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– The 2012 WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view opens up with a video package focusing on tonight's 30-man main event and the opportunity to headline WrestleMania. The video goes on to look at some of the history of the Rumble.
– We're live from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis with Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and Booker T on commentary. The World Heavyweight Title match is up first as the cage is brought down over the ring.
Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Title: Big Show vs. Mark Henry vs. Daniel Bryan
We go to the cage and out first comes the World Heavyweight Champion. Out next comes Mark Henry followed by Big Show.
Lilian Garcia does formal ring introductions as we get ready for the bell. Immediately Bryan tries to climb the cage but gets pulled down and slammed by Big Show. Henry stops the pin attempt and goes at it with Show. Show knocks Henry down with a big shoulder and splashes him into the side of the cage. Big Show with another big splash on Henry. Show goes in again and Bryan starts climbing. Show grabs him and throws him down to the mat. Show works over Bryan in the corner now. Big Show eventually goes for the WMD punch but Bryan moves and he punches the cage. Bryan goes at it with Show but gets dropped with a headbutt. Show with a back splash in the corner but Bryan comes back and dropkicks his leg out.
Bryan takes Show down and goes to work on Henry now. Bryan has both men down and the door is opened. Henry stops him from leaving and tells the referee to shut the door. Henry smashes Bryan's face into the cage and works him over in between the ropes and the cage. Henry hits Bryan with a headbutt but turns around to a big kick from Big Show. Show grabs Bryan and whips him into the side of the cage. Bryan climbs the cage but Show pulls him back down and throws him into it. Bryan stands up to Show but Show keeps beating him down. Show throws Bryan high into the cage and scoop slams him. Show hits another headbutt on Bryan and goes back to Henry. Henry hits him with right hands and a big clothesline. Henry goes to work on Bryan now, choking him with his boot. Henry throws Bryan into the cage and charges but he moves. Henry goes down and Bryan covers for 2.
Show runs over Bryan and throws him into the sides of the cage. Show drops Bryan with a big kick and calls for the chokeslam. Bryan blocks it with kicks and ends up hitting a tornado DDT from the top rope on Show. Show kicks out at 1. Bryan goes for the LaBell Lock on Show and gets it locked in. Henry breaks the hold with a boot to Bryan's head. Henry throws Byryan into the cage wall and picks him up. Show hits Henry with a WMD punch and he falls. Show covers Henry for 2. Bryan tries to climb the cage again and makes it to the top before Show can grab him. Bryan gets both legs over the cage but Show has a hold of him. Bryan tries to fight him off and fall to the floor but Show stops him. Bryan sits on top of the cage and punches Show. Bryan tries to escape but Show starts climbing over the top now. Bryan is hanging by Show's arm as Show tries to pull him back in. Bryan manages to fall to the floor for the win.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
– After the match, Bryan celebrates as Show looks on from the top of the cage.
– We get hype for John Cena vs. The Rock at WrestleMania 28 and a video package looking at John Cena.
Beth Phoenix, Natalya and The Bella Twins vs. Kelly Kelly, Tamina, Alicia Fox and Eve Torres
We go to the ring and out comes the team of WWE Divas Champion Beth Phoenix, Natalya and The Bella Twins. Out next comes Kelly Kelly, Tamina, Alicia Fox and Eve Torres.
Natalya and Tamina start things off going at it. They trade slaps before Tamina chops her and headbutts her for a 2 count. Tamina tags in Eve and in she comes with the booty pop and moonsault for 2. Natalya rams Eve back in the corner and tags in Beth. Beth goes back and forth with Eve. Eve connects with a kick and a clothesline. She goes for a back splash and Beth puts her knees up.
Beth works over Eve some more for another 2 count. One of the Bellas come in and choke Eve on the ropes. Eve gets kicked in the face and covered for another pin attempt. Bella with a chinlock now. Eve comes back and tags in Alicia. Alicia comes in with a clothesline and a pair of dropkicks. Alicia stomps away in the corner as the referee pulls her off. The Bellas switch out and Alicia gets beat down in the corner now. Kelly finally gets the tag and does the head scissors takedown. Kelly with the back elbow in the corner and then the bulldog for 2 as the other Bella broke it up. Natalya comes in and goes at it with Eve. Tamina joins in on the fight and all the Divas brawl on the floor. In the ring, Kelly Kelly climbs up top, then splashes onto the other Divas and the floor. Kelly comes in the ring and goes at it with one of the Bellas. Beth smacks the twin on the back and tags herself in. Beth nails the Glam Slam on Kelly for the win.
Winners: Beth Phoenix, Natalya and The Bella Twins
– We see what Kane did to Zack Ryder last week. Backstage, Ryder is wheeled in by someone and he's in a wheelchair in bad shape. John Laurinaitis greets him and has him a room all set up. Eve Torres runs up and says Laurinaitis has done enough. She calls him names and hopes he gets fired tomorrow night on RAW. Laurinaitis says "that's gratitude for ya" and walks off. Eve calls him an ass and wheels Ryder into his room.
John Cena vs. Kane
We go to the ring and out comes John Cena to a very mixed reaction from the St. Louis crowd.
Cena waits in the ring for a minute as the crowd boos him. Finally the stage explodes and out comes Kane. Cena strikes first with a kick and goes to work. Kane drops him with an elbow and turns things around. Kane backs Cena into the corner and drops him with punches. Dueling chants start from the crowd as they take the fight outside of the ring with Kane in control. Cena makes it back in the ring and in limps Kane. Cena goes for the Attitude Adjustment but Kane blocks it and drops him on his head.
Kane continues the assault on Cena and kicks him in the head for a 2 count. Cena fights out of a headlock and trades shots with Kane in the middle of the ring. Kane keeps control and suplexes Cena for another pin attempt. Kane goes back to keeping Cena on the mat. Cena fights out again and they trade right hands before Kane drops Cena with a big uppercut. Kane splashes Cena in the corner and down he goes. Kane charges but Cena hits a drop toe hold and Kane lands on the turnbuckle. Cena goes for a bulldog but Kane shoves him off and Cena lands on the apron. Cena drops Kane over the top rope but comes in the ring to a big clothesline. Kane waits for Cena to get up and goes for the mandible but Cena blocks it. Kane tries to get it applied but Cena holds him. Kane takes Cena down and goes to the top. Kane comes down for a big shot on Cena and calls for the chokeslam. Cena ducks it and hits a shoulder block. Another takes Kane off his feet. Cena with the back drop and then he goes for the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena bends down for the hand gesture but Kane grabs him and lays him out. Kane covers for 2.
Kane takes Cena to the top for a superplex but Cena fights him off. Kane falls to the mat and there's a lot of boos for Cena as he stands on the top and raises his hand. Cena does the gesture and hits a Five Knuckle Shuffle from the top. Cena goes for the AA but Kane blocks it again. Cena takes out Kane's leg. Cena grabs the leg but Kane kicks him out of the ring. Kane follows to the floor and rams Cena into the apron. Kane takes the fight towards the ramp and the match is counted out.
Count Out
– After the bell, Kane and Cena continue fighting up and into the backstage area. Kane hits Cena in the gut with a steel chair and then cracks him in the back with it. Kane continues hitting Cena in the back with the chair and drops it when he sees Zack Ryder's room. Kane kicks the door down and Ryder is kicking in his wheelchair. Kane applies the mandible on Ryder and he passes out in the chair. Kane wheels Ryder out of the room and past a knocked out Cena. Kane wheels Ryder out to the ringside area and dumps him on the floor. Kane puts Ryder in the ring and out comes Eve Torres. She pleads with Kane to stop. Kane grabs Ryder and nails a Tombstone. Cena comes running to the ring but Kane chokeslams him. Kane leaves the ring laughing as his music plays. Eve and WWE referees check on Ryder and Cena in the ring. Ryder is taken away on a stretcher as we go to a "be a STAR" video.
– We get more hype for John Cena vs. The Rock at WrestleMania 28 and a video package looking at The Rock.
Drew McIntyre vs. Brodus Clay
Back to the ring and out comes Drew McIntyre for another bonus match. Brodus Clay's dancers come out and make the introduction before he comes dancing his way to the ring.
A chant breaks out for Clay before the bell. Clay shakes and Drew blows a kiss to his dancers. Drew strikes first and takes Brodus to the corner. Clay just shakes him off and dances. Drew with more offense in the corner but it doesn't phase Clay. Clay comes back with the big overhead suplex and then the splash in the corner. Clay hits "What The Funk" for the win.
Winner: Brodus Clay
– We get a promo video for Triple H's return to RAW tomorrow night and then one looking at tonight's WWE Title match.
WWE Title Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. CM Punk
We go to the ring and Justin Roberts introduces tonight's special referee, John Laurinaitis. He takes the mic and introduces himself to everybody. Laurinaitis says that in the interest of fairness, he will oversee the officiating from outside of the ring. He will leave the officiating inside the ring to a WWE referee and calls for one to come down. Out first comes Dolph Ziggler with Vickie Guerrero. WWE Champion CM Punk is out next to a big pop from the crowd.
Roberts does formal ring introductions. Despite being previously banned from ringside, Vickie Guerrero i allowed to stay. Laurinaitis comes in the ring and stops things. Now Vickie is sent to the back screaming. We get the bell and they lock up. Punk goes for a quick roll-up for 2. Ziggler hits a forearm and goes for a leg drop but Punk counters. Punk goes for GTS and Ziggler counters that.
They go back at it and trade holds. Punk with another pin attempt. Punk grabs Ziggler from behind and locks him in an abdominal stretch while hitting elbows. Ziggler ends up on the floor and Punk dives through the ropes taking him out. They come back in the ring and Ziggler takes control. Ziggler hits a series of elbow drops for another pin attempt. Punk back drops Ziggler and both are down. They get up and Ziggler strikes first. They trade shots now with punches and kicks. Punk gets the upperhand but Ziggler goes behind and applies the sleeper hold. Punk goes to the mat and turns it into an Anaconda Vice. Ziggler counters that and gets on Punk's back with the sleeper. Punk stands up with Ziggler on his back. Ziggler breaks it and dropkicks Punk for 2.
Punk comes out of nowhere with a big sitdown powerbomb for 2. Punk hits the high knee and a swinging neckbreaker on Ziggler. Punk hits the knee in the corner and then the bulldog. Punk calls for GTS but Ziggler counters. Ziggler whips Punk into the corner but he catches himself and comes back with a crossbody for 2. More back and forth action until Pun kicks Ziggler in the head and lays him out. Punk with another 2 count. Punk slams Ziggler and hits a big elbow from the top but Ziggler kicks out at 2. They go back and forth again and Punk gets knocked into the referee. The referee goes out to the floor as Punk and Ziggler go at it. Punk applies the Anaconda Vice but there's no referee as Laurinaitis is checking on the other referee. Ziggler is tapping but there's no referee.
The match continues and Punk gets the pin but again, there's no referee looking. Laurinaitis picks the referee up and rolls him back in the ring. Laurinaitis comes in also and Punk has words for him. They argue as Ziggler comes from behind. Punk grabs him for the GTS. While on Punk's shoulder, Ziggler's leg hits Laurinaitis and knocks him out of the ring. Punk hits GTS and covers Ziggler. Laurinaitis is pissed off and won't make the count. The original referee gets up as Ziggler lays out Punk for a very close 2 count. Ziggler stomps and punches away on Punk until the referee has to back him off. Ziggler goes for his finisher but Punk catches him and catapults him into the corner. Punk nails GTS for the pin and as the referee is counting, John Laurinaitis slides into the ring and counts along with him.
Winner: CM Punk
– After the match, we go to replays. Laurinaitis claps for Punk from the stage as Punk celebrates in the ring with the WWE Title.
– We get a promo video for tonight's 30-man Royal Rumble main event.
30-Man Royal Rumble Match
The Miz is out first as #1. Miz takes the mic and says everyone in the back doesn't think he will make it to the end but they're the same ones who told him he would never do anything in WWE like be WWE Champion. Miz says he will be the last man standing and he will go on to headline WrestleMania 28 because he's The Miz and he's awesome. Out comes Alex Riley as #2.
They go at it and Riley takes control. He tries to eliminate Miz but Miz counters and takes him down in the corner. Miz stomps away at Riley and talks trash. Riley counters and tosses Miz over but he hangs on. Riley charges and Miz dumps him. Riley is eliminated.
Out next comes R-Truth and he tackles Miz. They go at it and Truth hits a kick to the jaw. Truth tries to eliminate Miz but he hangs on. Miz fights his way back in and goes for the Skull Crushing Finale but it's countered. Miz then counters Truth. Truth tosses Miz over again but he hangs on. WWE Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes is out next. He runs in and hits Beautiful Disaster and then drops Truth on his face. Cody holds Truth so Miz can work him over with the double team. Miz holds Truth now.
Cody also hangs on as Truth tries to eliminate him. The next man out is Justin Gabriel. Cody charges and they go at it. Gabriel splashes off the top and takes out Miz and Cody. Gabriel continues the offense and takes out Truth. Cody drops him with a right hand and stomps away. Cody tries to eliminate him but he hangs on. The next man out is one-half of the Tag Team Champions Primo. Primo comes in with offense on everyone and takes Gabriel down with a head scissors. Truth ducks a kick from Cody and takes him out. Miz tosses Truth and R-Truth is eliminated.
Truth pulls Miz out to the floor under the bottom rope and lays him out at ringside. The next man out is Mick Foley. Foley tries to run to the ring and knocks down Primo. Foley works over Primo as Gabriel and Rhodes look on. Foley dumps Primo over the top and Cody attacks. Foley wails away with right hands on Cody in the corner. Foley charges with the knee to the face and hits the double arm DDT. Gabriel and Foley try to eliminate Rhodes but can't get him. The next man out is the returning Alberto Del Rio! A beat up looking car comes driving in but wait. It's Ricardo Rodriguez. He's wearing a scarf and acting like Del Rio. Ricardo makes his way to the ring as Foley, Cody and Gabriel look on. The crowd chants for Ricardo.
Ricardo kicks Cody in the head and wails away on him in the corner. Foley knocks Ricardo down. Ricardo gets up and goes at it with Gabriel. Foley and Ricardo toss Gabriel over and Justin Gabriel is eliminated. Ricardo celebrates and the next man out is Santino Marella. Foley, Ricardo and Santino are in the ring. Ricardo backs down from the Cobra. He charges and Santino backdrops him. Santino with an atomic drop and another on Ricardo. They trade roll-ups and roll all the way across the ring. Santino gives Ricardo a wedgie and tosses him over the top. Ricardo Rodriguez is eliminated.
Foley pulls out Socko as Santino pulls out the Cobra and they square off. The other half of the Tag Team Champions Epico is out next. Santino hits him with the Cobra and then Foley applies Socko. Epico is eliminated. Socko and Cobra lock up as Cody Rhodes and The Miz attack them. Both were still in the match.
Cody tosses Santino over and Santino Marella is eliminated. Foley and Miz go at it. Foley applies Socko but Cody hits from behind and Mick Foley is eliminated. Kofi Kingston is out next.
Kofi comes in and unloads on Miz and Cody. Kofi kicks them both in the head and springboards in, taking both men down. Kofi hits a double Boom Drop and tosses Miz over but he hangs on to the ropes. Cody attacks Kofi from behind and dropkicks him. Cody tries to eliminate Kofi and The Miz comes to help. The next man out is Jerry Lawler. LAwler stands up and takes off his shirt to reveal his ring gear. Lawler comes in and Cody grabs him. Cody holds Lawler for Miz to hit him but Lawler ducks and Miz decks Cody. Lawler hits right hands on both of them and dropkicks. Lawler slams Miz and goes to the second rope. Lawler drops his strap and hits the right hand from the second rope on Miz. Cody comes over and tosses him. Jerry Lawler is eliminated.
Ezekiel Jackson is out at #13. He goes at it with everyone, splashing Kofi and Miz in the corner. Zeke scoops Cody and slams him hard. Zeke stomps on Miz in the corner and goes back to work on Kofi. Zeke with a big sideslam on Kofi. Zeke with body shots on Cody in the corner. The next man out is Jinder Mahal.
Jinder takes his time coming to the ring but takes out Kofi and Zeke when he comes in. The next man out is The Great Khali, making his return. Cole reminds us that Khali and Mahal are brother-in-laws. Khali tosses him and Jinder Mahal is eliminated. Zeke attacks Khali but Khali decks him and tosses him. Ezekiel Jackson is eliminated. Khali works over Miz in the corner as Cody and Kofi go at it. The next man out is Hunico. He rides to the ring on a bike drove by his bodyguard Camacho.
Hunico comes in and goes at it with Kofi but gets dropped by Khali's big chop. Khali drops Kofi now and tries to eliminate The Miz. Miz kicks him off and kicks him in the head. The next man out is Booker T. Booker stands up from commentary and joins the match. Booker drops Cody and goes at it with everyone else. He turns around to Khali and gets dropped by a headbutt. Khali works Booker over in the corner and Cody joins in. Khali grabs Cody and hits him with a massive chop in the corner. Miz tosses Kofi but he hangs on. They trade shots while Kofi is down. Kofi ends up on the floor but does a handstand and walks it all the way to the ring steps. His feet never touched the floor so he is still in the match. Pretty impressive. The next man out is Dolph Ziggler.
Dolph comes in and goes at it with Kofi in the corner while Khali is still working on Miz. Hunico almost gets eliminated but hangs on. Khali drops Ziggler with a headbutt and the next man out is Hacksaw Jim Duggan to a big reaction from the crowd.
Duggan comes in with right hands for everyone as the crowd chants USA. Duggan knocks heads with Cody and Miz to more chants from the crowd. Duggan goes at it some more before Cody clotheslines him over the top. Hacksaw Duggan is eliminated. Khali tries to eliminate Booker T. Ziggler and Cody join in and Booker T is eliminated.
The next man in the match is Michael Cole. Cole takes off his suit and has a singlet on underneath. Cole puts his headgear on and enters the ring to dance around like he's already won. Nobody is even paying him attention. The next person out is the returning Kharma! Kharma comes in and goes right after Cole with a big clothesline. Cole tries leaving the ring and makes it to the apron. Kharma laughs as Lawler and Booker come from behind and knock Cole off the apron. Michael Cole is eliminated. Ziggler tells Kharma to get out of the ring. She responds with an Implant Buster on him. Vickie Guerrero gets on the apron and has words for Kharma but she backs off. Hunico charges and Kharma tosses him over the top rope. Ziggler comes from behind and dumps Kharma to the floor. Kharma is eliminated.
The next man out is Sheamus to a big pop. Sheamus has forearm shots for everyone in the ring. Sheamus slams Ziggler and then Miz. Sheamus with a big back drop on Cody and a kick with punches for Kofi. Kofi ducks in the corner and kicks Sheamus. Sheamus responds by tossing him. Kofi Kingston is eliminated. The next man out is Road Dogg BG James. He comes in with right hands for everyone and hits a big pumphandle slam on Miz. James gets a "you still got it" chant from the crowd. The next man out is Jey Uso. Jimmy is with him but not dressed to wrestle. Uso drops James and hits the splash in the corner on him. The next man out is Wade Barrett. Jack Swagger is also out. #27 comes out and it's David Otunga.
Barrett goes at it with Otunga while Ziggler takes Sheamus in the corner. #28 is Randy Orton and he comes out to a huge pop from the hometown crowd. Orton rns to the rung and runs over a few people with clotheslines before hitting Barrett with right hands. Orton continues the offense and slams Barrett. Orton hits the mat and waits for the RKO but Cody hits him from behind. Orton tosses Cody to the apron and grabs Ziggler. He hits the draping DDT from the second rope on Cody and Ziggler at the same time. Uso grabs Orton but gets tossed for his troubles. Uso is eliminated. Orton hits the RKO on Barrett and tosses him. Wade Barrett is eliminated. #29 comes out and it's Chris Jericho.
Jericho comes in and hits Cody, Otunga and Miz. Jericho goes on and eliminates David Otunga. Jericho goes at it with Ziggler now. Sheamus tries to eliminate Swagger. The #30 man out is Big Show.
Show runs to the ring and Jack Swagger is eliminated. Swagger gets mad and Show knocks him out with a WMD on the floor. Show comes in with chops and headbutts for everyone. He grabs Miz and Cody, eliminating them at the same time. Show eliminates Ziggler next. It's down to Sheamus, Orton, Jericho and Show. They all attack Big Show but he fights them off. Show splashes Jericho and chokeslams him. Orton comes and takes Show down with a big RKO. Show fights Sheamus off but Orton eliminates Big Show. Jericho comes from behind and dumps Orton. Randy Orton is eliminated. It's down to Jericho and Sheamus.
Jericho and Sheamus face off. Jericho points up at the WrestleMania 28 sign. They lock up and go at it. Sheamus runs over Jericho. Jericho goes for a bulldog but Sheamus pushes him off. Jericho hangs on as Sheamus tries to eliminate him. Jericho comes back in with a missile dropkick. Jericho with kicks now. Sheamus catches him with the Irish Curse backbreaker and calls for the Celtic Cross. Sheamus goes for it but Jericho slides out. Jericho clotheslines Sheamus over the rope but he hangs on and comes back to the apron. Jericho with a dropkick from the second rope but Sheamus still hangs on. Jericho tries to kick Sheamus out of the ring but he still hangs on. Sheamus makes his way back in and kicks Jericho in the face. Sheamus scoops Jericho over the rope but he hangs on. Jericho fights back in but runs into a back elbow. Jericho ducks the Brogue Kick and applies the Walls of Jericho.
Sheamus gets to the ropes but Jericho doesn't have to break the hold in the Rumble. He finally breaks it. Jericho charges but Sheamus backdrops him. Jericho hangs on and his feet don't touch the floor. Jericho fights fro the apron and goes to the top rope with Sheamus in hand. Sheamus climbs up and has Jericho positioned for a superplex. They trade shots on the top and both fall down to the apron. They both come back in the ring and Jericho connects with a Codebreaker. Jericho looks as if he's trying to pin Sheamus but realizes there's on pinfall. Sheamus fights back but Jericho kicks him in the gut. Jericho with forearms to the chest now. He tries to dump Sheamus again but he hangs on and comes back in. Jericho slaps Sheamus repeatedly and this angers him. Sheamus shoves Jericho off but misses another Brogue Kick. Sheamus counters the Codebreaker and tosses Jericho but again, his feet don't touch the floor. Sheamus comes back with a Brogue Kick and knocks Jericho to the floor for the win.
2012 WWE Royal Rumble Winner: Sheamus
– After the match, we go to replays and come back to Sheamus pointing at the WrestleMania 28 sign as the pyro goes off. The 2012 Royal Rumble goes off the air with Sheamus posing for the fans.
Continue to refresh this page throughout the evening for the latest results.


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The second day of OSDC started with Larry Wall, the creator of Perl. At first I thought he would ignore the elephant in the room, but all his talk was about Perl 6. He shown the parser and the weird new operators (like "»+«" and no, this is not a mistyping) which means I'll have a harder time trying to understand Perl code. But, on the other hand, their changes on the regular expressions make them a lot easier to use and a lot more logical (well, once you understand the basics of regular expressions.)
After the opening talk, I went to see Joshua May talking about "Going mobile – tips, tricks and tools for building mobile web-apps". He basically summarized all the things I heard the mobile developers talking in the office: It's freaking hard to make something that would work on every mobile. WURFL is here to help with descriptions of capabilities on mobiles. Another very interesting point was the Facebook mobile application which have a special "Call" link on it, 'cause it is easier to call someone than leaving a message and he also suggested that, instead of a "Contact us" form, business should have a "Call us for suggestions" or something around those lines, 'cause, again, it's easier to call someone and tell them about something than typing a message on a phone.
Then it was Ben Balbo with a quick demonstration of how to stream video with a talk about "Streaming the world for free". Basically, only using free software, you have DVgrab to capture video; FFmpeg, VLC and Mencoder to encode the video; HTTP, RTSP, RTMP as streaming protocol; Darwin Streaming Server, VLC, LScube, Red5 and Helix Server as streaming server and VLC, MPlayer and Helix Player as, well, players. On a quick demonstration, he showed the stack of DVgrab, VLC, HTTP, Darwin and QuickTime Player playing a real time video using his laptop. He also demonstrated Kyte.Tv played a video capture from his mobile phone.
The third talk was Silvia Pfeiffer talking about "An open source 'YouTube'". The system they build for the University of Queensland uses the FedoraCommons (not to be confused with the distribution) as the archiver/storage (FedoraCommons can store a lot of stuff, like documents) and they use Fez as a front-end to retrieve that information and display it.
Following her talk, John Ferlito joined Silvia to talk about "MetaVidWiki: When you need a web video solution", which mixes MediaWiki (Wikipedia) with video playing. They also menioned the failed attempt of the W3 Consortium of making Ogg Theora (the free media codec) the default media format for the new <video> tag in HTML 5. As a solution they presented Mv_Embed, which is a Theora-capable player that can work with MetaVidWiki to stream the videos.
After lunch, I went to see Andrew Bennetts talking about "How to make a FAST command line tool in Python" and his experiences with Bazaar. Just to demonstrate where the basic problem is, he run two commands: time python -c "", which basically runs nothing, taking 0.013ms and time python -S -c "import os; os._exit(0)", which doesn't load the site module and forces an "unclean" exit, before the garbage collector can do anything, reducing the run time to 0.008ms. So, basically, the big culprits are imports. For that, both Bazaar and Mercurial have a "lazy import", which is capable of doing the proper imports only when requested. Also, a lot of imports are bad right now, like String module, which imports the regular expression module, which is slow. Also, same goes to urllib, even when you just want to use the encoding stuff there (it loads the socket module, which loads the _ssl modules, which is incredible slow and large to load.) Some suggestions he gave was use PyFlakes to find unused imported modules. Later, in the questions part, I got the sad news that locally importing modules (e.g., doing import inside a function) does not improve the load speed, which means most of my new code in Mitter is bad.
Then I went to see "Managing category structures in relational databases" by Antonie Osanz. He basically explained how to use nested sets in a relational database. I saw nested trees in Uni, but I couldn't understand how that works properly and it seems I stil can't. But basically you keep a left and right information pointing where the element belongs in the set. It makes insert and delete slower ('cause there are more records to be updated than just one) but search is way faster (and the query is incredible simple.)
In the same database line, I went to see Jonathan Oxer talking about "Self-Healing Databases: Managing Schema Updates in the field". His suggestion is basically never run a schema upgrade script, but you code your ORM layer to, in case of error running a query, check for probably upgrades (e.g., table creation script, column creation script), run it and then re-execute the query. Yes, you can have problems of two users trying to access your site just after an upgrade and two scripts running at the same time, but things could probably go fine if you don't capture the error of the upgrade procedure (I'm not sure about data convertion.)
The last talk in the day was "MySQL Optimisation by design" by Arjen Lentz. He mostly talked about the good practices we usually apply. The good stuff, though, came in the little tips. For example, you can add a small C comment inside your SQL query and that comment will appear in your logs. He also suggested that you should worry about replication and write your code thinking about doing requests in a group of servers and updates in another group, so your application is ready to work in a master-slave environment (updates in the server, requests in the slaves.)
And this day I decided to stay around and see the Lightning talks. Honestly, I have a problem with 30 minutes presentations (it's too short) and I was kinda worried about presentations in only 5 minutes. But it was, nonetheless (and yes, I love that word.) Unfortunately, I wrote the name of the presentation but forgot to write down the presenter name. Shame on me. So we had:
- Golly, a Corwin's Game of Life with an impressive size;
- That joke about "if languages where cars";
- Faster Beer, where the presenter make use of Corepy to speed up his Pythton application (I think it was Michael Hudson, but my memory fails me here);
- "So you're a kick ass coder", which pointed how we, as developers, should get more involved in the community;
- "Ladies Get In Free" by Pamela Fox about a suggestion to bring more girls to this kind of conference;
- "SiliconBeachAustralia.org", a developer community;
- "Freeway 2.0 on Zend Framework", which I completely lost 'cause I decided to check something different (sorry about that);
- "Counting Your Users Without Download Statistics", which explains some tactics used to count users using surveys;
- "SQL vs NP", which was a really crazy talk with SQL, first making a text/ASCII-code fractal and then solving the traveler problem using just SQL and PL/SQL;
- "Geek my ride", presented by Jonathan Oxer showing how he did add a computer in the trunk of his car, with power source, Wi-Fi and G3;
- "OSDcLang for Mobile Devices", also by Jonathan Oxer, with a simple, Turin-complete, Brainf**k-like language running on mobile devices — HIS CAR! (see above)

subset: commoncrawl


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NCLB Update
Title I Allocations
NAEP Trends
Drug Testing Grants
End Loan Recycling!
Brief Interruption
Quote to Note
Upcoming Events
NCLB Update (http://www.nochildleftbehind.gov/)
Department staff have been busy reviewing requested changes to No Child Left Behind accountability plans. (The deadline for states to submit amendments was moved from April 1 to June 1 so states could apply for an additional two percent flexibility for testing students with "persistent academic disabilities." That policy was announced in May.) According to the latest data, as of July 12, decision letters had been sent to 17 states approving some of their requested changes. The most commonly approved amendments are:
- using a "confidence interval" to ensure Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) decisions are valid and reliable;
- averaging results across years to look at long-term trends in student achievement;
- identifying districts for improvement only when they do not make AYP in the very same subject for two consecutive years in elementary, middle, and high school; and
- adjusting the percentage of proficient students with disabilities within schools that did not make AYP based solely on their special education subgroup.
Letters for another 30 states are pending, though many have received oral approvals or denials. Indeed, of the 42 states that applied for the special education flexibility cited earlier, 29 have received approval. For more information, please go to http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/letters/. (The Department does not post rejected proposals.)
On July 13, at the Education Commission of the States' (ECS) annual meeting in Denver, Deputy Secretary Ray Simon discussed high school reform, starting with the need for better graduation rate data to make high schools more accountable and to help prevent students from dropping out. And, as a first step, he announced the Department will be calculating an "Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate" for all states, to be published alongside states' currently reported graduation rates. For more information, please go to http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/2005/07/07132005.html.
Title I Allocations
To aid in some key calculations, the Department has published Fiscal Year 2005 Title I allocations by school district. Under the No Child Left Behind Act, school districts must spend up to 20 percent of their Title I, Part A allocation to cover school choice-related transportation costs and pay for supplemental educational services. Districts have some discretion to determine the allocation of funds between transportation and supplemental services, but districts must spend at least one-quarter (five percent) of the 20 percent "reservation" on each activity if there is demand for both. Moreover, for supplemental services, districts are required to pay the lesser of the actual cost or an amount equal to the district's Title I, Part A allocation divided by poor students in the district, as determined by Census Bureau estimates. For more information, please go to http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/titlei/fy05/. (Note that the actual amounts received by school districts will be smaller than shown due to state-level adjustments.)
NAEP Trends
Yesterday, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released new long-term National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data. This unique source of information (separate from the main assessment programs) reports on national trends in reading since 1971 and in math science 1973. Among the findings:
- On average, American nine-year-olds scored higher in reading and math in 2004 than in any previous assessment year. Also, more than half the progress in reading by nine-year-olds has been made in the last five years.
- American 13-year-olds scored higher in math in 2004 than in any previous assessment year. However, reading scores remain unchanged from the last assessment.
- The scores of American 17-year-olds remain unchanged from the last assessment. However, African-American and Hispanic 17-year-olds made progress in comparison to the first assessment year.
- Many of the differences in achievement between African-American or Hispanic students and their white peers have narrowed. For example, the achievement gap between white and African-American nine-year-olds in reading is the smallest it has ever been. Also, over the last five years, African-American and Hispanic 13-year-olds have made significant gains in math.
Other findings: more nine- and 13-year-olds said they are reading more than 20 pages a day for school, and a higher percentage of 13-year-olds were enrolled in algebra than in any previous assessment year. For more information, please go to http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/ltt/. (Secretary Spellings' ECS speech, regarding the data, is available at http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/2005/07/07142005.html. A statement is posted at http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/
Drug Testing Grants
The Education Department and Office of National Drug Control Policy are actively soliciting applications for federal grants for student drug testing programs in schools. This $10 million initiative provides grants to support schools in the design and implementation of programs to randomly screen selected students and to intervene with students whose test results indicate they have used illicit drugs. "Student drug testing, like testing for tuberculosis in schools, saves our children's lives and their futures," said John Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy. "Drug use is down 17 percent over the past three years, but we still have a long way to go, and student drug testing can be an effective tool for local communities." Applications are due on August 16, and grants will be awarded on September 29. For more information, please go to http://www.ed.gov/programs/drugtesting/.
Note: To obtain more information about random student drug testing, the Office of National Drug Control Policy has developed "What You Need to Know About Drug Testing in Schools" ( http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/
drug_testing/) and "What You Need to Know about Starting a Student Drug Testing Program" ( http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/
End Loan Recycling!
On July 8, Secretary Spellings joined House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner in calling on Congress to end a practice, known as recycling, which allows lenders to use the income from loans that receive a 9.5 percent subsidy to then make new loans that also receive the subsidy. At the time the provision was created, access to loans was a significant issue for borrowers; but, today, the market is highly competitive, and the 9.5 percent floor is no longer necessary to ensure access for students. "The President has long supported strengthening protections for student loan borrowers and taxpayers," the Secretary emphasized. "Eliminating these excessive payments on new loans will generate savings that can be used to support 'enhanced benefits for students.'" Specifically, the Secretary and the Chairman called for expansion of the Taxpayer-Teacher Protection Act of 2004, which curbed the growth of loans that received the 9.5 percent subsidy by eliminating the subsidy on new loans stemming from new refinancing of pre-1993 obligations. However, the law did not affect recycling of proceeds from the pre-1993 obligations. For more information, please go to http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2005/07/07082005.html.
Brief Interruption
For the first time since I began publishing in September 1999excepting the transition between administrations in 2001I am breaking ED Review's two week cycle for a vacation. In the interim, I strongly encourage you to visit http://www.ed.gov/ and check the headlines. Also, watch for the August 12 issue of ED Review, which will cover the major activities of the previous month.
Quote to Note
"Three years ago, our country made a commitment that no child would be left behind. Today's [NAEP] Report Card is proof that No Child Left Behind is working. It is helping to raise the achievement of young students of every race and from every type of family background. And the achievement gap that has persisted for decades in the younger years between minorities and whites has shrunk to its smallest size in history. Over half of the progress in reading during the Report Card's entire history has been made in the last five years. It is not a coincidence that progress accelerated so dramatically during this time period. The results are a tribute to students, parents, teachers, principals, school administrators, and state and national policymakers."
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings (7/14/05)
Upcoming Events
On July 20 (1:00-3:00 p.m. ET), the Department's Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII) and Harvard University's Government Innovators Network will co-host a web conference titled "Measuring Teacher Success: Innovative Developments in Assessing Teacher Performance." Guest speakers include Alan Bersin, California's Secretary of Education; professor Ted Hershberg of the University of Pennsylvania; teacher Brad Jupp of Denver Public Schools; Gaynor McCown, executive director of The Teaching Commission; and Lewis Solmon, president of the Santa Monica, California-based Teacher Advancement Program Foundation. To RSVP, send your name, title, organization, and email address to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Credits, Subscribe & Unsubscribe
Please feel free to contact the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs with any questions:
Special AssistantTom Bolvin, (202) 205-3809, email@example.com
Program AnalystAdam Honeysett, (202) 401-3003, email@example.com
To be added or removed from distribution, or submit comments (we welcome your feedback!), please contact Adam Honeysett. Or, visit http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/edreview/index.html.
This newsletter contains hypertext links to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the user's convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. Furthermore, the inclusion of links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed, or products or services offered, on these sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites.


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© 2014 E-ROMA.ORG All rights reserved
The E-ROMA initiative provides a digital platform for entrepreneurs and investors that solves two issues:
- enables the creation of many outsourcing, partnership, investment or practice-based professional learning opportunities;
- promotes a "happy meeting" between opportunities and those willing to be involved.
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|PureDepth And Samsung Showcase LCD Displays With Multi-Layer Display Technology
|Tuesday, 29 May 2007
Inc., a global leader in next-generation display technologies and the
pioneer of multi-layer display (MLD) technology, and Samsung, a global
leader in LCD, semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and
digital convergence technologies, debuted a 46-inch MLD display, the
largest LCD display monitor ever made using PureDepth's MLD technology,
offering a glimpse into the future of television, computer monitors,
and public information and advertising displays.
The LCD display monitor with MLD technology is being shown at the
Society for Information Display conference in Long Beach, Calif., and
easily surpassed the 30-inch monitor that was previously the world's
PureDepth's MLD technology is a layered, multi-dimensional (using real depth between two or more LCD panels) viewing innovation that enables users to simultaneously view two separate fields of data on one monitor. By overlaying two or more separate image planes within a single monitor, PureDepth technology provides true depth of vision that significantly enhances the visual experience with realistic 3D effects, faster response to time-critical data and better assimilation and comprehension of data of any kind.
"We believe Samsung's large format MLD-devices will change the way people watch TV and play video games, while also creating an incredible array of new ways for advertisers to reach consumers," said Fred Angelopoulos, CEO of PureDepth. "MLD technology allows people to see things in real depth, allowing content to grab people's attention like never before. We're thrilled to work with Samsung to bring these vibrant displays to market."
Source: Press Release


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LONDON — Artificial Eye has picked up U.K. rights to Peter Strickland's "Berberian Sound Studio," via its acquisition funding vehicle Curzon Film Rights 2.
The pic, which stars Toby Jones as a sound engineer whose world spins out of control when he works on an Italian slasher movie, will get its world premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival in June.
Artificial Eye previously released Strickland's acclaimed debut "Katalin Varga."
"Berberian Sound Studio" was produced by Illuminations Films and Warp X, with backing from Film4, the U.K. Film Council and Screen Yorkshire.
Foreign sales are handled by the Match Factory.


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Matt Wilkinson and Owen Wright surfing Hudhuranfushi Maldives
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Just thought I'd let you know we had an awesome trip on the Anastasia. They now have surfboard racks on the boat and the Dhoni. The staff were fabulous, boat great and all round we had a great time. I've sent your details to some friends of ours who may contact you in the future. Thanks again for your help.
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- About us
- Blogs
- Funding/Donations
- Challenges
- Chapters
- Papers
- Projects
- Code of Conduct
- Google SoC
- Recent posts
- Security Workshops
AfterGlow cloud has evolved further into another release; with many improvements added to the initial version. With GSoC 2012 approaching an end, we've covered all the additional features we planned for in the second phase of development, post mid-term. Building up on the initial version, this post will run you through the general features and additional improvements covered.
A live demo of this release can be found here: http://andromeda.ayrus.net:8080/ Read more »
With the marking of the mid-term milestone in GSoC 2012, we're happy to announce a first version release of AfterGlow Cloud. After a lot of discussions and review the project seems to be in a good position for an initial release. The project in essential is based on AfterGlow [1], a security visualization tool which facilitates generating visual graphs from data you upload. The tool described at [1] is originally command-line based, the aim of this project, in general is to bring this tool and its options to the cloud -- so as to provide a neat interface for on-the-fly visualizations. Read more »
Since my last post about the Google Summer Of Code 2012 Student Applications deadline closing and sharing some initial student applications statistics, all the GSoC 2012 mentoring organisations have been hard at work reviewing and scoring their student applications. Read more »
After a slower than usual start, this years Google Summer of Code (GSoC) student applications period closed at 19:00 UTC on Friday April 6th, with a major application rush in the last couple of days which kept us busy right up to the deadline! Many thanks to all the interested students who applied, and our mentors and org admins for taking the time to respond to students on IRC, email and through Melange. Read more »
If you have been following our blog you'll know that the Honeynet Project was very happy to have been accepted as a mentoring organization for Google Summer of Code (GSoC) 2012.
If you are a student interested in applying to the Honeynet Project, the student application deadline is 19:00 UTC on Friday April 6th. So with 3 days to go, you need to be planning on submitting your project application vi the Melange system soon. To avoid disappointment, please don't leave your application until the last minute - you can edit as often as you want before the deadline. Read more »
We have just been notified by Google that the Honeynet Project has - once again - been accepted as one of the mentoring organization for Google Summer of Code 2012 (in total 180 organizations were selected). We are very excited and are looking forward to a great summer! Already a big thank you to Google for their continued support!
While student applications are not officially open yet, interested students are encouraged to check out our ideas page and get in contact with us via [email protected] and/or IRC (#gsoc2012-honeynet on irc.freenode.net) in the next few ideas to meet the mentors and discuss project ideas. Student applications officially open on March 26th 2012 and close on April 6th 2012.
We are looking forward to hearing from you!


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Shirtless Guy
Big Thanksgiving bonus for all you Coldplay fans who are hot for Guy Berryman.
Check him out, with his shirt off, after the band's show in Cape Town earlier this week. He is beautiful, non?
Remember when Lindsay Lohan tried to make us think she was his girlfriend? Click here for a refresher.
As IF she didn't turn a chance meeting passing each other down a hallway into the most significant relationship of her life.
(Do you think maybe he did actually just f-ck her meaninglessly one night and she thought they would get married?)
Chris Martin was also in the car.


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Specifications and Features are subject to change without prior notification. Images are used for illustrative purposes only.
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Petraeus to testify behind closed doors on Benghazi Friday
Updated 6:45 a.m. Nov. 15
Gen. David Petraeus will testify before a House Committee on the Libya embassy attack Friday morning, despite the ongoing FBI investigation into an extramarital affair that led to his resignation as director of the CIA.
The hearing to be held by the House Intelligence Committee is closed to the public and the media. Petraeus is expected to answer questions about the CIA's knowledge and handling of the assault on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi that left U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead. Two of those Americans were with the CIA.}
It was unclear at first whether or not Petraeus would testify at all on Capitol Hill at all, after he abruptly resigned from the agency amid news of his affair with biographer Broadwell. On Wednesday, before the House Intelligence Committee's announcement, the Senate Intelligence Committee said the retired General would testify to their committee at a separate hearing, though it's still unclear when he'll speak to the Senate panel.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calf., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Wednesday that Petraeus was "willing and interested" to talk to the committee, CBS News reported earlier Wednesday.
"It's just on Benghazi. Our hearings are on Benghazi and the intelligence that preceded Benghazi and the intelligence that determined security," she told reporters.
Meanwhile, the House Intelligence Committee will hear from him at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, an hour that is extremely uncommon for a congressional meeting.
Congressional investigators get access to telegrams, intelligence reports, and classified emails as they interview top security and Pentagon officials. Sources tell CBS News' Margaret Brennan that intelligence officials will show footage from an unmanned surveillance drone that was overhead during the assault.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which has oversight of the State Department, has already been briefed about the attack by Under Secretary Patrick Kennedy and Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security Eric Boswell.


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Nation & World
FEMA bracing for Arthur's arrival
Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are keeping a close eye on the eastern seaboard as it braces for the pending arrival of Tropical Storm Arthur.
Emergency crews have been dispatched to North and South Carolina and officials are keeping an eye on Florida as Arthur churns off its eastern coast. The system, currently classified as a tropical storm with winds of at least 39 MPH, is expected to become a hurricane by Friday.
FEMA says the storm, the first of the Atlantic hurricane season, should serve as a reminder to residents of the eastern seaboard to stay prepared and refresh on emergency planning strategies. The Agency is urging residents of potentially affected areas to familiarize themselves with evacuation routes and emergency procedures in the event of severe weather.
Tropical storm warnings and watches are currently in effect along both the North Carolina and South Carolina coasts. Forecasters expect conditions to intensify throughout the week.


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5 summer must haves with My Style Pill
As regular devotees of Christine Cameron's blog, My Style Pill, we know that both her closet and her beauty cabinet are fully stocked. But we want to know which fashion items she's currently coveting and which beauty trends she's following for stylish summer fun.
From teal eyeliner to the best mascara for doll lashes and bright pink lips (her shade is L'Oréal Extraordinaire by Colour Riche Fuchsia Orchestra) -- click on the video above to see the five items that made the cut!


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Directions Hammond, LA 70403-3450
Everything on the Ram looks big, yet the truck takes up no more real estate than its competitors. The illusion comes from the shape and the most aggressive grille on the market.
From the outside the Ram looks fairly clean and tidy but some of the badges can get big and gaudy; we asked if the Longhorn badge required door reinforcement and wonder how many pounds could be saved removing them. Re-shaped bumpers (for 2013) are substantial yet more wind cheating, the grilles vary from simple dark colors of base trucks, through horizontal themed Sport, to chrome mesh on top-line trucks. Behind those grilles on some powertrains are shutters that automatically adjust the amount of air going through the coolers.
Some side mirrors stand off from the door glass, the sides are fairly flat, and the tailgate spoiler and windshield are both rounded for improved aerodynamics. Seen from behind where the tires appear almost flush with the body panels, the truck looks quite trim.
There is no large seam between the front bumper and the grille and lights, and models that do not come with fog lights do not have the outline marks in the bumper that show it's missing something. The large rear bumper has half-round openings for the sport exhaust on trucks so equipped, and both seven- and four-pin trailer plugs are fitted adjacent to the rear license plate. The tailgate has a lock (that works with the central locking system) and a torsion bar system that cuts apparent tailgate weight in half for ease of lowering and raising it; lower it slowly to avoid the big thud.
On upper trim-level variants the mirrors have LED puddle lamps and the headlamps are projector-beam units with LED signals; they are complemented by LED brake lights, turn signals and tail lights in the back. Some headlamp housings have RAM molded into the lens or background.
Some versions come with two-tone paint with monochrome an option, a few vice versa. Many have aluminum wheels, where not standard they're optional; some have chrome plated plastic covers while others have painted inserts in different colors.
The RamBox Cargo Management System is now offered many bed/cab configurations. A pickup box with a rectangular interior and no wheel-well intrusions, it measures 49 inches wide inside so it can accommodate a 4×8 sheet of building material flat on the floor. Moving the interior walls inward results in sidewalls with much thicker sections, and in the tops of the two sides of the RamBox are two locking bins, capable of holding 120 standard 12-ounce cans on the left side (where the fuel fill is located) and 130 on the right in short box and up to 143 cans on the 6-foot, 4-inch box, or anything else of that same volume, such as dirty clothes, tools, recovery equipment, fishing tackle and so forth. These boxes have locking lids, drains, lights and 90-degree opening lids; together the volume exceeds that of a 55-gallon drum. You can fill them with ice and beverages for tailgate parties and camping. They might even hold trailer sway control equipment, though the heavy bars may be pushing the weight limits of the boxes. The RamBox has some trade-offs. It reduces total cargo box capacity, adds weight that comes off payload. Because the lids for the cargo bins open upwards, a RamBox is not compatible with camper shells, cargo caps, some bed covers and many racks.
Side rails with cleats secure cargo, and a bed divider that locks into place segments the bed into smaller areas or can be flipped over and used as a bed extender with the tailgate down.
We rank the Ram cabin at or near the top of the class.
The seats come in a durable fabric that you won't stick to you in summer heat or be crusty and chilly in a blizzard. They offer good support and plenty of room. We swapped through a few Ram models back-to-back to compare the trim levels and found the seat in the base model is the same design as in the top-line models, and we had no complaints after a full day of driving.
We also found we could sit in the back of a Quad Cab for 20-minute jaunts, but a six-foot passenger will be happier in a Crew Cab where rear dimensions are essentially the same as the front. The rear seat has a nominal center headrest and a short cushion length, so it's really suitable only for kids, short adults or child seats.
Full instrumentation includes a tachometer, with myriad other data (transmission fluid temperature, etc) in the display between the primary gauges. Lower-line models have an iPod-size display much like the predecessor, while higher lines get a 7-inch display with more than 300 choices in the display/configuration menu. On these trucks one side of the tachometer has further displays inset, and at some point you may find it information overload. Try it for a while, configure to your liking and stick with it is our advice.
Gear shifting is based on model and transmission. Some have a conventional lever on the column, and some a rotary PRND dial on the center dash complemented by small pushbuttons on the steering wheel for gear up/down. The rotary dial is not our favorite (it looks too much like a navigation system controller) but it does free some space and gives the cabin a more open feeling. Displays also vary by screen and whether or not you're shifting or letting the truck do it; one shows a large number in half-tone light, the other letters/numbers along the bottom for gears selected and available. Some of those displays that use half-shade numbers are hard to see with polarized lenses.
Common operating controls such as lights and wipers are on column-mounted stalks, with plenty of redundant controls on the wheel including stereo controls on the back side. The primary switch-bank at the bottom of the center dash has functions along the top (tow/haul mode, stability control, etc.) and comfort (seat heat/ventilation, steering wheel heat) along the bottom. Each of the four dash vents may be closed separately.
Upper models may be ordered with bucket seats and a fixed center console that houses storage areas. The only drawbacks to this arrangement are the loss of one seating position and the space under the central dash. Other trims use a 40/20/40 bench seat, but as in back the center position has a shorter cushion, limited foot space and is best used for compact adults: no youngsters because of the airbags.
With so many trim levels to choose from you should be able to find one that meets your requirements. We found the basic Tradesman quite impressive, not decked out like a Longhorn, but $20,000 cheaper as well. Entry-level pickups long had a tendency to be penalty boxes lacking any amenity beyond a seat cushion and an ashtray (now part of a smoker pack option), but we didn't feel penalized at all in the Tradesman. Plastic door panels are easy to clean and fairly scuff resistant, the standard radio does a good job in light of the budget-conscious price and the low noise levels will calm after a long day with power tools.
As trims and prices rise so too do standard goodies and optional extras. The key goes in the dash on base trucks but others have pushbutton start, and mid-grade trucks add a voltmeter and an oil pressure indicator. A palette of choices for interior materials and colors includes real wood on Longhorn and Limited, and plenty of contrasting colors and matte finishes. The only one that annoyed us was a Laramie console with lots of glare-generating chrome.
The 8.4-inch screen infotainment system on upper models is very good: Lots of choice with no EE degree required. It may be the best of the bunch, currently, vastly superior to the small screen on the Ford models, which is hard to read. The voice-recognition worked quite well, even when trying to confuse it. One thing certain to be a hit with instant-gratification cold-climate residents is the ability to touch the seat and steering wheel heaters to on before wading through the cautions about driving while distracted. The rearview camera image is not as good as what's available from the other brands, however; the image is grainy and jumps, sort of like using a satellite phone to talk to someone on the other side of the planet. But it's a whole lot better than nothing and is useful when parking or hooking up trailers. The rearview camera can also help the driver spot a small child or pedestrian when backing up.
Storage in all models is good, including double glove-boxes or one plus a bin. On the Crew Cab, bean-counters will get bored determining which there are more of: storage areas or Ram logos and badges. On some four-doors you can get under-floor insulated storage compartments, which are a clever idea but, perhaps intentionally, hard to reach from the driving position. The Crew Cab has a pair of AC vents mounted low in back, far from ideal but better than nothing. Coat hooks will handle plastic hangars. Cupholders are in the center armrest, but there are no reading lights in back. The tunnel hump in the floor is just a couple of inches high yet plenty wide enough for the center rider to have both feet on the same level. The Regular cab has a sizable bin behind the seats and anchors for two child seats.
We found we could converse in normal tones at highway speeds back seat to front, with less than average wind, exhaust and tire noise from behind. Both the gas and diesel V6 are free of fatiguing noise and vibrations. Maneuvering a lot at full steering lock is quieter with the electric-assist steering.
The new Ram Laramie Longhorn cabin goes head-to-head with Chevy's Silverado High Country, GMC Denali, Toyota's Tundra 1794 and Ford's King Ranch in a slightly more understated way.
* The advertised price does not include sales tax, vehicle registration fees, other fees required by law, finance charges and any documentation charges. A negotiable administration fee, up to $115, may be added to the price of the vehicle.
* Images, prices, and options shown, including vehicle color, trim, options, pricing and other specifications are subject to availability, incentive offerings, current pricing and credit worthiness.


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THANK YOU SO MUCH for helping to make my ALPHABET CITY campaign a success! Please click on the image to the left to download your rewards.
If you ever decide you want something else, please visit my store. I usually ship within 1 business day of receiving your order. Want to find out what I'm doing now? Sign up for my mailing list, or follow @steplin on Twitter or Instagram.


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Latest News
Egyptians use Muslim Brotherhood crackdown to settle scores
When a bevy of policemen stormed his office last month and arrested four colleagues and him on charges of working for the Muslim Brotherhood, Ahmed, 30, knew he was being arrested under false pretenses: The woman who'd brought the complaint had had a business dispute with Ahmed's landlord, and this was payback. The evidence was thin enough that the prosecutor who'd at first charged Ahmed with terrorism eventually allowed him to post bail and go free.
In today's Egypt, the war against the Muslim Brotherhood, which the government classified as a terrorist organization on Christmas Day, has become an opportunity to settle personal scores quickly – by falsely charging someone with being a Brotherhood member.
Having a beard, as Ahmed and his colleagues do, is all the evidence that's needed.
"If you have a fight with your neighbor, he can wake up and accuse you of being in the Muslim Brotherhood," said Ahmed, a cartoon animator who asked that his full name not be used to avoid further problems. "If you wake up first, you can accuse him of being a Muslim Brotherhood."
The campaign against the Brotherhood already has been polarizing. Hundreds of Brotherhood sympathizers have been killed and thousands detained in a government-imposed crackdown that's remade Egyptian politics since the ouster last summer of Mohammed Morsi, the Brotherhood leader who became the country's first democratically elected president.
The government is doing everything it can to encourage average citizens to report Brotherhood members, with state television repeatedly broadcasting numbers people should call to report their suspicions.
The fallout, however, goes far beyond politics. It's even played a role in domestic disputes.
Because a beard for Islamists is a sign of piety, bearded men have paid a special price, with not only police but also average citizens feeling empowered to hurl insults at them.
The woman who brought the charges wanted to rent the apartment Ahmed used as an office to expand her gym. When she couldn't reach terms with the landlord, she filed charges with the prosecutor that Ahmed and his colleagues were working on behalf of the Brotherhood. Ahmed and his colleagues spent a month in prison before being released on $7,142 bail, pending a trial, the date for which is still to be set. Police still have Ahmed's computer, and his office is sealed.
State news media reported the case of a man who called state security on his wife, whom he accused of being a Brotherhood member, and a Muslim cleric issued a religious ruling that said men could divorce their wives if they were jailed for Brotherhood associations.
The widespread detention of those falsely accused is creating a jail system overwhelmed with prisoners held in appalling conditions, often alongside jihadists, as well as murderers and other major criminals.
Islamists, especially younger ones, have told McClatchy they're embracing violence in retaliation for the arrests, abuse in prison and their branding as terrorists, with Facebook pages emerging almost daily calling for a violent reaction.
During his monthlong stay in prison, Ahmed said, he was among 230 prisoners in a cell built for 70. At times he was forced to sleep standing up, bribing others for a shift to sleep sitting down.
Ahmed said he survived in jail by embracing the religious rhetoric propagated by fellow inmates.
"The worst thing in these kinds of jails is the criminals inside. They like to hear about God. We talked about God. That is the only reason we were treated well," he said.
Ahmed had rented office space for his computer animation company in May. Next door was a woman who owned a gym and was eager to expand the space into his apartment. She approached the owner, who said the apartment had been rented and proposed a site at another apartment building in a joint venture with her.
They initially agreed. The landlord gave the gym owner $7,000 as a down payment, and he claimed the woman ran off with the money. He went to the police and charged that she was running a prostitution ring out of the gym. The police came and shut down the gym. She retaliated and said he was renting the apartment next door to Brotherhood sympathizers.
On Jan. 7, the police stormed Ahmed's office. They found five men with beards.
Ahmed's wife, Nahla, recalled what happened. "I kept calling, five, six times, and he never answered," she said. Later, a colleague of Ahmed's partner called to say they'd been arrested.
The police took the computers, the company's money and the men to the station.
"They accused us of being Muslim Brotherhood and they accused us of keeping devices for the purpose of broadcasting false news on Al Jazeera. They said we want to overthrow the government. And they said we produce movies and cartoons against the government," Ahmed said.
Inside the prison system, "we were considered political prisoners. Before, they used to keep political prisoner separate but because there are so many in jail, we had to be put together," he said.
To be sure, Ahmed, while not a member of the Brotherhood, had been a Morsi supporter. He joined the 2011 uprising that led to the fall of then-President Hosni Mubarak and in 2013 went to Rabaa, where supporters of Morsi staged a two-month sit-in calling for his reinstatement to office, before security officials violently broke it up, killing roughly 1,100 people.
"We did not like (Morsi's) attitude or performance but he was elected," said Nahla. "He has to do his four years as long as he doesn't make a big mistake."
To reach his wife, Ahmed used a cellphone that criminals charged with drug dealing had sneaked into prison. Others sneaked in hash to bribe the guards."The first time he called, he was OK. We were really happy. He said he was sleeping in a good place. He asked for food, clothes and information about what the lawyer was doing," Nahla said.
The prison reached its capacity, Ahmed said, around Jan. 25, the third anniversary of the uprising, when thousands protested either on behalf of or against the government, leading to a surge of arrests.
In their phone calls, Ahmed discouraged his wife from visiting. She wears a niqab over her head and face, the female symbol of piety, and Ahmed feared that she'd be harassed at the prison.
A lawyer secured Ahmed's release on bail a month later, as officials sought to empty their prisons of those who pose no threat.
"They know our case is fake, so that got us out," Ahmed said.
But with no office or computers, Ahmed and his other colleagues cannot work. Ahmed said he hadn't confronted the woman for fear she'd issue new charges against him.
These days, he largely stays at home.
"We sometimes think we should leave the country. How will he go back to work? What if they go someplace and someone complains about him again?" asked Nahla. "Every day we think this has to end, the regime, but we don't know how that will happen."


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ESPN's Jeannine Edwards started her TV career as an in-track host at Pimlico and Laurel in the early 1990s.
"It allowed me to learn television, because I came from a background of training horses and had no TV experience," she says. "So I owe a lot of my success and a debt of gratitude to the people in Maryland for giving me a start."
Edwards, who still calls Maryland home, is covering the Preakness for ESPN and ABC this week. Her reports will start appearing Friday on the sports channel and continue through the weekend.
I sat down with the 48-year-old sportscaster last week to talk about her coverage plans, the Preakness, horse racing in Maryland and her role at ESPN that has grown over the years to include sideline reporting and coverage of college football and ACC basketball.
What are your plans in terms of Preakness coverage?
I'll be working to provide our studio shows with reports and features from the Preakness as I did at the Derby. Our actual on-air coverage doesn't start until Friday. I'll be putting together a piece on the Derby winner, I'll Have Another, and his $5 million good-luck charm, which is his lead pony, Lava Man. And then, we'll do live shots on Saturday and a piece after the race.
How many Preaknesses have you either witnessed and/or covered?
Oh gosh, I want to say at least the last 16 or 17.
What do you think of it as a race and an event?
As an event that we cover, the Derby is extremely stressful. It's just such a spectacle, 20 horses, lots of stress. And if you've ever been to Churchill Downs, it's enormous. The venue is just vast, and it takes forever to get from Point A to Point B.
So, when you then come to the Preakness two weeks later, everybody can just take a deep breath and relax – and everything is so much more fun and easier. All the horses are all in one barn. You can easily walk from the barn into the track. The parking's right there. It's the exact opposite of Churchill. And this is no disrespect to Churchill, because they put on a one-of-a-kind event that is one of the greatest sports icons in American sports history.
But with the Preakness, you just have this down-home, relaxed, fun atmosphere, but you're covering a great, great race with 137 years of history of the Preakness as part of the Triple Crown, and it's all rolled into one, so it doesn't get much better than that.
And as a spectator to watch, the Preakness is just so much fun, because the venue is so intimate. You feel like you're right there among the jockeys, you're getting up close and personal with the horses. It's just a great, intimate feeling and there's just nothing like when the horses go in that gate for the Preakness and the crowd roars. If that doesn't give you goose bumps, nothing will.
What's your sense of horse racing in Maryland in general? Do you feel it is in some jeopardy? You live in Maryland, don't you?
I live in Cecil County in the Fair Hills area. ... When I first moved to Maryland, which is about 17 years ago, it seemed as though the future of Maryland racing was up in the air even back then, because there were discussions of Pimlico as to how it needs to be renovated, we don't have the money, we need slots. And this discussion has been going on the last 15 years, and very little has changed.
Although, you know what, very little seems to have changed, but when you dig beneath the surface, a lot has changed -- and not for the better. Betting handle is down, I think, in the last six years or so, 55 percent on live races in Maryland.
Now, the racing dates have decreased, and that's part of it. But more telling for me and what is more indicative of the future of Maryland racing is the number of thoroughbred foals born in the state. There is less than a third of the number being born in the state than there were 20 years ago. To me, that's the most telling, because those foals represent the future of the sport of racing in Maryland.
So, on the surface, while it looks like not a lot has changed – and it hasn't because when you go to Pimlico, everything pretty much looks the same – underneath it's disturbing.
That's interesting, because for a casual observer like me, when I drive north out of Baltimore, I see all this gorgeous land, white fencing and think, "Wow, this is real horse country." But it isn't so much the case anymore, is it?
No, and it's sad. It's so picturesque. I'm a lover of open space and preserving what open space is left. And, unfortunately, with a lot of these horse farms and breeders going elsewhere, what you see are these gorgeous farms being chopped up and sold off. And that's the reality of the economic times in which we live.
Can you talk a little about what you did as an in-house TV host at Pimlico and Laurel in your early days?
I was the person on-camera in the paddock making selections and talking about the horses before each race, which is not only for the in-house fans, but also for the simulcast signal being sent out across the country.
So, I did that on a part-time basis, and actually the Maryland Jockey Club has been very good to me, because they allowed me to work there part-time while I was also doing ESPN work that would take me away. And they were so accommodating with my schedule. So, I feel at home here.
OK, let me ask you a philosophical question. From everything I read about you, it seems as if you are a true animal lover. And I consider myself an animal lover, too. And I get the beauty of horse racing and the epic nature of it and the way it resonates with some of the deepest places in our psyche. But, as I wrote in a preview of the HBO horse-racing drama, Luck, I hate seeing animals made to perform for our TV entertainment. And in the making of that show, horses died. And I just think that's so wrong.
Me, too. Yes. I'm on Twitter, and somebody said to me in connection with the show, 'Well, we kill animals for food, so what's the problem with the TV show?' And I tweeted back, I said, 'We have to eat. But horses should not be giving their lives for entertainment purposes.' I mean, I have a problem with people who hunt. Hunting for sport is so wrong on so many levels. OK, way back when, the cavemen, yes, we had to hunt to eat. But going out and hunting for the sake of saying you shot a bear is barbaric, and it's almost beneath [being] human because we don't need to do that any more.
But here's my parallel question…
I know, how do you reconcile horse racing with your love of animals?
Yes, what do you say to people like me who ask you that?
I fell in love with horse racing when I was 12 years old – I wanted to be a jockey. I was so consumed with just the beauty, the athleticism, the nobleness of the athletes, the thrill of competition. And I started working at the track as a hot walker when I was 16 years old. So, I fell in love with this sport a long time ago ...
Now over the years, getting more involved in the business and eventually training on my own, you see some aspects of horse racing as a business on a daily basis, and you try to be objective about it. I hope I've covered the sport objectively in my 15, 16 years for ESPN. And I believe I have. ... But I still am in love with horse racing ...
I think back to my early years. When people say to me, 'Those were the good old days,' for me, those early years in horse racing were the good old days, some of the best times of my life. Being out early in the morning on a race track, galloping horses, it's so peaceful and quiet, it's just you and the horse. And there's just nothing like it. I miss those days.


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chefbuba I'm kind of partial to the ones that I serve.......Beer battered, nice and crispy.
Heartbreaksoup I enjoyed some really surprisingly good rings at Skip's Chicago Dogs in Avondale Estates GA last week. They had that really nice beer-battered crunch and were fried just a little darker than "golden brown," but they went just perfectly with their Vienna Beef dogs.
falco May I suggest the onion rings at the Grant Bar in Millvale, Pa? Really, just outside Pittsburgh City Limits-they are outstanding, and I believe they use the same coating with their signature Butterfly shrimp. Falco
phatphil popeyes chicken makes awesome rings
Heartbreaksoup The Varsity indeed has some excellent rings, but I think the best you can currently find are the rings at Pizza Palace in Knoxville. Then again, I have not yet been to the Beacon. Does anyone else remember the Atlanta-based Mighty Casey's chain of hot dog/hamburger restaurants? My parents confirm my memory that their rings were even better than the Varsity's.


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Deep down inside, we all know it: It's inevitable, this living, breathing, beautiful, multipart machine, the human body, is — at some point, somewhere — going to break down.
We've all heard the warnings, the doctors' admonitions to get brave and submit to any one of an array of screenings, but too many of us brush them off — thinking, "Not me. I'm immune." Or maybe we're scared silly.
Well, here are just a few medical realities to ponder, to make you think twice about putting off those routine screenings. The goal is happier endings.
Heart disease
What you should know: Of the more than 400,000 Americans who died of a heart attack in 2008, a full 50 percent had no prior symptoms of heart disease, says Dr. John Gordon Harold, vice president of the American College of Cardiology, clinical professor of medicine at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, and a practicing cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles.
What you can do: Harold says that one of the most vexing issues in the field of cardiology over the last decade has been the subject of screening for patients with no signs of heart disease.
Common sense rules here. If you've got enough risk factors — family history, you've been a smoker, you're overweight, have high blood pressure or elevated "bad" cholesterol (LDL, or low-density lipoprotein) — make an appointment with a trusted cardiologist, who will do a thorough medical history and prescribe the screening plan that's right for you. If you get on the proper treatment plan, you can significantly lower your future risk of heart attack or stroke, possibly by more than 20 to 30 percent, Harold says.
Cervical cancer
What you should know: Globally, cervical cancer is a major health problem, with a yearly incidence of 371,000 cases and an annual death rate of 190,000 women, according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). It's estimated by the National Institutes of Health that 50 percent of the women diagnosed with cervical cancer each year have never had a Pap smear, and another 10 percent had not been screened within five years of the diagnosis, says Dr. Jessica Shepherd, a member of ACOG's Committee for Gynecologic Practice.
What you can do: When a woman turns 21, she should have Pap smears every two years during her 20s, according to the latest ACOG recommendations. When a woman turns 30, she can be screened every three years as long as she's had three consecutive negative (or clear) Pap tests, and no history of abnormal Pap tests or findings of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the past. However, women with certain risk factors and health issues might need more frequent screenings. Pap smears are recommended until a woman is 65, as long as she has had three normal Pap tests in a row and no abnormal results in 10 years. If a woman has had a hysterectomy, she should continue on the same schedule, unless her cervix was removed.
Colon cancer
What you should know: The survival rate for colon cancer diagnosed at Stage 1 is 74 percent, according to the American Cancer Society. The survival rate for Stage 4 colon cancer is 6 percent. It can take anywhere from eight to 10 years for symptoms to arise, and for polyps to grow cancerous, so early detection is your best bet, when the cancer is considered highly curable.
What you can do: If you have no family history of colon cancer, and no symptoms, celebrate your 50th birthday with a colonoscopy. If it's clean, with no signs of suspicious polyps — and no onset of symptoms down the road — you can wait another 10 years before the next scope. Once you hit 75, the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends no routine colon cancer screenings anymore, and no screening at all once you're over 85.)
Deep down inside, we all know it: It's inevitable, this living, breathing, beautiful, multipart machine, the human body, is — at some point, somewhere — going to break down.


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Sunday Sweets: Disney
Salaga-doo-la, menchika-boo-la, Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo! Put them together, and what have you got?
You've got some magical Disney cakes coming your way, that's what!
Now quick, close your eyes. What's the first thing that pops into your head when you hear the words Disney icon?
Was it Mickey Mouse?
Submitted by Patricia K. and made by Cake Occasions
Of course it was!
(Hey, you didn't even close your eyes, did you?)
(Because I can tell when you're lying.)
(In fact, you could say it's as plain as the nose growing on your face.)
By Le torte decorate di Beatrice
(I am SO GOOD at segues.)
Don't worry, though, I could never stay mad at that sweet wide-eyed face for long. And those rosy cheeks! The fondant candles are an ultra-cute touch, too. Why aren't there more fondant candles on cakes? Way neater than the real thing, in both senses of the word.
But let's talk about lying some more. For instance, if you say Fantasia is your favorite Disney movie of all time, you are probably lying. In fact, I just did a quick poll of my Facebook friends. Zero percent liked Fantasia the best. Granted, I got 17 total responses, but still.
Still, Fantasia in cake form? Freaking. Amazing.
By Cake Lava
I want to frolic in those frothy waves!
Look at the water pouring out of the buckets! Beautiful.
Shhh. What's that sound?
[Tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock ...]
Did you hear that?
I think it must be time to sink our teeth into some action and adventure, Neverland-style!
Awww, this cake gives me happy thoughts.
And let's not forget a Disney legend in her own right: Mickey's main squeeze, Minnie! Here's a fun homage to Miss Mouse:
By Erin H.
Polka dots and ruffles are a winning combination, any way you slice it.
Or bite it!
Submitted by Karen B. and made by Zoey Cakes
And if those ears are made with Thin Mints, as I suspect, then this cute little confection just entered a whole 'nother stratosphere of awesomliciousness. Mmmm.
Plenty of cuteness is happening down in the Hundred Acre Wood, too.
See kids, this is why you want to hire a professional. I can't even imagine the travesties that would occur if you called up your local wreckery and ordered a "Pooh cake." (Wait. Actually, yes I can. Thanks, Jen!)
Here's one of my favorite scenes from Cinderella, cake-ified:
So much detail here, plus some gravity-defying construction: How is the little bird hovering mid-flight off the side of the cake? And how on Earth is that mouse's head staying upright on that tiny neck?!
One more question: How can I get myself invited to some of these Disney-themed birthday parties? Seriously.
Submitted by Mitushi B. and made by Jen The Cookie Chick
I think I'm in love with the Goofy hat tier, but it's nice to see Pluto getting a subtle nod, too!
Nothing subtle about these cookies, though:
Submitted by Nancy H. and made by Katie's Something Sweet
Sheesh, Cinderella, if you love Prince Charming so much, why don't you marry him?
Oh, wait...
Now this is incredible:
I have no words. I do have some gasps of awe and half-grunted sentences, though: "That is...I mean just look at... woah!" "How did...who could...?... wow!"
I hope these Disney cakes made all your wishes and dreams come true! Or at least made you Happy, and not Grumpy.
Or Sneezy, because I would really hate for you to be allergic to cake.
That would bite.
(Ha! Get it? Like the poisoned apple?)
(Oh, never mind.)
Have a Sweet to nominate? Then send it to Sunday Sweets [at] Cake Wrecks [dot] com.


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Orange cop suspended, facing federal investigation in shooting death of U.S. Marine hero
Editor's Note: The Examiner has obtained a copy of the 38-page document filed by Orange Police Chief Sam Kittrell outlining the findings of his internal investigation into the shooting death of James Whitehead, a decorated U.S. Marine by off-duty police captain Robert Arnold, following a verbal disturbance. Kittrell's report has been reprinted in its entirety in order to provide readers with an accurate sense of what occurred on the day the unarmed man was killed. Robert Arnold, a captain with the city of Orange Police Department, who shot and killed a decorated U.S. Marine during an verbal disturbance at the O'Reilly Auto Parts store in July, has been indefinitely suspended and is now facing a federal civil rights investigation, The Examiner has confirmed. Orange Police Chief Sam Kittrell filed a 38-page document outlining the findings of his internal investigation into the shooting and concluded that Arnold violated a number of departmental policies and procedures, including that by Arnold's "failure to take appropriate actions you (Arnold) placed yourself and others in jeopardy and as such your actions reflected unfavorably on you as a professional police officer." Arnold also used a weapon that was neither registered with the department nor that was used to qualify with in firearms proficiency, as well as, using deadly force with a weapon that he was not authorized or permitted to carry, according to Kittrell's internal investigation. The news of the indefinite suspension, which has the effect of termination, but under the Texas Local Government Code, police officers and fire fighters facing indefinite suspension have the right to file an appeal within 10 days. According to Local Government Code Section 143.120, "Except as provided by Section 143.1015(g), if a suspended fire fighter or police officer appeals an indefinite suspension to the (civil service) commission, the commission shall hold a hearing and render a decision in writing within 30 days after the date it receives notice of appeal (b) In a hearing conducted under this section, the department head is restricted to the department head's original written statement and charges, which may not be amended. (c) In its decision, the commission shall state whether the suspended fire fighter or police officer is: (1) permanently dismissed from the fire or police department; (2) temporarily suspended from the department; or (3) restored to the person's former position or status in the department's classified service." Additionally, Robert Hobbs, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, confirmed for The Examiner that Arnold's case had been referred to the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division in Washington D.C. for investigation. "The fact is that an investigation would be triggered in this sort of instance, almost routinely," Hobbs said. "We have made the proper referrals to the civil rights division in Washington D.C. and we will be overseeing the matter. "We have been presented what purports to be a copy of the (Texas) Ranger's file and now the FBI will conduct an investigation and we will see where it goes." Hobbs said the process of a federal civil rights investigation is not fast-moving but it is very thorough.


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