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I'm looking for a new RSS feed reader that offers good support for video, audio and photos. This post will discuss what I've found in that search. It's not pretty so far. The content available in the market is moving much faster than the tools to consume it. SplashCast will play a roll in this situation, but for now I'm just looking for an RSS reader that will help me do my job efficiently at an online media company. Perhaps you are too.
The following is a discussion of the problem, then a description of the criteria I used to review 10 leading RSS readers on the market, a paragraph about each product and a chart comparing features. Features are honestly open to some interpretation and I may have missed some important vendors, but I think this should be useful for both readers and myself.
The Problem
It is inefficient, unpleasant and feels behind the times to have to launch another application like a browser or iTunes to play media files delivered to my feed reader. Online syndicated media is an exploding market; as methods of communication go, it's one of the fastest growing, most compelling and potentially most commercially viable new developments that has emerged in some time. An estimated 30 million people (5% of broadband users) watch at least one video online each day. There are currently an estimated 4.2 billion total video streams per month arround the web. In order to effectively engage with this media, many of us are going to need RSS readers that are equipped for the task.
Right now none of the leading RSS readers for Mac or Windows let users capture, preview, play, tag and share items within the application itself and in the order that they arrive in your aggregator. In other words, I cannot find any feed reader on the market today that combines rich media support, integration with 3rd party tagging and sharing services and a "river of news" view. That's a problem.
Tools Available Today
The following are short descriptions of the 10 leading commercial RSS readers and a comparison of their features. Who's the winner? No one is a clear winner by the criteria I've chosen.
Summary of Recommendations
As a Mac user, I'm going to spend more time with NewsFire on my desktop. If I was a Windows user and wanted to consume video inline and needed a river of news view – I would cry. If rich media is more important to you then go with Google Reader. If a river of news is more important then go with FeedDemon.
The Chart
Review Criteria
A few notes about what I was looking for and how I interpreted it. Or skip to the paragraphs about each product.
Plays Audio
My criteria here was whether the product let me play an audio file from inside the same window that the text accompanying the file is displayed. Google Reader is the best at this. The worst case scenario is being told to open iTunes to listen to audio; it's distracting to open a new application and that file is then put on my iPod next time I sync up.
Plays Video
See the description of audio playing above. The best web based reader for playing video is either Google Reader or Bloglines. The best on the desktop is RSSOwl. Most video on the web is now delivered or available in Flash, so that's how I tested these tools.
Displays photos
When I'm subscribed to a photo feed, I want to be able to see the photos large format in the feed as I scan down my reader. Readers that only show me the title of a photo and a link to the photo itself are worthless to me as I will almost never click through to view the photos. Many of the products discussed here are good about that, but not all. I think I like FeedDemon's handling of images the best.
River of News
A river of news view displays items in the order they were published, no matter what feed they were delivered in. Contrast this with the way Bloglines or Google Reader work, where I have to view all of the items in one feed before I see all of the items in another feed. (Update: Commenters pointed out that you can in fact get a river of news view for one folder at a time in Google Reader. That's still not ideal, but good to know.) Give me the most recent items across all my feeds either in total or folder by folder, ideally both would be possible – that's often how I want to read what I've subscribed to.
If I open my folder titled "sports videos" I want to watch a sports video published at 10:00 on YouTube after I view a sports video published at 10:30 on Metacafe – I don't want to have to view a whole week's worth of Metacafe videos before I can view a video from an hour ago on YouTube. This is very important to me, as responding to the most recent information is a big part of my work. Unfortunately very few vendors support this well, and I think it's because RSS use is in its infancy.
If you are someone who eats and breaths RSS for a living and you don't require a river of news view – please get in touch with me, I'd love to find a more broadly supported method of consuming feeds. I can't imagine a better way to do it, though.
I should be able to view a movie in my feed reader and then tag it in a third party service without launching my browser or another tab. Almost no one support this, but NetNewsWire and FeedLounge are the best. It would be nice if there were options other than del.icio.us – but all tags meet at del.icio.us so it's no big deal for now.
Choose partial or full feeds
Sometimes I just want to scan headlines and summaries, other times I want to scan through full entries that include thumbnails or previews of videos or images. I should be able to switch between these views with one click. Google Reader is probably the best at this right now.
Most but not all web based readers are free to use, most but not all desktop readers require a one time fee. In the consumer market that fee is generally under $30 but there is a free trial period available and even at $30 a good RSS reader will have a great return on investment. I highly encourage people to look at products in this space that are not free. Desktop readers are faster to use and allow a fair amount of access to feed contents when offline.
Most web based feed readers work well on either Mac or Windows but only some of the desktop readers are available for both.
Ten Top Feed Readers
Google Reader
The Google Reader is a relatively new online feed reader and is quickly gaining popularity because it's clean, fast and powerful. It embeds and plays video from YouTube but not some other Flash video feeds. One unique thing it does is create a simple audio player at the end of any item with an audio attachment. Google Reader would be the winner in this space were it not for two problems: no off-line access and no river of news view. I was very excited to use Google Reader before I realized that there is no river of news view. That makes it nearly unusable to me. (Update: Commenters pointed out that you can in fact get a river of news view for one folder at a time in Google Reader. That's still not ideal, but good to know.)
Ask.com's Bloglines has been a popular online feed reader for years and made a big splash when it recently announced support for the viewing of Flash video inside the program itself. Not all video feeds show up in Bloglines. I like the people behind Bloglines, they have come up with some very smart strategies, but I find the reader itself too frustrating and inflexible to use.
Newsgator Online
Newsgator has acquired two of the best desktop readers on the market, NetNewsWire and FeedDemon, and also offers a free online feed reader. All of the products work well together and can be used with a mobile version. The online feed reader has a wonderful river of news view but doesn't support rich media and has long suffered from performance issues. For some time I thought that all web based feed readers were slow and frustrating, but Google Reader changed my expectations in this regard.
NetNewsWire, Newsgator's outstanding desktop feed reader for the Mac, is fast, flexible and has a lot going for it. Its inability to play media files was my impeteus for surveying the rest of the field, though.
FeedDemon is a beautiful Windows desktop reader from Newsgator. It supports the river of news view and handles images very well but doesn't play media files.
NewsFire is a Mac desktop reader that's asthetically pleasing, fast and plays video inline. It supports a river of news view on the folder level. It does not play audio files though, which is a real shame. It behaves in some peculiar ways that I'm going to try to dig inside the preferences to change. It looks to me like a great implementation of one way to read feeds but isn't terribly flexible for different feed reading practices. None the less, I may give this a more extended try.
I wish I could see the screen captures of videos while browsing feeds without having to click on an item's title first. Some non-YouTube videos play inconsistently and video sometimes causes NewsFire to crash on my computer. Like I said, absolutely no one is getting this right yet – but I'm going to spend some more time with NewsFire.
BlogBridge is a fascinating but complicated cross platform Java desktop reader. It doesn't support media files.
FeedLounge has a reputation for being fast. It's a web based reader that costs $5 per month to use. It has a river of news view and handles images well, but doesn't let you play audio or video inline.
RSSOwl could be the winner here if only it worked better. It's a free cross platform desktop reader that has every feature I'm looking for. Unfortunately, it crashes a lot on my Intel Mac and requires too many keystrokes to accomplish what I want to do. It's like a much more awkward version of NetNewsWire. The media handling though is fantastic. If rich media consumption is important to you, I'd highly recommend giving RSSOwl a try – perhaps you can work with it better than I can. The fact that viewing full feeds and accessing the river of news view is as difficult as it is in this product is a real heart breaker.
Rojo is an interesting reader with strong social elements but very limited and awkward functionality. A lot of people like it, but since being acquired by blogging software company SixApart it looks like Rojo has not had much energy behind it. Media handling is non existent.
See also
Attensa for Outlook plays audio files and does a whole lot more in an enterprise context. RSSBandit is a free Windows desktop reader that supports river of news and says it supports audio and video but I couldn't get either to work. It has other limitations but many people do like it.
My Dream Feed Reader
If I could piece together the various options available to me now, what I'd like is this. I'd like an online reader with the speed and media handling of Google Reader and the river of news functionality of Newsgator Online. I'd like it synced with a desktop reader that combines the stability, 3rd party tagging and river of news of NetNewsWire with the aesthetics of FeedDemon and the media handling of RSSOwl. I don't believe that anyone has yet nailed the cross platform mobile reader that syncs with web and desktop readers. That's subject of another post, though.
Is this too much to ask for? I don't believe that it is. As increasing numbers of knowledge workers and consumers start engaging with rich media and RSS, I think I'll be far from alone in these desires. When the Pluck feed reader was retired last month, Richard MacManus and some other people said that it was proof that stand alone feed readers were not a commercially viable product. Some companies take the approach of offering free consumer RSS products to build visibility for their enterprise products.
I really believe that once feed readers find some best practices and the market develops for their use – consumer facing feed readers will be a very viable product. Nothing is on fire like online video is, though, and feed reader vendors need desperately to improve their support for rich media in their products.
See also Marc Canter's recent discussion on this topic here and here.
I hope that the vendors in this space are able to keep on making magic – I need more than I'm able to find available today.


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JSG OCEANA 15TH ANNIVERSARY ROLLBACK PRICINGProduct may not look exactly as shown. Sample chips are available for $15 + shipping. Click Here To Order Sample Chips.
Alina art sink, highly variable hand made vessel sink in glass ranging from 4.5" to 7" tall and 17" to 20" in diameter. Champagne gold colored glass vessel sink with swirl texture for bathroom / lavatory use. The highest quality borosilicate glass, made in the USA of our unique formulation called "Hard Roc" that is more scratch, stain and temperature shock resistant compared to most glass vessel sinks on the market today. This bathroom sink is IAMPO and CSA approved, easy to clean, easy to maintain and will not rust or turn color with age. The coloration of the glass is fused in at 1000 degrees, not painted on, giving a long lasting and robust surface. Can be cleaned with commonly used household and commercial cleaners. These unique bathroom sinks are unlike anything found in your lOCl big box store, the vibrant colors, unique texture and shimmer put these glass sinks into a class of their own.

subset: commoncrawl


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Scientists map deep origins of the 'Hawaiian Hotspot'University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Tara L Hicks Johnson, (808) 956-3151
Outreach Spec, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology
Cecily Wolfe, (808) 956-6347
Associate Professor, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology
Outreach Spec, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology
Cecily Wolfe, (808) 956-6347
Associate Professor, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology
Posted: Dec 3, 2009
The Hawaiian Islands are one of the outstanding volcanic features on Earth, but their origins have been shrouded in mystery. Still in debate is a theory that was proposed forty years ago, which states that mid-plate hotspots such as Hawaiʻi are generated by upwelling mantle plumes from the base of the lower mantle.
Cecily Wolfe, a professor from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, and a multi-institutional team of scientists have put the theory to test. Their research findings, titled "Mantle Shear-wave Velocity Structure beneath the Hawaiian Hotspot," will be published in the December 4 edition of Science magazine.
A deployment of a large network of sea-floor seismometers in Hawai'i, called the Plume-Lithosphere Undersea Melt Experiment (PLUME), opened up a window into the Earth, obtaining the best picture yet of a mantle plume originating from the lower mantle and finally revealing Hawai'i's deep roots.
The project involved four research cruises over a more than two-year period to deploy and recover ocean bottom seismometers at 73 sites, led by Gabi Laske (Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO)) and John Collins (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)). Sean Solomon (Carnegie Institution of Washington) provided a concurrent deployment of land seismometers on the main Hawaiian Islands.
The seismometers were used to record the timing of seismic shear waves from large earthquakes (magnitudes greater than 5.5) around the world. This information can be used to determine whether seismic waves travel more slowly through hot rock as they pass beneath Hawai'i. Combining the timing measurements from many earthquakes recorded on many seismometers allowed Wolfe to construct a sophisticated 3-dimensional image of the Hawaiian mantle. The large, 1,000-km wide aperture of the seafloor network yielded unprecedented deep resolving power in a remote oceanic region, and inclusion of SKS waves (a type of wave that travels through the Earth's core) was critical for extending the imaging down to 1,500 kilometers depth.
The images from the PLUME experiment provide strong support for the existence of a mantle plume beneath Hawai'i. In the upper mantle, the Hawaiian Islands are underlain by low shear-wave velocities, consistent with hotter-than-average material from an upwelling plume. Low velocities continue down into the Earth's transition zone, at 410 to 660 km depth, and extend even deeper into the Earth's lower mantle down to at least 1,500 km depth. Strikingly, the plume tilts toward the southeast of Hawai'i as it extends downward. Such southeast tilting is consistent with prior dynamic predictions that the background circulation of the Earth's mantle associated with plate tectonics will deflect the upwelling Hawaiian plume. Or, in other words, like rising smoke on a windy day, the Hawaiian plume conduit is blown in the background mantle wind.
The location of the Hawaiian Islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean had hampered past seismological efforts to resolve its deep structure. Seismometer deployments limited to just land sites on the islands did not provide sufficient coverage for high-resolution imaging, and Hawaii is also far from the most active circum-Pacific zones of earthquakes. As a result, scientists had to turn to a more technologically challenging, marine seismology approach by placing temporary instrumentation on the seafloor to record seismic waves for two one-year deployments. Results of the project indicate a strong case for the existence of a deep mantle plume, which has fundamental implications—not just for Hawaiʻi, but more generally for the form of convection in the solid Earth, the Earth's composition with depth, and its evolution over geologic time.
"This experiment was first conceived by our team a decade ago. Fortunately, the results have been worth the wait and exceeded all expectations," says Professor Wolfe. "The success of such an ambitious seafloor experiment is a technological feat in itself and signals a new era in the field of marine seismology."
The study is published in the December 4, 2009 issue of Science. Authors are C.J. Wolfe, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa; S.C. Solomon and E.H. Hauri, Carnegie Institution for Science; G. Laske and J.A. Orcutt, Scripps Institution of Oceanography; J. A. Collins and R.S. Detrick, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; and D. Bercovici, Yale University.
The PLUME project is supported by the National Science Foundation.
To view a copy of the abstract, see www.sciencemag.org/magazine.dtl (Article Information: December 4, 2009, manuscript number science.1180165).
For more information, visit: http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/soest_web/soest.news


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Ever have a situation where you'd like to know what TCP/IP ports are open on your server? Maybe you want to map database mirroring endpoints to specific ports or perhaps you need to replicate data through a specific port in a firewall out into the Internet?
In a situation like this, you're best served by using an unassigned port number from the IANA registration database found at http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers. That way, you can be certain that you don't choose a port that is in conflict with another application that is installed or will be installed some time in the future. You could also take a short cut of using the dynamic or private ports in the range of 49125 to 65535.
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Drew Gilpin Faust
About the Author
Drew Gilpin Faust is president of Harvard University, where she also holds the Lincoln Professorship in History. Dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study from 2001 to 2007, she came to Harvard after twenty-five years on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of five previous books, including Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War, which won the Francis Parkman Prize and the Avery Craven Prize. She and her husband live in Cambridge, Massachusetts.


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House Calls / Dr. Michael Schwartz
Anxiety, stress and fear are some of the most powerful human emotions. Often when confronted with a potentially life-altering event, people can lose perspective and feel overwhelmed. Despite our best efforts to rationalize a situation, a tragic event can affect our physical, psychological and spiritual wellbeing.
Although my columns generally discuss medical issues, I would like to digress and describe a situation that directly affected me and my wife recently. It encompasses all the emotions discussed above. I hope that sharing our story will spare another family the anguish and terror we experienced due to a vicious criminal scam.
While at work, my wife's cellphone rang showing a "blocked" number. When she answered, a male introduced himself by name (most likely made up). He immediately stated that our son had been involved in a car accident and claimed that our son told him to call her and let her know. He refused to allow my wife to speak to our son and instead became hostile and told her that he had caused damage to a brand new BMW. He said that it would cost $2,000 to fix and he wanted the money wired to him immediately. He told my wife to not try to call our son's cellphone because he had his phone. Of course, my wife began to ask questions such as was everyone OK, why weren't the police called, where did the accident take place? The caller stated that the police were not called but instead he took our son to his house and was holding him hostage. The conversation continued as the caller became more verbally abusive, using profanity and making several very disturbing threats. He told my wife, "My brother just hit your son over the head with his gun and he is now unconscious!" When he sensed my wife's anguish he then stated, "I am now holding a gun to his head and I swear on my own baby daughter's life that I will kill your son if you don't get into your car right now!"
When my wife, a very intelligent and well-educated woman, tried her best to rationalize the situation, the countdown began. "You have 30 seconds to leave your office or I'll kill him; now 20 seconds; I swear I will shoot him in 10 seconds if you don't get in your car now and drive to the bank!"
Many of you reading this might think that it would be easy to recognize this as a scam or a hoax; however, when someone is faced with a situation of not knowing if a loved one is in imminent danger, your emotions take over and it is easy to believe such a scenario. Fortunately, my wife was able to alert a co-worker to what was transpiring and the co-worker contacted me; I was able to locate my son quickly and assure that he was indeed safe. I immediately informed my wife that everything was fine just as the caller hung up. However, what would have happened if I couldn't have located my son? What if you couldn't locate your loved one? What would you do?
The scam has been reported throughout the country, but seems to be much more prevalent in the Northeast, especially in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Sgt. Jeremiah Marron, of the Darien Police Department, commented that the callers use many techniques to convince their victims that their loved one is in danger.
"They combine the elements of surprise and emotions to create panic," he said. "They try to feed off a person's fear."
More InformationFact box
He further remarked that the longer you stay on the phone, the more they recognize an opportunity for the scam to succeed.
"The more time spent on the phone allows them more opportunity to gather specific information about you and your loved one. You may inadvertently give them a name or other details which they can use to make the story even more convincing."
Sgt. Marron stated that there have been many victims who have fallen for this scam over the years. He cautions everyone to be aware of what to look for and how to respond.
"If you receive a call, they will most likely first claim there has been an accident with a relative -- usually a son or daughter. Stay calm. Ask specific questions. If something doesn't seem right, hang up and contact the local authorities."
Furthermore, it is common for these individuals to use social media sites (i.e. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) to discover information about you and your family. All too often, we list very private information on these sites including names of relatives, phone numbers, birthdays, work profession and even our home address, which are then used to create a more convincing story when they call you.
If you receive a call claiming that a loved one has been involved in an accident, try to get as much information as you can from the caller. If they become abusive or threatening, suspect that it may be a scam and hang up immediately and then call 911 or the police directly to let them know the specifics of the call and their demands. Quickly try to get in touch with your loved one directly to make sure he or she is safe. Never wire money from a bank or Western Union without at least first confirming that all the information is correct and has been verified. Additionally, limit the information you share on social media. Most sites have filters which determine what information someone is allowed to see. Never "friend" or accept an invitation from someone you don't know.
Anxiety, stress and fear are strong yet important emotions. However when used against you, they may affect your judgment. Be prepared should you receive such a call. Discuss a strategy with your family -- especially your children in the event that you need to contact them. Most important, share this story with others so that the word gets around. Do not let these criminals cause you to suffer emotional harm from this heinous and criminal scam.
Dr. Michael Schwartz is board certified in internal medicine with a private practice in Darien. For comments or questions, please visit his website at www.drmichaelbschwartz.com


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City of Manhattan BeachHome Menu
City Calendar - Month View
Liberty Village Repaving and Concrete Repairs
- Date: -
The project will consist of: asphalt removal and replacement, asphalt street resurfacing, removal and reconstruction of wheel chair curb access ramps and cross gutters. Additionally, there will be sidewalk replacement, which will be confined to areas where the adjacent property owners have agreed to pay the City for the work to be done. There may also be minor inconveniences such as traffic delays, construction noise, dust, access restriction, etc. even though every effort will be made by Sequel Contractors, Inc. to minimize these inconveniences. During construction, parking will be restricted as called for on the "NO PARKING" signs to be posted along the street. Normal working hours will be between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday
Resident access will be made at all times during the construction phases except for a short duration when the improvements are taking place directly in front of your property. Notices will be provided prior to this access restriction to your property.
Project Manager is Mo Estepa
(310) 802-5325


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Company restructures units, focuses on wins
Just because BAE Systems Inc. is a subsidiary of London-based BAE Systems plc, doesn't mean the defense industry giant isn't feeling the effects of the uncertain U.S. federal market.
2012 Top 100 rankings
Can the top dogs hunt?
Commentary: No sitting ducks here
Inside the success of the Top 100 resellers
Top 100 Index
Top 100 methodology
"The biggest challenge we have, like every other person in our industry, is just the stability of the defense budget," said Michael Bennett, senior vice president of information management and CIO at BAE Systems Inc. "But we think we've positioned ourselves as best we can in this uncertain time."
In fact, the U.S. subsidiary, which is led by President and CEO Linda Hudson, recorded $14.4 billion in sales in 2011, almost half of the corporation's worldwide sales of $30.7 billion. The company ranks No. 20 on this year's Top 100 list with $1.7 billion in prime IT contracts.
To cut internal costs the company combined its electronics and platform solutions sectors into one unit, Electronic Systems.
"That allowed us to provide the products and services of both those sectors in a much more cost-effective way for our customers," Bennett said, acknowledging also a cost savings for BAE "of several million dollars" partially through the elimination of duplicate management layers and the creation of a shared services HR and accounting system.
The company made two significant acquisitions last year, buying Fairchild Imaging for $86 million and L-1 Identity Solutions' intelligence services group for $295.8 million.
Many of BAE Systems' IT contracts won in 2011 came from the intelligence community and their details, including the values, are classified, Bennett said.
Other 2011 contract wins included:
BAE Systems operates under four divisions, each led by a president:
Electronic Systems offerings include flight and engine controls, and surveillance and reconnaissance sensors. The Nashua, N.H., sector has 12,000 employees and is led by Tom Arseneault.
Intelligence and Security serves diverse customers including the Defense Department, the intelligence community and federal civilian agencies. The Arlington, Va., sector has 7,200 employees and is led by John Gannon.
Land and Armaments, also of Arlington, Va., produces armored combat vehicles, naval guns, missile launchers, artillery systems, munitions and law enforcement products. This sector led by Frank Pope has 11,200 employees.
Support Solutions provides engineering, systems integration, ship repair and readiness and sustainment for military and commercial customers worldwide. This sector, located in Rockville, Md., has 12,000 employees and is led by David Herr.
Loren Thompson, chief operating officer at the Lexington Institute, a public-policy non-profit think tank, said BAE did quite well in 2011.
He noted that BAE scrubbed its plans last year to spin off the commercial aircraft components business because it was doing too well to sell; instead it wrapped the unit into the electronics division. As a result, Thompson said, "Every part of the company is doing well at the moment."
Thompson cited as an example BAE's services business led by Executive Vice President Larry Prior, formerly the No. 2 executive at Science Applications International Corp. and ManTech International.
"He has a fairly deep understanding of the federal IT space, particularly the intelligence part of it. But it's a little hard for outsiders to analyze because they have so many other services wrapped in with their IT under Prior."
Looking ahead, Thompson said, "Because half of BAE's military business is outside the United States, it will probably weather any fiscal trauma like sequestration better than its industry peers."
"However," he added, "I think the parent company needs to make a decision on how big it wants to be in America because it has the potential to become the No. 1 or No. 2 [defense] contractor here if it decides to make those bets."
About the Author
David Hubler is the former print managing editor for GCN and senior editor for Washington Technology. He is freelance writer living in Annandale, Va.
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Don't miss Senior Staff Writer Ross Wilkers Interview with Leidos executive Donnelly Bohan about the technology, strategy and success behind the company's Sea Hunter project.
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In this episode of the Project 38 podcast, we talk to Hitachi Vantara Federal leader David Turner about a project at Disney World that can teach the federal government how powerful the Internet of Things and data can be.
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text: US taxpayers are shelling out $1.2tn for the military, intelligence and homeland security sectors EPA] Think of Iraq as the AIG of wars - the only difference being that the bailout there didn't involve just three payouts. More than eight years after the Bush administration invaded that country, the bailout is, unbelievably enough, still going. Even as the US military withdraws, the State Department is planning to spend billions more in taxpayer dollars to field an army of hired-gun contractors to replace it. Afghanistan? It could have been the Lehman Brothers of conflicts, but when Barack Obama entered the Oval Office he chose the Citigroup model instead, and surged troops in twice in 2009. In other words, he double-TARPed that war, and ever since, the bailout money has been flooding in.Until now - as the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations make clear - "too big to fail" has meant only one set of institutions: the plundering financial outfits that played such a role in driving the US economy off a cliff in 2008, looked like they might themselves collapse in a heap of bad deals and indebtedness, and were bailed out by Washington. Isn't it finally time to expand the too-big-to-fail category to include the Pentagon, the US Intelligence Community, and more generally the National Security Complex?There is, of course, one major difference between those bailed-out financial institutions and the Complex: however powerful the banks may be, however much money financial outfits and Wall Street sink into K-Street lobbyists and the election campaigns of politicians, however much influence the US Chamber of Commerce may wield, when too-big-to-fail financial institutions totter, they have to come to the federal government hat (and future bonuses) in hand.For the Pentagon and the National Security Complex, it's quite another matter. These days it's only a slight exaggeration to claim that they are Washington and that their very size, influence, and power protects them from the consequences of failure.In the last decade, as "the troops" became sacrosanct, the secular equivalent of religious icons, they also helped ensure that no Congress could afford not to pour money into the Pentagon. Pay no attention to the much-touted $450 bn that institution is expected to trim over the next ten years. That sum will largely come from "cuts" in future projected growth and anything more will be strongly resisted. In that same decade - thanks largely to two hijacked planes that damaged New York beyond al-Qaeda's wildest dreams - "American safety" (narrowly defined as "from terrorists") became the mantra of the moment. Soon enough, it was the explanation of choice for any expenditure: the latest drones, surveillance equipment, high-tech motion sensors, or peeping-Tom technology at airports."The troops" translated into a get-out-of-jail-free card for the Pentagon, and it worked like a charm. In the three years since the economy melted down, when so much that mattered to most Americans was being cut back or deep-sixed, that budget was still merrily expanding. In the meantime, there were those constant infusions of fear for "American safety", helped along by terror plots generally too inept to do the slightest damage. All this ensured that an already massive crew of intelligence outfits would morph into a labyrinthine bureaucracy of stupefying proportions.That same phrase fertilised the Department of Homeland Security, the homeland security state that went with it, and an immensely lucrative homeland-security-industrial complex that went with that - all growing at a remarkable clip.An insurance policy for the National Security ComplexImagine for a second that, at the height of the Cold War, someone had told you of a future in which the US faced no great armed power (not one) and at most a few thousand terrorists scattered across the planet, as well as modestly armed minority insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan. Imagine that person making this prediction as well: in budget and size, the National Security Complex of that moment would put its Cold War predecessor in the shade.Without a doubt, you would have dismissed him as a madman. If someone had proposed such a future to those running the Cold War back then, they would have called it victory. And yet that's exactly our reality today, while victory itself has become the rarest of vintages, no longer stocked anywhere in our American world.The dimensions of the National Security Complex now beggar the imagination. In fact, everything about it should make it the global yardstick for "too big to fail". The Pentagon budget is, for instance, about 50 per cent higher today than the Cold War average and accounts for nearly half of all military expenditures globally. And yet it has kept right on growing; and if bailed-out bankers continue to take home their bonuses as thanks for practically sinking the country, top Pentagon types continue to take home their golden pensions with future revolving-door opportunities in the military-industrial complex always available.If you really want to grasp the enormity of the National Security Complex, just consider this stat: today, 4.2 million federal workers and employees of private contractors have security clearances - about, that is, the population of New Zealand or Lebanon.Whatever Washington turned over to the banks, the Complex has it so much easier. After all, its managers essentially pay themselves more or less what they desire in the name of supporting the troops and promoting American safety. Yes, our congressional representatives officially dole out the money, but they have little choice when it comes to offering less than what's asked of them. And presidential election campaigns always lock candidates into yet more of the same.So here's a basic American reality in the second decade of the twenty-first century: the Complex has an insurance policy unavailable to other Americans, while a vast blanket of secrecy in the name of national security ensures that most Americans have no idea what's being done with their money. The Complex's funding is safe and its employees are above the law, no matter what acts they may commit. Notoriously, the Pentagon has never even passed an audit. By default, we guarantee the Complex that, whatever happens to other Americans, its institutions and employees will remain safe. That's the real definition of American security - and doesn't it sound something like the banks and bankers who just can't fail?Don't ask, don't tellIn such circumstances, cost is no object. To pick a random example, one of the - count them - 17 outfits that make up the US Intelligence Community is the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Of course, like 99.9 per cent of Americans, you've never heard of it, and yet it has 16,000 employees, a "black budget thought to be at least $5bn per year," and a new, nearly Pentagon-sized headquarters complex in Virginia that's cost you, the taxpayer, a nifty $1.8bn.And what does it do? Protect you, of course. Ensures your safety, naturally. Beyond that, don't ask how it uses your money. As writer Gregg Easterbrook explains, that's highly classified information. The agency does claim to provide "timely, relevant, and accurate geospatial intelligence in support of national security". Be satisfied. And that's no anomaly. Your taxes regularly bail out the Complex. You ensure its wellbeing, and no one even bothers to give you an explanation. In 2008, economists Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes did the numbers and offered a "conservative" estimate of the ultimate costs of the Iraq War: $3tn. Now that Washington increasingly looks like it is giving up hope of keeping any significant number of troops stationed in Iraq, you might ask just what that phenomenal sum bought Americans. But no answer will be forthcoming. On Iraq, mum's the word, nor will anyone in Washington be held accountable.Oh, and don't bother to ask, because no one who matters thinks you need to know. Meanwhile, talking about golden parachutes, the president who took us into Iraq and kept us there is overseeing the creation of a library named after him and by last accounting had already raked in $15m on the lecture circuit at $100,000 to $150,000 a pop; the vice president, who was a key player in the decision to invade and the war that followed, took home more than $2m for his bestselling memoir; the national security adviser, who offered her keenest advice to the president on the subject of Iraq, garnered a guaranteed $2.5m on a three-book contract and now charges up to $150,000 an appearance for speaking engagements, while settling into posts at Stanford University and the Hoover Institute; and the secretary of state who went to the UN to infamously defend the coming invasion with a pack of lies has pulled in a similar $150,000 ($5,000 a minute) for his lectures - and those are just the first few names on a far longer list.By the way, in case you think it's over in Iraq, think again. Washington's stimulus bill for that country is still in effect. Foreign Service Officer Peter Van Buren writes at the Huffington Post that the State Department is now asking Congress for $5bn over five years to create jobs for police officers - Iraqi police officers, that is.A recent report from Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies estimated that the ultimate cost of both the Afghan and Iraq wars could range up to $4.4tn (with another vast stimulus package going to the Afghan police and military for years to come). And keep in mind that those trillions don't include the global war on terror or spending on the rest of the national security complex.Chris Hellman of the National Priorities Project did the maths for TomDispatch and found - again, a conservative estimate - that US taxpayers are shelling out at least $1.2tn a year for the vast military, intelligence, and homeland security combine that operates in their name.All of this to keep you safe from the next underwear bomber. Of course, if you live in Topeka or El Paso or Sacramento or Juneau, you have about the same chance of being endangered by a terrorist as meeting an angel. Which means that whoever's safety net that money is going to, it's not yours. Those trillions don't secure your home from going "underwater", or your income from falling off a cliff, or your pension from evaporating, or your job from going down the drain or overseas, or the teachers in your community (not to speak of the police) from being given pink slips, or the library in your neighborhood from closing, or that "extra" firehouse in your vicinity from being shut down.Too safe to fail?When a country spends "more on defence than the next 17 top-spending countries combined" and can't win a war, you should know that something's wrong, and that "too big" and "fail" do stand in some relation to each other. Washington, however, doesn't. "The United States is preparing 'dramatic' cuts to its defence budget, so European allies will have to take on greater role within NATO", US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said [EPA] Right now, the United States is still involved in conflicts, declared or undeclared, overt or covert, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen. Only last week, President Obama upped the ante, by announcing that he would send the (first) 100 Green Berets on an armed "advise and assist mission" to Uganda and three other African countries that most Americans couldn't locate on a map.They are to help ferret out the Lord's Resistance Army, a grim, if small, guerrilla force that has been doing terrible things for years (but has in no way endangered the United States). This is, in part, payback for the way Ugandan troops have helped advance the US war on terror in Somalia. Whatever else it may be, it also threatens to be yet another small-scale conflict without end - and of course another potential payday for the National Security Complex.The only problem: unless you're inside that Complex or involved in making weapons or other equipment for it, it's not your payday, just your payout. You, the taxpayer, bailed out AIG, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and a host of other tottering financial firms. You saved their skins and their bonuses (and got nothing in return). The only bright spot: those were one-time, two-time, or three-time deals.The Complex is forever (at least as its managers see it). Despite modest rumblings in Washington about the Pentagon and intelligence budgets and the deficit, it's not just considered too big to fail, but generally too big to question, and too deeply embedded to think much about.No wonder TARPing war has become a Washington pastime. Tom Engelhardt, co-founder of the American Empire Project and the author of The American Way of War: How Bush's Wars Became Obama's as well as The End of Victory Culture, runs the Nation Institute's TomDispatch.com. His latest book, The United States of Fear (Haymarket Books), will be published in November. The views expressed in this article are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy. SOURCE: Al Jazeera ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tom EngelhardtTom Engelhardt created and runs the Tomdispatch.com website, a project of The Nation Institute, where he is a fellow. Politics US & Canada Afghanistan Iraq Lebanon


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The Original Hueytown High School
On February 25, 1921, classes began in mid-term at the newly
established Hueytown High School. It had an enrollment of just 66
students (25 seniors). Within two short years enrollment vaulted to
256 students. The sparkling white stucco-covered brick structure was
located at the southeast corner of what is present day Allison-Bonnett
Memorial Drive and High School Road. Now a fenced softball
field occupies the site. Only two reminders would tell us that a
school once stood on this property. All that survives is a portion
of the sidewalk that led to the front of the building and the
silver-painted flagpole from which students raised the American flag to
begin each day.
As the years passed, several phases of expansion added classrooms to the original structure. Two clapboard-sided buildings, each containing four classrooms, were constructed on each side of the main building. One of these white-painted and green shingled-roof buildings was known as the Home Ec Annex. The school would suffer at least one major fire that destroyed the second floor that was over the front central section of the building. A gymnasium was added about 1940.
Since the school served Hueytown, Concord, Pleasant Grove, and several other communities, overcrowding from growth was a constant problem. Seven different grammar schools fed into Hueytown High by 1947: Cottage Hill, Concord, Dolomite, Hueytown, Rutledge, Johns, and McNeil. The last year the old building served as the high school student enrollment had swelled to 1273. As a result the county school board approved relocation to the present site on Dabbs Avenue. The new school's college-like campus design opened in the fall of 1958. Following Mr. Gilmore's retirement after 35 years, the school was led by Mr. Charles Vines, who took the reins as principal beginning with the 1957 school year.
The original school building was then renamed W. I. Pittman Junior High
School (after a county school board member who served from 1931-51).
By the late 1960's the old school building was very much showing its age,
and once again, was hopelessly overcrowed. A new junior high school,
still in use today, was built on Sunrise Boulevard. During the
structure's final years as a Junior High School, the principal was Mr.
Richard Farrar. The old building was then abandoned following the
close of classes in May of 1970 when only sixth and seventh grade students
attended school at the site. Its gymnasium was used sparingly for
community functions (such as Ben Montebano's boxing league) until the
entire site was razed in 1972.


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Beirut Gulag Orkestrar (Ba Da Bing, 2006)
The music of the Roma, or Gypsies, originated in ancient India and spread westward through the Middle East, North Africa, the Balkans, and across Europe, leaking into everything from Franz Liszt to French chanson to postwar jazz. Today, Gypsy music continues to mutate—and to migrate to some unlikely corners of the pop-music world. New York is home to an exciting Gypsy punk scene, led by the great party band Gogol Bordello. And now Gypsy sounds have surfaced in, of all places, Albuquerque, N.M., where Beirut recorded Gulag Orkestrar, one of this year's best debuts. Beirut is led by 20-year-old Zach Condon, a gifted singer and composer whose voice and majestically cresting minor-key melodies recall Rufus Wainwright's. (He's also a formidable one-man band: On Gulag Orkestrar he plays percussion, keyboards, accordion, ukulele, and a variety of horns and reed instruments.) Condon claims to have spent time wandering the former Soviet bloc, but he's not exactly an ethnomusicologist. In songs like the horn-crazy " Bratislava" and the lovely ballad "Prenzlauerberg," Condon is Balkanizing indie rock, hitching the usual sad-sack sentiments to Eastern European soundscapes: lurching accordions, blaring brass-band fanfares, and other romantic, dolorous sounds. It's an audacious bit of cultural banditry, sometimes in questionable taste (Gulag Orkestar? C'mon, now)—but the music works wonderfully. Here's hoping more sensitive young American songwriters start connecting with their Macedonian muses.
Kal Kal (Asphalt Tango, 2006)
Meanwhile, back in Eastern Europe, young bands are cross-pollinating indigenous music with Western pop. The Belgrade band Kal, led by brothers Dugan and Drasan Ristic, is one of the most voracious hybridizers, mixing rootsy "Balkan blues" with snatches of hip-hop, tango, bhangra, and, in one inspired instance, a keening Hawaiian steel guitar. Kal can be a touch too slick, and their taste in electronica is dodgy. (The techno beat in "Duj Duj" is pure cheese.) But when they play a frisky, acoustic drum 'n' bass tune or lean their fiddles and guitars into what can best be described as Gypsy ska, the results bring a wide smile. Kal's self-titled album topped the European world-music charts earlier this year; they will tour the United States for the first time this fall.
Romica Puceanu & the Gore Brothers Sounds From a Bygone Age—Volume 2 (Asphalt Tango, 2006)
The growing popularity of Gypsy music is bringing a flood of old records out of musty vaults and onto CD for the first time. One of the best recent reissues is this collection of recordings from the '60s and '70s by Romica Puceanu, an extraordinary Romanian Gypsy vocalist who sang cantece de mahala, the cafe songs of the Bucharest suburbs, which merged Turkish Gypsy rhythms with lovelorn Romany lyrics. The Gore Brothers' septet—featuring accordions, violins, and a Hungarian hammered dulcimer called the cimbalom—play with crispness and restraint, leaving abundant spaces to be filled by Puceanu's singing. She has a startling voice: clear, powerful in both upper and lower registers, with a tone that variously resembles a horn or a violin. Bucharest's cafe intellectuals called Puceanu "the Romanian Billie Holiday"; the warble in her voice may remind listeners of Edith Piaf. Like both those greats, Puceanu is a specialist in pathos, with an expressive flair characteristic of great Gypsy vocalists—you don't have to understand a single lyric to get caught up in her long, languid, sighing lines.
Taraf de Haidouks The Continuing Adventures of Taraf de Haidouks (Crammed Discs/Ryko, 2006)
Taraf de Haidouks, an intergenerational Gypsy ensemble from the village of Clejani, near Bucharest, are speed freaks. Their songs—medieval ballads about gallant criminals, saucy modern numbers about cheating lovers—whiz past in a rush of virtuosity, with fiddles sawing, fingers racing up fret boards, and pennywhistles twittering like crazed birds. Taraf de Haidouks have been stars of the world-music touring circuit since 1990; their latest release is a CD/DVD commemorating a typically raucous live 2002 concert at London's Union Chapel. The band plays horas, traditional Romanian Gypsy dance tunes, at such a comically breakneck pace that you're inclined at first to think there's something wrong with your CD. But as anyone who's ever heard Balkan brass bands knows, warp-speed tempos are a staple of Eastern European Gypsy music; parties are made for dancing, and the dances in this part of the world are very fast. Occasionally, Taraf de Haidouks slow down for odd-metered ballads, and their lustrous contrapuntal playing comes into clearer focus. But then the song ends, and—whoosh— they're off again.


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Cloud Deployments
LCS is a Microsoft Azure-based collaboration portal that provides a unifying, collaborative environment along with a set of regularly updated services that help you manage the application lifecycle of your implementations.
The goal of LCS is to deliver the right information, at the right time, to the right people and to help ensure repeatable, predictable success with each roll out of an implementation, update or upgrade.
By providing a collaborative workspace that can be used by both customers and partners, separately and together, LCS enables closer collaboration, helps speed implementations and reduces time to value.


text:
Turn of the Screw
Cold Warrior: James Jesus Angleton, The CIA's Master Spy Hunter
James J. Angleton was installed as chief of the Central Intelligence Agency's Counterintelligence Staff in 1954. He would run it for the next twenty years for a succession of agency directors whose original admiration for his judgment mounted to sustained awe of his omniscience and then plunged, by no means prematurely, into alarms for his sanity.
Angleton's career has now been so illuminatingly studied by Tom Mangold in Cold Warrior as to make irresistible the inference that the aberrancies of his stewardship went unnoticed for at least twelve years before unsettling the CIA's faith in his sovereign wisdom.
He had been the CIA's major resource for assessing the intentions and the schemes of the Soviet Union's espionage establishment, and he had almost unfailingly misread them all. It was the rule of his life to trust no one, and he seems to have broken it only twice. His first breach was trading security confidences with Harold (Kim) Philby, British intelligence's liaison officer in Washington, and a Soviet spy.
Angleton next tendered the full faith and credence he withheld from all others to Anatoly Golitsyn, an early Soviet defector with the wit to pass himself off as a significant KGB figure. Mangold makes it clear that Golitsyn was something of a fraud and even more of a con man who cunningly eliminated all possibility of competition from any of the Soviet defectors who followed him by persuading Angleton that each was a KGB plant.
Golitsyin had made his sway over this addled head so complete that the Angleton who always had trouble telling the false from the real now commenced unvaryingly to mistake the one for the other.
Every apparent positive could only be understood as in fact a negative. The Chinese and the Soviets quarreled in public and substantial elements in the Czech Communist party broke with Moscow, and Angleton would gulp down Golitsyn's explanation of any fresh evidence of internal communist crisis as but one more counterfeit piece of the Soviet disinformation campaign. The larger the influx of KGB defectors to the West, the surer Angleton grew that what common sense would take for the unraveling of the Soviet secret-service blanket was in reality a new proof that it was closer knit than ever.
But having never before been all that tightly woven himself, he was now unraveling all the way. Golitsyn's contrived fantasies had become the credo of his own. A warning from Golitsyn of a KGB mole burrowing inside the CIA itself aroused Angleton to set his hounds to range through the agency, ruin the careers of several innocent parties, and damage the Soviet division almost beyond repair.
At last, having failed to find the mole anywhere else, Chief Investigator Clare Petty turned upon Angleton himself and produced a four-footdeep dossier establishing an "80–85 percent probability" that Angleton had been a Soviet agent all along. Petty's study was the final triumph of the infective properties of his master's paranoia and at once in perfect key with Angleton's…
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As Ashton Kutcher moves on following his split from wife Demi Moore, he says there is one kind of woman he's not looking for – someone who will "change" him.
In a candid interview with Women's Health magazine, conducted prior to Thursday's announcement that Demi was seeking a divorce from her husband of six years, Ashton spoke about relationships and the opposite sex.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Celebs Who Moved To Splitsville In 2011
U.S. & World
"What's the best relationship advice you've ever been given?" the magazine asked the "Two and a Half Men" star.
"I think it's all about working on the relationship and making it better… when it's good. Don't wait for a problem to work on things,"
VIEW THE PHOTOS: A Look Back: Ashton Kutcher & Demi Moore
Ashton replied. "The goal is not to get into a relationship; the goal is to be in a relationship."
As for the type of woman Ashton has no interesting in being with, the actor said "I could never be with a woman who felt like she needed to change me."
As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, Demi, 49, announced on Thursday she was seeking a divorce from Ashton, 33.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Top 10 Most Expensive Celebrity Divorces
And while Demi would likely contend there are things her soon-to-be-ex could work on, Ashton said there is one relationship goal he still hopes to achieve.
"I would just like a woman someday, somewhere, at some point in my life to say to me, 'You're a great listener.' Haven't heard it yet, and that's a superior compliment to get from a woman," he explained. "But I'm going to work on it."
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Sexy Screen Star Demi Moore
Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
PLAY IT NOW: The Final 45: Jennifer, Demi & Alicia's New Breast Cancer PSA (October 5, 2011)
PLAY IT NOW: Access Hollywood Live: Ellen Barkin On How To Stay Beautiful & Bonding With Demi Moore
More from Access: [ Ashton Kutcher Demi Moore Divorces ]


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When Paul Ryan ascends the Republican National Convention stage Wednesday night, he will do so as a political paradox.
The congressman from Wisconsin, Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate, is relatively popular – and very popular among Republicans. But his ideas, particularly his vision for Medicare, are strongly opposed by a majority of Americans.
So when Representative Ryan takes the stage Wednesday for what is essentially his prime time public unveiling, the disentangling of Paul Ryan, Medicare attacker, and Paul Ryan, fresh-faced conservative leader, will begin.
Ryan will aim to come off as the "likable" man "plenty competent to take the top job" in an emergency, as seen by Sen. Roger Wicker (R) of Mississippi. But in the coming weeks, Democrats will attempt to paint him as a hard-right Republican producing "hard-edged, uncompromising" legislation, as Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D) of Maryland put it.
Ryan is seen in a favorable light by a plurality of Americans, according to a national survey released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center and The Washington Post. When asked to describe Ryan, the top responses trended positive, with "good" and "intelligent" among the top three answers. The other answers in the top five – "conservative," "young," and "unknown" – were seen as neutral.
Overall, the picture is more mixed, with 37 percent of respondents using clearly positive terms, 35 percent using clearly negative terms, and 28 percent using neutral terms. That puts the Pew survey in line with recent polling by conservative group Resurgent Republic, which found 39 percent of the public view Ryan favorably versus 35 percent unfavorably.
Wednesday is Ryan's opportunity to begin moving that needle in a positive direction. Senator Wicker says Ryan will show America that "he's got a spine."
But Democrats see Ryan's advocacy for changes to entitlement programs as his undoing.
As the chairman of the House Budget Committee, Ryan wrote budgets that would end the current Medicare program for those under the age of 55 and replace it with a premium-support system that would give seniors money each month to pay their medical expenses. Democrats call this a voucher system, and blocked it in the Senate.
What do voters think about the plan? The best case polling scenario is a dead tie, according to GOP pollsters Resurgent Republic.
The worst? Well, a lot worse.
A Washington Post poll released Monday shows just under two-thirds of registered voters opposed the Ryan plan, with 40 percent strongly opposed. A Pew Research survey from last week shows that among those who have heard "a lot" or "a little" about Ryan's proposal, 49 percent oppose it versus 35 percent who support it.
Republicans say they want to fight this fight in Election 2012. "I would rather have a face-to-face, head-to-head debate about the fact that a very popular program is going bankrupt," says Wicker. "We're going to present [America] with grown-up choices."
Democrats scoff at the idea that Republicans are offering anything like "grown-up choices." They say Republicans are trying to distract voters from Ryan's Medicare plan by suggesting that President Obama "raided" Medicare to pay for his health-care reform law – a claim rated "half true" by Politifact.
"It is a calculated, cynical effort to confuse seniors and throw up so much dust that people won't be able to see what the Republican plan does and how it hurts seniors," says Congressman Van Hollen, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee and the stand-in for Ryan in Vice President Joe Biden's debate preparations.
Van Hollen argues that when more Americans get familiar with Ryan's proposals, they'll "understand there is a difference between congeniality and a willingness to compromise, and if you look at the Romney-Ryan plan, it's a hard-edged, uncompromising document."
In that way, Ryan's challenge Wednesday night might be best encapsulated in the words of Tuesday's prime-time speaker at the Republican convention, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
"Real leaders don't follow polls. Real leaders change polls," Governor Christie said. "That's what we need to do now."


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Warner (Giovanni Ribisi) is faced with a dilemma on Tuesday's episode of Dads: Will he choose his wife Camila (Vanessa Lachey) or his best friend Eli (Seth Green) to be his partner in a tennis tournament?
It should be noted that the competition is a virtual one — they're playing video game tennis. Still, it's a big decision. Camila eventually wins out, much to the dismay of Eli, who begins to question his friendship with Warner.
November Sweeps: What do your favorite shows have planned?
"We had a lot of fun making this episode," Lachey tells TVGuide.com. "These guys are comedic geniuses. ... The hardest part for me sometimes is keeping a straight face."
Not everyone feels the same way about the show, but Lachey waves off critics who find some of the humor offensive. "What I love about the show is that [creator] Seth MacFarlane is not afraid to push the envelope and just speak about taboo issues. I think that's probably why people are taken aback by it at first," she says. "Nothing is disrespectful. Nothing is intentionally in your face mean or over-the-top. ... If we can't laugh at the end of the day and be entertained by this thing called life, then what are we doing?"
Check out an exclusive sneak peek of "Doubles Trouble" below:
Dads airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on Fox.


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ORLANDO, Fla. – Authorities are investigating a double shooting that occurred Monday night at an apartment complex near the University of Central Florida.
The shooting occurred on Royal Wulff Lane at the Campus Crossings apartment complex on Alafaya Drive around 6 p.m., according to Orange County deputies.
Deputies say Vincent Cruz, 20, and Antwon Ollis, 19, were both shot and drove themselves away from the scene until they were able to meet up with authorities who took them to the hospital for treatment. Both are Valencia College students and both are expected to survive the shooting, said deputies.
Deputies were unable to determine the number of shooters, but witnesses said two men were seen running from the area.
Deputies were also unable to determine if the victims knew the shooter(s) or if the crime was random.
UCF officials said police were searching for the shooters near the main campus area. UCF sent out an alert to students, saying, "Shooting near main campus. Police searching for suspects. Report suspicious activity to 911." However, campus did not go on lockdown, said UCF officials.
Students who live at the apartment complex said they felt uneasy knowing the shooter(s) remains loose and were concerned the crime happened on the first day back to class.
"I didn't expect all that to happen and it's only the first day of the new semester, " said Kenneth Davis, who heard several shots fired. "It's just the two guys running around, i'm kind of a little on edge about that. not too sure about them running around."


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Southern Africa
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|This departure is closed
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Travel through South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe and experience the Okavango Delta
Enter an aquatic wonderland on this adventure through southeastern Africa's iconic waterfalls, rivers and inland waterways. Marvel at the crashing white water of Victoria Falls, the unique, sprawling Okavango Delta and the tranquillity of the natural waterholes in the Khama Rhino Sanctuary. Pack a camera and an eye for adventure because these lush pockets of wilderness will reward travelers with exciting animal encounters, awesome photography opportunities and sweet memories to last a lifetime.
|Johannesburg, South Africa
|Physical rating
|3 out of 5
|Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
|Min 16 years
|South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe
|Group size
|16 people
|This departure is closed
Why we love this trip
Support local conservation by visiting the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, the only place left in Botswana where both black and white rhinos reside
Camping on a remote island in the heart of the Okavango wilderness is an experience you'll never forget. As night falls, the sounds of the African bush are like nothing else
Get acquainted with the fine art of 'poling' as you ride a traditional dugout canoe through the lush waterways of the Okavango Delta
Explore the magnificent Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, some of the largest salt flats in the world. These mind-bending plains make for some magical photography
Go wildlife-spotting along the river at Chobe National Park, home of the world's highest concentration of African elephants
With two nights at Victoria Falls, you'll get a proper view of this thundering spectacle, with additional time for optional adventures
Is this trip right for you?
Camping out in the Okavango wilderness means digging a bush toilet and going without a shower. For most travelers this is a small price to pay for such a gorgeous remote island location.
The African wild comes alive at sunrise, so there will be some early starts. The thrill of spotting your first lion or rhino is well worth any loss of sleep.
Purpose-built overland trucks allow for excellent game viewing, equipped with large sliding windows. This means they don't have air-conditioning, however, so they can get dusty and hot.
The going can be slow over the long distances and often bumpy roads. A little bit of patience will go a long way towards your enjoyment of this beautiful land.
This is a participatory camping trip, so team spirit is key. You'll be setting up your own tent and helping with camp setup, food preparation and cleaning.
Sawubona! Welcome to South Africa. Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6pm. You can arrive at any time as there are no activities planned until this important meeting. Please ask the hotel reception where it will take place. If you can't arrange a flight that will arrive in time, consider arriving a day early so you are able to attend. If you are going to be late, please inform the hotel reception. We'll be collecting your insurance details and next of kin information at this meeting. If you arrive early, get out and explore Johannesburg, a city of remarkable contrasts. Perhaps visit the culturally rich areas of Newtown, Braamfontein or Maboneng. The eye-opening Apartheid Museum is well worth your time.
Optional Activities
- Afternoon Soweto Cycle Tour
- Hotel
Leaving South Africa behind, cross the border into Botswana and travel toward the Khama Rhino Sanctuary (approximately 8–10 hours). Situated on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, the Khama Rhino Sanctuary is a conversion of a former hunting area into a conservation project. Built to protect Botswana's only remaining populations of both black and white rhinos, the sanctuary is also home to other wildlife including zebras, giraffes, leopards, ostriches and wildebeest, all of which can be seen around the many natural waterholes. Visiting this project benefits local communities and contributes to the protection of the highly endangered white rhinoceros. Later, head out on a dusk game drive to see the rhinos when they are at their most active. At your camp, there will be the option to upgrade to a room for an additional cost (subject to availability).
Included Activities
- Khama Rhino Sanctuary - Game drive
- Camping (with facilities)
Jump aboard the truck and head to Maun (approximately 8–9 hours). Here there will be an opportunity to stock up on any supplies you might need for the journey ahead. Maun is the gateway to one of the world's most renowned and complex ecosystems, the Okavango Delta. This place is unlike anything in the world – a 6178 square mile maze of wetlands made up of meandering waterways, green islands, lush plains and prolific wildlife. You might see hippos, crocodiles, elephants and big cats. But it's not the animals that are the main attraction – it's the incredibly diverse ecosystem and atmospheric waterscapes. Tonight, you'll stay on the outskirts of Maun at a simple campsite with shared facilities, Wi-Fi and optional upgrades.
- Camping (with facilities)
Traverse the waterways by mokoro, a traditional dugout canoe navigated by friendly local 'polers'. With some luck, you might spot some of the delta's unusual wildlife and exotic birdlife. Spend time exploring the maze of lagoons, lakes and streams on foot, led by experienced and knowledgeable guides. Tonight, you will camp on a remote island in the heart of the wilderness. In this far-out spot, facilities are non-existent, so you will dig a bush toilet and go without a shower. It's all part of the Okavango experience. At night, fall asleep to the humming and buzzing of the African wilderness.
Included Activities
- Okavango Delta - Mokoro safari
- Bush Camping (no facilities)
Wake up early and venture out for a sunrise walk. Along the way, keep watch for elephants. You might also come across Cape buffalo, if the timing is right. These rather noble-looking creatures are more dangerous than they look, and their horns make for a kind of bone shield that's fittingly known as a 'boss'. Returning to camp for breakfast, take the rest of the day to relax. A refreshing swim, or perhaps a nap, is a good idea in the warmer part of the day. Alternatively, take another mokoro trip to soak up more of that delightful river atmosphere.
Included Activities
- Okavango Delta - Sunrise Walk
- Bush Camping (no facilities)
After taking down your camp, take the mokoro back to the poling station and then travel once again to Maun (approximately 2–3 hours). Today you'll visit a rural village and interact with some of the locals. This will give you an insight into daily life on the Okavango Delta and perhaps some background history on these awesome sprawling waterways that are the lifeblood of many. Tonight, you will camp on the outskirts of Maun at a simple campsite which has shared facilities. WiFi and optional upgrades are available.
Included Activities
- Okavango Delta - Mokoro safari
Optional Activities
- Scenic Plane or Helicopter flight over the Delta
- Camping (with facilities)
Get up early and hit the road for Nata (approximately 6–7 hours). This small town is situated just near the stunning Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, which are some of the largest salt flats on earth, covering some 4600 square miles. This afternoon you will have the opportunity to explore the pans in an open vehicle. The pans are naturally dry and salty for a large part of the year. During this time the arid landscape has an eerie feel to it as heat mirages disorientate the senses. At other times, they take on a layer of grass, and as soon as the rains hit they become a refuge for migratory birds and animals. Your campsite tonight is situated on the edge of the pans. It has a restaurant, swimming pool, gift shop, ATM and bar/lounge area. Upgrades are also offered.
Included Activities
- Nata - Makgadikgadi Salt Pans
- Camping (with facilities)
Hit the road for Chobe National Park (approximately 6–7 hours). Botswana's first national park is perhaps best known for its high concentration of elephants, which can often be seen swimming in the Chobe River. The river also attracts wallowing hippos, a variety of birdlife, crocodiles sunning themselves by the water's edge, and cheetahs and lions that come down to drink. Enjoy a sunset cruise on the Chobe River, a very relaxing way to spend the afternoon. Your camp tonight has WiFi access and optional upgrades. It's also close to a supermarket, so you can stock up on supplies while you're here.
Included Activities
- Chobe National Park - River Cruise
- Camping (with facilities)
This morning there is an optional Chobe National Park morning game drive.
Travel on to Victoria Falls today (approximately 2–3 hours). You will cross the border into Zimbabwe in time to have lunch on the banks of the Zambezi. Then it's time to experience the sight and sound of the mighty falls. This thundering curtain of water is about a mile wide, falling 354 feet into a narrow gorge below. In the wet season, the spray created can rise up an incredible 1312 feet and the falls become an impressive raging torrent. In the dry season, the view of the falls is unobstructed by spray and you can see little islets in the river below. Your campsite tonight has WiFi, an ATM and optional upgrades.
Your leader will take you to a local activity centre where a range of activities will be on offer. We have not risk assessed all activities and only those listed in our trip notes are recommended. It is against company policy for leaders to facilitate the booking of any activities that have not been risk assessed or do not adhere to our company's Responsible Travel policy and ethos. This includes organising transport to and from these activities in our vehicles.
Included Activities
- Victoria Falls - Victoria Falls Entrance Fee
Optional Activities
- Chobe National Park - Morning Game Drive in 4X4 vehicle
- Zambezi Sunset Cruise
- Camping (with facilities)
There are no activities planned for the final day and you are able to depart the accommodation at any time.
9 Breakfasts, 3 Lunches, 7 Dinners
Overland Truck
Hotel (1 night), Camping (6 nights - with facilities), Bush Camping (2 nights - no facilities)
Important notes
A single supplement is available on this trip. Please speak to your booking agent for further information.
Call us on 1-855-702-4088 to speak to a travel specialist today or email us below:
More Googler Exclusive Trips


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Art Wine Glass-0554
Author: Yordan Grigorov
Items can be made to order with colors chosen by the customer.
Color ckrackle with repeatedly heating by different temperatures.
Gold, Platinum, Lustres, Colorants and glazes
Decorative porcelain for artistic purposes; soft porcelain; semi- porcelain
Message in color
Green- Vitality
Brown- Peace and security
Yellow- Effulgent
Blue- Perspective
Grey- Thought
Orange- Effulgent
Pink- Hope
Message in shape
Circle- infinity, immortality, longevity, divine beginning.
Triangle- spirituality, spiritual beginning, Father, Son and Spirit.
Square- equilibrium and balance, encoded number 4. The number 4 is the number of happiness and overall message of the cup with saucer is: in demand and achieve complete happiness.
Example: Tea set with green, yellow, brown, cup- circle, saucer- triangular, dessert plate- square.
The symbols of the colors are: vitality, peace and security, effulgency
The symbols of the shapes are: infinitely, spirituality, equilibrium and balance. the square symbolisez the equilibrium and balance. naturally, in the square is encoded number 4. the number 4 is the number of happiness and hence the overall message of the tea set is: IN SEARCH AND ACHIEVE OF COMPLETE HAPPINESS.
Yin and yang- forces that develop personality when counteracting, Or any little part of the Universe.
Four leaf clover- the flower of happiness comes from the square that is equilibrium and balance, naturally in the square is encoded the number 4- the number of happiness.
Snail- a symbol oh home. Motto- hurry- up slowly. 100% achieved goal.
Frog- a symbol of wealth in China. Yin and yang in version of air and wind. in Bulgarian and European cultures presents as beautiful growing dream to become reality in time. ( From the ugly frog to become handsome prince or beautiful princess.)
Fish- candlestick- a symbol of Christian faith and free life in the seas and oceans. The candle flame brings together souls and hearts. It is a symbol of a home. Plus the message of colors that complete the image of the shape.
Column- candlestick- a symbol of the Greco- Thracian culture in our land, plus the symbol of the flame of the candle, plus symbol of colors.
Lotus (blooming)- symbol of spiritual development and realization of the idea.
Symbol of god Kali.+ the circle of the cup, + color message.


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Christ Is Risen!
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The Episcopallian road is easy and wide, for many go through it to find destruction. lol sorry channeling Isa.
(Please proceed with caution in regards to the medicine. I'd ask a doctor, just to be safe. )Lord, have mercy on your servant.
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Targeting the thousands upon millions of businessmen who choose to cycle to work, the Highson Suit Commute is quite literally a-suit-in-a-backpack. It keeps your office-wear wrinkle-free, and also holds shoes, a tie and a laptop should you need to.
Able to fit laptops up to 17-inches in size and a suit up to 44-inches, it's bizarrely got even more space for phones and MP3 players, and if that's not enough—a towel to wipe all that unbecoming sweat off. On sale now for £40 / $60. [Highson via Gizmag]


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09 May 2014 - Stamford, CT (USA)
Financial Reporting Expert To Present Keynote at Tagetik's Upcoming North American User Conference
Going beyond traditional financial reporting, integrated reporting meets needs of decision makers and stakeholders for comprehensive and transparent view of business performance and strategy
Mike Willis, a PricewaterhouseCoopers partner and founding chairman of XBRL International, will deliver the keynote presentation, "Benefits of Comprehensive Integrated Reporting," at Tagetik's North American User Conference in New York City on May 15. Approximately 100 Tagetik customers and partners will attend the annual event, hosted by Tagetik, a global provider of enterprise software solutions for performance management, disclosure management, financial governance and business intelligence. Attending executives will represent companies such as John Hancock, Babson Capital Management, LAZ Parking, and Worthington Industries.
"Today, only about 20% of a company's market value can be accounted for by financial and physical assets – which is what traditional financial reporting is based on," according to Willis. "Other factors – such as business relationships, intellectual property, human capital, and market trends – make up an increasing proportion of a company's value. The goal of integrated reporting, which pulls information from a broad range of internal and external sources, is to provide a more comprehensive and transparent view of a company's value from a short-, medium-, and long-term perspective."
"Five years ago, integrated reporting was not very practical for most companies to even consider," said Dave Kasabian, senior vice president of product marketing and strategy at Tagetik. "However, now with Tagetik's unified Financial Performance Platform™, the concept of integrated reporting is actually within reach. We are honored to have Mike speak at our conference and bring this topic to life for our customers." Tagetik's Financial Performance Platform includes performance management processes, built-in ETL (extract, transform, load) capabilities, analytics, and combined financial and narrative reporting.
Willis' presentation will cover the fundamental concepts and elements of integrated reporting, examples of companies already moving toward integrated reporting, the role of technology and standards-setting organizations, the economic benefits, and steps companies can take to evolve toward this more strategic reporting approach.
Tagetik's North American User Conference spans two days and includes sessions on the future of business intelligence, corporate performance management trends, advanced budgeting and planning, and data security, as well as detailed product-related sessions. This year's event will be held at OFFSITETM NYC, a state-of-the-art meeting venue in midtown Manhattan.
About Mike Willis
Mike Willis frequently writes and speaks on the topic of business reporting. He has appeared in publications such as Harvard Business Review, Financial Times, Business Week, Wall Street & Technology, FEI Magazine, CFO Magazine, Journal of Accountancy and CIO Magazine.Mike Willis is a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers and the founding chairman of XBRL International, a not-for-profit consortium of companies and agencies worldwide that work together on the building of XBRL, an international information format standard designed to enhance business reporting supply chain processes, and supporting its adoption. Willis also played an instrumental role in the founding of the Enhanced Business Reporting Consortia, a consortium of organizations working toward consensus on an internationally recognized framework of voluntary, international guidelines for business reporting, and the World Intellectual Capital Initiative (WICI), a private/public sector collaboration aimed at improving capital allocation through better corporate reporting information. WICI is a collaborating member of the International Integrated Reporting Council and works to help further the evolution of corporate reporting and enable organizations to communicate their value-creation stories more effectively with investors.
Request a Demo
Our personalized demo allows you to speak directly with a senior solution specialist and discover the key functionalities of CCH Tagetik.
Would you love to know more about CCH Tagetik?
For more information, please complete the form and a member of our team will reach out to you shortly!


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Tags: talking animals,


text:
First developed in 19th century Britain, this die-cast zinc cube and key is an ancient puzzle that still baffles minds today.
A prizewinner from the 2001 1st Annual World Puzzle Design competition, this puzzle was designed by the young Dutch phenomenon, Oskar, consider to be one of the world's brightest creators.
The gear exhibits a unique kind of movement. Once together in its final form of beauty, the gear fixed in place in the cubic box could very well serve as a desk decoration to satisfy a kind of soothing, intellectual curiosity.
The key word is "teeth".
Level 3 Difficulty age 12+


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This is about the time that circulation managers are polishing up their returns to send off to the ABC and if the recent retail trends are anything to go by, there will need to be an interesting range of techniques employed to put any sort of positive spin on the figures.
Dropping into Private Frazer's inbox is Seymour Distribution's report on Quarter 1 newsstand sales. This covers the whole market, not just the titles that Seymour represents, and it indicates a year on year drop of nearly 14% in sales volumes. That means that newsstand is down by over a third since the beginning of 2009.
And the carnage seems to be pretty much across the board: women's titles are down by 14% year on year, motoring is off 10%, computing over 20%, men's interest over 25%.
There are no bright points among the gloom. If you aren't a long way down a strategic route to offset the decline in print, then really, honestly, truly, you're probably too late.


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Join the weekly Classic Castle set review discussion. Please post your opinions on the set play ability, piece selection, design, etc. Which sets stand up to our catapult of critique and which ones crumble in shame!
This week's set is 6094 Guarded Treasury.
Guarded Treasury was released in 2000 for Knight's Kingdom. A Bull's archer is prevented from robbing the treasury by falling axes and stones. The soldier guards the archer in the jail. Various accesssories are included.


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Correction: Joe Gruters is a former planning commissioner. An earlier version of this story stated otherwise.
Marianne Reilly does not consider herself anti-development. She worked as a real estate agent in New Jersey and helped developers find new parcels for subdivisions.
Reilly said she voted for most new development proposals as a member of the Sarasota County Planning Commission. But that record did not keep her from being replaced on the advisory board by county commissioners in an unsual move that could signal a more pro-development push in Sarasota County.
Reilly's four-year term on the planning board was up, along with that of Sarasota banker Jody Hudgins, who was precluded by term limits from reappointment. The high-profile board oversees development approvals and has been a launching pad to higher office for many county commissioners.
Although County Commissioner Christine Robinson renominated Reilly for a second term, she could not get enough votes for reappointment.
The commissioners instead named Nokomis real estate agent John Ask and Sarasota builder Philip Kellogg to the Planning Commission.
The swing vote against Reilly was County Commissioner Nora Patterson, long considered a moderate on development issues who, some observers say, has become more pro-development in recent years.
Patterson did not cite any dissatisfaction with particular decisions by Reilly, adding that she was torn between Reilly and Kellogg and wished she could have appointed both.
She also said she was more impressed by Ask's community work than anything else. He is president of the Nokomis Area Civic Association.
"It was really his neighborhood connections and sensitivity and leadership that caused me to support him," Patterson said.
But Patterson also defended moving the county in a more pro-development direction. She said she believes that is what the public wants.
"The truth is the county right now and the population is more oriented to development than it has been in the past," Patterson said. "It's a natural outgrowth of everybody hurting financially in the community and the high unemployment rate."
Reilly expressed disappointment in the decision, which also drew criticism from neighborhood and development watchdog representatives.
She has served on the Planning Commission for eight years, and in that time no sitting planning commissioner has been removed.
Observers say they cannot remember anything similar happening in decades.
Former Planning Commissioner Joe Gruters was surprised Reilly did not get reappointed. Gruters is the chair of the Republican Party of Sarasota County and Reilly is a Democrat, but he respects her work ethic and knowledge of development issues.
"I think Marianne should have been reappointed," Gruters said. "Although she's a Democrat I served with her for five and a half years and she really did an amazing job as a planning commissioner researching all the issues and serving the community well."
Reilly said she was more apt to question whether a new development would generate significant traffic or other concerns for nearby neighborhoods. Recently, she voted against an 1,800-home project in Venice because it is in an area where a number of struggling new subdivisions already exist.
She said her removal sends a message that developers will have more latitude to ignore the county's planning regulations and push for projects that could harm the quality of life Southwest Florida.
"My concern is that planning commissioners are going to be afraid to have those discussions other than what are the economic advantages" of a new development, Reilly said. "It's a huge change in how we do business. If they want a planning commission that's just going to tell them what they want to hear then they should disband the planning commission."
Having served eight years on the commission, Reilly would have been the most senior planning commissioner after one of her colleagues is term-limited next year. Nearly the entire commission has turned over in the last two years.
Besides Robinson, County Commissioner Joe Barbetta voted for Reilly's appointment. Both are former planning commissioners.
Dan Lobeck, an attorney who represents neighborhood groups in conflicts with developers, described Reilly as a moderate on growth issues and said he was concerned the new board members would be less "sensitive to the interests of neighborhoods, the environment and the public."
Ask has worked with prominent developer Henry Rodriguez on real estate deals. He also was instrumental in a revision to the county's comprehensive plan that allowed for greater building heights and densities in Nokomis.
Ask said he would recuse himself from voting on projects if he had financial ties to the developer.
"It's a public trust and you treat it very respectfully and very seriously," Ask said.
County commissioners said they simply looked for candidates with deep community ties and a history of volunteer work.
"Everyone talks about pro-development, anti-development and that, a lot of times, isn't fair," said new County Commissioner Charles Hines. "It's, 'Do you have a commitment to making our community better and will you balance that between development and protecting the environment?' "
Following the Great Recession, the county has moved to reduce impact fees and streamline development approval. Hines' election to replace Jon Thaxton on the board was also seen as a shift toward a more development-friendly board.
Planning commissioner replaced in possible pro-development shift
Correction: Joe Gruters is a former planning commissioner. An earlier version of this story stated otherwise.