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This article first appeared in Aviation Week & Space Technology.
France has maintained a degree of state control over its strategic defense industries for decades, but government bungling in managing its shareholdings has led to calls instead for U.S.-style veto power over ownership changes on national security grounds, a regulatory shift that is anathema to European Union anti-protectionism rules.
Over the past 10 years, the French state has often proved unable to act with a single voice, and in some instances displayed rank incompetence in handling its equity interests in key defense groups, according to France's audit agency, the Cour des Comptes, an approach that has left the government in a weakened position as shareholder in the very companies it wants to influence.
As it privatized and reorganized the country's aerospace and defense industry, the French government kept significant shareholdings in key companies in a bid to protect an industrial base it viewed as essential to national security. But occasionally poor stewardship of its holdings has gradually eroded the state's ability to achieve that goal, the report reveals. The government's role has deteriorated to where competing companies have become entangled with each other, and with the nation's strategic interests.
European aerospace giant EADS—co-builder of the Eurofighter Typhoon—now is the biggest minority shareholder in Dassault Aviation, builder of the Rafale, the European fighter's main competitor. Dassault, in turn, controls a blocking minority stake—through its holding in electronics supplier Thales—in shipbuilder DCNS, a mostly state-owned company essential to France's nuclear deterrent. A blocking minority gives the minority shareholder rights to reject certain transactions voted by the majority.
"The maneuvering room for the government as a customer of the defense industry is an important parameter for the future of the industrial fabric," says Didier Migaud, president of the Cour des Comptes, which this month released a report: "Weaknesses of State Shareholdings in Defense Companies." To maintain strategic influence, the state needs to adopt a comprehensive strategy for dealing with its industrial partners, he says.
Antoine Gelain, a defense industry analyst with Octagon Partners in London, says that combining a coherent technology and industrial strategy with so-called "golden shares" or other specific control mechanisms could address what has become a conflict of interest between the French state as shareholder and its role as a customer.
"Government ownership in defense companies is an approach that is out of date, all the more so as the French state does not have any kind of industrial strategy, so they cannot use their shareholdings to influence the industry because they do not know what direction they want the industry to go," Gelain says, adding that government ownership undermines the value of these companies by limiting managerial freedom to maneuver. "It penalizes not only the companies, but also the French government as a shareholder."
In their report, French auditors concede that the nation's record of government shareholding in key defense industrial groups is not all bad. French companies that were once hidebound, uncompetitive, state-owned monopolies have learned to act on the global market and are now among the industry's top ranks by revenue.
But some of these same companies have resisted following the government's direction and have on occasion outmaneuvered the state's efforts to guide strategic interests. The most pertinent example is Dassault, a family-controlled company in which the government has gradually lost shareholding power over the past three decades, much of it through missteps in handling its equity interest.
Moreover, the state has inadvertently ceded to Dassault control of key strategic interests in Thales, in which the aircraft manufacturer holds a 26% stake; and in DCNS, in which Thales since early 2012 has held a 35% blocking minority.
As a result, the government has at times been unable to impose its will on Thales, and to a lesser degree DCNS, a position for which former Dassault Chief Executive Charles Edelstenne says the state has only itself to blame after privatizing certain strategic defense industries, only to regret some of the inevitable consequences.
"Privatization of these companies was a political act—a sovereign decision by those elected by the French people to make national policy," Edelstenne says. "But once the state has decided to privatize these companies, it is difficult to criticize private shareholders for exercising rights the law gives them, and which the state has accepted through shareholder agreements."
The audit agency also worries that Dassault and the French government have differences when it comes to the future direction of DCNS. While the state wants to keep control of the group, Dassault would prefer to see it run as a more industrial entity through Thales.
In its report, the audit agency attributes much of the state's diminished shareholder power to outmaneuvering on the part of defense companies, but in some cases it has been the result of administrative incompetence.
For example, following the 2005 merger of aerospace supplier Snecma and defense group Sagem, France retained a 30% voting share in the combined company, renamed Safran. Two years later, the French agency that manages state holdings failed to meet a regulatory deadline to disclose through France's stock market authority that it had breached a threshold for accumulating Safran shares, a reporting oversight that cost the state an opportunity to increase its holding to 40%.
Even if it remains the largest and only major shareholder, the state has limited powers over Safran, as was illustrated in 2012 when the company's board of directors was able to block a government-backed exchange of assets between Thales and Safran in the areas of optronics and avionics.
As the French state's ownership in and influence over its defense industry wanes, the court asserts the government would do well to borrow a page from U.S. industrial security policy, which since 1988 has allowed the president to decide, by executive fiat, to block all foreign investments in domestic strategic industries that could pose a threat to national security through the Exon-Florio amendment.
Such a move could draw negative attention from the EU, which the audit agency says views Exon-Florio as a protectionist measure. In its report, the agency notes only Italy has put in place a regulation that appears to borrow from U.S. law—a March 2012 decree that limits the government's veto power on ownership changes but provides special powers with respect to defense and national security interests.
The EU for years had pressured Italy to open its domestic markets to foreign ownership, though it remains unclear whether this limited measure, known as the "Golden Power" regulation, will run afoul of the union's rules.
"In the absence, at this juncture, of an Exon-Florio-type regulation, holding stock positions with a majority or blocking minority in these companies, either alone or in participation with other actors, is the favored route, given that state financial means are now limited," the audit agency says, noting that the French government could reduce defense spending based on a new military strategy expected to be released in the coming weeks.
Short of regulatory reform, Gelain says, such budgetary pressure could induce the French state to reduce government interest in defense companies.
"A key step in triggering some level of industry consolidation in Europe is for the government to relinquish its shareholdings. There are other ways to preserve sovereignty over national security interests without the government being shareholder in these companies," he says. "Not only would it make good business sense to reduce government ownership, but the state could raise money to sustain the military budget at a decent level . . . by selling these stakes in these companies."


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Bots are complicated. They're made to process repetitive actions autonomously and can be fairly easy to build, but they aren't always working on the side of good. Here's what you need to know.
Each year, EContent magazine compiles a list of the 100 companies that matter most in the digital content industry.
Voting is now closed. We'll announce the results of the first-ever EContent 100 list chosen by the people!
Michelle Manafy
Apr 14, 2005
Before becoming commonplace in our Web vocabulary, the term "hypertext" might have initially brought the word hyperactivity to mind. Interestingly, the term that has replaced hyperactivity in the vernacular—attention deficit disorder—even more clearly illustrates the (mis)connection: While we look to the Web to provide ever more access to and interaction with information, we are increasingly overwhelmed with quantity but not necessarily better informed.
Frode Hegland, a researcher at University College London (UCLiC), gives hyper new meaning. The native Norwegian, whose thought processes take tantalizing tangents to exponential extremes, wants to return to the one of the Web's founding principles: interactive information that actually informs. To do this, the student of advertising and human-computer interaction joined forces with Doug Engelbart—arguably, the founder of interactive computing. When Hegland had his first conversation with Engelbart—inventor of the mouse, hypertext, networked computers, and precursors to email and the GUI—Hegland says, "Doug explained what he was doing and I explained what I was doing and I actually felt electricity in my bones because there was such a connection of ideas."
The two officially founded the Liquid Information project in June 2004 "to wake people up to the possibilities of interactive text." Based at UCLiC, the project is "an effort to turn Web browsers into readers." To do this, Hegland says they want "to help you get deep interactive and visual legibility so you can get text into your head better. Related to that is helping you skip text that is irrelevant. The way we're trying to do this is simplicity squared."
A lot of technology gets thrown at the problem of information overload in the form of search engines, content management, taxonomy, and business intelligence tools, to name but a few. In all of these, one goal remains constant: to help people better digest the information available to them in order to transform it into knowledge. Hegland believes that the motivation behind these solutions is laudable, but that simplicity is of the essence in actually helping people get more out of the vast quantities of information available online. "I feel we have amazing computers that you can play amazing games on," says Hegland. "But when it comes to helping us manage and access information, we are in many ways worse off than we were in the '60s. Part of this is through the patronizing notion of 'ease of use.'"
The Liquid Information project's initial focus is to enhance the interactive nature of text online in extremely clear, simple ways. It aims to deliver tangible user-interface benefits (through research findings and test results) and to provide an Open Source, information digestion environment based on its Hyperwords Menu. Hyperwords refers to Liquid Information's notion that online readers should have more control over how they view text. To further this end, the project has developed a system that proffers a menu—Hypermenu—when a user mouses over a word—Hyperword. The menu gives the reader a variety of options including the ability to look up its definition, perform a Google search on the word, and highlight the word.
He continues, "Hypertext is almost like someone sitting with knitting needles making every link. All you can do on a Web page today is scroll up and down and follow links. What digital means is the potential to do things other formats can't. It comes down to control. When you read a book, the layout obviously matters, but if you could change the text and make it more readable, it would make it better. You could speed read based on colors and, of course, it is useful to highlight things for others."
The Liquid Information project currently has Hyperwords functional on its blog and a demo that runs live using the CNN Web site. According to Hegland, the product could be put to use immediately, though he envisions site publishers offering their own customized Hypermenu options rather than just deploying the Liquid Information prototype as is. The project is open source to facilitate customization both from site publishers and the open source community.
While the Liquid Information project is currently an academic one, Hegland is quick to point out that "we're not doing this for charity. We will make money through sponsorship and funding." Ultimately, he says, "[t]he way we like to visualize it is that a word can become the center of your universe, and all the documents on a server will revolve around it."

subset: commoncrawl


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West Town shoppers describe moments after shooting | Crime
Some shoppers inside the West Town Dillards said they did not hear the single shot fired from a KPD officer from the parking lot Thursday evening. Instead, they saw police lights and ambulances around the busy West Knoxville mall.
"I was definitely scared of being outside. Should I turn around, go back in?" shopper Mycah Bernius said. She was inside the department store at the time Knoxville Police responded to a domestic dispute outside, leading to an officer-involved shooting.
KPD spokesman Darrell DeBusk said officers responded to a report of a woman running from a male attacker. When police arrived, an altercation
took place between an officer and the suspect.
The officer ultimately shot the suspect during the altercation.
"The suspect was taken to UT Medical Center where he's undergoing treatment currently. The officer has been also transported to UT, which is standard procedure. The officer was not injured," DeBusk said.
A toddler was inside the vehicle at the time, but neither the child, nor the woman were hurt.
DeBusk could not go into further details pending the investigation.
However, Bernius was concerned over the heavy police presence, which she had no idea what it was about at the time.
"Just awful, you don't see that stuff happen here," Bernius' friend Cheslea Jones said, who was picking her up.
Names of the suspect and officer will be released once family members have been notified. KPD did confirm is the suspect is around 30 years old.
Previous Story: "KPD says domestic dispute led to shooting"
What began as a domestic dispute led to an officer-involved shooting in the parking lot of West Town Mall Thursday evening, Knoxville police said.
At 5:22 pm, officers responded to a report of a man trying to drag a woman into a car outside the Dillard's store near Kingston Pike and Montvue Rd.
KPD spokesman Darrell DeBusk said when police arrived, an altercation took place between an officer and the suspect, a man who is approximately 30 years old.
The officer ultimately shot the suspect, who was taken to UT Medical Center with what appear to be non-life threatening injuries.
The officer was also taken to the hospital as a precaution, which KPD said is normal procedure.
The woman who was being dragged by the suspect had a child with her. She, along with witnesses were interviewed by investigators after the incident.
Police could not say what condition the suspect was in at the hospital, but everyone else is expected to be okay.
Names of the suspect and officer will be released once family members have been notified.


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Something that's been beat into me over and over the last 6 months was "go faster than you want to," and "get straight and increase to the fence every time." The reasons were twofold: 1) Get forward momentum to each fence so P would be less likely to slam to a stop, and 2) keep leg on to support him to and over the fence.
See, I would have P crawling along like a western pleasure horse because I was so insecure as it was, and the fact that P would stop at EVERYTHING didn't exactly have me thrilled to add speed to his already athletic sliding stops.
But…I pushed out of my comfort zone and pretty soon we were zooming around. Zooming for us, I mean. Definitely not going to be winning any speed rounds. Which I'm totally fine with.
And even did our first BN. First completed one, at least.
But of course there are always things to work on. We have a mean right drift, for starters.
Which, after watching the helmet cam from the first BN a jillion times, I'm pretty sure I've pinpointed the cause.
I figured it was lower body imbalance on my part….specifically my once-broken left ankle that was causing me to shift my weight in such a way that P would go to the right. But after many jumps of me solely being conscious of the weight in my heels/seat, I determined (because I'm a pro) that wasn't it. What is it then? Well, based on the angle of the helmet cam from the BN XC, I then hypothesized that I'm STARING at the right side of each jump. Presumably because I'm aware of the right drift and want to make sure we don't MISS the jump, but by staring at it, I'm causing P to go there. He's uber sensitive like that.
So after warming up/working on those stupid downward transitions, we finally nailed a canter to trot transition and got to the fun stuff.
So then we went to jumping, popping over a little vertical over and over and over, only looking at the left side/standard. And guess what? No more right drift.
So then it was time to change it up because P can't drill anything for too long. So we (re: Husband) hiked the jumps up to 2'6″-2'11" and did a little course of 7 jumps. And P was just perfect. Media fail here…for some reason my phone's camera was super blurry throughout most of it, but the final jump (2'11" gate) was in focus, at least. Stupid iPhone.
Anyway, when I watched it back I was horrified. Look at how P is CRAWLING to the jump. Is he hesitating like he's going to stop? No. Would he have every reason to? Yes.
So yesterday I went out and set up a grid. 3 trot poles spaced 4′ apart, then 10′ to a cross-rail, 18′ to the next x-rail/vertical, then 21′ to a larger vertical. I built it one element at a time, ending with an x-rail to a 2′ vertical to a 2'6″ vertical. I specifically put the 21′ in because that would be just slightly long for P, forcing me to press him forward.
The first time through, I just sat there and did nothing, causing a chip to both verticals and P graciously saved us. Then I had a little pep talk with myself- if I don't get it together, P's going to start stopping again and I won't be able to even be mad at him for it.
So we went back through while recalling a specific lesson where we went through a grid and I repeatedly botched the strides in between fences.
And the ensuing words, "Push your body away from him while pressing your hands towards him."
And whaddya know? Perfect. After raising the fences and repeating a few more times, I called it quits.
Trot-Crossrail-Vertical-Vertical. I totally nailed it this time.
That was all I really wanted to do, particularly since I was a jump crew of 1. Pilgrim was NO HELP AT ALL.
It was the perfect way to get me back to thinking forward.
And now it's going to rain AAALLLLL day so P gets today off.
If you can share any good exercises, please do so!


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Show your team spirit proudly with this 12 inch die-cut vinyl magnet. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers car magnet is die-cut in the shape of the team logo. Made of heavy gauge magnetic vinyl, this magnet sticks to any metal surface. This die-cut vinyl magnet may be used on any clean magnetic metal surface such as refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, front doors, lockers and automobiles.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers Logo
- Die-Cut Magnetic Vinyl
- Fade Resistant Inks
- Clings to Any Metal Surface
- Approximately 12"
- Officially Licensed by the NFL
- Ships in 3 to 5 Business Days


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Backstreet's back and this time they've got the right stuff.
Two of the biggest pop bands of the last 20 years, New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys, are in talks with Live Nation to do a joint tour next summer, reports E! News.
Inspired by the recent success of Sly Stallone's "The Expendables," the loud and explosive action flick which serves up a Whitman's Sampler of action stars from yesteryear, the concerts are being imagined as a way to revive a forgotten force in the entertainment world.
U.S. & World
"The idea is to recreate the boy band phenomenon," said a source close to the negotiations. "It will be the ultimate ladies' night out."
The two bands have actually taken the stage together once before when the Backstreet Boys made a guest appearance at a New Kids show at Radio City Music Hall in June. The former teen dreamboats performed a rendition of the massive Backstreet hit, "I Want it That Way."
Donnie Wahlberg of NKOTB threw some love to the band that followed in their footsteps.
"As for TONIGHT'S Concert...BACKSTREET BOYS got my respect forever!" he said on Twitter after the show.
That show planted the seeds for the potential tour.
If that's not enough for the bands to give their fans, there may be a third act involved that would push the nostalgia factor through the roof. 90s powerhouse R & B band Boyz II Men is rumored to be at the top of the list if the tour expands.
Instead of reaching the end of the road, these three bands could be finding a new beginning.
Selected Reading: E! News


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So... the tassel between his legs?
Said it before, will say it again: don't understand why Antonio Banderas has his own fragrance. Two, actually. The first one is Blue Seduction. And now the new one, just launched yesterday in New York, is called The Secret.
I went new fragrance shopping last week with my best gay Darren. Took us forever to decide on something we both liked. But when I got home my straight husband didn't approve of my gay husband's choice. We are all particular about the way we smell and the way our lovers and potential lovers smell. So in making those decisions, why would I ever stop to consider Antonio Banderas into my decision?
Anyway, in addition to introducing the smell of his Secret at the event, Antonio also took the opportunity to present his photography. I'm more entertained by his amazingness at the photo wall. Sometimes Euromen are so f-cking cheese it makes my life.
Photos from Splashnewsonline.com and Larry Busacca/Gettyimages.com
Smell like Antonio's Secret
So... the tassel between his legs?


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Time and time again, navabi is a treat I grant myself
navabi is where I discover pieces I can't get anywhere else
navabi is my secret weapon when it comes to looking my best.
The site is so easy to navigate, I can always find everything I'm looking for.
With every beautifully crafted wedding invitation that arrives also comes the search for the perfect wedding guest outfit. Do you go for an elegantly feminine ensemble or a more edgy but chic look? What will the weather be like, and at what kind of venue? So many questions and fashion dilemmas - but fear not, our wedding style guide will help you find the perfect plus size wedding outfit and avoid any faux-pas.
Wedding guest outfits range from formal floor-length gowns to stylish jumpsuits as well as sleek tailoring. With our help, you will dazzle through any special occasion regardless of the dress-code.
You don't even have to wait until the evening festivities in order to dress up. Most women choose a dress with options ranging from understated cocktail dresses to floor-length evening gowns. Add some elegant heels, a sparkling clutch, elegant jewellery and, depending on the weather, a stylish jacket or cosy shawl. A featherlight chiffon jacket is perfect for a summery dress while a pair of tights is generally a good idea for colder days.
In terms of textures: bold multicoloured floral prints are the ideal choice for a summer wedding while darker, richer colours are more appropriate for winter weddings. To add an extra touch of sophistication, chose delicate fabrics like chiffon, tulle or lace. For a romantic feel add some ruffles or ornate embroidery while bead detailing or sequins add a touch of sparkle.
Even the smallest style mishap can turn an outfit from on-point to off-piste - but we simply wouldn't let that happen. Here are a few tips on keeping your style fresh and staying worry-free.
# Reserve white for the bride. Without a doubt, the most important rule any wedding guest should follow is to avoid wearing white, beige or off-white, as traditionally, that is the colour the bride wears.The wedding party could be dressed in a similar-looking colour, but that would be a decision coming from the married couple. As a guest, it's good to avoid it, unless the dress code on the invite suggests otherwise.
# Wedding in black? Just like white, black is also another colour no-no. While the LBD is usually always a good choice for any festive occasions, weddings are an exception – it's safer to go for a more vibrant, brighter colour.
# Don't reveal too much. We are all for showing off your legs or cleavage, but for a bigger wedding where family members of various ages and religious backgrounds will be present, we would advise a more modest approach. You can always get a feel for whether your surroundings can handle an edgy outfit, but plan ahead by taking a shawl or cardigan with you.
# Ditch the denim. While denim is a great choice for a laid-back look, it has no place at a wedding. Going for a material like chiffon, ponte jersey or velvet is a safer bet when it comes to a formal look.
We don't get to dance at every wedding, but we are here to make sure you look and feel your best when you do. Our stylists have curated the best plus size wedding guest outfits to make choosing the right look a piece of cake.ing that curvy women should avoid white, the colour of the summer, is now a thing of the past. These days, plus size fashionistas can dazzle in chic all-white outfits, or use a single white item like a pair of skinny jeans or a maxi skirt, to add a refreshing touch to any outfit. So when it comes to your next seaside trip, do include white in your packing list and let the compliments begin.


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This market rally has been running a long time and many stocks are technically extended, but here are three small-caps with good momentum and earnings that should support higher prices. These names trade thinly so they must be closely managed, but the fundamentals should provide support.
Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBGI) is a television broadcasting company that owns, operates or provides programming to 112 television stations in 61 markets. It reaches nearly a third of all U.S. households and is affiliated with FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC and other key networks. The company recently refinanced its debt and cut a deal with DirecTV (DTV) regarding transmission of its programming. In its December quarter, the company earned $0.72 per share vs. consensus estimates of $0.59 and $0.28 in the same quarter in 2011. It is expected to earn $1.38 per share this year and grow that by 70% to $2.35 next year. The company has a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of just 10.
Biolase (BIOL) develops, markets and manufactures dental lasers and imaging equipment. It was recently awarded a number of patents that extend the use of its lasers into ophthalmology and other medical specialties. The company posted record revenue of more than $19 million in its most recent quarter and it is expected to see earnings triple to $0.16 in 2014. The recent acquisition of laser company Palomar Medical Technologies (PMTI) should boost Biolase's valuation.
Consumer Portfolio Services (CPSS) provides indirect subprime auto financing. It purchases retail installment contracts secured mostly by used cars sold by franchised auto dealerships. The company recently renewed a $100 million credit facility with affiliates of Goldman Sachs. In its most recent quarter, the company earned $0.16 compared with $0.01 a year earlier. It is expected to earn $0.66 in 2013 and nearly double that to $1.35 in 2014.


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Take a look at this patent. wo2013112217a3
There are hundreds if not thousands of patents filed before this patent that utilize this fundamental principal. Technically all samurai swords are in violation of this patent. Silly to see that system reform we had for patent system encourages this ridiculous behavior.
Thomas Edison is turning in his grave. This is stopping technology development.


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Conservationists have warned of an impending wildlife "tragedy" caused by an oil spill off the east coast of New Zealand, with populations of penguins, whales, seals and seabirds set to be hardest hit.
A severe weather warning for the Bay of Plenty area on Monday has heightened fears that the stricken cargo vessel Rena, which is carrying 1,700 tonnes of fuel oil and 200 tonnes of diesel, will start to break up, with grim consequences for the local marine wildlife.
The fallout from the incident, which saw Rena run aground on a reef last Wednesday, is already being felt, with seven little blue penguins and two cormorants recovered and treated today at a centre in Tauranga.
However, this number is expected to rise to more than 200 in the coming days, with warnings that an escalation of the situation would have dire consequences for several species.
WWF New Zealand said it hoped the incident would not prove a "tragedy" for the region's marine wildlife, which includes bottlenose dolphins, orcas and beaked whales. Large baleen whales also migrate through the affected area.
Of particular concern is the New Zealand dotterel, an endangered shorebird.
"There's only 1,200 dotterels left due to coastal developments, so the last thing they need is their feeding ground contaminated," said Bob Zuur, marine advocate at WWF New Zealand.
"Little blue penguins are also very vulnerable as they swim through the oil. Fairy terns frequent the estuary and many northern hemisphere birds, such as godwits, that have migrated south for spring, are also under threat."
"New Zealand is known as the seabird capital of the world. We have about 85 different seabirds that breed here. It's breeding season now, so there are many birds, such as petrels, that are diving into the water to find food for their chicks.
"The oil makes it difficult for them to fly and there's a real risk they will ingest the oil when they preen, or pass it into their chicks.
"Should the vessel break up, we risk an international-scale incident. It's a huge amount of oil. I sincerely hope the it doesn't break up as the storm bears down on it."
It's estimated that up to 50 tonnes of oil has already been jettisoned into the sea. Radio New Zealand has reported that four of the 1,300 containers aboard Rena carry ferro-silicon, a hazardous substance which is flammable if it comes into contact with water.
More than 300 Defence Force personnel have been deployed to tackle the spill, along with specialists from Australia, the UK and the Netherlands.
The exclusion zone around the Rena has been extended to 2.8km today, with teams set to resume pumping oil off the damaged vessel. So far, just 10 tonnes of oil has been removed.
Humans, as well as marine wildlife, are also in danger from the spill, according to Maritime New Zealand.
The government agency has urged people not to touch the oil, which has started to wash up on the tourist-friendly Mount Maunganui beach, despite the efforts of volunteers to begin the clean-up operation.


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Lobero Theatre Presents Sherman Brothers' PAZZAZZ!, Closes 3/27
After more than a half-century of creating some of the world's most memorable songs, The Sherman Brothers are still going strong. Now octogenarians, Robert B. Sherman has lived in London where he continues songwriting and is actively writing novels and gallery quality paintings. Richard M. Sherman, who lives in Beverly Hills, says his life is writing songs.
Over the years The Sherman Brothers and Milt Larsen, best known as a TV writer and the founder of the famous private club for magicians in Hollywood, have been lifelong friends. Not too many people know that Richard and Milt collaborated on songs before they found success in their respective careers. They wrote their first song "Concert in the Park" in 1955 followed by nine songs for a roaring twenties musical in 1957 and a cult comedy classic Lp "Smash Flops" in 1959. The Sherman Brothers hit their stride in the mid sixties under contract to Walt Disney winning two Oscars in 1965 for Best Song and best score for Mary Poppins.
Milt Larsen pursued his career as writer and entrepreneur (Magic Castle, Mayfair Music Hall, Variety Arts Theater, Caesars Magical Empire) and, at the same time, enjoyed writing songs with Richard Sherman with Robert Sherman's approval. In 1972 The Sherman Brothers wrote the songs and Milt Larsen and the late Robert Lauher wrote the book for the WWII musical "Victory Canteen" that played seven months at Hollywood's Ivar Theater. Most of the Sherman & Larsen songs were written for comedy albums and Milt's various stage revues. They wrote the words and music for over 200 songs.
One of their projects was an idea for a musical based on the lives of legendary comedian Joe Weber and Lew Fields. In 1985 Larsen produced a version of the show "Little Old Broadway" at his Variety Arts Center in Los Angeles. Although the play got good reviews and even won awards, it was not working as a fully developed musical story. Both Richard and Milt were very busy with their various careers and put the musical on the shelf for the next several years. One of Larsen's associates Joseph Hoffman remembered the show and uncovered a little known fact that George M. Cohan worked for Weber and Fields when he was a young maN. Hoffmann, Sherman and Larsen collaborated on a new book and the show had a tryout production at the University of Texas, Arlington. After the usual re-writes the musical was re-named "Pazzazz!" and a full-scale production was mounted. After performances at Citrus College the musical became the first Broadway type musical to play the newly restored multi-million dollar Granada Theater in Santa Barbara.
The new production of "Pazzazz!," directed and choreographed by Walter Painter, will premiere at the historic Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara March 25, 26 & 27. It will then be offered to west coast performing arts centers through Larsen's production partner Terry M. Hill and Associates. Larsen and Hill have a track record for producing family friendly stage shows such as the all-star magic revue "It's Magic!" now in it's 55th year.
For information www.pazzazzthemusical.com or www.lobero.com


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Founded in 1999, Buongiorno is known as a world class leader in m-commerce for developing and managing payments and apps which enhance consumers' satisfaction in the use of their mobile devices.With direct connection to more than 130 telecommunications operators in 25 countries and over 15 years' experience in the mobile ecosystem, Buongiorno makes the mobile internet experience frictionless and exciting.
Content is more king than ever. When designing and delivering apps and paid content, as one of the earliest innovators of the mobile industry, Buongiorno deeply understands customers needs and focuses on creating a simple and fun mobile user experience. Buongiorno's strategic goal is to deliver directly to consumers around the world, a broad portfolio of content & services on all their personal devices.


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It's going to be pretty tough for The Voice's other superstar coaches to top this!
In this exclusive sneak peek from Monday's episode (8/7c, NBC), Usher invites a special surprise guest to help his artist, Michelle Chamuel, work on her rendition of Taylor Swift's hit "I Knew You Were Trouble." And who better to assist Michelle with the song than T. Swift herself?!
Watch more videos from The Voice
"Things like this happen on Team Usher," Usher boasts to the camera. Watch the exclusive sneak peek below to see Michelle's priceless reaction and to hear Swift's feedback:
The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8/7c on NBC. Which artist do you next want to see pop up on The Voice?


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| 14.4°C Belfast
Goalkeeper Simon Mignolet believes there is an honesty and integrity within the Liverpool dressing room which makes them stronger as a unit.
It has been noticeable over recent weeks that when the Reds score a goal - which has been quite often during a 13-match unbeaten league run of which they have won 11 - the whole team celebrates as one.
In fact Mignolet, by virtue of his position, is the only one who does not join the group huddle.
The Belgium international said the collective spirit was allowing the team to thrive but that did not necessarily mean there were not home truths told if required.
"Everyone works for each other, everyone is demanding of each other which is always important if you want to win games," he said.
"It is not about being 'nicey nicey' with each other, it is about making sure we do the things right individually and as a group.
"We have some characters in the dressing room who are always there to make sure we train in a perfect manner.
"It is not only the players who are playing but also those on the bench and the guys who are not playing.
"They are as happy as the guys on the pitch and sometimes that is more important than any single individual who scores the goals."
Manager Brendan Rodgers first used the term "collective" to describe his squad very early on during his first season in charge.
It applies not only to the group mentality but also the way the Northern Irishman sets up the side to play.
The Reds' high-tempo pressing game requires a joined-up approach with players working together as a unit and it appears to be working as no-one this year has been able to find a way to combat it.
"We are very organised and we work very well as a unit," added Mignolet.
"Everyone works for each other and when we lose the ball we try to press as quickly as we can to get the ball back.
"Everyone pushes each other forward and that is what happens in training every single day.
"We don't really think what the opponents have to do, we think about what we have to do and think about our jobs. That is far more important for us as a team.
"Against Spurs (Sunday's 4-0 win) the early goal helped a lot and it is then about keeping the ball and making sure they can't get back into the game.
"Against Sunderland (the 2-1 win last Wednesday) we conceded a goal and then it got nervy in the last 15 minutes but we saw the game through and sometimes that is even more important than games when it goes easy.
"You can take positives and negatives from every game so we will look back at Tottenham and see what we can learn from it and what we can do better.
"We will take it on board and into the next game, which is West Ham.
"We look at every game as a single thing."
Liverpool seized the advantage given to them by rivals Chelsea, who lost at Crystal Palace, and Manchester City, held at Arsenal, but Mignolet insists even though they play on Sunday again this week they will not be worrying too much about what happens elsewhere.
"We knew what happened on Saturday with the results coming in but in all fairness it doesn't make any difference," he said.
"You just win your own game and look at your own performance. It is not about the other teams around us, it is more about what we have to do than looking over our shoulder.
"The next game is West Ham and straight after the Tottenham win we were speaking about that game next Sunday.
"There is no point in looking beyond that. We did our jobs against Tottenham and from Monday onwards there is only one thing in our minds and that is to prepare ourselves for the game against West Ham."


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Listings in Florist, Mortgages and Semiahmoo Rotary Club
Commercial & Residential Realtor - Sherry Moir
in Real Estate Services, Semiahmoo Rotary Club, Surrey/White Rock
Sherry Moir specializes in helping small business owners to buy, grow and sell businesses, along with servicing their personal residential needs.
8, 8880 - 202 Street,
Langley, British Columbia V1M 4E7
604-513-2300 office 604-828-6606 mobile
Fax: 604-513-1300
Stewart Peddemors, Personal Real Estate Corporation
in Professional Services, Real Estate Services, Semiahmoo Rotary Club
Stewart Peddemors is an Award Winning Full Service Residential Realtor with a specialty in South Surrey, White Rock and South Langley. Stewart works with Sellers and Buyers. All property price ranges are treated with the same respect and service.
15414 24th Ave
Surrey, British Columbia V4A 2J3
Jessica's Help Desk - computer services at your home or office - Jessica Crane
in Business Services, Computer Services - Sales, Repairs, Consulting, Semiahmoo Rotary Club
Personable and affordable computer services provided on-site and remotely at your home or office by trusted professionals. Jessica has provided IT services for 15 years, working with automotive, construction, medical and government industry systems.
White Rock, British Columbia
WPM Media: Words, Pictures and Music: Film and Video Production - Allan Baedak
in Communication & Media, Semiahmoo Rotary Club
Communications, Video Production & Event Production Services: Providing strategic communication and messaging through the art and science of words that inform, pictures that captivate and music that inspires through a range of multi-media channel.
12752 24A Avenue
Surrey, British Columbia
Peoples Bank (Burlington) - Holly Peterson
in Mortgages, Financial Services, Burlington Midday Rotary Club
Holly Peterson, with the Burlington branch of Peoples Bank, will help you through the loan process by keeping open lines of communication and providing you with ample time to answer any questions - from origination to closing.
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Burlington, Washington 98233
United States
Fax: 360-404-2208
The Greenhouse Florist and Nursery - Audrey Butler
in Landscaping, Yard & Garden Services, Florist, North Whidbey Island Sunrise Rotary Club
The Greenhouse Florist and Nursery in Oak Harbor has been family owned and operated since 1954. We are committed to providing the highest quality flowers, plants and gifts available, delivered around the world or just around the corner.
555 NE 7th Avenue
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United States
RBC Dominion Securities - Linda Holmes
in Financial Planning, Estate Management, Investment Services, Wealth Management, Semiahmoo Rotary Club
Providing personalized wealth management services. Are your finances in order today? Are you headed in the right direction for the future? Are you reasonably prepared for the unexpected? Call me for a free, no obligation consultation.
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Surrey, British Columbia V3Z 0S8
Fax: 604-531-4586
Seriously Good Catering - Janine Maclean
in Catering & Food Services, Semiahmoo Rotary Club
We craft a unique menu for every client, based upon your desires and needs. We are able to accommodate your dietary restrictions and preferences by transforming the highest quality, locally sourced ingredients into much more than a meal.
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White Rock Travel & Cruises - Ginny Harrison
in Travel, Cruises, Semiahmoo Rotary Club
"White Rock Travel has grown with our community, and we contribute our success to our loyal clients and our commitment to always having the best team of experienced, professional travel counselors" says owner/operator Ginny Harrison.
1472 Johnston Road
White Rock, British Columbia
Cleveland Doan LLP - Grace Cleveland
in Law Practice, Semiahmoo Rotary Club
Cleveland Doan LLP is an experienced law firm located in White Rock, BC. We offer a wide range of legal services in the areas of business and commercial law, real estate, wills and estates, family law, strata law, and general litigation.
1321 Johnston Road
White Rock, British Columbia V4B 3Z3
Fax: 604-536-7002


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I have always loved cool colours, such as blues and greens. They make me think of floating in water, or lying upon soft green grass, looking at the blue sky above. Cool hues can be so relaxing and refreshing, which makes them a beautiful choice for a bedroom or bathroom.
This bedroom, in the 2013 HGTV Dream House, would be wonderful for a guest bedroom, or for children. Matching beds are so adorable, especially in kids' rooms. I love those wide horizontal stripes on the walls, the beautiful four-poster beds, and pretty butterfly pillows.
The spacious nearby bathroom, also designed in blues and greens, is equally lovely, with that gorgeous mother-of-pearl inlay mirror and marble shower.
While I love these colours, I've got to say, the design is a little too "matchy-matchy" for me. I think the rooms just need a few more pieces, which don't follow the theme too closely, and add a bit of warmth, such as the artwork, with touches of pink and orange, to add more depth to the design.
{all images found here}


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|Previous Page | Table of Contents | Index | Next Page
REMICs, FASITs,
Regular Interest(p25)
Holders must use accrual method.(p25)
Forms 1099-INT and 1099-OID.(p25)
|You may not get a Form 1099.(p26)
Publication 938 is available only on the Internet at www.irs.gov/formspubs/.
Allocated investment expenses.(p26)
Redemption of regular interests at maturity.(p26)
|Sale or exchange of a regular interest.(p26)
Residual Interest(p26)
Basis in the residual interest.(p26)
Treatment of distributions.(p26)
Schedule Q (Form 1066).(p26)
Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs)(p26)
Forms 1099-INT and 1099-OID.(p26)
Beginning January 1, 2005, the special rules for FASITs are repealed. However, the special rules still apply to any FASIT in existence on October 22, 2004, to the extent that regular interests issued by the FASIT before that date continue to remain outstanding in accordance with the original terms of issuance.
|Previous Page | Table of Contents | Top of Page | Index | Next Page


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Marreese Speights had his fourth straight double digit scoring effort last night with 17 points, adding 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. It was his best game since the trade that sent him over from Memphis and he could be the answer to the Cavs Anderson Varejao woes (i.e. varejwoes). In four games with Cleveland, Marreese "Don't Call Me Maury" Speights is averaging 14 points and 6 rebounds! Lebron who? Am I right?! No? Well, either way Speights could be worth a look. He had 29 minutes last night (only Kyrie Irving had more with 30) in the blowout and could see more as he finds his role with the maroon and gold. I got nothing but love for Tyler Zeller (2 pts, 2 reb), but his play lately isn't exactly inspiring any confidence. Marreese is currently owned in just 10% of yahoo leagues, but could be worth owning especially those in need of scoring and field goal percentage.
Here's what else happened in fantasy basketball Friday night:
Emeka Okafor – 8 pts, 6 reb. The Wiz were uglier than usual in this one, and got beat bad by the Grizz, so let's chalk this one up to an "off night." Emeka's double-double streak ends at 3 games but he continues to rebound, averaging 13.6 boards over the past five games, he should be owned everywhere right now.
Amir Johnson – 19 pts, 16 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk. Fear not owners, Amir's minutes ain't going anywhere–not if he keeps playing like this.
Rudy Gay – 20 pts, 3 reb, 1 blk, 3 3pm in 22 minutes off the bench. He came off the bench but I don't think Landry Fields will be starting over Rudy much longer. Apparently, after the game the team lined up single file and lay their jerseys on the coach's desk in a protest for Rudy to start. Gay's been ready for this his whole life. Welcome to Canada!
Blake Griffin – 17 pts, 9 reb (9-12 ftm) Shooting 73% from the free throw line over the past two weeks. OK, Griff. I am sold. If there is any possible way to buy low on Blake, now is the time. He's taking his game to the next level and we are all witnesses.
John Lucas – 17 pts, 5 3pm in 19 minutes as the Raptors slashed the Clippers 98-73 in the huge upset. Uh oh. The Toro Raptors are coming for you, NBA! You can tell because the water in that glass is shaking.
David West – 30 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast. The West was won in this game as the Pacers take out Miami despite a pretty 28 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast from Sheriff Lebron James.
Paul George – 15 pts, 6 ast, 6 reb, 2 stl, 1 3pm. These are the kinds of players you want on your fantasy team. I cannot stress this enough.*fantasy pro tip! He's like Lebron James-lite.
Isaiah Thomas – 24 pts, 5 ast, 4 reb, 1 stl, 10-10 ftm. IT2's inconsistency could drive you nuts (last five games 7, 10, 22, 8, 24 points) but it's games like Friday night that make him a must own.
DeMarcus Cousins – 12 pts, 12 rebs, 4 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk. Despite nice efforts from Cousins and Thomas the Kings went on to lose their 100th game in a row.
Andrew Nicholson – 14 pts, 10 reb, 2 blk in 33 minutes in the start. Hot pickup alert! The Magi should look to Nicholson to make up much of the minutes Glen Davis played before going down. However, the now "healthy" Hedo Turkoglu should see more minutes as well, and hopefully Hedo will see less games like last night where he went 0-6 from the field, missing 4 threes. Nicholson is the most likely beneficiary of the Glen Davis injury.
Courtney Lee – 14 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 2 3pm. The Celtics win their third in a row without Rajon Rondo. Who needs 'em! They randon't! Jason Terry (12 pts, 5 ast), Leandro Barbosa (12 pts, 4 ast) both played well. The 'perts say Avery Bradley (6 pts, 2 ast) is the Celtics guard to own but he played just 20 minutes. I'd say Courtney Lee could be worth a look and he's still under 30% owned.
Jeff Green – 17 points, 4 ast, 4 reb, 3 blk. Although Jeff Green has looked lost at times this season, but has also shown some flashes of greatness. Also, he can dunk. Did you watch it? Yeah, I know, that shizz was sick. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll see the real Jeff Green until he gets his chance to start. I know he'll be a good player, but I'm still undecided on just how good. However, with the injury to Jared Sullinger, this might be a chance for Green to get enough minutes to show what he's really got. He's under 15% owned and definitely one to keep an eye on. If he can ever put it all together he's got all the tools to be a fantasy stud.
Ersan Ilyasova – 19 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl, 2 3pm. Ersan has obviously been using the Bucks antler spray to enhance his performance because he is insane right now.
Tyson Chandler – 9 pts, 20 reb, 2 blk, 8 orbd. Twenty rebounds! I never get tired of seeing that. Imagine he got 30 rebounds!? #thatwouldbesodope
Ray Felton – 14 pts, 8 ast. Felton gets closer to pre-injury form every day, and his presence is definitely felt-on by the Knicks, in the form of a 3 game winning streak.
Nate Robinson – 12 pts, 11 ast, 4 reb in 41 minutes. Chris says you should BUY him. Taj Gibson also had 16 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk in 48 minutes, and Jimmy Butler added 12 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast and 2 stl. Four players played 40 or more minutes in this game. I love Tom Thibodeau.
Brook Lopez – 20 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk. All Star snub Bropez took revenge on the poor, Rose-less, Noah-less, Boozer-less Bulls and the Nets won 89-93.
Brandon Knight – 29 pts, 10 ast, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk. "Well if we knew you could do that, we wouldn't have traded for Jose Calderon." said the Piston GM.
Andre Iguodala – 24 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk, 2 3pm. See George, Paul.
Shawn Marion – 14 pts, 11 reb, 2 stl, 4 blk. After his monster 18 point/17 rebound game Thursday night, the Matrix did it again Friday night. He's averaging 13 pts, 9.3 reb, 2.8 ast and 1.3 stls in the past 2 weeks and should be owned everywhere. He's still available in over over a third of leagues so take the blue pill and pick him up if he's out there. There is no spoon.
Elton Brand – 4 pts, 10 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 4 blk. Not exactly what Shawn Marion was throwing down but the four blocks is cool.
Goran Dragic – 19 pts, 8 reb, 9 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk. Yes. This is what I'm talking about. Keep doing this.
Alexey Shved – 18 pts, 4 reb, 6 ast. In his second game back from injury Alexey lit it up and hit five threes. Pretty nice, right? That's what she Shved!
Earl Clark – 13 pts, 10 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk. Clark is owned in just a quarter of yahoo leagues and that is criminal. Go out and own him. Chris told you to BUY him. He's got the fantasy skills to fill all the stat categories.
Antawn Jamison – 18 pts, 7 reb, 2 stl. This was Antawn's fourth straight game scoring in double digits, and he should see a bump in minutes while Howard is sidelined. I hesitate to recommend him–so I won't.
Pau Gasol – 22 pts, 12 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk. Guess who's happy Dwight Howard is injured again? Yep, Pau. And Kobe, too, was mighty glad to see his old friend back. Mamba even praised Gasol saying, "this is what he does," and said Friday's game was like "the good old days." Aww, that's so sweet. Best friends forever! Now starting winning some basketball games already.
Join us next Saturday for another Friday recap, as fantasy basketball continues next week, all week long!


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The first party was good (I think). I didn't stay. The parents were told to leave the kids so I went of a motorcycle ride instead. The next party is on Saturday. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and all of this snow will be gone by then.
Happy birthdays to the Addams family
I still have so much to do before Halloween.


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The Hope College Chapel Choir will present its annual post-tour home concert on Monday, March 24, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
The choir will be returning from a spring break tour of Michigan and Canada. The Chapel Choir was organized in 1929 and began touring annually in 1953. In addition to touring extensively in the United States and Canada, the choir has made a European tour seven times, most recently in May 2005.
In addition to its active performance schedule, the choir has made numerous radio and television appearances, including the nationally televised "Hour of Power" from Garden GroveChurch in California. The choir is featured each December in Hope's Christmas Vespers program, which is broadcast on radio stations around the country.
Director Brad Richmond is in his 10th year as director of choral activities at Hope College, where he teaches conducting and voice, and directs the Chapel Choir, College Chorus and Collegium Musicum. He previously served as director of choirs at Southeastern Louisiana University.
St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church is located on 13th Street at Maple Avenue.


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My dream jobs include: assistant to Andy Cohen, portraying Olivia Benson's niece who exacts vigilante justice on pedophiles for an episode of SVU, and being a What Would You Do? cast member.
I would even accept getting secretly taped on an episode of WWYD?. So, if you ever see me in a restaurant launching into a liberal diatribe because I overheard someone making fun of a gay teen, know that I'm doing it because I'm both a good person and hoping that John Quiñones will emerge from the kitchen with a camera crew.


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"I want to ask a question. I don't care whether you answer me or not. I just need to ask this aloud... The question that I have to ask is: what if the worst and most horrifying attack in this country's history was not the work of religious extremists?
"...If our own government was responsible--was responsible for the deaths of almost 100,000 people, would you really want to know?"
-- Detective Finch from the movie "V for Vendetta"
For me this seems to be the quintessential quote for our times. Leave it for the Walchowski's brothers, who are usually more subtle, to ask such prescient questions.
I thought of starting out this essay with the premise that I should present the government's "War on Terror" as if it were an actual legitimate reality, and then I thought to myself "but why?" -- they've got their Steve Emerson's, Bill Kristol's, Glenn Beck's and Bill O'Reilly's on message, day-in and day-out. And, since, I don't believe that "islamofascists" actually carried out 9/11, or that the "War on Terror" is anything but a marketing tool created by some Hill and Knowlton-like PR firm, then it's not necessary for me to play that game -- I don't have an editor to please or a job to lose.
So, the question begs: What if, and, would you really want to know?
But, before we answer these questions, let's contemplate these excerpts from the Washington Post about the new 9/11-inspired National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC)lab at Fort Detrick, Md:
"The heart of the lab is a cluster of sealed chambers built to contain the world's deadliest bacteria and viruses. There, scientists will spend their days simulating the unthinkable: bioterrorism attacks in the form of lethal anthrax spores rendered as wispy powders that can drift for miles on a summer breeze, or common viruses turned into deadly superbugs that ordinary drugs and vaccines cannot stop.
The work at this new lab, at Fort Detrick, Md., could someday save thousands of lives -- or, some fear, create new risks and place the United States in violation of international treaties. In either case, much of what transpires at the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) may never be publicly known, because the Bush administration intends to operate the facility largely in secret."
"NBACC's close ties to the U.S. intelligence community have also caused concern among the agency's critics. The CIA has assigned advisers to the lab, including at least one member of the "Z-Division," an elite group jointly operated with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that specializes in analyzing and duplicating weapons systems of potential adversaries, officials familiar with the program confirm...
"Other government agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, study disease threats such as smallpox to discover cures. By contrast, NBACC (pronounced EN-back) attempts to get inside the head of a bioterrorist. It considers the wide array of potential weapons available. It looks for the holes in society's defenses where an attacker might achieve the maximum harm. It explores the risks posed by emerging technologies, such as new DNA synthesizing techniques that allow the creation of genetically altered or man-made viruses. And it tries in some cases to test the weapon or delivery device that terrorists might use."
Yes, these are scary times indeed, and, anything the Bush administration does in secrecy should be a major cause for concern for humanity, especially when their not so secret plans, like Project for the New American Century's "Rebuilding America's Defences" are the stuff of nightmares. We can only surmise that what they are doing in secret must be something only Dante could contemplate.
If you are not familiar with this document "Rebuilding America's Defences," here it is in all its dystopian majesty: www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf. And, on page 60, you will find this bit of horror: "And advanced forms of biological warfare that can 'target' specific genotypes may transform biological warfare from the realm of terror to a politically useful tool."
Signatory members of PNAC include Dick Cheney, Richard Armitage, William Kristol, Donald Rumsfeld, Richard Perle, John Bolton, Gary Bauer, Eliot Cohen, Stephen Cambone and Paul Wolfowitz.
Now, I don't like to raise unwarranted fears, but one would think that with the PNAC document spelling out the plans and desires of certain individuals in our government to develop and use biological warfare would raise a bit of concern by us mere mortals who may not have Wolfowitz's or Cheney's particular genotype.
It's a document of strangeloving madmen, and for the most part, Americans are oblivious to its existence. For the few that have been made aware of it, many go into instant 'doublethink' mode because it is such an unpalatable, inconvenient truth.
Here's another inconvenient truth that our media has done a doublethink with. Remember that weaponized anthrax that showed up on Daschle's and Leahy's desk, which also killed a few mail carriers right after 9/11, it wasn't manufactured in Osama's cave -- it came from Fort Detrick, Md. The FBI has still not solved this crime. Why not? Are they hiding something from the American people?
But, before we get too distracted by identifying potential terrorists (which could be an essay all by itself) we should get back to issue of scenarios for martial law.
In 2005, the Washington Post published a report detailing pentagon war plans within the continental United States called CONPLAN 2002 and CONPLAN 0500, which provide a overview of what a post- and pre-attack situations would look like.
CONPLAN 0500, details the 15 scenarios and the actions associated with them and CONPLAN 2002 is "said to be a sort of umbrella document that draws together previously issued orders for homeland missions and covers air, sea and land operations." (Don't you just love these names, CONPLAN is supposed to be abbreviated for "concept plan", but I believe the more traditional definition of the word 'con' is more apropos -- i.e., "as to swindle; trick: That crook conned me out of all my savings.")
from the Post...
"The U.S. military has devised its first-ever war plans for guarding against and responding to terrorist attacks in the United States, envisioning 15 potential crisis scenarios and anticipating several simultaneous strikes around the country, according to officers who drafted the plans.
The classified plans, developed here at Northern Command headquarters, outline a variety of possible roles for quick-reaction forces estimated at as many as 3,000 ground troops per attack, a number that could easily grow depending on the extent of the damage and the abilities of civilian response teams.
The possible scenarios range from "low end," relatively modest crowd-control missions to "high-end," full-scale disaster management after catastrophic attacks such as the release of a deadly biological agent or the explosion of a radiological device, several officers said."
Okay, so what this is telling us is that the government is seriously working out scenarios and logistics in anticipation of a major disaster on American soil, and we also know that they are working on plans and enforcement for martial law (see previous Part 2 in this series), and now have laws they need to carry it out (see Part 1).
Let's go back to that "what if, and, would you really want to know?" question. Isn't the PNAC's "Rebuilding America's Defences" really just a terrorist manifesto? And, is it just a coincidence that the government has expanded the Fort Detrick lab, and spent billions to open more level 4, and 5 bioweapons labs all around the country to work on similar projects as advocated in the manifesto?
According to Francis Boyle, a professor of international law responsible for drafting the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989, this research isn't going to be used for defensive purposes:
"The enormous amounts of money" purportedly dedicated to "civilian defense" that are now "dramatically and increasingly" being spent," Boyle writes, "betray this administration's effort to be able to embark on offensive campaigns using biowarfare."
What's really strange about this is that the alleged al Queda terrorists have never used anything remotely like this, preferring more conventional methods like airplanes and tennis shoes bombs, so why such a massive, secretive program, unless, like Professor Boyle postulates, it is being developed for offensive purposes.
This is very distasteful stuff and it makes some people very angry when you present it to them. Some want to discredit you and your information, which is why I am very careful about my sources here. Some have called me a fear-monger, and maybe I am insofar that I hope to wake people up to what our government is doing with our tax dollars. After all, I am not making this up. My sources come from the Washington Post, Francis Boyle and PNAC's own documents. I am just putting them into context.
Anyway, I do believe that we need to embrace this way of thinking if we are going to understand the nature of the beast and their version of reality that they have constructed for us. We need to refuse this 'reality' and construct a new, life-affirming one: scientists can refuse to work on these bioweapons projects and instead using their talents to create cures for the myriad of diseases around the world; soldiers can refuse to fight for lies and instead use their health and youth to clean up pollution and build non-destructive, renewable energy projects; and, parents can refuse to indoctrinate their children to service to a state that uses them like slaves and cannon fodder, and instead teach them to question authority and respect the planet and all its creatures.
Until we do this, we will keep getting fooled again by the Machiavellians in our government who will ask us to sacrifice our blood, and those of others, for their imperial gain.
As V says: "If you want to see who is responsible for the terror you feel, for who is responsible for the loss of your freedom, simply look in the mirror...."


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Featuring the Birthday Girl's name with a floral 18 .
This is sure to make a great keepsake from her special day.
Floral 100th Birthday Mug
- We use A+ 11oz ceramic mugs for all of our mugs.
- All mugs are printed by DoodlecardsBoutique in the UK.We use a sublimation ink heat process with all our mugs. This ensures that all images are bright and vivid and leave a lasting impression on the mug.
- All mugs are microwave and top shelf dishwasher safe.
- Image will be printed on both sides.Unless personalisation is stated, in this case the image will be on one side and personalisation on the other.
- All our mugs come with a branded white gift box.
I gladly accept returns and exchanges
Contact me within: 14 days of delivery
Send items back within: 30 days of delivery
The following items can't be returned or exchanged
Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective, I can't accept returns for:
- Custom or personalised orders
Conditions of return
Buyers are responsible for return postage costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value.


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I thought we could either gchat, then edit later, or meet in person and transcribe whatever happens w/o editing (including things like ["long pause"] and "[nervously laughs]." I think I kind of prefer the 2nd.
So began my interaction with author Tao Lin, a young author known as much for his self-promotional antics as for his several published novels. I wanted to interview Lin about his experiences with a popular image board called 4chan, known for being a playground for internet trolls and the birthplace of the "hacktivist" collective known as Anonymous. 4chan is a place where thousands of people gather for cheap thrills: porn, gore, and spontaneous collaborative pranks that range from harmlessly goofy to insidiously dangerous. 4chan trolls go after religious cults, white supremacists, scam artists, pedophiles, and animal abusers. They also seem to hate Tao Lin. I wanted to know why.
4chan is a collection of image boards that allows users to anonymously post messages that disappear quickly unless they contain content that inspires others to respond. It is marked by the presence of a geeky, insular cultural currency of internet-borne ephemera which we've now decided to collectively call "memes." For the most part, 4chan's users just want to kill time shooting the shit with other geeks. They talk about anime, mecha, papercraft and other mostly-geeky topics. I've been hanging out on 4chan pretty regularly since 2007—it's a fascinating Darwinian "meme-pool," from which much of internet culture derives. I wrote a book about 4chan last fall.
Two years ago, 4chan's administrator added a literature board, or, /lit/, to the fifty or so extant forums. It was an immediate personal thrill to see the often puerile tone of 4chan's boards used to describe Dostoyevsky, for instance. The content on the ...


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FDOT Emergency Travel Alert: For information on the current situation,
please visit the following page - Alerts.
District Office
Greg Evans, PE
District Two Secretary
1109 South Marion Avenue
Lake City, FL 32025
Tel: 800-749-2967 Extension 3714
Fax: 386-758-3707
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Spanning five counties and 103 miles in the 18-county FDOT District Two, U.S. 301 is a north-south route that extends through Florida from I-75 in Ellenton in Manatee County to the St. Mary's River at the Florida-Georgia line in Nassau County.
FDOT has four major projects on U.S. 301 that are either under construction or under consideration. This website specifically highlights those projects: Starke truck route, Baldwin Bypass, improvements at I-10 and the four laning in Duval and Nassau counties.
To further ensure your safety while traveling, please remember to buckle-up, slow down, use extra caution in construction zones, and avoid following too close.
Starke Truck Route
Baldwin Bypass
I-10 Improvements
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Florida Department of Transportation


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Port Angeles is a rather large town in the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, and the county seat of Clallam County. In the Twilight series, many teenagers from Forks, Washington go there for entertainment when they do not have anything to do in their own town. It has at least a movie theater, several restaurants, a bar, a bookstore, and a McDonald's. The Convenient downtown shopping districts are alive with friendly shops, flowers and outdoor art. Rising high above the city is snow capped Hurricane Ridge, the most popular of the Olympic National Park.
Port Angeles' geography makes it ideally suited to those who love the outdoors. From golfing to gardening, weather seldom interferes. The region offers incomparable recreation opportunities for year around activities. Close by are the Dungeness National Wildelife Preserve, Lakes Crescent and Sutherland, Sol Duc Hot springs and numerous rivers, beaches and parks. Olympic Discovery trail, for hikers, bicyclists and equestrians, is one of the longest trail systems in the USA.
The community is proud of the award winning Port Angeles Symphony and the hilltop Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, a noteworthy museum of contemporary art. All year long there are opportunities to enjoy live theater, concerts and festivals. The Olympic Medical center, based in Port Angeles, provides state of the art diagnostic and surgical facilities and a broad range of ancillary services. Several independent medical clients are located throughout the community. The city provides 24 hour advanced life support paramedical services to Port Angeles residents for a nominal fee. Housing costs are significantly lower then the adjacent Puget Sound area and many homes come with a mountain or water view. That view often includes the lights of Victoria, B.C., clearly visible across the strait.
City history
The first official reported sightings of the Peninsula was made by an explorer named Juan Perez on August 10, 1774 and the first confirmed report of the strait of Juan De Fuca was made by Captian Charles Barkely in 1787. A Green names Apostolos Valerianus, who had a reputation for "tall tales" claimed to find the strait in 1592, but Captain John Kendrick an American visited the Strait in 1792 and is credited with its naming.
In the series
Bella Swan, Jessica Stanley, and Angela Weber go to Port Angeles together in Twilight to go dress shopping. Bella leaves them so that she can go and look for a book store . However while she is looking for one, she encounters four men, completely drunk, one of whom intends to rape her, the other three are just following his lead. Edward Cullen, who was trying to find her to make sure that she was safe after she left Angela and Jessica, hears their thoughts, and arrives just in time to save her. He takes her to dinner at a restaurant called La Bella Italia, because he fears that she will go into shock and so wishes to get food and sugar into her system thus stablizing her. In the book, this is the first time Bella sees Edward after she found out what he is. She doesn't dare mention it while there are other people around, so instead she questions him, trying to ascertain that he really is a vampire before she makes a fool of herself. She tells him her latest theory in the car on the way home, and although he doesn't actually say that she is right, he does not deny it, and answers all of her questions truthfully. It is here that their romantic relationship truly starts.
New Moon
In New Moon, Bella and Jessica go there for a movie after Charlie complained that Bella was lifeless. After the movie, when they are walking to dinner they pass a group of men outside a bar. Bella thinks she recognizes them as the ones who almost attacked her in Twilight, and as they are a reminder from her days with Edward she starts to walk towards them. She then hears Edward's voice for the first time. She believed that it was her subconscious mind giving her what she wanted - some part of Edward that had not been faded out by time. At the end of New Moon, she realizes that this was not it, but that the reason that she heard these voices was because she knew in her subconscious mind that Edward really did love her and he wanted her to be safe. And because of this, Jessica no longer wishes to be involved with Bella Swan again.
Port Angeles is a city in and the county seat of Clallam County, Washington. The population was 18,397 at the 2000 census, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. The area's harbor was dubbed Puerto de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles (Port of Our Lady of the Angels) by Spanish explorer Fransisco de Eliza in 1791, but by the mid-1800s the name had been shortened and partially anglicized to its current form.
Port Angeles is home to Peninsula College and is the birthplace of football hall of famer John Elway. The city is served by William R. Fairchild International Airport, and ferry service is provided across the Straight of Juan de Fuca to Victoria, British,Columbia, Canada on the M/V Coho or Victoria Express.
Port Angeles is located in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, which means the city gets significantly less rain than other areas of western Washington. The average annual precipitation total is approximately 25 inches, compared to Seattle's 38 inches. Temperatures are heavily modified by the maritime location, with winter lows rarely below 25 degrees, and summer highs rarely above 80 degrees. However, in winter the city can be vulnerable to windstorms and Arctic cold fronts that sweep across the Straight of Juan de Fuca. Port Angeles receives about 4 inches of snow each year, but it rarely stays on the ground for long.
Port Angeles is also the location of the headquarters of Olympic National Park, which encompasses most of the Olympic Mountains, and was established by President Franklin D Roosevelt in 1938.
External links
- Port Angeles on Wikipedia
- Visit Port Angeles, official visitor website
|Washington cities
|Forks • La Push • Port Angeles • Seattle
|Other cities
|Denali, Alaska • Jacksonville, Florida • Biloxi, Mississippi • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Phoenix, Arizona • Volterra, Italy
|The Lodge • Newton's Olympic Outfitters • Thunderbird and Whale Bookstore
|Other locations
|Character homes • First Beach • Forks High School • Forks Hospital • Isle Esme • La Bella Italia • The Meadow
|This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).


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Here in Maine the last 2 weeks have seen some very wet weather, during one 24 hour period last week we had 4 inches of rain, and in total we've received over 8 inches.
And it's supposed to keep raining for at least 4 more days!
Once I finish this post I'm going to put the finishing touches on the materials list for my ark.
But enough about the weather.
During a lull in the (rain) action I grabbed a new lens I bought a few months back but hadn't used all that much, it's a Nikon 60mm f/2.8G AF-S Micro.
You can get this lens at places like Adorama for just over $500.
I bought it for a few reasons, it's highly rated quality glass, it's fast, and it's a macro lens (what Nikon calls "Micro"). Being a macro lens was a big factor as I did not have a macro in my bag.
So I put it on my camera and headed out I go to grab some shots of water droplets. While I was shooting I was surprised at how quiet it was (important when shooting events like weddings and you don't want to be intrusive), and just how close I could get to my subject, within a few inches.
Now I could bore you with technical blah, blah, blah about this lens, but the most important thing to most photographers is, "what do the images look like?"
The five samples below are straight out of the camera, no filter was on the lens while I shot, no post-processing of any kind was done, the only thing I did to these images was reduce their size for posting.
I am extremely happy with the quality of the images and looking forward to using this lens more in the future.
(click on any image to view larger and in a new window)


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You know, we all have something… and there ain't none of us getting out of here alive. We all cope with our multiple sclerosis in our own way and no one (particularly one of "our own") should judge us for how we do that coping.
That said; a recent revelation has made all of that "it could be worse" stuff seem a tick beyond trite and almost offensive.
In the past week I've found out that two people who were, at different times in my life, close to me for different reasons have been diagnosed with life-threatening cancers. They are, coincidentally, the same form of cancer and both are strong men who have taken good care of their bodies, have successful careers and loving families.
I guess it struck a nerve when someone said to me, via an e-mail about living with MS that "at least it's not cancer". I had only heard of my first friend's diagnosis the day before and it was just days before hearing of the second. The kicker may have been that this person (who does not live with MS) was trying to make me feel better(?)! I have to wonder if people really know what they're saying when they talk like that.
I know that many of us have at least thought those words (I expect that they've crossed my mind a time or two as well) and I once posted a blog wondering if we shouldn't give ourselves a little more credit. Sure, it could be worse, but is that the only thing we have going for ourselves?
All of us deserve respect; respect from ourselves as well as respect from others. I feel that if I were to let a comment like that one slide that I would be disrespecting the struggle that my old friends are facing right now. I'll not let anyone say those words to me again without noting that it is both disrespectful to the way I am fighting my disease and the way my friends are fighting for their lives.
I'll not chide any of our community for stating this as the way that you get on with the living of your life with a chronic disease. Again, we all cope in our own way. I might, however, ask all of us to consider the sharpness of those words for someone (even someone with MS) who has a friend, a family member or may even themselves be fighting or recovering from cancer.
My MS has been bad enough (and I accept that it may be again) that I've been known to grasp for any strings of hope. That those strings might be tied to someone else's wellbeing is now something that is in my head and I hope it never leaves.
I send my old pals strength and love through the years and across the miles and I wish them and their families, as I am always…
Wishing you and your family the best of health.
You can also follow me via our Life With MS Facebook page, on Twitter, and in our group on MS Connection.org. Also, check out our bi-monthly MS blog for the United Kingdom, look for our very special new monthly blog for the National MS Society, and don't forget to check out TrevisLGleason.com.
Important: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not Everyday Health.


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BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) California hired Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes on Wednesday in hopes that the offensive mastermind can revive a program that struggled in recent years under the fired Jeff Tedford.
Athletic director Sandy Barbour made her biggest hire at Cal just more than two weeks after firing Tedford. Dykes will be formally introduced at an on-campus news conference Thursday.
``Sonny Dykes is one of the brightest offensive minds in the country, running a high-octane style of football, one that I'm certain will allow our student-athletes to thrive and that our community will love on game day,'' Barbour said in a statement. ``However, it was far more than his history of a top-ranked offense and his proven success on the football field that solidified my decision; it was the way he described his responsibility to the University at large and his commitment to creating a climate of comprehensive excellence and success for his student-athletes.''
The 43-year-old Dykes had a 22-15 record with the Bulldogs, improving their win total each year. The Bulldogs averaged 35.9 points and 452.5 yards per game in his tenure.
He takes over a Cal team that went 3-9 this past season and missed a bowl for the second time in three years. Dykes inherits a roster with some talent, most notably heralded quarterback recruit Zach Kline, who did not play as a freshman but is in line to win the starting job next season.
Dykes also will benefit from a facilities upgrade that Tedford helped engineer. Cal opened its remodeled $321 million stadium this past season that is adjacent to a $150 million on-campus High Performance Center.
``Cal offers one of the best combinations of athletics and academics in the country, and a passionate fan base to match,'' Dykes said. ``I'm looking forward bring our exciting and enthusiastic brand of football to Berkeley. Our objectives are numerous. In addition to winning football games, we will strive to develop the total student-athlete in the classroom, on the field of play and in the campus and local communities.''
The Bears will be without standout receiver Keenan Allen, who announced earlier in the day that he will skip his senior season to enter the NFL draft. Allen is Cal's career receiving leader and is expected to be one of the top receivers taken in next April's draft.
Tedford, once known as a quarterback guru for his work with Joey Harrington, Kyle Boller and Aaron Rodgers, struggled in his later years at Cal to find an elite passer. The Bears had a 34-37 record in Tedford's final 5 1/2 years, leading to his dismissal.
Dykes, the son of former Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes, is known as an offensive mastermind, who runs a spread system that he honed as coordinator under Mike Leach at Texas Tech. Dykes later spent three seasons as offensive coordinator at Arizona under Mike Stoops before becoming head coach at Louisiana Tech before the 2010 season. He also coached two years as an assistant at Kentucky.
Dykes coached one of the nation's most prolific offenses at Louisiana Tech this year with the Bulldogs leading the nation with 51.5 points per contest and ranking second with 577.9 yards per game.
They opened 9-1, losing only 59-57 to Texas A&M, and were in position possibly to make it into a BCS bowl. But Louisiana Tech lost the final two games of the regular season to Utah State and San Jose State and now won't even play in any bowl.
La Tech was offered a spot in the Independence Bowl last Saturday but wanted to wait before accepting in case they got a better bid. The Independence Bowl invited Ohio instead and the Bulldogs were left out when Northern Illinois got into the Orange Bowl, knocking Oklahoma out of the BCS.
Oklahoma State (7-5) then filled the Big 12's final spot in the Heart of Dallas Bowl against Purdue, while Iowa State (6-6) landed in the Liberty Bowl to play C-USA champion Tulsa as an at-large pick and the Bulldogs were left out.
``We want to thank him and his family for the past three years and wish them the best in the future,'' Louisiana Tech athletic director Bruce Van De Velde said in a statement. ``We will move meticulously and expeditiously in our search for our next head coach.''
There was no immediate word on the terms of Dykes' contract. Cal still owes Tedford $6.9 million over the final three years of his deal, although Barbour had said the sides were working on a settlement.
AP College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo contributed to this report.


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In order to have coalesced access to global memory, memory addresses must increase sequentially across the work-items in the wavefront and start on a 128-byte alignment boundary.
my very newbie questions are: how the buffers created with clCreateBuffer are aligned (and in general every argument to a kernel function)? it depends also from the flags we choose during the creation? there's some way to check if global memory access are coalesced on an amd platform?


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Relegation from the Premier League can be tough on any team and it is the magic 40 point mark that a lot of teams aim for first even when they are not expected to get relegated. Even mid table teams don't want to get dragged into a battle so they aim to get their as fast as possible and then build on that.
Inevitably the promoted teams are always the favourites to go straight back down and there is no change this year, with Reading being one of the teams that need a good start to the season or it could be a very long year for their fans. They have however some good signings in the summer which will surely give them a better chance in the always reliable Danny Guthrie and striker Pavel Pogrebnyak who had a very good goal scoring record at Fulham last year. They do lack a little experience in the Premier League throughout their squad so Jason Roberts and Ian Harte will both be essential to their side.
Norwich City have a new manager this season in Chris Hughton and he has the difficult task of following in the footsteps of Paul Lambert. But, he has inherited a good team that was comfortable in the Premier League last year and there will be a lot of talk of second season syndrome but Hughton has performed minor miracles before at both Newcastle United and Birmingham City so I am sure he will be a success here too.
Nigel Adkins hasn't changed much at Southampton in the close season so he obviously believes that this team are good enough to stay up but I think they need a little more especially considering the start to the season they have. In the opening five games they have to play both the Manchester clubs and Arsenal so like Bolton last season they may be demoralised before the season has even really begun. The signings of Jay Rodriguez and Nathaniel Clyne would have been very impressive in the Championship and even though I rate both of them highly they just might not be able to cut it in the Premier League.
Wigan Athletic will always be considered as one of the favourites for relegation no matter how they finish the previous season. At the end of last season they were one of the most in form teams in the whole league but that have lost Hugo Rodallega and Mohamed Diame who have both been influential in the past for them. The signing of Arouna Kone may show their intent of finishing a lot higher up than they have in previous seasons but they will always be considered as the underdog in the Premier League but maybe they like it that way.
Swansea City are one of many teams with a new manager this year and a lot of people are already writing off Michael Laudrup before he has even took charge of them for the first time in a competitive game. They won't have to change their style much under the new manager but maybe this is the problem because a lot of teams will have now worked out ways to stop them and they still don't really have an option B so it will be a tough task for them to stay up.
For me it will be Swansea City, Southampton and Reading that go down.


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Joint of the day: CZARFACE (Inspectah Deck + 7L & Esoteric) "Savagely Attack Feat. Ghostface Killah)
Joint of the day: CZARFACE (Inspectah Deck + 7L & Esoteric) "Savagely Attack Feat. Ghostface Killah)
Knicks must change their S5 and K-mart can be in lineup on Sunday
Better be a stronger effort than Wednesday or I'll be pretty heated, another of those and I may do something rash like calling out Woodson
"Tough times don't last forever, tough people do"
Need a win for sure. Not going to be easy with the new look Raptors esp. in their building. Very impressed with how packed the arena is despite them being a losing team.
Nice gamethread, rady. Clean. Fresh as ****.
Now, Let's go Knicks!!!!
Signature created by AmareforPresident
Need a strong effort tonight or we risk tipping further towards that downward spiral that all the critics have been predicting since the 1st month of the season. We are better than our last two losses, time to show it. Let's go Knicks!
OMG at Melo FG%. He attempts more shots than Bryant.
Lowry, DeRozan, and Gay can shoot the lights out. Kidd and Shump have a size disadvantage.
Signature created by AmareforPresident
these fans are into it, last time it was this loud was the Lin game lol
Was about to say the defense looks a little better.... Until Amar'e came in lol.
and Lowry is a beast.
Signature created by AmareforPresident
Woodson stupid.. Why u mad at Stat .. U kno damn well he doesnt play D.. Put a real Center
"I'm more concern how Melo is gonna play with Lin" Joe Budden
Did we just allow this Toronto team to put 32 points on us in a quarter? Our defense sucks.
Seriously, Woody needs to go ape**** on Melo after that defensive letdown.
Signature created by AmareforPresident


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When it comes to Oscar predictions this year, American Sniper could really have a strong showing.
It's that time again—Oscar predictions!
Now that the Golden Globes shockers are behind us, it's time to focus on the grand finale of awards show season: the Oscars. Airing February 22, the most revered evening in Hollywood will be hosted by the dashing and ridiculously talented Neil Patrick Harris and show off the very top A-listers (minus the snubbed Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie) in their glittering finest.
So what should we expect? Here are our Top 3 sure-fire predictions:
Prediction 1: Birdman will beat out Boyhood for Best Picture. A lot of viewers at home, especially the ones who didn't watch the Golden Globes, will be confused. Boyhood is a fan favorite, a wonderfully poignant movie with a great cast and an absolutely remarkable undertaking to begin with. But Birdman has the slight edge thanks to the exact insider baseball that will leave viewers scratching their heads. You had to have a very, very deep knowledge of movie industry to "get" all of the nuances of that film—something Academy voters love.
Prediction 2: Julianne Moore will take home her first Oscar (she's been nominated five times) for Best Actress for Still Alice. She's got strong competition in Rosamund Pike from Gone Girl and Reese Witherspoon who communed with nature in Wild. But I have a hunch that this is my girl Julianne's year.
Prediction 3: Bradley Cooper leaves his silly Hangover reputation behind him and goes home with the win for Best Actor for American Sniper. It's an especially strong category, so it really is anybody's game. Even some of those who don't get Birdman will be rooting for Michael Keeton as the Comeback Kid, plus there's Steve Carell in his first dramatic role and popular Brits Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmayne. But the Oscar voters seem to be rooting for American Sniper (with six nominations), enamored by the tale of the deadliest marksman in US history and especially impressed by Cooper's betrayal of him.
What are your predictions? Save some popcorn for me!


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Kane Brown is going to be a dad!
That right! Team KB is growing by one and adding their names to the lengthy list of celebrities that are expecting babies in 2019.
RELATED: Brett Young Expecting Fist Child With Wife Taylor.
Kane shared his excitement via Twitter on April 15th sharing an ultrasound photo alongside the news. "It's been so hard to keep this a secret!!!!! But the KB's ARE GONNA BE PARENTS!!! KB3. IM GONNA BE A DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Congrats Kane and Katelyn Jae!
Photo Credit: Getty Images.


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LOS ANGELES, Calif. - "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" slurped up the box office.
The animated Sony sequel featuring the voices of Bill Hader and Anna Faris opened in first place and earned $35 million in its debut weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The original "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" was showered with $30.3 million during its opening weekend in 2009.
"It's remarkable that it did as well as and surpassed the first film," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony Pictures. "The filmmakers really ratcheted it up in terms of palette and tone. It's one of those films that just draws you in. The story is fun, and there's something for the whole family."
Last week's top film, "Prisoners," slid to second place. The Warner Bros. kidnapping thriller starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal made $11.2 million in its second weekend, bringing its total domestic haul to $38.9 million.
Universal's Formula One tale "Rush," directed by Ron Howard and starring Chris Hemsworth, drove into the third position with $10.3 million in its second outing after expanding to 2,297 theatres in wide release.
The weekend's other new releases — Fox Searchlight's "Baggage Claim" and Relativity's "Don Jon" — didn't have debuts quite as sunny as "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2."
"Baggage Claim," which features Paula Patton as a love-seeking flight attendant, opened in fourth place with $9.3 million.
"Don Jon" debuted at No. 5 with $9 million. The film was written, directed by and stars Joseph Gordon Levitt, as well as Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore.
Overall, the box office was down more than 7 per cent versus the same weekend last year, when "Hotel Transylvania" and "Looper" opened in the top two spots at the box office.
"This was a solid, post-summer weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "We're heading into a time where some of the most challenging and best films of the year are going to be released, like 'Gravity' and 'Runner Runner.'"
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2," $35 million.
2. "Prisoners," $11.2 million.
3. "Rush," $10.3 million.
4. "Baggage Claim," $9.3 million.
5. "Don Jon," $9 million.
6. "Insidious: Chapter 2," $6.7 million.
7. "The Family," $3.6 million.
8. "Instructions Not Included," $3.3 million.
9. "We're the Millers," $2.8 million.
10. "Lee Daniels' The Butler," $2.4 million.