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Italians Vote In Parliamentary Elections
Fellow EU countries and investors are watching closely, as the decisions that Italy makes over the next several months promise to have a profound impact on whether Europe can decisively put out the flames of its financial crisis. Greece's troubles in recent years were enough to spark a series of market panics. With an economy almost 10 times the size of Greece's, Italy is simply too big a country for Europe, and the world, to see fail.
Leading the electoral pack is Pier Luigi Bersani, a former communist who has shown a pragmatic streak in supporting tough economic reforms spearheaded by incumbent Mario Monti. On Bersani's heels is Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire media mogul seeking an unlikely political comeback after being forced from the premiership by Italy's debt crisis. Monti, while widely credited with saving Italy from financial ruin, is trailing badly as he pays the price for the suffering caused by austerity measures.
Then there's the wild card: comic-turned-politician Beppe Grillo, whose protest movement against the entrenched political class has been drawing tens of thousands to rallies in piazzas across Italy. If his self-styled political "tsunami" sweeps into Parliament with a big chunk of seats, Italy could be in store for a prolonged period of political confusion that would spook the markets.
Voting was generally calm. But when Berlusconi showed up at a Milan polling place to cast his ballot, three women pulled off their sweaters to bare their breasts and display the slogan "Basta Silvio!" (Enough of Silvio) scrawled on their flesh. A cordon of police, already in place for security before the former premier's arrival, blocked Berlusconi's direct view of the women.
Police detained the women for questioning. Italian news reports said the three were members of the Femen protest group. On his way out of the polling station, Berlusconi made no direct comment on the protesters.
While a man of the left, Bersani has shown himself to have a surprising amount in common with the center-right Monti - and the two have hinted at the possibility of teaming up in a coalition. Bersani was Monti's most loyal backer in Parliament during the respected economist's tenure at the head of a technocratic government. And in ministerial posts in previous center-left governments, Bersani fought hard to free up such areas of the economy as energy, insurance and banking services.
But it's uncertain that Monti will be able muster the votes needed to give Bersani's Democratic Party a stable majority in both houses of Parliament.
"Forming a government with a stable parliamentary alliance may prove tricky after elections," said Eoin Ryan, an analyst with IHS Global Insight. "A surge in support for anti-austerity parties is raising chances of an indecisive election result and post-vote political instability."
Another factor is turnout. Usually some 80 percent of the 50 million eligible voters go to the polls but experts are predicting many will stay away in anger, hurting mainstream parties.
Interior Ministry figures put the turnout at noon, four hours after polls opened, at 14.9 percent of those eligible to vote for the Chamber of Deputies. That was down from the 16.5 percent turnout after four hours into voting in the last national elections, in spring 2008.
Italian elections are usually held in spring, and this balloting came amid bad weather in much of the country, including snow in the north. Rain was forecast for much of the country Monday.
When Berlusconi stepped down in November 2011, newspapers were writing his political obituary. At 76, blamed for mismanaging the economy and disgraced by criminal allegations of sex with an underage prostitute, the billionaire media baron appeared finished as a political force.
But Berlusconi has proven time and again - over 20 years at the center of Italian politics - that he should never be counted out.
The campaign strategy that has allowed him to become a contender in these elections is a simple one: please the masses by throwing around cash.
Berlusconi has promised to give back an unpopular property tax imposed by Monti as part of austerity measures. Even his purchase of star striker Mario Balotelli for his AC Milan soccer team was widely seen as a ploy to buy votes. Berlusconi has also appealed to Italy's right-wing by praising Italy's former fascist dictator Benito Mussolini during a ceremony commemorating Holocaust victims.
The most recent polls show Bersani in the lead with 33 percent of the vote, against 28 percent for Berlusconi's coalition with the populist Northern League. Grillo's 5 Star movement was in a surprise third place, with 17 percent support, while Monti's centrist coalition was notching 13 percent. The COESIS poll of 6,212 respondents had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2 percent.
Pollster Renato Mannheimer said among his biggest clients heading into the elections were foreign banks seeking to gauge whether to hold or sell Italian bonds.
"They are worried mostly about the return of Berlusconi," Mannheimer said.
Uncertainty over the outcome of the vote has pushed the Milan stock exchange down in the days running up to the vote and bumped up borrowing costs, as investors express concern that Italy may back down from a reform course to pull the country out of recession.
Mannheimer said many undecided voters - who comprise around one-third of the total electorate - identify with the center-right, and that may help Berlusconi. He said that the undecided vote may also tilt heavily toward Grillo's protest movement.
The professorial Monti looked uncomfortable at first as a candidate but has recently warmed to the role. Like the others, he has not shied away from name calling, warning that Berlusconi is a "charlatan" and saying his return would be "horrific."
Bond analyst Nicholas Spiro said the election `'will deliver the most important verdict on the eurozone's three-year-old austerity focused policies."
But he is betting on a period of political instability after the vote.
"An upset victory by Mr. Berlusconi may be markets' nightmare scenario," he said, "but the prospects for a stable and harmonious Bersani-Monti coalition government - still the mostly likely outcome in our view - are bleak."
This program aired on February 24, 2013. The audio for this program is not available.


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The first stop — Britain — in Mitt Romney's foreign tour certainly is starting out rockier than nearly anyone expected.
First there was the kerfuffle over remarks, attributed by a British newspaper to an anonymous campaign adviser, that Romney understood the shared "Anglo-Saxon heritage" between the U.S. and Britain in a way President Obama didn't. Those comments were viewed as racist by some and were disowned by the Romney campaign.
Then the candidate himself caused a dust-up by saying he found "disconcerting" security and other glitches in the run-up to Friday's opening ceremony. It didn't help that at the same time, he appeared to express doubt about the eventual success of the games:
"You know, it's hard to know just how well it will turn out," Romney said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron skewered Romney with a comment that would have done Winston Churchill proud:
"We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world. Of course it's easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere."
As in Salt Lake City, Utah, was the clear meaning, where the 2002 games Romney oversaw were held.
After a meeting with Romney at 10 Downing Street, the prime minister's residence, Romney "rowed back," as the British say, his earlier remarks. He allowed that he was now confident about the games:
"I am very delighted with the prospects of a highly successful Olympic Games. What I have seen shows imagination and forethought and a lot of organization and expect the games to be highly successful."
But that walk-back appeared to be too late, at least for London's mayor, Boris Johnson, who used Romney's earlier comment to rouse tens of thousands of Londoners who had gathered in the city for a rally in the hours before the opening ceremonies.
He told a throng:
"I hear there's a guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know whether we're ready. Are we ready? Yes we are. Our venues are ready. The stadium is ready. The aquatic center is ready ... the security is ready ... the police are ready... and our athletes are ready. Aren't they? Team GB [Great Britain] is ready. They're going to win more gold, silver, bronze medals than you'd need to bail out Greece and Spain together."
With that last line, Johnson demonstrated that Romney wasn't the only politician on British soil roiling international relations Thursday.
And as if that weren't enough, Romney breached British protocol by telling reporters publicly that he met with Sir John Sawers, the head of the British intelligence agency known as MI6. Such meetings are typically not acknowledged, according to British news outlets.
This was the start of a three-nation trip including Poland and Israel whose purpose was partly for Romney to demonstrate his foreign policy chops and stature on the world stage. It obviously wasn't getting off to the best start.
The liberal-leaning British newspaper The Guardian seemed to enjoy Romney's difficulties, keeping tabs on the British reaction to him on its Election 2012 blog. The conservative-leaning Daily Telegraph also tracked Romney's day.
Maybe there's something about the British that just causes American politicians to put a foot wrong, as they say in London.
Early in his time in the White House, President Obama gave then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown a set of 25 DVDs of classic American movies that were incorrectly formatted to work on European players.
Worse yet, at least by British standards, was the iPod loaded with American music that Obama gave Queen Elizabeth II. For that, maybe he's entitled to a pass, since it has to be really difficult to shop for the woman who has everything.
The British press also looked askance at a gift from President George W. Bush of a bomber jacket to the same rather buttoned-down, aforementioned Brown.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

subset: commoncrawl


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Mr. President, as chairman of the Helsinki Commission, I welcomed the recent visit of Romanian Foreign Minister Razvan Ungureanu, and I regret that I was not in Washington D.C. to meet with him. Our countries have forged closer links, and I hope that trend will continue.
While there have been many positive reforms implemented in Romania, unfortunately the situation of the Romani minority has remained the same. Romania has the largest Roma minority in Europe, estimated at 1.5-2 million people yet they remain profoundly marginalized and subjected to pervasive discrimination and prejudice.
A soccer match in Bucharest on April 13th was a clear example of the explicit acts of hatred that have been widespread throughout the country. Fans of one team, Steaua Bucharest, unfurled a banner reading "We have always had and will always have something against Gypsies." They chanted, "We have always hated Gypsies and we have always urinated on you." During the game, the stadium announcer played an anti-Roma song called "Gypsies and UFOs" and made anti-Roma remarks. The coach of Steaua Bucharest called the coach of the opposing team a "stinking Gypsy." The opposing team, Rapid Bucharest, is from a district with a significant Romani minority.
Response to this rabid anti-Roma manifestation was swift with mixed results. On April 20th, the Romanian Football League suspended the stadium announcer for 6 months. However, the League sanctioned both teams that were present at the April 13th match: Steaua Bucharest, the team responsible for hurling racist invective was fined, as well as Rapid Bucharest, the team against whom these slurs were directed. While it is completely appropriate for a sports league to police itself and its members, sanctioning those who were the targets of this abuse is absurd. No one will be fooled by the League's effort to appear pro-active and even-handed while punishing the very people who were the victims of abuse.
The National Council for Combating Discrimination, a Romanian Government body, also sanctioned the offending team about $1400 and fined the stadium announcer about $600. The fact that a governmental body so quickly recognized the racist nature of these events was a positive signal. However, any time a state positions itself to regulate speech, there is the risk that free speech, which may include unpopular or controversial views, will be unduly limited. I strongly believe that there are other ways to combat racist, xenophobic, or anti-Semitic manifestations. In particular, it is critical that Romania's public leaders, including President Traian Basescu, speak out against such acts of discrimination.
Unfortunately, the April 13th events were not an isolated phenomenon, but part of a larger pattern of racist abuse in Romania. In 2002, scores of fans at a Bucharest soccer match worked in concert to display a massive sign reading "Die, Gypsy." In 2003, like-minded fans displayed a sign reading "One million crows, one solution–Antonescu." In this context, "Crow" is a pejorative slang term in Romanian for a member of the Romani minority and General Ion Antonescu was Romania's World War II fascist dictator who spearheaded the selection of Roma for deportation to Transnistria.
These manifestations tell us two things. First, it is not enough for public leaders to leave it to the National Council for Combating Racism to speak out against these manifestations. Romania's highest leaders must stand up themselves to confront such outrages. Those who would foment racism, and who potentially incite racist violence, must be given no safe harbor. Invoking praise for the World War II dictator who oversaw the persecution of Romania's Jews and Roma is despicable.
Second, these manifestations underscore the need for continued efforts to improve Holocaust education in Romania.
Following decades of denial, the Government of Romania has made great strides in the past year in recognizing Romania's role in the Holocaust and in the deportation and death of Jewish and Romani citizens. The government is to be commended for taking steps to examine this dark and painful chapter in the country's history. Last November, the International Commission for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania, led by Elie Wiesel, officially issued its findings in Bucharest. In addition to the establishment of a national Holocaust Remembrance Day, which Romania marks on October 9th, the Commission recommended that Romania establish a national Holocaust memorial and museum in Bucharest, annul war criminal rehabilitations and develop a Holocaust education curricula and courses in secondary schools and universities. I hope the Government of Romania will move quickly to implement the Wiesel Commission's recommendations.
With this in mind, I was heartened to learn that in April the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest hosted the premier of "Hidden Sorrows," a documentary about the tragic deportation of 25,000 Roma from Romania to Transnistria during the Holocaust. In this time, more than 11,000 men, women and children died from the horrific conditions of their internment. Several, nearly 100-year-old survivors attended the premier, adding a deeply personal element to the documentary's message.
From the Inquisition to the Holocaust, Roma have suffered some of humanity's worst abuses. They were enslaved in Romania until the formation of the modern Romanian state in 1864. They were persecuted and deported and murdered during the Holocaust. Even after the fall of Ceausescu, they were subjected to dozens of pogroms. And yet after all this, they have survived.
The Romani people, who have endured so much, should not be made to suffer at a time that otherwise holds so much promise and hope for others. We must ensure that these people, their culture, and their heritage are not destroyed by hatred and violence. We must call upon the Romanian Government to abolish these ongoing acts of discrimination.


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Some of you know that I have a 13-year-old sister who happens to be the apple of my eye.
I chose her name and looked after her since she was a 4-month-old baby until a bit before I got married, 2 years ago. I used to bathe her, feed her, play with her, take her to school…
We used to do everything together and I'd take her with me wherever I went. Every time we were at the counter at the supermarket the clerk would ask me if she was my daughter – and I'd be all proud, even though we have no physical resemblance whatsoever. :D
I've recently found out that she loves baking, too and that she makes cakes sometimes.
She and I spent an afternoon together the other day and she wanted to help me prepare something for us to eat. So I showed her some of my cookbooks – the ones loaded with photos – and told her to choose a recipe. I helped her translating the names of the food (she knows a little English) and she finally decided for these muffins, saying the she preferred them to a chocolate muffin recipe.
I was smiling from ear to ear to see that not only she shares my passion for baking but also for citrus flavors – that's my girl!!!
Lime meringue muffins
adapted from Sweet Food
245g (1 ¾ cups) self-rising flour
80g (¼ cup + 3 tablespoons) sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
pinch of salt
160ml (2/3 cup) milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
75g (1/3 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
zest of 1 lime*
2 egg whites
50g (¼ cup) sugar
grated zest of 1 lime
1 tablespoon caster sugar - extra
Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF. Grease 12 standard muffin cups.
Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the sugar. Make a well in the center. Place the egg, egg yolk and salt in a bowl and beat together. Stir in the milk, vanilla and butter. Pour the egg mixture into the well. Fold until just combined – the batter will be lumpy. Divide the batter among the muffin cups.
Bake for 15 minutes - the book says the muffins would rise a little but ours rose a lot. :)
Remove from the oven – leave it on – cool the muffins in the pan for 10 minutes then loosen them, leaving in the pan.
While they bake, prepare the meringue: beat the egg whites until firm peaks form. Add the sugar and zest and beat well.
Put a heaping tablespoon of meringue on top of each muffin and sprinkle with a bit of sugar. Bake for 5 minutes or until meringue is golden.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
*next time I'll add some lime juice too
Makes 12 – Jessica and I got 10
This is the doggy muffin:
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Lime meringue muffins
32 comments:
- Susan from Food Blogga said...
Hah! I love the doggy muffin! You should submit that to the news, then you'd probably become famous for revealing some mysterious dog secret.... I never would have thought to put meringue on a muffin; it's a lovely idea.
By the way, I have only brothers, but it sounds to me like you and your little sister are truly lucky. - May 16, 2007
- Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...
I love love love lime, and these muffins look wonderful! How lucky you are to have a little sister -- I've got one brother, and he wasn't fun to play with at all when we were younger! Maybe he didn't like my attempts to dress him up to match my dolls.....
- May 16, 2007
- Brilynn said...
Excellent choice! I want to try putting meringue on more things, these muffins look like a good way to practice.
- May 16, 2007
- Karin W. said...
It´s fun baking with children. I´m baking with my grandchildren (boys, all of them). Well, at least one of them is interested in cooking and baking. Meringue is a challenge, isn´t it?
- May 16, 2007
- Meeta K. Wolff said...
Pat, that is just so sweet. Your lil sis is lucky to have you. Those muffins look great especially the doggie one!!
- May 16, 2007
- Sara said...
Very cool, I've never seen merengue on a muffin before. That is so cool that you and your sister can share a love of baking! Does she have a cooking blog yet? :)
- May 16, 2007
- kickpleat said...
yum! that looks lovely.
- May 16, 2007
- wheresmymind said...
Need some pix of you and your sister cooking!
- May 16, 2007
- Peabody said...
What fun...I love the meringue on top.
- May 16, 2007
Sweet! I always wanted an older sister. Who loves citrus (I like tart things!) and a master at meringue...I cannot make meringue to save my life. I'm not sure why...
- May 16, 2007
- Anh said...
Pat, this is beautiful! I share with you the love for our little sisters. I,too, took care of my sis when she was born. Really miss her now since she's in Vietnam. But she is coming to see me soon together with my parents. Knowing her taste, she will enjoy these cuties! ;)
- May 16, 2007
- MyKitchenInHalfCups said...
Cooking with a little sister! You are lucky twos!
Cutie doggie muffin.
Meringue on a muffin, why not seems like great fun and the lime maybe unusual but I like it! - May 16, 2007
- Susan said...
Lime meringue. Sounds sweet, soft and sexy, like the Portuguese language.
- May 16, 2007
- Nora B. said...
Patricia, it's wonderful to hear about how close you are to your sister. It's the same with my sis but we are closer in age, so we could share clothes too.
I've never seen meringue muffins before - yours look so luscious! - May 16, 2007
- Unknown said...
These looks dainty and delicious! And how nice to have a sister who shares your interest :)
- May 16, 2007
- Valentina said...
Pat, it is as if I already know your sister. I can just imagine the two of you in the kitchen..great fun!What a cute idea that of the doggie muffin. Very interesting recipe. I had not yet seen any recipes of muffins with merengues.
- May 16, 2007
- T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types said...
Patricia - Meringue and muffins: it is the perfect combination! So nice that you are able to cook with your sister!
- May 16, 2007
- Jenny said...
That is so cool - I have a 14 year old brother, whom I've been teaching to cook when he visits. Wonder if he'd be interested in making this with me? :-)
- May 16, 2007
- Lis said...
Awww that's so cool that she likes to cook/bake too! My sister always tells me she'd love to learn but each time I try to get her in the kitchen, she finds an excuse. I still have hopes that one day she'll let me teach her. =)
As for those muffins.. all I can do is *swoon*
xoxo - May 16, 2007
- Stella said...
I wish I had a lil sis with whom I could share the love of cooking & baking!
Lucky she is to have a great sis who makes wonderful dishes like you Pat:) It must be so much fun!:) - May 17, 2007
- Truffle said...
What a lovely post. I bet she thinks she's very lucky to have a sister like you! Your muffins sound delicious :)
- May 17, 2007
- Cheryl said...
That is so awesome that you and your sister have such a tight bond, I would love a baking partner.
Great muffins, love the meringue topping, never saw that on a muffin. - May 17, 2007
- Freya said...
Such a sweet post and a delicious recipe! I bet you and your sister have such fun in the kitchen! When will she have her own blog?
- May 17, 2007
That's so sweet how you guys are so close! The muffins look delish. :) I would prefer citrus muffins over chocolate muffins too.
- May 17, 2007
- catalyst0527 said...
I like your creative recipe.
And citrus flavor also.
Thank you for the good idea! :) - May 17, 2007
- Patricia Scarpin said...
Susan, Jessica was the one spreading the meringue over the top and she was the one who saw the mysterious dog! lol
Lydia, lime is delicious, I agree with you! Poor brother... ;)
Bri, let me know if you like it.
Karin, I can't wait to bake with her again. And I'm sure you have loads of fun with your grandson, too.
To be honest, at first I didn't think the meringue thing would work. :)
Meeta, I'm lucky to have her too, she's so adorable!
Sara, I'll suggest that to her. ;)
Kickpleat, thanks for visiting my blog!
Jeff, I thought of that but then got afraid - there are so many freaks around here. :S
Peabody, it was loads of fun. :)
Mari, this is a very recipe! And you are so talented, my dear!
Anh, wow! You'll have so much fun together!
Tanna, we had a great time together!
Susan, thank you for stopping by! Good to know how you feel for the Portuguese language. :)
Nora, it's great to have her in my life. I feel so blessed.
The whole meringue muffin thing was new to me, too!
Angie, how great to see you here!
Tina, you'll get to know her I'm sure. And you'll see that she's adorable and quite witty for her age.
T.W., I was thrilled to find out that she likes to cook, too!
Quellia, I'm sure your brother is gonna love these. :)
Lis, maybe she's afraid - big shoes for her to fill! ;)
Valentina, I hope she and I can cook together more often.
Truffle, I'm lucky too, she's such a sweet kid!
Cheryl, thanks! I'm glad you stopped by!
Freya, maybe - I'll tell her you said that! ;) - May 17, 2007
- Patricia Scarpin said...
Amy, join the club - the citrus lovers. :)
Thank you, sweetie!
Hi, Catalyst, I thank you for the visit!! - May 17, 2007
- Kelly-Jane said...
What fun cute muffins! I really like recipes that blur the borderlines a little, and the lime sounds delicious :)
- May 17, 2007
Awww... Such a sweet story! I'm sure your sis is lucky to have such a creative cook as a sister.
Love the meringue tops. Somehow they remind me of looking at the clouds when I was much younger, and trying to make out animal shapes from the clouds! Such fun...
I'll link you up, if you don't mind :) - May 17, 2007
Lime and meringue...You can't go wrong there! Those looks delicious! :)
- May 18, 2007
- Patricia Scarpin said...
Kelly-Jane, lime is delicious, I agree with you!
Ovenhaven, they do remind us of clouds! I used to do the guessing game with my mom and it was so much fun.
I've linked you too, and thank you for that!
Hi, Dianne! I'm so glad you stopped by! - May 18, 2007
- Jeanne said...
Oh wow! What an awesome idea. I think the citrus and meringue combination should be used in as many variations a possible - I made little lemon meringue petit fours last year & they were great! I love the look of these mffins though...
- August 09, 2007


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The 2013 National SCRABBLE Championship will take place on July 19-24, 2013 at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Further details will be posted here as they become available. A flyer with basic information about the event is available at this link.
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An extra person charge of $10.00 plus tax per person, per night applies for occupancy of a room by more than two persons.
Check-in time is 4:00 p.m. (earlier check-in may be accommodated based on availability). Check-out time is 11:00 a.m.
Please note that the Riviera resort amenity fee is included in our group rate. If you should find a lower fee elsewhere, please inquire as to whether or not the fee (currently $15/day) is included. The resort amenity fee includes:
The Riviera offers free self and valet parking.
If you need a roommate and would like a listing here, please contact the Championship Committee and specify your requirements: male, female or either, smoking or nonsmoking, etc. We will put a listing in this section. If you already have a room, please include in your email what nights your room is reserved. You can list your email address or phone number. Several people successfully found roommates for the NSC this way.
IMPORTANT: When you get your roommate, please contact the committee so we can remove your listing.
The Las Vegas Airport has numerous taxi and shuttle services that are easy to pre-book or catch right outside the terminal. Below is a list of some of the shuttle services available.
Las Vegas Airport Roundtrip Transfer from $12.99
Multiple prices and options
http://www.vegas.com/transportation/airport-shuttles/multiple prices
Prices from $13.00
Although we will not be coordinating arrival ride shares and shuttles, there will be a list for return ride sharing after the tournament. Sign up sheets will be provided.
To play in the first round on Saturday morning, you must check in between 10:00 A.M. and 10:00 P.M. on Friday at the NSC registration desk in the lobby outside the playing area. You may ask a friend to check in for you by proxy, if you cannot check in in person. If possible, please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com to notify us in advance of proxy arrangements. If you check in by proxy, but do not show up to play, then neither you nor your proxy will be permitted to check in by proxy at future events. If you do not check in before the desk closes at 10:00 P.M., you may join the championship in progress as soon as it is convenient for the pairings staff to add you back in; this may not take place before Sunday morning. No refund will be issued to latecomers.
When you check in, you will be given an announcement sheet. This is to reduce the number of announcements that have to be made on Saturday morning, so that the event can get underway quickly. You are responsible for familiarizing yourself with the announcements and tournament schedule.
This schedule for the 2013 National SCRABBLE Championship may be modified to add new events, or possibly to change room locations. Also, until about a month before the event, it should be considered an early draft, with only the times for registration and the main event to be set in stone. Once the event begins, please check this schedule for changes at the beginning of each day.
6:30pm Reservation under Robin Gates-National Scrabble Championship
Bob Schoenman's Protiles honors Rose Kreiswirth's memory. Rose was an expert Scrabble® player for over 30 years and cherished the game for its educational values. An accomplished player, Rose was as well known for her sense of fairness and her congeniality as she was for her competitiveness. The Rose Award will be awarded each year at the National SCRABBLE Championship to a female player who, in the opinion of the judges, best exemplifies the fierce competitiveness and compassion that we remember Rose for. Thank you, Bob and Andi Schoenman!
If you are interested in donating prizes to events at the championship, please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
For information about sponsorship opportunities at the championship, please contact Chris Cree.
Full details about cash prizes, and anticipated merchandise prizes, are now posted on the prize table.
The Championship Committee has determined that class prizes will be offered in every division for the 2013 NSC. The class prizes available in each division are displayed on the prize table.
The Championship Committee gratefully thanks the following sponsors, who have donated merchandise prizes to the event:
NASPA will again offer the Best Strategic Play Award at the 2013 National Scrabble Championship. Sponsored by Sam Kantimathi (who was a recipient of the award at the 1998 NSC in Chicago), the Award recognizes the best play in a position. The play must be an actual play made in the 2013 NSC, must be one among several reasonable options, and must not be an obvious play, but a move representing clever, thorough, creative and/or inspired reasoning. All divisions are eligible for the award – one winner will be named. Submission forms will be available at each division's resource table. Submissions may be turned in to your Division Leader or other tournament staff. The winner will be selected by a panel of experts nominated by the NASPA Championship Committee. The award will be made well after the conclusion of the NSC and announced in a future edition of the NASPA Bulletin. NASPA thanks Sam Kantimathi for sponsoring this award, and is grateful for Sam's expression of interest in sponsoring the award going forward on an annual basis.
The NSC will be paired using tsh along the lines of past events, including Gibsonization on spread. After an initial phase of fixed pairings based on pre-event ratings, the top contenders are paired with each other, and everyone else is paired Swiss. These two groups, contenders and noncontenders, are paired with minimal repeats. For example, if there is no way to pair the contenders without at least one repeat, then they will be paired with one repeat.
The maximum number of contenders is 12 in Rounds 1-28, 8 in Round 29, 4 in Round 30 and 2 in Round 31. The contenders are further divided into a subgroup of leaders and non-leaders, if this can be done without increasing the number of required repeats while maintaining at least four players among the leaders. Leaders are paired by repeatedly having the top unpaired player play the lowest-ranked player that can catch up to them. Non-leaders are paired Swiss.
For further information about this pairing system, please refer to the section on Chew pairings in the tsh documentation.
Volunteers are needed to help prepare the playing room for the tournament.
Volunteers are needed to help with registration and check-in.
Tidy-people will help straighten up and dispose of trash at the end of their sessions.
We will need at least 10 laptops for adjudications. The laptops will need the latest version of ZYZZYVA. Please be sure the correct word list is in operation and disable your screensaver in the playing area during games.
We need about 15 Clean and Pack volunteers to help collect and box NASPA tournament supplies to be shipped back to the storage facility after the awards ceremony on Wed., July 24.
Following is a list of those who have volunteered, but do not yet have a specific assignment:
If you have a product to sell to SCRABBLE players, this is the place to do it. Hundreds of the most avid fans of the game will be in one place with money to spend at your table. To become an NSC vendor, print out, date and sign the 2013 NSC Vendor Agreement and send it to Dallas Johnson, 4880 Heights Drive, Stow, OH 44224, along with the required payment per table (please note that, unlike past years, we are unable to offer free tables, as the hotel is charging us $100 per table for all vendor tables). When your vendor agreement has been accepted, we will return an electronic copy of the fully executed document to you.
Because of hotel requirements, we cannot accept vendors after June 30, 2013.
If you have questions about becoming an NSC vendor, please contact Dallas Johnson.
Vendors whose Vendor Agreement has been received and approved by NASPA (with payment made) are listed below:
This page will be updated as the event draws nearer. If you have urgent questions about the event, please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Since this is Las Vegas, there is a multitude of casinos, events, shows, museums, concerts, amusements, restaurants and sights to visit. There is no way to list them all. Instead we will be providing a list of discount websites, unusual experiences or recommended events. This will allow you numerous options whether you are looking to go somewhere after the tournament each day or you are going during the day while friends or family play Scrabble.
Discounts and Coupons
Travel Zoo-Las Vegas - This site have dozens of discounts on restaurants, tours, shows and tourist attractions. You do not need to be a member and only need to provide an email address to get access.
Groupon-Las Vegas - this site include over 1,000 discounts and deals on anything and everything Vegas.
Las Vegas Restaurant Search List - Look up any type of food at any price point quickly and easily. Some of the best Steaks, Caribbean, Italian, Asian, Mexican, Seafood, Southwestern and Fine Dining anywhere.
Museums and Educational
Las Vegas Museum List - Includes the Atomic Testing Museum, Las Vegas Natural History Museum, Lost City Museum and much more
List of Vegas Galleries - 25+ art galleries listed
List of Available Tours - Dozens of available tours including the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam.
This page was last edited on 10 October 2017, at 13:49. Privacy policy
Copyright © 2024 NASPA All rights reserved. SCRABBLE is a trademark of Hasbro, Inc. in the USA and Canada, and of Mattel, Inc. elsewhere. NASPA and its activities are neither endorsed by nor affiliated with Hasbro or Mattel. For more information about NASPA or for comments or issues with this page, please email us.


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Mr. Speaker, the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) and Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) have just published a report on the human rights situation of Roma in Greece. "Cleaning Operations: Excluding Roma in Greece" documents the plight of the inhabitants of the Romani settlement of Aspropyrgos, outside Athens, and details the problems of Roma across the country. Illustrated with stark scenes of bulldozed homes and marginalized and neglected Romani communities, a picture disturbing in more ways than one has been painted.
In particular, the report supports the accusation that the Government of Greece has used preparations for the 2004 Olympics as justification for the campaign to uproot Roma. Ironically, Greece currently holds the presidency of the European Union.
The Helsinki Commission, which I co-chair, held hearings in 1998, 2000, and in 2002 focused on the human rights problems faced by Roma with the intent of raising the awareness of these problems amongst the governments of the OSCE participating States. The plight of the Roma has also been addressed in specific hearings or briefings covering Greece, Russia, Serbia, Kosovo, and Romania, as well as the OSCE process.
Members of the Commission have also sent several letters to Greek leaders in recent years addressing longstanding human rights concerns in the Hellenic Republic, including those affecting the Romani community. These expressions of concern have specifically addressed forced evacuations of Roma from numerous villages, the abusive application of the use of national identity cards issued to Roma, the inability of Roma children to have access to schools on a non-discriminatory basis and other matters of blatant racial discrimination.
This newly released report on Roma clearly indicates that the Greek Government has failed to properly address many of these ongoing concerns. At a June 2002 Commission hearing on Greece, in fact, I raised the specter of an intensified campaign targeting Roma to obtain land for use as venues for the 2004 Olympics. This campaign is well documented in this report.
Notwithstanding the assertions of Greek officials at the Commission hearing that "everything is done (concerning the relocation) in consultation with, and with the consent of, the Roma involved," numerous non-governmental organizations have raised such issues with Athens. Greek human rights activists have stepped forward.
As an original signatory to the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, Greece has accepted numerous commitments pertaining to the treatment of Roma and joined in condemning discrimination against Roma, a provision found in the 1999 Istanbul OSCE Summit Document. Regrettably, the Greek Government has failed to fulfill these commitments, as documented in the new ERRC/GHM report on Roma in Greece.
The ERRC and GHM conducted intensive field missions that revealed several patterns of human rights abuse against Roma in Greece: cruel and inhuman or degrading treatment of Roma in housing; police violence against Roma; exclusion of Roma from the educational system; and, barriers to access to health care and other social support services for Roma.
Based on the facts in this report and the discussions I have had over the years in my leadership capacity with the Helsinki Commission, I urge the Government of Greece to take corrective measures, without delay, along the lines recommended by the ERRC and the GHM:
1. Facilitate access to Greek citizenship for those Roma residing in Greece who are stateless and provide the necessary legal documents (such as identity cards) to all Roma.
2. Use all appropriate means to guarantee protection against forced evictions outside the rule of law and without due process.
3. Bring to justice public officials and private individuals responsible for forced evictions of Roma in breach of Greek law.
4. Carry out thorough and timely investigations into all alleged instances of police abuse.
5. Undertake effective measures to ensure that local authorities register all persons factually residing in a given municipality, without regard to ethnicity.
6. Ensure that Romani schoolchildren have equal access to education in a desegregated school environment.
7. Without delay, adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, as called for in the 1999 OSCE Istanbul Summit Document.
8. Conduct public information campaigns on human rights and remedies available to victims of human rights abuse, and distribute in both the Greek and Romani languages.
9. Conduct comprehensive human rights and anti-racism training for national and local administrators, members of the police force, and the judiciary.
10. At the highest levels, speak out against racial discrimination against Roma and others, and make clear that racism will not be tolerated.
The Helsinki Commission will continue to monitor the situation of Roma in the Hellenic Republic with the aim of encouraging the Government of Greece to implement commitments it has agreed to within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The Commission will also work to ensure that the plight of Roma in Greece is raised at the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting to be held this fall in Warsaw.


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Found 2 results
Filters: Author is Lani, Giovanna [Clear All Filters]
"Approximations for many-body Green's functions: insights from the fundamental equations", New Journal of Physics, vol. 14. p. 013056, 2012.
, "Valence Electron Photoemission Spectrum of Semiconductors: Ab Initio Description of Multiple Satellites", Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 107. American Physical Society, p. 166401, 2011.


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Glee actor Cory Monteith died after ingesting of a lethal combination of heroin and champagne.
Cory Monteith was shooting heroin and downing champagne in his hotel room on the night of his death ... this according to the final coroner's report obtained by TMZ.
The "Glee" star was discovered alone in his hotel room in Vancouver, Canada on July 13 shortly after noon.
When responders arrived to the scene, they discovered a "spoon with drug residue and a used hypodermic needle."
They also found 2 empty champagne bottles and glasses.
The coroner lists Monteith's official cause of death as "mixed drug toxicity, involving intravenous heroin use combined with the ingestion of alcohol."
The report also notes that Cory "had a history of illicit drug use with intermittent periods of rehabilitation and of abstinence from drugs."
The coroner suggests that Cory's tolerance for substance abuse may have been lower than usual because he had stopped using since a rehab stint in April.
Monteith was 31.Jacked from TMZ


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TUESDAY, March 22 (HealthDay News) — Depression can worsen the pain of knee arthritis, a new study finds.
South Korean researchers used X-rays to assess the severity of knee osteoarthritis in 660 men and women, aged 65 and older. The patients were also evaluated for the severity of their symptoms and for depression.
As expected, levels of pain were higher in patients whose X-rays showed greater joint damage. However, the researchers also found that depression was associated with an increase in pain in patients with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis, even when significant joint damage was not evident in the X-ray image.
The findings are published in the March 16 issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
"Knee osteoarthritis is a common cause of pain and impairment in older adults. Often, the level of arthritic symptoms reported by patients is much more severe than what is represented by X-rays, which can make it difficult for the doctor to treat," study author Dr. Tae Kyun Kim, director of the division of knee surgery and sports medicine at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital's Joint Reconstruction Center, said in a journal news release.
"The results of this study indicate that depression can play a major role in the way patients experience the symptoms of knee arthritis, and that even when X-rays show the arthritis is not severe, patients with depression may report significant pain," Kim said.
"The relationship between pain and depression suggests that both should be considered by physicians when treating patients with knee osteoarthritis, particularly in those with X-rays not indicating severe damage to the joint," Kim added.
Kim also noted that some patients with knee osteoarthritis still experience pain and impaired movement after undergoing knee replacement surgery.
"Sometimes pain and disability after surgery is medically unexplained, so in these patients screening for depression might be a very good option," Kim suggested.
According to the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, depression often goes undiagnosed in the elderly.
More information
The Arthritis Foundation has more about osteoarthritis.


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HOLDEN Performance Exhaust Systems for Ballajura auto enthusiasts
Are you looking to improve your HOLDEN power, performance and fuel economy?
Do want to enhance the sound or want more performance out of your HOLDEN's exhaust system?
If the answer is yes, then you should consider replacing your standard exhaust system with a new free-flowing performance exhaust system in one of our three workshops.
Standard exhaust systems are often very restrictive. By freeing up your exhaust system there is less back pressure on the engine resulting in better efficiency and an overall improvement in the performance of your car.
One of the exhaust system improvements that can be performed on your Ballajura HOLDEN is exhaust extractors. Extractors allow your car's engine to run more efficiently by allowing the exhaust gases to be pushed out more easily. This HOLDEN performance exhaust system upgrade will result in up to 15% better fuel economy, increased horsepower, increased torque and a cooler and cleaner running engine.
Mettam's Mufflers carry a large range of car exhausts and extractors in our three Perth Stores including Pacemaker, Genie, Hurricane, HM Headers, Hi-Tech, Twister, Wildcat and Lukey.
Read more about Mettam's Mufflers' exhaust system services.
Performance Mufflers
The muffler is responsible for reducing the sound made by your exhaust system. As the gases leave the engine and make their way through the exhaust system, they're extremely loud. Mufflers were created to muffle the noise by bouncing the gases around and slowing them down.
While mufflers perform a great job in reducing sound, they can be very restrictive and limit performance. Changing a standard muffler to a performance muffler can help increase performance and enhance sound. By installing a straight through performance mufflers or a chambered muffler, your HOLDEN can have an improvement in both its performance and sound.
Check out our Performance Exhaust Systems upgrades for your Ballajura HOLDEN
Cat Converters and High Flow Cat Converters
Introduced to Australian vehicles in 1986, catalytic converters clean up the gases made by petrol engines. Fitted to the exhaust system, they look like a small muffler and were established as a legal requirement close to 20 years ago.
The combustion process of a petrol engine is never perfect. Dangerous gases, such as nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons will arise and it is the job of the catalytic converter to reduce these to safer emissions. These cat converters can fail by becoming clogged, or if the engine has bad exhaust valves or the plugs fail, causing unburned fuel to overheat the converter. Mettam's Mufflers can resolve these issues with your Ballajura HOLDEN by replacing your damaged or clogged cat converter with a standard or hi-flow cat converter in under 1 hour.
Car Accessories
Many of our products are available in mild steel or stainless steel. When making the decision between a mild steel or stainless steel option, durability is the point of difference. Stainless steel will last longer, require less frequent maintenance and improves the overall appearance of your vehicle.
Two examples of accessories that Mettam's Muffler's can provide to your Ballajura HOLDEN are stainless steel mufflers and stainless steel tips and chrome ends. These products can add a distinct sound and look to every car.
Other professional business that Mettams Muffler's recommend include:
- Mobile Car Service Ballajura
- Ballajura Car panel and paint smash repairs
- Ballajura Car Finance
- Towbars Ballajura
Call for a Free Quote, make a Web Enquiry or Drop into one of our stores or workshops
Mettam's Mufflers are located in three convenient locations and can fit your Ballajura HOLDEN's Performance Exhaust Systems.- Morley - 21 Rudloc Rd, 9275 7034
- Kelmscott - 50 Gillam Drive, 9495 2544
- Midland - 181 Great Eastern Highway, 9274 5066


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$5.46 $8.40
Aventurine benefits the thymus gland and nervous system. It balances blood pressure and stimulates the metabolism, lowering cholesterol. Aventurine has an anti-inflammatory effect and eases skin eruptions, allergies, migraines, and soothes the eyes. It heals lungs, sinuses, heart, muscular and urogenital systems.
Blue Aventurine Nuggets Beads | Natural Gemstone Beads | Sold by 15 Inch Strand | Size 5x13x4mm-8x30x8mm
Approximate Product Specifications:
Bead size: 5x13x4mm-8x30x8mm
Hole size: 1mm
Bead count: 70PCs/Strand
Shape: Nuggets
You will received same quality as pictured. This listing is for 1 beads strand. Please select required strands quantity.
Store Link:
1-2 business days
I'll do my best to meet these shipping estimates, but can't guarantee them. Actual delivery time will depend on the shipping method you choose.
Buyers are responsible for any customs and import taxes that may apply. I'm not responsible for delays due to customs.
Just contact me within: 7 days of delivery
Ship items back to me within: 14 days of delivery
Buyers are responsible for return shipping costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value.
Please contact me if you have any problems with your order.


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High court wrestles with prayer in government
Published 12:00 am Thursday, November 7, 2013
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court wrestled Wednesday with the appropriate role for religion in government in a case involving mainly Christian prayers at the start of a New York town's council meetings.
The justices began their day with the marshal's customary plea that "God save the United States and this honorable court." They then plunged into a lively give-and-take that highlighted the sensitive nature of offering religious invocations in public proceedings that don't appeal to everyone and governments' efforts to police the practice.
The court is weighing a federal appeals court ruling that said the Rochester suburb of Greece, N.Y., violated the Constitution because nearly every prayer in an 11-year span was overtly Christian.
The Rowan County Board of Commissioners is also being sued by the America Civil Liberties Union over its practice of opening meetings with sectarian prayer.
The tenor of the argument indicated the justices would not agree with the appellate ruling. But it was not clear what decision they might come to instead.
Justice Elena Kagan summed up the difficult task before the court when she noted that "every time the court gets involved in things like this, it seems to make the problem worse rather than better."
The justices tried out several approaches to the issue, including one suggested by the two Greece residents who sued over the prayers to eliminate explicit references to any religion.
Justice Samuel Alito pointed to the country's religious diversity to voice his skepticism about the call for only nonsectarian prayer. "I just don't see how it is possible to compose anything that you could call a prayer that is acceptable to all of these groups," Alito said.
As Douglas Laycock, the University of Virginia law professor representing the residents, tried to craft an answer, Justice Antonin Scalia and Chief Justice John Roberts jumped in. "You want to pick the groups we're going to exclude?" Scalia said. A few seconds later, Roberts chimed in, "We've already excluded the atheists, right?"
Greece is being backed by the Obama administration and many social and religious conservative groups in arguing that the court settled this issue 30 years ago when it held that an opening prayer is part of the nation's fabric and not a violation of the First Amendment. Some of those groups want the court to go further and get rid of legal rules that tend to rein in religious expression in the public sphere, though there was little talk of that on Wednesday.
On the other side are Greece residents Susan Galloway and Linda Stephens who contend they and others who attend the meetings are a captive audience and should not be subjected to sectarian prayers.
Their argument appealed to Justice Sonia Sotomayor who asked Deputy Solicitor General Ian Gershengorn what he and others in the courtroom would do if Roberts "got up at the beginning of this session and said, 'All rise for a prayer."
Gershengorn said, "I don't think many would sit, Your Honor."
People attending meetings in Greece wouldn't feel any differently, Sotomayor said. "So why do you think that someone who is sitting in a small room where hearings of this nature are being held, when the guy who's about, the chairman of this legislative body, is about to rule on an application you're bringing to him or her, why do you think any of those people wouldn't feel coerced to stand?" she said.
The case is the first on prayer at government meetings since Marsh v. Chambers, the 1983 case that said prayer in the Nebraska Legislature did not violate the First Amendment's clause barring laws "respecting an establishment of religion," known as the Establishment Clause.
The potentially decisive vote in the case belongs to Justice Anthony Kennedy, who did not seem satisfied with arguments made by lawyers for Greece and the administration on one side and for the town's residents on the other.
On the one hand, Kennedy said he did not like the thought that government officials or judges would examine the content of the prayers to make sure they are not sectarian. "That involves the State very heavily in the censorship and the approval or disapproval of prayers," Kennedy said.
On the other hand, he objected to the reliance by the town and the administration on the decision in the 1983 Marsh case.
All the while, Justice Stephen Breyer was trying out potential outcomes that recognized both the tradition of prayer and the rights of religious minorities and nonbelievers. "If all that was left in the case were questions of making a good-faith effort to include others, would you object to doing it?" Breyer asked Thomas Hungar, the Washington, D.C., lawyer who is representing the town.
Hungar said he did not know but asserted that the town already has engaged in the outreach Breyer described.
Later, Breyer asked Laycock if he would be satisfied with an outcome in which the town maintained its prayer practice, but routinely advised ministers in advance of offering a prayer that the audience "is comprised of members of many different faith traditions."
Laycock replied, "That would help immensely."
In Greece, every meeting was opened with a Christian-oriented invocation from 1999 through 2007, and again from January 2009 through June 2010. In 2008, after Galloway and Stephens complained, four of 12 meetings were opened by non-Christians, including a Jewish layman, a Wiccan priestess and the chairman of the local Baha'i congregation.
Hungar said the town's website shows four other instances in which the person who gave the prayer was not Christian, once each in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013.
The two residents lost their suit in U.S. District Court after the judge found that the town did not intentionally exclude non-Christians and that the content of the prayer was not an issue because there was no desire to proselytize or demean other faiths.
But a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that even with the high court's 1983 ruling, the practice of having one Christian prayer after another amounted to the town's endorsement of Christianity.
A decision is expected by late June.
The case is Greece v. Galloway, 12-696.


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Carol Twombly
Designers who enjoy using the graceful characters found in typefaces such as Trajan and Charlemagne should be thankful that Carol Twombly strayed from her initial artistic endeavors. During her childhood in New England, Carol spent much of her time exploring various artistic disciplines. Settling on sculpture, Carol followed her architect brother to Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Once there, however, she decided that graphic design would be a more practical course of study. About this decision Carol says, "I discovered that communicating through graphics - by placing black shapes on a white page - offered a welcome balance between freedom and structure." Though graphic design became her career focus, Carol hasn't abandoned her other artistic pursuits, which include basketweaving, drawing, painting, and jewelry making.
One of her RISD professors, Chuck Bigelow, and his partner, Kris Holmes, gradually introduced Carol to the world of type design. Working during summer months in their studio, she began to understand the intricate process of designing type. In addition to editing letters numerically ("hands-on" drawing apps weren't around yet) on an early digital type design system, she gained valuable experience by drawing outline letters on vellum, inking them in, and then tacking them to a wall where she would view them through a reducing glass.
After graduation from RISD and a year spent working in a Boston graphic design studio, Carol accepted an invitation from Bigelow to join a small group of students in a newly formed digital typography program at Stanford University. The program, since discontinued, awarded Carol and her colleagues Masters of Science degrees after two years of study in computer science and typographic design. Carol continued to work for the Bigelow and Holmes studio for the next four years and, during this time, entered her first type design in an international competition sponsored by Morisawa Ltd., a Japanese manufacturer of typesetting equipment. To Twombly's surprise and delight, she won first prize in the Latin text category, and Morisawa subsequently licensed and marketed her design under the name Mirarae™. Soon after, Carol began working for Adobe Systems and in 1988 became a full-time type designer in the Adobe Originals program.
During her eleven+ years with Adobe, Carol has designed a number of very popular text and display typefaces. Designs like Trajan, Charlemagne, Lithos, and Adobe Caslon are inspired by classic letterforms of the past - from early Greek inscriptions, circa 400 B.C., to William Caslon's typefaces of the 1700s. Designs like Viva and Nueva explore new territory while maintaining traditional roots. In 1994, she received the Charles Peignot award from the Association Typographique Internationale for outstanding contributions to type design. She was the first woman and only the second American to receive this prestigious honor.
Since leaving Adobe, Carol has continued to explore other non-computer-based arts including weaving, natural-object sculpture, silk painting, and making gourd shekeres (hand-held African percussion instrument), with which to accompany her fellow conga players. She lives quietly in a small community in the Sierra foothills, practicing Qi Gong and Afrocuban drumming, hiking, volunteering locally.


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Widget XtVaCreatePopupShell(name, widget_class, parent, ...)
String name;
WidgetClass widget_class;
Widget parent;
A spring-loaded pop-up invoked from a translation table already must exist at the time that the translation is invoked, so the translation manager can find the shell by name. Pop-ups invoked in other ways can be created ``on-the-fly'' when the pop-up actually is needed. This delayed creation of the shell is particularly useful when you pop up an unspecified number of pop-ups. You can look to see if an appropriate unused shell (that is, not currently popped up) exists and create a new shell if needed.


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Our post-Christmas post about the estimated $41 billion worth of gift cards that haven't been redeemed since 2005 seemed to strike a chord. And our shout-out for ideas about what to do with cards you don't want or that only have a little bit of money left on them generated some good responses. Such as this:
Trena Gravem (Trena) wrote:
Seriously, give your gift cards to a trusted church group or individual who will make sure they are distributed to homeless people, to people in shelters.
Which leads us to groups such as GiftCardGiver in Atlanta, which promises to "collect gift cards and give them to people in need." Or Donate My Card, which "allows you to donate the remaining balances on your pre-paid debit and gift cards to non-profit organizations."
We're not endorsing those groups, but do suggest that if collecting your unwanted or mostly used cards and giving them to charity is of interest, look for organizations that say they'll get the money to people in need (but, of course, do some due diligence beforehand to try and ensure that they actually do what they promise).
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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If I should ever loose track of time or forget what time of month it is – it's the Daring Bakers' challenges that always remind me exactly in which time frame I am in. It comes around like clockwork and considering the fact that I have been a part of the group for four years (next month), there is not only a certain routine but also that perfect sense of organization that I truly find relaxing.
Yes – relaxing! It was not always like that though. I remember in the beginning there were quite a few challenges that really threw me off and put me in a slight panic. However, after realizing that panic brings chaos I have begun to take things more lightly.
Light and divine was this month's challenge. I have to admit that when Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings published the challenge on the Daring Kitchen, inspiration failed me. As I played with the idea, however I began to get more inspired. Jennifer wanted us to make an orange tian.
Tians can be made of a variety of ingredients and in all sorts of flavors. Composed in layers one can make savory and sweet deserts and the possibilities are immense.
The orange tian for the challenge was composed using a pâte sablée with orange marmalade, a flavored whipped cream topped with fresh orange segments and served with a caramel and orange sauce. The dessert is built upside down and then unmolded so that the bottom layer (the orange segments) becomes the top layer.
I did tweak the recipe slightly and just took the freedom of trying out a few things. I stuck to the pâte sablée recipe given. It was easy and fairly delicious.
A pâte sablée is made with butter, flour or powdered almonds, butter, egg, sugar and flavored with vanilla. It has more calories than a pâte brisée or pâte sucrée and the most flavor. I do not have to tell you that it's my favorite kind of crust for all the wrong reasons!
Instead going with a marmalade I did something slightly different. I had bought close to a truck- load of kumquats and decided to use it for the challenge. I basically boiled the kumquats, then once they were soft I transferred the fruit to a food processor and gave it a quick whizz, making a kind of fruit pulp, which was simply delectable for the dessert.
I also halved the whip cream and added an equal amount of quark for more body and a slightly tangier flavor. I love quark based desserts as it offers a wonderful texture and in the tian it was just the perfect complementary ingredient.
Finally, I made candied thyme kumquats, which did two things for me. I could skip the caramel making as the syrup from the fruit would be a sweet substitute and I did not layer the fruit at the bottom, instead started with the quark-cream mixture and once I unmolded the tian arranged the candied thyme kumquats on top. The main reason was fairly simple and logical – I did not want the sticky citrus fruit sticking on the paper!
The 2010 March Daring Baker's challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse's Cooking School in Paris.
The recipe below is the one with my tweaks, but you'll find the original recipe for this challenge here.
Kumquat Tian
Printable version of recipe here.
For the Pate Sablee:
2 medium-sized egg yolks at room temperature
6 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon; 2.8 oz; 80 grams granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup + 3 tablespoons; 3.5 oz; 100 grams ice cold, cubed Unsalted butter
1/3 teaspoon; 2 grams Salt
1.5 cup + 2 tablespoons; 7 oz; 200 grams All-purpose flour
1 teaspoon; 4 grams baking powderMethod
- Put the flour, baking powder, ice cold cubed butter and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
- In a separate bowl, add the eggs yolks, vanilla extract and sugar and beat with a whisk until the mixture is pale. Pour the egg mixture in the food processor.
- Process until the dough just comes together. If you find that the dough is still a little too crumbly to come together, add a couple drops of water and process again to form a homogenous ball of dough. Form into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C (350 F).
- Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface until you obtain a ¼ inch thick circle.
- Using your cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough and place on a parchment (or silicone) lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until the circles of dough are just golden.
For the Kumquat Fruit Pulp:
350g kumquats
1-2 tablespoons muscovado sugarMethod
- Blanch the kumquats in some water for a few minutes. Then drain. Fill the saucepan with more water and bring to a boil.
- Place the kumquats in the saucepan and cook until the citrus fruit are fairly soft approx. 25-30 minutes.
- Transfer the fruit to a food processor add the sugar and give it a whizz. The pulp will be thick with bits of zest and simply delicious. If you find any pips remove them but generally the pips of a kumquat can be eaten.
- Set aside to cool. This makes more than you will actually need but you can store it in jars and use it as a basis for several other desserts and toppings.
For the Quark Cream
100g whipping cream
100g quark
1 teaspoon gelatin
1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar
1-2 tablespoons kumquat fruit pulp (recipe above)Method
- In a small bowl, add the gelatin and hot water, stirring well until the gelatin dissolves. Let the gelatin cool to room temperature while you make the quark-whipped cream.
- Pour the cream into a chilled mixing bowl. Whip the cream using a hand mixer on low speed until the cream starts to thicken for about one minute. Add the confectioner sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high. Whip the cream until the beaters leave visible (but not lasting) trails in the cream.
- Add the cooled gelatin slowly while beating continuously. Continue whipping until the cream is light and fluffy and forms soft peaks.
- Using a rubber spatula fold in the quark gently. Transfer the quark cream to a bowl and fold in the kumquat fruit pulp.
Tip: Use an ice cold bowl to make the whipped cream in. You can do this by putting your mixing bowl, cream and beater in the fridge for 20 minutes prior to whipping the cream.You will also need:
a portion of these candied thyme kumquats.
Assembling the Dessert:
Make sure you have some room in your freezer. Ideally, you should be able to fit a small baking sheet or tray of desserts to set in the freezer.
Line a small tray or baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone sheet. Lay out 6 dessert rings onto the parchment paper/silicone.
Have the kumquat fruit pulp, quark cream and baked circles of dough ready to use.
Spoon a few spoonfuls of quark cream into the dessert rings and gently spread it so that it fills the dessert ring in an even layer. Leave about 1/4 inch at the top so there is room for dough circle.
Then spread a few spoonfuls of fruit pulp in an even layer on top of the quark cream. .
Carefully place a circle of dough over each ring and gently press on the circle of dough to make sure the dessert is compact.
Place the desserts to set in the freezer to set for 10-15 minutes.
Using a small knife, gently go around the edges of the dessert rings to make sure the dessert will be easy to unmold. Gently place your serving plate on top of a dessert (on top of the circle of dough) and turn the plate over. Gently remove the dessert rings, arrange the candied thyme kumquats on top of the quark cream and spoon a few spoonfuls of syrup over the top. Serve immediately.
Food Guide
Have a browse through my Food Guide section on the sidebar. You'll find several brilliant tips, tricks, know-hows and food facts.
You'll find exciting tips for making perfect macarons, luscious éclairs or how to make your own homemade quark.
Want to know how to store and select apricots or the what to pay attention when buying oranges or what butter oil is? The Food Guide will reveal all!
This was a very simple dessert really whipped up in no time. I had made the candied thyme kumquats a few days ahead, which gave it time for all the flavors to intermingle beautifully. All the other elements I made on the same day. It was a light refreshing treat that both Soeren and I enjoyed in the middle of the week. Ever since Tom started work in Vienna and is based during the week there I try to think of special highlights to sweeten Soeren's week. Sometimes it's with a DVD and popcorn other times it's a little dessert like this. We both really enjoyed but both contemplated the fact that it would have been even better if we had added chocolate to the quark cream. The flavors of the sweet and herby candied fruit paired with the lovely fruit pulp provided a real burst of flavors. There were wonderful textures in each element of this challenge, harmonizing wonderfully in one dessert. As I mentioned before the possibilities to the several varieties and flavors for this dessert are near to endless.
I thank Jennifer for a great challenge and for being a wonderful hostess.
Hope you'll all join me next week as I countdown to Easter with a couple of mouthwatering creations. I am off for the weekend and wish you all a happy and sunny weekend!
You might like these delicious Daring Bakers' ideas for Easter from WFLH:Bakewell Tart with Thyme Infused Cherry Preserve and Cashew Frangipane | Lemon Tuiles & Chestnut Tree Honey Ice-Cream | Cannoli with Gianduja Cream and Lemon Goat Cheese Cream |
All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2010 Meeta Khurana unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First


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3302.1.55.001 - Life Tables, New South Wales, 2008-2010
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 10/11/2011 Final
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This product contains life tables for males and females resident in New South Wales, for the reference period. A life table is a statistical model used to represent mortality of a population. In its simplest form, a life table is generated from age-specific death rates and the resulting values are used to measure mortality, survivorship and life expectancy.
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Talk:Main Page
From Erights
Goals for the Main Page
I've been trying to keep the main page as short and concise as possible. We need to keep in mind the users of this site. The main page is, in a sense, the main user interface for the wiki... it is how people start using the 'application'. So I'll be trying very hard to keep only the most important and relevant stuff on the main page. --Ansible 11:32, 28 March 2007 (CDT)
In fact, either on the main page, or on the getting started page, I'd like to have a 1 (one!) paragraph summary of E and why it the greatest thing since sliced bread. And then 3 or so paragraphs of further explaination. Perhaps we need to have an updated FAQ, and the first question answers this. --Ansible 11:37, 28 March 2007 (CDT)
I just starded the FAQ. I'll try to hack in as many questions as I can think of. --mscheffler 12:43, 21 April 2007 (CDT)
E vs. E
There seems to be a difference of opinion on how to write E on wiki pages. In some of the original documentatin on erights.org, I've seen it shown as in an italic and green font. We don't have easy wiki markup for colors, so I've always been just using the bold and italic markup together for the letter 'E' when it refers to the programming language. However, this is not the only view, and Kevin seems to prefer just a plain 'E'. Can we create a consensus on how to display 'E'? --Ansible 05:50, 4 July 2008 (CDT)
I'd suggest creating a template page, Template:E. Put in that page the wikitext for how we want the name of this language to be rendered. Then in other pages, simply transclude the template, i.e. write {{E}} for the language name. This would ensure consistency and be at least as simple as '''''E'''''. --Toby.murray 07:57, 4 July 2008 (CDT)
I've just created a demo templte, using my user talk page. Use it by writing {{:User_talk:Toby.murray}} somewhere, like here: E, or E there. --Toby.murray 08:05, 4 July 2008 (CDT)
- Nice, I like it. --Ansible 15:12, 7 July 2008 (CDT)


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