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Asking on behalf of a friend of mine. Here's the situation:
They live far enough away from the school to make it inconvenient, but not impractical, for her eight-year-old daughter to walk. Usually the girl gets a ride with a friend, but when the friend isn't going in that day, she walks to school. But the school won't let her walk home, citing the standard, amorphous "policy." This is a source of great frustration and stress, because my friend has somewhat restricted mobility, and her husband has their only car, and he's off at work at the time.
It seems to me that this isn't just an annoying policy, but an illegal one. Under US law, doesn't holding someone against their will without a warrant constitute false imprisonment or something along those lines? If a policy like this is in place, as it mostly likely is, to prevent the school from being sued if anything goes wrong on the walk home, then would a hint that she is well aware that this is not legal and is not willing to tolerate it be likely to do any good? Or does the school have some ground to stand on here?
(Trying to tag this "school, legal", but apparently "legal" doesn't exist and I don't have the rep on this site to create a new tag. Can someone with more rep fix it?)


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Research has shown that many children use herbs and other dietary supplements. However, there are little data available on their safety and effectiveness in children. The 2007 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) gathered information on use of complementary health approaches among more than 9,000 children younger than 18. Nearly 12 percent of the children had used some form of a complementary health approach during the past 12 months. If you are considering a complementary health approach for your child, including a dietary supplement, here are 5 things you should know:
- Many complementary health products and practices, including herbs and other dietary supplements are not tested for safety or effectiveness in children, and children may react differently than adults do to these approaches.
- Although many dietary supplements come from natural sources, "natural" does not necessarily mean "safe." Dietary supplements can have side effects, and these may be different in children than in adults.
- Federal regulations for dietary supplements are less strict than those for prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Some dietary supplements may be of poor quality or contain contaminants, including drugs, chemicals, or metals.
- NCCIH urges parents to follow the CDC's vaccination recommendations in order to safeguard their children against vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccines prevent infectious diseases in people who receive them and protect those who come in contact with unvaccinated, infected individuals. Vaccinating children against diseases helps protect our community's and our children's health.
- Ask your child's health care provider about the effectiveness and possible risks of complementary health approaches you are considering or already using for your child. Also, remind your teenagers to discuss with their health care providers any complementary health approaches they may use.

subset: commoncrawl


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Today the cross is the primary icon of Christianity, but I'm aware of a few others, such as the Ichthys. What symbols have represented the faith through the centuries?
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An anchor was used by the early christians as a symbol of faith. "as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm" (Hebrews 6:19-20). There are several variations some of them can be seen in jesuswalk.com
Another very famous symbol is the chi and rho. Which was used by emperor Constantine as a heavenly divine symbol (coeleste signum dei) on the shields of his soldiers defeating Maxentius in the Battle of Milvian Bridge. For a depiction look at this brief article of Rochester University. The chi and rho are also believed to be reference to the first letters of the word Christ.
Another beatiful symbol is the lamb of god, which makes reference to the imagery of the book of revelation. The meaning of this symbol is explained by John the Baptist himself. "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" in John 1:29. I think the most beautiful of this depictions can be seen in the wikipedia
This list does not pretend to be exhaustive.


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I am wondering about this and since I have this mentioned on my Resume, do you think companies have heard about StackOverflow.com and recognize it as a means for programmers to help other programmers?
I am job hunting at the moment and am worried about putting this in. Would they think I am a time-waster? Or is it just only U.S companies that recognize it and treat that as something worth hearing about when looking through resumes?


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I thought it was elementary to me, but I started to do some exercises and came up some definitions I have sort of difficulty to distinguish. In parentheses are my questions.
$\dfrac {x}{0}$ is Impossible ( If it's impossible it can't have neither infinite solutions or even one. Nevertheless, both $1.$ and $2.$ are divided by zero, but only $2. $ has infinite solutions so as $1.$ has none solution, how and why ?)
$\dfrac {0}{0}$ is Undefined and has infinite solutions. (How come one be Undefined and yet has infinite solutions ?)
$\dfrac {0}{x}$ and $x \ne 0$, it's okay for me, no problem, but if someone else wants to add something about it, feel free to do it.
Thanks in advance.


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Kelcey Clites will be competing in the 2013 Miss Kansas Pageant.
Clites was crowned Miss Prairie Rose 2013 at the Rose Hill Pageant Sept. 22.
Clites's talent was a dual talent of playing the guitar and singing the song "Coming Home."
She is a 2011 graduate of El Dorado High School and is currently attending Kansas State University, in her sophomore year.
She is the daughter of Nancy and Brad Clites, paternal granddaughter of Rosalie and Terry Clites and maternal granddaughter of Maxine and John Russell.
Location, ST | website.com


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n this Sunday, April 1, 2012 photo, Free Syrian Army fighters are seen In a neighborhood of Damascus, Syria. Government and opposition forces clashed across Syria Monday as international envoy Kofi Annan prepared to brief the U.N. Security Council on the progress of his mission to ease the Syrian crisis. (AP Photo)
The head of the U.N. observer mission in Syria says the increasing violence across the country is impeding his group's work, and he urged all parties to give the U.N.-backed peace mission a chance.
"The escalating violence is now limiting our ability to observe, to verify, to report as well as assist in local dialogue and stability projects," Maj. Gen. Robert Mood told reporters in Damascus on Friday.
"Violence, over the past 10 days, has been intensifying, again willingly by both parties, with losses on both sides and significant risks to our observers," he said. The population is suffering, "and in some locations, civilians have been trapped by ongoing operations."
Mood briefed reporters as shells rained down on flashpoint towns and protesters took to the streets
Mood said a peace plan put together by U.N. and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan -- which outlined an end to the violence in Syria -- is not being implemented. The observers are tasked with seeing if the government and rebels are adhering to the plan and are monitoring a cease-fire, the plan's centerpiece.
"Initially, there was a lull in violence, brought about willingly by the parties, and UNSMIS (the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria) began to engage with the local population, establishing trust and building bridges between the local authorities and opposition groups," he said.
But President Bashar al-Assad's government and the opposition have accused each other of violating the six-point initiative. Mood said neither side has been willing to forge peace and there is a "push toward advancing military positions."
Mood stressed "there is no other plan on the table."
"It is important that the parties give this mission a chance, and the international community gives this mission a role that best serves the aspirations and welfare of the Syrian people."
Syrian rebels turn to homemade bombs
Mood said the U.N. Security Council will review the mission and its mandate in the upcoming days.
"This is not a static mission," he said.
As part of Annan's plan, roughly 300 unarmed U.N. observers are in Syria.
This week, a U.N. official overseeing monitors in Syria described the violence as a "civil war," the first time anyone with the global body has used such language to describe the uprising.
An opposition group slammed the monitoring mission as ineffectual.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, citing the shelling deaths of eight people in Daraa, said Friday that despite the mission, deaths from the violence have risen in the last month. It said the monitors should go home if they can't help implement the plan and stop the killings.
"The monitors have played no positive role to stop the rising violence," it said.
Heavy shelling was reported in and around Homs, including hard-hit Baba Amr, according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition group. Shelling was also reported in Andan in the province of Aleppo.
At least 26 people were killed in violence early Friday across Syria, including one person in Homs, the LCC said.
Based on what was mentioned, we at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights call on the international monitors to work to immediately implement the plan of Mr. Kofi Annan in order to stop the killings and firing in Syria or depart to their countries.
The Syrian government warned of possible suicide bomb attacks against mosques in Damascus after the arrest of a man with ties to the Al Nusra Front, a group the government says has ties to al Qaeda.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported the arrest of Mohammad Houssam al-Sadaki, who it said confessed to plans to blow himself up at a central Damascus mosque.
"The terrorist confessed that supposedly there will be other terrorists who will carry out suicide attacks in a number of mosques in central Damascus during the Friday prayer," SANA reported.
Friday is typically a day of protest among anti-government groups that are calling for the ouster of al-Assad. The theme of this week's protest, according to organizers, was "total dispatch for total mobilization" -- a call for Syrians to rise up.
In Idlib province, a protester in the town of Isqat held a sign that depicted the United Nations as the grim reaper, according to a picture posted on Facebook by the LCC.
In the latest report of abuses, Human Rights Watch said Syrian government forces have used sexual violence to torture detained men, women, and boys.
Witnesses and victims also told Human Rights Watch that soldiers and pro-government armed militias have sexually abused women and girls as young as 12 during home raids and military sweeps of residential areas.
Is Syria in a civil war?
The Syrian opposition has repeatedly called on the United Nations and world leaders to take the lead and intervene to end the escalating bloodshed, including recent massacres in Houla and Quebir and eight days of bombardment in the city of al Haffa
World leaders have been wrangling over what to do about the conflict in Syria, leaving the U.N. Security Council at a standstill over possible action.
On one side are the United States, the European Union and much of the Arab League, which are demanding that al-Assad step down and end the violence. On the other side are Russia, China and other trade allies of Syria, which say the conflict is an internal matter that must be decided by Syrians.
The United Nations estimates that more than 10,000 people -- mostly civilians -- have been killed in Syria and tens of thousands displaced since the uprising against al-Assad began about 16 months ago. The opposition puts the toll at between 12,000 and 14,000.
CNN cannot independently verify government and opposition claims of casualties because access to Syria by international journalists has been severely curtailed.
Al-Assad's government moved to quash the protest movement, which quickly devolved into an armed rebellion.
The conflict has largely played out as a series of daily countering claims, with the opposition accusing government forces of indiscriminate shelling of residential neighborhoods or other such violence, while the government claims its forces are battling "armed gangs" bent on destabilizing the government.
U.S. military completes planning for Syria
Francis Deng and Edward Luck, who advise the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on preventing genocide, called on the international community to meet its "responsibility to protect populations at risk of further atrocities in Syria."
World powers should take into consideration "the full range of tools available under the United Nations Charter" and reconsider requests to refer the allegations of abuses to the International Criminal Court at the Hague, they said.
"With the increasing violence and deepening sectarian tensions, the risk of further mass atrocity crimes is high. The time for action is now," said a statement Thursday from


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Debating another person or topic in 140 characters or less.
The two candidates erupted in a Twitterbate as the election neared.
by Viva Visibility September 18, 2008
Trending Now
Can you define these popular missing words?
Top Definition
Twitterbate (verb) - To use Twitter.com in a manner that is fast-paced; constantly clicking, tweeting, adding friends, replying, and so forth. The user tends to have feelings of excitement, anxiety, or tension and usually yearns in real-time for the next action from the tweet community by staring at the auto-refresh of the internet browser.
Twitterbation Twitterbating
Twitterbation Twitterbating
The twitter community is buzzing today. Everyone's tweeting with the news. I'm sure I'll twitterbate all morning.
by Doubledown Tandino February 01, 2009
(v) To tweet one's self. To send one's self tweets on Twitter.
(n) Twitterbation
(n) Twitterbation
@SoccerMom1979 Twitterbated by sending the following tweet to herself: "@SoccerMom1979 Don't forget to pick up the kids!"
by BethCagnol June 27, 2011
To repeatedly use Twitter with no friends or followers.
It's so sad, that Jimmy twitterbates every day.
by sneakergeek October 16, 2009
I knew my roommate was going to return in a few minutes so I only had time for a Twitterbate.
by bateworld December 05, 2011


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I'm not satisfied with the quality of video playback in Unity (Movie texture which I run after converting video with Miro converter and importing it to Unity),... so, is there any chance that there is a 3rd party library which I can integrate inside Unity to play my movie file? My movie is full HD intro movie to my 3d app which can be played from application menu. I've tried to use Media Player Classic (MPC) as external application, but the problem is, when I run MPC as new Process from application menu, my menu minimizes and this looks awkward for one stand alone app. When intro finishes, I have to maximize my menu by clicking on application icon placed on Windows taskbar.
Unfortunately I don't know what level of freedom you have in selecting external libraries for use in Unity projects, but you might want to look at either:
Both of these options may very well be impractical due to the level of control Unity may give you over the lower-level OS objects -- window handles, primarily, and hooks for periodic updates.
Even if you got either of the above options to work, you'd be sacrificing portability (if that matters).
Based on some of the questions floating around Unity Answers (this one and this one, for example) it looks like video playback is not in an ideal state and may not get there any time soon.
Finally, you may want to browse some of the resources linked in this external Unity resources question, which might lead you to something useful for your purposes.
There is a C# wrapper for the well-known and open-source FFmpeg: http://www.ffmpeg-csharp.com/


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RILEY COUNTY, Kan. (WIBW) -- Riley County police say a runaway girl was found at a Manhattan hotel working as a prostitute.
Officials say the teen was brought to the area by a 19-year-old man and a 17-year-old female who have both been charged with sex trafficking.
Lieutenant Michael Quintanar with the Riley County Police Department's Investigations Division released the following information on the case:
"On April 5th 2012, Riley County detectives received a call from Sedgwick County authorities requesting assistance in locating a runaway juvenile in their area. They believed the female juvenile was in the Manhattan area and was involved in prostitution at one of the local hotels.
Detectives located the juvenile at America's Best Value Inn and further investigation led the detectives to the people that transported the juvenile to the area at the Manhattan Town Center Mall. The juvenile and two other people were detained and transported to the police department. Detectives applied for and were granted a search warrant to search the motel room.
The investigation revealed that a 15-year-old juvenile was brought to Manhattan by a man and woman for the purpose of prostitution. All three subjects were in possession of marijuana and two possessed drug paraphernalia. It was also confirmed that the juvenile was a runway from Sedgwick County, Kansas."
Zachary Bevilcqua, 19, from Winfield, Kansas, was arrested and charged with Aggravated Trafficking, Aggravated Endangering a Child and Possession of Marijuana. His bond was set at $24,000.
Kendra Gonzalez, 17, from Wichita, was arrested and charged with Aggravated Trafficking, Aggravated Endangering a Child, Promoting Prostitution, Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. She was transported to the North Central Kansas Juvenile Detention Facility in Junction City.
The name of the 15-year-old girl is not being released since she was the victim of a sex crime. Police documents indicate that she is from Wichita. The teen was charged with Prostitution, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Child in Need of Care-Runaway. She was transported to the North Central Kansas Juvenile Detention Facility in Junction City.
On Friday morning, April 6, 20120, Lieutenant Quintanar revealed that after consulting with the Riley County Attorney's Office, a decision was made to release the 15-year-old minor and not charge her with any offenses. "The minor is a victim of Aggravated Trafficking, therefore, she is a victim to prostitution as well," Quintanar said in an updated press release regarding the incident.
She is still confined pending release to Sedgwick County authorities for being a Child in Need of Care – Runaway.
Police declined to release any further details on the case and would not comment on how the underage girl knew the two suspects.


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STARmeterTop 500
Down 111 this week
Christoph Waltz
Christoph Waltz was born in Vienna, Austria, to Elisabeth Urbancic, an Austrian-born costume designer, and Johannes Waltz, a German-born stage builder. He has 3 siblings. He was born into a theater family, as his maternal grandmother was Viennese Burgtheater actress Maria Mayen, and his step-grandfather was fellow Burgtheater actor Emmerich ... See full bio »
Born:in Vienna, Austria
More at IMDbPro » Contact Info: View agent and publicist


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The following verses do not say that there is only one God, they say there is only one God "for us".
1 Corinthians 8:5-6 (NIV)
5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
Can this passage therefore be interpreted in favor henotheism?


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New GM Idzik has plenty of challenges with Jets
By DENNIS WASZAK Jr. AP Sports Writer
Not a subscriber? You can purchase a single-day subscription for only $0.75 to read this and access all of our content and our E-Edition. CLICK HERE purchase a single day subscription.
Become an electronic subscriber to the Republican-American for only $8 a month. CLICK HERE.


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Everyone wants it, so here's our proposal:
-Combine all shards into one "universal shard" that can be spent on all packs which currently have Shards.
-Add a cap of 20 on the total number of shards. This is to prevent players from hoarding shards for a new expansion and being able to buy all packs of a new set. (Note: this would NOT remove shards you have over this cap, nor would it prevent you from getting the bonus shards on an event release. All this cap would do is prevent you from getting new shards via Quests/Chance until you spend the ones you have.)
-Shard drop rate: about 75% from Daily Chance, 50% chance for 1 from Quests and a 50% chance for 2 from quests: about 2.25/day on average. This is just under 1 pack every 4 days.
The alternative is to stick with what we have now. What do you guys think?


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N.J. Formula One Race Is on 2014 Calendar
On-Again, Off-Again Race With Manhattan Backdrop Is Officially on Again
N.J. F1 Race Is On
New Jersey's on-again, off-again Formula One race is officially on again.
The planned race has made the official F1 schedule, set for June 1. F1's sanctioning body, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), announced its official 2014 calendar Friday at a meeting in Croatia with the New Jersey race on it.
The race, which was first announced in October 2011, was originally scheduled for June 2013. It was postponed to 2014. Last month, F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone was quoted as saying that it wouldn't happen in 2014 because of financial issues. The race was excluded from an earlier provisional 2014 calendar. Now it is officially back on.
F1 is the most globally popular and technologically advanced form of motor sport. The New Jersey race, dubbed the Grand Prix of America, is set to be run on fenced-off public roads, on a 3.2-mile temporary street circuit with fast sweeping bends and elevation changes, through Weehawken and West New York, against the backdrop of the Manhattan skyline.
On the FIA's calendar, the race is listed with an asterisk—"subject to the circuit approval." Now the race's promoters must complete the street circuit in time to meet F1's rigorous safety requirements.
The promoter's task is a race in itself, to create a venue in one of the world's most clogged commuter zones in time to unleash 22 racing drivers in 200-mph cars in front of a crowd that, if expectations are met, would top 100,000 fans.


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GRE® Success Starter: The test maker's guide to doing your best
- Overview
This 22-minute video is the perfect jumpstart to preparing for the GRE® revised General Test. The video offers a guided tour to help you understand the test.
Video topics:
- Content overviews for all three test measures, with sample questions
- Tips and strategies for doing your best
- Test-taker friendly design features
- What you can expect on test day
- An understanding of scores and the new ScoreSelect℠ option
- Additional ETS preparation resources
A great way to start your preparation!
Closed Captioning available.
System requirements:
- PC- and Mac®-compatible


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For health reasons, I usually try to keep my sodium intake fairly low. However, most freeze dried dinners offered in camping stores contain an more sodium than I'm looking for. I consider 800mg a serving to be fairly high, especially considering I most likely will eat two servings to refuel after a long day of hiking. Are there any products that don't have as much sodium? Ideally, I want lightweight, reasonably priced ($10ish for an entree) food with a low sodium content (200mg/serving) that I can take backpacking with me.
I see that a good option on the sodium is to buy the components (vegetable medley, cooked beef, green peas, etc.) which are all lower sodium than the premixed meals. Instead of buying dehydrated/ freeze-dried meals, start looking into dehydrated/freeze-dried ingredients. This page has a good list of source for ingredients.
Make it yourself:
Mountain House has the following in that sodium and price range (I'll keep adding other brands and meals as I find them). I'm including some that are over your limit because you can mix and match to get the proper average.
Backpackers Pantry has the following options from here.
Other brands
I would recommend making your own.
I've used a bunch of the recipes from FreezerBagCooking and found them generally easy to make and incredibly tasty. You can adjust them to fit your budget or sodium needs.
The general idea is that you use a "freezer" ziplock bag (basically, the thicker kind) and put all your dehydrated ingredients from the recipe into it. On the trail you can pour boiling water directly into the bag (same as the store bought ones) and seal them, wait for however long, and then eat directly from the bag.
Here's an example recipe (I've made this one, but substituted a tuna packet for the chicken):
Chicken Diablo Rice
Instructions: At home in a quart freezer bag pack the dry ingredients. Pack the chicken with the bag.
On the trail: Add chicken with broth and 1 cup near boiling water. Stir well, seal tightly and put in cozy for 15 minutes.
Source: http://www.trailcooking.com/recipes/chicken-diablo-rice
The site also has lots of tips on how to make/procure lots of the ingredients, including low sodium options.
Mountain House has a low sodium line of freeze dried for long term storage and/or hiking/camping. They are about 250-350 mg/sodium per meal and even Wal Mart carries them individually at about $8/packet. Great for emergencies, hiking/camping and survival. Stay safe.
We had the same concerns - the sodium levels on most freeze dried foods are appalling. We bought from Pack Lite Foods and were not disappointed. We only tried the dinners, so can't comment on their other meals. The dinners were tasty and the double servings were the right amount of food for two.


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I am trying to query 2 tables in a database, each query having nothing to do with each other, other then being on the same page.
Query 1 - The first query on the page will retrieve text and images that are found throughout the page from Table A.
Query 2 - The second query will retrieve several products with a image, description and title for each product from Table B.
I know that putting the second query inside the first query's while loop would work but of course is very inefficient.
How can I and what is the best way to retrieve all the data I need through 1 query?
- Dane


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Faculty Focus
Warming Up
Michael Gerrard
Professor Michael Gerrard brings his world-renowned expertise in environmental law to a new Columbia center on global climate change.
Environmental law expert Michael B. Gerrard is no stranger when it comes to grappling with long odds.
In the 1970s and '80s, he was a key member of the litigation team fighting the massive Westway highway project, which would have landfilled a large portion of the Hudson River alongside Manhattan.
"[The project] was endorsed by a series of governors, mayors, both senators, the [U.S.] president," recalls Gerrard, who joined the Law School faculty in January. After a 13-year battle, Gerrard's work helped kill the proposal in 1985, thus protecting the river and making hundreds of millions of dollars available for subways and buses. It was a win for conservationists and mass transit advocates alike. More than 15 years later, Gerrard won another high-profile case involving a proposed golf course in Westchester County. His adversary was Donald Trump, whose project, nearby residents feared, would threaten their town's drinking water. A few years later, Gerrard helped apply green building principles to the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site. And those are just a few of the hundreds of complex environmental law matters Gerrard has handled.
"Mike is tireless as a scholar and a public interest environmental advocate, as well as a practitioner," says Pace Law School Professor Nicholas Robinson '70, who has known Gerrard since the 1970s. "He's earned a reputation as one of the nation's leading environmental law specialists."
Now Gerrard is about to take on his biggest challenge yet—developing legal structures for addressing global climate change. This past December, he was named as a professor of professional practice and as the director of Columbia Law School's groundbreaking new Center for Climate Change Law (CCCL). The center will develop model laws, participate in rulemaking, conduct research, produce books, and train the next generation of environmental lawyers.
"Action is absolutely needed now," says Gerrard, who most recently was managing partner of the New York office of Arnold & Porter, where he has practiced for 14 years.
The CCCL will also work in conjunction with other Columbia programs, like The Earth Institute, as well as U.S. agencies and NGOs.
"It is especially important to train students from abroad so they can play a role in their own countries," says Gerrard, who has written or edited seven environmental law texts, two of which were named Best Law Book of the Year by the Association of American Publishers.
Gerrard says he has seen the focus in environmental law shift over the years from air and water pollution in the 1970s to hazardous waste in the '90s. "Changes in environmental law have always been driven by scientific developments," he says. "Science discovers a threat, and, hopefully, legislatures and the courts then take action." The latest frontier is climate change, arguably the most pressing environmental law concern in the field and one that Gerrard says presents difficult challenges.
"There are going to be complicated regulatory structures that not only did not exist when I graduated law school, but that don't even exist today," he notes. "And they are likely to rival the tax code in complexity."
In the coming years, the U.S. will have to craft new environmental laws and re-examine agreements like the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
"I think it was a global tragedy that the U.S. disengaged from the Kyoto process in 2001, and it's going to be very difficult to make up for lost time," Gerrard notes.
Dealing with issues like Kyoto will be a key part of the CCCL's mission.
"The decisions that have to be made will have an enormous impact on the future of the planet," Gerrard says. "And we are hoping to have an influence on those decisions."


text:
mark read
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Coruscant Entertainment Centre
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A week of triple digits, and nothing else is happening. As you can tell, my computer is back up. This time the tech deleted every one of my favorites from my Internet Explorer, meaning I have to recreate them, again. This time I am going to make a copy as if exporting them to another program and update them every week. Also when I tried to access the SWK site to post from the library with their computer I got the same response. So it's not on my machine.
So what is good this week? Take a look...
Over at
Charys starts us off with the reprise pick
The Tale of Baba Yaga, KOTOR style
followed by another reprise pick, gekkeiju's
In Your Dreams
and finishing up with our best of the week, RogueLadySabyne's
Flowers and Reconciliation
Well back to the grind. Signing off...
Coruscant Entertainment Center
Mass Effect - Origins of the Reapers
NSW based on Mass Effect Game: A dissertation on one of the plot holes in the work
Remember to finish sentences. The Citadel, (was) constructed by the Keepers with the help of their Machines. You could have also left out the was by adding 'still stands today'. It's a minor problem, when I'm working hot and heavy on a story I tend to not finish sentences; that's one reason I tell people to reread then rewrite. The remainder of my critique is technical.
Technical notes: I have not played the game, so this is based on inferences in your work. First, the comment about the keepers 'Their civilization had reached its peak' was unnecessary, merely that their society was in decline.
Also saying; 'though the Keepers themselves were not the toughest and strongest species alive' was unsupported. Whatever race you speak of could be listed as not the toughest or strongest. The addition of the Machines would help even a very fragile race maintain superiority.
As for the genesis of the machines, one aside: saying they could take on a capital ship, are you referring to a modern one in the game?
The description of the machines themselves suggests cybernetic organisms, or at least biomechanical constructs. So the 'bugs' and later virus sounds like a flaw in the original design. A computer virus does not occur naturally, though a series of bugs, especially in equipment that is left running too long could cause something similar. However one thing a machine without a human brain or AI algorithms similar to the operation of a human brain cannot do; they cannot change their programming. As much as people liked the old ST episode; survival does not negate programming.
Interesting premise. Wish my laptop would play it...
Listed as NSW, though we have Jedi: An alternate universe rendition of WWII
First, remember 'A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away..." In the Intro to every SW novel, so calling a holy order 'Jedi' and a Muslim order the 'Sith' is a stretch.
Since you tend to try to write script style, you don't need a line of laughter, and anything more than a single exclamation point is unnecessary.
'Commander of the Unit'? What size unit? If it's a squad, it would be either a sergeant or corporal, if it's larger, a lieutenant. Also, what division of the German army? If it's a Wehrmacht unit, it would be feldwebel but if it were an SS or Waffen SS unit it would be a rottenfurher (As a squad) and Luetnant or Untersturmführer for an officer.
Technical note: I don't know what they teach in Greece, but the nation was dragged into both World Wars. The British literally captured the Greek Monarch, and demanded that Greece enter the war against the Central powers of that time. After the war, Britain had the Greeks sign a mutual defense pact, which is what drew Greece into the second war.
As for your timeline following Hitler's death, I am have studied that war for longer than you have been alive.
First, every bit of land grabbed by the Nazis right up to the invasion of Greece had been taking back land taken under the Treaty of Versailles; One of the most vindictive 'treaties' ever written. Thanks to the US, France and the 'allies' was able to steal just about every bit of land won by Germany and the defunct Austria-Hungarian empire in the last century. Every bit of land grabbed back by the Nazis had been stolen from them.
In late 1940, early 1941 when your story would have occurred, Russia was still abiding by the Non-Aggression pact; it would not end until 22 June of 1941, with Operation Barbarossa, Germany's invasion of Russia.
Let us assume that Hitler died when you suggested. No one could have taken control of Germany after his death except for the Deputy Fuher, who was Rudolf Hess who had made the flight into England and would be captured in May 1941, a month after the events you portray.The German invasion of Greece happened a month earlier. Hess wanted to convince England to join in the 'crusade' against the Communists. If Hitler had died, there would have been a scramble for power.
Without Hitler to drive it, the Russian invasion would not have occurred; the High command knew they could fight the Russians, but had a two front war already between the Battle of the Atlantic and North Africa. As much as you think the Russians would have repudiated the Non-Aggression Pact it worked for Russia as Stalin was using it to clean house. This would have set up the later war; would Germany avoid getting into war with the US?
Without Hitler, Germany might have convinced Japan to ignore the US; the primary reason the Japanese grabbed Southwest Asia was because all of the resources they bought from the US was there in lands owned by France England and Holland. It was the decision to freeze their assets in the US after they did that forced Japan into open war.
But even with Roosevelt trying to stack the deck and force a declaration of war between January 1940 and the Attack on Pearl Harbor, the American people did not want to get into the European conflict. If the Japanese had ignored them, or listed everything Roosevelt had done to try to force the issue, it would have stopped America from attacking.
The Tale of Baba Yaga, KOTOR style
Originally reviewed 1 December, 2006. That review is below:
The tale of the Baba Yaga meets TSL head on.
Having read the tales of the Baba Yaga, and written my own full length KOTOR II novel, I think I know both stories well. With that out of the way, I have to admit, I didn't think they could be combined like this.
I like it!
Reprise Pick of the Week
Day Dreams of Young Knights
Pre Mandalorian Wars: Four young people immerse themselves in children's tales.
Except for the fact that all of the tales are connected to Earth, the piece was very well done. The author's choices were interesting; and the attitude of the readers toward the stories they were reading made them their own. Funny, Bao-Dur doesn't look Jewish...
"The Literary Review"
TSL no specific period given: A review by me of... a review?
Having HK47 take my seat for once is different, and the work, about him of course, merely a cutesy farce that irritates him immensely. His dissection of the work line by line, and of the author in the same way was well done and amusing. All I have to say is 'You better watch out...'
In Your Dreams
Originally reviewed 1 December, 2006. That review is below:
During TSL: The revelations of Atton's past.
gekkeiju had done another excellent piece here. Alike and different from the above reviewed work. The setting is excellent, the piece sublime in that you fully understand why the characters are arguing, and learn more about them in the telling. Well worth a read.
Reprise Pick of the Week
Flowers and Reconciliation
TSL on Dxun: Saying thank you can be hard.
RLS has always turned out good work, and her works with more than one exile like this one is always well done. The characters are well defined, the situation clear and action concise.
Pick of the Week
An Open Letter to the KFM Community
TSL: A complaint from one of the characters.
The piece is funny in that the one character I myself do not like has some genuine complaints about his treatment at the hands of some of the site's people. A cute little diatribe. Oh he's right; the modeler's forgot his upper lip!
Our first offering from fanfiction was a read requested by the author.
GESTALT: A Novel
NonSW fiction: In a future world, a group of young people look at their lives.
The piece has a unique perspective because this is a future Utopian society but seen from the view of the teenager. I enjoyed the sub culture created; bounce music sounds like an interesting phenomenon. I didn't have time to read it all.
Tales of KOTOR: The Hollowed
TSL After the battle of Telos: Sion faces his fate after hearing of Nihilus's death
The author had an interesting premise; if you're immortal and your enemy cannot even hurt you, what is your purpose?
Fortune Favors the Bold
Kendoka Girl
Mandalorian Wars at Malachor V: The defenders prepare for the attack
The piece is twenty chapters long, so I didn't have time to read very far. This segment is the orders for preparation.
NOT a satisfactory ending
Clone Wars on Kashyyk: Two chance met warriors help each other
All problems with the work are technical mentioned below:
When dealing with something like cloning to create an army, you wouldn't be tweaking the genome so tightly in the first units, and using a score (20) for that would be a waste of time; especially when at the start of the war you have over two million units already produced. It would be more like 50,000 in batch 1 with the follow on units being also in the thousands. Also, everything you differentiated would be a matter of training rather than genetic capability.
As for the predator they faced, most species of any specific environment are pretty much the same when it comes to the symmetry of their design. Here on earth all animals with more limbs (extra legs, wings etc) are limited by size. There are no giant spiders or insects here on Earth, so having the animal be ten legged was confusing. Look at every predator of even our prehistory from T-Rex to a modern tiger, and you have four limbs and bilateral symmetry.
KOTOR on Tatooine: A perfect romantic evening...Not!
The title really doesn't fit the work; it implies a longer relationship than the few months (Depending on when your team reaches Tatooine) or years if in the aftermath. The build up, the romantic setting, ending in a farce too easily anticipated. But fun.
Fitting In
Seven Years Post TSL: Revan and the Exile are back from the Unknown... But why haven't they contacted their friends?
The piece was fun to read. There are five more chapters, and if I find the time this week, I will be going back to read the rest. I still don't know why they have been in hiding for the last two years.
'To argue with those who have renounced the use and authority of reason is as futile as to administer medicine to the dead.' Now who said that?
From the one who brought you;
What we die for...
KOTOR excerpts
Star Wars: The Beginning
Star Wars: Republic Dawn
Return From Exile
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DOAG 2013 Middleware Summit: June 6th 2013, Mainz Germany
By Juergenkress-Oracle on Apr 26, 2013
Want to learn more about Oracle Fusion Middleware 12c from WebLogic to SOA & BPM Suite?
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Fall Box League
Fall Box League
Oct. 16th at SporTrak in Sewickley (under Sewickley Bridge)
· This is open to all High School players who will play with us next summer (2014, 2015, and 2016)
· Program will run from 8-9:30 every Tuesday evening
· These sessions are limit to a maximum of 35 players
· BOX REGISTRATION IS DIFFERENT THEN OTHER EVENTS – You can register by check payable to "Pittsburgh Revolution"for $175.
· The first 35 players to register are in.
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text:
San Francisco Landmarks
4 of 11
Golden Gate Bridge
Since its completion in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge, one of the world's longest suspension bridges, has been a symbol of San Francisco. Built across San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge connects San Francisco to Marin County as a part of both U.S. Route 101 and California Route 1. The bridge was painted with a special paint that protects it from salt and is touched up regularly.
Fun Fact: Although the bridge appears to be red, it is actually an orange color called "International Orange." The color was chosen to enhance its visibility in the fog.
Photo source: Carol M. Highsmith
Next: Palace of Fine Arts
Provided by Infoplease—an authoritative, comprehensive reference website that offers an encyclopedia, a dictionary, an atlas, and several almanacs. Visit Infoplease.com to find more resources endorsed by teachers and librarians.


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The final week of a great trip is always tough. Each day seems to pass quicker than that preceding it, and the list of things to see and do inevitably grows longer as one becomes better acquainted with their surroundings; immersing themselves further into the fabric of a place.
This is how it went for my sister, Katya, and I in the last few days prior to her departure. We packed it all in: Universal Studios, LA downtown (we needed to drive by the Cecil Hotel, currently making crime story worthy news), Malibu, as well as a side trip to San Francisco. We made pit stops at all of Urth Caffe's locations, scattered over different parts of LA, and managed to catch some spectacular sunsets either from the car, or from a prime vantage points.
Though the trip may have started with tourist spots at the forefront, it finished with talk of a UCLA transfer. I couldn't have been prouder – Katya had successfully transitioned from wide eyed tourist to enthusiastic traveler. Here are some highlights of the final days in LaLaLand, and beyond.


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"I can ask questions in class and be fairly personal with professors. The professor will actually know my name; I'm not just some student in the class." - Ben Oom, occupational safety and health management
This photo was contributed May 2, 2012, and was featured on the GVSU homepage between the dates of March 21, 2013 and March 23, 2013.
See all Featured Homepage Photos


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The Campus Safety Task Force, formed after the death of Western student Katie Autry, is a step closer to completing the alcohol-free policy for Greek houses.
Gene Tice, the Vice President of Student Affairs says the task force wanted to be pro-active after several incidents across the nation where students became victims of alcohol-related deaths.
According to the current draft for the first offense Alcohol 101 must be completed by 90% of the chapter, the chapter will be on probation for 90 days, and each member will have to perform two hours of community service.
For the second offense, Prime for Life must be completed by 90% of chapter, it will be in probation for 180 days, and each member will have to complete 10 hours of community service.
After the third offense, the organization's status will be reviewed by a committee consisting of two faculty, two staff, a fraternity, and a sorority member.
The committee will then file a report with the Office of Student Life
with-in 20 days and the organization then may be placed on one or two
year suspension.
The final draft of the policy will be completed in the next few weeks.


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If a planet is directly between two stars y distance apart (so it's y/2 from each planet), with velocity x such that x is sufficient to continue orbiting at that distance (y/2), which does it orbit, and how does it continue?
Given that the mass is at the CoM of the system, there is a solution in which it has no velocity (i.e. it just sits there while the stars orbit around their common center which happens to include a planet). I believe the planet is positionally unstable in that case (that is, it won't stay there in the real world).
Aside from that there is no circular or elliptical orbit at all. I don't know if there are any stable orbits that pass through that point (in fact I tend to doubt it, there will be a sensitive dependence), but if there are they will certainly be strange.


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4:30 pm
Linkasia NULL
5:00 pm
Blackfeet Encounter In July 1806, Meriwether Lewis and another member of the Corps of Discovery killed two Blackfeet warriors and marked the only deadly clash between American Indians and the otherwise peaceful Lewis and Clark Expedition. The documentary also depicts the tragedies and challenges endured by the Blackfeet people during the 19th and 20th centuries, including intertribal fighting, massacres, starvation, unemployment, poverty and racism.G
6:00 pm
Outdoor Idaho "Horse Packers & Wagon Masters" Idahoans who bond with horses and mules to follow dusty trails view Idaho's scenery at leisure and share its past. One man sets a distance record for packing with horse and mule as he rides for charity. Teamsters explore part of the Oregon Trail with wagons and mules, and trail riders head into the Selkirk Mountains.G
6:30 pm
Dialogue "Filmmaker Dawn Porter" Host Marcia Franklin talks with Porter, whose documentary Gideon's Army aired last year on HBO and whose newest film, "Spies of Mississippi" aired in February on INDEPENDENT LENS.G
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Need to Know NULL
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Inside Washington NULL
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America ReFramed "Meat Hooked" Meat Hooked! is part history of butchering but mostly an entertaining look at the current phenomenon of environmentally conscience twenty and thirtysomethings bringing butchering back as a kind of new green color job. D
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Tomlinson Hill In the mid-1800s just outside of Marlin, Texas, a slave plantation named Tomlinson Hill was founded by James K. Tomlinson. The establishment would have long lasting effects on the rural community. TOMLINSON HILL documents how the legacy of slavery in east and central Texas has created a region still divided despite the civil rights changes of the last 60 years. D
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Moyers & Company "Distracted from Democracy" Smart talk & new ideas aimed at helping viewers make sense of our tumultuous times.G
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Is Catholicism becoming a Sect?
The Atlantic has an interesting interview with Richard Sparks, a Chicago priest and bioethicist, who worries that conservative factions in the Church might be leading us out of the public sphere by insisting on being allowed to storm into the private.The background:
Emily Herx was a popular literature teacher at St. Vincent de Paul School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, until she used her medical leave for in vitro fertilization. Herx lost her job and says a church official called her a "grave, immoral sinner." When she appealed to Fort Wayne Bishop Kevin Rhoades, he told her IVF was "an intrinsic evil, which means that no circumstances can justify it." The federal government saw things a bit differently. Herx filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and won -- paving the way for a civil lawsuit.
Some questions after the jump...
Sparks: But with all of these questions, what's right in God's eyes and what's right in terms of civil law wouldn't necessarily be identical.Atlantic: Do you mean the laws of the United States aren't always in line with the Catholic worldview?Not exactly. Here's an example. There are some sexual activities, like anal sex, that used to be considered criminal by civil law and no longer are. Does that mean the majority of people in the state of Georgia think those activities are moral? Maybe not. But the way you'd have to police those activities would be like the Gestapo. It would mean looking into people's bedroom windows with cameras. And we don't want to get into that.Or look at capital punishment. There's a concern that people of color seem to end up on death row more often than white people. That may be because the system is prejudiced against them. So if we can't apply capital punishment fairly, should we apply it at all? Many would say no.If a woman had a spontaneous miscarriage and was living a raucous life, we wouldn't say she'd committed murder. It's partly a question of what's right and wrong. But it's also a question of how we would enforce such a law. What would the implications be of implementing it?In the Emily Herx case, the school did take an official stance against what she was doing and actively enforce it.That's right. And it seems to me the issues going on here are less about IVF and more about how that Catholic school handled someone on the borderline. The question would be, was this handled well pastorally? Was this handled well legally? Some people would say probably not.The school might argue that it has the right to uphold its own values in any way it chooses.Certainly. If you're going to work for a church, or for the Boy Scouts of America, any organization that has values, it's one thing to say that if you don't uphold them they don't want you as a leader. But when they get around to policing people's sexual lives, what is that organization doing?Let's try a few of these. If you have married couples using contraception, does St. Vincent check their medical cabinets? They wouldn't think of doing that. If some people aren't paying their taxes fairly, does the Church fire them? I don't think anyone ever does. What if they're pro-capital punishment? No.Similarly, if you hire a gay teacher who doesn't have a partner, is that okay? What if he does have one? Should he get fired? What if he doesn't have partner, but once in a while he goes to gay bars? Should he get fired then? If there's a Jewish teacher who doesn't believe in Jesus, can she be thrown out? For that matter, what about a Tea Party Republican who doesn't seem to care much about the poor? Do we fire that person from a Catholic faculty?The Catholic Church has always been a kind of universal church. Catholic means broad-minded and sympathetic. But now we're starting to act more like a sect. My worry is that applying these kinds of purity tests can lead to witch hunts.
About the Author
Eric Bugyis teaches Religious Studies at the University of Washington Tacoma.
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Fort Wayne Bishop Kevin Rhoades is probably not going to be pleased with the Reverend Richard Sparks for his comments in this published interview in ATLANTIC. I wonder if Bishop Rhoades will undertake some form of retaliation against Fr. Sparks.
I know less than most here about Richard Sparks. Based on this piece I do believe he would be quite the debate team partner. All one would be required to do is take responsiblity for ensuring sufficient drinking water was on the table. And the occassional, Yep!, of course.
Haven't we always been a sect in the U.S.A.?Aren't we treated like all the other denominations in the U.S.?I'm not disagreeing with this article that these aren't sectarian behaviors. I'm just wondering what exactly makes the Catholic Church not a sect, other than our saying we aren't one.
Since a sect usually begins as a splinter group or a protest group from within a religion, it would probably not be accurate to refer to the Roman Catholic Church as a sect. That does not mean, however, that the RCC has not adopted some characteristic elements of a sect, rendering it sectarian in some ways. For example, a sect usually draws sharp boundaries between itself and the larger entity or entities that it opposes. It has an "us" against "them" mentality. It also adopts insider/outsider language and tries to identify who is in and who is out. Sects also insist on the absolute fidelity and conformity of its members to what it holds and believes and is unwilling to compromise on those tenets. Often sects are egalitarian a criterion which the RCC does not meet. Also they usually depend absolutely on an individual leader who may be the inspiration for the sect. On some questions like the religious liberty issue the hierarchy does seem to have adopted sectarian language in the way it invokes the battle metaphor and exaggerates the threat from outside. Rallying the American Church against the government on this issue certainly makes the RCC sound sectarian.So the issue is a bit more complex than is the Church a sect or isn't it. The issue is compounded when you consider that, despite the official rhetoric, the RCC is not monolithic and is made up of Catholic of different stripes. Perhaps the various self-identifying groups should be considered as sects within the RCC.
If the ever-advancing emphasis on strict orthodoxy by church leaders and their conviction that rigid adherence to doctrine decidedly trumps pastoral concern each and every time begin to distinguish it more as a "sect," then so be it. Sects, by experience, are usually short-termed structures that fail to engender sustained membership. And with good reason. Despite all apparent evidence our leaders may be trying to tighten their ecclesial grip, the Church's 2,000-year history has indeed been universal and inclusive. And it will continue to be if we allow the Spirit to lead. This too shall pass.
The complaint and comments on it at various news sites make it clear that the bishop's concern was about scandal (in the technical theological-canonical sense), i.e., that the issue had become public, because she informed various people at the school about it, not so much about her private sexual choices. So:Msgr. Kuzmich told Herx that this situation would not have occurred had no one found out about the treatments, and that some things were 'better left between the individual and God.'Also, she was under a one-year contract. The diocese chose not to renew the contract. It's been a while since I dabbled in employment discrimination, but non-renewal of a contract doesn't sound, to me, like the kind of "termination" that could warrant an employment discrimination suit (notwithstanding the EEOC's involvementbut then the EEOC isn't always right, and their job isn't really to adjudicate the merits of cases). That's just how at-will employment goes (for the record, I'm not a fan of our system, since it subjects employees to the whims of employers with very little protection available to the employees, but I also recognize that that's our system, and it doesn't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon).That said, it would help to have a definition of "sect" before we try to apply the term to anyone. It's unhelpful to assume that everyone is operating with the same understanding of the word.
JC --About being a sect --I come from an area, south Louisiana, where the founders (Cajuns and Creoles) were Catholics. I see a very different attitude towards government in the people here from the attitudes of Catholics in areas where the founders were Protestant. There was terrible prejudice against Catholics in some areas (especially the Northeast), and the hurts and suspicions naturally still linger. I think that explains a lot about Cardinal Dolan. Cardinal George is from the midwest, I believe, but he worked in Mississippi, so he knows how terribly unfair an American government can be. Archbishop Chaput is part American Indian, so I'm sure he could tell us all some terrible tales about American government. But justified wariness and paranoia are two different things. Why are they behaving like this? This can only damage the Church.
Yes, a definition of sect would help. Collins:sect 1. (Christian Churches, other) a subdivision of a larger religious group (esp the Christian Church as a whole) the members of which have to some extent diverged from the rest by developing deviating beliefs, practices, etc.2. (Non-Christian Religions / Other Non-Christian Religions) Often disparaginga. a schismatic religious body characterized by an attitude of exclusivity in contrast to the more inclusive religious groups called denominations or Churchesb. a religious group regarded as extreme or heretical3. a group of people with a common interest, doctrine, etc.; factionThe SSPX fit the description, but the Catholic church doesn't. Although, maybe, one might try to argue that the bishops are becoming a sect of the Catholic church!
Claire:By (1), the Catholic Church is a sect. By (2), it's not. By (3), it both is and isn't, depending on what we're talking about specifically when we say "a common interest, doctrine, etc.; faction."That's my point. We have to decide which definition we're using, otherwise we end up saying, "The Catholic Church both is and is not a sect," which isn't very informative.
The bishop apparently publicly called her a "sinner." I though we spoke about "sinful actions" but for alll the usual theological reasons did not proclaim poublicy that someone was a sinner? Would he have had said that if she had divorced and remarried without annulment? And all the other examples...
David Pasinski:Pretty sure it was a priest who said that, and it was in a private meeting between her, her husband, and the priest. The bishop said that IVF is intrinsically disordered, gravely sinful, and thus not justifiable under any circumstances. I'm not sure whether he actually said, "You, madame, are a sinner." But even if he did (and I hope he didn't, because that would be kind of gross), it was in a letter in response to her appeal to the bishop.So, in short, not in public.
Pastorally, I think the church at the grass roots has been quite timorous over the last few decades about supporting/promoting some of the more difficult and counter-cultural of church teachings. There are a couple of reasons for that: one is that many pastoral leaders don't relish the prospect of stirring up controversy and creating difficulties or even crises in people's spiritual lives. The other is that a number of pastoral leaders don't actually accept various of the church's hard teachings, and find that they can't in good conscience promote them.I think there are many, many Catholics in the pews who genuinely don't know that the church would frown on IVF. It's not something that they would ever hear about in a homily or read about in a bulletin. There are no biblical passages that explicitly condemn IVF. There are people in their community that utilize IVF. So what could be the problem?I'd say that there isn't enough information here for us to know whether Ms. Herx should have lost or job or not. I am strongly against firing a church worker for a sin like abortion or IVF if the person repents of it and agrees that he can promote church teaching on that topic with a clear conscience. If we fired everyone who sins once, then we wouldn't have any teachers or pastoral leaders.On the other hand, if Ms. Herx thinks that what she did is right, thinks that church teaching is wrong on this point, and can't in good conscience teach her students any differently, then perhaps it isn't the right position for her.
The church can no longer fail to address the nuances in the advancement of science as regards reproduction. I have my own set of what I think is right or wrong regarding IVF. For instance, if a man and woman want a child and have failed to have one, I see no moral reason why the egg from the woman cannot be mechanically fertilized by her husbands sperm, and thereby implanted in her. However I do have a moral problem with sperm donors who father children they know nothing about. The list of what can be moral and immoral can go on and on. The church has FAILED to teach the membership about its stances on any of these subjects from the pulpit. Therefore, it is no wonder most (younger) people plead ignorance of the church's stance. Guidelines for a moral stance should be given by the church on some of these topics, and then the people must be allowed to exercise their own conscience. Ultimately, it is an individual's own conscience (responsibility) that is going to make or break him or her, and that should be their own call.
Why are we so obsessed with sects?
According to the article in ATLANTIC, Fr. Richard Sparks holds a Ph.D. in bioethics. This helps explain why he is as fluent as he is in explaining these issues.But most diocesan priests do not hold doctorates in bioethics.I do not think I ever heard a priest speak from the pulpit about IVF.However, I did hear priests discuss IVF in classroom courses.
jbruns: I would criticize Eric Bugyis a bit for singling out the word "sect" in the caption on this dotCommonweal thread in the way that he did. To be fair to Eric Bugyis, his question in the caption is indeed based on something that Fr. Richard Sparks says in the article.In the article and even in part of the article that Eric Bugyis quotes, Fr. Richard Sparks is clearly trying to set up a contrast between what he characterizes as a universal church, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, a church that has purity tests and witch hunts. Yes, to be sure, Sparks himself uses the term "sect," which Eric Bugyis then picks up on in his caption.Clearly Sparks is going well beyond the case that he had been discussing and is considering other recent developments that he sees as related in spirit.But I don't think that Sparks was trying to prompt a discussion about how to define and explain a sect.Instead, I think he wanted to prompt Catholics, including Catholic bishops, to reflect on their attitudes about other Catholics, especially when there are differences in people's views of certain church teachings.Of course we can disagree with Sparks. We can take the side of the hardliners who seem to want purity-of-thought tests. But Sparks is asking us to reflect on the views and attitudes of such hardliners and on our own views and attitudes, even if we are not hardliners.
Somebody who knows more theology than I do, butt in here. Isn't "remnant theology" more accurate than this concept of "sect" that people are having trouble with? Of am I way off base?
The RCC may not be a sect - yet - but it is full of sects (" has purity tests and witch hunts"): the Orneryariates, Opus Dei, Cdl Newman Fdn, Legionnaires of Christ & Regnum Christi (almost any group with a Latin name), Catholic League (there MUST be someone in it other than Big Bad Bill), Catholics United for the Faitn (CUF), Confraternity of St. Michael, Keep the Faith, Inc., the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter (FSSP), the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICRSS), the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, the Institute of the Good Shepherd (IGS), the Servants of Jesus and Mary (Servi Jesu et Mariae, SJM), the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem (CRNJ), American Life League, National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the Canons Regular of Saint John Cantius (SJC), the Fraternity of Saint Vincent Ferrer, and the Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney (PAASJV).and - more and more - the USCCB.
I think the word "cult" is more loaded, and the word "sect" doesn't really seem to convey what he means, although far be it from me to put words in his mouth. I would say that the descriptive context to his use of the word sect was (1) the widening chasm between what the culture and Catholicism accepts/condones/tolerates and (2) the willingness of Catholics to snoop on and discipline members who "stray" into the mainstream. This would make the RCC more like, say, ultra-Orthodox Jews who not only very obviously reject mainstream values, everything from dress to hairstyle, use of contraception, etc., but who demand compliance with religious courts and such for matters like divorce, if someone wants to be a member in good standing. It's way more rigorous than being educated and preached at to observe values, and it is extremely and publicly judgmental at instances of failure. No doubt F. Sparks is abjured by members of his own church to call out others. It's not the same kind of church, and at least as far as the Amish and the Orthodox Jews are concerned, they long ago gave up (if they had ever tried) any effort to change the wider world to conform to their own narrow views.
Fr. Sparks has written for American Catholic on sexuality and has a book on the subject too ....Human Sexuality: 'Wonderful Gift' and 'Awesome ResponsibilityContemporary Christian Morality: Real Questions, Candid Responses
Jimmy Mac has got the right idea. Ask yourself this question: Have you heard of any Catholic bishops or priests do anything that could be characterized as a purity test or a witch hunt? Next, how about certain lay Catholics?
For the varied meanings of "sect" and short histories of the major ones, check out "sect" at the online etymological dictionary. It will tell you more than you probably want to know.http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=sect&searchmode=none&p=1&allo...
I think Barbara is onto something here where the church is becoming divided between Roman Catholics and Catholics. The former adhering to the morals dictated by the Pope, and the latter adhering to the Faith but with a smorgasboard of values. The word "catholic" then becomes a contradiction in terms. This concept has large implications for Catholic institutions and their hiring practices, as seen in the article that is being referenced. With the recent flap covered on CNN last night concerning the nuns in the US being called on the carpet by the Pope; this division seems almost inevitable.
Denise PhillipsIn 1978, Karl Rahner gave a lecture at the Weston School of Theology in Cambridge, MA. In it he traced the development of the Church from its inception as a Jewish Church to a Gentile Church, then to a Roman Church and finally to a World Church, with Vatican II. Rahner went on to develop the idea in later writings. It did not occur to me until I read your post that Benedict's obsession with returning to a Roman Church may be a reaction to his old rival Karl Rahner, in whose shadow he himself had worked as a German theologian. A comparison of Ratzinger's ecclesiology as a hierarch to Rahner's ecclesiology would make an interesting doctoral dissertation.
Alan: Since I am not a theologian, I am unaware of that history. However, it does sound interesting and plausible. I agree that it would make good research. Thanks.
Thirty years ago I spent the spring semester in Rome. Archbishop Jadot, former Apostolic Delegate to the U.S. and then Pro-President of the Secretariat for Non-Christians, once invited me for lunch. He spoke excellent English with a slight Belgian accent. In the course of our conversation, he told me that the Vatican was going to be sponsoring a colloquium on sex. Seeing my surprise, he said something like: "Yes, there's a general agreement that we need a whole new approach to sex." We then discussed the matter for about fifteen minutes when something he said made me realize that he was talking, not about sex, but about sects! Up til then everything either of us said could as well apply to sex as to sects. It was a very funny experience, but I didn't tell him about my confusion until much later.
Rev. Komonchak: I can see where both topics could have common elements! Thanks for the story!
JAK: That's a good story. I had an experience like that once. I had used the word "sects," but the other person that I had said "sex."
Alan C. Mitchell: I don't know if anyone would want to write such a doctoral dissertation.However, I myself would commend you for pointing out Ratzinger/Benedict's "reaction to his old rival." I have long been fascinated by male rivalry. As pope, Ratzinger/Benedict is now king of the hill, at least until he dies or resigns. So as pope, he can make his mark in life against his former rival(s).But will the spirit of his former rival(s) live on despite Ratzinger/Benedict's mighty efforts to vanquish the spirit of his former rival(s)?
Correction to my post above to JAK: the other person thought I had said "sex."
Not a sect. A sect's leaders can deliver the 'goods' .The bishops have mentioned a two week marching season about religious liberty. before July 4th.. A sect could deliver at least 50% of its members to a life/ death action. Anybody expecting 35 million Catholics to march with the bishops in the next two months? I bet the religious sisters could out draw the bishops 10-1
By only 10-1?I'm not a betting man, so I won't take your bet.
By Ed's definition above, let me add the Knights of Columbus to my list of internal Catholic sects.
Postscripts:+ What is a cult?http://icsahome.com/infoserv_respond/faq_whatisacult.asp?Subject=What+is... Cults: questions and answershttp://www.icsahome.com/infoserv_articles/langone_michael_cultsqa.htm+ Cults in American society: a legal analysis of undue influence, fraud, and misrepresentationhttp://www.icsahome.com/infoserv_articles/hominik_david_cultsi_in_americ... Is Texas group a religious sect or clear-cut cult?http://www.icsahome.com/logon/elibdocview.asp?Subject=Is+Texas+group+a+r...


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KILLEEN (January 15, 2013)—A graveside service will be conducted at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Killeen City Cemetery at 2800 East Rancier for Baby Jane Doe, the newborn infant who was found dead in December in a restroom at the Walmart Supercenter in Killeen.
"Several businesses have come forward and donated their time and services to give this child a proper burial," police said in a press release Tuesday.
Crawford Bowers Funeral Home is handling the arrangements and the service is open to the public, police said.
An employee found the newborn's body just before 2 p.m. on Dec. 7 in a restroom at the rear of the store at 1400 Lowe's Blvd.
Bell County Justice of the Peace Bill Cooke pronounced the infant dead and ordered an autopsy.
Police searched unsuccessfully for mother because they feared she might have needed medical attention.


text:
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text:
|Length Overall
|27' 6''
8.38 m
|Dry Weight
5,500 lbs.
2,495 kg
8' 6''
2.59 m
|Tested Weight
.99 m
|Weight Capacity
|Draft Up
|Person Capacity
|Draft Down
|Fuel Capacity
95 gal.
|Air Draft
|Water Capacity
10 gal.
|21 deg.
|Length on Trailer
|Max Headroom
|Height on Trailer
|Bridge Clearance
6' 7.5''
2.02 m (w/ arch)
|Trailer Weight
|Total Package Weight (Trailer,Boat & Engine)
|Prices, features, designs, and equipment are subject to change. Please see your local dealer or visit the builder's website for the latest information available on this boat model.
|Std. Power
|375-hp Volvo Penta 8.1 Gi DP
|Tested Power
|Currently no test numbers
|Opt. Power
1 x 420-hp Volvo Penta 8.1 Gxi
375-hp MerCruiser 496 MAG MPI Bravo 3
425-hp MerCruiser 496 MAG HO Bravo 3X
At 5,500 lbs. (2,500 kgs.) the Cobalt 276 is a big bowrider and her interior coachwork detailing is at the top of the boat building pyramid.
The first impression we had when we saw the Cobalt 276 is that she is "big." Her beam is the standard, trailerable 8'6" (2.59 m), yet somehow she appears more beamy than that. Certainly her high freeboard and navy blue hull contributed to her look of sportboat gravitas.
The cockpit of the Cobalt 276 is unusual. The addition of the optional teak table will make a good entertaining venue.
The Cockpit
Cobalt's designers have created a rather unusual cockpit which has wraparound seating that is almost in a perfect U-shape, except for the passage to the transom. The wide companion seat to port has a swing back that allows the backrest to double as a lounger. Likewise, the seatback across the aft section of the cockpit flops forward to give the stern sunpad a backrest. These two devices give the cockpit added utility over what would have otherwise been there.
All around is Cobalt's double-stitched upholstery, which is one of the best in the business. On the sole is 40-oz, snap-in carpet which is heavier than what most builders install. Cobalt's technique of using tufted vinyl on the bulwarks and cabinet doors, along with a stitched-in diamond pattern exudes luxury. Cobalt wants to give you the impression that you are sitting in a Bentley on the water, and indeed you are.
On the starboard side abaft the helm seat is the wet bar under the padded hatch. Note the classy diamond stitching and tufted upholstery.
There is a mini wet bar in the cockpit just abaft the helmsman's seat which can be optioned up a number of ways. On the port side is a place to install an optional teak table ($774). It stows in the console forward of the driver, and we would recommend getting the table.
The top of the windshield frame is 49"(124 cm) off of the deck on the centerline. The cockpit depth aft is 34-1/2" (50 cm) (87 cm).
This extra wide helm seat is one of the most impressive we have seen in class.
The Helm
The helm seat on the 276 is a work of art. It is massive, comfortable, and remarkably sturdy. It slides fore and aft, has a high back and a flip-up bolster that is padded in all of the right places. The one drawback is that it can not be raised and lowered.
The distance from the deck to the bottom of the seat is 17-1/2" (44 cm) by our measure which is perfect for most adults, but if you are short you may want to have the dealer modify this in some way. Visibility out the windshield was good and we were not looking at the windshield frame at rest.
The instrument panel of the Cobalt 276 is simple and low, as it should be. Note the electrical control buttons at the right. That is real wood trim you are seeing.
The helm console and instrument panel is a study in simplicity. There are only four dials with both analog and digital readouts. To the right are brushed metal buttons that activate most of the vessel's electrical systems and light up when they are on.
There is ample sitting head room in this compartment. The porta-potti is standard as is the sink.
The Head
The head is forward of the companion seat and has a door that is carefully made to make it as easy as possible to get into the compartment. The opening of the door is 23" (58 cm) wide, which is pretty good on a boat with an 8' 6" beam and pretty much was wide as we have seen on any boat in class. The distance from the deck to the overhead is 45" (114 cm) which means that an adult will have comfortable sitting clearance.
There is a small sink to port. The boat comes standard with a porta-potti. If you want a porcelain toilet with macerator that will be a $2,893 option.
The bow area is one of the most practical we have seen. Best of all you can handle the anchor standing up.
The Bow
The distance between the consoles moving forward is 21"(53 cm) which is good for a boat with this beam. Cobalt was one of the first builders to recognize that the bow of a bowrider was usually not used by four or five people, but only two. And those two were sitting facing forward with their backs against the consoles and their legs extended out on the seats. Naturally, Cobalt added the inclined backrest, something that is done now by virtually all builders.
Cobalt has made another innovation to the bowrider design, and that is to eliminate the forward part of the U-shaped seating – where people rarely sit! Good thinking, Cobalt. The result is a boat with a lot more utility for a couple of reasons. First, passengers can sit facing forward with their feet on the deck. Second, the crew can easily get to the anchor locker and drop and retrieve the anchor in a standing position, rather than having to do it on one's knees. Once you've done it this way, you'll never go back to kneeling.
The attractive console also doubles as the door to the head/changing room.
The 276 has an anchor system that projects through the stem of the boat so that you don't have to have it on the deck. This is cool and more and more builders are installing this system. We like it, but would recommend that you get an optional stainless steel plow anchor in keeping with look of the rest of the boat. An anchor windlass is optional, but most people won't need it.
This honeycomb material is used in the cockpit deck to keep weight down and strength high.
Let us not mistake "beef" (i.e. strength) for just sheer weight. The fact is Cobalt has gone to considerable expense to take weight out of the boat without sacrificing strength. After all, the more weight a boat has to carry around, the larger the engines have to be and the more fuel they will burn -- or the slower it will go. The trick is to build a boat that is light and strong.
Cobalt does just that in a number of different ways; First, its cockpit sole is not made out of marine plywood or even solid fiberglass, rather, it is a glass laminate using an ultra-light honeycomb material that was first used in aircraft.
Cobalt is rightfully proud of their double-stitched vinyl upholstery which has long been a signature feature of Cobalt boats.
Second, Cobalt also uses Kevlar in its hull. A sheet of Kevlar has the strength of two or three layers of fiberglass material, but because it does not need a lot of resin as would three layers of glass, it saves weight. In addition to the Kevlar, Cobalt says it puts 8 layers of "Hydrolam hand-laid fiberglass" in each hull.
Cobalt uses the best materials in boat building as a general rule and needless to say, they are more costly.
Deck plan of the Cobalt 276.
As one would expect on a boat the price of a Cobalt, the 276 has a number of items as standard equipment that we often don't see on boats in class. It has molded-in graphics, its motor box has an electric riser, the swim platform is fully integrated into the hull and extends beyond the lower unit when it is in the down position, and the boat has a fiberglass liner.
The engine room has a gel coat liner so it is as pristine as can be. There is also plenty of room in the engine room.
We like the thru-the-stem anchor system on the 276. Just be sure to get a stainless steel plow anchor.
Frankly, as good as the standard list is, we were surprised that several other items were not also on it. For example most bowriders, even inexpensive ones, have a standard Bimini top. On the 276 it is a $2,090 option. Granted, it is the Rolls Royce of Bimini tops with anti-sway bars, super strong fittings and the absence of straps, nevertheless… do you want a cover for your boat to keep all of that fine upholstery looking new? A mooring cover is $1,290 extra. A $120,000 sportboat without a transom shower? No way. Add $540. Trim tabs? Add $1,263. We have already mentioned the $774 dinette table for the cockpit.
We know why Cobalt makes these items optional, and it is not because they are close with a buck. It is simply because everyone uses their boat in a different way, and not everyone would use all of the items we feel are "basic" equipment on a bowrider in this size and price range. To load them up with equipment that will not be used is wasteful for all concerned. All told, the items listed above come to only slightly over $6,000, so this is not a biggie.
If you own a great house on a lake like the one in the background, you need a classy boat and the 276 is made to order.
Base Price and Engines
The base MSRP price of the Cobalt 276 powered by a single MerCrusier 8.2 L gas engine driving through a Bravo III dual-prop drive is $120,606. You can get Merc's HO version of the same block that is said to develop 430-hp for $129,115. A middle course would be the Volvo Penta 400-hp 8.1 L option with Duo-prop for $119,800.
Cobalt has long offered one of the best warranties in the boating business.
Cobalt has a 10-year limited warranty on the hull and deck, 5-years on the engine, 5-years on the accessories, and 3-years on the gel coat. This is the longest gel coat warranty we have ever seen. All of these warranties are transferrable. Not everything in the boat is covered, so read the fine print.
The optional stainless steel arch with Bimini top and towing pylon runs $13,432.
Okay, let's talk turkey: Is the Cobalt 276 worth the $120,606?
Only you can answer the question. Is a Mercedes, BMW, Lexus or Bentley worth the money? Not if you don't value design, quality, reliability, style, and one of the best warrantees in the business. If all you want a boat for is to go out and blast around for a few minutes each week, or tow the kids on a doughnut, the Cobalt 276 is not for you.
On the other hand, if you appreciate the finer things in life such as a Steinway piano, a vintage Chateau Margaux, or a Cuban Cohiba, perhaps you should think about a Cobalt.
|Marine Electronics
|Head: Portable
|Head: Fixed
|Trim Tabs
|Exterior Features
|Carpet: Cockpit
|Outlet: 12-Volt Acc
|Swim Ladder
|Swim Platform
|Transom Shower
|Bimini Top
|Cockpit Cover
= Standard = Optional
|Warranties change from time to time. While BoatTEST.com has tried to ensure the most up-to-date warranty offered by each builder, it does not guarantee the accuracies of the information presented below. Please check with the boat builder or your local dealer before you buy any boat.
|Hull Warranty
|10/5/3 Year Warranty Protection
|Pricing Range
|Prices, features, designs, and equipment are subject to change. Please see your local dealer or visit the builder's website for the latest information available on this boat model.


text:
- Binding: Hardcover
- Era: WWII
- Number of Pages: 226
- Subject: WWII
- Date Available: March 2008
Even the most knowledgeable reader will be shocked by the extent of the crimes committed against servicemen and civilians revealed in this chilling new study. From the regular execution of POWs to the abandonment of survivors, Mark Felton takes a detailed look at this dark chapter in the history of the Japanese navy in World War II. Prior to this account, Japanese war crimes at sea have received relatively little attention compared to coverage of the Japanese army's barbaric conduct. Written by a longtime resident of the Far East, this new work takes into account the culture that led to such appalling atrocities. Upon publication in the UK, the book drew major news coverage.
Mark Felton teaches history at Shanghai University and is the author of Yanagai: The Secret Underwater Trade between Japan and Germany and The Fujita Plan: Japanese Submarine Attacks on the United States and Australia. The UK edition of Slaughter at Sea was published by Pen & Sword in 2007.


text:
Yacht is the full-time project of The Blow's Jona Bechtolt, whose production skills on the breakout album Paper Television - a record that grabbed top spots on year-end lists, in Moms' car stereos, and top-dog music blogs alike - were lauded by Pitchfork reviewers as "a brilliant and versatile grab bag of popular culture, equal parts Missy Elliott-style chart rap and Yaz'n'Soft Cell-like new wave keyboard pop, all shook up and spit out sideways."
The songs that make up Yacht's I Believe in You. Your Magic is Real travel well; they're wide and warm-hearted, not unlike Bechtolt himself, bouncing without pretension from iPod to turntable, as buoyant and easy in a middle schooler's bedroom as they are echoing across a huge crowd, pouring from a jukebox, or woven thoughtfully into a mix tape.
Bechtolt has been a promiscuous genre-smasher since his adolescence, when he decided that playing drums in the touring punk band he formed with his older brother was more worthwhile than attending a single day of high school. He's plied his unique breed of laptop wizardry and grunge intuition to endless collaborations, both as drummer and producer, with west coast mainstays like Devendra Banhart, Panther, Little Wings, Mt. Eerie, Bobby Birdman and E*Rock.


text:
Men's Reebok ZigEscape
Buy Online & Pick Up In-Store
With John Wall's signature shoes, the Reebok Zig Escapes, you can count on the help you need to deliver increased performance and game-ready responsiveness. Their zigzag rubber outsole is a unique design that helps your grip on the court for increased performance and better transitions and their mid-cut silhouette design helps protect ankles and the TPU heel cup keeps your feet in place so they are more stable and not sliding around in your shoes. Now you can blaze around the court with ease!
Their style is pretty sweet, too. Their digital pattern throughout the shoe accompanies the new John Wall logo on the tongue, which shows celebration for the third season of one of the NBA's award-winning rookie point guards.


text:
Helping Kids Handle Peer Pressure
Topic Overview
Sophie's favorite class, drama, comes right at the end of the day—just when her friends are ready to sneak out of school. Auditions for the school play are being held today, and she really wants to try out. But her friends are telling her to cut class and go to the city with them. She wants to be in the play, but she doesn't want to disappoint her friends. She's feeling peer pressure.
The urge to conform to their peers (kids the same age) is a normal stage for kids ranging in age from about 12 to 21. At this stage, children start looking to their peers—not their parents—to help them figure out everything from what clothes to wear to how serious to be about school. You can play an important role in this process by helping your kids learn to make good choices when they're being influenced—for better or worse—by their peers.
Is peer pressure always negative?
People tend to focus on the bad effects of peer pressure. But the desire to be like their peers can help your children too. On the positive side, peer pressure can provide kids this age with:
Unfortunately, peer pressure can also lead to risky behavior, such as:
What makes kids vulnerable to peer pressure?
The one thing that seems to make all adolescents vulnerable to peer pressure is simply being in this age range. They're just doing what kids their age (middle school to high school) do. Research suggests that peer pressure can be especially difficult to resist because, at this stage of their lives, lots of kids:
What can parents do to help?
As normal as it is for adolescents to go along with their peers, it can be just as normal for parents to take their children's challenging behavior personally. Just try to remember that kids aren't so much rejecting you as they are trying to establish their own identity.
Whether your child is the most popular kid in class or is someone who has few friends, peer pressure can push him or her to do unhealthy things.
Adolescents still need a parent's help to make good decisions—even if they don't act like it. Help them become the people you hope they can be by helping them learn to:
And you can help yourself by learning to:
Next Page:
(Page 1 of 3)
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text:
I'm writing code to validate YouTube URLs. Is it guaranteed that the video ID, such as
oHg5SJYRHA0, is always exactly 11 characters long, or can it sometimes be shorter or longer? Is there any official documentation about this?
I'm writing code to validate YouTube URLs. Is it guaranteed that the video ID, such as
migrated from stackoverflow.com Mar 26 '11 at 10:36
This question came from our site for professional and enthusiast programmers.
They'll probably stick to 11 chars for a long time. Each character has 64 possible values:
Then 11 characters in total:
Of course not all combination will be used, depending on their algorithm, but they are probably not going to change it anytime soon. Words from a YouTube developer state that they do not guarantee, though:
Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20120306111051/http://osdir.com/ml/youtube-api-gdata/2009-10/msg00237.html
Something worth pointing out, a couple of the URLs point to the same video. For example, in the videos posted below, they are all "The 2015 Nobel Prizes!" by Scishow:
Also, if you change the last character to
Yes, they always have 11 characters.


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The Lazy parrot offers the traveler a rustic setting with a unique flair of tropical class. Relax in our open dining areas overlooking the valleys and ocean blue. So eat drink and be merry its always squawking good.
The Pineapple Inn, Winner of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company Quality Award and the Green Small Hotel of the Year Award by the Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Assocaition. The Pineapple Inn is Rincon's location to relax and enjoy the beauty and spectac
Caribbean style guest house with a restaurant and bar.
Come to Embassy Suites Hotel Dorado del Mar, and see why Puerto Rico's golf courses are renowned around the world.
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