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Tale of the Mystery Miner
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In 1955, Kyle Atkins and two cousins found a dead man in a remote cabin near Jamestown. In the newly released Winter 2013/14 Issue of Friends and Neighbors, Atkins tells of that boyhood fishing trip gone awry. Fifty-eight years later, Chris Bateman picks up the trail to learn more about miner Joseph Ross.
Who was that dead man?
Secret agent? Holder of coveted U.S. military secrets? International man of mystery? Or just a gold miner whose luck had run out?
Last we read, the deceased was tied to a rocking chair in a ramshackle prospector's cabin by the banks of Woods Creek, rotting, stinking and totally spooking the three Jamestown grade-schoolers who had chanced upon him during a 1955 fishing trip.
That much writer Kyle Atkins tells us in "Green Men, Mean Men and Three Kids," his fascinating first-person account of the scary adventure (Friends and Neighbors Magazine, Winter 2013/14 issue).
Atkins, then 13 and now 71, writes of how he and two cousins ran from the shack in a panic after cracking its door open and seeing the badly decomposed body. As the frightened boys made their way out of the creek canyon, they became convinced that sinister forces – most likely space aliens or Russian spies – had tortured the miner to death in search of information he may have collected while serving in the Army during World War I.
After hitching to Jamestown, they called in a report and later led Tuolumne County Sheriff Don Vars to the cabin. Sure enough, a body was recovered.
A brief coroner's register entry found that the dead man, identified by neighbors as Joe Ross, had died of "natural causes." It made no mention of his being tied to a chair or any even remotely untoward circumstances.
Atkins and his cousins at the time couldn't believe the sheriff had overlooked the obvious and had so quickly ruled out foul play by commie operatives or even extraterrestrials.
My own attempts to thaw this coldest of cases were like trying to melt a glacier with a Zippo lighter.
"We love a mystery," said Betty Sparagna, a genealogist at the Tuolumne County Museum, when I asked about Ross. "But you have to give us something to go on – a date of birth, a middle name, a wife, survivors, something."
The few records I dug up included none of those.
The dead miner's name came from Jacksonville-area residents who told sheriff's investigators that Ross had spent the last few winters working what was known as the Wild Horse Quartz Claim, at the confluence of Sullivan and Woods creeks.
The last date checked off son a calendar nailed to the cabin's wall was Jan. 22, 1955. This, and Ross's level of decomposition – "Meat was falling off his face!" one of the boys had gasped after the May 28 discovery – led Vars to peg the prospector's date of death as Jan. 23.
"About 65" was listed as Ross's age on his death certificate, but this seems the product of conjecture rather than documentation. The certificate indicates he was born somewhere in Poland and was the son of Mataos and Mary Ross, but gives no date or town of birth, and no source for the information.
Which posed further problems for museum genealogists Sparagna and Ellie Day. "Ross was probably a last name he assumed after coming to the states," said Sparagna. "His family name in Poland may have been something completely different."
This elevated the task of tracing the mystery miner's ancestry from difficult to all but impossible.
I called the Sheriff's Office in search of the detailed coroner's report this case would almost certainly have generated, and was referred to the county archives. But the archives didn't have it, so I returned to the SO and made an official request for records. After more than a month, I was told there was no such report.
Of course this was the same agency Atkins and his fellow adventurers had six decades earlier suspected of covering up lurid, potentially explosive details of Ross's demise.
According to news accounts, Bigelow Mortuary handled Ross's funeral. I called Heuton's Memorial Chapel, which in 1959 bought out Bigelow's. Mike Heuton dug up Ross's file, which indicated he was buried on June 4, 1955 at Sonora's Mountain Shadows Cemetery.
The cemetery staff said Ross was laid to rest at Lot North 3, Block No. 83, and directed me to it. There, not far from nonstop Greenley Road traffic, was a marker reading "Joseph Ross 1890-1955." I was likely the first to visit his grave in a while, but it answered none of my questions and added a couple of new ones.
You'd expect to find a cheap, expendable marker atop the grave of an indigent like Ross. Instead, his stone is a granite memorial which has endured the years gracefully and probably had cost a few dollars even in the mid-1950s.
Who might have paid for such a tribute to an all-but-unknown-miner? And why?
Other avenues in my search for Joe were also dead ends.
The brief Coroner's Register entry included this line: "May be money in a bank in Sacramento." But if local authorities found a fortune earned by a miner who had quietly hit the strike of a lifetime – or hush money paid him by the government in return for keeping secrets – it was never made public.
The Union Democrat story on the boys' gruesome discovery noted that deputies were to check with a friend of Ross's who was reportedly with the prospector when he filed his quartz claim. But if this was done, it was never noted by the paper.
Neither is there any indication in county recorder's files that a Wild Horse Quartz Claim ever existed.
A Modesto Bee account of the boys' discovery said "no identifying papers" were found on Ross, but reported that area residents said he "worked rice fields in the valley" between winter mining stints along Woods Creek.
A second Bee story said Ross "had worked last fall on the McCormack Ranch near Rio Vista" and that "ranch owners and officials were asked to help identify the body if possible." There was no follow-up.
The McCormack Ranch, it turns out, is a more-than-century-old operation that is still a going concern in Rio Vista. But present-day proprietor Jeanne McCormack says five brothers owned five different McCormack Ranches in the Rio Vista area back in the 1950s, making the search for a lone employee incredibly difficult. "I wouldn't know where to begin," she said.
Making the search for Joe more difficult yet is his name.
"The problem isn't that we can't find Joe Ross," said Atkins, who has done his own share of genealogical excavation. "It's that we can find hundreds of them."
A potentially good lead was a colorful "Rainbow Division" patch one of the three boys discovered in a knot hole at the base of a live oak near Ross's cabin. Otherwise known as the 42nd Infantry, this division fought in several crucial World War I battles. Ross, who would have been in his early 20s during the Great War, may well have been a veteran.
But a search of WWI draft cards, Atkins said, yielded a dozen Joe Rosses in California alone. "Just too many possibilities," he figures.
Isabelle Drown, Friends and Neighbors' resident genealogist, found three Rainbow Division Rosses, but none were Joe. She also found three Joseph – or Giuseppe – Rosses who were born in 1890 and arrived in the U.S. from Italy in the early 20th Century, and one Josef Ross who came from Austria about the same time.
U.S. Census reports are often fertile ground, but not if you're shuffling through hundreds of Joe Rosses. Worse than searching for a needle in a haystack, it's like rummaging through a stack of needles and examining each to see if it might be the right one.
Drown, checking out census results in FamilySearch.org, found 20 Joe Rosses who were born in Poland between 1885 and 1895 and later came to the U.S. The most promising, she said, was a New York City boarder who according to the 1940 census – the most recent to be made public – was a 50-year-old cook who had earned a grand total of $144 the previous year. But he was listed as married, and our dead Joe was not.
Atkins, "grabbing at the first temptation," came upon a 50-year-old Joe Ross in the 1940 Census. This Joe was listed as a farm laborer and a lodger in Hanford, Kings County. But he gave California as his birthplace, and our Joe was supposedly born in Poland.
That either the New York cook or the Fresno-area farm worker 15 years later was searching for his fortune on the banks of Woods Creek is certainly possible, but not exactly probable.
So our Joe remains a mystery and might tempt a serious researcher to go back to what's left of his ramshackle cabin and poke around for clues overlooked or dismissed by authorities back in '55.
Trouble is, you'd need scuba gear to do it: The cabin was inundated 42 years ago by rising waters that in 1971 formed New Don Pedro Reservoir.
Which brings us back to the conclusion a young Kyle Atkins reached after realizing that newspaper stories and county reports did not even hint at "the whole truth of the murder":
"That reporters and the sheriff's department were either incompetent, or were working in conjunction with the U.S. government to conceal the truth about flying saucers and Russian spies."
From six decades out, Atkins almost certainly realizes that the commies and space aliens were the figment of the fertile imaginations of three very scared boys.
But what if they weren't?
Sheriff Vars was almost certainly a stand-up guy who took pride in the integrity of his department. But what if President Eisenhower called him and politely asked that he bottle up that whole dead-miner business and quietly do away with any incriminating evidence that might have been found at the cabin?
Really, who could say no to Ike?
And who else but CIA agents bent on covering up a potentially embarrassing incident could make someone disappear as thoroughly as did Joe Ross?
Or did Joe actually leave us without a trace? Did you know him? Or anything about him? Have you heard rumors? If so, let us know and we'll tell the rest of the story. Email email@example.com.
Chris Bateman, 67, is a journalist based in Sonora, California, where over the past 40 years he has covered everything under the Sierra Nevada sun.
Copyright 2013, Friends and Neighbors Magazine
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Anglers from the Gateshead-based Alan Carr Fishing Friends crossed the Irish Sea to plunder a glut of trophies.
The Geordie competitors came back with six prestigious titles on offer in the Irish Jack Charlton Trout Cup for Disabled Anglers last weekend.
But it was a personal triumph for Gateshead wheelchair angler Simon Baker, who lifted the overall Jack Charlton Cup.
John Harwood took the Borde Failte Cup for the best overseas angler while Julia Davison from New York won the best worm angler trophy.
Another Gateshead man, Tony Sellers, went home with the South Western Regional Fisheries Board trophy for the heaviest fish at 3lb 9oz. Carol Sanderson, an exiled Geordie now living in Newcastleton, lifted the cup for the best overseas lady angler while her husband David came runner-up for the Jack Charlton Trout Cup.
More than 70 anglers took part at Lough Bofinne in County Cork and, needless to say, the Alan Carr Fishing Friends were ecstatic with their performance and have pledged to be back again next year.
Meanwhile, local rivers have had water at long last and this will bring on some fine sport.
The River Tyne was still running high on Tuesday but excellent conditions should be available this weekend.
Fishing at Bywell, Joanne Downs from Tynemouth took a sea-trout of 2lb and Chris Ramos landed a salmon of 9lb 8oz on fly at Fish Pass.
Out on Tyneside Anglers Syndicate's Border fishing, Terry Watson from Shotley Bridge caught salmon of 5lb and 7lb to fly. Visiting angler Phil Dyson landed one of 9lb on a Flying C while John Jamieson netted one of 12lb on fly.
Brian Corkhill from Gateshead was top man, along with Peter Appleby from Newton Aycliffe - both catching rainbows of 19lb 3oz. John Taylor from Durham reeled in one of 15lb 9oz and Dave Forster from Fencehouses landed a superb brown trout of 14lb 3oz.

subset: commoncrawl


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Assert ownership through assets
Before you can earn money on YouTube, you need to set up assets to represent your intellectual property and territorial rights.
Make the most of your assets
An asset is the representation of your intellectual property in the YouTube rights management system. Assets are not the same as videos, which can be uploaded by partners or users and shared on YouTube.com.
Assets are containers for metadata, reference material, ownership information, and policies—all connected with a specific piece of content. YouTube stores critical information in the asset, so you can promote your content, collect revenue, and run reports to drive your business.
Let's look at an example. A production company might have an asset for a new episode of a TV show. The asset would contain elements such as the title, description, unique ID, date added, and asset type. It would also contain the reference file with the new episode's audiovisual content. When Content ID identifies a video that matches this asset's reference material, it generates a claim and applies the corresponding policy.
Select the correct asset type
It's important to select the correct asset type because some asset types have different properties that impact claims and monetization.
These are the primary asset types in Content ID:
- Music Video - Represents an official music video for a sound recording; embeds a sound recording asset
- Sound Recording - Represents an audio recording; the underlying publishing ownership is represented by all the embedded composition relationships
- Composition Share - Represents an ownership share of a musical composition; multiple Composition Share assets can be embedded within a Sound Recording asset
- TV Episode - Represents an episode from a television show
- Movie - Represents a feature film
- Art Track - Represents a video of a sound recording with still images
- Web - Represents video content not covered by other asset types
We recommend you only select the Web asset type when none of the others apply. If you're not sure which asset type to choose, read more. (Only music partners may deliver music assets.)
For music partners, note that an Art Track is an automatically generated YouTube version of a sound recording. It consists of the sound recording, album art, and metadata about the recording. The Art Track provides a single label-sanctioned YouTube version of every sound recording, when no official music video is available.
Manage your asset ownership carefully
You specify the ownership for an asset directly in the Content ID interface, or when you deliver it using spreadsheet templates or DDEX (music only). For newly created or existing assets, you can view or edit the ownership information from the Ownership & Policy tab.
Why does this matter? Your policies apply only in countries where you own the asset. For example, if your policy is set to monetize worldwide, but you own the asset in Canada only, YouTube only shows ads on your claimed videos in Canada.
Because ownership affects where and how videos show on YouTube, you should update ownership information whenever it changes, such as when you license content in particular territories. You can specify the territories in which you own the asset, or the territories in which you don't own the asset.
To transfer ownership of assets, you can share a list of asset IDs with the new owner (through an export to CSV or asset report). Next, the new owner can add ownership to the assets and you can remove ownership.
Resolve any ownership conflicts
Nobody likes conflict, whether it's a two-headed monster arguing about a flower, or a conflict over asset ownership in Content ID. Ownership conflicts arise when multiple parties assert ownership of a single asset in the same territory. (You'll see ownership conflicts in your Content Manager Dashboard when they arise.)
Let's say partner Alpha asserts ownership in 27 territories, including Japan. And partner Beta asserts ownership in 12 territories, also including Japan. An ownership conflict exists for Japan. Monetization is suspended for any territory with an ownership conflict, so it's important to resolve ownership conflicts quickly in order to maximize revenue. Note that music assets (music videos, sound recordings, and compositions) may continue to monetize during conflict.
Here's how to resolve asset ownership conflicts:
- Go to the Ownership & Policy tab on the asset detail page.
- If you mistakenly asserted ownership for a territory, choose "Remove my ownership" to edit your ownership.
- If you confirmed the accuracy of your ownership, choose "Contact owners" to communicate with the other partners and have them update their ownership.
Music publishing assets are a special case. For musical compositions embedded in Sound Recording assets, conflicts arise when ownership of embedded Composition Shares collectively adds up to over 100%. For example, a Sound Recording asset has embedded Composition Shares from two partners, designated at 50% and 70%, both in the U.S. An ownership conflict would appear on the "Composition" tab of the Sound Recording asset because the ownership on the Composition Shares exceeds 100% in the U.S.
Organize your assets with labels
Partners may wish to use asset labels for easier organization. You can create labels for attributes such as genre, artist, music label, name, and location. You can also use keywords that are helpful for you and others who manage your content. Asset labels are only viewable to the partner who created them.
You can apply up to 30 asset labels to an asset for more granular organization. When you're searching for assets, you can enter labels and select either "Include all" or "Include any" from the advanced search filter options.
In addition to organizing your asset library, asset labels make it easier to update all assets with a particular label, create campaigns for labeled assets, and view performance reports or analytics. For instance, in the Ads Partner Revenue Report, available monthly, you can filter or group items by the Asset Labels column.


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Deciding on a rhinoplasty technique can be a confusing task if the patient has no understanding of their choices. Here is a brief description between two of the major choices patients will be faced with: the open and closed techniques.
When using the open rhinoplasty approach, your plastic surgeon will make a tiny incision on the external skin that separates the nostrils. The nasal skin can then be lifted, offering a great deal of surgical access to the underlying architecture of the nose. This technique involves an incision that is more visible after surgery. Hiding the incision is preferable for many patients.


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The modernists rats come out in the bergoglian twilight
It's appropriate that halloween is approaching, because the synod (on sex) seems to be a time for many of the Church's bishops to don the costumes of their favorite ghoulish characters.
All of the sudden we have bishop after bishop "coming out of the closet" and telling us what they REALLY think about Church teaching and tradition -- even some of the post-Vatican II teaching of JPII and Paul VI.
Prior to the takeover of the papal office by don bergoglio such heretical thoughts would never have been uttered in public, but now it is the season of open abomination.... as opposed to the covert abomination which mostly consisted of remaining silent while Church teaching was being challenged and trampled upon.
How long this dark bergoglian imposed night will last no one knows... only God knows.
While it lasts we can hear the ghoulish howls and screams of the bishops seemingly gone mad in the distance and fast approaching....
+ + +
St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls.


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December 18, 2006
Lilly hid Zyprexa dangers, encouraged off-label promotion: NY Times
Eli Lilly encouraged off-label promotion of its blockbuster drug Zyprexa, while engaging in a decade-long effort to downplay the drug's risks, The New York Times reported in a series of articles appearing in editions yesterday and today. Citing internal Lilly marketing documents, today's article reported that Lilly encouraged primary care physicians to use its powerful schizophrenia and bipolar disorder medication Zyprexa in patients who did not have either condition. The marketing documents were given to the newspaper by a lawyer representing mentally ill patients and detail a multi-year promotional campaign that Lilly began in Orlando in late 2000. In the marketing campaign, called "Viva Zyprexa," Lilly told its sales reps to suggest that doctors prescribe Zyprexa to older patients with symptoms of dementia. A Lilly executive told The Times that she could not comment on specific marketing documents but that the company had never promoted Zyprexa for off-label uses and that it has always showed the marketing materials used by its sales reps to the FDA, as required by law. "We have extensive training for sales reps to assure that they provide information to the doctors that's within the scope of the prescribing information approved by the FDA." Anne Nobles, Lilly's VP for corporate affairs told The Times. Zyprexa is not approved to treat dementia or dementia-related psychosis and carries an FDA warning that it increases the risk of death in older patients with dementia related psychosis. Federal laws bar drugmakers from promoting prescription drugs for conditions for which they have not been approved – a practice known as off-label prescription – although doctors can prescribe drugs to any patient they wish. Meanwhile, an article appearing in Sunday's Times said Lilly engaged in a decade-long effort to play down health risks of Zyprexa. The Times article said, citing internal Lilly documents, that Lilly execs kept important information from doctors about Zyprexa's links to obesity and its tendency to raise blood sugar – both known risk factors for diabetes. The documents, spanning from 1995 to 2004, indicated Lilly was concerned that Zyprexa sales would suffer if it were more forthcoming about the drug's risks of causing weight gain or diabetes. In a written response to the article, Lilly defended Zyprexa's safety and called the release of the documents illegal. "In summary, there is no scientific evidence establishing that Zyprexa causes diabetes," Lilly told The Times. Zyprexa was Lilly's best selling product last year, with sales of $4.2 billion.


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By Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai
The preliminary reports of the panel of experts became public in December, although the reports were supposed to have been confidential. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse appointed seventeen member multi ethnic group of experts to submit recommendations on power sharing and constitutional reform.
The seventeen member expert committee comprised six Sinhalese, four Tamils, and one Muslim endorsed a 37 page report. The two reports are popularly knows as the Majority report, and Minority report.
The South Asia Peace Institute organised a symposium on the Experts Committee Reports forwarded to the APRC (All Party Representative Committee), and the launching of the book "A Glimmer of Hope" at the JAIC Hilton Hotel on March 22 nd 2007 – "A Glimmer of Hope"' – a new phase in Constitutional Reforms in Sri Lanka – is edited by Professor Sumanasiri Liyanage and Mr. M. Sinnathamby.
Bradman Weerakoon made a presentation on Majority Report, while Professor Shantha Hennayake made a presentation on Minority Report at the symposium. Political view points were expressed by Minister of Constitutional Affairs DEW Gunasekera (People's Alliance), Abdul Kalam of National Unity Alliance, Tamil National Alliance Parliamentarian R. Sampanthan , Legal Advisor for Jathika Hela Urumaya Udaya Gammanpila, National Movement Against Terrorism Malinda Seneviratne and Eelam People's Democratic Party's S. Thavarasa. The executive Director of South Asia Peace Institute, Professor Sumansiri Liyanage was the moderator of the symposium.
"The problem is termed as the national problem. The report tries to bring to bring back constitutional supremacy, and it's about a government by law, not by men. Tamils who are living in Sinhala area are faced with language problems, and Sinhalese who are living in Tamil areas are faced with language problems as well. This issue has to be addressed" said Bradman Weerakoon in his presentation on Majority Report.
Professor Shantha Hennayake of the Department of Geography at the University of Peradeniya made a presentation on the Minority report:
"The national problem as a ethno-nationalist problem has been identified as Tamil ethno-nationalist problem now. Sri Lanka was a Qasi-Federal state. Federalism means Central government sharing the power with the periphery, which has practical problems in implementing. There are no civil society is functional in Kilinochchi like in Colombo . There cannot be no devolution of power, unless it is accompanied by the decommissioning if arms. There cannot be two armies in one country" observed Professor Shantha Hennayake.
Minister of Constitutional Affairs DEW Gunasekera expressed his political views:
"I appeal to the JVP again to join the APRC, and voice their concerns. They do not want to put their proposal, but they are trying to live on it. The JVP is only helping the LTTE, and the LTTE is only helping the JVP. All peace – building efforts in the past have failed to deliver, because of the lack of consensus. Bandaranaike- Chelvanayagam pact and J.R.Jeyawardena's All Party Conference are two examples for failures. I am treading cautiously to bring about at least a sufficient consensus. Otherwise we will have to co-exist with terrorism and pass it on to the next generation. I can't visualize how peace will dawn unless some sanity prevails among our national leaders. What is happening in the Parliament today clearly shows that" said Dew Gunasekera.
Abul Kalam of National Unity Alliance expressed his political views following Dew Gunasekera's views:
"The Muslims have always stood for peace, and co-existed with other communities. Muslim community has always been sidelined in all peace processes. The Muslims from North were forcibly evicted or ethnically cleansed. This issue has to be addressed. Muslims have to be considered in bridge-building process" said Abul Kalam.
Tamil National Alliance Parliamentarian R. Sampanthan expressed his political view:
"The political solution is still elusive and it has not included everyone in such a way that they are equal, honourable partners in governance. The Sinhala leaders would have to consider seriously if they want to offer political solution for Tamils' aspirations. Tamil youth had to take up arms in early 80s as a result of Tamils been murdered. We are not the parents of the rebellions. Rebellions were inevitable when the Human Rights were consistently violated .The Sinhala leaders forced the Tamils to take up arms and fight for their rights. It's your baby, but we don't mind calling it our baby to solve the problem. We have to co-operate with one another and there is no question about that. But it has to be a process which gives all people their due place" observed R. Sampanthan.
Following R. Sampanthan's political views, Jathika Hela Urumaya Udaya Gammanpila expressed his views:
"The LTTE leader Velupillai Pirabakaran wants to fight and get the rights for the Tamils. When the LTTE came out with the ISGA (Interim Self-Governing Authority) proposals, all the peace lobbies said that we should use this as a starting point for negotiations. But when four respected Sinhala nationalistic leaders bring out a proposal, they want to put it in a bin' criticized Udaya Gammanpila.
Malinda Seneviratne of National Movement Against Terrorism expressed his views:
"Tamils were given forms in Sinhala to fill after Tsunami. The language issue is important and should be addressed soon. All issues which matter should be addressed without further delay.
Eelam People's Democratic Party's S. Thavarasa expressed his views next:
"The Sinhalese are safe in any part of Sri Lanka. But the Tamils have suffered endlessly. Tamils were killed after the famous Vattukottai declaration was made. This incident led the Tamils to take up arms and fight for their rights. The demands of the Tamils have to met reasonably" said S. Thavarasa.
The symposium has created a needed space for dialogue. Various views were exchanged. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party, United National Party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and Sri Lanka Muslim congress did not participate in the symposium.
Professor Shantha Hennayake of Peradeniya University,Sumanasiri Liyanage,executive director of South Asia Peace Institute, and Bradman Weerakoon
Abul Kalam of National Unity Alliance
Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian R.Sampanthan and Udaya Gammanpila of Jathika Hela Urumaya are sharing a lite moment
Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian R.Sampanthan and Udaya Gammanpila of Jathika Hela Urumaya ~ with a Buddhist monk and a Hindu priest in the foreground
A Buddhist monk in the audience clicking a photo on his mobile phone
Malinda Seneviratne from National Movement Against Terrorism casting his political view points
Audience taking part in the open discussion
Source: humanityashore
Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com


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|Finance Bill
Mr. Davey: Is the Financial Secretary really telling the Committee that she believes that taking £8 billion out of an industry over eight years will not have a negative impact on investment? Is she really asking us to believe that?
Ruth Kelly: If the hon. Gentleman studies the speeches that were made in the House, he might convince himself that the measures have been designed so carefully that although they will clearly extract value from existing, more profitable fields, they will also increase the post-tax rate of return for investment in new marginal projects. Although that will have a cash-flow effect on companies, it will lead to greater investment and development. However, I do not want to rehearse arguments in Committee that we have already had in great detail in the House.
Mr. Iain Luke (Dundee, East): Does my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary agree with me, and indeed with the Royal Bank of Scotland, that although the big corporate players may take corporate decisions that shift activity away, recent job losses show that activity is already being shifted away? The job losses were not a direct effect of the Government's proposals, but a function of previous corporate decisions about the market being taken up if there were a move by smaller, leaner companies that could invest profitably.
Ruth Kelly: I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. It is right to point out in Committee that the industry had already forecast before the Budget that there would be an impact on jobs and activity over the coming years. We have to isolate that effect from the Budget measures, which will have a positive impact on both marginal investment decisions and jobs and activity in the future. Those two forces will clearly play out in due course.
I am of course aware of some of the comment on those issues, but I should like to point to Tony Wood, senior economist at the Royal Bank of Scotland, who said:
Ann McKechin (Glasgow, Maryhill): May I congratulate the Financial Secretary on her promotion? Does she agree that, had there been such a catastrophic effect on the industry as a result of the decision, we would have seen a marked drop in the
Column Number: 279share prices of the companies concerned? In fact, there was no sizeable or noticeable impact whatever in connection with the dividend prices of the major oil companies that operate in the North sea.
Ruth Kelly: I thank my hon. Friend for her kind remarks and her informed contribution, which builds on remarks that she made earlier. It is the case that there has not been a significant impact on the share prices of oil companies. We should interpret that in a positive fashion.
12.30 pm
Mr. Davey: Prior to the intervention by the hon. Member for Glasgow, Maryhill (Ann McKechin), the Financial Secretary warned the Committee and the industry that they should not make panicky statements and suggested that people should avoid scaremongering. Does she not realise that the greatest damage has been done by the Government? Having been in consultation with the industry through the pilot project, and having built up a degree of trust, the Government have suddenly changed the tax regime and created a fear that there will be future instability because the industry can no longer trust the Government's word. Surely that is the greatest long-term damage that has been done to the British North sea oil industry.
Ruth Kelly: I do not accept the hon. Gentleman's charge in any way whatever. We are committed to working with the oil industry, and to encouraging new investment, new exploration and development in the North sea. The proposals will make new investment more economic for oil companies, while extracting a fairer share of revenue for the taxpayer. The hon. Gentleman accuses us of inconsistency in the matter. I refer him to the statement in the pre-Budget report of 2000 when the Chancellor said:
Mr. Davey: The Financial Secretary says that the industry knew that there were going to be changes. Is she telling the Committee that the Government actually consulted the industry on such a tax change?
Column Number: 280
Ruth Kelly: I am saying that the Chancellor set out very clearly in his Budget statement the approach that we were going to take to the North sea fiscal regime. What we have done is completely consistent with what was said at the time. Of course, no industry likes paying more tax, and I am not for a minute going to suggest that North sea oil companies are jumping up and down saying ''Thank goodness! The Chancellor has finally decided to force us to contribute more revenue to the Exchequer.'' However, I am saying that what we have done in the Budget is totally consistent with the approach set out in previous years. Any objective assessment of the situation that the oil companies might have chosen to consult would have suggested to them that more tax was going to be raised from the industry. We have designed the tax measures in such a way as to have a positive impact on the economy and the outcome is an important, significant and positive one for jobs and activity.
Mr. Jack: The Financial Secretary has outlined the care with which the measure was considered. Will she therefore share with the Committee the Treasury's estimate prior to the Budget for North sea investment over the next eight years? Can she also tell us the figure that she is working on post-Budget?
Ruth Kelly: As the right hon. Gentleman well knows, we do not give, in aggregate or individual terms, forecasts of that detail. Particularly for North sea oil companies, it is straightforward to draw individual conclusions from aggregate data. For reasons of commercial confidentiality, we cannot share that with the Committee. As he knows, I set out in the House the criteria that were used to consider the matter.
I should turn to the specifics of the amendment, rather than rehearse recent arguments on the Floor of the House. The group of amendments with the chargeable periods commencing on or after 1 January 2003 provides an increased rate of writing-down allowance at 50 per cent., instead of the current 25 per cent. for expenditure already incurred by companies. I urge the Committee to reject the amendments.
I note that the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton said that it would not cost the Government much to accept the amendment, but the Revenue estimates that it would cost us up to £1 billion over the next two years, and that it would do nothing to increase investment in the North sea. The money incurred would be a pure deadweight cost and would mean a transfer of a substantial sum of money from the taxpayer to an industry that has already made good returns from the North sea recently and will continue to do so when the Bill's changes are introduced.
To accept the amendment would be neither sensible nor necessary. Our Budget changes have been carefully analysed and we have assessed their effects on all project categories, including future ones. We know of not one single project that would be made uneconomic by the Budget changes.
Column Number: 281
Mr. Jack: In giving us a figure for the cost of the amendment, can the Financial Secretary share with us the basis of that calculation? How much investment would the amendment give relief to?
Ruth Kelly: I made it clear that the amendment is backward-looking and will do nothing to stimulate new investment, which is why we resist it. We have produced a system with a sensible marginal rate of tax on profits from a natural resource, and which has maximum incentives for investment. It is a principled and sustainable regime that is far more likely than the outgoing one to be durable of cycles.
Mr. John Burnett (Torridge and West Devon): I congratulate the Financial Secretary on her appointment.
I apologise for not being here for much of today's debate. Furthermore, I have not given the provisions detailed study. However, I should like to raise a common-sense point that may have been covered on the Floor of the House or in Committee. Is the new 100 per cent. allowance flexible? We all know that the up-front costs of investment are high, and that profits are slow in coming, so can the Financial Secretary confirm that any unused allowance can be carried forward until the allowance is completely exhausted?
Ruth Kelly: I am extremely pleased that I gave way to the hon. Gentleman because he made an interesting and considered point. I am happy to be able to say that the answer is a definitive yes. If the allowance is unused when, for example, a new entry comes into play and it makes losses in the first year, the allowance can be carried forward and the full allowance can be taken up in due course. Taken as a whole, the regime that we have created will encourage investment, activity and job creation. This package is good for the economy. Our regime will be better for the industry and the country, and I therefore encourage the Committee to reject the amendments.
|©Parliamentary copyright 2002
|Prepared 11 June 2002


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When the speakers at this year's Republican convention in Tampa stand up and attack the President's energy agenda and mock clean technology, it's important to know just who they're standing up for: Big Oil. Over the years, oil and gas interests have given more than $20 million to the speakers at this year's RNC convention, including millions directly to the Republican National Committee. It wouldn't be a stretch to call this convention Big Oil's big party for Romney.
Why is Big Oil investing millions in these convention speakers? Because they want to protect their massive profits. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan support allowing Big Oil companies to continue benefiting from billions in taxpayer-funded handouts, despite being among the most profitable industries on the planet. And that's not all -- the Romney-Ryan ticket's corporate tax plan would lead to even bigger tax breaks for the oil industry.
Their extreme energy policies mean a Romney administration will return us to the failed energy policies of the past by putting a thumb on the scale for Big Oil, and lining the pockets of wealthy oil barons and other campaign donors -- all while leaving the clean energy sector out in the cold. In fact, Romney is so outside the mainstream that if he is elected in November, he would be the first president ever to deny the scientific consensus on climate change.
Last week, Romney released a 21-page "energy independence" plan that reads like a wish list for Big Oil. Romney's plan includes 154 references to oil, but just 14 mentions of solar and 10 mentions of wind -- with zero references to climate change. What's more, just days before he announced his energy plan, Romney held a fundraiser with ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson. As the New York Times noted, Romney wrote his energy plan "in consultation" with Big Oil executives.
While Romney's embrace of "oil above all" is hardly a surprise, what's truly amazing is his outright disdain for clean energy. For example, Romney wants to let crucial tax incentives for wind energy expire, which could cost 37,000 American jobs and devastate our clean energy economy.
But the devastation for the clean energy sector -- one of the fastest growing parts of our economy -- wouldn't end there. Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan, has proposed a budget plan that is so extreme that it would cut $3 billion in energy programs in 2013, with clean energy initiatives likely targeted for the biggest cuts, and would spend just $150 million on energy programs from 2013 to 2017. That's barely 20 percent of what the Obama Administration invested in 2012 alone. Under a Romney administration, Big Oil's gain would be clean energy's loss -- just what you'd expect, since Romney's top energy advisor, Harold Hamm, is a billionaire oil baron.
It's clear that Romney is standing up for Big Oil, because Big Oil is standing up for him. Between his two Presidential campaigns, the oil and gas industry has so far given more than $2.6 million to Romney, and Big Oil interests, such as Koch brothers, have pledged to spend hundreds of millions to defeat President Obama this fall. Already, oil-backed outside groups have spent millions on energy attack ads, many targeting President Obama.
When you turn on your television and watch the convention speeches, just remember who has helped bankroll the campaigns of those anti-environment speakers attacking President Obama's clean energy record -- Big Oil. If Romney and his Big Oil buddies are successful in November, it could be money well spent.


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Our buyers work hard to offer you the best most responsibly sourced produce, grocery, and bulk items at fair prices that honor all the hands that make the food we eat. They make an extra effort to source as much as possible directly from growers in our local Foodshed.
Produce Specials 8/13 - 8/19
Our produce sales change every Monday morning and are posted on two chalkboards above the produce rack. All items are Certified Organic unless specified. Transitional status means the farm is going through a three-year process to become certified organic.


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The Ward Museum developed six short videos that provide brief overviews of the museum as well as its galleries and nature trail. To view the entire playlist (22:03), press the play button on the embedded playlist. To view each video independently, click on the links at the bottom of this page.
Museum Overview (2:10)
Decoy in Time Gallery (2:52)
Decoy Study Gallery (1:33)
Ward Brothers Workshop Gallery (4:14)
Championship Gallery (6:01)
Nature Trail (5:13)
Beginning May 31, 2014 the new Ward Brothers film, "Nature's Counterfeiters: Lem and Steve Ward," will be playing in the gallery for visitors to enjoy. This film depicts the lives, legacy, and artwork of the Ward Brothers. To watch this film online please click the link below.
Nature's Counterfeiters: Lem and Steve Ward (14:14)


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This year, BEEF will provide the table listing the "Typical Composition of Commonly Used Feeds for Cattle and Sheep" as a downloadable PDF file here at www.beef-mag.com (just click here). These table listings show the typical composition of feedstuffs and ingredients commonly used in the feeding of cattle and sheep in North America.
What's the purpose of this information? Nutrition research spanning more that 100 years has defined the nutrients required by animals. Using this information, diets can be formulated from feedstuffs and ingredients to meet these requirements with the expectation that animals will not only remain healthy but productive and efficient.
The ultimate goal of feedstuff analysis is to predict the productive response of animals when they are fed diets of a given composition. This is the real reason for information on feedstuff composition.
Feedstuffs vary in composition, unlike chemicals that are "chemically pure," and therefore have a constant composition. Feeds vary in their composition for many reasons. What is the value, then, of showing composition data for feedstuffs?
No one will argue that an actual analysis of a feed to be used in a diet is much more accurate than the use of tabulated composition data. Actual analysis should be obtained and used whenever possible. Often, however, it's either impossible to determine actual composition or there's insufficient time to obtain the analysis. Tabulated data are the next best source of information.
When tabulated data are used, understand that feeds vary in their composition. Using the data shown in the table, one can expect the organic constituents (e.g., crude protein, ether extract, crude fiber, acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber) to vary as much as ±15%, the mineral constituents to vary as much as ±30% and the energy values to vary up to ±10%.
Therefore, values shown can only be guides. For this reason they are called "typical values." They are not averages of published information, since judgment was used in arriving at some of the values in the hope that these values will be realistic for use in formulating cattle and sheep diets.
Feeds can be chemically analyzed for many things that may or may not be related to the response of an animal when fed the feed. Thus, in the tables on www.beef-mag.com, certain chemical constituents are shown.
The response of cattle and sheep when fed a feed, however, is the biological response to the feed that is a function of its chemical composition and the ability of the animal to derive useful nutrient value from the feed. The latter relates to the digestibility or availability of a nutrient in the feed for absorption into the body and its ultimate efficiency of use depending upon the nutrient status of the animal and the productive or physiological function being performed by the animal.
Thus, ground fence posts and shelled corn may have the same gross energy value, but they have markedly different useful energy value when consumed by the animal.
Therefore, the biological attributes of a feed have much greater meaning in predicting the productive response of animals but are more difficult to accurately determine. This is because there is an interaction between the chemical composition of a feed with the digestive and metabolic capabilities of the animal being fed.
Biological attributes of feeds are more laborious and costly to determine and are more variable than chemical constituents. They are generally more predictive, however, since they relate to the response of an animal being fed the feed or diet.
The tables available online at www.beef-mag.com contain composition values for 265 feeds and ingredients. For each feed, its composition is given in terms of dry matter, energy value (TDN, NEM, NEG, and NEL), crude protein, undegradable intake protein (UIP; rumen by-pass protein), fiber (crude fiber, ADF, NDF and eNDF), fat, ash, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, chlorine, sulfur and zinc.
In addition, a write-up accompanies the tables. This provides background information that will be useful on how compositional values can be used in formulating and assessing diets for cattle and sheep.
Readers are encouraged to access and download these tables at www.beef-mag.com to formulate better diets for cattle and sheep.
Editor's Note: Since 1957, R.L. Preston has taught and conducted animal nutrition research in the areas of protein, minerals, growth and body composition. He also has conducted cattle feeding research on the energy value of feeds, growth promotants and nutrition management.
Preston has been a member of the NRC Committee on Animal Nutrition and president of the American Society of Animal Science. Retired as emeritus professor from Texas Tech University, where he was Horn Distinguished Professor and held the Thornton Endowed Chair, Preston's current address is 191 Columbia Court, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147-7650.
Look for the complete tables at www.beef-mag.com


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A*STAR and P&G inaugural grant call on
Consumer Diagnostics is now opened.
This call is only open to Singapore Public Sector Research Performers, including A*STAR Research Institutes, Singapore local universities and Singapore local hospitals and medical centres.
Partnerships across institutions & disciplines (engineering, design, consumer sociology/psychology, business/marketing, etc.) are highly encouraged for a more holistic proposal.
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Submissions should be made through your respective school administrators.
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Charlie Sheen Case Definitely Won't Go to Trial
It'll be resolved in arbitration.
Charlie Sheen is now 0-for-2 in his bids to bring his case against Warner Bros. and Chuck Lorre out of private arbitration and into the media spotlight. L.A. Superior Court Judge Alan Goodman ruled today that Sheen's Two and a Half Men case won't go to trial, which may actually be in the actor's best interest, since Sheen's reportedly negotiating for a new sitcom right now and would do well to put this potential media circus behind him. (Not that he will!)


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Scottish Independence: Charles Kennedy calls for No to be positive
Former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy has called for No campaigners to be "more positive" ahead of the referendum on Scottish Independence.
The Highland MP said a negative approach from Better Together would not resonate with voters.
He also warned supporters of the Union that interventions by UK government ministers could be counterproductive.
Mr Kennedy called for a "more coherent blueprint" on further devolution to be agreed before September's vote.
Next week, Mr Kennedy hangs up his robes after six years representing the students as Rector of the University of Glasgow.
For the next three years, that seat will be empty following the election of American whistleblower Edward Snowden as Mr Kennedy's successor - Snowden currently has temporary asylum in Russia.
In an interview to mark the end of his term as rector, Mr Kennedy decided not to lecture his opponents but to offer advice to fellow supporters of Scotland's place in the United Kingdom.
When asked about the charge of "negativity" in the No campaign, Mr Kennedy said: "I've made that criticism. I think that we should be more positive in terms of the way in which those of us on the Better Together side are putting over our key messages.
"I think we're right to ask the pertinent questions, of course.
"But if you take, for example, the recent figures on the state of the Scottish economy, the decline in the oil revenues and so on and so forth, I'm not sure that the right response to that from our point of view is to say 'there we are, we told you so, Scotland could never go it alone'.
"I'm not sure that's a resonance that you can establish with the people and I'm not sure it's the right one anyway."
What about the accusation of "bullying" made by the Scottish government and others following UK chancellor George Osborne's speech ruling out a currency union?
Mr Kennedy said: "I don't think that the Scots will feel bullied.
"I think that the national instinct, if you like, is more 'who are they to come up here and tell us what to do?', which is a different mindset.
"I think it's 'we'll make our own mind up, thank you very much'."
After Prime Minister David Cameron told the Tory Conference in Edinburgh that a "No" vote could mean further devolution, Mr Kennedy thinks a more-powers offer should be agreed by the pro-Union parties before Scots go to the polls.
He said: "I think it would be better if we had a more coherent blueprint to put to people, to say, 'voting "No" means "Yes" to this distinct proposition', as opposed to, well, something that will be worked out in due course.
"Because then you're open to exactly the accusation that we're making of the other side."
Mr Kennedy said he did not rule out seeking election to Holyrood in the event of a "Yes" vote but he insisted his attention was on the European elections, next year's Westminster general election and, of course, on the referendum this autumn.
Campaign responses
Responding to the interview, Sarah-Jane Walls of the pro-independence Yes Scotland campaign said: "Mr Kennedy's suggestion that the 'No' parties agree a position on more powers for Holyrood before Scotland goes to the polls in September may be well-meant, but it's also naive and wishful thinking.
"The anti-independence parties cannot agree internally; the chances of them agreeing something together is nil."
She continued: "The only way Scotland will gain the extra powers it needs is with independence."
A spokesman for the pro-Union Better Together campaign said: "What can be more positive than a campaign that is based on working together with family, friends and colleagues across the UK to address the challenges we face?
"Only the nationalists want to create division by walking away from the UK.
"We will continue to make the positive case, but we will also continue to ask the difficult questions about what leaving the UK would mean for Scottish families."


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Seven Deaths Confirmed in Arkansas
Authorities have now confirmed seven deaths in Arkansas after a severe storm
< Suspected Ex Police Officer Invovled In Shooting Believed Dead
Feb 14, 2013 06:42
Category: General News
Category: General News
Idaho Residents Living Abroad No Vote
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Voters who once lived in Idaho but now reside overseas could soon be barred from casting ballots in local elections. The House State Affairs committee introduced legislation today that keeps former Idahoans who live abroad indefinitely from voting in city council or other municipal elections. Coeur d'Alene Republican Rep. Kathleen Sims says the goal is to prevent voter fraud.


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Please use this form if you would like a disability accommodation.
If you are a qualified individual with a disability or are a disabled veteran, and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our Careers sites as a result of your disability, you have the right to receive assistance in completing the application process.
NOTE: SAIC does not respond to employment inquiries or requests to contact a specific recruiter. Please visit Careers to view our job listings and submit your resume.


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Mr. Jobs' decision to help pick an agency came days after Apple ousted Chairman-CEO Gil Amelio and announced Mr. Jobs would assume a broader advisory role.
Mr. Jobs met privately last week with Lee Clow, chairman-chief creative officer at TBWA Chiat/Day North America, said two executives with ties to the agency. Neither man returned phone calls last week, and the agency had no comment on whether it will pursue Apple.
The two have remained close since Mr. Jobs and Chiat/Day were shown the door in the mid-'80s. Close observers said Mr. Clow would have a hard time saying no if Mr. Jobs asked him to help save ailing Apple.
David Roman, Apple VP-advertising and brand communications, halted plans last week to trim a list of about a dozen agencies and also canceled a briefing set for today for the short-list shops.
Apple, however, is sticking with its plan to hire a shop by Sept. 1.
"The review is still on, and Steve will play a significant role in it," Mr. Roman said, adding Mr. Jobs "asked to really get involved in terms of getting the short list . . . He felt this was a critical area."
Mr. Jobs' decision to become, by default, the most influential member of the review committee spins the search in a new direction. Apple's decision last month to review prompted BBDO West, Los Angeles, to resign.
Mr. Roman acknowledged the close ties between Messrs. Jobs and Clow, but said Mr. Jobs is committed to a full review.
Mr. Jobs' arrival threw contending shops for a loop. An executive at one shop seen as a strong contender said he's having second thoughts about participating.
Apple's list includes Arnold Communications, Boston; Foote, Cone & Belding and Hal Riney & Partners, San Francisco; Merkley Newman Harty, New York; Dailey & Associates, Los Angeles; and Fallon McElligott, Minneapolis.
TBWA Chiat/Day declined an initial invitation to the Apple review, reportedly because it made a commitment to new client Taco Bell Corp. not to immediately take on more new business. One way around that could be for the agency to service Apple from its New York office rather than its Venice, Calif., office.
Some observers believe TBWA Chiat/Day is in the best position to help save Apple.
"Personally, I think they are the one agency that could be successful because they understand Apple," said former Apple exec Bill Cleary, founder of CKS Partners, Cupertino, Calif., former agency for Mr. Jobs' Next Computer.
Mr. Jobs, who returned as a part-time adviser in December when he sold Next to Apple, is seen as a strong candidate for CEO.
Contributing: Alice Z. Cuneo, Laura Petrecca, Mercedes M. Cardona.


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By Kersti Alm, Zahra El-Schich, Maria Falck Miniotis, Anette Gjörloff Wingren, Birgit Janicke and Stina Oredsson
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Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Be the first NJ.com user to add photos or videos of The Belly Buster
Belly Buster is now Master Pizza. They have good chicken fingers and decent but not great pizza. The tuna went from fantastic to less than average.
If you try out Belly Buster, you`ll find a pizzeria that serves up Italian where patrons tend to favor pizza.


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talks for the lead role in new movie Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
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'Twilight' zone: Meyer's vampire series entices teen audience
Beverly Hills, Calif. ? Stephenie Meyer did what many professed to be impossible. She convinced millions of teens and tweens to read something other than a text message or a computer screen. She got them to read her book called "Twilight," which is a novel about star-crossed lovers where one of the high school juniors happens to be a vampire.
Meyer's readers devoured her three other books in the series: "New Moon," "Eclipse," "Breaking Dawn."
Why have her books captured the attention of teen and tweens?
"My books must be accessible somehow. I know I get a lot of new readers, who don't read for pleasure, who read them. And that is cool," Meyer says during an interview less than two weeks before the film version of "Twilight" hit theaters on Friday.
"I always loved to read. So it is kind of a cool thing to be able to open that door."
So far, "Twilight" has sold more than 17 million copies in 37 countries. Half of that total has been in the United States.
Those kind of numbers makes it no surprise Hollywood leaped at the chance to bring "Twilight" to the big screen. And promotion for the movie is what has brought Meyer from her home in Phoenix to Southern California.
Meyer is snuggled into a chair near the window of a small room at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Between the dark sweater pulled around her shoulders and the bright green strand of oversize beads around her neck, the 34-year-old is fashionably dressed. But not in the sense of the chic shops on Rodeo Drive that can be seen just over her right shoulder.
She has a welcoming smile and a down-to-earth attitude.
Except for a few school papers, Meyer had never written anything before stealing a few hours at night to write "Twilight." Even her attempts to tell original stories to her three sons was greeted with little enthusiasm.
"My middle son likes when I make up stories with him as the main character. But the other two boys don't like that. They prefer I just read to them," Meyer says. "I had stories in my head all the time. My whole life I was telling stories. But there was such a difference between what was for me and what anyone else in the world would want to see. That's why I did not write them down for other people."
Vampire revision
The idea for "Twilight" came to her in a dream. Meyer woke up and jotted down the details of a scene in a meadow with the book's central characters. But she didn't intend to share the story. It was just for herself. Meyer is convinced if she had suspected during the writing process someone else would read her story, she never would have finished it.
Once she started writing, she could not stop. Meyer had to see where the characters would go.
"I discovered what a rush it was to create something in writing. That wasn't something I expected. And then I was addicted," Meyer says.
A month after deciding she would share the story with others, Meyer had secured an agent. A month after that, she had a book deal. From dream to bookstores took six months. The author almost apologetically admits this kind of quick reaction in the book publishing world is as rare as a vampire at a tanning salon.
She has been writing ever since. She's a graduate of Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in English and points to a hodgepodge of writers who influenced her from William Shakepeare to "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" author Douglas Adams. She says the common thread of her literary influences is how they were able to create memorable characters.
And while her books have been praised for how well Meyer writes dialogue, she has created memorable characters through a redefining of the vampire mythology. Her vampires are a blood-drinking sect who have no fangs and cannot turn into bats. They can even walk around on a cloudy day.
Her take on vampires resonated with fans. They sent "Twilight" to the New York Times best-seller list. It was in that moment, Meyer knew she had created something that was as immortal as her vampires. She would forever be known as a New York Times best-selling author.
Potential backlash
Hollywood executives come calling with such literary success. She quickly signed a movie deal with MTV Film to turn "Twilight" into a film. That deal did not go so well. She says the story would have changed and would have no resemblance to her writing.
"The fact they could do something that had nothing to do with the story was shocking to me," Meyer says. The option or time specified to make the film ran out so the deal ended.
She became more wary and protective of her stories. So when upstart film company Summit Entertainment called and asked to take a crack at the project, Meyer gave them a written list of what she expected: no fangs, no one could die who had not died in the books, no coffins, and some other items.
Except for having to condense a few scenes and scatter some of the action, confined to the last quarter of the book, early into the movie, the film adaptation by screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg stays very close to the original book.
Meyer did take exception to one well-known line of dialogue being changed. In the book, where vampire Edward finally admits he has fallen for Bella he tells her" "The lion has fallen in love with the lamb." Rosenberg rewrote the line.
"I know it sounds cheesy. But I told them that line is actually tattooed on people's bodies. If you take that line and change it, that is a potential backlash situation," Meyer says.
The original line is in the film. Such loyalty to the source material should please the legions of fans — the majority being female — who have blogged, text messaged and e-mailed their deep feelings about every aspect of the book and the film.
Time to concentrate
All of the Hollywood hype and Internet chatter aside, life has changed little for Meyer. She still considers herself a mom first and foremost. Now that her sons are old enough to be in school, she has tried to write during the day. But Meyer still finds late night a better time to work.
Once she has completed all of her promotional duties for the film, Meyer knows exactly what she wants to do.
"I really, more than anything else, want to go home and lock myself in a room and write for a couple of months. That's because I feel like I have been removed from that for too long," Meyer says. "It has been a really busy year and I have not had that unbroken time to just concentrate. There is always something else that has to be done.
"And I really just want to write again."


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'Teen Mom" co-star Maci Bookout has a new BFF: Bristol Palin.
The two young single moms have bonded over their personal situations -- and over their estranged baby daddies.
"I feel like Maci and I have the same situation," Bristol tells In Touch magazine.
Bookout, 19, gave birth to son Bentley, now 23 months old, on MTV's "16 and Pregnant," which was spun off into "Teen Mom." She's also battled with her now-ex-fiance, Ryan Edwards.
Palin, 19, is the single mom of 21-month-old Tripp and the daughter of former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
She's currently competing on "Dancing With the Stars" and says she's done with ex-fiance Levi Johnston after a brief reconciliation last summer.
Bristol and Maci first met last May at the Candie's Foundation Event to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, which was held at Cipriani 42nd Street.
"We talked about experience we've shared," Bristol tells In Touch.
"The other day I saw an episode of 'Teen Mom,' and then I texted [Maci], saying, 'Oh my gosh, I totally went through the exact same thing!"
Bristol also says she and Maci "vent" about their difficulties in dealing with their ex-fiances.
Go To NYPost.com for the full interview.


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Ticket Down is a reputable source for authentic Coldplay tickets at Levi's® Stadium. On February 7th, Coldplay will be playing in front of the largest crowd of their careers when they perform at the halftime show at Super Bowl 50. This performance will come from Levi's® Stadium in Santa Clara, CA and unless their fans have tickets to the big football game, won't be able to witness the show live. Those fans won't have to worry as the English rock band recently announced that they would be performing a 7-city stadium tour in the United States including a show at Levi's® Stadium on Saturday, September 3rd. The show will be the final stop on their tour that kicks off in July at MetLife Stadium.
Coldplay are the men behind such great hits as "Yellow," "Clocks," "In My Place," "Speed of Sound," "Fix You," "Paradise," "Viva la Vida," "A Sky Full of Stars," and "Magic." Fans in attendance at Levi's Stadium will hope to hear many of their greatest hits as well as material off their latest album, A Head Full of Dreams, which is what this tour is named after. Two of the songs off their seventh studio album include: "Adventure of a Lifetime" and "Hymn for the Weekend" with Beyonce.
Levi's Stadium is a new state of the art facility that only opened in 2014 and it is the home field for San Francisco 49ers from the National Football League. The venue is already one of the most desired in the country for sports and entertainment events including hosting the National Hockey League Stadium Series in 2015, international soccer matches, WrestleMania 31 in 2015, and of course the Super Bowl this year. The venue has also been a big stop for many musical acts since opening including the Grateful Dead, One Direction, Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift, Luke Bryan, and Florida Georgia Line.
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MetroPCS wants LTE services next yearposted by Joe on March 4th, 2009 - 8:28 am | MetroPCS
Well, it looks like MetroPCS is getting a bit aggressive. When speaking with GigaOm's Stacey Higginbotham, Metro CEO Tom Keys said of his company's plans: "It is our desire to deploy LTE in 2010, probably the latter half." Considering Verizon, currently the frontrunner to deploy the US's first LTE network, will only have theirs up and running for a little bit at that point, this could be a major coup for MetroPCS. Their efforts to keep up with the big players could pay off big time as the nation's big networks migrate to 4G networks.
Keys also pretty much confirmed the rumor that MetroPCS will get the BlackBerry Curve 8330 That was reported by PhoneNews last month, with the rumor that it would be released by the end of February. That hasn't happened, but it's still in the offing. Keys said that his company will carry a phone from a "Canadian smartphone maker," and all eyes turn to RIM. Combine that statement with the rumor, and it's all but confirmed.
It looks like Metro will get the phone later in the second quarter or early in the third. That will give them an advantage in the flat-rate, unlimited calling and data market. After the Curve, the company could consider broadband modem service like their rival, Leap Wireless. LTE deployment could eventually move them up to the fifth largest carrier in the country.


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Contact: Leah Ekmark Williams
C. Pharr & Co. for Criterion
972-931-7576 Ext. 351
Criterion Announces Opening of Boutique Resort-Style Multifamily Community in North Dallas' "Employment Corridor"
DALLAS, July 14, 2014 – Criterion Property Company, L.P. announced the opening of its newest residential development, VV&M Boutique Residential Living, featuring 310 residences, located at 5225 Verde Valley Lane, which is situated at the northwest corner of Montfort Road and Verde Valley Lane on the Addison/Dallas border. The property is just seconds away from the Beltline exit of the Dallas North Tollway and the heart of North Dallas' employment corridor. VV&M is adjacent to a revitalized shopping center with a grocery store, restaurants, bars and entertainment venues, providing residents with convenient access to everything they need to pursue an urban, walkable lifestyle.
"The demand for quality, walkable, urban multifamily communities is tremendous right now, and we are excited to offer our residents this lifestyle in the North Dallas and Addison corridor," said Brandon Hancock, Criterion's Development Manager for Texas. "VV&M is a modern, sustainable, and ideally located community offering residents convenient access to virtually anything they desire, whether it be work, dining, entertainment or shopping."
VV&M provides a boutique residential living experience with hotel inspired amenities and designer appointed finishes throughout the studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom residences. The property also offers exclusive two-story townhouse residences featuring custom finish packages.
Interior design elements include a choice between two designer finish schemes featuring either granite or quartz countertops, spacious nine- and 10-foot ceilings, wood-style flooring or polished concrete, stainless steel appliances, and spacious walk-in closets. High efficiency washer and dryers are provided in every unit. Residents in select units also have access to wine refrigerators, private balconies or patios, private fenced yards and in-unit doggie doors.
Residents also have access to a state-of-the-art fitness center outfitted with TechnoGym equipment featuring Wellness Cloud to track fitness progress, as well as a soft surface yoga patio. Other common-area luxury features include in-water pool cabanas and tanning ledge, deck cabanas with side privacy screens, an outdoor grilling kitchen with natural gas grills and a pizza oven. Residents can also spend time lounging in "The Cave," a unique indoor/outdoor living room for entertaining or relaxing, complete with a pool table, shuffle board and high definition TVs. Other amenities include a hotel-style bar and lounge area with a media wall, a conference and dining facility with professional presentation capabilities, business nook featuring iMac computers and a resident-only dog park. Complimentary Wi-Fi is available in all common areas, and residents can also enjoy AppleTV connectivity on all common-area TVs.
VV&M residents will enjoy direct access to a variety of retail and lifestyle offerings thanks to the community's close proximity to a variety of shopping and entertainment destinations. The community is adjacent to the redeveloped Village on the Parkway shopping center giving residents the ability to walk to Whole Foods, 24 Hour Fitness, AMC Theaters, and dozens of restaurants, shops and bars. Residents will also be within a bike ride of LOOK Cinemas, Barnes and Noble, the Galleria, and hundreds of other shops and restaurants.
Designed with a strong focus on sustainability, the project is seeking certification from the National Green Building StandardTM, a collaboration between the National Association of Home Builders and the International Code Council. Municipalities and government officials have consistently deemed this certification to be on par or superior to other residential green rating systems. The property features energy efficient lighting, programmable thermostats, high efficiency appliances and plumbing fixtures, community wide recycling program, drip irrigation landscaping and sustainable building materials.
About Criterion
Criterion Property Company (www.criteriondp.com) is a real estate operating company specializing in the development, construction management and asset management of multifamily communities. Dedicated to conducting all business with the utmost honesty and integrity, Criterion's mission is to enhance and maximize the value of its assets for partners, lenders, investors and employees. With offices in Dallas and Boston, Criterion is actively seeking multifamily investment opportunities in Texas and the Northeast, focusing on the surrounding areas of Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Boston, Philadelphia, New York metro area and Washington, D.C. In these areas, Criterion will seek to identify multifamily development opportunities in "smart growth" areas, which are mixed-use areas of residential, retail and office space already served by key infrastructure components such as mass transit systems.


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The inspiration to write this post came when I logged onto our Salesforce account, and was presented with the marketing banner, "Meet Salesforce Einstein, AI-powered CRM for everyone." It occurred to me that AI is the new Cloud, the new IoT. As such, its use has become commonplace in the news, articles, advertising - everywhere, and most assuredly, its meaning has become vague, evoking the yearning for the "latest and greatest" while dire warnings from science, science fiction, and business are becoming more urgent and public.
This publicizing of a technical term creates a great opportunity - to raise awareness, both of what it is and what it can become, and to hopefully inspire some action.
DefinitionIn Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence (or AI) is a term that has been thrown around since at least I was in college back in 1990 (as a Bachellor's in Computer Science from University of Michigan). I have found that, until the last year or so, it has been a pretty technical term that those of us in the industry seem to intuitively understand. However, now that its use has become ubiquitous in the day of "smart phones" and massively-capable mobile devices, I feel that its use and meaning may have become watered down and obfuscating much in the same way that the term Cloud has become prior to it. I'd like to clear that up.
First of all, we have Hardware (or the physical parts of a computer that you can touch), and Software (or the instruction code that is bundled up into a thing that performs tasks and makes the hardware useful). AI is software, for sure, but not all software is AI. This is in much the same way as putting a hard drive on the Internet and calling it a Cloud isn't really a Cloud, but a Cloud-accessible storage.
So what are the basic elements that make it AI? I would say that it requires a few things:
- Capability to "learn"
- What do we mean by learning? This is so intrinsic to what it is to be a Human, that we almost don't have a precise grasp on it. We try something - and we fail, or succeed, and that outcome gives us a certain level of understanding that we didn't have before, and we use that to inform our future decisions. So if we turn left while driving, and hit a wall, do we refrain from turning left thereafter? No, but we do look and examine the conditions first (is there a wall?) before attempting a turn, either left or right.
- The ability of animals to learn ranges from very simple (think insects) to extremely complex (think primates, dolphins, whales, elephants let alone us Humans). Software learning could consist of building a database of "facts" and using those to make decisions, but learning on anything but the level of an ant is much more complicated than that. It is comparable to reprogramming ourselves based on input, not simply cataloging the results and using them. We can learn new skills, for example, that we didn't have before (these range from mental to physical skills, and combinations thereof).
- Recognition via senses
- We have our various senses: touch, taste, smell, sight, hearing, kinesthesis, time, and more. We can recognize, for example, with sight a color (say red), in various light will be different actual colors, but we still recognize it as red because of the context of the ambient light. We are far, far more nuanced than that simple example, recognizing faces, even similarities between faces (oh, you look like his daughter), and more. AI commonly consists of pattern recognition, sometimes using what is called a neural net as a computing construct to build history and analyze input based on that history. You've seen the sci fi shows that do facial recognition, where they pull up all the cameras in a city and search for someone (they are really close to that now in reality), and perhaps have set up a sign-on with the PS4 camera so that when you show your face, it logs you on.
- Language
- If you have tried to learn a different language, or even delve into the depths of your mother tongue, you will know what a crazily complex thing Human languages are! However, AI will be able to understand, at least at a rudimentary level, spoken and written language. What do we mean by "understand?" Yes, understand the explicit meaning of words, if not the implicit meanings ("what do you mean, yes honey I love you? Are you mocking me?"). Intonation, inflection, even body language are things that are probably way off, but they undoubtedly will be coming - if we continue on the path we are on now in AI research.
- Decision-Making
- As I said earlier, cataloging the outcomes of actions and making decisions based on those outcomes and current input, is a very small part of decision making. If you don't think that's true, then you aren't a Project Manager - a very highly skilled profession that requires years of training and experience to pull of successfully, even with highly skilled learners that Humans are. But some form of adaptive decision making is part of a true AI solution.
- Morals
- A set of limiting and/or guiding principles, the violation of which are thought of as horrific and punishable, also must be included in a true AI. Think Isaac Asimov's rules on robot behavior.
- What if these moral limiters could be bypassed (e.g. the robot's eyes turn from blue to red)? What if some unscrupulous developer excluded them altogether? What if someone hacked them?
So, it would seem we are pretty far off from C-3PO, Human-Cyborg Relations, right? Yes and no, yes some things we have very far to go (hey, they are still struggling with a 2-legged robot keeping its balance), and in other things they have made huge advancements. However, now, before things get too far, is the time to step back and ask important social questions, like why, or should we? Elon Musk, the founder of PayPal, Tesla Motors, and SpaceX (among others) thinks that achieving some of these key AI milestones is merely a matter of a couple decades away (or less). And he should know - he is involved in a lot of technology development, including self-driving cars.
Am I predicting all doom and gloom? You know the old saying, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. It starts out with cool things like mobile phone assistants, but then it progresses to clerks who can take your order and deal with dissatisfied customers (in a mostly dissatisfying way), to robotic assembly lines that can fix their own production issues - but suddenly, something happens. Skynet becomes self-aware, and determines that Humans are a scourge to be wiped out. Frankly, I cannot see any progression of AI that doesn't end in some catastrophic, cataclysmic struggle for existence. That's the stupidity of being Human - we push and push and push, knowing that we are pushing off the cliff, but it's someone else's responsibility, someone else's problem. That's right, the aliens are projecting an SEP field on us! I have endless faith that Humans are self-destructive to a small or large degree, depending on how successful you are.
Does AI have to progress to the point where machines become a danger to us? Let's look at things this way. Computers are already so complex, that there is probably not a single person on this planet anymore who can comprehend the full set of what is going on there. That means, the product is beyond the understanding of any individual. The complexities that arise mean that we don't fully understand the consequences. We don't fully grasp the potential - and all we can see is what the Sales and Marketing people want us to see.
As a self-confessed tech geek and tech aficionado, I am warning us all that this is a bad path. There is no good ending for this.
In the Media
AI is in the media on an almost daily basis. From self-driving cars, to smart homes, electronic assistants (Alexis, Siri, Cortana, and Hey Google), to even things we don't think of like traffic lights and telephone call routers, AI to some basic level has been here for decades. However, it has reached a point where technology, research, and capabilities have expanded tremendously - and this brings up danger signs.
What, am I saying that the latest military top secret project will become Skynet (think Terminator)? Or that the people in charge will bypass authentication and set things to automatically run without safeguards will enable the digital world to enslave humanity (think Brian Herbert's prequels to Dune)? Yes, as a matter of fact, even though that may sound farfetched and outlandish, Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking, 2 of the world's foremost minds in business, technology and science, are warning just such a thing. I have agreed with that assessment wholeheartedly for about 30 years, as a computer expert who has been developing and implementing automation solutions that help make businesses run better and faster.
What's the Answer?
Get rid of computers! Yeah, right. The only way that will happen is by circumstances outside of our (Humanity's) control. So if that's not an option, do we stop research on AI? I know 2 high profile brilliant people who would say so, and I strongly urge a complete and total ban on AI. Machines should not do the above, and it should be enshrined in our laws, our religions - or, if not, we risk extinction. Maybe even having governmental or non-governmental review boards to review software for signs of AI, and enforcement to punish perpetrators of a newly-defined crime, a crime against Humanity's future.
I have read a lot of books, fiction and non-fiction. Of all the books I have read, my hands-down favorite are the Dune series by Frank Herbert and son Brian Herbert. Especially piercingly prescient, the father's series takes place thousands of years after the Human race barely avoided extinction from its self-induced machine overlords (the subject of the son's prequels). In the myriad of planetary systems, thousands of distinct cultures and civilizations descended from Earth - each and every one of them has a basic law at the core of all religions, government, society - Thou Shalt Not Create a Thinking Machine. In the books, Humans learned their lessons about the boundaries of technology - and had achieved faster-than-light interstellar travel, vast technological marvels, and more - all without a machine more intelligent than a calculator. True, that's a novel - and true, computers are fast, capable, and people spend money on faster and more capable. But at some point, all of these warnings will come to fruition (not may, WILL). And we will have to repeat the lessons of the universe of Dune - if we survive.