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2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Preview
The 2014 NCAA men's basketball tournament field of 68 has been set. March Madness will start with "First Four" play-in games on Tuesday and Wednesday, then a full slate of action through the weekend. Here's a preview of what to expect in each region:
Top Seeds:
No. 1 Virginia (28-6)
No. 2 Villanova (28-4)
No. 3 Iowa State (26-7)
No. 4 Michigan State (26-8)
Favorite: Virginia — The Cavaliers have played as well as any team in the country over the past few weeks. Head coach Tony Bennett always has his charges well prepared for the opposition. He'll be ready for the quick turnarounds of the NCAAs.
Dark Horse: Iowa State — As the Big 12 champs and a No. 3 seed, the Cyclones aren't entirely unknown in the college basketball world. DeAndre Kane and Melvin Ejim are entirely capable of carrying Iowa State to the Final Four.
Likely to Be Upset: Villanova — Jay Wright's Wildcats dominated a depleted Big East this year, but they lost to Seton Hall in the conference tournament. James Bell, JayVaughn Pinkston and company might get by Milwaukee in the first round, but the UConn-St. Joe's winner could end 'Nova's season.
Player to Watch: Shabazz Napier, Connecticut — The do-it-all Napier reminds many fans of Kemba Walker, the UConn guard who led the school to the 2011 national title. Napier would love to get the Huskies to the Final Four.
Top Seeds:
No. 1 Florida (32-2)
No. 2 Kansas (24-9)
No. 3 Syracuse (27-5)
No. 4 UCLA (26-8)
Favorite: Florida — The nation's top-ranked team is riding a school-record 26-game winning streak after barely surviving Kentucky in the SEC title game on Sunday. The Gators are the top overall seed and seem like a lock to make it to Arlington for the Final Four.
Dark Horse: Ohio State — The Buckeyes (25-9) took a beating in the Big Ten, but Florida is the only team in the South Region that seems clearly better than Thad Matta's squad. Senior guard Aaron Craft is a veteran who's played very well in previous tournaments.
Likely to Be Upset: Syracuse — Since Jim Boeheim's meltdown at Duke in February, the Orange have rapidly unwound on the court. Any team with C.J. Fair and Tyler Ennis could just as easily make a Final Four run, but Syracuse hasn't shown signs of turning things around, losing five of seven games and limping into the NCAA Tournament.
Player to Watch: Joel Embiid, Kansas — The Jayhawks' big man stole the spotlight from heralded freshman Andrew Wiggins by adding a dominant presence in the paint. If Embiid can return from a stress fracture in his back, he could give Kansas a boost to the Final Four.
Top Seeds:
No. 1 Wichita State (34-0)
No. 2 Michigan (25-8)
No. 3 Duke (26-8)
No. 4 Louisville (29-5)
Favorite: Louisville — The defending national champions are peaking at the right time. The fifth-ranked Cardinals tore through the American Athletic Conference tournament and are the fourth seed in a stacked Midwest Region. Their first big test could come in the second round against fifth-seeded Saint Louis (26-6).
Dark Horse: Kentucky — After nearly knocking off No. 1 Florida in the SEC title game, the young Wildcats may be ready to show the nation that they have matured enough to beat all comers. First-round opponent Kansas State won't be an easy win, but it could get U.K. rolling.
Likely to Be Upset: Duke — Despite the play of Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood, this year's Duke team doesn't seem as intimidating as past squads. The Blue Devils should get past Mercer in the first round, but they could be in trouble soon after that.
Player to Watch: Ron Baker, Wichita State — The sophomore is one of the undefeated Shockers' best players, averaging 13.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game. If teams try to double-team forward Cleanthony Early, Baker can bury them.
Top Seeds:
No. 1 Arizona (30-4)
No. 2 Wisconsin (26-7)
No. 3 Creighton (26-7)
No. 4 San Diego State (29-4)
Favorite: Arizona — The Wildcats have been one of the best teams in the nation all year long. Despite losing the Pac-12 title game to UCLA, Arizona is capable of dominating most teams. With Nick Johnson and Aaron Gordon leading the way, the UofA should make it to Arlington for the Final Four in April.
Dark Horse: Nebraska — The 11th-seeded Cornhuskers already have wins over Wisconsin, Michigan State and Ohio State this season. Coach Tim Miles' inspiring approach has made it trendy to root for basketball in Lincoln, Nebraska, for the first time ever.
Likely to Be Upset: Oklahoma — The Sooners beat only one ranked team on the road this season, and they flamed out against Baylor early in the Big 12 tourney. Twelfth-seeded North Dakota State (25-6) could certainly send O.U. fans home sad on Thursday.
Player to Watch: Doug McDermott, Creighton — The nation's leading scorer averaged 26.9 points a game while taking the Bluejays to the Big East title game. Opposing defenses know McDermott can win a game by himself, so he'll have to work harder to carry his team deep into the tournament.


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This index is a comprehensive listing of faculties, departments, research centres, services, information sources and many other aspects of the University.
To find course and programme information, please see our undergraduate course finder or postgraduate programme finder.
To suggest additional entries or to report an error, please read the guide to the University of Bristol a-z index.

subset: commoncrawl


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Major League Baseball expanded its playoff format to 10 teams Friday, adding a second wild-card in each league.
The decision establishes a new one-game, wild-card round in each league between the teams with the best records who are not division winners, meaning a third-place team could win the World Series.
This is the only change in baseball's playoff structure since the 1995 season, when wild-card teams were first added.
"This change increases the rewards of a division championship and allows two additional markets to experience playoff baseball each year," Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement.
If these rules had been in place last season, the Atlanta Braves would have made the playoffs in the National League, and the Boston Red Sox would have qualified in the American League. Instead, each missed the postseason by a game, going down with historic September swoons.
"The players are eager to begin playing under this new format in 2012, and they look forward to moving to full realignment in 2013," said players' union executive director Michael Weiner.
As part of baseball's labor deal, the Houston Astros will switch to the American League in 2013, creating two 15-team leagues with three divisions each. Players wanted the change to give every division the same chance to make the playoffs.
Baseball's postseason was officially born in 1903, when the American League's Boston Americans beat the National League's Pittsburgh Pirates in the first World Series.
Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.


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Saying that "everything is fine on the business side" and that the number of advertisers who have left his show is akin to "losing a couple of french fries in the container when it's delivered to you at the drive-thru," conservative radio broadcaster Rush Limbaugh today took time to clear up what he says has been "misinformation" about the repercussions from his recent comments about Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke.
In case you need a reminder, Limbaugh called Fluke a "slut" and a "prostitute" because of her support during Congressional testimony for the Obama administration's policy mandating that most employer-provided health insurance plans cover women's contraception costs.
After much outrage from critics and some who are normally his supporters, Limbaugh apologized. Meanwhile, some companies started to announce they were pulling their ads from his show.
On his show today, Limbaugh disputed reports that he has lost 28 sponsors. But even if that figure were correct, he said:
"Sponsors of our program are both nationwide companies, like Two If By Tea (my tea company), and local companies, like 'Mike's Auto Body Repair' or a local bank. If we added up all of our affiliates (let's choose the number 600) and we assumed that each of those affiliates had 30 such sponsors in the course of our three-hour program, there might be — all across this country — as many as 18,000 different sponsors of this program. Let me put it another way: There might be 18,000 different people buying advertising within this program alone."
Hence, the french fries analogy.
Limbaugh also said "three brand-new sponsors ... will be starting in the next two weeks" and that "two of the sponsors who have canceled have asked to return." He declined to name them.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Monday, June 21, 2010
Raspberry and White Chocolate Ice Cream
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If you love white chocolate I suspect you'll like this ice cream. If you don't care for it, know that I am numbered in your ranks and have worked the recipe in such a way that it can be used to make something a bit more restrained. If you omit chocolate from the ingredient list, you have the makings for a really lovely French vanilla cream. With or without the chocolate, this is an extraordinarily rich ice cream and you'll probably enjoy it more if it is served in small portions. Too much of it becomes cloying and sets me to dreaming of my favorite ice milk recipe that we featured here over a year ago. I have really simple tastes in desserts and were it not for the raspberry streaks, I wouldn't bother with this. My family, however, loves it, so, I'll be making it, grousing sotto voce, for years to come. Here's the recipe for those of you who love white chocolate and don't mind my grousing.
Raspberry and White Chocolate Ice Cream...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, a Cuisinart recipe adaption
Ice Cream
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces white chocolate morsels
Raspberry Puree
1-1/2 cups (6-oz.) fresh raspberries
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1) To prepare ice cream: Combine whole milk and heavy cream in a medium pan set over moderate heat. Bring to a boil and pour into bowl containing white chocolate, stirring until smooth. Combine sugar, whole eggs, and egg yolk in a medium bowl; beat with a hand mixer until thickened like mayonnaise. Stir in vanilla extract. Beat 1 cup of the hot cream into the egg mixture. Mix in remainder of chocolate cream mixture. Transfer to a medium saucepan and cook mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to thicken and coats back of a spoon.
Transfer mixture to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely cooled.
2) To prepare raspberry puree: Combine raspberries and sugar in bowl of a food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Strain seeds from raspberry puree. Cover and refrigerate.
3) To make ice cream: Pour chilled ice cream mixture into freezer bowl and mix until thickened, about 25 to 30 minutes. Spread 1/3 of mixture into a shallow pan. Cover with half of raspberry mixture. Add another 1/3 of ice cream and top with remainder of raspberry puree. Top with last of ice cream mixture. Return to freezer and chill until firm, about 1 to 2 hours. Yield: 8 (1/2-cup) servings.
You might also enjoy these recipes:
Fresh Mint Ice Cream - One Perfect Bite
Ice Cream Crunch Cake - One Perfect Bite
Lemon Buttermilk Ice Cream - One Perfect Bite
74 comments :
- Sushma Mallya said...
wow what a lovely combo, i really love white chocolate and this will surely be a fav of mine..have a lovely day mary..
- June 21, 2010 at 2:20 AM
- Rue said...
Ooooh! I'm not a huge white choc fan - but I'd be willing to try this...twist my arm!
- June 21, 2010 at 2:31 AM
- Diane said...
I am not crazy about white chocolate, but the raspberry may give this a nice flavour. Diane
- June 21, 2010 at 2:44 AM
- giorno26 ¸¸.•*¨*•. said...
Hi Mary,
oggi leggo che ci vuoi proprio prendere per la gola !!!
Questa combinazione mi piace proprio.
Yum !!!
Buona giornata... anche se quì in Italia il tempo è invernale !!!
Myriam - June 21, 2010 at 2:53 AM
- Regina said...
Love this sweet thing.
Have a lovely week Mary dear.
xo - June 21, 2010 at 2:54 AM
- Ana Powell said...
I am already craving for this delicious ice cream ♥
- June 21, 2010 at 3:06 AM
- Priya Suresh said...
Wat a beautiful combo, those raspberry chunks in the ice cream looks catchy and cute..thanks for sharing..
- June 21, 2010 at 3:52 AM
- Unknown said...
I love home-made ice-cream. raspberry and white chocolate? yes, please... delicious. Have a nice day.
Michael - June 21, 2010 at 4:09 AM
- Dajana said...
Oh, I think I'd simply love this. Raspberries or blueberries mixed with white chocolate are my favourite combo.
Have a lovely day - June 21, 2010 at 4:16 AM
- Allie and Pattie said...
Mary, my oldest son adores white chocolate- I love raspberry, so this may be perfect for some mother/son bonding time! Lovely
xoxo Pattie - June 21, 2010 at 5:41 AM
- Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...
this is just perfect for me, since weather is so hot here.
- June 21, 2010 at 6:01 AM
- The Blonde Duck said...
I haven't had ice cream yet--I need some!
- June 21, 2010 at 6:52 AM
- Julie said...
This looks beautiful! The color of the raspberries with the vanilla ice cream are so pretty. Homemade ice cream and summer are such a natural combination.
- June 21, 2010 at 7:16 AM
- Martha said...
ah, it is homemade ice cream time and this looks delicious -- while I don't care for dark chocolate, I do like the white!
- June 21, 2010 at 7:23 AM
- Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...
I for one happen to really enjoy white chocolate. Some is overly sweet but there are some delicious varieties out there for this non-chocolate. That being said, I would really enjoy this ice cream with or without.
- June 21, 2010 at 7:36 AM
- My Little Space said...
Oooo... Mary, you had me drooling over this good looking babe! Just how could I resist! Yumm... perfect for this summer. Hope you're enjoy the day!
Cheers, Kristy - June 21, 2010 at 7:47 AM
- penny aka jeroxie said...
Lovely combination. White chocolate and raspberry is quite classic.
- June 21, 2010 at 7:52 AM
- Ciao Chow Linda said...
I've never been a white chocolate devotee, but you make it look delicious.
- June 21, 2010 at 8:00 AM
- Joanne said...
I have to say, I adore white chocolate. Infinitely more than regular chocolate. But I'm just kind of weird like that. This sounds like one decadently amazing ice cream!
- June 21, 2010 at 8:26 AM
- Debbi Does Dinner Healthy said...
I would love, love, love this ice cream! You totally had me at white chocolate. yum!
- June 21, 2010 at 8:29 AM
Everyone's making ice cream these days ... perfect for the summer.
Summer Solstice is today, but here's an astronomical factoid if you need another reason to celebrate the warmer weather. Summer solstice is the longest day of the year, and also marks the point where Earth is furthest from the sun. But, because of inertia, July 4-5 are typically the "slowest" days of the year: the days in which Earth's orbital speed is the slowest. That's why everyone is so laid back in the summer! - June 21, 2010 at 8:47 AM
- Cathy said...
I, for one, love white chocolate, especially when combined with fresh raspberries. This looks like a rich, creamy ice cream. Perfect for summer if it ever arrives.
- June 21, 2010 at 8:54 AM
- Carla and Michael said...
I love white chocolate! Growing up, my favorite candy bar was a
Zero Bar that the skating rink my mother taught at kept in the freezers. I think I'd like to try this with cherries though.
Thanks. - June 21, 2010 at 8:57 AM
- Barbara said...
Isn't it odd? I don't care for white chocolate either. It seems grainy and difficult to work with. Still, I love the look of your ice cream, Mary. The raspberry streaking through it looks divine.
- June 21, 2010 at 9:08 AM
- 3 hungry tummies said...
Love the combination. I had a wonderful white chocolate and rasberry pie just the other day!
- June 21, 2010 at 9:26 AM
- Unknown said...
I have been visiting your blog for months now and have never commented...but I could not let this one go by. I LOVE white chocolate AND I LOVE raspberry... this ice cream sounds fantastic! Can't wait to try it!
http://jennsfoodjourney.blogspot.com - June 21, 2010 at 9:31 AM
- Baking is my Zen...sweet nibbles for the soul said...
I like white chocolate...the combo with raspberry sounds good!
Carmen - June 21, 2010 at 9:35 AM
I normally don't like to deviate from homemade vanilla ice cream, but this does look pretty, and last Christmas I was persuaded to try (and completely converted to) cinnamon and nutmeg ice cream, so you can twist my arm for this one! I like thst you've tweaked it for something subtler...have a good week, Mary. From Emmalene x
- June 21, 2010 at 10:06 AM
- Eliana said...
This looks so delicious Mary, especially with that raspberry swirl.
- June 21, 2010 at 10:14 AM
- PeggyR said...
I love white chocolate, so will have to try this! I hope your hubby had a good Father's Day!
- June 21, 2010 at 10:16 AM
- Angie's Recipes said...
My hubby will love this ice cream a lot as white chocolate and raspberry are his favourite.
- June 21, 2010 at 10:21 AM
- Lyndas recipe box said...
What a pretty ice cream with the streaks of raspberry through it!
I'm not a huge fan of white chocolate, but I won't turn it down in ice cream. - June 21, 2010 at 10:40 AM
- From the Kitchen said...
While we don't like white chocolate, the rich French vanilla ice cream with raspberries is very appealing. And, at long last, we are having ice cream weather. As for grousing, I'll be doing that about the heat and humidity in the next few days!!
Bonnie - June 21, 2010 at 10:55 AM
- Katie@cozydelicious said...
This is the most perfect summer dessert! Two of my favorite things, raspberries and white chocolate - together in a cool, creamy perfect bowl!
- June 21, 2010 at 10:59 AM
- CinnamonChoc said...
this recipe would b really great to surprise anyone.since i am graduating,for sure i will try this when i am celebrating it with my beloved family.thanks for this idea :) keep up your good work with lots of nice recipes ;) good day~
- June 21, 2010 at 11:00 AM
- Adventures in Domestic Cooking said...
What a perfect combo, white chocolate, raspberry, and ice cream!!
Looks delicious. - June 21, 2010 at 11:17 AM
- Susi's Kochen und Backen said...
I love white chocolate especially combined with raspberry. This ice cream looks wonderful, I'm making note of this since I think my family would really enjoy this one!
- June 21, 2010 at 11:24 AM
- Cooking with Kait said...
This ice cream does sound very rich, but I would love to taste it. I'm glad to read that your family loved it.
- June 21, 2010 at 11:31 AM
- We Are Not Martha said...
Oh no, another ice cream I absolutely HAVE to make!! This is making for one fantastic (and a tad bit fattening) summer. I LOVE it!!
Sues - June 21, 2010 at 11:42 AM
- Penny said...
The fact that you actually make something to please others when you do not care for it speaks volumes. Beautiful to look at.
- June 21, 2010 at 11:44 AM
- Rachana said...
What a perfect combo, raspberry and white choco...looks so delicious!
- June 21, 2010 at 11:55 AM
- Mickey said...
This is our favorite combination for cheesecake! I imagine it's a perfect mix for ice cream. I think you've tempted me...I might have to try this.
mickey - June 21, 2010 at 12:26 PM
- Monet said...
I need to get an icecream maker! I love the combo of white chocolate and raspberry
- June 21, 2010 at 12:30 PM
- Kim said...
I love raspberries with white chocolate and this ice cream looks amazing to me! It is a sweltering hot day here and I could really go for a bowl.
- June 21, 2010 at 12:46 PM
- The Charm of Home said...
Wow, this looks delicious. I am sure it would be loved at my house. Thanks for dropping by.
- June 21, 2010 at 12:52 PM
- Holly said...
White chocolate and raspberies-Yummy! This sounds like something I would love:)
- June 21, 2010 at 1:55 PM
- Tiffanee said...
Yum! I love the combination of raspberries and white chocolate. I need to make some ice cream! Thanks!!
- June 21, 2010 at 2:16 PM
- Sarah B. said...
that looks delicious!!!
- June 21, 2010 at 4:05 PM
- Katerina said...
Mmm, ice cream. I love it. I love it during summer, I love it during winter. There is nothing better than enjoying a flavorful ice cream like this one after a great meal.
- June 21, 2010 at 4:24 PM
- Faith said...
Oddly enough I only started to like white chocolate recently...isn't it funny how tastes change? White chocolate and raspberry is a fantastic combo and this looks incredible!
- June 21, 2010 at 4:38 PM
- Juliana said...
Oh Mary, what a nice and flavorful ice cream, love the combination of white chocolate and raspberry...love it! Have a great week ahead :-)
- June 21, 2010 at 4:57 PM
- Mags @ the Other Side of 50 said...
You can grouse all you want, but I've bookmarked this one to try...LOL
- June 21, 2010 at 5:10 PM
- Unknown said...
Looks great, but I bet it tastes even better!
- June 21, 2010 at 5:15 PM
- The Words Crafter said...
okay, my mouth is literally watering!!!! two of my favorite things: white chocolate and raspberries! what could be more perfect?
- June 21, 2010 at 6:02 PM
- Michelle said...
Mmmm... looks delicious!!!
- June 21, 2010 at 6:08 PM
- appetersen said...
What a decadent combo... I too am not too crazy about a LOT of white chocolate, but this looks about right. Beautiful photo!
- June 21, 2010 at 6:47 PM
- Mireya said...
I love raspberry and white chocolate - this looks absolutely perfect!!
- June 21, 2010 at 6:49 PM
- Claudia said...
This is so lovely. I just love the prettiness of it. So creamy, pink-summery pretty - can't stand it! Want it! I would opt for the vanilla - I love chocolate but have always just been happily sated by vanilla ice cream
- June 21, 2010 at 7:25 PM
- Jeannie said...
This got to be the best flavours of all the ice cream recipes circulating around the blogs! So gorgeous! White chocolates are the best!
- June 21, 2010 at 9:05 PM
- JG said...
I do enjoy eating white chocolate. My spoon is ready! Yum!
- June 21, 2010 at 10:01 PM
- Krista said...
All of these wonderful ice cream recipes on my favorite food blogs lately are persuading me to dig out my ice cream freezer. This looks perfectly creamy and wonderful. Love the raspberries in there! Mmmm.
- June 21, 2010 at 10:02 PM
- T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types said...
The raspberries have just started to ripen at the farm, and it looks like we will have them for weeks - so this ice cream is on my list as a way to make good use of the harvest.
- June 21, 2010 at 10:22 PM
- Unknown said...
I love white chocolate myself, looks very tempting...
- June 21, 2010 at 10:53 PM
- Choclette said...
I'm very impressed with you making this when you don't want to eat it yourself. I think it sounds fantastic. Do you not need to beat the ice-cream half way through freezing? That's the bit I usually forget and I always end up with water crystals.
- June 22, 2010 at 12:47 AM
- Deb in Hawaii said...
I like white chocolate in ice cream but in very small doses too. This is such a pretty pairing with the pink from the berries. ;-)
- June 22, 2010 at 7:33 AM
- CaSaundraLeigh said...
I always get the raspberry and white chocolate flavored forzen yogurt swirled together at TCBY! I never thought of making my own though :-)
- June 22, 2010 at 10:15 AM
- Lori said...
Oh Mary- this is up my alley. I mae a white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake that I so love. I know I would love this.
- June 22, 2010 at 3:05 PM
- Allie said...
I've had an itch to make ice cream now that the temps are getting so hot out...I think I'll start with this one!!
- June 22, 2010 at 4:19 PM
- Lorie said...
I am making this for my birthday next month. Because I am worth it.
- June 23, 2010 at 4:13 PM
- Simply Life said...
oh my, it's 7am and I can't stop drooling just looking at that picture!
- June 24, 2010 at 7:17 AM
- Cooking Creation said...
Wow -- this looks great! I will definitely be trying this. :)
- June 24, 2010 at 12:12 PM
- Ingrid said...
I just made this one...Soooooo good! THe whole family loved it!
- July 11, 2010 at 4:25 PM
Can i be really stupid and ask what you mean by freezer bowl? Is it part of an ice cream maker?
- November 27, 2012 at 4:02 AM
- Mary Bergfeld said...
Mady, it is the removable bowl of an ice cream maker. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary
- November 27, 2012 at 9:17 AM


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And now, let's get out to the campaign trail. In the race for the Republican nomination, the scene has shifted to Louisiana, which is holding its primary tomorrow. Today, all four of the remaining GOP candidates are campaigning in the state.
Most of the media focus is on Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich. Both men have won other Southern primaries, and both have been in and out of Louisiana all week long, hoping a victory there will keep their slim chances of winning the GOP nomination alive. Here's NPR's Brian Naylor.
UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Rick Santorum, the next president of the United States...
BRIAN NAYLOR, BYLINE: Neither a balky sound system, nor a gale that delayed Rick Santorum's motorcade, dampened the enthusiasm of members of the Mandiville Tea Party earlier this week. Santorum stood before them with what at first looked like a black book by his side, with red edges. A Bible, perhaps? Turned out it was the bottom of an Etch A Sketch, a prop to illustrate the now-famous gaffe of an aide to Mitt Romney, which Santorum brandished to poke fun at Romney, and tout his own steadfastness.
RICK SANTORUM: You have an opportunity here in Louisiana to make a very clear statement. You're not looking for someone who's the Etch A Sketch candidate. You're looking for someone who writes what they believe in, in stone, and stays true to what they say.
NAYLOR: Santorum is the favorite to win Louisiana, based on recent polling. James Garand is a political science professor at Louisiana State University, and says Republicans here are a divergent lot.
JAMES GARAND: You have parts of the state that are just like the regular Deep South. The northern part of the state is Bible Belt, very conservative; and Republicans are very similar to Republicans in Alabama or Mississippi.
NAYLOR: The southern part of the state, Garand says, has a large Catholic population, which he says is likely to be more receptive to Mitt Romney. Romney has done better among Catholics than has Santorum, despite Santorum being a Catholic. Still, Garand says:
GARAND: I think overall, if you look at the entire state, Republicans are probably going to be more comfortable with a Rick Santorum-type candidacy.
NAYLOR: Even with a win in Louisiana, it's hard to see how Santorum will gain much on Romney's delegate lead, since both will likely receive delegates.
Harder still to figure, are the chances of Newt Gingrich. The former speaker has been campaigning sporadically, but apparently believes he has a shot in Louisiana, too. Gingrich spoke at a Baton Rouge Tea Party rally at LSU last night.
NEWT GINGRICH: With your help on Saturday, I believe we once again, for the ninth or tenth time in this cycle, will reset the race. And I think we have a huge opportunity to reset the race. But we need your help, right here in Louisiana, on Saturday.
NAYLOR: LSU student Paul Garrison says he plans to support Gingrich in Saturday's primary, but is realistic about his chances.
PAUL GARRISON: It's not over but, you know, it is - unfortunately - looking that way. But I'm going to try my hardest and vote, and get all my friends to support Gingrich until, you know, the end. And if Romney wins it then, you know, I guess I'll shift towards him. But in the meantime, I'm going to be for Newt.
NAYLOR: Gingrich and Santorum both have busy schedules in Louisiana today, and they'll be joined in the state by Romney and even Ron Paul, who's been all but absent from the campaign trail but apparently, believes he can pick up a few delegates here as well.
Brian Naylor, NPR News, Monroe, Louisiana.
GREENE: You're listening to MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Posted December 5, 2012
From our 2011 Annual Report.
Dear Friends,
On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Research Consortium, we want to thank all the donors, researchers and academic institutional partners supporting Cure Alzheimer's Fund research for your help in making 2011 such a successful science year. Guided by leading scientists in the field, Cure Alzheimer's Fund-supported research continues to make breakthrough progress toward our goal of eradicating Alzheimer's disease.
Research supported by Cure Alzheimer's Fund has helped reshape the current view of the pathological processes underlying Alzheimer's disease. Not long ago, it was thought that beta-amyloid plaques in the brain, made up of the protein called "Abeta," were the main causes of the disease. Though beta-amyloid continues to be an important factor in the Alzheimer's picture, we now have progressed to a more sophisticated understanding of Alzheimer's pathology—one that will allow us to develop much more effective therapies and early interventions.
A quick summary of this current and more sophisticated view is as follows:
The flagship project of the Cure Alzheimer's Fund is the AGP, begun in 2007 and carried out in Dr. Tanzi's laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital. It also includes the AlzGene database maintained by Dr. Lars Bertram at the Max Planck Institute in Berlin. The AGP has successfully completed Phase I, resulting in the identification of more than 100 new candidate genes affecting susceptibility for Alzheimer's disease. We now are actively engaged in sharing this information in public databases, including those maintained by the National Institutes of Health and the Cure Alzheimer's Fund-supported database AlzGene.org. The identification of these genes has implicated several new biological pathways and systems in the Alzheimer's disease process that previously were not known to be involved.
In the second phase of the AGP, we have been analyzing the DNA of the many new Alzheimer's gene candidates to pinpoint the human gene variants that directly influence one's susceptibility for the disease. Introduction of these human gene variants into mice already is accelerating the creation of new animal models for the disease and new drug screening programs. In fact, over the past year, we have created four new animal models for Alzheimer's based on discoveries made in the AGP. The generation of these new animal models is paving the way for the development of new therapies aimed at more effectively preventing and treating Alzheimer's from novel angles. The ultimate goal of the AGP is to use the dozens of validated Alzheimer's genes to predict one's risk for the disease, and then treat to prevent the disease from striking before symptoms appear.
Currently available therapies only treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's but do not stop the disease from progressing. They generally provide modest and only temporary benefit from the ravages of this terrible disease. To effectively treat and prevent this disease, we will need therapies that directly slow down, stop or reverse the disease process. This means we must first fully understand how the disease progresses and then develop therapies that intervene. Cure Alzheimer's Fund has been supporting numerous drug programs from bench to bedside. Over the past year, Cure Alzheimer's Fund has made significant progress in novel drug discovery for Alzheimer's.
Some examples are listed below.Adding to this picture is the very new discovery made by our researchers that Abeta, the peptide that begins this whole process, may be part of the brain's innate immune system, and as such, attacks and attempts to eliminate toxic bacteria, fungus and viruses that enter the brain as we age. In fact, Cure Alzheimer's Fund is actively funding research into the possibility the initial accumulation of excess Abeta in the brain may be triggered by the brain's own immune system trying to fight a chronic infection of various origins.
Cure Alzheimer's Fund has played a major role in the development and confirmation of each piece of the above- described emerging understanding of the process of generation of Alzheimer's pathology. 2011 has been a particularly important year. Genetic studies conducted as a consequence of our Alzheimer's Genome ProjectTM have taught us, in particular, that this whole process is triggered when, over one's lifetime, too much Abeta accumulates in the brain. This is usually due to poor clearance of Abeta in the form of plaques and clump-like oligomers. This then leads to the tangles, nerve cell death and inflammation as part of a vicious cycle. Once enough nerve cells and their connections, called synapses, are lost, cognitive impairment and, ultimately, dementia, is the result, causing Alzheimer's disease.
Since the inception of the Cure Alzheimer's Fund, nearly $15 million dollars has been distributed to more than 50 projects in 24 of the top Alzheimer's research laboratories in the world. As a result, more than 100 research publications in top-tier scientific journals have acknowledged Cure Alzheimer's Fund for support. It is safe to say our understanding of the causes of Alzheimer's disease and how to more effectively treat this devastating disease have been profoundly impacted by Cure Alzheimer's Fund-supported research efforts, with 2011 hitting new highs.
A summary of these achievements is provided below.
Cure Alzheimer's Fund supported the groundbreaking work of Dr. Gary Landreth and colleagues at Case Western Reserve University, who showed in a mouse model for Alzheimer's that the FDA-approved lymphoma drug bexarotene was able to stop the accumulation of beta- amyloid (made up of Abeta and more particularly, its most toxic form, Abeta42) in the brain and, to some extent, reverse beta-amyloid-induced pathology and cognitive deficits. The researchers found bexarotene could rapidly clear beta- amyloid deposits in the mice, and that this process dependedon the Alzheimer's risk gene known as APOE. While the results in the mice were nothing short of remarkable, the leap from mouse to man does not guarantee success in humans. However, as a result of this landmark study, bexarotene is now beginning to undergo testing in human clinical trials for efficacy and safety for the potential treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease. Cure Alzheimer's Fund has supported Dr. Landreth and his collaborator, Dr. David Holtzman of Washington University, St. Louis, to explore the effects of bexarotene on Alzheimer's pathology, and also plans to help support pivotal clinical trials.
Preventing the accumulation of toxic Abeta in the brain is currently the goal of thousands of academic and pharmaceutical laboratories attempting to discover effective new drugs for Alzheimer's disease. One approach involves trying to curb the production of Abeta by inhibiting the enzyme called gamma secretase, which is required for the production of the toxic material. Previous attempts to do this used drugs called "gamma secretase inhibitors." However, in a recent clinical trial by Lilly, these drugs caused major side effects, including skin cancer.
Dr. Steve Wagner, University of California, San Diego, in collaboration with Dr. Tanzi's laboratory, has been supported by the Cure Alzheimer's Fund since 2009 to develop safer versions of these drugs, which we call "gamma secretase modulators." We were able to avoid what is thought to cause the toxic side effects of the original drugs and made new drugs that slow down the production of Abeta in the brain.
As a major validation of the promise of these new drugs made possible by Cure Alzheimer's Fund, Dr. Wagner recently was awarded a multimillion-dollar National Institutes of Health "Blueprint" Neurotherapeutics grant for the fast-track development of these drugs. Drs. Wagner and Tanzi serve on the lead development team for the five-year NIH project, which brings together 15 agencies that will help shepherd these new drug candidates into human clinical trials by 2014.
Cure Alzheimer's Fund also has been engaged in supporting a number of promising new therapies for Alzheimer's in 2011. In the pathological cascade of Alzheimer's, toxic clumps of Abeta drive the formation of tangles, which choke the inside of nerve cells in Alzheimer's patients' brain. Dr. Charles Glabe, University of California, Irvine, and Dr. George Bloom, University of Virginia, received Cure Alzheimer's Fund funding to discover exactly which forms of Abeta cause tangles to form in nerve cells.
Over the past several years, tangles were shown to "spread" from one nerve cell to another, causing serial nerve cell death in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. In addition to curbing beta-amyloid deposition, we also will need therapies for stopping the formation and spread of tangles. In pursuit of better understanding of how this works, Cure Alzheimer's Fund has been funding Dr. Dennis Selkoe and Dr. Dominic Walsh, Harvard Medical School, in 2011 as well as Dr. Virginia Lee (University of Pennsylvania) in 2010 to devise therapies that can prevent Abeta from triggering tangles and prevent the spread of tangles from dying nerve cells to healthy ones.
Several other new Alzheimer's therapies are being developed by other investigators with Cure Alzheimer's Fund money. For example, some cholesterol-lowering drugs carry the potential to lower Abeta levels and are being developed as new therapeutics for Alzheimer's in the laboratory of Dr. Dora Kovacs, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Dr. Kovacs has been funded by Cure Alzheimer's Fund to develop drugs known as "ACAT inhibitors," which she has shown dramatically reduce Abeta levels in Alzheimer's animal models. Other 2011 Cure Alzheimer's Fund-supported projects aimed at drugs that can lower Abeta levels in the brain include compound being developed by Dr. Phillip Haydon, Tufts University (UDP analogs), Dr. Nicholas Seeds, University of New Mexico (neuroserpin inhibitors), and Dr. Gal Bitan, UCLA, (molecular tweezers).
In addition to the very exciting work that has been supported by Cure Alzheimer's Fund in genetics and drug discovery, we also are supporting critical research aimed at further understanding the pathological process in Alzheimer's disease. In a revolutionary study, Dr. Robert Moir (MGH) was supported by Cure Alzheimer's Fund to uncover the normal role of Abeta, showing it may protect the brain from microbial infections. He now is being funded to investigate whether amyloids in other diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson's disease carry out similar roles. These studies carry profound implications for the causes of these diseases and especially whether infections by certain microbial pathogens may initially trigger the formation of beta-amyloid as well as other amyloids, such as amylin in the pancreas of diabetes patients. Dr. Moir's studies also call for much more careful consideration as we develop therapiesto lower Abeta levels, in view of the small protein's potential "normal" role in the brain.
In other studies, Dr. Paul Greengard, Rockefeller University, Nobel Laureate, is studying why only certain sets of nerve cells die in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, while others are spared. Similarly, Dr. Lee Goldstein, Boston University, is performing state-of-the-art mapping of metal (zinc and copper) distributions in the brain to investigate their contribution to disease pathology. Dr. Sam Sisodia, University of Chicago, was funded to search for factors in the brain that drive the generation and toxicity of Abeta. Dr. Doo Yeon Kim and Dr. Sehoon Choi (MGH) are being supported to explore how the propagation of new nerve cells in the brain and delivery of neural stem cells (made from skin cells) into the brain can ameliorate Alzheimer's pathology. And finally, Dr. Giuseppina Tesco, Tufts University, and Dr. Zhongcong Xie (MGH) were funded in 2011 to explore how traumatic brain injury and surgery-induced brain inflammation contribute to risk for Alzheimer's pathology, respectively.
In summary, 2011 has been a tremendously successful and busy year for Cure Alzheimer's Fund. The groundbreaking work described above would not have been possible without thegenerous support of more than 4,000 supporters, including the founding families and board members who provide both financial and personal support on so many levels. While there is still a great deal of work to be done before we achieve our overarching goal of eradicating Alzheimer's disease through early prediction-early prevention, huge strides were made in 2011 toward this end.
On behalf of the Cure Alzheimer's Fund, we thank you all for your devotion, perseverance and passion in supporting the research necessary to end this devastating disease in our lifetimes.
Sincerely yours,
Jeffrey L. Morby
Chairman and Co-Founder Cure Alzheimer's Fund
Rudolph E. Tanzi, Ph.D.
Chair, Cure Alzheimer's Fund Research Consortium Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School Director, Genetics and Aging Research Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital


text: Cherry-picked by Mathilde Chapoutier Selection, the Château des Ferrages domain is in Pourcieux, halfway between Aix-en- Provence and Saint-Maximin, in the prime plots of the Sainte-Victoire appellation. The coolness of the weather is one of its blessings. Whilst rosé wine was already being made in this domain, hillside plots were quickly identified to produce red wine, and others still for white. Two Sélections Parcellaires have emerged from these lands, now applying biodynamic farming principles.


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text: Use this form to create your free student or parent account at CommunityCollegeReview.com. Creating an account will let you save schools and pre-fill your user information each time you make an inquiry. You'll also gain access to your own Student Member Area, where you can track your information requests, be reminded of open-houses, and access tools that simplify your school search process.


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Aeromic Hipster Angled Sports Pouch - Blue
Need more info before you place your order?
Questions about equipment compatibility or shipping times? Contact us, we can help!
Need more info before you place your order?
Questions about equipment compatibility or shipping times? Contact us, we can help!
AEROMIC Tough! The Blue Aeromic Hipster Microphone Belt is a variation of the standard pouch belt, with the pouch angled about 45 degrees to the right. You wear it on your left hip standing up or sitting on a bike, which makes the Body-pack Transmitter's on/off switch easier to get to, and the head-worn mic cable shoot off under your arm and out of the way.
Product details:
Then, when it's time to do your floor work and crunches, switch it around to your right hip, and the mic cable goes up in the air so the connector doesn't dig you in the ribs. In our opinion, it's a much better alternative than the horizontal pouch belts made by other manufacturers as they encourage the "tug on the plug" or cable/connector stressing at a right angle, which could lead to connector faults on some headset mics.
AV Now Fitness Sound is your one-stop solution for everything related to group-exercise, aqua-aerobic, and portable sound. Over the last 25 years, AV Now has become the #1 provider of fitness sound gear in the US. Our gear is used every day in thousands of facilities across the USA and at Military installations around the world. Everything we offer is Fitness-Rated to withstand the unique demands put on it by fitness professionals in rugged group exercise environments.
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We're here to help you choose the right product for your needs and budget. No question is too small or unimportant, especially with the specialized Fitness-Rated products we offer. Whether helping you choose the best headset mic for your weekly class load (or the windscreen for it), customizing a group exercise sound system for your room and class size, setting up WiFi based streaming audio for your cardio machines or designing zone sound distribution for your entire club - we're here to help.
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Get the right equipment and save money by letting AV Now's Fitness Sound Experts recommend the right equipment for your application. We're here to help. Local music stores and sound installation companies often don't have the knowledge - or carry the right products- to make a recommendation that's good for a fitness or aquatic sound application. Many websites offer you equipment specs and pricing, but it's up to you to figure out if the product will work for you.
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AV Now created the template for the modern group ex fitness sound system 20 years ago. We offer a full line of fitness sound systems for every room, class size and budget. Our systems are updated as technology changes but the principles remain the same: ease of use, great sound and great value.
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Join the thousands of satisfied customers who've purchased a custom designed group ex sound system from AV Now over the past 25 years. Call us with your room dimensions and an AV Now sound system designer will be happy to give you a no obligation estimate. If you need an aqua-aerobic sound system, we offer the most popular, most reliable waterproof mic system in the US as well as a variety of portable deck-side sound options.
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AV Now Pro is a collective of audiovisual specialists passionate about problem-solving for our customers. Creating memorable experiences utilizing the power of audiovisual systems is our specialty and why we've been in the business for over 25 years. Coming from a background of designing and installing audiovisual systems in the health and wellness industry, AV Now Pro has helped pave the way for simplified control in commercial audiovisual applications.
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I love buying glossy food, travel and lifestyle magazines. Usually heading straight to the section where they are neatly stacked, magazine upon magazine in rows after rows, I like to take some time to browse through my favorites, setting aside two or three that will make it home with me.
Once at home I like to study each page, every image carefully, a steaming cup of tea and a few cookies my companions, I tend to mumble to myself as I fold up the corners of those that inspire me. Color schemes, landscapes, props, angles – there is something that always catches my eye. When traveling I do the same. Tom who has been a part of my life for 13 years now knows the drill. Early getting to the airport means enough time to browse the newsstands at the duty free shops. Most ladies leave the stores with bags heavy with perfume and make-up, mine usually will contain an assortment for food and travel magazines. He knows it could be worse.
What I like about getting this international variety is that one can see the many styles, pick up on the distinct approaches the photographers took and in some cases feel the moods the images emit. Some photographers stay true to their style and one can often easily guess which photographer is behind the image, others are like chameleons and are capable of changing colors, moods and atmospheres from image to image. However, all of my favorite photographers have one thing in common: their distinct signature flows throughout each of their pictures.
It is hard to describe photographic style as it is usually a particular aspect that a photographer uses in a way they have developed for themselves. Either a particular way light is manipulated or a specific angle, composition or setting – they will use each aspect and work on it to define and express their style. Photographic style in my opinion is also a personal thing, where the photographer puts his or her own individuality into an image to make it that extra piece of special. It is learning the valuable skills needed to create specific moods and emotions for the pictures they take. That is what makes a good photographer.
So, lately while browsing several food blogs I am beginning to wonder where that extra piece of special has gone to. Instead of seeing individuality I see Xerox copies from blog to blog, post to post. Similar props, backgrounds, angles and compositions, and the same over-exposed images. Replication and reproduction of other people's style and regurgitating it as their own, has created a trend that suggests that this type of photography is "gorgeous photography". It is far from it.
At the same time it is refreshing to see young budding bloggers and food photographers work hard on their own creativity and push themselves to find their own style. It is not easy to swim against the tide and finding your own style beyond the current "trends." But when you do - no one can take it away from you.
When Simone of Junglefrog Cooking announced a food photography challenge I was rather skeptical at first. The aim of the challenge was to take a recipe from the magnificent Donna Hay magazines, re-create the recipe and then style and photograph the dish similarly to the way it originally appeared in the respective publication.
I am sure I am not alone when I say that some of my favorite food and lifestyle photographers regularly work for Donna Hay publications. Chris Court is probably my most favorite of them all. Instantly it is easy to see why. He plays with light, color and texture creating spectacular moods, tempting one right into the image. His work has been inspirational for me throughout the past several years as I traveled my own journey through food photography. Inspirational in finding my own style not replicating his.
Simone had chosen a Chris Court image for us to interpret in our own style.
In terms of angles – the overhead angle is not my favorite. I prefer deeper images, which allows me to build the shot creating different heights and depths, making the image, in my opinion more interesting. I do like basic styling and this shot does not get any more basic in terms of props. From the looks of the original image the main source of light seems to be coming from the right between 2 and 3 o'clock and the custom white balance gives the image a bluish tinge.
I tackled this in pretty much the same way I usually begin my process. Although I analyzed the image by Chris Court, I took a step back and thought about how I would present this dish. My initial idea was styling the salad in the Weck glasses. The salad would be perfect for picnics and BBQs, serving them in jars like this are not only easy to transport but make pretty unique individual servings.
I then moved on to the props from the original image and once again wanted to interpret it the way I would normally do. The first picture in this post uses a different angle, with a few additional props and using white balance for bright whites to make the colors in the salad pop. Finally I tackled the overhead angle. My adaptation to the image: my light is a very soft, diffused backlight and instead of creating a blueish cast I adjusted the white balance to give it a grey-blue tinge as it makes the reds and greens in the salad look wonderfully vibrant.
The recipe itself – well yes – I made minor changes to it too. I added a pinch of cumin powder and a drizzling of pumpkin seed oil to give it an additional taste level.
Adapted from a recipe by Donna Hay
Printable version of recipe here
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
- 400g cannellini beans
- 1 red onion, halved and then sliced
- 30g black olives, pitted and halved
- Handful flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
- 1-2 red chili, de-seeded and thinly sliced
- 125g cherry tomatoes, halved
- Pinch of sea salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- Pinch of ground cumin
- 100g fresh ricotta
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin seed oil
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- Place the beans, onion, olives, parsley, chili, tomatoes, ground cumin, salt and pepper in a bowl and toss gently to combine.
- Divide between serving plates and top with fresh ricotta.
- Combine both oils and vinegar then spoon over the salad to serve.
This salad tastes spectacular with a herby marinated lamb or some poached salmon.
The salad includes many of the flavors I love in a salad. Legumes, flat leaf parsley, red onions and to spice it up some red chili. The creaminess of the ricotta creates a sublime texture. I thought a sprinkling of cumin powder would work well against the chili and the pumpkin seed oil added a beautiful rustic taste rounding it perfectly.
This was truly a scintillating salad and perfect for this session of Monthly Mingle. Divya is my current hostess and her theme is Scintillating Salads.
One of the most laborious task of planning the From Plate to Page workshops is contacting and convincing sponsors to collaborate with us. The process takes quite a while and at times can be very frustrating. However, reaping the positive laurels of this is seeing those who are putting their faith in our abilities as instructors and creators of this workshop and sponsoring food and kitchen items along with other kind of aid. We are forever thankful to these people and I would just like to take the opportunity to share a few of the names we have revealed this week. On our website our Tuscany Sponsor page is looking good and participants will be going home with some exceptionally heavy goodie bags.
Thank you to ZWILLING J.A. HENCKELS, Sunchowder's Emporia, Taste of Home, Gourmelli, Smaromi Spices and are proud to have OXO on board with us again. Still loving that peeler!
Earlier this week we also surprised the people waiting on our exorbitant waiting list and opened the registrations to them. On a first come-first-serve basis we were stumped that the two places we offered were blocked within a matter of minutes! I did not even get a chance to put it up on our Facebook page. Now we are a total of twelve participants and look forward to welcoming them all to Tuscany in just about a month.
You might like these scintillating salad ideas from WFLH:
Warm Lentil Salad with Dried Cherries, Feta and a Herb Marinated Lamb Fillet | Garlicky Marinated Halloumi Cheese with a Roasted Tomato Quinoa Salad | Smoked Salmon and a Potato Beet and Cherry Salad |
All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2011 Meeta Khurana Wolff unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First


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Mr. President, as Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, I take this opportunity to welcome the recent swearing-in of Stephan M. Minikes to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE. Prior to that ceremony, I met with Steve to discuss priority issues on the Commission's agenda, including the promotion of democracy, human rights and economic liberty as well as such pressing concerns as international crime and corruption and their links to terrorism. The Commission remains keenly interested in the OSCE as a tool for promoting human rights and democratic development and advancing United States interests in the expansive 55-nation OSCE region.
The terrorist attacks of September 11 represented an assault on the principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law: core principles at the heart of the OSCE. It is crucial that we redouble our efforts to advance these fundamental principles throughout the OSCE region even as we pursue practical cooperation aimed at rooting out terrorism. The OSCE provides an important framework for advancing these vital and complementary objectives.
I am confident that Steve will draw on his extensive and varied experiences as he assumes his duties as U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE and I look forward to working with him and his team in Vienna. I ask unanimous consent that Secretary of State Powell's eloquent prepared remarks delivered at Ambassador Minikes' swearing-in ceremony be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
Remarks of Secretary of State Colin L. Powell at the Swearing-in of Stephan M. Minikes Ambassador Ducaru: Distinguished Guests, welcome to The Department of State. It is my honor and pleasure today to swear-in a distinguished civic leader as our next Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe: Steve Minikes. As a boy in Nazi Germany, Steve knew what it is like to live under oppression. His relatives died in concentration camps. He saw hate consume a country, ravage a continent, and cause a world war. Later, he saw a devastated Europe divided by force and a hot war replaced by a cold one. And since the age of eleven, when he found his new home in America, Steve Minikes has never for a minute taken freedom for granted, not his or anyone else's. And so, when President Bush selected Steve to be his personal envoy to the OSCE, he knew that he was choosing a person who would be deeply committed to the fundamental principles of the Helsinki process.
The President knew that Steve needed no convincing that human rights, the rule of law and democracy are inextricably linked to prosperity, stability and security. And the President knew that in Steve he was choosing someone who would work hard and well to realize, in all its fullness, the dream of a Europe whole and free. And so, Ladies and Gentlemen, Steve Minikes will bring to his new position a deep commitment to serve the country that gave him a new life, and a strong determination to help the continent of his birth attain its highest hopes.
And Steve will bring a lot more to the table besides. He will bring expertise in and out of government that spans the law, management, banking, trade, energy and defense. He will bring a reputation for excellence and dedication that extends from the corporate world to Capitol Hill, from the Pentagon to the White House, as the presence here of friends from Congress and from a wide range of federal agencies attests. Steve also brings his experience as a Director of the Washington Opera, which will serve him very well at OSCE. Think about it. Conducting multilateral diplomacy with 54 other sovereign countries: countries as big as Russia, Germany and the United States on the one hand, and as small as Liechtenstein, San Marino and Malta on the other. And each of them with a veto. That's a lot like staging the elephant scene from Aida, only easier. The American people are truly fortunate that they can count on a citizen as accomplished and admired as Steve to represent them at so important a forum as the OSCE.
I know that Steve would be the first to agree with me, however, when I say that we would not have been able to contribute so much to his community and his country, had it not been for the love and support of his family. I want to especially welcome his partner in life, Dede and their daughter Alexandra and her husband Julian. A warm greeting as well to Dede's sister Jackie and brother Peter and their families. I think they all deserve a round of applause.
Ladies and Gentlemen: Twenty-six years ago when President Ford signed the Final Act in Helsinki, he said that the Helsinki process would be judged not by the promises made but by the promises kept. Thanks in incalculable measure to the men and women who braved totalitarian repression to ensure that the promises made in Helsinki would be kept, all 55 members of the OSCE are truly independent nations today, able to chart their own course for a new century. The promises made in Helsinki during the Cold War and reaffirmed during the post-Cold War period, are still fundamental to European security and cooperation in this post-, post-Cold War world. And, like all his predecessors from Gerald Ford to William Clinton, President Bush is strongly committed to fulfilling the promise of Helsinki.
The President and I are counting on you, Steve, to work with our fellow member states, with the various OSCE institutions that have been established, and, of course, with the Members of the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, to that noble end. Human rights and fundamental freedoms remain the heart and soul of OSCE. Keep them in the spotlight. Democracy and the rule of law are key to fighting hatred, extremism and terrorism. Work with our OSCE partners, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Representative for Free Media to consolidate democratic processes and promote freedom of expression. Help OSCE foster ethnic tolerance. Help it protect human dignity by strengthening efforts against trafficking in persons.
We also look to you, Steve, with your private sector experience, to explore ways to develop OSCE's economic and environmental dimensions. OSCE has done some good work on corruption and good governance. Portugal, the incoming Chairman-in-Office, has some interesting ideas on transboundary water issues. Help us think about what else we might do.
The President and I also depend on you to utilize and strengthen OSCE's unique capacities for conflict prevention and crisis management. To work with OSCE's High Commissioner on National Minorities in addressing the root causes of ethnic conflict.
We will also look to you to support OSCE's field missions which are contributing to stability from Tajikistan to Kosovo. In the security dimension of OSCE, good progress has been made in meeting conventional force reduction commitments. We will count on you, Steve, to help resolve the remaining issues. The Voluntary Fund for Moldova is a valuable tool for getting rid of weapons and ammunition. Keep using it. OSCE's action plan will be valuable in fighting terrorism. Implementation is critical. Keep the momentum going.
Institutionally speaking, OSCE's strengths remain its flexibility, the high degree of political will that is reflected in its consensus decisions, and the politically binding nature of its commitments. As OSCE considers how it might best adapt to changing needs, do not compromise these strengths. Build upon them. Ladies and Gentlemen, next week, Steve and I will travel to Bucharest for a meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council. There, the Chairmanship-in-Office will pass from the capable hands of Romania into the able hands of Portugal. And I will just as confidently witness the passing of the baton from Ambassador Johnson to Ambassador Minikes.
There is a great deal of important work ahead for the OSCE. There are still many promises to keep. And Steve, the President and I know that you will help us keep them. You and Dede have President Bush's and my best wishes as you embark upon your new mission for our country. And now it is my pleasure to administer the oath of office.


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It's mostly the usual suspects on the latest Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans: Bill Gates tops the list for the 20th consecutive year, with a net worth of $72 billion, followed by investor Warren Buffett and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison.
The Koch brothers, Charles and David, tie for fourth place, while Walton family members with an interest in retail behemoth Wal-Mart occupy positions 6 through 9.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, with $31 billion, comes in at No. 10. Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, is No. 12; Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin rank 13 and 14 respectively and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is No. 20 on the list, with a net worth of $19 billion.
Microsoft founder and philanthropist Gates — who was briefly edged out by Mexican technology and finance tycoon Carlos Slim for the title of world's richest person — has regained the top spot globally as well.
"The 400 wealthiest Americans are worth a record $2.02 trillion, roughly equivalent to the GDP of Russia. That is a gain of $300 billion from a year ago, and more than double a decade ago. The average net worth of list members is a staggering $5 billion, $800 million more than a year ago and also a record. The minimum net worth needed to make the 400 list was $1.3 billion. The last time it was that high was in 2007 and 2008, before property and stock market values began sliding. Because the bar is so high, 61 American billionaires didn't make the cut."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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It's not unusual for homeowners to like different areas of their homes to be cooler or warmer throughout the day. Perhaps you have young children, and you want to keep their rooms warmer in the winter, or maybe you have a seldom-used room that you want to keep cooler or warmer.
It might be time to research zoning systems. Zoning systems are a great way to enhance your home comfort and possibly lower your energy bills.
A zoning system splits your house into multiple zones, which means you can customize the temperature for those different zones for increased comfort. An HVAC zoning system works with motorized dampers in the ductwork to control and send air to those zones to achieve better home comfort.
Who should think about a zoning system? It's a wonderful solution if you have several family members with different temperature preferences. Homes that have multiple stories or more spacious floorplans will also benefit from zoning systems, because it may be more difficult to control the airflow and temps in larger homes.
You can also take a look at the available technology that lets you manage these zones from your phone, tablet, or computer—in addition to your thermostat. If you are away on a trip or the temperatures took a turn after you left, you can adjust it even if you aren't at home!
It's time to bring balance and control to your heating and cooling system. Temp Air System Inc., our experts can come to visit with you and determine what would help you feel more comfortable in your home. If you are having challenges keeping all the areas of your home at the desired temperature, call our experts to learn more about zoning systems.


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Tonight the Dodgers begin to round out their final Spring Training/Exhibition Season with a game at Dodger Stadium (the next day's game will be played at Angels Stadium in whatever city that is). This will mark the first time that Dodger fans will have a chance to experience a game in the newly-remodeled stadium, so hopefully SoSG readers who are out at the Yard will check in with reports on new/changed elements of the stadium.
Let's work on getting into mid-season commenting form, SoSG readers!
Image courtesy of the Los Angeles Dodgers


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C 22 U I Marten Machining I Precision mechanics & optics
When Al Marten set up his business, he started with nothing but a passion to make things and a keen eye for detail.
Like many other American entrepreneurs, Marten's experience as an employee convinced him that he could be successful as his own boss. After eight years working as a toolmaker and mould builder, 1984 was the year in which he reckoned the time was ripe to found his own business. He had nobody working for him and no customers, and the only location he owned and could turn into a workshop was a double garage in Stevens Point in Wisconsin. The recurring theme in Marten's career had always been: "OK, so how does that work?" And that has not changed to this day – Marten is still consumed by curiosity and the desire to learn and make, which is why his business has expanded and he continues to leave a lasting impression on people around him.
In just three years the company had grown to the point when its capacity
had to be increased through the purchase of the first CNC machine. Whatever machine he was finally going to buy, Marten was determined to put it through all the hoops. One of those suppliers who made it onto the shortlist was a German CNC machine tool manufacturer he had noticed in an advertisement – Hermle AG. Before taking a final decision, he decided to test the machine using a sample. During his meeting with the Hermle representative, the latter first had a close look at the test program for five long minutes. Then he said: "OK, and this is where WE come in." The two of them then went through every detail of the program, looking for possible problems and finding workarounds in advance. That took nearly 45 minutes, and then the time had come to mill the sample piece. Marten was duly impressed when the test piece came out of the machine, exactly as he wanted it and displaying the required precision after just a single run through. And because Marten was then able to manufacture highest-precision products, his company skyrocketed. Even after 30 years he still enjoys looking back to his first encounter with Hermle. "I COOPERATED with the representative for 45 minutes – and learned something."
What he learned with the purchase of his first Hermle machine simply fanned the flame of his "OK, so how does that work?" curiosity, and in the end that led to the whole company dedicating itself to training CNC machine operators. Over the years, Marten Machining has given dozens of prospective machine operators the opportunity to prove their mettle as trainers. Today, there are several fully automated Hermle machines operating at Marten Machining; in the course of time over 20 have been purchased. This makes the company from northern Wisconsin a shining example for successful training of highly qualified specialists. "There is always something to learn," says Marten. "Even after all those years that I've been in this business, I'm still learning, and we're unbelievably proud of the work we do for our customers. But being able to pass on this knowledge and to open up learning paths for the next generation gives me the same amount of satisfaction as everything that I've already achieved during my working life."
Marten Machining is continuing to prosper, 30 years after the purchase of the first Hermle machine. The company premises are now almost 2800 square metres in size and the days of the double garage are almost lost in the mists of time. Marten is expecting delivery of his 22nd Hermle machine in November.


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3DVinci started
life as F1 Books, offering professional-level books on SketchUp,
Piranesi, OneCNC, and other applications. I started writing
tutorials for SketchUp back in 2002, when hardly anyone had even
heard of SketchUp (or Bonnie Roskes for that matter). I've continued
producing and updating the pro books, and have added projects for kids as well (ModelMetricks and GeomeTricks). The SketchUp Specialty Series currently includes books that focus on 3D printing and interior design, and more titles are planned for the future.
I live in Washington, DC with my husband and kids.


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Jacob Lawrence (1917–2000) was one of the most influential and compelling painters of the twentieth century whose work focused on the struggles of historical and contemporary black culture.
Exhibition courtesy of the Amistad Research Center, New Orleans, Louisiana and sponsored in part the Office of the Chancellor; Office of the Provost; Office of Diversity, Equity, and Access; Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; and Krannert Art Museum
At twenty years old, Lawrence began a series of 41 paintings on the life of Toussaint L'Ouverture, the revolutionary who in 1791 led the founding of Haiti as the first republic established by former slaves. The Haitian Revolution has been an important symbol of the fight against slavery and the struggle for emancipation and civil rights in the United States and around the world. The Toussaint L'Ouverture series (1937–38) is on loan from The Amistad Research Center, Tulane University and is an important focus for the University of Illinois' commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and celebration of the Sesquicentennial Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation (1862).
Lawrence also produced series on the lives of anti-slavery activists Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. He is perhaps best known for the 60 paintings compromising The Migration of the Negro series (1940-41) that tell the story of the migration of African Americans from the rural South to the industrialized urban North during the Great Depression.
Select Programming
January 24, 2013
Lecture, "Jacob Lawrence's Toussaint L'Ouverture Series: Historical & Art/Historical Contexts" with Barry Gaither, Executive Director, Museum of the National Center for Afro-American Artists, Boston


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GS1 And 3 Review Data And Measurement Games (ID: 624)
EOC review for data
metric system. (CA:
6th - 7th)
Preview Questions in the Games
If you are confused about any question or answer choices in the games make sure to review it with a teacher. Enjoy! |
Snowball Fight
Throw snowballs and hit as many people as possible before they hit you [How To Play Snowball Fight] |
Heroic Ants Fun game where you throw an ant across the yard and see how far it goes [How To Play Heroic Ants] |
Paper Bird
In this strangely addictive game you need to help a paper bird fly through the obstacles [How To Play Paper Bird] |
Wild Wild Taxi Racing
Drive as fast as possible and go as far as you can without crashing your cab into other cars [How To Play Wild Taxi] |
Free Kick Soccer
Try and score a penalty shot against a goalie but keep your eye on the target or you might miss [How To Play Free Kick Soccer] |
Tower Blocks An addicting game where the player needs to stack the blocks as high as they can before they fall [How To Play Tower Blocks] |
Jumping Tiles
You need to click the highlighted tile to jump onto the next tile. The faster you finish, the higher your score [How To Play Tiles] |
Ghost Man
Try to eat as many dots as possible before the scary ghosts attack you and end your turn of play [How To Play Ghost Man] |
Moles in Holes
Connect the moles to the food with tunnels and the tunnels must not cross each other [How To Play Moles in Holes] |
Alien Intruders
Aliens are attacking and you must try to defend yourself before they destroy you! [How To Play Alien Intruders] |
Word Grid
Try to find as many words as you can. The bigger the word the more points! [How To Play Word Grid] |
Bouncing Balls
Try to get clear as many balls from the screen before they fall [How To Play Bouncing Balls] |
Coin Under Cups
Select the cups which contain coin(s) after they are shuffled around [How To Play Coins Under Cups] |
Leaping Frog
Help this frog get to the other side by controlling its jumps! [How To Play Leaping Frogs] |
Multiple Choice Test
Do not feel like playing a game? In this non-game format, pick the answer and see if you are correct. |
Lets you study just as you would using real flashcards to drive home the material. |
Fill it!
How well do you know your stuff? Questions displayed but no answers, type the correct one, but remember, spelling counts! |
Match it!
Eight random questions selected from the data set and all correct answers displayed, try to match the correct choice! |
Log In | Sign Up / Register
Log In | Sign Up / Register


text: Browse Goth Money upcoming concerts in Los Angeles, CA. These mesmerizing shows will leave you breathless and provide great memories for years to come. Don't miss out on your chance to watch the epic shows. Find great seats and buy concert tickets or VIP packages for upcoming concerts in LA at the lowest price.


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NOBULL: USDA starts new program to track farm animals – Quotes Kenny Fox
USDA starts new program to track farm animals
(Quotes R-CALF USA Animal ID Committee Chair Kenny Fox)
Published April 17, 2013
Associated Press
July, 2012: The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection has launched a new livestock identification program to help agriculture officials to quickly track livestock in cases of disease. (The Associated Press)
July, 2012: Farmers and ranchers are likely to use ear tags that assign a number to each animal. (The Associated Press)
MILWAUKEE – The federal government has launched a new livestock identification program to help agriculture officials to quickly track livestock in cases of disease.
It is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's second attempt at implementing such a system, which officials say is critical to maintaining the security of the nation's food supply. An earlier, voluntary program failed because of widespread opposition among farmers and ranchers who described it as a costly hassle that didn't help control disease.
There has been talk for years among consumer advocates about establishing a program that would trace food from farm to plate. The livestock identification system doesn't go that far and isn't meant to. Its main goal is to track animals' movements so agriculture and health officials can quickly establish quarantines and take other steps to prevent the spread of disease.
"This ensures that healthy animals can continue to move freely to processing facilities, providing a dependable and affordable source for consumers as well as protecting producer's livelihoods," Abby Yigzaw, spokeswoman for the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said in an email.
Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia's Center for Food Safety, said livestock identification also helps investigators determine the source of disease — and whether it happened naturally or someone tampered with the food system.
"Identify the farm from which it originated, which can help you identify the source," Doyle said, adding, "Did it come in from the feed? Was it intentional?"
The federal government has been trying for nearly a decade to establish an animal identification system. It introduced a voluntary program in 2006 but scrapped it several years later amid widespread complaints from farmers about the expense and red tape. Some also worried about possible privacy violations with the collection of information about their properties. The program ultimately failed because relatively few participated.
The new program is mandatory but more limited in scope. It applies only to animals being shipped across state lines, and it gives states flexibility in deciding how animals will be identified — an important concession to cattle ranchers in western states, where brands are still commonly used.
While the program covers a range of livestock, much of the focus has been on cattle. That's partly because aggressive programs to fight diseases such as sheep scabies have already resulted in widespread identification of those animals, said Neil Hammerschmidt, APHIS' animal disease traceability program manager. Tracking cows has been less of a concern over the past decade because earlier programs targeting diseases that affect them have been successful, he said.
Still, tracebacks — in which a sick animal's movements are reviewed as part of the effort to control the spread of a disease — aren't unusual. Dr. Paul McGraw, the state veterinarian in Wisconsin, a top dairy state, recalled a number done because of tuberculosis in cattle.
"It's probably safe to say nationwide, there's probably been five or six of those in the last two to three years," McGraw said.
The rules that went into effect March 11 require dairy cows and sexually intact beef cattle over 18 months of age to be registered when they are shipped over state lines and outline acceptable forms of identification. In most cases, farmers and ranchers are likely to use ear tags that assign a number to each animal.
"I'd say it's very similar to a license plate on a car," Hammerschmidt said.
In Wisconsin, many of the larger dairy farms have already switched to ear tags that can be scanned electronically, said Mark Diederichs, president of the Board of Directors of the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin. The tags meet federal standards but aren't required because of the cost.
Diederichs and his partners, who have about 5,400 cows split between farms in Malone and Poy Sippi, began using them eight years ago in part because they save time. Workers with hand-held devices can scan the tags and immediately pull up animals' birth, medical and other records.
The tags also are important as companies like McDonald's want to know where their food came from and be able to trace it back, Diederichs said, adding, "I think that's going to be the bigger push" for others to switch.
The federal rules allow two states to agree on alternative forms of identification, such as brands, for use with animals shipped between them.
South Dakota rancher Kenny Fox said this is an improvement over the earlier program, but he still believes the federal government should recognize brands. Ear tags can fall off, but brands are a permanent mark of ownership, he said. And brands can be registered and assigned a number in computer systems so that they can be quickly tracked back to a farm or ranch.
Fox, the animal identification committee chairman for R-Calf USA, an advocacy group for ranchers, said the program won't mean a big change in practice for him. He has about 500 cows plus their calves in Belvidere, S.D., and already tags his cows as part of a program to control brucellosis, a disease that can cause pregnant animals to miscarry. But he also brands his cattle because the state recognizes brands as proof of ownership.
"It has been very beneficial to our operation," Fox said. "In the past, the inspectors have found three, four animals that belong to me that were mixed up with other people's livestock."
It would be nice, Fox said, if he could use brands for both livestock tracking and proof of ownership. But he added, "I'm thankful they didn't keep using the (earlier program). It just wasn't going to work out here in this country."
Laurel Masterson
Membership Services Coordinator