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Roger Plata sits in a camp chair on a shallow sand bar in the San Joaquin River. He scoops some silt from the frothy river bottom and drops it into a sluice – a boxlike device that sifts sediment using a screen and running water. Pebbles clatter across the metal grate like marbles in a glass jar. Mr. Plata takes the filtered material and swishes it in a pan. He peers at the result: a bed of black sand with a few conspicuous flecks.
"I'm not a professional miner yet by any stretch of the imagination," says Plata. "But it's just around the corner as far as I'm concerned. I could just about quit my day job right now."
Plata and his friends picking through this river in the hogback hills of the Sierra Nevada are quixotic evidence of the reawakening of America's forty-niner spirit.
With gold hovering around $900 an ounce, the lure of striking it rich that brought pioneers to California 160 years ago and still draws the world to Las Vegas is beckoning people once again to streambeds across the American West.
Prospector clubs are flourishing, claims are getting staked like fence posts, and some sourdoughs are flirting with turning a hobby into a career. Indeed, membership in the Gold Prospectors Association of America (GPAA) has tripled in just the past few years – and is adding as many as 250 people a day so far in 2008. The circulation of once obscure mining journals is booming, and panners and prospectors have filed more than 1,500 new mineral claims in California in just the past three months.
"For a lot of people, the economy is tight and this gives them a chance to make a little extra money," says Ken Rucker, general manager of the GPAA.
Plata is wearing rubber boots up to his knees, a flannel shirt, and a straw hat in the shape of a pith helmet. He looks like Rudyard Kipling after a trip to L.L. Bean.
Plata has been a hobby prospector for decades. But today he's out with fellow members of the Central Valley Prospectors Club to help introduce newcomers to the world of gold panning. Gingerly, he picks his way across the river to Bill and Evangelina Phillips.
He shows them the basics, scooping up river water and sand in his green plastic pan and swirling the mixture. The motion sinks heavier materials like gold to the bottom, while the lighter sands slosh over the edge. Eventually he's left with a patch of black sand strewn with beguiling specks.
"We're hooked," says Mr. Phillips, pointing at the flakes. "You can find gold right here 100 yards from the parking lot."
Plata "counts the colors" and guesses that the flecks total about $2. At that rate, the Phillipses may finish the day with sore arms and enough to buy burgers and fries in town. That's just fine with Bill, who says he and his wife are simply looking for some exercise and company. "This is not for financial gain," he says. Then he happens to mention the current price of gold, down to the last penny.
Like the Phillipses' Plata joined the prospectors club years ago searching not so much for nuggets but for companionship. He had just relocated to Fresno to take a job driving a bee-keeper's truck. "All these people here, they're my friends," says Plata. He surveys three dozen people standing at different points in the river, whirling pans and shoveling buckets of sand.
"Has anybody hit the mother lode yet?" calls out a woman from across the river.
"Do you expect us to tell?" answers a man on the other side.
The banter, the lounge chairs in the river, the outdoor setting, it all feels like an Albert Bierstadt painting – a tableau and a time fading from American life. "I get to play in the water and the mud and not get yelled at," says Gary Risbrudt, a genial man with a graying ponytail, explaining his reason for being here. "Most anybody who does it recreationally will tell you, it's not the finding, it's the looking."
Hardly anyone in the club sells their gold. Mr. Risbrudt took one of his nuggets and had it fashioned into an earring.
Plata walks down the shoreline away from the others, kneels down, and neatly spreads a small towel on the bank. One by one, he pulls dozens of vials from a satchel, each looking like small jars of nutmeg.
He holds one up. This gold, he says, came from 24 hours of work on claims he controls in Arizona. Using a special scale, he's determined there are 1,048 grains. "That's about $2,000," he says, turning the vial in his hand. "That's about as good as it gets."
Like most Californians these days, Plata isn't a descendent of any of the forty-niners, nor the creek dwellers of the Great Depression who plied these same waters. His grandfather came from Colombia with the Spanish surname Plata, which, ironically, means "silver." It is perhaps a fitting moniker for a man torn between hobby and the hope for something more.
"My mother would say that I'm crazy, that they found all the gold in 1849," he says. "Well, I was up on our claims, and I was hitting a quarter ounce a day. It makes you think two, three times about quitting your day job. That's a couple hundred dollars a day you could be making there."
Plata is clearly more serious than the casual hobbyist. He's sunk more than $20,000 into equipment, including dredges, air drills, jackhammers, shaker tables, and mineral-classification "jigs." "I sort of need it all for what I'm aiming to do," he says.
At his home in Fresno, a bookcase in his living room brims with mining books and neatly rolled geological maps. Plata pores over the charts for signs of old mining sites and places with names that include the word "gulch." He delves into records to see where his competitors have staked claims. Knowing his rivals do the same, he registers his in another name.
Such tactics may not rise to the level of gunfights at the Poker Flat saloon, but the intrigue surrounding modern panning has a whiff of the Wild West about it. "They say back in the Gold Rush days, 1 in a hundred people, or even 1 in a thousand, were actually making money at this," says Plata. "And that's exactly what the story is nowadays. The odds are against me, I realize that. But I actually do think I can do it."
Rick Mahoney does, too. Mr. Mahoney, a local mining supplier, has watched a lot of newbies come into his shop lately beguiled by the price of gold. One man dropped $10,000 on equipment in one day.
Many of them may just be fools chasing gold. But Mahoney believes that Plata, because of the claims he controls and his savvy, could make a living at it. Commodity prices do help, too.
"You could probably find enough gold to live and support yourself," says Mahoney. "Before, you couldn't."
Still, everyone in the river today knows the hypnotic pull of prospecting. "Gold fever, it's incurable," says Risbrudt. "Unless you find a two-ton rock, solid, it's incurable." Plata laughs, then muses: "Even that might make it worse."


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The Gentleman's Magazine, Volumen222
The "Gentleman's magazine" section is a digest of selections from the weekly press; the "(Trader's) monthly intelligencer" section consists of news (foreign and domestic), vital statistics, a register of the month's new publications, and a calendar of forthcoming trade fairs.
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The Battle of Hastings by Rev Mackenzie Walcott B D
The Percy Supporters by the Rev W K Riland Bed0rd
Nugaa Latina No XL by the Rev H Holden D D
Derechos de autor
Otras 19 secciones no mostradas
Términos y frases comunes
Adele aged Anne appointed April army bart Bishop born carucate Castle century Charles Church College Court D'Isigny daughter death deceased Devon died Dublin Duke Durer Earl Edinburgh educated Edward eldest dau Elizabeth England English engraving Essex father field figure filled find fine fire first five formerly France French George graduated B.A. Hall Henry honour House Hyde-park James Kent King Lady Lancashire land late John late Rev late Sir left issue letter Lieut Lieut.-Col Lincolnshire London Lord magistrate March Margaret Marie Antoinette marriage married Mary Mathilde Norman oflice Oxford Park photographs present Prince proceeded M.A. Queen rector Regt Richard Robert Roman Royal Scotland second dau shire Sir Lionel Society Surrey Sussex SYLVANUS URBAN third dau Thomas tion Valognes vicar widow wife of Capt wife of Major wife of Rev William Yorkshire youngest dau

subset: commoncrawl


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Available ebook formats: epub mobi pdf rtf lrf pdb txt html
Top Writers Block is a diverse and eclectic group of talented writers who decided to write stories together - just for the fun of it!
We are happy to announce that authors proceeds have always gone, and will continue to go, to Sea Shepherd.fr every time Smashwords has made a payment! Thank you to those who have supported the group, independent authors, and Sea Shepherd.
Our collections are usually written with one theme or genre in mind. Each author contributes when they have the time, so some of the collections have as many as twelve authors participating. Every collection has something new, with stories and poems ranging from romance, drama, and adventure to mystery, fantasy, and horror.
All the Top Writers Block's proceeds will go to Sea Shepherd, so by buying you are helping to keep our oceans alive! Thank You all so much!


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Brisk corporate spending on storage devices lifted EMC's second-quarter profit by 20 percent and caused the company to boost - slightly - its estimate for the year. But investors drove down EMC shares, proving that sometimes good isn't good enough.
Net income for the three-month period that ended in June rose to $334m, or 16 cents per share, from $279m or 12 cents in the same quarter last year. The figure beat consensus analyst estimates by a penny, according to Reuters.
Quarterly revenue rose 21 percent to $3.12bn, from $2.57bn, as sales in North America rebounded and demand surged, particularly for midrange products.
Sales in the VMware division grew 89 percent to $298m. EMC plans to sell a 10-percent stake in VMware in an IPO scheduled for late this year. Earlier this month, Intel said it paid $219m to acquire a 2.5-percent stake in VMware.
Sales in North America jumped 20 percent, an improvement over the previous quarter when revenue in the region had slowed. EMC's fastest-growing region remained the Asia Pacific, where revenue increased by 32 percent.
EMC nudged up ever so slightly its forecast for the year, saying profit and revenue for would "exceed" 64 cents and $12.7bn respectively. Previously, the company had said profit and revenue would be "at least" 64 cents and $12.7bn.
And therein was the rub. According to Reuters, the average analyst forecast was for 67 cents on sales of $12.8. EMC shares were trading down 28 cents or 1.4 percent to $19.23 in early afternoon trading.
Over the past 12 months, EMC's shares have gained about 90 percent, and have risen about 24 percent over the past three months.
EMC, which has been on a buying spree over the past few years, plans to continue making acquisitions of smaller companies, but doesn't plan larger ones.
"Right now, we want to avoid a big acquisition this year," Joe Tucci, EMC's CEO told the Wall Street Journal. $reg;


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An example of a SOA is FIWare.
FIWARE is the main result of the EU Future Internet Public-Private Partnership (FI-PPP) and of the EU commitment to help entrepreneurs thrive in Europe via the Startup Europe initiative, an investment of several hundred million euros over the last five years. FIWARE provides enhanced OpenStack-based cloud hosting capabilities and a rich library of components. These components, called the "Generic Enablers", provide open standard APIs that make it easier to connect to Internet of Things devices, process data and media in real-time at large scale, perform Big Data analysis or incorporate advanced features to interact with the user, build applications easy to replicate in various relevant sectors. They allow developers to set the foundations of the architecture associated to their application. In FIWARE, Generic Enabler (GE) API specifications are public and royalty-free, supported by open source reference implementations. Thanks to that, alternative FIWARE providers can emerge faster in the market.
FIWare is deploying all around Europe, and it is also getting ready to do so around the world, a set of FiWare Lab Nodes also including a Security Operations Centre (SOC) in order to address security issues on an organizational and technical level.
Service Developers can access the FIWARE catalogue to deploy and use the City Enabler in a city. It is compliant and connected to other catalogues, namely the
These will let the City Enabler support micro proxies to collect the data from IoT infrastructures installed in cities.
The FIWare Service Infrastructure facilitates the access to sensors (IoT) acting as a Context Broker managing a variety of protocols at the physical level letting the service operate at an abstract level. Hence a service can interact with a sensor/actuator by acting on its virtual representation in FIWare that will take care of the "implementation" of that interaction at physical level. This is particulalry useful given the variety of IoT in a city and their evoelution over time that would require, in absence of a virtualisation, a continuous update of the service.
These properties facilitate urban service providers and the Industry to rapidly develop micro proxies that are able to get data from IoT infrastructures and put them in the City Data workspace.
Clearly the City should move on a path to create a virtual representation of itself, as I will discuss when dealing with the Data Fabric.


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SAN ANTONIO — Maybe they'll finally get a challenge this time.
SAN ANTONIO — Maybe they'll finally get a challenge this time.
The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder have simply rolled through this postseason. There's the 18-game winning streak that has the Spurs flirting with history. Seventeen combined playoff games and just one loss. The Thunder sending home the last two NBA champions, and no other playoff teams besides these two that can boast a series sweep.
What took the Western Conference finals so long to get here Sunday, anyway?
"I think we both deserve it," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said.
Few would dispute that.
It's a clear-cut matchup of the West's best teams without any qualifiers: No what-if speculating because of devastating injuries like Derrick Rose's blown-out knee that sunk top-seeded Chicago and reshuffled predictions in the East, nor were there lucky breaks or Game 7 heartbreakers that will gnaw at San Antonio's and Oklahoma City's dispatched opponents and their fans all summer.
By and large, the Spurs and Thunder have just steamrolled to this point.
The top-seeded Spurs clobbered Utah and the Los Angeles Clippers by an average of 14 points a game. They're one victory from tying the 2001 Lakers for the longest winning streak kept alive in a postseason and two from becoming just the fourth team in NBA history to win 20 in row.
"It's been a while since we've been in the Western Conference finals. And it's been a week kind of sitting here stewing and waiting on it," said Spurs forward Tim Duncan, whose last playoff trip this far in 2008 ended with a loss to the Lakers. "All of that together makes it an exciting series to start."
Oklahoma City — which finished three games behind the Spurs for first place — didn't have as many blowouts the first two rounds as San Antonio but drew tougher matchups. The Thunder avenged falling at the brink of the NBA Finals last year with a sweep of defending champion Dallas, then beat the Lakers in five.
Even before the playoffs, it was arguably easy to see this conference finals matchup coming: From the second week of the regular season until April 6, the Thunder held first place in the West.
Then the Spurs leapfrogged them, and never gave it back.
"I know they're the No. 1 seed — they're a tough group, they haven't lost in a couple months," Thunder forward Kevin Durant said.
"But I think we bring another dimension to the table as well and we come out and compete."
Then the NBA's scoring champion the last three seasons added, "We're a group that's been together for four or five years. They've been together for 15 years. Those guys, they know each other inside and out."
If there's any broad way to frame this series, it's that: the up-and-coming Thunder vs. the old-and-still kicking Spurs. The triumvirate of Durant, All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook and Sixth Man of the Year James Harden are all 23 or younger. Spurs point guard Tony Parker turned 30 last week, while Manu Ginobili is 34 and Duncan 36.
Yet youth hasn't been served when these teams have played. The Spurs are 8-2 against the Thunder since 2009, including two wins this season despite Ginobili not playing because of injury. The Spurs were the NBA's best 3-point shooting team this season at 39.3 percent, but they especially picked apart the Thunder from behind the arc, shooting 52 percent in their three most recent meetings.
Durant this week brushed off the Thunder's troubles defending San Antonio's slash-and-kickouts that set up so many of those 3-point looks. He also grew noticeably annoyed by questions about how the Thunder will stop the Spurs — "You've got to ask me about how we're going to come at them," Durant shot back — and was asked before boarding a plane to San Antonio on Saturday whether they're leaving as underdogs.
"Everybody's always been using that, 'We're too young for this and it's not our time, we're not ready,'" Durant said.
The Thunder say they are.
"Our success is just not overnight. It just doesn't happen," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "It happens through all of the effort that guys put in. This series is going to be the same thing."
AP Sports Writer Jeff Latzke in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.
Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber


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Mi India, the Xiaomi company, today announced that its second smartphone release after the Mi3, the Redmi 1S, will be on sale from 2 PM on September 2 exclusively through its ecommerce partner, Flipkart. Continue reading Mi India launches the Redmi 1S for ₹5,999; Registration starts today
Tag: redmi 1s
Xiaomi debuts in India with the flagship Mi 3; Redmi Note and Redmi 1S to follow soon
Xiaomi, one of the leading mobile Internet companies in China, has finally forayed into the Indian market with a range of Mi smartphones and an exclusive partnership with Flipkart.
The first Mi smartphone that Xiaomi has launched in India is the Mi 3. Priced at ₹13,999, Mi 3 will go on sale on July 22 while the pre-registrations are now open at www.flipkart.com/Mi, and will continue till July 21 midnight.
Mi 3 is powered by Xiaomi's Android-based platform – MIUI. MIUI is a live operating system constantly improving with frequent software updates, and offers a high degree of customisation.
"Mi 3 is the fastest Mi phone ever. We are very excited to offer one of the world's most powerful smartphones in India at an incredibly affordable price point of INR 13,999. We hope Indian users will love MIUI, our super intuitive Android-based operating system."
– Hugo Barra, Vice President, Xiaomi Global
In addition, Xiaomi has also announced two other smartphones – the Redmi 1S and the Redmi Note – which will be launched over the next few weeks. The 4.7-inch Redmi 1S is priced at ₹6,999 while the 5.5-inch octa-core Redmi Note is priced at ₹9,999.
According to Manu Jain, India Operations Head for Xiaomi, the company is starting with 35+ service centers across top 20 cities along with a hotline that operates 7 days a week to ensure a robust after-sale service and a hassle-free customer experience. There are also two exclusive Mi service centers in Delhi and Bangalore.
Mi 3 Specifications
- 5-inch Full HD 1080p IPS display
- 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800AB processor
- 13-megapixel rear camera with dual-LED flash
- 3050 mAh internal battery
How to Order Mi 3 in India
- Head to Flipkart, and login using your account.
- Register for the sale on the Mi Store (www.flipkart.com/Mi)
- On July 22, buy the device. Note that only customers who register before July 22 will be able to purchase their Mi 3 on the sale day.


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Bad Idea Redux: Revisiting The Music Tax
from the not-this-again deptI was going to ignore this, but people keep submitting it. A student blogger for ZDnet has decided that he's solved the RIAA's problems: just tax every internet connection at $1 per month. This is, of course, unworkable and unwise for a variety of reasons. First, the recording industry would laugh (and laugh and laugh) at the idea that $1 from every internet connection would come close to covering what it (falsely) considers to be "losses" from file sharing. Remember, this is the same recording industry that's continually trying to raise the price per song downloaded to over $1. But, more importantly, there are so many problems with a music tax idea, that it's taken up multiple posts here.
However, now that the fall semester is starting, we're curious about the "tens of thousands" of students that supposedly had signed up for Jim Griffin's Choruss -- which is an effort to put just such a plan into practice, though on a smaller scale, just on university campuses -- and, as Griffin constantly reminds everyone -- with a variety of experimental business models rather than a single one (despite them all seeming to reflect this sort of "let's create a big pool of money" concept that makes little sense to us). Last we'd heard from Griffin, back in June, he promised to answer all of the questions folks here had asked him about Choruss. I just emailed with him before posting this, and due to some unforeseen -- but perfectly understandable -- circumstances, he has not yet had a chance to go through the questions, but promises to do so soon. In the meantime, it would be great to hear from any students arriving on campus this fall, and finding out they're a Choruss campus. To date, I've heard from students at two schools, both (happily) telling me their campuses had turned down Choruss, but I haven't heard from anyone who's actually seen the program. But, surely, with tens of thousands of students signed up, at least someone here knows one of them. It would be great to find out from their perspective what's happening.
In the meantime, though, I take solace in the fact that nearly every comment on the ZDnet post points out why the idea is a bad one. This is an improvement. A few years ago when people talked up the idea of a music tax, many people seemed to like it -- but these days, it appears that more and more people are recognizing what a bad and unnecessary idea it is.


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Regression analysis. It sounds like a part of Freudian psychology. In reality, a regression is a seemingly ubiquitous statistical tool appearing in legions of scientific papers, and regression analysis is a method of measuring the link between two or more phenomena.
Imagine you want to know the connection between the square footage of houses and their sale prices. A regression charts such a link, in so doing pinpointing "an average causal effect," as MIT economist Josh Angrist and his co-author Jorn-Steffen Pischke of the London School of Economics put it in their 2009 book, "Mostly Harmless Econometrics."
To grasp the basic concept, take the simplest form of a regression: a linear, bivariate regression, which describes an unchanging relationship between two (and not more) phenomena. Now suppose you are wondering if there is a connection between the time high school students spend doing French homework, and the grades they receive. These types of data can be plotted as points on a graph, where the x-axis is the average number of hours per week a student studies, and the y-axis represents exam scores out of 100. Together, the data points will typically scatter a bit on the graph. The regression analysis creates the single line that best summarizes the distribution of points.
Mathematically, the line representing a simple linear regression is expressed through a basic equation: Y = a0 + a1 X. Here X is hours spent studying per week, the "independent variable." Y is the exam scores, the "dependent variable," since — we believe — those scores depend on time spent studying. Additionally, a0 is the y-intercept (the value of Y when X is zero) and a1 is the slope of the line, characterizing the relationship between the two variables.
Using two slightly more complex equations, the "normal equations" for the basic linear regression line, we can plug in all the numbers for X and Y, solve for a0 and a1, and actually draw the line. That line often represents the lowest aggregate of the squares of the distances between all points and itself, the "Ordinary Least Squares" (OLS) method mentioned in mountains of academic papers.
To see why OLS is logical, imagine a regression line running 6 units below one data point and 6 units above another point; it is 6 units away from the two points, on average. Now suppose a second line runs 10 units below one data point and 2 units above another point; it is also 6 units away from the two points, on average. But if we square the distances involved, we get different results: 62 + 62 = 72 in the first case, and 102 + 22 = 104 in the second case. So the first line yields the lower figure — the "least squares" — and is a more consistent reduction of the distance from the data points. (Additional methods, besides OLS, can find the best line for more complex forms of regression analysis.)
In turn, the typical distance between the line and all the points (sometimes called the "standard error") indicates whether the regression analysis has captured a relationship that is strong or weak. The closer a line is to the data points, overall, the stronger the relationship.
Regression analysis, again, establishes a correlation between phenomena. But as the saying goes, correlation is not causation. Even a line that fits the data points closely may not say something definitive about causality. Perhaps some students do succeed in French class because they study hard. Or perhaps those students benefit from better natural linguistic abilities, and they merely enjoy studying more, but do not especially benefit from it. Perhaps there would be a stronger correlation between test scores and the total time students had spent hearing French spoken before they ever entered this particular class. The tale that emerges from good data may not be the whole story.
So it still takes critical thinking and careful studies to locate meaningful cause-and-effect relationships in the world. But at a minimum, regression analysis helps establish the existence of connections that call for closer investigation.
Kelley Brown
March 16, 2010
I hope this kind of thing ("Explained")becomes a regular feature. Even if we learned about things like regression in school, it is easy to forget if you don't use it regularly.
Ann Teve
July 15, 2011
Yes, this is written with exceptional clarity. Do continue this feature by this author.
July 29, 2011
thank u for such a simple explanation.
Khan MI
August 5, 2011
Very simple & easy to understand explanation. Would it be possible to explain about other statistical tests like standard deviation & standard error of the mean and t-tests etc. Please it is a humble request. I regularly see figures in biological sciences publication where these tests have been applied but I can not understand why those tests have been used & what the reported values actually mean. Many thanks in advance.
Kevin Laycock
August 10, 2011
...explanation like this are a great way to get that long dormant knowledge moving again.


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Dear Mr. Prime Minister,
As one who had lived and worked for seven years in Europe including three years in Switzerland, may I place some of my thoughts before you in relation to the present debate on action against Indian nationals parking illegally-earned money in foreign bank accounts?
2.I was prompted to write this letter after watching on NDTV on January 25 a discussion on this subject between Shri Bajaj and Barkha Dutt. Shri Bajaj made a very important point. He said instead of merely blaming foreign Governments for inadequate co-operation in this field, the first effective action has to be taken in India against "tax chors" who park their money abroad.
3.This effective action has to be in the form of identifying Indian nationals who park their money abroad, getting details of their foreign bank accounts through human sources working in their offices in India and confronting foreign governments with details collected by us in India and seeking their mutual legal assistance. If we do so, they would find it difficult to evade our requests for co-operation. Presently, they are able to evade our requests for co-operation because our requests are general and not specific mentioning the wrong-doers identified by our economic and financial intelligence agencies and details of their overseas accounts as collected in India by them.
4.After my retirement in 1994,, I had written an article pointing out the need for revamping our economic and financial intelligence set-up. It was published by the "Business Line" of the "Hindu" group. After reading that article, Shri M.R.Sivaraman, the then Revenue Secretary working under Shri P.Chidambaram, the then Finance Minister before the change of Government in 1998, wrote to me that the Government would be implementing some of my suggestions.One of the actions reportedly taken by Shri Chidambaram was to set up a revamped Economic Intelligence Council (EIC) chaired by him to monitor the collection, analysis and assessment of economic and financial intelligence and follow-up action thereon. The first meeting of the revamped EIC was held on July 22,1997. It met once a week thereafter providing some vigour to domestic investigations in India against wrong-doers.
5.In July 2000, the Government of Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee had set up a Special Task Force to make recommendations for the revamping of our intelligence set-up in the light of the inadequacies noticed during the Kargil conflict of 1999. It was headed by Shri G.C.Saxena, the former head of the R&AW. Among its members were Shri M.K.Narayanan, former National Security Adviser, Shri K.Raghunath, former Foreign Secretary. Shri P.P.Shrivastav, former Special Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, and myself.
6. It came to the notice of the Task Force that since Shri Chidambaram and Shri Sivaraman left office , there was a serious dilution by their successors of the attention paid to the working of our economic and financial intelligence set-up. The EIC had not even met regularly after they left office. The Task Force, in its report, drew attention to the functioning of our economic and financial intelligence set-up and made certain recommendations for corrective action.
7. In my book titled "Intelligence---Past,Present & Future" written in 2001 and published by the Lancer Publications of Delhi, I had written, inter alia, as follows in the Chapter on "Financial & Narcotics Intelligence":
"In India, the collection of financial intelligence and the use of such intelligence to deal with organised crime groups is essentially handlled by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Narcotics Control Bureau. There was no mechanism for a co-ordinated assessment of their intelligence, identification of gaps in their coverage and initiation of steps to fill such gaps.
" This lacuna was to be filled through the setting-up of a re-constituted Economic Intelligence Council chaired by the Finance Minister. During its first meeting on July 22,1997, it was reported to have set up a core group to monitor trends in financial crime and keep the Council informed.
" The fight against money-laundering in India is complicated by the following factors:
* The politician-criminal nexus.
* The lack of effective control over contributions to political parties and election expenses.
" This enables criminal elements to use their contributions to the political process as a safe-channel for money-laundering and for gaining political influence to incapacitate the intelligence and investigating agencies so that they cannot effectively act against them.
" While the search for an entente cordiale between the States of India and Pakistan has proved elusive since 1947, there is an entente cordiale between the criminal worlds of the two countries, interacting with each other either directly or through the intermediary of their counterparts in Dubai. No study in depth has been made of this entente cordiale or, if it has been, the public has not been told of its conclusions.
" There is thus a lack of the required political will to deal with this problem in an effective manner by strengthening the capabilities of the intelligence and investigating agencies and letting them function without any political interference. There has also been a lack of interest on the part of our legislators in this subject, which has a vital bearing on our national security, economic well-being and fight against terrorism and Pakistan's proxy war. Since the NSC (National Security Council) Secretariat is designed to function as the nerve centre overseeing all aspects relating to our national security, it should have an oversight role in respect of the collection, assessmernt and utilisation of financial intelligence and evaluation of the performance of the agencies responsible for these tasks too." Citation from my book ends.
8. I understand that the Group of Ministers set up by the Vajpayee Government examined the report of the G.C.Saxena Task Force and accepted some of its recommendations for implementation. I do not have an idea of the follow-up action taken. Has there been a streamlining of our financial intelligence set-up? How satisfactory is their functioning? How many Indians having foreign bank accounts have they identified? How many of them were prosecuted? If they were not prosecuted, why not? These are important questions, which need looking into.
9. There are two aspects to action against Indian nationals parking illegally-acquired money in foreign bank accounts.The first aspect is our own action in India and the second is successfully seeking foreign co-operation. Our attention has been mainly on the second aspect of co-operation by foreign countries. The first aspect of our own sins of commission and omission has not received the attention it merited. The nation owes a debt of gratitude to Shri Bajaj for drawing attention to this during his TV discussions with Barkha Dutt at Davos.
10. This matter needs your personal attention and that of Sri Pranab Mukherjee, the Finance Minister.
Warm regards,
Yours sincerely,
B.Raman, 26-1-11, Chennai.
Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi. firstname.lastname@example.com
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
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Special Address to the 2002 NEA Representative Assembly
Remarks by Sandra McBrayer, Executive Director of the Children's Initiative Delivered July 4, Dallas, Texas
Thank you. I am nervous. I am sweating. Are you?
You know, I was actually here a day ago and I heard the vote about not wanting speakers. So I am going to talk really fast so you can get back to business. Otherwise, those of you who don't want me to speak can leave now. No, I am teasing. Stay seated. That was a joke.
You know, I also heard Bob in his keynote. And I heard him talk about pardons. And it is funny, because the United States Teacher of the Year gets a handful of pardons also. Only ours don't expire. And so I wanted to bestow two very special pardons today.
The first one is to Bob Chase. And some of you might ask what it is for. And the rest of the room in unison are going to yell: "Dancing!" Those of you who have not seen or had the pleasure of dancing with Bob will know this pardon is just. And my toes know it is just.
I also want to give a special pardon to Reggie. And it is not that Reggie has done anything yet. But I want to say, whatever you think you want to do, Reggie, just do it, brother, because you got a pardon in your pocket. So just go for it. So can I say for the next six years, Reggie, you have got a pardon in your pocket.
You know, it is funny having been in front of you so long ago. And it is interesting what happens when you are the United States Teacher of the Year. And I want to be very candid and very honest. Your whole world changes. And I have to admit, part of it is really cool. But you forget. You forget that you are not really all that—until you go home and talk to your mom!
But, you know, it is amazing. Because you are on all these television shows, you are in the newspaper, you are flying first class. I like first class. I like valet parking. I am sorry, but I do. And sometimes you get so caught up, you start believing your own press. And you start thinking that you are all that. And I want to start today with a quick story that put me back in my shoes. You see, I was giving a speech recently—and I am not going to name the state or the conference.
But it was huge conference. It was 19,000 people. Much like today. And I actually got to the conference early. And as many of you know, I don't do that. And I thought, since I am here early, I am going to check in—which is something I also don't tend to do. And I was proud of myself, getting there early. So I went to go check in. And I went to the little registration desk. And you have to imagine the convention center holding 19,000 people and all of the different booths. And I went up to the registration desk and I said, "Hi, I'm Sandy McBrayer, I'm here to speak," and was telling her all about me. And she said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Wait a minute. This is the registration desk. First you have to go to the badge desk to get a badge, because of extra security, and show your ID, before you come back to the registration desk."
I thought, "Well, okay, that makes sense." So I walked a mile through the convention center to the badge desk. And I hadn't worked out yet, so I didn't think it was that big of a deal. And I went to the badge desk and I said, "Hi, I'm Sandy McBrayer, I'm here to speak, and I need to get a badge so I can go register at the registration desk."
And the woman said, "Well, actually, you are not registered at all. So you need to go to the first registration desk, because you have to be on our list."
And I thought, "Okay, I can do this, too, and I can still be chipper." So I went back to the other registration desk. And I made a mistake, I went to the registration called on-site registration. And I went up again and told them who I was and why I was there. And she said, "Miss, I'm sorry, you actually have to go to this other special desk since you haven't registered, because, you see, you haven't paid your fee."
Now, some of you also know I don't always use appropriate language. But I was trying. So I went to the other little desk and I explained who I was for the fourth time. And the woman said, "I can help you." And I was so excited. I said, "This is great." I said, "Okay, here I am. I'm ready to go. Can I get my little badge?"
And she said, "Well, that will be $84."
I said, "No, no. You don't understand. I'm the keynote speaker. I'm here to speak."
And she said, "Everyone pays $84."
And I thought maybe I was not being clear. So I tried it again. I said, "No, no, no. You don't understand." And then all of a sudden I saw right in front of her was this huge conference book. And you know how big a conference book is for something that large. It was bound and everything. So I ripped open the book and there was a full-page picture of me. I said, "Look. See? It's me."
And she said, "Yes, it is. It was obviously taken awhile ago."
And I said, "Get paid much for this job?" And I said, "You're right, it was." I said, "But I'm the speaker, and I need to get in there." And she said, "I'm sorry, it's $84."
And I said, "You know, I'm getting paid a lot of money to be here today." And she looked up. And so I leaned forward and I said, "I'm getting paid a lot of money to speak here today."
And without missing a beat, she looked at me and she said, "So I guess you can afford the $84."
Ladies and gentlemen, I paid the $84. And I quickly stepped back in my shoes and said, "Sandy, you ain't all that. Be humble. Remember, a lot happened before you got here."
I came here for two reasons, ladies and gentlemen. The first is because of Bob Chase. Because, for one, I can't say no to that man. But what he has shown me and taught me for the last six years is a man with courage, with humility, with humor, a man who never gave up and never gave in, a man I honor, from the bottom of my heart, a man who every single day said, "It's about the kids. Let's do right."
I am here also because of you. I came in front of you eight years ago. I was so young and so naive. And you welcomed me. I was scared to death. I have been to every one of your states. You welcomed me. You fed me—some of you better than others.
You clothed me—some states I won't go back to. You picked me up. And I won't mention the woman who was so excited to pick me up she ran a red light and we got in an accident. You took me on tours of your states. I had never been to a pig farm, a chicken farm, an oil well, a coal mine. I had pie with your Grammy. I met your new boyfriend—and I approved. And you did it all. And at times you even called your family when the hotel had sold my room and said, "I'm bringing a guest home. She's sleeping on the couch."
But what you did for me was fill me up. You touched my soul. You taught me that it is about the kids. There is nothing you wouldn't do for them. You reached out to me. And so I came to thank you personally. Because you have given me hope. You have given me courage. And every time I stand up to speak, it is your spirit I speak with, teachers and support staff all over this country who wake up and walk out the door and say, "It's about kids." So I came here to honor you, to thank you. I am humble to be in front of you.
I was asked by Bob to talk about independence in America and what it meant about children. And when I talked to people about what that meant, I was reminded of a story I used to tell when I was national teacher. And that is what I want to share with you, an old story about one of my old kids. Because it is all really about what we do in the classrooms, America, and what has happened since 9/11. It is not about bumper stickers. It is not about flags in our windows. It is about us standing up, reaching out, risking. It is about us continuing on to believe in kids.
I had a student who wasn't my student yet when I met him. He was out on the streets. I walked up to a group of young boys who were standing and hanging out, and he was standing with them. I said hello to the whole group, and they all answered but him. And I started to talk. He walked away. I thought it was a little odd, but I didn't think much of it. And the next day when I saw them again, the same thing happened.
He wouldn't talk to me. And I couldn't figure out why.
And over the course of several days, I started asking the other kids about him. And they said, "Well, we don't know what's wrong, but he doesn't talk much, and when he does, he talks funny." So I found out his name and I started to do research. I found out his name was Marcus. Marcus had a speech impediment, an impediment that actually got worse as he got older. He would later tell me about his life, about how he would walk down the halls when he was a sophomore in high school and kids would see him coming and they would go the other way. He would tell me about when he would raise his hand in class and the teacher would say, "Oh, Marcus, it's going to take too long, write it down, tell me later." He would talk about eating alone at lunch, he would talk about people making fun of him, even his own family.
And one day Marcus decided to stop trying, to stop talking, to stop struggling so hard. And so one day in class he didn't speak. He just became quiet. And do you know what happened as he continued to be quiet from class to class and throughout the day? All of a sudden people started paying attention to him. All of a sudden people wanted his attention. Teachers started encouraging him, going, "Come on now, Marcus, just try." At lunch, kids started sitting with him, trying to get him to talk. His parents came in for a parent-teacher conference. And he still didn't talk. His grades started to fall with his lack of participation. His dad got angry. His dad said, "Damn it, Marcus, talk to your teacher." And Marcus simply shook his head no.
Because for the first time in his life he felt power. He felt control. He felt that he got to do what he wanted to do. And he felt noticed with his action.
But Marcus made a vital mistake. He took that silence into his own home. His brothers and sisters laughed. His mom shrugged. But after a day or two, his dad lost his patience, and he screamed at Marcus. "Young man, I might not be able to make you talk, but, boy, I can make you scream." And he hit him. And hit him. And hit him. And hit him.
In the middle of the night, Marcus realized that he was not safe, it was safer on the streets than in his own home, and so he fled. And that is when I met him, out on those streets.
I said, "Marcus, come to my school. It's different." He looked at me funny and walked away. I said, "Marcus, I'm not a regular teacher." He looked at me funnier and walked away.
And then I realized that I had 100 ways to teach, but I needed 101, that I couldn't just stop, I had to find new and innovative ways to reach somebody. And I had to find a new way to reach Marcus. And so I thought it up. I went to a local computer store in San Diego and I said, "Hi, I have a special needs student and he needs a computer and my district has no money so I need it for free, okay?" I wore a really short skirt! I don't know if he laughed at my legs or my little speech.
I said, "Do you happen to know that I'm a public speaker, and I'll mention the name of your company, 'Sun City,' 'Sun City,' 'Sun City,' three times in every speech across the nation? Think of the PR possibilities."
And he said, "Wow, you thought that up yourself?"
I explained why I needed the computer for Marcus, and he agreed to loan it to me for free. I got a study carrel and I put the computer in it. And I said, "Marcus, here's the deal. You come to class anytime you want for as long as you want. All of your lessons will be on that computer. You do not have to talk to anyone. In fact, you can't talk to anyone. You have your own little classroom right there." I said, "You can come for five minutes or five hours. It's up to you."
Marcus shrugged his shoulders. But the next day he was there for just a few minutes playing on the computer. I started typing jokes into the computer. I would hear him chuckle. I stayed up at night watching "Letterman." I got better jokes. I typed those in. I would hear him chuckle. He started staying longer and longer every day, every week.
One day I got a brainstorm. I took my paycheck and I taped it to the screen of the computer. Marcus laughed so loud I couldn't stand it. He typed in, "Every
two weeks?"
I cried when I said, "No, once a month!" He laughed louder.
I looked at him and said, "Boy, what are you laughing at? Who do you think you are? This is my classroom. This is not a democracy. I own this space." I went off. I started yelling and screaming, telling him he couldn't talk, he couldn't laugh, he needed to sit in that chair, he needed to be quiet. I turned away.
Guys, I didn't get more than three feet before I heard it: "Can too!"
I said, "Boy, you're mine!" I had gotten him so angry, he responded to me.
I met a speech pathologist, a language specialist. I said, "Darling, I need your help." She said, "Miss, your district has no money."
I said, "I'm over that." I said, "I believe in the American system of bartering." I said, "I must have something you need. I need you to work for this kid."
And then I realized, and I said, "Look, I don't want to be offensive. But I've tasted your cooking, and you cannot cook." I said, "Here's the deal. Your next five dates, I'm the chef. Chicken cordon bleu. Cornish game hens. Lemon meringue pie." I bought it all and switched pans! I was grading papers, give me a break!
And she came in and taught Marcus tonality, diction, enunciation. She taught stuff that I had never learned in college. I didn't go to that kind of class. She taught from her specialty. And it was amazing. She would sit in the back of the class with him week after week after week and coach him and teach him. She was so patient.
And one day in the middle of my class—I had thrown out a higher level critical thinking skills question that I was trained to throw out, like "Are you listening?" And all of a sudden, you guys, Marcus raised his hand. He had never raised his hand in my classroom before. I was stunned. And you know what I did? I turned away. I was chicken.
I thought, "Well, what if I call on him? What if he stumbles? What if he does something? Everyone is going to make fun of him and we are back to ground zero. I can't call on him."
Then I realized, "How come I'm deciding? Who am I? He's the one who has got his hand up." And I turned back and I called on him. Marcus said the answer out loud in front of the entire class. I danced in the streets.
She continued to work with him, continued to coach him. He continued to excel. He started becoming more vocal and more verbal. I started wishing he would be quiet again.
And one day he was seated at my desk and I said, "Marcus, what made you come back? What made you try it at all?"
And he looked across the room to where she was now working with another young person—I was now learning how to sew. You can't fake that! And he said, "I want to ask her a question."
I said, "Baby, she's sitting right there. Go ahead."
And he took a deep breath. Because she had trained him to do that before he spoke. He visualized all the words he was going to use. She had taught him that, too. And he looked across the room and he said, "How come? How come you worked so long and so hard for me? For free?"
And the woman looked back, and without even blinking, she said, "Marcus, I believe in you. I believe in you."
Marcus had never heard those words in his lifetime. Have you? Has anyone ever told you they believe in you for what you are and all you have become? Have you ever told your children—not about the milk on the floor, the towels in the bathroom, the dent in the car, have you ever stopped them and said, "The world is hard, but no matter what, you have come from me, and I am here for you, with the purple hair and the razor blades and everything else, I believe in you"? Have you ever told your spouse or significant other? Or do you think they know because you are letting them still live in the house?
Ladies and gentlemen, the power of those words kept Marcus in that classroom, something so simple called "I believe in you."
Marcus graduated from our program and he went off to college. But his first semester of college, he dropped out. I went to go see him. I said, "What are you doing? You're messing up my little gold stars."
He said, "Sandy, I want to be a success."
And then I realized, wait a minute, I have told my kids that there was only one success: high school, college. How come I get to decide that? What about the workforce?
What about the military? What about Job Corps, Urban Corps, all of those successes, vocational school? I don't get to decide. And he taught me that lesson.
I said, "Marcus, what is success to you?"
And he said, "I want to join the military."
I said, "That's a piece of cake." We called the recruiter. We sent him off to theCarolinas. See ya!
He did not like boot camp. Mud for breakfast, he didn't get it! But while Marcus was gone, I was meeting more and more kids on the street. And I had gone to my school board because I needed a special 800 number for my kids on the street. Because I was so young and naive, I used to meet a homeless kid and say, "Hey, I know you don't want to come to school now, but when you have a minute, call me." They are like, "Lady, I get a quarter, I ain't calling you."
So I realized I needed them to call me for free. So I went to my school board with this chart, with a cost-effective analysis chart with all these colors and numbers. They didn't add up. They never checked. You know those school boards. I said, "If you let me have an 800 number, a kid on the street is going to call me. We are going to send a van out with a teacher assistant, pick him up, bring him to school. It means you are going to be getting ADA, it means he's not going to be robbing your house, your car, or dating your daughter."
They voted unanimously. "Give her the number!"
But I never envisioned what that number would mean. I never envisioned that Marcus could call from boot camp.
And I want to end by telling you about the last time Marcus ever called. I don't know if you have ever been to a military graduation in your life. If you aren't patriotic, you become. It is amazing. The parade field is so clean and sparkling you could eat off of it. And the young men they recruit, during these lines, these women are in lines so straight their geometry teacher would be proud. And they got these uniforms so clean and pressed and starched it would stand up without the kid inside.
And there are these stands. There is Grandma and Grandpa, every neighbor in the block, Mom and Dad, are all there. And when the ceremony ends, you guys, the recruits take off their hats and they throw them in the air. And the stands come rushing down. Mom is crying like a fool and she doesn't even care. She is like, "Oh, look at my baby, ooh." Grandpa is slipping 10 bucks in his pocket saying, "Now don't spend that all in one place."
But you got to turn to Dad. Because Dad stepped away from his recruit, his son or daughter. And all of a sudden he remembers. He remembers the day he stood on that field, and he remembers all of his friends who never came back to stand there again. And he reaches out to touch his son or daughter, his graduate. And they feel his hand on their sleeve, and they turn to their father, and for the first time in many of their lives they see the tears. And they hear, "I knew you could do it. I love you. I believe in you." And they hug and they kiss. And they laugh and they cry.
But, ladies and gentlemen, on the edge of every parade field in every military base in the United States of America, there is always the same thing: an row of phone booths. And on graduation day they are always empty—except for this day.
There was a young recruit in that phone booth with a clean and pressed uniform, with the receiver pressed against his head so hard it hurt. And he called home. He called the only home he ever knew. He called the public school classroom. I answered the phone that day. And Marcus said, "Sandy! I did it! I did it all for you."
And I cried like a fool. And I said, "Marcus, I did it. And I did it all for you." I said, "I believe in you, Marcus."
And he said the most amazing thing I had ever heard. He said, "Yeah, I believe in me, too... Ma'am."
Ladies and gentlemen, I can't tell you what I know. I can't tell you what I have seen and what I have experienced. It has been the most amazing life, and at times the scariest and most disappointing.
But what America is is about belief—in each other, in children, in hope. It is about never giving up and never giving in. It is about standing with our patriotism, to feed the homeless, to take in a foster child, to spend five more minutes giving a troubled youth our time and our attention.
It is about our belief that each and every child has the right to a quality education and that each and every child, no matter what they say or do, no matter how they look, has the potential to learn.
And it is the belief that you, each and every one of you, has the ability to do it. It is about you. It is about your strength and your courage. Never give up. Never give in. You are America. I honor you. I salute you. And I am never more proud to stand in any group in the world. Thank you.


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Homosexual with a story of animal cruelty kills and eats partner's parts, makes sex with the corpse and sends its foot to Canadian Conservative Party
By Julio Severo
Canada, famous for its aggressive homosexualist laws threatening its population and Christians preaching the Bible view on sodomy, has made international headlines this week for another homosexual reason: gay porn star Luka Rocco Magnotta, 29, tortured, killed and dismembered his gay lover Jun Lin, 21.
|Luka Rocco Magnotta
If the Conservative Party fought gay supremacism in a really strong way, the "lunatic" gay would mail them the whole corpse.
In contrast, if a foot had been mailed to a gay group, bands of homosexual supremacists would immediately accuse Christians of "homophobia" and demand special "protective" laws restricting free speech of Christians and their right to preach what the Bible teaches about homosexuality.
Magnotta has an openly gay lifestyle, and his profession is as a gay porn star in many pornographic videos in the internet.
|Magnotta appearing to be caring for cats
|Sickening: Magnotta places both of the cats inside the bag
He is also the author of a video where a live cat is given as food to a snake.
|Nina Arsenault, former transsexual lover of Magnotta
Although using the professional name of Luka Rocco Magnotta, his true, birth name is Eric Clinton Newman. He also uses other false names.
Six months ago, in an email to The Sun, Magnotta supposedly said: "You will be hearing from me again. This time, however, the victims won't be small animals." He sent a similar warning to the BBC.
Magnotta is on the run abroad, and he is disguised as a woman. He is now in the list of criminals wanted by Interpol, which is making an international search for the gay psychopath. On June 3, police information indicated that he was in Paris, where he spent two nights with another gay whom he had met at a nightclub, but there is a suspicion that he fled to another nation. More than 190 nations are on alert for him.
|Magnotta in Paris
In Brazil, home of some of strongest gay supremacist groups in the world, the mainstream press was careful about masking news about the gay cannibal. Newspaper O Globo "reported" the case making several omissions, just making a passing mention that Magnotta had reportedly an affair with his victim. O Globo did not mention that he was homosexual.
The Brazilian press is well-known for trumpeting the identification of supposed homosexual "victims" of what they call "homophobic" crimes. Patently gay atrocities gays are camouflaged, so that the image of gay supremacism disguised as a gay victimism may not be stained.
The macabre result of the relationship between Magnotta and his partner is one episode more of gay "domestic violence", which surpasses the inflated numbers of "homophobic" crimes created by homosexualist propaganda.
When such violence leaves the bedroom of a gay couple, the insanity explosion is bigger.
My book "O Movimento Homossexual" (The Homosexual Movement), published by the Brazilian branch of Bethany House Publishers in 1998, had identified that all the six main American serial killers were homosexual. One of the more famous gay killers, Jeffrey Dahmer, was also a cannibal.
The most famous serial killer in Russia, Andrei Chikatilo, was also a cannibal gay.
While the propaganda by the leftist media leads to the image of a "well-behaved gay" as an eternal victim, the plain reality shows a society forbidden from seeing the murderous, psychotic and cannibal gays that do not fit the angelic stereotype created by social elites. In the Brazilian media, Magnotta is not a homosexual. He is just, vaguely, a man with an affair with his victim.
Worst, not only society, but also homosexual partners themselves end a lot of times becoming victims of the macabre actions of those "well-behaved gays."
Update: According to Daily Mail, the international manhunt for gay porn star killer Luka Rocco Magnotta has ended today with his arrest in the German capital Berlin, in the Neukoelln district, known for its numerous gay bars.
Portuguese version of this article: Ator pornô gay mata e canibaliza amante


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Following the Butterflies through Words and Rhythm
While on tour in Mexico, Mister G talks about how his bilingual song, "Señorita Mariposa" was inspired by the famous migration of the Monarch Butterfly to the state of Michoacan. He emphasizes how close observation of nature can become the jumping off point for new songs. Before performing "Señorita Mariposa," Mister G demonstrates the traditional Afro-Cuban rhythm known as clave.
Mister G's song "Senorita Mariposa" was inspired by the famous migration of the Monarch butterflies each winter to the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico. Like Mister G, the butterflies can't stand freezing weather and so they fly south to a warmer climate. The butterflies return to the exact same tree every year, but they are increasingly in danger as developers cut down the forest in order for human development. To help protect the Monarch butterfly habitat, visit www.michoacanmonarchs.org.
"Senorita Mariposa" is a bilingual song, meaning that some of the lyrics are in Spanish and some are in English. Mister G uses rhyming words throughout the song, such as "mariposa" and "hermosa." Mariposa is the Spanish word for butterfly. Hermosa means beautiful, which makes good sense as the song is about a beautiful little butterfly. Curious to learn more Spanish words? Go to www.spanishdict.com and type in any English word and the program will instantly translate.
The steady rhythm that plays throughout "Senorita Mariposa" is called clave. The clave rhythm is found in much traditional Afro-Cuban and Latin music and is played on two small pieces of wood called claves. Musicians from around the world have used clave, including the Beatles on their song, "And I Love Her."
What to look forward to next month:
Next month in Under the Hat: How do tempo and dynamics affect mood in music? More than you might imagine! Playing examples from his songs, "Grilled Cheese" and "Mono en mis Manos" Mister G illustrates how tempo and dynamics are powerful tools used by songwriters to create different moods for the audience.
Mister G (Ben Gundersheimer) is an Amherst College graduate who spent 20 years as a singer/songwriter/producer in the adult music world prior to earning a Masters in Elementary Education at Smith College and transitioning to making music for children. His most recent release, CHOCOLALALA, a collection of original, bilingual (Spanish/English) songs for children, won a Parents' Choice Gold Award and is on the Grammy ballot for Best Children's Album of 2012. A leading figure in the kids music world, Mister G's 2011 bilingual release, BUGS garnered numerous national awards and was dubbed "irresistible" by People magazine. www.mistergsongs.com


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Leiser Funeral Home Welcomes You
At Leiser Funeral Home in Cadott and Leiser-Borton Funeral Home in Cornell, we take great care in providing quality, compassionate services to Wisconsin families who have placed their trust in us to provide preparation and care for their deceased loved one as well as funeral preparations and services. We strive to keep the lines of communication open with the families we serve, and help them navigate through what can be a difficult time. Our services include complete preparation and care of deceased, comprehensive funeral arrangements, assistance before, during and after the service, and 24/7 availability to answer questions and provide support. Whether you are in need of cremation, traditional services, immediate burials or are interested in pre-need information, contact us anytime. It is our privilege to answer all your questions.


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If you're any way into your wedding planning and you've escaped an argument over the guest list, you're doing damn well.
For those of us who haven't escaped the stress of the plus-one pleas, read on, our regular guest blogger Rachel of Mosaic Brides is back with some more of her words of wisdom.
Rachel says: For many wedding couples putting together the guest list is the most stressful part of the planning process. The task goes far beyond simply drawing up a list of the friends and relatives you want present to share your special day as issues such as plus ones, inviting children and the parents' guest lists come into play.
In the early stages it's important to look carefully at your venue(s) and budget; how many guests does the venue allow and how far will your budget stretch when everything including food, drink and favours are taken into account?
Couples should also think about the type of ceremony they want; while some will prefer to keep things simple with a small and intimate affair, others will want to make the most of their moment in the limelight by filling the church to the rafters.
Once these initial discussions have taken place it's a good idea to draw up a rough guest list to give you an idea of numbers – but be warned, along the way you are likely to face the following dilemmas:
Pushy Parents
A topic I have discussed in a previous blog post and an area that should be handled with care.
This is probably where most disagreements over the guest list will occur as parents can have their own ideas on who should be invited to the wedding and it might not correlate with your own.
While parents can be helpful in drawing up the guest list they can also get carried away, keen to invite as many people as possible to witness the momentous occasion. This can often lead to parents insisting distant relatives and friends of theirs make the list – people who neither you nor your fiancé may have ever met.
Reining them in can be difficult especially if they're footing some, or all, of the bill. Some parents have even been known to say they will pay for the additional guests they want to invite making it twice as hard to say no.
Make exceptions where possible to avoid family fall-outs ahead of the wedding but also don't be afraid to put your foot down if their plans start to impact on your own. For example, if the numbers would tip you over your venue's capacity, if you would have to leave out your close friends to make way for their guests and if the numbers would disrupt the desired atmosphere for the day.
At this point you may have to sit parents down and explain that such large numbers would take away the intimacy of the day and that you and your fiancé would feel awkward having to spend your special day making pleasantries with people who you don't know.
Friends vs Family
Another tricky area when it comes to deciding on numbers.
For some, weddings are all about the joining of two families and therefore relatives should make up the majority of the guest list. Meanwhile for others a wedding is one big party making lots of friends an essential ingredient.
To help decide on the family/friend ratio look at where you can draw a line in the family tree to allow space for mates. In other words, after immediate family how far do you go – aunts and uncles? Cousins? Great aunts and uncle? Second cousins?
This is the best way to cut off invites without causing offence or family rifts as you can provide a logical explanation for your actions.
Another sensitive area I have visited on the blog before.
In short, child invites can cause the guest list to rocket so again consider your venue capacity, budget and the type of ceremony you will be having before deciding on whether to invite children or not, and if so, who?
Plus Ones
Weddings are expensive and every extra body can add more than £100 to the bill, so choose who you allow plus ones to with care. While couples are under no obligation to grant guests plus ones there are certain situations where many choose to do so.
For example invitations are often extended to partners of the bridesmaids and groomsmen, especially for the evening reception, as a thank you for all their hard work in the run up to and during the big day.
Most couples also choose to invite a guest's long term partner especially those who are engaged/married or living together. Alternatively some couples may prefer to save their plus one places for guests' partners who they have actually met. In either of these cases the invite would normally have both guests' name on it.
Meanwhile for those generous enough to allow their single friends to bring a date the invite would state the friend's name 'and guest'.
Good luck!
How have you dealt with guest list issues? Any tips for the rest of us?
Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Image © 2012 created using Keep Calm-o-matic, words by Rachel Parry
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Serious Eats Neighborhood Guides: Jason Bond's Cambridge
Ever since leaving his post at Beacon Hill Bistro, Jason Bond has spent most of his time at his charming Area IV dining room, Bondir, where he crafts award-winning plates from the best (and often locally sourced) pork, parsnips, grapes, scallops, and polenta he can get his hands on. It's hard work—the kitchen only accommodates two pairs of hands—and it's not an exaggeration to say his restaurant was one of the first to put this once-overlooked patch of Cambridge (for everything other than candy, that is) on Boston's culinary map.
Check out an original Serious Eats video of Jason making pork belly and grits here.
Nowadays, it's not only tough to get a table at Bondir, but it's increasingly challenging for entrepreneurial chefs like Bond to find an available storefront in the neighborhood. But among those who have staked out a space, there's great camaraderie and, as Bond told us, great meals to be had. Here's where you might find him in the off hours.
Jason's Picks
What's New On Serious Eats
Pizza: Area Four for Neapolitan. The pizza oven of my dreams, and great crust. Pinocchio's in Harvard Square for slices.
Burgers: People's Republik for a cheap burger. It's a great afternoon place to hide from everyone and relax. Garden at the Cellar for a fancier take--and their whole menu.
Sandwich: Cafe Kiraz for the melts, and The Druid for the fried fish sandwich. I love the atmosphere in the Druid and the whole menu is great.
Breakfast: Mass Ave Diner. Hard working young owners improving an old Central Square diner.
Dive Bar: The Field—where nobody remembers your name.
Nice wine, beer, or cocktail bar: Catalyst by the fireplace. Lord Hobo for the beer selection.
Ice cream: Toscanini's is great place to meet smart kids and try delicious flavors.
Takeout Chinese / Japanese / Thai: Dado Tea for the Potter Wrap.
Date night: Rendezvous really captures the spirit of Cambridge and Central Square. Good at what they do.
If you only eat one thing, eat this: Ice cream sundae at Area Four. Textures and flavors will change your idea of a simple dessert.
Fish market: New Deal Fish Market. Carl [Fantasia] gets the best.
Seafood restaurant: Cafe Sushi on Mass Ave. It looks crappy from the outside. So does Bondir.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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Applied Philosophy
by Shaun Chamberlin on February 23rd, 2010
Below the cut is the text of my latest article for the highly-recommended Resurgence magazine. They asked me to tell the story of my own personal journey thus far, and how I ended up doing what I do. Thanks to Resurgence for permission to reproduce it here (and on my articles page).


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New Dance Show – A Chance to Dance on Ovation TV
In a slight break from our regular programming, I wanted to point out a new dance show that will likely be of interest to many DWTS fans. The show is called A Chance to Dance and is showing on Ovation TV. Check out this preview of A Chance to Dance:
We'll be following the 7 episode series of Chance to Dance on Pure SYTYCD, so if you love dance then head over their for all the action.
I'm sure many of you are like me and don't have Ovation TV in your cable package. The great thing is that A Chance to Dance is streaming the show live on the Chance to Dance Facebook page at the same time as traditional TV. Wouldn't it be nice if DWTS would stream each episode?
I've seen a bunch of preview clips for A Chance to Dance and it looks quite entertaining. Plus, it looks like it will show an interesting inside view into the competitive dance world. Plus, Michael Nunn and Billy Trevitt look like they'll be pretty funny on camera.


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Watching the stock market soar to new heights almost daily and wishing you had the smarts to know what to invest in?
The answer, surprisingly, might be closer than you think.
The ongoing shale oil boom in Weld County and other parts of the country is creating a real investing opportunity.
While the Dow Jones Industrial average has increased 83 percent over the past four years – roughly the time of the current shale oil boom – many oil and gas-related stocks have done better than that.
Much better.
Some of those stocks have increased 100, 200, even 300 percent during that time.
Halliburton, for instance, is one of the world's largest oil field services companies with more than 100,000 employees working in 80 countries. The Houston-based firm also is the largest provider of hydraulic fracturing services and is working throughout Weld County and northern Colorado.
Halliburton's stock has soared 135 percent since 2009.
PDC Energy, also operating in the region, has seen its stock rise 238 percent while Synergy Resources has climbed 308 percent.
It's no wonder that financial publications like Money magazine are eschewing the benefits of including oil and gas stocks in your personal portfolio.
Locally, financial planners and stock brokers are also encouraging their customers to consider oil and gas stocks.
"I think it's an exceptionally good idea," said Larry Hubbard, a financial adviser for Ameriprise Financial, 1711 61st Ave. Suite 200 in Greeley. "Most (profit to earnings) ratios for these companies are 10 to 30 percent below their historic norms."
Hubbard pointed out that owning oil and gas stocks is also a good hedge against inflation.
"Inflation will kick in at some point; we know that for sure," Hubbard said.
In addition to being a good investment now, Hubbard says owning oil and gas stocks will likely be profitable in the future, too.
"Five years from now, we might see the same (percentage increases) over the Dow and the S&P 500," he said. "For me, it's a no-brainer."
Hubbard added he likes Halliburton and Noble Energy for local investors.
While many financial planners are prohibited by their companies – and the Securities and Exchange Commission – from talking publicly about their recommendations, they are not bashful about referring such inquiries to their published quarterly reports.
Jeri L. Fuqua, a financial planner with Edwards Jones, 6560 29th St. Unit 106 in Greeley, refers interested parties to the Edward Jones second quarter report for 2013, published April 8.
In it, Edwards Jones officials state: "We believe it is an opportune time for investors to consider investing in energy stocks while maintaining an appropriate weighting.
"While we are positive on the energy sector, we also emphasize diversification. Our recommended weighting for energy is 12 percent. If you are currently below this level, we would recommend adding appropriate energy stocks based on suitability."


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Nigeria's ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) will hold its national presidential primary on Thursday, but a lot of political action is also taking place at the state level. As governors around the country ran in primaries and special elections over the weekend, the PDP saw its dominance confirmed in many places but also experienced significant infighting. Meanwhile, political violence in different parts of the country continues to cast a shadow over preparations for the general elections in April.
One of the most high-profile gubernatorial races occurred Friday in Delta State, as former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan (PDP) decisively won a re-run election. In November, a court removed Uduaghan from office over allegations of fraud stemming from the 2007 elections. Journalists called the re-run election a test both for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)'s credibility and for the PDP. INEC officials and President Goodluck Jonathan were satisfied with how things went in Delta State, though INEC noted some problems with voter rolls. Violence also occurred in the context of the campaigning.
Yesterday, the PDP held gubernatorial primaries for the 27 (of Nigeria's 36) states it controls. Party switches, open races (because of term-limited governors), and internal power struggles contributed to an atmosphere of political excitement and, in some cases, real tension. As Nigeria's Daily Independent described the day, "There were hardly surprises on Sunday in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governorship primaries, as incumbents swept the tickets from Kaduna to Plateau to Bayelsa." Yet, the report continues, the elections were "streaked with violence, the jumping of ship of one big fish in Adamawa, dispute in Ogun, and postponement in Oyo." In Katsina State, disputes over the primaries left some PDP supporters threatening to defect to the new Congress for Progressive Change. Even before the primaries, political violence and party infighting in the states had become a serious concern for the PDP's national leadership.
Political violence, in fact, has often accompanied this cycle's campaigns and elections, whether it directly targets political partisans or just takes place alongside political contests. Christian-Muslim clashes continue in Jos, with an undercurrent of political discontent often pulling religious tension along with it. Shootings continue in northeastern Nigeria, at least some of them linked to the rebel group Boko Haram. And a battle broke out last week at a political rally in Bayelsa State in the South. Those are only some of the examples of violence.
As the PDP heads into its national primary, the trend is favoring the re-election of incumbents, which bodes well for President Jonathan. But incumbent candidates also face real challenges in the form of violence and dissent. We'll see what happens Thursday, but more important may be what comes afterwards, and how the PDP's presidential nominee builds consensus and enthusiasm within the ranks of his own party.
– Alex Thurston is a PhD student studying Islam in Africa at Northwestern University and blogs at Sahel Blog.


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Portents of the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (a.s) Stopping of the waters of the Euphrates
One of the portents of THE COMING OF Hazrat Mahdi (as) Is the stoppIng of the Euphrates. (Al-Muttaqi Al-Hindi, Al-Burhan Fi Alamat Al-Mahdi, P. 39)
'The stopping of the waters of the Euphrates and the appearance of treasure the value of gold,' appears in many books of hadiths, such as Muslim, Bukhari andAbu Dawud.
Turkey's greatest river:
The Euphrates...
This river witnessed a major event in 1975. The 210-m high Keban Dam built over the river stopped its waters: in other words, the river was "halted." The portent indicated in the hadith of our Prophet (saas) duly took place.
Another of our Prophet's (saas) hadiths on the subject reads:
Allah's Messenger (saas) said: "The Hour will not come to pass before the Euphrates dries up to unveil the mountain of gold, for which people will fight. Ninety-nine out of one hundred will die [in the fighting], and every man among them will say: 'Perhaps I may be the only one to remain alive.' " (Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, 3: 332)
Let us now examine some of the expressions in the hadith:
"before the Euphrates dries up..."
In the view of such great hadith scholars as Imam Suyuti, our Prophet (saas) is here referring to the 'halting of the flow of the River Euphrates.' The Keban Dam, constructed in 1975, really did stop the waters of the Euphrates, and this sign of the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) of the End Times duly took place.
"to unveil the mountain of gold..."
Thanks to this dam, resembling a 210-m high "mountain," the fertility of the land has been enhanced by the production of electricity and the water collected being used for irrigation, meaning that these lands have indeed become as valuable as "gold."
As can be seen from diagrams of the region, this dam literally resembles a concrete mountain. And a treasure the value of gold pours from it, in line with the words of the hadith "a mountain of gold."
" for which people will fight..."
Because of the terror which persisted for so long in the region and is still going on, these lands suffered terribly from anarchy. And more than 30,000 people lost their lives, just as our Prophet (saas) foretold in the hadiths.
There is no doubt that the events foretold in the hadiths of our Prophet (saas) coming about one after the other, just as described, shows that the time of the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) is here.
Therefore, the stopping of the waters of the Euphrates in 1975 is a most significant portent of the End Times, telling us that Hazrat Mahdi (as), reported as expected to begin work in Hijri 1400, or 1979-80 AD, is at work now and that the days of his appearance are close at hand.
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