text:
|Forum Rules
|Firearms Safety
|Firearms Photos
|Lost Password
|Email Changes
|Today's Posts
|Mark Forums Read
|Thread Tools
|Search this Thread
|August 4, 2013, 08:07 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: January 7, 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 596
Willpower and decisiveness are more important than training. I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority of armed citizens who fight back have very little training. The Armed Citizen is full of such stories.
Unfortunately in the case of the Petit home invasion, dad was taken out early with a fractured skull and mom probably though she would give them what they want and they would go away.
|August 5, 2013, 12:04 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: February 20, 2011
Posts: 654
Watched the documentary.
Two career criminals. One of the burglars liked to use night vision goggles, he would rob victims while they slept, then stick around and visit every bedroom because he enjoyed listening to people breathing.
Scary stuff.
Lessons to be learned:
1. Just because its an affluent area doesn't mean the crooks don't know that, generally they follow the money. Be alert and prepare accordingly.
2. Carry a gun, if either adult had a mousegun (and the will to use it) the outcome could have been different.
3. Unlikely, but LE may not save you, in this case they had a half hour, but did nothing but establish a perimeter, while they heard a female screaming... the 48 yr old was brutalized, strangled, raped, the 17 and 11 year olds were brutalized, molested, tied up, gasoline poured on them and burnt alive... and the police response?
No knock on the door, no phone call, no bull-horn, no crashing thru the front door. 3 females murdered, waiting to be saved.
4. The overall lesson is that you are king and/or queen of your castle, and you must protect your family.
Even a small pocket handgun can save you.
For 20 years the sea was my home, always recall the sun going down, and my trusty friend, a 1911 pistol, strapped to my side.
|August 7, 2013, 09:47 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: July 14, 2006
Location: FL
Posts: 129
EPIC FAIL. Why on earth would anyone believe a criminal? Assuming you'll be killed shines a different light on the situation. As Ayoob has said in the past... "Hope is not a strategy"
|August 7, 2013, 10:11 PM
Junior member
Join Date: May 1, 2010
Posts: 5,797
The full story...
I agree100%.
Don't be swayed by a sad sack story or believe every bit of information you may hear from some person you just meet or may encounter on the street.
I've done LE & security work long enough to avoid those pitfalls.
About 6 years ago, I was doing a armed security post at a low end hotel, I had contact with a younger guy(mid 20s) who claimed his vehicle was "stolen" from a local Walmart lot & "abandoned" in the hotel parking lot.
The windshield was smashed in & there was blood on the auto glass.
The guy was amped up & was very "upset" .
A state trooper who did the traffic investigation later informed me the young man & his girl-friend(a corrections officer) lied to cover up a hit & run!
The driver hit a woman on the street & drove the damaged vehicle to the hotel property. The couple then called LE saying the car was stolen.
The victim was in a ICU .
The guy's "act" almost worked but neither the state trooper or me would buy it.
|August 7, 2013, 11:03 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: July 14, 2006
Location: FL
Posts: 129
Nice... there is an alley behind my home where we set the trash out. 6:45AM I am rolling the can to the curb and 2 guys were walking toward me. One asked, "hey whats in the can". I backed up and smiled, put my right hand in my pocket and said, "trash"... their reply was a soft laugh and a "that's cool"... corrected their path and kept on moving. I didn't have anything in my pocket but I do know body language can speak louder than words.... especially when words might be inappropriate for that moment.
Another interview happened in front of my house in the afternoon. A man dressed in a white suit was telling me a story about his transmission going out and needing money for a bus. I'll bet I told him 4 times I didn't have any money but would be happy to call 911 so they could assist him. He DID NOT want me calling 911.
These people are unbelievable. Even the slightest bit of assertiveness with these d-bags can be the line between being a victim and not being a victim.
Last edited by Evan Thomas; August 7, 2013 at 11:08 PM. Reason: enough with the stereotyping.
|September 16, 2013, 10:06 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: January 29, 2005
Location: Orlando FL
Posts: 1,804
We live in a fairly affluent area, Dr. Phillips. There are more than one Publix, I love Publix. Very clean, prices are reasonable.
I carry always. My Wife has just received her FCCL, but does not carry. She shoots Glock's well.
This happened about 6 months ago, I have posted this incident before. Not sure if I did here?
My Wife shopping (we have been married 20 years) me reading a Library book in the Jeep.
Call from my Lovely Wife.
"I am being followed around the store by two young black guys, pants at half mast, under pants showing" "And the neither one has a cart, or basket"
I told her I would park close to the far left door, the right one from her coming out. My exact advise. "I will be standing behind the Jeep, you walk normally till you exit, then speed up, don't run, keep close to the wall, do not look behind, or at me, no matter what happens"
She was amazing! She came out, lengthened her stride, and moved smoothly along side the wall, towards some carts.
These two were 4 or 5yds behind her. Nothing in their hands. The one on my left was looking at my Wife, the one on the right, scanning!
The scanner spotted me! Shirt undone, Glock 19 on my right side, not showing (yet) he grabbed his pals arm, they ran across the parking lot, to the street.
Their ride was just behind me!
I know I could have done this, that, and the other. I did not do anything but be ready to shoot them, just me involved, I have involved other people in my self defense before, I like just me, I know what I was going to do.
Distance to these young Gentlemen, from my shoes, 7m. Behind them, a concrete wall.
I did tell the Manager next time we went there? Ho Hum, my Jeep has the name of my Sons Security Company all over it. Good advertising!
Been in and out of that store for ten years, no incident prior to this.
|September 18, 2013, 05:03 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: June 18, 2004
Location: Central Ohio
Posts: 2,568
Just to prove people do not think, . . . this morning I went to my son's house he is in the process of selling.
I was supposed to do two things: mow the lawn, . . . let in the water quality guy to take samples for the realtor.
I mowed the lawn and waited too long, . . . called the realtor, . . . they came over, apologizing profusely for the delay.
Got the water people on the phone, . . . "He was there, home owner let him in, he's on to another site".
After some heated discussion, . . . found out the dude went to a different address up the street, . . . knocked on the door, . . . and in fact the home owner did let him in, . . . escorted him to the sink, . . . got his sample, . . . at a home that had no reason, no appointment, no logical explanation for the water quality test.
But the guy showed up with a bottle, cllipboard, and uniform, . . . waltzed right in.
Won't never happen at my house.
May God bless,
If you can breathe, . . . thank God!
If you can read, . . . thank a teacher!
If you are reading this in English, . . . thank a Veteran!
|September 18, 2013, 05:20 PM
Junior member
Join Date: May 1, 2010
Posts: 5,797
Off topic(but related)....
Doing security work in a few resorts/hotels/extended stay places, I can honestly tell you how easy it is to get personal information, vehicle information, even room keys from some poorly trained staff or front desk clerks.
Many of these employees are hourly wage earners or lack the critical thinking skills to deal with security/safety related issues.
Don't think Im being smug. A few are sharp & are pro-active but those hotel employees mostly move into high-end chains or concierge type positions/mgmt.
As a security officer I constantly had to "educate" some clerks about not giving out personal details or being lax. Some guests could care less about personal security but many would be concerned about their hotel rooms.
Years ago, around 2003 or so, I dealt with a wierd guy who was stalking a young woman from a AMTRAK station to the hotel lobby. He became irate but left the property w/o incident.
In a more recent event, 2011, I worked in a low end hotel where a strange guy was following a few female guests around late at night. I had the guy removed.
CCTV systems help but being alert/careful is smart if you travel often.
|February 22, 2014, 01:42 AM
Junior member
Join Date: May 1, 2010
Posts: 5,797
HBO doc....
Watched the entire doc on a HBO Go format.
Id highly suggest it to any license holder, gun owner or anyone who's looking into a home defense plan.
It's a tough video to watch but it puts a lot of things into context.
Home security weapons or plans may not be perfect but it might give you a decent edge or a better change to prevail.
|February 22, 2014, 12:11 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: April 21, 2012
Posts: 247
Have a bedside lock box and a dining room (center of my first floor) lock box. I have 2 young girls who I am constantly wrestling around and giving piggy back rides. I don't think they would ever pull a concealed trigger, but I like not having to worry about smashing it into their bodies while we play either.
Also have my long guns in my basement. So there is no floor in my house that is not armed. Not perfect, but I am as prepared as I want to be at this point. I also do not open the door without inspecting the knocker from another vantage point. Meter man without a truck, "give me your office number and manager's name to call and ask." Solicitors are not entitled to me opening my doors. I open the blinds to talk and have hand on gun for any suspicious moves on their part.
|February 22, 2014, 02:37 PM
Join Date: February 12, 2001
Location: DFW Area
Posts: 23,123
Do you know about the TEXAS State Rifle Association?
|February 23, 2014, 03:53 AM
Join Date: January 3, 2005
Posts: 23
It was more than anything else,
First, the paucity of ability to quickly grasp what was happening, a lack of focus on what the most likely end results would be if left uninterrupted, and the lack of cognitive skills to find solutions to disrupt the desired end results of the perpetrators.
Second, they did not have the intestinal fortitude to fight, or did not muster this will until it was too late (see #1 above), if at all.
Third, they did not have access to those tools or skills associated with those tools to repel those animals.
If you (anyone reading this) had to choose only one of these four things, which would you rather have?
1. Ability to quickly make good/accurate threat assessments
2. The will to fight, to win
3. The tactics and skills to win a fight
4. The tools.
If you could only have two, which two?
If you needed to leave home without one, which one?
See you all in another couple of years.
NYC Drew.
|February 23, 2014, 06:59 AM
Senior Member
Join Date: September 27, 2008
Posts: 121
i used to live in ct--less than 10 miles from cheshire. i know the family personally. got to tell you i have never been so disgusted in my entire life. political correctness killed these women.
|February 23, 2014, 12:22 PM
Junior member
Join Date: May 1, 2010
Posts: 5,797
The root cause of the murders....
In my view(and it's a point made by others), the family could have been rescued or at least had a strong chance of being saved if the local PD officers went straight into a "active shooter" role. They could have made entry when they heard the female screams.
One of the subjects even said he saw "faces in the grass" from inside the home. He knew law enforcement were out there & that they had to leave the property immediately.
The local PD did engage & arrest the subjects as they fled but the murders/arson/damage was already done.
The film states the approx time between the 1st 911 call to law enforcement & the actual contact between LE & the 2 subjects was 31 minutes.
The mayor appears in the doc but no police officers/supervisors from the Chesire CT police dept would go on camera.
I'd add that IMO, the family was not prepared for a violent crime nor were they armed properly. I wouldn't say it's fair to be critical of the father(who was beaten with a bat & restrained) to not have the defense skills or weapons. Petit was a medical doctor, a healer, he wasn't prepared to fend off a home invasion.
|February 24, 2014, 09:36 AM
Senior Member
Join Date: May 8, 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 3,703
|February 24, 2014, 10:17 AM
Junior member
Join Date: May 1, 2010
Posts: 5,797
Mindset, motivation....
My point is that Dr Petit gave me the impression(as limited to his remarks/statements in the film) that he wasn't in the frame of mind to be armed or to own-carry guns.
I don't know him & it's not really fair or prudent to assume what Dr Petit would(or would not) do with any weapons in the attack but the entire incident goes to show that no one should be lax or compliant in today's world.
|February 24, 2014, 11:38 AM
Join Date: March 11, 2006
Location: Upper US
Posts: 21,761
With a somewhat similar origin, the film "Law Abding Citizen" starts with a home invasion. 2 bad guys, family tied up, beaten, raped, murderd wife & child, husband left for dead, but survives, barely.
Unfortunately, the guy who's family they murder turns out to be one of those super competent guys who used to do nasty things in other places for an un-named govt agency....(which is a big plot hole, how they bad guys get the drop on him to start with...)
Anyway, he recovers and go on to get very brutal revenge on the killers. While wrong, we kind of root for him, until his revenge expands to include everyone else in the case, lawyers, judges, etc.
Something to do, if you have a couple hrs with nothing to do...
All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.
|February 24, 2014, 12:00 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: January 4, 2014
Location: NE FL
Posts: 541
Petit was a medical doctor, a healer, he wasn't prepared to fend off a home invasion.
I know what you mean certainly.
But -
Most of the Docs I know are gun enthusiasts you wouldnt want to test.
|February 25, 2014, 06:26 AM
Senior Member
Join Date: July 9, 2007
Posts: 924
The assailants were morons, not ninjas. A dog or an alarm might have prevented the whole thing. They got into his home, and his bedroom without waking anyone. At that point even a gun may not have helped.
|Thread Tools
|Search this Thread


text:
Charlotte Surkin Biography
Charlotte Surkin is Professional Voice Trainer and Vocologist currently teaching at:
- 92nd Street Y Music School
- Marymount Manhattan College, New York, New York
- The Filomen D'Agostino M. Greenberg Music School, New York, New York (for the blind and visually impaired)
Charlotte Surkin had an article published in the Journal of Singing through the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) in the 2018 September/October issue.
Charlotte Surkin gave a lecture at the Conference at the International College Music Society (CMS) in Sydney, Australia in the summer of 2017. Her topic was "Teaching Singing to Students who are Blind and Visually Impaired".
Previous affiliations:
- Collaborative Arts Project 21 (CAP21)
- Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey (Adjunct Assistant Professor)
- Wagner College, Staten Island, New York (Adjunct Assistant Lecturer in Private Voice Study)
- Drew University, Madison, New Jersey (Affiliate Artist)
Charlotte Surkin taught The History of Musical Theater at The Filomen M. D'Agostino Greenberg Lighthouse Guild Music School during their 2018 summer session. The extensive musical theater course with musical examples started from the 18th century Astor Place Riots up until the current smash hit Hamilton. Ms. Surkin presented a vocal workshop at the Voice Foundation Symposium in Philadelphia. There she used a PowerPoint presentation given to voice teachers on "Teaching Singing to Blind or Low Vision Students", which included the following: How Medication Affects the Singing Voice; Braille Music; Hygiene; and Various Pathologies. A demonstration voice lesson was given to two students, one with low vision and one with only light perception followed. She, also, gave this demonstration lecture at Columbia University through New York Singing Teachers Association (NYSTA) in their Master of Vocal Pedagogy Series. Most recently, the lecture was given for the doctors at Lighthouse International in New York, for their Grand Rounds Demonstration. She has also visited Shenyang, China where she gave a Vocal Master Class to the award winning Liaoning Choir.
Charlotte Surkin successfully completed vocology internships at the Grabscheid Voice Center with Dr. Peak Woo and Dr. Linda Carroll in 2006 at Mr. Sinai Hospital. Ms. Surkin observed Dr. Carroll, Speech Pathologist, treat patients with various speech pathologies from loss of voice through teaching, post surgical therapy, traumatic injuries and general misuse. She also observed and used spectrographs for patient analysis. For Dr. Peak Woo, Otolaryngologist, she observed him treating patients with various pathologies including the treatment of Spasmodic Dysphonia, as well as Vocal Fold Implant Surgery. In 2002, Ms. Surkin did a vocology internship with Dr. Anat Keidar at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital where she observed Dr. Keidar treat patients with various vocal pathologies as well as accompanying Dr. Keidar's patients on the piano.
Ms. Surkin is also certified in Levels I and II of Somatic Voicework™ The LoVetri Method at the Contemporary Commercial Music Vocal Pedagogy Institute at Shenandoah Conservatory. There, she attended classes in Vocal Health, Dysfunction/Constriction, Vocal Exercises, Aged-Based Parameters, Problem Solving, Emotions/Intentions, Language and participated in practice Modules. Ms. Surkin is on the Board of Directors of the New York Singing Teachers Association (NYSTA) and is a member of the National Association of Singing Teachers. For NYSTA, Ms. Surkin was in the first graduating class of the Core of Knowledge Program. There she studied with master professionals in the areas of Pedagogy, Vocal Health, Anatomy, Acoustical Physics and Repertoire.
Ms. Surkin has performed the alto solos in over 30 major oratorios with orchestra in the Tri-State area, including 2 performances of the Messiah in Carnegie Hall as well as the Kennedy Center. Some of these include performances of all of the great Bach works including the St. John and St. Matthew Passion, the Magnificat; the B Minor the Christmas Oratorio and several cantatas. She has also performed the Choral Fantasy, the Mass in C and the Ninth Symphony by Beethoven, the Brahms Alto Rhapsody, Judas Maccabeus by Handel, the Mass in B Minor and Mass in Time of War by Haydn; King David by Honegger, the Elijah by Mendelssohn, the Coronation Mass; Requiem, Vesperae Solennes de Confessore by Mozart; the Stabat Mater and Messe Solennelle by Rossini, the Verdi Requiem and the Vivaldi Gloria.
Ms. Surkin's operatic repertoire is quite extensive as well, performing in regional companies as well as locally in everything from Baroque to Contemporary operas. She had the pleasure of performing the leading role of Fanny in Elie Wiesenthal's Angel Levine and the First Operator in the world premiere opera Sorry Wrong Number by Jack Beeson, with the Center for Contemporary Opera.
Charlotte Surkin's CD Uptown, Downtown on Studio 21 label features blues and jazz inspired songs that are written by contemporary American Composers: William Bolcom, John Musto, Jack Gottlieb and Lou Rodgers.
Ms. Surkin holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Temple University, an MA in music from New York University and a certificate in music from the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
AIG shares sell-off renews critique
Republican members of the Financial Services Committee on Tuesday maintained that the U.S. government's decision to bail out insurance giant American International Group in 2009 was the wrong move, as Treasury announced its final selloff of AIG shares this week.
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who chairs the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee, congratulated Treasury at POLITICO Pro's P2012 Policy and Politics Finance luncheon. "Congratulations to the Treasury Department for their selling off and making a profit. … That is good news for taxpayers," she said.
But Capito said that the support AIG received from the government simply prompts the question: "Is there really such a thing as 'too big to fail'?"
"It's now baked into the law of Dodd-Frank law," the West Virginia lawmaker said. "I think it gives certain competitive advantages to certain institutions."
The Treasury announced that its last 234.2 million shares of the company would be sold at $32.50 each. The move effectively ends taxpayer ownership of the company.
Capito's colleague on the Financial Services panel, Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.), billed the bailout a "terrible decision," and said the decision placed a "moral hazard" into the marketplace.
"New York was no longer considered the financial capital of the world. Washington, D.C., continues to be," said Garrett, the chairman of the subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises.
"The institutions that failed by and large were some of the most heavily regulated ones in the country," he added. "The aspect of the economy that was most regulated was heavily regulated at the time. Yet they failed."
"I'm happy, by the way, that AIG bailed itself out, but I'm also happy that Dodd-Frank has a too-big-to-fail provision," said Frank Keating, president of the American Bankers Association.


text:
Uncle John Movie StreamingEnjoy Uncle John Movie HD with duration 114 Min and released on 2015-03-16 and MPAA rating is 1.
- Original Title : Uncle John
- Movie title in your country : Uncle John
- Year of movie : 2015
- Genres of movie : Mystery, Crime, Drama,
- Status of movie : Post Production
- Release date of movie : 2015-03-16
- Companies of movie :
- Countries of movie : United States of America,
- Language of movie : English,
- Durationof movie : 114 Min
- Average vote of movie : 2
- Youtube ID of movie :
- Translation of movie :
- Cast of movie :
- John Ashton ( Uncle John )
- Alex Moffat ( Ben )
- Jenna Lyng ( Kate )
- Ronnie Gene Blevins ( Danny )
Uncle John Synopsis:
Full Streaming Uncle John Uncle John revolves around the struggle to keep a mysterious disappearance unsolved Enjoy Uncle John Online Streaming
Uncle John Enjoy Movie streaming movie in HD without downloading, Enjoy Movie Uncle John Full online movie streaming free and fun Uncle John Free Movie Stream only here Today, we can see that hundreds thousands of people looking for free Uncle John and watch it on their sweat house with internet connection. Be happy, you can reach hundreds of thousands of satisfied members who became tired of waiting for DVDs in the mail, and now you can watch for free Uncle John Film, get some free new movie online free watch and download new movie new releases and the hottest classics on our site. It is fast. It is easy. And best of all, it is free to try
Director : Steven Piet, Writer : Steven Piet, Writer : Erik Crary, Editor : W.T. O'Brien
Yes, now you can Watch Movie Uncle John Full Movie Streaming and get the link to Uncle John In HD


text:
Publication Details
Assessment of the implementation of the European Commission Recommendation on active inclusion: A study of national policies.Authors: frazer hugh FRAZER Hugh, marlier eric MARLIER Eric.
Abstract: The European Network of Independent Experts on Social Inclusion reviews the implementation of the 2008 Active Inclusion Recommendation in Member States and presents practical and wide-ranging suggestions as to how to make it more effective to build a more inclusive and more social Europe. In October 2008, the European Commission adopted a Recommendation on the active inclusion of people most excluded from the labour market, promoting a comprehensive strategy based on the integration of three key and equally important social policy pillars: adequate income support, inclusive labour markets, and access to quality services. This approach to active inclusion was subsequently endorsed by the EU Council of Ministers (December 2008) and the European Parliament (May 2009). Members of the European Network of Independent Experts on Social Inclusion were asked to prepare country reports on the implementation of this Recommendation in their Member State (MS). Finalised in the summer of 2012, their reports were in particular intended to contribute to the Commission's assessment of the Recommendation's implementation. This assessment has now been published by the Commission as part of its "Social Investment Package" issued on 20 February 2013. This Synthesis Report has been produced by the Network Core Team on the basis of the experts' reports covering the 27 EU Member States. The report begins by summarising the main findings of the experts' country analyses and then, drawing on these assessments and the Network Core Team's overall assessment, it puts forward concrete suggestions to improve the so far very limited implementation of the Recommendation. The main part of the report starts with an analysis of the extent to which Member States have developed integrated comprehensive active inclusion strategies. Then, it assesses how effective Member States have been in developing measures under each of the three strands. Next, it looks at the resourcing of active inclusion measures by Member States and by EU Structural Funds and examines the arrangements in place to monitor their implementation. Finally, it synthesises the experts' suggestions made to strengthen the implementation of the Recommendation at national and EU levels.
Reference: FRAZER Hugh, MARLIER Eric. Assessment of the implementation of the European Commission Recommendation on active inclusion: A study of national policies. CEPS/INSTEAD, 2013, European Network of Independent Experts on Social Inclusion n°2013-01, 96 p.Keywords:


text:
Druidston Haven, in the centre of St Bride's Bay, has an air of mystery about it.
When the tide is in, its beautiful golden sands can't be seen from the road, but its charm unfolds as the visitor descends the steep path down into the cove.
The beach is wide and sandy with a few rocks protruding dramatically along the strand and it stretches for over a mile beneath the high cliffs from Druidston caves in the south to Priest's Vault, North Haven and Madoc's Haven, just round the headland from Nolton Haven.
A very unusual feature was added to the clifftop landscape in 1998. This is 'Malator,' an ultra-modern underground house with a grass roof which has become known as "The Tellytubby House," and was built by a specialist firm for Bob Marshall-Andrews QC, the controversial Labour MP for Medway. It is virtually invisible from the landward side, just a rounded tump amid the clifftop vegetation, but from the sea and the low tideline of the beach it resembles a World War One tank or a grounded UFO. The panoramic view it commands of the broad embrace of St Brides Bay is spectacular.
Apparently, the name has nothing to do with druids. It was named after a Norman Knight named Drue of Henry 1st's time (1110) having been called Drue's ton. It is still pronounced Drueston or Drooson by the locals today.
To the right of the spot where the footpath enters the beach is an interesting geological feature - a fault between the coal measures and Bala shales which has a 'throw' of 6,300 feet. This is a reminder that Druidston was once a part of the St Brides Bay coalfield, which has left evidence of mines and shale dumps which are now indistinguishable. Also of geological interest is that the path onto the beach passes over masses of glacial 'head' in which the marine shells of animals still living in the Arctic can be found.
An added element of mystery and intrigue is provided by the hotel, tucked under the clifftop like the setting for a smuggler novel or Daphne du Maurier's 'Jamaica Inn,' to which Alfred Hitchcock added his inimitable stamp.
The coal measures around the bay have not been worked since 1905, and it is estimated that there is still a reserve of 230million tons of unexploited anthracite buried under the sea between Newgale and Nolton.
Druidston is a popular bathing beach and much frequented by sea anglers and it is an excellent place to see peregrine falcons, who have their nests in the high cliffs and are frequently seen chasing away the jackdaws, seagulls and pigeons which populate the clifftops. On the far left of the Haven is a waterfall which flows like a white pillar down the cliff onto the sand, an ideal shower for washing the salt and sand off.
The Druidston cliffs are also a perfect grandstand for watching the gannets diving on the shoals in St Brides Bay.


text:
Contribute to ReadWriteThink / RSS / FAQs / Site Demonstrations / Contact Us / About Us
ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us. If you've got lessons plans, videos, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you.
Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals.
Teacher Resources by Grade
|1st - 2nd
|3rd - 4th
|5th - 6th
|7th - 8th
|9th - 10th
|11th - 12th
Home › Classroom Resources › Lesson Plans
Lesson Plan
Creating Classroom Community by Crafting Themed Poetry Collections
|3 – 5
|Lesson Plan Type
|Estimated Time
|Twelve 50-minute sessions
|Lesson Author
Urbana, Illinois
Students begin by brainstorming types of poetry, then examining themed poetry collections to find examples. They create a working definition of poetry that they will revisit throughout the unit. Next students reexamine the collections, identifying what the poems have in common, and generating a list of characteristics of thematic poetry collections. Students then begin work on their own poetry collection. In each session, they read, analyze, and write a different form of poetry, including diamante, cinquain, 5W, Bio, I Am, Name, Acrostic, Limerick, and Two-Voice poems. For some forms, they write about themselves and for others they interview and write about a classmate, but all the poems follow the theme of "getting to know each other." Throughout the process, students complete a checklist to organize and track what they learn about poetry forms and elements of poetry. Graphic organizers are included for each poetic form.
Thematic Poetry Collections: This booklist recommends a number of themed poetry collections for use in this lesson.
Poetry Collection Checklist: Students can use this checklist to organize their definitions of different poetic forms and to cite examples.
As Albert B. Somers explains in his Teaching Poetry in High School, "[W]riting poetry is expressive, much of it is easily based on models and patterns, and the process can be quick and painless and even fun. Let's face it: writing poems is not like writing essays" (129).
In this light, writing poetry can be not only an opportunity to students to engage in a fun writing experience, but they also have the chance to explore the form and structure that are typical of the genre of poetry. Writing poetry and learning about poetry need not be pigeonholed: students can write their own poetry and learn specific literary terms at the same time. The successful teacher, according to Somers, models the process, provides starting places, urges students to choose their own focus point, and, then, helps students polish, phrase, and format their poems (130-131).
In this lesson plan, students follow just this process, while also exploring the characteristics of the genre of poetry. They then use this knowledge as a way of creating a sense of community in the classroom, by interviewing others and introducing themselves with poetry as the vehicle.
Further Reading
Somers, Albert B. 1999. Teaching Poetry in High School. Urbana, IL: NCTE.
Dunning, Stephen, and William Stafford. 1992. "Found and Headline Poems." Getting the Knack: 20 Poetry Writing Exercises. Urbana, IL: NCTE.


text:
New: Laura's Law in a Nutshell
Laura Wilcox, a 19-year old sophomore from Haverford College, was working at Nevada County's public mental health clinic during her winter break from college. On January 10, 2001, she and two other people were shot to death by Scott Harlan Thorpe, a 41-year old mental patient who resisted his family's attempt to seek treatment. Thorpe was found incompetent to stand trial and was sent to Atascadero State Hospital and was later transferred to California's Napa State Hospital.
Laura Wilcox's death was the impetus for passage of AB 1421 in 2002, an assisted outpatient treatment program (AOT), which has since become known as Laura's Law.
For the uninitiated, an AOT program allows court-ordered, intensive outpatient treatment for people with severe mental illnesses who refuse medication because their illness impairs their ability to make rational decisions.
People with psychotic disorders who received court-ordered treatment for 180 days had significantly better outcomes than those who were given either intensive treatment alone, or a court order alone. Thus, AB 1421 provides for a 180 day period of intensive treatment under the supervision of the court. Currently AOT can only be used if a county's board of supervisors enacts a resolution to implement and independently fund a discrete Laura's Law program. Now, an AOT program is available statewide as a tool that can be, but is not required to be, used to efficiently treat the most problematic patients.
A 2000 Duke University study demonstrated that people with psychotic disorders who received court-ordered treatment for 180 days had significantly better outcomes than those who were given either intensive treatment alone, or a court order alone. That's why AB 1421 incorporates these findings by providing for 180 day periods of intensive treatment under the supervision of the court.
AB 1421 was modeled after New York's "Kendra's Law." Among the targeted hard-to-treat population, Kendra's Law resulted in 74 percent fewer homeless; 83 percent fewer arrests; 49 percent less alcohol abuse; and 48 percent less drug abuse. Assisted outpatient programs have also worked in Iowa, North Carolina, Hawaii, and Arizona.
Fortunately, money should no longer be an issue since voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 63 in 2004, which established a one percent tax on personal income above $1 million to fund expanded health services for mentally ill children, adults, and seniors. Nothing in Proposition 63 prevents these funds from being used to implement Laura's Law. Nevada County, for example, is now using Proposition 63 funds to implement Laura's Law.
Laura's Law has been implemented in Nevada County and Los Angeles County opted for a small pilot project of AOT. That means 56 of the 58 California counties have not enacted Laura's Law. In Nevada County, where the killings took place, the law has been fully implemented and proven so successful that the county was honored in 2010 by the California State Association of Counties. In announcing the recognition, CSAC said Nevada County offset public costs of $80,000 with savings estimated at $203,000 that otherwise would have been spent on hospitalization and incarceration of program participants.
The death of Kelly Thomas, a homeless man with a long history of mental illness, has prompted the Orange County board of supervisors to look into Laura's Law. San Francisco, Marin County, Santa Barbara County, and San Diego County are, or have considered, implementing it.
We have heard much hand-wringing about what to do with the homeless -- many of whom are chronically mentally ill -- who are picked up off the streets. They may or may not be placed in a treatment facility, if one is available. Once they complete treatment, they are too often dumped back on the streets with no housing, jobs, money, or followup by a professional case manager. In a short time, these homeless are back on the street. Laura's Law could be invoked for those who refuse medication because their illness impairs their ability to make rational decisions, and utilize court-ordered outpatient treatment and provide for a 180 day case-managed followup.
An estimated 3.6 million Americans suffer from untreated severe bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Oftentimes, they are too ill to recognize their own need for treatment AOT does not take away someone's civil rights. Severe mental illness, not its treatment, restricts civil liberties. By assuring timely and effective intervention for the disabling medical condition of severe mental illness, AOT restores the capacity to exercise civil liberties and reduces the likelihood of the loss of liberty or life as a result of arrest, incarceration, hospitalization, victimization, suicide, and other common outcomes of non-treatment.
While we as a society must safeguard the civil rights of the unfortunate, we also have an obligation to care for those who are unable to care for themselves. Laura's Law provides such safeguards.
It is time for the 56 other California counties to implement Laura's Law.
Editor's note: a factual error in an earlier version of this article has been corrected.


text:
As I cradle my glass-backed iPhone—consciously aware of how fragile these things are when dropped—Darren Wilson casually tells me how his phone "just literally fell 20 feet."
Of course, I want to be sure that I didn't misunderstand. He actually meant a paltry height of two feet instead, right? But Wilson confirms what I had feared: Twenty feet. Like it was no big deal. I clutch my iPhone just a little bit more tightly.
Wilson works as a pipe fitter for Siemens, in the Canadian arm of the German technology conglomerate. His phone is a Motorola ES400, an old Windows mobile handset, and it isn't exactly what you'd call slim. With the standard battery, it measures 0.67 inches. It increases to a chunky 0.85 inches with an extended cell.
The ES400 is a rugged phone, built to withstand everything from dust to drops and accidental submersion. It's the sort of device that can be used outdoors for extended periods of time, and can be pushed well past the operating limits of most other phones.
Not that Mr. Wilson has a choice of other phones, of course. Siemens has custom software for processing work orders and invoices, keeping track of inventory and submitting timesheets. It all runs on Microsoft's legacy Windows Mobile system. Worse still, the aging OS hasn't seen any significant updates since 2010. In technology years, that's practically a lifetime.
But outside of the enterprise—in smaller companies and firms where legacy platforms and software are more rare—it's a different story. Concrete contractors, construction workers and field technicians are apparently trading their traditional rugged phones for regular consumer devices. In the place of an ES400, imagine an iPhone 4S, enclosed in a ruggedized case.
From a technical standpoint, given the choice, it's easy to understand why someone would pick an iPhone 4S over an old Windows device. Rick Yelton, editor at large with construction media company Hanley Wood, told me that, as far as features are concerned, it's hard for traditional manufacturers in the rugged phone industry to compete.
"Why aren't they in vogue? Because they don't change the technology fast enough," Mr. Yelton said.
But there are tradeoffs to be had as smaller business opt for more modern devices too—and being rugged still means more than having a good case.
Rugged rankings
While it's easy to claim that a device is ruggedized, there are actually industry specifications to prove it. One is an Ingress Protection rating (IP). This is a measure of a device's ability to repel varying degrees of dust and/or water from entering a device.
Mr. Wilson's ES400, for example, meets IP42 sealing requirements. The first number—the device's foreign body ranking, on a scale of 0 to 6—indicates its ability to prevent dust, particles, or other objects from entering the enclosure. In this case, a rank of four means the device is protected against granular particles down to 1mm in size. It's not until a device is given a ranking of five that it is considered dust protected, with six indicating a device is dust-proof.
The second number—a device's water protection ranking—has a slightly larger scale, from zero to eight. A device is not considered safe from immersion until it achieves a ranking of seven, and even then, only for a temporary period of time at limited depths. The highest ranking of eight indicates more permanent immersion, often while under pressure—though this too can differ from device to device. A two, however, as found on the ES400, only indicates the ability to resist light rainfall or sprays.
Some manufacturers will also subject their devices to US Military Standard 810G specifications for drop and impact-resistance. For example, Sonim rates its current line of rugged phones as capable of withstanding 6.5 feet drops onto bare concrete, though this can vary amongst manufacturers.
The Defender
Talk to anyone in the field with a rugged phone case, and they'll usually reference the Defender. This is Otterbox's flagship protection line for iPhones, BlackBerrys and myriad other devices, and for good reason. The company likes to demonstrate the Defender at events by casually throwing it on the floor, and touts the product as offering "total protection for the construction industry."
The problem—if you can call it that—is that the Defender series doesn't do anything to improve a device's IP or Military Standard specifications. In other words, "you really have to design the PDA from the bottom up to attain this properly," says Liverpool-based Rugged and Mobile, a hardware services company for rugged devices. Instead, they refer to a case's ability to increase the durability of a phone, as opposed to its ruggedness.
The Otterbox website does mention that its Defender line "provides added protection against bump, shock, drop, and dust intrusion," though it's unclear how this additional protection is measured. Nowhere on the site is there mention of IP or Military Specification tests, and the company has yet to respond with clarification regarding its testing procedures as of this article.
But even if the Otterbox isn't rugged in the traditional sense, people in the industry are still eager to see how it compares. Brandon Wright, for example, works at a company called Data Drill, which provides communication equipment—including rugged Motorola and Samsung feature phones—to oil and gas companies operating in Alberta, Canada. He says his company recently sent out their first iPhone with one of his field techs, equipped with an Otterbox Defender case.
Shaun Hollinshead, a driver with North American transportation service Contrans Flatbed Group, also owns a Defender-clad iPhone. It replaced his similarly protected BlackBerry device. Both have survived falls unscathed.
However, Hollinshead isn't quite so sure it can compare to his old rugged phone, an push-to-talk (iDEN) handset on Canada's MiKE cellular network.
"I dropped that thing twice from 35 feet, no problem," he says. "It just hit the ground. The battery came out, you slammed it back together, and the thing worked."
"I don't think I'd be dropping my iPhone like that."


text:
Cloud Storage Service SugarSync Gets a Face-Lift, Adds Search Tool
Personal cloud storage service SugarSync, which competes directly with Dropbox, is rolling out a desktop redesign and adding search functionality to its service. The new SugarSync desktop app resembles a chat box, and lets users share files with contacts by dragging and dropping the folders or files onto a contact's name. The new version of the app also appears as a kind of virtual drive on computers, one that allows for file auto-syncing, and the search function will search all personal computers and mobile devices running SugarSync.


text:
Broad reach of U.S. Constitution
By Rosemary Girard ('15) and Janet Smith ('81)
Constitutional law expert Dr. A.E. Dick Howard took a James Madison University audience around the world on Constitution Day 2013 to illustrate the influence of America's foundational document on the crafting of national constitutions of many European countries, the Philippines and Japan.
Howard presented "James Madison's Long Shadow: What Have Other Nations Gleaned from the American Constitutional Experience?" on Sept. 17, the 226th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution's signing. His lecture was the inaugural presentation in the Madison Vision Series: Contemporary Issues in an Engaged Society. JMU President Jonathan Alger described the series as "a new tradition" at JMU, one that further encourages the university's values of public discourse and an engaged citizenry and honors the contributions of James Madison, the father of the U.S. Constitution.
Howard, the White Burkett Miller Professor of Law and Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, was executive director of the commission that wrote Virginia's current constitution and directed the successful referendum campaign for its ratification. His widely acknowledged expertise in constitutional law has resulted in many consultations with constitutional draftsmen in other states and abroad. Howard has worked with revisers at work on new constitutions in Brazil, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Albania, Malawi and South Africa.
When Howard took the stage, he admitted that, as an American, he never expected to "rub elbows with other nations in drafting their constitutions." It surprised him that his expertise in American law would translate into the much larger scope of drafting international constitutions.
This realization led him to a sizable question: "What is it that the United States Constitution has to say to the world?" As it turns out, the answer is, "A lot."
Howard led the audience through "snapshots" of history, and the U.S. Constitution's role in it. During America's beginnings, French governmental thought differed drastically from the ideals of our founding fathers. France saw principles like equality and civic discourse play out in America – self-government by free people was, in fact, possible.
Another snapshot encompassed America's presence in the Philippines further down the historical line. Some felt it necessary to lead the Philippines to self-governing. Likewise, during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson claimed that declaring war was necessary to "make the world safe for democracy." After World War II, similarly, there was a call for Japan to establish a democratic government with respect for human rights. The U.S. actually played a major role in drafting a new Japanese constitution – a constitution that still stands and has remained unchanged.
So again, Howard asked, where does the American experience belong in this? "Some people say it doesn't," he answered. But what Howard asserted was that "the relevance of our Constitution does not lie in the text; it exists when you put on the hat of James Madison and understand the fundamentals behind it."
Other nations' courts "don't have to look like ours," Howard said. But recognizing the underlying principles – separation of powers, checks and balances or judicial review – gets to the heart of what our framers intended.
"This brings us back to civic education and what you all stand for here at JMU," Howard said. What does it mean to be a citizen of a constitutional democracy? "It means voting in an election, and maybe losing that election, but stepping aside knowing you can continue to fight for your beliefs."
These fundamental principles and values, Howard asserted, are what carry our constitutional legacy into the cultures of other nations.
Howard pointed to the eloquent words of George Mason, found in the Virginia Declaration of Rights, to encourage today's citizens to take seriously their responsibility for continuing education to preserve our republican democracy. "That no free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles," words that influenced the U.S. Constitution, should influence people in contemporary times, Howard said.
Howard's presentation was well received by JMU students in the audience. David DiSilvestro ('16) said that he learned a great deal throughout Howard's presentation, especially "that so many different countries have adopted our principles." Howard's "snapshots" of various countries drawing from the U.S. constitutional experience was particularly effective in helping him visualize the visiting professor's points.
"I thought it was interesting," Reid Shandrick ('16) said. "I didn't know that much about all the history of constitutions and how much we affected other countries. The lecture makes me interested in reading more about how we affected the constitutions of Germany and Japan in particular."
The next Madison Vision Series presentation will feature Carol Geary Schneider, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities. She will speak Oct. 16 at 5 p.m. in the Concert Hall of the Forbes Center for the Performing Arts.
The series is supported by the Madison Forever Vision Fund to bring prominent speakers, thinkers and leaders to JMU as a means to help students and the greater JMU community gain some mastery of the current civic landscape.
More information about the series is available at http://www.jmu.edu/president/mvs.


text:
High School Performance Data Worry School Board
There were few bright spots in the overview of the Berkeley Unified School District's high school student data for 2009 at the Berkeley Board of Education meeting last week, especially not the challenges posed in analyzing the test results.
The data took into account student performance at Berkeley High School, Berkeley Technology Academy (B-Tech) and the Independent Study Program.
An hour-long presentation to the school board by the district's director of evaluation and assessment Rebecca Cheung showed that student participation in the California Standardized Tests (CST) continues to be dismal district-wide, something some district officials blamed on the community's reluctance to see it as a valid measure for student performance.
The analysis showed that the scores of African-American students were the most underperforming in the data, which included the CST, the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), college entrance tests, GPAs, attendance and suspensions.
White students performed higher than all other groups in these areas, followed by multi-ethnic and Latino students. African- Americans were also the lowest performing racial group and were involved in more discipline incidences.
About 70 percent of white 10th-grade students scored in the top 50 percent nationally on the 2008-09 PSAT.
Cheung told the Planet that the district had not included the scores of Asian students in the presentation because they represented less than 10 percent of the student population. She said that in general, Asians did not outscore white students at Berkeley Unified.
Cheung pointed out that some of the challenges to data analysis at the high school level include the lack of state test scores to allow comparison over time for the individual students.
Additionally, 12th-graders are not required to take state tests and only 70 percent of Berkeley High ninth-graders attended a Berkeley public middle school, making it difficult for educators to track data back to the middle school.
BUSD also lacks district-wide assessments or course-specific exams which can be used for comparison over time, Cheung said, and district officials have little to no capacity to track beyond high school indicators such as college entrance, college completion or vocation training.
School information
High school student demographics for 2009 showed changes in population since 2003, with slight decreases in African- American, white and English-learner students and a slight increase in Latino students.
In the last six years, the total high school population in Berkeley has increased by 18 percent—from 2,949 to 3,482 students.
B-Tech reported a large percentage of African-Americans (65 percent), as op-posed to Independent Study (16 percent) and Berkeley High (28 percent).
The Independent Study program had the largest percentage of multicultural (33 percent) and white (41 percent) students.
Berkeley High's enrollment demographics showed large differences in its six programs, which includes The Arts and Humanities Academy (AHA), Communication Arts and Sciences (CAS), Community Partnerships Academy (CPA), The School of Social Justice and Ecology (SSJE), Berkeley International High School (BIHS) and The School of Academic Choice (AC).
African-Americans formed the largest group (55 percent) at CPA, and white students emerged as the largest group at BIHS (38 percent).
The international school—which showed the highest percentage of non-BUSD middle school students (38 percent)—also reported the most parents with a college or higher education degree (58 percent).
CAS, at 80 percent, had the highest number of BUSD graduates, followed by CPA.
Board President Nancy Riddle asked district staff to provide more information about the BUSD high school students who had not attended a Berkeley public school before entering 9th grade.
Berkeley High science teacher Aaron Glime replied that earlier reports indicated that students who were new to the district in 9th grade had a higher GPA than those from the Berkeley public middle schools.
Caifornia exit exam
All California public school students are required to pass both sections of the CAHSEE to graduate from high school and must take it for the first time in tenth-grade. Students who fail to pass the test as tenth graders can take the test twice in 11th grade and, if they continue to be unsuccessful, they get five more opportunities as seniors.
Data from the California Department of Education showed that in 2008, the district pass rate for first-time test takers in English Language Arts and math was lower than the state average.
Last year, African-American students reported a significantly lower first time pass rate on the CAHSEE math and English tests than their peers.
Overall, BUSD saw a cumulative pass rate of 90 percent—which takes into account students who passed both tests—for the class of 2008 which was exactly the same as the state's pass rate.
Sixty percent of B-Tech seniors did not pass by June.
Cheung told board members that it was a matter of concern that the district's pass rate, during the first attempt, was lower than that of the state, posing a greater challenge for the district and the school.
California Standardized Tests
In 2008, student participation on the standardized tests declined betweens grade 9 and 11 district-wide, and was lower than in neighboring districts such as Alameda, Albany, Piedmont and San Leandro.
Cheung said that the other districts started with more participation in 9th grade, and although it lessened in grades 10 and 11, the decrease was still less severe than that of Berkeley Unified.
Berkeley Superintendent Bill Huyett said that lagging participation rates prevented the district from engaging in any kind of longitudinal studies.
Glime said that a variety of factors were behind the low participation, one of them being students' and parents' hesitation about the validity of standardized tests since the state had made them optional.
Huyett retorted that although this applied to all public high schools in California, many other districts did not suffer from such low participation rates.
"It starts with the belief system of the school," he said. "I am not putting blame or shame on the school but the high school has to take participation rates seriously. We all know students are at that stage in life when they will ask 'what's in it for me?' Maybe we should ask them instead what they want."
There was significant variation in the performance between the different programs at Berkeley High, with incoming 9th graders at Berkeley International High School scoring the highest proficiency in English Language Arts and math in 2008-09 and those at Communication Arts and Sciences reporting the lowest.
Berkeley International High School also scored the highest proficiency rate in both English Language Arts and Math among all the programs in 2008.
Board Vice President Karen Hemphill pointed out that it was very troublesome that programs having students of color from BUSD middle schools had the lowest score.
"Regardless of what good programs and good intentions we have, we are losing our children," she said. "The programs are not working. Kids of color are worse going out of Berkeley High than they were coming in. It really has to start in middle school. We have to engage them and install a college bound culture in our district."
SAT, GPA, attendance and discipline data
The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), a standardized test for college admissions scored by Education Testing Services, provided data to Berkeley Unified for the analysis.
Cheung said that the district decided to base the analysis on how students had performed in the SAT in 11th grade because that was when most students took the test.
In 2008, white and multi-ethnic 11th graders had higher performance rates on the SAT than Latino and African American students.
Of the 11th graders who took the SAT, white students had the highest average score, followed by multi-ethnic students.
Scores of African American students had little variation across the six programs at Berkeley High and were the lowest.
African Americans also reported the lowest participation rate for the practice version of the test, the PSAT, in grades 11 and 12, and while 70 percent of white 10th-graders scored in the top 50 percent of the PSAT, only 5 percent of African American students scored in the top 50 percent.
White students had the highest average GPA and African-American students had the lowest. African Americans also had the highest rate of D and F grade rates
In 2007-08, the range of GPAs for African Americans across programs represented a .5 differential, with the lowest average GPA being 2 and the highest 2.5.
For Latinos, the range of GPAs across the six programs represented a .3 differential, with the lowest average being 2.4 and the highest around 2.8.
Whites had a larger variance between the programs, with the lowest average GPA being 2.5 and the highest 3.4.
Attendance and enrollment patterns for Berkeley High were relatively stable in 2007-08, although B-tech reported changes in enrollment almost every month, with new students joining and others dropping out.
In 2007-08, African American students also reported the highest rates of suspensions.
At Berkeley High School, the number of "one-period suspensions" increased last year while both "one day of on-campus suspension" and "off-campus suspensions" decreased.
About 81 percent of discipline incidences resulted in a "suspension for one period" and 14 percent of the incidents resulted in an "off-campus suspension."
At B-Tech, most of the suspensions resulted from a small number of students in 2007-08.
A total of 46 suspensions took place at the school, but only 21 students were involved, some of them getting repeatedly suspended.
According to the data presented by Cheung, seven students had more than one infraction, two students had eight infractions each, five Latino students were involved in 12 suspensions and two students were involved in nine infractions.


text:
When Christ Appears
Do you eagerly await Christ's return (v. 28)? Or are you more concerned with storing up earthly treasures? Do you truly believe that Christ will bring a reality much better than the one we presently experience? Consider these things in ...Read More
Not Repeatedly
The predictability of daily life can make it easy to forget that we have been living in the last days since Christ came. This final era may have been extended longer than expected, yet it is here now. Take some ...Read More
Into Holy Places
The high priests of old entered into a presence that had only the types and symbols of the immediate presence of God. But Christ, the God-man and Mediator of the new covenant, has entered into the direct, immediate presence of ...Read More
Without Blood
It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that there is something that we can do to earn the forgiveness of God. We would therefore do well to remember the words of John Owen: "How great is the ...Read More
A Covenant in Blood
The death of Christ is often the biggest stumbling block for unbelievers. They cannot understand how this display of seeming weakness leads to eternal glory. But, as we have read, there is no glory without His suffering. When sharing the ...Read More
The Will Takes Effect
Have you ever received an inheritance through the will of a departed loved one? This poignant analogy describes the deep love that Jesus has for the elect of God. He truly desires them to receive His blessings. Give thanks for ...Read More
New Covenant Mediator
Jesus has come to be our Mediator, to bear our punishment for sin, and to guarantee our salvation. But this salvation from sin is only part of our inheritance. In His abundant grace, God has made us inheritors of the ...Read More
The Blood of Christ
All believers have struggled at one point or another with the assurance of their salvation. It is a mistake, however, to look to our inner feelings over against looking toward the One who guarantees salvation. We are sure of salvation ...Read More
His Own Blood
John Owen writes, "from his infinite love and grace [Jesus] humbly went [to shed His blood on the cross], so God could be glorified and his church sanctified and saved. It is right for us always to consider what love, ...Read More
Imperfect Sacrifices
It can be difficult to wade through the details of the Law. The customs seem so foreign to us that we are tempted just to skim over them. But, as the author of Hebrews tells us, the details of the ...Read More


text:
Bill Kauffman (copy)/B.J. Hoeptner Evans (contact)
USA Volleyball Communications
Unofficial DataVolley Stat - Official Stats
LONDON (July 31, 2012) – The U.S. Olympic Men's Volleyball Team defeated Germany 25-23, 25-16, 25-20 on Tuesday afternoon during an Olympic Games Pool B match at Earls Court in London.
Team USA, ranked fifth in the world and the defending Olympic Games champion, improved to 2-0 with six points in Pool B. The Americans continues Pool B on Thursday against Brazil at 8 p.m. local time (noon PT). Team USA, with three Olympic Games titles to its credit, has now won 10 straight matches in Olympic Games competition.
Less than a month ago, Germany edged out Team USA in a five-set thriller during the FIVB World League Final Round pool play. However, the Americans bounced back in that that tournament and finished with the silver medal.
After falling behind 4-0 in the first set, the U.S. scored the next four points and the rest of tight with no team leading by more than two points. Team USA scored the final three points of the set to rally from a 23-22 deficit to win 25-23. The Americans pushed out to a 17-11 lead in the second set on a 6-1 run and closed out the set with the final four points for a 25-16 victory. Team USA separated from Germany in the third set with a 5-1 scoring run to take a 14-8 lead, then expanded its advantage to 21-14 late before holding off Germany down the stretch for a 25-20 victory.
"Tonight was a completely different feel than the last match where we got off to a really good start on the scoreboard," U.S. Olympic Men's Volleyball Team Head Coach Alan Knipe said. "Tonight, (Germany) got behind the end line and served well and right out of the gate got us down. I thought our guys did a really good job of staying composed and getting the side out we needed after the time out. My comment to them was that we didn't need to get it all back in one serve, and then Clay went and got it all back in one serve."
Clay Stanley (Honolulu) collected a Team USA-high 16 points with 13 kills on 18 attacks, two aces and a block. Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.) contributed 11 kills on 20 attacks, three aces and a block for 15 points. Russell Holmes (Fountain Valley, Calif.) turned in five kills on seven attacks with four blocks for nine points. Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.) pocketed seven kills and an ace for eight points, which was matched by David Lee (Alpine, Calif.) as he had five kills on eight attacks and three blocks. Donald Suxho Korce, Albania) rounded out the scoring with two blocks.
Suxho tallid 35 running sets on 58 assist attempts leading to a 56.2 kill percent and .438 hitting efficiency (41-9-73). Anderson provided 17 excellent receptions on 24 attempts, while Suxho was the U.S. leader in digs with five.
"They tested us pretty well in the first set," Anderson said. "We relied on each other heavily and it was good. We have a lot of trust in each other."
Knipe started Priddy and Anderson at outside hitter, Lee and Holmes at middle blocker, Stanley at opposite and Suxho at setter. Rich Lambourne (Tustin, Calif.) is the designated libero for the tournament. Paul Lotman (Lakewood, Calif.) was a sub in all three sets, while David McKienzie (Littleton, Colo.) was a sub in the first and third sets.
The U.S. held a commanding 11-4 block advantage in the match and held a 6-4 margin in aces. Germany managed a slim 25-22 edge in digs and 27-26 cushion in excellent receptions. However, Team USA's 53.1 excellent reception percent was better than Germany's 44.3 percent. Further, the U.S. limited Germany to a 37.0 kill percent and .161 hitting efficiency (30-17-81).
"It was good, but wasn't clean all the time," Priddy said about the match. "We worked together and worked hard, as well as showing a lot of composure. I'm quite happy, it's not going to look perfect all the time."
Germany was led by Grorgy Grozer's 12 points as he was the only player in double-digit scoring.
"They are a great team with great serves, which put us in a lot of trouble often snowballing into more mistakes," Priddy said of Germany after the match.
"I think they played very good in all elements, especially in block and defense," Germany's Sebastian Schwartz said.
According to Priddy, the team is not looking too far into the future, which proved to a winning formula at the 2008 Olympic Games.
"We are taking it all day by day, taking it as it comes," Priddy said. "We'll have to just wait and see what happens. That's why we did so well in Beijing (the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games)."
In preparation for Brazil in its next match, the U.S. will focus on itself and not its opponent from the 2008 Olympic Games gold-medal match.
"We're going to go back and it's going to be video on us, not on Brazil," Knipe said. "Both these teams have a pretty good feel for each other. We saw each other five times last summer. It's not going to come down to any surprises. It's going to come down to execution."
In other Pool B matches, Serbia (3 points, 1-1) stopped Tunisia (0 points, 0-2) 25-15, 25-21, 20-25, 25-18, while Brazil (3 points, 1-0) concludes the day's competition against Russia (3 points, 1-0) at 10 p.m. local time (2 p.m. PT). In the opposite pool, Bulgaria (6 points, 2-0) upset Poland (3 points, 1-1) 25-22, 29-27, 13-25, 25-23 and Italy (3 points, 1-1) edged Argentina (3 points, 1-1) 25-17, 21-25, 25-17, 25-23. Later today Great Britain (0 points, 0-1) hosts Australia (0 points, 0-1).
The U.S. found itself in an early 4-0 hole to start the first set capped by an ace leading into a timeout. After a Germany service error, Stanley served two aces and Germany hit into the net to knot the score at 4-all. Stanley put the U.S. in front with a back-row kill at 5-4. Team USA went into the first technical timeout leading 8-6 on consecutive Germany errors. Out of the break Germany evened the score at 8-all with consecutive points. Anderson notched a kill and ace to yield an 11-9 advantage going into a Germany timeout. Out of the break, Stanley hit a winner to extend the margin to 12-9. Three consecutive Team USA errors leveled the score at 12-all. Priddy hammered a kill and Holmes stuffed a Germany attack on a wicked Stanley serve to push the U.S. in front 15-13. Germany came back to tie the set at 20-all leading into a Team USA timeout, then regained the lead at 22-21. The U.S. regained the lead at 24-23 with an Anderson kill and Lee block to reach set point first. Anderson hammered the winner off the block at 25-23, his team-leading eighth point of the set. Stanley added seven points with five-of-seven hitting.
The U.S. gained the first two-point cushion of the second set at 7-5 with an Anderson kill and Lee block. Holmes picked up consecutive kills to extend the lead to 11-8 at a Germany timeout. Out of the break Germany responded with back-to-back points to narrow the deficit to 11-10. Team USA responded with a Holmes block, Germany attack error and Priddy ace at 14-10 leading to a Germany timeout. Anderson smacked a kill off the block after a Germany service error to reach the second technical timeout leading 16-11. Out of the break Priddy found open space for a kill at 17-11. Germany sliced two points off the deficit at 18-14. However, Stanley spiked a winner and Anderson served up an ace lifting the U.S. to a 20-14 lead. Suxho put up consecutive blocks after a Germany service error to extend the American lead to 24-16. Priddy ended the set quickly with a spike at 25-16. Stanley totaled five points in the second set to lead the Americans, who had three aces in the period.
The U.S. started the third set quickly with a Priddy kill following a Germany error for a 2-0 lead. Germany tied the set at 3-all following a miraculous diving save to keep the ball in play that landed for a kill. The U.S. answered with an Anderson kill after a Germany service error at 5-3. Team USA reached the first technical timeout leading 8-5 following an Anderson kill and Germany service error. Team USA stretched the lead to 11-7 with a Priddy kill and Holmes block forcing a Germany timeout. Out of the break Holmes added another block to inch the lead to 12-7. Stanley and Anderson hit consecutive kills to push the margin to 14-8, only to have Germany answer with two quick points to creep to 14-10. The U.S. reached the second technical timeout leading 16-10 thanks to a service and attack error by Germany. The Germans closed to 17-13 with back-to-back points. However, Germany called its last timeout down 20-14 following a Stanley kill and Anderson ace. Out of the break Lee put up a block for a third straight point at 21-14. The U.S. added the advantage at 23-15 with a Lee kill and Germany attack error. Germany saved two set point and match points, including an ace that prompted Knipe to call timeout with his lead shrunk to 24-18. Out of the break, Germany served another two aces to close to 24-20 for three in a row. Out of a second Team USA timeout, Germany served into the net to close the set at 25-20.
2012 U.S. Olympic Men's Volleyball Team
# - Name (Position, Ht, Hometown, College)
1 - Matt Anderson (OH, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State)
2 - Sean Rooney (OH, 6-9, Wheaton, Ill., Pepperdine)
4 - David Lee (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Calif., Long Beach State)
5 - Rich Lambourne (L, 6-3, Tustin, Calif., BYU)
6 - Paul Lotman (OH, 6-7, Lakewood, Calif., Long Beach State)
7 - Donald Suxho (S, 6-5, Korce, Albania, USC)
8 - Reid Priddy (OH, 6-5, Richmond, Va., Loyola Marymount)
11 - Brian Thornton (S, 6-3, San Clemente, Calif., UC Irvine)
12 - Russell Holmes (MB, 6-8, Fountain Valley, Calif., BYU)
13 - Clay Stanley (OPP, 6-9, Honolulu, Hawai'i, Hawaii)
16 - David McKienzie (Opp, 6-4, Littleton, Colo., Long Beach State)
20 - David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., UC Irvine)
Head Coach: Alan Knipe (Huntington Beach, Calif.)
Team Manager: Rob Browning (Newport Beach, Calif.)
Assistant Coach: John Speraw (Irvine, Calif.)
Assistant Coach: Gary Sato (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Assistant Coach: Ron Larsen (Lafayette, Calif.)
Technical Coordinator: Chris Jackson (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Medical Support: Aaron Brock (Storm Lake, Iowa)
Scout Coach: Andy Read (Garden Grove, Calif.)
Scout Coach: Mike Sealy (Santa Monica, Calif.)
Pool A:
Bulgaria (6 points, 2-0)
Argentina (3 points, 1-1)
Poland (3 points, 1-1)
Italy (3 points 1-1)
Australia (0 points, 0-1)
Great Britain (0 points, 0-1)
Pool B
USA (6 points, 2-0)
Brazil (3 points, 1-0)
Russia (3 points, 1-0)
Serbia (3 points, 1-1)
Germany (0 points, 0-2)
Tunisia (0 points, 0-2)
July 29: Bulgaria def. Great Britain 25-18, 25-20, 26-24
July 29: Russia def. Germany 31-29, 25-18, 25-17
July 29: Argentina def. Australia 25-21, 25-22, 25-20
July 29: USA def. Serbia 25-16, 25-22, 25-21
July 29: Poland def. Italy 21-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-14
July 29: Brazil def. Tunisia 25-17, 25-21, 25-18
July 31: Serbia def. Tunisia 25-15, 25-21, 20-25, 25-18
July 31: Bulgaria def. Poland 25-22, 29-27, 13-25, 25-23
July 31: Italy def. Argentina 25-17, 21-25, 25-17, 25-23
July 31: USA def. Germany 25-23, 25-16, 25-20
July 31: Great Britain vs. Australia, 8 p.m.
July 31: Brazil vs. Russia, 10 p.m.
Aug. 2: Serbia vs. Germany, 9:30 a.m.
Aug. 2: Australia vs. Bulgaria, 11:30 a.m.
Aug. 2: Russia vs. Tunisia, 2:45 p.m.
Aug. 2: Poland vs. Argentina, 4:45 p.m.
Aug. 2: Brazil vs. USA, 8 p.m. (noon PT)
Aug. 2: Great Britain vs. Italy, 10 p.m.
Aug. 4: Germany vs. Tunisia, 9:30 a.m.
Aug. 4: Great Britain vs. Poland, 11:30 a.m.
Aug. 4: Australia vs. Italy, 2:45 p.m.
Aug. 4: Russia vs. USA, 4:45 p.m. (8:45 a.m.)
Aug. 4: Argentina vs. Bulgaria, 8 p.m.
Aug. 4: Brazil vs. Serbia, 10 p.m.
Aug. 6: Australia vs. Poland, 9:30 a.m.
Aug. 6: Russia vs. Serbia, 11:30 a.m.
Aug. 6: Italy vs. Bulgaria, 2:45 p.m.
Aug. 6: Great Britain vs. Argentina, 4:45 p.m.
Aug. 6: USA vs. Tunisia, 8 p.m. (noon PT)
Aug. 6: Brazil vs. Germany, 10 p.m.
Aug. 8: Quarterfinal Matches at 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m.
Aug. 10: Semifinal Matches at 3 p.m., 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 12: Men's Bronze Medal Match, 9:30 a.m.
Aug. 12: Men's Gold Medal Match, 1 p.m.
Aug. 12: Men's Gold Medal Ceremony, 2:50 p.m.


text:
Revolutionary developments in economics are rare. The conservative bias of the field and its enshrined knowledge make it difficult to introduce new ideas not in line with received theory. Happiness research, however, has the potential to change economics substantially in the future. Its findings, which are gradually being taken into account in standard economics, can be considered revolutionary in three respects: the measurement of experienced utility using psychologists' tools for measuring subjective well-being; new insights into how human beings value goods and services and social conditions that include consideration of such non-material values as autonomy and social relations; and policy consequences of these new insights that suggest different ways for government to affect individual well-being. In Happiness, emphasizing empirical evidence rather than theoretical conjectures, Bruno Frey substantiates these three revolutionary claims for happiness research. After tracing the major developments of happiness research in economics and demonstrating that we have gained important new insights into how income, unemployment, inflation, and income demonstration affect well-being, Frey examines such wide-ranging topics as democracy and federalism, self-employment and volunteer work, marriage, terrorism, and watching television from the new perspective of happiness research. Turning to policy implications, Frey describes how government can provide the conditions for people to achieve well-being, arguing that a crucial role is played by adequate political institutions and decentralized decision making. Happiness demonstrates the achievements of the economic happiness revolution and points the way to future research.Bruno S. Frey is Professor of Economics at the University of Zurich, Visiting Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and Research Director of CREMA (Center for Research in Economics, Management, and the Arts). He is co-editor of Economics and Psychology: A Promising New Cross-Disciplinary Field (MIT Press, 2007).
Book Description:
eISBN: 978-0-262-27321-3
Subjects: Economics, Psychology


text:
Faces of the Continental Army
These images come from the collection of Joe Bauman, whose books I described here. The article accompanying the images describes how he got into that research:
In 1976, Popular Photography featured the images of The Last Men of the Revolution [1864] in its issue commemorating the United States' Bicentennial. One reader, a Utah-based journalist named Joe Bauman, was already an avid collector of antique photography when he came across the piece.The print issue of Time dated 8 July 2013 includes a smaller selection of these portraits.
"I realized that if these fellows were still alive at the time when glass plate negatives were being made in the 1860s, surely there were plenty who were alive during the daguerreian era," Bauman told TIME.
Using skills honed by a career of investigative reporting, Bauman sought out other portraits of Revolutionary War veterans. Given the breadth of the War, where most every man from age 15 to 45 was actively involved in one way or another, Bauman could cast a wide net, searching for daguerreotypes of men around the age of 80 or 90 at the time the images were taken.


text:
Experience is not having to learn on the job.
From rowdy NFL games to noisy rock concerts, Ace Parking manages 20+ stadiums, arenas and convention centers across the nation. You could say we know a thing or two about high volume parking. The keys to success are intelligent traffic flow and parking enforcement, stringent revenue control and, as always, high levels of customer service.
Meeting these goals requires a customized plan per each venue and each event. Weeks before an event, Ace Parking studies demographics and the roadways that will be heavily traversed. The result is minimized traffic congestion, timely cooperation with local law enforcement, and thousands of happy customers for you. Ace Parking will also conduct a complimentary audit of your revenue generation and collection process in order to maximize your profit.
See what our clients have to say.
We also offer the following consultation services:
- Technology/Automation
- Green Initiatives
- Site Aesthetics
- Development and Projections
We've been at this for over 60 years and have managed millions of fans with their automobiles. And yet, every single "Thank You" we earn means something.


text:
I heard a rather disturbing and hilarious story a few days ago about a guy who vanished on his girlfriend for a solid four days. When he finally materialised, he told her he'd had a severe bout of flu, so severe that he had to be on painkillers, which knocked him out for the better part of the week.
His flu seemed to have attacked him very suddenly and conveniently on New Year's Eve. It was so powerful that he couldn't pick up his phone to call her while he was at the doctor. His phone battery also happened to die, so he couldn't make or receive calls. The most unbelievable part of this is that his girlfriend believed him.
How she believed his story is beyond me. Perhaps we live in a cynical age where we doubt too quickly. What that man suffered from was not a severe flu but rather a severe case of festive "seasonitis". And he's not the only one.
Another friend mentioned how a stranger asked her to help him pick flowers at a 7-Eleven five days into the new year. What did he need these flowers for, my friend wondered. After picking a bouquet, he revealed the truth: he "lost" his phone charger just before Christmas, that's why he was unable to tell his girlfriend his whereabouts. He made the inverted comma gesture and winked at my friend when he said "lost". I bet his girlfriend beat him up with those flowers – that's if she didn't make him eat them.
We shall never know what happened after that.
But what we do know is that December is where relationships go to die and flings blossom. Relationships flounder in the deep dark hole of the festive season. December is that time of the year where people seem to want to have no-strings-attached flings.
A study conducted by David McCandless on Facebook says that most break-ups peak a couple of weeks before December, then there's a bit of a lull until an avalanche of further break-ups happens two weeks before Christmas.
The study was conducted by monitoring some 10 000 Facebook status updates with the phrases, "broken up" or "breaking up".
Why do people do this in December? I think they want to have a case of guilt-free sinning in the summer. Plus: they want to let loose, and well … be loose.
Unfortunately, December is not forever. Now people have to figure out ways of breaking up their festive flings, and if there is some form of protocol for these break-ups.
Do you even break up with a fling or do you just vanish into the night? It's a not a relationship so would one be presumptuous in even thinking that there is a requirement to end things?
Ending a fling should be done casually, like sending a "please call me, it's over" and that's that. You don't really want to be wasting your airtime. Besides, it is at this point that you remember that you have a girlfriend and have to make up a story about a "lost" cellphone charger (because you are obviously the only person in the world with that particular phone and can't find anybody anywhere with the same charger).
What I find amusing is how blatant these lies are. Knocked out by painkillers for four days and a lost cellphone charger! I give the painkiller guy 10 for creativity but zero for believability.
Now, people are going to spend the next couple of weeks apologising, and I imagine they will be forgiven just before Valentine's Day too. That's if they don't vanish just before then as well.


text:
This is not an offer for credit and should be used for estimation purposes only based on the information you provided. You should not base your decision on this estimate alone. Title, registration, tax and other fees, and personal circumstances such as employment status and personal credit history, were not considered in the calculations.
Gearcase options - 4.8 in.
Power trim and tilt
Max. Trim Range - 20° (-6° to 14°)
Max. Tilt Tange - 73° (-6° to 67°)
Controls - Digital Throttle and Shift


text:
Unlike the USA and most of western Europe in 2008-2009, Canada did not have a financial crisis. Quite a few columns and articles were written about the superior stability of Canada's financial system, which is much more concentrated but is apparently much more tightly regulated and has captured far fewer politicians and regulators than its US counterpart. I meant to blog about that but never got around to it.
Which makes Krugman's recent post about Canada's still-raging housing bubble fascinating reading. In brief: housing prices in Canada experienced much the same run-up as US housing prices in the mid-2000s but instead of plummeting after 2007, have kept on rising. They are now more than double their 1975 level, whereas US house prices peaked at about 190% of that level. Canadian household debt as a percentage of income also never stopped rising and is now slightly above the US ratio.
Does this mean Canada is headed for a financial crisis? Not necessarily. Canada's financial sector still looks sedate compared to its high-flying, reckless US counterpart. But you can have a collapsing bubble and severe recession without a financial crisis. Canada did not escape the worldwide 2008 recession and has made a fair recovery, but it is not hard to see where the next big blow could come from. Dean Baker has emphasized that the recent US financial crisis depended far less on subprime borrowing, securitization, credit default swaps, and the other usual suspects and much more on the collapse of a multi-trillion-dollar housing bubble, and the loss of all that wealth and wealth-driven consumption. Not surprisingly, Baker liked Krugman's post. He adds that the collapse of the housing bubble could be even worse in Canada because 30-year fixed-rate mortgages never took hold in Canada (as they did in the US during the New Deal). The standard mortgage in Canada has to be paid off or refinanced in five years, so when interest rates rise from their current record lows (1% is the current benchmark short-term rate in Canada), millions of homeowners could see their monthly payments shoot up. The scenario is similar to the expiration of low "teaser rates" on adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) in the US in 2006-2008, but could be even worse, as the five-year limit appears more common in Canada than ARMs were in America. Could large numbers of defaults on "underwater mortgages" (where amount owed exceeds market value of house) happen in Canada, too?
I love Canada, but if I were to move there today, I'd rent.


text:
Scrappy's Aromatic Bitters, 5 oz
- 5 oz. Capacity (147ml)
- Hand crafted
- 47% alcohol by volume
Scrappy's answer to the classic aromatic bitters. These bitters were created to be used in classic cocktail recipes. They add balance – and a bit of spice – to your favorite spirits.
Old Fashioned
2 oz. Rye Whiskey
½ oz Simple Syrup
3 to 4 dashes of Scrappy's Aromatic Bitters
Serve on the rocks with a lemon twist
Alcohol, distilled water, organic herbs and spices, caramel


text:
Everyone knows that NI love Richie Hawtin and Richie Hawtin loves Native Instuments, but their strictly-professional relationship has reached new heights as Hawtin's label Minus has developed a new Twitter application that integrates directly with Traktor Pro.
The basic premise is that, every 30 seconds, the track you're playing in Traktor Pro is automatically 'tweeted' to your Twitter account with a 'Now playing:' prefix, through Traktor's Internet Broadcasting function. Check out Hawtin's Twitter page to get a glimpse of the future.
Pretty clever stuff, and it will available to everyone outside The Cube in Traktor's next update (available in June)


text:
Friday 25 January
|Manta (1)
The largest living ray (1) and one of the largest of all elasmobranchs (4), the giant manta ray (Manta birostris) is a stunning and graceful member of the devil ray family (Mobulidae). This giant fish is notable for its sheer size, with anecdotal reports of individuals measuring up to 9.1 metres across (1) (2) (4).
The giant manta ray has a distinctive body shape, with triangular pectoral 'wings' and paddle-like lobes extending in front of the mouth (4) (5). Known as 'cephalic lobes', these are forward extensions of the pectoral fins which form a funnel-like structure while feeding, helping to channel plankton-filled water into the mouth (3) (4) (5). The lobes are rolled into a spiral when the giant manta ray is swimming (5).
The broad, disc-like body of the giant manta ray is just over twice as wide as it is long (2), and there is a small dorsal fin on the back (5), with a rudimentary spine immediately behind it, on the upper side of the tail (2). The tail of the giant manta ray is slender and slightly flattened (2) (5), and is shorter than the width of the disc-like body (5). The giant manta ray's eyes are located on the sides of its head, and its gills are on the underside of the body (5). The cavernous mouth is positioned at the front of the head and has rows of tiny, peg-like teeth on the lower jaw (2) (4) (5).
The colouration of the giant manta ray can be quite variable. Most individuals belong to a 'chevron morph', which is predominantly black above and white below, with large white 'shoulder' patches on the back (2) (3). These conspicuous white patches occur on either side of a dark midline, and are more or less triangular or chevron-shaped, with hook-like extensions to the sides. There may also be small patches of white on the tips of the pectoral fins (2).
The underside of the giant manta ray is largely cream to white, with varying degrees of dark spots and patches, mainly on the belly (2) (3). There is usually a prominent black, semi-circular mark behind the fifth gill slit on each side of the body, and the rear margins of the pectoral fins have dark shading (2). The giant manta ray also has dark colouration around and inside its mouth (2) (3).
The giant manta ray also occurs in a striking 'black morph', which is completely black above and mostly black below, except for a variably sized white area around the gills and belly (2) (3). Dark spots are often visible on this white patch. Nearly all-white individuals have also been documented (2). Each giant manta ray possesses a unique pattern of blotches, spots and scars that can be used to identify individuals (3) (4) (5).
Manta rays were previously considered to be a single species, but have recently been split into two separate species based on differences in size, appearance, habitat and behaviour (1) (2) (3). The giant manta ray grows larger than the reef manta ray (Manta alfredi), and also has a non-functional tail spine, which is absent in the reef manta ray. The white shoulder patches of the reef manta ray form a 'Y' shape and gradually fade into the black of the back, whereas those of the giant manta ray form a 'T' shape and are clearly distinct from the black back. Reef manta rays also differ in having a white to grey rather than dark mouth, and the dark spots on their underside are more extensive (2) (3).
Studies have suggested that there may be a third species of manta ray, but more evidence is needed before the species are split further (1) (2).
An exceptionally graceful swimmer, the giant manta ray almost appears to fly through the water using its large pectoral fins (4) (5). This species is capable of both rapid speed (4) and deep dives, sometimes reaching depths of over 1,000 metres (1). Giant manta rays have also been observed jumping clear of the water and landing with a loud splash, possibly as a form of communication or even play (4) (5).
Despite its enormous size, the giant manta ray feeds on tiny planktonic organisms by filtering large volumes of water through its mouth. Food is strained out of the water using plates of pinkish-brown, sponge-like tissue between the gills, known as 'gill rakers' (3) (4) (5). When feeding, the giant manta ray unfurls the fleshy cephalic lobes on either side of its head and uses them to direct water into the mouth (4) (5). It often swims in slow somersaults as it gathers food, or sometimes scoops plankton up along the sea bed (3) (4) (5).
The giant manta ray is thought to make seasonal migrations to take advantage of rich feeding areas (3) (4). Although it is generally solitary, loose aggregations may form where there is abundant food or for mating (1) (3) (4) (5). This species is often host to smaller fish called remoras, which attach to the manta ray's body and consume particles of food that fall from its mouth. The giant manta ray regularly seeks out 'cleaning stations', where cleaner fishes such as wrasses (Labroides spp.) pick parasites off its body (3) (4) (5).
Courtship in the giant manta ray can last for days, with a number of males following a female around in a 'mating train', competing for the right to mate. Eventually, one of the males grasps the tip of the female's pectoral fin in its teeth, and the pair mate belly-to-belly (3) (4) (5). As in other rays and sharks, fertilisation is internal, with the male transferring sperm to the female using a pair of 'claspers' on the inner part of the pelvic fins (4).
The developing eggs remain inside the female's body for up to 12 months and then hatch internally, so that the female gives birth to live young (4). The female giant manta ray is believed to give birth to one or occasionally two young (1) (3) (4) (5), probably in shallow water and at night (3) (4) (5). Births may take place only once every two to five years (3). The newborn giant manta ray measures an impressive 1.2 to 1.5 metres across (3) (4), and may double in size during the first year of its life (4).
The giant manta ray is believed to mature at a disc width of about 4 to 4.5 metres in males and 5 to 5.5 metres in females (4) (5). This species is thought to be long-lived, with an estimated lifespan of at least 40 years (1). The only known predators of the giant manta ray are large sharks (1) (3) (4) (5), orcas (Orcinus orca) and false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) (3).
The giant manta ray is found in tropical, sub-tropical and temperate waters in all the world's major oceans (1) (2) (3), between about 31 degrees North and 36 degrees South (3). It has been recorded as far north as southern California and New Jersey in the United States, Mutsu Bay in Japan, the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt and the Azores Islands, and as far south as Peru, Uruguay, South Africa and New Zealand (1) (2).
This species is believed to have a wider distribution than the closely related reef manta ray, and is more migratory in its behaviour (1) (3).
A more oceanic species than the reef manta ray (1), the giant manta ray is thought to travel vast distances across the open ocean (3). It appears to be a seasonal visitor to coastal and offshore sites, and is commonly seen along productive coastlines with regular upwellings, as well as around oceanic islands, offshore pinnacles and seamounts (1) (2) (3).
The giant manta ray often visits shallow reefs to feed and to be cleaned by 'cleaner fishes' (1) (3).
The giant manta ray is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List (1).
The giant manta ray has been traditionally harvested for its oil-rich liver and for its skin (3) (5). It was formerly harvested commercially around eastern Australia and in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico, causing large declines in its populations (3) (4) (5).
Although it is sometimes taken in local fisheries for food and other products (1), the giant manta ray has more recently become highly valued in international markets for its gill rakers, which are used in the Chinese medicine trade (1) (3). In addition, the giant manta ray is often caught accidentally in other fisheries or becomes entangled in fishing lines or nets (1) (3) (4), including bather protection nets used for shark control (1).
The giant manta ray's large size, slow swimming speed and tendency to be found at the water's surface, often in well-known aggregation sites, make it relatively easy to catch (1) (3). Its slow birth rate also means that it is particularly vulnerable to unsustainable fishing and is slow to recover from any population declines (1) (3) (4).
Other potential threats to this giant fish include pollution, the degradation of its habitat, ingestion of plastic particles, collisions with boats and the effects of climate change (1). In addition, there are fears that increasing dive tourism could have negative effects on giant manta rays and their habitats if not properly regulated (1) (3) (4) (5).
Although international protection for the giant manta ray is still poor (3), a number of countries have established legal protection for this iconic species in their own waters. For example, manta rays are now legally protected from fishing around Hawaii, Mexico, the Philippines, Ecuador and New Zealand, while the Maldives have a complete export ban on all ray species (1) (3).
The giant manta ray is also listed on Appendices I and II of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), which aims to protect migratory species across their range (6). In the Maldives, two Marine Protected Areas have been set up specifically to help protect manta rays. There are also Marine Protected Areas around Mexico, although these may suffer from poor enforcement and threats from tourism (1) (3).
Dive tourism involving manta rays is a growing industry, and can potentially give the giant manta ray more economic value than the short-term profits from fishing. However, the industry needs to be appropriately managed to prevent harm to the giant manta ray or its habitat and to ensure that it remains sustainable (1) (3).
In 2011, the Manta Trust was formed to co-ordinate global research and conservation efforts for manta rays (3). Studies are underway to track the movement patterns of these ocean giants (4) (7), but further research is still needed into their biology, intelligence, social interactions and population sizes (3).
The splitting of manta rays into two distinct species will allow more appropriate management decisions based on differences in their behaviour, habitat use and life histories (2) (3). For example, national or regional fishing bans may protect the largely resident reef manta ray, but only provide temporary protection for the more migratory giant manta ray (3).
As large and charismatic species, manta rays may serve as a useful 'flagship' species for conservation, helping to promote the protection of the wider marine environment (3).
Find out more about the giant manta ray and other manta ray species:
More information on the conservation of sharks and rays:
Authenticated (31/08/12) by Josh Stewart, Associate Director, Manta Trust.
Image credit
© Alex Mustard / naturepl.com
Nature Picture Library
5a Great George Street
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 117 911 4675
Fax: +44 (0) 117 911 4699
Link to this photo
Embed this Arkive thumbnail link ("portlet") by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed portlet may be used as a link from your website to Arkive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite Arkive images and videos and share them with friends.
Play the Team WILD game:
This species is featured in:
Friday 25 January
Friday 05 October
Monday 24 September