text:
State declares "Air Quality Action Day" in Monadnock region
December 20. 2013 3:37PM
CONCORD – The state Department of Environmental Services (DES) is expecting air pollution concentrations to reach unhealthy levels for sensitive individuals in populated valley areas in southwestern New Hampshire, including Keene, Friday into Saturday.
DES officials are calling for an Air Quality Action Day and advise sensitive individuals in these areas to take precautions to protect their health by limiting prolonged exertion. Sensitive individuals include children, older adults, and anyone with heart or lung disease such as asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis. Even healthy individuals may experience mild health effects and should consider limiting strenuous or prolonged activities.
DES forecasts concentrations of fine particle pollution to be unhealthy for sensitive individuals. The expected unhealthy particle pollution levels are the result of local pollution, mainly from heating devices such as wood-burning fireplaces, stoves and boilers, stagnating under temperature inversion conditions.
Temperature inversions occur during calm, cold nights when warm air above traps cold air below. Such events prevent pollution near the ground from mixing with cleaner air aloft. As a result, ground level pollution concentrations can increase.
Conditions are expected to improve by Sunday morning as wind speeds increase, resulting in better mixing and cleaner air.
Communities located in valleys or other low-lying areas where temperature inversions are common are more strongly affected. On days when fine particle levels are forecasted to be high and winds are calm, if an alternative heating source is available, DES advises that residents may want to avoid burning wood until the winds increase.
People with asthma and other existing lung diseases may not be able to breathe as deeply or vigorously as normal and may experience symptoms such as coughing and shortness of breath. Symptoms of particle pollution exposure for people with heart disease may include chest pain, palpitations, shortness of breath, and fatigue. In addition to harmful health effects, fine particle pollution may create hazy conditions that reduce visibility.
For further information, contact DES at (603) 271-1370. For air quality forecasts and current air pollution levels in New Hampshire, call 1-800-935-SMOG or visit the DES website at www.airquality.nh.gov.


text:
Why the Wall St Journal is wrong on the Pittsburgh strike
October 21, 2016 by norman lebrecht
The ever-readable Terry Teachout argues today in the Journal that orchestral musicians should not expect to be paid more in 2016 because two generation ago they were paid far less.
In a closing paragraph: Orchestra players would do well to remember how far they've come. Six decades ago, the members of one of the world's greatest symphony orchestras sold cars and wristwatches to make ends meet. They didn't deserve it then and they don't deserve it now—but that's the kind of thing that can end up happening in a world that doesn't value your services as highly as you do.
There are horrible cracks in this argument and I can't enumerate them all, but these are the main ones.
1 Terry mentions the value of services. He's right. Isaac Stern told me that when he was growing up in 1920s San Francisco 'a musician in the orchestra was a person' – even if he earned a pittance. He had social status. As that status declined it had to be replaced with other compensations or orchestral life would have ceased to exist. So wages rose.
2 Orchestras live off prestige. They need to attract the best players they can afford. If you pay them less than the market rate, they will go to LA or New York and Pittsburgh (or wherever) will lose whatever glory it needs to persuade donors to fund its continued existence and the public to attend concerts.
3 Six decades ago, people who worked in banking received modest compensation. How long does the Wall Street Journal think Goldman Sachs would survive if it paid 1950s rates?
4 An orchestra is a dynamic organism. It composition and internal relationships have changed beyond recognition in Terry's lifetime and mine. The conductor used to be a dictator; today the role is more a negotiator. The ensemble used to be overwhelmingly male; now it might be majority female. Past comparisons become futile in such circumstances.
5 In Pittsburgh and Fort Worth – and in Philadelphia – an aggressive board and an overpaid manager tried to force musicians to accept 'inevitable' pay cuts. Not to forgo a pay increase but actually to take a step back into the half-forgotten past and forgo a decent wage, knowing that next time round they will have to give up even more. There was no negotiation, only ultimatum.
6 We have published testimony from musicians in these orchestras – a single parent, for instance – who simply cannot live on what the orchestra pays. So how does that differ from the indigent past?
Next Article Previous Article
Comments (65)
What is being missed in conversation is that no one owes the symphony players a living . They are not at gun point being forced tp be symphony players , it is all a gamble except
for most string players who thought they would be the next Heifetz and now must settle for orchestral player at best .It is supply , demand and patrons .
If the people of Pittsburgh do not feel they need support such things as a symphony
and patrons cannot be found to take up the slack then tough cookies ,join the rest of
the population looking for decent work and pay .The arrogance to think they are
deserving of special attention is a bit much .
Hey Milka – ever work in the field?? You're seem to be nothing but a negative bystander.
Yes… on both sides …from being paid anything at all to you're joking.
From hoping for a contract to squeezing the last nickel out of a contract.
Not once did I think anyone owed me a living ,the thought was always here I am this is what I do,showing up the local union hall,smoozing making contacts, the musicians'
life…until one day you are the one calling the game.
This is one of the few remaining unionized sectors that provides anything like stable employment and decent benefits–ie, the building blocks of the American middle-class lifestyle. Rather than insisting that orchestral musicians cheerily join the ever-growing precariat, why not advocate for other workers to demand better conditions within their own sectors? Why basically argue that the downward spiral–based on "market" forces and logic–is the inevitable outcome of any labor dispute? The argument that since other workers are precariously employed and underpaid, musicians should be too, is a terrible one, and above all a sad one.
Arrogance? Try Teachout who is just a shill to the 1%. Or Milka who advocates that the arts are just another commodity and basically unessential. Hope Trump satiates your mind soul.
Thank you, Mr. Lebrecht, for your support of a shrinking oasis of stability in symphony orchestras.
What is not often mentioned, is that the entire number musicians in the top 10 US orchestras at 100 players per orchesta, is, nationwide only 1000 musicians! This means, in an entire job sector, there are only 1000 people making six figures and above incomes. Most people earning a living in classical music do so part time and are barely squeaking by, just like the WSJ describes.
The players in these top 10 orchestras are the equivalent of the major-league sports players, CEO'a, senior lawyers and top doctors. Over 200 resumes come to our orchestra for every single position advertised.
These big orchestras are the top destination in terms of salary and stability and very few players make it in.
Instead of pushing so hard for musicians in these top teams to make less money, why not go after CEO's, doctors, lawyers and sports players at the tops of their fields who certainly make way more? The financial benefit would be far greater!
USA based orchestras suffer from falls in audiences and philanthropic funding more than Europeans because it's often their only income. The devil had been in the detail in many of these disputes, with overpaid management coming across as a common theme. While the wsj had some point in suggesting demand might be a problem, very often this is connected to poor management, as may be the case here.
Hear hear, Annat!
Hey Milka…..You talk like the opposite of anyone who possesses an appreciation and a rudimentary knowledge of how the arts have defined civilization. Go back to your high paying banking job.
Do you ever stop and try to think before making inane statements.
Again, you are on the wrong website.
And you in the wrong century
"Showing up (to) the local union hall" – "the world of hard knocks" You have let the cat out of the bag.You were or are evidently a free-lance musician or, at best, a member of a part-time orchestra. Hence, your bitterness toward the contract disputes of major orchestra musicians. Sorry for you.
You write from ignorance…which is not surprising
If you think that looking down your nose at freelance musicians is going to further your cause, you're an idiot. If you are a member of a major orchestra, the main difference between you and a number of those freelancers is luck. You probably operate under the delusion that you won your audition because you played better than any of the other candidates. Not true. Anyone who is honest will tell you that auditions are not a measure of how well you play, but rather of how well you audition. When it comes down to the final round(s), determining the winner is a matter of splitting hairs. And all too often the fix is in, and the position will be awarded to a pre-determined candidate, likely a favorite of the principal or the music director. Your sense of entitlement is ill-founded.
I did not know you " alone " speak for people of Pittsburgh ???????
You seem to spending a lot time ridicule all string players for aspiring to be Heifetz .Donald Trump syndrome ? Small hands? or Small brain?
How stupid a response .. but equally not surprising
Maybe we don't "owe" the players a living, but it's a mistake to think the musicians went into their field with stars in their eyes and dreams of solo greatness. They almost certainly learned how competitive the field is in their student years. But as young people with a world of choices before them, they still took the calculated risk that there would always be appreciative audiences and benefactors who demand music of complexity and variety. They wagered their careers and comfort of life on the rest of us – that 20 or 30 years on, we would still support this musical art form of wide emotional range and a grand creative history.
Support for the arts and humanities hovers between 4% and 5% of all charitable giving in the United States each year, according to Giving USA's annual report on philanthropy. Just imagine what a world of great music we could support with 6%.
People studying music are adults and see the kind of market they are entering. Nobody is forcing them. I know – literally – thousands. THOUSANDS of musicians tired of this market and they leave, retrain in another field, and make a decent living and have a decent family.
If you know how the market is, yet you complain it is this way, then its YOUR problem, not he industry's.
E.G. if there is a guy in school learning how to code in Cobol…when that language is completely archaic and there are no jobs for it and he gets a crappy job or gets fired because the world moved on and they dont need him anymore – HE HAS NO RIGHT TO COMPLAIN. You chose to enter that market, and the market is going down the drains. Adjust, or leave.
The difference between the musicians and the software developer exemplified above, is that the musician will play the "but its culture and my job is special" card. The developer gets fired, and we call it "structural unemployment", yet both situations are the same thing.
Milka, why would someone who doesn't know, care. nor appreciate of arts like yourself would visit this site to comment?
I guess music to you is like the degenerative hip-hop or heavy metal or whatever screaming your ears could bear, unless it's a bunch of pretty blonde showing 70% of their show-biz lines (aka cleavage if your narrow mind never visited Asia)?
So what's your deal here? Nobody else pointed a gun at Van Gogh? So you think that poor sap should have given up painting and become a farmer, instead of suffering a miserable and non-rewarding life?
What a hoke.
It will be difficult to get through to an ignorant little mind but what the hell we'll give
it a try .It is obvious one understands little of the Van Gogh tragic life otherwise it
would not have been referred to in this context .
Having been deeply involved with both music and visual artists I am aware that no
matter how tough going it is for visual artists they as a group do not blame or hold
accountable others for their success or failure. Whatever wind fall comes their way they
rejoice and continue on with their life choice, if a show does not sell they are not out
in the streets with placards demanding" as their right "to be saved by a public that has little interest in their plight, having enough worries to their own survival .Symphony players have promulgated the myth they are special individuals and should be accorded
special favors, well they are not any better than the artist standing in front of the canvas
not expecting special favors but hoping to sell the talent as does the orchestra player.
Th visual artist understands it is all chance , orchestra players believe it is entitlement.
Finally someone telling it like it is. Bravo
A quick google excursion indicates the average per capita in Pittsburgh is $26,500 (which includes all adults and children). The median household income is $38,000. The median family income is $53,000.
Reading the sundry posts here, it would appear the culprit of this state of affairs is the administration of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Plus, presumably, other philanthropic exercises like hospitals, universities, and such, draining sponsorship and donor dollars away from the musicians of the PSO.
Alvaro and Milka are part of the silent majority, most of whom don't frequent websites like this, and who, like the musicians of the PSO, struggle daily to make their own financial ends meet. Welcome to the world. Debate is fine, but the insults I've read reflect a troubling attitude of entitlement on the part of the musicians and their supporters.
PSO musicians made a choice to become professionals, and to make performing music their business. The friction between the perceived value, actual value and market value of a product is the bottom line of any business model, and will determine viability, success and failure. Ever-increasing dependency on philanthropists and generous sponsors is not a sustainable strategy. But that's exactly what is being proposed by the musicians and their supporters.
I also read Mr Teachout's article, and thought his a reasonable and thoughtful perspective, as, I expect, will many others who might not choose to visit Slipped Disc and comment. I think his perspective comes closer to reality than those of most of the contributors to this thread, who appear to believe that musicians are entitled to more income than their communities are prepared to pay, and who lay the blame for this unshocking phenomenon at the feet of management, claiming they've failed to make sufficiently convincing arguments to the contrary.
Perhaps if musicians made their own case to the community, and proved their vital necessity. How? Well that's going to be a problem, right? Because musicians are paid to play, not to talk, not to advocate, not even to smile when they stand to accept applause. No, that's management's job. And so now the PSO musicians think management and board should be replaced with new faces, who can wander, hats in hand, into the community and better convince people to give, give, give so musicians won't leave Pittsburgh to play in other orchestras. What a mighty and convincing argument that will be. No possibility of failure when we talk about skilled musicians leaving the city, at least not like when we talk about skilled doctors leaving Pittsburgh. Get real.
Milka, know that although I don't agree with everything you write, you have my respect for articulating a valid and provocative perspective. That naysayers are unable to control the impulse to insult you speaks of their lack of character, integrity, and of their inability to respond with intelligence and courtesy.
Now let's see how these utterly predictable folks attack me.
Andy, fully eight of Milka's replies on this thread are simply insults. You are free to appreciate his perspective, but it's a bit rich accusing others of insulting him. He's the champ of lowering the dialogue.
Visual artists are independent contractors. Musicians playing and bargaining collectively are not. Not a good comparison.
what nonsense.. we have come to expect this from Steve as he tries to bolster up
his point of view . No one wishes the orchestra ill but the world is what it is .
They will settle and some how save face …it's the game ,not to settle would show them
to be idiots as there are not that many openings across the country the could absorb
a full orchestra and I suspect not all would make good restaurant waiters.If it is true they have lost 50% of their audience the writing is on the wall and if they continue to view themselves as some form of elite citizen that deserve to be subsidized by the rest of the population that are also trying to survive one can only look upon them as fools.
The truth of the matter is that if any single player could get a better paying and secure
position with another orchestra they would be gone like a shot .Pittsburg owes them
nothing except the price of a ticket .
If we had let the market speak, we would have 20 well funded – world class orchestras in the US. They would not need to do crappy "outreach programs", prostitute their programming with "Lady Gaga at the Symphony" or "Music in your local bar" or "Music for Soccer Moms and Yoga Vegans" to exist.
All the arguments here presented are anecdotal or bogus or a combination of both. If people dont care about your services they wont pay, and thats what we see in all of these situations.
Lets put it this way: if the manager worked FOR FREE, it would cover 2-3 musicians. Nevermind the salaries.
What happens with the industry is that some "heifetz wannabe's" cant face reality that their profession is redundant and completely unnecessary. Yes, unnecessary.
Aside from that I doubt Mr. Teachout is the institutional voice for the WSJ, a few comments on the substance of the article:
1. In all likelihood you are right about the status level (vs. 1920), but that doesn't change what the public (concertgoers + benefactors + taxpayers) are willing to pay musicians… and is certainly out of the control of both symphony musicians and management.
2. Also probably true, but I suspect the "supply" of prestige has diminished for classical music and its artists. Thus challenges in salary scale to reflect cost of living + density of benefactor community + etc.
3. I'm no friend of G.S., but the market is paying that. Not enough room for a policy discussion, but kind of weak tea as a substantial argument.
4. The changes you outline (conductor, diversity) seem week compared to changes in musical taste of the culture, value of fine arts, ad infinitum. These seem tangential.
5. This point does carry weight. Not sure that orchestral CEOs compensation seems related to meaningful accomplishment, or the market for the "product" they are selling. But I think that speaks to CEO compensation violating the laws of gravity, rather than the underpinning of the impact to musician salaries. Also the leaders do seem to be tone deaf.
6. But how is that different than most people under 75th percentile earning? This is asking for a special pleading, where most people have the same challenge.
I suspect the period 1960ish – nowish were a special time in the economics of a symphony, buoyed by a special place in the culture and great economic growth in the west. However, unfortunately unsustainable. And I think Mr. Teachout is merely highlighting the inconsistencies that most people are choosing to ignore
Maybe we don't "owe" the players a living, but it's a mistake to think they entered their field with stars in their eyes and dreams of solo greatness. They almost certainly learned how competitive the field is back in their student years. But as young people with a world of choices before them, they still took the calculated risk that there would always be appreciative audiences and benefactors who demand to hear music of complexity and variety. They wagered their careers and comfort of life on the rest of us – that 20 or 30 years on, we would still support this musical art form of wide emotional range and a grand creative history.
Support for the arts and humanities hovers between 4% and 5% of all charitable giving in the United States, according to Giving USA's annual report on philanthropy. Just imagine what a world of great music we could support with 6%.
You have answered the question…they "bet "and in many cases "lost the bet " whose fault is that …if they knew from the start the life odds were against them what sympathy
should they expect. Thousands thought Kodak , Polaroid ,Ciba was forever only to
see their dreams of the good life crash , the only difference being they did not feel
the general public owed them living because of the turn of events .The cash cow has
died ,the patrons have found other causes to feed their egos,and if the money isn't
there what do you do ? Perhaps they should find ways to regain general public interest and support so they matter to the community at large rather than the few .
I think your last sentence sums up what I have been thinking. The real issue here is the disconnect between orchestras and the communities they want to serve. Does the community of Pittsburgh care that it has one of the best orchestras in the country? If it did, it would be buying tickets. Since it is not, Heinz Hall has reduced orchestra performances on Saturday nights (to me, prime time) and replaced them with pop concerts to keep the electricity and heat on.
Populism, trumpism, the nonsense of the primitive, full of spite and jealousy.
Kodak and Polaroid were supplanted by better and more useful technologies. Don't know what Ciba is, or was. No one has yet figured out how to produce an effective performance of Mahler 8 with 13 musicians. Orchestras and their musicians are trying to find new ways to engage with their communities. We do a great deal of it at my orchestra. Will it work? Maybe. But the core of what an orchestras does is to play great music on stage for an audience. That part can't be changed in any meaningful fashion. Will people continue to pay for it? We think it has great value and hope so.
Dear Milka, Do you object to the notion that orchestral musicians should paid a good salary? Do you dislike how hard bargaining appears to the public? Do you have a philosophical problem with trade unions? Can you please clarify your thoughts? I'm trying to understand where you are coming from. Thanks.
The world of hard knocks
Dear Steve: There is the world as you wish it was and then there is the world as it really is. I'm pretty sure Milka is firmly grounded in the latter.
In contrary, it is the other way around: populists want to bring down the world to their own level, and that is what his/her comments come down to.
"They need to attract the best players they can afford. If you pay them less than the market rate, they will go to LA or New York…"
Bollocks. Just how many open positions do you think there are in either city? And if there is an opening, there will be auditions and hundreds of unemployed/underemployed players will apply. It is pure fantasy to think that a professional orchestra musician can move laterally at will.
Actually it happens quite often. The musicians in a top ten orchestra like Pittsburgh are at the top of their field. There have been musicians who have left Pittsburgh Symphony recently for the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, should I go on?
Unionized musicians across the country will continue to bargain hard for good wages and working conditions. No amount of bleating from neutered sheep will change that.
Over a half century ago musicians started insisting that our largest and wealthiest cities could indeed support year-round orchestras. Boards maintained that this was impossible – that the resources simply did not exist. Time and facts have proven the musicians correct. How were these gains made? By hard bargaining and even striking! (Pass the smelling salts to our sensitive flowers, please.) Just accept what our boards offer us? Ridiculous! Their "financial analyses" are designed to support their arguments, not ours, or our communities'. Boards want to keep expenses as low as possible. It is our job as union members to question assumptions and to push as hard as we can!
Will symphony orchestras as objects of civic pride be around forever? Perhaps not, but the Oracle has not yet spoken on this matter. What I do know is that predicting the demise of the symphony has been a cottage industry for at least a century. In the real world, many, many orchestras are flourishing, setting attendance and fundraising records while they play at incredible standards. I have just returned from playing a wonderful concert with my orchestra, rapturously received by a large audience. We will do it again tomorrow.
Big surprise here: running a large arts organization is hard! Who knew? Are there institutions that have serious problems? Of course. Very often, those problems lie with the boards and managements. Less frequently, economic factors are at fault. Sometimes both issues may be at play. The Great Recession is almost a decade past and many of our cities have now experienced several years of sustained growth. Hard bargaining is part of the process of creating solutions. Contracts have to push boards! Arts organizations are non-profits. Since there is no profit motive for the board, the incentive for growth must necessarily come from the artists. Do you like stagnation and regression? No? Well, neither do we.
I'm not sure what purpose some of the rancid comments on this blog serve, other than the pleasure they obviously give to the authors. If you are musicians, then get out there and play! If you are not, but love live classical music, then buy tickets, donate and volunteer. Those of us working in the trenches would appreciate it if you would find a more constructive outlet for your bitterness.
Poor Steve…….
When the parties at the bargaining table fail reach an agreement we often see a strike or a lockout. This is what has happened this year in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Fort Worth. At that point both sides will have PR efforts to take their cases to the public. Musicians are perfectly aware that many people will be unsympathetic to their arguments. Their case is directed to the sympathetic in the hopes that these folks will put pressure on boards and managements to come to a mutually agreeable settlement. Some of the readers of this blog, who are not sympathetic to unionized musicians, seem to think that these arguments are directed at them and so perceive them as "arrogant." This is a misunderstanding of what is going on. Sorry, it's not about you guys! It's just part of the way collective bargaining works. We have to advocate for ourselves.
This is not to say that there are no arrogant musicians who do feel as if they are owed a living. There are folks like that in every field.
It is instructive to have some populist burbs on this site, occasionally, because they show one of the threats to classical music: people who maintain they are music lovers, but in reality they want to destroy it, to bring it down to their own level, and thus to diminish its standing in the world. Often these are freaks who had wanted to be a musician but lacked the talents, got stuck somewhere, and then ventilate their frustration in a 'safe' environment where they can spit on the music world and other commentators, until it is time to take their medicine and go to bed. They cannot do much harm in their isolation, but they offer the possibility to detect one of the dangers that linger in music life: the poisonous presence of failed dreams of people who were attracted to the 'glamour' of classical music but could not find their way in it.
One can just visualize the populist mob advancing with burning torches,sticks, pick axes and whatever else all searching out traces of" classical music" to bring it down.
One hopes music schools besides teaching music are teaching their students self
defense in case they run into the populist mob who are bent in destroying the classical
music .A course in "Dangers that linger in music life " 101……taught byJohn Borstlap seems in order.
A group of 8 refugees who live here on the estate and who apparently had been following this thread, knocked on the kitchen doors an hour ago, armed with pitchforks and grubbers, anglily asking where they could find this Milka. We had to reassure them that abuse, offence and mud slinging was normal part of cultural exchange here, and that we were very happy with this pluralism which gives everybody a voice. With some coctails we could calm them down, although some were singing lively when they left. (Be relieved we didn't spill the beans about your whereabouts…!)
Isaac Stern's argument is weird: " We don't value your work so we have to pay you more."
The "testimony" in the link of 6 is utterly bizarre. Someone who put their kids through private school, travels internationally for pleasure each year, and chooses to support their adult children is not on the "breadline"!
Pittsburgh's population was 675,000 in 1950 and has steadily declined since then to about 300,000 now. During the same period, the US population has more than doubled. Perhaps the city's current population and wealth are insufficient to produce enough donors to support an orchestra where the base pay is twice the median US household income. The attendance for Pittsburgh Symphony's concerts has been falling and stood around 50% last season, which is still quite impressive considering that the hall has upwards of 2,600 seats. The orchestra players should of course do everything they can to improve their pay—that's how markets work—but the local demographics just do not seem to favor their case at the moment, unless the city experiences a major comeback soon.
The greater Pittsburgh area is is the 22nd largest in America (1,700,000) and has always supported a symphony orchestra
The population of the urban area is 1.7million. All cities have seen movement out of the central core since 1960, so this comparison is a bit silly. The population of the metropolitan area is 2.4 million. Moreover, there are more professional orchestras, paying better salaries in the US playing to a higher standard, and selling more tickets than there have ever been before. Of course, this doesn't mean that Pittsburgh will want to, or be able to support a really top orchestra, but there is no reason why it can't provide a decent living to the musicians in its orchestra.
More important than the strike whatever happened to quak quak quak ?
I thought it quite a profound response considering the source.
Hate to think the word censorship.
Yesterday I challenged Milka to state his thesis and make an argument with supporting evidence. So far all I see are more insults.
'Milka' may be a Russian trolla paid to undermine Western culture. She also may merely be an ugly, middle-aged Serbian housewife frustrated about the meaning of her name:
"Diminutive of Slavic names containing the element milu: meaning gracious, dear, lovely."
Given the ineffectiveness of her attempts to destroy classical music, I keep it to the second option. I can imagine her in her lonely datcha in the woods, reading the screen with compressed lips and typing fanatically and bitterly on her keyboard against all those bloody music lovers.
Goodness gracious !!!!!!! it just dawned on me ……
Could this John be thought of as the Trump of the musical world .???
Conspiracies everywhere…old middle aged ugly broad ….sound familiar?
Can he be so unforgiving in never having managed to kissed those compressed lips?
John, I have already challenged Milka twice to write something substantive on the Pittsburgh strike, which is what this thread is ostensibly about. He won't or can't, or both. That's not his role. His role is to troll. Really he's just an insult comic who isn't at all funny, although he imagines that he's clever when he writes that other commentators are stupid or ignorant. He also writes like English is a foreign language to him, by which I mean he writes execrably. And what's up with his bizarre punctuation and spacing? Predictably, this comment will be followed by another insult in 1-2-3…
Why the assumption that Milka is male?
They are observations , which seem to evade your understanding, yet you persist .
You now indulge in a psycho babble review of what you think Milka
is all about .Take a hint …Milka does not think your comments worth a response.
You may take this as an insult or whatever you want to read into it that will give
you comfort but try not to pass yourself off as intellect ,those clothes do not fit you .
I hear from some professional contacts in Belgrado that in the countryside, after dinner time, women beyond 50 are locked-up after finishing the washing-up, and given a laptop to amuse themselves, so that the males can sing traditional epic folk songs to each other undisturbed.
Especially "Ој Србијо, мила мати" is very popular (translated "O Serbia, Dear Mother").
These lines must be quite irritating to Milka:
Podigni se mati mila,
Da nam budeš što si bila,
Jer si tužno robovala,
Dugo suze prolivala.
So, one can understand her frustration. Maybe we should be a bit more tolerant.
I have to reiterate the historical record regarding Orchestras, collective bargaining and their standard of living.
Let's first accept the proposition that raising money for a non-profit is very very hard work. Secondly, it has been my experience in 45 years in this business that Orchestra boards only raise as much money as they have been 'forced' to over the years as a result of tough collective bargaining for better wages and working conditions.
As a result, the Orchestra profession has yielded amazing results in terms of quality: American orchestras in the top 20 cities in this country are at least the equal to, or more likely superior to their counterparts in similar-sized to cities in Europe. The professional standards of American orchestras have never, ever been higher. Just do some critical, systematic listening to recordings old and new.
What we are seeing now it's just a continuation of our long history of tough negotiating and financial reckoning.
Does society value musicians at this level highly enough? No, they never have and probably never will.
Let's not mince words: The symphony orchestra animal will always be the the toy of the wealthy class. It's largely up to them, in each individual city, to determine the perceived value of their orchestras and their musicians, NONE OF WHOM GOT INTO THIS BUSINESS WITH ANY EXPECTATIONS OF GETTING RICH.
You miss the point by miles ………. Let's not mince words your summation is not too bright
and unfortunately you do sound like Steve, something you must avoid if you wish to
be taken seriously. The orchestra as we know it was not the play toy of the wealthy even though in many cases they wrote cheques to cover shortfalls at the end of a season .
You must when discussing musicians' collective bargaining etc. put it in historical context
not to do so is playing games and means nothing .
As predicted. He couldn't resist taking the bait. Still nothing of substance, of course.
Liberal Cry Baby Musicians. Hardly anyone cares for your effeminate fiddle muzak. Trump-Pence!!!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Oregon breweries claimed a total of 23 medals at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival held Oct. 11-13 in Denver, Colo.
Oregon breweries brought home five gold medals, 11 silver medals and seven bronzes.
Logsdon Farmhouse Ales, located near Odell, won the gold medal for American style Brett Ale with its Seizoen Bretta.
Silver medals went to Full Sail Brewing Co., Hood River, among American lagers for its Session Premium Lager, and Session Black in the American Style dark lager judging.
Logsdon ales are available in bottles in local stores and on tap in selected restaurants.
Full Sail recently released its 25th anniversary pale doppelbock, "25," to celebrate this special occasion:
"It was a great, competitive category, and we're really pleased the bretta did so well against good competition," said David Logsdon. "We're glad to bring home the gold," he said.
"We have definitely seen an increase in demand, a boost in interest for sure," Logsdon said, "and being able to have that as one of our flagship beers is a nice plus as well. It's letting the world know the beer we focus on, that we consider the beer that exemplifies our brewery, is a world-class beer, and we're proud of that."
Logsdon also produces a Kili Wit (white) beer and Cerasus and Peche ales made with cherries and peaches, respectively, grown in the Gorge and Columbia basin.
The Logsdon peche and cherry 2012 versions are both in the tanks, and will be released toward the end of the year, along with seasonal releases: oak- aged Bretta, and fresh-hopped Sieoen.
According to Full Sail's executive brewmaster, Jamie Emmerson, "25" is a complex, luxurious beer brewed with Vienna malt and Saaz hops. Extended lagering produces full-bodied flavors of caramel and honey with a hoppy backbone of white pepper and lemon spice.
"We are very grateful to our fellow employee owners, our distributors and our retail partners, all who helped to make our dream real and thriving for 25 years," said co-founder Irene Firmat. "And mostly, we are deeply grateful to every one of our customers who have toasted, celebrated, quenched their thirst and enjoyed our beers over the last 25 years."
The Great American Beer Festival is the world's largest beer competition and recognizes the most outstanding beers produced in the United States today. The top three medalists in each of the competition's 84 beer-style categories were announced Oct. 13 at the 31st Great American Beer Festival Awards Ceremony held at the Colorado Convention Center.
The 2012 Great American Beer Festival Competition winners were selected by an international panel of 185 beer experts from a field of 4,338 entries received from 666 U.S. breweries — that's an increase of 408 entries and 140 additional breweries from 2011.
Comments are subject to moderator review and may not appear immediately on the site. A user's first several comments must be manually approved by a moderator.
Please read our commenting policy before posting.
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Information from the News and our advertisers (Want to add your business to this to this feed?)


text:
|SQL*Plus® User's Guide and Reference
Release 10.1
Part Number B12170-01
|View PDF
This chapter explains how to generate a HTML report containing your query results. This chapter covers the following topics:
In addition to plain text output, the SQL*Plus command-line interface enables you to generate either a complete web page, or HTML output which can be embedded in a web page. You can use SQLPLUS -MARKUP "HTML ON" or SET MARKUP HTML ON SPOOL ON to produce complete HTML pages automatically encapsulated with  and  tags.
By default, data retrieved with MARKUP HTML ON is output in HTML, though you can optionally direct output to the HTML
 tag so that it displays in a web browser exactly as it appears in SQL*Plus. See the SQLPLUS MARKUP Options and the SET MARKUP command for more information about these commands.
SQLPLUS -MARKUP "HTML ON" is useful when embedding SQL*Plus in program scripts. On starting, it outputs the HTML and BODY tags before executing any commands. All subsequent output is in HTML until SQL*Plus terminates.
The -SILENT and -RESTRICT command-line options may be effectively used with -MARKUP to suppress the display of SQL*Plus prompt and banner information, and to restrict the use of some commands.
SET MARKUP HTML ON SPOOL ON generates an HTML page for each subsequently spooled file. The HTML tags in a spool file are closed when SPOOL OFF is executed or SQL*Plus exits.
You can use SET MARKUP HTML ON SPOOL OFF to generate HTML output suitable for embedding in an existing web page. HTML output generated this way has no  or  tags.
During a SQL*Plus session, use the SET MARKUP command interactively to write HTML to a spool file. You can view the output in a web browser.
SET MARKUP HTML ON SPOOL ON only specifies that SQL*Plus output will be HTML encoded, it does not create or begin writing to an output file. You must use the SQL*Plus SPOOL command to start generation of a spool file. This file then has HTML tags including  and .
When creating a HTML file, it is important and convenient to specify a .html or .htm file extension which are standard file extensions for HTML files. This enables you to easily identify the type of your output files, and also enables web browsers to identify and correctly display your HTML files. If no extension is specified, the default SQL*Plus file extension is used.
You use SPOOL OFF or EXIT to append final HTML tags to the spool file and then close it. If you enter another SPOOL filename command, the current spool file is closed as for SPOOL OFF or EXIT, and a new HTML spool file with the specified name is created.
You can use the SET MARKUP command to enable or disable HTML output as required.
Example 8-1 Creating a Report Interactively
You can create HTML output in an interactive SQL*Plus session using the SET MARKUP command. You can include an embedded style sheet, or any other valid text in the HTML  tag. Open a SQL*Plus session and enter the following:
SET MARKUP HTML ON SPOOL ON PREFORMAT OFF ENTMAP ON - HEAD "<TITLE>Department Report</TITLE> - " - BODY "TEXT='#FF00Ff'" - TABLE "WIDTH='90%' BORDER='5'"
You use the COLUMN command to control column output. The following COLUMN commands create new heading names for the SQL query output. The first command also turns off entity mapping for the DEPARTMENT_NAME column to allow HTML hyperlinks to be correctly created in this column of the output data:
SET MARKUP HTML ON SPOOL ON enables SQL*Plus to write HTML to a spool file. The following SPOOL command triggers the writing of the  and  tags to the named file:
SPOOL report.html
After the SPOOL command, anything entered or displayed on standard output is written to the spool file, report.html.
Enter a SQL query:
SELECT ''||DEPARTMENT_NAME||'' DEPARTMENT_NAME, CITY FROM EMP_DETAILS_VIEW WHERE SALARY>12000;
Enter the SPOOL OFF command:
The  and  tags are appended to the spool file, report.html, before it is closed.
The output from report.sql is a file, report.html, that can be loaded into a web browser. Open report.html in your web browser. It should appear something like the following:
In this example, the prompts and query text have not been suppressed. Depending on how you invoke a script, you can use SET ECHO OFF or command-line -SILENT options to do this.
The SQL*Plus commands in this example contain several items of usage worth noting:
The hyphen used to continue lines in long SQL*Plus commands.
The TABLE option to set table WIDTH and BORDER attributes.
The COLUMN command to set ENTMAP OFF for the DEPARTMENT_NAME column to enable the correct formation of HTML hyperlinks. This makes sure that any HTML special characters such as quotes and angle brackets are not replaced by their equivalent entities, ", &, < and >.
The use of quotes and concatenation characters in the SELECT statement to create hyperlinks by concatenating string and variable elements.
View the report.html source in your web browser, or in a text editor to see that the table cells for the Department column contain fully formed hyperlinks as shown:
  <TITLE>Department Report</TITLE>  <meta name="generator" content="SQL*Plus 10.1.0.1">   SQL> SELECT ''||DEPARTMENT_NAME ||'' DEPARTMENT_NAME, CITY
 2 FROM EMP_DETAILS_VIEW
 3* WHERE SALARY>12000

DEPARTMENT	CITY

Executive	 Seattle

Executive	 Seattle

Executive	 Seattle

Sales	 Oxford

Sales	 Oxford

Marketing	 Toronto

 6 rows selected.
 SQL> spool off

Example 8-2 Creating a Report using the SQLPLUS Command
Enter the following command at the operating system prompt:
SQLPLUS -S -M "HTML ON TABLE 'BORDER="2"'" HR/your_password@Ora10g @depart.sql>depart.html
where depart.sql contains:
This example starts SQL*Plus with user "HR", sets HTML ON, sets a BORDER attribute for TABLE, and runs the script depart.sql. The output from depart.sql is a web page which, in this case, has been redirected to the file depart.html using the ">" operating system redirect command (it may be different on your operating system). It could be sent to a web browser if SQL*Plus was called in a web server CGI script. See "Suppressing the Display of SQL*Plus Commands in Reports" for information about calling SQL*Plus from a CGI script.
Start your web browser and enter the appropriate URL to open depart.html:
The SQLPLUS command in this example contains three layers of nested quotes. From the inside out, these are:
"2" is a quoted HTML attribute value for BORDER.
'BORDER="2"' is the quoted text argument for the TABLE option.
"HTML ON TABLE 'BORDER="2"'" is the quoted argument for the -MARKUP option.
The nesting of quotes may be different in some operating systems or program scripting languages.
The SQLPLUS -SILENT option is particularly useful when used in combination with -MARKUP to generate embedded SQL*Plus reports using CGI scripts or operating system scripts. It suppresses the display of SQL*Plus commands and the SQL*Plus banner. The HTML output shows only the data resulting from your SQL query.
You can also use SET ECHO OFF to suppress the display of each command in a script that is executed with the START command.
Certain characters, <, >, " and & have a predefined meaning in HTML. In the previous example, you may have noticed that the > character was replaced by > as soon as you entered the SET MARKUP HTML ON command. To enable these characters to be displayed in your web browser, HTML provides character entities to use instead.
Table 8-1 Equivalent HTML Entities
|HTML Entity
|Start HTML tag label
|End HTML tag label
|Double quote
The web browser displays the > character, but the actual text in the HTML encoded file is the HTML entity, >. The SET MARKUP option, ENTMAP, controls the substitution of HTML entities. ENTMAP is set ON by default. It ensures that the characters <, >, " and & are always replaced by the HTML entities representing these characters. This prevents web browsers from misinterpreting these characters when they occur in your SQL*Plus commands, or in data resulting from your query.
You can set ENTMAP at a global level with SET MARKUP HTML ENTMAP ON, or at a column level with COLUMN column_name ENTMAP ON.
You can create dynamic reports, and pass variables to scripts by sending iSQL*Plus a request to run a script from a URL. The script is uploaded using the HTTP POST protocol and must be available through HTTP or FTP. iSQL*Plus executes the script, using any HTML form field values as parameters, and returns the results in a new web browser window.
iSQL*Plus prompts for undefined values for:
substitution variables
ACCEPT commands
RECOVER commands
CONNECT commands
iSQL*Plus pauses script execution and displays a Next Page button when a PAUSE command is executed. Select the Next Page button to continue script execution.
Dynamic report output can be displayed over multiple pages, or as a single page. The default is multiple page output with pages of 24 lines. Use the SET PAGESIZE and SET PAUSE commands in your scripts to set single or multiple page output for dynamic reports. For example:
To set dynamic report output to a single page, use:
To set dynamic report output to multiple pages of 40 lines, use:
You can include username and password information in the request. You should carefully consider the security implications of including usernames and passwords in HTML files. If you do not include a username or password, iSQL*Plus prompts you to enter login information when you run the script.
If you want to use the SET MARKUP command to change the HEAD or BODY options for a report, put the SET MARKUP command before the first command that generates output.
The following examples use the EMP_DETAILS_VIEW view of the Human Resources (HR) sample schema. This schema contains personnel records for a fictitious company. It may be installed as part of the default Oracle Database installation using the Oracle Database Configuration Assistant.
For further information about the sample schemas included with Oracle Database, see the Oracle Database Sample Schemas guide.
Example 8-3 Creating a Dynamic Report
Create and save the following script to a file called script.sql on your Application Server.
Create an HTML file which contains:
  <TITLE>iSQL*Plus Dynamic Report</TITLE>
iSQL*Plus Report
  Run Employee Report
Replace machine_name.domain with the host and domain names, and replace port with the port number of your Application Server. Save the HTML file on your Application Server.
Load the HTML file in your web browser and click "Run Employee Report". iSQL*Plus requests your username and password. Log in to iSQL*Plus. iSQL*Plus executes the script and displays the results in your web browser.
Example 8-4 Creating a Dynamic Report with Parameters
Create and save the following script to a file called employee_name.sql on your Application Server.
SET VERIFY OFF SET PAGESIZE 200 SET FEEDBACK OFF SET MARKUP HTML ENTMAP OFF PROMPT
Employee Details for Employee(s) with Last Name like &last_name%
 SET MARKUP HTML ENTMAP ON SELECT * FROM EMPLOYEES WHERE UPPER(last_name) LIKE UPPER('&last_name%') /
Create an HTML file which contains:
  <TITLE>iSQL*Plus Dynamic Report</TITLE>
iSQL*Plus Report

Query by Last Name
 <FORM METHOD=get ACTION="http://machine_name.domain:port/isqlplus"> <INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="script" VALUE="http://machine_name.domain:port/employee_name.sql"> Enter last name of employee: <INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="last_name" SIZE="20"> <INPUT TYPE="submit" VALUE="Run Report"> </FORM>
The name of the INPUT TYPE should be the same as either a column or substitution variable in your script, for example
<INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="last_name" SIZE="20">
maps to the substitution variable &last_name in the employee_name.sql script.
Replace machine_name.domain with the host and domain names, and port with the iSQL*Plus port number of your Application Server. Save the HTML file on your Application Server.
Load the HTML file in your web browser. Enter a name or partial name in the text field, for example, "Fay". Click the Run Report button. iSQL*Plus executes the script and displays the results in your web browser.
Example 8-5 Creating a Dynamic Script with Parameters and Login Details
Create and save the following script to a file called employee_id.sql on your Application Server.
SET VERIFY OFF SET PAGESIZE 200 SET MARKUP HTML ENTMAP OFF PROMPT
Employee Details for Employee Number &eid
 SET MARKUP HTML ENTMAP ON SELECT * FROM EMPLOYEES WHERE EMPLOYEE_ID = &eid /
Create an HTML file which contains:
  <TITLE>iSQL*Plus Dynamic Report</TITLE>
iSQL*Plus Report

Query by Employee ID
 <FORM METHOD=get ACTION="http://machine_name.domain:port/isqlplus"> <INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="userid" VALUE="hr/your_password"> <INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="script" VALUE="http://machine_name.domain:port/employee_id.sql"> Enter employee identification number: <INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="eid" SIZE="10"> <INPUT TYPE="submit" VALUE="Run Report"> </FORM>
Replace machine_name.domain with the host and domain names, port with the iSQL*Plus port number of your Application Server, and hr/your_password with a valid userid and password. Save the HTML file on your Application Server.
Load the HTML file in your web browser. Enter an employee identification number in the text field, for example, "105". Click the Run Report button. iSQL*Plus executes the script and displays the results in your web browser.


text:
Unmasking the Truth about Witches
View Single Post
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 556
Unmasking the Truth about Witches
Their Deceptive Schemes, Old Tricks & Dirty Lies
I have a news article in my files entitled, Witches Seek Mainstream Status. To be sure witches are out of the broom closet and walking down main street. In fact, they are going to great lengths to sanitize their reputation and remake their image. That is easy to see when you see media articles with titles like - Witches spell it out: Don't Stereotype Us, and I Am Not A Wicked Witch. In the process of trying to remake themselves to be acceptable to mainstream Americans they use deceptive schemes, old tricks and dirty lies to accomplish their goal. The following are but a few examples.
White Washing the name "Witch" By Using The Term Wiccan!
Most of today's witches prefer to be called "wiccans" instead of witches. The very name witch conjures mental images associated with evil and they want to change that. They go to great lengths to redefine themselves by using the term wicca. But, the word witch comes from the Old English word wicca (masculine) wicce (feminine) which means to practice sorcery. In fact our English word wicked is from the root word wicca and literally means witch-like. As early as 890 A.D. the word "wiccan" was used to identify witches "in the Laws of King Alfred." In short, changing the name from witch to wiccan is an attempt at historical revisionism. A witch or wiccan is, by the very name, a defining word for wickedness.
Wicca: The World's Oldest Religion
Wiccans have told me over and over again that Wicca is the world's oldest religion and that Wicca is older than Christianity. Problem is, that is a lie! Aidan Kelly, Ph.D., founder of two of the largest witchcraft organizations in America exposes this myth. The write up for his book, Crafting the Art of Magic - book 1 puts it this way, "Kelly himself wanted to believe that Wicca was the rediscovering of ancient Goddess-worshipping people. However, his research proved that this is not the case." In fact, Gerald Gardner (1884-1964) is the inventor of the cult of Wicca. In his book, At the Heart of Darkness, John Parker says, "retired (British) civil servant Gerald Brosseau Gardner, inventor of a witch cult (was) an old fraud." But why would Parker say that? I'll tell you why. "There is much evidence suggesting that Gardner concocted most of his rituals and legends from his own furtile imagination and that he promoted witchcraft for economic and sexual reasons." The article goes on to say that any witchcraft group that claims roots prior to 1950 is highly suspect. In short, today's Wicca or witchcraft is a modern cult originating in the 1950's and can not legitimately claim to be older than Christianity.
Witches Do Not Believe In or Acknowledge The Devil/Satan
While Wicca has a modern origin, they eclecticly draw upon diabolical occult information, rituals, and ceremonies from idol worshippers of the past. In fact, they use a deceptive scheme involving semantic word games to deny their involvement with the Devil and or Satan. For instance, Wiccans will tell you that they believe in Lucifer. They claim that "he is the god of the Sun and of the Moon." However most knowledgeable Wiccans recognize that the book La Sorciere by French historian Jules Michelet is a major contributer to their cult (The English version is published by Citadel Press under the title Satanism and Witchcraft). But, here's the facts. "Michelet's book is full of passionate, sympathetic depictions of Satan and medieval witchcraft."
Then there is the book by Charles G. Leland - Aradia:Gospel of the Witches, which is another major source of Wiccan beliefs. The very first paragraph reads
"Diana greatly loved her brother Lucifer, the god of the Sun and of the Moon, the god of Light, who was so proud of his beauty, and who for his pride was driven from Paradise."
GOTCHA! This is a reference to Isaiah 14 in the Bible where Lucifer is expelled from the presence of God and becomes the Devil or Satan! In fact, Isaiah 14:12 (KJV) is the only passage where Lucifer is mentioned in the entire Bible. Otherwise he is called the Devil, Satan, the Dragon, etc.
But that is not the only example. In Mastering Witchcraft: A Practical Guide for Witches Paul Huson makes this statement - "This is a beginner's guide to practical witchcraft, revealing the techniques and secret workings of those who practice the black arts. It presents the first steps to becoming a witch It answers all the basic questions about spells, magical recipes, rituals, divination, covens, curses, apparatus, how to develop one's power, etc. From reciting the Lord's Prayer backward through details for spells to arouse lust attain vengeance "
Speaking of vengeance, consider this ritual of wrath "a conjuration of the Horned One" recorded on page 186 - "I conjure thee by Barabbas, by Satanas, by the devil cursed be! I summon thee by Barabbas, by Satanas by the devil conjured be! By the underworld itself " Need I note that Barabbas and Satanas are references to the devil who is mentioned?
Again, we see the attempt by modern witches to deny the truth. The Gospel of John 8:44 has interesting ramifications when it comes to this cover-up by witches -- "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."
Let's move on to two more lies witches tell.
The Upside-down Pentagram Is Satanic Not Wiccan
Nothing could be further from the truth! It is well documented that in the Gardinarian and Alexandrian Wiccan cult, they use the upside-down pentagram as the symbol of Second Degree Initiation.
Wiccans Only Do Good Magic, Healing Magic
On numerous occasions I have been told by witches that the Wiccan Rede ("An it harm none, do what ye will") and the threefold law (evil directed at another will return 3 fold upon the perpetrator) hinders witches from directing magic spells or other negative actions against anyone. That just is not true! For instance, famous witch Sybil Leek published a book called the Book of Curses. Earlier in this article I mentioned Paul Huson's book Mastering Witchcraft. In it, "full details are given for spells to attain vengeance." Cursing and vengeance are not good any way you look at it. This is just another attempt to mask the truth.
Wiccans are Wholesome, Family Oriented People
Witches are not the wholesome, family oriented people they claim to be. Doreen Irvine, a practicing witch for many years, said, Many "witches were lesbians and homosexuals." And she's right. I have a poster, letter and application in my files for, as they called it, "FAGGOT WITCH CAMP." The letter advertised the "second annual FAGGOT WITCH CAMP, August 26-30, 1991." This event was held at Wyalusing State Park in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. According to the letter, "Our purpose in organizing this event is to gather with like-minded queer men and to explore our unique perspectives and experiences as faggot witches." This queer event was even announced in the witch publication Circle Network News; Spring 1991.
Witchcraft is a perverted sex oriented cult. According to the book, What Witches Do, "witchcraft has always been a fertility religion " and the orgy was a part of the Craft "giving the plainer girls a chance."
Gardinarian witch Patricia C. Crowther describes modern day witch orgies this way -
"The motives of the modern witches are often thought to be questionable, and certainly a considerable element of sexuality is present at many meetings The nudity of the coven, the frantic dancing, the incense and the slightly illicit atmosphere contribute to this The binding and whipping of new initiants for 'purification' purposes, for instance, is highly titillating for those with sado-masochistic tendencies while 'the five-fold kiss' bestowed by the high priest or priestess on the feet, knees, genitals, breasts and lips of the new members speaks for itself. The 'Great Rite,' performed at certain ceremonies and consisting of token or actual sexual intercourse is justified on the grounds that Wicca is, after all, a fertility cult. Only the high priest may initiate a female member, while the high priestess initiates the males."
"One of the most important religious organizations of Neo-Paganism in America is the Church of All Worlds (CAW) CAW played a key role in the 1970's in the networking of diverse Pagan and Wiccan groups " Their official journal is the Green Egg - A Journal of the Awakening Earth. The entirety of Volume 29, No. 119; 1997 dealt with ritual sexual sado-masocshim. There certainly is nothing wholesome about that!
Then there was the case of an Ohio witch who ended up in court. A 15 year old girl "was selected as high priestess of the cult" and he initiated her and several other teenage girls in a perverse way. The news article states, "There were candles, seances, rituals. They would have to be naked and have sex with him in order to get involved with the magic." The witch leader was charged with three counts of second degree sexual assault of a child, and two counts of sexual intercourse with a child aged 16 or older. Again, witches lie when they say they are wholesome. Sexual perversion is never wholesome!
Speaking of sexual perversion I also have in my files a copy of a witchcraft publication that states that a well known east coast witch "transitioned" from male to female on Samhain, October 31. What that means is that the person was born a biological male but had his sex organs surgically removed and altered to appear to be female. That IS perversion! In fact, another noted witch who has authored a best selling book on witchcraft under a female name, was born a biological male.
Sexual perversion abounds in many witch covens and organizations!
In 1991, I published a 30 page research report entitled, "The Dark Side of Halloween." In the book I quoted a former witch who said, "Sadism was practiced frequently..." Several years back I brought this up on a national talk show. When I said this, two witches who worshipped Dagon were sitting on one side of me and a vampire on the other. The audience was peppered with witches. As soon as the words were out of my mouth there was a hot protest from the witches. In fact, since the show was not live, the witches put so much pressure on the producers that they edited out my words! They did not want the public to know about their sadistic practices. While not all witches engage in such perversions, there is a large constituency that do.
I will conclude this section by saying, there is nothing wholesome about any of these perverted sexual practices. While witches try to mask these diabolical practices, the record speaks for itself. And as Dr. Merill Unger observes, "for those who surrender to worship and serve Satan, the moral degradation and perversion is horrifying."
Witches Don't Believe In Blood Offerings, Animal or Human Sacrifice
While many Wicca cult members offer fruit and vegetable sacrifices to their pagan gods and goddesses, blood offerings and animal or human sacrifices are a part of historic pagan and witchcraft rites. But, it is becoming increasingly frequent in the witch community today.
I have read several accounts and have recorded personal testimonies of individuals who were initiated into witchcraft that incorporated rituals using their own blood. Consider Alex Sanders (1926-1988). He is the father of Alexandrian Wicca. He was initiated into witchcraft using a blood ritual. A witch had "him stand nude in a circle with his head down. She took a sharp razor, cut his scrotum to make it bleed He was initiated as a third degree, and he became a black magickian."
There are other uses of blood as well. For instance there is a connection between blood and the witches wand. "The most efficacious wand will be made of one of the woods sacred to the White Goddess: elderberry, willow, rowan, hazel, oak or mistletoe." The article goes on to say that the branch is then hollowed out and "filled with cotton wool and brought to life with three drops of the witch's own blood."
The use of blood to facilitate power is not uncommon. One witch told me that they had anointed their divination board with their own blood so as to empower the board.
In the book, "Secrets of the Occult" by C.A. Burland, it talks about groups in south Germany about 1960 who "hunted and decapitated deer for a blood-drinking rite." In fact, there are those who claim to be witches, even Wiccans who do that and worse today.
Consider the case of Wiccan Damien Wayne Echols. He was involved with the ritual murder of Michael Moore, Christopher Byres and Steve Branch. There are those who accused Echols of being a Satanist but Echols asserts that he is a Wiccan. In a search of his home they found a book of spells, potions and prayers which was his book of shadows. It begins with an entry stating "all rites are to be performed within a nine-foot circle." The article goes on to say, "following that, there is a ritual to be used for 'improving' the memory,' which includes using the 'heart, eye or brain of a lapwing or plover (birds) and hanging it on one's neck."
Wiccans loudly protest when things like this are pointed out. And while I am sure that not all witches are involved in blood sacrifices there are those who are. Further, the originator of the Wiccan Cult, Gerald Gardner, was involved in human sacrifice. Here is what is recorded. "The group was deadly serious about their secret ritual But to be 100 per cent effective there would have to be a human sacrifice." One of the coven members volunteered. "The coven was also known to use an hallucinogen Having formed their magic circle in the depths of the forest, the group, who were naked, made a line and held hands and then danced furiously around a small bonfire, chanting incantations They performed the rite with such vigour that one or two of them fainted, a not uncommon experience when a serious amount of power and energy is aroused by the perfomance of ritual. The old volunteer duly collapsed and died, and it is not known whether it was from an overdose of mushrooms, over-exhaustion or the cold. The great sacrifice had been made and the potency of their magic enhanced "
Historically, human sacrifice has been associated with witchcraft. Anyone who is intellectually honest will admit that. But it seems that some Wiccans are finally coming out of the closet and preparing the way for the acceptance of human sacrifice within their ranks. In fact, a major Wiccan periodical carried an article titled Sacrifice: An Elevation. In this article Nasira Alma states, "We cannot be 'above' sacrifice, human or other Divinors foresaw events by noting the manner of the victim's fall, the twitching of his limbs, and how his blood spurted Sacrifice is the law of our nature. It maintains the balance between the inner and the outer, the physical and the spiritual, the Divine and the human."
Witches desperately want public acceptance! As you have seen, many will lie in an effort to get it. A massive nation wide disinformation campaign has been mounted to convince people that their beliefs and practices are normal and acceptable. This report has been prepared to unmask just a few of their Deceptive Schemes, Old Tricks & Dirty Lies.
We are warned in the Bible, Ephesians 5:11, And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. There is good reason for that warning because the power behind witchcraft and the occult is demonic power. In Acts 16:16-18 we see that the psychic powers of the young girl were demonic in origin. In fact, in the article entitled Communicating with the departed, the author admits to what we know to be demon possession when she says " for the spirit to be contacted actually enters the Wytche's body " Is it any wonder that Paul says of Elymas the sorcerer, O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? Acts 13:10. The same can be said of any witch today.
[ Return to Top ] [ Jump to Bottom ]
The Problem With Witchcraft & The Occult
It is important that people understand that there are two sources of wisdom available to mankind -- God's Wisdom and the Devil's Wisdom. We see this in James 3:15-17 "This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Demonic wisdom (Lucifer's or the Devil's wisdom), that wisdom that "descendeth not from above, is characterized as being earthly, sensual and devilish. God's wisdom on the other hand is said to be pure, peacable, gentle, etc. In short, there are two very different kinds of wisdom with two very different outcomes.
Biblical Christianity is the manifestation of God's wisdom from above. Wicca, witchcraft, paganism, Satanism, etc. are manifestations of the devil's wisdom from beneath.
We are encouraged to seek God's wisdom and power. And, in fact the Bible outlines the means we are to use in seeking to access that wisdom and power.
How To Tap Into God's Wisdom And Power
The wisdom that God commends may be accessed through
James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Psalms 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (See also 2 Peter 3:15-16 & 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Proverbs 1:5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
On the other hand, there are ways people attempt to tap into demonic wisdom as well. But the Bible warns us that God condemns and forbids seeking after demonic wisdom. This is clearly articulated in Deuteronomy 18:9-12 where we are told not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the occult. divination, sorcery, witchcraft, mediums, necromancy, casting spells and more are said to be an abomination to the Lord.
How People Attempt To Access Demonic Wisdom
Divination is the act of attempting to prophesy (forecast future events) or human character through occult means by making use of certain omens or divination tools such as tarot cards, tea
leaves, Ouija board, astrology, palmistry, scrying devices (crystal balls, mirrors, crystals, etc.). The method of divination often changes but the spirit and force behind it remains the same a demon spirit (Acts 16:16-18).
Sorcery is the act of attempting to contact, manipulate or control people, spirits, animals, plants, the elements (earth, air, fire, water) through occult rituals, ceremonies, objects (amulets, talismans, charms, etc.) Though magic may "work," the power behind magic is demonic and those who practice magic are the enemies of righteousness. (Acts 13:6-10)
Spiritism or necromancy is an occult activity grounded in the belief that through certain persons acting as mediums or channels (psychics, necromancers, channelers, etc.) the dead or the spirit world can be contacted and hidden information can be acquired from those contacted. Trances and seances are often used by the medium. The power behind this activity is demonic. This activity is forbidden by the Lord. 1 Chronicles 10:13, So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it. (1 Sam. 28:7 gives the context).
In fact, by the personal testimony of neo-pagans, Wiccans and Satanists I have personally talked to, and as recorded in the hundreds of books as well as in the files that I have in my archive, they ALL, (pagans, Satanists, Wiccans and other occult groups I have not even mentioned), without exception, attempt to secure their wisdom through one or more of the occult means I have just mentioned.
We are to order our lives by the wisdom of God. That is the wisdom revealed in the Bible. This is the wisdom of Jesus Christ. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6
We are to reject the wisdom from beneath, the wisdom of the devil, the wisdom of Wicca. The wisdom of witchcraft is the wisdom of the damned Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
If you are involved in witchcraft or other occult practices you are sinning against the Lord God of Heaven and you are destined for damnation in the Lake of Fire. But, if you repent of your sins and call upon the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and save your soul Heaven can be your destiny. John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
...I realized I had to gain more knowledge to protect against evil and to protect myself from not becoming evil myself. This is our major goal in life...\" Terry Lee
View Public Profile
Send a private message to rushdoony
Find all posts by rushdoony


text:
The Open Source Digital Library System (OSDLS, a.k.a. Powerful Yet TactfullyHelpful Electronic Arranger of Sources (PYTHEAS)) is a project to develop an open source next-generation library system. Current development includes a data model based on MARC and RDF expressed in XML. Links to the design draft and listserv details are at the OSDLS homepage.
Open Source Digital Library System (OSDLS)
MARC.pm is a Perl 5 module for reading, manipulating and writing MARC records. Once installed in your Perl library you will be able to use MARC.pm's functionality to read in individual records or batches of MARC records, extract data from particular fields, and convert the records into a variety of formats including HTML and XML. You can also use MARC.pm to create records from scratch--which might prove useful if you have have some delimited data that you would like to convert into a MARC record. Since it is a Perl Module, MARC.pm might prove also prove to be useful as a component of a larger application that uses MARC in some form.
free Z39.50 implementations page -- who knows one?
the LOC Z39.50 Software page has been up a long time, but is probably ready for someone to do a comparison. can anyone recommend any of these tools (at least one is under GPL)? i'd love to be able to plug MARC.pm onto ZETA, for instance, and pull data out for Jake... anyone tried something similar?
Stuart writes: "M[n]M is software that
supports processing of national standard MARC MeSH subject authority records for use in medical library online public access catalogs. While designed for use with Innopac M[n]M can also be used to manage MARC MeSH in other OPACs. M[n]M is freely available under the GNU Public License. To download M[n]M or to read more, go to library.med.nyu.edu/mm".
There's also a very informative paper describing M[n]M available here.
seen on many lists recently is XMLMARC, a "Java client/server program [which] converts MARC to XML based on flexible maps and simplified, yet detailed DTDs for bibliographic and authorities formats." Its license is free for non-commercial use but requires consent for redistribution, and their broader experiment is described here. They seem to be aware of MARC.pm... it would be great to see a side-by-side feature comparison of the two.


text:
Montastraea faveolata
|Scope: Global
Language: English
|Scientific Name:
|Montastraea faveolata (Ellis & Solander, 1786)
|Taxonomic Notes:
|Until recently, this species was included in M. annularis (Weil and Knowlton 1994) along with M. franksi. Consequently, most studies prior to 1994 do not distinguish between the three species, and information on population is difficult to disaggregate for the three taxa.
|Red List Category & Criteria:
|Endangered A2ace ver 3.1
|Year Published:
|Date Assessed:
|Aronson, R., Bruckner, A., Moore, J., Precht, B. & E. Weil
|Livingstone, S., Polidoro, B. & Smith, J. (Global Marine Species Assessment)
This species is listed as Endangered as the species is believed to have undergone a decline exceeding 50% over the past 30 years due in particular to the effects of disease and bleaching, as well as other factors. Current rates of mortality are exceeding growth and recruitment, and current threats are increasing and spreading into new areas. Due to their extreme longevity, low rates of recruitment and long generation times, scope for recovery of populations is limited. If current trends continue, this species may warrant listing in a higher category of threat.
|Range Description:
|This species occurs in the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, and the Bahamas. May also be present in Bermuda, but this requires confirmation.
|Countries occurrence:
Native:Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (Saba, Sint Eustatius); Cayman Islands; Colombia; Costa Rica; Cuba; Curaçao; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Grenada; Guadeloupe; Haiti; Honduras; Jamaica; Mexico; Montserrat; Nicaragua; Panama; Saint Barthélemy; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Martin (French part); Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Sint Maarten (Dutch part); Trinidad and Tobago; Turks and Caicos Islands; United States; United States Minor Outlying Islands; Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of; Virgin Islands, British
|FAO Marine Fishing Areas:
Atlantic – western central
|Additional data:
|Range Map:
|Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.
|In the last 20 years, there has been a severe decline in the overall cover and abundance of M. faveolata in several parts of the Caribbean. For example, 90% of the species was lost in the coastal waters off Jamaica from 1980 through 1994 (Hughes, 1994). Off the coast of eastern Puerto Rico, declines in cover were recorded at between 40 and 60% (Hernandez-Delgado 2005), at around 40% off south-eastern PR (E. Weil pers. comm.), 40-80% off Desecheo Island and Mona Island (Bruckner and Bruckner 2006, A. Bruckner pers. comm.), and 72% in St John, US Virgin Islands, between 1988 and 1999 (Edmunds and Elahi 2007). Dustan and Halas (1987) observed a 31% decline in cover of M. faveolata on Carysfort Reef (Key Largo) between 1975 and 1982, with a 21% decline in colony size.
The age of first maturity of most reef building corals is typically three to eight years (Wallace 1999) and therefore we assume that average age of mature individuals is greater than eight years. Furthermore, based on average sizes and growth rates, we assume that average generation length is 10 years, unless otherwise stated. Total longevity is not known, but likely to be more than ten years. Therefore any population decline rates for the Red List assessment are measured over at least 30 years. See the supplementary material for further details on generation length estimates.
|Current Population Trend:
|Additional data:
|Habitat and Ecology:
|M. faveolata is found from 1-30 m in backreef and fore-reef habitats, and is often the most abundant coral between 10-20 m in fore-reef environments.
|Major Threat(s):
The major threats to the species are infectious diseases (e.g., plague, yellow band and black band disease) and bleaching. Other threats include predation by Sparisoma viride (Stoplight Parrotfish), hurricane damage, and loss of habitat at the recruitment stage due to algal overgrowth and sedimentation, as well as localized impacts due to bioerosion by sponges and other organisms, and other diseases.
In general, the major threat to corals is global climate change, in particular, temperature extremes leading to bleaching and increased susceptibility to disease, increased severity of ENSO events and storms, and ocean acidification.
Coral disease has emerged as a serious threat to coral reefs worldwide and a major cause of reef deterioration (Weil et al. 2006). The numbers of diseases and coral species affected, as well as the distribution of diseases have all increased dramatically within the last decade (Porter et al. 2001, Green and Bruckner 2000, Sutherland et al. 2004, Weil 2004). Coral disease epizootics have resulted in significant losses of coral cover and were implicated in the dramatic decline of acroporids in the Florida Keys (Aronson and Precht 2001, Porter et al. 2001, Patterson et al. 2002). Escalating anthropogenic stressors combined with the threats associated with global climate change of increases in coral disease, frequency and duration of coral bleaching and ocean acidification place coral reefs at high risk of collapse.
Localized threats to corals include fisheries, human development (industry, settlement, tourism, and transportation), changes in native species dynamics (competitors, predators, pathogens and parasites), invasive species (competitors, predators, pathogens and parasites), dynamite fishing, chemical fishing, pollution from agriculture and industry, domestic pollution, sedimentation, and human recreation and tourism activities.
The severity of these combined threats to the global population of each individual species is not known.
|Conservation Actions:
In the US, it is present in many MPAs, including Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Biscayne N.P., Dry Tortugas National Park, Buck Island Reef National Monument and Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Also present Hol Chan Marine Reserve (Belize), Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (Bahamas). In US waters, it is illegal to harvest corals for commercial purposes. (Aronson, R., Precht, W., Moore, J., Weil, E., and Bruckner, A. pers. comm.)
All corals are listed on CITES Appendix II.
Recommended measures for conserving this species include research in taxonomy, population, abundance and trends, ecology and habitat status, threats and resilience to threats, restoration action; identification, establishment and management of new protected areas; expansion of protected areas; recovery management; and disease, pathogen and parasite management. Artificial propagation and techniques such as cryo-preservation of gametes may become important for conserving coral biodiversity.
|Aronson, R., Bruckner, A., Moore, J., Precht, B. & E. Weil. 2008. Montastraea faveolata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T133373A3712432. . Downloaded on 26 September 2018.
|To make use of this information, please check the <Terms of Use>.
|If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please provide us with feedback so that we can correct or extend the information provided


text:
Life on Wall Street Grows Less Risky
Morgan Stanley and CEO James Gorman are undertaking an extreme makeover to shed risk.
Morgan Stanley has nearly four million brokerage customers and thousands of corporate and investment clients, but they aren't the top priority these days.
"Your No. 1 client is the government," John J. Mack, Morgan Stanley's chairman and chief executive from 2005 to 2009, told current CEO James Gorman in a recent phone call. Mr. Gorman, who was visiting Washington that day, agreed.


text:
The Fusion SureErase utility enables users to securely remove/erase all data on any Fusion ioMemory PCIe device following DoD/NIST standards in less than one minute.
The Problem
Fusion ioMemoryTM PCIe application accelerators from SanDisk deliver the performance today's mission-critical enterprise applications demand. However, very often, organizations are processing data of a sensitive nature. Such organizations need to know that data can be deleted rapidly and permanently to keep it safe from exposure.
Examples of such organizations include the following:
The Solution
The Fusion SureErase utility from SanDisk, which comes with all Fusion ioMemory PCIe application accelerators, enables users to securely remove/erase all data on any Fusion ioMemory PCIe based technology, following DoD/NIST standards, in less than one minute^1. The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has officially confirmed that Fusion SureErase successfully sanitizes data in accordance with the NSA/CSS Storage Device Declassification Manual for data being declassified from a secret to unclassified environment.
What Fusion SureErase Does
Fusion SureErase has two erase options: Clear and Purge. The default "Clear" option performs a full low-level erase (every cell pushed to "1") of the entire NAND media, including retired erase blocks. This option does not erase metadata required for operation (media event log, erase counts, physical bytes read/written, performance and thermal history), but destroys all user-specific metadata. The Clear option is resistant to keystroke recovery attempts executed from standard input devices and from data scavenging tools.
The "Purge" option overwrites every cell of the entire NAND media to a logical "0," including retired erase blocks, and then performs a full low-level erase (every cell pushed to "1"). As with the Clear option, metadata required for operation is not destroyed, but user-specific metadata is destroyed. Purging information protects the confidentiality of information against even a laboratory attack.
How to Use Fusion SureErase
Fusion SureErase is a utility that Fusion ioMemory PCIe administrators run from the command line interface of a Fusion ioMemory host. For example, to Clear a Fusion ioMemory SX300 PCIe application accelerator, you would remove all Fusion ioMemory SX300 PCIe cards you do not want to sanitize, detach the Fusion ioMemory SX300 PCIe card you do want to sanitize (with the fio-detach command) and type the following:
fio-sure-erase –v
To run the Purge option, you would type the following:
fio-sure-erase –p –v
Whether you're a Fortune 500 or five person startup, SanDisk has solutions that will help you get the most out of your infrastructure.
Whether you'd like to ask a few initial questions or are ready to discuss a SanDisk solution tailored to your organizations's needs, the SanDisk sales team is standing by to help.
We're happy to answer your questions, so please fill out the form below so we can get started.
Thank you. We have received your request.


text:
Porcfest XI: Free Staters' gathering in Lancaster focuses on DIYBy BOB HOOKWAY
June 28. 2014 7:01PM
LANCASTER - The theme of the Free State Project's 11th annual summer gathering in New Hampshire is "DIY: Do it Yourself," as if most in the expected crowd of 1,500 for the final three days of the Porcupine Freedom Festival, or Porcfest XI, needed any urging in that direction.
Nearly everyone there Friday seemed to be a self-reliance advocate. The Free Staters are known for proudly marching to the beat of a different drum, or maybe about as many different drums as there are Free Staters.
So naturally many of the 300 or so workshops and classes throughout the week at sprawling Roger's Campground in Lancaster had some topics not found on the usual DIY home-improvement menu of weather stripping and carpet installing.
Sure, there was a Knitting 101 class on Tuesday, but later in the week came the popular instruction session on building one's own AK-47 rifle.
One of the reasons the Free State Project - a main reason, in fact - made migration to New Hampshire a priority around 2002 was the state's laws that favor gun ownership. That, coupled with the Granite State's perceived disdain for government regulation of all sorts proved a powerful draw for many of the movement's members. More than 15,000 have, according to organizers, pledged to move to New Hampshire eventually.
Taking a break late Friday afternoon from the steady parade of seminars and instruction sessions in several nearby tents, Nicole Miller of Brooklyn and Finn Bruton of Manhattan - not Free Staters but curious, they said, about the movement - took in the overall scene in the shadow of the White Mountains foothills.
They said they couldn't help but note the constant cheeriness and good nature of the attendees and agreed that it would be hard to imagine a fight breaking out among them, especially under Friday's perfect summer weather.
"They can't get in a fight; they're all packing heat," Miller said with a laugh.
"There are so many different factions here: precious metals Bitcoins, you name it. But they all kind of get along," Bruton said.
In fact, it was hard to tell from discussion with several attendees whether there was a single common purpose.
There is a formal political element. Literature was available urging attendees to back the New Hampshire Senate campaign of Dan Hynes, who's seeking to become the Senate's first Free Stater. He's running in District 11, which comprises Amherst, Merrimack, Wilton and Walden.
The Free State Project's mascot is the porcupine, a gentle, unassuming creature until it's stepped on, say members. Members often refer to each other as "porcupines,'' hence the festival's title.
"Your purchasing power has declined since 1978," Nick Bold told his audience of about 25 as he held court in one of the large tents during a discussion of what the world's economy may look like one day.
"We didn't see this at the beginning," he said of the individual's financial slide, "because we had outsourcing to deal with."
Bold, a rapid talker, describes himself as a scientist and engineer. His company, technocopia, is in Worcester, Mass. Its motto is, "The future of abundance through technology."
"Who do you serve? Think about that," he urged his listeners. "Who do you serve?"
In attendance was Garrett Fox of the Baltimore, Md., area. He had with him a 3-D printer he'd made and said his plans to distribute them - just "give them to the next person" to expand and improve them - is an intriguing way to, as Bold mentioned, distribute technology without exchanging money.
The weeklong gathering concludes today.