text:
Home > Regulation
& Examinations >
Bank Examinations >Trust Examination Manual
Trust Examination Manual
Advisory Opinion
June 7, 2002
Wallace M. Starke, Esq.
Troutman, Sanders, Mays & Valentine, L.L.P.
P.O. Box 1122
Richmond, VA 23218-1122
ERISA Sec. 408(e)
Dear Mr. Starke:
This is in response to your request for an advisory opinion regarding the application of section 408(e) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA) to certain transactions between a plan and various personal trusts and estates sharing a common trustee with the plan.
You represent that National Bankshares, Inc. (NBI) is a bank holding company which owns all the issued and outstanding stock of the National Bank of Blacksburg (the Bank). The Bank is a national banking association subject to the supervision of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
You further represent that NBI acts as plan sponsor of the National Bankshares, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan (the ESOP) and the Bank is a participating employer with respect to the ESOP. You state that the Bank serves as trustee of the ESOP and also serves as trustee of various inter vivos and executorial trusts and estates (referred to hereafter as personal trusts). You state that to the best of your knowledge, none of the personal trusts are ERISA plans, parties in interest with respect to the ESOP as defined in section 3(14) of ERISA, or disqualified persons within the meaning of section 4975(e) of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code).
You state that the ESOP is an employee stock ownership plan within the meaning of 4975(e)(7) of the Code and section 407(d)(6) of ERISA. It is intended to be qualified under section 401(a) of the Code and last received a favorable determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service to that effect on June 1, 1995. The ESOP, by its terms, is designed to invest primarily in the stock of NBI. NBI's outstanding stock consists of one class of common stock which is readily traded on the NASDAQ small cap market.
You request an advisory opinion regarding several transactions involving the purchase by the ESOP of NBI stock from several personal trusts for which the Bank also serves as trustee. No broker was used for the sales. You represent that the Bank as trustee for the ESOP initiated such purchases of NBI stock for the ESOP. You state that the Bank has an established procedure to obtain, prior to executing any acquisition of NBI stock by the ESOP from a personal trust, written consent from the primary beneficiary or any co-fiduciary of the personal trust to sell NBI stock owned by the personal trust to the ESOP.
You state that no commission was charged to the ESOP or the personal trusts in connection with the NBI stock purchases in question. The consideration paid by the ESOP for the NBI stock was cash equal to the bid price for such shares as quoted by the online service MSN Money Central, a price which was not more than the fair market value of such shares at the time of their purchase. The trustee did not receive any consideration for its personal account in connection with any of the NBI stock purchases in question.
You state that MSN Money Central is an online pricing service that obtains its stock quotes from Standard and Poor's ComStock, Inc., the same service used by a number of other pricing services. You state that there is a 15-minute delay when a stock quote is obtained from MSN Money Central, and that in each of the purchases at issue the transaction was executed within 15 minutes of the time that a price quote was obtained. You state that effecting the trade at the bid price, rather than the asked price, benefitted the plan in that the bid price in most, if not all, cases is lower than the asked price.
A total of ten such transactions occurred between June of 2000 and April of 2001 representing a total of 7,646 shares of NBI stock and a total sale price of $163,301. During an examination by the OCC of the operations of the trust department of the Bank, the OCC examiner questioned whether these transactions were prohibited by ERISA and the Code.
You request the Department's view as to whether the described transactions are exempt from the prohibited transaction restrictions of ERISA and the Code by virtue of sections 408(e) of ERISA and 4975(d)(13) of the Code.
Section 406(a)(1)(A) and (D) of ERISA prohibit a fiduciary with respect to a plan from causing a plan to engage in a transaction if s/he knows or should know that such transaction constitutes a direct or indirect sale or exchange, or leasing of any property between a plan and a party in interest; or a transfer to, or use for the benefit of, a party in interest, of any assets of the plan. Section 3(14)(A) and (C) of ERISA define a party in interest with respect to a plan to include a fiduciary of the plan and an employer any of whose employees are covered by such plan.
Section 406(a)(1)(E) of ERISA prohibits a fiduciary with respect to a plan from causing the plan to engage in a transaction if s/he knows or should know that such transaction constitutes a direct or indirect acquisition, on behalf of the plan, of any employer security in violation of section 407(a). In addition section 406(a)(2) prohibits certain fiduciaries from permitting a plan to hold any employer security if s/he knows or should know that holding such security violates section 407(a).
Section 407(a) of ERISA provides, in part, that a plan may not acquire or hold any employer security which is not a qualifying employer security.
Section 406(b)(1) and (2) of ERISA prohibit a fiduciary with respect to a plan from dealing with the assets of a plan in his or her own interest or for his own account, or from acting in his or her individual or in any other capacity in any transaction involving the plan on behalf of a party (or representing a party) whose interests are adverse to the interests of the plan or the interests of its participants or beneficiaries. Section 406(b)(3) prohibits a fiduciary with respect to a plan from receiving any consideration for his own personal account from any party dealing with such plan in connection with a transaction involving the assets of a plan.
However, section 408(e) of ERISA provides, in part, that sections 406(a) and 406(b)(1) and (2) shall not apply to the acquisition or sale by a plan of qualifying employer securities (as defined in section 407(d)(5)) if the following conditions are met: (1) the acquisition or sale is for adequate consideration; (2) no commission is charged with respect to the acquisition or sale; and (3) the plan is an eligible individual account plan (as defined in section 407(d)(3))… 2.
Section 407(d)(1) of ERISA defines the term employer security in part to mean a security issued by an employer of employees covered by the plan or by an affiliate of such employer. With respect to eligible individual account plans, section 407(d)(5) of ERISA defines the term qualifying employer security to include an employer security which is a stock.
Section 3(18) of ERISA defines the term adequate consideration to include, in the case of a security for which there is a generally recognized market and if the security is not traded on a national securities exchange which is registered under section 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, a price not less favorable to the plan than the offering price for the security as established by the current bid and asked prices quoted by persons independent of the issuer and of any party in interest.
The term eligible individual account plan is defined under section 407(d)(3) as including employee stock ownership plans which explicitly provide for the acquisition and holding of qualifying employer securities.
Based on the representations described in your request, it is the opinion of the Department that the ESOP constitutes an eligible individual account plan inasmuch as the plan is an employee stock ownership plan within the meaning of 4975(e)(7) of the Code and 407(d)(6) of ERISA and is designed, by its terms, to invest primarily in the common stock of NBI.
You have represented that the transactions involve the purchase of NBI common stock by the ESOP. You state that the ESOP is maintained for the benefit of the employees of NBI, the Bank, and any other NBI affiliate which adopts the ESOP as a participating employer. The Bank, as a wholly owned subsidiary of NBI, constitutes an affiliate of NBI on the basis of the facts you describe. Based on your representations, it is the Department's view that common stock of NBI will constitute qualifying employer securities with respect to the ESOP.
You represent that none of these trusts are parties in interest as defined under section 3(14). As a result, a violation of section 406(a) would not have occurred with respect to the transactions. You have also represented that the transactions involve the purchase of NBI common stock by the ESOP from several personal trusts for which the Bank also serves as the trustee. Such transactions would involve violations of section 406(b)(2).
Further, the Department has stated that to the extent that an investment manager exercises discretion over both sides of a transaction in a cross-trade transaction, there is potential for the investment manager to use its discretion to favor one account over another, for example, in the pricing or timing of the trade or in the decision to buy or sell securities for an ERISA account. Such acts could result in one or more violations of the fiduciary provisions of Title I of ERISA in addition to those described in section 406(b)(2).
Regulations issued by the Department clarify that section 408(e), by its terms, exempts certain transactions from the prohibitions of section 406(a) and 406(b)(1) and (2). Accordingly, it is the view of the Department that the acquisitions of NBI stock by the ESOP under the circumstances described would be exempt from the prohibitions of 406(a), and 406(b)(1) and (2) by virtue of section 408(e) provided that the transactions are for adequate consideration and that no commission is charged with respect to the transactions.
Whether the terms of section 408(e) have been met with respect to a transaction is an inherently factual question which may only be answered by the appropriate plan fiduciaries based on all of the relevant facts and circumstances. The Department generally will not opine as to whether a particular transaction is for adequate consideration. Rather, the Department believes that such determinations should be made by appropriate plan fiduciaries on the basis of all relevant facts and circumstances.
We would note, however, that the fact that a transaction is exempt under section 408(e) is not determinative of whether a fiduciary has met its fiduciary obligations under ERISA. Section 404(a)(1)(A) of ERISA requires plan fiduciaries to discharge their duties with respect to a plan solely in the interest of plan participants and beneficiaries and for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to participants and beneficiaries and defraying the reasonable expenses of administering the plan. Section 404(a)(1)(B) requires plan fiduciaries to act with the care, skill, prudence and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent man acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character with like aims. Section 403(c)(1) provides that the assets of a plan shall never inure to the benefit of an employer and shall be held for the exclusive purposes of providing benefits to participants and beneficiaries and defraying reasonable expenses of administering the plan.
The general standards of fiduciary conduct contained in sections 404(a)(1) and 403(c) apply to the described purchases of NBI stock by the ESOP. Accordingly, fiduciaries of the ESOP must act prudently, solely in the interest of the plan's participants and beneficiaries, and for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits and defraying reasonable plan administrative costs when deciding whether to acquire NBI stock for the ESOP. Therefore, if plan fiduciaries failed to act in compliance with these general fiduciary standards in the acquisition of the NBI stock for the ESOP, they would be liable for losses resulting from such breaches of fiduciary responsibility regardless of whether the acquisition may be exempt from certain prohibited transaction restrictions by virtue of section 408(e).
If, under the facts and circumstances of any transaction, the Bank uses the authority which makes it a fiduciary with respect to the transaction to benefit personal trust clients at the expense of the ESOP, or otherwise fails to act solely in the interest of plan participants and beneficiaries in deciding to purchase NBI stock for the ESOP, violations of sections 404(a)(1) and 403(c) could occur.
This letter constitutes an advisory opinion under ERISA Procedure 76-1, 41 Fed. Reg. 36281 (Aug. 27, 1976). Accordingly, it is issued subject to the provisions of that procedure, including section 10 thereof relating to the effect of advisory opinions.
Louis J. Campagna
Chief, Division of Fiduciary Interpretations
Office of Regulations and Interpretations


text:
With President Barack Obamas re-election, there has been considerable talk that gun control will be a central focus of his second term. How that might play out remains to be seen, but I, for one, would welcome an honest discussion about guns.
What I see instead is a lot of nonsense and hyperbole, from well-intentioned people concerned about random violence and mass killings who too often know little about guns and from equally earnest gun enthusiasts who fear any talk of gun control as an attack on their Second Amendment rights.
But the issue isnt the Second Amendment it has never guaranteed the right to possess any arms imaginable under any conceivable circumstances. Nor is the question how to end all gun-related violence or protect all Americans, neither of which is remotely possible.
What is it about is leverage. We cannot eradicate evil, but we can minimize the amount of power individuals can assert over others. And to my mind, the combination of semi-automatc weapons, modern ammunition and high-capacity magazines affords the wrong people too much leverage far too easily.
Two of my best childhood friends were brothers whose father was an avid hunter and an ordance engineer. Weapons for which ammunition was available were locked up, but there were lots of others around. (Note to parents: Just because ammunition for an ancient 7.5 mm Schmidt-Rubin or a .50-70 trapdoor Springfield is hard to come by doesnt mean a determined 14-year-old cant make something that will approximate it and then fire it. Details not forthcoming.)
The point being, knowledge on this subject is hardly top secret. Try Smiths Small Arms of the World. Nonetheless, gun-control advocates persist in calling for a ban on assault rifles, without offering a definition substantially more meaningful than what might be scary-looking.
At the same time, some gun advocates have adopted an extreme and untenable vision of gun rights. The basic understanding has long been that there is a dividing line between arms that are permissible and those that are not: For whatever reason they want, civilians can have rifles, shotguns and handguns; more serious hardware such as machine guns or artillery are the province of the military. That line has been subtly challenged, however, with newer technology.
For a century or so, infantrymen went to war with what were essentially hunting rifles. But since the 1950s or 60s, U.S. small arms have become far more devastating and more specifically designed to attack human beings. And it is the type and quantity of ammunition as much as the guns.
The standard U.S. military rifle cartridge throughout World Wars I and II, and Korea was the venerable .30-06. It easily exceeds all of the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlifes requirements for big-game hunting. The .223 round fired by the AR-15 does not. And there are reasons for that.
By the middle of World War II, the Germans had figured out that most infantry combat took place within a few hundred yards and didnt require a rifle lethal at a mile or more. They likewise realized that range was still too great for submachine guns (such as the famous Tommy gun) that fired pistol ammunition.
So, they created a gun that fired an intermediate cartridge, one shorter, lighter and less powerful than their standard rifle round (7.92 x 33 instead of 7.92 x 57) but more accurate and more powerful than pistol ammunition. It could be fired semi- or fully automatically, and with that, a soldier had a more effective weapon and could carry more ammunition.
Hitler, enamoured of his own propaganda, called it an assault rifle.
But with the AR-15/M-16, the U.S. took things a step further and developed a weapon that was not only lightweight and lethal, but also, by virtue of firing a smaller, faster bullet, produced worse wounds. In the grisly calculus of war, badly wounding an enemy reduces enemy strength not only by the one shot, but also by the two or more required to care for the wounded.
But by what logic does any of that thinking fall on the same side of the dividing line as a boys .22 or a trap shooters shotgun and not on the other side with land mines and surface-to-air missiles? It makes sense only in the context of the constant repetition that any gun law is a move toward complete confiscation an assertion that serves only the gun makers who actually moved the line the other way.
The situation with high-capacity magazines and handguns is much the same with the added caveat that semi-automatic handguns appear to be the street criminals weapon of choice.
No reasonable person wants to ban guns, and no one at all thinks such a move is even possible. But there has to be a way to limit the leverage a person can exert. Background checks and mental-health efforts hold promise, but in the end, any serious attempt to limit mass killings must also focus on ammunition and magazines. After all, guns dont kill people; bullets do.
Bill Roberts is the Heralds editorial page editor. Reach him at 375-4560 or email email@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TAX DEED Notice is hereby given that MTAG Cust for Agate Management LLC, holder of tax certificate No. 2089 issued June 1, 2006, has filed same in my office and has made application for a tax deed to be issued thereon. Said certificate embraces the following described property in the County of St. Johns, State of Florida, to-wit: PARCEL NUMBER 132090-0000 SEC 45 TWP 07 RGE 29 1-77 CLARK ADDITION LOTS 23 & 24 BLOCK 29 OR239/493 & 323/28(Q/C) & OR853/697(Q/C) & 908/1053(Q/C) The assessment of the said property under the said certificate issued was in the name of LEVY WADDLEY, PHILIP WISE, DARRYL C. WISE & VANESSA E. WISE. Unless said certificate shall be redeemed according to law, the property described therein will be sold to the highest bidder at the front door of the RICHARD O. WATSON Judicial Center, 4010 Lewis Speedway, St. Augustine, Florida, 32084, on MARCH 25, 2009 at 12:00 o'clock noon. Dated this Feb. 9, 2009. (OFFICIAL SEAL) Cheryl Strickland Clerk of Circuit Court of St. Johns County, Florida By: Andrea L. Chase Deputy Clerk In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act persons needing a special accommodation to participate in this proceeding should contact the Clerk of Court at 4010 Lewis Speedway, St. Augustine, FL 32084 no later than seven days prior to the sale date. Telephone: (904) 819-3657; 1-800-955-8771 (TDD) or 1-800-955-8770 (V), via Florida Relay Service. L433-9 Feb 18, 25, Mar 4, 11, 2009
Posted from 18-Feb-09 to 11-Mar-09
© 2018. All Rights Reserved. Contact Us


text:
This study is provided by ICPSR. ICPSR provides leadership and training in data access, curation, and methods of analysis for a diverse and expanding social science research community.
ABC News/Washington Post Poll, January 2000 (ICPSR 2965)
Principal Investigator(s): ABC News; The Washington Post
This poll, fielded January 10, 2000, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President Bill Clinton and his handling of the presidency, foreign policy, and the economy, as well as their views on the upcoming November 7, 2000, presidential election and the current presidential primary/caucus season. Respondents were asked how much attention they had paid to the 2000 presidential race and whether they intended to vote. Given a choice between Vice President Al Gore, former New Jersey senator Bill Bradley, Texas governor George W. Bush, and Arizona senator John McCain, those queried were asked for whom they would vote. Their views were sought on the most important issues of this presidential election and which candidate was best suited to handle issues such as education, the economy, taxes, Social Security/Medicare, campaign finance reform, international affairs, and health care. Respondents were asked if the following statements applied to Bradley, Bush, Gore, or McCain: typical politician, understands the average American, strong leader, experienced enough to be president, would bring needed change to Washington, DC, knowledgeable of world affairs, loyal to his political party, inspiring, and has a chance of winning the election. Respondents were asked for whom they would vote in a Democratic primary or caucus, given a choice between Gore and Bradley, and for whom they would vote in a Republican primary or caucus, given a choice among Bush, conservative commentator Pat Buchanan, publisher Steve Forbes, McCain, radio talk show host Alan Keyes, Family Research Council president Gary Bauer, and Utah senator Orrin Hatch. Additional topics covered whether respondents were pleased with the choice of candidates for the 2000 election, whether they would support a plan whereby candidates agreed to participate in twice-weekly debates and agreed not to run televised political advertisements, and whether they believed homosexuals should be allowed to serve in the military. Background information on respondents includes age, sex, education, political party, political orientation, Hispanic descent, voter registration and participation history, military service, labor union membership, and family income.
Access Notes
Data in this collection are available only to users at ICPSR member institutions. Please log in so we can determine if you are with a member institution and have access to these data files.
Study Description
ABC News/The Washington Post. ABC NEWS/WASHINGTON POST POLL, JANUARY 2000. ICPSR version. Horsham, PA: Chilton Research Services [producer], 2000. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2000. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR02965.v1
Persistent URL: https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR02965.v1
Export Citation:
- RIS (generic format for RefWorks, EndNote, etc.)
- EndNote XML (EndNote X4.0.1 or higher)
Scope of Study
Subject Terms: Bradley, Bill, Bush, George W., campaign finance reform, candidates, Clinton Administration (1993-2001), Clinton, Bill, economic conditions, education, foreign affairs, foreign policy, Gore, Al, health care, McCain, John, Medicare, political issues, presidency, presidential elections, presidential performance, public opinion, social issues, Social Security, taxes, voter attitudes, voting behavior
Geographic Coverage: United States
- 2000-01-10
(1) The data are provided as an SPSS portable file. (2) This collection has not been processed by ICPSR staff. ICPSR is distributing the data and documentation for this collection in essentially the same form in which they were received. When appropriate, hardcopy documentation has been converted to machine-readable form and variables have been recoded to ensure respondents' anonymity. (3) The codebook is provided as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF reader software, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided on the ICPSR Website.
Original ICPSR Release: 2000-10-18
Metadata Exports
- Citations exports are provided above.
Export Study-level metadata (does not include variable-level metadata)
If you're looking for collection-level metadata rather than an individual metadata record, please visit our Metadata Records page.


text:
Arkansans for Compassionate Care on Thursday released a list of 79 doctors from around the state who support the proposed initiated act on next week's ballot. The measure would allow patients with qualifying conditions to buy marijuana from nonprofit dispensaries with a doctor's recommendation.
The group announced the doctors' support at a news conference that featured Steve Jenison, chair of the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Advisory Board. Jenison said Arkansas' proposal closely mirrors New Mexico's medical marijuana law.
Another group of doctors last week announced their opposition to the proposed act.
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana in some form.


text:
watch the ring, the japanese version!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ya Ha!!! Damn secretary!
Hahah. It's funny to hear all these ghost stories. Hm, I heard something, but it isn't that great. Read it if you want to.
There was this girl with really bad skin. It wasn't the kind of skin that you get from irritation or such, but it was more like some genetic.. mutation? If you get what I'm saying. Something she was born with. So she tried all these things on her own. Changing her eating habits to using creams.
Then when she gave up on trying to figure it out, she turned to her mum. She gladly sought out to help her daughter and consulted a dermatologist. This dermatologist was particularly good at his job and was trusted by many people. So he told the mother to bathe her child in a tub of black sesame seeds and water for an hour. The mother being satisfied, told the girl and the girl took the matter into her own hands while her mum left with more important things to do.
Because she thought the sesame would make her look really good, and because she'd never really looked good her entire life, she decided to stay longer. So she bathed in the tub with the black sesame and slept for two hours.
She woke up feeling pulled around her in all places. Getting out of the water, she found the seeds buried under her skin with the black seeds just barely showing. Horrified, she looked for anything to pick it out. Finding the toenail clippers, she dug at her skin.
--Hmm.. I'm afraid that's all I know now. ^^ I wouldn't even be bothered to make up a fake ending to what I don't know.
Innocence Synchronisation: 1% D:
My brother told me this a few months ago. This happened to his friend.
This girl and her friends decided to go up to Marsh Road, where some time ago some guy raped a girl and then killed her. Apparently he even showed his friends that he killed her. Anyway it's believed that the girl haunts that road. So as the girl (My brother's friend) and her friends drove up to Marsh Road and took a cigarette break. They went back to the car and saw white finger prints near the bottom. Then I think it was the next day, she saw on her cell phone that it called 6 numbers at the exact same time. She came to school crying that day.
It's not all that freaky, but its kinda creepy because Marsh Road is like a road up in the mountains and my house is like RIGHT at the bottom of the mountains.
Never enough time to do all the nothing you want.
erm, tis is like an urban legend in my place. so here goes, tis story is much more appealing if u stays in hostel/boarding school..
there's tis girl, let's called her Amy. she's studying in her dorm at the middle of the night when suddenly she feels like she need some fresh air. so, she take her books and study at one of the gazebo just in front of her hostel, alone.
then come another girl. asking Amy is it ok if she study with her. Amy just nod and she's kinda happy with having someone with her.-it is the middle of the night. so, the 2 girls talk while studying.
then Amy drop her pencil, she pick it up. while picking it up, she noticed the girl sitting in front of her, has no feet (or foot? my english sux, so..). Amy try to remained calm and she said to the girl "it's getting late, and i'm sleepy, i think i better get back to my dorm.."
then, the girl raised her head, smile and said.. "ARE YOU GETTING SLEEPY OR YOU ALREADY FIND OUT WHO I AM??" and she laugh..
ok this is very lame
There is a man going to camping with his friends of six.Before meeting his friends at the desired destination, he came across a bookshop.Feeling curious, he went in to a have look.The bookshop was deserted.There is no people except the owner.The man decided to buy a horror stories book to tell his friends when they are camping at night in the forest.The man asked the owner whether there is any horror stories book for him to buy.The owner recommend he a book named "Ten Ways To See A Ghost".The man decided to buy.The owner charged him 50 bucks.Before the man leave the shop, the owner tell the man not to open the last page of the book, or else disaster will befall on him.The man remember what the owner told him.He ran to the destination to meet his friends.
Late at night, the man decided to use use the book whether they can see a ghost using that book.They tried for an hour but they can't see a ghost.They decided to take a sleep for the day.The man forget to keep the book inside his bag and left it on the ground.Suddenly, the man feel windy.The wind began to blow the book cover, followed by the book content page, and lastly the wind blow to last page.The wind blow no more.
The next morning, the man waked up and he saw the book was in the last page.He remember the shop owner tell him not to flip to the last page.But due to his curiosity, he take up the courage to read the content of the last page.He found that the book cost 25 bucks and not 50 bucks.The disaster is that the man is cheated by the shop owner.
Lamest of this story:10/10
BANKAi...Senbonzakura Kageyoshi ™
Hyummei wrote:
i heard this story from a friend about her uncle's daughter. this story is hard to believe because the setting seems to take place in the olden days but this story i believe is only ten years old. my people lead very poor lives, a lot of them still live life like how our ancestor once lived. it's a long story, i'll try to make it as short and as accurate as possible.
in our culture it's not forbidden but it is discourage for people to brag about the beauty of a person. just like how you can't say a baby is pretty or cute, their soul will be taken from them.
in this very small town there was this girl that the whole town thought was very beautiful. rumors about her beauty even went as far as into other nearby towns. people even walked far distances to meet her. then late one morning while she was in cleaning near the fireplace (in front of the fireplace was the door that lead outside) she saw a hand come out from the side of the door, gesturing her to follow it. she was scared so she ran to into bed with her parents. she told them what happened but they thought it was just her imagination. the night sometimes can play tricks on people's eyes.
the next morning when they woke up, they found their beautiful daughter dead. everyone grieved for her that day as they prepared to send her off. that night her father had a very weird dream. a guy appeared in his dreams asking for forgiveness that, the guy has taken his daughter to be his wife and in return they guy will pay him. but a dream is only a dream.
the next morning the man found a bag of money on his door step and in the sky arched a beautiful rainbow and just below it was a fainted, second rainbow. in our language, literally translating rainbow means dragon and a dragon only appears for very special and ominous reason. she was so beautiful that the words even got to the heavens. so, in our culture you must be careful if you're special. she was lucky the heavens took her, instead of the dead and lonely, clinging spirits.
i have a lot of stories if anyone wants to hear more. i'm fascinated by them.
ohhh i like them stories =) mabye because i can imagine it being set in my village in Hong Kong lol i like to hear more pleeaaasse~~
This is a story that my brothers friend told me.
In Hong Kong, there was a boy who always used to do his homework on a desk in front of an open window.
He always felt something brush against his neck every time the wind blew so he asked his mum to check the room and such. She found nothing.
But one day, when celebrating the boys good grades in school, the mum decided to take a picture of the boy hard at work on his desk. The picture showed a woman hung in front of the window, with her feet brushing across her sons neck.
Another one was that my cousin think she encountered a ghost in her room. She was half asleep but she was pretty sure she saw an old man sitting in her chair. She thought nothing of it and went back to sleep. Next morning her chair has puled out, even though she always tucks it in after doing her homework every night.
oh man .. i juz watch show at a theater with my friends ... 4 of us and 2 couples watching a korea ghost movie ... the 2 couples were sitting behind and 4 of us at the center the rest was empty T.T ... so scary ... infront and behind us were no body .. but nothing weird happened ^-^ .. phew ..
Behind u .. Boooo !!! Haha ^.^
ricaryx wrote:
If there's a topic similar to this, then please merge. :| I'm not asking about a scary experience like you almost crashed your car, almost died on an airplane, or you saw your grandma naked--no, not that. I'm talking about a horror story that's often times shared around a campfire while eating marshmallow. Something like that. It can be urban legend, a real ghost encounter, a hearsay, or just a plain old tale.
Please share. ^_^ I want to hear your stories.
Here's mine.
Five years ago, I was in high school, my English teacher told us about a bizaare experience two of her students had. They went to this newly built mall called Metropolis to watch a movie after class. It was late in the evening already so they managed to catch the Last show of the day. So they bought tickets and went in the theater. Inside, they saw a lot of people chitchatting. Nothing special. Just a typical scenario of a movie theater. And so, they watched the whole film.
When it was time to go, they headed for the exit. That was when they noticed the people inside weren't going anywhere. They were just in their seats. The two girls found it weird, since it was already late at night and that was supposed to be the last show for the day. Once they exited the theater, they asked the ticket boy in the booth about the people inside.
"How come they're not coming out? Is there another show after this?" they asked, or somewhere along those lines. The ticket boy just looked at them weird and told them straight that they were the only ones who were watching that movie. There was noone inside but them.
We've heard rumors that the ground the mall was built on used to be a graveyard. I don't know if that's true, but I know that story is true.
Okay, next!
This is a TRUE STORY
Child porn spurred Holly Jones' murderer
Updated Thu. Jun. 17 2004 11:26 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Michael Briere has pleaded guilty to the murder and dismemberment of 10-year-old Holly Jones, saying he was provoked to attack the girl after watching child pornography.
The 36-year-old software developer receives an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.
The girl's mother, Maria Jones, rocked back and forth and sobbed as Crown Counsel Paul Culver described how Holly was sexually assaulted, strangled to death and then dismembered.
Briere himself also made a tearful apology to the family, accepting full responsibility.
"What I did was absolutely wrong. It was cruel. It cannot be justified. It was meaningless and senseless," a tearful Briere told the court.
"I accept this sentence because I fully realize the pain which I have caused. I realize that I must be punished for this terrible wrong that I have done. I also realize that society wants to be protected from me and my behaviour."
Culver explained that Briere had spent May 12, 2003 at home watching child pornography downloaded from the Internet, as he had done many times before. He said he couldn't help himself, calling his obsession with pornography his "dark secret."
As he stepped outside immediately afterward, he happened to see Holly walking home from her friend's house. He managed to lure the girl near, then dragged her inside by the neck. Over the next hour, he sexually assaulted and strangled her.
Briere kept the girl's body overnight, then disposed of it the next morning in two gym bags in Lake Ontario.
As Briere and prosecutors spoke, many in the courtroom broke down in tears, reports CFTO's Austin Delaney.
"It was just an awful atmosphere in there. Everyone was crying -- seasoned police officers, reporters, just shedding tears, as the terrible, heinous act was described to the courtroom," he said.
In the course of investigating her murder, police sought DNA samples from men in her neighbourhood. Briere was one of two who refused to give one. Police were able to get DNA from a pop can in his garbage. It was a match to skin found under Holly's fingernails.
On June 20, 2003, Briere was arrested and charged.
Briere waived his right to a preliminary hearing and decided to plead guilty. He wanted to spare the family the pain of a trial, said his lawyer, Greg Leslie, who has described his client as the "most upset and most remorseful" accused man he's ever encountered in his 12 years of practising law.
Briere, who has no previous criminal record, will get no added benefit from pleading guilty. But Crown prosecutor Culver said he believes Briere had little other choice.
"It's easy to be remorseful when there is a wealth of evidence against you," he told reporters outside the courthouse. "He didn't turn himself in. He didn't say sorry until police nailed him with overwhelming DNA odds."
Through their lawyer, Tim Danson, the Jones family offered a statement, saying the end of Briere's trial does not end their nightmare.
"Unfortunately, there can never be any closure for Holly's family. Pain, anguish, emptiness, crushing sadness, incomprehensible loss and debilitating sorrow will remain a part of their daily lives. Mr. Briere will never suffer the way that he made Holly suffer and made Holly's family suffer."
Holly's parents have now decided to dedicate themselves to fighting child pornography.
"We have now learned in today's proceedings that Holly's murderer consumed child pornography in the moments before he abducted and murdered her. We have learned yet again how easily accessible child pornography is through the Internet. Child pornography is the link between Mr. Briere and Holly's most brutal death," the family statement said.
"Child pornography is child abuse. While some argue that child pornography is constitutionally protected speech, Parliament must tighten up its child pornography legislation by giving full constitutional weight to children's equality and privacy rights, by adopting zero tolerance for child pornography.
Danson says the family has been working with him to develop reform recommendations to present to the federal government later this year.
"This package will be known as 'Holly's Law'," Danson said. "And it will deal with changes to Canada's child pornography laws, changes to the retroactivity provisions of our DNA legislation; an improved national sexual assault registry, modelled after Ontario's Christopher's Law; and the implementation of a national dangerous sexual predator law."
"Anything that they can do to make our streets safer and to do so in Holly's name will go a long way in bringing meaning back to their lives."
Site link are here http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1087483439596_82892639/?hub=CTVNewsAt11
I had share my story in a diff thread....
Here's the link. It's my friend's horror story.
The forum got God damned locked thanks 2 some people.
waterpoet wrote:
Theres this 1 urban legend from my country that when you go to a bathroom(i don't know what time of the day)and turn off all the lights and look at the mirror and say "bloody mary" 13 times while spinning faster and faster and as you near your 13th bloody mary you will feel a presence stronger and stronger and........she's there........never tried it though but a lot of people claim it to be true.......
Here's another one......theres a doctor who is a professor of a famous university here and 1 night he stayed up late checking papers in his desk(his desk has a space in the bottom for his feet so if you look down in the table you can see someone's feet).Now, he is a professor for surgery(i think) and since he's a professor for surgery he has a carcass in front of his desk and covered with cloth. While the doctor was checking his papers he accidentally dropped his pen and when he reached for his pen he saw a feet, a dead feet, you would know cause the feet is very pale and has some scratches. The doctor was surprised cause its very late and students aren't supposed to be there. He looked up and saw that the carcass is gone and there were scratches in his papers. Thinking that he was just imagining things he went home and was about to change clothes but when he opened his closet.........he saw the carcass and it was smiling a very grim smile on him and had a very bloody and evil stare...then the professor fainted. The next day the professor was arrested because the police found out that he had the carcass illegally......the end.....
WAIT!!!! Here's the scary part....they say that when you hear this story......when you open your closet....you will see the carcass in your own house, smiling grimly and staring at you.....but just for a split second......
*SCREAMS* ahhhhhh!!!! why did u let m read this? good thing I dont have a closet!!!! lol,.
Has anybody heard of jinn's? well it depends on ur religion, in my religion we believe in Jin , they can be good or bad, but anyway they say that there the helpers or survants of saitin. Creepy huh? I've seen them before and i swear i'm not kidding!It was in my old house, I was sleeping on the bottom bunk with my lil sister and right infront of my bed was the closet, so anyway I was laying down and i looked in to the closet and saw someone with re and green eyes staring at me so i held m breath and pertended to be dead! I'm pretty sure I was 8 or 9 at the time.
anime_otaku-nerd wrote:
Well, I kind of just made this up along the way. Hope you like it!
There were two best friends, they were inseparable. Then one of the girls, Lisa, told her friend, Emily, that if she ever had another best friend, she would never forgive her and haunt her even if she died. Emily promised that Lisa would be her only best friend forever. When they were in 6th grade, Lisa died in a car crash. At the time, she was going to meet Emily at a concession store, she was holding 2 dresses in her big bag. Both identical in every way, each pure white with long sleeves and a blue slash across it, she was planning to give it to Emily so they'd look the same for the dance. Emily mourned for her death for what it seemed like forever, after 6 months, she made some new friends. Until Lisa had died, Emily had never really gotten to know anyone. She thought that Lisa would want her to be happy, and they weren't her best friends or anything. So days went by, and she found on of her friends very interesting, her name was Christy, they were both very close.
Until one day, when someone asked them, "Why are you always partners for gym?"
Christy replied proudly, "Because, Emily is my best friend!"
Emily glanced at her, she wouldn't admit it, but she knew that she had thought of Christy as a best friend, so instead of keeping the promise she made with Lisa, she nodded gladly.
After she went home, she opened her closet to reveal a beautiful white dress with a blue slash across it. She smiled happily and went into the kitchen to thank her mother, assuming her mother had bought it.
"Mom, thanks for the dress. Its really pretty!" she called wandering through the kitchen, there was no one there. No one in the house at all besides her, "Well thats weird." she thought aloud.
"Emily...." a voice whispered behind her, "Emily..."
She turned around, expecting her mother. Instead, she found a girl. A girl wearing a white dress with a blue slash across, she looked so familiar. The girl who was calling her name whispered was staring hatefully at her, there was blood on her white dress.
"Emily...did you forget? Weren't we going to be best friends forever? Why? WHY?!?" the girl demanded.
"Lisa!" Emily said, finally realizing, "You're...you're alive?"
Lisa grinned, her big brown eyes not blinking, "No, and nor are you."
"What?" she asked, getting ready to laugh.
"Look, around. Does this look like you're home?" she asked glancing at the ceiling smiling.
Emily looked at her surroundings, she was wearing the same white dress. Her throat felt dry, her neck ached and a blue mark had appeared on it. There was no ceiling, it was all just black.
"What!" she asked, "Hey! Its not funny anymore!" she sniffed, ready to cry.
"Oh, its not a joke Emily. You broke you're promise." Lisa replied grinning evilly, "Here, we'll be best friends forever."
0mg!!! that story was frickin awsome!!!! man u could become an author^^ i am soooo creeped out!!!
chocuqueen wrote:
i dont want to share..- _ - '' its stupid.. no one believes me.. =v=''
Please do!!! I'll beleive you!


text:
Boric acid is a dangerous poison. Poisoning from this chemical can be acute or chronic. Acute boric acid poisoning usually occurs when someone swallows powdered roach-killing products that contain the chemical.
Chronic poisoning occurs in those who are repeatedly exposed to boric acid. For example, in the past, boric acid was used to disinfect and treat wounds. Patients who received such treatment over and over again got sick, and some died.
This is for information only and not for use in the treatment or management of an actual poison exposure. If you have an exposure, you should call your local emergency number (such as 911) or a local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222.
Borax poisoning
Boric acid
Note: This list may not be all inclusive.
The main symptoms of boric acid poisoning are blue-green vomit, diarrhea, and a bright red rash on the skin. Other symptoms may include:
If the chemical is on the skin, remove by washing the area thoroughly.
If the chemical was swallowed, seek medical treatment immediately.
Determine the following information:
In the United States, call 1-800-222-1222 to speak with a local poison control center. This hotline number will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions.
This is a free and confidential service. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. It does NOT need to be an emergency. You can call for any reason, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Take the container with you to the hospital, if possible.
See: Poison control center - emergency number
The health care provider will measure and monitor the patient's vital signs, including temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure. Treatment depends on the individual symptoms. The patient may receive:
Note: Activated charcoal does not effectively treat (absorb) boric acid.
The infant death rate from boric acid poisonings is high. However, boric acid poisoning is considerably rarer than in the past because the substance is no longer used as a disinfectant in nurseries. It is also no longer commonly used in medical preparations. Boric acid is an ingredient in some vaginal suppositories used for yeast infections, although this is NOT a standard treatment.
Goldfrank LR. Ed. Goldfrank's Toxicologic Emergencies. 8th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2006.
Cain WS. Sensory and associated reactions to mineral dusts: sodium borate, calcium oxide, and calcium sulfate. J Occup Environ Hyg. April 2004; 1(4): 222-36.
Matsuda K Toxicological analyses over the past five years at a single institution. Rinsho Byori.Oct. 2004; 52(10): 819-23.
1000 Johnson Ferry Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30342
(404) 851-8000
450 Northside Cherokee Blvd.
Canton, GA 30115
(770) 224-1000
1200 Northside Forsyth Drive
Cumming, GA 30041
(770) 844-3200


text:
If the Longboat Key Town Commission doesn't pass a zoning-code amendment that allows the Longboat Key Hilton Beachfront Resort's application to expand to be reviewed, the Hilton flag is in jeopardy of disappearing.
The resort could no longer be a Hilton.
Delray Beach-based Ocean Properties Ltd., owner of the resort, has been working with Hilton Hotels & Resorts officials to delay a Hilton-mandated renovation of the property until the town approves a plan to add 85 rooms to the 102-room resort.
Ocean Properties Vice President Andy Berger said his company previously had signed agreements with Hilton for a May 1 deadline to begin renovations. That deadline has been pushed to June 1.
"There are several upgrades we need to make to the property to stay current to Hilton standards," Berger said. "(Hilton officials) saw we were working with the town and gave us more extensions."
But Hilton officials are concerned that because of court rulings against the Longboat Key Club and Resort's expansion plans the town has become unable to review the Hilton's expansion application.
"Now that we have this delay and potentially can't make even a June 1 shovel deadline, they (Hilton) could tell us to take the flag off because the property doesn't meet their requirements any longer," Berger said. "We don't want to just put new carpet in and make renovations now for something we want to completely redo."
The Town Commission took the first step to avoid that scenario at its Tuesday, Jan. 22, regular workshop. It moved a zoning-code amendment forward for first and second reading. The ordinance modifies the outline development process to allow a review of the Hilton application.
Meanwhile, the town is seeking to hire a planning consultant to perform a further review and modification of the town's current codes and comprehensive plan.
"We recognize we are in the process of hiring a planner to help us plan and map out our future," said Mayor Jim Brown. "But we also have to respond, and we can't allow the town to be shutdown for a year or two while we do these other things."
Commissioner Lynn Larson agreed.
"It's important to remember the voters spoke on this already," Larson said. "They went out and voiced support of the 250 tourism units, and we need to listen to that."
The goal for the Hilton is to shut down the hotel May 1 and not re-open until the second quarter of 2014.
After negotiating for a year, Berger said, Hilton officials are getting frustrated. "If we get delayed too much, we would be without a franchise. I honestly don't know what we would do with the property at that point if that were to happen," Berger said.


text:
Find tennis racquets by Babolat, Head, Wilson, Prince Asics, Dunlop and more at Midwest Sports. We also carry children's and junior racquets.
Choosing the right tennis racquet is the best way to ensure optimal performance, aside from practice and matches. This is why Midwest Sports stocks such a mammoth collection. We want you to find the best racquet for your game. Select among technical options including head size, weight, and balance. Do you prefer comfort, control or power? You can also browse by price and brand.
Midwest Sports already has a 30-day low price guarantee, but should you seek quality and a bargain, be sure to visit our sale specials.


text:
Hi! Well we all know that Lily was a member and one of Slughorn's favourite students, but I wwas wondering who else from the Marauder era might have been a member. Do you think Snape could have been in there, for his potion skills? Also we know that James wasn't in the club because I think Slughorn might have just mentioned it to Harry.
But James, along with Sirius, was a very talented student, so do you think it probable that Slughorn wanted him (and Sirius) as members but they simply declined the offer as they, like Harry, hated the idea of it?
Any help highly appreciated.
Thanks in advance .


text:
The support of the local business
community, inauguration of the LITSLAB, Flagship Program designation and
Jacksonville's geographic advantage, have placed the UNF Transportation and
Logistics Flagship Program among the best in the nation.
Jacksonville –
"Americas Logistics Center"
As a growing leader in logistics and
international commerce, the Jacksonville region provides opportunities for
students to gain practical experience. Program faculty and staff have built
relationships with firms such as CEVA Logistics, Crowley, CSX, Landstar,
Suddath, Southeast Toyota Distributors, Stein Mart, Target, Total Military
Management, Corporate Traffic, Yusen Logistics, Volkswagen, and McKesson
Medical and Surgical, just to name a few. Jacksonville is a major distribution
hub with extensive access to rail, air, maritime and highway transportation as
well as warehousing and international logistics. CSX, CEVA Logistics, Crowley
Maritime, Landstar System, Inc., Stein Mart, and the Suddath Companies all have
major corporate facilities on the First Coast.
Copyright © 2018 University of North Florida1 UNF Drive | Jacksonville, FL 32224 | Phone: (904) 620-1000
Contact |
Emergency |
Privacy |
Regulations | Consumer InformationWebsite Accessibility |
Disability Accommodations


text:
Car Bomb Kills Former Ambassador, Five Others in Lebanese Capital
A powerful bomb exploded in downtown Beirut early Friday morning, killing at least six people and injuring more than 70. The attack targeted and killed Mahommad B. Chatah, a one-time ambassador to the United States and a former Lebanese finance minister who was critical of the Assad government in neighboring Syria.
Chatah was a member of the Lebanon's Future coalition and a close aide to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, whose father, who was also prime minster, was killed in a similar explosion in Beirut in 2005.
The attack highlights the effect the civil war in Syria has had on the Lebanese government, which is deeply divided over the conflict, and has fueled concern that the country could be headed towards a civil war of its own.
The Future coalition, which is predominantly Sunni and allied with Saudi Arabia, supports the rebels in Syria attempting to overthrow the Assad government. Hezbollah, Lebanon's another major political party, supports the Syrian government and has close ties to Iran.
Just hours before the attack, Chatah published a tweet criticizing Hezbollah.
#Hezbollah is pressing hard to be granted similar powers in security & foreign policy matters that Syria exercised in Lebanon for 15 yrs.
— Mohamad B Chatah (@mohamad_chatah) December 27, 2013
The bombing comes five weeks after twin suicide bombings exploded near the Iranian embassy in one of Beirut's Shiite neighborhoods, killing 23 including an Iranian diplomat.
[Image via AP]


text:
2013 Oscars – Daniel Day Lewis Unsurprisingly Scores Best Actor Win [VIDEO]
Daniel Day-Lewis won the Best Actor Oscar for 'Lincoln' — his third such trophy, which set a new record.
The method actor beat out fellow nominees like the completely bored Joaquin Phoenix ('The Master'), Denzel Washington ('Flight'), Hugh Jackman ('Les Miserables'), and Bradley Cooper ('Silver Linings Playbook') to score his Academy Award hat trick.
He began his speech with a couple of nods at his unconventional acting, saying, "I had actually been committed to play Margaret Thatcher and Meryl [Streep] was Steven's [Spielberg] first choice for Lincoln … I'd like to see that version."
As expected, he humbly thanked his fellow nominees, referring to them as "my equals, my betters." And in addition to adorably thanking his wife for living with the strange cast of characters he's played and being "a perfect companion to all of them," he also thanked "the mysteriously beautiful, mind, body and spirit of Abraham Lincoln."
Surprisingly, he didn't yell, "Lincoln out!" before dropping his mic.


text:
Draft signings again coming down to the wire
Majority of top picks without deal as tonight's deadline nears
By Jonathan Mayo / MLB.com
As the signing deadline loomed Monday morning, there were 23 of 33 first-round selections from June's First-Year Player Draft who hadn't come to terms. Eight of the top 10 remained unsigned, as did 31 of the top 50 and 52 of the top 100 selections. So there was still work to be done in the final hours if those players are to become professionals this year.
Teams have until 12:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday to come to terms with their draftees, meaning official notification must be in the Commissioner's Office when the clock strikes midnight. A team that does not sign its first- or second-round pick will receive a compensatory pick in the 2012 Draft. That selection will be made at the same slot, plus one. In other words, if a team doesn't sign the No. 9 overall pick, it would receive the No. 10 pick -- technically No. 9A -- the following year. A team does not receive a 2012 pick if it does not come to terms with a selection made with a compensation pick.
"For the most part, each and every one of these players got the same instructions from their advisers," one scouting director said. "Everyone got the same playbook this year. They played with us all summer like they have the last few years. They're going to sign. Some of these college juniors, you think they're going back to school?
"What the scouting directors and the clubs need to do, we need to take a breath. By Monday night, we'll all be fine."
It's been a difficult lesson to learn. Last year, 14 of the 32 first-round picks signed on deadline day. The deadline was moved up to August in 2007, and while that's helped teams, players and college programs know much earlier who's going where, more and more draftees seem to be using the pressure of the deadline to get better paydays. More often than not, it's the teams that have blinked and upped the ante to get their top selections signed.
Many of the picks are somewhat tied together with a bit of a domino effect a distinct possibility. While there was no trickle-down impact from No. 3 pick Trevor Bauer signing early with the D-backs, some players are undoubtedly linked. No. 1 overall pick Gerrit Cole, who almost certainly will go to the wire with the Pirates, might be a separate entity, but he was also the top college pitcher in this year's Draft. Danny Hultzen, taken at No. 2 by the Mariners, is also unsigned. What happens with that duo could have an impact on the other college arms in the first round: Taylor Jungmann (Brewers), Jed Bradley (Brewers), Matt Barnes (Red Sox), Tyler Anderson (Rockies) and Alex Meyer (Nationals).
Similarly, the high school pitchers are in holding patterns, waiting to hear how negotiations go between No. 4 pick Dylan Bundy and the Orioles and No. 7 Archie Bradley and the D-backs. Both have the same adviser. Jose Fernandez (Marlins), Tyler Beede (Blue Jays), Taylor Guerrieri (Rays), Joe Ross (Padres) and Robert Stephenson (Reds) are all in that boat, though it appeared on Friday that Beede would be heading to Vanderbilt University instead of the Toronto organization.
Anthony Rendon, the top college hitter in the class, will surely be looking for an above-recommended-slot bonus from the Nationals. Could his demands be setting the bar for George Springer (Astros), Levi Michael (Twins) and Michael Mahtook (Rays), the other first-round college bats?
"The agents have done a great job of manipulating the deadline," the scouting director said. "What once was a great idea has been turned on us. It's not human nature to be patient. It's human nature to panic. I do think you'll see some of that, but I also think you'll see some clubs who know we're going to offer too much money for these players to say no to."
What could also be beneficial is the potential for a new system in 2012 and beyond. A new Collective Bargaining Agreement is being negotiated, and the Commissioner's Office has made it clear that the Draft system will have some priority. That could entice more players to decide to take what money is offered this year, rather than risk losing the opportunity for over-slot bonuses in the future.
"I think the threat is real," the scouting director said. "Whether it happens, who knows? It's definitely a possibility; the Commissioner has made that clear.
"We just lose sight of the fact we have the opportunity that every one of these players want. We give them millions of dollars to do what they want, in their heart, to do. The threat of slotting is there, but how many will really turn it down anyway?"
This much is certain: Everyone will be kept busy right up until the stroke of midnight.
Here's a complete list of unsigned first-rounders:
RHP Gerrit Cole (Pirates)
LHP Danny Hultzen (Mariners)
RHP Dylan Bundy (Orioles)
OF Bubba Starling (Royals)
3B Anthony Rendon (Nationals)
RHP Archie Bradley (D-backs)
SS Francisco Lindor (Indians)
SS Javier Baez (Cubs)
OF George Springer (Astros)
RHP Taylor Jungmann (Brewers)
OF Brandon Nimmo (Mets)
RHP Jose Fernandez (Marlins)
LHP Jed Bradley (Brewers)
RHP Matthew Barnes (Red Sox)
LHP Tyler Anderson (Rockies)
RHP Tyler Beede (Blue Jays)
RHP Alex Meyer (Nationals)
RHP Taylor Guerreri (Rays)
RHP Joe Ross (Padres)
C Blake Swihart (Red Sox)
RHP Robert Stephenson (Reds)
SS Levi Michael (Twins)
OF Mike Mahtook (Rays)
Jonathan Mayo is a reporter for MLB.com and writes a blog, B3. Follow @JonathanMayoB3 on Twitter. Steve Gilbert contributed to this story. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text:
Product Features:
Auto-fill water boiler
Integral 7 day programmable timer
Programmable filter change warning (when used with Instanta water treatment)
Stylish, compact, reliable and long lasting
Energy saving ECO mode on all models
Electronically controlled for constant temperature (between 80°C and 98°C)
Integral stainless steel drip tray included
Large non-drip taps
Easy installation and maintenance
Insulated for economy and safety
Low voltage switching on all controls
Stainless steel boilers
Minimal steam escape
LCD read out
Five water level sensors
Safety cut-out on overflow and element
2 years on-site parts and labour guarantee
Heat Up Time (From Cold): 38min
Rapid Draw Off: 50ltr (300 cups)
Min. Hourly Output: 85ltr (510cup)
Recovery per Minute: 1.4ltr
Power Loading (Single Phase): 9kw
Av. Standby Power Consumption: 0.22kW/hr
Allow up to 45mm depth for connection
Electrical - Mains Powered: Yes (UK Plug Supplied)
Brand: Instanta
Manufacturer Part Number:
Height: 608mm
Width: 440mm
Depth: 555mm
Drip Tray to Tap Height: 185mm
Weight (empty): 26.1kg
Weight (full): 69.9kg


text: I just became a BMW convert and I did it all out. I sold my 1800 Goldwing and my ST 1300 and just brought home my new K1600GT, light gray. My black and yellow F650GS has docked and should be here soon. I enjoy sport touring, especially in the adjoining states of Colorado, New Mexico and Utah since all have great roads. I'm looking forward to getting the GS out around Arizona since we have such great deserts south and forests up north where I can get off road. I also look forward to being a member of this owners group and benefiting from the combined knowledge of its members and the social aspect of membership.


text:
By Charles K. Trainor
Consider this scenario: A retail development is coming, with an adjacent residential housing project of three- and four-bedroom homes. After years of negotiations, most local officials are ready to sign off on the project. The school district's approval is required, too.
However, district leaders were not invited to participate in the negotiation process, so the terms of the agreement present a significant burden to the district. The project will boost the community's population significantly, attracting families with young children.
The school board can turn down the insufficient subsidies offered by the developer and jeopardize hundreds of new construction jobs. Or it can approve the project, imposing a significant financial hardship on the district. A "no" vote will be portrayed in local media as a vote against the economic future and well-being of the community. Either way, the district loses.
Don't let this scene play out in your district. Many aspects of community economic development have a direct impact on a school district. Your board needs to be well informed about federal and state regulations and the agencies that may bring development to your area. In addition, you will want to understand the various negotiating tools developers and governments use to compensate districts for the burdens of development.
Subscribers please click here to continue reading. If you are not a subscriber, please click here to purchase this article or to obtain a subscription to ASBJ.
Login or Subscribe
Connect with us:
Copyright © 2018, National School Boards Association. American School Board Journal is an editorially independent publication of the National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed by this magazine or any of its authors do not necessarily reflect positions of the National School Boards Association. Within the parameters of fair use, this article may be printed out and photocopied for individual use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise, linked, transmitted, or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6739.
American School Board Journal. The Source for School Leaders.1680 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, USA (703) 838-6722
© National School Boards Association


text:
OK photographers, vacation's over. It's time to get back to some photography. Since it's been a while, we humbly remind you of these simple rules:
- Photos must be shot between Fri. 02/01/08 and Sun. 02/10/08.
- You must provide the EXIF information if asked (we'll help you, if you'd like to know how to get it).
- No photoshop alteration (we're looking to improve your skills with your camera, not software).
- Your photograph must adhere to the theme, which will be described below.
- Post only one photo per post, so that commentary can be easily provided for that photo. You may post more than one photo, but try to keep it to a handful.
- Title your photo so it can be referred to later.
- Post your photos in this thread only. Do not start a thread in reply to this assignment. Please post your photos no later than next Wednesday.
- And, the most important rule: have fun! We're looking to spread the joy that many of us derive from taking pictures, particularly ones that tell a story of some kind.
This week's theme: "Winter"
Many of us are suffering from cabin fever and simply can't ride. Others of us are be inundated by torrential rains. Some of us live in sunny locales and are gleefully riding day in and day out. What does winter mean to you? Try to avoid walking out the front door and shooting the snow in your yard; instead, take your time and compose a thoughtful photograph that says, "This is my winter."
This assignment may prove to be a challenge for those of us in the Southwest and Southeast. Remember, this photo doesn't have to be stereotypically winter, but should say "winter" nonetheless.
TIP: If snow predominates your photo, trying overexposing (as much as two stops). This will render the snow bright white instead of a dull gray.
Now put your galoshes on and get shooting.


text:
I am having an issue when I try to do a copy and paste from one Microsoft Publisher (2007) document to another. When I do this I get a message "Windows is low on memory. To free up memory, save your work and close other programs; then continue working."
My configuration:
Window 7 Home Premium 64-bit
HP Desktop Computer 2.80GHz w/8.0 GB memory 1T HD
ZoneAlarm Setup:
ZoneAlarm Extreme Security version: 10.0.250.000
vsmon version: 10.0.250.000
Driver version: 10.0.217.000
Anti-virus engine version: 22.214.171.124
Anti-virus signature DAT file version: 1058219648
ZoneAlarm Browser Security: 1.5.322.0
ZoneAlarm ForceField Spyware Scanner: 1.5.322.0
ZoneAlarm ForceField Anti-Phishing Database: 22.214.171.124
ZoneAlarm ForceField Spyware Sites Database: 04.155
No other Security products are currently installed.
I had this problem also with version 10.0.240.0 so I uninstalled Zonealarm and installed Norton Internet Security and the problem went away. Since I prefer ZoneAlarm, when I saw a newer version I installed the current version and the problem is still there.
If anyone has any thoughts, it would be appreciated.


text:
I'm thinking of riding into NYC (lower Manhattan) for a short time to visit the 911 Memorial and Battery Park.
I'm looking for suggestions on where I can safely park the bike while I'm there.
Thanks in advance,
I'm thinking of riding into NYC (lower Manhattan) for a short time to visit the 911 Memorial and Battery Park.
I'm looking for suggestions on where I can safely park the bike while I'm there.
Thanks in advance,
2013 R12RT, 2012 Yami FZ6R, 07 F650GS (Sold), 09 R12RT (Sold),
Buffalo, maybe.
Kevin Huddy
Tm Pterodactyl MT Outpost
Not opposed to parking and taking the subway, but Buffalo is a little far.
2013 R12RT, 2012 Yami FZ6R, 07 F650GS (Sold), 09 R12RT (Sold),
Good morning,
There is a garage on 52nd street, between Park Avenue and Lexington Avenue, on the right side going East. They have a dedicated Motorcycle area, they don't charge too much, and nobody will touch the bike.
Only downside, they close from 11pm to 6am
Hope it helps!
A friend of mine had to pay $30 for one hr. to park his bike in NYC. Don't know what garage it was tho. I know he was going to see the 911 site.
The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
I park on the street in Tribeca and Battery Park all the time (so do a bunch of other people), just watch the signs to be sure you are parked legally.
ride what you've got; enjoy the ride!
Reid - Stone Ridge, NY - BMWMOA #69187 - Turbo Fluffy Motoclub - IBA #50182
Another option- If you are staying in the area, I recommend staying at a hotel in NJ, (most are only 8 miles west of the city) and take a bus, train, or ferry into the city and then use the subways or taxis to get around while you're there. NJ is safe and the parking is free at the hotels and just about everywhere else.
But like the other poster said, you can find parking downtown, you may have to search but you can sneak a bike in a small space after all. But like he said, pay strict attention to the signs. There can be several in each block that seem to contradict each other at first glance. I missed a sign hanging upside down at the very start of the block that I parked in and there were many cars parked in that block. Guess who was the only vehicle to get a ticket? Mine, probably because I was an out of state-er and they figure you won't come back to fight it.
"The two most important days in your life are the day you were born, and the day you find out why" -- Mark Twain
Ya know, she asked this question 2 1/2 years ago. I hope she did her travel by now!
....that was THE BEST close to an old thread I've read; why did I mess it up.... A.. there she goes again!!
http://us.megabus.com/) into the city. Similar to the Hotel/taxi/bus or ferry suggestions, but cheaper and a potential Anonymous Book experience. You'll be free of worrying about the bike and any luggage.
Cave contents: 16 R12RS, 13 Toyota Tacoma, 03 Simplicity Legacy, 97 Stihl FS75, Dewalt DW625 & SawStop PCS175
1) My expectations are never low enough & 2) Incompetence is infinite ........David Brooks


text:
Extracts from the Dec 2013 Journal
The Miliband controversy in historical perspective
Those familiar with the tactics of the British press will not be surprised at its attempts to use the background of the Miliband brothers against them once they gained high office - David Miliband as Foreign Secretary in the last Labour government, Ed Miliband as leader of the Labour Party in opposition.
When the Germans invaded Belgium in May 1940, the Milibands' grandfather, Samuel Miliband, a Polish-born Jew living in Brussels, fled with his 16-year-old son Adolphe on foot to Ostend, where they were fortunate enough to board a ship that brought them to Britain as Jewish refugees. Adolphe changed his name to Ralph, volunteered for the Royal Navy – as he was not a British citizen he could not be compelled to join up – and later became a well-known Marxist academic at the London School of Economics. He was the father of David and Ed. Samuel Miliband spent the war years in Britain and went back to Belgium in 1946. But the difficulties he encountered there caused him to apply to the British authorities to return to Britain in 1948; in the event, it took him several years and repeated applications before he was granted permission to return in 1953.
The Sunday Times was the first to try to use the Milibands' refugee background against them. On 6 April 2008, it ran an article claiming that in 1949 'the family of David Miliband, the foreign secretary, was branded untrustworthy and misleading by Home Office and Foreign Office when it tried to migrate to Britain'. At the suggestion of AJR Chairman Andrew Kaufman, I wrote a letter to The Times, protesting that this was a travesty of the truth. The real issue in this case was not the dishonest or underhand methods allegedly employed by Samuel Miliband in seeking re-admission to Britain, but the systematic attempts of the Home Office to refuse entry to Jews from Europe, even after the Holocaust. The Home Office decided in 1945 to restrict the number of Jews admitted to post-war Britain to two specific categories: about 1,000 child survivors from concentration camps were admitted, as were a modest number of 'distressed persons', camp survivors, mostly children or elderly people, who had relatives already living in Britain. As a response to the sufferings of the large numbers of displaced Jews in post-war Europe, this was grossly inadequate.
By contrast, some 100,000 immigrants were recruited from late 1946 to come and work in Britain under the European Volunteer Worker schemes. While Jews were excluded, workers from the Baltic states were favoured, even though some of them had extremely dubious wartime records. Numerous Ukrainians (mostly from those areas of Ukraine which had formed part of Poland before 1939) who had served in Nazi-organised units were also permitted to settle here. Samuel Miliband had a very strong case for re-admission: he had family in Britain, and he had previously spent six years in Britain, more than the period of five years' residence normally required to acquire British citizenship. It beggars belief that he should still have been manoeuvring to regain permanent residence in Britain as late as 1953, when most people from Western Europe would have been granted residence easily enough.
The recent article in the Daily Mail branding Ralph Miliband, nearly 20 years after his death, as 'the man who hated Britain' took this process of casting a refugee family as outsiders, somehow not properly British, a stage further. On the basis of a few lines taken from a diary written by the 16-year-old Ralph Miliband in autumn 1940, in which he expressed his extreme irritation at certain British attitudes and institutions, the Daily Mail sought to build up a picture of a refugee and Marxist bent on attacking and undermining 'British' values and institutions throughout his life – an aspiration that he had, by implication, passed on to 'Red Ed', his son. Not surprisingly, Ed Miliband reacted strongly against this attack on his late father.
Most of those who have taken the Milibands' side in the ensuing dispute have, quite rightly, pointed to the foolishness of judging a man's life's work on the evidence of a few comments that he had written in an adolescent diary. But it is worth considering what Ralph Miliband found in wartime Britain to provoke his anger and scorn. He had arrived in Britain in May 1940, just as some 25,000 Jews from Germany and Austria were being arrested as potential security risks, despite the obvious absurdity of interning Jewish refugees as spies and agents for the Nazis. Several thousand of the male internees were deported overseas; one ship carrying deportees to Canada was sunk by an enemy submarine, as were two bringing deportees back to Britain from Australia, with the wholly unnecessary loss of many hundreds of completely innocent lives. Miliband would without doubt have known of this, and who can blame him for feeling angry? Were the imprisonment and deportation of defenceless and blameless Jewish refugees consistent with British values? What sort of British patriot is it who would condone the stupidity and inhumanity of the British government's measures, spurred on by the xenophobic hysteria whipped up in summer 1940 by the right-wing press?
Ralph Miliband was also incensed by the policy of appeasement pursued by the Chamberlain government, which had supinely acquiesced in Hitler's annexation of Austria in March 1938 and had then sold out its ally, Czechoslovakia, under the Munich Agreement of 30 September 1938. European critics of British policy suspected, with reason, that elements on the right in Britain were not only unwilling to stand up to Hitler, but that they were also unsympathetic to the democratic, progressive regimes in countries like France (the Popular Front government, led between 1936 and 1938 by the Jewish socialist Léon Blum) or Czechoslovakia, admiring instead the 'strong men' leading Fascist movements. Was it not the then proprietor of the Daily Mail, Lord Rothermere, who in January 1934 expressed his support for Oswald Mosley in the paper's notorious headline 'Hoorah for the Blackshirts'? Was Ralph Miliband wrong to despise those who sought an accommodation with Germany by cosying up to Hitler? Which more truly reflected patriotic British values – the refugee who volunteered for the Royal Navy, or the fellow travellers of the right whose notion of Britishness was to flirt with the Jew- and Red-baiting enemies of democracy?
Charles Kapralik
Twenty years ago last month, on 1 November 1993, Dr Charles (Carl) Kapralik died. He made an outstanding contribution to the organisations representing the interests of the Jews from Central Europe. Kapralik was born in Sereth (Siret) in Bukovina in 1895. After serving in the Austro-Hungarian army in the First World War, he qualified as a lawyer in Vienna and worked in banking and insurance. After the German annexation of Austria in March 1938, he was asked to advise the representative body of Vienna's Jews, the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde, on the financial and currency issues that, thanks to Nazi regulations, bedevilled the emigration of the Jews of Austria. Kapralik was about to emigrate, but he and his wife Camilla decided to stay on, thereby facilitating the life-saving emigration of large numbers of Jews. The Kapraliks only left for Britain in March 1939. During the war, he was interned for six months on the Isle of Man.
After the war, Kapralik worked for the Central British Fund (CBF) for Jewish Relief and Rehabilitation, which was continuing its pre-1945 work as the Central British Fund for German Jewry, established in 1933 to raise funds to enable Jews to emigrate to Britain from Nazi Germany and to support them here. In 1958, on the retirement of Myer Stephany, Kapralik and Joan Stiebel became Joint Secretaries of the CBF (now World Jewish Relief). From 1950 to 1969, Kapralik acted as General Secretary of the Jewish Trust Corporation (JTC) for Germany, which was responsible for the complex task of recovering unclaimed, heirless and communal property, formerly Jewish, in the British Zone of Occupation in Germany. The funds thus raised were used for relief projects for the victims of Nazi persecution, in Britain principally for the construction and maintenance of homes for the elderly. The CBF set up an Allocations Committee, through which the money received from the JTC was channelled to the homes, which were jointly administered by the CBF and the AJR. Kapralik gave many years of devoted service to the Management Committee that oversaw the running of the homes.
Kapralik's greatest achievements arguably resulted from his skilful and tenacious negotiations with the Austrian government, as an expert member of the International Committee for Jewish Claims on Austria, based in New York. His work secured for many thousands of former Austrian citizens the social security and pension benefits that Austrian legislation had initially denied them. Kapralik was also Vice-Chairman of the London-based United Restitution Organisation and an active member of the AJR. Fittingly, he spent the final years of his life in Heinrich Stahl House, one of the homes whose establishment owed so much to him.
Art Notes (review)
In the National Gallery's new exhibition Facing the Modern: The Portrait in Vienna 1900 (until 12 January 2014, sponsored by Credit Suisse), we see the old order is dying: classical portraiture, with all its bejewelled formality, is on the way out. The 'New Vienna' presents a middle class in the flux of change. Immigrants flood in from across the Empire, new industrial money invigorates art but, sadly, what begins with liberalisation ends in nationalism and prejudice aimed at the new Jewish immigrants.
Artists with a Jewish background lead the art of protest art, the first tentative steps of Expressionism soon to be stamped on by the oncoming Nazi regime. Up to this point fin-de-siècle artists were commissioned by wealthy patrons and the work of the artists in this collection includes iconoclasts Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Richard Gerstl, Oskar Kokoschka, Isidore Kaufmann and Arnold Schönberg, the composer of 12-tone music.
But the new modernism was diverse, from Schiele's heart-rending family portrait, the flesh leathery, the faces introspective, a baby which will never be born, perched like a ghost between his mother's knees.
In his own self-portrait with raised bare shoulder, Schiele anticipates Francis Bacon - spiky black hair and flesh exposed like meat. In another style, Schiele's portrait of Erich Lederer shows a young man with a small pale head above an assertive body dressed in lederhosen and with a large hand on his hips. The work of Schönberg, by contrast, is grim and contained, the flesh colours a dull cobalt, while Klimt in his earlier work retains classical detail. His 1894 painting Young Girl Seated describes the intricate folds of a blouse in muted colours and his famous Portrait of a Lady in Black still retains its classical provenance.
But the Klimt we recognise bursts into action around 1904 in Portrait of Hermine Gallia, she of the surreal diaphanous dress, and in 1917 in his flowing and languid Posthumous Portrait of Ria Munk.
But in 1846 little was rocking the boat. Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller's Portrait of Schaumberg's Wife, for instance, gives Viennese society what it is accustomed to. Here are all the detail and sobriety of the classical painting, with trimmings of lace and brocade.
The emphasis on death - Beethoven's death mask, as well as Schiele's Portrait of Ria Munk, even Anton Romako's wistful painting of his nieces (his two daughters killed themselves in 1887 while he himself died two years later aged 57) - can be read prophetically with regard to the future for Viennese art, but the Pre-Raphaelites equally had a propensity for the morbid.
Gerstl's final work, Nude Self-Portrait with Palette, with its scrambled background and tousled hair, was said to have been painted shortly before his suicide.
Broncia Koller's study of a young girl with a birdcage typifies change in art. Carl Moll's 1906 self-portrait in his study, still classical in tone, with slanted light across the tiled floor, heavy wood furniture and sculpture, shows the artist in the background behind pale curtains - almost an afterthought. This is a view of a changing world: exciting, important and nostalgic. [link]
'The beginning of the end'
The following is an extract from a letter from Katerina Lowova (Katia Gould) written on 22 September 1938 in the north-eastern Moravian town of Frýdek-Mistek to her boyfriend (later, husband) in London. Katia Gould died this year – see her obituary in the September 2013 issue of the Journal. The letter was translated from the German by Irene Gould (Ed.).
Dear Ete
I received your last letter today and am compelled to answer you at length as I am astonished how naïve you are in London. You say that by cutting off the Sudeten German areas a trouble spot in Europe would be removed. However, I and any sensible person aware of conditions here knows this would be the beginning of the end. Chamberlain has simply let Hitler dictate the destruction of Czechoslovakia and thus the end of a democratic Central Europe. He was simply bamboozled by Hitler. I have told you repeatedly that a sharp separation between the German and Czech areas is impossible. There are wide areas with 50 per cent Germans, not all of whom are Nazis - what will happen to them?
The issue of the Sudeten Germans will remain a problem in Czechoslovakia even if the areas are separated. Further, we have spent millions on building fortresses and these will now be used by the Nazis against us. The newly created borders lack all natural basis since for hundreds of years the Riesengebirge, Erzgebirge and Adlergebirge Mountains and the Bohemian Forest have formed the natural borders. It is impossible to defend the new borders. The most important point, however, is that Hitler will never be satisfied with the granting of his demands – he will always want more. He doesn't give a damn about the slum areas. What he wants is the coal mining area and the steelworks - hence precisely the area in which I am living. He has dictated to Chamberlain once already - he will obviously do the same again. He has sold and betrayed a 'friendly' state in a way unknown in history. I should spit at every Englishman for the way they have behaved. They know they have signed our death sentence. And it is ridiculous and paradoxical to offer guarantees to Czechoslovakia after all the existing guarantees have so shamefully been broken.
From a personal perspective, this is our situation. Our house is some 200 meters from the River Ostrawitza. The Poles are demanding the Teschen and Frýdek districts up to the Ostrawitza (I should say that there's not a single Pole in the whole of Frýdek). Ostrawa is 20 km away from us and German territory only 20 kms further. You can see our dilemma!
You are probably hearing the news in London from the German news office. These ridiculous and unscrupulous lies and distortions have probably added a lot to the Western powers' change of attitude. However, I fear Chamberlain will soon understand what he has done: he has handed over Europe to the Nazis; he has destroyed the only democracy in Central Europe; he will sweep us into a terrible war. It's clear that Hitler will demand not only the German areas – any reasonably intelligent person can see that. I don't know whether you know that both England and France are now hated by every good person but that the whole world is laughing at Chamberlain, who let Hitler dictate war in order to keep the peace.
I could give you 100 examples and proofs of English insanity but am not in a position to do so by letter. I can only tell you that we are at the mercy of what pleases Hitler. Chamberlain carries the guilt and responsibility. It's also clear that, whatever happens, the Jews will be the whipping boys. It would be interesting to know what the English statesmen intend to do with the giant stream of refugees - maybe push them into the Danube if that's what Hitler wishes. And Chamberlain calls it peace-making!
Hitler wanted more rights for the Sudeten Germans. When he got them, he wanted the Carlsbad 'Points'. When the Czechs wanted to give him the Carlsbad 'Points', he wanted autonomy. When he had the offer of autonomy, he wanted separation. When he had the separation, he ….
Letter from Israel
Harmony in the Old City of Jerusalem hopefully not just another mirage
Although I wasn't in Jerusalem for Jerusalem Day this year, having been called away to fulfil grandparental duties, it was very much in my thoughts. I still have a very clear memory of those six days in June, just 46 years ago, when I was only dimly able to perceive the historic events that were happening all around me. This was partly because my knowledge of Hebrew at the time was minimal and also because I was cut off from the wider world due to the bombardment of Jerusalem by enemy forces and the battle that was being waged for control of the city.
In the first few years of my stay in Jerusalem, between 1964 and 1967, the Old City was inaccessible to Israelis. I remember being taken to high points in West Jerusalem, such as the YMCA tower, to peer out towards the crowded buildings beyond no man's land which seemed to hover in the still afternoon air like a mirage, so near and yet so unattainable.
During those six days of fighting in 1967 the information coming over the radio waves was intermittent and incomplete and what little Hebrew I knew caused me to confuse terms such as Sha'ar Shekhem (one of the gates around the Old City of Jerusalem) and Sharm El Sheikh (the southernmost point of the Sinai Peninsula). Later on my error was pointed out to me and geographical reality began to impinge on my consciousness.
Soon after the 'liberation' of the Old City, I walked along dusty paths to the Western Wall before the area in front of it had been paved and was mightily unimpressed by it despite its historic significance. Since then I have visited the Old City on various occasions, taken tourists to its colourful markets, attended the swearing-in ceremonies of my children's and grandchildren's military service, and even occasionally searched there for suitable gifts to take on trips abroad.
But to my shame, my knowledge of Christian Jerusalem was limited. The city, both in reality and as a concept, figures very prominently in that religion, which, when all is said and done, has a pretty extensive following worldwide. Whatever the reason for my ignorance, in recent years I began to feel that this was a lacuna in my education. Having grown up in a Christian country and attended a grammar school where from the outset we diligently read The Pilgrim's Progress, Lamb's essay A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig, and similar high-minded texts, and where the Christian ethos predominated, I wasn't a complete stranger to the tenets of that religion.
Actually one can learn a lot about Christianity from listening to Handel's Messiah and Bach's St Matthew Passion. But for more serious students, I recommend watching Monty Python's Life of Brian, which really is based on thorough research!
When the Israel Museum offered its volunteers the chance to participate in a 'mini-course' on Christianity in Jerusalem, I seized the moment. It consisted of an introductory lecture and three extensive tours of churches and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem. At last I have visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, first built by Constantine in the fourth century CE and since then embellished and rebuilt by various hands, leading to today's tense status quo between various Christian sects. I have walked along the Via Dolorosa, learned about the Italian architect Berlucci, who designed many of Jerusalem's churches in the nineteenth century, when the European powers vied for hegemony over holy sites in the city, and trudged up the steep hill on which stands the Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu, commemorating Peter's denial of Christ three times before the cock crowed in fulfilment of Jesus's prophecy.
Walking through the narrow streets of the Old City, one is constantly obliged to manoeuvre one's way through groups of pilgrims who have come from all four corners of the Earth to pay homage at the sites which they regard as sacred. It is a sobering experience to hear the different languages, observe the different clothing and customs, and note their reverence for the city that was sacred to the Jews long before the Christian religion came into being. It is also exhilarating to observe the harmony which prevails between the various groups, as well as between the Jews, Arabs and Christians who rub elbows along those narrow streets. Hopefully, this is not just another mirage. [link]


text:
Hill talks numbers on defense cuts
It all comes down to the number.
After months of dire talk about $1 trillion in cuts to the Pentagon over the next decade if the sequester takes effect, and all the high-minded talk of zero cuts from hawks, defense is going to take another hit regardless of who's in the White House next year. As that realization begins to sink in, critical lawmakers are already starting to play an old-fashioned game of horse trading.
Story Continued Below
The first move: Name a figure.
Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) has floated $587 billion in cuts. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says he can swallow only $400 billion over 10 years. Sen. Kelly Ayotte doesn't have a number yet, but the Republican from New Hampshire says she's a part of the conversation.
Levin, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, was the first to start talking about a magic number. In June, he said he'd like to see an alternate deal that subtracted about $100 billion from the defense budget over the coming decade. That would be in addition to the $487 billion in reductions mandated by Congress last year but far less than the nearly $1 trillion the Department of Defense would've lost when that was combined with the sequester.
"I'm involved in discussions, and there's others involved in discussions," he told reporters.
The bottom line, though, is that he thinks Washington can avoid the worst.
"I predict there will not be a sequester," Levin said. "One way or the other, since 90 percent of us don't want it, it won't happen. And my hope is that it won't happen early enough to avoid any instability. What I am confident in is that it's not going to happen because nobody around here wants it to happen except for some tea party folks."
Almost all the discussion about an alternate deal has so far been confined to the Senate, which has not passed a defense authorization or an appropriation bill or any alternative to the automatic, across-the-board budget restrictions.
The House passed a bill earlier this year that would void the first year's worth of sequestration by freezing the size of the federal workforce, and House lawmakers so far have stood by their work.


text:
Intel Ireland Pushes On With 14 nm
22 comments post a comment
Intel Ireland has confirmed it is still set to produce the P1272 14 nm manufacturing process with no change on the near-term timetable.
Below a recent story on EE Times a commentator asked if Intel was still pushing ahead with 14 nanometer chip production at Leixlip near Dublin, Ireland.
So I thought I would check up, and the answer from Intel is: "Yes."
It was announced back in May 2012 that Intel's wafer fab complex was set to receive investment of more than $1 billion to allow it to manufacture 14 nm silicon and beyond. Ireland would benefit, along with Intel's fab D1X in Oregon and Fab 42 in Arizona. It was said then that the 14 nm process would start being used in 2013, but Paul Otellini, Intel CEO at the time, did not say which fabs would start production at what times.
In December 2012 the Irish Times reported that up to 600 Irish workers had been sent home early from production training in the US after a decision to delay the introduction of the P1272 14 nm production process at Fab 24 in Leixlip. At that time Eamonn Sinnott, vice president and general manager of Intel Ireland, said there was no delay and no change to the process introduction schedule in Ireland. (See Ireland still set for FinFETs, says Intel exec.)
Although Intel recently cut back its forecast for capital expenditure in 2013 by $1 billion to $11 billion, plus or minus $500 million, according to industry body SEMI, investments by Intel (including those at its fab complex in Ireland) are among the drivers for spending on wafer-processing equipment in 2014. It usually takes about a year from expenditure on equipment to wafer production.
In email correspondence with EE Times a spokesperson for Intel Ireland said: "There are no changes to our near-term factory roadmap for the 1272 process technology and so, yes, Ireland is still part of that roadmap as communicated by Paul Otellini in 2012."
But there is still no word on what that actual timetable might be.
My reading between the lines is that the US sites will start production of 14 nm ICs this year while Leixlip should be expected to follow in 2014.
Related posts: