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Calorie Burn Rate Calculator
The more active you are, the more calories you burn. Running or jogging, for instance, burns more calories than bowling. Carrying your clubs when golfing burns more calories than riding in a golf cart. Your weight also affects the number of calories burned: The more you weigh, the more calories you burn. Fill in your weight, and the calculator will provide you with a list of activities and an approximation of how many calories you will burn. If you haven't been active, be sure to check with your health care provider before starting an exercise program.
Enter Your Information
Your Reported Weight:
Estimated calories burned per hour for a person of your approximate weight:
|Aerobics, step: high impact
|Aerobics, step: low impact
|Aerobics: high impact
|Aerobics: low impact
|Aerobics: water
|Basketball: game
|Basketball: wheelchair
|Bicycling, stationary: moderate
|Bicycling, stationary: vigorous
|Bicycling: 20 mph
|Bicycling: 12-13.9 mph
|Bicycling: 14-15.9 mph
|Bicycling: 16-19 mph
|Bicycling: BMX/mountain
|Boxing: sparring
|Calisthenics: moderate
|Calisthenics: vigorous
|Chopping/splitting wood
|Circuit training: general
|Dancing: disco, ballroom, square
|Dancing: fast, ballet, twist
|Dancing: slow, waltz, foxtrot
|Elliptical trainer: general
|Football: competitive
|Football: touch, flag
|Gardening: general
|Golf: carrying clubs
|Golf: using cart
|Gymnastics: general
|Handball: general
|Health rider
|Heavy cleaning: car, windows
|Hiking: cross country
|Hockey: field and ice
|Ice skating: general
|Martial arts: karate, kickboxing
|Moving: carrying boxes
|Mowing lawn: push, hand
|Mowing lawn: push, power
|Operate snow blower: walking
|Racquetball: casual
|Racquetball: competitive
|Raking lawn
|Rollerblade: skating
|Rope jumping
|Rowing, stationary: moderate
|Rowing, stationary: vigorous
|Running: 6 min/mile
|Running: 8 min/mile
|Running: 10 min/mile
|Running: 12 min/mile
|Scuba or skin diving
|Shoveling snow: by hand
|Sitting: reading, watching TV
|Skiing: downhill
|Ski machine: general
|Snow shoeing
|Soccer: general
|Softball: general play
|Stair-step machine: general
|Stretching, Hatha yoga
|Swimming: general
|Swimming: laps, vigorous
|Tai chi
|Tennis: general
|Walk/Jog: jog<10 min.
|Walk: 15 min/mile
|Water polo
|Water skiing
|Water volleyball
|Weightlifting: general
|Weightlifting: vigorous
|Whitewater: rafting, kayaking
|Volleyball: beach
|Volleyball general play
Sources: USDA
This calculator is not intended to replace the evaluation of a healthcare professional.


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Hamas Firing Rockets Is Unforgivable … But Israel Has Done MUCH Worse
We condemn Hamas for firing rockets into Israel. We believe that targeting civilians is unconscionable and illegal under international law.
But by any objective measure, Israel has broken the law much more than Hamas. Haaretz noted in 2002:
Israel holds the record for ignoring United Nations Security Council resolutions, according to a study by San Francisco University political science professor Steven Zunes.
[Zunes] systematically went through all the states given instructions by the security council to find out how common a phenomenon it was. His results were somewhat surprising: "Some of the countries are considered and are known to be friendly to the U.S.," he told Ha'aretz yesterday. "In the vast majority of cases I examined, the governments violating UN Security Council resolutions are countries that receive significant military, diplomatic and financial aid from the U.S."
Israel leads the list. Since 1968, Israel has violated 32 resolutions that included condemnation or criticism of the governments' policies and actions. Turkey is in second place, with 24 violations since 1974, and Morocco is third with 17 resolutions it ignored.
Zunes specifically avoided counting resolutions that are vague or unclear so that governments could claim different interpretations to the meaning of the resolutions. Thus, the famous UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 are not included in his study. He also did not count resolutions that only included condemnations. Instead, he focused on those that included specific calls for changes in the subject governments' policies.
The resolutions Israel violated were either about its annexation of East Jerusalem or settlements in the territories. Israel also ignored UN Security Council resolutions that called for Israel to cease using harsh measures against the Palestinian population and to cease expelling Palestinians.
Pulitzer prize winning journalist Chris Hedges points out that Israel has broken nearly a hundred UN Security Council resolutions regarding Gaza alone:
The continued presence of Israeli occupation forces defies nearly a hundred U.N. Security Council resolutions calling for them to withdraw. The Israeli blockade of Gaza, established in June 2007, is a brutal form of collective punishment that violates Article 33 of the Fourth 1949 Geneva Convention, which set up rules for the "Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War."
Here is a brief sampling of UN Security Council resolutions against Israel:
- Resolution 106: The Palestine Question (29 Mar 1955) 'condemns' Israel for Gaza raid
- Resolution 111: The Palestine Question (January 19, 1956) " … 'condemns' Israel for raid on Syria that killed fifty-six people"
- Resolution 127: The Palestine Question (January 22, 1958) " … 'recommends' Israel suspends its 'no-man's zone' in Jerusalem".
- Resolution 162: The Palestine Question (April 11, 1961) " … 'urges' Israel to comply with UN decisions"
- Resolution 171: The Palestine Question (April 9, 1962) " … determines flagrant violations' by Israel in its attack on Syria"
- Resolution 228: The Palestine Question (November 25, 1966) " … 'censures' Israel for its attack onSamu in the West Bank, then under Jordanian control"
- Resolution 237: Six Day War June 14, 1967) " … 'urges' Israel to allow return of new 1967 Palestinian refugees". and called on Israel to ensure the safety and welfare of inhabitants of areas where fighting had taken place
- Resolution 248: (March 24, 1968) " … 'condemns' Israel for its massive attack on Karameh in Jordan"
- Resolution 256: (August 16) " … 'condemns' Israeli raids on Jordan as 'flagrant violation"
- Resolution 258: (September 18) … expressed 'concern' with the welfare of the inhabitants of theIsraeli-occupied territories, and requested a special representative to be sent to report on the implementation of Resolution 237, and that Israel cooperate
- Resolution 259: (September 27) " … 'deplores' Israel's refusal to accept UN mission to probe occupation"
- Resolution 262: (December 31) " … 'condemns' Israel for attack on Beirut airport"
- Resolution 265: (April 1, 1969) " … 'condemns' Israel for air attacks on Salt"
- Resolution 270: (August 26) " … 'condemns' Israel for air attacks on villages in southern Lebanon"
- Resolution 279: (May 12, 1970) "Demands the immediate withdrawal of all Israeli armed forces from Lebanese territory"
- Resolution 280: (May 19) " … 'condemns' Israeli's attacks against Lebanon"
- Resolution 285: (September 5) " … 'demands' immediate Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon"
- Resolution 298: (September 25, 1971) " … 'deplores' Israel's changing of the status of Jerusalem"
- Resolution 316: (June 26) " … 'condemns' Israel for repeated attacks on Lebanon"
- Resolution 317: (July 21) " … 'deplores' Israel's refusal to release Arabs abducted in Lebanon"
- Resolution 332: (April 21) " … 'condemns' Israel's repeated attacks against Lebanon"
- Resolution 337: (August 15) " … 'condemns' Israel for violating Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity and for the forcible diversion and seizure of a Lebanese airliner from Lebanon's air space"
- Resolution 347: (April 24)" … 'condemns' Israeli attacks on Lebanon"
- Resolution 444: " … 'deplores' Israel's lack of cooperation with UN peacekeeping forces"
- Resolution 446 (1979): 'determines' that Israeli settlements are a 'serious obstruction' to peace and calls on Israel to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention"
- Resolution 450: " … 'calls' on Israel to stop attacking Lebanon".
- Resolution 452: " … 'calls' on Israel to cease building settlements in occupied territories"
- Resolution 465: " … 'deplores' Israel's settlements and asks all member states not to assist Israel's settlements program"
- Resolution 467: " … 'strongly deplores' Israel's military intervention in Lebanon"
- Resolution 468: " … 'calls' on Israel to rescind illegal expulsions of two Palestinian mayors and a judge and to facilitate their return"
- Resolution 469: " … 'strongly deplores' Israel's failure to observe the council's order not to deport Palestinians"
- Resolution 471: " … 'expresses deep concern' at Israel's failure to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention"
- Resolution 478 (20 August 1980): 'censures (Israel) in the strongest terms' for its claim to Jerusalemin its 'Basic Law'
- Resolution 487: " … 'strongly condemns' Israel for its attack on Iraq's nuclear facility"
- Resolution 497 (17 December 1981), decides that Israel's annexation of Syria's Golan Heights is 'null and void' and demands that Israel rescinds its decision forthwith
- Resolution 501: " … 'calls' on Israel to stop attacks against Lebanon and withdraw its troops".Resolution 515: " … 'demands' that Israel lift its siege of Beirut and allow food supplies to be brought in"
- Resolution 516, demanded an immediate cessation of military activities in Lebanon, noting violations of the cease-fire in Beirut
- Resolution 517: " … 'censures' Israel for failing to obey UN resolutions and demands that Israel withdraw its forces from Lebanon".
- Resolution 520: " … 'condemns' Israel's attack into West Beirut".
- Resolution 573: " … 'condemns' Israel 'vigorously' for bombing Tunisia in attack on PLO headquarters
- Resolution 592: " … 'strongly deplores' the killing of Palestinian students at Birzeit University by Israeli troops"
- Resolution 605: " … 'strongly deplores' Israel's policies and practices denying the human rights of Palestinians
- Resolution 607: " … 'calls' on Israel not to deport Palestinians and strongly requests it to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention
- Resolution 608: " … 'deeply regrets' that Israel has defied the United Nations and deported Palestinian civilians"
- Resolution 611: "… condemned Israel's assassination of Khalil al-Wazir as a 'flagrant violation of theCharter
- Resolution 636: " … 'deeply regrets' Israeli deportation of Palestinian civilians
- Resolution 641 (30 Aug 1989): " … 'deplores' Israel's continuing deportation of Palestinians
- Resolution 672 (12 Oct 1990): " … 'condemns' Israel for "violence against Palestinians" at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount
- Resolution 673 (24 Oct 1990): " … 'deplores' Israel's refusal to cooperate with the United Nations
- Resolution 681 (20 Dec 1990): " … 'deplores' Israel's resumption of the deportation of Palestinians
- Resolution 694 (24 May 1991): " … 'deplores' Israel's deportation of Palestinians and calls on it to ensure their safe and immediate return
- Resolution 726 (06 Jan 1992): " … 'strongly condemns' Israel's deportation of Palestinians
- Resolution 799 (18 Dec 1992): ". . . 'strongly condemns' Israel's deportation of 413 Palestinians and calls for their immediate return
- Resolution 904 (18 Mar 1994): Cave of the Patriarchs massacre
- Resolution 1322 (07 Oct 2000) deplored Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount and the violence that followed
- Resolution 1435 (24 Sep 2002) demanded an end to Israeli measures in and around Ramallah, and an Israeli withdrawal to positions held before September 2000
The war crimes are ongoing.
Note: We have not been able to find a single UN resolution against Palestine.

subset: commoncrawl


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The OC Register recently reported a fun fact about the Mission Tortilla Factory next to Paradise Pier: free tortillas!
If you're hungry during your California Adventure touring, duck over into the Factory for Disneyland's very own tortilla tour! At the end of an interesting tour about California's tortilla history and the inner-workings of a tortilla factory, guests are sent off with a fresh tortilla for free!


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Leisler-Milborne Treason Trial
In 1688, James II ordered that the Province of New York be annexed to the Dominion of New England that he had established in 1686 to consolidate the administration of the New England colonies. In the ceremonial transfer of power, New York's Governor Nicholson presented the New York Provincial Seal to Governor Andros, who then broke it, symbolizing that New York no longer had an independent administration, and Nicholson became the Lieutenant Governor of the Dominion. Not long afterward, word of England's Glorious Revolution that replaced the absolute monarchy of James II with a constitutional monarchy under William of Orange and Mary, reached the capital of the Dominion, Boston. Andros and many officials of his highly unpopular administration were arrested, jailed and sent to England for trial.
In the political vacuum that ensued, the citizens of New York feared an attack on the city by forces loyal to James II. To preempt the rumored attack, the local New York militia seized Fort James on May 31, 1689, and declared loyalty to William and Mary. One of their number, a German immigrant named Jacob Leisler, drafted a declaration that stated "as soon as the bearer of orders from the prince of Orange shall let us see his power, then without delay we do intend to obey, not the orders only, but also the bearer thereof." The militia set up a Committee of Safety to govern New York pending the arrival of the new Governor and Leisler, who had studied at a military academy in Germany, emerged as the commander. On June 6, 1689, Lieutenant-Governor Nicholson departed for England to deliver depositions to the crown and shortly afterward, word was received from William and Mary confirming in office all Protestants holding royal commissions. By that time, the only area of the Province not under Leisler's command was Albany and the anti-Leisler faction gathered there, including Bayard and van Cortlandt. When Leisler's forces arrested and imprisoned Bayard, his supporters fled to neighboring colonies and in early 1690, the Leisler militia took control of Albany.
Although William and Mary commissioned Henry Sloughter as Governor of New York on November 14, 1689, he did not depart from England until December 1, 1690. While at sea, his ships encountered stormy weather, and it was the ship upon which his Lieutenant-Governor, Major Richard Ingoldsby, sailed that first arrived in New York harbor. Ingoldsby did not have his commission in his possession (it was on Sloughter's ship), but he insisted that Leisler surrender the government and Fort James to him. Leisler refused, citing the absence of the documents of appointment. Ingoldsby had the support of the members of the old Council and during the six weeks that followed, the City split into two armed camps. When Governor Sloughter arrived, he issued a second demand for surrender and Leisler sent envoys to the Governor in reply. These emissaries were immediately seized as rebels and the following morning, when Leisler surrendered the fort, he and many of his followers were arrested and imprisoned.
The Trial
A Committee for Preparing the Prosecution, consisting of Nicholas Bayard, William Pinhorne, and Stephen Van Cortlandt was set up and a special session of the Court of Oyer and Terminer was convened on April 10, 1691. Leisler, Jacob Milborne (Leisler's son-in-law), and eight others were indicted and charged with the treasonable act of holding the king's fort by force against the royal governor, such action resulting in several deaths. Joseph Dudley, who had been Chief Judge of the Dominion of New England under James II, was appointed chief judge of the tribunal. Many of the associate judges were anti-Leislarians: Thomas Johnson, a judge of admiralty; Sir Robert Robinson, Colonel William Smith, Recorder William Pinhorne, Mayor of New York City John Lawrence, Jasper Hicks, captain of the frigate "Archangel," Major Richard Ingoldsby, Colonel John Young, and Captain Isaac Arnold. The attorneys for the prosecution were James Emott, George Farewell, and William Nicoll. Neither Leisler nor Milborne was represented by counsel.
Leisler and Milborne refused to plead until the court ruled on the legality of the authority under which they had held Fort James. That authority consisted of a commission from King William, dated July 30, 1689 and addressed to Lieutenant-Governor Nicholson or, in his absence "to such as for the time being take care of preserving the peace and administering the laws" (a reference to the Governor's Council). This document re-appointed Nicholson (previously appointed by James II) as Lieutenant-Governor. The document did not reach New York until December 9, 1689, by which time Nicholson had departed the Province. The king's emissary delivered the commission to Leisler, who controlled the City, and the Committee on Safety deemed Leisler legally appointed Lieutenant-Governor because he was "the person who administered the laws and preserved the peace."
The court declined to address this question but referred it to the Governor and Council who responded that the royal papers gave no power or direction to Leisler. Again, Leisler and Milborne refused to plead. The trial lasted eight days, the jury found the defendants guilty, and Leisler and Milborne were sentenced to death. Governor Henry Sloughter was hesitant to execute the men "who had first raised the standard of William of Orange and Protestantism," and sought instructions from England. But before the authorities in England could respond, the anti-Leisler faction prevailed upon the Governor to sign the death warrants (it is said, he was very drunk), and Leisler and Milborne were hanged on Saturday, May 16, 16911 before the Governor regained his senses.
Appeal to the House of Lords
Leisler's son petitioned the House of Lords to hold an inquiry into the legality of the execution of Leisler and Milborne. During those proceedings, Lord Bellomont declared that Leisler and Milborne had been "barbarously murdered." The House of Lords reversed the attainder and posthumously restored Leisler and Milborne to their estates. In 1698, when Governor Bellomont arrived in New York, he approved the disinterment of the remains of Leisler and Milborne from the hole beneath the gallows into which they had been hastily thrown after the execution. Under guard of 100 soldiers provided by Bellomont, and with upwards of twelve hundred people marching to the beat of muffled drums in torch-lit procession, the remains were brought to City Hall, where they lay in state for several days. Following funeral ceremonies, the bodies were interred in the Dutch Church.
The trial had lasting effect and the executions made martyrs of both Leisler and Milborne, deepened the divisions between pro- and anti-Leislerian factions, and influenced the politics of the Province for many decades afterward.
David William Voorhees. "The 'fervent Zeale' of Jacob Leisler." 51 William and Mary Quarterly 447.
William Cullen Bryant, Sydney Howard Gay, and Noah Brooks. Scribner's Popular History of the United States. (1896).
William Torrey Harris. The United States of America: A Pictorial History of the American Nation from the Earliest Discoveries and Settlements to the Present Time (1909).
1) "But the enemies of the condemned men did not stop because of such refusal. At a grand dinner, they brought the governor under the influence of wine, and then had little trouble in leading him further. While he was in this drunken condition, the death warrants of Leisler and Milborne were placed before him, and, without realizing the fearful step he was taking, he affixed his signature. This was on the 16th of May, 1691. When the governor recovered his senses he found that both the prisoners had been hanged, and their bodies beheaded in the presence of a large crowd of people." (The United States of America: A Pictorial History of the American Nation from the Earliest Discoveries and Settlements to the Present Time (1909)).


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Thursday, 5 December 2013
Reasons to be cheerful week 49 year 3 #R2BC
18 comments:
thank you :-)ReplyDelete
- theroadoutside5 December 2013 at 21:08
Congratulations! And how wonderful to have helpful children... how did you manage that?ReplyDelete
not all the time ;-)ReplyDelete
- Looking for Blue Sky5 December 2013 at 21:18
Congratulations on the prize and I'd love some training tips for getting boys to help around the house!ReplyDelete
It's so important to get boys involved in the house work, well done! Congrats on the prize too, how exciting :-)ReplyDelete
You did really well especially when life gets in the way.ReplyDelete
just squeezed in 5 k this morning ;-)ReplyDelete
- WifeMumStudentBum6 December 2013 at 23:06
You are doing amazing. I'm starting after Christmas, I mean it ... ! xReplyDelete
I'll be running after to you to make sure!ReplyDelete
- Elizabeth Townson7 December 2013 at 00:00
Wow! Well done!ReplyDelete
Wow, you're doing brilliantly. well done xReplyDelete
- MsXpat8 December 2013 at 15:51
hey great you had a good week. well done on winning prize that's always fun :0) here's to another good week.ReplyDelete
definitely need to train them!ReplyDelete
- A Girl I know10 December 2013 at 20:06
Wow you are good! I't great when you can push yourself and you can see the results. I get bored running and then always end up stopping to talk to people haha. xReplyDelete


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Sharon Day, co-chair of the Republican National Committee, asserted at the opening of her party's national conference last week: "[This] is the most important election in our nation's lifetime."
Well, it depends. That probably isn't true if your number-one issue of concern is drone attacks, the endless conflict in Afghanistan, the drug war, civil liberties, or the seemingly endless expansion of executive power. None of these are minor issues and the parties presently do not differ greatly on any of them.
But this election will decide the future of our welfare state. The strongest comparisons, for barroom purposes, are 1964, when LBJ ran on medical and hospital care for the elderly against Barry Goldwater, who compared such frivolousness to giving free cigarettes to smokers. Or perhaps the better comparison is 1932, when Americans voted in the New Deal against the disastrous austerity of Herbert Hoover.
In either case, the choice is just as stark between Barack Obama – and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – and Mitt Romney, who endorsed Representative Paul Ryan's House budget (before he was even selected as the VP nominee) that would cut $3.3 trillion from a multitude of programs for working Americans. Depending on who wins in November, the welfare state battles of the next four years, and beyond, will either be over the implementation and possible strengthening of a new universal healthcare scheme, or a series of rearguard battles to defend the safety net stitched together over the last 80 years.
"Many people believe the issue is that are we going to repeal healthcare reform and go back to what the world looked like in 2008," says Harold Pollack, professor at the University of the Chicago School of Social Service Administration and expert on health care and anti-poverty policy. "That's one of the issues, but it goes much deeper than that. The Republican platform is a direct attack on the post-New Deal structure of American social insurance. I applaud the selection of Paul Ryan: I think it brings a clarity to this election."
The wave of "Vote Democrat: Save Medicare" posts that swept Facebook within minutes of the Ryan pick immediately showed that the Democrats, quite sensibly, are trying to fight this election on the safety net issues that enjoy the most support. (He plans to shift Medicare cost increases onto the backs of seniors and raise the retirement age.) Less frequently mentioned is the ACA which does not go fully into effect until 2014. The actual universal healthcare potion of the law will probably be unassailable once it's actually in place, so 2012 may be the last chance for Republicans to kill it.
But all the acrimonious debate around Medicare, the ACA and Social Security (privatization is not featured in the GOP platform, but Ryan targeted it repeatedly in the past) diverts attention from the equally devastating consequences of a Republican victory. Programs that specifically assist low-income Americans—Medicaid, along with food, education and housing assistance—are first on the chopping block. These programs don't only help the jobless and destitute. They are there for the 43 percent of American families that would fall below the poverty line in the event of a crisis, like a layoff or a serious accident.
Here are four ways Romney-Ryan would decimate our already threadbare social safety net.
1. Gut Medicaid
Medicaid is best known as the public healthcare program for the poor, but that doesn't mean that all poor people are able to access it. (It is not just low-income adults who benefit from the program, most of the beneficiaries are retirees, children and the disabled.) The program is funded partially by the states and partially by the feds, but it is the former that control the income limits and other restrictions that determine eligibility. One of the most important aspects of the Affordable Care Act is that it would universalize Medicaid accessibility under 133 percent of the poverty line.
Vice-presidential candidate Ryan's budget plan would eliminate the Affordable Care Act, vaporizing the $642 billion allotted to that expansion. But that's just the warmup. The Ryan plan would also reduce present Medicaid spending by $750 billion over the next 10 years. That's about a third of the program gone, and between 14 and 19 million more Americans added to the ranks of the uninsured, already well to the north of 50 million.
The savings would come from turning Medicaid into a block grant program, which means that the federal government's contribution to Medicaid would be frozen, with annual adjustments for inflation and population growth. The problem is that medical costs rise faster than the general rate of inflation, especially in America's unregulated medical markets, so the block grant provided for each state would quickly decline in value.
The other problem with block grants is that they cannot respond to need. If a recession strikes and millions are suddenly plunged into poverty, Medicaid as currently constituted can expand to accommodate the needy. But the strictly defined allocations of block grants do not include provisions for economic crisis and in the event that would mean the states would have to handle the entire expanded burden. And since most state governments can't run budget deficits, even in times of economic turmoil, they would simply be unable to cover the newly uninsured.
2. Eliminate Low-Income Housing
Public housing programs would suffer badly under a Republican presidency as well. Romney has strongly hinted hat he would eliminate the entire Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The vast majority of HUD funding goes towards an array of public and affordable housing programs.
For example, Section 8 of the Housing Act provides assistance to help families rent in the private market. But as Ben Adler recently noted, Republicans have long fantasized about transforming Section 8 from its current flexible budget to a rigid block grant funding structure. Under such a scheme, states would probably also be given the power to regulate eligibility just as they currently do with Medicaid, which would mean that many fewer Americans will be able to access the program.
Here are some numbers to go with that airy fretting. This spring HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan was asked to testify before a Congressional committee and queried (by a Democrat, naturally) about the impact of the Ryan budget upon public housing: He estimates that more than one million households would be at risk. That includes 585,000 lost units of housing under the Housing Choice Voucher Program (the largest of Section 8's programs), 425,000 from the Project-Based Voucher Program, and from 110,000 to 180,000 from an array of programs for the homeless. Donovan also testified that tens of thousands of new affordable housing units simply wouldn't be built. Lord knows, there aren't, say, 636,017 Americans in need of homes or anything.
3. Stamp Out Food Security
The supplemental nutritional assistance program (SNAP), what used to be called food stamps, is destined for vast cuts under a Republican administration, and largely through a tool that should now be familiar. Block granting SNAP would render it ineffectual in the face of a recession, just like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) during the recent downturn. When poverty and unemployment went up during the Great Recession, SNAP enrollment rose right along with them, demonstrating its effectiveness at partially protecting Americans from the economic turbulence. But TANF, the block grant cash assistance program created by President Clinton's welfare reform in 1996, did not. Its strict budgetary limitations did not allow it to respond to the woes of millions of Americans who could have used the help.
Ryan's budget would cut SNAP by 17 percent, or $133 billion in the next 10 years. In his March budget he did not make clear whether that would be achieved by cutting the amount of benefits or just by making it harder to access them. Either way, a program that was once a bipartisan commitment will be seriously damaged.
4. Give the Ax To Education
Ryan's plans for higher education funding are just as dire. The Pell Grant program is meant to help low-income students afford college, providing assistance of up to $5,550 in 2012. The program is already facing a shortfall of $58 billion over the next 10 years, but the Ryan budget does not attempt to fix Pell's problems. Instead, it makes them far, far worse.
Ryan's plan would freeze the maximum grant at the current $5,550 level, leaving no room for increases with general inflation, let alone the spiraling costs of higher education. Eligibility will also be slashed. In total, Pell's size by will be reduced by $58 billion. Ryan's budget would also end all mandatory funding for Pell Grants, a total of $101 billion over the next 10 years. But, wait, there's more! Ryan also wants to cut all the non-defense discretionary spending (programs that aren't Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security and a few others), by $1.2 trillion over the next decade. "It is extremely unlikely that Pell Grants would not be cut significantly…given the magnitude of the…funding reduction," according to the analysts of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
"This is Robin Hood in reverse," says Jared Bernstein, senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and former chief economist to Vice-President Joe Biden.
"If Romney and Ryan do prevail in November, it will mean that voters accept the need to modernize the welfare state," wrote Ramesh Ponnuru, conservative columnist. But as the New York Times reported earlier this year, when voters were presented with the contents of Ryan's budget (including huge tax cuts for the rich) "respondents simply refused to believe any politician would do such a thing. What became clear was that voters had almost no sense of Obama's opponent."
It's also worth remembering that whoever is elected in November will nominate a Supreme Court justice or two. Recall that most of the current conservative judges were very willing to throw out the entire Affordable Care Act on ideological, not constitutional, grounds. If their numbers are bolstered, woe to the welfare state.
"This election would tip the balance decisively in the Supreme Court in a way that would force us to relitigate some legal issues in a way we thought had been put to rest after the New Deal," Pollack warns.
Four years after Obama's initial election, it looks like 2012 may be just as historic as its predecessor.
Briefly, we wanted to update you on where Truthout stands this month.
To be brutally honest, Truthout is behind on our fundraising goals for the year. There are a lot of reasons why. We're dealing with broad trends in our industry, trends that have led publications like Vice, BuzzFeed, and National Geographic to make painful cuts. Everyone is feeling the squeeze of inflation. And despite its lasting importance, news readership is declining.
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VideoThe Bruce Lee of Afghanistan: kung fu copycat becomes internet hero
From the ruins of a bombed-out palace above Kabul, a young Afghan man bearing a striking resemblance to kung fu legend Bruce Lee is high-kicking his way to internet fame.
From the ruins of a bombed-out palace above Kabul, a young Afghan man bearing a striking resemblance to kung fu legend Bruce Lee is high-kicking his way to internet fame, aiming to show another side to his war-weary nation.
Videos and photos of Abbas Alizada, 20, posted on the Facebook page "Bruce Hazara" show him performing back flips and striking Lee's famous poses. They blazed through Afghanistan's small Internet community this week, part of a publicity burst he hopes will catapult him to broader fame.
"I want to be a champion in my country and a Hollywood star," Alizada said at Kabul's desolate Darulaman palace, where he trains twice a week, swirling nunchakus and sporting a Lee-like bowl haircut.
WATCH: Alizada (right) shows off his 'fists of fury'
At a workout at the palace, adorned with photos of thousands of civilian war victims as part of a protest exhibition, Alizada showed off his wiry physique, doing push-ups on his fingertips and sparring with a partner. Two assistants dabbed his brow and fixed his hair for the cameras.
Alizada is from a poor family of 10 children. His parents could not afford the fees at an academy for the Chinese mixed martial art of wushu, but the trainer took him under his wing.
Darulaman palace, built in the 1920s by King Amanullah Khan, was damaged by decades of fighting for control of the capital. It is now a ruin pocked by artillery craters and bullet holes, overlooking an as-yet-unfinished national parliament building.
"The destruction here makes me sad, but it also inspires me," said Alizada, who refused to be filmed in one room where the walls were daubed with graffiti reading "death to Americans".
He rejects the name Bruce Hazara given to him by friends in recognition of his ethnic heritage, saying he prefers to be known as the Afghan Bruce Lee in a country riven by tribal divides.
Questions of national unity are poignant in Afghanistan, where Taliban insurgents are flexing their muscles with near-daily attacks. This year has been the bloodiest of the war, as foreign troops drastically reduce their presence.
Alizada's recent success on the internet and at a martial arts tournament in Kabul reflects some of the changes in the country since the US-led intervention toppled the Taliban after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Helped by the spread of TV and the internet, Afghanistan has witnessed a rapid rise in interest in sports under the government that succeeded the hardline Islamists, who had banned television and many sports and martial arts.
"The only news that comes from Afghanistan is about war ... I am happy that my story is a positive one," Alizada said.


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NIPS Workshop on Kernel Methods and Structured Domains / NIPS Workshop on Large Scale Kernel Machines, Whistler 2005
Kernel Methods and Structured Domains
Substantial recent work in machine learning has focused on the problem of dealing with inputs and outputs on more complex domains than are provided for in the classical regression/classification setting. Structured representations can give a more informative view of input domains, which is crucial for the development of successful learning algorithms: application areas include determining protein structure and protein-protein interaction; part-of-speech tagging; the organization of web documents into hierarchies; and image segmentation. Likewise, a major research direction is in the use of structured output representations, which have been applied in a broad range of areas including several of the foregoing examples (for instance, the output required of the learning algorithm may be a probabilistic model, a graph, or a ranking).
Large Scale Kernel Machines
Datasets with millions of observations can be gathered by crawling the web, mining business databases, or connecting a cheap video tuner to a laptop. Vastly more ambitious learning systems are theoretically possible. The literature shows no shortage of ideas for sophisticated statistical models. The computational cost of learning algorithms is now the bottleneck. During the last decade, dataset size has outgrown processor speed. Meanwhile, machine learning algorithms became more principled, and also more computationally expensive.


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Washington Post Book World, November 2, 2012
Few American presidents have seen their reputations ebb and flow as dramatically as Ulysses S. Grant. At the time of his death in 1885, he was revered as the man whose military prowess had saved the Union and who as president had guided it through the turbulent years of Reconstruction. Later, as national reconciliation (among whites) took hold, Grant's military and political careers came under severe criticism. On the battlefield he was a "butcher" who, in contrast to the tactically superior Robert E. Lee, triumphed only because of a willingness to sacrifice his men in an endless war of attrition. Grant's presidency came to be seen as a failure, marred by corruption and a Southern policy that unwisely sought to elevate blacks to political equality.
More recently, Grant's standing has risen sharply. Military historians have made clear that Grant understood far better than Lee the strategic interconnection of the western and eastern war theaters. And as scholars have revised their view of Reconstruction, seeing it as a noble if flawed attempt to establish interracial democracy in the postwar South, Grant's efforts to protect the basic rights of former slaves seem praiseworthy, not misguided.
Paradoxes abound in Grant's career, posing formidable challenges to the biographer. His prewar life offered no inkling of his later accomplishments. Unlike Lincoln, Grant seemed to lack ambition. He did not want to go to West Point, and while there, he scrutinized congressional debates over the future of the military academy, hoping it would be abolished and he could return home. Forced to resign from the Army in the 1850s to avoid having charges brought against him for drunkenness, he ended up working in his brother's Illinois leather store. His family deemed him a failure. He disdained politics and politicians but was reelected in 1872 with the largest popular majority of the 19th century. Finally, although uncommunicative in person, Grant somehow managed to write one of the finest autobiographies in American letters.
These contradictions have long intrigued historians. Since 2000, no fewer than seven biographies have appeared. The latest to tackle Grant's life is H.W. Brands, who teaches history at the University of Texas. A remarkably productive scholar, Brands is the author of more than 20 books. Some prolific writers publish essentially the same work over and over again. Not Brands. His books range across centuries and genres — they include biographies (Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson), studies of particular time periods (the 1890s, the years since 1945) and detailed accounts of Cold War foreign policy.
Brands is essentially a storyteller, and a good one. His prose is lucid and colorful. He evokes the atmosphere of Grant's era by filling the book with lengthy excerpts from primary sources — letters, first-person observations and recollections. What Brands does not do, however, is present new interpretive insights on questions that have engaged generations of historians: the "modernity" of the Civil War, the centrality of emancipation to the war's outcome, the reasons for the failure of Reconstruction.
"The Man Who Saved the Union" is most successful where events themselves offer a clear story line. Brands presents vivid and compelling accounts of the complex battles of the Civil War. He explains clearly Grant's strengths as a general: his ability to visualize the entire battlefield in the midst of conflict when others could perceive only chaos, his willingness to take risks and his courage in the face of setbacks. When it comes to the presidency, however, the narrative seems to lose focus. Events succeed one another — Grant's effort to annex the Dominican Republic, his "peace policy" toward Native Americans, the economic depression that began in 1873, the scandals that marked his second term — but with little cumulative impact.
The closest Brands comes to offering an interpretive schema to unite Grant's military and political careers concerns slavery and the freed people. "Nearly a century would pass," he writes in his brief conclusion, "before the country had another president who took civil rights as seriously as Grant did." Unfortunately, the book's account of Grant's growing commitment to the rights of blacks is scattered and sporadic; it cries out for further elaboration. Brands does not really explain Grant's conversion to emancipation during the war. He ignores Grant's decision to create what he called a "Negro paradise" at Davis Bend, the Mississippi plantations of Jefferson Davis and his brother Joseph, where land was divided among groups of emancipated slaves. He does not make it clear why Grant came to side with Congress in its battle with Andrew Johnson over Reconstruction.
In keeping with recent scholarship, Brands offers a sympathetic account of Grant's forceful and temporarily successful effort as president to crush the Ku Klux Klan, which had inaugurated a reign of terror against the former slaves. But he says nothing about Grant's refusal in 1875 to send federal assistance to Mississippi blacks facing a wave of violent intimidation (the Northern public, Grant wrote in explaining his decision, was "tired out with these annual autumnal outbreaks in the South"). Grant's unwillingness to act reflected the broader Northern retreat from Reconstruction and its ideal of racial equality.
Grant's famous motto, "Let us have peace," adorns the entrance to his tomb in New York City. Brands rightly emphasizes that this was a call not simply for national reconciliation but also for consolidation of what had been won in the war — Union and emancipation. By the time Grant died, the first was secure; it took a long time for the nation to try once again to fulfill the promise of the second.


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Read about this series of posts, regarding items in a box originally owned by Belle (Lamunion) Fellows Tinker here. The cast of characters is located here. And, there is an accounting of people about whom I have little information here.
Addressed to:
Frank Fellows
The postmark was ruined when the stamp was ripped off.
[dear] frank,
???? you alive
??? did not
[c]ome down I
had to work
I am coming
up there 17 and
stay to the 19
then I am going
to pa (or ha)
Ray DeButts Cadillac Mich
On the 1900 census of Franklin Township, Erie County Pennsylvania, sheet 3b, dwelling 59, family 60, the family of Henry Debutts is enumerated. The family includes Henry, 37, Cora, wife 24, Ray son age 10, born Michigan and Albert, son age 7. The couple had been married for eight years, so it isn't clear if the couple were Ray's parents, or one of them was his parent.
On or about June 4, 1917, Ray George DeButts, age 24, residing Grand Rapids, Michigan filed a registration card with the draft board. He said he was born in Lawrence, Michigan, was employed as a street car motorman, and had a dependant father. A not at the bottom of the card says, "enlisted in Co K 32d Mich Inf. N.G. on July 13/17".
Ray G. Debutts is listed as KIA (Killed in Action) on 9/3/1918. His next of Kin is listed as H. Debutts, Boyne city, Mich.
Family of Albert Debutts is enumerated in Cadillac, Wexford, Michigan on the 1930 Federal census. I'm mentioning that because I recognize the family, one of the sons in that family, Preston, was a member of the church I attended in Cadillac.


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Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you're most likely aware that Metro-North has a new rail station. West Haven, on the New Haven Line, is Metro-North's 124th active station, and one of just a handful that have opened in the past few years (Fairfield Metro and Yankees-E 153rd Street being the other two). The new station puts a break in the long stretch in between New Haven and Milford stations, and relieves parking issues at both.
Rendering of what the station site would look like at completion.
A station in between Milford and New Haven had long been debated, and extensive studies looked at sites in both West Haven and Orange. Though an apparent decision in favor of West Haven came in 2002, the debate was dragged on for many more years. Connecticut's Final State Environmental Impact Evaluation, published in June of 2007, cites the pros and cons of the two sites and is an immense four hundred and fifty pages.
Despite the Orange station plan being supported by Bayer Pharmaceutical Corporation (the proposed Orange site would be within walking distance of their headquarters), the state upheld the original 9 to 6 vote in favor of West Haven. After many years of often-heated debate, a ceremonial groundbreaking was finally held in November of 2010, and attended by then-Governor Jodi Rell (the station project has languished over the tenure of three different governors – the original decision was made during John Rowland's term, and Dannel Malloy was present at the ribbon cutting).
Aerial view progression of the work site: by 2010 a few buildings have been knocked down in preparation for the new station, and by 2012 construction is in full force.
Though the station was originally estimated to cost around $80 million, and would include a parking garage, the final cost was closer to $110 million and lacked the garage. Although the 658 parking spaces at the new station do alleviate some of the parking problems at New Haven and Milford, it does not have the impact that was originally hoped for with a 2000+ space garage. Nonetheless, the new station does allow access to the nearby Yale West Campus, and West Haven's Veterans Hospital is investigating the possibility of operating a shuttle to and from the new station.
Many West Haven citizens hoped for an older style station, reflecting the historical aesthetic of the old Savin Rock Amusement Park. Alas the station built was a more modern brick and glass building that may resemble a school more than it does a train station. The only truly aesthetic touch are the stylized seagulls on some of the window panes, which do seem to appropriately reflect the nearby Savin Rock area of West Haven, but are relatively underwhelming. Though it is certainly a nice addition to the New Haven Line, and to the citizens of West Haven, the station is hardly unique, and un-noteworthy compared to many of the historical stations you'll find on the line.
Left: Ceremonial groundbreaking at West Haven station. ((Ceremonial groundbreaking photo from Discover West Haven.)) Right: Ribbon cutting ceremony at West Haven. ((Ribbon cutting photo from the city of West Haven.))
As a final note, Michael Mercuriano, chairman of the West Haven Train Station Committee is hoping that a plaque will be placed at the station recognizing the efforts of the committee. I didn't see a plaque to that effect, but if you were to ask me I think a plaque recognizing Robert Luden would be most appropriate. Luden was the 27-year veteran track foreman killed in May near the construction site.
Construction views of West Haven station. Top: The prefabricated pedestrian bridge is placed. ((Pedestrian bridge photos by Tim Kemperle)) Bottom left: Aerial view of the construction site. ((Aerial view of the construction site photo from Discover West Haven.)) Bottom center: Glass installers getting ready to place the windows into the station. ((Glass installers photo by Peter Casolino, New Haven Register.)) Bottom right: Platform view of the construction work ((Platform view of the construction site photo from Discover West Haven.)).
No Tuesday Tour would be complete without a cache of photos, which you'll find below. Unfortunately the station building was closed, and the sky was cloudy with no sun, so they aren't the most optimal photos. Rest assured that one of these days I'll be getting back over to West Haven, however…


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Public Notice of Virtual Regular City Commission Meeting (04-27-2020)
As a result of COVID-19, the City of Winter Haven announces a virtual public meeting to be convened pursuant to the Governor's Executive Orders 2020-52 and 2020-69; and City of Winter Haven Resolutions R-20-23 and R-20-25.
BOARD: City Commission of the City of Winter Haven, Florida, Regular City Commission Meeting.
DATE AND TIME OF MEETING: April 27, 2020, 6:00 p.m.
VIRTUAL MEETING PLATFORM AND CONNECTION INFORMATION: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1GG7MSpkRXetUUODD05V0g
For telephone, dial:
US: +1 646 876 9923 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 408 638 0968 or +1 669 900 6833
Webinar ID: 987-0200-9496
CONNECTION INFORMATION: For persons attending the virtual public meeting by the Zoom virtual platform, please ensure that all registration and system requirements have been satisfied prior to the "DATE AND TIME" provided herein.
AGENDA: A copy of the agenda for the meeting may be obtained by visiting http://winterhaven-fl.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=1 or by contacting: Vanessa Castillo, MMC, City Clerk at firstname.lastname@example.com or (863) 291-5600, ext 224.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: The public is invited to listen to or watch the virtual public meeting by visiting https://www.facebook.com/winterhavenflorida/ where the meeting will be live streamed. The public is also invited to provide comments on agenda items scheduled for action during this virtual meeting by (a) connecting to the virtual meeting platform and participating during the meeting in accordance with announced instructions which may also be posted in advance of the meeting on the City's website http://mywinterhaven.com; (b) submitting written comments of 600 words or less to :
https://winterhaven.seamlessdocs.com/f/tg4dezpsh8r0, by 12:00 p.m. Noon on April 27, 2020; or (c) calling (863)-292-8005 to leave voicemail comments of no more than five (5) minutes by 12:00 p.m. Noon on April 27, 2020 so that your comments and voicemails can be distributed to the Members of the Commission. Comments submitted after this time (up to the time that the public meeting commences) will be accepted and included in the official records of the meeting.
The Public may also come to the John Fuller Auditorium at City Hall, 451 Third Street, N.W., Winter Haven, Florida at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, April 27, 2020, to provide comments at the meeting in accordance with Section 2-227 of the City's Code of Ordinances or as those provisions may be modified by the City Commission. Social distancing and other Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Florida Department of Health (FDOH) guidelines pertaining to COVID-19 will be followed and observed.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and F.S. § 286.26, any person requiring special accommodations to participate in this meeting is asked to advise the City at least 8 hours before the meeting by contacting: Vanessa Castillo, MMC, City Clerk at email@example.com or (863) 291-5600, ext. 224. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the agency using the Florida Relay Service, 1(800)955-8771 (TDD) or 1(800)955-8770 (Voice).
If any person decides to appeal any decision made by the City Commission with respect to any matter considered at this meeting or hearing, he/she will need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceeding is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence from which the appeal is to be issued.
For more information and/or to submit documents at the meeting, you may contact: Vanessa Castillo, MMC, City Clerk at firstname.lastname@example.com or (863) 291-5600, ext. 224.


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Here's SoundDrop!
The DropBox is one of the main ways for people to distribute their tracks to SoundCloud users – whether that's labels receiving demos, DJ's receiving promos or studios receiving masters etc. For many it's become an essential part of their daily workflow. And so naturally the DropBox feature received a lot of attention by a couple of projects at Music Hack Day.
As we wrote about earlier this week, our API allows developers to build lots of cool tools to make doing the things that you need to do on SoundCloud much easier. One such tool that we wanted to get you excited about today is a new app called SoundDrop. Developed at Music Hack Day by Greg Lloyd, Arthur Carabott and Robin 'DonkDJ' Watson, SoundDrop makes it easy for users to audition the tracks in their DropBox in one go by taking a carefully selected sample of each track and combining them as a single track in your SoundCloud account.
It's not quite ready for primetime yet but we wanted to whet your appetites nonetheless. Here's a quick teaser video so that you can check it out. Tell us what you think.
SoundDrop Screencast from SoundDrop on Vimeo.


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Like so many others this week, local imams have been praying since Monday's bombings.
They've been praying for the victims. They've been praying that the fanatic who did this is caught quickly and brought to justice.
And they've been praying for something more: Whoever it is, please don't let him be a Muslim.
"What will happen to us if they arrest someone and that someone turns out to be a Muslim?" Imam Talal Eid, a chaplain at Brandeis University, said Wednesday.
He recalls the backlash that followed the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He remembers being afraid to send his children to school for a few days afterward, and the way some began to view all Muslims with suspicion, even hostility. A few fringe-dwellers even spoke of internment camps like those that held Japanese-Americans during the Second World War.
The country has changed since 2001, Eid said. People know more about American Muslims now, are less afraid of them, less likely to make the many pay for the sins of the unhinged few. But we have a long way to go.
"I am still worried," he said. "We are still labeled. Muslims may be out of the red zone, but we are still in the yellow zone, not the green zone."
If the terrorist turns out to be a disaffected survivalist, a white supremacist, or some other flavor of domestic extremist, he will stand in a courtroom alone, with only infamy for company. If he is a Muslim, thousands will be called upon to answer, by association and stereotype, for his actions.
Leaders in the community will then go right into what Ibrahim Rahim, imam at the Yusuf Mosque in Brighton, calls "apologist mode."
The attack fills him with immense grief, said Rahim, who leads a largely Arab-American congregation of several hundred. Born in New York, he has lived in Boston since he was 12, and he feels this attack as viscerally as any native. But all week, his grief has been bound with dread.
"As you process it, you think, 'Oh boy, this looks like something from overseas, that might be affiliated to Islam, and here we go with that again,' " he said.
Preparing for that possibility, Rahim has been strategizing for days with another imam, William Suhaib Webb at the 1,000-member Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Roxbury.
"We have to figure out a narrative," Rahim said. "We're talking about a unity service on Friday if it turns out to be what we hope it isn't." He and other imams will make it clear that anyone who takes a life has no right to call himself a Muslim, that whatever brand of Islam extremists may practice, it has nothing to do with the faith lived out by their congregations.
"We do so much interfaith work, we apologize so often for many of the things that do not reflect Islam," he said.
Still, both imams know, all the work they have put into building bridges to the wider community will be threatened.
But the past few days have made Yusufi Vali, executive director of the Islamic Society of Boston, more optimistic that those bridges are strong enough to withstand an onslaught.
"I'm proud to be a Bostonian," he said. "The way our community has bonded together has been an amazing feeling inside this tragedy."
As he spoke, three Boston police cruisers and one state trooper sat outside the mosque, just in case. Since Monday, he has heard from officials at two local temples offering support: "It may be hard being a Muslim in Boston this week," one e-mail read. "If there is anything we can do, from one congregation to another, please let me know." A longtime Mission Hill resident, worried about a possible backlash, offered to gather neighbors who could escort Muslim women to the grocery store.
"This is what Boston is about, right?" Vali said.
Yes, that is what we are, or try to be.
But please, let's not put it to the test. Again.
Yvonne Abraham is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at email@example.com.


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More info.
Nanopositioning is a key enabling technology in the important fields of nano-imprinting, scanning microscopy, microlithography and automated alignment. Since nanotechnology became a buzzword, many micropositioning devices have suddenly been upgraded to nanopositioning systems by the simple means of interpolation. However, what works in the microworld very often does not apply to the nanoworld.
This technote reports on recent advancements in nanopositioning technology, such as parallel kinematics, active trajectory control, new control algorithms for vibration suppression and tracking error elimination and their benefits for the user. In addition, the paper provides design engineers with a variety of key questions to ask motion system suppliers when shopping for a high-performance nanopositioning system.
Resolution can mean different things to different people. When the term nanopositioning was coined, a number of clever companies advertised open-loop, stepper-driven leadscrew devices as "nanopositioners." The justification was as simple as one, two three: take leadscrew pitch of 0.4 mm, divide by 20,000 microsteps motor resolution and gearbox ratio 60 and out comes a device "capable" of 0.3 nm resolution. Nowadays, most design engineers don't fall for this simple equation anymore. While yesterday's stepper motor drives have been replaced by closed-loop systems, sometimes with direct-drive motors, manufacturers' claims often remain illusive, now backed up by "nanomath" simpler than before: resolution = encoder pitch divided by interpolation factor.
Yet, a nanopositioning system consists of a lot more than an encoder and interpolator circuit, and as long as friction is involved (and all sliding or rolling bearings produce friction), repeatable nanometer range motion cannot be achieved in real world conditions (see Fig. 1 for frictionless solid state motion). In addition, guiding errors of the abovementioned bearings often amount to 1000 times the distance of one nanometer-acceptable in the microworld, but not in the in nanoworld.
True nanopositioning devices provide frictionless motion, virtually instantaneous response, high linearity and stiffness, and trajectory control in the nanometer realm, all on top of sub-nanometer resolution. While conventional motion-control technologies are unable to meet these requirements, parallel advancements in the fields of solid state actuators, flexure design, multi-axis low-inertia parallel kinematics, active trajectory control and high bandwidth controls engineering provide engineers in the fields of nanotechnology with the tools to solve their positioning, metrology, scanning or alignment problems.
Figure 1. Response of s frictionless solid state (open-loop) piezo actuator to a triangular drive signal. Only solid state PZT actuators are capable of producing smooth nanometer range motion like this, with instant response and no backlash. Note that the amplitude is only ±6 nanometers.
On a spec sheet, many systems look alike. How can one tell a state-of-the-art nanopositioning system and a micropositioning devices apart?
The first design rule in nanopositioning says friction has to be eliminated. This rules out all devices with ball, roller or sliding bearings, leaving air bearings and flexures. A flexure is a frictionless, stictionless hinge-like device that relies upon the elastic deformation (flexing) of a solid material to permit motion. Air bearings are ideal for long travel ranges, but they are usually bulky, high inertia and expensive to operate (clean air supply). They have another major disadvantage: they do not work in a vacuum, as required by an ever-increasing number of nanopositioning applications.
Flexures, on the other hand only work over short travel ranges, hardly a disadvantage in nanopositioning! Flexures (Fig. 2), if properly designed, are very stiff, provide trajectory control with excellent straightness and flatness, exhibit no wear and can be designed in multi-axis arrangements. They are also maintenance free and have no operating costs. These characteristics make flexures the guiding mechanism of choice in nanopositioning.
Figure 2. Single-axis nanopositioning stage with anti-arcuate-motion flexure design. The best flexure designs provide guiding precision in the low nanometer range. Active Trajectory Control can further improve guiding precision.
Again, any drive producing friction is not acceptable. Leadscrews, ballscrews, even ultrasonic linear piezo motor drives (friction based) can not surpass submicron precision. Electromagnetic linear motors, voice coil drives and solid state piezo actuators are the most commonly used frictionless drives. The first two are fine for larger distances, but have the disadvantages of magnetic fields (not tolerable in ebeam lithography and many other applications), heat generation and only moderate stiffness and acceleration, resulting in a low bandwidth.
Piezoelectric (Fig. 3) often called PZTs, are limited to small distances but are extremely stiff and achieve very high accelerations (up to 10,000 g), a prerequisite for millisecond or sub-millisecond step and- settle and high scanning rates (today, the best piezo-driven flexure-guided stages have resonant frequencies of 10 kHz).
Figure 3. State-of-the-art PZT actuators are ceramic-insulated rather than polymer-insulated. They offer extended lifetime, even under extreme conditions and exhibit no outgassing in vacuum applications.
PZTs neither produce magnetic fields, nor are they influenced by them. A recent breakthrough in production technology now eliminates the need for polymer insulation, bringing the benefits of zero outgassing in vacuum applications, insensitivity to humidity and increased lifetime even under extreme conditions (Fig 4).
Figure 4. PICMA Actuators with ceramic insulation (bottom curves) compared with conventional multilayer actuators with polymer insulation. PICMA Actuators are not affected by the high humidity test conditions. Conventional Actuators exhibit increased leakage current after only a few hours. Leakage current is an indication of insulation quality and expected lifetime. Test conditions: U = 100 V DC, T = 25 °C, rel. humidity = 70%
Indirect motion metrology is cheap, but does not qualify for state-of-the-art nanopositioning. And of course, any sensor based on friction does not qualify either. Examples of indirect metrology are motor mounted rotary encoders and piezo-resistive strain sensors mounted on actuators or flexures (measuring the strain of the flexures-thereby inducing friction and errors-instead of the motion).
High-performance nanopositioning systems employ non-contact direct metrology, placed to measure motion where it matters most to the application. Examples of direct metrology are capacitive sensors, laser interferometers and non-contact optical, incremental encoders.
Incremental encoders are excellent for long-distance measurements. Most are based on a grating pitch of 20, 10 or, more recently, 2 μm. To get from there to the published 10 or 5 nm resolution, interpolation (with all its limitations) is required. While many encoders are very linear at multiples of the pitch, linearity at the nanometer scale can be as poor as 20% (Fig. 5) In addition, if not mounted coaxially with the drive, any tilt in the guiding system, as caused by motion reversal will further increase the error. What is often overlooked are the small forces induced by the moving cable of an encoder read-head which can cause friction and hysteresis on the order of several tens of nanometers. For true nanopositioning processes, requiring repeatable nanometer-scale step widths, there are better solutions.
Figure 5. Linearity of high-resolution incremental linear encoders is excellent over long ranges, but often not what one might expect on a nanometer-scale. The above example shows errors of 100 nm and more over small distances (1 to 2 microns).
Laser interferometers are the accepted standard in position measurement. However, due to its operating principle, the output of a heterodyne interferometer is not perfectly linear. This nonlinearity is caused mainly by polarization ellipticity or nonorthogonality of the laser beams, and imperfections in the optics can further contribute to the nonlinearity. The best commercially available interferometers provide linearity of 2 to 5 nanometers, not good enough in some high-end nanopositioning applications (Fig. 6). Profound knowledge of interferometry and special equipment is required to get better performance out of an interferometer, either as a feedback or calibration device.
Figure 6. Linearity of a PI P-517 nanopositioning stage, position feedback provided by heterodyne interferometer.
The highest performance is achieved with absolute measuring, two-plate capacitive sensors (single electrode capacitive sensors are not well suited for nanopositioning). Working best over small ranges, they are a perfect match for flexure guided PZT drives. Capacitive sensors are very compact, vacuum compatible, insensitive to EMI and, if designed properly, provide extremely high linearity (Fig. 7a) with resolution of 0.1 nm and below. Due to the absolute measuring principle, no homing procedure is required and there is no bandwidth limiting interpolator or counter circuit prone to "lose" motion in high-speed applications, or should ringing occur at the end of a fast step. High-end nanopositioning stages achieve bi-directional repeatability of 1 nanometer, an astonishing figure-, simple to put in a spec sheet but very hard to achieve and prove (Fig 7b) in the real world.
Figure 7a. Same nanopositioning stage as in Fig. 6, but controlled with two-plate capacitive feedback.
Figure 7b. Bi-directional repeatability of a state-of-the-art closed loop piezo nanopositioning stage with direct motion metrology capacitive feedback, measured with state-of-the-art interferometer.
In today's industrial production and testing processes, throughput and time matter more than ever before. In head/media test applications for example, subnanometer steps need to be performed and a new position needs to be reached and held stable to nanometer tolerances in a matter of milliseconds or less. Every millisecond shaved off the step-and-settle process is worth a large sum of money.
PZT drives can provide accelerations up to 10,000 g and respond to input in less than 0.1 msec, often more than the payload or the supporting structures are designed for. The ultrafast step time of the nanopositioning stage can excite vibrations in its load or neighboring components. To the application, it does not matter how fast the positioning stage can stop, but how fast the load reaches a stable position-a fact often overlooked. Conventional wisdom suggests that besides damping or waiting, there is not much that can be done about such vibrations occurring outside the positioning system's servo-loop.
Today, there is a new tool for eliminating structural resonances. A patented, real-time feed forward technology called InputShaping® (Fig. 8a, b) was developed based on research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and commercialized by Convolve, Inc., InputShaping® eliminates motion-driven excitation of resonances throughout the system, including all fixturing and ancillary componentry. It is now an integrated option for the latest Physik Instrumente digital piezo nanopositioning controllers.
Figure 8a. Piezo devices are capable of millisecond-scale step-andsettle. However, elements outside the servo-loop may ring (load, neighboring componentry,…). External resonances are visualized here by a Polytec laser vibrometer measuring position vs. time.
Figure 8b. Input Shaping® eliminates motion-driven ringing of components outside the servo-loop. Settling after rise time completes by t ~ Fres-1.
InputShaping® does not require feedback and works with a priori knowledge of multiple resonances throughout the system. With InputShaping®, the time for a system reach a stable position is equal to 1/f0 where f0 being the lowest resonant frequency contributing to instability in the mechanical setup.
Resolution, linearity and accuracy are known to qualify the static performance of a motion system. However, in dynamic applications such as scanning or tracking, static specifications are meaningless. A common way to measure dynamic behavior is bandwidth. Bandwidth specifies the amplitude response of a system in the frequency domain. But static accuracy and bandwidth together still do not give any indication of a system's dynamic accuracy e.g. how straight the lines in a scanning application will be or how far off the expected positions they lie.
To qualify a system in these applications, target data and actual position data for a given waveform have to be recorded and evaluated. The difference is called following error or tracking error. In conventional PZT nanopositioning systems with PID servo-control designs, the tracking error can reach double-digit percentage values even at scanning rates below 10Hz, and increases with frequency.
It is important to understand, that in dynamic nanopositioning applications the tracking error is a key parameter. Recent advances in digital controller design at PI have led to sophisticated adaptive digital linearization methods, reducing dynamic errors in repetitive waveforms from the micron realm to indiscernible levels, even with high-frequency dynamic actuation under load (Fig 9a, and 9b).
Figure 9a. Conventional PID controller, PZT nanopositioning system, response to a triangular scan signal. Blue: target position; red: actual position; green: tracking error (10X for better visibility).
Figure 9b. Same nanopositioning system, adaptive digital linearization. Blue: target position and actual position (virtually the same). Red: tracking error (100X for better visibility) is reduced by several orders of magnitude.
In high-speed nanopositioning applications, such as scanning microscopy, small areas need to be scanned in two dimensions, with a 3rd axis to be controlled by an external input (e.g. the force in AFM's or current in ATM's). Subnanometer line spacing and scanning rates of hundreds of Hz are desirable in these applications. The only feasible way to achieve this is with parallel-kinematics, multi-axis closed-loop piezo-driven flexure stages.
Rather than stacking single-axis subassemblies, parallel-kinematics stages are monolithic, with actuators operating on a central, moving platform in parallel (Fig. 10a). Not only does this significantly reduce inertia, but yields identical resonant frequencies and dynamic behavior in both the X and Y directions. Alternative, stacked assemblies always result in different X vs. Y behavior (though published specifications sometimes fail to reflect this basic physical fact). The consistent X vs. Y dynamic behavior is desirable for accurate and responsive scanning and tracking performance. The use of capacitive sensors to measure the monolithic moving platform means that the orthogonal axes automatically compensate for each other's runout and crosstalk (active trajectory control, or multi-axis direct metrology), whereas with serial kinematics, runout errors of the individual axes accumulate. For example, tilt errors of only ±10 μrad caused by the bottom platform of a hypothetical-4 inch multi-axis stack of stages result in a 2 μm linear error at the top platform. Other shortcomings of serial kinematics in nanopositioning are high-inertia, higher center of gravity, and up to 5 moving cables causing friction and hysteresis (Fig. 8b).
Figure 10a. Stacked serial-kinematics two-axis nanopositioning stages have significantly higher inertia, higher center of gravity and cannot correct for off-axis errors. Moving cables of the top platform induce friction and cause hysteresis.
Figure 10b. Basic design of a monolithic 3 DOF (X,Y, Theta-Z) parallel kinematics nanopositioning stage with PZT drives and wire-EDM-cut flexures. Capacitive position sensors (not shown) directly measure the central moving platform compensating for the slightest off-axis motion in real time (active trajectory control). This is not possible with serial kinematics designs, as shown in Fig. 10a.
State-of-the-art nanometer scanning systems based on parallel kinematics control all 6 degrees of freedom automatically compensating for unwanted out-of-plane motion as well as unwanted rotational errors.
This requires parallel motion metrology and a digital controller capable of coordinate transformation (Fig. 11a). The result, a 100 x 100 μm scan with flatness /straightness of 1 nm is shown in Fig. 11b.
Figure 11a. State-of-the-art 6 axis digital controller and custom Super Invar 6D piezo scanning stage (parallel-kinematics mechanics and parallel motion metrology).
Figure 11b. 6 DOF PZT flexure nanopositioning stage with multi-axis parallel direct motion metrology provides instantaneous information on any parasitic to the digital controller for real-time compensation. The excellent results, 1 nm flatness and straightness, are epicted in this 100 x 100 μm scan.
The above discussion shows that quantifying the performance of a nanopositioning system can be very complex. To find the highest performing nanopositioning system for an application (not the one with the best specs on paper), the user has to engage in a dialog with the manufacturer and ask the questions relevant to his or her application. When the answers sound too good to be true, they usually are. In addition to posing the relevant questions, it is always worth while to find out how long a manufacturer has been involved in nanopositioning, what quality control system is in place, how specifications have been measured, and what equipment was used.
In the aftermath of the telecom crash, analysts and investors are looking for new promising markets, and nanotechnology seems to be one of them. This is why we will see new companies trying to make a fortune in this field. Start-ups, claiming to have revolutionary nanopositioning solutions, will lure investors into providing them with millions of dollars. Let's not forget that in telecom more than 99% of the revolutionary concepts and ideas soon proved worthless. The real challenge lies not in the concept, but in production, yield and consistent quality, where delivered unit after delivered unit performs as well as the gently assembled prototype, fine-tuned by the chief engineer.
Because nanopositioning is not as simple as one, two three, only companies with experienced, well equipped design and production teams, and proven quality control systems will be able to satisfy the ever growing demands of the market. Their product specifications may not always seem revolutionary, but will hold up in the application environment.
This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by PI (Physik Instrumente) LP, Piezo Nano Positioning.
For more information on this source, please visit PI (Physik Instrumente) LP, Piezo Nano Positioning.
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Bernideen's Tea Time Blog
Please come back and say G'day on Friday and join me for this week's Say G'day Saturday Party, a weekly link up where you can share anything special to you. You can link up recipes, tutorials, DIY and decorating ideas, craft projects, Pinterest round up posts, Instagram pictures, your own linky parties...anything at all! Just click the button to join in!
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Kindle now supports downloading audiobooks—Wi-Fi only, as well as traditional USB syncs—straight to the device. Even though e-ink readability is Kindle's main sell, people still use it for audiobooks during the times when they don't like to visually ingest words. Imagine how hardcore you look if you were jogging with a Kindle. [Kindle]
Meet Microsoft's New Surface Laptops


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Bag & Luggage Deals, Coupons, & Promo Codes
With the huge range of prices on bags and luggage, it can be difficult to ensure you're getting a quality bag for a decent price. It doesn't help that big name brands don't always mean high quality, though they typically do mean a high price. We put together all the best bag and luggage deals to help save you time and money.
When it comes to luggage, durability is key. If you fly frequently, you know how rough airlines can be on your bags, so look for something made of a high-quality nylon material, with a large zipper that works effortlessly. Additionally, make sure the retractable handle moves smoothly, and that the wheels on a rolling bag have a wide base, preferably with a sealed ball bearing system. Once you've narrowed down your choices, start shopping in March, when retailers try to clear out inventory for new models that come out just before the summer travel season. Check out Kohl's for frequent discounts and coupon codes on luggage. Amazon, Overstock and eBay all have a good selection and decent prices as well, but try to get your hands on a bag to check its quality before buying online.
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What mythical product will simultaneously kill off the Kindle, iPod, Zune, iPod, Nintendo DS, and a whole slew of cheap netbooks? Oh, and during recharges, it'll save newspapers and magazines, reinvent TV viewing (and maybe deep-six the cable guys), and make mobile Web browsing a lot more enjoyable with a lot less finger dragging and pinching.
The answer, of course, is the mysterious and as-yet-unannounced Apple tablet, which reportedly will ship next year, according to ongoing rumors from numerous sources. Steve Jobs himself is said to be spearheading the project.
CNN on Monday was the latest media outlook to speculate on Apple's hottest non-product. The report didn't dredge up any new details, but it did provide a clear indication of the tech industry's high expectations for the mysterious device.
CNN's David Goldman quotes several industry watchers, some bullish on the tablet, others skeptical. What's interesting is how much the optimists see the tablet as a potential tech industry game-changer:
"This will be the next big thing," said Laura DiDio, principal analyst at ITIC. "Apple is going to wow everybody with the tablet."
And then there's this quote:
"Apple will come out with the tablet and blow everyone away," said Dan Ackerman, senior editor at CNET.
Now, neither DiDio nor Ackerman say they've seen a prototype of the Apple tablet, and yet they're convinced the product will be huge. To be fair, if they have seen it under a nondisclosure agreement, they couldn't say so. But given Apple's legendary secrecy with its unannounced products, I'll assume they haven't.
Apple's reputation for amazing the tech world is clearly the driving force behind the tablet's positive buzz. Then again, not everybody is upbeat about the prospects of a notebook-sized slate that may be awkward to carry around.
Yankee Group analyst Zeus Kerravala tells CNN that multifunction devices seldom perform as well as their single-use counterparts. Example: Would an Apple tablet with a gorgeous, high-resolution color display and a (likely) limited battery life be a better e-book reader than a Kindle, which can last for days between charges?
I guess we'll find out soon enough. Personally, I'm excited to see what Apple has up its sleeve. The company has amazed us before. Can it do so again?
Contact Jeff Bertolucci via Twitter (@jbertolucci ) or at jbertolucci.blogspot.com .


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I am extremely happy to announce that Clinton Gormley ("clintongormley") has joined elasticsearch. I still remember those early days in elasticsearch, when we had 3 people on IRC and "that Perl dude" kept asking questions on how it works, and gave instrumental insights on the elasticsearch API design and usability. When I created elasticsearch, the goal was always to make it usable and easy to use from any language, and Clinton, with his "Perlishness", helped keep elasticsearch honest. As time passed Clint has also become an invaluable source of information and help to the rest of the elasticsearch community, on the mailing list, IRC, and at conferences.
Joining our company, Clint will continue to do his thing, but now full time on elasticsearch. He will continue to develop the Perl libraries, help the community around elasticsearch, and sprinkle his high standards when it comes to keeping and making elasticsearch usable and easy to use.
Welcome Clint!


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[Cross-posted at Hatewatch.]
Who, or what, is Kek?
You may have seen the name bandied about on social media, especially in political circles where alt-right activists and avid Donald Trump supporters lurk. Usually it is brandished as a kind of epithet, seemingly to ward off the effects of liberal arguments, and it often is conveyed in memes that use the image of the alt-right mascot, Pepe the Frog: "Kek!"
In many ways, Kek is the apotheosis of the bizarre alternative reality of the alt-right: at once absurdly juvenile, transgressive, and racist, as well as reflecting a deeper, pseudo-intellectual purpose that lends it an appeal to young ideologues who fancy themselves deep thinkers. It dwells in that murky area they often occupy, between satire, irony, mockery, and serious ideology; Kek can be both a big joke to pull on liberals and a reflection of the alt-right's own self-image as serious agents of chaos in modern society.
Most of all, Kek has become a kind of tribal marker of the alt-right: Its meaning obscure and unavailable to ordinary people – "normies," in their lingo – referencing Kek is most often just a way of signaling to fellow conversants online that the writer embraces the principles of chaos and destruction that are central to alt-right thinking, as it were.
The name, usage, and ultimately the ideas around it originated in gaming culture, particularly on chat boards devoted to the World of Warcraft online computer games, according to Know Your Meme. In those games, participants can chat only with members of their own faction in the "war" (either Alliance or Horde fighters), while opposing players' chats are rendered in a cryptic form based on Korean; thus, the common chat phrase "LOL" (laugh out loud) was read by opposing players as "KEK." The phrase caught on as a variation on "LOL" in game chat rooms, as well as at open forums dedicated to gaming, animation, and popular culture, such as 4chan and Reddit – also dens of the alt-right, where the Pepe the Frog meme also has its origins, and similarly hijacked as a symbol of white nationalism.
|A popular meme explaining the Cult of Kek.
More importantly, Kek was portrayed as a bringer of chaos and darkness, which happened to fit perfectly with the alt-right's self-image as being primarily devoted to destroying the existing world order.
In the febrile imaginations at play on 4chan's image boards and other alt-right gathering spaces, this coincidence took on a life of its own, leading to wide-ranging speculation that Pepe – who, by then, had not only become closely associated with the alt-right, but also with the candidacy of Donald Trump – was actually the living embodiment of Kek. And so the Cult of Kek was born.
Constructed to reflect alt-right politics, the online acolytes of the "religion" in short order constructed a whole panoply of artifacts of the satirical church, including a detailed theology, discussions about creating "meme magick," books and audio tapes, even a common prayer:
Our Kek who art in memetics
Hallowed by thy memes
Thy Trumpdom come
Thy will be done
In real life as it is on /pol/
Give us this day our daily dubs
And forgive us of our baiting
As we forgive those who bait against us
And lead us not into cuckoldry
But deliver us from shills
For thine is the memetic kingdom, and the shitposting, and the winning, for ever and ever.
Praise KEK
Kek "adherents" created a whole cultural mythology around the idea, describing an ancient kingdom called "Kekistan" that was eventually overwhelmed by "Normistan" and "Cuckistan." They created not only a logo representing Kek – four Ks surrounding an E – but promptly deployed it in a green-and-black banner, which they call the "national flag of Kekistan."
The banner's design, in fact, perfectly mimics a German Nazi war flag, with the Kek logo replacing the swastika and the green replacing the infamous German red. Alt-righters are particularly fond of the way the banner trolls liberals who recognize its origins.
In recent weeks, alt-right marchers at public events planned to create violent scenes with leftist antifacist counterprotesters have appeared carrying Kekistan banners. Others have worn patches adorned with the Kek logo.
|A Kekistan Banner was part of the scene at the
alt-right "free speech" rally April 15 in Berkeley, CA.
One of the leaders of the group offered a satirical speech: "The Kekistani people are here, they stand with the oppressed minorities, the oppressed people of Kekistan. They will be heard, they will be set free. Reparations for Kekistan now! Reparations for Kekistan right now!"
"We have lived under normie oppression for too long!" chimed in a cohort.
"The oppression will end!" declared the speaker.
The main point of the whole exercise is to mock "political correctness," an alt-right shibboleth, and deeply reflective of the ironic, often deadpan style of online trolling in general, and alt-right "troll storms" especially. Certainly, if any "normies" were to make the mistake of taking their "religion" seriously and suggesting that their "deity" was something they actually worshipped, they would receive the usual mocking treatment reserved for anyone foolish enough to take their words at face value.
Yet at the same time, lurking behind all the clownery is an idea that alt-righters actually seem to take seriously: Namely, that by spreading their often cryptic memes far and wide on social media and every other corner of the Internet, they are infecting the popular discourse with their ideas. For the alt-right, those core ideas all revolve around white males, the patriarchy, nationalism, and race, especially the underlying belief that white males and masculinity are under siege – from feminists, from liberals, from racial, ethnic, and sexual/gender minorities.
In such alt-right haunts as Andrew Anglin's neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer, references to the Kek "religion" have become commonplace, and Kek as the "god of chaos" has been credited at the site with, besides electing Trump, killing over 30 people in a fire at an Oakland artists' collective. A very early Stormer disquisition on Kek by "Atlantic Centurion," published in August 2015, explores the many dimensions of the Kek phenomenon in extensive theological detail, connecting their belief system to Buddhism and other religions.
It is the Kek the Bodhisattva who can teach our people these truths, if we are willing to listen and to commit ourselves to the generation of meme magick through karmic morality and through the mantra of memes. By refusing to cuck and by rejecting the foul mindsets of our invaders and terrorizers, we will move the nation away from its suffering under the pains of hostile occupation, and closer and closer to its final rebirth. If instead, our people cuck and adopt the foul mindsets, they will generate not Aryan karma but further mosaic samsara.
The trve power of skillful memes is to meme the karmic nation into reality, the process of meme magick. By spreading and repeating the meme mantra, it is possible to generate the karma needed for the rebirth of the nation.
Anglin himself makes frequent references to Kek, making clear that he too subscribes to the underlying meme-spreading strategy that the "religion" represents. Describing a black artist's piece showing a crucified frog – which appeared to Anglin to be a kind of blasphemy of the Kek deity – he declared that "there's some cosmic-tier stuff going on out there." Another post, published in March, was headlined: "Meme Magic: White House Boy Summoned Spirit of Kek to Protect His Prophet Donald Trump."
Anglin devoted the post to explaining a teenager's use of an alt-right hand signal while meeting Trump, concluding that "the only possibility here is that this is an example of Carl Jung's synchronicity – seemingly acausal factors culminating to create an event based on its meaning. But it is not really acausal – it merely appears that way to the non-believer. It is our spiritual energies, channeled through the internet, that caused this event to manifest," he wrote. "It is meme magic."
Whether they really believe any of this or not, the thrust of the entire enterprise is to mock everything "politically correct" so loudly and obtusely – and divertingly – that legitimate issues about the vicious core of white male nationalism they embrace never need to be confronted directly. The alt-right's "meme war" is ultimately another name for far-right propaganda, polished and rewired for 21st-century consumers. The ironic pose that Kek represents, and accompanying claims that the racism they promote is just innocently meant to provoke, in the end are just a façade fronting a very old and very ugly enterprise: hatemongering of the xenophobic and misogynistic kind.


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Tuesday, October 4, 2016
54 comments:
I didn't know about World Animal Day until I saw a post on Facebook today. Of course, we should be conscious of animal welfare every day.ReplyDelete
We have not heard/known about this day either. Love the paw-in-hand picture.ReplyDelete
We love your image. It touches a chord in every animals lover I am sure and World Animal Day means a lot to us all.ReplyDelete
The Dash Kitten CrewReplies
Thanks so much!! Yes, it most certainly does!Delete
Beautiful :)ReplyDelete
Purrs xx
Athena and Marie
Love the hand in paw :) I never hear about these days until it's too late! GRRR!ReplyDelete
Nice graphic! I didn't know about World Animal Day.ReplyDelete
We didn't know there was World Animal Day. We purr for all animals...ReplyDelete
We hate to miss days like this, but we didn't know about this one. Thanks for calling it to our attention! XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty may, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista JoReplyDeleteReplies
you are most welcome! xoxoDelete
How did I not know there was a World Animal Day? Thanks for sharing this. That's a beautiful photo too!ReplyDeleteReplies
you are most welcome and thank you!!!Delete
An excellent post, Caren and Cody! We love animals!ReplyDeleteReplies
Thank you!!!!! We do too!! :)Delete
Wonderful graphic ! As we usually don't post on Tuesday, we talked yesterday about that special day. PurrsReplyDeleteReplies
thank you!!! Yep, I had mine done on Sunday and saw yours yesterday (which you know!) xoxoDelete
I somehow didn't learn about World Animal Day until today. Thank you for spreading awareness about it with this beautiful post!ReplyDeleteReplies
you are most welcome and THANK YOU!!!Delete
We are just now hearing about this very important day. Such a sweet graphic!ReplyDelete
Sorry our Bears beat your Lions. Believe us, it was a fluke and only because they had home field advantage!Replies
Thanks about the graphic and the Lions! You deserved to win!! The Lions SUCK............YET AGAIN!!!!!!! It is going to be a disgusting season I'm afraid xoxoDelete
What a wonderful movement. Everyone should respect our precious four legged family members.ReplyDelete
Have a purrfect day Cody. My best to your wonderful mom. ♥♥♥Replies
I agree! Thank you and YOU have a "purrfect" day too! xoxoDelete
We love your graphic too, just purrfect!ReplyDelete
Very nice. We need our mom every day, and we try to help other animals in need when we can...like adopting cats...not sure if I agree on that one, but Mom says we have to have cats.ReplyDelete
Adorable image! There's nothing quite like the feeling when a cat gives you their paw. :) It is great to see the whole world coming together to help improve the lives of animals.ReplyDeleteReplies
Thank you so much! I couldn't agree with you more about the whole world coming together!!!Delete
We learned about World Animal Day from the Swiss Cats yesterday. It is a very important day, but we are celebrating a personally important day today!ReplyDelete
In Holland we call this dierendag and we spend lots of money on our pets on this day. Buying treats and toys.ReplyDeleteReplies
thank you for sharing that my friend and for visiting us! Not sure if you know, but we are Dakota's family!!Delete
Those are some good wordsReplyDelete
Lily & Edward
I love that sweet photo, and it is perfect for this day. We care about all animals all the time!ReplyDeleteReplies
Thank you!! We do too!Delete
We think animals should be celebrated every day but we're glad there's a day of recognition so everyone knows how important they are!ReplyDelete
Excellent post. Thank you for spreading the word about this great day.ReplyDeleteReplies
Thank you and you are welcome!!Delete
What a great day and a GREAT picture!ReplyDelete
We did not know about World Animal Day. Thank you for spreading the word!ReplyDelete
This is an impawtent day!ReplyDelete
Louis Dog Armstrong
What a beautiful image of you and Cody!ReplyDelete
Dat's a pawsum foto. Hope ya'll have a great day.ReplyDelete
Luv ya'
Dezi and RaenaReplies
Thank you! Hoping you all have a great day too! Love you too!Delete
That precious trusting dear paw. And I might add I would love to see your Grampy with his toys in that bandana tied to a stick! <3 <3ReplyDeleteReplies
What a purrfect reason to have a special day! Love the paw, too!ReplyDeleteReplies
I agree about the day and thank you about the paw!!!Delete
- AnonymousOctober 6, 2016 at 3:07 AM
Beautiful picture and words :) Good Luck Pawkisses for all the animals in the world <3 <3 <3ReplyDelete
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