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Monday - Friday
12pm - 8pm
Saturday - Sunday
12pm - 5pm
Contact us
Peony candles bring in the beautiful, floral scent of peonies! Used for protection in the craft, it also brings in the scent of summer and freshness.
Peony is the balance of light and dark, representing the Moon Goddess and the Sun God, peony is also used for protection, removing jinxes, and drawing good fortune.
I hand pour each batch of candles and colors may vary a bit because of this, but I take great care with each candle I make. I use only soy wax and cotton wicks for the healthiest and cleanest burns, I use therapeutic grade essential oils, and at times pure fragrance oils. My candles are free of phthalates, lead and zinc wicks, and paraffin.
Wyld Ravin also supplies Wholesale/Bulk orders at a discounted rate. Please send me a message inquiring about the cost.
We are also happy to fulfill a custom order or special scent you may be looking for and do not see. Again, please send me a message and I will be happy to discuss.
Burning Instructions:
To ensure the best life of your candle and the safest usage, please read the following guidelines and precautions.
- Please burn a complete wax pool for the first burn. This means to allow the top layer of wax to pool and reach the sides, this sets the candle to burn all the way to the edges instead of a tunnel down the center.
- NEVER leave candles unattended, and/or around children and animals.
- Keep the wick trimmed, before burning again trim the wick about ¼ inch above wax. This keeps the flame at a steady burn.
- And please burn on burn proof surfaces, keep away from drafts and foreign objects (curtains and lamp shades…) and burn safely.
Shipping is based off of weight, I do my best to keep it as low as possible. I ship as orders come in, so there is little delay in receiving your order.


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Hi Davina
Quick question about the new bookclub. I've already requested the next book. It looks fabulous, and I really like this new bookclub feature. My question is whether being selected to receive a bookclub book means you will not be selected to receive a First Impressions book and vice versa. I don't want to do anything to reduce my chances of getting a bookclub book, so does that mean I shouldn't request any of the First Impression books?
Thanks for your help,
(sent by email, posted by admin)

subset: commoncrawl


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A carb-light version of the traditional pie with a 36% calorie reduction.
Preparation Time: 25 mins
Cooking Time: 40 mins
Extra Time: 30 mins
(for cooling)
Yield: 8 x slices (one 9-inch pie)
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Roll pastry on floured surface into circle 1 inch larger than inverted 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into plate; trim and flute edge.
Beat pumpkin, evaporated milk and eggs in mixing bowl on medium speed of mixer until well combined. Blend in remaining ingredients. Pour into pastry shell.
Bake in a preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a knife inserted into the pie center comes out clean.
Cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Garnish with light whipped topping, if desired.
* Can use prepared pie crust or make one from scratch (see recipe link to Low-Fat Pastry).
** If preferred, replace 3/4 cup Equal® Spoonful with 3/4 cup granulated sugar.
Serving suggestions are not included in the nutritional analysis.
For best results cool pie before slicing.


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From Ian:
Caroline Glick: Israel and Obama's political war
This brings us to 2015, and the fight in Washington and throughout the US about Obama's nuclear deal with Tehran. In the 2015 operation, the White House allegedly used intercepted communications between US citizens and Israeli diplomats and between Israeli diplomats in Washington and Jerusalem to defame opponents of the nuclear deal. Lawmakers and private citizens were repeatedly subjected to condemnations in the media where unnamed administration sources questioned their loyalty, alleged that they were serving the interests of a foreign power against the US, and that in the case of lawmakers, they were bought and paid for by rich Jewish donors.
Speaking to Smith, a pro-Israel activist who had participated in the battle against the nuclear deal explained how the White House operation worked.
"At some point, the administration weaponized the NSA's [National Security Agency's] legitimate monitoring of communications of foreign officials to stay one step ahead of domestic political opponents….
"We began to notice that the White House was responding immediately, sometimes within 24 hours, to specific conversations we were having. At first, we thought it was a coincidence being amplified by our paranoia. After a while, it simply became our working assumption that we were being spied on."
Weaponizing intelligence reports was only one way that the Obama administration abused its power to weaken, silence and criminalize its domestic opponents.
Weaponizing the IRS was another way.
And just as Obama's IRS was used to hound conservative groups that opposed Obama's domestic agenda, so it was used to discriminate against pro-Israel groups that opposed Obama's Middle East policies.
The most well-known case of such abuse was the IRS's failure to approve the request for nonprofit status submitted by Z Street, a pro-Israel educational organization.
Col Kemp: Foreign Office must lift their ban on Royal visits to Israel
No fewer than 16,000 British and Commonwealth troops died during the Palestine campaign in the First World War and are buried in the land where they fell. Yet a long-standing Foreign Office ban on royal visits to Israel looks likely to deny these men the honour that has been afforded to British soldiers killed in Europe, Gallipoli and other theatres of war during the centenary years. This policy must be overturned now to ensure their sacrifice is properly recognised.
Ninety-eight years ago today, on December 9, 1917, the Ottoman governor of Jerusalem surrendered the Holy City to General Sir Edmund Allenby's Egyptian Expeditionary Force at the end of a bloody battle against the Turks that began on November 17.
The Palestine campaign has received little attention during the First World War commemorations, but was the second largest British theatre of operations in terms of strength of forces, with troops from Britain, Australia, New Zealand and India. It achieved the first defeat of a central power in the war.
British Empire forces sustained 554,828 casualties during the campaign, including 16,000 dead. At the Jerusalem War Cemetery on Mount Scopus this year I visited the graves of two of them, Edwin Beard and Leonard Frost, both boys from my school, Colchester Royal Grammar. It saddened me to think that the British Foreign Office is ready to deny these British soldiers the honour they deserve.
There are 2,415 graves in this cemetery as well as the Jerusalem Memorial, which commemorates another 3,300 troops who have no known grave. This is the place that should be the focus of the centenary commemorations of our servicemen who died in that campaign, preferably in December 2017.
The Burden of the 1967 Victory
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Considering the ways Israel's opponents have changed over the decades, the collective yearning among Israelis for a decisive, 1967-style victory is unrealistic. The false hope for such success impedes clarity of thinking and causes the Israeli public to lose confidence in both the military and the political leadership. The only approach that can succeed in Israel's current conflicts is a patient, attritional, repetitive use of force. Israelis should take comfort that time is on Israel's side.
In June 1967, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) waged war alone against Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. It achieved a stunning victory in six days. The military skill demonstrated by the Israelis was remarkable – so much so that battles from the Six-Day War continue to be studied at war colleges around the world.
Israel's military achievement had another extremely important effect. It went a long way towards convincing the Arab world that Israel cannot be easily destroyed by military force; Israel is a fact the Arabs must learn to live with. Indeed, ten years later – after Egypt had lost another war to Israel, this one in 1973 – its president, Anwar Sadat, came to Jerusalem (November 1977) to offer peace.
The swift and decisive victory of 1967 became the standard to which the IDF aspired – and the kind of victory expected by Israeli society in future engagements. This is problematic, considering the ways Israel's opponents have changed and the means they now deploy.
Ken Livingstone: Enabler of Evil
I've written many times about the antisemitism that continues to plague the British Labour Party — a once noble party of both opposition and government that has now, under its current far-left leader Jeremy Corbyn, become a laughably ineffective opposition, with little hope of attaining government leadership.
One key reason for that involves the scandals around open expressions of antisemitism from party activists and leaders alike. This has discredited the party among voters in general, and is forcing Jewish members to leave what was once their natural political home in droves.
The antisemitism row returned to the Labour Party this week, when the party announced that it was merely renewing its suspension of Corbyn's close friend and ally, former London Mayor Ken Livingstone, rather than expelling him outright for the vile falsehoods he promoted in an interview with the BBC. In that interview, Livingstone claimed that Hitler had supported Zionism before he "went mad" and launched the Holocaust.
Across social media platforms, Jewish and non-Jewish supporters of the Labour Party expressed outrage. "You can keep Ken," said one tweet, "I'm done." Other statements implored the dissenters to stay and fight. "It's the anti-Semites who should leave, not us," declared another tweeter.
Livingstone disciplinary committee member criticises colleagues for letting him off
A member of the Labour disciplinary committee that failed to expel Ken Livingstone over his comments about Hitler and Zionism has criticised his colleagues for letting the former London mayor off the hook.
Peter Mason, an Ealing councillor and national secretary of the Jewish Labour Movement, is a member of the 11-person National Constitutional Committee but not one of the three who decided Livingstone's fate.
He wrote on the website Labour List: "Reports in the press this week that some NCC panel members went into his hearing with their minds already made up to save him are deeply troubling and risk undermining the integrity of the process, the committee and the party. The allegation continues that in deciding on his punishment, the vital principle of proportionality under which the NCC operates was abandoned.
"Livingstone was found to have brought the party into disrepute on all counts. Expulsion would have been on the table as an option. A slap on the wrist is in not a proportionate punishment."
Conservative council candidate kicked out over anti-Semitic tweets
A candidate at the upcoming local elections has been kicked out of the Conservative Party for writing a series of anti-Semitic tweets.
Obaid Khan was due to stand as a councillor in the Hall Green by-election in Birmingham on 4 May.
However, it has now emerged he published a number of social media posts, in which he used the word "Jew" as an insult, in a Twitter exchange about Pakistani politics. In the debate he claimed some of the country's politicians had been backed by 'foreign Jew agents'.
The Birmingham Mail was made aware of the 2014 posts and sent them on to the Conservative Party.
Within hours, his Twitter profile had been locked and his campaign material removed from websites and social media accounts of Birmingham Conservatives.
Tories Accuse Labour Gorton Candidate of 'Anti-Semitism'
Tory MP Mike Freer gets in touch following Guido's revelations on Labour's Manchester Gorton candidate Afzal Khan. Freer says:
"It appears to be becoming clear that anti-Semitism spreads the width and breadth of the Labour party. Yet again they are showing just how out of touch they are with the values of ordinary working people."
Meanwhile, remember how a Labour council candidate in Birmingham Hall Green was suspended by the party for anti-Semitism? Unbelievably, her Tory opponent in the same seat has now also been suspended for anti-Semitic tweets. Obaid Khan seems like a charmer:
IsraellyCool: Unrepentant Terrorist Rasmea Odeh Vows To Destroy Israel
And Electronic Intifada proudly publishes it.
But I will continue my struggle for justice for my people wherever I land. I will continue the struggle for the right of return, for self-determination and for the establishment of a democratic state on the entirety of the historic land of Palestine.
Of course, Zionists aren't going to stop their land grab in Palestine either. The Palestinians there — and the Palestinians and our supporters here — have to stop them with our resistance and our organizing. With boycott, divestment and sanctions – including the cultural and academic boycott of Israel. With challenging the Jewish United Fund in Chicago, and with shutting down Zionists when they try to defend their war crimes. With defending our students and our community-based institutions and our organizers and our allies when they get attacked.
Anti-Israel Activist Backs Al Jazeera-Linked Democrat in Georgia
Anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour announced her support on Thursday morning for Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff, who was paid an undisclosed amount of money last year by Qatari-owned network Al Jazeera.
Sarsour, who has called Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "waste of a human being" and celebrated violence against the Jewish state, wrote that she can't wait to call Ossoff a congressman.
Ossoff is running for the Georgia congressional seat vacated by Tom Price. He got his first taste of politics as a congressional staffer for Rep. Hank Johnson (D., Ga.), who last summer compared Jewish settlers in Israel to termites.
After leaving Johnson's office Ossoff moved to the United Kingdom to attend graduate school and become CEO of an investigative film company that produces films for Al Jazeera.
Financial disclosure forms required of congressional candidates showed that Ossoff received an amount of money in excess of $5,000 from Al Jazeera in 2016. Ossoff has yet to disclose exactly how much the network paid him.
Al Jazeera is widely viewed as a propaganda outlet for Qatar, which funds the outlet and also terrorist organizations such as Hamas, al Qaeda, and ISIS.
Daniel Pipes: A return to the academy
I just attended a two-day academic conference at the University of Pennsylvania, in part out of interest in the topic ("American & Muslim Worlds ca. 1500-1900"), in part to get a first-hand sense of discourse in the humanities at the contemporary university. As the founder of Campus Watch, I wondered if it is as bad as our reports suggest, or whether we focus on outliers.
My first impression was one of intellectual coziness. A broad consensus on a common base of liberal assumptions crowds out dissenting opinions. A series of hierarchies exists:
• Modern bests old
• Non-American bests American
• Female bests male
• Dark skin bests white skin
• Muslim bests non-Muslim
The word "Islamophobia" is used as though a normal English-language word rather than a propagandistic tool to shut down criticism. A prominent 19th-century missionary, Henry Jessup, was anachronistically called a "pre-eminent Muslim-basher."
JCRC Deeply Concerned about Climate at SF State University for Jewish and Pro-Israel Students
Statement from the Jewish Community Relations Council on this weeks events at San Francisco State University
JCRC Deeply Concerned about Climate at SF State University for Jewish and Pro-Israel Students
JCRC is deeply disappointed by the events which led to the cancellation yesterday of Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat's speaking engagement at San Francisco State University (SFSU). The opportunity to welcome Mayor Barkat back to campus was especially important given that his speech last year was disrupted by protesters.
Mayor Barkat requested that his April 6 scheduled appearance be a fully accessible public forum for "the kind of healing needed after the assault on free speech last year." We believe that this request was very important given the intention of disrupters to prevent the normalization of Jewish and pro-Israel voices on campus. The university should have been able to provide such a forum and also done more to assure the event was widely promoted. Instead, the university's insistence that this be a ticketed, limited event and lack of publicity communicated that it will go to lengths to prevent students from engaging in important conversations rather than advancing its purpose of fostering civil discourse and promoting the free exchange of ideas.
IsraellyCool: WATCH: Roger Waters Claims He Is Even-Handed When It Comes To Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Roger Waters was recently interviewed By Dan Rather. The full interview has not come out online yet, but certain snippets have, including this one of Waters addressing claims he is antisemitic.
I have no idea how he can keep a straight face while claiming he is "even-handed" and supports the right of Israeli self-determination. This is not consistent with the BDS movement nor Waters' previous statements. He is completely one-sided when it comes to the conflict.
How he can say this while keeping a straight face makes me never want to play poker against him. That, and the fact he's a douche
Eminent Literature Professor Calls Warm Welcome of Anti-Israel Poet at US, UK Universities Symptom of Campus 'Culture of Destroyers Silencing Culture of Builders'
World-renowned Harvard University professor emeritus Ruth Wisse told The Algemeiner on Thursday that the warm welcome extended to anti-Israel poet Remi Kanazi by US and British universities is a symptom of the "culture of destroyers silencing the culture of builders on today's campuses."
Wisse — distinguished senior fellow at the Tikvah Fund and the former Martin Peretz professor of Yiddish literature and professor of comparative literature at Harvard – was referring to Kanzi's ongoing appearances on campus, most recently for Israeli Apartheid Week programming Thursday at Smith College.
Kanazi, a Palestinian-American who sits on the organizing collective of the United States Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, has encouraged "fierce resistance" against the "Israeli occupation," accused Israel of having "methodically butchered" children," called Zionism an ideology of "calculated racism" and mocked the Holocaust.
His appearance late last month at the University of Iowa was heavily debated in the pages of the school paper The Daily Iowan, with one Jewish student defending Kanazi as doing "[t]he job of a poet" and "facilitat[ing] dialogue." Others found the event "troubling," particularly in light of those behind the event including such "influential bodies" as the English department.
Kanazi has jeered efforts to protest or cancel his appearances on social media.
Anti-Israel 'Parking Tickets' Placed on Cars at University of Michigan-Dearborn by '2 People in Muslim Garb,' Witness Says
Mock parking tickets on the windshields of cars in a University of Michigan at Dearborn (UM-Dearborn) lot last month — which accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing" and other crimes – were placed there by two people in "Muslim garb," a witness told The Algemeiner on Wednesday.
UM-Dearborn student Amanda Gosline said that on March 22 she saw the individuals distributing the fake tickets, reminiscent of the mock "eviction notices" posted on dorm room doors by anti-Israel students at New York University, Connecticut College and others.
The "tickets" also advertised two events on "illegal settlements and Israeli apartheid," hosted by the school's chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) — the group behind the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) resolution passed March 10 by the student government.
Gosline, who is currently in the process of converting to Judaism, said, "I knew this was falsified information, but not everybody is very well-versed on either Israel or Palestine. My concern was that these fliers would create a bias in people without a firm background on the issues."
Miriam Starkman, executive director of the Hillel of Metro Detroit — which services UM-Dearborn — said that if SJP was behind the stunt and was in "knowing violation of the rules; there need to be consequences."
Israel braces for annual cyber attack by Anonymous-led hackers
As Israeli authorities and companies brace for an annual cyber attack expected this Friday, the country's capability to thwart website defacements and data pilfering attempts will be put to the test.
"There is a nice twist," Dudu Mimran, the CTO of Telekom Innovation Laboratories at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and BGU Cyber Security Labs, told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. "It's kind of a training for Israelis."
The forthcoming attack, called #OpIsrael, has been coordinated by the Anonymous network of anarchic "hacktivists" since April 7, 2013 – timed for Holocaust Remembrance Day that year – in retaliation for the previous November's Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza. Although the 2017 #OpIsrael kicks off on a weekend and runs through all of Passover, when most government offices are closed, cybersecurity experts are confident that the country is no more vulnerable than in previous years.
"I think in normal warfare – physical warfare – it matters more than in cyber warfare," Mimran said. "Cyber is mostly automated, especially in these types of attacks. The main idea is creating volume of attacks. The main way to deal with that is automated defense."
Dublin City Council, The Palestinian flag, Ireland and the Jews
The Dublin City Council, the Capital City of the Irish Republic, will wave the Palestinian flag for a month as of 15 May, the day which the Palestinians refer to as their Nakba Day, the day which in real history books, not in fake ones, should be referred to as the day of the illegal Arab invasion to the newly-declared State of Israel. So, this council of a country which has full diplomatic relations with Israel, makes it known what they think about Israel's very creation. In fairness, there is a legitimate question to be asked-why, on earth, do I care about what the Council of a Capital City of a not significant country in Europe has to say about our conflict with the Palestinians?. Well, I need to respond-I have a weakness to the Green Island, to Irish music, to Irish movies, to Irish history. I felt empathy to a people which fought British imperialism, the same imperialism which we fought against, though for only few years, whereas the Irish had it for centuries. So, Sympathy to Ireland seemed a natural feeling for me.
All the more so, when I became aware of the life story of three Irish people, who played a role in Jewish history.First, one of Israel's more beloved presidents, Haim Herzog, whose father was the Eminent Chief Rabbi of Ireland, before becoming the Chief Rabbi of Israel. Another was Colonel John Henry Patterson, a former commander of the Zion Mule Corps, a battalion of Jewish volunteers, who fought on the side of Great Britain in the First World War, organized by the great leader and teacher Ze'ev Jabotinsky,as part of his effort to create a basis for a Jewish-Zionist diplomacy after the war.
Patterson remained loyal to Zionism and to Jabotinsky himself to the last day of his life. At a later stage in his career, in the 1930's, he became friendly with and a partner of a great Irish Jew, Robert Briscoe, a member of Jewish immigrant family from Lithuania, who was an Irish nationalist leader, and as of 1927, a member of the Irish parliament. Briscoe fell to the charm of Jabotinsky, and alongside Patterson was involved in fund raising to the Irgun in the US, on behalf of Jabotinsky. In 1956, Briscoe became the Lord Mayor of Dublin. Let me reassure you, my dear readers, that under him, no City Council in Dublin, would have waved the Palestinian flag. With people like Patterson and Briscoe, how could I not be so pro-Irish?. So much so, that I glossed over the significance of an ugly event in modern Irish history.
No use of term 'terror' in BBC News report of vehicular attack on Israelis
Both January and February 2017 saw one vehicular attack take place. In 2016 two vehicular attacks took place in March, one in May, one in June, one in July and two in October. In the second half of 2015, one vehicular attack took place in August, three in October, eight in November and six in December – data here. So while the rate of vehicular attacks has dropped since the last quarter of 2015, it does not differ vastly from the rate in 2016.
The same is true of terror attacks in general. While in late 2015 the frequency of attacks was far beyond "near-daily", with around a hundred attacks still taking place every month, they remain a daily occurrence on average, despite the BBC's claim.
Perhaps if the BBC reported terror attacks against Israelis more consistently, it would be able to provide its audiences with more accurate information.
The article closes with a paragraph seen in numerous previous BBC reports:
"Israel has accused Palestinian leaders of inciting the attacks, but they have blamed frustration rooted in decades of Israeli occupation."
It is worth remembering that since the surge in terror attacks in late 2015, the BBC has consistently failed to provide its audiences with any serious reporting on the topic of incitement and glorification of terrorism by Palestinian officials. Readers are hence unable to judge for themselves whether or not what 'Israel says' is accurate.
Likewise, it is noteworthy that the portrayal of terrorism as being attributable to "frustration rooted in decades of occupation" conforms to a guidance document for members of the international media put out by the PLO in November 2015.
BBC Radio 4's double standards on response to terrorism
However, at 05:31 minutes into the programme, Taylor did provide listeners with the sole example of what he termed 'state terrorism'.
"Terrorism can mean different things to different people; it isn't black and white. States allegedly resort to it too, as Israel did to avenge the 1972 Munich Olympic Games massacre. Eleven Israeli athletes died following an attack by Palestinians from a shadowy group known as Black September. In revenge, Israel's intelligence agency, the Mossad, covertly assassinated those suspected of involvement in the attack. […]
The Mossad assassinated at least eleven of its targets. Since then, Palestinian attacks on Israelis have continued and Israel has continued to retaliate with targeted killings; a tactic more recently replicated in Western drone strikes against IS and Al Qaeda."
However, when Taylor later (at 21:07) described a British response to terror attacks he did not categorise it as 'state terror'.
"In the wake of Brighton and other IRA atrocities, the Brits hit back. The SAS was the cutting edge. Between 1983 and 1992 they shot dead 28 IRA suspects."
As we know, the BBC's 'rationale' for avoiding the use of the word terror and its derivatives is that the term "carries value judgements" and so it comes as no surprise to see the perpetrators of the Munich Olympics massacre described – as usual – without that word being used.
However, the BBC is clearly nowhere near as reluctant to make a "value judgement" concerning Israel's response to acts of terrorism – but, notably, refrains from describing its own government's very similar actions in the same terms.
BBC News drops Associated Press, expands links with AFP
Although AFP (Agence France Presse) is officially a commercial business independent of the French government, three of its fifteen board members are appointed by government ministers and two more come from government-owned media outlets.
As readers may recall, one of AFP's local employees in the Middle East is also chairman of the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate – which has instigated restrictions on foreign journalists and related boycotts. Late last year that same AFP employee, Nasser Abu Baker, unsuccessfully ran for a seat on Fatah's revolutionary council.
One can only hope that the BBC's new subscription to "full AFP services" does not ultimately mean that its funding public will be getting news from such an obviously compromised source.
Ottawa company posts hadith: "O Muslim, there is a Jew behind me. Come and kill him"
The following is a hadith that appears on SesameSoft's website:
Ahadith about Dajjal and Portents of the Hour
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah(PBUH) said, "The Last Hour will not come until the Muslims fight against the Jews, until a Jew will hide himself behind a stone or a tree, and the stone or the tree will say: `O Muslim, there is a Jew behind me. Come and kill him, but Al-Gharqad tree will not say so, for it is the tree of the Jews."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Gharqad is a thorny plant which is well-known in the area of Palestine. Allah can bestow the power of speech to whatever thing He likes. When Allah wills, He will give mastery to the Muslims. He will help them even by means of plants and stones which will assist the Muslims against the Jews by informing them about the whereabouts of the Jews.
The Jews have predominance over the Muslims in spite of the fact that they are a minority. But according to this true narration, the situation will definitely change before the Day of Resurrection, and the Muslims will dominate the Jews. Allah is the Master and Rubb of everything.
Florida to increase security at Jewish schools
The budget committees of the Florida State House and Senate each voted to set aside funds to upgrade security at Jewish schools.
The amounts set aside by the lawmakers in the votes on Wednesday range from $254,000 up to $500,000, the Associated Press reported.
There have been threats made to 17 Jewish Community Centers and Jewish institutions in the state so far this year.
Many of the threats were part of the more than 100 bomb threats called into Jewish Community Centers and Jewish organizations. by a minor holding dual Israeli-American and living in southern Israel, who has been arrested, accused of making most of the threats from his bedroom using high tech-equipment.
Anti-Semitism on rise in New Zealand, Jewish leader says
Anti-Semitism is increasing in New Zealand and those responsible need to better understand the implications of their actions, a Jewish leader says.
New Zealand Jewish Council president Stephen Goodman said hate speech towards Jews was particularly prevalent on social media.
"A lot of anti-Semitism comes out of ignorance and thinking this is a fashionable thing to do," Goodman said.
"I don't think that legislating really works. The real issue is education.
"It's really understanding that we're all people and we all have a right to be in New Zealand."
Goodman's comments come following a police investigation into posters featuring Nazi signs and Jewish slurs plastered around Queenstown Resort College last week.
Antwerp Jews protest relocation of Holocaust monument to 'quieter place'
Belgian Jews protested the unilateral decision by the city of Antwerp to move its main Holocaust monument from a place where victims were rounded up to another part of the city with less traffic.
The Forum of Jewish Organizations of the Flemish Region — one of the three autonomous entities that make up the federal Belgian state — came out against the plan in a statement Wednesday. The statement followed reports in the media of the city's plan to move the monument from Belgiëlei Avenue.
The new location, on the other side of the city's main park, "is a quieter place," Paul Cordy, the district mayor, told the Gazet van Antwerpen daily on Tuesday. The annual Holocaust commemoration ceremony that the Jewish community organizes near the monument will therefore "have less of an impact on traffic," said Cordy, adding the new location is also closer to the city's historic center.
But the Forum, which was not consulted about the move, said the new location is "inferior" to the current one because it bears no historic connection to the Holocaust, during which German and Belgian officers concentrated thousands of Antwerp Jews at the Belgiëlei location ahead of their shipment to death camps.
Israeli Researchers Find Way to Improve Detection of Polio Outbreaks
Israeli scientists have developed a better way to detect polio outbreaks quickly in countries where the virus has effectively been eradicated, Ben-Gurion University announced in a statement Monday.
There are two ways to detect an outbreak in a country that is considered polio-free. One is to wait until there is a reported case of paralysis. The other is environmental surveillance (ES) of sewage treatment facilities, a method Israel utilized during a 2013 outbreak of polio in the country.
ES involves regularly checking sewage treatment plants for the presence of the wild polio virus to see if it has somehow been transferred into an otherwise polio-free country. Polio could, for example, be brought over from a neighboring country. There are still three nations in the world—Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria—where polio has not been eradicated, and large percentages of their populations have not been vaccinated.
Until now, ES was considered unreliable. However, in a paper published last week in Science Translational Medicine, Dr. Yakir Berchenko and his colleague developed a model for establishing the accuracy of ES, which is actually better than the alternative. Moreover, using the model, ES can be "detected earlier, the extent of the outbreak determined more quickly and accurately, and the termination of the outbreak declared more definitively," according to the statement.
Plus-Size Model Ashley Graham Expresses Enthusiasm for 'Special Trip' to Israel Upon Return From Forbes' 'Under 30 EMEA Summit'
Plus-size American model Ashley Graham, who returned to the US on Thursday after spending a few days in Israel, gave a shout out on social media to "everyone who made my trip so special."
Graham was in the Jewish state April 2-6 for Forbes magazine's Under 30 EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) Summit, where she hosted the conference's music festival on Wednesday night in Jerusalem. The "30 Under 30" alum, who posted her gratitude on InstaStory, also visited Tel Aviv and toured the Sea of the Galilee. During her stay, she posted a a video on Instagram of her doing the line dance The Electric Slide.
Electro music pioneer braves winds for Dead Sea show
Electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre braved heavy winds that led to a late start for his concert at the Dead Sea aimed at drawing attention to environmental issues.
The concert that began late Thursday and stretched into Friday saw Jarre and others perform in front of the ancient Masada fortress next to the Dead Sea.
Weather conditions led to a start that was some two and a half hours late. The 68-year-old Jarre arrived and greeted the crowd by saying "Shalom, Israel" and spoke of the need to draw attention to the shrinking Dead Sea.
He played a range of music from throughout his career for the several thousand in attendance, including parts of his best-known album "Oxygene."
15 things you always wanted to know about matzah
Matzah is an unleavened flatbread that takes center stage in the Passover diet. According to tradition, it is forbidden to eat chametz – leavened breads, cookies or cakes – during the Passover holiday and thus matzah, an unleavened flatbread, is eaten instead.
According to the Torah, the Israelites were in such a hurry to leave Pharaoh's land that there was no time for their bread dough to rise before baking it.
Although technology has made it possible to bake bread quickly, traditions take precedence and matzah is eaten to remember the story of the Jewish exodus from Egypt.
Today, Israeli matzah factories send kosher-for-Passover matzah products to over 50 countries around the world.
2.4 Million People From Around the World Participate in JNF's Jerusalem-Themed Photo Challenge
The Jewish National Fund (JNF) announced the winners of its JerusaLens Jerusalem photo contest, held in honor of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Israeli capital's reunification.
Participation in the competition saw 2.4 million people around the world cast public votes, the organization reported. The massive global involvement nearly surpassed participation in a similar photo contest held by the city of London.
After receiving more than 14,500 photo submissions from more than 70 countries, the "Top Photographer" title and a $5,000 grand prize were awarded to David Mor from Ramat Gan, Israel. Dalia Rajuan, from the Israeli city of Kiryat Ono, received the prize for "Top Photo," and Ariel Lavanon, a veteran of the 1967 Six-Day War, earned the "Guru's Top Pick" designation.
"I want to extend my thanks to each and every participant who shared their unique images of Jerusalem with the world. This historic photo challenge has showcased the beauty, diversity and rich history of our city," Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said.
"For centuries, civilizations around the world have looked toward Jerusalem as the center of the world," said JNF National President Jeffrey E. Levine. "This is all the more evident with the thousands of unique pictures received displaying the myriad nationalities, religions and creeds that this city of Gold represents."
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.


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Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
England hold on for Poland point
England were well below their best but managed to cling onto a precious point from a 1-1 draw in their delayed World Cup qualifier with Poland in Warsaw.
Wayne Rooney's first half goal - his 32nd for his country - was cancelled out by Kamil Glik's header midway through the second period.
England remain at the top of Group H with eight points from four games but this was an unconvincing display from the Three Lions, and they were second best for the majority of the second half.
The game got under way 20 hours late after a waterlogged pitch caused the original game to be postponed on Tuesday night. Roy Hodgson opted to persevere with the line-up he originally selected for the game with skipper Steven Gerrard and left-back Ashley Cole winning their 99th caps.
England began on the offensive and James Milner made a powerful run into the Poland box from a Gerrard knockdown. His deep cross picked out the run of Tom Cleverley, who struck his volley cleanly enough but saw it bounce off Lukasz Piszczek to safety.
Poland exploited space down their right flank and Joe Hart had to be alert to clear the ball away from the feet of Piszczek after he attempted to make contact with a pass from Kamil Grosicki. Home skipper Marcin Wasilewski had to be alert to get in front of Jermain Defoe at the near post as he tried to take advantage of a low Milner ball into the danger area.
Poland threatened again when a poor clearance by Hart fell straight to Grosicki. He released Robert Lewandowski, who skipped past the challenge of Cleverley and into the penalty area before firing a cross-shot past the far post.
Rooney silenced the home crowd after 31 minutes when he reacted first to Gerrard's corner and glanced a header past Poland goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton into the corner of the net, via the shoulder of Piszczek.
A mistake by Phil Jagielka almost let in Pawel Wszolek for an equaliser two minutes into the second half. The Everton centre-back mis-kicked attempting to clear with Pawel Wszolek unmarked behind him but Glen Johnson slid in to retrieve the situation.
The equaliser arrived in the 70th minute as Glik got in front of Joleon Lescott to head Ludovic Obraniak's corner past Hart. Poland looked the more likely to snatch a winner but England remained firm and have now been beaten only once in 18 meetings with the Poles.


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WASHINGTON — The IRS's improper use of tougher scrutiny of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status seems part of a broader pattern of intimidation and cover-ups by the Obama administration, a top House Republican said Friday.
The House Ways and Means Committee, led by Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., held the first congressional hearing into the tax agency's improper targeting of tea party and other conservative groups.
The just-ousted acting chief of the IRS, Steven Miller, expressed regret for the heightened reviews.
"I want to apologize on behalf of the Internal Revenue Service for the mistakes that we made and the poor service we provided," Miller told the committee.
"The affected organizations and the American public deserve better. Partisanship and even the perception of partisanship has no place at the Internal Revenue Service."
Camp referred to a "culture of cover-ups and intimidation in this administration," but offered no other examples.
The administration has been forced on the defensive about last September's terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, and the government's seizure of The Associated Press' telephone records as part of a leaks investigation.
Republicans are hoping to link the issues in an effort to raise questions about President Barack Obama's credibility and make it harder for him to press a second-term agenda.
Camp's remark drew a sharp retort from the committee's top Democrat, Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan. Levin said if the hearing became a preview of the 2014 political campaigns, "we'll be making a very, very serious mistake."
Even so, Levin also was harshly critical of the IRS's treatment of conservative groups. He said Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS division that makes decisions about tax-exempt groups, should be "relieved of her duties."
Though Miller and another top IRS official are stepping down, Camp said that would not be enough.
"The reality is this is not a personnel problem. This is a problem of the IRS being too large, too powerful, too intrusive and too abusive of honest, hardworking taxpayers," Camp said.
Miller said the IRS struggled to efficiently handle growing numbers of applications for tax-exempt status, and that political bias was not the reason for the increased scrutiny.
Lawmakers had asked the IRS repeatedly about complaints from conservative groups that their applications were being treated unfairly, but said Miller and others never told them the groups were being targeted.
Members of Congress said this continued even after May 2012, when the agency says Miller was briefed on the practice. Miller was previously a deputy commissioner whose portfolio included the unit that made decisions about tax-exempt status.
Also testifying Friday was J. Russell George, the Treasury Department's inspector general for tax administration.
In a report he issued this past week, IRS officials said they were not politically pressured to target conservative groups. George is continuing to investigate that question.
George's report concluded that the IRS office in Cincinnati, which screened applications for the tax exemptions, improperly singled out tea party and other conservative groups for tougher treatment. The report says the practice began in March 2010 and lasted more than 18 months.
The report blamed "ineffective management" for letting IRS officials craft "inappropriate criteria" to review applications from tea party and other conservative groups, based on their names or political views. It found that the IRS took no action on many of the conservative groups' applications for tax-exempt status for long periods of time, hindering their fundraising for the 2010 and 2012 elections.
Republicans have spent the past few days trying to link the IRS' improper scrutiny of conservatives to Obama. The president has said he didn't know about the targeting until last Friday, when Lerner acknowledged at a legal conference that conservative groups had been singled out.
"I promise you this, that the minute I found out about it, then my main focus was making sure that we get the thing fixed," Obama said Thursday.
Many of the groups were applying for tax-exempt status as social welfare organizations, which are allowed to participate in campaign activity if that is not their primary activity. The IRS judges whether that imprecise standard is met.
Attorney General Eric Holder has said the FBI was investigating whether the IRS may have violated applicants' civil rights.
Obama has rejected the idea of naming a special prosecutor to investigate the episode, saying the investigations by Congress and the Justice Department were sufficient.
Obama has named Daniel Werfel, a top White House budget officer, to replace Miller.
Also Thursday, Joseph Grant, one of Miller's top deputies, announced plans to retire June 3, according to an internal IRS memo. Grant is commissioner of the agency's tax exempt and government entities division, which includes the agents that targeted tea party groups for additional scrutiny.
Grant joined the IRS in 2005 and took over as acting commissioner of the tax exempt and government entities division in December 2010. He was just named the permanent commissioner May 8.
When asked whether Grant was pressured to leave, IRS spokeswoman Michelle Eldridge said Grant had more than 31 years of federal service and it was his personal decision to leave.
Grant's predecessor at the IRS was Sarah Hall Ingram, who is now director of the agency's Affordable Care Act Office. Ingram was in charge of the tax exempt division when IRS agents first started targeting conservative groups.
The IRS said Ingram was assigned to help the agency implement the health care law in December 2010, about six months before the Treasury inspector general's report said her subordinate, the director of exempt organizations, learned about the targeting.


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A few weeks ago, I put out a call on Twitter and on Facebook for detailed posts that people would like to see. I got enough great responses that I'm going to fill the entire month of July – one post per day – addressing these ideas.
On Facebook, Edita asks a simple question: "Among diffrent 529 plans.. which one to choose?"
First of all, let's talk about what a 529 plan is. A 529 plan is "a tax-advantaged investment vehicle in the United States designed to encourage saving for the future higher education expenses of a designated beneficiary." (source) In other words, it's an account that you put after-tax money into (meaning ordinary money out of your checking account). That account has a stated beneficiary (often your child, but it might be you if you're saving for your own future graduate education or something to that effect). When money is withdrawn from that account for educational purposes, you do not have to pay taxes on the returns that money earned while sitting in the account.
There are two distinct types of 529 plans: prepaid plans and savings plans. Prepaid plans are less common (only 11 states have them), but they usually mean that you're directly "pre-paying" for tuition at public universities within that state by buying tuition credits at that school. These credits are based on current tuition rates and thus are a bargain if your child is going to go to that school. Savings plan 529s are much more common. They function much like a savings account, where you deposit money, it grows within that account, and then you can withdraw it to spend on educational purposes.
Finding the right 529 plan is tricky because so many different states offer them and individual states have differing tax rules when it comes to 529 plans. For example, some states have rules where you have to pay taxes if you withdraw money from another state's 529 plan.
The first step I would take is identifying the "must-have" features. This depends a lot on your situation and each situation is different. For me, there are four "must-have" features.
It must be a "savings"-style 529. I do not want to lock my children into a specific university or small set of universities.
Other family members must be able to make contributions. I want grandparents to be able to easily contribute to their grandchildren's 529 accounts.
I must be able to transfer account ownership at any time. This ensures that the account will be there for my children no matter what happens in my personal life between now and when they need the account.
I must be able to meet the minimum contribution level. This can certainly be a big concern for some families who have to really stretch to make payments into the 529 account.
There are actually quite a few plans that meet these criteria. So, the first step I would take is to look at my own state's 529 plan. Using your own state's 529 plan minimizes the chances that you'll be docked by having to pay income taxes on the plans in other states (of course, this is a non-issue if you live in a state without state income tax).
For me, the search ended here. I'm a big fan of College Savings Iowa, as it met all of my needs quite well while also offering strong investment choices (they're backed by Vanguard). Which brings me to my second factor…
If you're not completely sure about your own state's 529 plan, start comparing them. This is particularly true if you live in a state without income tax and plan to live there for a while.
The biggest issues you'll need to look at are the quality of the investments offered in the plan. I would not base this comparison on past performance. Past performance is not an indication of future results – it's one factor among many. Not only that, many 529 plans have a relatively short history, meaning the past performance data is limited and not particularly valid for comparison.
Other factors that are more important (from my perspective) include the diversity of investments offered within that state's plan (the more the better), the availability of "targeted" funds that mature when your child graduates from high school, and low fees (such as investment fees, program fees, and other expenses).
Other key factors I would look for in a 529 include easy online access to accounts (most states have this, thankfully; it's almost a make-or-break feature for me), a good customer service reputation (Google for reports from users), and the ease with which they make rollovers into other 529 plans possible (in case I move or some other change occurs).
There are a lot of tools online that will help you compare the features of 529 plans (like this one), but the big factors in choosing a plan aren't strictly investment based. They have more to do with you and your child's future than anything else.


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Bobby Knight sure has been chatty since breaking the all-time NCAA men's win mark. Here's his take on the whole Bill Parcells situation in Dallas. Parcells, a longtime friend of Knight's since their coaching days at Army, resigned earlier this week. The reason? It's all because of Terrell Owens, of course.
"How'd you like to coach Terrell Owens?" Knight said. "Terrell Owens would have gotten me out of coaching a hell of a lot quicker than he got Parcells out of it."
For the record, we'd not only buy season tickets to Texas Tech basketball home games if Owens played there, we'd also be at every practice. No doubt the resulting carnage would one day be recreated a very special episode of CSI: Lubbock.
Knight Delivers Thoughts On Tuna's Retirement [Daily Torreador, via NBA Fanhouse]
TO Claims He Didn't Rip Parcells, Report Says [MSNBC]


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Charging an Accumulator Stack
Consider an accumulator stack that consists of two cells connected in series. Both have the same rated capacity, for example 5Ah, but are slightly different charged due to different thermal stress during operation for example. Cell A is charged to 80% of its rated capacity, ie 4Ah, while cell B is charged to 70% of its rated capacity, which is 3.5 Ah. During charge no problem occurs, as long as cell A is not fully charged and less than 20% charge is added.
After some time cell A is fully charged and now has its nominal capacity of 5Ah. At this time cell B is charged to 4,5 Ah. The difference of 0.5 Ah in capacity from the beginnig of charge remaines unchanged! Overall the pack has now at 90% of its maximum capacity, as the weakest cell determines the overall system capacity. The question is: Continue chargeing or not? This question can't be answered in general:
- NiCd and NiMH batteries require an ongoing charge with significantly reduced charge current to fully charge cell B as well. An overcharging of cell A is tolerable as long as the temperature rise of cell A stays below a certain level. Cell A starts to convert the added electrical energy to heat due to the fact that it is fully charged and not loger able to convert it in chemical energy.
- Lithium accumulators allow no further charging. Otherwise the permitted end-of-charging voltage exceeds the limit and takes damage to the cell if a protection circuit allocated in the stack doesn't prevent this anyway. An automatic leveling during charge isn't possible without other methods! Therefore, in high quality lithium stacks, the protective circuit bypasses a part of the charging current to the cells which the highest cell-voltage. Cells with lower voltage are charged at full current.
continue reading --> Deep Discharge Protection


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Please note that course times are:
Friday: 5.00 – 8.00pm (to include shared meal)
Saturday: 9.30am – 5.30pm
Sunday: 9.30am – 4.30pm
The Babywearing Consultancy course is aimed at people who give (or would like to give) one-to-one advice to parents about choosing slings and baby carriers. It will qualify you to work as a Babywearing Consultant and you will be awarded a Level 3 qualification accredited by TQUK. The course includes the Practical Skills of Babywearing module, alongside the Principles of Babywearing and Anatomy, Physiology and Development for Babywearing. You'll attend a workshop that usually runs over three days (unless you have attended our Peer Support course, in which case you'd join the course for the first evening session and two following days) and compete your qualification through home study and coursework. By the end of your training, you should be able to:
- Recognise the benefits of babywearing for babies/children and their parents
- Show an awareness of the links between babywearing and attachment/'in arms' parenting
- Understand the needs of parents wishing to use a sling or baby carrier
- Show an awareness and understanding of the negative ways in which people may respond to a baby or child being carried in a sling
- Show an awareness of different ways of using a range of slings and baby carriers to meet individual needs
- Assess the benefits and potential disadvantages of different types of slings and baby carriers for specific parents' needs
- Understand how slings should be worn safely and how the incorrect use of slings can affect the health and wellbeing of parent and baby/child
- Understand the effects of pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period on the pelvic floor, the spine and the abdominal 'core' muscles
- Understand the development of the baby's hips and spine
- Show an awareness of the ways in which babies communicate with their parents
As a qualified Babywearing Consultant, you could earn a part-time income by offering individual consultations and running workshops for parents and professionals.
Course Tutor
Victoria Ward is the tutor for this course. Read more about Victoria and our other tutors on our tutor page. You can contact Victoria on the day of the course on 07899 700900.
Please see the course location page for details of catering arrangements, parking and access. Before booking, please read our Booking Terms and Conditions, Refund Policy and Policy on Babies and Children Attending Courses (if you plan to bring a little one with you). Booking a place confirms that you have read and agreed to these policies.
If you'd like to attend this course on a different date or at another location, or would like to commission a course for a group of people, please see our Course Calendar or complete our Course Enquiries form.Date/Time
10/06/2016 - 12/06/2016
All Day
Bookings are closed for this event.


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William Ruckelshaus and 40 years of environmental protection
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Joined: 07 Mar 1999
Posts: 15259
Location: Berkeley, California
Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 9:56 am
Post subject: William Ruckelshaus and 40 years of environmental protection
My ears are still steaming over a slanderous attack in this forum on William Ruckelshaus, the first head of the Environmental Protection Agency. I had the good fortune to hear him speak at the First annual EPA Alumni Association meeting on April 13, 2010, in anticipation of the 40 year anniversary of EPAs establishment in 1970. It is useful to examine just a bit of that history, and Ruckelshaus role in the modern environmental movement.
He was named head of the newly created EPA in December 1970, during Richard Nixons first term as President. He came from a distinguished family of Indiana Republicans. After serving two years in the Army, he attended Princeton and then Harvard Law School and began working as a lawyer in 1960. His first environmental work was as a deputy attorney general in Indiana, where he helped draft the Indiana Air Pollution Control Act in 1961. He became involved in politics, winning a seat in the Indiana House of Representatives, rising to Majority Leader in his first term, and losing a senatorial election to Birch Bayh in 1968.
When Nixon was elected, Ruckelshaus was appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney General for the Civil Division, overseeing all civil litigation involving the federal government. But the nations interest in protecting and restoring the environment was stirring. One of the early events was the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, and Nixon was urged to establish an agency to oversee environmental efforts. William Ruckelshaus was named to the office of administrator, and held that position from the agency's first day of operation on December 4, 1970, until April 30, 1973. He was 37 years old when named head of EPA.
When the Watergate Scandal broke, Nixon named Ruckelshaus acting head of the FBI after Patrick Gray resigned. As the scandal continued to unfold, Attorney General Elliott Richardson made him his Deputy at the Justice Department. But with investigation closing on Nixon, he demanded that Richardson fire Special Watergate Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson and then Ruckelshaus resigned rather than fire Cox, an event that became to be known as the "Saturday Night Massacre." (Interestingly enough, Robert Bork, the darling of the right whose Supreme Court bid failed, was the acting attorney general who finally fired Cox.)
After leaving the Nixon administration, Ruckelshaus worked in Washington D. C. for two years, and then in 1975 took a position as Senior Vice President of the Weyerhaeuser Company in Seattle. He returned as head of EPA under the Reagan administration from May 15, 1983, until February 7, 1985.
It is important to remember the tenor of the 1970s, when about ten different environmental laws were enacted. Nixon vetoed one, the Clean Water Act, but that veto was overridden by a Senate vote of 52-12 and a House vote of 247-23 during the presidential campaign of 1972. It was a time unlike today, because many Republicans supported environmental protection. It was an era, as Ruckelshaus said yesterday, when the people of Colorado wanted to see the mountains, and the people of Los Angeles just wanted to see each other. I was fortunate to spend about 5 years at EPA, starting as a student intern in 1972 and working on many water quality programs and projects.
The claim that Ruckelshaus was a member of the Environmental Defense Fund comes directly from the web site junkscience.com, published by Steven Milloy, and was repeated on Fox news editorials in 2002. This claim is, to steal a phrase, junk facts. The Environmental Defense Fund was the organization that lobbied to see DDT banned, and the commonly available biographies of Ruckelshaus show him heading up corporations like Browning Ferris, and serving on the board of the World Resources Institute. All such work was well after he left EPA. He has been attacked by both the right and the left for his later work. Some on the left claim that his later work for corporations was set up by his not being tough enough on polluters while at EPA. Both claims are absolutely rubbish.
Mrygbyes claim that Ruckelshaus somehow manipulated the record in banning DDT destroyed whatever credibility he may have established with me in this forum. It was, at best, a careless and slanderous attack on a brilliant civil servant, repeating without understanding, baseless lies that arose on a right-wing attack site. Coupled with his other defenses of polluting industries and attacks on global warming scientistswell, you be the judge.
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GRISWOLD — One more public hearing has been scheduled on the proposed Griswold High School roof replacement project before it is sent to referendum on Dec. 3.
The public hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Griswold High School cafeteria.
At the referendum, Griswold taxpayers will be asked to bond the $3 million project.
The referendum will be from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 3, at Griswold Town Hall and the Old Town Hall on Route 138.
Superintendent of Schools Paul Smith said the additional public hearing was scheduled to make sure there were no unanswered questions or misconceptions about the proposal.
While the town will need to bond the entire $3 million the state will reimburse 72 percent of that.
As the town pays back its 15-year bond, the state will contribute as well. The actual cost to taxpayers will be about $728,000, which for the average home owner (with a home valued at $150,000) will equate to about $22 annually.
Griswold resident Betty Mentillo said even that amount would hit seniors hard.
"They need it, but there are other things that can be cut down. It doesn't sound like a lot, but for anyone that's on a fixed income it's a day's meal," Mentillo said.
The 22-year-old roof has needed to be replaced for several years. It leaks and needs to be patched frequently.
Smith said the replacement is necessary.
"It's damaged and it needs to be replaced. This is an essential repair that must be done," Smith said.
Griswold resident Alexis Malek agrees.
"It's just like anybody's house, if it's leaking it needs to be done," she said. "Every year the taxes go up. That's how it is, it's the real world."
Board of Education member Frank Everett said he was concerned there is a misunderstanding about the cost and the impact it will have on people's taxes.
"People understand that we need to replace the roof, but they don't understand the cost," Everett said.
The reimbursement rate from the state of 72 percent of the total cost is only guaranteed in this fiscal year.
"Every year we put it off that number could go up or go down," Everett said.
At the hearing on Wednesday, Everett will break down the costs of the project.
Everett also plans to make a presentation about the project at 2:15 p.m. Thursday at the Griswold Senior Center. The public is invited.


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SAN JOSE – Matt Irwin is too young to remember Larry Robinson. But he knows "big bird." Big yellow fella from Sesame Street.
"My uncle is a Montreal Canadiens fan, so he's a big Larry Robinson fan," Irwin, the 25-year-old San Jose Sharks' rookie, said before facing the Vancouver Canucks here Sunday. "I haven't had to ask for an autograph yet (for my uncle), but that might be coming up soon."
Irwin is already signing autographs for himself. The defenceman from Brentwood Bay on Vancouver Island has been a revelation to the Sharks' coaching staff, which includes Robinson, known as "Big Bird" when he played and merely one of the greatest blueliners of his generation.
Robinson and Irwin are getting to know each other.
Undrafted after three Junior-A seasons with the Nanaimo Clippers, Irwin entered the University of Massachusetts as a 20-year-old freshman and played two seasons in Amherst. He earned a free-agent contract from the Sharks, then spent another 2 ½ seasons in the American Hockey League before injuries to San Jose defencemen Brent Burns and Jason Demers helped Irwin make the lineup for the start of the lockout-shortened National Hockey League season.
Until two weeks ago, Irwin's entire NHL experience was one pre-season game.
But through four games this month, the 6-2, 210-pound Irwin was averaging 22:48 of ice time and playing with Dan Boyle in the defence's top four.
"He looks like he fits," San Jose head coach Todd McLellan said. "And we're saying that after four games in his National Hockey League career, and it just so happens those four games took place in January. Usually by (January of a typical season), a young defencemen in the league is starting to fit in because he's had three months of playing time."
In Saturday's 4-0 win against the Colorado Avalanche, Irwin scored his first NHL goal on a point shot.
"Ever since you start playing hockey, you want to play in the NHL," he said. "The last couple of years it's been coming closer and closer to reality and finally this year I got my opportunity and I'm just trying to make the most of it. Everyone has an opportunity at some point, hopefully, and then you've just got to take advantage of it. Pay your dues down in the minors and just keep working hard."
Boyle knows about working hard and paying dues. Maybe that's why he feels a connection to his rookie partner.
At 5-10, Boyle was literally overlooked in college by most NHL teams. But he has built a 13-year career that includes a Stanley Cup win with the Tampa Lightning and an Olympic gold medal with Team Canada.
"I've never been drafted; I don't know what it's like," Boyle said. "I just think some people are born to be competitive. When what you want to do is play in the NHL and you get passed over year after year, yeah, you certainly have a chip on your shoulder. Mine is still there. Thirteen or 14 years later, I still have it.
"Matt has played great, better than great. He not only is doing what he needs to do, he's doing more."
Robinson said it wasn't such a bad thing that Irwin had to learn in the American League and work his way to the NHL.
"His loss was our gain," Robinson, 61, said of getting a NHL-ready rookie at age 25. "Sometimes they're ready to play at a young age, like Justin Schultz in Edmonton, and other times it takes a little bit longer. The key for any defenceman in the league today is the ability to skate, and he has very good mobility. He's got a terrific shot, is smart, uses his stick well, good size."
It sounds familiar when Robinson says it.


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Americans Are Hostages to 'Tyranny of Political Correctness,' Says Redskins Quarterback RGIII
As the controversy continues to brew over the "racist" and "derogatory" nature of the naming of the NFL's Washington Redskins, the team's quarterback, Robert Griffin III, complained on Tuesday that America is being held hostage by political correctness.
"In a land of freedom we are held hostage by the tyranny of political correctness," tweeted Griffin on Tuesday.
He then followed up with another tweet that offered a definition of tyranny. "Tyranny – 'a condition imposed by some outside agency or force
On Tuesday, Washington D.C. Councilmember David Grosso announced that he planned to introduce a resolution calling on the Washington Redskins to rename the team, according to a report in the Washington Post. Grosso who said most of his colleagues in the Council have agreed to co-sponsor the nonbinding resolution, called the name "racist and derogatory," and said, "it's time to make a change."
In recent months, a group of Native Americans began a court battle seeking to prevent the team from federal trademark protection. This move is effectively forcing the team to change its name. Grosso has asked the team to consider "Redtails" as a new name. The reference he explained would honor the Tuskegee Airmen. The team would be allowed to keep its current fight song and color scheme with minor adjustments.
A new Associated Press-GfK poll on Thursday, however, highlighted that "Redskins" still enjoyed broad support nationally.
According to the poll, almost four in five Americans disagree with changing the team's name. Some 11 percent feel the name should be changed while two percent of the people polled did not provide a response.
The poll, which was conducted from April 11-15, included interviews with 1,004 adults via land lines and cellphones. It also has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
Sarah Lee, a 36-year-old stay-at-home mom from Osceola, Ind., was among respondents who didn't see the name as offensive and didn't think the team's name should be changed.
"That's who they've been forever. That's who they're known as," she said in the report. "I think we as a people make race out to be a bigger issue than it is."
Others however didn't see it that way and thought it was best to remove the offensive portion of the name.
"With everything that Native Americans have gone through in this country, to have a sports team named the Redskins – come on, now. It's bad," said Pamela Rogal, 56, a writer from Boston. "Much farther down the road, we're going to look back on this and say, 'Are you serious? Did they really call them the Washington Redskins?' It's a no-brainer."


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Aug 03,2020


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HOLLAND -- The MIAA champion Flying Dutchmen will begin play in the NCAA Division III golf championships on Tuesday, May 11.
The four-day, 72-hole tournament will be played on two courses in Hershey, Pa., the Hershey Links and the Hershey Country Club. As champions of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), the Flying Dutchmen have qualified as a team for the national tournament for the eighth time in school history.
The 36-team competition includes 190 golfers representing 27 Division III conferences, along with some independents and individuals. After two rounds the field will be trimmed to 23 teams plus five individual golfers with the best scores from the non-advancing teams.
Hope's national roster will include junior Chris Ansel of Zeeland (Zeeland East HS), sophomore Nicholas Campbell of Saline (Saline HS), freshman Charles Olson from Suttons Bay (Suttons Bay HS), sophomore Andy Thomson from Beaver Dam, Wisc. (Central Wisconsin Christian HS), and senior Steven Strock of Grandville (Grandville HS).
The team is coached by Bob Ebels who in 19 seasons has brought players as a team or individual qualifiers to eight NCAA tournaments.
The Flying Dutchmen last appeared at nationals in 2008. The team finished 18th in both 2007 and 2008 and were 17th in four other appearances (1987, 1988, 2000 and 2006).


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Forget "The Valley of the Sun." Imagine "The Venice of the Southwest."
It's an idea that's hard to fathom now, especially when most Valley residents think of canals as "ugly, smelly and dangerous," says Nan Ellin, a former Arizona State University professor who conceived Canalscape with her students.
Canalscape is a concept that encourages Phoenicians to embrace the canals that give life to the desert by developing "places of urban vitality" where major streets meet canals, Ellin says.
Despite the canals' bad reputation, Valley Forward Association and Ellin see a bright, watery future for Phoenix. With more than 181 miles of canals, Phoenix has more of such waterways than Venice and Amsterdam combined. But unlike their European counterparts, canals in Phoenix are not a vital part of the city's culture.
"The canals used to be the front porch and they became the back alleys," with the urban sprawl of the 1960s and 1970s, Ellin says.
Valley Forward is committed to transforming the canals from eyesores to amenities, says Jay Hicks, chair-elect of Valley Forward.
"Canalscape represents the next evolution of Valley Forward being able to really bring their membership to a project," Hicks says.
He adds that the diversity of Valley Forward's members will help establish connections and relationships between cities, developers, the Salt River Project and other entities to push Canalscape forward.
Currently, the Canalscape project is in the research and discussion stages in Valley Forward's land use and open space committee. By the end of this year, Valley Forward hopes to create a separate Canalscape committee to allow all of Valley Forward's members to participate in the creation process, says George Pasquel III, chair of the land use and open space committee.
Canalscape fits perfectly with two of Valley Forward's goals — promoting sustainability and giving Phoenicians a high quality of life, Hicks says.
Two important aspects of the Canalscape vision are to bring nature into the city by not hardscaping the selected areas, and to keep the ground level spaces public to attract visitors.
"When the ground floor is public, it's saying welcome," Ellin notes.
Each "canalscaped" location would have a unique look. The Canalscape developments could range from a naturally landscaped public recreation area to a public school to small urban hubs complete with restaurants, grocery stores and dry cleaners, Ellin says.
Canalscape's urban centers would create a lifestyle in which walking, biking and mass transit replace cars as the main modes of transportation, thus making the Valley more sustainable and increasing the quality of life, Ellin says.
Currently, there are several locations being considered for Canalscape's pilot project, but no decisions have been made.
"The best location for a pilot project is whatever location can get implemented the fastest, have the most positive public impact and be the greatest catalyst for future locations," Pasquel says.
Gateway Community College, which houses the Canalscape Exhibit, is a possible location and GCC President Eugene Giovannini says he hopes the college is chosen.
"I can't think of another area in the city that is more worthy of the initial pilot project (to) move (Canalscape) forward, because of its location as it relates to mass transit and an underserved, underdeveloped area in the city," Giovannini says.
The METRO Light Rail's 38th Street stop at Gateway Community College will connect to Sky Harbor International Airport's tram when it is completed. As a result, the stop becomes the front door to the city for visitors, and the city should roll out an attractive welcome mat, Giovannini says.
Whichever location is chosen, Pasquel says he hopes to see Canalscape fully developed in the coming decade.
"I'd like (the canal system) to be an active part of the Valley that's not so ignored, that people … actually think of it as a thoroughfare that connects areas," he says.
Canalscape connects the Valley, while also maintaining each community's uniqueness by involving a "combination of urban and nature, and a combination of live, work, play that you don't see anywhere else in the Valley," Ellin says.
"So it would really improve the quality of life … and overall it would really enhance the reputation of the Phoenix metropolitan region."


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- As per our new article Effective mobile sms marketing In 2018 there are more marketing and promotional programs than ever before, so selecting the right method for your business can be difficult. Conventional methods such as create a TV ad remains high in cost, while mobile sms marketing and email marketing battle against ad-blocking and spam filtration. Delivering SMS online has become one of the most effective marketing and promotion platforms due to open rates of more than 98%, great conversion and the ability to improve and boost your other channels. Related Article: Mobile bulk sms marketing for every business Cell phones have become most significant systems for marketing The number of cell phone customers has nearly tripled over the past several years with over 5 billion users using a cell phone in 2018. With more mobiles in hands, the potency of SMS Marketing Software is rising. A research by a British psychologist discovered that consumers are spending twice as much time on their mobiles than they think they are. It is believed that customers touch their cell phone 2,618 times per day illustrating that how mobile sms marketing can be the most direct method of selling. More businesses are now turning to SMS as their preferred choice of cellular promotion. Coca-Cola now usually spends 70% of their promotion budget on SMS services. Delivering SMS online has become particularly effective for targeting young viewers. A research performed by Affordable Website Design And Development Services Company discovered that 85% of young students recommended SMS as a customer support option. High rates amongst these young viewers shows that the potential of SMS Marketing Promotion is likely to keep grow. High Transformation / Conversion Rates There is a 45% response rate for SMS Messages (email has just 8%), but one of the most important factors, the interaction with these text messages is also considerably higher than other promotion resources. Our sms plugin documented a click-through rate of 36% after sending bulk sms marketing campaign. It is important to be able to measure the effectiveness of your promotion strategies to understand where your customers are coming from. SMS Marketing can simply be monitored through our online integrated analytics and statistics. View click through rates using our software along with prices for every SMS message that you deliver. One of the most successful debt collection company Warner was also able to increase their potential revenue by 49% after applying SMS Marketing Software. These results were quickly traceable and indicated that SMS Marketing Messages were their most effective promotion. See An Increase In Your Potential Revenuer And Boost Your Other Channels Sms marketing and promotion can easily help in improving and increasing interactions with your other programs such as e-mail, website and other in-store visits. Using a landing page for this purpose and by sending a short hyper link is the best way to immediately get customers to your site. A simple SMS reminder saying, "check your e-mail for important updates", can also increase your email open rates. SMS is an excellent method for sending promotions and discounts which can improve in-store visits and purchases. Many of our customers had 50%-73% of their opted-in customers purchase following a product strategy released through SMS Marketing Software. Direct Way Of Marketing The effectiveness and efficiency of a marketing and promotion campaign is often dependent on how immediate it can be. 1 in 5 e-mails sent from a commercial or business email end up in the junk directory or are obstructed entirely. 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Last Thoughts SMS Marketing And Promotion has been recognized as an effective and low-cost marketing tool. Mobile usage has reached an all-time high in 2018 and as result SMS Marketing Software has become a well-known marketing and promotion system. The immediate and direct method of SMS messaging has resulted in great click-through rates which are ongoing and continuing to improve the achievements of other business channels. To find out how your company could take advantage of the efficiency of SMS Marketing, head to www.ranksol.com or talk with one of our SMS Marketing Professionals at: +92-041-8501874... Read more...
- There are so many reasons to get in on SMS Marketing by becoming a sms marketing reseller, but here is just one: Open rates of 98 %, click-through rate of 19 % — it appears too good to be true, right? But still seems wrong. If you are really looking forward at the analytics or detailed statistics for mobile SMS messaging: an increasingly preferred form of interaction. With more than Ninety % of adults having mobile phones, the market is definitely on a rise for SMS Marketing and text messaging resellers willing to take to the next level. You are also looking forward or planning to move yourself on the trend? The technology required in order to provide an SMS Solution for your potential customers already exists so why bother trying to reinvent it from the scratch? If you are really looking forward or want to give your potential clients and customers with a new promotion remedy, consider Ranksol SMS Marketing White-labelled reseller system and start earning via selling credits. Become a professional sms marketing reseller. Today Our completely white label sms marketing reseller system is the perfect way for you to provide your potential clients and customers with an SMS Marketing reseller solution that allows them to automatically text their customers while you are still maintaining your brand. Here's how becoming a text messaging and marketing reseller works. All you just have to do it to take Ranksol SMS Marketing product and completely rebrand our plugin or application. You can then provide the service to your potential clients and customers under your own marketing and company logo. Reselling SMS Marketing technology adds innovation and contributes value to your product, makes an extra income flow for your company, and places you apart from competitors. This means not only can you provide more to your present customers, you'll also be able to draw in new customers because you are offering something which they want. Something that most of your other clients and competitors doesn't provide. Interested in becoming a text messaging reseller? E-mail us for more detailed information or become a member of a free demo to see Ranksol technological innovation in action. Wondering if you could start your reseller program with just SMS Marketing? Check out our white labelled SMS Marketing Reseller Program, where you can re-sell Ranksol SMS Marketing plugins and applications under your own label at most cost effective and affordable price. Discuss about the pricing via our help and support desk first !... Read more...
- nbsp; Do you know that 91.5 % of Grownups in america own a mobile phone? For teenagers between 18 and 29, this number gets to an astoninishing period as well which is 98%. Out of all mobile cellphone owners, 81 % of them use their cellphones to send or receive text messages. This is why SMS Marketing is essential to include in your marketing and promotional strategy. However, text messaging all of your potential customers personally would be a very time-consuming task. This is why Bulk SMS Sending Tool is an important device for you to use. But how do you plan to use it With SMS automated, there are several different factors you can do. You can use Bulk SMS Marketing to acquire approval to obtain messages, deliver out mass / bulk messages, and even set up shortcodes to trigger certain reactions and response messages. Let's begin with getting approval. First off, you can't deliver individuals details unless they they allow that you are permitted to. You can generally do this via a leyword or form, but you can also use a mobile sign up or SMS opt-in. An SMS Opt In indicates getting a keyword or any specific key phrase. Ranksol SMS marketing plugin allows customers of users to optin into a campaign with keywords quickly. Once you have the keyword you need to set up your "join" and "optin message" details. These details are mandatory because the information and details users needs such as how to get in touch with you and how to opt out of the messages. Again, Ranksol sms marketing plugin makes this simple by offering documentation of how to structure these details. Now that your keywords are all set up, you can share and promote it to your clients and customers. When customers text you with that keyword, they will be added to your optin list and you can send them sms text messages. Now onto bulk / mass messages sending It's a general assumption and as per analytics / reporting, most sms messages are opened within three minutes of being received. As a result this makes SMS the ideal opportunity for information you want your clients to read right away. So, let's say you have a big sale or promotion coming up next 7 days and you want to let your customers know to avail this opportunity and enjoy discounts. Since you now have the opted-in list, you can setup an automated campaign and can send messages to them automatically. Setup an automated campaign and write the content want to appear in the message. Now, choose when you want the SMS campaign to deliver. The texts will deliver at that day and time and your customers will be informed. But, what about when customers text you back? Recently after the latest launch we have introduced that big change in our wordpress sms marketing plugin, after a customer has completed the opt-in process, you can still proceed and continue to use your keyword and connect with them. You can set up automated responses to deliver to customers who text you for information. For example, as if you are a customer who wants to know what hours you could set up a short code keyword for that. You can still use your own unique keyword but also add the phrase "Working Hours." Set up a SMS Marketing Campaign to react / respond with your business timing or hours of operation when a client or customer text you "KEYWORD" + "Working Hours." You can do triggers like this for any other information you think your clients and customers may want. Another perfect example of this would be A restaurant introduces new flavors of pizza recently, With those customers who are not opted in any of their mobile sms marketing campaigns. You may send them keyword and ask them to opt in for upcoming special deals and offers. Now with those customers who are opted in with that campaign, you can use their data and create a campaign with keyword. "New Flavors" + "50% off" this is also another example for how you can trigger and send information to your customers. Interested in our product but don't want to purchase right away without demo? Don't worry here is the link to our products demo. For a detailed overview; check out ranksol sms marketing plugin functionality. ... Read more...
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Tales Of The Industry With Fredro Starr Pt. 9: Shares Story When 50 Cent Swung On Fredro & How On Onyx Helped 50 Before His Fame!
"In the second installment of this 2 part tale, Fredro explains how, what he thought was a squashed "beef", took a turn and escalated. " - San
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Unlimited Users on Private Blogs
This upgrade will be of use to those of you creating a community around your private blog. It removes the 35 user limit on private blogs so you can invite as many people as you like.
The free limit of 35 users will be enough for most people but if you're building a private site that will have a large community or you're a large organisation buying this upgrade is the way to go.
Simply login and go to your Upgrades page where it can be purchased for $30/year. Now, when you go to Options -> Privacy it will look like this:
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GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama square off in the first presidential debate.
Updated at 10:55 p.m. ET
Social Security
Tonight, President Barack Obama made a claim about Social Security.
OBAMA: Social Security is structurally sound, it's gonna have to be tweaked the way it was by Ronald Reagan and Speaker, Democratic Speaker Tip O'Neill. But it is, the basic structure is sound.
NBC's Andrea Mitchell does a bit of fact checking after President Barack Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney faced off in the first 2012 presidential debate.
President Obama said that, unlike Medicare, Social Security does not need to be fundamentally fixed to remain solvent.
But according to the Congressional Budget Office, Social Security will run into financial trouble, too -- about 20 years from now.
By the year 2030, the amount Social Security pays out will exceed the tax revenue coming in -- so in about 20 years the program will NOT be able to pay for itself through the payroll taxes Americans currently pay.
Mitt Romney claimed President Obama's health care law would take $716 billion out of Medicare.
ROMNEY: What I support is no change for current retirees and near-retirees to Medicare. And the president supports taking $716 billion out of that program.
In fact, that $716 billion comes from trimming planned future increases over the next decade, not cutting funding. And those trims come from limiting payments to health-care providers and insurers -- NOT limiting care to seniors.
And Medicare's chief actuary says Obama's health reform "substantially improves" the program's finances.
Romney's claim that his plan would not change anything for seniors and near retirees is true. His changes would not affect anyone currently over the age of 55.
What would happen for younger Americans under Romney's plan?
Has essentially endorsed the latest version of the Ryan budget plan, which substantially transforms Medicare by giving future seniors a payment -- Democrats call it a "voucher," Republicans call it "premium support" -- to purchase health insurance. Under Ryan's plan, seniors would have the choice of buying private insurance or through Medicare's traditional fee-for-service model.
The deficit
Tonight, President Barack Obama said his plan would cut the deficit by $4 trillion.
President Obama and GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney debate how to approach reducing the national deficit.
OBAMA: Now, we all know that we've got to do more. And so I've put forward a specific $4 trillion deficit-reduction plan. It's on a website. You can look at all the numbers, what cut we make and what revenue we raise.
That estimate comes from the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities -- $3.8 trillion over 10 years.
The president is counting money saved by letting the Bush tax cuts expire for people making more than $250,000 a year.
But he's also counting on savings already agreed to last year when the White House and Congress agreed to raise the debt ceiling.
At the outset of the debate, President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney tangled over taxes. Romney objected to the president's claim that his tax cuts would cost $5 trillion.
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney steps out of turn to point out errors he feels President Barack Obama made in describing his tax plan.
ROMNEY: Let me repeat what I said, I'm not in favor of a $5 trillion tax cut. That's not my plan. My plan is not to put in place any tax cut that will add to the deficit.
What is Romney's plan?
He has proposed making the Bush tax cuts permanent for all income levels -- then cutting all rates by an additional 20 percent. He would also repeal the alternative minimum tax and permanently repeal the estate tax.
The non-partisan Tax Policy Center concluded that Romney's tax plan would cost $4.8 trillion over 10 years.
Romney said -- once again tonight -- that his plan would be paid for by closing loopholes in the tax code and by getting rid of some tax deductions and credits. But he has repeatedly declined to say which deductions he'd eliminate, saying he'd work with Congress to make those decisions.


text: 1. What is the explicit reasoning behind mandating the purchase of healthcare services?- Chris, University of Florida2. Do you believe that healthcare is a right, or that health insurance is a right?- Brian, Student3. Thompson Reuters had performed a study in which they concluded that 40% of healthcare waste was from unnecessary care. Unnecessary care is primarily a result of a fear of being sued, aka malpractice. What is being done to address malpractice?- JatPat, Chicago, IL4. Why not quit artificially limiting the market? Stop tying health insurance to employers and increase the market dramatically. Allow insurance providers to sell across state lines and increase it even more. The larger the market the lower the price.- crodgers1981, Lincoln, NE5. All people voting on these bills should be required to personally read the entire bill before being allowed to vote on it. It is ridiculous that these bills are thousands of pages long. Bills should be written in clear language.- Blinn, Illinois