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Today's audio is from the GW. Switch to the GW to read along with the audio.
17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him.
3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who had been Shalmaneser's vassal and had paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys to So[a] king of Egypt, and he no longer paid tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore Shalmaneser seized him and put him in prison. 5 The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.
7 All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods 8 and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. 9 The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. 10 They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 11 At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that aroused the Lord's anger. 12 They worshiped idols, though the Lord had said, "You shall not do this."[b] 13 The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: "Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets."
14 But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God. 15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, "Do not do as they do."
16 They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. 17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sought omens and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.
18 So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, 19 and even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced. 20 Therefore the Lord rejected all the people of Israel; he afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers, until he thrust them from his presence.
21 When he tore Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam enticed Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit a great sin. 22 The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them 23 until the Lord removed them from his presence, as he had warned through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria, and they are still there.
24 The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns. 25 When they first lived there, they did not worship the Lord; so he sent lions among them and they killed some of the people. 26 It was reported to the king of Assyria: "The people you deported and resettled in the towns of Samaria do not know what the god of that country requires. He has sent lions among them, which are killing them off, because the people do not know what he requires."
27 Then the king of Assyria gave this order: "Have one of the priests you took captive from Samaria go back to live there and teach the people what the god of the land requires." 28 So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria came to live in Bethel and taught them how to worship the Lord.
29 Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods in the several towns where they settled, and set them up in the shrines the people of Samaria had made at the high places. 30 The people from Babylon made Sukkoth Benoth, those from Kuthah made Nergal, and those from Hamath made Ashima; 31 the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adrammelek and Anammelek, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 They worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate for them as priests in the shrines at the high places. 33 They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.
34 To this day they persist in their former practices. They neither worship the Lord nor adhere to the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands that the Lord gave the descendants of Jacob, whom he named Israel. 35 When the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, he commanded them: "Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. 36 But the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt with mighty power and outstretched arm, is the one you must worship. To him you shall bow down and to him offer sacrifices. 37 You must always be careful to keep the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands he wrote for you. Do not worship other gods. 38 Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. 39 Rather, worship the Lord your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies."
40 They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former practices. 41 Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.
18 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother's name was Abijah[c] daughter of Zechariah. 3 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. 4 He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.[d])
5 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. 6 He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 8 From watchtower to fortified city, he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory.
9 In King Hezekiah's fourth year, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and laid siege to it. 10 At the end of three years the Assyrians took it. So Samaria was captured in Hezekiah's sixth year, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel. 11 The king of Assyria deported Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in towns of the Medes. 12 This happened because they had not obeyed the Lord their God, but had violated his covenant—all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded. They neither listened to the commands nor carried them out.
20 When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia. 2 He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, 3 where he stayed three months. Because some Jews had plotted against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. 4 He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. 5 These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. 6 But we sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days.
7 On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. 9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "He's alive!" 11 Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. 12 The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.
13 We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. 14 When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. 15 The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Chios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus. 16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.
17 From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. 18 When they arrived, he said to them: "You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. 19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. 20 You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. 21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
22 "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace.
25 "Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God,[a] which he bought with his own blood.[b] 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
32 "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "
36 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for at his command they were created,
6 and he established them for ever and ever—
he issued a decree that will never pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do his bidding,
9 you mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle,
small creatures and flying birds,
11 kings of the earth and all nations,
you princes and all rulers on earth,
12 young men and women,
old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
14 And he has raised up for his people a horn,[b]
the praise of all his faithful servants,
of Israel, the people close to his heart.
Praise the Lord.
6 The lips of fools bring them strife,
and their mouths invite a beating.
7 The mouths of fools are their undoing,
and their lips are a snare to their very lives.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


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Equities First Holdings, LLC, is a globally recognized lender. With 14 years of experience, and locations around the globe, this company is led by experienced professionals. Over the years, Equities First become a leader in the world of alternative lending.
Recently, Equities First Holdings has reported an increase in the prevalence of margin- and stock-based loans. In part, this is because in the wake of the Great Recession, traditional lenders such as banks have tightened their requirements for loans.
Margin- and stock-based loans are similar in some ways. For example, they each require securities as collateral. However, there are some significant differences.
Bloomberg mentions that margin-based loans are like traditional loans from banks in that they require pre-approval. Variable rates are used with this type of loan. Typically, the loan is specified for a use.
Stock-based loans are different. They usually have a fairly low – three or four percent – fixed interest rate. Also, there are no restrictions on what the loan can be used for.
While these forms of loans have been maligned by some in the past, Equities First CEO Al Christy, Jr., believes they are becoming a far more mainstream option. Christy contends that a scrupulous lender who does things right can effectively serve customers with these loans.
Equities First Holdings was founded in 2002. With a highly qualified staff spread out in offices around the globe, Equities First Holdings truly has a finger on the pulse of the global markets.
Equities First Holdings maintains offices in the US, UK, Hong Kong, Australia, and more, this company serves a global audience. With CEO Christy's in-depth understanding of trends in lending, the company is poised to continue to prosper.
By finding useful solutions in a tight market, Equities First truly helps people make their dreams come true. Although any borrowing involves risk, the use of stock- and margin- based loans should not be written off without examination.

subset: commoncrawl


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As we look to the future of knowledge management it is clear current approaches won't suffice. IDC predicts by 2020 some 80-90 percent of the data in the enterprise will be unstructured. The next iteration of knowledge management will be about understanding and connecting people around this unstructured data*.
No Spam. We Respect Your Privacy.


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SSA Seeks Comments on Protecting Benefits from Payday Lenders
MPLP Summer 2008 Elder Law Section Newsletter Article
News from the National Senior Citizens Law Center
SSA Seeks Comments on Protecting Benefits from Payday Lenders
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has published a notice of request for comments regarding an anticipated change in a problematic agency payment procedure.
In a potentially important positive development, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has published a notice of request for comments regarding an anticipated change in a problematic agency payment procedure. The procedure currently permits benefit payments to be deposited into a third party's "master" account when the third party maintains separate "sub-accounts" for individual beneficiaries. 73 Fed. Reg. 21403 (Apr. 21, 2008). SSA states that it is considering this change because of concerns about the increasing use of this procedure by payday lenders who target Social Security beneficiaries.
The master/sub account procedure was originally set up for the purpose of making direct deposits to a beneficiary's investment account. It was subsequently expanded to allow its use by nursing homes and religious orders whose members have to take a vow of poverty and has since been allowed to be used more broadly. However, the use of the procedure appears to violate 42 U.S.C. 407(a) which prohibits transfer or assignment of the right to future benefit payments and protects the benefits from levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process. It is also raises a question of consistency with the spirit of a Treasury regulation which requires that federal benefit payments may be deposited only into accounts at a financial institution in the name of the recipient. 31 C.F.R. 208.6, 210.5. Treasury regulations do provide exceptions for payment to a representative payee or to an investment account established through a registered securities broker or dealer. In addition, Treasury regulations authorize payment-certifying agencies, in this case SSA, to address additional situations.
The Federal Register notice also states that SSA is aware of check-cashing services that set up a master account at a financial institution with sub-accounts in beneficiaries' names. If the individual wishes to access her benefits, the check-cashing company then writes a check and charges a check-cashing fee.
In addition, the request for comments calls attention to the practice of some lenders who require borrowers to pre-authorize their bank to transfer benefit funds from the borrower's account to the lender. It also notes that, in some instances, the lender may require the use of a specified bank and may provide in the loan agreement that the beneficiary cannot discontinue this arrangement until the loan is repaid. SSA is seeking comments on this practice as well as on the practice of payments to master-sub accounts, and is particularly interested in comments on whether this preauthorization requirement might increase if the use of master/sub accounts were restricted.
SSA needs to hear from advocates on the impact these practices have on their clients. It is important not only that as many organizations and advocates as possible submit comments, but that those comments demonstrate the practical impact these practices have had on actual Social Security beneficiaries. SSA includes in its request a set of specific questions it would like to see addressed in comments. 73 Fed. Reg. at 21404.
[The National Senior Citizens Law Center] plans to submit comments in response to this notice and would appreciate hearing from advocates with direct client contact who can provide us with specific examples of the impact of these lender abuses on their clients. This information should be sent to Gerald McIntyre (email@example.com) in the NSCLC Los Angles office.
Please note that SSA must receive all comments no later than June 20, 2008.
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Fire Mike Shula Now
UPDATE: For the latest diatribe on still more reasons to fire Mike Shula after the Auburn debacle, click here.
Today's Alabama-Arkansas game was a debacle that's hard to put into historical perspective. Maybe the loss to Vandy in 1984 was worse...but I doubt it. To control the clock for 40 minutes, be able to move the ball through the air at will, and yet end up losing in overtime is utterly inexcusable. And while Leigh Tiffin missed FOUR kicks, any of which would have won the game, the blame rests on the coach more than the player.
Cowardly ultra-conservative play calling (on both sides of the ball) late in the game and then in overtime doomed Bama. They completely outplayed Arkansas in every phase of the game except for rushing. So what does Shula do? Keep calling running plays into the middle of the line--the plays that haven't worked all day. And keep trotting Tiffin out, without coaching him at all on foot placement (his plant foot is too close to the ball, which is why he can't get his leg swing right--and even I can see that on TV) when a kicker who won THREE games last year with field goals stands and watches.
The truth is that even Mike DuBose could have won that game, and he was the worst coach Bama had since Ears Whitworth...until now. Alabama's players did not deserve to lose today. And if they had been competently coached, they'd be 4-0. Shula has had three years plus now to prove himself a good football coach. He has done anything but. A famous last name and being an alum simply isn't enough. It's time for him to go.


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Author Notes: Shrubs (aka drinking vinegars) are a kind of preserve in which fruit is submerged it in a combination of vinegar and sugar and allowing it to steep for a time. After straining, you're left with a sweet, highly acidic, fruity concentrate. The shrub can then be used in cocktails, stirred into sparkling water or whisked into salad dressings. —Marisa McClellan
Makes: 3 cups
medium apples (choose a variety that is flavorful and sweet)
cup apple cider vinegar
cup granulated white sugar
- Shred apples on a box grater. Funnel the shreds into a wide-mouth quart jar. Top with apple cider vinegar and sugar. Use a narrow spoon to stir the apples, vinegar and sugar together. Apply a watertight lid and give the jar a good shake.
- Tuck the jar into the back of your refrigerator and let it sit for four or five days. Taste the liquid and if you're happy with the balance, strain out the apple bits, making sure to press firmly to remove all the liquid. Don't be afraid to use your (clean) hands for this.
- Place the strained shrub in a clean jar and keep refrigerated. It is ready to use now, but will mature in flavor over time.
- Stir it into cocktails, sparkling water or use in homemade vinaigrettes and marinades.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
More Great Recipes:
Apple|Fruit|Vinegar|Fall|Alcohol-Free Drinks


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This is the list of requirements for completion of the J.D. Degree at UNT Dallas College of Law effective for all students entering fall 2015. We encourage you to read more about the goals underlying these requirements, the first-year requirements, the upper-level requirements, and the writing, research and skills requirements. Read more about the Requirements for Award of the J. D. Degree.
Fundamentals of Being a Lawyer (1 hour)
Civil Procedure (2 semesters, 5 hours total)
Contracts (1 semester, 4 hours)
Criminal Law (1 semester, 3 hours)
Legal Method (1 hour)
Legal Writing and Research (2 semesters, 6 hours total)
Practice Foundation I: Interviewing and Counseling (1 semester, 3 hours)
Property (1 semester, 4 hours)
Torts (1 semester, 4 hours)
Note: Some first-year required courses may occur in the fall semester of the second year for evening division students.
Constitutional Law (3 hours)
Practice Foundation II: Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (3 hours)
Administrative Law (3 hours)
Business Associations I (3 hours)
Effective Oral Communication (2 hours)
Evidence (3 hours)
Family Law (3 hours)
Practice Foundation III: Business of Law (3 hours)
Principles of Accounting and Finance for Lawyers (1 hour)*
*Students can place out of this course; see details for a satisfying the Principles of Accounting and Finance for Lawyers requirement.
Professional Responsibility (3 hours)
Commercial Law (3 hours) (Previously titled Sales)
Wills, Trusts and Estates (3 hours)
Texas Civil Procedure (2 hours)
Texas Criminal Procedure (2 hours)
Capstone: Legal Analysis and Bar Readiness I (3 hours)
Capstone: Legal Analysis and Bar Readiness II (3 hours)
Writing requirement: 6 writing segments and a Major Writing experience
Research requirement: 8 research segments
Skills requirement: 10 skills segments
More about the writing, research, and skills requirements.
Requirement to take at least 2 courses from the following categories: Practicum, Externship, and Clinic. Subject to approval, two courses can be from the same category.
Satisfactory completion of the Community Engagement Program.
Satisfactory completion of the Louis A. Bedford, Jr. Mentorship Program.
Demonstration of basic proficiency as to practice-related technologies, including case management and time-keeping software; trial and litigation software; word processing; and databases.
More about the experiential requirement and the the practice-related technology requirement.
Page last modified on October 13, 2015 at 2:57 pm.


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•Hydrogeologists want installation of alarm system
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in collaboration with the World Bank and some international donor organisations, will soon conduct a post- disaster needs assessment following the flood that recently ravaged 28 states in the country.
The Director-General of NEMA, who was represented by the Director of Finance and Account, Mr. Hakeem Akinbola, said this yesterday in Abuja at the orientation workshop for officials of the State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs), as well as Ministries of Agriculture, Environment and Housing.
He said: "The workshop is intended to provide participants with adequate skills, knowledge and techniques on how to handle the challenges.
"It will also afford the Federal Government and international community the opportunity to execute plans and actions for rehabilitation, reconstruction and recovery of the communities affected by flood."
The United Nations Country Resident Coordinator, Mr. Daouda Toure, said the post disaster needs assessment seeks to assess the impact of natural disasters on infrastructures as well as people.
He said the assessment would compile information on economic damage, losses and human impacts of the disaster on communities.
Toure noted that the World Bank and European Union would support the Federal Government in the spirit of the 2008 joint agreement on post crisis cooperation.
The Nigeria Association of Hydrogeologists (NAH) has called for the installation of early warning alarm systems in the hydrological stations connected through the satellite to alert the country to impending flood.
It also wants the hydrological areas of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to be recognised as the unit water resources management.
This was contained in a communique issued at the end of the 24th annual conference of NAH held in Benin City.
The association, in the communique signed by its President, Dr. Abubarkar Iliya, called for the establishment of modern hydrological stations to monitor and quantify the volume of runoff water likely to cause flood.
It reads: "We should undertake a post-flood environmental impact assessment of the areas inundated by flood and carry out a survey of the submerged boreholes in the areas with the aim of rehabilitating and cleaning them up."


text: Full_Name: Howard Chu Version: 2.4/HEAD OS: URL: ftp://ftp.openldap.org/incoming/ Submission from: (NULL) (188.8.131.52) Submitted by: hyc If syncprov-checkpoint is configured on a database with a syncrepl consumer (either for cascaded syncrepl or for mirrormode), the syncrepl consumer may fail to update the contextCSN because syncprov updates it first. In 2.4 the syncrepl consumer tries to delete its old value and add the new value, instead of just doing a modify/Replace as it used to in 2.3. The 2.4 consumer was changed in this respect because multiple consumers are now allowed on a database, thus using multiple values in the contextCSN attribute. Replacing the entire attribute when only a single value needed to change seemed like the wrong thing to do. The syncprov overlay still just uses a modify/Replace, so it doesn't have this problem. Since both syncrepl and syncprov now currently track all of the contextCSNs in use, probably syncrepl should just be switched back to using modify/Replace, with the full list of known contextCSNs.


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The Dominoes of December
December 23, 2013 by Corrie Trouw • Print Story •
When USC fired head coach Lane Kiffin in September, it initiated a series of coaching changes across the country. Here's how and why the dominoes fell from Los Angeles to Jonesboro and everywhere in between.
Home — Steve Sarkisian leaves Washington for USC
For many, Sarkisian's return to Southern California began the September morning USC Athletic Director Pat Haden left the baggage of Kiffin's career at LAX. But in reality, this reunion course was charted much earlier.
Sarkisian and Kiffin were, of course, the star pupils during Pete Carroll's glorious revival at SC. In a time when gimmicky offenses produced too-good-to-be-true stats, the Trojan offenses of the mid-2000s used a pro-style system to generate solid, sustainable returns.
As the offensive masterminds, the two assistants earned a bevy of overtures to become head coaches elsewhere. However, while Kiffin burned through his stock of star-matter with explosive brashness, Sarkisian planned for longevity.
Rather than jump to an NFL organization notorious for dysfunction or a spiraling program a cultural world away as Kiffin did, Sarkisian bid his time before accepting an opportunity in a familiar setting. Like USC in the 1990s, the Washington Sarkisian found was a big-market Pac-10 school mired in losing despite a rich football tradition and a beneficial recruiting position. The match of coach and program seemed wildly congruous.
But, flashing forward to the present, Sarkisian couldn't replicate the dreamy heights he saw with Carroll. While his tenure saw immediate improvement from the disastrous days of Ty Willingham, the troubling signs of stagnation persisted in recent years as Oregon dominated regionally and Stanford rose meteorically on Sarkisian's watch. Seven or eight wins seemed as good as it could get.
Meanwhile, scarred by postseason bans and the tumult of Kiffin's reign, Trojan Nation needed some stability and a connection to its recent-yet-distant excellence. For a proud, front-running fan base, the "good" Carroll pupil held serious appeal. Nothing in sports sells like nostalgia, and with the mid-2000s in mind, Sarkisian returned to SC.
There's a temporal gravity born of success. Our memories smooth over the outlying rough patches of our best days and stoke the desire to recreate them. No matter where our lives take us or how much time separates us, the places where we were happiest always tug on us.
And that is why Sarkisian's replacement is in for a fight.
Courage — Chris Peterson leaves Boise State for Washington
The literature of America is redundant with mismatches. Watch our movies, read our books, or play our video games, and you will be bombarded with underdogs defying their odds.
For the better part of a decade, the Boise State Broncos have been the college football canvas upon which this narrative has been grafted. And during that span, their head coach was the darling of the underdog-makers.
The appeal of the underdog is obvious: They give hope that greatness is still accessible, even when the odds are against it. We celebrate the mom-and-pop businesses that can outmaneuver corporate giants despite deficits in funding and power. But at some point, mom and pop grow and one day, the well-wishing recedes.
Calling Boise State an underdog at this point is insulting. The Broncos have won multiple BCS bowls, picked off an SEC team in its home state, and produced first round NFL draft picks. Their success is no longer novel.
When Peterson took over after Dan Hawkins left Boise for Colorado, the Broncos still had room to grow. They were still the team that scored by the dozens and played on turf the shade of Superman's spandex.
But today, the Broncos are something else. Stalled by the shifting sands of conference realignment, Boise State is a good program a little off the traditional map. Without access to the television exposure and money that comes with major conference membership, the next step in their evolution is difficult to envision.
And this is why Peterson's move seems like a bummer for everyone involved. After years of being mentioned as a candidate for major jobs, shuffling to a good-not-great BCS mid-packer is disappointing. After perhaps his poorest year at Boise State, is this a coach cashing in his professional gains before the bottom drops out of a once-growing program?
Peterson may have great success at Washington. He won plenty of games, competitive ones, in Boise, and he certainly knows the northwestern quadrant of the football country better than Lewis and Clark. Frankly, the Huskies had to be ecstatic to land him.
But behind it all, there have to be deep pools of doubt. Did the Boise lightening escape Peterson's bottle? Is his gaudy record built on the shaky foundation of a soft conference schedule? The games ahead will be tougher and the first hints of failure will draw the vultures' attention.
The future is never really bright. We may expect its positive content to outweigh the negative, but the days to come are always blanketed by the dark fog of uncertainty.
Unless, of course, you can cling to the present.
Brand — Bryan Harsin leaves Arkansas State for Boise State
Business executives detest marketing budgets. High on cost and low on reliable effectiveness, the old adage admits, "Half of any marketing budget is wasted; I just don't know which half."
In college football, the value of image to certain programs is undeniable. Think of Notre Dame's opulently gold helmets, Michigan's gigantic stadium, or Georgia's on-field flora and fauna. Even in down years, those traditional pieces keep major programs fresh in the college football zeitgeist.
But most college football brands have taken several decades to solidify. Their place in the great pageantry of fall Saturdays is as much the result of survival on the coattails of on-field success as any strategic mastery.
This is why a discussion of the brand for a program whose Division IA membership is just slightly older than the BCS seems silly.
Boise State has risen from a junior college in the late '60s to a significant player in major college football in the present tense. The ascent has been well-chronicled elsewhere, but through a combination of embracing off-prime TV slots, high-powered offenses, and blue Astroturf, the Broncos became the go-to football counterculture.
Even Boise State's critics advanced their cause. Throughout several recent seasons, the November agenda included arguments over the Broncos' viability as a national contender given its off-the-radar status. Just by having the discussion, even as many traditionalists took the negative position, was enough to entrench BSU in the national conversation.
Peterson, of course, shepherded the program through much of this rise. So when faced with his exit, Boise State clung to artifacts of his era.
In 2010, the Bronco brand seeped into college football royalty. Faced with a sputtering offense, Texas hired Boise State offensive coordinator Harsin to add a shade of blue to its tired burnt orange. Given the stations of the two programs, this was like the Queen ordering a Big Mac.
Harsin's star continued to rise, as after two years in Austin he became Arkansas State's head coach for the 2013 season (see below), winning a share of the Sun Belt title. With a year of head coaching under his belt, Harsin was primed for his next opportunity.
And yet, Harsin's candidacy to replace his former boss was hardly a slam dunk. Stung by previous coaches using its program as a stepping stone, Arkansas State placed a relatively lofty buyout in Harsin's contract. A seven-figure buyout is simply the cost of doing business for Alabama or Ohio State, but this was a new tactic for Boise State.
The challenge ahead for Harsin and Boise State is one faced by every traditional power. Even the most glamorous programs go through peaks and valleys of fate, having to rebuild their days of glory with well-worn tools. But what makes this period so critical for Boise is that the Broncos haven't done this before. The program has been a gunslingin' outsider for the duration of its national relevance. Faced with the choice of charting a brand new course or preserving the existing ethos, Boise State chose succession over revolution.
The king is dead. Long live the new king.
Ambition — Blake Anderson leaves offensive coordinator position at North Carolina to become Arkansas State head coach
At some point, you have to feel for athletic directors at smaller schools. On one hand, they want to hire great coaches for their programs; even in low stakes games, you want to be a winner.
But on the other hand, do too well in this task and you're simply auditioning coaches for their next jobs.
In each of the past three seasons, Arkansas State has hired a new coach, enjoyed a successful season, and then watched that coach leave Jonesboro for greener paychecks. In 2011, Hugh Freeze used his undefeated Sun Belt season to land in the SEC at Ole Miss. Undeterred, the Red Foxes used the opening as an opportunity to hire home-state spread guru Gus Malzahn. Malzahn posted a second consecutive 10-win season for the program, and once again the SEC raided ASU, as Malzahn leaped to Auburn.
For 2013, now looking for a fourth coach in four years, ASU looked for a longer-term coach. They hired Texas offensive coordinator Harsin, a somewhat lesser star in the college football sky, who couldn't possibly leave ASU looking for yet another coach for 2014, right?
Last week, ASU introduced Anderson, formerly North Carolina's offensive coordinator, as its fifth head coach in five years. He has no previous head coaching experience, though his stops serving under Larry Fedora have been impressive offensively. For a relatively young coach, this feels like the first stop in a career on the rise.
While ASU's rotation of coaches has spun to a comical extreme, it does emphasize the struggle smaller schools face in hiring and keeping good coaches. With shallower pockets and less appealing opportunities than major schools, these programs have to take chances on out-of-favor veterans or unproven prospects. And if a coach from this lesser pool does display top form, those same deep pockets and sexy opportunities will soon cast baited hooks outside his door.
For a group of hyper-competitive men who know that catching one of these chances can change their financial status for life, these chances are almost always too appealing to pass up. This is why so many romanticized Peterson at Boise State or Gonzaga basketball coach Mark Few. In spite of plenty of opportunity, each chose small over big, modesty over ambition.
But this is not the system for those leanings. College football coaching is a cruelly Darwinian world. These men literally compete against each other in the most starkly quantifiable way. Every Saturday, half of them exhale the relief of victory while across the battlefield, the other half gasp for the breath that will let them deal with the setbacks of defeat.
For many, the expanse of the coaching carousel represents the worst in college sports. As coaches play high stakes musical chairs, the players left behind are subject to arcane transfer restrictions that bind them to a school suddenly much different than the one they committed to.
But let's be fair: for most, if not all, of the schools I mentioned above, the players themselves are seeking a loftier destination. While often misguided, a large portion of Division I players simply want a path of less resistance to professional football. For others, college football is the price of a free degree. In the discussion of the nickels and dimes of pay-for-play schemes, we often forget that these are the real cash flows that inspire the pool of cheap labor driving college football.
Somewhere this offseason, a young, anonymous graduate assistant will toil away at a new scheme or perfect a new positional technique. For the scantest of compensation, he will reinvent and refresh the game we love. His payoff is still many years away and contingent on recognition, luck, and even more moments of genius. But if successful, he will one day find himself neatly stacked next to another black plastic block, just waiting for the firm push of opportunity to move him along.


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We are in the heart of the Diglis Marina in Worcester, taking full advantage of our amazing waterside location and just a few minutes' walk from the centre of Worcester.
The Anchor Inn is a traditional local pub with a contemporary craft flavour. We pride ourselves on offering great pub favourites using fresh local ingredients. Exceptional food and excellent service is at the heart of what we do in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. The Anchor Diglis is everything an exceptional dining pub should be.
We are a family run pub that has been located in the Diglis Marina since the early 1800's.
At The Anchor Inn everyone is welcome, we are both a child-friendly and dog-friendly pub.
Choose from four characterful seating areas, the bar, the restaurant, the Boathouse or the garden. At the Anchor we believe in time well spent, come and join us we look forward to seeing you soon.
Pay us a visit and try our new menus for Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
"The food was excellent, service outstanding and no quibbles about taking our 4 month puppy.Our overall experience was 1st class!"
"When you take a group of people who dine around the World to your favourite Pub you always hope it will be as good as you say. That was 3 years ago… my much travelled friends insist we return each year to the Anchor"
"With the Diglis Basin and River Severn at close hand it makes the perfect location for a filling Sunday roast followed by a stroll along the river to walk it off."


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Department of Correctional Services
Food Production Center: Seventeen Years of Fraud by the Former Director
The Department of Correctional Services' Food Production Center, which is located on the grounds of the Oneida Correctional Facility in Rome, New York, is a state-of-the-art facility designed to provide food and drink on a daily basis to inmates of State and local prisons. In a joint audit/investigation conducted with the State Inspector General's Office, we determined that, as a result of intentional fraud coupled with mismanagement, if not conscious acceptance of improprieties, by senior staff at the Department of Correctional Services, Howard Dean, the now retired Correctional Services Food Processing Center Director, received inappropriate and unlawful time and travel payments totaling about $500,000 from 1992 through August 2008.
Approximately $240,000 of this amount was paid because Mr. Dean was assigned a concocted official work station that allowed him to be in purported travel status for 17 years; he was granted a State vehicle to commute to work with gas and tolls paid for by the State; and he was improperly allowed to lodge in State-provided housing. The remaining $259,000 was paid because Mr. Dean submitted false timesheets and travel vouchers in which he certified to having worked hours he did not, including every Friday for 17 years; false travel vouchers which stated he stayed in a hotel 75 nights when in fact he did not; and fraudulent travel vouchers that included meals and other travel costs he did not incur. The Office of the State Comptroller and the State Inspector General's Office provided the findings contained in this report to the Oneida County District Attorney's Office for possible criminal charges, and recommended improvements in the control environment at the Department of Correctional Services.
For a complete copy of Report 2008-S-176 click
For a copy of the 90-day response click


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If the Big Ten is down on its luck after Ohio State was thrashed by Iowa and Penn State lost on a last-gasp field goal by Michigan State, who is poised to take advantage?
That's the question Pete Thamel, Nick Bromberg and Sam Cooper answered this weekend.
I think the Big Ten's receding chances help Oklahoma the most. The Big 12's sagging national rep in the Playoff era can always use a boost. And the virtual elimination of the Big Ten's two biggest heavyweights means a better shot for the Sooners. (Even if Ohio State is their biggest victory.)
Washington is suddenly back in the mix. The Pac-12's CFP hopes rest on the Huskies, who still need a lot of help to make the final four. But a week after it seemed like Washington was out of it already, the Huskies have some slim hopes.
Consider this: Miami could end up with two losses if it loses to Notre Dame and Clemson. And if Oklahoma and TCU meet twice and split the series, they each have two losses. If Wisconsin loses in the Big Ten title game and Stanford beats Notre Dame in the final week of the regular season and Washington wins the Pac-12 …
… OK, you can see it's still a longshot. But that's a plausible scenario, even if it's not likely to happen.
I feel like TCU is still kind of just lurking there and nobody is talking about it. The Horned Frogs moved up to No. 6 with a nice bounce-back win vs. Texas over the weekend and now have an immense opportunity ahead of them with a trip to No. 5 Oklahoma. You know if Penn State or Ohio State managed to win, they would be sandwiched in front of at least one, if not both, Big 12 teams.
The Sooners put up absurd offensive numbers in the win over Oklahoma State; TCU's defense, ranked No. 6 nationally, presents a far bigger challenge. If Kenny Hill and the TCU offense can play turnover-free football like they did against Texas, an upset could certainly be in the cards. A win over OU would go a long way in the committee's eyes.
Who's taking Sumlin's job?
— Nolan Riley (@NolanRiley8) November 8, 2017
The obvious answer here should be "no one." With a lot of possible vacancies after the 2017 season and not a lot of candidates to fill them, we still contend A&M is better off keeping Sumlin for another season.
More college football on Yahoo Sports:


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Related articles to 21st Century Learning and Teaching as also tools... filtered by Rise of the Professional Educator
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Lon Woodbury's curator insight, September 17, 2015 5:27 AM
Anybody who likes to play games like cards, monopoly, etc. understands at least somewhat its motivations. Digital devices just take that basic fact and take it to a new level, which if properly developed, can be effective in motivating to learn. -Lon
Tony Guzman's curator insight, September 17, 2015 10:16 PM
This article shares about the psychology behind what motivates us to learn, and what makes us retain that crucial knowledge via gamification.
Gust MEES's curator insight, January 24, 2015 10:03 PM
At New Tech Network, the Critical Friends protocol is an opportunity for colleagues to engage in honest conversations about teaching and learning.
Learn more:
- http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?tag=Collaboration
Global Collaboration:
- https://gustmees.wordpress.com/2014/10/11/learning-to-become-a-good-digital-citizen-digital-citizenship/
Ivon Prefontaine, PhD's curator insight, January 25, 2015 1:37 AM
Teaching is often done in isolation. We need to meet each other face-to-face and in the virtual space. @ivon_ehd1
Gust MEES's curator insight, January 26, 2015 5:15 PM
Managing Your Digital Footprint: Think Before You Post. Digital footprint refers to the compilation of content on the Internet that can be associated with you and, thus, potentially available to anyone performing a search on you.
The list of possible content visible online is endless (e.g., your family videos on YouTube, your comments on a news article or blog, vacation photos on Flickr, your posts on Facebook and Twitter).
Please watch the video below, "Understanding Your Digital Footprint" and then write a blog post based on the questions below....
Learn more:
- https://gustmees.wordpress.com/2014/10/11/learning-to-become-a-good-digital-citizen-digital-citizenship/
- http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?tag=Digital+Footprint
Qash Aris's curator insight, November 17, 2014 2:07 PM
Beyond University; Informal Learning virtual institutions that use Social Media as learning tools... worldwide learning collaboration based on topics/subjects which use as MOOC - 17th. Nov. 2014
Ana Loureiro's curator insight, May 25, 2014 9:51 PM
"The Timeline of Educational Technology in Schools Infographic shows how educational technology has evolved in schools over the past 114 years."
Deborah Arnold's curator insight, January 23, 2014 1:12 PM
Knowing why more important than what and how ?
Jeff Domansky's curator insight, May 2, 2015 2:58 PM
This is very thoughtful post with many resources and a strategy for social media that's hard to resist. It's all based on sharing and sharing what's important. Recommended reading. 9/10
Elaine J Roberts, Ph.D.'s curator insight, March 24, 2015 10:24 PM
We know blended and personalized learning can work for students. It makes sense that blended and personalized PD can work for educators. I think that's one of the reasons edCamp and other "unconferences" can be so successful.
Ivon Prefontaine, PhD's curator insight, February 1, 2015 12:25 AM
Teachers are first amongst equals in classrooms. Their role modeling of learning is essential to the learning of students.
veroco's curator insight, February 10, 2015 5:42 PM
Nice vision : the "modern learning" routines => Read - Comment - Write / Watch - Do - Teach / Contribute - Feedback - Grow...
Dr. Deborah Brennan's curator insight, April 2, 2015 2:34 PM
These thinking routines can help teachers move toward teaching processes for learning rather than content alone. In the era of ever increasing knowledge, we need to help students learn how to learn.
That being said, these routines can also be used as a model for teachers by using them as options for professional development,
The Digital Rocking Chair's curator insight, January 26, 2015 6:19 PM
"Lance Weiler explores how technology is transforming the art of storytelling."
Kajsa Hartig's curator insight, January 26, 2015 8:08 PM
'Together storytellers, game developers, makers, creative technologists and experience designers will experiment with new forms and functions of storytelling. '
Vivalist's curator insight, January 26, 2015 9:50 PM
Columbia joins the MIT and Duke University in the search for 21st century storytelling. It is interdisciplinary, that's one thing.
There are probably a lot of other academic programs in other universities as well. It's exciting to see interdisciplinary programs such as Duke' GreaterThanGames initiative give birth to awesome projects.
Fiona Harvey's curator insight, January 7, 2015 6:21 AM
Useful post that covers stages of Blooms Taxonomy and reasons for application
David W. Deeds's curator insight, January 14, 2013 5:52 PM
Great list! I'll be consulting it for our school.
ManufacturingStories's curator insight, August 7, 2014 11:34 PM
For more resources on STEM Education visit http://bit.ly/1640Tbl
Kent Lundgren's curator insight, August 20, 2014 12:26 PM
Något nytt i denna artikel om det "nya" digitala samhället? #digiskol
Coolwired's curator insight, September 10, 2014 2:25 PM
Thanks to Susan Bainbridge for this timely and informative infographic!
Ana Loureiro's curator insight, May 13, 2014 10:12 PM
"a large population of Internet users are 50 and older, utilizing the Web for social media, shopping and even education"


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Todd travels across the country to synagogues, Hillel's, JCCs, BBYOs, high schools, camps, conferences, churches and other organizations sharing his music with the goal of outreaching to people of all different backgrounds and uniting the community. He performs concerts, leads services, runs interactive workshops with students, and provides a powerful positive role model for the young people in the community. Wherever he goes, Todd uplifts and entertains the participants and gives them a renewed appreciation for life and for acoustic, spiritual pop music.
To experience one of Todd's live performances, check out the upcoming shows to the right or learn how you can book Todd for your event.


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CO2 Laser Market Analysis Report 2015-2019 is a new research report added by Sandlerresearch.org under the Semiconductor & Electronics category the report also includes a discussion on the key vendors operating in this market. The analysts forecast global CO2 laser market to grow at a CAGR of 5.36% over the period 2014-2019.
CO2 lasers contain an active laser medium, which is a gas discharge. These lasers are preferred over other lasers such as excimer lasers because they are more reliable, efficient, robust, and easier to operate than other lasers. They are mainly used for cutting and welding applications in industries such as manufacturing, automotive, electronics, healthcare, and telecommunications sue to their superior performance, compact size, high output power, and durability. CO2 lasers produce infrared radiations of wavelength between 9 microns and 11 microns with the help of different isotopes in the gain medium ( a gas mixture of CO2, nitrogen, and helium).
Covered in this report
This report provides the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global CO2 laser market for the period 2015-2019. To calculate the market size, the report considers revenue generated through the following end-user applications:
- Communication applications
- Material processing applications
- Medical applications
- Military applications
- Others
Purchase report directly @ http://www.sandlerresearch.org/purchase?rname=45825
Single User License USD 2500
Key players in the Global CO2 Laser Market: Coherent, GSI Group, Han's Laser Technology Industry Group, Rofin-Sinar Technologies, and Trumpf.
Other Prominent Vendors in the market are: Fanuc, GBOS Laser Technology, Lumenis, Laser Photonics, and Quanta System SpA.
The report, Global CO2 Laser Market 2015-2019, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the Americas APAC, Europe, and ROW; it also covers the landscape of the global CO2 laser market and its growth prospects in the coming years. The report includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.
Key regions
- Americas
- Europe
Inquire for more information @ http://www.sandlerresearch.org/inquire-before-buying?rname=45825
Key market driver
- Demand for highly precise and efficient laser products in manufacturing and healthcare industry
Key market challenge
- Adoption of fibre laser market in material processing industry
Key market trend
- Increase in number of mergers and acquisitions
Key questions answered in this report
- What will the market size be in 2019 and what will the growth rate be?
- What are the key market trends?
- What is driving this market?
- What are the challenges to market growth?
- Who are the key vendors in this market space?
- What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?
About US:
Sandlerresearch.org is an online market research store for research reports on multiple industries. These reports provide market analysis, trends and opportunities and forecast about industries that helps to make a right decision for the business.


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Alexandra Aloia named Senior Scholar at Alvernia University
READING, PA (04/24/2013)(readMedia)-- Alexandra Aloia of Egg Harbor City, N.J., was named the Senior Scholar during an honors ceremony at Alvernia University, Sun., April 21, 2013. She is a graduate of Saint Joseph High School.
Each year, the Senior Scholar Award is presented to one student who represents the best characteristics found in the Alvernia University student body, including a strong interest and commitment to major, university, and community. As this year's winner, Aloia will make scholarly contributions to her chosen discipline during her upcoming senior year, and will speak at two major events next: Opening Convocation and Honors Convocation.
Aloia is an Honors Student who is double majoring in Chemistry and History. She has maintained an impressive grade point average of 3.978 in her challenging curriculum and is a member of two campus honor societies: Lambda Sigma and Delta Epsilon Sigma. In addition to maintaining high levels of academic achievement, Aloia has consistently demonstrated a deep interest in research. She has presented at conferences, and is an active member of the American Chemical Society, the Alvernia Science Association, Philosophy Club and the Environmental Club. In addition, she has completed over 120 hours of community service through the university.
"I believe that no matter what circumstances surround me, it is ultimately my own strength that determines my future," said Aloia.
ALVERNIA is a fast growing Franciscan university, grounded in the Catholic and liberal arts traditions, that combines diverse academic opportunities with personal attention and an unmatched commitment to community service. Situated on a scenic 121-acre suburban campus in historic Berks County, Pa., the university supports a rigorous and caring learning community that is home to more than 3,000 students.


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Prevent Blindness Oklahoma Prevent Blindness Oklahoma
Here's a sample of our volunteer opportunities:VIEW AS
Mission Statement
Established in 1965, PBO is the only not-for-profit agency in the state dedicated exclusively to preserving the sight of Oklahoma's children and preventing blindness.
Serving all 77 counties in Oklahoma, PBO provides free vision screenings for children at preschools, day cares, Head Starts and public and private schools. PBO's intervention does not stop there; follow-ups are made, and if financial assistance is needed for these children, we provide the resources necessary for free eye exams and precription glasses by an eye care professional.
In addition to the Children's Vision Screening Program, PBO provides an invaluable service to our state through advocacy, community education and awareness on eye health and safety; and certification training services.
This upcoming school year alone, we will serve over 300,000 children.
PBO is supported soley by the general public, corporations, and foundations. We do not receive federal, state, or United Way funding. Only 9.1 percent of PBO's budget is spent on fundraising and administrative costs.
All money donated stays in Oklahoma for Oklahoma's children.
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WWF-trained fisherman release mobula ray in waters off Pasni
According to a press release release by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Pakistan, nakhuda (skipper) Badsha Nawab released the spinetail mobula which got trapped in a net on October 12, 2015.
WWF Pakistan also mentioned in the release that this is the third mobulid ray safely released by fishermen since last year. First mobulid was released on May 26, 2014 whereas a large mobulid was release on August 23, 2015.
The animal protection organization also stated that the population of mobulid rays is under serious threat mainly due to overfishing, habitat degradation and their very slow reproductive pattern. Considering their importance WWF-Pakistan initiated an awareness programme for fishermen and trained them to safely release these charismatic and gentle marine animals.
There is international concern that mobulids are slow to mature (more than 8-10 years), are long-lived (more than 40 years) but reproduce very slowly. A manta ray will give birth to a single pup every two to five years. These rays are world renowned for their charismatic beauty, gentle behaviour, and inquisitive playful nature. For this reason, tourists spend nearly US $140 million annually to see these rays in the wild providing an important source of income to many countries, the press release said.
WWF added that one of the reasons for their decline is the emerging demand for ray gill plates in the traditional Chinese medicine. Although it has not scientifically proven to have any health benefits, the demand for gill plates has compelled fishermen in some of the countries to target mobulids. It added that although the gill plates of mobulids are not exported from Pakistan but mobulids are regularly being caught as bycatch of gillnet fisheries in Pakistan.
"WWF-Pakistan trained fishermen now strive to release non-target and endangered species. Since 2013 when WWF-Pakistan initiated this training programme 14 whale sharks, 3 mobulids rays, 2 sunfishes, 1 Longman's beaked whale, 2 bottlenose dolphin and thousands of marine turtles have been successfully released. Rab Nawaz, Senior Director (Biodiversity), WWF-Pakistan considered the safe release of these rare animals as a good omen for the fisheries of Pakistan and for wildlife lovers that fishermen are now concerned about protection of threatened species found in Pakistan. On occasions, they have to scarify a part of their costly fishing nets to get the endangered marine animal released", the release further stated.
Technical Advisor (Marine Fisheries) of WWF-Pakistan Mohammad Moazzam Khan informed that the mobula rays or mobulids include large species of fishes, closely related to sharks and sting rays. The mobulids can grow to very large size with some manta ray individuals reaching up to 9 meters wide. These fish are commonly found in the warmer, tropical of waters of the world's oceans. Manta rays are graceful swimmer and their short tail allows the manta ray to have more acrobatic movement and they have even leap out of the water.
"There are six species of mobulids belong to two genus Manta and Mobula have been reported from Pakistan. Giant manta (Manta birostris) is the largest of the mobulids found in Pakistan. This species used to be of common occurrence before 1970 with some of the specimens attaining across disc breadth to be about 7 m. There were a number of records of this species either basking or leaping out of water behind Churna Island. There was no record of this species from Pakistani waters for more than 30 years, however, WWF-Pakistan collected recent evidences of its occurrence in Pakistan in April, 2014 and October 2015. Another species Manta alfredi was also reported for the first time from Pakistan by WWF-Pakistan", WWF stated.
The animal rights organization added that in addition to Manta five species of Mobula are also reported from Pakistan. These include Longhorned mobula (Mobula eregoodootenkee), Spinetail mobula (Mobula japonica) Chilean devil ray (Mobula tarapacana), Shortfin devil ray (Mobula kuhlii) and Smoothtail mobula (Mobula thurstoni). These are caught as bycatch of gillnet fisheries of Pakistan. Although no information about the commercial landings is available, WWF-Pakistan has started a project on the mobulids of Pakistan since July 2013 and observed that annually about 1,500 m. tons of mobulids are landed along the coast.


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UFO Sighting in San Diego, California on 2017-06-27 21:09:00 - Saw with friend, wife and daughter. looking west towards down town s.D. hovered air traffic wasn't around till the end. passenger aircraft began coming close it faded out.
The craft was large a line of bright orange lights together. it mst have been around 70 to 100 feet long. looking west towards down town san diego. not over down town though. witnessed by 4 of us.No air traffic stayed in one place for 5 min. not moving .Aprox.500 ft up. when passenger plane came within a couple of miles it disappeared. .
Latest UFO Sighting
Credit: MUFON


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We tell powerful, inspiring stories through photography and offer a behind-the-scenes look at emerging and established photographers.
If you'd like your work to be considered, please e-mail us. You can also follow us on Twitter.
- 08 - 09 - 13
While photographing a small farming and oil community in California's Central Valley, Sam Comen became fascinated with the lives of young undocumented immigrants who were eligible for the DREAM Act. Once keyed into their network, he learned that they were highly organized and empowered student activists.
Filed Under:Immigration • Portraits • Sam Comen • U.S.


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Online MA in TESOL!
Famous and Inspirational Quotations
This activity is for imtermediate to advanced conversation classes. Place students into groups of three or four and ask them to interpret some famous quotations (perhaps 5 for a 60 minute class). If possible, you should list the name of the person who is attributed with the quote. For example, you might have the following inspirational quote by Martine Luther King - ¨The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in time of challenge.¨
You can then give a brief history lesson of the roles these individuals played in society. The activity provides students with the opportunity to think beyond the transparent meaning of words.
Russell Levine, Manzanillo, Mexico
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Dave's ESL Cafe Copyright © 2016 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.


text: Wallpapers of the week #2 Sunset pictures This weeks addition of desktop wallpapers are some images I took last week. I love sunsets and 2 of them would make great desktop wallpapers. Check them out and feel free to download. Leave your thoughts and comment. Eating Design Spread the WordTwitterPinterestGoogleFacebookTumblrEmail Related Published by Eating Design Hi my name is Mali, I've been working as a creative in many areas of Design, Photography and Digital Media for the past 20 years. If your looking to hire an agency for all your creative needs, we provide a more personal, in-depth and imaginative solution for your brand and business. Drop me a message or subscribe for inspiration. Enjoy the site View all posts by Eating Design


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Program Overview
Our program offers you the opportunity to begin a career in fire protection technology, preparing you for occupations and advancement in fire suppression, investigation, prevention, emergency medical and rescue services, and hazardous materials technology. Our curriculum is designed to correlate classroom, laboratory and field experience in public and private sector fire organizations.
The program is for those wishing to enter the fire service (pre-service) and professional fire fighters who wish to earn an AAS degree and/or meet specific National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and State of Oregon D.P.S.S.T. Fire Certification Requirements.


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Lindsey Graham's Smear
No, Ruth Bader Ginsburg does not advocate pederasty.
What is Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., smoking? On the fourth day of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on John Roberts, President Bush's nominee for chief justice of the Supreme Court, Graham accused Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of advocating that the age of sexual consent be reduced to 12. Let's go to the transcript:
Well, there are all kind of hearts. There are bleeding hearts and there are hard hearts. And if I wanted to judge Justice Ginsburg on her heart, I might take a hard-hearted view of her and say she's a bleeding heart. She represents the ACLU. She wants the age of consent to be 12. She believes there's a constitutional right to prostitution. What kind of heart is that?
Graham's bizarre smear, deployed to warn Democrats not to come down on Roberts' "value system," was omitted from nearly all news accounts, presumably because no one knew what on earth he could possibly be talking about. An exception was Fox News, which ran the clip without commenting on whether the accusation was true. (Shame on Fox, and on reporter Jim Angle, who introduced the clip.) Graham's press secretary posted the smear on Graham's Web site but didn't cite any source.
So what was Graham's source? According to Graham spokesman Kevin Bishop, it was Sex Bias in the U.S. Code, a booklet co-authored by Ginsburg and published by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in 1977. The booklet's existence has been a hot topic among conservative homophobes for some time; see, for instance, here, here, and here. I haven't got the booklet itself—we'll get to its specific language, as related (no doubt accurately) by Eugene Volokh of UCLA Law School, in a moment—but Edward Whelan, president of the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center, has posted a 1974 paper coauthored by Ginsburg (under the aegis of the Columbia Law School Equal Rights Advocacy Project) titled "The Legal Status of Women Under Federal Law." This paper was an earlier version of Sex Bias in the U.S. Code. In an item about the 1974 paper posted last year on National Review Online, Whelan put the pro-pederasty accusation at the bottom of a list of other ridiculously distorted examples of Ginsburg's "extremist views" at the time—a tip-off that he knew he was on shaky ground. (Whelan didn't mention the age-of-consent point at all in a more recent rundown of the paper's most supposedly damning bits.) Here is Whelan's throwaway line in his National Review Online post:
Other nuggets abound. For example, Ginsburg recommended that the age of consent for purposes of statutory rape be lowered from 16 to 12. [See pages 69-71 and the specific recommendation regarding 18 U.S.C. § 2032 on page 76.] *
When we go to these pages, we find nothing of the sort.
"The Legal Status of Women Under Federal Law" is a paper advocating that federal statutes be rewritten so that, wherever possible, gender-specific references be replaced with gender-neutral references. That's the entire point of the paper, and, apparently, it's the entire point of Sex Bias in the U.S. Code as well. The paper's discussion of statutory rape objects to the fact that the relevant federal laws define the victim as female and the offender as male. Ginsburg and her coauthor argue that the law should be rewritten to outlaw sexual abuse of any minor, male or female, by any person who is significantly older, male or female (thereby obviating the absurd possibility that a 13-year-old boy would be prosecuted for seducing a 15-year-old girl). I would be very surprised if Sen. Graham disagreed with a word of this.
In the course of making this point, Ginsburg's 1974 paper praises and then quotes a draft Senate bill that never became law. The proposed law has, she writes, "a definition of rape that, in substance, conforms to the equality principle." She then quotes the bill's language:
"A person is guilty of an offense if he engages in a sexual act with another person, not his spouse, and: (1) compels the other person to participate: (A) by force; or (B) by threatening or placing the other person in fear that any person will imminently be subjected to death, serious bodily injury, or kidnapping; (2) has substantially impaired the other person's power to appraise or control the conduct by administering or employing a drug or intoxicant without the knowledge or against the will of such other person, or by other means; or (3) the other person is, in fact, less than twelve years old."
Yes, the language Ginsburg quotes with approval puts the age of consent at 12, which does seem awfully young. But she isn't addressing herself to the age issue; she's addressing herself to the gender issue. Is her praise meant to constitute an endorsement of the entire bill? Of course not. Ginsburg makes this explicit in a footnote in which she complains that even this language "retains use of the masculine pronoun to cover individuals of both sexes," which at the very least is confusing if it's intended to outlaw statutory (and other) rape by women, too. I would further guess that neither Ginsburg nor her feminist cohorts at the Columbia Law School Equal Rights Advocacy Project were particularly crazy about the quoted language's get-out-of-jail-free card for married men who raped their wives.
With this in mind, let's proceed to the language in Sex Bias in the U.S. Code, as described by the eminently reliable (though in this instance, I believe, analytically faulty) Eugene Volokh. Once again, Ginsburg objects to the fact that the law, as written, makes gender distinctions that she doesn't consider legitimate: "[T]he immaturity and vul[n]erability of young people of both sexes could be protected through appropriately drawn, sex-neutral proscriptions." According to Volokh, on page 102 Ginsburg makes the following "suggestion":
18 U.S.C. §2032 — Eliminate the phrase "carnal knowledge of any female, not his wife who has not attained the age of sixteen years" and substitute a Federal, sex-neutral definition of the offense patterned after S. 1400 §1633: A person is guilty of an offense if he engages in a sexual act with another person, not his spouse, and (1) compels the other person to participate: (A) by force or (B) by threatening or placing the other person in fear that any person will imminently be subjected to death, serious bodily injury, or kidnapping; (2) has substantially impaired the other person's power to appraise or control the conduct by administering or employing a drug or intoxicant without the knowledge or against the will of such other person, or by other means; or (3) the other person is, in fact, less than 12 years old.
From this, Volokh concludes that Ginsburg does indeed favor lowering the age of consent to 12. Exasperatingly, though, Volokh leaves out precisely how Ginsburg has worded her "suggestion." Since the topic, once again, is sex bias rather than age bias, I think that's important to know. Even if Ginsburg's "suggestion" is unqualified, it ought to be clear that, even in the swingin' 1970s, nobody would have proposed lowering the age of consent to 12 without offering up some sort of argument as to why this should be done. Yet Volokh does not cite any language elaborating on the point. From this I conclude that none exists. At the very worst, Ginsburg would seem to be guilty of a sloppy cut-and-paste job that muddied her meaning. Here's how she frames her recommendation in the 1974 paper (page 76):
A sex neutral definition of rape, such as the one set forth in S. 1400, § 1631, should be added to Title 18 or Title 10 and referred to throughout for the definition of the offense.
What, then, is Ruth Bader Ginsburg's true crime? In discussing how to rewrite the federal law addressing statutory rape, Ginsburg failed to state an opinion about what the age of consent should be. Perhaps she didn't address the issue, even parenthetically, because she really didn't have an answer. (Maybe she thought it should be higher than 16!) More likely, though, Ginsburg didn't address the age-of-consent issue because it wasn't relevant to her topic. Say it with me: She wasn't writing about age; she was writing about gender!
This indifference may seem monstrous to some. But one should remember that the sexual abuse of children didn't really become a high-profile issue until the 1980s, when the "recovered memory" phenomenon brought many more cases to light, some of them involving real abuse and putting real criminals behind bars, others merely creating hysteria and destroying the lives of innocent people. Were Ginsburg writing that paper today, she would no doubt raise at least a parenthetical eyebrow at making 12 the age of consent, if only to fend off accusations that she was herself pulling little boys into alleys. But in the 1970s, this particular variety of political quicksand had not yet evolved.
One final puzzle: Even though Volokh finds the defendant (Ginsburg) guilty, he's uncovered one bit of evidence that seriously undermines his argument. What follows is a quote from Volokh, not Ginsburg:
S. 1400 §1633 provided (at least in the version that I could find), that "sexual abuse of a minor" (essentially statutory rape) be limited to victims who are under 16, and who are "at least five years younger than" the defendant.
Whaa? S. 1400 kept the ageof consent at 16? Then why did Ginsburg write in the 1974 paper that it lowered the age of consent to 12? Wait a minute! Could all this Sturm und Drang be over…a typo? A typo that, mysteriously, was transposed from Ginsburg's 1974 paper to the 1977 booklet? That would be too rich.
[Update, Sept. 18: Graham's Ginsburg smear at the Roberts hearing was no mere slip of the lip. He said the same thing on Fox News' Hannity & Colmes the day before. Tim Funk of the Charlotte Observer and Michael McAuliff of the New York Daily News both passed along Graham's smear to their readers without bothering to point out that it was hooey. But kudos to Nina Totenberg of NPR for not letting Graham get away with it. She explained to her listeners that it wasn't true.]
Correction, Sept. 19, 2005: In an earlier version of this column, the phrase, "the specific recommendation regarding 18 U.S.C. § 2032 on page" was inadvertently omitted. (Return to the corrected sentence.)


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[deleted account] ( 37 moms have responded )
I have had Group B Strep since I was 4 months pregnant. Since it showed up in my urine samples I have been told I have high levels of it. I have had 3 rounds on meds and still have it. Chances are I will still have it when I deliver (currently at 37 weeks). I am currently taking probiotics, cranberry suppliments, and recently told to eat A LOT of garlic. I know that is is not harmful to me, but can be very serious to the baby.
I wanted to see who has had Group B strep while pregnant/delivery and what did you do or not do?
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It's almost instinctual: You hold your baby, adorable in her footed pj's, and you have the irresistible urge to toss her up in the air, see her face light up, and catch her safely in your arms. But are baby rides and roughhousing safe?
Not if your baby doesn't have head control; even light tossing could cause strain on her neck, says Heather Armstrong, M.D., a pediatrician in Lighthouse Point, Florida. Head control usually develops by 4 months, but it's best to be extra careful with her until 6 months, when her neck muscles have really strengthened.
Even then, take it easy. Instead of tossing your tot in the air, you can lift her just above your head without taking your hands off her. Or try light knee-bouncing to avoid the risk of dropping the baby.
Swing safely. If you want to spin your older infant or toddler around, hold her under her arms, not by her hands or wrists. Pulling on a child's arms can dislocate her elbow (called "nursemaid's elbow") and cause pain. If your child cries and holds her arm after playing, see your doctor right away; she can maneuver the ligament back into place.
Be a tame tickle monster. Tickling is great fun, but "babies tire out from it very quickly," says Dr. Armstrong. So if she stops laughing, stop the tickling.


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John D. Bransford
John D. Bransford holds the Shauna C. LarsonUniversity Professor of Education and Psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle. Bransford is also Co-Principal Investigator and Director of the Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Center, an National Science Foundation (NSF) Science of Learning Center.[1]
The University of Washington, Stanford University, and SRI International received funding from the NSF for a five-year research center on the science of learning. The LIFE Center seeks to understand and advance human learning through a simultaneous focus on implicit, informal, and formal learning, thus cultivating generalizable interdisciplinary theories that can guide the design of effective new technologies and learning environments.
Previously, Bransford was Centennial Professor of Psychology and Education and Co-Director of the Learning Technology Center at Vanderbilt University. Early works by Bransford and his colleagues in the 1970s included research in the areas of human learning, memory and problem solving, which helped shape the "cognitive revolution" in psychology. Author of seven books and hundreds of articles and presentations, Bransford is an internationally renowned scholar in cognition and technology.
In 1984 Bransford was asked by the Dean of Peabody College at Vanderbilt to help begin a Learning Technology Center that would focus on education. The Center grew from 7 people in 1984 to approximately 100 by 1999. During that time, Bransford and his colleagues developed and tested a number of innovative computer, videodisc, CD-Rom, and Internet programs for mathematics, science, and literacy. Examples include the Jasper Woodbury Problem Solving Series in Mathematics, the Scientists in Action Series, and the Little Planet Literacy Series. Many of these programs are being used in schools throughout the world. Bransford's dissertation won honorable mention in the national "Creative Talent Awards" contest; several of his published articles (co-authored with colleagues) have won "article of the year" in the areas of science education, technology, design, and theories of transfer. The Little Planet Literacy Series, has won major awards including the 1996 Technology and Learning Award and the 1997 Cody award for Best Elementary Curriculum from the Software Publishers Association. Bransford received the Sutherland Prize for Research at Vanderbilt, was elected to the National Academy of Education, and was awarded the Thorndike award in 2001. In 2003, Bransford received the highest honor within the Teaching of Physiology section of the American Physiological Society: he was selected to present the Claude Bernard Lecture during the Experimental Biology Meeting.
Bransford served as Co-Chair of several National Academy of Science committees. These committees wrote How Students Learn: History, Mathematics, and Science in the Classroom (2005),[2] How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School (2000),[3] and How People Learn: Bridging Research and Practice (1999).[4] Recently, he co-edited, with Linda Darling-Hammond, Preparing Teachers for a Changing World: What Teachers Should Learn and Be Able to Do (2005).[5] He is on the International and United States Board of Advisors for Microsoft's Partners in Learning program, and he has worked with the Gates Foundation to develop technology-enhanced workshops that link learning and leadership.
- ^ http://depts.washington.edu/cogstudy/science-of-learning/
- ^ Donovan, S., & Bransford, J. D. (2005). How Students Learn: History, Mathematics, and Science in the Classroom: National Academies Press.
- ^ Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition. Washington, D. C.: National Academy Press.
- ^ Donovan, M. S., Bransford, J. D., & Pellegrino, J. W. (1999). How People Learn: Bridging Research and Practice: National Academies Press.
- ^ Darling-Hammond, L., & Bransford, J. (2005). Preparing Teachers for a Changing World: What Teachers Should Learn and be Able to Do: Jossey-Bass.
External links[edit]
- John Bransford at the University of Washington 's College of Education
- Cognitive Studies in Education at the University of Washington 's College of Education
- Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Science of Learning Center (SLC) John is the director of this National Science Foundation (NSF) funded center
- UW's College of Education faculty spotlight at the University of Washington 's College of Education
- How People Learn[permanent dead link] at National Academy Press PDF pages of book available online
- Little Planet Literacy Series
- Little Planet Learning


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Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone has urged the U.S. Department of Defense in a recent video to stop using thousands of goats in medical training drills.
"Each year, the U.S. military and its contractors shoot, stab, mutilate, burn, and kill more than 10,000 live animals in cruel and archaic trauma training exercises," Stone said in the video, produced by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
The video utilizes leaked footage of a Coast Guard trauma training drill, where live anesthetized goats had their limbs cut off and were stabbed to simulate injuries. The Associated Press reported in April that other branches of the military use similar training techniques on goats and pigs.
According to PETA, 22 of 28 NATO nations use only non-animal methods for military training.
"As a veteran, I believe that those who are willing to fight for our country need the best possible training," Stone said. "Giving them a goat who was dismembered with hedge trimmers is not it. In the 21st century, there are more humane and effective ways to train service members than violently dismembering live animals."
Watch video, uploaded to YouTube on May 31, below:


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� �Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power and Civilization,� by Steven Solomon. Copyright 2010, Harper Collins Publishers, 596 pages, $17.99 paperback
The common perception is that China wants control of Tibet for political reasons, but that�s only part of the story. The real reason, says journalist and author Steven Solomon, is that the Himalayan Mountains and the Tibetan plateau harbor the headwaters of most of Asia�s great rivers.
That includes not only the Yellow and the Yangtze, both of which flow through China, but also the Brahmaputra (India and Bangladesh), Indus (Pakistan), Ganges (India), Mekong (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam), Salween (Burma and Thailand) and Irrawaddy (Burma).
Along these rivers live 1.5 billion people, says Solomon, and the rivers provide the basic food and energy for most of Asia. But with 20 percent of the world�s population and only seven percent of its fresh water, China is stretched thin. The same is true of India, with 17 percent of the global population and only four percent of accessible fresh water.
Whoever controls the headwaters of streams dictates, to a great extent, the lives and water supplies of people downstream, he says, and that�s not true just in China. Such conflicts embroil Egypt and Ethiopia, the source of the Blue Nile; Turkey and the downstream countries along the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers; and even the states upstream and downstream along the Colorado River in the United States and Mexico.
Such factors account for struggles that will eventually dwarf those we�re seeing today about control of the world�s oil supply, Solomon says, and it�s crucial that people wake up to the problem. Only one scary example is the water-famished Middle East.
�The region�s upsurge in violence, radical religious fundamentalism and terrorism is likely but a foretaste of what potentially lies ahead as its water famine worsens,� Solomon writes in a lengthy chapter on the region. He says water shortages were to a great extent to blame for Islam�s decline after its 12th Century glory years, and he adds that with population forecast to swell 63 percent by 2050, the Middle East is a �demographic volcano.�
This is a history book, it�s true, but it�s a history book with several differences. To begin, Solomon is a graceful writer able to sustain one�s interest no matter how dry the topic � not a particular problem here. Second, this epic work is worldwide, unlike all too many histories. You�ll find a fine account of the creation and operation of China�s Grand Canal, which for centuries has linked the country�s rainy south with its parched north. (See this month�s National Geographic magazine for another treatment.)
Solomon delves into the water supply systems of places as diverse as ancient Rome and modern New York City, and in a chapter called �The Sanitary Revolution,� he traces the 19th century beginnings of pollution control. Not that it�s very hope-inducing. London didn�t begin to clean up the Thames until the stench got so bad that parliament couldn�t function.
The Times of London put it this way in an editorial on June 17, 1858: �What pity it is that the thermometer fell 10 degrees yesterday. Parliament was all but compelled to legislate upon the great London nuisance by the force of the sheer stench.� After years of putting off sanitation reforms, even after two cholera epidemics, parliament finally acted. It took 18 days.
Solomon�s history will leave you with all sorts of questions. When Lot�s wife was turned to salt in Genesis, was that a comment on Babylon�s destruction of its cropland through irrigation that turned its soil saline? Salt accumulations in the poorly drained soil depleted its fertility and, thus, the ecosystem foundation of Mesopotamian civilization. In essense, there wasn�t much left of the legendary site of the Garden of Eden.
There�s much to ponder here. Solomon covers the creation of the Suez and Panama Canals, including President Theodore Roosevelt�s questionable shenanigans in pushing through the latter. He explains the role of water in powering the Industrial Revolution in Europe and the United States. And he explains the working of aqueduct systems in California, one of the poster children for bad water management. Folks there might have learned some lessons from ancient Rome, had they listened.
I discovered this book during my own community�s recent �Creek Week� celebration, an attempt to understand (and clean up) our own waterways with an eye to their place in the world. Think globally, act locally, if you will. We sought salamanders, pulled trash out of creeks, went fishing, watched movies and watched birds, among other things.
Our creek cleanups of course don�t amount to much on a world scale, but there are things we can do to put off the coming water conflicts, Solomon says in his final chapter, �Opportunity from Scarcity.� Chief among those is water conservation, which ranges from repairing dilapidated water supply systems to promoting drip irrigation. Each North American, for instance, uses two-and-one-half times more renewable fresh water than the world average. Each Chinese uses only one-third as much.
Beyond that is water recycling, slowly becoming more common in some dry regions. And above all, it�s crucial to supply water to the one-fifth of humanity who don�t have enough. More than 1.1 billion people lack access to at least one gallon a day of safe water to drink, Solomon writes. Some 2.6 billion lack the five gallons a day needed for rudimentary sanitation and hygiene. Meanwhile, people in the United States use an average of 150 gallons a day for domestic and municipal purposes.
Some of the problems are solvable, Solomon writes, but we must start now. Otherwise, we will see come true the 1995 prediction of World Bank official Ismail Serageldin of Egypt: �Many of the wars this century were about oil, but those of the next century will be over water.�
Tom Dillon is the retired Accent editor of the Times-News. You can find more of Steven Solomon�s writing about water on his blog at thewaterblog.wordpress.com.


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VICTORVILLE � Convictions of Section 8 housing fraud have gained momentum since the first case went to trial in June, officials said Monday.
Diane Renay Anthony, 49, of Victorville reached an agreement with prosecutors Friday, pleading guilty to fraudulently obtaining aid. She is set to be sentenced Aug. 9.
In a neighboring courtroom, Superior Court Judge Ann Marie Pace handed down a 60 day jail sentence to Fante Sherri Anderson, 30, of Victorville and ordered her to pay $15,000 in restitution back to the state.
"We have no tolerance for fraud in San Bernardino County," said Daniel Nackerman, executive director of the Housing Authority of San Bernardino County. "We're quite proud to see people who are not only committing fraud but harboring serious offenders, being punished."
Nackerman said there's a common misconception that Section 8 housing, now known as the Housing Voucher Program, goes hand in hand with higher crime rates. But 99 percent of housing voucher holders are responsible and not involved in crime, he said.
"We're excited to be working with the sheriff's department, office of the inspector general and the housing authority to pursue those individuals that are taking advantage of the system and receiving moneys they are not entitled to," said Reid Robsahm who handles the cases for Victorville. Robsahm added that since September there's been restitution orders totaling $449,000 in San Bernardino County.
Despite prosecutors failing to find three witnesses to testify during her trial in June, Dennia Margaret Johnson, 47, was convicted of perjury and two counts of fraudulently obtaining aid over $400. Superior Court Judge Eric Nakata sentenced her to one year in county jail.
Johnson's case was the first local one of its kind to go to trial, giving prosecutors and defendants a better idea of what to expect should they also choose to go to trial.
As a result, more plea agreements have been reached by defendants that want lesser sentences, instead of trying their luck with a jury.
The convictions are the culmination of a program that is unique to anywhere in the nation and combines four agencies that are working together to crack down on people who steal from the government, officials said.
"These prosecutions demonstrate that it does not matter whom you steal from," Robsahm said. "Even when you steal from taxpayers, you will be prosecuted and this protects those individuals on the waiting list who are truly in need of housing assistance."
In San Bernardino County, there are currently 30,000 people on the waiting list for the housing voucher program.
Ryan Orr may be reached at 951-6277 or email@example.com.