Rorion gets up to put on a video tape of Rickson's fight with Zulu for the title of the toughest man in the occidental world. A grainy image flickers on the screen. Zulu is sitting astride Rickson, on his back. He trying to gouge out Rickson's eyes. Rickson keeps twisting his head left and right to avoid Zulu's stabbing fingers while, at the same time, he is kicking his heels in the sides of Zulu's back where his kidneys are. Rorion laughs and says, "Heh-heh! After the fight, Zulu was pissing blood for weeks."
The two men, locked in combat, roll toward the edge of the ring. The crowd surges forward. Hands reach out and slap at the combatants. The referee kicks at the hands, trying to drive the crowd back, while he grabs the combatants' legs and pulls them back to the center of the ring. A rain of crushed paper cups descends on the ring. The referee kicks the cups out of the ring like a soccer player.
"Wild people, huh?" says Rorion. "Brazil is a violent country. Watch here." Rickson stops kicking Zulu's kidneys, locks his legs around his hips and rolls him over so that now he is on top. He unleashes a barrage of bare-fisted punches to Zulu's face. Zulu tries to block the blows with his hands.
Zulu manages to roll Rickson over now so that his is on top of him, close to the edge of the ring again. Before Zulu can set himself, Rickson twists Zulu's body so that Zulu is lying on top of him, both men facing the overhead lights. Rickson gets Zulu in a choke hold and squeezes. Zulu's eyes begin to roll back in his head.
Rorion, smiling, turns off the video and says, "I used to change Rickson's diapers. Now he's the best in the world. Heh-heh!" It amuses him that he is the toughest man in the United States and yet he is not even the toughest man in his own family. "Rickson has never been beaten," he says. "No on will challenge him after Zulu. It's been three years. The Gracie family is the only family in history that will fight anyone with no rules. The Gracies don't believe in Mike Tyson. Rickson issued a public challenge to Mike Tyson, but he has not responded."
All the while Rorion has been talking. His three sons have been grappling on the floor, like monkeys, in a silent parody of their father and uncle Rickson. Their names are Ryron, Rener and Ralek. Nearby is his daughter Segina. Rorion has two daughters by a previous marriage in Brazil, Riane, 12, and Rose. Rorion believes that the letter R has mystical powers. He also shuns common names, like Robert, because they carry their own associations. "An original name has only the aura you give to it," he says. It is a belief, one of many, that Rorion inherited from his father, whom he worships almost as a god. (Rorion's other siblings besides his brothers Relson, 36, and Rickson are brothers Rolker, 24, Royler, 23, Royce, 22, Robin, 15, and sisters Rherica, 20, and Ricci, 12.)
Rorion's beliefs were fashioned out of Helio and Carlo' devotion to jujitsu, not merely as a martial art but as the cornerstone for a way of living that encompasses every aspect of a man's life, from morality and sex to diet. Rorion, for instance, eats only raw fruits and, occasionally, vegetables, and only in certain combinations as prescribed by his uncle Carlos, a nutritionist. His back yard is a greengrocer's market of boxes of apples, watermelons, bananas, mangoes and papayas he has bought in bulk. A typical Gracie meal might include watermelon juice, sliced persimmons and a side of bananas, and the talk around the Gracie dinner table between Rorion and his wife invariably concerns such questions as whether apricots should be combined with mangoes at a meal. His sons have only a passing acquaintance with foods other than fruits. They have had chicken maybe three times in their lives, and once, at a friend's birthday party, they were given lollipops, which they began smacking against the side of their heads because they didn't know what they were.
If the Gracie family's belief in the efficacy of fruits and the letter R seems nutty, if harmless, then their devotion to warrior values such as courage, honour and chivalry borders on the fanatical. Gracie men do fight at the drop of an insult, with predictably savage results. When Carlos and Helio returned home one night and found a robber in their house, they offered him the choice of fighting or going to jail. He chose to fight. In minutes, his screams woke the neighbourhood: "Jail! Jail! Jail!" When Uncle Carlos fought, he was not content merely to beat an opponent, he also wanted to teach him a lesson, or, as Uncle Carlos likes to say, "He's gonna get to dreamland all right, but first he must walk through the garden of punishment."
Rorion laughs and shakes his head. "Uncle Carlos was a bratty little kid. WHen he saw a Japanese guy carrying heavy loads of laundry, he liked to trip him. Heh-heh! He was very aggressive." When Carlos found opponents scarce for his ring fights, he advertised for them in the newspaper under the headline that read, "IF YOU WANT A BROKEN ARM OR RIB, CONTACT CARLOS GRACIE AT THIS NUMBER."
Rorion Gracie first visited the United States in 1969, when he was 17. He bummed around New York, L.A. and Hawaii for a year. He worked in a restaurant and on a construction site, where he slept. "I was always the first one on the job in the morning," he says. When his finances got precarious, he panhandled on the street. After years of being protected in the Gracie bosom in Rio, he learned to live on his own. "I grew a lot," he says. "Trouble only comes to test our reactions."
When Rorion returned to Brazil at the end of 1970, he went to college, got a law degree, though he has never practiced law, got married, had two children and then got divorced. In 1979, he decided it was time to cut the Gracie umbilical cord and return to the States for good to establish Gracie Jujitsu in the States.
"I felt there were more opportunities in America to spread the work of the Gracie myth," he says. "I felt that in Brazil, the Gracie family had reached the top and I didn't want to stay there and live off of my father's fame."
The Gracie myth in Brazil began with George Gracie, a blue-eyed Scottish sailor who settled in Brazil in the early 1800's. His descendants were bankers, diplomats, rubber-plantation barons and confidants of Brazilian emperors. A different kind of fame commenced with Carlos and Helio, whose fights were the stuff of legends. Helio was the first jujitsu master in the occidental world to defeat a Japanese master, Namiki, in 1932. He challenged any and all comers to fight in the ring with him, without rules, to the death. He fought a man to the death, only to have him surrender after four minutes. A newspaper story the following day said that the man had chosen not to die and dubbed him "The Dead Chicken." Helio fought Fred Ebert for 14 rounds of ten minutes each, until the police climbed into the ring to separate the two combatants, who had broken noses, lost teeth, welts over their eyes and blood streaming down their faces. The fan rioted at the halting of the fight. When Helio challenged a famous Brazilian boxer known as The Drop of Fire to a fight to the death, more than 20,000 fans showed up at the stadium. Only The Drop of Fire never showed, and overnight, the press dubbed him The Drop of Fear. Once, Helio dived into the turbulent, shark-infested Atlantic Ocean to save a man from drowning and was given his nation's Medal of Honour for his heroism.
Finally, in early 1951, Helio choked to unconsciousness Japan's number-two master, Kato, in a fight in Brazil that earned him a shot at Japan's premiere jujitsu master, the toughest man in all the world, Kimura. The fight took place in October of 1951 before thousands of Brazilian fans. kimura, 80 pounds heavier than Helio, agreed to the fight only if Helio, who had a reputation for never surrendering, would promise to tap the mat in surrender if his position seemed hopeless. "kimura was a gentleman," say Rorion, "and he didn't like to go to sleep at night dreaming of the sound of broken arms." The fight lasted 13 minutes. Kimura got Helio in a choke hold and noticed blood coming out of Helio's ear. "You all right?" Kimura said. "Yes," Helio said. "Good," Kimura said, and grabbed Helio's head and began to crush it like an overripe melon. Carlos threw in the towel.
The next day, Kimura appeared at the Gracie academy to invite Helio to teach at the Imperial Academy of Japan. Even though Helio wasn't scheduled to fight, Kimura could not guarantee his safety in Japan, where the fans often threaten to kill non-Japanese masters to maintain their monopoly of that martial art. Helio refused the offer. None of the current Japanese masters have dared venture to Rickson's home turf of Rio.
"The Brazilian youth had no idols before my father," says Rorion. "They felt there was nothing important known about Brazil. My father gave them hope. Something to believe in."
Rorion was 27 when he decided to come to the States to spread the word of the Gracie myth. He felt that the seed of Gracie jujitsu would flourish in the fertile soil of America, where men are bigger and stronger than in Brazil. He felt that American men could become a kind of master race of jujitsu warriors. Furthermore, he felt that men, and their women, too, were tired of their world image as the wimps of feminism. As proof, he could point to the popularity of such American movie actors as Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chuck Norris, who personified in their movies the kind of macho warrior that bore the striking resemblance to the roles assumed by Gracie men in real life in Brazil. Only the Gracie men did not need bazookas and machine guns.
Rorion moved to Southern California in 1979 and began to spread the word of Gracie jujitsu while trying to support himself in a strange country. He took a job cleaning houses. He met a woman whose husband was a movie producer. "You should be in movies," she told Rorion. Her husband took him to Central Casting and soon he was appearing as an extra in such TV series as Hart to Hart, Starsky and Hutch and Hotel. Rorion left the housecleaning business and set up a jujitsu mat in his garage, where he began to teach students. The youngest was the four-year-old son of a movie producer and the oldest, a 75-year-old retired Marine general. When a movie producer saw his fight against Ralph Alegria, the kick boxer, he hired him as a consultant for Lethal Weapon. Rorion choreographed the final fight scene between Mel Gibson and Gary Busey in that movie. Then he met Chuck Norris and began to teach him jujitsu for his movie Hero and the Terror.
While he waited for Gracie jujitsu to catch on in the States, Rorion busied himself with his movies, his students, demonstrations for law-enforcement agencies and colleges and an occasional challenge from a beach bully. He issued a $100,000 challenge, winner take all, to a fight to the death. Finally, a few months ago, a producer called to tell him about a documentary movie he was filming on the martial arts. A kick boxer in that movie, who claimed he was "the baddest dude in the world," had put up $100,000, winner take all, to fight anyone. Rorion accepted the challenge immediately and then told the producer, "First you better tell him who he's going to fight."
Rorion laughs and says, "I sparred a few times with him before. I was very gentle with him. I took him to the mat a few times, showed him some nice choke holds and he tapped the mat. Heh-heh."
The next day, the producer called back and said that the kick boxer would fight Rorion only under the following rules: Rorion had to put up the entire $100,000, the fight would consist of ten rounds of five minutes each and the two combatants could not stay on the mat for more than a minute at a time. Rorion laughed. "But that is not a street fight," he said. The producer never called him back.
In the den, Rorion passes his time browsing through the many books, newspapers and magazines with stories about the Gracie family. He holds up pictures of his father fighting Kimura and studies them. "See here," he says, "the choke." He memorizes that choke hold and the many facts of Gracie history: the names of long-dead ancestors; the dates of famous fights; the nicknames of vanquished opponents; Dudu, The Elephant, The Drop of Fire, The Dead Chicken, Zulu. He glances at his young sons in kimonos, wrestling on the rug. They grapple, silently, trip one another, tap the mat, stand, begin again. He looks outside to the garage, where two men in kimonos stand in front of the closed door. One man opens it to reveal a spotless, empty room with a grey mat on the floor. There is a photograph of a gaunt, mean-eyed old man, his arms folded across his chest, underneath a seal that reads ACADEMIA GRACIE. The two men step inside onto the mat. They are barefooted. They face each other, plant their legs wide, like crabs, and begin to circle each other like ancient warriors. They circle and circle, looking for an opening on this peaceful day on this quiet street in Torrance.


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The Bill Miller Public Affairs Reporting Hall of Fame honored three graduates from the University of Illinois Springfield's Public Affairs Reporting program who have distinguished themselves in the field of journalism. Nina Burleigh, Jim Prather, and Jim Webb were inducted into the Hall of Fame on Monday, January 28, 2013.
The Public Affairs Reporting (PAR) Hall of Fame was named in honor of Bill Miller, an award-winning journalist who served as the program's director for 19 years. After a semester of classroom study, students work six months in the Capitol covering state government and politics under the supervision of professional journalists. More than 600 students have completed the program since the first class graduated in 1973. Illinois Issues, the state's leading public affairs magazine, and WUIS-91.9, the capital city's NPR station, established the bi-annual event in 2006. Both are units of the Center for State Policy and Leadership at UIS.
Nina Burleigh is a journalist and the author of five books. She writes the weekly Bombshell column at the New York Observer. Her last book, The Fatal Gift of Beauty, was a New York Times bestseller. In the last several years, she has covered a wide array of subjects, including American politics, the Arab Spring, Israeli archaeological forgers, Iraq war veterans and drug addiction, Arab feminism, Iraqi immigrants in Nebraska, the NYPD and human trafficking in New York City, Nazi-looted art at the MOMA, a small-town Italian mayor murdered over slow food politics, Arctic travel, Chinese immigrants to Italy, and expat life in Italy. She covered the Clinton White House for Time and wrote human interest stories for People magazine as a staff writer based in New York in the 2000s. She has written for numerous publications including Businessweek, The New Yorker, the New York Times and New York Magazine, is a contributing editor at Elle and has appeared on Good Morning America, Nightline, The Today Show, 48 Hours, MSNBC, CNN and, on NPR and many radio programs.
Born and educated in the Midwest, based in New York, Burleigh has traveled extensively in the Middle East and lived in Italy and France. She lives in New York with her husband and two children. Nina received her bachelor's degree in English from MacMurray College, a master's in English from the University of Chicago and her master's degree in Public Affairs Reporting from UIS (then Sangamon State University) in 1984.
Jim Prather began his career as a government reporter for WICS-TV in Springfield. He later went to work as a government reporter for KARK-TV in Little Rock, Ark., where he covered the Bill Clinton-Frank White gubernatorial campaign and the ensuing Clinton administration. Prather made the transition to management when he became the assignment editor for KTHV-TV in Little Rock. Later, Prather served as news director at KRIS-TV in Corpus Christi, Texas, KTXS-TV in Abilene, Texas, and KSBY-TV in San Luis Obispo, Calif. In 1989, he became assistant news director at WMAR-TV in Baltimore. Two years later he was named news director at WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee.
During his 12-year tenure in Milwaukee, Prather rebuilt the organizational structure and culture in the Today's TMJ-4 newsroom to provide more viewer-focused newscasts. In August 1995, Prather was named general manager of Today's TMJ-4. With the help of a resurgent NBC prime time, a strong leadership team and a strategic plan which focused on winning breaking news, weather and investigative reporting, Today's TMJ-4 became the dominant news leader in the Milwaukee marketplace.
In 1997, Prather was named executive vice president of the Journal Broadcast Group. In December 1998 he became president of the television group. In August 2003, Prather moved to Las Vegas and took on the role of vice president and general manager of KTNV, a station in the Journal Broadcast Group's largest revenue market. In July 2005, Prather was named executive vice president, Television and Radio Operations, of Journal Broadcast Group. He now oversees radio and television station clusters in Boise and Tucson, and a Journal Broadcast Group duopoly in Palm Springs.
A graduate of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, Prather holds a bachelor of science degree in radio-television and political science, and a master's degree in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois-Springfield.
Jim Webb is the editor for a Chicago Tribune investigative team focused on state and local government. Prior to that, he was the paper's Illinois political editor from mid-2005 to mid-2010. In addition to supervising daily coverage of Chicago City Hall, Cook County and Illinois state government for five years, Webb oversaw state and local campaign coverage for the paper. During that time, he was the lead editor for the newspaper's investigations of pay-to-pay politics involving former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, hiring corruption under then-Mayor Richard Daley and influence peddling involving City Hall zoning.
In his current role, Webb works with a team of reporters focused on the relationships between powerful public officials and private interests. The team has produced a series of stories about how Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has built a political empire while repeatedly taking public actions that benefit private clients of his property tax law firm. Starting before the election of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the Metro investigations team has examined Emanuel's creation of a campaign fund juggernaut, outlined the new mayor's increasing reliance on privatization and exposed his resistance to transparency on everything from speed cameras to school closings.
Prior to joining the Tribune, Webb spent 18 years as a reporter, desk supervisor and news editor for The Associated Press.
After receiving a B.A. in journalism from Bradley University, Webb interned with the AP at the Illinois statehouse as part of the master's program in Public Affairs Reporting at the University of Illinois-Springfield. Upon graduation in 1987, he parlayed the internship into a series of jobs with the AP in St. Louis, Louisville, Frankfort, Ky., and Philadelphia before moving to the Chicago bureau in 1989.
Patty Culhane, (keynote speaker at the Bill Miller Hall of Fame reception) is a UIS Public Affairs Reporting Program graduate of 1995. She joined Al Jazeera in 2009 and is now the White House correspondent for the network. Before joining, she worked as a correspondent for MSNBC covering the Bush administration, where she traveled both domestically and internationally with President George W. Bush. From 2000 to 2006, she worked at NBC affiliate WAVY-TV in Norfolk, Va. as a military reporter. She has been a journalist for 17 years, working in Iowa, Illinois and Norfolk, Va., where she covered the U.S. military, traveling extensively through the Middle East covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.


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CRANS-SUR-SIERRE, Switzerland – Richie Ramsay of Scotland thrived in the cold and wet Swiss Alps on Saturday, shooting a 7-under 64 for a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the European Masters.
Ramsay had six birdies and didn't drop a shot. He finished at 11 under, one shot ahead of fellow Scot Paul Lawrie (67) and Danny Willett (68) of England.
"It was a nice and steady round," said the 29-year-old Ramsay, who was at the first tee when fog suspended play in the morning. "It sounds simple, it's harder to do."
Overnight leader Julien Quesne of France was another shot back after a 70. Heavy rain forced organizers to reduce the soaked par-4 sixth hole to a par 3. Fog rolled in near midday and delayed play for nearly 2 hours as the leading groups prepared to start their rounds.
Lawrie, seeking his second straight title after victory last week at Gleneagles, led until hitting out of bounds off the tee at the par-5 14th. The European Ryder Cup player made a double-bogey 7, saying he was "a bit frustrated" with his 67.
"I played lovely again today and could easily have been four or five shots better," Lawrie said. "But one behind now, I would have taken that at the start of the week."
Ramsay, who placed sixth behind his fellow Aberdeen native at Gleneagles, has never led a European Tour event after three rounds. Ramsay's only victory came at the 2010 South African Open.
Joost Luiten of the Netherlands trails by four strokes after shooting the lowest score of the day, a 63 that included three eagles. David Lynn of England, the runner-up behind Rory McIlroy at the PGA Championship last month, moved to 6 under with a 65.
Alexander Noren, the 2009 winner, had perhaps the strangest round of an interrupted day. The Swede started early and went out in 30, but after the fog delay came home in 39 to fall to 1 under.
On Sunday, 21 players will tee off within five shots of the lead on a course that plays short in the thin mountain air.


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Inside a call center in a downtown Houston building, a team of election workers sits across from each other in rows of sparsely decorated grey cubicles. It's one week before the first statewide election since Texas enacted sweeping changes to its voting laws, and things are hectic.
"The phone is ringing back to back to back pretty much with concerned voters wanting to know where their ballots are and what's the status on their applications," said Angela Washington, a call center clerk.
In January alone, Washington and the 14 other workers in the call center received 8,000 calls from people who wanted help navigating the voting process.
Thousands of rejected mail-in ballots prior to the March 1 primary left some voters unsure how and whether they will be able to participate, including many people with disabilities and senior citizens, who are among those eligible to vote by mail.
In Harris County, home to Houston and the state's most populous county, 40% of mail-in ballot applications were flagged for rejection.
Supporters ofthe state's new voting law say it is intended to restore voter confidence in elections. But some elections officials say it is just causing widespread confusion.
"It breaks my heart to see that they were rejected for various reasons," Washington said. "At that point, it's a matter of trying to find them a location where they can go [vote] in person."
ID rules are a big source of confusion
The law now requires voters who qualify for mail-in voting to provide either their driver's license number or a partial Social Security number. That number must match what is on file in their voter registration record. So if a voter registered decades ago with their Social Security number but applied this year using their driver's license instead, they'd be rejected.
Washington said she could understand why some callers are frustrated, even angry.
"I just listen, I comfort them as much as I can and some of them just need to know that somebody cares on the other end," she said.
Nayda Arnold, who also works at the call center, said it can be upsetting when she's confronted with an emotional voter.
"But most of the time I've found that when they're upset, it's because they don't understand," she said, adding that means staying on the phone as long as it takes to make every caller feel comfortable.
The rollout of the law, which took effect in December, is burdening local election workers who are already stretched thin.
"Every day, they are on a phone call where they break down crying. We have people quit almost every week," said Isabel Longoria, the elections administrator in Harris County. She has been vocal about the challenges that this law – known as Senate Bill 1 – has caused.
"The hours are too much, the stress is too much, the being questioned by the public is too much, the feeling like we're shouting into a void where no one is listening is too much," she said.
Republicans argue that voting restrictions like those included in Senate Bill 1 make it easier to vote and harder to cheat, despite no widespread evidence of voter fraud.
Texas Secretary of State John Scott's office did not respond to an NPR request for comment. But last month, he pushed back against criticism that the mail-in voting process was confusing for voters.
"It's the first time for this office to administer an application to ballot by mail the way it is happening, so I think there's a little bit of a learning curve that's going on," he told Spectrum News.
But Longoria says that's callous.
"Your core rights in this country should never be someone else's learning curve," she said.
Some Texans see intentional hurdles to vote
The law's changes are not limited to identification requirements. It also includes a slew of other restrictions, including banning drive-through voting and 24-hour voting sites, things that Harris County implemented in 2020 to help people vote more easily and safely during the pandemic.
"It's like, we finally make some progress, and then we have the rug pulled out from underneath us," said Lydia Nunez Landry, who lives in a suburb of Houston. "It just kind of feels like they want to discourage us from voting."
Nunez Landry has a progressive and currently untreatable form of muscular dystrophy. Because of the risks of the coronavirus, she is not leaving her home much. But due to confusion surrounding mail-in voting, she feels she has to vote in person to ensure that her vote is counted.
"I'm just too afraid to risk it," Nunez Landry said.
She also worries about the expanded rights of partisan poll watchers under the new law, which allows them "free movement" in most areas of polling places.
"That really bothers me, having people scrutinize or surveil me," she said. "I don't think it should be the case for disabled people to be treated that way, or any marginalized group."
Other provisions of the law directly focus on voters with disabilities, and advocates say those have created a lot of confusion, particularly around what type of assistance a person with disabilities may access when voting.
"We're here in the middle of an election cycle, where people with disabilities and older adults are scared to vote in person, because we just don't know what that means for us," said Gabe Cazares, the director of the Houston Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities.
Cazares said the law opens up the door for attendants who assist voters to face criminal penalties, but that there's no clarity on what constitutes a violation.
That's led to some personal care attendants worrying about "being criminally liable for providing assistance that they ordinarily provide to people with disabilities," he said.
Cazares also worries that people with disabilities that are not visible may face new challenges while voting.
"It's very easy to qualify a disability when you're someone who looks like me. You can look into my eyes and see that I am a blind person," he said. "But there are folks with disabilities where those are not obvious. And we are not in the business of policing disability."
Texas is one of 18 states that passed more restrictive voting laws after the 2020 presidential election. James Slattery, a senior staff attorney for the Texas Civil Rights project, said the rollout of the law here could provide a preview of what's to come across the country.
"Texas is not the only state that passed a voter suppression bill like this," Slattery said. "It is merely the first to have a primary under its new law, and there's no reason to think it's going to go any better in any of the other states where they did something similar."
'I don't get to fail at this'
In Fort Bend County, 73-year-old Lydia Ozuna painstakingly documents each step in her voting process, in the hopes of educating others.
But this year, even she got tripped up when she filled out an application to vote by mail. Ozuna unintentionally used an outdated application form, one that did not have the newly-required fields for including a driver's license number or partial social security number.
Ozuna found out immediately because she filed her application in person. Had she mailed it in, she said, she wouldn't have known until someone from her local elections office reached her by phone or mail to tell her that she'd made a mistake.
Ozuna, who leads an anti-gerrymandering group, grew up watching her father pay poll taxes so that he could vote.
"Our state has a history of violating the civil rights of its citizens. I lived it as a kid," she said.
Ozuna said she sees shades of that history today.
"I think the point is to just have the few people who have the know-how be the ones to vote, and everyone else stay home," she said. "And that's a grim prospect."
Back at the Harris County elections office, Isabel Longoria says that prospect is why she and her team keep working through burnout, and even their own frustrations with how the rollout has gone.
"If I have everyone quit tomorrow in elections, democracy is not happening. I don't get to fail at this job, and I think that's what everyone on my team understands, who does still find another day to work," she said.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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20 & 30 ply Roving is 100% Perendale wool, it's a soft single strand yarn ideal for chunky knits, weaving, felting and crochet. Milled in New Zealand from Australian and New Zealand wool and hand dyed in the Northern Rivers region, of New South Wales, Australia. Our Mollydale Perendale Roving is available in 20 & 30 ply, hand dyed or un-dyed. approx. weight/meterage:20 ply 200g/56m30 ply 200g/42m Please keep in mind that these yarns are hand dyed in small batches. Repeating the colour exactly is not always possible.
Camel Roving—Mollydale Yarns
Hand wash in warm water with approved wool wash.


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