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US Persian Gulf Policy in Obama's Second Term
[This article will appear, in Italian, in the next issue of Aspenia, Aspen Istitute Italia's highly regarded journal on international affairs, with the following title: Il problema visto da Washington: oltre i pregiudizi", Aspenia 60, conti del Golfo, aprile 2013.]
US Persian Gulf Policy in Obama's Second Term
By Gary Sick
The beginning of a second term for an American president is a magical mystery moment: he is free (or so it is believed) of all political restraints and can therefore vanquish all the intractable problems of the first term. The reality is very different. Presidents still have political constraints, and those may actually increase in the second term as the incumbent is perceived as a lame duck. Still, at the start of his second four years, President Obama can be sure of one thing: there will be no shortage of free advice, on every subject under the sun.
The president probably is not listening. He has had four years of on-the-job training; now he has another four years to leave a permanent mark on his times, and he knows it will not be easy. So I will resist the temptation to offer my own personal wish list. Instead, here are a few issues that will require decisions in the next four years. His choices will determine how his presidency is viewed by future generations.
A new war in the Middle East?
There are powerful voices in the United States pushing Obama in the direction of direct U.S. military action in the Middle East. Specifically, there are calls for more active intervention in Syria and in favor of explicit threats of military action against Iran.
In Syria, the rationale begins with the horrors of the humanitarian disaster, as the Alawite government of Bashar al-Assad fights, literally, for its life. A second reason put forward by proponents of a more muscular policy is to neutralize Iran's role in the Levant and counteract its direct assistance to Damascus. A third reason, which goes to the very heart of America's policy dilemma in the 21st century, is that the United States, according to these voices, is still the indispensable nation and should not be satisfied to "lead from behind."
With regard to Iran, the reasoning is somewhat different. Despite the most stifling precautionary economic sanctions ever imposed against a member state of the United Nations, Iran continues to pursue its nuclear development program. The sanctions, it is argued by some, must be reinforced with clear promises of military action if Iran fails to comply with the demands of the United Nations Security Council.
In both cases, a more aggressive U.S. posture carries real risks that minor skirmishes or even accidents could escalate quickly into a full blown war. After two enormously costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the American public is war weary. And most observers recognize that combat in either Iran or Syria would be far more dangerous than anything experienced since 2001.
Obama sent a clear signal on this subject in the early days of his new term. He nominated Senator John Kerry as Secretary of State and former Senator Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense. Despite the controversy surrounding the nomination of Hagel, both he and Kerry are establishment politicians who are known to be non-ideologues and moderate representatives of the "realist" school of foreign policy. Hagel is known to be his own man and to speak his mind bluntly, without regard for the conventional wisdom, which is dangerous in polarized Washington.
Nevertheless, both Kerry and Hagel reflect Barack Obama's pragmatic, centrist approach to international politics. Both men are veterans of the Vietnam War, and both have been outspoken in their opposition to war under any but the most extreme circumstances. That is not a popular position with many on the right wing of American politics, but it almost certainly corresponds with the views of their commander-in-chief.
Military Presence in the Persian Gulf
As recently as 1986, the United States had only a tiny presence in the Gulf. Until the early 1970s, America relied on the British to handle security in the region. Then, after the British withdrawal, America turned to the shah of Iran as the proxy defender of their interests. Even after the collapse of the shah's regime in 1979, the United States resisted stationing significant military forces in the region – partly due to Arab opposition to American bases on their soil. Even during the early years of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), American involvement was largely indirect – the so-called "over-the-horizon" strategy.
In 1986, as the tanker war between Iran and Iraq expanded, the Arabs finally concluded that a permanent U.S. presence was required, and they invited Washington to provide escorts for Kuwaiti shipping. Within two years, the United States was drawn into sporadic combat with the Iranian navy and had established operational military facilities in several Arab states. That presence was greatly augmented when Saddam Hussein attacked Kuwait in 1990. The United States responded by mobilizing a vast coalition of forces, operating from an array of regional military bases, which succeeded in driving Iraqi forces out of Kuwait in 1991.
When that war was over, the United States did not withdraw. Instead, it continued to maintain a massive presence in the region, with Arab approval and cooperation, to prevent Saddam Hussein from launching still another invasion. In retrospect, it is obvious that the rapid expansion of the U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf was due almost exclusively to the actions of one man, Saddam Hussein. It is hugely ironic, therefore, that the existence of this enormous military machine made it possible for President Bush to launch his invasion of Iraq in 2003.
For a decade now, the U.S. military has fought two wars from military bases in the Gulf. Al-Udeid outside Doha, Qatar, is the most active U.S. military air field in the world.[i] The facilities on land have been greatly augmented by U.S. naval and amphibious forces. In recent years it has been typical to have two carrier task forces on station in the region at all times. This is a huge investment of resources, which is not only expensive in dollars but also represents an important opportunity cost, since these forces are not available for other major theaters of operation.
The U.S. war in Iraq has now ended, and American forces will be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. The U.S. military presence in the Gulf is also almost certain to decline over the next four years. President Obama will set the time and pace for this withdrawal. No one expects it to be sudden or complete. However, the president has sent some important signals about his view of the future.
The January 2011 defense planning paper, Sustaining US Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense called for a "pivot" to the Asia-Pacific region as military demands decline in Southwest Asia. Officials have emphasized that this does not imply an abandonment of U.S. security responsibilities in the Gulf and Indian Ocean.
A second signal came much more recently with the announcement that the second carrier task force scheduled for deployment to the Gulf would remain in its home port due to prospective cuts in defense funding being debated in the Congress. While this may be a political ploy to apply pressure to the legislature, it no doubt also reflects the new strategic reality. It will be interesting to see if and when there will be two carriers on station again in the Persian Gulf region.
The availability of oil for the world's industrialized economies is and will remain a major concern for the United States. The United States assumed responsibility to protect the sea lanes to and from the Persian Gulf after the British withdrawal in 1971. At that time, the principal threat was considered to be the Soviet Union. Today, the nature of threats to oil supplies is more ambiguous.
In the past few years, the United States has collaborated with many of its allies to impose sanctions on Iran that have removed about one million barrels per day of Iranian oil off the market. That was accomplished with only a minor increase in the price of oil because of (1) the global recession, which reduced demand; (2) the parallel increase in production by Saudi Arabia to compensate for the loss of Iranian oil; and (3) the availability of substantial new oil and gas supplies from Iraq and from the United States itself, where a revolution is underway in the production of oil and gas from shale deposits. Thus, at least for the present, the availability of an ample global supply of oil appears to be assured, and the biggest threats to supply tend to come from natural disasters rather than any strategic interference.
Iran at least theoretically has the possibility of interfering with shipping through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, the southern entrance into the Persian Gulf, either by attacking shipping directly or by sowing mines in the area. But in reality that is not a realistic option. Iran would soon find itself engaged in a military confrontation with all of the major Western powers, a confrontation it could not possibly win. Moreover, Iran relies on the Strait for its own oil exports, so closure of the Strait would be a losing strategy in every way.
The question is not whether the United States would abdicate from its responsibilities for protection of the Arab Gulf states and the continued flow of oil to the world's industrialized economies. Still, it is often forgotten that the United States fulfilled those responsibilities as recently as the first term of the Reagan administration relying on a handful of warships and virtually no shore bases. No one anticipates a hasty return to that situation; however, if oil supplies are generally secure, and particularly if a modus vivendi with Iran can be negotiated, it is reasonable to expect a gradual process of attrition, as scarce U.S. military resources are needed more urgently elsewhere.
The Centrality of Iran
The common element in all three of the decision issues above is Iran. Iran's interaction with the United States and its allies will have an important influence on issues of peace and war, the need for large military deployments, and the security of oil flow from the Persian Gulf. As a simple rule of thumb, a hostile and confrontational relationship with Iran will increase the risks of war and interference with the regular flow of oil, thereby increasing pressure for the United States and others to maintain large standing military forces in the region. Alternatively, a diplomatic resolution of some outstanding issues and a more businesslike relationship on both sides could relieve many of the tensions in the region.
This is not a utopian idea. Although Iran has a well-deserved reputation for radical Islamist governance and brutal repression of its own people, its foreign policy has tended to be cautious. Iran is willing to support proxies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, who engage in direct conflict with Israel; however, it carefully avoids direct military confrontation itself. The great exception of course is the Iran-Iraq war, when Iran was invaded by Iraq. That war had several important lessons: with great sacrifice, Iran was able to defend its own territory but it could not project its power across the border. At the end of eight years of brutal combat, Iran was losing. Iran and Iraq together lost about 400,000 dead and probably twice that many seriously wounded. The economies of both states were devastated.
Since that time, Iran has made occasional displays of its swarming small boats and has taken some hostages who had strayed off course, but it has been careful not to get into a shooting incident with the many naval forces that patrol off its shores in the Persian Gulf. On the nuclear side, despite the hysteria in the media, Iran has avoided any actions that would indicate that it is producing a bomb. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors Iran's active nuclear sites, routinely reports that no material has been diverted for military use. Lately, Iran has been converting its 20% enriched uranium to keep it below the quantity needed for a bomb.
Many experts who watch the Iranian nuclear program closely are convinced that Iran wants to have the capacity to build a bomb, which gives it status and negotiating leverage; not an actual weapon, which would make Iran a target. Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, appeared to confirm this interpretation when he recently said "We do not want to build nuclear weapons… .We believe that nuclear weapons are a crime against humanity and should not be built; and whatever weapons there are in the world should be destroyed. This is what we believe in; and this has got nothing to do with you (Americans). If we did not have such a belief and had decided to build nuclear weapons, no power could have stopped us. "[ii] This typically belligerent formulation seems to reinforce the view that Iran does not plan to build a nuclear weapon but intends to have the capability to do so independently if necessary.
Policy Contradictions
The policies of the West – and particularly the United States – toward Iran are based on two contradictions. The first is woven into the very fabric of nuclear non-proliferation agreements.
The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) guarantees that non-nuclear signatories can pursue peaceful nuclear development in return for a promise not to produce nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, activities related to peaceful nuclear development are often identical to those that may eventually produce a nuclear weapon. As a consequence, many countries in the world have the technical capability to produce a nuclear weapon if and when they should decide to do so. The world lives with that ambiguity.
Iran is an original signatory of the NPT. It is much further away from an actual nuclear weapon than, say, Japan. But the world does not trust Iran to keep its promise, so a massive international campaign has been mounted to prevent Iran from doing what countries such as Brazil are doing with no criticism.
Iran resists these demands as evidence of a double standard and refuses to submit with "a gun at its head," in the words of Ayatollah Khamenei. Iran's indignation is understandable, but the concern of many other countries that Iran is actually taking advantage of the loophole in the NPT is equally comprehensible. The underlying contradiction does, however, weaken the legal case against Iran.
The second major contradiction in U.S. policy is that we proclaim Iran to be a mortal threat, yet we craft our policies as if Iran can do us no harm.
Iran is not, and will not become, a serious military threat to the United States in the foreseeable future. Iran is a midlevel power with a dysfunctional and unpopular government. Iran's GDP is about the same as the state of Georgia in the United States, and its defense budget is a fraction of its Arab neighbors or Israel, not to mention the United States.
Iran has a robust self-defense capability but very little power projection capability. Its nuclear program may have attracted great political attention, but it has consistently failed to live up to its hype. Politicians have been (falsely) predicting the imminent appearance of a bomb in Iran's arsenal for twenty years, and Iran's ballistic missile development has proceeded much slower than expected by Western intelligence estimates. There is still time to pursue a negotiated settlement.
However, U.S. and Western strategy to deal with Iranian defiance has been to impose crippling sanctions in an effort to force Iran to change its policies. Those efforts have proved utterly unsuccessful over a period of several decades, and at each stage the Western response has been to add still more sanctions. Today, the sum total of the sanctions imposed against Iran is the equivalent of a national blockade, arguably an act of war.
Half of Iran's oil exports have been blocked, their research and development has been starved, and the current banking restrictions are beginning to affect middle class families. In addition, Iranian scientists have been murdered, cyber warfare attacks have been launched against Iran's nuclear program, and American drones have been operating in Iranian air space.
The implicit rationale for such strategies is that Iran, despite its fearsome reputation, cannot retaliate. That has been true, at least until recently. In the last year there have been a series of attempted assassinations of Israeli and other diplomats, a cyber attack on the computers of the giant Saudi Aramco oil company, and concentrated denial of service internet attacks against major American banks. Iran is widely suspected to be involved in all of these. In an amusing twist, the virus that wiped out thousands of Aramco computers contained a snippet of code that was taken from the Stuxnet virus that Israel and the United States are suspected of infiltrating into Iranian computers several years ago.
By launching what was apparently our own cyber attack against Iran, we may have opened Pandora's Box. Our military might dwarfs Iran, but the internet is a much more level (and anonymous) playing field. Iran produces large numbers of IT engineers from its elite universities every year. This may be the first round of salvoes in what could be the first actual combat – or at least a cold war competition – in cyberspace.
Is Agreement Possible?
The differences between Iran and the United States, which have prevented a resumption of diplomatic relations for 34 years since the Iranian Revolution, are rooted more in the domestic politics of the two countries than in their respective foreign policies. In the United States, attitudes toward Iran were permanently crystallized by the 444 days that Iran held American diplomats hostage. In that heavily televised crisis, Iran came to be perceived as an unruly mob of fanatics waving their fists and shouting "Death to America." No American politician wins any votes by taking a moderate stand on Iran; instead, there is a competition to demonstrate who can take the hardest line. Hence the proliferation of harsh sanctions and the denunciation of former Senator Hagel for his expressed preference for a diplomatic solution.
Iran, in turn, is a product of its revolution, which was anti-American as much as anti-shah. Iran today is still being governed by some of the same people who made the revolution, and they cling to the old slogans. In many cases, slogans are all that remain of a revolution that has failed to produce efficient governance and has replaced legitimacy with repression. There is a heavy measure of paranoia in the aging Iranian leadership, which prefers to blame Western interference for all its troubles, rather than critically examine its own failings.
The historical landscape of U.S.-Iran relations is littered with misunderstandings and missed opportunities. It takes real political courage in Washington and in Tehran to articulate a negotiating agenda based on compromise and mutual confidence-building. Each side is wedded to its maximum demands, fearful that the other side will trick them or simply pocket any concessions without a reciprocal gesture.
If the international community is willing to accept an Iran that, like Japan or dozens of other countries, has the technical capability to produce a nuclear weapon, it would almost certainly be possible to negotiate a settlement of the nuclear issue. Western negotiators have instead insisted that Iran must give up its entire uranium enrichment program. Iran, for its part, insists that its rights to pursue a full nuclear fuel cycle must be acknowledged before any progress is possible. That is a recipe for the kind of inertia and stagnation that have characterized the nuclear negotiations for the past decade.
What is required is a working agenda that defines an end point that is acceptable to Iran but is preceded by a series of verifiable steps and confidence-building measures. The West must accept that Iran is permitted to conduct a civilian nuclear energy program, and Iran must accept limitations on its stockpiles of enriched uranium and extensive international monitoring of its nuclear activities. Both sides have indicated at times that this arrangement would be acceptable, but neither has yet been able to put a persuasive negotiating package on the table.
In his first term, President Obama indicated his willingness to engage with Iran, but his actions fell short of his words. If he is willing to invest real political capital and diplomatic creativity in a negotiating process, he could change the face of the Middle East. Past history, however, provides little basis for optimism.1 year ago • 0 notes


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Tag Results
8 posts tagged Graphic tablet
8 posts tagged Graphic tablet
Adobe Ideas CS Launch Visual from Brian Yap on Vimeo.
Can the iPad replace a graphic tablet?
If Apple decides to create a stylus that can compute pressure then maybe yes! :O
In the mean time let see what the illustrator Brian Yap can do on a simple iPad!
Ouuuuh The new CINTIQ 24HD wow! Who doesn't dream of it!!!
The Cintiq 24HD touch gives creative professionals the most natural and complete tool for design, video, art and animation. The integration of multi-touch capabilities directly on-screen, along with Wacom's most advanced pen technology, give you a truly "hands-on" creative experience as you work digitally.
For many, the first time you accidently open the pen stand (that shot glass looking thing that holds the pen) and see what looks like some sort of miniaturized torture chamber or old Celtic landmark, there is an initial "what the…" moment. It is simply a portal to another dimension and you probably should not play with it. No, really, what you have opened is a world of possibilities.
Pierre Skene's techno section
On March 1st, Wacom launched its brand new graphic tablet series, the Intuos 5.
This series present the new Multi touch technology of Wacom which allows you to rotate and navigate between images just by touching, with your fingers, the tablet surface (just like a Touchpad). The software also allows you to personalize your tablet by associating certain functions to a given movement.
The sensibility of the pen allows 2048 pressure level for a better control and realism while using brushes.
The Express keys have been redesign and are, from now on, molded, which gives an elegant finish to the tablet. They stay entirely editable and, new feature: every function associated to a key can appear on the screen by a simple finger pressure.
From now on, every graphic tablet from this series can be used as a wireless tablet with an additional unit (not included with the purchase of the tablet) allowing the elimination of bothering cables and giving a liberty of movement and work position.
The graphic tablets are available in the following sizes:
S: active surface 157 x 98 mm
M: active surface 224 x140 mm (available in « touch » or only with pen)
L: active surface 224 x 140 mm
Article written by :
Wacom Intuos5 Hands On - First Impressions
Wacom was kind of enough to send us a copy of the Intuos5 to check out and review! Check out our first impressions of the tablet here:
I will also be writing a full length review on it soon. Stay tuned!
And yes, it's awesome.
The new intuos5 from Wacom
Curious about the new features? Check out this video!
La nouvelle tablette intuos5 de Wacom est sortie!
How to use and choose its graphic tablet
1. Mouse or tablet? Many retouchers argue that using one or the other is the same! Not true! A tablet is a must for all those who do illustration, retouching or any other form of digital creation. It allows us a better flow and greater accuracy, but be careful, using it for tasks such as moving files, selecting from the menu or creating a vector is not appropriate for a tablet. The slightest misplacement of the pen could seriously damage the order of your files. For this reason, it is best to combine the tablet with a mouse.
2. To optimize your use, work with the mouse in the opposite hand to the one holding the stylus, this way you won't need to stop every time you want to look through the menu bar or transfer images. It takes a little while to adapt, but people who have adopted this technique all say they see a notable improvement in their time management.
3. When choosing your tablet, of course it is obvious that the price is important, but it is better to make your choice according to your needs and the equipment you already have so that you maximize your purchase and especially your work efficiency! The important thing when choosing a tablet is that it has a surface area that is bigger than half your screen. (A tablet that is too small will be compatible, but you will need to do more small movements to make your maneuvers, which is less convenient and certainly less precise). Equally important is the pressure level, which translates into the ability of the tablet to reproduce the pressure of your line (fine to thick) in order to find the same feel as a pen and paper. For the pros it is strongly advised to look for a tablet that has 1024 levels of pressure, you will appreciate the accuracy!
4. A large proportion of people, I would say 35% to 40%, are not comfortable when they first use it. If you are experiencing the same thing, don't be disappointed as it is normal. This occurs because we are used to writing while looking at the same spot. It takes a while to adapt, usually one week to familiarize yourself to this movement done outside your field of vision.
TIP: To make the transition easier, I recommend you start by putting the tablet on you, this way, there is a straight line between what you see and your working hand.
5. A mistake many beginners make is to position their tablet at an angle. Remember that your tablet is a mirror of your screen, it must be positioned parallel to your monitor or your maneuvers won't be carried out correctly. Although, now it is possible to change the position of your canevas.

subset: commoncrawl


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|HAL: in2p3-00702716, version 1
|Detailed view
|Export this paper
|VI European Summer School on Experimental Nuclear Astrophysics, Acireale : Italie (2011)
|Resonances in 19Ne with relevance to the astrophysically important 18F(p,$\alpha$)15O reaction
|D. MountfordA.St J. MurphyT. DavinsonP.J. WoodsN.L. Achouri1C. AnguloJ.R. BrownA.M. LairdF. de Oliveira Santos2O. Kamalou2P. Ujic2N. De Séréville3P. DescouvemontS.T. Pittman
|The main source of gamma ray emission from novae below 511 keV is likely to be associated with the beta+ decay of 18F. The main uncertainty in the abundance of this nucleus comes from the 18F(p,alpha)15O reaction. In 2006, through microscopic techniques, two previously unseen energy levels in the compound 19Ne nucleus, at 6 and 7.9 MeV were proposed by Dufour and Descouvemont. In light of this there have been two published attempts in the search for the higher of these states, by Murphy et al. and Dalouzy et al.. The aim of this work is to address the contradiction between these works and come to a conclusion as to the possible existence of this state. An experiment has taken place that utilised a 4 MeV/u 18F beam, degraded to 1.9 MeV/u, incident upon a thick CH2 target. The data has been analysed within the R-matrix formalism and preliminary results are presented here.
|LPCC - Laboratoire de Physique Corpusculaire de Caen
|GANIL - Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds
|IPNO - Institut de Physique Nucléaire d'Orsay
|Structure nucléaire
|Physics/Nuclear Experiment
Physics/Astrophysics/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Sciences of the Universe/Astrophysics/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
|in2p3-00702716, version 1
|From: Michel Lion
|Submitted on: Thursday, 31 May 2012 10:57:19
|Updated on: Thursday, 31 May 2012 11:23:16


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- Hall of Famers
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Home › Hall of Famers ›
Cochrane, Mickey
Gordon Stanley Cochrane
Born: April 6, 1903, Bridgewater, Massachusetts
Died: June 28, 1962, Lake Forest, Illinois
Played For:
Philadelphia Athletics (1925-33), Detroit Tigers (1934-37)
Elected to the Hall of Fame by Baseball Writers: 1947
Mickey Cochrane batted .320 during his 13-year career and excelled behind the plate, but he also possessed that special trait -- a fierce, competitive spirit -- which gave him exceptional leadership qualities. Black Mike was the spark of the Athletics' pennant-winning teams of 1929, '30 and '31, hitting .331, .357 and .349, respectively. As player-manager for the Detroit Tigers from 1934-37, he directed them to a league championship in 1934 and the World Series title in '35. A beaning in 1937 ended his playing career.
Click here to see additional information provided by Baseball-Reference
Did You Know:
that Mickey Cochrane hit a home run in the last official at-bat of his Major League career?
There were few things as exciting as watching somebody trying to get in there on a close play with Cochrane. Home plate was his, you see. You had to take it away from him. Tough? Just the same as a piece of flint.
Doc Cramer


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All of the Housewives fans knew it was coming and now it's finally here: Caroline Manzo's big announcement. Minutes after part two of the season 5 RHONJ reunion special, the Real Housewives of New Jersey star spilled last night that she's out. Yes, it's official: Caroline Manzo is leaving Real Housewives of New Jersey. The reason why? Well, according to her Bravo TV blog, the mother of three confessed that she doesn't feel like she has anything more to give to Housewives and she's gotten to a point where she wouldn't want her future grandchildren to see the show.
Granted, Manzo's departure from Housewives doesn't mean she's leaving the Bravo family. Production is currently underway for a pilot of her spinoff Manzo'd With Children. If you ask me, now is the perfect time for Caroline to cut the chord with the dramatic series. After catching up with her in an exclusive interview last week, I have no doubt.
When asked about what fans can expect from Manzo'd With Children, Caroline mentioned a whole lot of laughs. Belly laughs. She also mentioned that Housewives and the new spinoff are totally different vibes:
The dynamic between the two shows couldn't be more different. It's fun. It's very relaxed. It's awesome we're having a great time.
All of those adjectives -- fun, relaxed, awesome -- none of those really go hand-in-hand with how things have been playing out on Real Housewives of New Jersey. I think it'll be great for Caroline and her family to mix things up, especially after all of the drama that happened with Teresa and Melissa on the show last season. A welcomed change of pace, clearly.
Besides, from the way Caroline makes the pilot sound -- it's gonna be a bundle of laughs for both her family and the viewers. Bring it on!
Are you looking forward to Manzo'd With Children? Are you going to miss Caroline on Real Housewives of New Jersey?
Image via Evan Agostini/Corbis
nope wont miss the Manzo family............
I'm glad she's leaving the Housewives for her own show. She used to be my favorite Housewife, but no longer. And I won't miss seeing her ignorant family either. Her sons have absolutely no respect for women and there's certainly nothing special about them. I won't be watching the new show.


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Sunday, December 16, 2012 Events
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Whistler Blackcomb Fire & Ice Show
There's no better way to spend your Sunday night then taking in a FREE show in Whistler. Head on over to Skiers Plaza ever Sunday night during the winter to watch the Whistler Blackcomb Fire & Ice Show.
Date: Sunday, December 16, 2012
Location: Skiers Plaza in Whistler Village
Time: 6:30PM
Showing 1 of 1 events


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Lakers hold off Patriots 18-7
The Detroit Lakes Lakers used an opening game 85-yard kickoff return and two big running plays in the second half to subdue the Pequot Lakes Patriots 18-7 in Heart 'O Lakes Conference football action on Wednesday, Oct. 16.
"We were awfully close to upsetting the seventh-ranked team (in Class AAAA) as we led 7-6 in the third quarter," said Pequot Lakes coach Chip Lohmiller, "but a couple of big breaks didn't go our way or we might have had a bigger lead."
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The Polar Bear in Canada
Surely one of the most iconic species of wildlife to inhabit Canada is the polar bear. Along with the beaver, moose, loon, eagle and wolf it is among the native wildlife species most often portrayed and easily identified by Canadians. But very few Canadians have seen one outside of zoos. Those who have are often eco-tourists who have made the trek to Churchill, Manitoba, on the west shore of Hudson Bay, which is an immense inland sea of 822,324 square kilometers (about 320,000 square miles). Polar bears move up and down that shoreline, their numbers often concentrated in and around the town of Churchill, in the province's far northeast.
Townsfolk have something of a love-hate relationship with the polar bears. On one hand the bears do attract large numbers of tourists willing to pay good money at a time of year when there are few other sources of income, to be taken in "tundra buggies" — huge cab-like conveyances mounted high above the ground on giant tires and tractor treads — in search of polar bears. On the other hand, polar bears are immensely powerful animals, able to haul a beluga whale or a walrus up out of the sea and onto the ice, and thus can present a distinct threat to humans. Polar bears are known to wander down the town's main street, and when that happens bear alerts and warning sirens alert people to the danger.
The species is native to the five countries that border, or have states or other territories that border, the Arctic Ocean. Canada probably is home to about half of the world's roughly estimated 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears.
For management purposes the polar bear has been divided into some 19 relatively discreet populations, of which 13 are in Canada. As with the closely related grizzly bear, the main threats to the polar bear are encroachment, habitat loss and hunting. But there is a new threat that is of the kind that, alas, many people would prefer to discredit or ignore: climate change.
Global warming: An accepted fact up north
While the debate about whether global warming is a real phenomenon goes on in much of the world, in northern Canada there is no such debate. The people who live there can see with their own eyes that the ice is melting. There are cold years and warm years, but the changes that Inuit and other people in the far north are now encountering are unprecedented, not just in human lifetimes, but in a cultural tradition that literally goes backs thousands of years. Southern species of flora and fauna are showing up with increasing frequency north of where they have ever been recorded. Glaciers are melting, sea ice disappearing.
The fabled Northwest Passage, a theoretical sea link through the islands that make up Canada's Arctic archipelago, was searched for by earlier explorers for many years. It could not be found, we now know, simply because parts of it were inevitably choked with ice. But now it is open in the summer, and Canada, previously complacent on the issue, is currently engaged in an intense effort to establish sovereignty over the region, foreseeing, for the first time ever, shipping lanes utilized by many nations among islands once joined by ice year round.
The polar bear is believed to have evolved from a common ancestor with the grizzly bear some 250,000 years ago, and going back that far in time, there appears never to have been such a loss of the Arctic's summer sea ice. Of course there were warming and cooling periods before, but they unfolded, best evidence indicates, over vast spans of time compared with the rapidity of the current changes.
There are some grim possible scenarios in the future, the most serious being the possibility that the thawing of the permafrost underlying the Arctic landscape will release vast amounts of methane gas, a powerful greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere, thus exacerbating and accelerating global warming even more. Such massive shifts can result in profound changes (which appear already to be among us, although some deny it) in weather patterns, and one result could be the production of cooling trends in some regions, which is why many scientists prefer the term "climate change" over "global warming." Skeptics invariably point to areas or seasons that are cooler than normal as "proof" that global warming does not exist.
Ice is vital to the species' survival
The polar regions are, however, areas where the trend in temperatures has been steadily and dramatically upward, and has been measurable by people on the ground — particularly in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, where human habitation has such a long history. Satellite imagery and sophisticated modern technology clearly illustrate a decline in the southern polar ice cap, as well.
The warming of the Arctic and subarctic bodes ill for the polar bear simply because it evolved to occupy a very specific ecological niche, one that includes sea ice. Unlike its relative, the grizzly, the polar bear is not much of an omnivore — a species with wide dietary choices — but subsists mainly on seals and fish. Unlike in more temperate regions, there simply are not a lot of other food options for most of the year.
It is not that they can't, like other bears, store fat and lower their metabolic needs during the bleakest, coldest months when food is at its lowest ebb, but to do so they must be able to consume a sufficient amount of food to build up thick layers of fat during spring, summer and fall. The polar bear is by far the most carnivorous of bears, and its main food is the ringed seal, with something approaching 50 annually consumed per bear on average, along with some larger bearded seals (usually only eaten by adult male polar bears, who have the necessary strength to overcome such large animals) and possibly a small number of harp seals added to the diet. These are "ice" seals, animals who need floating rafts of ice upon which to give birth and nurture their young. The ringed seal is crucial to the survival of the polar bear as it is small enough for the female to eat. The larger male bear, who does not help take care of the cubs, is capable of taking the odd beluga whale or walrus, or the bearded seal, but the female requires the smaller ringed seal, and that seal requires ice. So do the bears themselves as they travel in search of food. They can swim great distances, but at a cost to their energy that is much greater than travel on the floating ice, if it exists.
One odd manifestation of this rapid change in Arctic conditions has been the appearance of some hybrids between the polar and the grizzly bear. The latter, with its much broader range of possible foods, is moving north into what had been the lonely realm of the polar bear as winters shorten and weather becomes less frigid.
The future's full of challenges
The experts claim that even if all human-caused greenhouse emissions were to cease immediately — an impossible scenario — it would take many centuries, even millennia, for the current and very well-documented warming trend to level off, and then to reverse itself. Meanwhile, the situation is simply going to deteriorate for the polar bear.
Many critics of prudent conservation suggest that evolution will, as it always has, take care of the polar bear — that it will survive the changes.
For that to be the case, two factors need to be in play.
One: Change in the environment has to be slow enough to allow time for evolutionary adaptation.
Two: The gene pool has to be large enough to allow the variations and mutations to exist that will allow adaptation to ecological change to occur. Obviously those individual animals who do better under the changing conditions will, on average, be the ones to pass on such genetic traits to their offspring, while others, more dependent upon the vanishing cold, will not. But the smaller the gene pool — that is to say, the fewer polar bears — the less likelihood of the necessary adaptation occurring.
There is a dilemma. Dead polar bears, their parts and derivatives, are highly valued by some people. The desire to kill these superb animals is so extreme in the hearts of many trophy hunters that the rich ones are willing to pay bizarre amounts of hard cash to be allowed to kill the bears.
Canada is the only country where polar bears naturally occur that allows the export of the animals, or parts of them, for commercial purposes, such as hunting trophies or zoo specimens. In 2010 the United States, recognizing that the polar bear is indeed endangered, sought to have the polar bear listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES). Canada objected strongly and the resolution was, unfortunately, defeated. Had it succeeded it would become illegal for Canada, or any country, to export polar bears, or parts of them, for "primarily commercial" purposes.
Nunavut strongly oppose protections
Strong opposition to significant protection for the polar bear comes from Nunavut, easternmost of the three northern territories in Canada. Trophy hunting is big business in Nunavut. Of course the government claims the polar bear is not endangered and that more are being seen than ever.
There is something of a cultural clash. On the one hand the science shows that the polar bear is indeed in decline overall. In 2009 the IUCN polar bear specialist group reported that of the 13 polar bear populations in Canada, only one is increasing, seven are declining and three are stable, with not enough information about the others to know their status. That's two more populations decreasing than was true four years earlier.
But on the other hand, in parts of Nunavut there have been increases in sightings. The native people depend on lore for many of their decisions and assure us that their elders believe there is nothing to worry about.
But their elders never experienced global climate change, and an increase in individual bears in any one location does not mean that there is no overall global decline in the species, as indicated by studies in other areas. And the elders don't dispute global warming. What their history can't tell them is the effects global climate change have on food availability for the polar bears who, like other bear species, will more likely come into communities looking for food when natural sources are missing than when conditions are normal. For untold human generations to come, things will not be normal.
It also has to be said that there is an economic incentive for maintaining the hunt, which sees foreign hunters bring new cash in significant amounts into the local economy.
While it is not possible to change the warming trends in the Arctic — indeed, they are likely to accelerate with the thawing of permafrost, and perhaps to a dramatic degree some decades from now — something can be done here and now to prevent the loss of individual bears and subsequent decrease in genetic variability, if Canada can end the export of polar bear trophies. However, that would also mean the end of revenues that they generate.
The equation is not new. Many species of wild animals, from northern cod to bluefin tuna to blue whales, have generated fortunes for their exploiters while being driven to ever smaller numbers until reaching rare or endangered status — from which recovery is slow to non-existent.
Zoos are a big part of the problem
While the threat from zoos is far less than that of climate change and hunting, the fact is that polar bears are extremely popular with zoos around the world. And yet the species is notoriously ill-suited to do well in the captivity that the zoos typically provide.
Rob Laidlaw of Zoocheck Canada, after viewing the polar bear at the Taipei Zoo in Taiwan, wrote, "The fur on her head, back and belly was almost completely gone. Her exposed skin, normally black, was a pasty white color. Her head looked like it was covered in scabs. She didn't even look like a polar bear."
She had come from Canada and was imprisoned in the tropical heat of the zoo in Taipei where she, and her companion, subsequently died.
Fortunately, around the mid-1990s, the main source of polar bears, Manitoba, stopped shipping them to zoos, many in warm climates and ill-equipped to provide the needs of an animal who, in the wild, may have home ranges of up to nearly 600,000 square kilometers (about 230,000 square miles) and have evolved to live in some of the coldest regions on Earth. Anyone who has seen a typical polar bear in a zoo has probably seen the stereotypical repetitive behavior that indicates stress and is never seen in wild bears.
But recently things have changed. Around the world zoos are retrofitting their empty polar bear exhibits and, sadly, have plans to again feature the species. An organization called Polar Bears International has formed and claims to have polar bear conservation as its primary objective. It sounds good, but a scrutiny of its plans reveals that it seems to be promoting the idea that bears who are orphaned or injured can and should be conditioned to live in such zoos.
Unlike Canada's other two bear species, there is no pragmatic way to successfully rehabilitate orphaned or injured polar bears into the wild. Their life histories are simply too complex to be replicated in captivity. Thus baby polar bears orphaned (often when their mother is shot) are either euthanized or, if Polar Bears International has its way, conditioned for lives in captivity in zoos that cannot possibly accommodate their inherent needs.
Sanctuaries could be part of the solution
There is a third, humane alternative, and that is to provide for their needs in polar bear sanctuaries specifically designed to accommodate the species, in a suitably cold climate. Such a facility potentially exists in Cochrane, Ontario, and far better facilities exist in Scandinavia. Others could be built where the bears' needs could be met. What is needed are not more polar bears in zoos — sitting, sleeping or pacing their miserable lives away — but large, cold-climate enclosures where the bears can just be bears, with plenty of room and distractions and where, as is true in the wild, the public may or may not see them.
Learn More About:
The American Black Bear in Canada


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I'm in love, ya'll! the new season of AMC's "Mad Men" (Sundays at 9 p.m. EST) is on the air and I am hooked on this show in a bad, bad way. If you've not seen it, "Mad Men" focuses on a Madison Avenue ad agency, Sterling Cooper, in the early 1960s. Wikipedia says of the show:
Mad Men depicts the society and culture of the early 1960s, highlighting cigarette smoking, drinking (alcoholic beverages), sexism, and racial bias as examples of how that era, not so long ago, was so radically different from the present.[5][13] Smoking, more common in 1960 than it is now, is featured throughout the series; almost every character can be seen smoking multiple times in the course of one episode.[5] In the pilot, representatives of Lucky Strike cigarettes come to Sterling Cooper looking for a new advertising campaign in the wake of a Reader's Digest report that smoking will lead to various health issues including lung cancer.[14] The show presents a culture where men who are engaged or married freely partake in sexual relationships with other women. The series also observes advertising as a corporate outlet for creativity for mainstream, middle-class, young, white men. The main character, Don Draper, observes at one point about Sterling-Cooper, "This place has more failed artists and intellectuals than the Third Reich."[15] Along with each of these examples, however, there are hints of the future and the radical changes of the later 1960s; Betty's anxiety, the Beats Draper discovers through Midge, even talk about how smoking is bad for health (usually dismissed or ignored). Characters also see stirrings of change in the ad industry itself, with the Volkswagen Beetle's "Think Small" ad campaign mentioned and dismissed by many at Sterling Cooper."Mad Men" is soapy and sexy and sooo good.
Of course, as someone who is in "the business of persuasion" (as a copywriter on the show called the biz) and a veteran of a few big city public relations agencies, I am intrigued by watching the early 60s creative process as well as the ruthless corporate intrigue and politics. Check the way, in the aftermath of a deadly plane crash, the advertising agency's executive sharks, drawn by blood (literally) in the water, coldly go after American Airlines as a potential new client. But even better than the advertising business behind-the-scenes stuff are the great drama and nuanced characters who are very much a product of their time and place.
An hour of this show and you'll marvel that people ever refer to the 60s as "the good old days." I'd love to hear from a reader who was actually around in 1962 (the time when season two of "Mad Men" picks up) to confirm that this very confining and rigid world really existed. No one on the show seems very happy. The "traditional" families seem empty: sterile suburban homes, unfulfilled women treated like children, equally unfulfilled men bearing the weight of their masculinity, and children that exist simply because they are supposed to. Gays are closeted. People of color exist as silent servants. No choices to be made, just societal expectations to live up to. People don't seem to be driven so much by their own needs and desires, as the need to "do what people do" as one character recently described it. And all of this torture is bound in stylish wrapping: Kennedy Camelot-era dresses and afternoon cocktails and men in hats and a haze of cigarette smoke.
Can't anyone just be racist anymore?
What I most appreciate about "Mad Men" is that it doesn't attempt to create a historical drama with modern sensibilities. It doesn't turn the morays of the time into something more PC for modern audiences. The show presents things as (I imagine) they were and challenges the audience to judge characters by the standards of a bygone era.
But that is easier said than done, I think. A lot of "isms" were a part of American life in the early 60s. As I've explored several forum threads about the show, I've discovered that viewers are eager to minimize the way racism is deftly presented in "Mad Men." The sexism, viewers can digest. But mainstream society has come to an interesting place: Calling someone a racist is more disturbing than actual institutional racism. Short of witnessing a lynching, there is always some way to explain away race bias.
Take the much-talked about incident on Sunday's episode of Mad Men: Paul Kinsley throws a party at his Montclair apartment and invites his Sterling Cooper office mates. Paul fancies himself a little boho, a little more broadminded and cultured than his peers. During the party, Paul wears a neck scarf and carries a pipe. 'Nuff said. Poseur Paul introduces Joan Hollowell, head of the steno pool, to his (surprise) black girlfriend, Sheila, the manager of a local supermarket. When the ladies are left to talk, Joan first patronizes Sheila, intoning that maybe one day she'll be able to "pull up in a station wagon" and shop at the supermarket, as well as work there. When Sheila points out that she has already shopped there, as she grew up in the suburb, Joan turns more nasty: (paraphrasing) It's great that you and Paul are together. When we were together I wouldn't have thought he would be so broad-minded. It's left to the viewers' imaginations what else Joan may have said, but later in the office Paul confronts her and she accuses him of dating Sheila merely to seem "interesting.".
Now, it is clear to me that Paul certainly is a showy, pompous ass and just the type to think hanging with Negroes is proof of sophistication. It is also clear that Joan is a Queen Bee sort who doesn't take kindly to female competition or being left behind by a former paramour. But it is also more than clear, given Joan's insistence on putting Sheila in "her place," that Joan is particularly offended by a former beau moving on to a black woman. She digs with the "maybe one day you'll be able to shop there" and "he wasn't that broad minded" thing and takes care to insult Sheila out of Paul's hearing.
The meaning of the interaction between Joan and Sheila seems obvious to me, especially given the early 60s time frame. The Civil Rights Act had not been signed. There had been no Freedom Summer. Blacks in about 11 states could not vote. Is it such a surprise that the average American held racially biased beliefs? To me, it is no more surprising than the sexism that runs rampant in the show. But many of the comments on "Mad Men" forums are ambivalent about the racism in the show's recent episode. Take these comments from Television Without Pity:
However, I'll agree that Joan is classicist and condescending. But...she always has been. I didn't see racism. I saw her calling Paul on being a poseur and her being her normal, condescending self. That's pretty much classic Joan. So far as I can tell, Joan only likes women whom she can condescend to; that's why she dislikes Peggy's promotion and why she likes being the Mother Hen at SC.
Because the definition of racism is subjective.Joan is not a racist, see, just a little bitchy. Part of the problem is that the character, with her pneumatic body and take-no-prisoners attitude is sort of a riot grrl favorite of the show's fans. No one wants to brand someone they like a racist. It's more comfortable to find other explanations for bad behavior toward people of color. Interestingly enough, the mostly female fans that I have heard commenting about the show have no problem swooning over the misogynist, conniving adulterers the make up the male cast. And when a male colleague sends newly-minted copywriter Peggy Olson from a conference room to do his bidding like the secretary she once was, no one seeks any other explanation than the sexism that was prevalent at the time.
Joan works in a prestigious industry in Manhattan. To her, working in a supermarket in New Jersey is nowheresville, man. Snobbish? Sure - but I'm pretty sure that attitude is just as prevalent today. More to the point, it's an attitude we can safely assume that Paul would share. Everything about him screams "pretentious" and
faux-Boho. It's logical that an unconventional choice of girlfriend would be part of that pose.
It's hardly news that Joan can be a bitch when she wants to be. I have no doubt that if Sheila had been white, Joan would have treated her exactly the same, finding some other point to pick on instead. That's not "racist," it's just mean. (Actually, tiptoeing around Sheila's feelings because she is black would have been a kind of racism as well.) Joan does have a mean streak, but it has always seemed either playful or productive before, whereas this was pure spite. I wonder if we'll ever know the details of her breakup with Paul - she acts like a woman scorned.
You know, back during the Democratic primary, several feminists insisted that sexism was more acceptable than racism in our culture. I'm beginning to think they may have had a point. Not in the Geraldine Ferraro way, where being black is some sort of benefit that guarantees you success and cookies. But people can still find humanity in someone who is sexist and clings to traditional gender roles. But to be a racist is to be demonized. Interestingly, though, that turns out to work against the anti-racism movement. So as to avoid demonizing friends and loved ones, people avoid calling racism "racism" and instead make racist incidents about anything else. That doesn't mean racism and race bias are any less pervasive, folks simply pretend that they don't exist...even in a cable drama set at the dawn of the civil rights movement.


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Chris Brown vs. Drake ? That's yesterday's news. Chris' latest alleged feud is with Frank Ocean . TMZ.com reports the two were involved in a fight at a Los Angeles-area studio Sunday night. What's more, now sheriff's deputies are investigating Chris for an alleged battery charge.
It all began when Chris reportedly was at Westlake Recording Studio to listen to an artist he represents. Sources close to Chris say that when Chris attempted to leave the studio, he was allegedly prevented from doing so by Frank and Frank's crew. Frank reportedly told Chris, "This is my studio, this is my parking spot."
Chris then tried to shake Frank's hand, TMZ reports, but was allegedly attacked by one of Frank's posse members. A pal of Chris's retaliated, and then Frank and Chris had a physical altercation.
TMZ.com further reports that when authorities arrived on the scene, Chris had already left the studio but officers did get to interview Frank. Now, according to a statement released early Monday morning by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, deputies from the West Hollywood Station are investigating Brown for alleged battery.
According to the LASD statement, "Deputies responded to a call of six males fighting at the 7200 block of Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood. Upon their arrival, deputies talked to witnesses who stated that Chris Brown and the victim were involved in an altercation over a parking space. The altercation allegedly led to Chris Brown punching the victim. After a brief fight, the parties were separated."
While the LASD statement doesn't specifically state the location of the reported altercation, Westlake Recording Studio is located at 7265 Santa Monica Boulevard.
The statement concludes, "Chris Brown and his entourage left the location prior to the arrival of deputies. The investigation is on-going and investigators will contact Chris Brown at a later time."
For his part, Frank tweeted early Monday morning, "Got jumped by Chris and a couple guys," followed by , "cut my finger now I can't play w two hands at the grammys."
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio


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For Immediate Release
Three Shows for Schools, Community
CROSSVILLE, TENN. (May 2, 2012) – In a collaborative effort to raise awareness across Tennessee of the Holocaust, the Tennessee Holocaust Commission, the Cumberland County Playhouse and Nashville Ballet will present three performances of the ballet Anne Frank on Monday, May 7, each featuring a traveling exhibit of survivor stories and a question-and-answer session with local survivors and liberators.
"Combining a performance with the exhibit of survivor stories and a live discussion provides a comprehensive set of perspectives on this momentous part of history and helps students learn about it," Executive Director of The Tennessee Holocaust Commission Danielle Kahane-Kaminsky said. "And partnering with local organizations helps to make this piece of history more relevant and understandable."
Public Performance
One performance for the public – at 7 p.m. – will include access to the exhibit of survivor stories from The Tennessee Holocaust Commission, a ballet performance of Anne Frank, a question-and-answer session with survivors and dramatic readings and dance by the Cumberland County Children's Theater. Tickets for the public performance are $25 for adults and $12.50 for children 18 and under. Special patron tickets are also available for $50 with preferred seating. Tickets are available for purchase online, or by calling (931) 484-5000.
School Performances
Two performances – at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. – are designed for school audiences. Students attending these two performances will experience the traveling exhibit, a ballet performance of Anne Frank and a question-and-answer session with survivors and liberators. Student tickets for these two performances are $6.50. Educators who wish to send their students may apply for a grant through the Tennessee Arts Commission to help with the cost of the performance online.
The Tennessee Holocaust Commission also offers educational materials and student workshops to prepare students for the performance.
All proceeds will go toward the Tennessee Holocaust Commission's Holocaust Memories Film Archive Projectand for Tennessee Educators to attend Annual Seminar at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Exhibit of Survivor and Liberator Stories
The traveling exhibit from The Tennessee Holocaust Commission titled Living on: Portraits of Tennessee Survivors and Liberatorsfeatures photos and stories from Tennessee residents who experienced the Holocaust first-hand. Their stories and photos were also compiled for a book of the same name and a documentary from Nashville Public Television (NPT).
Anne Frank Ballet
The 45-minute performance of Nashville Ballet's Anne Frank includes a cast of five dancers portraying Peter van Pels, Margot Frank and three metaphorical "sides" to Anne's personality. Members of Nashville Ballet's second company, NB2, will perform in the production.
"We have such a complex picture of Anne thanks to her openness throughout her diary, that we wanted to provide the audience with a portrait of each component of her personality," Nashville Ballet Director of Artistic Operations Sharyn Mahoney said. "By casting three different dancers as Anne, we can help the audience learn about her conflicting emotions and experiences during this stage of her life."
Anne Frank was created in 2010 as a collaboration amongst Nashville Ballet, nationally acclaimed choreographer Gina Patterson and Belmont University School of Music assistant professor Mark Volker. As part of Nashville Ballet's Outreach and Community Engagement initiative, Anne Frank is available for performance at schools and community groups across Tennessee.
Survivor Q&A
Members of The Tennessee Holocaust Commission will speak to audience members about their own experiences with the Holocaust:
About The Tennessee Holocaust Commission
The mission of the Tennessee Holocaust Commission is to educate Tennesseeans about the history of the Holocaust, seeking to remind citizens that prejudice, hatred, and violence, as manifested in the Holocaust and other genocides, leads to the destruction of a humane society.
About Nashville Ballet
Nashville Ballet is the largest professional ballet company in Tennessee. Nashville Ballet presents a varied repertoire of classical ballet and contemporary works by noted choreographers, including original works by Artistic Director & CEO Paul Vasterling. Nashville Ballet and the second company NB2 (a pre-professional training company) serve nearly 70,000 adults and children annually through performances and our outreach and community engagement programming. Curriculum-based outreach programs bring dance education to community centers, colleges, public libraries and public elementary, middle and high schools across the state. The School of Nashville Ballet provides world-class instruction in ballet and other forms of dance for dancers of all ages.
Nashville Ballet is funded in part from grants made available through the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission, the Tennessee Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the Ingram Charitable Trust. Additional funding is also provided by Bridgestone Americas Trust Fund, Caterpillar Financial, ELAN, The Memorial Foundation and Publix Super Markets Charities.


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Avg. Customer Rating (Based on 173 Reviews)
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Really good first suit
from Miami, fl
on 11/10/2013
This was my first Tech suit. I ordered a 22 but I couldn't put it on. A 24 was better but I felt as if the crotch area was a bit to roomy. I dropped over 2 seconds in my 100 free and 100 breast. I only have used this suit for a club meet and districts (about 6 races) and during regionals (my last 2 races) I noticed the water repellency wore off dramatically. The compression and fit were still great though. Overall I really liked this suit.
swim fast
donald m.
from BOILING SPRINGS, SC
on 8/17/2013
As most swimmers know it is recommended that you order one size smaller than you normally wear. Definately put the suit on at least once before the day of the meet. It will take a looong time. Have patience. I would not recommend putting tech suits on if they are wet. Even if you are shaved you may rip hairs from your body. True story. Great suit. Made state cuts in all events that day. Suit was a contributing factor. Will only wear this suit for state or national meets as once they stretch out they are no longer effective.
Fast Skin 2 work!!!
Brooklyn Swimteam Mom
from Brooklyn, New York
on 1/7/2014
These jammers are amazing!!! My son was struggling bringing downhis time in the cheaper swimteam jammers, butthe fast skin 2 helped him bring down time in everystroke. I am forever grateful to speedo, because his confidence has skyrocketed.The legs are tight, but a little discomfort is with it.
Fast Suit
D Dolphin
from Damascus, MD
on 12/23/2013
The suit is great and my son dropped times in all four of his events the first time wearing it. He wears a 28 practice suit and I bought this suit in a 26 which was a perfect fit. I will be buying this suit again when he wears this one out!
Not Bad
from New Jersey
on 12/2/2013
First time I wore it I dropped 3 seconds on my 100 fly, however after just 2 uses the stitching is starting to come off around the tag and a little on the sides
great suit!!!!!!!!!!±!
from Ambler,PA
on 8/6/2013
I got this suit for Junior olympics and I was really impressed! This suit is what you want to get if you are looking for a good quality and affordable technical suit! It feels true to size and it is very comfortable for a technical suit. Although it is a pain to put on. :) I think this is a great product.
seams do not last
swim mom
from WI
on 2/20/2014
I bought this suit two years in a row for my sons for sectional swim meet. Last year the seams did not hold up very well. I thought it was maybe that this suit was not the right one for my bigger son. Bought the same suit again this year for my smaller son and the seams also did not last. Both years it only got them through the sectional meet and not the state meet a week later.
Fastskin 2
Brooklyn Swim team Mom
from Brooklyn, New York
on 1/31/2014
This product is awesome!!!!Don't downsize more than one sizethis jammer is extremely tight
Good suit
Mike''s mom
from WAPAKONETA, OH
on 1/30/2014
Used the fastskin at a league championship meet and dropped two seconds off a best time. Wearing a proven suit helps give the confidence that when all else is in place a good suit matters!
Excellent Product!
from Pine Bush, NY
on 1/20/2014
My soon used this and it fits true to size....great suit, wear well.


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My son has been on table food for about a week, he had not had a bowel movement until today and it was very solid and firm(like playdough), and he strained to get it out and it was not bigger than a silver dollar. What can I do to help him please…….I feel so bad.
His body is adjusting. Our doctor recommended apple juice. It's loaded with fiber.


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This Stock Should Get Better in the Long Run
Terry is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACAD) has been on a solid run since early last year and it has continued to climb to new highs this year as well. The move that started it all happened in late 2012. On Nov. 27, 2012, ACADIA had announced that their drug, Pimavanserin, had met both primary and secondary endpoints. This trial completed was the pivotal phase 3 trial for Parkinson disease Psychosis.
So, as if investors didn't have enough to be happy about, news got even better in 2013. On April 11, ACADIA announced that it no longer needed to run another phase 3 trial for Pimavanserin. This was very good news as the company would have had to wait longer to file for approval, and another trial would have possibly taken another two years to conduct.
The FDA had stated that the positive pivotal phase 3 study 0-20, plus the other safety studies would be adequate enough for approval. While that remains as good news, the downside is that ACADIA is not planning to file its NDA for Pimavanserin until late 2014. The good part about Pimavanserin is that it can also be used to target against Alzheimers disease psychosis.
The company currently boasts a market cap of $948.2 million, and trades way above its 52-week low of $1.30. Just in 2013 alone, ACADIA is trading up 165% year to date. That doesn't mean investors shouldn't consider investing in the company. Long-term there is more opportunity in this name as the company still has a huge pipeline of other drug candidates.
Results that started it all
The phase 3 trial was to test safety and efficacy endpoints of patients with Parkinsons. In terms of safety, there were only a few patients who experienced moderate to mild adverse events. In the worse case scenario, 11.7% of patients ended up with Urinary Tract Infection as a side effect of Pimavanserin. The key lesson here is that patients needed this drug, and the study was safe. The patients didn't mind the side effects, so much that 90% of them wanted to roll over to the next planned phase 3 study.
The efficacy seen was amazing, and that's why ACADIA had gone up so much over the past few months. The efficacy scale used to measure Parkinson's disease is called SAPS-PD, a 9 item scale. The Pimavanserin arm achieved a 5.79 point improvement at day 43, compared to placebo only achieving a 2.73 point difference. These results showed that ACADIA achieved its primary endpoint by achieving a significant number over the placebo.
A drug like this, with significant outcome, would be a huge boost to Parkinson's disease patients. Why an investor should take a look at this company is because the market is huge for this indication. The market for Parkinson's is expected to grow according to the National Parkinson's Foundation.
There is a huge opportunity with this name as there are about one million patients in the United states with Parkinson's disease. Worldwide, it is an even bigger number with about six million people with Parkinson's. I think with this in mind, ACADIA is a good investment for any long-term buyer.
Buyout potential
I think that ACADIA's drug could be huge, and there are two big pharma companies that may want to add this drug to their pipeline. Two of the companies that would consider buying out ACADIA are Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Merck (NYSE: MRK). I think both these companies need a new additional capital after suffering huge blows last year.
Pfizer is having a lot of problems with the pipeline. Pfizer has a market cap of $236.7 billion, and the company has had sales of $57.6 billion over the last 12 months. Despite that, Pfizer needs a new blockbuster drug to keep its revenue in good shape. I think that Pfizer acquiring ACADIA Pharmaceuticals would be a good fit.
One thing that I believe will push Pfizer to seek acquisitions is that the company is losing its patent on Lipitor. Lipitor is used to treat patients with Cholesterol problems. The patent for Lipitor expired on Nov. 30, 2012, and now, it seems that the company will need to find a new drug to bring in huge income once again. Lipitor, at its peak in 2010, earned Pfizer $10.7 billion. Pimavanserin being acquired, and being sold to millions of Parkinson's patients, could fill that gap.
Merck has had some problems as well over the past few years. Merck, like Pfizer, is also facing intense competition from generic drug makers with its top selling drug losing its patent. Merck's drug, that went off patent in August last year, is called Singulair. Singulair is used to treat patients with asthma and allergies. So, what did the loss of Singular mean for the company? Well, Merck reported that in the last quarter of 2012, Singulair had lost 67% of its revenue, only making $480 million in sales.
Merck also has been facing substantial problems with the FDA in getting pipeline drugs approved. In June last year, Merck had been seeking FDA approval for a drug that is used to treats patients with soft tissue sarcoma, known as Ridaforolimus. The FDA rejected the drug claiming that the efficacy was not enough to counter the severe side effects of the drug. For these reasons, I think that Merck needs to add something to its pipeline after its most recent failures to keep the company going. If ACADIA is acquired by Merck, it could be a huge boost in revenue.
Final thoughts
ACADIA has released some amazing results for Parkinson's disease psychosis. With the huge amount of patients that can be treated with Pimavanserin, I don't doubt that some big pharma company will put a bid for ACADIA. Not only will they get Pimavanserin, but they will also obtain a pipeline of other drugs. As mentioned before, Pimavanserin can be expanded to Alzheimer's patients as well. This biotech is poised to rise higher in the coming months,and I would say that ACADIA is still a good long-term buy for investors who are patient enough to see its full potential.
Can Merck beat the patent cliff?
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Terry Chrisomalis has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Is this post wrong? Click here. Think you can do better? Join us and write your own!


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The University of Massachusetts has confirmed to CBS 3 that a 19-year-old student was found dead Saturday in his dorm room.
The university said Evan Jones, a sophomore from Milton, was found in his fourth-floor single room around 1 p.m.
Jones resided in the Washington Tower in the southwest residential area.
UMass said no foul play is suspected and that the residence hall is safe and secure.
Since the death was unattended, the university said the state medical examiner's office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause.
The university is providing counseling and assistance to residents of Washington Tower, as well as other students, faculty and staff.
Copyright 2013 WSHM (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.


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