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Garlic Roast Lamb with Potatoes
On some tables, roast lamb is the entree of choice for Passover. For this recipe, the lamb is flavored with garlic. Garlic flavors the potatoes, too. To simplify the preparation, buy a boneless roast. If you don't find one that is already prepared, buy a 6-pound lamb shoulder and ask the butcher to prepare it for you.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Keeping kosher: Meat
6 large garlic cloves
3-1/2-pound boneless rolled roast of lamb shoulder
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
6 large baking potatoes
2 large onions
Fresh rosemary
About 1 cup water
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cut 10 very thin lengthwise slivers from garlic; chop remaining garlic.
Pierce the lamb with point of a sharp knife to make a slit.
Hold the slit open and insert a garlic sliver.
Use the knife to help you hold the slit open.
Make more slits, spacing them fairly evenly, and insert remaining garlic slivers.
Sprinkle lamb with salt and pepper.
Set lamb in a roasting pan.
Peel and quarter potatoes and put them in pan around meat.
Sprinkle potatoes with remaining chopped garlic, salt, and pepper.
Slice the onions.
Chop the rosemary.
Add sliced onions, 2 tablespoons rosemary, and 3/4 cup water to pan.
Cover the pan with foil.
Bake 1 hour.
Uncover and stir potatoes gently.
Add 1/4 cup water if pan is dry.
Bake 30 minutes and stir again.
Add a few tablespoons water if pan becomes dry.
Roast lamb another 10 to 30 minutes, basting lamb and potatoes occasionally, or until lamb is very tender.
An instant-read or meat thermometer should register 150 degrees F for medium or 160 degrees F for well done.
If potatoes aren't tender and brown, remove lamb and bake potatoes uncovered for 30 more minutes.
Let meat rest on a board 15 minutes before carving.
Spoon juices over potatoes.
Set the oven to Low.
Put the potatoes in the low-temperature oven to keep them warm.
Remove the strings from the lamb.
Carve lamb into 1/2-inch slices, using a very sharp large knife.
With a small knife, remove excess fat from slices.
Sprinkle potatoes and lamb with parsley.
Season juices to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve lamb and potatoes hot, with the sauce served separately.


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If one has surgery (may it never be necessary) that requires the removal of an organ of the body (e.g. a gallbladder or appendix), is burial required? Or can the body part simply be discarded?
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See Yoreh Deah 362 Pischei Teshuva #1 were it seems amputated organs need not be buried, but consult your LOR (local orthodox Rabbi).
Also see Kesuvos 20b where the custom is to bury amputated organs.
A family member was in an accident and there were unidentifiable pieces of flesh and skin preserved in formaldehyde which a rav told us must be buried. so the chevra kadisha did it for us. i dont know about internal organs but I've never heard of burying that.
The majority opinion follows Rabbi Yechezkel ben Yehuda Landau (1713 – 1793) opinion at Noda B'Yehuda I, Yoreh Deah (YD) 90, who holds that the mitzvah to bury separated body parts is required only of people who are dead, because it would be a disgrace not to. Rav Moshe Feinstein (1895-1986), however, held that even the body parts of living people must be buried because a kohen could become tamei from contact with those parts. Igros Moshe, YD I, 231, citing Nazir 43b. See also, Rambam (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, aka Maimonedes (1135-1204)), Tumas Mes 2:3. In Berachos 5b and Baba Basra 116a, Rabbi Yochanan is quoted as saying that he was carrying with him a "bone" of his deceased 10th son. Rashi believes the bone was small enough that it would not convey tumah. The Rashbam (at Baba Basra 116a) argues that Rabbi Yochanan must have been carrying his son's tooth, since that definitely would not convey tumah and does not require burial. But that position is in dispute. Although it is well held that a person may benefit from the tooth of a living person, others question whether one is permitted benefit from the tooth of a deceased person. See, e.g., Ran (Rav Nissim of Gerona, 1320-1376), Chulin 122a; Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (b. 1920), Shlita, Yabia Omer, III, YD 21.
I heard a lecture from Rabbi Elchanan Zohn, head of the Chevra Kadisha of Queens, about this.
Something like a small tumor, or tonsils, would certainly not need burial.
A limb -- flesh, bone, and sinew -- such as a finger would require burial.
For internal organs, the opinion heard orally from Rabbi Moshe Feinstein -- and repeatedly from his son Rabbi Dovid Feinstein shlit'a -- is that any organ that holds something requires burial -- even a gallbladder. The prevalent practice of many, many poskim, however, is that they don't.
I don't know if this is the same thing, but here is a letter the Lubavitcher Rebbe wrote in 1965 to the Association of Orthodox Doctors. In the letter, the Rebbe encourages religious doctors to incorporate Halacha into their medical practices. One of the issues the Rebbe discusses is autopsies. Here is what he writes:
It says by Yiftach that he was buried in the cities of Gilad. The gemarah explains that he contracted a disease which made him lose limbs over time which were then buried in different cities in which he lost them.
I remember learning that if the organ includes a bone it must be buried, but if it's just soft tissue it can be discarded.
(This only applies before death - after death even a blood soaked tissue must be buried.)

subset: commoncrawl


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Is there a relative version of sheaf cohomology? EDIT: I rather mean the cohomology of pairs.
It turns out that my previous answer dealt with the wrong question. The answer to the new question is also yes: local cohomology $H\_Z(X,\mathcal F)$ corresponds to cohomology of the pair $(X,X\setminus Z)$.
To elaborate on Kevin's comment: If $f: X \to S$, and $\mathcal F$ is a sheaf on $X$, then $f\_*\mathcal F$ is the sheaf on $S$ defined by $H^0(U,f\_*\mathcal F) := H^0(f^{-1}(U),\mathcal F).$
Taking the derived functors of $f\_*$ gives functors $R^if\_*$, and it turns out (fairly easily) that $R^if\_*(\mathcal F)(U)$ is the sheaf associated to the presheaf $U \mapsto H^i(f^{-1}(U),\mathcal F)$. If $i > 0,$ then this presheaf may not be a sheaf (unlike the $i = 0$ case), and this is related to the fact that it can be a little subtle to compute the stalks of $R^if\_*\mathcal F$ in general; for example, it need not be the case in general that the stalk $(R^if\_*\mathcal F)_s$ is equal to $H^i(f^{-1}(s),\mathcal F)$. (E.g. think about the case when $f$ is the inclusion of a punctured disk into a disk, $\mathcal F$ is the constant sheaf ${\mathbb Z}$, and $s$ is the centre of the disk (so that $f^{-1}(s)$ is empty).)
In other words, $R^if\_*\mathcal F$ does not always literally interpolate the cohomology of the fibres.
There is one case where one knows that $R^if\_*\mathcal F$ does interpolate the cohomology of the fibres: if the map $f$ is proper, than the proper base-change theorem says that the stalk of $R^if\_*\mathcal F$ at $s$ is the cohomology of $\mathcal F$ along the fibre of $s$. (One good place for these kinds of facts is the beginning of Borel's book on Intersection Cohomology.)
Also, in the context of maps of varieties, if $f$ is proper and $\mathcal F$ is a coherent sheaf, then the completed stalk of $R^if\_* \mathcal F$ at $s$ coicides with the cohomology of the pull-back of $\mathcal F$ to the formal completion of $f^{-1}(s)$ in $X$. (This is Grothendieck's proper base-change theorem, proved in some form in Hartshorne, Ch. III.)
I would think -- but this is for the moment a thought, not meant as an authorative answer -- that every notion of cohomology whatsoever has a relative version in this sense.
I am thinking here of the general abstract definition of cohomology as exposed at nLab:cohomology. This includes in particular the special case of sheaf cohomology as described there in some detail.
What I expect the fully general notion of relative cohomology from this point of view to be I have now briefly indicated at relative cohomology. I'd believe this does in particular reproduce the definition given in Emerton's answer.


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I have a Psion(Egoist)/Thrallherd with Psychic Reformation. I'm wondering whether I can use Psychic Reformation to drop the points in Diplomacy and the Inquisitor feat, and reassign the points to something else. Also, when I reform myself, I remain a Thrallherd. Does this mean I don't have to spend 8 points on Diplomacy, as it's already a class skill, thus letting me just put the required 4 points into Diplomacy, and use the other 4 on something else?
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Leaving aside the question of whether any self-respecting DM would let you pull this kind of crap...
As per the SRD, "the subject can choose to spend its most recently gained skill points differently". To me, that means that you get to spend those points within the same constraints as when they were originally used, so you wouldn't get to count Diplomacy as a class skill.
And if you're planning to get them in a new level, you're forgetting that once you no longer meet the prerequisites to enter a PrC, you can no longer gain a level on that PrC until you meet them again (and, depending on whose word you take, you also lose all benefits of the PrC). Therefore, as soon as you level up, you won't be able to gain a new level of Thrallherd.
Thank you for not making this rules-as-written because
Opinions Abound, but Absolute Answers Are Absent
In every errata file there's the Errata Rule, which says
The Dungeon Master's Guide--the primary source for information about meeting prestige class requirements--says
The Thrallherd
Complete Warrior, the FAQ, and Complete Arcane
Complete Warrior says
The FAQ cites the Complete Warrior when answering the question
Complete Arcane says
Complete Warrior and Complete Arcane are the only texts removing prestige class features upon failing to meet prestige class requirements. And while language identical to that in Complete Arcane was present in the Dungeon Master's Guide (2000), it's absent from the Dungeon Master's Guide (2003) and the Dungeon Master's Guide (2012).1
The Thrallherd
Examples in Play
An Unpleasant Compromise
The strictest reading is that the prestige classes in Complete Arcane and Complete Warrior follow the rules given in those books for losing prestige class requirements,3 but prestige classes from other sources don't.
Talk to the DM
I suggest the DM make clear his house rules about prestige class requirements before play begins.
I really feel like this use of Psychic Reformation goes against the intent of the power. The power is intended to let you remake poor decisions, not eliminate prestige class prerequisites. As a DM, I would never allow a player to Psychic Reformation away their prestige class prereqs.
That said, the rules text backing that up is very shaky. There's no mention of prerequisites in the test of the power, and there is no errata mentioning them either. The only thing that's related that I can find in the text of the power is:
This makes me believe that you cannot end up with an invalid character after you finish redoing skills and feats. Since you can't take Thrallherd without first taking its prerequisites, you can't Reform those prerequisites away.
Again, this is not a strict rules interpretation, it's more of an inference about what the intent of the power is, and a logical extension of the power's rules. In any case, if you no longer meet the prerequisites for Thrallherd, you can't take further levels of the class.
Sounds good to me. Neither the skill points nor the inquisitor feat are required for any of the thrallherd's abilities to function, so losing the feat/skills wouldn't de-power it's abilities, you simply couldn't gain further levels in the class till you reacquired the pre-reqs. Though, if you're only going for 1 level, it might be worth more to just pick up the leadership feat. Though, after reading through power documentation, it seems fully possible, if you're willing to spend the xp on it, to take 10 levels of thrallherd, then Reformat yourself back 10 levels and reapply all those skills and feats however you want. Sure your DM can rule however they want, since their word trumps source material, but by the wording itself this is perfectly acceptable.
And no where in the description does it say you must spend the skills based on your character at the time. So yes, you technically could take the 8 points out of the 4 cross class, and respend them as a class skill which it now is.
If anything, the only problem I see is that the power level seems a bit low for what it can do. The only arcane or divine way of replicating this effect is through wish or miracle and since it's not listed as a safe wish, the DM will probably screw you for trying it. Maybe if the power was 8 or 9 and/or the xp cost was 50 xp per character level per level you wanted to revision, it might be a little more balanced.
If you no longer meet the pre-requisites for anything - feat, prestige class, spell, skill trick, magic item - anything at all - you lose the benefit of that thing until you once again meet the pre-requisites.
I am aghast that all these answers and no-one has mentioned this.
For a prestige class, you retain the hitpoints, skillpoints, BAB, and saving throws but you lose any special abilities, any spell advancement, and may no longer take additional levels in the class until you once again meet the pre-requisites.
Since this makes the option moot, unless you were in it for that stellar Thrallherd BAB, I believe that's Question Answered.


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400 GB Seagate IDE hard drive for $29.99 + free shipping
This is a good find for people with older computers who need more storage!
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EIDE: The perfect drive for the antique computer you are still using. I would have jumped right into this at this price about 4 years ago.
@ringo4422: Yup. 2005 is jumping up and down, saying "Buy 2!!!!!"
I use an IDE drive as the boot drive in my home server. I've got four SATA drives in an array for storage, and they used up all the ports.
what is this GB you speak of? the characters seem strange and archaic.
The only downside is the drive is Seagate, which has poor reliability and even worse customer service. Fortunately systems old enough to still have IDE interfaces on them aren't likely to last much longer, so this drive might be acceptable.
scary thing it's refurb.
Might has well go to a local PC recycling place... get the same things for less


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I am solving a Hamiltonian including a term $(x\cdot S)^2$. The Hamiltonian is like this form: \begin{equation} H=L\cdot S+(x\cdot S)^2 \end{equation} where $L$ is angular momentum operator and $S$ is spin operator. The eigenvalue for $L^2$ and $S^2$ are $l(l+1)$ and $s(s+1)$.
If the Hamiltonian only has the first term, it is just spin orbital coupling and it is easy to solve. The total $J=L+S$, $L^2$ and $S^2$ are quantum number. However, when we consider the second term position and spin coupling $(x\cdot S)^2$, it becomes much harder. The total $J$ is still a quantum number. We have $[(x\cdot S)^2, J]=0$. However, $[(x\cdot S)^2,L^2]≠0$, $L$ is not a quantum number anymore.
Anybody have ideas on how to solve this Hamiltonian?


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Equestrian style canters onto the streets with paddock-inspired clothes, shoes and accessories
Even neigh-sayers will embrace this season's fashionable twist on traditional equestrian style. Classically cut jackets go brighter, feed bag-style hobos get graphic, and fashion jewelry incorporates the sport's mane motifs, even if just a little bit.
A great gait:
Riding jacket: Smythe, $665.
Cotton blouse: Banana Republic, $69.50.
Leather-trimmed jeans: DL 1961, $225.
Riding boots: Cole Haan "Daelin," $498.
Oversize bag: Rebecca Ray "The Maryann," $210.
Earrings: Ann Taylor LOFT, $24.50.
Silvertone bit bracelet: Lauren Ralph Lauren, $48.
There's nothing conventional about Cole Haan's "Carolyn" platform ankle boot, which turns traditional riding-boot styling upside down. $398.
With its equestrian-themed ends in russets and gold, this generously sized scarf has a surprise inside: a pattern of stars that pop in colors like teal and hot pink. Codello, $150.
Take the reins:
Leave it to Ralph Lauren to freshen up this leather and silver wrist wrap with silvertone bit accents. Lauren Ralph Lauren, $44 each. Dillard's.
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- Phoebe meets cold coming and going
- Equestrian style canters onto the streets with paddock-inspired clothes, shoes and accessories
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- Yellowthroat proves to not be so common
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- Dreaming of a white December


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I haven been shopping around for monitors and it seems that everything from 19" to 24" have a max resolution at 1920x1080. Is there some technical reason for this or is that just how it happens to be.
I have a 23" monitor at this resolution and it seems to me that If I had anything any larger, this resolution would feel a little low.


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In the movie Die Hard, John McClane (Bruce Willis) says the line "Yippie Ki Yay".
What does this mean?
First time John McClane uses that term in the Die Hard series is when he speaks to Hans on walkie talkie. When Hans was asking him if he was another American cowboy inspired by John Wayne and then McClane says he is partial to Roy Rogers and ends his conversation with Yippie Kay Yay and swears after it.
The actual meaning of the phrase from the references I looked up means the phrase doesn't actually mean anything except it's used as reference to an exclamation used by Cowboys in the old times.
An article on The Week.com broke down each part of the phrase:
So that's some explanation as to its origin. It's worth pointing out though that Bruce Willis had this to say (in an interview with Ryan Seacrest) about the phrase:
Yippie ki yay is an exclamation of joy that was popularly used by US cowboys in the mid 19th century


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Steinfels, McKenna & Commonweal
George McKenna, then a political scientist at the City College of New York, wrote a terrific piece for the Atlantic in 1995, "On Abortion: A Lincolnian Position." I recommended it to friends, both defenders and opponents of Roe, and quoted from it on occasion in talks. McKenna argued that Lincoln, although firmly opposed to slavery as a great moral evil, knew that it was politically impossible to abolish the practice where it already existed. The only tenable political position for those seeking to end slavery was to oppose its establishment in new territories and states. Once cabined in that fashion, slavery would eventually collapse on its own. McKenna drew a strong parallel between Lincoln's position on slavery and the prolife cause. It was a long essay and a subtle argument, but McKenna summarized his proposed prolife strategy in the following phrase: "permit, restrict, discourage." That position made a lot of sense to me, especially McKenna's observation that "we must remember that [Lincoln] intended to conduct his argument before the American people. Lincoln knew that in the final analysis durable judicial rulings on major issues must be rooted in the soil of American opinion. 'Public sentiment,' he said, 'is everything' in this country.'"
Given my familiarity with McKenna's Atlantic article, you can imagine my surprise when I read his criticism in the current issue of the Human Life Review of Peter Steinfels's Commonweal essay on abortion, "Beyond the Stalemate." Peter hardly needs me or anyone else to defend him, and he may respond to McKenna's "A Bad Bargain" essay here at dotCommonweal or elsewhere at some point in the near future. But I will comment on what McKenna has to say about Commonweal and what he presumes motivates the "liberal or progressive" Catholic audience for which Peter is writing.
McKenna uses the term "ecumenism" to describe Commonweal's supposedly worshipful relationship to secular liberalism. He characterizes the magazine's political project thus: "By 1970 it appeared that the entire agenda of the American left, from black liberation to environmentalism, could be fitted into a framework of orthodox Catholicism. Nihil obstat!"
That is a canard. I can assure McKenna that '70s-style advocates of black liberation and identity politics would be surprised to learn they had an uncritical ally in Commonweal. That characterization of Commonweal is a bit like accusing First Things of embracing the Lefebvrists. Perhaps some Commonweal contributors have imagined there might be a seamless fit between secular left-wing politics and Catholicism, but I know that Peter Steinfels was never under such an illusion. Nor do the current editors sit around pining for approval from the intellectual champions of secular liberalism or prochoice leaders within the Democratic Party. Many prolife Catholic intellectuals are active within the Republican Party. Commonweal, by contrast, has almost no contact with prochoice Democratic politicians. I've been an editor at Commonweal for more than twenty years, and the idea that the agenda of the (almost nonexistent) American left is no different from that of Commonweal strikes me as laughable, although I know many of our conservative coreligionists take it as an article of faith. Most people who read Commonweal have a serious investment in things Catholic. And a good many of those Catholic things, whether it be the rejection of abortion rights or concerns about consumerism or biotechnology, let alone a serious engagement with traditional Christian belief, do not fit comfortably into the larger "liberal" culture. What the magazine does aspire to do is give expression to the tension that inevitably characterizes the lives of Catholics living in what Charles Taylor has rightly called "a secular age." On most issues, we think it necessary to hear both sides of the argument.
In his attempt to pigeonhole Commonweal, McKenna confesses that he himself once embraced "Commonweal Catholicism." Eventually enlightenment dawned and he left that failed faith behind. Why? "Because I have come to believe that it trusts too much in big government," McKenna writes.
Now, how much government is "too much" very much depends on the issue at hand. Still, McKenna's new found distrust of government is curious given the fact that both he and Commonweal believe government should "restrict" and "discourage" abortion, as does Peter Steinfels. It is even stranger coming from someone who wrote in his Atlantic essay that the Republican Party is more committed to "possessive individualism" than to the sort of communitarian principles that best serve the prolife cause. In fact, in 1995 McKenna argued that the Democratic Party was the "proper philosophical home for prolifers" because it believes in "the role of government as a moral leader that seeks to realize public goals unrealizable in the private sphere." Republicans, he lamented, were on too much of "a laissez-faire roll."
Clearly, McKenna no longer thinks that is true of the Democratic Party. Fair enough. Yet, despite McKenna's efforts to defend the alliance between the prolife movement and the Republican Party, it would be impossible to argue that the "laissez-faire roll" within that party hasn't continued and even gathered steam. Peter Steinfels argued, in fact, that neither political party is well disposed to advance the prolife cause. That is why he urged the church to focus its prolife "energies primarily on changing the culture rather than the law." For as McKenna correctly noted in 1995, in this country "public sentiment" is everything when it comes to correcting great wrongs such as slavery or current abortion practice. Here the lacuna in McKenna's Human Life Review piece, and one of the strengths of Peter's essay, stands out starkly. McKenna studiously avoids discussing the most vexing moral and political aspect of abortion, and that is what Peter calls the sui generis nature of pregnancy, namely that "one dependent but distinct human being develops within the very body of another. This fact strains the analogies to which we resort in trying to analyze when or why protection is or is not extended to human lives." This is why when it comes to public sentiment abortion is not only a human-rights issue but also a women's issue.
McKenna ends his criticism of Peter's article in a very un-Lincolnian way by calling for a renewed commitment to "moral absolutism." That, I'm afraid, only confers an imprimatur on continuing stalemate.
About the Author
Paul Baumann is the editor of Commonweal.
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(In Lincoln's day, when the front pages of newspapers carried ads, among the ads were those for abortionists, including the famous Madame Restell. She lived and worked in New York and had branch offices in other cities.)
Once cabined in that fashion, slavery would eventually collapse on its own.
On its own? Seriously? Half a million dead might beg to differ.
Commonweal, by contrast, has almost no contact with prochoice Democratic politicians.
Almost? Seriously? Grant Gallicho and Cathleen Kaveny might beg to differ.
No question that Mckenna is wrong in his assessment of Commonweal. Perhaps it is because you once admired Mckenna and feel betrayed by him. But I see no reason for your being so defensive about it. The issues raised can be discussed in more reasoned terms. Although, abortion tends to incite irrationality on both sides. This is why putting people in boxes is never a good idea. There is nothing wrong with being in contact with pro choice polticians as there is nothing wrong with being in contact with pro life politicians. We should criticize both when we disagree with their opinions. What seems to me as ill advised is to let Mckenna put you in a box where you feel you feel the need to defend something outside reasonable rules of engagment.
Pope Francis is now encouraging Catholics to speak respectfully with those with whom we disagree, including agnostics and atheists. But, true, he disn't mentioned Democrats. Perhaps Democrats are absolutely beyond the pale?
As does McKenna It might be helpful to consider the source. I believe McKenna article appears in a publication proudly listing its gratitude to William F. Buckley, Jr, a fellow I followed intently on Firing LIne years ago. Until I realized his need to be right utterly crippled his ability to reach the higher ground he so clearly sought. As an example, here he was being taken to task by Noam Chomsky while consistenly attempting to rationalize his inablity to admit he was mistaken not merely in motives but in facts.
As for pro-life, I do so wish the term anti-abortion would be used in its place. It has the advantage of being accurate. IMHO it seems literally impossible a person would consider useful a debate on the reality or unreality of a "just war" and expect anyone to consider them pro-life. The incomprehensible notion of a "just war" is the very debate Buckley is losing in the debate referenced above.
I never find the negative comparisons to "the 70s" very compelling. It was 40 years ago, might as well compare it to the 1920s. People who use that as a criticism that are living in a past most of us don't even share.
Paul Bauman writes:
Most people who read Commonweal have a serious investment in things Catholic. And a good many of those Catholic things, whether it be the rejection of abortion rights or concerns about consumerism or biotechnology, let alone a serious engagement with traditional Christian belief, do not fit comfortably into the larger "liberal" culture.
So telling that the first recipient of the Mckenna group "Defender of Life Award" went to Henry Hyde that great two faced Congressman who got into intense righteous indignation over Bill Clinton's encounter with Lewinsky. An affair which lasted a few months. Meanwhile Hyde, who was married, "kept" a woman in a paid Washington apartment for twenty years. When confronted with his long term adultery he played it down calling it a "youthful indiscretion." As Hyde's "youthful indiscretion" was well known to this anti-abortion group in 2003 it shows its hubris in its obsession with one issue. Incredible. http://www.humanlifereview.com/~hlrfound/index.php/annual-dinner
As a reward he was named a Papal Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 in recognition of his longtime support for political issues important to the Roman Catholic Church. Go figure.
Nice try, Peter Sienfels, to draw a false equilvalence "between Lincoln's position on slavery and the prolife cause."
If my remember my US history correctly, Lincoln's primary motivating principle was to "save the Union" not end slavery. While being a good politician who would never waste a political opportunity to throw-off an odious, repugnant institution like slavery, Lincoln insisted his chief reason for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation was to military weaken the rebellious South.
A more apt comparison for Lincoln may be Bill Clinton's approach [i.e., "abortion should be safe, legal and rare"]. Clinton effectively took the political fire from the so-called pro-life folks by forcing them to consequently be against contraception as well as abortion.
That is why when the time came, President Obama was able to extend essentially free contraceptive health care to practically all women through the reforms of the Affordable Care Act.
The only loud objections to that expansion of contraception services turned out to be the easily politically co-opted ideologues in the Catholic hierarchy.
I hope I am not misreading Paul here, but are you saying that the "rejection of abortion rights" is a Catholic thing? If so, how does that square with the majority of Catholics who do not favor repealing Roe v Wade? To be opposed to abortion is not the same thing as being opposed to abortion rights.
But let me come to Paul's defense. As a fairly leftist kind of Catholic I can testify that CW is not all that far to the left. I love most of it but I occasionally find myself squirming at how mild-mannered it can be. I think "unequivocally centrist" is the best I can come up with to describe CW's place, and that is no bad place to be in these days of political and religious ideological blocs.
@ Paul Lakeland: "A fairly leftist kind of Catholic"! I like that. Maybe under an Argentinian moon in ascendency, maybe we can come off of the baracades for awhile?
The "unequivocally centrist" bent of CW is not a virtue, but has become a real problem - especially when radical, revolutionary change is indicated if the church is to even survive.
My sainted sixth-grade teacher, Sister Mary Adelaide, faced with such careful, timid intellectual and political posturing was prone to quote Revelations:
So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.
I regret only just encountering Steinfels piece; I much admire his effort to embrace the ambiguity and the tendency toward the end to bring forward the importance of Witness - in my lifelong search for an authentic Catholic stance, it has most often led me to ponder the Witness stories of Christ's life and legacy.
Peter noted: "But witnessing to that cosmic and ultimate reality is less likely to begin with metaphysical argument than with a compassionate word, a shared crust of bread, a warm embrace."
If we must go for some satisfycing basis for action, if not entirely satisfying in the bright line sense (as failed so miserably on the subject of contraception), then perhaps we should note that Peter's suggestions of Witness necessarily apply to the human creature outside the womb.
It seems to me that no convincing argument from biology will every resolve the moral ambiguity - I believe there is one condition regading the onset of human life that, if not absolutely universal, has considerable virtue in placing the matter in the hearts and minds of those who are truly independent enough to make a fundamental choice:
Is the budding example of humanity welcome into the real concrete world of those who must provide for it - welcome with sufficient generousity to commit to protecting and nuturing it for many years to come once borne alive?
Such protection might be offered by family, adoptive parents, social groups and many other mechanisms - but concurrence with live birth must include the willingness of the mother to know that such added responsibility among the already living is sensibly available. Otherwise, there is ample evidence that gross injustice acrews to children who are left at the untender mercy of persons who are utterly indifferent to their actuality - bring a human fetus to live birth under such likelihood of gervious harm can hardly be seen as morally insignificant.
All the talk of attaching moral significance to new life only makes sense in the context of anticipated witness throughout the fullness of the individuals life cycle. Lets focus on the witness of those empowered by physical and psychological autonomy to make judgments regarding any limits upon the extent of such witness.
Leave moral status to the live borne; it respects nature as we experience it and stops the present practice of shifting the burden of choosing from the already legal autonomous to some easily disupted and imperceptable biological "moment."
The Human Life Review knew all of these facts when giving the Congressman honor after honor. This includes the leading bishops and cardinals in the US. We are not talking minor crimes either.
Didn't Lincoln oversee a brutal and bloody war in order to end slavery once and for all? Certainly the abortionist hordes are waging a bloody and brutal war, where the fallen are tiny, innocent martyrs to the religion of the inverted pentagram, the upside-down cross, the stinking pits of Hell...
Irene - forgive my ignorance but I do no understand your remarks. Is all history of no use or merely that 40 years ago?
Robert - we mortals have spent the last half century all but destroying the usefulness of the words "conservatism" and "liberalism". Leaving us with what? Meism? As for being pro-life I hardly think it is a conservative or liberal position. Having adament defenders of both persuasion in my life I believe both would agree to the following: Non ci e' permesso di scegliere quale vita salvare.
Forgot to mention. I do not know William P Mullins but by golly that fellow (assuming not a pen name) can write! I am hoping I understood most of his remarks above.
MIghtBe- As a housing advocate, I have had on more than one occasion the charge leveled at me that I wanted "to go back to the seventies" when we put forward various proposals. "Trying to get back to the 70s" is code for an unrealistic person trying to put forward failed policies of a more liberal yesteryear. Its just a cheap away for someone to undermine an endeavor they consider too liberal.
@Jim Jenkins. Whoa, that's a bit brutal don't you think? Anyway, the unequivocally centrist bent of Commonweal doesn't seem to me to be a product of an editorial decision to sit in the middle, but rather one of a commitment to be as thorough and honest as possible. Yes, they sometimes get things wrong and I certainly don't always agree, but I have never found reason to question CW's integrity or moral courage. Quite the contrary.
@Paul Lakeland. Wow. We're on the same page now!
You mean speak respectfully to ourselves? Reading the editorials and the readers' comments on Commonweal gives the impression that everybody here IS a democrat (without being professional politicians, of course). Let's cut throught he hypocrisy.
To me that is the real problem. In this day and age no intellectually serious Catholic should accept to identify himself/herself with any of the major secular political groups, including the Democratic and Republican parties. The fact that everybody does is yet another sign of our incapacity to develop an original Catholic political culture.
Are Catholics to reject abortion rights, or abortion? One is founded on the rule of law and the other on what some feel is, at best, a desperate choice in an even more desperate situation.
Carlo: rest assured that no one here will mistake you for being a democrat. No one.
Moral absolutism can be a very comfortable position. No agonized struggle with ambiguity, no irritable reaching after certainties, need trouble the mind any longer. But does it offer an appropriate approach to the complexities of the subject under discussion? At least the Commonweal has not thrown in its hand, prematurely. I can understand Paul Lakeland's occasional impatience, but have nothing but respect for the editors' willingness to continue studying the issue at their own pace.
In this day and age no intellectually serious Catholic should accept to identify himself/herself with any of the major secular political groups, including the Democratic and Republican parties. The fact that everybody does . . . .
Are you serious?
How could you say such a thing?
@ Paul Lakeland: Fair enough. What I would like to know is when does "uniequivocal centrist bent of Commonweal" become little more than if you want to get along go along?
In relation to the Catholic hierarchy, to be a centrist or moderate would have greater moral force if for the last 40 years the corporate hierarchy in its ideological mania hadn't flirted politically with right-wing and fascist dictators, persecuted theologians and religious women, played footsie with conservative politics, celebrated its anti-feminine ideology as somehow divinely inspired, weren't complicit with child sexual predators, run an international money-laundering operation out of the Vatican servicing its Mafia friends, and in the process driven the church over the cliff of "moral relativism" to the point that as a church we are looking at our possible extinction. Just saying ...
@ Carlo Lancellotti: You right! You've outed me. I'm am no Republican - Mainly because, I learned how to read when I was five years old.
Irene - did I mention the part about my ignorance? On a note related to your comment, my first job in IT was working with a group supporting Section 8 housing.


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Faculty Profile (Back to Menu)
Jennifer Rosen Valverde
Clinical Professor of Law
Jennifer Rosen Valverde, Esq., M.S.W., is a Clinical Professor of Law in the Education and Health Law Clinic, and Legal Director of the H.E.A.L. (Health, Education, Advocacy & Law) Collaborative, a medical-legal-social work partnership and joint project with the Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences Outpatient Pediatrics Department. Professor Valverde co-teaches a course on Special Education Law and supervises law and master's level social work students as they represent low-income parents of children with disabilities in special education and early intervention cases, and their families in a range of legal issues that adversely impact child and family health and well-being.
Before joining the Rutgers clinical faculty in 2001, Professor Valverde represented abused and neglected children as an Assistant Public Guardian in Cook County, Illinois, and infants and toddlers with disabilities as a staff attorney at the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Inc.
Professor Valverde frequently provides training across the State of New Jersey on the early intervention and special education systems, and cross-systems educational advocacy on behalf of children with disabilities in foster care. She has published on these and other topics and presented at local area and national conferences. Professor Valverde received her B.A. in sociology from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and is a magna cum laude graduate of the Loyola University–Chicago Schools of Law and Social Work.
Watch Professor Valverde's September 2011 interview with Dr. Michael Riccards of the Hall Institute of Public Policy–NJ in which she discuss special education law and issues.
Recent Publications
"A Poor IDEA: Statute of Limitations Decisions Cement Second-Class Remedial Scheme for Low-Income Children with Disabilities in the Third Circuit," 41 Fordham Urb. L.J. 599 (2014)
"Hindsight Is 20/20: Finding Teachable Moments in the Extraordinary and Applying Them to the Ordinary," 20 Clin. L. Rev. 267 (Fall 2013)
"Integrating Educational Advocacy Into Child Welfare Practice: Working Models," 20 Amer. U. J. Gender, Soc. Pol'y & L. 201 (2011) (symposium issue (with Cara Chambers, Megan Blamble Dho & Regina Schaefer)
"Early Intervention Services," in Special Education Advocacy (Ruth Colker and Julie K. Waterstone, eds., Matthew Bender & Company, Inc., 2011)
"Child Welfare and Special Education," in Special Education Advocacy (Ruth Colker and Julie K. Waterstone, eds., Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. 2011)


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Sue Halpern
Recent and archived news articles by Sue Halpern of The New York Times.
Mayor of Rust
John Fetterman has turned the busted town of Braddock, Pa., into a national symbol of hope, hard work and authentic blue jeans. As an actual place to live, however, it's a much harder sell.
February 13, 2011, Sunday
'Coolest Mayor' in America Runs His Own Urban Renewal Program
At the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado last July, John Fetterman, the mayor of Braddock, a small Pennsylvania town just up the river from Pittsburgh, was introduced by Dana Gioia, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, as a man who...
February 12, 2011, Saturday
Permanent Ellipses
This novel imagines life as faced by a man with Alzheimer's.
February 15, 2009, Sunday
Love Croatian Style
In Valerie Martin's new novel, a newlywed student's pregnant refugee wife is on the run, and Mom's upset.
September 16, 2007, Sunday
Losing Her Accent
The refugee heroine of Lore Segal's last novel returns, more American than ever.
May 6, 2007, Sunday
Scientific Americans
An ambitious, down-on-his-luck postdoctoral researcher suddenly obtains results that look too good to be true in Allegra Goodman's novel.
March 5, 2006, Sunday
Family in 13 Stanzas
Alice Mattison has modeled her collection of linked stories on a sestina.
October 16, 2005, Sunday
Haunted In Canada
Merilyn Simonds's protagonists discover a message from the past on the land they bought to escape urban life.
September 18, 2005, Sunday
Botany is a metaphor for human transience in Jane Alison's third novel.
May 15, 2005, Sunday
The Wildlife Next Door
Last Sunday morning at 8:35, Edward O. Wilson, the Harvard biologist, was exclaiming over a small rock along a wooded path in this leafy Boston suburb. The rock was covered with ants. ''This is really neat,'' he said, pointing to a hole in the...
June 14, 2001, Thursday
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Is there a difference between how long fresh herbs and vegetables last if they are in a plastic bag or in the open? If it does, is there a break-down of which ones it does make a difference for - example: cilantro seems to get mushy very quickly in a bag but last for a week in the open, but scallions last much longer in a plastic bag and deflate almost immediately in the open.
It depends on the moisture content. If the vegetables are wet when put in they will get mildew and go soft faster because the water has no place to evaporate. This is made worse when leafy greens are put in bags since they have so many nooks and crannies to hold water, and they seep out their own moisture content because of the large surface area. Try drying off the veggies first or putting them through a salad spinner to get as much water out of them as possible.
Drying herbs and lettuces before storing them in plastic is a good idea. You can also lay them in the bag on top of a paper towel if you aren't able to remove all the water droplets from those pesky nooks & crannies.
The optimal temperature for storing herbs is about 12 degrees Celsius, which is about 55 degrees Farenheit (53.6 actually).
If your counter top or pantry are near this temperature, then you shouldn't refrigerate your fresh herbs. If you must refrigerate them, they will give off moisture which will condense on the leaves and make them less fun. You can use a paper towel or such to capture the moisture so that it doesn't condense, but the leaves are still losing their moisture, making them less crunchy/upright and causing them either to wil or dry out completely.
Ultimately, the best is to just use them fresh.


text: I started using Vim as my primary editor a few months ago and have been keeping a list of tips and tricks on a private wiki. Since most of the listings are gleaned from other websites, I figured I'd make the list public so that someday someone might find something useful. Check out the Vim Tips page.


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6 Terrible Cameos That Just About Ruined the Movie
#3. Finding Forrester (2000)
The Cameo:Matt Damon
The Lead Up:
Very rarely can you find an instance where someone turns out to be the worst person on the planet for a job that they're given. For instance, while you may believe that our current President has done a poor job in office, you would have to acknowledge that if he was replaced by Osama Bin Laden, things would get a whole lot worse. Being bad for the job is one thing, but being the worst person for the job is almost unprecedented.
All the cameos up to this point on this list have been distractingly bad, but none featured the worst possible person for the job. Sam Malone was bad, but it probably would have been worse if Spielberg replaced him with Cliff Claven. But Finding Forrester manages to find the exact wrong guy for a cameo, and stick him in the film's most pivotal small part.
This cameo doesn't occur until the end of the movie, by which point you've either left or been sucked into the story. If you're still there, you felt bad when you saw Jamal (Rob Brown) get reprimanded for allegedly plagiarizing the first paragraph of an essay. You feel justice when Jamal is cleared and the jackass professor gets his ass verbally handed to him by Forrester. And the simple joy of watching Forrester ride a bike through New York has just uplifted your heart. The school outfit Anna Paquin wears throughout the film also uplifts your ... heart. Forrester moves back to Ireland and all is well with the world. Until Jamal is asked to meet with Forrester's lawyer, who happens to be ... Will Hunting.
Why it Nearly Ruined the Movie:
At what should be considered the most poignant moment in the movie we get a case of the What the Fucks, not to mention the Why the Fucks and the How the Fucks. Will Hunting shows up to tell Jamal that William Forrester has died and left everything to him. We think Will also tells Jamal that Forrester wrote another book, and asked him to do the foreword before excusing himself to go see about a girl, but we can't remember as our minds are reeling from being forced to acknowledge that the movie we've just been tricked into caring about was just the director of Good Will Hunting doing a lazy retread of his most successful movie.
See if this sounds familiar: A Gus Van Sant directed movie about a poor kid living in the ghetto who turns out to be a closeted genius. He faces resistance from uptight academics, but is helped along by a mentor with a no-nonsense attitude and a beard. Eventually, the mentor helps the boy genius come to terms with his talents.
Films have been considered remakes that had less in common than these two.
Van Sant tries to disguise the similarities by exchanging Will's math genius with Jamal's literary genius, and authentic sounding South Boston accents for meme-spawning approximations of black slang. And it just might have been enough to distract you from the fact that this is basically a lazy Mad Lib of Good Will Hunting if he hadn't gone and tapped Will Hunting himself to deliver the most important news of the movie.
#2. Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass (1985)
The Cameo:
Scott Baio, Red Buttons, Sammy Davis, Jr., Sherman Hemsley, Telly Savalas, Ringo Starr, Ernest Borgnine, Beau Bridges, Lloyd Bridges, Patrick Duffy, Merv Griffin, Karl Malden, Pat Morita, John Stamos, Sally Struthers, Jonathan Winters and many many more.
The Lead Up:
The cameo-fest that is Alice in Wonderland starts when Alice meets the White Rabbit (comedian Red Buttons) and doesn't end until they mercifully roll credits on this two-part miniseries that aired on CBS in December of 1985.
Why it Nearly Ruined the Movie:
This movie ruins the lovable relationship most kids had with Alice in Wonderland. Oh, the child-friendly themes of following strange animals and drinking and eating poorly-labeled foodstuffs is still there. But then another actor or comedian pops up and takes our mind away from the whimsical story by making us go, "Wow, they must be desperate for money to wear that outfit."
Alice may go through the looking glass but we go through the tunnel of the childhood trauma. Mr. Miyagi is a horse, George Jefferson is a mouse, Ringo Starr is a Turtle and dear old Sammy Davis Jr. is a pot-smoking caterpillar.
Worst of all they take a badass like Kojak.
And turn him into this.
Which makes our faces look like this.
#1. Ocean's 12(2004)
The Cameo:
Bruce Willis
The Lead Up:
Danny Ocean's likable crew is tasked with undoing everything they did in Ocean's 11, the only movie from the series that was actually good. As if this isn't unsatisfying enough, they have to accomplish the task by stealing an egg! We wish to God we were kidding.
The plot to steal the egg involves one of the most retarded schemes ever shown on film. Tess (played by Julia Roberts) has to pretend to be ... Julia Roberts. Why? Because Tess (again we'll remind you, played by Julia Roberts) just happens to look like ... Julia Roberts. This unfunny meta-joke is what you'd end up with if Charlie Kaufman's retarded twin brother from Adaptation was a real screenwriter. But the utter ridiculousness of the idea doesn't truly get a running start and kick you in the groin until Bruce Willis shows up playing ... Bruce Willis.
Why it Nearly Ruined the Movie:
In a movie with a bad premise, bad setup and horrific execution (and later a few bad twists) you may think that a bad cameo would be par for the course. Oh how deliciously wrong you would be.
Bruce Willis has a total of two tricks in his acting bag, playing an edgy burnt-out cop and playing a quirky assassin. While these two tricks have given him more money, fame and women than any burnt-out cop or quirky assassin should have, we still like to believe that he wakes up every morning in a cheap motel with a bad hangover yelling at no one in particular to get him two aspirin and his ex-wife on the phone.
In Ocean's 12, Willis and director Steven Soderberg decide to take the character of Bruce Willis in a different direction, making him into a creepy guy that appears to stalk Julia Roberts. It's as if a deranged maniac that knows more about Ms. Roberts than her own parents came bursting into her dressing room.
In addition to being creepy, Willis also sounds like a pussy. It is simply unacceptable for Bruce Willis to utter the phrase, "You're not supposed to fly when you're eight months pregnant" unless he's fighting a female assassin who is pretending to be pregnant in order to conceal a bomb and he's just thrown her out of an airplane at 30,000 feet, and watched her body explode in midair. That is the only scenario in which that line is acceptable coming from Bruce Willis.
For a list of the nameless character actors who should have gotten the above roles, read up on The 20 Best "That Guys" of All-Time.


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Bayfront Creek Casual Slip On
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The Bayfront Creek Casual Slip On by Rockport is the ideal shoe for a hike through the forest or a trek to your favorite sporting event. Comfortable and stylish, these shoes pair perfectly with jeans, slacks and everything in between.
- ADIPRENE® by adidas shock-absorbent cushioning protects the heel at impact
- Padded collar and tongue for comfort
- Moisture absorbent Polyurethane foot bed helps provide durable cushioning
- Full grain leather is easy to clean and maintain to extend product life
- Rubber outsole helps provide a durable grip on a variety of surfaces
Highly shock-absorbent cushioning protects the heel at impact
Bayfront Creek Casual Slip On is rated out of 5 by 5.
Rated 4 out of 5 by theapple from Comfy Thse are the shoes i grab for a quick run to the store, taking out the garbage, or even a long walk in the city. Very comfortable and stylish. I buy most of shoes on the rockport website and find it to be wonderful for style, selection, and price.
Date published: 2013-09-12
Rated 3 out of 5 by rocky from Nice shoe but difficult to put on. This shoe has the usual good quality and appearance of a Rockport product but the design makes putting on the shoe difficult especially with thick socks. Once on, the shoe is comfortable but not for travel.
Date published: 2012-04-07
Rated 5 out of 5 by Capo from Very Comfortable The shoes fit true to size and are very comfortable. I can see this being a little tricky to put on if you have wide feet. Good support and look good on!
Date published: 2012-12-06
Rated 5 out of 5 by squashie from An expensive looking shoe that also looks comfy. This looks so soft and close fit to the foot and just all-around a great shoe to wear.
Date published: 2012-02-12
Rated 5 out of 5 by Cman from I Love my Rockports Very comfortable and the fit is always just right.
Date published: 2012-10-22


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I've just started to play Nethack (games you can play in a shell are useful). What is the easiest role and race to start with?
How easy any given class is depends on your playing style of course, but most people agree that valkyrie is the easiest class in nethack. They're good for fighting, they start with good equipment (+3 small shield means that once you've picked up some body armor, you'll have a very nice AC for a starting character) and food and they have a decent quest artifact. They also get speed at level 7.
Race doesn't matter as much, but dwarves are a good choice for valkyries, because they have good stats for fighting and most inhabitants of the gnomish mines will be peaceful towards you (so you can go shopping without endangering your life - as much).
Not to diminish the answers already given, but a "beginner" should definitely choose a random role and race sometimes (often IMHO) to experience the many and varied styles and issues facing a NetHack player.
Yes, at some point specialise if you prefer, but trying all roles and races is definitely worth while.
Chaotic Orcish Barbarians have high hit points and start with poison resistance. Because they are Chaotic, you can kill peaceful townspeople if you want to. The Valkyrie is probably slightly easier though.
Lawful Dwarf Valkyrie would be my suggestion. Lawful means you #dip for Excalibur, and being a Dwarf greatly decreases the number of aggressive mobs in the mines.


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Who says revolutionary struggle can't be fun? Not Colombia's FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army). Latin America's longest running militant Communist revolutionary organization hadn't been having the best of luck, what with the rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and the death of the group's leader, Manuel Marulanda. The long years of wandering in the jungles, despite the FARC's impressive record of kidnapping and sowing chaos, hadn't brought Marulanda's cadres any closer to taking Bogota and power. The FARC needed recruits and new wind in its sails.
How did the group plan to do this? More bombings? More kidnappings? Asking for help from Chavez's sympathetic socialist Venezuela? No. Instead, the FARC chose to reach out to its would-be new recruits in a much more cunning and indirect way: by making a smash hit dance record. Before dying, Marulanda set his senior commanders a bizarre task better suited for Simon Cowell than for a brutal guerilla commando like his second in command Mono Jojoy. He ordered Jojoy was to create a dance record so successful and popular it would induce a new generation of young Columbians to join the revolutionary struggle. Jojoy and Felipe Rincon, another senior commander, were so enthusiastic about the idea the Rincon chirped in an email "We have to get the guy who makes merengues and we have to offer him a big budget!"
Thus, Guerilla Dance was born, a slickly-packaged and highly-produced dance record complete with lyrics and publicity shots. It wasn't a cheap birth, though. The FARC reportedly spent $150,000 U.S. on production as well as importing professional musicians from the Dominican Republic. The finished product was posted on YouTube. The lyrics mix pure revolutionary rhetoric with beats to make you bump and grind. "Taca taca taca, the government will fall," "carry the grenades and the rifles," "enemy to the left, enemy to the right," similar to the traditional merengue instructions to always "move those hips!" Sadly for Marulanda, not only did he die before seeing his dancefloor dreams become a reality, the song did not smash the charts, and only attracted attention as a strange changeup from the FARC's usual maudlin ballads with little production value.
This odd tale of a Marxist/Merengue mashup reinforces how clearly new media and Pop Culture are wedded to things once considered to be only political. Revolutionaries and insurgents alike are keenly aware of the political and military uses of music, film, video, dance, and gaming. Many terrorist organizations have theme songs to rally their adherents, but it will be interesting to see whether Hizbullah, given Beirut's vibrant club scene, will pick up the gauntlet thrown down by the FARC and come out with a song as catchy and well produced.


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The Complete Guide to Windows Easy Transfer
- Posted: Aug 06, 2009 at 8:38AM
- 82,853 views
- 14 comments
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How does this relate to the USMT?
USMT is migration tool for enterprise while Windows Easy Transfer is for retail customers. Both tools share same migration engine.
Thanks, you've saved me tons of time!
p.s. Very informative. Perhaps this video or a video similar should be made more public on microsoft.com, I'm sure that many users would find this info very useful.
I've always avoided the easy transfer wizard because I assumed it would move all kinds of junk I wanted to leave behind, so its nice to see it is fully customisable. I couldn't find the updated edition on MS download center though. Could someone post a link to it?
@markheath Just checked in with the EasyTransfer team - the Windows 7 specific EasyTransfer wizard wont be available to download until closer to GA but it's already included on the Windows 7 installation disc under drive:\support\migwiz
When do you think the download will be available?
I would like to prepare before I receive the discs.
Just a note -- I recently used the easy transfer wizard and was very disappointed with it -- After following the directions to "backup" my old computer - I found that when I "restored" my profile on the newly upgraded system, it missed a large amount of programs and almost nothing was back to the way it was before. I had several programs installed that it didn't migrate back in, even though they were included in the backup. ITunes, MS OFfice, some thrid party software I used for testing, etc. It did backup my email pst file, but not MS Office itself. It saved off my music but not ITunes or Quicktime so I lost all my playlists, etc. I had to find the disks and re-install Office, Itunes, and several others. Desktop wallpaper wasn't done, etc, etc.
All in all I found it less than I expected. Especially Since Windows 7 has proved to be so far ahead of what I expected.
Windows Easy Transfer to migrate to Windows 7 is now available on the download center.
Windows Easy Transfer only migrates data and settings to Windows 7. It doesn't migrate programs installed on your old machine.
توبيكات جروح الروح
Love your video. I have 2 questions:
1. Can one use Belkin transfer cable F5U278 to transfer from a Vista Ultimate desktop to a Windows 7 laptop? I was told you can. But, after downloading Windows Easy Transfer for Windows 7 on my Vista desktop and attempting to use F5U278, I keep getting a window stating "Windows Easy Transfer can't continue. Please reboot and try again." Is it because it's the not F5U279 cable?
2. If I want to UNINSTALL Windows Easy Transfer for Windows 7 from my Vista desktop, how is it done? It's not listed in the Control Panel and has no unistall instructions. If I get decide to get the Belkin F5U279, I will be using their CD software and won't need the WET download. It's strange that it's not in the Control Panel and has no uninstall instructions.
Your reponses are appreciated-thanks.
Dan (email@example.com)
Have loaded EASYTRANSFER to my Win XP PC in preparation for transfer to new WIN7 machine. However, the C: drive now has an an AUTOPLAY routine which wasn't there before. Cannot open C: without it trying to run windowsEasyTransfer\x86\.\MigSetup.exe. How do I remove this command?
I am transferring all the files from old computer to my new one. I am transferring to an external hard drive. The problem I am running into is after I transfer all the files to the ext. hard drive, the new computer asks me for the Easy Transfer Tag. Where do I find that?
windows easy transfer loads every time i start my computer...or even after it has been assleep for a period. i have been trying to uninstall...or turn off this feature. any ideas? thanks.
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Home › Scene › Bright Night! ›
Bright Night!
The lavish Antonello Ristorante provided a stunning backdrop for I Padrini's An Evening Under the Stars gala, an annual affair that routinely attracts local power players—along with a few gourmands—to raise funds for Kinship Center-Canyon Acres and the Speech and Language Development Center. Spotted among the crowd: Dick Marconi, Thad Foret and Courtney Herrmann, who nibbled on short ribs and savored fine vinos, and mingled with Antonio Cagnolo—the dapper owner of the restaurant—and his wife, Fiorella, amid the alfresco surrounds. They also raised their paddles high during the live auction before hitting the floor to dance to live tunes. It all helped net more than $175,000 for the organizations. Now that's reaching for the stars!


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Where can I buy the Paris Visite ticket? (I live in Brazil). Also, how do I calculate whether it is going to be cheaper than just buying single tickets?
My opinion is that a Paris Visite pass is hardly worth the money.
If that's true in your case is difficult to answer. Basically, you have to use the public transport quite heavily. The price of single metro ticket is 1.70 EUR and if you buy tickets by a batch of 10 ("carnet"), the price goes down to 1.33 EUR per ticket. With that information in mind, take the Paris Visite pass you are interested in (1, 2,3 or 5 days), and calculate how often you would be able to take the public transport on regular tickets, ot how many discounts you would have to use.
Example. A 2 day pass is 15.85 EUR. For a bit less than that, 15 EUR, you can buy 11 regular tickets (1 carnet and 1 single ticket). That's a lot for two days, especially if you plan your sightseeing a bit rationally.
And don't let yourself fool by the discounts. Some are more sexy, some other are less sexy. Check precisely what the discounts are good for, check the prices. And check if you are interested in these at all! Plan your sightseeing first, i.e. make a list of what your are interested in and see if that's covered by the pass. Don't do it the other way round. You might miss a lot!
Paris Visite is a tourist trap.
Consider getting a Mobilis. This is what the locals use when they need to travel for an entire day. It's like the Paris Visite, without the airports' main rail access (Orlyval and RER B at CDG), there is no voucher booklet and it is much cheaper than the Paris Visite. It is available only in 1-day version. You can buy one for each day of travel, and modulate the cost by buying only the zones you need for that day.
Paris visite is only available in zones 1-3 or 1-5 version. Mobilis allows finer control.
The obstacle to get it is that it is not sold at the airport stations... maybe you can use a single-trip ticket to quit the airport then use Moblis tickets during your sightseeing, or look for airport shops that sell it.
If you stay from Monday to Sunday, buy a Navigo Découverte (smart card) and load it with a weekly pass.
From outside of Paris:
You can book it online directly at Rail Europe.


text: Close Tweet0 Share0 Comment0 Share0 Share0 Stumble It0 Print0 More Beyond the Baseline Rising Aussie Tomic can take confidence from latest loss to Federer by Courtney Nguyen Twitter Email Posted: Sun Jan. 20, 2013 Roger Federer silenced the chatter Saturday night, swiftly beating Bernard Tomic 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-1 to become the first man to win 250 Grand Slam matches.Tomic, 20, made waves all week with his controversial remarks about Federer, 31, repeatedly telling the press that he wasn't sure Federer would even progress to the third round for their highly anticipated match. Well, Federer did show up and handed Tomic his first loss of the year."He stopped me, he beat me," Tomic said. "Full credit to him. He was the best player and greatest of all time. I'm going to continue to work hard.""We had some great [rallies]," Federer said, "and I had to be able to bring the whole repertoire, I guess, to the court today, defense and offense, which I enjoy."Federer may have won in straight sets, but it was not routine. We can question Tomic's big talk, but for two sets the young Aussie showed how much he's improved since last year (when he lost 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 to Federer in Melbourne). Tomic forced Federer to bring brilliance. The loss didn't seem to deter Tomic much. He said he's happy with not only the way he played but also how well he competed. Who knows how the match could have changed if Tomic had held on to his mini-break lead in the second-set tiebreaker. It's not like he gave it away; Federer took it from him.WERTHEIM: Federer holds court in Saturday Night SpecialMore impressive than what Tomic was doing with his racket was what he was doing with his legs. No longer the pure counterpuncher, Tomic's forehand was solid throughout, but Federer's defense to the forehand corner was incredible all night.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmTcL5BydnI"He is the greatest our sport's ever had," Tomic said. "You learn something every time you watch him. I learned something tonight as well. You use this and you use it in a good way. It's going to make me a better player. I'm going to keep working hard."Tomic will move on to the European indoor season before hitting the American hard courts in the spring. The key for Tomic will be to sustain this level of play so he can build confidence and get his ranking up to secure easier draws at the bigger tournaments. Tomic's successful Australian run -- which included his first ATP title (in Sydney) and a victory against Novak Djokovic in an exhibition match at the Hopman Cup -- is no major surprise. The anti-Sam Stosur, this Aussie has always played his best tennis on home soil. The question is whether he can bring it for the remaining 10 months of the season. "He's had a great run now," Federer said. "I hope he knows what he needs to do the next few months, weeks and years ahead. Isn't always a two-month tour. You know, we play 10, 11 months of the year, it's bring it every single day." More Beyond the Baseline


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Growing up a good friend's dad had a hairy back and chest. I don't mean normal hairy. I mean, every summer when we all went to the lake he'd get ready to go for a swim and you'd want to shout, "don't forget to take off your sweater!" My legs aren't quite that hairy.
[photo omitted for your sake]
For a brief stint of my cycling career I started to shave my legs. It's what you do. I was told. It's better, they said, to be hairless in the event of a crash. It looks cool.
And it's true, cyclists and swimmers are among the only male athletes that can claim leg shaving looks cool.
So, that was pretty much it. If you're the kind of cyclist that wears lycra shorts, then you should shave your legs. It's a rule, in fact.
But here's the thing. I didn't like shaving my legs. It took too long and any razor I used would be dull before I finished my first calve. Also, it turns out, when you have stick thin climbers legs, it doesn't look as cool. On top of that, I didn't race and the idea of planning my life around the rare crash – I've had one where shaved legs might have helped – just seemed silly.So I stopped with leg shaving.
Every now and again I get a little grief. Our friend Kurt has called me out for breaking rule #33 (last time I rode with him, I was able to put the hurt on Kurt, so he couldn't talk too much, I'm not sure if that's true anymore). And more than once a pedestrian has commented on my built-in leg warmers. Yes, even pedestrians know to make fun of my legs.
But I'm not worried because you're doing something wrong too.
That's right, you probably have the wrong shoes. Or wear a helmet. Don't wear a helmet. Drops on your commuter. Flat bars. Platform pedals. Clipless. Freewheel. Foldie. Saddlebag. Camelbak. Bar tape is wrapped the wrong way. Wrong glasses. And so on.
The list of things you're probably doing wrong is never ending. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Or, maybe you shouldn't. At least you got the most important thing right:
You're riding a bike.


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I am considering purchasing A NN3 and wonder if anyone has any experience of using it with a Nikon D90 with the AF-S DX Nikkor 10-24mm F3.5-4.5G ED lens? I really cannot stretch to a NN5, but I am not sure if the NN3 is large enough (I want to try doing some 360-deg shots just for fun).
Can anyone advise me of any problems I may face with this set-up.
Many thanks.


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LG 32" LED 720p 60Hz LCD TV Model 32LS3400 for $199.49 + free shipping
Listed as light use which means there could be some scratches on the bezel but the screen is free of scratches. I ordered two things from them in this condition in the past and they looked brand new, down to them having plastic covering most of them. One was an Acer Netbook and the other a Vizio 32". You need to use CABIN123 to get that price (5% off)
Coupon Code: CABIN123 (in case you didn't read.)
2 Comments add a comment
I bought two 32" TV's for 196 and 199 last year. They were LCD, not LED like this. So this TV is better, but used. For the same price a year later...
Do yourselves a favor and wait 2 weeks for Black Friday.
Availability: Sold Out


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Mines can be placed anywhere and cause heavy damage to any enemy moving over them. However, they are not free, and require resources and time to be set up.
Where and when should I lay down mines? The general idea should be to have them cover paths that are often crossed and places of strategic relevance (e.g. VPs), but are there any details or tricks that increase effectiveness?


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Motorcycle factory tour will aid charity
|A foam seat cushion begins as liquid inside the Mustang Seats factory in Three Rivers, Mass. RIDE-CT and Mustang Seats are teaming up to stage a charity factory tour on May 4 to benefit the Little Guild of St. Francis animal rescue shelter in West Cornwall. Bud Wilkinson / Republican-American
What has me recalling them with a bit of a smile is the need to legitimately use another one - "space is limited" - for the announcement today of a first-ever charity event this coming spring that RIDE-CT will host, thanks in part to the encouragement of my editors at The Republican-American. Instead of a traditional charity ride or poker run, RIDE-CT plans something different.
At the invitation of Terryville-based Mustang Motorcycle Products, maker of Mustang Seats, this column and the company will offer motorcyclists the opportunity to take a guided factory tour on Saturday, May 4. Proceeds will benefit the Little Guild of St. Francis animal rescue shelter in West Cornwall.
Mustang has been making seats in New England since 1980, and the May 4 event will take riders inside the company's immaculate plant in Three Rivers, Mass. to observe the entire seat-making process.
"We promise that after touring the Mustang factory - from R&D through foam production to completed product - you will never look at a motorcycle seat the same way again," said Marilyn Simmons, marketing director for Mustang. "Building the most comfortable seats in the world takes research, design, steel, fiberglass, foam, sewing, rivets and lot of hard work to put it all together."
While the factory doesn't operate on Saturday, Mustang plans to have tour guides and demonstrations and will also provide lunch and door prizes for RIDE-CT and RIDE-CT.com readers. The cost is $25 per rider and $20 per passenger. Every cent will go to Little Guild.
"We are honored to be named the beneficiary and look forward to participating and joining in the fun," said Denise Cohn, Little Guild's executive director. "All of us at Little Guild - two-legged and four-legged - greatly appreciate the generosity of everyone involved."
Unlike most charity rides, this one won't be done as a group ride. It will be unescorted. Riders will gather at the factory, which is northeast of Springfield, at an appointed hour. Directions will be provided. This will allow everyone to ride up and back at their own pace, although anyone wishing to join me for the ride to the factory will certainly be welcome to do so. I can't promise that I won't get lost.
Because the tour will be inside, there's no rain date. If the day's too soggy to ride, I guess we'll all have to proceed on four wheels.
As I mentioned, "space is limited" and registration is required. If all the available slots fill up, a waiting list will be created. Email me at email@example.com to claim a space.
Having toured the Mustang plant several years ago, I can vouch that the seat-making process is fascinating, but what impressed me even more was the pride of workmanship of the employees. For the record, Mustang has been a longtime advertiser on this column's complementary website, RIDE-CT.com. Largely because of that relationship, Simmons had the idea of doing a factory tour for readers. So, please join RIDE-CT for this "once in a lifetime opportunity."
Did I just write that?
SOME OTHER DATES WORTH noting
May 4 isn't the only date in 2013 worth setting aside. Dates for some annual motorcycle events are falling into place:
Americade - Lake George, N.Y. provides the setting for this huge rally from June 1-8.
Laconia Motorcycle Week - It's the 90th anniversary of this raucous event. It runs from June 8-16 in Laconia, N.H.
Rhinebeck Grand National Meet - The annual gathering of vintage motorcycle enthusiasts in Rhinebeck, N.Y. will be June 14 and 15.
Brit Jam - The British Iron Association of Connecticut stages this annual meet. The date this year in East Haddam is Aug. 18.
Rice-O-Rama - The sixth annual Japanese motorcycle meet will be Sept. 8 in Oxford, Mass.
Torrington Thunder - Downtown Torrington will be filled with the roar of exhausts on Sept. 20.
No word yet on dates for Middletown Motorcycle Mania or the IMOC meet for Italian bikes.
Bud Wilkinson may be reached by email at budw@ ride-ct.com. He also writes about motorcycles daily at ride-ct.com and on Facebook at facebook.com/ridect.
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WPF 3.5 SP1 Tools with Erick Ellis and Mark Wilson-Thomas
- Posted: May 16, 2008 at 1:30PM
- 21,517 views
- 8 comments
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Erick Ellis and Mark Wilson-Thomas talk about what's new in the WPF editor for Visual Studio in .NET 3.5 SP1. Topics include faster performance both from WPF and optimizations of their own, new cool visualizers, the Document Outline (very useful for WPF Apps) and more.
And as Mark mentioned, if you want to get your feedback in for future updates, go to the Visual Studio WPF Designer Forum on MSDN.
Looking for more than tools? Check out the WPF 3.5 SP1 Overview video!
Oops, something didn't work.
Why can't you guys remember to post a link to the LOW-RES file on every video that you do?
It's very irritating when downloading with BITS to have to wait on 600Mb files.
Then download the mp3 version.
When the new site goes live, you'll be happy since the low-res version is built into the admin and we won't be forgetting anymore.
Here's a link to the low-res version of this video. If there is another video without a low-res version link that you want, for now you can hack the low-res url by looking at the Download URL.
High-res: http://mschnlnine.vo.llnwd.net/d1/ch9/0/WPF35SP1Tools_2MB_ch9.wmv
Low-res: http://mschnlnine.vo.llnwd.net/d1/ch9/0/WPF35SP1Tools_ch9.wmv
Notice the difference is the extra "_2MB".
thank you
Thank you for sharing
Thanks you Admin...
Comments have been closed since this content was published more than 30 days ago, but if you'd like to continue the conversation, please create a new thread in our Forums, or Contact Us and let us know.


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When using the MAV in Battlefield 3, I can spot enemies using the select key to mark them, but I dont get any points. Am I using it wrong?
You will get 20 additional spot points if that enemy is killed after you spot them with the MAV (or T-UGS). And potentially a ribbon if that happens a few times in a row.
Also, you can left click to lock on and blow up enemy equipment, things like the recon mobile deployment beacon and other MAVs.
It's worth noting that the MAV also includes a passive detection ability exactly like the T-UGS -- if you leave it in a location sitting by itself, it will send out periodic "pings" that highlight any moving enemies nearby. If you don't want to be tied down piloting the MAV, it's a good strategy to drop the MAV in some out of the way area where it won't be spotted easily by enemies, and let it passively detect enemies even without you operating it. It is more effective when piloted, of course, but it also works with no human intervention too, kind of like SOFLAM.
Note that as of the latest patch, the MAV will destroy itself shortly after you respawn. It lives only as long as you do, including the time you are dead and waiting for respawn, it is not a permanent artifact once deployed.
If you really want to anger people. Flying the MAV at full speed into the faces of enemies will kill them (considered a roadkill death, which you get full kill points for). It doesn't injure the MAV but is pretty tricky to get the hang of.
I saw this happen once after a guy killed me his entire squad was wiped out by a MAV ambush from behind. It was perhaps the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.


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The immune system is an intricate network of organs, highly specialized cells, and chemical signals that work to protect our bodies from foreign invaders, particularly infections. The immune system is able to differentiate between normal host cells and foreign cells because different types of cells frequently display different antigens. Antigens are proteins that are found on the surface of cells and often differ from one type of cell to the next. While normal, host cells also present antigens, the immune system is able to differentiate between antigens found naturally within the body (self-antigens) and antigens from foreign invaders.
When the immune system encounters a foreign antigen, a cascade of events occurs which is intended to clear the foreign substance from the body. Initially, foreign cells are encountered by antigen-presenting cells (APCs, the most important of which is the dendritic cell), which engulf them and break up the foreign antigen into small protein pieces known as epitopes. The APC presents these epitopes to lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. There are two main types of lymphocytes: T-cell lymphocytes and B-cell lymphocytes. The APC can present the epitope to either a CD8 (cytotoxic) T-cell which go on to directly kill the foreign cells, or to a CD4 (helper) T-cell which release chemical signals that work to both help cytotoxic T-cells kill foreign cells and to induce B-cell lymphocytes to produce antibodies.
The presentation of antigens to T-cells is not enough to produce a vigorous immune reaction. Co-stimulation through a variety of chemical signals must also occur in order for the immune response to adequately respond. Without these co-stimulatory signals, the response of T-cells is weak and often inadequate at destroying the foreign cells. In the presence of co-stimulation, the reaction of T-cells and B-cells is brisk and additional cells, such as natural killer cells, are recruited to help destroy the foreign invaders. This complex system works together to form the immune response.
Most of us have received vaccination for infectious diseases, such as measles and mumps. These vaccines use weakened or killed viruses, bacteria, or other germs to start an immune response in the body. Cancer vaccines are designed to work in a similar manner by teaching the immune system to attack and destroy cancer cells. Normally, when foreign cells enter the body (for example, when an infection occurs), the immune system responds to the invasion and clears the body of the foreign cells. Unlike infectious cells, cancer cells are not recognized as foreign by the body. Instead, the immune system thinks the cancer cells are part of the normal body and do not mount an immune response against the cancer. Cancer vaccines allow the immune system to recognize cancer cells as foreign and, therefore, get the immune system to attack the cancer cells.
Most commonly, vaccines are used to prevent infections. By introducing inactivated or killed forms of a virus or bacteria to the immune system before an infection actually occurs, the immune system is "primed" to recognize potential infections. Antibodies that are specific for the vaccine are increased in the body and allow for a very rapid response to potential infections by the viruses or bacteria associated with that vaccine. In this way, actual infections can be quickly recognized by the immune system and eliminated before a significant infection can take hold.
A true cancer vaccine contains cancer cells, parts of cells, or pure antigens. The vaccine increases the immune response against cancer cells that are already present in the body, in contrast to vaccines for diseases that are designed to prevent infection. Cancer vaccines spur the immune system into recognizing tumor cells as foreign invaders so that they may be destroyed by the host immune system. Tumor cells often express distinct antigens known as tumor-associated antigens (TAAs). One of the greatest problems with developing cancer vaccines has been that most TAAs are also present in normal cells. Because the immune system sees these antigens as self-antigens, no immune response is mounted. If the immune system can be taught to recognize the TAAs as foreign, an immune response can be mounted against the tumor. Several TAAs have been identified that are found in specific types of cancers, but not in normal cells. By targeting these TAAs with cancer vaccines, cancer vaccines can induce the immune system to attack cancer cells while leaving normal, healthy cells largely intact. Currently, cancer vaccines targeting cancers of the breast, prostate, liver, kidney, pancreas, and lung, as well as melanoma and certain types of leukemias and lymphomas are in clinical trials.
Some cancers are known to be associated with viral infections. Infection with human papilloma virus has been shown to be a cause of cervical cancer. Hepatitis B and C viruses are known to cause a certain type of liver cancer. New vaccines against the human papilloma virus (HPV) help prevent women from getting cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancer. Vaccines that prevent infection from these viruses would help to prevent their associated cancers. 1 While these vaccines may ultimately prevent cancer, these are not cancer vaccines. These vaccines are actually vaccines against viruses, rather than cancer itself. Prevention of cancer is merely a consequence of the prevention of the viral infection.
Cancer vaccines need to be directed at antigens that are expressed by the tumor but not by the normal cells. If the antigen that is used is also expressed in normal cells, the immune response generated by the vaccine can attack normal tissue as well. This cross-reactivity can increase the toxicity of the treatment, interfering with one of the biggest potential advantages of cancer vaccines: the ability to specifically target the cancer cells without damaging the normal cells.
Co-stimulation of the immune response must occur for there to be a vigorous immune response. Tumor cells secrete chemical factors that interfere with co-stimulation of the immune response. Even if an APC is able to present antigens to T-cells, the immune response is often limited without co-stimulatory signals. Cancer vaccines that present the TAA to the immune system without increasing co-stimulation run into the same problem. The immune response is often too weak for any significant effect on the tumor to occur. In order to solve this problem, cancer vaccines are often designed to provide co-stimulation in addition to the TAA in order to increase the immune response.
When individual cancer cells are found, the immune system can easily clear them from the body. Unfortunately, by the time most cancer vaccines are given, the tumors are large and much more difficult to treat. In addition to the sheer number of cells that need to be destroyed, as tumors grow, there are areas within the tumor that become difficult for the immune system to reach. These areas become protected from the effect of the cancer vaccine.
The thymus is an organ in the chest that functions to produce T-cells (the T stands for thymus). It functions in childhood and slows down with time, eventually becoming smaller and inactive in adults. This is one of the reasons that vaccines are often given in infancy and childhood. The immune response of adults is dependent on the population of T-cells that was produced during childhood. Over time, this response becomes less vigorous. Cancer vaccines face the challenge of inducing immune responses in a population of patients whose immune systems are naturally slowing down.
Cancer cells can suppress the immune system in a number of ways. They can block co-stimulation, preventing a vigorous immune response. Cancer cells can inhibit the maturation or function of APCs, blocking the presentation of TAAs to lymphocytes. In addition, cancer cells can directly block the activation of lymphocytes, preventing a response after the antigens have been presented.
A number of different approaches have been used to introduce TAAs to the immune system and produce an adequate immune response to destroy the cancer cells. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Similar to vaccines against infectious agents, these vaccines usually utilize whole, inactivated tumor cells to generate the immune response. The advantage of this is that a number of antigens are presented that the immune system can target. However, this wide range of antigens compromises the specificity of the vaccine. Also, the immune response is often weak due to the lack of co-stimulatory signals.
A peptide is a fragment of a protein that can be used as the antigen in a cancer vaccine. By introducing the appropriate peptide directly to the APCs, the vaccine can induce an immune response to cells producing that antigen. Oftentimes, the peptide vaccine is given simultaneously with chemical signals (such as hapten) that act as co-stimulatory signals for the immune system, improving the immune response. The peptides can also be engineered to elicit strong immune responses by altering specific portions of the peptide. These alterations result in stronger immune reactions than unaltered peptides do. Potential disadvantages of the peptide vaccines include the need for the peptide to be taken up by the APC. If, this does not occur, no immune response is seen. In addition, cells within a tumor are frequently changing. If the peptide that is used in the vaccine is not essential to the tumor, the cells can frequently stop making that protein and avoid detection by the immune system.
In order to ensure that the dendritic cells (the most notable APCs) adequately take up peptides, these cells can be exposed directly to high levels of the appropriate antigen. The patient's own dendritic cells are removed and can be bombarded with either peptide fragments or whole proteins. When the dendritic cells are introduced back into the patient, they present large amounts of the antigen to the immune system and stimulate an immune response. Alternatively, the genes that encode the antigens can be introduced directly into the dendritic cell. Again, dendritic cells are removed from the patient and the genes introduced to the cells by either directly injecting them into the cell or by stimulating the cell to take up the genes through pulses of electricity. Either way, once the gene is taken up by the dendritic cell and reintroduced to the patient, the cell can potentially produce large amounts of the antigen and induce a strong immune response. Currently, an alternative method in which dendritic cells are fused with tumor cells is under research. All of these methods are very cumbersome and expensive, making their widespread use difficult.
Viral vectors utilize a modified virus that remains mildly infectious. The gene that encodes the TAA is placed inside the virus, and when the virus infects a dendritic cell, it can induce the cell to produce large amounts of the antigen. This method has the advantage of being a much cheaper and easier way of introducing genes into dendritic cells than direct injection or electrical manipulation. The dendritic cells can be altered directly in the patient and do not need to first be removed from the patient and later reintroduced. In addition, current viral vaccines also include genes encoding co-stimulatory signals so that the dendritic cells will also produce these proteins, improving the immune response. However, one disadvantage of this system is the possibility of generating an immune response to the virus itself. If the viral antigens are recognized by the immune system, the virus can be cleared from the body before it has a chance to infect the dendritic cell. If the virus is cleared to quickly, no immune response against the cancer is mounted.
Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are produced by all cells when they undergo environmental stresses. When these proteins move outside of the cell, they act as stimulatory signals to the immune system and induce an immune response. Heat shock protein vaccines work by extracting HSPs directly from tumor cells. HSPs often contain tumor-specific antigens which are recognized by the immune system. When the HSPs are reintroduced to the patients, they both generate an immune response and direct that response to the specific antigens that they carry. However, a number of different HSPs can be produced by a tumor, and they can carry antigens that are found in normal tissue. In order for these vaccines to be clinically useful, only HSPs that carry tumor-specific antigens can be used.
There have been a number of clinical studies that have tested cancer vaccines. Thus far, there is only one cancer vaccine found to improve overall survival. Sipuleucel-T (Provenge®) is approved for use in some men with metastatic prostate cancer. It stimulates an immune response to prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), an antigen present on most prostate cancers. In a clinical trial, Provenge increased the survival of men with hormone refractory metastatic prostate cancer by about 4 months.2 The vaccine is customized for each patient. Using leukopheresis, the patient's APCs are harvested and then cultured with a protein called PAP-GM-CSF. This protein consists of PAP linked to another protein called granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). GM-CSF stimulates the immune system and enhances antigen presentation. APC cells cultured with PAP-GM-CSF are then infused into the patient with three treatments, usually two weeks apart. The exact mechanism of action of sipuleucel-T is unknown but, it is likely that that the APCs that have taken up PAP-GM-CSF stimulate T cells to kill tumor cells that express PAP. Common side effects included fever, chills, fatigue, back and joint pain, nausea, and headache. These most often started during the cell infusions and resolved within one to two days.
Even the studies of vaccines that did ultimately not work have taught us important lessons:
Cancer vaccines remain an important and growing area of cancer research. A number of phase III trials are currently underway to further evaluate the effectiveness of these vaccines in improving patients' outcomes. A number of key questions and areas of research remain:
We are still quite a ways away from incorporating cancer vaccines into the routine care of cancer patients. Nevertheless, the possibility of using the body's own immune system to destroy cancer cells remains an appealing possibility and results of early trials are promising. Research into new ways of treating cancer, such as cancer vaccines, remains critical in our ongoing fight against cancer.
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