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Windows 8 is the New Windows Vista? That's a Bad Thing?
Windows 8 is the New Windows Vista? That's a Bad Thing? is a post by Travis Pope from Gotta Be Mobile.
By now everyone will have read the reports of internal Microsoft teams comparing its latest operating system, Windows 8, with Windows Vista. For those who don't know much in the way of Windows-related lore here are the details.
Released in 2006, Windows Vista was the successor to Windows XP. Although it had originally planned to move on from Windows XP with a very forward-thinking operating system with next-generation file management features and more, Microsoft was forced to cancel that project and begin anew. That replacement project became Windows Vista. Although it introduced dozens of new features, including a refreshed Windows interface and huge list of Microsoft-made utilities for managing photos, videos, mail and more, it never escaped its reputation as a bad operating system.
It's that baggage that industry watchers and users who aren't fans of its new interface, app store and more are looking to heap on Windows 8. I get it. The notion to relate to a product based on experiences with other products is irresistible. Its how people relate to things they don't understand.
Read: Even Microsoft is Labeling Windows 8 as the New Vista
Look. I'm not saying that Windows 8's new interface isn't sometimes strange to use, and I'm certainly not guaranteeing every Windows 7 user would like Windows 8 if only they gave it a chance. Such declarations are useless, people are going to go with their immediate gut feeling.
The problem here is that, like with Windows Vista, it's a complete mischaracterization of reality.
Windows Vista received no end of criticism for hardware drivers for printers and devices not working with it. That'd be a fair criticism if it was the operating system's fault. Unfortunately, many people seem to forget that it was actually hardware makers who failed to create Windows Vista era divers for their hardware despite them having been notified about changes years in advance.
It also received no end of criticism from people who were fans of Windows Access Users Control, a pop-up that would ask user's for permission before changing features on their computer. UAC was a reaction to the rampant security issues that plagued Windows XP. It may have annoyed users a bit too often, but it kept them safe. The operating system also introduced tons of quality of life improvements like a centralized back up system and centralized search.
The parallels of the two operating systems are very similar. Windows Vista was vilified for the decisions hardware makers made. It ran slower on entry-level machines thanks to Hp and others putting it on hardware that wasn't equipped with the horse power it required. Like Vista, Windows 8 suffers at the hand of Microsoft's hardware partners. It's these partners that force crappy apps to the Windows 8 Start Screen. It's these hardware makers that insist on not cleaning up their touchpad drivers so that using gestures in Windows 8 isn't as satisfying as it should be. Its also these hardware partners that load Windows 8 on half-baked convertibles and tablets without any accessories or ecosystem to speak of.
Windows 8 introduces things that make the Windows platform better. Its centralized app store ensures that user's apps travel with them. SkyDrive puts user's settings and files at every user's finger tips. Its back up utilities allow it to save the user's files and refresh Windows to factory settings without having to back up that information to an external hard drive first. Yes, Windows 8 does embrace touchscreens along with keyboards, mice and other input devices too.
If Windows 8 is Windows Vista and to be considered a failure, it's not because of the operating system itself. It's because of the failure of Windows buyers and Windows machine makers to grasp that progress is a good thing. If Windows 8 is a failure, it's because of everyday men and women embracing progress and new interfaces with an Apple logo, but failing to understand that to stay relevant and to stay modern they must sometimes use new interfaces and allow software makers to create new paradigms on the PC.
If Windows 8 is the New Windows Vista then it's also because of Microsoft's failure to educate users on the features and benefits of Windows 8 versus previous Windows products.
What's sad is that Microsoft will likely do to Windows 8 what it did to Windows Vista. Repackage it, as it did Windows Vista with Windows 7, and users will flock to it in droves.


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PARIS — The victory of President Obama after a campaign that turned partly on the role of government in the American economy is likely to resonate in some unusual ways across the Atlantic, where European leaders remain locked in a contentious struggle over austerity, slow growth and the future of the European welfare state.
Though European politics have their own dynamic, the role of government in a time of economic stress, which figured prominently in the campaign, is deeply divisive here as well. European experts said both President François Hollande, a pro-growth Socialist who just proposed a $25 billion cut in business taxes for France, and Prime Minister Mario Monti of Italy seemed to gain the most politically from Mr. Obama's victory.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor and the high priest of European austerity, may have more to lose. Austerity has significantly deepened Europe's slump this year, many economists say, and Ms. Merkel is facing a tougher challenge from fellow European leaders as well as her own opposition Social Democrats in Germany, who could gain from the re-election of a Democratic president in the United States who favors national health care and fiscal stimulus.
For the British prime minister, David Cameron, who championed austerity, the re-election of Mr. Obama may deprive him of an economic soul mate, but it also leaves in place a firm ally on issues of free trade and security.
The impact of Mr. Obama's re-election may be limited to a degree by his faded appeal around the Continent compared with 2008, when he was hailed as a hero.Continue reading the main story
"This is a president whose policies are closer to European policies," said Laurence Nardon, head of the United States program at the French Institute for International Relations. "The French adore Obama but in a strange way, because he is not very warm and he hasn't truly clicked with European countries."
He is seen as generally supportive of European efforts to deal more firmly and quickly with the euro crisis, sending Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner to hector European leaders to act fast and not rely only on austerity measures to deal with fiscal debt. For a time, Mr. Geithner's name was reviled by some Europeans, especially Germans, as someone handing out advice while letting the American debt balloon far beyond European levels.
There was greater appreciation in Italy from supporters of Mr. Monti, who found a quiet ally in Mr. Obama against the austerity dogma of Germany.
"I think Mario Monti found a good talking partner in Obama," said Sergio Romano, a columnist for the daily newspaper Corriere della Sera and a former ambassador. "Even if Obama is not particularly involved in European issues, the resolution of E.U. woes has been essential to his economic policy, and Monti offered him a guarantee that Italy was acting. On the other hand, Monti needed to restore Italy's political, economic and financial credibility at the international level, and Obama offered him a chance to do so."
Mr. Hollande summed up the hopes of the European left neatly in his official congratulations to Mr. Obama, which he sent to "Cher Barack." "Your re-election is a clear choice in favor of an America that is open, united, fully engaged on the international scene and conscious of our planet's challenges: peace, the economy and the environment," Mr. Hollande said. He added that he hoped the election result would bring a renewed focus on "economic growth to battle against unemployment in our countries."
Volker Perthes, director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin, said Ms. Merkel, who is up for re-election this year, ultimately has a decent working relationship with Mr. Obama, despite their clear differences.
"Merkel and Obama embrace very different economic philosophies," Mr. Perthes said. "She doesn't much like Keynesianism and quantitative easing. But it's easier for them to work with the people they know."
In any case, the German model of social market capitalism that Ms. Merkel favors remains left-wing in American terms, reliant on a large state welfare system and national health care. "There would not have been much fun between Merkel and Paul Ryan," Mr. Perthes said.Continue reading the main story

subset: commoncrawl


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Buy Trane Evaporator Fan Motors Parts
Trane HVAC systems are among the top-rated in the industry. Cooling systems, whether chillers, split systems or package systems, use evaporator fans when cooling in air conditioning mode. If the system uses heat pump technology, Trane evaporator fan motors are essential during heating cycles too. When you need a motor to repair or upgrade your system, you can buy Trane evaporator fan motors and parts right here at HVAC Plus. Our selection is the best you'll find online or from local suppliers.
Evaporator fan motors are also known as blower motors. Their purpose is to keep air circulating through the system. They pull air in through return ducts. The air is treated and then distributed to rooms through supply ducts by the evaporator fan motor. In a cooling cycle, the refrigerant in the system absorbs heat from around the coil, and that cools the air passing over it. The coil gets very cold, and moisture in the air condenses onto the coil and enters a drain. This dehumidifies the air and makes it feel more comfortable.
If the systems uses heat pump technology, reversing valves in the coils cause the refrigerant to bring heat to the evaporator coil from outside. The heat is released and the evaporator fan works with it to heat indoor air. Trane makes a range of evaporator fan motors for various applications. These include single-speed and variable-speed motors that offer differing levels of performance. They are also manufactured in many different capacities, so you'll find one with the right CFM rating for your system's requirements.
When repairs are needed, buy Trane evaporator fan motors parts to get OEM quality and durability you can trust. HVAC Plus has the Trane evaporator fan motor parts and complete assemblies you need to return the system to peak performance. Trane furnaces, air handlers, large AHUs and unit ventilators all require Trane evaporator fan motor parts for repairs.
Choose HVAC Plus when you need HVAC replacement parts of all types. We supply our customers in the HVAC industry with parts for furnaces, air conditioners, heat pumps, ventilators, air handlers, chillers, PTAC units, fan coils and much more. Brands include Trane, Emerson, GE, Lennox, Bryant, Carrier, York, Snyder-General, Honeywell and Fasco.
HVAC Plus is dedicated to your success. Our searchable online catalog makes it easy to find what you need, and when you find it, you'll love our competitive prices. Buy Trane evaporator fan motors parts and all the other parts you need today. When you do, you can be sure that quality parts are on their way!


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Why Choose a Ningaloo Reef Tour with Kings?
Ningaloo Reef Tours
Kings Ningaloo Reef Tours have an experienced skipper locally owned and operated and four trained crew members on board for your safety, including a professional videographer/photographer to capture those "bucket list" moments that we are here to provide. You'll see the difference in our friendly service, hospitality and most importantly our high success rate in locating Ningaloo Reef whale sharks, whales and manta rays, and maximising your sight seeing experience.
Why Kings?
- Our founder, George King, was the very first person to swim with whale sharks in the Ningaloo region in 1969 and conducted the first whale shark tours in Exmouth in the early 80′s.
- Our company has been operating whale shark and other tours on the Ningaloo Reef in excess of 25 years.
- We are a local family business and always give you personalised service. We understand that everyone has different needs on board and we cater to all swimming abilities.
- Friendly and experienced skippers and crew, always on hand to assist and enhance your whale shark swim.
- We have a highly trained and efficient spotter plane pilot who often gets us on to the first whale shark of the day.
- DVD's can be ordered at the end of the tour and picked up the next morning
Our wonderful boat, The Magellan, will ensure you have the best possible day on the water. Having been designed by our owner/operator, every last detail has been finely decided to cater for all of your Whale Sharking needs! We often have guests enquire about the risk of getting sea sick and we are proud to say that we have the biggest vessels here in Exmouth. If you were worried about getting sick, then this is the boat you want to be on. The Magellan makes for a steady and safe ocean vessel. There are plenty of great vantage points to enjoy the reef from on our large bow and our Skippers encourage you to pay them a visit up on the fly bridge? to truly take in the view. Having a large ocean level marlin board and ladder ensures ease of access in and out of the water for guests of all ages while a large shaded deck provides shelter and shade for that much needed rest in-between all that swimming! The Magellan also has a full environmentally bath room on board.
No Sighting Policy – In the unlikely event that we don't spot a Whale Shark on our tour, Kings will book you on the next available tour. We understand that this is not always possible for our guests in which case we will gladly issue a Gift Voucher which is valued for one Whale Shark Year.
Morning Tea, Lunch, Cold Beverages, A range of Teas, Coffee and Water are all provided and plentiful. Our Crew knows how to put on a lunch spread like no other on the Ningaloo Reef!
All snorkelling equipment including wetsuits, fins, face masks, rash vests and snorkels are provided free of charge. We also carry a range of prescription masks and full face masks on board.
Our Team! Comprising of certified marine biologists, professional videographers and photographers, dive masters and experienced commercial skippers we will ensure you have a safe and enjoyable day on the water. Our Marine Biologist is on call at all times to provide an educated and professional insight to the wonders of the reef.
Over and above all, the whole Crew at Kings genuinely love what they do and enjoy being able to give many people a once in a lifetime marine experience that they will never forget. Family owned and operated, Kings will make sure you become "one of us" from the minute you step aboard! Often going above and beyond to ensure that everyone has a fantastic day, our Crew encourage everyone to experience and share the passion and enthusiasm that they have for the ocean and the marine life here on the Ningaloo Reef. Our bubbly "spotters", or guides, will have you laughing and enjoying yourself as soon as they pick you up. Even if it is 7am!
We love what we do!


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We are a family run bathroom provider based in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. Our easily accessible bathroom showroom offers you a varied selection of bathroom suites to suit whatever your taste or style.
Using a combination of in-house engineers, installers and external experts, our bathroom showroom is a one-stop-shop where you can have it all taken care of from initial consultation and design through to a fully fitted bathroom including plumbing, heating, electrics, gas, plastering, tiling and floor covering. We specialise in Wet Rooms and disabled bathroom adaptations.


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Last night, accepting her People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Actress, Viola Davis said: "Thank you Shonda Rhimes… for thinking of a leading lady who looks like my classic beauty." It was a kind of full circle moment, eloquently and subtly referencing the New York Times article from last year that seemed to question Davis and Rhimes's success even as it attempted to praise it.
With the momentum of "Scandal" and the association with Shondaland, "How to Get Away With Murder" became one of last year's most widely watched and widely talked about shows. There was, of course, the delicious melodrama of the plot, but in addition the series sparked conversations about race, gender, and representation on the small screen that had been a longtime coming.
But it wasn't only "How to Get Away with Murder" that ushered in these conversations. Looking back over 2014, there was a gradual but perceptibly distinct shift in the television landscape, and the presence of black female performers in it. It was, after all, the year that brought an unprecedented number of black actresses in major primetime roles. Just two years before, when Kerry Washington debuted on "Scandal," a black woman hadn't starred in a network drama since 1974.
And yet last year, in addition to cable shows like "Being Mary Jane," "The Walking Dead," and "American Horror Story," network television post-"Scandal" suddenly had several black female stars. There was Viola of course, but also Halle Berry on the sci-fi miniseries "Extant," Nicole Beharie on "Sleepy Hollow," Octavia Spencer on "Red Band Society," Candice Patton on "The Flash," and Tracee Ellis Ross on "Blackish."
It wasn't just the larger number of actresses that were cropping up, but also the kind of characters they were playing that was significant. These weren't types, or even variations on the Olivia Pope tough-with-quivering-lips model. There were standout moments that included Viola Davis as Annalise Keating, all at once vulnerable, flawed, and powerful as she removed her wig and wiped off her makeup to confront a husband's infidelity. There was also the "Sleepy Hollow" episode 'Mama,' that shifted focus entirely away from Nicole Beharie's white male co-star Tom Mison to hone in on the relationship of her character, Abbie Mills, to her sister, and estranged mother – a rarity in genre programming that cemented Beharie's status as a lead, and not a sidekick on the genre show.
Across the board, the black female characters introduced last year were far more complex and far more engaging than what's been seen in some time. Which isn't to say that there isn't progress that still needs to be made, or problems that still need to be addressed. "Sorority Sisters" had its debut last year, sparking a debate about the harmfulness of so-called "ratchet" reality television and its depictions of black women.
But when we talk about the need for wider representations of black women, both on the big and small screen, there's something to be said for messiness. Characters like Annalise, or Mary Jane, or Rainbow from "Black-ish," are messy, but their messiness is acceptable because it comes in a package of respectability – upper middle-class, educated, etc. In the scripted, primetime television world, where are the black characters that fit the opposite end of the spectrum?
Enter "Empire," a show that, in a lot of ways, marks the culmination of 2014's shift. While Viola stepped on stage to accept her People's Choice Award, Taraji P. Henson's off-the-wall, scenery-chewing Cookie sauntered into a boardroom growling, "You messin' with the wrong bitch." The Lee Daniels-produced hip hop series is far, far, far from perfect. It's cheesy and over-stylized for sure, but a survey of live-tweets during the show's 9 pm premiere last night revealed that Henson's performance was engaging enough to keep people watching.
In spite of, or perhaps because of its flaws, "Empire" highlights an even bigger turn in the representation of black women on the small screen. The show's very existence is a major move – other than "Blackish," it's the only other black-executive produced show with a predominantly black cast on network TV. And Taraji as its star, opposite Terrence Howard, brilliantly tows the line of the so-called stereotype and the "respectable" black female lead. She's messy, she's complicated, she's "ratchet" – and she's worth worth rooting for.
Today, "Empire" joins "Black-ish" and "How to Get Away with Murder" as the highest rated new shows of the 2014-2015 television season. It's an interesting cross-section of a shifting TV climate, and a wake-up call for execs who still believe that audiences aren't interested in stories with black women and black people in general at the center. It's also a reminder that the Cookies, if handled with some nuance, are just as important as the Olivia Popes.
Zeba Blay is a Ghanaian-born film and culture writer based in New York. She is a contributor to Huffington Post, Africa Style Daily, and Slant Magazine. She co-hosts the weekly podcast Two Brown Girls, and runs a personal movie blog, Film Memory. Follow her on Twitter @zblay.
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Former Stereophonics drummer found dead
Stuart Cable found dead at his home in Wales on MondayLONDON -- Former Stereophonics drummer Stuart Cable was found dead at his home in Wales on Monday.
Cable was a founding member of the Welsh rock band, which rose to fame in the 1990s, but left in 2003 and pursued a career in media, presenting a weekend rock show on BBC Radio Wales, as well as forming a new band, Killing for Company.
"Rest peacefully. Stuart Cable 19 May 1970 - 7 June 2010. You will be missed," read a message on Killing for Company's website.
South Wales Police confirmed the sudden death of a 40 year-old man at a house in the town of Aberdare at 5:30 a.m. on Monday morning.
"Cause of death has not yet been established, however there are no suspicious circumstances at this stage. Next of kin have been informed," police said in a statement.
Cable grew up in the same Welsh village as the band's frontman Kelly Jones. The group released their first album "Word Gets Around" in 1997, and won a Brit award for best British newcomer a year later.
"Stuart has traveled all over the world with the band and I have worried myself silly," his mother Mabel, 79, told the Western Mail newspaper in Cardiff. "He is now settled down and then this has happens. It has not sunk in yet."
Cable's brother Paul said the family had no further comment to make at this stage as the death was a matter for the police.


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COMFY- Communal Amity through Familial Harmony. Every student of Al-Ameen visits the families of his/her friends with their parents during
Our nation is a rich land which has embraced all religions and cults with magnanimity. The people of this land are inherently spiritual by nature..
An inter-school quiz and literacy competition will be held at the Al-Ameen Public School on behalf of the freedom quest


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Although ointments, photo therapy and prescription drugs can all be prescribed as treatment hypnotherapy is now becoming an excepted and effective form of treatment.
In 1999 Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics tested the effectiveness of hypnosis on patients with psoriasis. The study involved 11 patients with the skin condition, 5 of whom received hypnosis with positive suggestions focusing on the improvement of their psoriasis. The remaining 6 patients received neutral hypnosis without suggestions specifically aimed at treating their psoriasis. Both groups received hypnosis for three months.
Over the course of the next three months all of the patients received active suggestions which targeted their skin problem.
The researchers concluded that the participants more susceptible to hypnosis reported a greater improvement than those who were only moderately hypnotisable, resulting in the verdict that hypnosis should be considered as a form of treatment for those who are highly suggestible and suffer from psoriasis.


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Be the first NOLA.com user to add photos or videos of Compeer
Compeer is located at 3825 Gilbert Dr, Shreveport, LA. This location is in the Broadmoor, Anderson Island, Shreve Isle neighborhood. This business specializes in Social Services.
Compeer can be found at Gilbert Dr 3825. The following is offered: Social Services. The entry is present with us since Sep 8, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 14, 2013. In Shreveport there are 48 other Social Services. An overview can be found here.


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U.S. Senate candidate Thom Tillis is apparently trailing Sen. Kay Hagan in fundraising.
Tillis' campaign sent out word on Friday that he had raised more than $700,000 in the fourth quarter of 2013, pushing his total fundraising since May to more than $1.7 million.
Sounds like a lot, and it is.
But Hagan earlier this week reported raising more than $2 million in the fourth quarter. She says she has $6.8 million on hand.
Tillis wants to compare numbers at this point in Hagan's campaign six years ago, but Hagan got into the race in 2007 late in the year, while Tillis has seven months under his belt.
Candidates will file their campaign finance reports later this month.


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con-nois-seur n.
1. A person with expert knowledge or training, especially in the fine arts.
2. A person of informed and discriminating taste: a connoisseur of fine art.
Andre "Drekidd" Simmons.
Born and raised in Inglewood, California. Found his passion for the arts late into his teens as an escape. With a Bachelors for Psychology and Graphic Design from Cal State Long Beach and Masters in Fine Arts focusing on Motion Graphics from the Academy of Art in San Francisco, Andre Now looks to promote clean esthetics as a way of life and art as a means of therapy that is accessible to all.


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Norman Fletcher plays an New Zealand medical-school graduate of the 1940s, who, at the request of his father, pays a visit to his home town. Fletcher has a particular affinity for the local Maori population--and small wonder, since his late mother was Maori (a fact hitherto unkown to him). After a young villager dies of leukemia, Fletcher decides to forego the posh practice that had been planned for him to remain with his new-found...more
All Ngati cast + crew photos
Movies.com, the ultimate source for everything movies, is your destination for new movie trailers, reviews, photos, times, tickets + more! Stay in the know with the latest movie news and cast interviews at Movies.com.
Copyright © 2018 FANDANGO MOVIES.


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Jury selection began on Monday in a federal district court in West Palm Beach, Florida in the trial of Salmon Melgen, "where he faces 76 counts charging him with stealing up to $190 million from Medicare between 2004 and 2013," the SunSentinel reported.
Melgen was indicted on April 15, 2015 in a "Medicare fraud scheme that prosecutors said attempted to bilk the health care program out of as much as $190 million," as the Associated Press reported at the time.
Two weeks earlier, on April 1, 2015, Melgen and his friend and political ally, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) were indicted on charges of public corruption.
Menendez (pictured) "was accused of using his office to improperly benefit a Florida eye doctor and political donor who provided him with trips aboard his luxury jet," Associated Press reported. The eye doctor is Melgen.
"The indictment from a federal grand jury in New Jersey charged the senator with 14 counts, including bribery and conspiracy, over his ties to Dr. Salomon Melgen, a wealthy doctor and the politician's longtime friend [who] . . .also was charged in the case," the Associated Press noted.
This fall, both men are expected to stand trial on the public corruption charges in a New Jersey federal district court. That is enough of a delay to conclude Melgen's Medicare fraud trial, and Menendez's bid to have the indictment thrown out by the Supreme Court, which is currently pending.
Menendez, first elected to the United States Senate from New Jersey in 2006, "is ramping up his political activity in anticipation of a 2018 reelection bid, even as he faces a September trial on multiple federal corruption charges. Menendez hosted a holiday party on Dec. 11 with an invite list that political adviser Michael Soliman called a "veritable who's who of New Jersey elected officials, opinion-shapers, friends and supporters,' " Politico reported in late December:
Menendez is also planning fundraising trips to California, Florida and Texas in the first quarter of 2017, according to Soliman.
"He intends to run and run aggressively for reelection," Soliman said in an email. "There is absolutely nothing that would indicate that this is a United States senator who is contemplating retirement."
His friend and long-time political contributor, Melgen, faces a difficult legal road ahead.
"Prosecutors say he prescribed unneeded treatments, filed claims for procedures he never performed and charged for medicine he never purchased. If convicted, the 62-year-old doctor faces up to 610 years in prison," according to the SunSentinel, which noted:
He is free on $18 million bond. . .
Prosecutors in the Florida case declined comment, but say in court documents that Melgen turned his practice into an assembly line, seeing up to 100 patients a day. In 2012, Melgen received more Medicare reimbursement than any doctor in the country, nearly $21 million.
Melgen's attorneys also declined comment. Melgen has pleaded not guilty.
When Melgen was first indicted on the Medicare fraud charges April 15, 2015, "The indictment charge[d] that he operated the fraud scheme between 2004 and 2013, a time frame during which Melgen billed Medicare for more than $190 million and was paid more than $105 million. In 2012 alone, health official say he billed Medicare more than any other doctor in the nation at $21 million," as the Associated Press reported at the time.
If convicted of all charges in the Medicare fraud case, Melgen could face up to 600 years in prison.
Should he be found innocent of all charges, Melgen and his co-indictee, Sen. Menendez, face serious charges in their public corruption case if the Supreme Court does not decide in Menendez's favor.
In September, Breitbart News reported, "Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) has lost his final opportunity for a federal appeals court to spare him from multiple corruption indictments, leaving him with only the hope of an intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court to avoid a trial on 22 felonies that could send him to prison for years."
In February, the Associated Press reported that "Government attorneys are pushing back against New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez's attempts to have his corruption indictment thrown out."
They filed a response this week to the Democratic senator's filing seeking to have the U.S. Supreme Court hear his appeal.
Menendez is accused of using his influence in exchange for gifts and political donations from a wealthy Florida eye doctor. Menendez has argued his actions were covered under the Constitution's "speech or debate" clause that protects lawmakers when they are performing legislative duties.
In its brief this week, the government wrote that the clause is limited to acts that are "integral to the legislative process" and not to attempts to influence government agencies. If the Supreme Court declines to hear the case, a trial could take place this fall.
Menendez and Melgen have separate representation in the public corruption case, and if the Supreme Court throws out the corruption indictment against Menendez, Melgen would likely remain as a defendant in the case.
In 2013, Breitbart News reported on the FBI raid of Melgen's medical offices during its investigations of Melgen's Medicare practices:
Earlier this year, the FBI raided the medical offices of Dr. Salomon Melgen, seizing documents to investigate suspicions that he was overbilling Medicare. The Miami Herald reported, earlier this month, that one of the red flags that launched the Department of Health and Human Services Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS") investigation was Melgen's alleged practice of dividing a single vial of the expensive liquid drug Lucentis into four doses and billing Medicare for each dose. A vial is intended by the manufacturer to generate a single dose in the treatment of macular degeneration. A medical expert told Breitbart News that Melgen's alleged practice is highly unusual.
Dr. Michael Repka, Medical Director of Governmental Affairs of the American Academy of Opthalmology, told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview "it doesn't seem possible you could get four doses [of Lucentis] out of a single vial. I would think that is hard to understand." Repka noted that he was not commenting on the Melgen investigation, but was providing general information about standard practices among opthalmologists for the use of Lucentis in the treatment of macular degeneration.
Melgen's friendship with and substantial political donations to Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) are at the center of an ever expanding political scandal that has prompted the New York Times to call for Menendez's removal from the Chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
As Breitbart News reported in 2013, Melgen's attorneys at the time claimed he "[simply] differed with the program over its reimbursement policy for Lucentis."
"But the CMS reimbursement policy for the use of Lucentis is straightforward and not especially prone to misunderstanding on the part of opthalmologists, who use two drugs for the treatment of macular degeneration. Lucentis, which costs doctors $2,000 per vial, is FDA approved for use in treatment of macular degeneration. Avastin, which costs doctors a mere $50 per vial, is FDA approved, but not yet for the treatment of macular degeneration. Both drugs are manufactured by biotech giant Genentech," Breitbart News noted then:
CMS has established the billing protocol for opthalmologists who purchase either Avastin or Lucentis for use in the treatment of patients with macular degeneration. Doctors are allowed to bill Medicare the "average selling price" of the medicine plus 6 per cent. In the case of a patient treated with a single vial of Lucentis, the opthalmologist would bill Medicare $2,000 plus 6%, or $2,120 for the medicine. When the doctor uses Avastin instead of Lucentis, the bill submitted to Medicare would be $50 plus 6%, or $53.
The Herald reported that Dr. Melgen uses Lucentis to treat macular degeneration patients "more than any other ophthalmologist in Florida and possibly the country. His high patient volume also raised red flags for investigators. " That high usage prompted the formal investigation focused on potential Medicare overbilling. Specifically, the Herald reported that "Melgen is suspected of using one vial for as many as four patients, while submitting claims of up to $8,000, as if he had used separate vials for each, according to sources familiar with the billing dispute."
"Instead of billing Medicare at a rate equal to the "average sale price" plus 6% for the approved use of a single vial (which would have generated a reimbursement of $2,120), Melgen is suspected of squeezing four doses out of a single vial, and billing Medicare $8,000 plus 6%, or $8,480. Doctors who play by the straightforward CMS billing policy make a $120 profit on each vial of Lucentis they purchase. A doctor who violates the CMS billing policy and charges $8,480 would make a $6,480 profit on each vial of Lucentis they purchase," Breitbart News reported in that 2013 article.


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The Killing Isn't Coming Back
The fourth season shall not be.
"We have made the difficult decision not to move forward with a fourth season of The Killing," AMC writes. (More or less difficult than the last time?) "We want to thank our great partners at Fox Television Studios, creator Veena Sud, an extraordinary cast and the dedicated fans who watched." Anyone want to try keeping it alive? Netflix? Once more, for old times' sake?


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The safety of our employees is paramount. When we were looking at the various options we felt that we needed a solution that was simple to use, could integrate seamlessly into the company and was flexible enough to grow with the business.
(PRWEB UK) 28 July 2014
Innovative StaySafe app keeps lone employees protected at LPC Living
Property developer LPC Living has adopted cutting edge personal security app StaySafe to protect its employees whilst they are working alone.
The app, which tracks an employee's location via GPS and alerts their manager if they do not check-in within a specified time, will be used to ensure that LPC Living's workforce are safe when carrying out maintenance work or attending property viewings on their own – even if their phone has been switched off. Once employees have downloaded the app onto their smartphone, LPC Living will keep track of their whereabouts using the StaySafe online Hub which accurately locates workers on a map and provides real-time updates on their location. If an employee activates the app's panic button or fails to check in, alerts are automatically triggered on screen and via text and email, allowing LPC Living to take immediate action. The developer, which is owned by global investor the Pervaiz Naviede Family Trust, decided to procure a new personal security solution because their incumbent technology was temperamental and took up too much memory on their employees' phones. This led to issues with accessing emails, appointments and essential documents. After an extensive review of the market, LPC selected StaySafe.
Scott Neal, marketing manager at LPC Living, explains, "The safety of our employees is paramount. When we were looking at the various options we felt that we needed a solution that was simple to use, could integrate seamlessly into the company and was flexible enough to grow with the business. We've been very impressed with the way StaySafe provides real time tracking of our colleagues, allows them check in safely after appointments and notifies senior management automatically in the event a staff member requires assistance.
"We were particularly impressed with the StaySafe app because it offers additional features such as an inactivity alert, which is activated if a colleague remains in a location for longer than expected and a duress alert which notifies management if an employee purposely enters a false PIN code. These additional features not only help us meet our legal obligations to keep our workers safe but also offer greater peace of mind to our employees when they are out in the field."
Don Cameron, CEO at StaySafe adds, "We developed StaySafe for businesses like LPC Living who need a flexible solution for keeping track of employees and ensuring their safety. Simple panic button apps have been around for some time, but we wanted to offer businesses a smarter solution that covers a wider range of situations. The StaySafe app will still send alerts even if the employee is unable to – for example if they are unconscious from a fall or their phone is switched off – which means LPC Living can feel confident they are protecting their lone workers as comprehensively as possible."
- Ends –
StaySafe - don(dot)cameron(at)staysafeapp(dot)com
LPC Living – Scott Neal scott(at)lpcliving(dot)co(dot)uk
Notes to editors
About StaySafe
StaySafe Business provides personal protection for lone working employees. StaySafe Business is a smartphone app that can track the location of lone workers in real-time and enable them to check-in safely after meetings, travelling and lone working sessions, whilst employers have full visibility through a secure, online Hub. The app is available across the market leading business mobile devices; BlackBerry, iPhone, and Android. For more information, visit http://www.staysafeapp.com/staysafe-business.
About LPC Living
LPC Living is an award-winning developer specialising in urban regeneration with 1,300 homes built to date. Since 2002, LPC Living have been the driving force behind the £100m transformation of Ordsall, Salford in partnership with Salford City Council.
From refurbishing ex-local authority tower blocks into city centre style apartments, to building luxury new build three bedroom townhouse villas, LPC Living seeks to create sustainable communities that appeal in particular to First Time Buyers. For more information, visit http://www.lpcliving.co.uk.
About the Pervaiz Naviede Family Trust
The Pervaiz Naviede Family Trust is an investment vehicle, which owns and maintains a diverse range of companies including Salford-based property developer LPC Living. The Trust has a portfolio of more than £200m of mainly property related assets in the UK and UAE with investment and development interests in commercial, residential, leisure, healthcare and childcare & education. http://www.whoarewe.com/about-the-pervaiz-naviede-family-trust/


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Digestive Disorders
Dietary Approaches To Improve Digestive Disorders
Phosphatidylcholine. Extracellular phospholipids, synthesized on gastric mucosa, assist in the hydrophobic (non-wettable) characteristics of the epithelium, yielding protection from stomach acid and injurious materials. The non-wettable status of the epithelium is extremely important to the health of the GI tract. This valuable protection is, however, vulnerable and can be transformed by aspirin or NSAIDs from a non-wettable (resistant to harmful substances) to a wettable (mucosa is susceptible to injury from caustic substances) state.
Once the gastric mucosa has been disturbed, ulcers loom as an ongoing threat. Polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholine (PPC) has been shown to reduce the incidence of gastric ulcers, even after aggressive experimental ulcer inducement. Individuals at high risk for gastric ulcers, such as those taking high doses of either aspirin or NSAIDs, have lessened the injurious nature of the drugs when phospholipids are bound to the anti-inflammatory drugs (Leyck 1985).
As noted earlier, the basic cause of many ulcers is the spiral-shaped bacterium H. pylori (Axon 1993). To investigate the effect of H. pylori infection on the gastric mucosal barrier, phospholipid and fatty acid composition of the gastric mucosa were analyzed in healthy volunteers with and without H. pylori infection. The gastric PPC content of H. pylori-positive healthy volunteers was less than that of H. pylori-negative healthy volunteers (p < 0.05) (Wakabayashi 1998). These findings suggest that H. pylori infection results in changes in the gastric mucosal phospholipid contents and their fatty acid composition, causing the gastric mucosa to be weakened. Attempts to increase the worthiness of the gastric mucosa appears indicated, particularly in individuals with a history of gastric ulcers or those on medicinal protocols known to impact the reliability of the mucosa.
Beyond the functions of gastric protection, polyunsaturated PPC assists in the digestion of fat. The presence of luminal PPC is important for normal lymphatic transport of absorbed digestion products of triglyceride, the major dietary fat (Tso 1981; Richmond 2001). Assisting in the metabolism and transport of fat may explain why some individuals find value in using lecithin in conditions of hypercholesterolemia.
PPC stimulates collagen breakdown in experimental models of liver cirrhosis. As important as this finding is relative to liver health, it also has pertinent implications regarding the integrity and maintenance of the GI tract. Bowel strictures (abnormal, temporary or permanent narrowing of the bowel) are characterized by excess deposition of collagen in the intestinal wall. A study was conducted to determine the effect of PPC in the prevention of bowel strictures. Three groups of rats were assessed: a control group, a confirmed colitis group, and a group of rats diagnosed with colitis, but receiving PPC. In conjunction with the study, collagen deposition and collagenase activity in colonic tissue were measured in all of the groups. None of the control rats, but 12 of 16 rats with colitis, developed colonic strictures.
In contrast, only 2 of 15 PPC-fed rats with colitis developed strictures. Collagen content was much higher in the rats with colitis than the PPC-fed rats with colitis and the control rats. Collagenase activity in colonic tissue was also much higher in the PPC-fed rats (Mourelle 1996). PPC appears to enhance collagen catabolism, restricting collagen buildup in inflamed intestinal tissue and the resulting stricture formation.
Individuals wishing to enhance the integrity of their GI tract or gain assistance in fat metabolism may wish to consider the use of unsaturated PPC. Unsaturated PPC is deemed well-tolerated and without major risk factors.
Zinc-Carnosine. Zinc is a micronutrient mineral that has multiple functions in human biology, chiefly acting as a coenzyme in many enzyme systems that defend against free radical damage (Gotz 1996; Gotz 1997; Langmead 2001; Noguchi 2002). Recognizing that H. pylori infection causes increased oxidative stress, a group of Ecuadorian scientists investigated whether zinc deficiency might cause increased inflammation in the stomachs of people infected with the organism (Sempertegui 2007). They studied 352 patients with dyspepsia (stomach pain and dysfunction) who had biopsy samples taken during endoscopy. Patients with H. pylori infections had significantly lower zinc concentrations in their tissue samples than uninfected patients. Indeed, the more severe the inflammation, the lower the zinc levels in the infected subjects (Sempertegui 2007). These results and others have led some researchers to consider zinc to be a "gastric cytoprotective" (cell-saving) nutrient (D'Souza 1991).
Zinc also has direct anti-inflammatory effects, helping to stabilize the membranes of mast cells. Mast cells release bursts of inflammatory cytokines when stimulated by injury or allergy (Cho 1991; Cho 1992). Further, zinc is an immune modulator that can reduce the recurrence rate of certain inflammation-sensitive cancers (Barrera 2000).
Another essential nutrient called carnosine can boost those effects even further. Japanese scientists have led the way in developing this zinc-carnosine compound. Until quite recently, gastric cancer (the result of gastritis and ulcer disease) was the top killer cancer in Japan; the dramatic decline in gastric cancer has been attributed in large part to dietary education of the Japanese people (Matsuzaka 2007). In fact, the zinc-carnosine compound, sold as polaprezinc, is a regulated prescription anti-ulcer drug in Japan (Matsukura 2000) Fortunately, this simple nutrient compound is available in the US as a non-prescription supplement that is safe for long-term use.
Zinc-carnosine also speeds the eradication of infection with H. pylori itself, as shown by another Japanese team in 1999 (Kashimura 1999). The group enrolled 66 patients with known H. pylori infections and symptoms, randomly assigning them to zinc-carnosine or placebo. All patients also received a cocktail of two potent antibiotics (aimed at curbing the infections) plus a proton pump inhibitor (aimed at promoting gastric healing). Only 86% of the antibiotic-proton pump inhibitor group achieved complete cure (eradication of detectable organisms), while 100% of those receiving zinc-carnosine were cured.
In early 2007, Western scientists began to examine zinc-carnosine's mode of action and effectiveness. A British team, using a laboratory model of gut injury and repair, also conducted a clinical trial (Mahmood 2007). In the first study, they examined the effects of zinc-carnosine on cells lining animal digestive tracts after exposure to indomethacin (a potent NSAID notorious for its gastritis-producing tendencies) or stress. The nutrient combination reduced stomach injury by 75% and small intestinal injury by 50%. It also stimulated migration and growth of cells in and near the sites of injury, hastening the healing process nearly threefold. In the clinical trial, 10 healthy volunteers took indomethacin (50 mg) three times daily with either placebo or zinc-carnosine. Indomethacin increased gut permeability (impaired barrier function of the gut's lining that allows inflammation to get its start) by a factor of three in the placebo group, whereas there was no increase in permeability in the supplemented group. The researchers concluded that zinc-carnosine stabilized the mucosal lining cells of the stomach and small intestine.
Cranberries. There is mounting clinical evidence of how effective cranberries and their extracts can be in mitigating H. pylori and other stomach ailments. Chinese researchers gave cranberry juice or a placebo drink (about two cups per day) to 189 adults with H. pylori infection (Zhang 2005). They checked for chemical evidence of continued infection at days 35 and 90 of treatment. More than 14% of the juice-supplemented group versus 5% of the placebo group showed complete eradication of the organism.
A large systematic review by nutritional experts has now concluded that regular intake of cranberry juice and other dietary products "might constitute a low-cost, large-scale alternative solution applicable for populations at risk for H. pylori colonization" (Gotteland 2006). It seems clear that cranberries and their extracts can take their place alongside zinc-carnosine as important components of an effective stomach health regimen.
Licorice. Long recognized for their multiple health benefits (Langmead 2001; Olukoga 2000), licorice extracts (with the potentially blood pressure-elevating glycyrrhizin molecule removed) provide yet another nutritional weapon in fighting H. pylori infection (Petry 2001). Various laboratory studies have shown that these extracts have potent anti-inflammatory activities, reducing cytokine production while increasing production of protective stomach mucus (Khayyal 2006; Kim 2006). Licorice extracts can also kill H. pylori in stomach tissue (O'Mahony 2005), even antibiotic-resistant strains of the organism (Fukai 2002; Krausse 2004). Indeed, in one laboratory head-to-head comparison, licorice extracts were as effective as famotidine in preventing ulcers (Aly 2005), and animal studies have shown a potent effect on speeding the healing of existing ulcers (Baker 1994). These characteristics of licorice neatly complement those of zinc-carnosine and cranberry extracts.
Picrorhiza. News about another natural remedy called picrorhiza (Picrorhiza kurroa) is now generating intense excitement in the medical community (Anon 2001; Govindarajan 2003). Well-known to practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine, picrorhiza is a perennial herb found high in the Himalayas. Its extracts are now being found to have potent antioxidant (Chander 1992; Chander 1998; Sun 2007), immune-stimulating (Vaidya 1996; Gupta 2006; Puri 1992; Sharma 1994; Smit 2000), and anti-inflammatory (Barbieri 2004; Thomas 2007; Zhang 2004) properties—activities that clearly have a role in gastric protection. Since picrorhiza so dramatically combats the very changes caused by H. pylori (i.e., infection, inflammation, oxidant stress, and tissue injury), it is no wonder that this ancient herb is now at the forefront of research on stomach health.
Already used to speed healing in other infectious gastrointestinal conditions such as hepatitis A (Vaidya 1996; Luper 1998), picrorhiza extracts also demonstrate unique wound-healing properties, stimulating tissue growth, nerve cell recovery, and blood vessel formation that may promote recovery from tissue damage (Gaddipati 1999; Li 2000; Singh 2007). In a dramatic illustration of the extract's ability to combat stomach ulcers, Indian scientists administered it to rats with ulcers induced by the potent NSAID indomethacin (Ray 2002). Compared with an untreated group of animals, the supplemented group had much faster rates of ulcer healing, accompanied by a profound drop in levels of oxidized tissue components. And while antioxidant enzyme activity was decreased in the untreated animals, those treated with picrorhiza had elevated antioxidant activity.
Disclaimer and Safety Information
This information (and any accompanying material) is not intended to replace the attention or advice of a physician or other qualified health care professional. Anyone who wishes to embark on any dietary, drug, exercise, or other lifestyle change intended to prevent or treat a specific disease or condition should first consult with and seek clearance from a physician or other qualified health care professional. Pregnant women in particular should seek the advice of a physician before using any protocol listed on this website. The protocols described on this website are for adults only, unless otherwise specified. Product labels may contain important safety information and the most recent product information provided by the product manufacturers should be carefully reviewed prior to use to verify the dose, administration, and contraindications. National, state, and local laws may vary regarding the use and application of many of the treatments discussed. The reader assumes the risk of any injuries. The authors and publishers, their affiliates and assigns are not liable for any injury and/or damage to persons arising from this protocol and expressly disclaim responsibility for any adverse effects resulting from the use of the information contained herein.
The protocols raise many issues that are subject to change as new data emerge. None of our suggested protocol regimens can guarantee health benefits. The publisher has not performed independent verification of the data contained herein, and expressly disclaim responsibility for any error in literature.


text:
Dykescapes IVbyKatherine-T©
Sarah had her epiphany in a place called Ventimiglia, an ancient sea town a few kilometers from Genoa. She had left her husband in Rome after an argument, and she had driven the small rented Fiat up the coastal highway, up the left side of the boot, the car radio blasting rock music to help her forget her miseries. She had a vague notion of driving as far as Nice, but when darkness approached she found herself exhausted. A sign said Ventimiglia and had an arrow pointing over the cliff. Was there actually a town down there?
Another sign, one corner bent and its red paint peeling, said HOTEL SOPHIA. It was the name of the hotel that did it. Sarah had known a girl in college named Sophia. Sarah's first and only lesbian experience. Sultry Sophia, the girl with broad hips and a tropical liquid cunt. The affair had been brief, intense, completely divine, and had ended only because Sarah had been convinced she wanted a man as a mate and not a woman. So the affair with Sophia ended, and a week later Sarah met David. He was good-looking, had a job waiting for him in Wall Street, and he seemed to enjoy going down on her. They were married a month after they graduated.
That was three years ago. Now David was snorting coke in Rome with his British friends and Sarah had left him for good. Tough shit, Sarah thought. She started crying as she turned into the narrow road that led down the cliffs to Ventimiglia.
* * *
The hotel had three stories, ten rooms, and a lovely slanted red tile roof splattered with bird droppings. All the rooms had balconies and faced the sea. The view from the rooms showed no beach, only a line of large yellow boulders and fishing boats and the waves coming in to crash against the rocks and die. The sound of the waves, relentless, the unending heartbeat of the sea, was everywhere, in every room, in your ears, in your belly, and in your head. No need for blasting rock music in Ventimiglia, no need for blasting rock music to forget your life. Sarah thought she had arrived in heaven, and after the ancient porter dropped her bags in the room and limped away with his tip, she went to the window and looked out at the sea and told herself she wanted to live here forever. I'll marry a count, she thought. She would marry an Italian count and he would build her a castle in Ventimiglia. But no count, no castle, and no marriage. She was finished with that. She would settle for the waves.
* * *
The woman who ran the hotel was called Signora Maldi. She was in her forties, with pale skin, black hair, dark flashing eyes, and heavy breasts that threatened to burst through her dress. She spoke broken English and she apologized for the absence of airconditioning.
"Always broken," she said. "Stupid machine."
She made a gesture with her hand. Sarah said she didn't mind, the room was cool enough. Could she have a lemonade outside? She walked through the tiny lobby and into the garden behind the hotel. She chose one of the white tables, and she sat down to wait for her lemonade.
When Signora Maldi arrived with the lemonade on a tray, she found Sarah crying.
Signora Maldi put the lemonade on the table, then put the tray down and placed her hands on her hips.
"What's the matter with you?"
Sarah dried her eyes and looked up at her. "I'm all right."
"Why are you crying? You are too beautiful to cry."
"I left my husband. He's in Rome."
And she told Signora Maldi everything. Signora Maldi sat down and held Sarah's hand as she listened. The older woman kept nodding her head, her dark eyes fixed on Sarah's face. When Sarah finished by calling David a bastard, Signora Maldi laughed and said:
"That's good. It's better to hate him. Then you don't feel too much pain, eh?"
"Where did you learn to speak English?"
"In school, where else? I have a cousin in Brooklyn and he speaks to me on the telephone. He says Anna, you should come to America. The hell with him, I'm staying here."
"I like your name."
"Anna? You like the name Anna?"
"Anna Maldi."
"Yes, I'm Anna Maldi. Everyone says I look like Anna Magnani, but I'm not Anna Magnani, I'm Anna Maldi. Men are bastards, eh?"
"Some of them anyway," Sarah said, and she suddenly started crying again.
This time Signora Maldi put her arms around Sarah and drew her close and rocked her. Sarah found her face pressed into the globe of a large breast, the flesh like a pillow beneath her cheek. She could feel the warmth of the breast under Signora Maldi's dress. She could smell Signora Maldi's perfume. She thought she could feel a large nipple against her chin. Yes, the nipple was there, she could feel it. Not a small nipple, but a big one.
My God, I'd love to, Sarah thought. The idea was crazy. Signora Maldi would scream and smack her head. She would be thrown out of the hotel. Maybe Signora Maldi would call the police and they would deport her. You're crazy, Sarah thought. The ending of her marriage had made her crazy. She lowered her face an inch and closed her teeth around the bulge of Signora Maldi's fat nipple.
Signora Maldi muttered something in Italian and she suddenly stopped rocking Sarah. As the older woman held the younger woman against her breast, the two women seemed frozen in time. Then Sarah heard the word "bella". She knew that word. Bella, bella, I love you dear Bella. Bellisimo. She bit down on the nipple again.
Signora Maldi groaned. Her hands gripped Sarah's head and gently pushed Sarah's face away. "Not here," Signora Maldi said. "Come to my room."
* * *
The sound of the sea, the waves, filled the inside of Sarah's head. The window was open, a cool breeze wafting into the room, the noise of the squawking seagulls playing counterpoint to the sound of the waves. They lay on the wide bed, Signora Maldi on her back, Sarah lying beside her. Signora Maldi had her dress unbuttoned, one large breast uncovered, its dark nipple in Sarah's active mouth.
Sarah sucked the enormous tit. She was no longer crying. She no longer thought of David. Screw David, he could never give her this. She liked sucking his cock, but this was a woman's breast and she liked it better. She sucked hard, she sucked gently, she licked and tugged at the nipple with her lips. Meanwhile her hands roamed over Signora Maldi's belly and thighs. Sarah wanted more. She slid her hand beneath Signora Maldi's dress and found the soft skin between her thighs. Slowly, she inched her hand upward until the edge of her hand touched the warmth of Signora Maldi's sex where it bulged through the crotch of her panties. Signora Maldi's cunt. Anna Maldi's cunt.
Anna Maldi chuckled softly. "You want the pussy, eh? Is that what you want? Okay, I'll give it to you." She pulled at the hem of her dress until she had it up to her belly. Then she urged Sarah off her chest and said: "Go on, take my panties off and you can have my pussy. You're so beautiful, I can't resist you. Go on, do it."
Sitting upright, Sarah now looked at the exposed breast with its saliva-coated nipple, the parted thighs, the white panties whose crotch showed the shadow of Anna Maldi's sex. Sarah was lost. She leaned forward, found the waistband of the panties and tugged them down over Anna Maldi's hips and thighs and legs and feet, all without looking at the place where she wanted to look most.
Would Medusa turn her into stone?
When Sarah finally looked, Anna had her knees up and wide apart, her cunt open and waiting for Sarah, her fingers rubbing the bush of dark hair above the flower of her sex.
"Go on," Anna said. "Suck me. Suck my juices. Look how wet I am for you."
Sarah moaned as she bent to the offering, the musk of the woman's sex overwhelming her senses. She started licking gently along the meaty labia. This was not Sophia, this was not a college girl. This was the cunt of a mature woman, a cunt in full ripeness, the clitoris long and thick, its tip a pink bean nestled in the hood. Sarah licked lightly up one side, down the other side, her nose tickled by the wild jungle of dark hair.
Anna evidently did not want gentleness; she pulled Sarah's face into her cunt, so that Sarah felt as though her face had been mashed into a split mango.
"Suck me hard," Anna said.
And Sarah started sucking, pulling in the warm juices, scouring the vaginal opening, sucking north, south, east, and west, down to the edge of the anus and then up to the clitoris again. She fixed on the fat clitoris, tongued it and chewed it as Anna groaned and rocked her knees back and forth. "Suck me," Anna said. "Suck my pussy. Oh, what a good sucker you are. Do it there. And there too. Oh, I adore it!"
Anna finally came, jerking upward, trembling, her hands holding Sarah's head in place as she pumped upward again and again. Sarah held on. She could hear the sea. She had her nose mashed against Anna's clitoris as she sucked the juices out of the running hole.
* * *
After that Sarah belonged to Anna Maldi. Each day at noon, Anna ran Sarah's credit card through the machine to charge Sarah for the room. After that Sarah had lunch, usually a light salad and a glass of wine, and afterward, in the quiet of the afternoon siesta, Sarah would go to Anna's room to bury her face between Anna's open thighs.
Anna was not easy to please. Sarah learned that Anna needed three, four, five orgasms before she ordered Sarah to stop. Then Sarah would get one of the breasts, get a nipple to suck, while Anna's strong fingers pumped in and out of Sarah's cunt until Sarah had an orgasm. One orgasm, never two orgasms. And after that Anna would roll over and tell Sarah to do the other place, Anna's hairy little anus that drove Sarah wild with lust. She loved servicing Anna, she adored it. She knew Anna did not care about her, no real affection at all. Anna had taken to patting Sarah's cheek and calling Sarah her little lesbian, her little pussy-eater. "You suck my cunt so well," Anna said, "maybe I'll keep you and never be with a man again. Come on, do it to me once more. In my ass this time."
Every day. Every afternoon. In a small hotel in a place called Ventimiglia. What am I? Sarah thought. Was she a lesbian? Or was it merely that she had a hunger to please? Or maybe it was both. On the day before she would leave Anna and drive to Genoa to board a plane to Milano and then to New York, Sarah lay behind Anna's raised ass, sucking Anna from behind, her nose pushing at Anna's anus, her tongue swirling in Anna's cunt, her fingers rubbing her own clitoris to make herself come.
I'm praying, Sarah thought. This is an altar and I'm praying. And then she heard the sea again, the crash of a wave on the rocks, the music of Ventimiglia.
I am what I am, Sarah thought. My name is Sarah and this is what I am. For the first time in her life, she understood a few things. Thank you, Ventimiglia.
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text:
Golden achieves final victory
Senior worked hard to win crown all four years of college
INDIANAPOLIS -- As a freshman in 2010, Dana Golden rowed in the Varsity 8 to help Williams to its fifth NCAA Division III Rowing title in a row. Then its sixth. And seventh.
As a senior this year, she helped earn the championship trophy for the Ephs for the eighth consecutive year and the fourth and final time of her collegiate career.
Despite Williams' dominant streak, the past four years for Golden and the Ephs have not been easy.
"The team has changed a ton since I was a freshman," Golden said. "Since I've been here, there have been three head coaches. We had Justin [Moore] and then Brad [Hemmerly] and now Kate [Maloney]. I remember Justin saying that one of the tests of him leaving was to see if this is a program or if this [is] a coach."
Thankfully, it was a program and the talent and heart remained.
"The team has been just unbelievable and resilient. We've had to be flexible," Golden said. "We can't just keep doing the same thing; we had to figure out how to do new things because everyone's getting faster."
Division III competitors continued to step up their games, which was evidenced by the tight finish in Saturday's V8 grand finals. Bates lagged behind the Ephs by less than two seconds for the majority of the race.
"We had some amazing competition this year -- we lost [some] and that was awesome." Golden said. "It was awesome for us to really work for it. It was honestly such an amazing, amazing way to finish, to have a race that close. That was a hard race. We really worked hard and Bates, they were right there. They were not going to give it to us."
With Golden up front, the V8 pushed the last 250 meters to prevent the Bobcats from catching up, in clinching the Ephs' ninth title overall with 42 team points.
"[Dana] stroked the boat this year and it was beautiful to watch. If she wanted to go, that boat went," Maloney said. "She's been sort of the emotional and physical center of the team this year along with our other captain, Kat Amano. Just stellar physical leadership, a really good person to talk to, very level-headed, but a consummate racer."
Despite winning all four years of her time at Williams, this championship has been unique for Golden.
"Every year I knew I was part of it, but this year I realized so much more that it wasn't for me, it was for the team and for the people coming behind me," Golden said. "I think freshman year was awesome -- I got to be included in something really amazing and I'm just really happy that I could finish it out this way. It's the same outcome, but it feels different every year."
Golden is happy to be handing reigns to some of her very capable teammates.
"We have an awesome freshman class this year, a lot of walk-ons, and we needed them," Golden said. "They really stepped up and took really important roles. I'm so excited to watch what this team is going to do.
"The stroke of the 2V is a freshman and she's going to be a great competitor next year. The junior class, they have so much to offer both physically and leadership-wise. Our coxswain, Anna Hopkins, is a junior and she's huge in terms of bringing boats together, bringing the team together."
For her head coach, the legacy of the six seniors, including Golden, drove their focus all season and powered them in crunch time at the national championships.
"The entire senior class came from under the shadows of a very powerful senior class before them, so they had to do a lot of defining of what they wanted and holding themselves to those expectations," Maloney said. "They thought about who'd come before them and what they'd done before and how they could improve on that. They took it to task and worked hard and tried to do a little bit more than what's been done before."
The tradition of striving for more is a lesson that was passed down to Golden and a value she hopes to impart now that her time at Williams is done.
"You can always find more, both physically and emotionally and mentality," Golden said, "both for yourself and as a boat and as a team. The most powerful thing to drive me is the love and respect that I have for my teammates. Trusting them is so much more powerful than focusing on what's going on with other boats or other teams or what happened in previous seasons. That is the strongest thing."


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WASHINGTON – The Washington Republican and conservative establishment is proclaiming Rep. Paul Ryan "the next Reagan" for his efforts at devising a 10-year spending plan that is billed as saving $6 trillion, so why is it not selling across America?
While some pundits are suggesting it's too radical, the activist behind the "No More Red Ink" campaign says it's because it's too "timid and defensive."
"Once again, well-meaning Republicans, trying to be 'pragmatic' and 'reasonable,' have painted themselves in a corner, misread the American public's appetite for immediate progress in dealing with the debt and the failing economy and failed to recognize the power they have in Washington right now to deliver a blow to the tyrannical overreach of the federal government," says Joseph Farah, WND editor and chief executive officer and the force behind the innovative, high-tech, grass-roots lobbying effort to freeze the debt limit.
A Rasmussen poll yesterday on Ryan's proposal to tackle America's fiscal crisis shows less than an enthusiastic reception to the plan – with only 26 percent approval ratings among likely voters with 27 percent opposition and 47 percent not knowing what to think.
Meanwhile, the plan is being denounced by Democrats as "extreme," "a path to poverty" and "a death trap for seniors."
"Obama's aides are acutely aware of the danger if they are perceived as cutting too much from the entitlements at the heart of the [left's] social-safety-net mandate."
The problem is not that the package isn't selling, says Farah. The problem is that the package is part of a misguided strategy that requires negotiations and bargaining with "responsible Democrats."
"I don't think Americans revolted in 2010 and sent Republicans back into power in the House because they want them to get down on their knees and beg Democrats to be reasonable," says Farah. "They sent them there in the hopes they would use the power they have to affect radical change in the direction of Washington. There is only one way the Republicans can do that, and it is by uniting in opposition to more borrowing. They have 100 percent, complete control of whether the debt limit is raised or not. If they vote to freeze the debt limit where it is, the most dramatic cuts in the federal government in 100 years will be forced upon Barack Obama and Harry Reid, and there is nothing they can do about it. That, I believe, is what Americans want and expect from Republicans."
Farah's "No More Red Ink" campaign is designed to deliver that message.
So far it has delivered nearly 1 million red letter messages, personally addressed to each member of the House Republican majority and personalized with the name and address of the sender, with guaranteed Fed Ex delivery.
Farah says the evidence of the effectiveness is startling.
When the campaign began, Farah says he could identify only six Republican House members staunchly opposed to raising the debt limit. A head count taken a month ago showed 122 had moved to that position. Two weeks ago, a second head count showed 142 were opposed unconditionally to raising the debt limit.
The unique aspect of this issue, unlike most others, is that the House Republican majority has the final say. If 218 of the 241 House Republicans vote no, the borrowing-and-spending cycle in Washington stops, no matter what the Senate or White House want.
"This is the death star for unconstitutional, out-of-control government in Washington," says Farah. "It's all in the hands of the Republicans, but they are taking a business-as-usual approach to addressing the debt problem. This is one of the very few actions Republicans alone can take that will actually save this country from ruin. They can also block all attempts by Democrats to raise taxes. And that's what they should do."
Farah points out that acceptance of Ryan's plan actually requires raising the debt limit – meaning more borrowing for the U.S. government for the next 10 years.
"I thought five- and 10-year plans went out with the old Soviet Union," says Farah. "They're a joke. They are never followed. They can be reversed by the next Congress.
"Republicans need to do something dramatic now, using the power they have now, and they will be rewarded big time in 2012 if they act boldly. This is no time for halfway measures."
If you'd like to sound off on this issue, please take part in the WND poll.


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Marketing software companies might orbit the planet marketing. But they certainly do not live on it.
Despite claims to the contrary, tech geeks still don't 'get' marketers. But what can marketers do to improve relations with techies?
Disclaimer: I own and run a tech startup and before that I was at another tech company for more than three years. So some might argue that I don't get marketers either. But in a not so distant past I was a marketer.
What's wrong with the tech side of the equation?
99% of marketers are using a piece of marketing technology to achieve a result. A result is not to complete a task in a software program. A result is to remove a pain of something not working or to improve something already working fairly well.
That "something" is always a something related to a large or small marketing KPI. An email marketing manager doesn't send out a newsletter to distribute emails, she does it to execute that summer sales promo. It seems painfully obvious but to tech companies it's not. I promise.
See, all software companies that I have come across work on the basic assumption that their users will want to spend time using the software application.
That (if done right) the marketer will enjoy spending time performing tasks and will consider it an important and even enjoyable part of her daily routine. That the marketer sees her performing software tasks well as a goal in itself. She doesn't.
Reality is that marketers accept technology as a means to an end. Nothing more, nothing less.
Now that's a solid foundation for mutual frustration.
Ever felt the need to scream at your technology provider in the face?
The supplier wants you to spend as much time as possible with their product. You want to spend as little time as possible.
It's not that odd. It's their baby, it's what they do all day, every day and all year round. They live and breathe their product. And because it's the most important thing in their lives, it's extremely difficult not to think that it should be as important to you.
You do the same with the stuff you're into. Every marketing department in the world thinks that the CEO should spend more time on marketing related issues. It's important to you, so why shouldn't it be to everyone else?
This conundrum is absolutely crucial for marketers to understand. Because it takes understanding and empathy if you want to turn around the geeks.
Divorce or couples counselling?
Most software companies have executives that are pretty keen on turning a profit. Because that how they keep their jobs and make their handsome salaries. Just like most married men are essentially pretty keen on staying married. For equally obvious reasons.
The technology executives are willing to listen to you – at least the smart ones are – because they're eager to salvage a good business relationship.
But just like it's counterproductive to tell your spouse that everything he does is utterly annoying and that "he should just shape up", you need to be selective in guiding your vendor.
In my last job I was in charge of the commercial operation, which included customer support, so I spent a substantial amount of time speaking to clients and partners. I wanted to make things better and I had a mandate to do it.
But whenever someone told me that they "just wanted it to be easier" or that "it should just work", it didn't really help me much. And that made it very difficult for me to help them.
Think long and hard about what you really want from them. Let them know what frustrates you in particular. Is it that you're spending too much time performing a specific task? Is it that you're always really confused about how to do something specific?
You don't have to come up with solutions but you have to express what's wrong. If you just unload randomly, chances are that they're going to change something randomly.
Take a serious stab at making your vendor relationship work before you file for divorce.
Is there still hope?
Are all of you poor marketers doomed to a career long experience of hopeless tech partners that seemingly strive to make your life miserable?
I don't think so. As a firm believer in predictable structural development of industries, I think we can look to the past to predict the future.
Remember content management systems five or eight years ago? They were horrible unless you were a front-end developer with a serious can-do attitude.
Now they're slick and easy to use. Mainly because new entrants have looked at the current products and have created solutions for the mass market (that's you – the geeks were happy without WYSIWYG editors and drag'n'drop interfaces). The same will apply to the stuff frustrating you now.
So hang in there. Try and tough it out with your current vendor before you start looking for a young, handsome lover to come along.
Comments (12)
"You don't have to come up with solutions but you have to express what's wrong."
I admit that I've been guilty of not expressing what's wrong in the most productive way. So many of us, not just marketers, expect technology to "just work," but that's not always the case. Like any other product or service, even software can misfire on occasion. Getting mad at the provider doesn't fix anything.
Nick, I genuinely believe that it's ok to get mad at your provider. As long as you try to channel your frustration into something that they can use to improve.
It's a bit like trying to raise a child only by telling her that she "should behave". Chances are that she really wants to make daddy happy, but you obviously need to provide more specific direction. Software vendors are a lot like children in that sense - they are eager to please but need guidance.
I am a marketer who sits in a room full of techies everyday. They get me, I get them. It's not hard to work together to understand each other. The more you talk to each other, the more you learn.
Kind of like a relationship, the more you nurture it, the more you get out of it.
Very interesting article. This issues actually stems deeper into IT also. Managers and Business people want certain things but can't talk techie and the techies I have found just want to add some value and can't talk manager speak. I have found having someone who can translate helps both sides. Understand how people think and understand will help. Eg:I understand better if you draw me a picture or show me that giving me a 1000 page doco to read.
In todays times it has become more important to talk some of the language or hire an IT translator....
I hope you're right Peter Schlegel .... it's been a challenging relationship so far.
You probably have figured out the best (if not the only) way to make that relationship work. Most marketers aren't lucky enough to have that opportunity. And quite frankly, neither are most techies. So even for you, it's probably the case that you have external techies that frustrate you - and need your guidance to improve what they're doing. And my point in this post essentially supports your claim: you need to talk to techies.
@Ian Lloyd
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.
We have all had moments where we wanted a "geek-to-English" dictionary, so thinking in terms of intermediates is a solid point. I would argue, however, that is solves the problem the same was as hiring a couples councilor to live in your house. You need to fundamentally understand each other. Or in the case of software companies, you need to choose one that has a translator you can speak to.
@Ian Gentles
Not surprisingly, I believe I am right. And it has indeed been challenging so far.
I use a lot of analytical packages and maybe I'm greedy but I want beautiful aesthetics with cool infographic reporting alongside all the nuts and bolts. If it's an enjoyable interface, of course I'll spend time playing about on it and looking at the nice graphs. Yes, it needs to provide accurate results and measurement to effectively increase conversion or whatever... but I'd happily spend time on it. Maybe I'm a geek after all though... I also enjoy procrastinating and software/analytics are great places to procrastinate!
HA - you are indeed a geek after all :-)
Enjoy your analytics packages because I am sure that infographics will soon be an integral part of web analytics. My bet is that KISSmetrics will be first or second to introduce it. What do you think?
I've had the privilege of working on both sides of the fence, as a techie and as a marketer (amongst many other things).
One of the biggest challenges I see on a daily basis is the marketing people dictating to the techies how they want something to be - often telling them how things should hang together - since when did marketers become experts in technology? By the same token the techies sometimes need to take a stand and say no rather than just doing what they're told.
The best example I've seen it working has always been when the techies (usually the likes of a business analyst rather than a developer) are sat with the sales/marketing teams and collaborating on a daily basis. They get a great understanding of the business operations and often come up with very creative solutions to common problems, let's not forget that techies are generally pretty smart people, fostering this sort of collaboration is key.
Fab article, Peter! Brilliant and unfortunately so true in my experience.
I've made a real effort to 'get' them but when you get responses like a flat 'no, the system can't do that' its kinda hard to feel any mutual love! They need to stop giving Boolean type answers and start working a bit more with marketeers to help find a solution. Then everyone's happy.
Not all is lost as you rightly point out. And don't opposites attract anyway...?!
I'm sure a lot of what's being said is true, but at the end of the day, is this not a business relationship based on a contract to supply a working solution.
I'd rather not invest too much of my time meeting my own requirements for them...
@Mark Tawadrous
It seems that what you (and a few others in the comments above) are arguing is that there is a general need for someone to translate. On one hand I think it's true - but on the other hans you could also argue that technology is such an integral part of online marketing that as an online marketer, you cannot afford to take a position of "I can't talk to the techies". That being able to do that is in fact part of what it takes to be a great digital marketer?
@Loren Nally
Thanks bunches!
I agree - it takes an effort on both sides of the table. An effort that too many techies aren't willing to make. That's part of the reason why I make every single one of my developers sit with users on a frequent basis. To observe and grasp the reality of the people we're trying to serve. Forcing them to face reality is a strong tool. And one that opens their mind to listening more. And then - opposites sometimes attract...
@James Bishop
No doubt - the product should do what is says on the tin. That's what you have bought and paid for.
But with marketing technology there is often a need for the technology to evolve along with your needs. And sometimes it does what it says on the tin, only not in the way that you would like it to do. And that is an example of a situation where you need the ability and the patience to articulate what you would rather have it do. And that is a crucial point of my post. Do you think you end up mostly doing their job - or help them enhance their product beyond "just delivering on the specs"?


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ORLANDO, Fla. (CBSNewYork/AP) — It looks like the "No Fun League" is going back out on tour.
NFL director of officiating Dean Blandino went on The Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday and explained that the league will ban goalpost dunking.
"We put in a rule about five (or) six years ago in terms of using the ball as a prop, and we grandfathered in the Lambeau leap and things like that. But dunking will come out," Blandino said. "Using the ball as a prop or any object as a prop, whether that's the goalpost, the crossbar, that will come out. And that will be a foul next season."
At least one future Hall of Famer took issue with the league's decision.
The NFL officiating department will also oversee replay reviews on challenged plays beginning next season, Blandino said.
League owners passed a rule Tuesday in which referees can consult with Blandino and his staff to help determine whether a call should be upheld or overturned.
Blandino and other staff will be monitoring the games, and they will immediately begin reviewing challenges before the referee even gets to his monitor. They then can make recommendations on what replays to look at, but the referee still will make the final decision.
"The referee still has final say," Blandino said. "We're there to assist and consult."
Blandino believes the change will speed up the review process and help ensure the calls are made correctly.
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Our graduate students form part of the vibrant scholarly community of the History Department, but their opportunities for intellectual and social engagement do not stop there. As part of the wider UNC campus, the Graduate Program in history offers access to a variety of venues for forging interdisciplinary connections and working across departments, as well as various programs, centers, and curricula. Looking further afield, the History Department has neighbors at Duke University, North Carolina State University, and other institutions of higher learning, in addition to the National Humanities Center. Taken as a whole, the Triangle offers graduate students nearly limitless possibilities for professional and intellectual growth. Not to mention, in terms of lifestyle, the Triangle possesses many of the cosmopolitan advantages of a larger urban area, but without many of the "big city" expenses and headaches.
Among many other activities, graduate students in the History Department can take part in:
The Carolina Seminars provide faculty and graduate students from around the Triangle with a vibrant venue for discussing current scholarship, including seminars in German Studies, Intellectual History, the Working Group in Feminism and History, Medieval Studies, Russia and Its Empires, Jewish Studies, and others. For more information, see http://www.carolinaseminars.unc.edu/index.html
Held three to four times a semester, the DRC provides a public forum in which graduate students can present their dissertation research and receive valuable experience and feedback. Each DRC meeting consists of two twenty to thirty research presentations followed by a fifteen minute comment on the papers by a faculty member. The remainder of the meeting, usually about thirty minutes, is devoted to questions and discussions involving the audience. Any ABD student who is eager to deliver a research presentation at the DRC should contact the Director of Graduate Studies.
Along with more formal events, the graduate student community hosts a fall picnic, outings to local restaurants, and other events.
- Co-Presidents: Larissa Stiglich and Peter Raleigh
- Social Chairs: Sarah Miles and Emma Rothberg
- Digital Coordinator: Aubrey Lauersdorf
- Residency Coordinator: Brady Washington
- Diversity Chair: Maya Little
- Environmental Coordinator: Eric Becerra
- Service Chair: Caroline Newhall
- MA Mentor: Caroline Nilsen
- Professional Development Coordinator: Mary Elizabeth Walters and Garrett Wright
- GPSF Senator: Daniel Morgan


text: My husband I spent a wonderful weekend on Howe Island. The vineyard was beautiful, the accommodations great, and the owners Wendy and Dave couldn't have been more accommodating. Getting to the island by ferry starts off a unique and picture-perect adventure. Driving to the B&B through a quiet country road and seeing this beautiful spot on the water is breathtaking... More