text:
Climate scientists consult ancient tree rings all the time. These year-by-year growth bands, preserved in long-lived timber, can reveal how warm and how wet the planet was many centuries before thermometers or rain gauges were invented. For astronomers, by contrast, the idea of studying the stars by drilling into tree trunks would seem absurd.
Or maybe not. Sometime between the spring of 774 A.D and the summer of 775, a cataclysmic event happened somewhere out in the cosmos — and we felt it here, as a spike of radioactive carbon-14 and beryllium-10. The isotopes were taken up by growing Japanese cedar trees and there they remained.
(Photos: Scenes From the International Space Station)
The tree rings were flagged last summer in a paper written by Japanese physicist Fusa Miyake, of Nagoya University. Ordinary cosmic rays — atomic nuclei and subatomic particles that speed through the Milky Way — create carbon-14 in the upper atmosphere all the time, but at a more or less steady rate. What caught Miyake's eye was that in this one window in history, during the late eighth century, the level was roughly 20 times higher.
(More: Solar Blob Attacks the Earth!)
When Ralph Neuhauser, of the University of Jena, in Germany, and his collaborator read the report, they immediately began speculating about the cause and in a paper just published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, they have come up with an answer: a violent collision between the dense, compact remains of two dead stars — two black holes, perhaps, or a pair of neutron stars. That conclusion, however, required them to consider a number of other possibilities first, including one of the most obvious: a supernova — an idea they quickly rejected.
"If it were a supernova," says Neuhauser, "you can calculate from the amount of carbon-14 how far away it would have been." The answer: between 400 and 1,000 light-years. But a star exploding that close by would undoubtedly have been seen and noted at the time, he says, and even if it weren't, the nebula of glowing gas left behind would long since have been spotted by modern telescopes. Or it could have been an unusually powerful solar flare or coronal mass ejection — but that, too, would probably have been noticed thanks to the overwhelmingly bright auroras it would have triggered in Medieval night skies.
So Neuhauser and University of Jena co-author Valeri Hambaryan turned to another possibility: the very short gamma-ray blasts triggered when two super-dense objects collide. Such collisions don't produce a flash of visible light, so you wouldn't expect to find any records even if someone had been looking in the right direction during that fateful two seconds.
What such collisions do produce, however, is an enormous burst of gamma rays in less than two seconds. And when those speeding waves of electromagnetic energy reached Earth, they would have zapped nitrogen atoms in the upper atmosphere, transforming them into just the storm of radioactive carbon and beryllium that was captured by the trees.
If such a collision had happened within 3,000 light-years of Earth, the blast of gamma rays would have been powerful enough to reach right down to the planet's surface, and it would have been lethal enough to wipe out many species. Since no such mass extinction happened, reason Neuhauser and Hambarayan, the gamma bath must have come from farther away, but still less than 12,000 light years, judging by how much carbon-14 did get preserved.
And exactly where in the sky did the collision occur? That's much tougher to figure out. Winds spread carbon-14 through Earth's atmosphere within a few months, so the effect would have been world-wide — meaning that it's not so easy as looking just in the northern sky that would have been visible from Japan. Nevertheless, says Neuhauser, it's possible that trees would have slightly more of the element in the hemisphere where the blast first struck. If by chance the triggering event had been a solar flare after all, you'd expect to find more carbon-14 near the poles, where Earth's magnetic field would have channeled particles from the Sun.
The good news, says Neuhauser, is that this single event is the only one of its kind in the past 3,000 years, which is as far back in time as tree rings reliably go. Black holes and neutron stars can be tough to spot, and if our corner of the Milky Way were packed with either kind of cosmic oddball,we might have to worry about gamma-ray showers as a significant threat. The trees tell us a dramatic — but also reassuring — tale.
More: Volcanoes on Venus? New Clues and Mysteries About Earth's Boiling Twin


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Police officers and firefighters stood grim-faced with guns and rifles, lining the street leading to the suburban property where a suspect in twin bombings at the Boston Marathon was believed to be holed up.
Reporters and spectators lined up on the other side. The mood was tense, with the few neighbors who ventured out hugging and crying as they heard bangs. Others merely looked on curiously.
Then, one officer slowly started clapping. Then it spread to the crowd. Then loud cheers broke out.
People in the crowd started asking, "Is he alive?" One of the officers nodded, yes. Any time a first responder emerged from the street, there was loud applause.
"They finally caught the jerk," said nurse Cindy Boyle, 41. "It was scary; it was tense." She said she knew when police started clapping that everything would be all right.
The suspect, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was taken to a hospital after engaging in a firefight with police while hiding out in a parked boat. Earlier that day, about a mile away, his 26-year-old brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, had been killed in a gun battle and car chase during which he and his younger brother hurled explosives at police from a stolen car, authorities said.
During the getaway attempt, the brothers killed an MIT policeman and severely wounded another officer, authorities said. The younger brother managed to escape and was found in the boat hours later.
"Never in my wildest dreams did I think that this would result in a shootout in Watertown," said Sheamus McGovern, of neighboring Belmont.
McGovern had been startled overnight when he heard "what sounded like firecrackers, last night after one, and then pure bedlam." He could hear the helicopters overhead all day.
But after the capture, celebratory bells rang from a church tower. Crowds lined the streets into the center of town. Teenagers waved American flags. Every car that drove by honked. Every time an emergency vehicle went by, people cheered loudly.
Lois Johnson, a 49-year-old attorney, had spent the day inside with her son, so when the celebration started they came outside with a container of cookies they had baked and started handing them out.
Liz Rogers, also an attorney, took one of the pieces of yellow police tape and tied it around her neck like a necklace.
"When you see your town invaded like this, it's stunning," said Rogers, 65. "Everyone in Watertown is just so grateful that he's caught and that we're liberated."
The jubilation was widespread. The mayor of Boston, which was largely paralyzed during the manhunt Friday, tweeted, "We got him!" And at the home of the New York Mets, fans leapt to their feet and cheered when the news spread during a game against the Washington Nationals.
Hundreds of people marched down Commonwealth Avenue, chanting "USA" and singing the Red Sox anthem "Sweet Caroline" as they headed toward Boston Common. Police blocked traffic along part of the street to allow for the impromptu parade.
Earlier, the mood was somber. On Boylston Street, three blocks from the site of the marathon explosions on Monday, several dozen people gathered almost in complete silence. Some were crying.
Boston University student Aaron Wengertsman, 19, wrapped himself in an American flag as a silent crowd gathered. He was on the marathon route a mile from the finish line when the bombs exploded.
"I'm glad they caught him alive," he said. "I thought people might be more excited, but it's humbling to see all these people paying their respects."
Bathed in the flashing lights from Kenmore Square's iconic rooftop Citgo sign, Boston University juniors Brendan Hathaway and Sam Howes high-fived strangers as they walked down the street.
"This was like our first opportunity to really be outside without feeling like there imminent danger," said Hathaway, a mechanical engineering student from nearby Newton. "It was close to home for me."
In Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, where an 8-year-old boy killed in the bombing lived, people set off fireworks Friday night to celebrate.
Peoples reported from Boston. Associated Press writers Allen G. Breed and Bridget Murphy in Boston contributed.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2013 Capitol Hill Blue

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Obama says sports concussions need more attention
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Saying he wants kids to play sports but play safely, President Barack Obama called Thursday for more and better research into the effects and treatment of concussions in youth athletes. The issue is one of growing concern for parents who spend weekends driving their kids from one game to another.
But without direct authority over youth sports leagues, Obama's ability to address the issue meaningfully is limited to calling for research and trying to jumpstart a national conversation to teach parents, coaches and young athletes about concussions - the goal of a summit he hosted at the White House.
He also said a new attitude is needed where players who have been hit don't feel wimpy for sitting out a game or two.
"We have to change a culture that says you suck it up," Obama said, adding that he probably suffered mild concussions as a young football player. He noted that concussions are also an issue in soccer, hockey, lacrosse and other contact sports.
The event brought together representatives of professional and college sports associations, coaches, parents, young athletes, doctors and others. The president was introduced by Victoria Bellucci, a high school graduate from Huntingtown, Maryland, who suffered five concussions during her high school and club soccer career.
Victoria said her injuries made it hard to focus on her assignments. She eventually turned down a full scholarship to play soccer at Towson University in Maryland and will instead attend Flagler College in Florida in the fall, the White House said.
"Concussions have drastically altered my life," she said.
Obama, an avid sports fan whose two daughters are active in sports, also highlighted millions of dollars in pledges from the NFL, the National Institutes of Health and others to conduct research that could begin to provide answers and improve safety.
"We want our kids participating in sports," he said. "As parents, though, we want to keep them safe."
Nearly 250,000 kids and young adults visit hospital emergency rooms each year with brain injuries caused by sports or other recreational activity, Obama said. He noted that the figure excludes those who see a family doctor or seek no treatment.
Obama previously had waded into the debate over concussions, saying last year that he'd have to think "long and hard" about allowing a son to play football because of the risk of head injury.
The NFL recently agreed to pay $765 million to settle concussion claims from thousands of former players whose complaints range from headaches to Alzheimer's disease. That settlement is still awaiting a judge's approval, while a group of former professional hockey players has filed a class-action lawsuit of their own against the NHL for head injuries sustained on the ice.
Among the financial pledges Obama highlighted is a $30 million joint research effort by the NCAA and Defense Department and an NFL commitment of $25 million over the next three years to promote youth sports safety.
UCLA also will use $10 million from New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch, who attended the summit, to launch a program to study sports concussion prevention, outreach, research and treatment for athletes of all ages, but especially youth. The money will also support planning for a national system to determine the incidence of youth sports concussions.
Panelists who discussed the issue after Obama spoke agreed that information and education are important. Otherwise, parents' fears about on-field safety could lead them to pull their kids from team sports, an outcome the panelists agreed would be harmful for young people because of the benefits of participation in athletics.
"Do you replace kicking a soccer ball with Doritos?" asked former NFL linebacker LaVar Arrington.
Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff, said he worries that without education "we walk away from sports." He said he would not have attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, "if not for sports."
Odierno participated in the summit because concussions are a form of traumatic brain injury, which has become a signature issue of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan because of the widespread use by insurgents of improvised explosive devices.
Jack Crowe, a former head football coach at Jacksonville State University in Alabama, who was not on the panel, said after the summit that what's needed is a new climate that puts as much emphasis on safety as on winning.
Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dsupervilleap
© 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.


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C++ Compilation Speed
written by Walter Bright
August 17, 2010
I often hear a complaint that C++ code tends to be slow to compile, sometimes even taking overnight. Slow compiles were one of the motivations for exported templates, and are even listed as one of the reasons for the development of the Go language. It's a real problem, and since I'm in the C++ compiler business I get asked about this.
Why is C++ compilation slow? As it's reasonable to assume that C++ compiler implementers are pretty good at writing fast code, there must be something inherent in the language. C++ compilers do vary widely in their compilation speeds. But that isn't the whole story, since other languages routinely compile orders of magnitude faster, and it can't be true that the good compiler guys only implement other languages (!).
I've been working on C++ compilers since 1987. Back then, machines were extremely slow relative to today, and I paid enormous attention to trying to make the compiler fast. I've spent a lot of time doing performance profiling and tweaking the guts of the compiler to make it fast, and found what aspects of the language slow things down.
The reasons are:
- The 7 phases of translation [1]. Although some of these can be combined, there are still at least 3 passes over the source text. At least I never was able to figure out how to reduce it below 3. A fast language design would have just one. C++0x exacerbates this by requiring that trigraph and \ line splicing be unwindable to support raw string literals [2].
- Each phase is completely dependent on the previous one, meaning that there's no reliable way to look ahead and, for example, look for #include's and fire off an asynchronous read in advance for them. The compiler cannot look ahead to see if there's a raw string literal and so not do trigraph translation, it must do the trigraphs, and keep some sort of undo list. I've never figured out a way to parallelize C++ compilation other than at the gross level that make provides with the -j switch.
- Because #include's are a textual insertion, rather than a symbolic one, the compiler is doomed to uselessly reprocess them when one file is #include'd multiple times, even if it is protected by #ifndef pairs. (Kenneth Boyd tells me that upon careful reading the Standard may allow a compiler to skip reprocessing #include's protected by #ifndef pairs. I don't know which compilers, if any, take advantage of this.)
- There's a tendency for source files to just #include everything, and when it's all accounted for by the compiler, there's often a truly epic amount of source text that has to be processed for every .cpp file. Just #include'ing the Standard <iostream> results, on Ubuntu, in 74 files being read of 37,687 lines (not including any lines from multiple #include's of the same file). Templates and the rise of generic programming has exacerbated this, and there's increasing pressure to put more and more of the code of a program into header files, making this problem even worse.
- The meaning of every semantic and syntactic (not just lexical) construct depends on the totality of the source text that precedes it. Nothing is context independent. There's no way to correctly preparse, or even lex, a file without looking at the #include file contents. Headers can mean different things the second time they are #include'd (and in fact, there are headers that take advantage of this).
- Because of (5), the compiler cannot share results from compiling a #include from one TU [3] to the next. It must start all over again from scratch for each TU.
- Because different TUs don't know about each other, commonly used templates get instantiated all over again for each TU. The linker removes the duplicates, but there's a lot of wasted effort generating those instances.
Precompiled headers address some of these issues by making certain simplifying assumptions about C++ that are non—Standard, such as a header will mean the same thing if #include'd twice, and you have to be careful not to violate them.
Trying to fix these issues while maintaining legacy compatibility would be challenging. I expect there to be some signficant effort to solve this problem in the C++ standard following C++0x, but that's at least 10 years out.
In the meantime, there isn't much of a solution. Exported templates were deprecated, precompiled headers are non—Standard, imports were dropped from C++0x, often you don't have a choice about which compiler to use, etc. Effective use of the -j switch to make is the best solution out there at the moment.
I'll do a follow on about language design characteristics that make for high speed compilation.
[1] Paraphrased from C++98 2.1, the seven phases are:
- Trigraph and Universal character name conversion.
- Backslash line splicing.
- Conversion to preprocessing tokens. The Standard notes this is context dependent.
- Preprocessing directives executed, macros expanded, #include's read and run through phases 1..4.
- Conversion of source characters inside char and string literals to the execution character set.
- String literal concatenation.
- Conversion of preprocessing tokens to C++ tokens.
[2] The example in the C++0x Standard is at 2.14.5-4:
const char *p = R"(a\ b c)"; assert(std::strcmp(p, "a\\\nb\nc") == 0);
[3] A TU, or Translation Unit, is typically one C++ source file that usually has a .cpp filename extension. Compiling one TU results in one object file. The compilation process compiles each TU independently of any other TU's, and then the linker combines the object file output of those compilations into a single executable file.
Thanks to Andrei Alexandrescu, Jason House, Brad Roberts and Eric Niebler for their helpful comments on a draft of this.


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The future of Alexandrias leafy West End isnt cul-de-sacs, single-family homes and strip malls.
As the Beauregard Street corridor coalesces with plans for an increasingly urban-minded Alexandria, change from its present-day landscape is around the corner.
On Monday, just days after they got their first glimpse of a re-imagined waterfront, city residents studied preliminary designs for what the area around Mark Center could be in 20 years: The sort of town center that exists in places like Shirlington and Old Town.
In order to stay apace with the citys planning process for the neighborhood, the JBG Corporation, the largest landowner in the area, held a three-day public workshop to gather community input on redevelopment ideas for its property straddling the Beauregard corridor.
The core concepts of urbanization that influenced the workshops final product a road grid, mixed-use buildings, mass transit and increased walkability would be revolutionary for a neighborhood that grew up in the era of sprawling suburban planning.
The developers basically cauterized the streets so you could live in splendid isolation and what they didnt tell you was that the minute you left your cul-de-sac, youre in traffic hell, said Andres Duany, head of the land-planning firm JBG hired for the project and a nationally recognized figure in the field.
Duany, whose firm has offices in Miami, Charlotte and Gaithersburg, explained the nuances of the draft JBG brought out of the weekends public-private sessions the first of its kind during the Beauregard planning process.
Including traffic alterations like the addition of mass transit and a proposal to cut Beauregard from four to two lanes of automobile traffic, the preliminary vision for the area had shades of historic planning methods found in D.C., Alexandria and Europe.
The additional 7,500 housing units would help restore a job-housing balance that is sure to dissolve with the September 2011 opening of the 6,400-employee BRAC installation at Mark Center, Duany said.
If we do this its going to be a revelation to everybody to American planning, Duany said.
The new development, which would be phased in over time and remains several years from any firm start date, JBG officials assured residents, would be marked by large blocks of housing ringed with six- to eight-story apartment buildings and filed with smaller, townhome style units, according to the draft plan.
In the northern half of the 140-acre JBG property, where a strip mall with a Giant supermarket currently stands, a larger grocery store would take over and the neighborhood would likely have a dedicated building for a farmers market.
And while Duany often paused to answer residents questions during his presentation Monday night, the land-planning expert remained upbeat about the development taking shape.
Karl Moritz, the citys deputy director of neighborhood planning, said the presentation included a lot of good ideas for traffic solutions and land use.
The city does not expect to have a draft of the area plan until this fall. However JBGs concept plan does give the Department of Planning and Zoning ideas to work with in the coming months, Moritz said.
That kind of center in this part of town would be primarily for folks who live in the Beauregard corridor already or pass through it anyway, Moritz said. But people may well be attracted to going to a well-done town center that are not already going to the shopping center that exists now.
The Beauregard corridor planning area includes the JBG property, Duke Realty properties at Mark Center, the Southern Towers on the north side of Seminary Road and even some land across Interstate 395.
As Duany put it, the majority of the JBG property now consists of apartments without urbanism. The mixed-use developments, additional everyday retail, along with the town-center vibe would add street life to an area that has next to none, Duany said.
Many of the residents struggled to grasp the idea of the single development plan existing successfully if surrounded by several dissimilar, competing developments. The counter-intuitive traffic principles Duany described took some discerning questions but appeared to sink in as well.
The city already has Small Area Plans in place around the city, including in the Braddock Metro area and Landmark/Van Dorn.
JBG officials do not expect any changes to take place for at least two years and nothing is likely to be finished any sooner than four or five years from now.


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Madame Speaker, two hundred years ago, the movement for the abolition of slavery achieved a major victory with the passage of a British law banning the trade in slaves – an anniversary that is getting heightened attention with the release of a new movie chronicling those events. Ending the trade in slaves was not the same as actually ending slavery, but it was a critical beginning to the end.
Other developments have also caused us to revisit the legacy of slavery in our own country. This includes the decision by the legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia to apologize for that state's role in the slave trade, and reports that Maryland and Missouri are considering similar steps.
With a view to our own country's painful and complicated history of slavery, and as the first African-American Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, I was particularly interested to learn about commemorations held on February 20th in Romania, marking the beginning of the end of slavery in that country. In the case of Romania, however, slaves were not kidnapped and transported from a faraway land. Instead, those enslaved were Roma, a people that had settled in Romania by the 14th century.
This ethnic group – somewhere around 1,000 years ago – migrated to Europe from what is now India. Today, Roma make up the largest ethnic minority in the European Union, conservatively estimated at 10 million people.
Romania, with an estimated 2 million Roma, has the largest Romani minority on the continent. And in that country, beginning in the 14th century and ending with the establishment of the modern Romanian state in 1864, slavery to the crown, to nobility, and to the monasteries was the exclusive status of Roma.
To be clear, Roma were not serfs; they were slaves, bought and sold like cattle. In 1837, the great Romanian historian and statesman Mihail Kogalniceanu described their situation as follows:
On the streets of the Iasi of my youth, I saw human beings wearing chains on their arms and legs, others with iron clamps around their foreheads, and still others with metal collars about their necks. Cruel beatings, and other punishments such as starvation, being hung over smoking fires, solitary imprisonment and being thrown naked into the snow or the frozen rivers, such was the fate of the wretched Tsigan [Rom]. The sacred institution of the family was likewise made a mockery: women were wrested from their men, and daughters from their parents. Children were torn from the breasts of those who brought them into this world, separated from their mothers and fathers and from each other, and sold to different buyers from the four corners of Romania, like cattle. Neither humanity nor religious sentiment, nor even civil law, offered protection for these beings. It was a terrible sight, and one which cried out to Heaven.
Unfortunately, it appears that the history of slavery in Romania — and the impact of slavery on the lives of Roma — has received little scholarly attention. As a corollary, little is taught in Romanian schools about this important chapter in the nation's history.
I was very heartened, therefore, to learn that Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu announced on February 20 that the Romanian Government will establish a commission to study the enslavement of Roma. The National Agency for Roma will play a central role in setting up this commission, and the commission will produce recommendations for the teaching of Romani history and promoting Romani culture.
Madame Speaker, there is an awful lot of hand wringing about the deplorable situation of Roma today. Across the OSCE region, they face profound discrimination, sometimes manifested in the worst forms of racially motivated violence. Moreover, in 2003, the United Nations Development Program issued a report on the situation in five Central European countries, concluding that, "by measures ranging from literacy to infant mortality to basic nutrition, most of the region's Roma endure living conditions closer to those of Sub-Saharan Africa than to Europe."
But if you want to know where you're going, you have to know where you came from; if we want to change this status quo, we have to understand the past, which makes this new commission vital for Roma.
With respect to Roma, that means three things. First, it means understanding the history of Roma before World War II, and in the case of Romania and Moldova, that requires teaching, studying, and acknowledging the enslavement of Roma. Second, the genocide of Roma during World War II must also be remembered, and more must be done to study and understand the diverse experiences of Roma during the war in different European countries. Finally, we must put an end to the pernicious, dangerous myth that communism was "good" for Roma.
With all this in mind, Prime Minister Tariceanu's initiative is really an extremely important step in addressing so many of the problems that Roma face today. I commend him for his leadership and I look forward to following closely the work of this body.


text:
The Atonement
By President Boyd K. Packer President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles General Conference – October, 2012
My message is directed to those among us who are suffering, burdened down with guilt and weakness and failure, sorrow, and despair.
In 1971, I was assigned to stake conferences in Western Samoa, including the organization of a new stake on Upolu island. After interviews we chartered a small plane to Savai'i island to hold a stake conference there. The plane landed on a grassy field at Faala and was to return the next afternoon to take us back to Upolu island.
The day we were to return from Savai'i, it was raining. Knowing the plane could not land on the wet field, we drove to the west end of the island, where there was a runway of sorts atop a coral break. We waited until dark, but no plane arrived. Finally, we learned by radio that there was a storm, and the plane could not take off. We radioed back that we would come by boat. Someone was to meet us at Mulifanua.
As we pulled out of port on Savai'i, the captain of the 40-foot (12 m) boat asked the mission president if he had a flashlight. Fortunately, he did and made a present of it to the captain. We made the 13-mile (21 km) crossing to Upolu island on very rough seas. None of us realized that a ferocious tropical storm had hit the island, and we were heading straight into it.
We arrived in the harbor at Mulifanua. There was one narrow passage we were to go through along the reef. A light on the hill above the beach and a second lower light marked the narrow passage. When a boat was maneuvered so that the two lights were one above the other, the boat would be lined up properly to pass through the dangerous rocks that lined the passage.
But that night there was only one light. Two elders were waiting on the landing to meet us, but the crossing took much longer than usual. After watching for hours for signs of our boat, the elders tired and fell asleep, neglecting to turn on the second light, the lower light. As a result, the passage through the reef was not clear.
The captain maneuvered the boat as best he could toward the one upper light on shore while a crewman held the borrowed flashlight over the bow, searching for rocks ahead. We could hear the breakers crashing over the reef. When we were close enough to see them with the flashlight, the captain frantically shouted reverse and backed away to try again to locate the passage.
After many attempts, he knew it would be impossible to find the passage. All we could do was try to reach the harbor at Apia 40 miles (64 km) away. We were helpless against the ferocious power of the elements. I do not remember ever being where it was so dark.
We made no progress for the first hour, even though the engine was at full throttle. The boat would struggle up a mountainous wave and then pause in exhaustion at the top of the crest with the propellers out of the water. The vibration of the propellers would shake the boat almost to pieces before it slid down the other side.
We were lying spread-eagled on the cover of the cargo hold, holding on with our hands on one side and with our toes locked on the other to keep from being washed overboard. Brother Mark Littleford lost hold and was thrown against the low iron rail. His head was cut, but the rail kept him from being washed away.
Eventually, we moved ahead and near daylight finally pulled into the harbor at Apia. Boats were lashed to one another for safety. They were several deep at the pier. We crawled across them, trying not to disturb those sleeping on deck. We made our way to Pesega, dried our clothing, and headed for Vailuutai to organize the new stake.
I do not know who had been waiting for us at the beach at Mulifanua. I refused to let them tell me. But it is true that without that lower light, we all might have been lost.
There is in our hymnbook a very old and seldom-sung hymn that has very special meaning to me.
I speak today to those who may be lost and are searching for that lower light to help guide them back.
It was understood from the beginning that in mortality we would fall short of being perfect. It was not expected that we would live without transgressing one law or another.
"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord."2
From the Pearl of Great Price, we understand that "no unclean thing can dwell [in the kingdom of God],"3 and so a way was provided for all who sin to repent and become worthy of the presence of our Father in Heaven once more.
A Mediator, a Redeemer, was chosen, one who would live His life perfectly, commit no sin, and offer "himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered."4
Concerning the importance of the Atonement, in Alma we learn, "For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; … or else all mankind must unavoidably perish."5
If you have made no mistakes, then you do not need the Atonement. If you have made mistakes, and all of us have, whether minor or serious, then you have an enormous need to find out how they can be erased so that you are no longer in darkness.
"[Jesus Christ] is the light and the life of the world."6 As we fix our gaze on His teachings, we will be guided to the harbor of spiritual safety.
The third article of faith states, "We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."7
President Joseph F. Smith taught: "Men cannot forgive their own sins; they cannot cleanse themselves from the consequences of their sins. Men can stop sinning and can do right in the future, and so far [as] their acts are acceptable before the Lord [become] worthy of consideration. But who shall repair the wrongs they have done to themselves and to others, which it seems impossible for them to repair themselves? By the atonement of Jesus Christ the sins of the repentant shall be washed away; though they be crimson they shall be made white as wool [see Isaiah 1:18]. This is the promise given to you."8
We do not know exactly how the Lord accomplished the Atonement. But we do know that the cruel torture of crucifixion was only part of the horrific pain which began in Gethsemane—that sacred site of suffering—and was completed on Golgotha.
Luke records:
"He was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
"Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
"And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
"And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."9
So far as I have been able to tell, there is only one account in the Savior's own words that describes what He endured in the Garden of Gethsemane. The revelation records:
"For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
"But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
"Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore."10
Throughout your life there may be times when you have gone places you never should have gone and done things you never should have done. If you will turn away from sin, you will be able one day to know the peace that comes from following the pathway of complete repentance.
No matter what our transgressions have been, no matter how much our actions may have hurt others, that guilt can all be wiped out. To me, perhaps the most beautiful phrase in all scripture is when the Lord said, "Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more."11
That is the promise of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Atonement: to take anyone who comes, anyone who will join, and put them through an experience so that at the end of their life, they can go through the veil having repented of their sins and having been washed clean through the blood of Christ.12
That is what Latter-day Saints do around the world. That is the Light we offer to those who are in darkness and have lost their way. Wherever our members and missionaries may go, our message is one of faith and hope in the Savior Jesus Christ.
President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote the lyrics to the hymn "Does the Journey Seem Long?" He was a dear friend of mine. It contains encouragement and a promise to those who seek to follow the teachings of the Savior:
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.


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Professional Window Glass Replacement in Alpine, UT
Window glass replacement services in Alpine, UT are incredibly important, especially for those who have windows that are cracked and in poor condition. The fact is that old windows aren't very effective when it comes to insulating your home and keeping it energy-efficient, which is why you will need to consider hiring professionals to replace yours right away. The sooner you get your windows replaced by local professionals, the sooner you will be able to start saving money on your energy bills each month.
Professional Alpine window glass replacement services can also significantly improve the look of your home's interior and exterior. You will find that these services can be very helpful to any homeowner who has older windows that they no longer want. Most windows that are 15 years old or more should be replaced, as there are many better solutions on the market. It is highly recommended that you take the time to look into your window options so you can select the right ones to be put in your home. The more time you take to do this, the closer you will get to reaching the right overall decision. In the end you will be glad you paid for window glass replacement services in Alpine, UT
AVC Costs For Window Glass Replacement Companies
($848) ($4,909) ($10,373)What zipcode do you need Window Glass Replacement Companies in?
Start Here, It's Free
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text:
Apple unveiled its replacement for the iPhone 5 — one for the top end of the market that features an innovative new fingerprint security device, a faster processor and longer battery life; and a second budget phone that will retail for as low as $99.
CEO Tim Cook was joined by other Apple executives at the Cupertino, Calif., headquarters for the long-anticipated and hyped announcement of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c.
The iPhone 5s will include Touch ID, a new home button that reads a user's fingerprint to unlock the phone instead of relying on a cumbersome pass code. It includes a new, 64-bit processor, called the A7, which Apple says will be "up to twice as fast" as the A6 processor in the current iPhone 5.
The 5s will be available in silver, gold and "space gray," and provide battery life "as good as or better than the iPhone 5" — 250 standby hours as opposed to the 225 standby hours for the iPhone 5.
The iPhone 5s also features an advanced camera and a "motion coprocessor" for sports and exercise applications. The 16 gigabyte version will sell for $199; the 32 gigabyte for $299; and a 64-gigabyte version for $399. The iPhone 5s will release on Sept. 20.
The new device is 56 times as fast as the original iPhone released in June 2007, Cook said.
The iPhone 5c will largely match the capabilities of the current iPhone 5, but at a lower price. It will sport a plastic case with the option for a variety of colors. A 16 gigabyte version of the iPhone 5c will sell for just $99, while a 32-gigabyte version will retail for $199.
Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple, said the new iPhone 5s is "the most forward-looking phone we have ever created."
The budget 5c, which still uses the A6 processor, will be available for preorder on Sept. 13 in five colors — green, blue, yellow, pink or white.
Cook called the phone "absolutely gorgeous," and "more fun and colorful" than any other iPhone.
Apple's new iOS 7 operating system will be available for free download on Sept. 18, and will be compatible with all devices that are iPhone 4 or more advanced. Craig Federinghi, head of software at Apple, said downloading the iOS 7 will be "like getting an all new device."
With increasingly stiff competition from smartphones running Google's Android operating system — especially Samsung's Galaxy line, Apple will be banking on success for its newly unveiled line.
The cheaper iPhone 5c, seems to be aimed partly at the overseas market, where the iPhone's premium price tag has turned off cost-conscious consumers. NPR's Krishnadev Calamur, writing for the Parallels blog, says Apple has been losing marketshare in China. As Krishnadev notes, China represents the world's largest smartphone market, but the less expensive Samsung models and a phone made by Xiaomi, "a company that's dismissed by some as an Apple knockoff," have been making steady inroads.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Cashmere FAQs
Where does Cashmere come from?
Almost all of global cashmere hair is farmed in Inner Mongolia in China. Coming from the cashmere goat the hair is sheered off once a year in early spring similar to taking wool from a sheep. The finest and longest hairs sit on the chest and under belly of the goat. Once the hair is sheered it is cleaned, washed, assorted and prepared into loose clean fleece layer prior to going be spun into yarn.
These preparation processes are predominantly done in washing facilities in Inner Mongolia whilst the spinning of the yarn takes place in mills closer to the knitting factories in different provinces in China.
Cashmere yarn contains both long and short hair fibres. These short fibres can shift out of the yarn strand over time and build up in to pill balls on the surface of the garment. This is especially the case in areas that rub during wearing. Pilling is totally natural and does not mean there is a problem with the garment. The pill balls can be easily removed with a wool comb or by hand. A dry clean now and then also helps to reduce the number of pill balls.
Is cashmere hard to care for?
No but cashmere is a luxurious natural fibre that must be cared for in the appropriate way. Hand washing is the best and safest way to keep your cashmere looking new, fresh and ensure the hand feel remains soft and cozy.


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While his ex-wife Katie Holmes was presenting for the first time at NY Fashion Week - click here to see the collection if you missed it yesterday - and being celebrated by the fashion world (?!?), Tom Cruise was over in London preparing for a new movie.
I feel like Europe is a safer place for Tom right now, if only because in Europe they tend to elevate celebrities for a lot longer than they would be at home; you should see some of the bullsh-t they let onto the carpet in Cannes. Over in America, everyone's taking every opportunity they can to take shots at Scientology while Xenu's army has been rendered powerless, not wanting to go at Katie Holmes at the height of her popularity.
A couple of months ago, right after Katie left Tom, I wondered in this article here where the Kirstie Alleys were, and the Kelly Prestons, and the Anne Archers. Why they weren't stepping forward to defend their Church from allegations of abuse and kidnapping and other crazy accusations.
Well Kirstie Alley has finally spoken out...softly. About that Vanity Fair piece that exposed Tom Cruise's wife audition process, she apparently told Entertainment Tonight:
"I think whenever you have articles written that are third and fourth parties' opinions – it's like the game Gossip and you don't get the truth – I think that a magazine of that caliber should have interviewed him, and then they would get the truth. I think that probably all religions sound bizarre to the people who are not the practitioners of them. … To me it's so normal, and probably 90% of the crazy stuff I hear isn't true."
I've heard Alley step up for Scientology before and it was with a lot more energy than what she did here. What she did here was almost an afterthought, or at least that's how it reads. And that may be what she's being coached to say -- to brush it off as inconsequential so as to not create even bigger headlines, sure. But that's never been the Scientology style. They are intense and aggressive because they operate with (their) conviction. And it's their duty to fight hard for what they think is right. Which is why it's telling that Alley's punches barely landed, if you could even call them punches.


text:
Sales trends remain positive
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text:
Enumerate Applications on Webserver
A paramount step in testing for web application vulnerabilities is to find out which particular applications are hosted on a web server. Many applications have known vulnerabilities and known attack strategies that can be exploited in order to gain remote control or to exploit data. In addition, many applications are often misconfigured or not updated, due to the perception that they are only used "internally" and therefore no threat exists. With the proliferation of virtual web servers, the traditional 1:1-type relationship between an IP address and a web server is losing much of its original significance. It is not uncommon to have multiple sites or applications whose symbolic names resolve to the same IP address. This scenario is not limited to hosting environments, but also applies to ordinary corporate environments as well.
Security professionals are sometimes given a set of IP addresses as a target to test. It is arguable that this scenario is more akin to a penetration test-type engagement, but in any case it is expected that such an assignment would test all web applications accessible through this target. The problem is that the given IP address hosts an HTTP service on port 80, but if a tester should access it by specifying the IP address (which is all they know) it reports "No web server configured at this address" or a similar message. But that system could "hide" a number of web applications, associated to unrelated symbolic (DNS) names. Obviously, the extent of the analysis is deeply affected depending on whether the tester tests all the applications or only tests the applications that they are aware of.
Sometimes, the target specification is richer. The tester may be given a list of IP addresses and their corresponding symbolic names. Nevertheless, this list might convey partial information, i.e., it could omit some symbolic names and the client may not even be aware of that (this is more likely to happen in large organizations).
Other issues affecting the scope of the assessment are represented by web applications published at non-obvious URLs (e.g., http://www.example.com/some-strange-URL
), which are not referenced elsewhere. This may happen either by error (due to misconfigurations), or intentionally (for example, unadvertised administrative interfaces).
To address these issues, it is necessary to perform web application discovery.
Test Objectives
- Enumerate the applications within the scope that exist on a web server.
How to Test
Web application discovery is a process that aims to identify web applications on a given infrastructure. The latter is usually specified as a set of IP addresses (maybe a net block), but may consist of a set of DNS symbolic names or a mix of the two. This information is handed out prior to the execution of an assessment, be it a classic-style penetration test or an application-focused assessment. In both cases, unless the rules of engagement specify otherwise (e.g., test only the application located at the URL http://www.example.com/
), the assessment should strive to be the most comprehensive in scope, i.e. it should identify all the applications accessible through the given target. The following examples examine a few techniques that can be employed to achieve this goal.
Some of the following techniques apply to Internet-facing web servers, namely DNS and reverse-IP web-based search services and the use of search engines. Examples make use of private IP addresses (such as
), which, unless indicated otherwise, represent generic IP addresses and are used only for anonymity purposes.
There are three factors influencing how many applications are related to a given DNS name (or an IP address):
Different Base URL
The obvious entry point for a web application is
, i.e., with this shorthand notation we think of the web application originating athttp://www.example.com/
(the same applies for HTTPS). However, even though this is the most common situation, there is nothing forcing the application to start at/
.For example, the same symbolic name may be associated to three web applications such as:
In this case, the URL
would not be associated with a meaningful page. The three applications would remain hidden unless the tester explicitly knows how to access them, i.e., the tester knows app1, app2 or app3. There is usually no need to publish web applications in this way, unless the owner doesn't want them to be accessible in a standard way, and is prepared to inform the users about their exact location. This doesn't mean that these applications are secret, just that their existence and location is not explicitly advertised.Non-standard Ports
While web applications usually live on port 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS), there is nothing fixed or mandatory about these port numbers. In fact, web applications may be associated with arbitrary TCP ports, and can be referenced by specifying the port number as follows:
. For example,http://www.example.com:20000/
.Virtual Hosts
DNS allows a single IP address to be associated with one or more symbolic names. For example, the IP address
might be associated to DNS nameswww.example.com
. It is not necessary that all the names belong to the same DNS domain. This 1-to-N relationship may be reflected to serve different content by using so called virtual hosts. The information specifying the virtual host we are referring to is embedded in the HTTP 1.1 Host header.One would not suspect the existence of other web applications in addition to the obvious
, unless they know ofhelpdesk.example.com
Approaches to Address Issue 1 - Non-standard URLs
There is no way to fully ascertain the existence of non-standard-named web applications. Being non-standard, there are no fixed criteria governing the naming convention, however there are a number of techniques that the tester can use to gain some additional insight.
First, if the web server is mis-configured and allows directory browsing, it may be possible to spot these applications. Vulnerability scanners may help in this respect.
Second, these applications may be referenced by other web pages and there is a chance that they have been spidered and indexed by web search engines. If testers suspect the existence of such hidden applications on www.example.com
they could search using the site operator and examining the result of a query for site: www.example.com
. Among the returned URLs there could be one pointing to such a non-obvious application.
Another option is to probe for URLs which might be likely candidates for non-published applications. For example, a web mail frontend might be accessible from URLs such as https://www.example.com/webmail
, https://webmail.example.com/
, or https://mail.example.com/
. The same holds for administrative interfaces, which may be published at hidden URLs (for example, a Tomcat administrative interface), and yet not referenced anywhere. So doing a bit of dictionary-style searching (or "intelligent guessing") could yield some results. Vulnerability scanners may help in this respect.
Approaches to Address Issue 2 - Non-standard Ports
It is easy to check for the existence of web applications on non-standard ports. A port scanner such as Nmap is capable of performing service recognition by means of the -sV
option, and will identify http[s] services on arbitrary ports. What is required is a full scan of the whole 64k TCP port address space.
For example, the following command will look up, with a TCP connect scan, all the open ports on IP 192.168.1.100
and will try to determine what services are bound to them (only essential switches are shown – Nmap features a broad set of options, whose discussion is out of scope):
nmap –Pn –sT –sV –p0-65535 192.168.1.100
It is sufficient to examine the output and look for HTTP or the indication of TLS-wrapped services (which should be probed to confirm that they are HTTPS). For example, the output of the previous command could look like:
Interesting ports on 192.168.1.100:
(The 65527 ports scanned but not shown below are in state: closed)
22/tcp open ssh OpenSSH 3.5p1 (protocol 1.99)
80/tcp open http Apache httpd 2.0.40 ((Red Hat Linux))
443/tcp open ssl OpenSSL
901/tcp open http Samba SWAT administration server
1241/tcp open ssl Nessus security scanner
3690/tcp open unknown
8000/tcp open http-alt?
8080/tcp open http Apache Tomcat/Coyote JSP engine 1.1
From this example, one can see that:
- There is an Apache HTTP server running on port 80.
- It looks like there is an HTTPS server on port 443 (but this needs to be confirmed, for example, by visiting
with a browser). - On port 901 there is a Samba SWAT web interface.
- The service on port 1241 is not HTTPS, but is the TLS-wrapped Nessus daemon.
- Port 3690 features an unspecified service (Nmap gives back its fingerprint - here omitted for clarity - together with instructions to submit it for incorporation in the Nmap fingerprint database, provided you know which service it represents).
- Another unspecified service on port 8000; this might possibly be HTTP, since it is not uncommon to find HTTP servers on this port. Let's examine this issue:
$ telnet 192.168.10.100 8000
Trying 192.168.1.100...
Connected to 192.168.1.100.
Escape character is '^]'.
pragma: no-cache
Content-Type: text/html
Server: MX4J-HTTPD/1.0
expires: now
Cache-Control: no-cache
This confirms that in fact it is an HTTP server. Alternatively, testers could have visited the URL with a web browser; or used the GET or HEAD Perl commands, which mimic HTTP interactions such as the one given above (however HEAD requests may not be honored by all servers).
- Apache Tomcat running on port 8080.
The same task may be performed by vulnerability scanners, but first check that the scanner of choice is able to identify HTTP[S] services running on non-standard ports. For example, Nessus is capable of identifying them on arbitrary ports (provided it is instructed to scan all the ports), and will provide, with respect to Nmap, a number of tests on known web server vulnerabilities, as well as on the TLS/SSL configuration of HTTPS services. As hinted before, Nessus is also able to spot popular applications or web interfaces which could otherwise go unnoticed (for example, a Tomcat administrative interface).
Approaches to Address Issue 3 - Virtual Hosts
There are a number of techniques which may be used to identify DNS names associated to a given IP address x.y.z.t
DNS Zone Transfers
This technique has limited use nowadays, given the fact that zone transfers are largely not honored by DNS servers. However, it could still be worth attempting. First of all, testers must determine the name servers serving x.y.z.t
. If a symbolic name is known for x.y.z.t
(let it be www.example.com
), its name servers can be determined by means of tools such as nslookup
, host
, or dig
, by requesting DNS NS records.
If no symbolic names are known for x.y.z.t
, but the target definition contains at least a symbolic name, testers may try to apply the same process and query the name server of that name (hoping that x.y.z.t
will be served as well by that name server). For example, if the target consists of the IP address x.y.z.t
and the name mail.example.com
, determine the name servers for domain example.com
The following example shows how to identify the name servers for www.owasp.org
by using the host
$ host -t ns www.owasp.org
www.owasp.org is an alias for owasp.org.
owasp.org name server ns1.secure.net.
owasp.org name server ns2.secure.net.
A zone transfer can now be requested to the name servers for the domain example.com
. If the tester is fortunate, they may receive a list of the DNS entries for this domain in response. This will include the obvious www.example.com
and the not-so-obvious helpdesk.example.com
and webmail.example.com
(and possibly others). Check all the names returned by the zone transfer and consider all of those which are related to the target being evaluated.
Trying to request a zone transfer for owasp.org
from one of its name servers:
$ host -l www.owasp.org ns1.secure.net
Using domain server:
Name: ns1.secure.net
Address: 22.214.171.124#53
Host www.owasp.org not found: 5(REFUSED)
; Transfer failed.
DNS Inverse Queries
This process is similar to the previous one, but relies on inverse (PTR) DNS records. Rather than requesting a zone transfer, try setting the record type to PTR and issue a query on the given IP address. If the testers are fortunate, they may receive a DNS name entry in response. This technique relies on the existence of IP-to-symbolic name maps, which is not guaranteed.
Web-based DNS Searches
This kind of search is akin to DNS zone transfer, but relies on web-based services that enable name-based searches on DNS. One such service is the Netcraft Search DNS service. The tester may query for a list of names belonging to your domain of choice, such as example.com
. They will then check whether the names they obtained are pertinent to the target they are examining.
Reverse-IP Services
Reverse-IP services are similar to DNS inverse queries, with the difference that the testers query a web-based application instead of a name server. There are a number of such services available. Since they tend to return partial (and often different) results, it is better to use multiple services to obtain a more comprehensive analysis.
- MxToolbox Reverse IP
- DNSstuff (multiple services available)
- Net Square (multiple queries on domains and IP addresses, requires installation)
Following information gathering from the previous techniques, testers can rely on search engines to possibly refine and increment their analysis. This may yield evidence of additional symbolic names belonging to the target, or applications accessible via non-obvious URLs.
For instance, considering the previous example regarding www.owasp.org
, the tester could query Google and other search engines looking for information (hence, DNS names) related to the newly discovered domains of webgoat.org
, webscarab.com
, and webscarab.net
Googling techniques are explained in Testing: Spiders, Robots, and Crawlers.
Digital Certificates
If the server accepts connections over HTTPS, then the Common Name (CN) and Subject Alternate Name (SAN) on the certificate may contain one or more hostnames. However, if the webserver does not have a trusted certificate, or wildcards are in use, this may not return any valid information.
The CN and SAN can be obtained by manually inspecting the certificate, or through other tools such as OpenSSL:
openssl s_client -connect 184.108.40.206:443 </dev/null 2>/dev/null | openssl x509 -noout -text | grep -E 'DNS:|Subject:'
Subject: C = US, ST = California, L = Los Angeles, O = Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, CN = www.example.org
DNS:www.example.org, DNS:example.com, DNS:example.edu, DNS:example.net, DNS:example.org, DNS:www.example.com, DNS:www.example.edu, DNS:www.example.net
- DNS lookup tools such as
and similar. - Search engines (Google, Bing, and other major search engines).
- Specialized DNS-related web-based search service: see text.
- Nmap
- Nessus Vulnerability Scanner
- Nikto


text:
Return Policy
All sales are final. No refunds or exchanges.
We ship only within the United States. Please allow up to 5 days for your order to process, and 3-5 days for it to be shipped out
(You will get a shipping confirmation in your email the day it's been shipped). Please be patient, we're a very small operation.
(You will get a shipping confirmation in your email the day it's been shipped). Please be patient, we're a very small operation.
I have a general question, How do I contact you guys?
Contact firstname.lastname@example.com for general questions, and email@example.com for questions about orders.
Can I get a refund? Can I exchange an item?
No, all sales are final. Please make sure you review your purchase carefully before submitting a payment.
I put an old or wrong address while I was checking out, is there any way you can update it with the right one?
if you wish to change it please email email@example.com immediately with your transactionID. We cannot reship orders once they are sent out.
I ordered the wrong size, can you exchange it for another size?
No, please make sure you look at your order CAREFULLY before checking out, we are not responsibile for your mistake.
I just received my order but I was sent the wrong size or order, can you exchange it?
Yes, if you got the wrong size please send it to the return address and email email@example.com with your transaction ID or email used with the order and we will send you the correct order.
When do you guys restock the webstore?
Restocks may or may not happen with certain items. Any notification of a restock will be posted on the twitter page.
I live outside the United States, how can I make an order?
Unfortuantely we do not ship internationally, everything in the webstore is shipped domestic in the United States.


text:
Wednesday 7 October 2015
Find out what's influencing gas supply, power prices and what you should watch out for in the new daily market report on the energy market from the optimisation desk at npower.
The npower Optimisation Desk team uses technical terms when it is presenting the latest energy market news. For clarification of any terms, please click here for The Market Report Jargon Buster. If you'd like to know more about our Energy Market services, please contact the team:firstname.lastname@example.com.
All electricity volumes are expressed in MW and all prices are expressed in £/MWh. All gas volumes are expressed in pence therm.
Legal Disclaimer: Any pricing or general market information contained within this video will be provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute investment or transactional advice. Under no circumstances will such information be construed as an offer capable of acceptance or constitute a binding or enforceable contract. RWE npower plc, RWE Trading GmbH and Npower Limited shall have no liability for any damages, losses, costs or expense suffered or incurred directly or indirectly resulting from the reliance on such advice.
RWE npower plc, RWE Trading GmbH and npower Limited accept no liability for the accuracy of any such information or commentary provided by them or on their behalf.


text: Please appears on the album Pop. The cover featured a Warholian-style screenprint of leaders of the major parties in the Northern Ireland conflict. From the upper left, running clockwise: Gerry Adams (head of Sinn Fein), David Trimble (head of the Ulster Unionist Party), John Hume (head of the Social Democrats & Labour Party), and Ian Paisley (head of the Ulster Democratic Unionist Party).The Please (Popheart) EP, released a month earlier, featured the song as performed live in Rotterdam on July 18, 1997. It was performed live for the first time during the PopMart tour opener in Las Vegas on April 25, 1997. It was one of 5 songs played when U2 performed at the Tibetan Freedom Concert on June 8, 1997 on Randall's Island, New York. Bono inserted a snippet of Hallelujah during the performance of the song. The book, Inspirations, is a compilation of handwritten lyrics donated by various artists for the Hits Under The Hammer auction. U2 contributed two songs - Please and Sweetest Thing. A portion of the profits from the sale of Inspirations went to benefit the Nordoff-Robbins and Norwood Ravenswood charities for disadvantaged children and adults.U2 also performed the song during the MTV Music Awards on September 4, 1997. During the opening of the 15-day 'The Island: Arts From Ireland' festival held at the Kennedy Center on Saturday, May 13, 2000, Elvis Costello performed a cover of Please. The performances were videotaped for eventual broadcast on PBS. In an interview with the British newspaper The Independent on Sunday, Costello said, 'Their [U2's] songs are often received with enormous production, sometimes a great stage set, and yet they're really beautiful. Very tender. I don't think we're here to explain it all, necessarily. A bunch of people paying 100 dollars to sit in velvet seats is not going to change anything.'Readers voted the song No. 7 in the Hot Press Readers' Poll for Best Single.


text:
Oakite uses functional cookies to optimise the functionality of this website. We also use analytic cookies to monitor the use of the website. These cookies do not use any personal data. Please indicate below your consent to cookies that do use personal data.
I want to use social media features: I hereby agree to the placing of cookies by social media networks. I am aware that these networks can follow me and can use my internet behavior for other purposes.


text:
You Can't Tell What Makes This House Special Unless You Go into the Backyard
Looks like an everyday, ordinary house in the UK, right? At first glance, you'd be right. But it holds a unique secret that's only revealed when you go into the backyard.
Behind this semi-detached home on Sarehole Road in Birmingham, England lies a secret hidden from view. From the front, it looks like nothing special. It's got windows, a few doors, a small garage and a pretty sizable driveway, but what really makes it stand out from the rest of the houses on the street isn't very apparent.
Once you enter the home, you'll be met with a lovely living room, a nice kitchen, a pretty modern-looking bathroom or two, a cozy bedroom and even some patio space. Further out into the lawn is where your attention should turn in order to see the secret hidden by this house. Check out the pictures before reading on!
That's right! there's a fully-functioning pub hidden behind the house! According to the listing on rightmove.co.uk, The Watersedge Inn boasts recessed ceiling spotlights, a bar with rear optic shelves, tables chairs and stools. There's even an area where you can shoot some pool or play some darts! It may not be the most spacious of pubs, but it's certainly a nice way to get away from it all, conveniently located in the backyard. The best part is that if you get sloshed, you won't have to drive and your commute home would be lickety quick. Check out the rest of the pictures below and imagine building your own pub in your backyard.


text:
Does Pull And Bear ship to Nz? If you have shopped from Pull And Bear, you will realize that Pull And Bear does not offer worldwide shipping to every country in the world, including Nz.
A great number of stores in the USA will not send out items overseas.
There's no need to become frustrated when faced with such a situation. There is a simple fix that will help you buy from e-commerce stores in the United States and ship to Nz.
Pull And Bear is one of the many shops where you will be able to purchase the products that you want.
How to buy from Pull And Bear USA in Nz
First Step: Register with a Shipping Forwarder
After checking the Pull And Bear website to ensure that there is no option for direct delivery to Nz from their e-commerce shop, the next best course of action is to find a package forwarder that will send your products from the United States to Nz.
E-commerce purchases can be costly, and you want to ensure that your Pull And Bear items do not arrive damaged or that the shipping process takes an unreasonably long time.
Dealing with a package forwarder that has years of experience is a wise choice, which is why we recommend using MyUS.
The reason that we like MyUS is that it's an affordable and reliable package forwarder. Additionally, MyUS won't add extra taxes to your overall cost, saving you money on your purchases.
In the past few years, we have placed numerous orders using MyUS to buy from USA e-commerce shops like Pull And Bear and have them delivered to our country. We believe that MyUS is the best option for ordering from Pull And Bear.
If you've decided to place an order from a business like Pull And Bear that doesn't ship to Nz, we recommend signing up with MyUS and using their package forwarding service to ship your orders.
Joining MyUS is simple, and you can use their international shipping cost calculator to view the total shipping cost for sending Pull And Bear items to Nz before finalizing the checkout process on the Pull And Bear website.
If you encounter any issues with your order, their concierge service will assist you in resolving the problem.
Second Step: Complete Your Purchase with Pull And Bear
Once you have completed the signup process with MyUS and obtained your address in the United States, you can proceed with the second step.
The second step is to visit the e-commerce shop of Pull And Bear and purchase all the wonderful products that were previously unavailable to you.
During the purchase process, make sure to use the US address you have created with MyUS as the shipping address. This allows you to receive products from e-commerce stores that don't offer direct shipping to your location. Your package will be delivered to your Nz address in no time.
MyUS.com will forward your packages to any city in Nz.


text:
In this course, you will :
- Learn how social factors promote mental health, influence the onset and course of mental illness, and affect how mental illnesses are diagnosed and treated.
- This course explores how our understanding of mental health and illness has been influenced by social attitudes and social developments in North America and around the world.
- The course begins by situating our contemporary mental health practices in historical context, then looks at different aspects of mental health, mental illness and mental health services and their connections to what's going on in our social environment.


text:
This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Rachel Martin.
The Republican presidential race could take yet another twist today in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The four million people who live there are U.S. citizens and in today's primary, they'll help determine the next Republican nominee for the White House. The big issue in that contest is statehood, and that'll be on the ballot there in November. But the presidential race won't be because, first, Puerto Rico would have to become a state.
NPR's David Welna has this report from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
DAVID WELNA, BYLINE: Neither Newt Gingrich nor Ron Paul bothered to campaign in Puerto Rico. So today's primary is essentially a two-man race between Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney. Each of them did spend a couple of days here this past week.
Santorum arrived first and he immediately got himself into some very hot water, talking with reporters about the aspirations here for statehood. Santorum had previously endorsed Puerto Rico becoming the 51st state and set no preconditions for it to do so. But in an interview here with a newspaper El Vocero, Santorum conditioned statehood for Puerto Ricans on one big prerequisite.
RICK SANTORUM: They'd have to speak English. That would be a requirement. It's a requirement that we put on other states. It's a condition for entering the Union and participating as a state in the United States.
ORESTES RAMOS: He's absolutely wrong. He doesn't know what he's talking about.
WELNA: That's Republican attorney Orestes Ramos. Santorum, he says, seemed to invent a law that did not exist to justify demanding that Puerto Ricans learn English.
Although Ramos is listed on today's ballot as a delegate for Santorum, he says there is now no way he'd cast a vote for Santorum.
RAMOS: You know, one felt that the problem is that the guy may be prejudiced. And we don't want a guy in the White House prejudiced against us.
WELNA: Santorum left Puerto Rico on Thursday with his candidacy here in tatters. It was just the time for Mitt Romney's arrival on Friday, when he showed up for a big rally organized by GOP leaders outside the capitol building.
WELNA: It was quite likely the liveliest Romney rally ever. Many in the crowd were still seething about Santorum's insistence on everyone here speaking English if they want statehood.
Denise Longo is a 44-year-old lawyer. She told me her fellow Puerto Ricans have gotten a bum rap.
DENISE LONGO: They are actually American citizens by act of Congress. So, at a certain level, you can say that their citizenship was imposed on them. And the language that they speak at their home doesn't make them any less American than somebody that was born in Ohio.
WELNA: And each speaker at the rally seized on the hot new issue of speaking English to pump up support for Romney. Here's the island's Republican governor, Luis Fortuno.
GOVERNOR LUIS FORTUNO: He understands that English is the language of opportunity, but that Spanish is a cherished part of our heritage.
WELNA: Romney was then introduced to the crowd in Spanish.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Foreign language spoken)
WELNA: Romney, for his part, stuck entirely to the language he knows best.
MITT ROMNEY: What a privilege it is to be here. What a beautiful island. What a beautiful place. What a wonderful culture you enjoy. What a wonderful people you are, citizens of this great land. Citizens of America.
WELNA: But Romney stopped short of calling for statehood. That worried some Republicans here. So yesterday, at another campaign stop in the prosperous suburb of Bayamon, Romney appeared to try to set the record straight.
ROMNEY: It was Ronald Reagan, who very famously in our party, said that it was important for people of Puerto Rico to have a choice to become a state. And if...
ROMNEY: ...if the people of Puerto Rico choose that path, I will be happy to help lead that effort in Washington. I respect the wonderful people of this extraordinary community.
WELNA: Romney hopes to get more than half the votes today and thus win all 20 delegates up for grabs. If he does, he may have Rick Santorum to thank for his insistence on people here speaking English.
David Welna, NPR News, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


text:
As some of you know, I love cooking with hearts of palm. So, for my first participation on Weekend Herb Blogging – this time hosted by Anh - I decided to make a hearts of palm quiche.
I got the recipe from a Brazilian cookbook but the crust called for Crisco. I don't like cooking with it. Call me silly, but I don't even buy it.
Instead, I made a delicious crust out of a Gordon Ramsey's recipe that had been posted by Valentina.
You see, Gordon's recipe + Tina's magic hands = perfection. :)
I had to adapt the amounts because my pan was a bit smaller than the required on the recipe. Next time I'll add a bit more filling.
In the end, the quiche was so delicious I even had a piece at night, totally cold, and it still tasted good.
Hearts of palm quiche
250g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
125g butter, cold and diced
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 egg yolk
200g hearts of palm, chopped
½ small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon salt
20g parsley, chopped
100ml cream
4 eggs
Make the crust: in a bowl, combine flour, butter and salt, mixing with your fingertips until crumbly. Add the beaten egg and 1 tablespoon ice water and mix a little more. Knead it a little, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF. Brush a 24cm quiche pan with removable bottom* with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough and line the pan with it.
Cover it with a circle of baking paper or foil and fill with uncooked beans – the blind baking process.
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the beans and the paper/foil and brush the crust with egg yolk. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove again from the oven and brush the crust again with egg yolk. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden.
This process will prevent the filling from leaking.
Remove from the oven. Keep the oven temperature at 190ºC/375ºF.
Make the filling: in a large frying pan, heat the butter over high heat. Add the onion and cook until lightly golden. Add the hearts of palm and salt and cook quickly. Remove from heat and add the parsley, mixing well.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and add the cream. Mix well. Add this mixture to the hearts of palm and mix.
Fill the baked quiche dough with this mixture and bake in a preheated oven (190ºC/375ºF) until firm.
Unmold and serve immediately.
* I used a regular teflon pan and had no trouble ummolding the quiche.
Serves 10
Monday, April 9, 2007
Hearts of palm quiche
26 comments:
- Valentina said...
Pat, how delicious. to me palm of heart spells Brazilian all over it. we love it so much as a nation, dont'we?!/ I love the idea of the softness of the filling and the pie crust.yum! great choice. Tina
- April 09, 2007
I love hearts of palm! I always get them at the Brazilian buffet. I've never had them in quiche , though.
- April 09, 2007
- Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...
How unusual! I've only seen hearts of palm in salads here, even in Brazilian restaurants. Thank you for this lovely recipe.
- April 09, 2007
- thecoffeesnob said...
I've never had heart of palm. What a pretty name though. I'm curious to find out what it tastes like.
- April 09, 2007
- Stella said...
my goodness, this quiche looks so finger licking good Pat! I love palm in its any form. It can be quite pricey but it's worth every bite!
Happy eating & save a slice for me;) - April 09, 2007
- Warda said...
Like you, I don't use Crisco in my crust. I am just not used to it. Quiche with hearts of palm? I can definitely get used to it. Looks gorgeous.
- April 09, 2007
- Susan from Food Blogga said...
Well call me silly too because I don't buy Crisco either. From the looks of your finished product, you didn't need it! I think the hearts of palm are a novel addition; thanks for the idea Patricia! I'm tagging it right now. :)
- April 09, 2007
I need to get my hands on the hearts of palm. I have never tried it, but that sounds so good!
- April 09, 2007
- Linda said...
omg this looks amazing. ive yet to make quiche but am always looking for my first recipe. thanks! can't wait to try this one.
- April 09, 2007
- Gattina Cheung said...
Pat, I know what you mean by not liking Crisco :D Me either... except in a few crust recipes, I replace 30 - 50% of it with butter, I notice the difference is tremendous (much better). Since I make pie only very occasionally, I think my body would be ok with this bad stuff.
I have seen hearts of palm in one Asian store, will take a closer look next time. This quiche really sounds delicious to me! - April 09, 2007
I'd love to taste you quiche. Looks really good.
Paz - April 09, 2007
Haha! I come from tropical Malaysia with an abundance of palm trees and have not heard of hearts of palm before :)
But I do like quiche :) - April 09, 2007
- Lis said...
Patricia that looks soooo good. I'm the only one in my family that likes hearts of palm - especially in my salads. Yum!
This is going on my list, he loves quiches and this will be a great way to sneak them in for me! =)
xoxo - April 09, 2007
- Anh said...
I have never tasted heart of palm before. Really wanna try it out since this recipe is so tempting! I don't use Cisco either since it is not available in Australia. But I hear from other bloggers that I didn't miss out much!
- April 09, 2007
- Deborah Dowd said...
I have a can of hearts of palm in my pantry that I originally bought for salad, but your quiche sounds terrific! I think I'll give it a whirl!
- April 09, 2007
- Kalyn Denny said...
I love hearts of palm. For a while here I could get them at Costco in a big jar for not too expensive of a price, but now I can only find them in the regular store, where they're much more expensive. I think they're just so delicious, and I think your idea of using them in quiche is a great one.
P.S. I don't really make pie, but if I did, I'd never use Crisco. - April 10, 2007
Hi Patricia! I'm with you - butter all the way! I've never tried hearts of palm, but I've never known the ingredients of a quiche to dissapoint me - this sounds delicious!
- April 10, 2007
- Unknown said...
Beautiful quiche, Patricia!
- April 10, 2007
The quiche is beautiful! I have never tried hearts of palm before, but you have me interested! I'll have to keep an eye out this weekend when I go shopping!
- April 10, 2007
- MyKitchenInHalfCups said...
Hearts of palm are wonderful and I'm sure they'd be great in a quiche! Yours looks lovely. I'd have to agree there are better ways to go than Crisco even with that rhyme.
- April 10, 2007
- sher said...
That's one of the best looking quiches I've ever seen. The crust looks marvelous. And what a great idea using hearts of palm. Never have seen that in a quiche and it's a great idea.
- April 10, 2007
- Kirsten said...
So beautiful...and happily fake-butter free. :)
I LOVE hearts of palm - what a great recipe.
Kirsten - April 11, 2007
- Patricia Scarpin said...
Tina, I think it's very Brazilian indeed. Your crust recipe is fantastic, my dear friend!
Veron, I think it's so cool that you like Brazilian food. :D
Lydia, I knew we were gonna like it.
Hey, sweetie, it's very soft and light.
Valentina, I love it too!! I must admit I had almost half the quiche by myself. Shame on me. :D
Hi, Rose, I'm glad you liked it! And can I say what a beautiful blog you have?
Susan, I'm so glad to have your comments here again, sweetie!
Let me know if you like this recipe.
Kristen, I know once you get some you'll make wonderful things with it.
Linda, and now I can't wait to see your quiche, I know it will be delicious!
Gattina, thank you! I prefer to use butter, too. This crust is really good and could be used with various different fillings.
Paz, tks!! There wasn't much left. :)
Pablopabla, you should try some!
Lis, I agree with you - salads with hearts of palm are delicious!
Anh, we have a different brand here, it's not actually called Crisco but it's the same thing. I don't even look at it at the supermarket. lol
Debora, tks for stopping by! Your rosemary looks fantastic!
Kalyn, I'm so glad you liked it. I was thrilled to take part in WHB for the first time I wanted to do it with a great recipe!
Gilly, I love quiches, too, dear. There are so many possible filling variations that I'm always willing to try something new!
Anita, tks, sweetie!
Shawnda, they're extremely light and versatile.
Tanna, thank you. I see that many of my favorite foodies don't like that stuff either!
Sher, the recipe won my heart the minute I saw it.
Kirsten, thank you! I'm glad to know hearts of palm are liked outside Brazil, too. - April 11, 2007
- Sara said...
Sounds wonderful! I love hearts of palm in salad or just plain, but I've never cooked them in anything. Can't wait to try this.
- April 12, 2007
- Peabody said...
You know, I would have never thought about hearts of palm in a quiche...I bet it is tasty though!
- April 12, 2007
I love quiche (I really need to buy a quiche pan) and your quiche looks so pretty! I've never had heart of palm before but I've seen it in the store. I'll have to try it sometime.
- April 15, 2007