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Walley Forestry Consultants, Inc. was founded in 1978 by Jim Walley and has continued in assisting landowners across South Mississippi for over 40 years. The forestry services offered by Walley Forestry Consultants include: Timber Sales, Forest/ Timberland Management, and Appraisals.
Walley Forestry is well known for helping timberland owners receive above average timber prices (through competitive marketing) on pine plantation thinning, select cutting, and final harvest cuts for the past 39 years. Our team of experienced foresters and forestry technicians utilize state of the art technology available to assist our clients in the management of their timber resources. A very dynamic GPS/GIS mapping software system provides accurate stand and tract acreage. These precise measurements are the basis for all timber management practices and recommendations.
A multi page timber sale prospectus is sent to over 100 timber companies and buyers. Competitive sealed bids are opened in our attorney's office located here in Ellisville, Mississippi. Our timber deed protects our clients' interest, as we work with timber companies and harvesting crews to ensure our standards are met. We work with local, state, and governmental entities in obtaining funding to help offset site preparation and reforestation expenses.
Jim Walley created Walley Properties, LLC. in 1983 in response to the needs of his forestry consultant clients to assist clients in both the purchasing and selling of timberland, farms, hunting land, recreational land, pasture land, and rural acreage. Our company is unique in that our team members are all highly educated and qualified Professional Mississippi Registered Foresters, Certified Mississippi Real Estate Brokers, Sales Agents, Business Managers and most of all avid sportsmen. We can offer advice to potential buyers from timberland management and investments to wildlife management. Jim Walley, a Mississippi Certified General Real Estate Appraiser (GA-154) can provide buyers and sellers with information on land and timber valuation. Walley Forestry Consultants, Inc. will assist landowners in designing a customized timber management plan to meet their specific goals and objectives. One of the most common goals of our clients is to maximize timber revenue while enhancing wildlife habitat.
Jim Walley has spent over 36 years teaching forestry technology at JCJC before becoming the Vice President of external affairs and Dean of Agricultural Science. Mr. Walley continues to serve as a longtime Board Member of the Mississippi Forestry Association, as well as a Chairman of the Magnolia Chapter for the Mississippi Society of American Foresters from 2011 – 2013.
Sometimes, landowners have questions concerning the best course of action to take with the management of their property. While...
Who knew that there were several options when it comes to planting pines? The average landowner might not know which one to ch...
Land owners in the Deep South must be vigilant when it comes to invasive species. Some of these plants may look pretty, but ca...


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Introducing The Boot-Camp "Discovering the Real Truth about Homosexuality: The Discover How To Evangelizing Your Friends and Family" by Father John Hollowell
We are so excited to invite you to a special FREE event. Fr. John Hollowell has agreed to do a teleconference Boot-Camp for the Courageous Priest Apostolate. We are calling it "Discovering the Real Truth about Homosexuality: The Ultimate Guide To Evangelizing Your Friends, Family and Acquaintances" This will be given live over a free telephone conference call. So, there will be no flying, no driving, no hotels, no expensive restaurants. All you need is a phone. Trust us this will be very simple. Please mark your calenders, as this will be your only chance to hear it live.
Here Is What You'll Get When You Join the Free Teleconference Boot-Camp:
- 3 biggest mistakes made when talking to your family, friends and acquaintances
- The vital importance of understanding attractions and the real battle everyone must engage
- Nature versus Nurture: The final answer
- The critical mistakes made by the far left and far right
- The key to unlocking the beauty of the teachings of the Catholic Church
- Verified facts that the mainstream refuses to publish or are unwilling to accept
- Overcoming the most common objections like:
I am sorry, but you only have one chance to attend this special boot-camp live. Please attend, you never know when sharing the truth will change the lives of your family, friends or acquaintances.
- 9:00 PM Eastern
- 8:00 PM Central
- 7:00 PM Mountain
- 6:00 PM Pacific
Phone Number: 1-712- 432-3066
Pin Code: 578616
- Arrive early. The call is limited to 1000 telephone lines.
- Call the number: 1-712-432-3066
- Enter the pin code: 578616
- To mute your line press 4*
- You can introduce yourself, if you desire. The host will direct you. First name is sufficient.
- You will want to stay till the end, as Father has some special announcements to make.
Fr. John Hollowell is Launching a new DVD: Unnatural Law? What the Catholic Church Really Teaches About Homosexuality[/caption] We can't wait to have Father Hollowell lead us during our special Boot-Camp "Discovering the Real Truth about Homosexuality: The Ultimate Guide To Evangelizing Your Friends, Family and Acquaintances."
Please go ahead and share this with your family and friends, Facebook it, Tweet it. Let's get the word out!
God bless,
John Quinn & Jeff Gares
Founders of Courageous Priest
P.S. You only have one chance to hear this live, with like-minded Catholics.
P.P.S. Here is your chance to learn more about Fr. Hollowell. Come and discover his work on what could possibly be the greatest evangelization tool of our times, his documentary Unnatural Law? Any questions? Just leave a comment.

subset: commoncrawl


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I store a lot of PDF files in a single archive folder in Eaglefiler. The PDF files are from my Fujitsu Scansnap.
Things are working well. I have a few Applescripts to help my workflow. And I use PDFPen to edit the PDF files (getting rid of pages, or combining PDF files into 1).
Just wondering if anyone has an easy way of selecting 3-4 PDF files in EagleFiler, and combining them into a single PDF file? While deleting the original PDF files. There are paywares and freewares that combine PDF files. As mentioned, I use PDFPen. But it's a bit clunky: because it involves opening the PDFFiles, selecting the pages, combining, saving, and then deleting the original files.
Has anyone written an Applescript that automates this? Otherwise, one of these months I'll try to have a look about trying.


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Performing remediation services in today's market place can be precarious from a liability standpoint. How does a remediation firm adequately establish an accurate scope of work without sampling? Either the area of remediation is too small and does not completely address the contaminated area or too large and costs more to remediate than is necessary. In the first scenario, area of containment too small, you also have the added problem of explaining why you failed post-remediation verification. Did you fail because you did not accurately determine the scope of work or because you failed to maintain containment and contaminated the area outside containment? The answer to that question can not easily be answered. However, pre-remediation sampling can help to answer the question of what areas are contaminated and thereby establish the scope of work.
Post remediation verification is just as important. How do you establish that you were successful in you remediation efforts without sampling?
Benefits of Using Our Services:
- Clearly define the scope of work
- Provide third party documentation of successful completion of your work
- Limit worker exposure issues
- Compliance with OSHA and other regulatory agencies
- Limit your company liability
- Protect your business assets


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Without Hope
Women in Afghanistan continue to be denied basic rights and live under appalling conditions. Many are so desperate that they take their own lives. "Suicide attempts by women in Afghanistan have increased sharply in recent years – especially among 15- to 19-year-olds," says Nabila Wafeq, who works for the women's rights organization medica mondiale in Afghanistan.
One method frequently used to escape violence and oppression is self-immolation. Confined to their houses without any possibility of asking for help, women reach for a bottle of benzene and a match, ingredients found in every kitchen.
Widespread ignorance of the consequences
The number of self-immolations has increased dramatically during the last few years. Even the local television station in Herat warned of the consequences in a broadcast. "Most of them are ignorant of what they are doing and the pain that awaits them if they survive the burns," says Kabul doctor Homeira Ameery.
medica mondiale assumes that several hundred women put an end to their suffering every year. There are no exact figures, since in most cases the families do not talk about these incidents – they could stain the family honor. Although the suicide rate among men has also risen, according to a study by the women's organization, suicide is primarily a female phenomenon.
The reason for these acts of desperation is the hopelessness of many women, who are often sold by their own families to the highest-bidding suitor and are perceived merely as servants by their parents-in-law.
Through forced marriages, young girls who often are not even 15 years old are at the mercy of their husbands and their families. According to studies by medica mondiale, self-immolation is almost always a flight from violence and abuse.
Ignorant of their rights
Many men, on the other hand, have another explanation – for them, the women simply aren't able to cope with the housework and their parents-in-law. The police and the courts frequently play down the problem as well.
Particularly illiterate persons – and over 80% of the women are still illiterate – know almost nothing about their rights and have no opportunity to talk to people other than family members. In addition, the precarious security situation reduces the sphere of action for many women even more.
Fathers and husbands force women and girls back into their homes. "Women are in a much worse position again today than shortly after the overthrow of the Taliban," says Selmin Çalışkan of medica mondiale.
Husbands claim back dowry
"After the severe repression of the Taliban there was a certain euphoria. But today many women are losing all hope because their situation is not improving." Although there is also progress, for example, in the field of education, particularly in rural areas women see little difference.
Those who survive their suicide attempts are accused of bringing shame to the family. They are shunned by the community, and the husband's families often demand the bride price back.
Their husbands, however, are rarely called to account, says Kabul lawyer Massouda Navabi. And even if they are convicted, they frequently do not have to serve the full sentence, because their families buy their freedom after a few months in prison.
Claudia Isabel Rittel
© Development & Cooperation 2007
Translated from the German by Phyllis Anderson
Female Suicides in Afghanistan
The Most Extreme Form of Protest
Hundreds of women commit suicide in Afghanistan every year. Many of them take their own lives to escape unbearable domestic conditions that have remained virtually unchanged since the end of the Taliban regime. Majed Malek reports
Amnesty Report Afghanistan
Women's Rights only on Paper
The situation of women in Afghanistan is still appalling, claims the latest report from Amnesty International. Equality, as envisioned in the Afghan constitution, is still decades away. But small advances have been made. Petra Tabeling reports
The Afghan Magazine "Malalai"
The Voice of Afghan Women
Jamila Mujahed is editor of the only women's magazine in Afghanistan. For her work on the magazine "Malalai," which she founded to promote women's rights, she has been awarded the Johann Philipp Palm Prize. Petra Tabeling reports


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NFC on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5
Will the iPhone 5 be enabled for near field communications (NFC)? If not, you can still use your iPhone 4 for cashless purchasing.
Although the iPhone 5 will make its debut shortly, there was talk about it being NFC capable shortly after the iPhone 4's release. And even though the iPhone 5 will be released shortly, its NFC capabilities are still up for discussion.
However, if you want NFC capabilities on your iPhone, there's no need to wait for the debut of the iPhone 5. I recently came across a hack that allows iPhone 4 users some NFC mobile payment capabilities. While it's not the same as the built-in NFC features on the Nexus S Android phones, it provides an interim solution until Apple divulges the details of the iPhone 5.
If your bank offers miniature credit cards with NFC chips, they can easily be added to the iPhone 4. By simply removing the backing, there is a bit of room to put a smaller, NFC-enabled card, such as Bank of America's Tap & Pay, between the battery and backing. Since the iPhone backing is relatively thin, the NFC chip will still have the ability to be read by credit card terminals.
While the exact date of the iPhone 5 has not yet been released, there's still speculation as to whether or not it will include NFC capabilities. Heard a rumor? Have an opinion? Share it with us by commenting below, or on our Facebook or twitter pages.


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Walk this path to preserve our treasured rights of way | Janet Davis
The Ramblers will always be the guardian of our ancient paths – but we will work with landowners to amend routes if necessary
Our public rights of way form an intricate network of footpaths, bridleways and byways right across our towns, cities and countryside. They provide routes to places of work and worship, schools and shops, health centres and transport hubs. They connect people to green spaces and act as a gateway to the countryside, and are enjoyed by millions of walkers who ramble along the 140,000 miles of paths. Their contribution to local economies is vital – last year visitors to England's outdoors spent £21bn. This figure is increasing, with outdoor activity currently contributing 1.65% of total GDP.
Many of these paths have existed for hundreds of years – they are an "inscription on the landscape" made by generations of people going about their business, and are as much a part of our heritage as our ancient monuments and historic buildings. As a nation we're connected to our paths; the journeys they've taken us on are stored in our collective childhood memories, inscribed through the wanderings of Wainwright, and savoured in folklore, tales and poetry.
We are very fortunate to have such a fantastic network of paths in England and Wales, which provide access to the countryside and allow people to enjoy the outdoors and all its associated benefits. We're a nation facing a pandemic of inactivity; spending too much time indoors and not enough time enjoying the fresh air and beautiful landscapes on offer. The provision of places for people to walk – away from cars and in touch with nature – should be protected, treasured and enhanced, not cast aside.
These paths are highways in law, and are thus afforded the same protection as roads; they should not be confused with the right to roam legislation, the right to walk on specially mapped areas of mountain, moor, heath and downland in England and Wales secured by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.
It is disappointing to find the importance of these paths, and their benefit to users, called into question by the recently established Intrusive Footpaths Campaign. Unfortunately, a small group of unrepresentative individuals see these paths as an infringement of rights, rather than as public paths. They seek to overturn a consensus between walkers, farmers, landowners and local authorities on how we manage these rights and responsibilities.
The draft deregulation bill, shortly to be considered by a joint parliamentary committee, contains proposals aimed at improving the procedures for recording public rights of way and amending their routes where necessary. Uniquely, those proposals were developed by a working group that includes organisations representing users such as the Ramblers, and those representing the views of landowners.
The group held meetings over a 15-month period, debating, negotiating and finally reaching consensus on a package of reforms that will be beneficial for all. The benefits of working together to achieve a common goal are evident here, and we are delighted that the government is proceeding with the necessary legislation. The proposed changes already address the possibility of realigning claimed paths to avoid conflict with current land use.
Our treasured path network has evolved over time, and the Ramblers is not resistant to change that will improve things for walkers and for land managers. But in the meantime, while we wait for improvements to how we manage our public rights of way, the Ramblers will continue to be the guardian and champion of our unique path network, ensuring that any changes to them are in the interests of the millions of us who enjoy walking them.
Link to article: feeds.theguardian.com/c/34708/f/663875/s/30f458da/sc/46/l/0L0Stheguardian0N0Ccommentisfree0C20A130Csep0C0A80Cpath0Epreserve0Etreasured0Erights0Eway0Eramblers/story01.htm


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Grand Rugs
The Grand Collection rugs are made from very high quality frise yarn which is very high in density and gives you a super soft feel under your feet. The Grand Collection rugs are hand carved to give the rugs extra depth and a 3D effect. These rugs benefit by being anti-shed, anti-static and are easy to clean. The Grand Collection is available in a large variety of colours and sizes. Due to the nature of the frise yarn, these rugs can appear to be different shades (lighter or darker) depending on the light – turn the rug 180° to view the lighter or darker shades and to position the rug in the correct place for your room.
No products were found matching your selection.


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On his birthday Patriarch Kirill celebrates the Divine Liturgy at the Church of Christ the Saviour
On this birthday, November 20, 2013, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral Church of Christ the Saviour.
He was assisted by a great number of hierarchs and high-ranking church officials in holy orders, abbots and Moscow deans and priests.
The service was attended by the deputy head of the Presidential Staff A. Beglov, Moscow Regional Governor A. Vorobyev, Minister of Culture V. Medinsky, chairman of the Central Election Committee V. Churov, chair of the State Duma committee for security and opposition to corruption Ms I. Yarovaya, chairman of the State Duma Committee for the CIS, Eurasian integration and relations with expatriates L. Slutsky and other high ecclesial and secular officials, as well as mothers superior of convents, clergy and laity.
After the liturgy, Metropolitan Juvenly of Krutitsy and Kolomna with a host of hierarchs celebrated a thanksgiving, during which petitions for the health of His Holiness Kirill were lifted up. Metropolitan Juvenaly read out a congratulatory message from the Holy Synod members and presented His Holiness with a copy of the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan and a bouquet of flowers.
Patriarch Kirill addressed the congregation with a primatial homily.
Then His Holiness received congratulations from the clergy of Moscow.
Source: Moscow Patriarchate


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GOAL: To deploy a fully scalable platform for growth of our service.
After more than a year of work and many delays, we are finally ready to begin preparation for migration to the next iteration of our capture technology. Therefore, we are instituting a "code freeze" on the stable capture code (stable for years), as of now. No troubleshooting or code changes will be made, unless some unforeseen and widespread issue occurs.
The phases of this huge project are:
- Deploy a process to handle authentication and provisioning of generators automatically*
- Modify the storage method to take advantage of infinitely scalable storage solution
- Migrate the primary servers to a virtual SSD-based cluster that is infinitely scalable, distributed, and able to be geographically dispersed
*This will pave the way for nearly infinite scalability of our service and full automation will mean we have more time to devote to enhancements and improvements in the future.
The first phase should finally be completed and tested within the next week or so. After that, step 2 will most likely be completed by the end of Summer 2012. Step 3 will most likely be completed late in Q3 or Q4 of 2012.
Phase 1: We do not expect any downtime but there may be occasional, short periods of "offline for maintenance" during the transition and testing. This is especially true if we run into issues with capturing certain sites with the newer technologies, once we go live. However, the worst case impact would just be bad captures that we would be actively monitoring, troubleshooting, testing, and then refreshing for free.
Also, since we are hitting some technological limitations, we will be clearing our entire cache of captures and will capture every request, as it comes in, for a while. This may cause slight delays of minutes or hours, for the first few days after go-live.
Phase 2: We do not expect any downtime but there may be occasional, short periods of "offline for maintenance" during the transition and testing. If there are issues, we will roll back to the current storage solution while we troubleshoot and prepare to retry the deployment. In a worst case, we may end up clearing out the entire cache of captures repeatedly, until we get a bulletproof deployment and then let the system run full speed.
Phase 3: We do not expect any downtime, but there may be occasional, short periods of "offline for maintenance" during the transition..
The long-term goal of all of this work is to allow us to greatly extend the retention policy at some point. This will be the first step towards growing our pre-captured screenshots of web pages to include every web page on the Internet. It is an ambitious, and admittedly impossible, goal because of the vast number of web pages and extraordinary growth of the Internet.
However, we have to start somewhere and achieving even 10% captures of the most trafficked web pages would mean less than 1% of requests would be considered new. As we approach that point, the need for capture generators will transition from new captures to just keeping requests refreshed.
The beauty of that lies in being easily quantifiable, which means that we can eliminate "New Requests" from our pricing model and confidently build the cost of generators into the service, overall. That will greatly simplify the sales process and will help to lower costs in the long run.
While these phases require a substantial initial investment and considerable increases to our operating expenses, we feel that this is a necessary evolution for our service. These added costs will be leveraged quickly, as our service continues to grow exponentially. So, we are betting on that continued growth. Eventually, the added costs will be a nominal portion of the overall operation and, with our loyal user's continued support, we believe that we will reach that goal and earn the freedom to give back to our valued customers!


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Representatives from the NFL and United Way, founders of Character Playbook, an education initiative operated by EverFi that focuses on youth character development and building healthy relationships, visited the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square to share the honor of ringing the Nasdaq stock market closing bell, along with 35 Students from I.S. 96 Seth Low School, a Brooklyn middle school implementing Character Playbook.
In honor of the occasion, Amani Toomer, former New York Giants WR and Super Bowl champion, rang the Closing Bell.
"It was an honor to join Amani Toomer and the wonderful students from Seth Low to ring the closing bell at the stock exchange today," said Lisa Bowman, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at United Way Worldwide. "We're so pleased that more than 32,000 students in 329 schools have already completed Character Playbook and we were committed to keep going until we reach our goal of providing character education to students all across America."
The digital course is comprised of six interactive modules that support positive character development, social-emotional learning and healthy relationships for grades 7-9. The interactive digital program will be provided directly in schools throughout the 32 NFL markets across the country.
In addition, the current United Way / NFL Public Service Announcement (PSA) featuring Baltimore Ravens Wide Receiver, Steve Smith, Sr. will be featured in Times Square on the 7-story tall NASDAQ video tower and marquis exclusively for one full hour after the closing bell.
Watch the interview here.


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How to fix missing printer icon
We have reports of the "Send To OneNote 2007" printer disappearing or stop working. We're looking into the causes and possible fixes. In the meantime, here are some fixes that have been shown to work. If you run into this problem and one of these steps fix it, please let us know (by leaving a comment below or email me directly). That will help us track down the cause(s).
- Open up the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel applet, and run Repair on the Office/OneNote install
- Disable the Send To OneNote IE add-on
- Boot Ie and go to Tools | Manage Add-ons | Enable or Disable Add-ons
- Find the entry for a "Send to OneNote" add-on. Click the radio button to disabled it
- Restart IE as requested
- Open up the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel applet, and run Repair on the Office/OneNote install
- Remove an conflicting print driver
- Go to Control Panel - Printers
- Identify the printer (sometimes a pdf printer) installed after OneNote.
- Right click mouse and open properties.
- Go to Ports tab and check the entries.
- Check if the box next to "Send to Microsoft OneNote Port:" is ticked.
- If ticked this appears to be the source of the conflict.
- Delete the offending printer driver.
- Perform a repair install of Office/OneNote.
I hope this works and also do this if you are comfortable messing with installations; this is a working theory and might not fix everyone's problems. Thanks a bunch and I hope this post is useful to those people who are facing this problem and they search online for a solution. Take care
Update on 2009-05-05: If you are seeing this and you are on Windows 64bit (x64) then you might want to read this: OneNote Print Driver – A 64 Bit Solution, check it out!


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Cat® Demolition & Sorting Grapples are designed for the most rigorous applications, including building demolition, construction and demolition debris recycling, scrap recycling, solid waste transfer station loading, tree removal and retaining wall construction, as well as placing boulders, rip rap, concrete, blocks and other difficult-to-handle materials. These versatile, heavy-duty tools are capable of handling large volumes of material while providing the ability to sort through recyclable debris, thus enhancing recovery rates and reducing related costs for labor, transportation and landfill fees.
The Cat Demolition & Sorting Grapples lineup includes five models designed to fit a broad range of Cat hydraulic excavators, both crawler- and wheel-type, with operating weights from 22,000 to 99,200 pounds (10 to 45 mt). These work tools are designed for severe service, using high grade, impact resistant steel throughout, with reinforced jaws and high-wear cutting edges made of AR500 steel.
For flexible performance, the grapples feature 360-degree rotation, allowing precise positioning of the tool without moving the machine. Synchronized jaws enhance control of the grapple, allowing repeatable action cycle after cycle, and high clamping forces ensure material retention during each cycle to boost production efficiency.
The precise design of the grapple results in edge-to-edge contact along the tips of the jaws, which allows the operator to pick out the smallest items for selective recycling. Overbite stops further enhance edge-to-edge contact even when working in thin materials.
Wide jaw openings, ranging from 71 to nearly 90 inches (1 800 to 2 270 mm), greatly expand the working flexibility of the grapples and allow visibility to the work area for more effective material screening. The zero clearance design of the jaws allows the grapples to work tightly against vertical walls and containers, and the smooth inner profile of the jaws allows material to easily enter and exit without catching, thus speeding production cycles.
The high-torque rotation motor is engineered for reliable performance cycle after cycle and is protected from jobsite hazards. Serviceability features for the new Cat Demolition & Sorting Grapples include ample access to internal parts, ground-level access to grease points and replaceable cutting edges.
For more information about Cat Demolition & Sorting Grapples, contact the local Cat dealer or go to: grapples
|More Less
|Carrier weight, min., tons (mt)
|11 (10)
|16.5 (15)
|22 (20)
|27.5 (25)
|More Less
|Carrier weight, max., tons (mt)
|17.6 (16)
|24.3 (22)
|32 (29)
|42 (38)
|49.5 (45)
|More Less
|Grapple weight lb. (kg)
|2,266 (1 030)
|3,080 (1 400)
|4,125 (1 875)
|4,664 (2 120)
|5,764 (2 620)
|More Less
|Capacity, yd3 (m3)
|0.49 (0.37)
|0.72 (0.55)
|0.98 (0.75)
|1.11 (0.85)
|1.31 (1.00)
|More Less
|Cycle time, sec.
|More Less
# # #
Note to Editors: Caterpillar rolls-out products and services in each of its territories at different time intervals. Although every effort is made to ensure that product information is released only after Caterpillar has received confirmation from our dealer network, our plants, and our marketing subsidiaries that products and services are available in the relevant region, editors are kindly requested to verify with their local dealer for product availability and specifications.
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General Motors reported Q3 earnings of $0.96 per share, beating analysts expectations for $0.94 per share.
Revenue came in just shy of expectations at $39 billion. Analysts were looking for $39.38 billion.
U.S. sales were boosted by 18 new products introduced this year including the Chevrolet Silverado.
"We made gains in the third quarter as we improved our North American margins and increased our global share on the strength of our Chevrolet brand," said Dan Akerson, GM chairman and CEO in a press release.
"Our efforts to build great cars and trucks and deliver solid financial results were recognized this quarter by Moody's investment grade rating."
General Motors said North America margins were the highest they've seen in "quite some time."
The stock was up 1% in the pre-market before the release. It is now up 2.3%.
See Also:Here's What Pepsi, Victoria's Secret, And Other Corporate Logos Would Say If They Were Being HonestTeenagers Are Taking Selfies At Funerals � And A New Tumblr Has The Entire Cringeworthy CollectionUber Will Let You Order A Kitten To Your Office Today


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Look What Happens At A SFM Event!
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Coach Mayo is originally from Chesterfield i, Virginia and graduated from Lloyd C. Bird High School in 1983. He continued his education at Bluefield College where he received his Bachelors degree in Physical Education and Social Studies in 1988.He play basketball for 4 years . He has taught and coach at Carroll Co High School, Amelia Co High School, Starmount High School (NC) and Mt Airy, NC . Coach Mayo is married to Deborah Easter Mayo and has three children Alex, Abby, and Adam and they reside in Fancy Gap, VA
Coach Mayo is currently the Strength and Conditioning Coach and the Girls Basketball Coach at Galax High School. Coach Mayo is looking forward to working with students from both the high school and middle school


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The Bears made official this week what started to become obvious in training camp: Johnny Knox is behind Roy Williams on the depth chart.
Devin Hester is locked into a starting flanker role, which leaves Chicago's leading receiver of a year ago (Knox) no higher than No. 4 on the depth chart. (Earl Bennett plays the slot.)
Knox believes he can get his job back. If that doesn't happen, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune writes that Knox could push for a trade.
"There's a better than fair chance he will push for a new home, according to a source," Biggs writes. "This is a guy, after all, who thought he would be talking contract extension before the end of the season and now has to surpass a competitor coming off three mediocre seasons with the Cowboys."
We suspect the Bears are trying to motivate Knox to eliminate his mental mistakes. Offensive coordinator Mike Martz says Knox's starting job last year was given to him — it wasn't earned.
"He just was not ready, not because he can't do it or he's not talented. The preparation, the consistency that's required … he does a lot of good things, but they have to be good all the time. That's what Roy is," Martz said.
(We'll give Cowboys fans a minute to clean up whatever they just spit on the computer screen.)
Knox's big-play ability would be attractive to other teams, but there's just no reason for the Bears to trade him. Expect him to be in Chicago this year, and to eventually climb back up the depth chart because of his talent.


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Eating one of these individual pies is quite different from your basic fork-and-plate experience. A bite through the crisp pastry, sparkling with sugar, reveals a thick filling of sweet-and-tart fruit.
- Yield
- Makes 12 small pies
- Active Time
- 40 min
- Total Time
- 3 hr
- 2 cups blackberries (3/4 pound)
- 1 large Golden Delicious apple, peeled and coarsely grated
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon semolina flour
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 8 tablespoons sugar
- Pastry dough for a double-crust pie
- 2 tablespoons milk
- Special equipment:
- 2 large (17- by 12-inch) baking sheets; parchment paper
- Cook blackberries, apple, semolina flour, cinnamon and 6 tablespoons sugar in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until mixture just boils and is thickened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a shallow bowl to cool.
- Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with parchment.
- Roll out half of dough 3/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 16- by 11-inch rectangle, then trim into a 15- by 10-inch rectangle, reserving scraps. Cut into 6 (5-inch) squares. Place a heaping tablespoon of fruit filling in center of 1 square. Moisten edges of square with milk and fold into a triangle, pressing edges to seal. Transfer to a lined baking sheet and press tines of a fork around edges of triangle. Make 5 more triangles in same manner, arranging them 1 inch apart on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling, rerolling all of the scraps together once to make 12 triangles total.
- Brush triangles with milk and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake, switching position of pans halfway through baking, until pies are golden, about 30 minutes total. Transfer pies to racks to cool.


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by Ajai Shukla
Business Standard: 29th Aug 2006
It happened at 2 a.m. on Independence Day, just as the source had said it would. Through the inky darkness on the Line of Control at Machhil, near Kupwara, nine infiltrating Lashkar-e-Toiba militants crept towards the border fence, barely a hundred metres from the waiting army ambush. Through the eyepiece of his night vision device, Havaldar Sant Kumar (name changed) scanned a ghostly greenish landscape; the shadowy figures came into view as they crossed a small nallah into Indian territory. Sant silently tapped the man next to him and the tap was passed along, man to man, bringing the ambush to full readiness. Suddenly a shout rang out, followed by a burst of firing, first from the militants, then from the soldiers. Chaos reigned for a full minute until a mortar flare fired from an Indian post lit up the area. Five of the infiltrators lay slumped on the ground. But Sant Kumar, too, had died in that burst of Lashkar fire.
As the Lashkar weaponry was piled up and tabulated, it quickly became clear how the militants had managed to fire first: the night vision devices (NVDs) they carried were far more effective than the army's.
That's a situation the army brass has openly deplored. For years, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has manufactured outdated NVDs in apparent slow motion, the gap between demand and supply leaving the army increasingly night blind. In the incident at Machhil, yet another jawan paid with his life for the way in which the military's equipment needs have been compromised to feed the monster of public sector monopoly.
More soldiers could die from PSU pampering. At a secret meeting in the Defence Secretary's office on June 29, top defence officials considered the army's plea for new, higher-technology NVDs. BEL faces pressure from a clutch of Indian private companies, including Alpha Design Technologies and HBL-Nife, bidding to build high-performance NVDs which replace the old BEL Second Generation Image Intensifier (II) tubes at the heart of the device with imported SuperGen or HyperGen II tubes. They pose a serious threat to the BEL monopoly, but they were dealt with in classic MoD style. The high-level panel simply appointed BEL the nodal agency for importing new SuperGen tubes for all indigenous manufacturers. This largesse was awarded by the Defence Secretary and Secretary (Defence Production), both directly accountable for BEL, and also, astonishingly, by a representative from BEL itself. The private sector was nowhere on the scene, and nobody pointed out BEL's dismal track record.
A private company CEO, speaking on condition of anonymity, says, "The government is not prepared to allow the private sector to compete with PSUs on a level playing field. The PSUs are part of their organisations and they have to ensure that they succeed."
That means that the army is not just blind, thanks to inferior NVDs, but deaf and dumb too, because of BEL's inability to produce radio sets essential to military communication. While the army cried bloody murder, BEL held up the import of radio sets for over a decade, promising that it would produce a family of radios (Combat Net Radio, or CNR) for the army. In 2002 the MoD finally tired of waiting and imported TADIRAN radio sets from Israel. When half the army was equipped with TADIRAN, BEL suddenly declared that its CNR was ready. The MoD quickly equipped the other half of the army with BEL radios. BEL was to ensure that the two different radios were compatible, but failed to do so. To this day, TADIRAN-equipped units cannot communicate securely with the other half of the army.
US President Eisenhower, a former general, warned America in his outgoing speech in 1961: "We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex." That injunction is particularly relevant in India, where defence expenditure is shrouded in secrecy and an opaque screen of procurement regulations hides a scandalous regime of patronage and mismanagement. Since the media remains obsessed with politics and the generals with career enhancement, the public never learns that our high rates of military casualties flow directly from vested MoD interests.
The web of PSU patronage catches the flies that it needs. There are examples of military officers "jumping across the desk", becoming senior executives at defence PSUs after retiring from an office where they took procurement decisions in favour of that company. Senior defence PSU executives have snagged lucrative jobs with foreign defence companies soon after awarding them business. While the government does not ask questions of these people, it mistrusts the private sector deeply. No military officer can join a private company, not even a bona-fide registered, Indian concern, for two years after leaving the service.
The Kelkar Committee recommendations clearly suggest that India's 39 Ordnance Factories and 9 PSUs have proved unequal to the task of defence production. Kelkar strongly advocates trusting the Indian private sector with that responsibility, but the MoD is unenthusiastic.
Tonight on the LoC, it will be business as usual. Several hundred Indian patrols will creep into their ambush positions, peering into the darkness through dodgy NVDs and receiving instructions on dodgy radio sets.
The connection is not always seen, but it is there all the same.


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Prime Minister launches new $20 million University of Sydney Centre for Carbon, Water and Food
6 March 2013
Australia's first multidisciplinary research centre dedicated to tackling the nation's and region's biggest food security and environmental challenges, through the integrated study of carbon, food and water, has been launched today by Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
The Prime Minister's Science Engineering and Innovation Council recommended in 2010 that national priority be given to understanding and mapping connections between energy, water, carbon, climate, agriculture, ecosystems, the economy and society, to ensure Australia's future food security and ability to remain resilient in the face of future climate volatility.
The University of Sydney's Centre for Carbon, Water and Food, funded by the federal government and the University, will answer this call, helping to ensure Australia's future sustainability, as well as its potential to act as a regional leader in food production and land management.
The University of Sydney and the federal government have together invested more than $20 million in the purpose-built facility which draws upon the University's already established world-class expertise in areas such as soil science, ecology and ecophysiology and plant breeding.
Situated in the Faculty of Agriculture and Environment at the University of Sydney's Camden campus, in south-west Sydney, the Centre for Carbon, Water and Food will deliver research, education and training that will underpin best practices and policies for sustainable management of public and private rural land in Australia, and in our major trading partners in the Asia-Pacific region.
It will help answer how to produce more higher-quality food, with less carbon emissions and more efficient water use. Its work will help tackle some of Australia's biggest environmental challenges such as those posed by the Murray Darling Basin, the interaction of agriculture and mining, as well as the resilience of areas that accommodate both urban and rural activity.
Staff will include Professor Alex McBratney, currently the Deputy Director General of the International Union of Soil Sciences, Professor Robert Park, who was in 2009 given the Friendship Award of China, five newly appointed ARC Future Fellows and a newly appointed ARC DECRA Awardee. The Centre will be headed by Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Environment Professor Mark Adams, who has held prestigious awards and fellowships in Australia, New Zealand, Germany and France.
The Centre has already attracted international interest with two agreements signed with leading Chinese institutions today. This collaboration between Australia and China follows a December 2012 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade report "Feeding the Future", which identified China and Australia as potential productive partners to ease growing pressure on food supplies. It also follows several decades of collaboration already undertaken between University of Sydney researchers and Chinese colleagues from a multitude of institutions.
The first Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Sydney and the Chinese Academy of Agriculture Science will see a Sino-Australia Joint Laboratory for Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems established and housed at the Centre with a mirror facility in Beijing.
The second Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Sydney and Nanjing Agricultural University will see a Sino-Australian Laboratory for Food Security established and housed at the Centre with a mirror facility in Nanjing.
These new arrangements will enable joint research in areas such as crop protection, soil quality, food security and the mitigation of climate change effects on agricultural eco-systems, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The bilateral effort will include research projects for external agencies such as the World Bank and Gates Foundation, creating further international benefit from the collaboration.
Professor Mark Adams, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, said the Centre was a natural fit for the University of Sydney, whose teaching and research programs address areas of national and global importance, adopting a multidisciplinary approach to find solutions to real-world problems.
He said the Centre hopes to correct the major knowledge gap in cross-disciplinary cross-sectoral understanding that is needed to enable innovation across energy, water and carbon domains, and to become an international leader in this research.
"At the beginning of the 'Asian Century' it is globally recognised that food security can only be delivered by a concerted, international effort," Professor Adams said.
"The Centre will house some of the best people in the world working on questions around water use efficiency, nutrient use efficiency, nitrogen fixation and soil structure, and as we have seen today other institutions and experts will be attracted to the Centre to be part of this effort."
"The world is facing a huge challenge: we've got to produce more food, of better quality, and we've got to do it while putting less carbon into the atmosphere and using less water. The Centre for Carbon, Water and Food at the University of Sydney will play a leading role in helping tackle this global challenge."
|Follow University of Sydney Media on Twitter
Media enquiries: Sarah Stock, Head of Media, University of Sydney, 0419 278 715, email@example.com
Verity Leatherdale, Media Adviser, University of Sydney 0403 067 342, firstname.lastname@example.com


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Stockholm University is located in one of Europe's most dynamic capital cities. The University has 27,000 students, 1,400 doctoral students and 5,700 staff. It is the home to the country's most substantial research within science and human science, as well as the home of a number of internationally prominent research environments.
Stockholm University College was founded in 1878 as a radical alternative to the traditional educational establishment. Then as now, the university stands for openness and accessibility with an active role in society.


text: Raw File is relatively new to the photography-blog scene, and as an act of both goodwill to the community that inspires us and as a service to Wired readers looking for more quality photography coverage on the web, we're spotlighting some of our favorite photobloggers out there right now. These bloggers are interested in where photography and culture dance. They wonder not only what we do with photography, but what photography does with us. They are hostile toward elitism as much as they are to clichés. Measured by any metric, each blog is a labor of love with a personal, distinct and knowledgeable voice. The internet is vast, and this is by no means a comprehensive list. But we consider a visit to these sites time well-spent. This is meant to be a resource for photo enthusiasts and not necessarily an article to be read in one sitting, so feel free to bookmark this page and come back to digest it in small bites. Read on to meet the photo scribes behind some exemplary blogs. If you don't see your favorite photobloggers profiled here, please let us and our readers know about them in the comments. Above: The Wide-Eyed Young Photojournalists Blog: dvafoto Bloggers: Matt Lutton (left) and M. Scott Brauer Location: Belgrade, Serbia (Lutton) and China (Brauer) Day job: Photographers Blogging since: 2005 Brauer and Lutton met at college (neither studied photography) and kicked around the stacks of Black Star Agency in New York as interns before deciding the best way to make it in the world of photojournalism was to move half way across the globe. Since 2008, Matt has been based in Serbia and Scott in China. Dvafoto's link-replete posts are international in scope and characterized by genuine respect and care for photojournalism. Expect discussion of new industry models for funding and recommendations of young colleagues' work. "We tend toward focusing on documentary, long-term photography," says Brauer by e-mail: We are two young editorial/documentary photographers trying to make a living and a mark on photojournalism, and we write from this perspective. We'll comment on the news, international or within the industry, from the seat of being Americans living abroad working in the media. The hellfire wrought on [traditional] photojournalism by the economy and the internet is a perennial topic. News photography as it is published rarely rises above the level of illustration, serving the written word. Photography at its best operates as its own document, both informing and being informed by an accompanying article. This sort of photography is being produced — often independently and at great cost to photographers — and with little outlet to the public at large. Wired.com recommends: Interview: Molly Landreth and Embodiment: A Portrait of Queer Life in America and DVAFOTO Book Club, Vol. 1: The Hurt Locker.The Bookworm Blog: 5B4 Blogger: Jeff Ladd Location: New York City Day job: Book publisher, teacher, photographer Blogging since: April 2007 Ladd, one of the founders of Errata Books, is an informed voice on book-specific 5B4. As well as reviews of photography and art-related publications, Ladd will pen the occasional dispatch from an international book festival. As a kid, Ladd skated and grew radishes. Ladd laments a lack of discussion in the blogosphere on rare Italian-artist books from the '70s and recommends that we check out "all of the great photography books that are currently out of print, too rare, and too expensive for younger people to buy." (This is an effort Ladd and his colleagues are leading with the Errata Books on Books Project.) Wired.com recommends: Ladd's selection of Best Books of 2009.The Prankster Blog: B Blogger: Blake Andrews Location: Eugene, Oregon Day job: Photographer Blogging since: November 2007 Andrews' sideways and irreverent commentaries are refreshing in the photoblog zeitgeist. Fond of the visual gag, Andrews often connects dots between photography and pop culture. "I have no training in writing or criticism or even photography," he says, "and no connections to anyone in the art world. I am a complete outsider." He points to the availability of images on the internet as the biggest difference between photoblogging and conventional criticism. No longer does one need the physical book to talk about a photographer. A Google image search will suffice. But there are still opportunities online that he'd like to see more photographers exploit: I'd like to see more day-to-day journaling from prominent photographers. Not the usual show or book announcements you see on all blogs, but thoughts by photogs as they work through ideas. Mark Tucker's or Richard Renaldi's blogs are good examples. But it would be great to see this sort of thing from top-shelf stars. Can you imagine a Friedlander blog? Or a Martin Parr blog or a Sally Mann blog? I think the only thing comparable so far was Alec Soth's blog which was great. Alec Soth's blog was really the landmark photoblog. It was the Lexington and Concord of photoblogs. Andrews also has an extensive list of what he'd like to see less of on photoblogs: Less 6 x 7 aspect ratio color photos of the human-nature interface delicately composed, with everything in focus; less portraiture with desaturated colors; less perfectionism; less constructed images and more found images; less commercial advertising on blogs; and less equipment talk. Instead, he'd like to see "more unpublished street photography circa 1965-1985; more creative quizzes, lists, contests, and generally interactive posts; and more trading of prints, books and other physical objects." Wired.com recommends: The Ode to the Lowly Sprocket Hole and My Favorite MLK Photo.The Europeans Blog: Mrs. Deane Bloggers: Norman Beierle and Hester Keijser Location: The Hague, Netherlands Day job: Making visual art, photography, photo gallery curation, photo-book production, writing, lecturing Blogging since: March 2006 Mrs. Deane is not a woman, Mrs. Deane is not even one person. With an eye for kitsch postcards, ad imagery, stereograms, vintage photos, the finest of art and the snapshot aesthetics of family albums, Beierle and Keijser always keep you guessing. Expect each blog post to shunt you out of your visual comfort zone. Mrs. Deane, in the words of its bloggers, "trails the endless fields of photography, seeking what feeds the eye, nourishes the soul and riddles the mind." Beierle and Keijser encourage us to hunt down more photography that isn't widely available online, and to spend less time talking about photography and more time thinking: It's the more far-reaching questions concerning the role, function and position of photography in our society that never get asked, because we simply don't have the time to think them through. Wired.com recommends: A Sunday Stroll Through Awful Library Book Blog and All Along the Watchtower (The Bechers in Palestine). Photo: "Self Portrait of the Artist as a Weeping Narcissus (free after Olaf Nicolai)" © Norman Beierle 2010.The Community Organizer Blog: La Pura Vida Blogger: Bryan Formhals Location: Brooklyn, New York's Greenpoint neighborhood Day job: Social media manager Blogging since: February 2008 Photography on La Pura Vida hovers between fine art and documentary. It's drawn primarily from the Flickr community Formhals and his cohorts have built. In regular op-ed appearances, Formhals attempts to make sense of the onslaught of photography, social media and their meaningful intersections. Balancing the benefits (visibility, direct relationships with clients, self-determination) of the digital age against its downsides (continued battle for mind share, added self-marketing responsibility, image use and control), Formhals is a cheerleader for emerging artists without shying away from the sticky conversations about distribution, payment and self-marketing: LPV is unique. We're not necessarily focused on promoting photography that makes it into galleries and books. LPV speaks for the photographers working on the periphery of the art world, the passionate amateurs who have worked to build an audience on the web. I would like to see more vernacular work from developing countries. We often see these lands through the eyes of western photojournalists who do a great job of showing us the difficult conditions, but I don't think this is the entire picture, pardon the pun. The web and digital cameras allow virtually anyone to make and share photographs. I think it'd be interesting to see photographs from ordinary people in these countries. Of course, economics might make this challenging. Formhals is a busy man. As well as LPV, he's cranking the gears at Street Reverb Magazine, as well as InOrbitNewYork and the Flickr group Hard Core Street Photography. Each advances the work of enthusiasts and street shooters. Wired.com recommends: Formhals' five-parter on the use of social media tools Flickr, Facebook, Tumblr, blogging and Twitter.The Pundit Blog: Colin Pantall's Blog Blogger: Colin Pantall Location: Bath, England Day job: Writer, photographer, teacher Blogging since: December 2007 Preoccupied with visual culture at large, Pantall draws frequent parallels to literature, television and film. The result is an eclectic exploration of what "does and doesn't make photography work." "The best photography blogs arise out of a passion for something outside photography," says Pantall by e-mail: These blogs contextualize photography and make sense of the great chaos in which images exist. They also have a depth, feeling and knowledge that helps make sense of the creative (and non-creative) surges that are currently taking place in photography. I value most the times when I find a groove in which passion and cynicism combine to cut to the chase of what photography is really about. It becomes unique when neither I, nor the readers, are sure if my rhetoric is entirely serious. Wired.com recommends: Propagandists and Who Took the Myra Hindley Photograph?The Godfather Blog: Conscientious Blogger: Joerg Colberg Location: Northampton, Massachusetts Day job: Writer, photographer, photography teacher, former astrophysicist Blogging since: July 2002 Joerg Colberg is a pioneer in photography blogging, and his blog Conscientious maintains a tight editorial voice. With eight years of committed blogging, Colberg has forged his own space in the photography ecosystem. He contributes to global publications, judges contests, operates his own competition, curates the Independent Photo Book and recently ventured into publishing. Conscientious features photographers with a minimum of fuss: The images go front-and-center, and a portfolio must do its own legwork. Colberg only blogs work he respects, so if you want his more au contraire side, you'll have to visit Conscientious Redux. "I don't think there are obvious, simple answers for most of today's issues," says Colberg by e-mail: I'm trying to look at the different angles of any given topic. I'm looking for photography that leaves me with questions and not only with answers, and I am trying to bring that to the blog itself. Photography, by its nature, is visual, so it can be viewed by people that might not speak the same language and that would be unable to communicate otherwise. Blogging and other online forms of publishing allow photographers and photo enthusiasts from all over the world to share an experience. Wired.com recommends: A Conversation With Olaf Otto Becker and A Conversation With Richard Mosse, just two examples from the archive of Conversations Joerg has shared with his readers.The Advocate Blog: Dodge & Burn Blogger: Qiana Mestrich Location: Brooklyn, New York Day job: Search engine marketer, fine-art photographer Blogging since: January 2007 Mestrich's generous commentary is an antidote to the egos that have been known to surface in the photography blogosphere. Her interviews with, and promotion of, photographers of color have redressed the prior lack of coverage of minority photogs. African, Asian, Latino, Native American, Pacific Islander and Aleutian heritage, as well as women photographers are all groups Mestrich says are often "dodged" by the art scene and "burned" by art history. "Blogging for me," she says, "has been a great way to discover photographers of color from the past, connect with those working in the present, and inspire photographers of the future. I've had many photography teachers e-mail me to say that they use Dodge & Burn as required reading in their curriculum." She continues: There needs to be more people of color in "gatekeeper" positions (publishers, editors, curators, gallery owners, etc) in order to change the inequalities within photographer assignments, awards and exposure. Historically, people and communities of color have been photographed during times of struggle and misery. I'd love to see more photography projects and reportage reflecting the positive and uplifting times. Wired.com recommends: Interview with Aida Muluneh.The Professor Blog: John Edwin Mason: Documentary, Motorsports, Photo History Blogger: John Edwin Mason Location: Charlottesville, Virginia, and Cape Town, South Africa Day job: Professor of history at University of VIrginia, part-time documentary and motor-sports photographer Blogging since: March 2009 Mason deals with America's visual heritage in fresh and often surprising ways. He mines the Farm Security Administration photography archives and applies the back stories, social contexts and even a smattering of jazz and car-culture references. Set against the current networks of (social) media exchange, academic writing is facing a direct challenge. Mason is a rare example of an academic opening up his writing for wider readership. He's also a professor who tweets. "You can't understand photography in a vacuum," says Mason: I'm especially interested in the histories and social forces that shape the ways in which photographers produce images and the ways in which audiences make sense of them. My voice is informal. I never want to use jargon or the language of academic discourse. If you know how to write, you can talk about complicated things in uncomplicated language. Wired.com recommends: Esther Bubley's Erotic Photography. Photo by Justin SadaccaThe Photog Blog: Drool Blogger: Tony Fouhse Location: Ottawa, Canada Day job: Photographer Blogging since: July 2006 Fouhse distinguishes himself from the thousands of blogging photographers with funny and vulnerable prose. He shoots USER, a portraiture project about a single Ottawa city block, in collaboration with crack addicts. Into its fourth year, USER is not without its controversy, so to have an open line on the thoughts and ethical dilemmas of the photographer is the type of added value for which blogs were made. Weekly blog posts on Drool have, to a degree, open-sourced the ethical and emotional content of this difficult work. "I try to be honest," says Fouhse, "but I'll never name names": The only person I ever call out is myself. Drool is opinion, thoughts and queries; some tough-love and a bit of neurosis (or, what I prefer to call 'obsession'). There is, from time to time, some hype, but it is never unadulterated hype. Drool admits shortfalls and failures; it wonders at successes. Drool scratches its head a lot. Creativity is not gear, it's not hype, it's not a list of all the kool jobs the blogger has shot and it's not gee-whizz. Creativity is thought and speculation, effort and questioning, trial and error. Wired.com recommends: Okay, I'm Confused. Okay and Time Lapse.The Humanitarian Blog: MSF Photoblog Blogger: Bruno Decock Location: Brussels, Belgium Day job: Photographer, Medecins Sans Frontieres photo editor Blogging since: January 2009 Decock has taken the helm at the Medecin Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) photoblog and steered it through a successful, reflexive period, responding to criticism and Angst within the photojournalist field. No shock or guilt trips here: Expect informative images of the developing world from top-shelf photographers — Donald Weber, Alixandra Fazzina, Carl de Keyzer and Lynsey Addario, to name a few. MSF recently partnered with esteemed VII Photo Agency on the Starved for Attention campaign against childhood malnutrition. Before that it spearheaded the Condition Critical media campaign to raise awareness about the conflict in eastern Congo. According to Decock, MSF "always tries to show events from the perspective of the population that is directly affected." "We focus on images from our archive that are less likely to be used in our regular publications," says Decock by e-mail: We get a lot of good images from both professional and amateur photographers working as MSF staff in the field, but are not used because they may not "fit" the style or message of a publication. Our archive hosts a remarkable collection of images documenting humanitarian crises of the last 40 years, with work by some exceptional photographers. The archive is not accessible outside of our organization; the blog allows us to share some of these images with the public. Wired.com recommends: Freely browsing through the many quality photos on MSF.The Teacher Blog: Lenscratch Blogger: Aline Smithson Location: Los Angeles Day job: Educator, editor, curator, writer, photographer Blogging since: February 2007 Lenscratch follows a dedicated format: Artist statement, brief introduction to the work by Smithson and then a dozen or so images. The blog gives emerging and established photographers the same treatment. Of all Lenscratch's 17 bloggers, Smithson has the most open interest in different photographic styles. "Often, I am learning about the photographer along with my readers," says Smithson by e-mail: I tend not to be critical; if I don't like something, I don't post it. Photographers need to [better] articulate why they are making the work they are making. They also should share failures, mishaps and unfair practices as a way of keeping it real. It would be interesting if everyone broadcast their rejections and failures. Wired.com recommends: Aline's features on Michael Jang and Bobby Davidson.The Hostesses Blog: The Photography Post Bloggers: Kate Steciw (left), Rachel Hulin (right) and Danielle Swift (not shown) Location: New York City Day job: Hulin is a photographer, photo editor and writer. Steciw describes herself as "a photo-based artist, writer, educator and retoucher (in that order)." Danielle Swift is a Brooklyn-based artist and former Director of Post Production for Michael Thompson Studio. Blogging since: February 2010 The Photography Post, or TPP, is primarily an aggregator — a collection of the best photocentric RSS feeds with thumbnails. It also pushes its own content with the community-minded Go Here, Do This! bulletin on books, openings and lectures. TPP pogo-sticks between commercial work, DIY photoshoppings and contemporary fine art. TPP's MoOPC points enthusiastically toward both the wackiest and most-traditional online photo archives. "I started writing about photography for Photoshelter's Shoot! the Blog, and I was hooked, " says Hulin. "I try to shoot as much as possible, to keep the writing and the photography feeding each other." Hulin maintains a second photography blog with the cunning name, A Photography Blog. Hulin adds: One of the primary goals of The Photography Post is to bring the many disparate photoblogs out there to one place as a live newsfeed and compliment that with our own brand of original content as well as an ever–evolving marketplace. We think it makes a lot of a sense for our readers, who are inherently visual people." In the year before the launch of TPP, Steciw noticed an increase in the number of blogs and the number of photographic genres explored in the photo-blogosphere: We recently created the Index to allow anyone to post interesting content or images, whether they have a blog or not. Our goal is to create a community. The value of these social networks to photography across genres cannot be overstated. Interested in the potential of new media and Chris Anderson's concept of 'Free', co-founder Swift emphasizes TPP's delivery of "free materials to inspire and support reader interests." Wired.com recommends: Asger Carlsen Is So "Wrong" He's Right and Mari Bastashevski: File 126. And never, ever, ever miss the Friday Round Up!The Lovable Rascals Blog: Duckrabbit Bloggers: David White and Benjamin Chesterton Location: London and Bristol, England Day job: Journalism, production company Blogging since: September 2008 White (Rabbit) and Chesterton (Duck) are cheeky, loudmouthed charmers: the opinionated disruptive kids in the class who always got away with it. White and Chesterton call BS on careerism and solipsism. They "blog for fun" and describe the blogosphere as "bigger than a 360 panorama of the universe on a billboard": Photographs won't save the world, no media will, but if photos are paired thoughtfully with audio, they can make the world a whole lot easier to understand. Duckrabbit is hell-bent on seeing new media and publishing platforms in the hands of the poor, the disenfranchised — those who've traditionally been the subjects of journalism. The tagline of our blog is "Where photography, art, audio and journalism collide (sparks may fly)." We're known for the sparks but mostly we're just sharing our wonder with the world.... We just try to be totally true to ourselves and our readers. We don't have time for posturing or egos. Wired.com recommends: Duckrabbit's impassioned defense of Haitian photographer Daniel Morel against AFP which also includes some fierce questions to Visa Pour l'Image director J.F. Leroy for his defense of AFP. Duckrabbit repeatedly succeeds in drawing out industry leaders to answer questions in public forums. Photo: Reluctant to show his "ugly mug," White provided one of his images of a recuperating Sri Lankan child soldier at a secret recovery camp in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. David White (2005).The Connoisseur Blog: Eyecurious Blogger: Marc Feustel Location: Paris Day job: Independent curator, editor, writer Blogging since: April 2009 Feustel has one eye on Asian photography and the other on the international engagement with Asian works. Intelligent, poised commentary dominates the blog. Expect exhibitions, photo-books and photo- and art-festival reviews. "Blogs' value lies in their ability to start a conversation and to take an outsider look at the photo establishment," says Feustel: Eyecurious has two main areas of focus: to highlight some of the work that is coming out of Asia and Japan in particular which doesn't often get seen in the West; and to encourage debate about trends in photography, big or small. A lot of people seem to visit Eyecurious for a dose of Japanese photography, something that can be hard to find online. I am also fond of the tangential rant, trying to make connections between photography and seemingly unrelated worlds. Wired.com recommends: Interview: Hiroh Kikai, A Man in the Cosmos and Is the Photo Album Giving Way to the Mixtape?The Collectors Blog: DLK Collection Blogger: Loring Knoblauch Location: New York City Day job: Venture capital investor Blogging since: August 2008 Don't visit DLK for critical lyricism, but do go there for a no-nonsense summary of exhibitions with a focus on facts. Run by a venture capital investor and his colleagues, DLK isn't about artist promotion or photo-friend back-slaps. It's about the curation, distribution and economics of photography. DLK reviews New York gallery and museum shows (both contemporary and vintage photography) and will report on photo books and major photography auctions and art fairs around the world: We are actively trying to discern and select quality; as such, we rate shows/exhibits we see on a rigorous three star scale, rather than simply promoting everything as equally noteworthy or meaningful.... We are interested in the details of prices, editions, and the general behavior of photo markets; part of collecting is making trade-offs within a limited budget, so gallery, retail and secondary market auction prices matter to us, even though some find this discussion crass or distasteful. Wired.com recommends: Jehad Nga, as well as Zwelethu Mthethwa and Tribble & Mancenido. Photo: DLK chose one of its gray-paneled walls as an avatar. "It is one of many empty walls DLK is constantly trying to fill with collected photographs," says the blog editor.The Outsider Blog: Greater Middle East Photo Blogger: Anonymous Location: Somewhere in the Middle East Day job: Photography industry Blogging since: May 2010 The newest kid on the block, GMEP's arrival has been a long time coming. In promoting photography beyond Western shores, GMEP attends to the concerns of other bloggers featured within this article about unheard voices outside the mainstream. The authors of GMEP have chosen to remain anonymous, for reasons best explained in their own words: In some cases there could be conflict of interest with our paying jobs — since there could be overlap of content. We feel it is best not to have to defend perceived favoritism. There is also the fact that the Greater Middle East is a politically charged place and whether it's Jewish and Palestinian or Shia and Sunni, one group or another may consider the blog authors unqualified to speak for their region. By geography alone, there is a natural inclination for GMEP to be viewed by some through politicized eyes. If we are from the Greater Middle East it's political, if we were not from the Greater Middle East it is media imperialism and, by extension, political. By being anonymous, we hope to let the work speak for itself less encumbered. GMEP concedes the intimidating task it's set itself, but cannot ignore the need: In the absence of anyone else doing what we are attempting (as far as we know), we want to be very explicit about our content and clear with our mandate. The goal is simply to share great photography from a region that is often overlooked in favor of the easy access to photography from Europe or North America. In addition to the language hurdles native Arabic, or Persian or Urdu speakers face in trying to become part of an online community which operates in English, there are also other difficulties. Hardware, software and financial issues make it harder for much of the population in this part of the world to share their work online and to gain a presence in the places where they will be seen internationally. Websites here are much less common and finding and promoting work is difficult. Hopefully GMEP will inspire other voices. We would like nothing better than for other photography blogs to launch in the Greater Middle East — hopefully with operators who are smarter, more aware of the scene and better equipped to market and promote the talent. Most importantly, GMEP is anonymous because we want it to be organic. We want it to ebb and flow with people joining and leaving it on an ongoing basis so that its identity changes just as photography changes and the readership changes. [GMEP] is not about one person, it is about one need. A need for a "living" blog that can grow and shift and change through the work of dedicated contributors. Wired.com recommends: Hala El Koussy and Shadi Ghadirian. Photo: To maintain anonymity, GMEP has adopted as its public visage a photochrome (circa 1900) of a Bedouin chief from Palmyra, Syria.


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| 12.7°C Belfast
Arsenal closed in on another shot at Champions League qualification with a 3-0 win over Newcastle to inflict a sixth straight defeat on under-pressure manager Alan Pardew, who returned to the dugout following a lengthy touchline ban.
The Gunners are now four points ahead of Everton in the race to secure a top-four finish, with just two matches remaining, as club-record signing Mesut Ozil delivered an inspired display, scoring one and creating another.
Newcastle, though, continue their slide down the Barclays Premier League following another lacklustre performance - which left the 2,000-strong travelling support venting their anger on Pardew, whose long-term future is in doubt.
Arsenal showed the greater intent during the opening stages, with an angled drive from Ozil bouncing just wide before Laurent Koscielny stabbed in a deep free-kick from Santi Cazorla on 26 minutes.
Newcastle briefly rallied, but were soon chasing the game again and fell further behind three minutes before half-time when Ozil swept home after Olivier Giroud twice had shots blocked by busy keeper Tim Krul.
The visitors, who last won on March 22, had a great chance to reduce the arrears just before the hour when Yoan Gouffran sprinted clear, but Wojciech Szczesny was out quickly to save.
Arsenal rounded off the victory when Ozil's inch-perfect cross was headed in by Giroud.
The massed ranks of the Toon Army had endured enough and turned on their manager, whose relationship with the hardiest of supporters is now strained at best.
Arsenal, though, look all set to finish in the Champions League places again as they chase a place at Europe's top table for a remarkable 17 straight campaigns ahead of their FA Cup final date with Hull at Wembley.
Pardew was back on the touchline after his seven-game touchline ban for headbutting Hull's David Meyler in March came to an end, but it did little to lift his side as Arsenal started brightly.
Ozil was at the centre of things, and saw his angled drive bounce into the ground and fly just wide of Krul's right-hand post.
Newcastle midfielder Moussa Sissoko, just back from an injury lay-off, burst clear on 20 minutes and towards the Arsenal penalty area, only to send a poor chipped effort horribly wide.
Sissoko was then somewhat fortunate to only be shown a yellow card by referee Neil Swarbrick for pulling back Giroud as he burst clear just inside the Newcastle half.
Justice was served, however, when Santi Cazorla floated in a deep free-kick which bounced through to the six-yard box, where Koscielny stabbed it past Krul to put Arsenal ahead on 26 minutes.
The France defender picked up a caution for his celebrations, kicking the ball high into the Clock End.
It was almost 2-0 soon after as another good dead-ball delivery from Cazorla was headed goalwards by Lukas Podolski, which Krul turned away at point-blank range.
Newcastle briefly threatened to rally when Cheick Tiote drilled a 25-yard effort goalwards, which Szczesny held.
It was only a brief respite, though, as Arsenal took control of the match with a second just before half-time.
Giroud timed his run to beat a high Newcastle offside trap and raced into the penalty area.
Krul was out quickly and twice made a good save, before the ball bobbled out to Ozil at the far post, who gratefully tapped it in.
Things could have been worse for the Magpies when Krul beat away an angled drive from Cazorla following lovely footwork from the diminutive Spaniard at the edge of the Newcastle penalty area.
It as 3-0 and game over on 66 minutes.
Again Ozil was the architect, collecting a pass from Ramsey to ghost down the left side and chip over the perfect cross for Giroud to head home his 15th league goal of the season.
The Newcastle fans again vented their frustrations on Pardew, whose relationship with the Toon Army may well have now reached tipping point - many holding banners against the man who not so long ago had taken the club into a fifth-place finish and Europa League.
Arsenal fans, though, were left to reflect on their continued faith in Arsene Wenger who, despite a period of intense scrutiny earlier in the season, could well oversee the most successful campaign in a decade.


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Who needs Michael Phelps? Prince Harry is all the swimming competition Ryan Lochte needs.
On TODAY Thursday, Lochte told Matt Lauer that Harry challenged him to a race in a nightclub pool last Friday, and the Olympian accepted.
Lochte had never met the prince until the royal's entourage approached him that night.
"His people came over to my table and said, 'Prince Harry wants to meet you,'" he said. "I was like, 'Lets meet him.' I went over there. I was fully clothed, and he says, 'You want to race me in the pool?' I took off my shirt, jumped in and we started racing."
Lochte enjoyed his brush with royalty, which began and ended with their impromptu race.
"He's part of the royal family and everything, but he's really a nice guy,'' Lochte said. "He's really talkative. He just wanted to meet me and honestly wanted to race me. I thought that was the coolest thing.''
Only hours later, all of the prince's clothes came off in a now-infamous strip-billiards incident that took place in a hotel suite. Lochte did not get the invite to play strip billiards with the prince and his friends.
"He never said anything like that,'' Lochte said. "After our race and everything, we went our separate ways. I'm kind of happy. I don't need that.''
Nightclub swims notwithstanding, Lochte, 28, said that these three weeks out of the water have been his longest break from the pool since he was 10 years old.
"After racing Prince Harry, I got that competitive edge back in me and I want to get back in the water,'' Lochte cracked.
After celebrating his birthday and dabbling in acting on '90210,' Lochte is ready to start gearing up for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He said he will get back to training on Monday.
"Once I landed back in the States after London, I already had my goals in mind for Rio,'' he said. "They're a little different now. I can't spill everything.''
Lochte did let it slip that he will not be swimming the same events as he did in London, where he won two golds, two silvers and a bronze to bring his career total to 11 medals.
"Whenever I go up on the blocks, I don't want to go for second or third, I want to win,'' he said. "So I was definitely pleased and unpleased with some of my races, so hopefully I can change that in the next four years. I'm going to be swimming different events, that's for sure. I'm getting older, my body's getting older, so I can't do those long events.''
His outside interests in fashion, acting and other pursuits will not distract him from his training, Lochte said.
"Because of the training that I've been doing these past eight years, I have a good background, so I know that I'm able to do other things that I wasn't able to do before so that leads to acting, doing who knows what,'' he said. "The whole acting thing is definitely nerve-wracking. I can swim in front of 10,000 people, no problem, but acting, that's a little hard.''
More: Video: Prince Harry returns to London amid photo scandal
Lochte: 'I'm going another four years' to Rio games
Jeah! Lochte to guest star on '90210'