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Technology in sports: How far is too far?
For years football stood firm in its stance that the game did not need technology as counterparts cricket, tennis and rugby persevered with a relentless desire to get decisions right.
However, in the summer of 2013, the FA announced they would be using Hawk-Eye to clear up contentions goal line decisions in the Premier League. Now as sport seems destined to embrace technology to its fullest we must ask the question, how far is too far?
Firstly when discussing technology in sport it is vital to note that it is not 100% accurate and decisions can still be contentious. Try telling an England rugby fan that Mark Cueto didn't score a try in the World Cup final against South Africa. Try telling a batsman who swears he didn't nick a ball that he's out because 'hotspot' says so. The point is, technology or not, sport will always have its controversies.
The most famous and to-date most universally successful form of technology in sport is undoubtedly Hawk-Eye. The system tracks the position of the ball in football, tennis and cricket and is accurate to within five millimeters.
Hawk-Eye has been an unequivocal success with the only real complaints being that it takes away from the natural drama of the game. Roger Federer is a public opponent of the system, stating: "What I like without Hawk-Eye is just the players challenging the umpires more often."
It is true that sport loses some of its edge as the margin for error disappears and we may never see another 'you cannot be serious' moment in the mold of John McEnroe. But surely getting decisions correct holds sway over the desire to witness emotional outbursts of rage.
Perhaps the clearest sign of sport and technology becoming intertwined is the formerly stoic stance of FIFA not to use technology changing. Goal line technology will be used at the 2014 Brazil World Cup and they will also employ a vanishing spray to measure out 10 yards at free-kicks.
The issue with technology in sport as it stands is that much of it is still subject to human error and personal opinion. Almost every week there is a decision in the Premier League that causes uproar and at the same time splits opinion.
With terms such as 'there was contact' making the line between foul and dive far more blurred, the job of the television match official (TMO) in football would be a truly thankless task.
Football of course does not lend itself to long pauses in the same way as rugby with its system of pausing the clock for long delays and cricket, a sport which is played at a far slower pace. If football was to embrace video technology it would surely have to take on rugby's approach of stopping the clock every time a decision was needed to be made or risk running into absurd lengths of injury time.
This is something that would undoubtedly detract from the free flowing nature of the game and this is something that must be avoided.
Technology in sport appears to have reached a tipping point with the advantages at the moment far out-weighing the disadvantages and it seems that the say of technology in sport is only going to increase.
It is vital that the governing bodies strike a balance between the spontaneous joy of live sport and making sure that the right decisions are made.
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DISCLAIMER: This article has been written by a member of the GiveMeSport Writing Academy and does not represent the views of GiveMeSport.com or SportsNewMedia. The views and opinions expressed are solely that of the author credited at the top of this article. GiveMeSport.com and SportsNewMedia do not take any responsibility for the content of its contributors.News Now - Sport News


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Journal of the South African Veterinary Association
versão On-line ISSN 2224-9435
versão impressa ISSN 1019-9128
J. S. Afr. Vet. Assoc. vol.82 no.2 Pretoria Jan. 2011
In vitro antimicrobial susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus strains from dairy herds in KwaZulu-Natal
T Schmidt
Allerton Provincial Veterinary Laboratory, Private Bag X2, Cascades, 3202 South Africa. E-mail: email@example.com
Staphylococcus aureus is 1 of the most important causes of bovine mastitis and is responsible for significant economic losses to the dairy industry worldwide. One of the principal approaches used in treating intramammary infections is the administration of antimicrobials. Due to the propensity of S. aureus to develop resistance, antimicrobial susceptibility monitoring is necessary to ensure that treatment regimens are effective. As part of this investigation, 90 S. aureus strains isolated from mastitis cases submitted to Allerton Provincial Veterinary Laboratory during 2008 and 2009 were evaluated for their susceptibility to a panel of 10 antimicrobials. Only 8 of the 90 S. aureus isolates tested (8.9 %) were found to be susceptible to all of the antimicrobials evaluated. A very high level of resistance to the beta-lactam antibiotics was noted: 47.8 % of the isolates were resistant to penicillin and 65.6 % were resistant to ampicillin. Minimal resistance to oxacillin, cephalothin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (1.1 %) was found. Seventeen (18.9 %) of the isolates tested were found to be resistant to 3 or more antimicrobials. The need for vigilant monitoring of bacterial resistance trends in the dairy industry is warranted as the potential public health implications are significant.
Keywords: antimicrobial susceptibility, bovine mastitis, Staphylococcus aureus.
Staphylococcus aureus is a formidable pathogen and nowhere is this more evident than in the dairy industry, where considerable losses are incurred annually due to intramammary infections caused by this bacterium11.
The success of S. aureus as a pathogen is due to the variety of strategies the bacterium has evolved which enable it to evade the immune system and counter therapeutic assaults. Once S. aureus has breached the physical barriers of the teat canal, the host's local immune response is challenged by the production of an impressive array of virulence factors that confer protection on the bacteria, enabling them to become established within the udder microenvironment. Enzymes such as hyaluronidase, staphylokinase and proteinases assist tissue invasion, while antiphagocytic factors such as the extracellular polysaccharide capsule compromise the process of phagocytosis, a crucial component of the host's cellular immune response13.
In the event that the invading bacteria are phagocytosed, they are in fact able to survive and even replicate within the phagocyte. The intracellular existence confers protection on the bacteria from the onslaught of the immune response as well as the effects of antimicrobials. With the eventual death of the phagocytic cell the bacteria are released where they are able to induce further damage through the production of multiple haemolysins and other tissue toxins13. In severe cases, S. aureus is able to induce fibrosis and the formation of microabscesses that further aid the bacteria by limiting the penetration of antibiotics into the site of infection17.
Mastitis caused by S. aureus ranges in severity from subclinical to a peracute, gangrenous form. Subclinical mastitis is the most common and likely outcome of a S. aureus infection and it is also the most problematic, as it usually proceeds undetected, constantly eroding profit margins2. The economic losses incurred due to S. aureus infections are difficult to quantify and include, but are not limited, to the following: decreased milk production, reduced milk quality, veterinary and treatment costs, premature culling of cows and consequent loss of genetic potential7.
The successful implementation of a mastitis control programme is therefore imperative. This requires the prompt identification of S. aureus-infected animals before the bacterium has the opportunity to infect other animals in the herd. Management approaches to handling infected animals usually involve segregation, culling or treatment2,16, with the therapeutic approach often being the favoured recourse.
The ability of S. aureus to develop or acquire biochemical strategies which confer resistance to different antimicrobials is an additional tactic in this pathogen's impressive arsenal. One of the diagnostic tools available to practitioners to assist with the selection of an appropriate treatment is the in vitro testing of isolates against a representative panel of antimicrobial drugs. The susceptibility pattern of the implicated strain enables decisive action to be taken by the veterinarian in terms of treatment10,14.This avoids the needless application of ineffective antimicrobials and prevents unnecessary costs from being incurred.
The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the in vitro susceptibility of S. aureus isolates to different antimicrobial classes that are used in the dairy industry and to use these data to establish the incidence of resistance amongst these pathogens in the KwaZulu-Natal commercial dairy sector.
Allerton Provincial Veterinary Laboratory has a large Mastitis Control and Milk Hygiene Section which, for many years, has provided a diagnostic service to the extensive dairy industry in KwaZulu-Natal. Composite and individual quarter milk samples are submitted routinely or on an ad hoc basis by clients as part of their mastitis management plan. The S. aureus strains evaluated during this investigation were isolated during the course of routine diagnostic work carried out at Allerton between January 2008 and December 2009. A total of 90 S. aureus isolates from 60 different commercial dairy herds were evaluated for their susceptibility to different classes of antimicrobials.
Bacteriological culture and isolation
Milk samples were cultured onto Columbia blood agar (Oxoid) supplemented with 5 % sheep blood. Inoculated plates were incubated at 35-37 ºC for approximately 36 h before being examined. All staphylococcal colonies showing yellow pigmentation were tested for coagulase production using diluted rabbit plasma (Bio-Rad) according to the method described by Quinn et al.12. Isolates which tested positive for coagulase production using the overnight tube coagulation test were identified as S. aureus. In the event that multiple S. aureus isolates were cultured and identified in a batch of samples from the same herd, visual inspection of colonies was used to select representative isolates for antimicrobial susceptibility testing.
Antimicrobial susceptibility testing
Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out in accordance with the guidelines published by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (formerly the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards)3. Briefly, a suspension of each test isolate was prepared in 0.9 % physiological saline to a turbidity equivalent to a 0.5 McFarland standard. Each suspension was streaked onto Mueller Hinton Agar (Oxoid) following which antimicrobial discs (Oxoid) were positioned onto the plates. The panel of antimicrobials tested was selected in such a way as to ensure that each of the classes of antimicrobials available as mastitis remedies was represented. Selection was also to a certain extent restricted by the availability of published interpretive data. The panel of antimicrobials tested is summarised in Table 1.
Inoculated plates were incubated at 35-37 ºC for 24 h (±2 h). The zones of inhibition were measured to the nearest millimetre and compared with published CLSI interpretative data. The results were reported as susceptible, intermediate or resistant. Test performance was monitored by using a S. aureus reference strain, ATCC 25923.
The susceptibility data of the 90 S. aureus isolates evaluated during the assessment period are summarised in Table 2, while the percentage of isolates showing resistance to the different antimicrobials tested is graphically depicted in Fig. 1.
Only 8 of the 90 S. aureus isolates tested (8.9 %) were found to be susceptible to all of the antimicrobials evaluated. Overall the greatest degree of resistance was observed to the beta-lactam antibiotics penicillin (47.8 %) and ampicillin (65.6 %). Minimal resistance (1.1 %) to oxacillin, cephalothin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole was observed.
Seventeen (18.9 %) of the isolates tested were found to be resistant to 3 or more antimicrobials. The susceptibility patterns of these multi-drug-resistant isolates are summarised in Table 3.
A high percentage of the isolates tested were resistant to the beta-lactam antibiotics penicillin and ampicillin. The figures obtained are in agreement with those obtained in similar studies carried out elsewhere. A study in China reported that 77.3 % of the S. aureus mastitis isolates tested were resistant to penicillin/ampicillin, while studies in Denmark, Brazil and Argentina reported figures of 75 %, 55.1 % and 40 %, respectively1,4,9,14. Although the percentage resistance to this class of drugs has varied between countries, all studies indicated that the greatest resistance observed amongst S. aureus strains was to the beta-lactams. The extensive resistance to this class of antimicrobials is not altogether surprising considering the fact that the penicillins are 1 of the oldest groups of antimicrobials and have been available for many years. They are among the most common antimicrobials used in the dairy industry; 97 % of the intramammary preparations available in South Africa are penicillins or penicillin-dihydrostreptomycin combinations. The remaining 3 % of intramammary preparations available are tetracyclines and cephalosporins5,8.
As part of a recent National Surveillance and Monitoring Programme coordinated by the Faculty of Veterinary Science of the University of Pretoria, a number of S. aureus bovine mastitis isolates from different provinces were screened for antimicrobial resistance15. Each isolate was tested against a panel of antimicrobials and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of each antimicrobial determined. Comparatively much lower levels of resistance to the penicillins were recorded in the National Surveillance and Monitoring Programme study than were obtained in this study. The National Surveillance Programme reported that approximately 10 % of the S. aureus isolates tested were resistant to ampicillin whereas the figures obtained in this study were much higher (65.6 %). This may be attributed in part to the different test methodologies used but may also represent the different target populations tested. The levels of resistance to the aminoglycosides were similar in the 2 studies. The national programme reported that 14.4 % and 6.3 % of S. aureus isolates tested were resistant to gentamicin and neomycin respectively, whereas in this investigation 17 % of the isolates tested were resistant to streptomycin and 5.6 % were resistant to neomycin. Lower levels of resistance to enrofloxacin were recorded in this study, 1.1 % compared with 10.6 % recorded in the National Survey. Unfortunately, because the composition of the antimicrobial panel used in the National Surveillance Programme was designed for the purposes of general surveillance and not specifically for the evaluation of mastitis pathogens, oxacillin and a firstgeneration cephalosporin were not incorporated in the test panel.
The most common strategy used by S. aureus to circumvent the action of the penicillins is by the production of the enzyme beta-lactamase, which hydrolyses the beta-lactam ring, rendering the entire compound inactive6. The use of methicillin, a beta-lactamase-resistant penicillin, initially overcame the problem experienced with beta-lactamase-producing bacteria. Unfortunately certain groups of bacteria, including the staphylococci, have evolved new strategies that led to the emergence of methicillin-resistant strains. This has had the greatest impact in human medicine, where methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) has emerged as a major nosocomial pathogen. Until recently the problem was limited to hospitals, but the MRSA strains have started to spread in the human community at large. The presence of MRSA strains has been reported in animals but accounts of isolations from dairy cattle have been rare6. One of the isolates evaluated during this investigation was found to be resistant to oxacillin, and by virtue of group representation, methicillin resistant. Two further isolates were found to be moderately susceptible to oxacillin. The presence of MRSA strains is hereby confirmed in KZN dairy herds but to date this particular resistance pattern appears to have a limited distribution. Owing to the public health significance of MRSA, ongoing monitoring for methicillin-resistant strains in the dairy industry is warranted6.
Seventeen of the S. aureus isolates tested were found to be multi-drug resistant, i.e. resistant to 3 or more of the antimicrobials tested. One of these isolates was in fact found to be resistant to 5 of the antimicrobials, namely penicillin, ampicillin, oxacillin, tetracycline and the potentiated sulphonamide (trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole). The isolate was found to be sensitive to cephalothin but according to CLSI guidelines methicillin-resistant staphylococci should be reported as resistant to all beta-lactams, including cephalosporins, despite any apparent in vitro susceptibility3. The occurrence of multi-drugresistant strains is a cause of great concern as these strains may be readily transmitted to other dairy cows or even workers in the dairy. Treatment options are limited and culling of animals becomes necessary to remove these strains from circulation.
The disc diffusion method is 1 of the standardised protocols recommended by the CLSI for the in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing of bacterial isolates. The method has found application in many diagnostic laboratories due to ease of use, flexibility and economic feasibility12. It needs to be borne in mind that all in vitro tests were initially developed and used in the human diagnostic field. Therefore, most of the interpretive data available for use are derived from studies carried out in human medicine. To date very little research has been carried out using veterinary isolates and evaluating the clinical efficacy of antimicrobials against these isolates in different animal hosts10. Diagnostic results should therefore be used as a guideline only. A further consequence of the lack of experimental data in animal hosts is that there are limited interpretative data available that permit the synergistic effect of different drug combinations to be assessed in vitro.
Ultimately the in vivo success of antimicrobial therapy is reliant upon multiple factors. In addition to the virulence of the causative agent, the physicochemical characteristics of the drug, the prevailing udder microenvironment and the in vivo interaction of all components significantly influence the success of treatment13. Where S. aureus is implicated, the successful treatment of infected animals is significantly compromised by the strategies of a cunningly resourceful pathogen.
Staphylococcus aureus has gained notoriety in the dairy industry due to its success as a pathogen and its consequent impact on animal health and profit margins. One of the principal approaches adopted in combatting S. aureus is the administration of antimicrobials. Few accounts exist that document the susceptibility of S. aureus strains implicated in bovine mastitis to the different classes of antimicrobials used in the local dairy industry. Although treatment guidelines will ultimately be based on the susceptibility pattern of the specific S. aureus strain implicated in a particular herd, the data obtained from this study may provide practitioners with an insight into existing resistance patterns and assist when immediate treatment action needs to be taken. The data obtained from this investigation indicate that resistance to the beta-lactam antibiotics, penicillin and ampicillin, is common. Resistance to the other classes of antimicrobials tested varies between 1.1 % and 16.7 %. The detection of strains exhibiting intermediate susceptibility and, in 1 case, resistance to methicillin is a cause for concern, as is the occurrence of multi-resistant strains which are present within some KwaZulu-Natal dairy herds.
The data obtained in this study support the need for continued rigorous monitoring of drug resistance patterns. This will ensure that appropriate treatment regimens are implemented that will reduce the indiscriminate use of antimicrobials that has often been implicated in the emergence of resistant bacterial strains.
The author wishes to acknowledge the technical staff in the Mastitis Control Section at Allerton PVL (Y. Rajpal, M. Khanyi and S. Mantanga) and Drs Chisi and Perrett for reviewing this manuscript.
1. Aarestrup F M, Jensen N E 1998 Development of penicillin resistance among Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bovine mastitis in Denmark and other countries. Microbial Drug Resistance 4: 247-256 [ Links ]
2. Barkema H W, Schukken Y H, Zadoks R N 2006 The role of cow, pathogen, and treatment regimen in the therapeutic success of bovine Staphylococcus aureus mastitis. Journal of Dairy Science 89: 1877-1895 [ Links ]
3. CLSI 2008 Performance standards for antimicrobial disk and dilution susceptibility tests for bacteria isolated from animals; Approved standard M31-A3 (3rd edn). Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, Wayne, NJ [ Links ]
4. De Oliveira A P, Watts J L, Salmon S A, Aarestrup F M 2000 Antimicrobial susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bovine mastitis in Europe and the United States. Journal of Dairy Science 83: 855-862 [ Links ]
5. Eager H A 2008 A survey of antimicrobial usage in animals in South Africa with specific reference to food animals. MVSc thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria [ Links ]
6. Giguére S, Prescott J F, Baggot J D, Walker R D, Dowling R M 2006 Antimicrobial therapy (4th edn). Blackwell Publishing, Cornwall [ Links ]
7. Haveri M 2008 Staphylococcus aureus in bovine intramammary infection: molecular, clinical and epidemiological characteristics. University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland [ Links ]
8. Swan G.E. (managing editor) 2004. Speciality index. MIMS IVS. MIMS, a division of Johnnic Publishing Limited, Johannesburg 42(4): 23-35 [ Links ]
9. Li J-P, Zhou H-J, Yuan L, He T, Hu S-H 2009 Prevalence, genetic diversity, and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bovine mastitis in Zhejiang Province, China. Journal of Zhejiang University 10: 753-760 [ Links ]
10. Moroni P, Pisoni G, Antonini M, Villa R, Boettcher P, Carli S 2006 Antimicrobial drug susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus from subclinical bovine mastitis in Italy. Journal of Dairy Science 89: 2973-2976 [ Links ]
11. Petrovski K R, Trajcev M, Buneski G 2006 A review of the factors affecting the costs of bovine mastitis. Journal of the South African Veterinary Association 77: 52-60 [ Links ]
12. Quinn P J, Carter M E, Markey B, Carter G R 1994 Clinical Veterinary Microbiology. Mosby, Madrid, Spain [ Links ]
13. Quinn P J, Markey B K, Carter M E, Donnelly W J, Leonard W C 2002 Veterinary microbiology and microbial disease. Blackwell Publishing, City, Cornwall, UK [ Links ]
14. Rabello R F, SouzaCRVM, Duarte R S, LopesRMM,Teixeira L M, CastroACD 2005 Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from bovine mastitis in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Journal of Dairy Science 88: 3211-3219 [ Links ]
15. SANVAD 2007 South African National Veterinary Surveillance and Monitoring Programme for Resistance to Antimicrobial Drugs. Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria [ Links ]
16. Zadoks R N, van Leeuwen W B, Kreft D, Fox L K, Barkema H W, Schukken Y H, van Belkum A 2002 Comparison of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from bovine and human skin, milking-equipment, and bovine milk by phage typing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and binary typing. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 40: 3894-3902 [ Links ]
17. Ziv G, Storper M 1985 Intramuscular treatment of subclinical staphylococcal mastitis in lactating cows with penicillin G, methicillin and their esters. Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics 8: 276-283 [ Links ]
Received: October 2010.
Accepted: April 2011.

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Early Learning
ESEA Flexibility
Data Points
Funding Opportunities
Principal Fellowships
Odds and Ends
Quote to Note
Upcoming Events
Early Learning
On March 1, Secretary Duncan and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius visited Rolling Terrace Elementary School in Takoma Park, Maryland, to highlight the importance of high-quality early learning programs. (The school is home to the Silver Spring Judy Center, which provides comprehensive early childhood services for children from birth through kindergarten.) The Secretaries observed state-fund preschool and Head Start classrooms and toured the Student Health Clinic. In celebration of Read Across America Day, they also read Dr. Seuss's popular "Green Eggs and Ham" to an audience of young students. "Rolling Terrace represents so much of what we want our country to be like and aspire to," Secretary Duncan remarked. "Many of the students grow up in poverty. The children speak as many as 35 different languagesit's a baby United Nations! But, the children are thriving. They have great adults who take care of them and are excited to work with them.... They want to be here, and they are coming to an environment where they are going to be successful...."
In his 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama called on Congress to expand access to high-quality preschool to every child in America (fact sheet). Specifically, the President proposed a series of investments to establish a continuum of high-quality early learningfrom birth to age five. The proposals include providing high-quality preschool for every child through a federal-state partnership and encouraging states to expand the availability of full-day kindergarten; expanding high-quality early learning opportunities in the years before preschool through investment in a new Early Head Start-Child Care partnership; and extending evidence-based, voluntary home visiting, which enables teachers, nurses, social workers, and other professionals to connect families to services and educational support that will improve a child's health, development, and ability to learn.
"As we move forward with this economically vital effort, we can look to states that have shown the way," the Secretaries noted in a Huffington Post op-ed titled "America's Middle Class Promise Starts Early." "In Massachusetts and Michigan, for example, Governors Deval Patrick and Rick Snyder have made expanding access to preschool programs a priority. Likewise, in Alabama, Governor Robert Bentley has proposed new resources to rapidly expand early education. These leaders represent a bipartisan consensus, that America can't win the race for the future by holding back children at the starting line.... Early childhood education is one of the best investments we can make in our future. Now is the time to redouble our efforts, not cut back." Doing right by our youngest children is essential to America's middle class promise."
ESEA Flexibility
The agency received requests from Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wyoming on February 28 for waivers from key provisions of No Child Left Behind in exchange for state-developed plans to prepare all students for college and career, focus aid on the neediest students, and support effective teaching and leadership. Since fall 2011, 47 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Bureau of Indian Education have requested waivers in order to implement next generation education reforms that go far beyond the law's rigid, top-down prescriptions. The Department has approved requests from 34 states and D.C., with other applications still pending. "We continue to see growing momentum for education reform nationwide, and these requests reflect the desire of states to have more flexibility in implementing their ideas about how to improve education," Secretary Duncan said. "We look forward to continuing to work with leaders to support teachers and better prepare all students for college and careers." The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) has been due for reauthorization since 2007. In the face of congressional inaction, the Obama Administration announced it would grant waivers to qualified states. The new waiver requests will be posted shortly online, along with the names of the peer reviewers who will convene next month to review them.
Data Points
Furthering the agency's efforts to provide transparent information to parents and students about schools, the Department released provisional school-level graduation data for 2010-11the first school year for which all states used a common, rigorous measure for reporting high school graduates. While the new measure is not comparable to previously reported graduation rates, it provides a more accurate snapshot of high school graduation and can inform improvement efforts going forward. States, school districts, and schools can use the new, common metric to promote greater accountability and to develop strategies that will reduce dropout rates and increase graduation rates in schools nationwide.
Beginning with the 2011-12 school year, graduation rates calculated using this new measure will become a key element of accountability systems for states, including those that are approved for ESEA flexibility.
In the coming months, as additional states report graduation rates and the agency works to finalize data, the Department will update the data set. Idaho, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Puerto Rico were approved for timeline extensions, and California, Delaware, and South Carolina submitted data that must be validated. As a result, there is no reported national graduation rate.
Funding Opportunities
The deadlines for several grant competitions are fast approaching:
- Carol M. White Physical Education Program (closes 4/12). This program provides funding for districts and community-based organizations (CBOs) to initiate, expand, or enhance physical education programs, including afterschool programs, to help students meet their state's physical education standards.
- Supporting Effective Educator Development Grant Program (closes 4/15). SEED provides funding for national non-profit organizations for projects that are supported by evidence to recruit, select, and prepare professional enhancement activities for teachers and leaders.
- Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination Grants Program (closes 4/22). This program supports the enhancement, expansion, documentation, evaluation, and dissemination of innovative, cohesive models that integrate the arts into the core elementary and middle school curricula; strengthen arts instruction; and improve students' academic performance, including their skills in creating, performing, and responding to the arts.
Also, be sure to review the Department's Fiscal Year 2013 Grants Forecast (as of February 28), which lists virtually all programs and competitions under which the agency has invited or expects to invite applications for awards and provides actual or estimated dates for the transmittal of applications under these programs. (Note: This document is advisory only and not an official application notice of the Department of Education.)
Principal Fellowships
In a recent speech, Secretary Duncan announced that the Department will be starting a Principal Ambassador Fellowship Program, similar to the Teaching Ambassador Fellowship Program that has been in place at the agency since 2008. Some principals may be employed for a full-year, while other principals will consult from their schools on a part-time basis. Details are still being determined, but the program will get underway next school year. (Note: To be notified as more information becomes available, please sign up here.)
Odds and Ends
Last week, on sequestration, Secretary Duncan addressed a conference of the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, and the Department posted tables showing the estimated dollar impact on states under the agency's 12 largest formula grant programs.
This week, the Secretary announced that 11 states will receive grants to continue efforts to turn around their persistently lowest-achieving schools under the School Improvement Grants (SIG) Program.
Also this week, the agency awarded Perry Hall High School in Baltimore County, Maryland, a Project School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV) granttotaling more than $35,000to assist in ongoing recovery efforts following a school shooting in August 2012.
In a March 14 letter, the Department announced it plan for improving the implementation of equitable services requirements under applicable programs authorized by the ESEA and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Secretary Duncan played a game called "Not My Job" on National Public Radio's "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!" quiz show, winning a prize for a English teacher in Dallas.
In a new video, Department officials recount successes from the past four years and discuss future goals.
A new National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) report, "Algebra I and Geometry Curricula," reveals that course titles can be misleading about a course's actual content andregardless of the course's titleif the course content is rigorous, the student is better-prepared for challenging academic work.
Another NCES report, "Dual Enrollment Programs and Courses for High School Students at Postsecondary Institutions," presents national estimates about dual enrollment in higher education.
This month, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) announced a total of 690 institutions of higher education to the 2013 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, recognizing the commitment of colleges and universities to volunteering, service learning, and civic engagement.
The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released its first "State of Our Schools" report, highlighting the critical need to modernize school facilities to meet current health, safety, and educational standards.
Quote to Note
"Fewer than 3 in 10 American four-year-olds attend a high-quality preschool program filled with well-organized learning experiences, guided exploration, art, and storytellingand led by a skilled teacher. The availability of high-quality care and educational services for infants and toddlers is even lower. And, the gap is especially pronounced in low-income communities. Our failure to ensure access to strong preschool is morally indefensible and economically counterproductive. Strong early learning can translate into school success, which can lead to college and good jobs and ultimately a robust economy. Research shows that every public dollar spent on high-quality early childhood education returns $7 through increased productivity and savings on public assistance and criminal justice programs. That's why President Obama has announced a comprehensive plan to help every child develop a strong foundation for future success."
|Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius (3/4/13), in a Huffington Post op-ed
Upcoming Events
March is Women's History Month. Need help planning education activities? The Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) web site offers free teaching and learning resources from dozens of federal agencies, including 39 resources specifically spotlighted for this month.
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|MLBPA News Release
NEW YORK -- Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark today issued the following statement regarding the expansion of instant replay:
"As many know, the players agreed to the expanded use of instant replay in 2011, during the last round of collective bargaining. However, today's announcement includes a number of reviewable plays that were not part of those negotiations. Because of the increased number of reviewable plays and the many new procedures that were proposed, Major League Baseball required more than the consent of the players. The issue required full review and negotiation with our union and with the umpires' union before its implementation in 2014. The players look forward to the expanded use of replay this season, and they will monitor closely its effects on the game before negotiating over its use in future seasons."


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Terms and Conditions
This page (together with our Terms of Use and General Conditions of Carriage tells you information about us and the legal terms and conditions (Terms) on which we sell any tickets listed on our website (our site) to you.
These Terms will apply to any contract between us for the sale of tickets to you (Contract). Please read these Terms carefully and make sure that you understand them, before ordering any tickets from our site. Please note that before placing an order you will be asked to agree to these Terms.
You should print a copy of these Terms or save them to your computer for future reference.
Tickets are issued in accordance with the company's general conditions of carriage (General Conditions of Carriage), copies of which are available by request made to
[email protected].
1.1 When the following words are used in these Terms, this is what they will mean:
1.1.1 App: the Yorkshire Bus M-Ticketing App;
1.1.2 Event Outside Our Control: is defined in condition 12.2;
1.1.3 M-Tickets: ticketsTickets for use of Transdev Services purchased via the App in
accordance with condition 4;
1.1.4 Ticket(s): the tickets that we are selling to you as specified in the Order;
1.1.5 Order: your order for the Tickets;
1.1.6 Order Confirmation: is defined in condition 3.4;
1.1.7 Passengers: users of a Transdev Service.
1.1.8 Standard Fare: the standard fare of £20 payable by Passengers who use a
Transdev Service without holding a valid Ticket;
1.1.9 1.1.8 Transdev Service: bus services provided by us;
1.1.10 1.1.9 we/our/us: Transdev Blazefield Limited (company number 02605399)
whose registered office is at Prospect Park, Broughton Way, Harrogate, North
Yorkshire HG2 7NY.
1.2 When we use the words "writing" or "written" in these Terms, this will include email unless we say otherwise.
Your use of our site is governed by our Terms of Use. Please take the time to read these
terms, as they include important terms which apply to you.
3.1 These are the terms and conditions on which we supply Tickets to you.
3.2 Please ensure that you read these Terms carefully, and check that the details on the Order are complete and accurate, before you submit an Order. If you think that there is a mistake please contact us to discuss.
3.3 When you submit an Order to us, this does not mean we have accepted your Order. Our
acceptance of the Order will take place when described in condition 3.4. If we are unable to
supply you with the Tickets, we will inform you of this, and we will not process the Order.
3.4 [These Terms will become binding on you and us when we issue you with an acceptance of an Order by email (Order Confirmation), at which point a contract will come into existence between you and us.]
3.5 If any of these Terms conflict with any term of the Order, these Terms will take priority.
3.6 We shall assign an order number to the Order and inform you of it in the Order Confirmation. Please quote the order number in all subsequent correspondence with us relating to the Order.
3.7 If we are unable to supply you with Tickets we will inform you by email and we will not process your Order. If you have already paid for the Tickets, we will refund you the full amount as soon as possible.
3.8 When buying Tickets from our site you will be requested to submit personal information in additional to credit/debit card details. Credit and debit card payments are processed using Realex Online Payments. You do not need a Realex account to make payment and information you submit will only be used for the transaction you have requested. Realex store card details in their PCI Compliant RealVault, no credit or debit card details are stored on the web server. We only store information about what you have purchased for our own use and we do not store any credit card details. See the Privacy Policy section of our Terms of Use for further information.
3.9 Tickets for 3, 6 or 12 month periods require a photo ID card which must be applied for :
3.9.1 in person at Keighley Bus Station, Bow Street, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD21 3P1 or
3.9.2 online at www.keighleybus.co.uk; or
3.9.3 via email at [email protected].
4.1 M-Tickets can be purchased and downloaded to a smartphone via the App.
4.2 Separate terms and conditions apply to the use of the App, please see
www.lancashirebus.co.uk for a copy of these.
4.3 M-Tickets must be purchased and activated prior to boarding a Transdev Service. It is your responsibility to ensure that the smartphone has sufficient battery power to allow you to present the M-Ticket to the driver of the Transdev Service on boarding and the M-Ticket must be available for presentation to a Lancashire Bus ticket inspector for the duration of your journey.
4.4 If at any point during a journey you are unable to present a valid M-Ticket for use of a
Transdev Service you will be charged the full standard fare for the journey by the driver.
4.5 Please ensure that you check that your details are correct before purchasing the M-Ticket. M-Tickets are non-refundable and cannot be altered once purchased
4.6 The App is supported on smartphones using either Apple iOS or Google Android operating systems.
4.7 You must have a valid Wi-Fi or cellular data connection to complete the payment and
download of the M-Ticket via the App.
4.8 M-Tickets are non-transferrable and are available for use solely on the smartphone to which they are downloaded. M-Tickets cannot be copied, sent or moved to another smartphone device.
4.9 M-tickets which have been activated accidentally or which have been downloaded to a smartphone which has subsequently been lost or stolen may be refundable at our discretion.
Email [email protected] for further details.
4.10 If you encounter any problem with an M-Ticket please email [email protected]
5.1 Tickets sold through our site are only valid for travel on Transdev Services and in zones and areas as specified by us at the time that the Order is completed.
5.2 Passengers using a Transdev Service who fail to produce a valid Ticket will be asked to pay the appropriate fare on boarding the bus. Refunds will not be given to any Passenger who is unable to provide a valid Ticket.
5.3 Passengers boarding a Transdev Service who are not in possession of a valid Ticket and who fail to purchase a Ticket from the bus driver once on board the Transdev Service shall be liable to pay the Standard Fare of £20.
5.4 If a Ticket requires student status and the Passenger is unable to provide evidence when asked to do so, the Passenger will be charged a full adult fare for use of the Transdev Service.
5.5 We reserve the right to refuse any Ticket which we believe to be invalid, out of date,
stolen, cancelled, damaged or defaced.
5.6 Subject to condition 5.6, adult Tickets for 1 month or less are transferable and do not require a separate photocard.
5.7 GoTwelve Tickets may only be used by one person on any one trip on a Transdev Service and may not be used multiple times for multiple passengers on the same Transdev Service.
6.1 Tickets for durations of one month or less which are ordered before 2pm (Monday to Friday) or before 11.30am (Saturday) will be despatched by first class post the same day. Orders made after 2pm Monday to Friday will be despatched the following day and orders made after 11.30am on Saturdays will be despatched the following Monday (subject to bank holidays).
6.2 Tickets for durations of longer than one month will be despatched by recorded delivery (or equivalent service), and will require someone at the delivery address to be available to provide a signature. Tickets ordered after 2pm Mondays-Saturdays or anytime on
Sundays/Bank Holidays will be processed on the next working day.
6.3 Tickets will only be despatched to the billing address registered to the credit or debit card used to pay for the Order.
6.4 It is the customer's responsibility to ensure the delivery address is secure and correct.
6.5 Please allow at least 3 working days for delivery.
6.6 Occasionally our delivery to you may be affected by an Event Outside Our Control. See
condition 11 for our responsibilities when this happens.
6.7 We shall not be responsible for Tickets delivered after the commencement date where the
Order was placed less than three days (excluding Sundays) before the date the Ticket
6.8 Delivery of an Order shall be completed when we deliver the Tickets to the delivery address you gave us.
6.9 The Tickets will be your responsibility from the completion of delivery.
6.10 Please ensure that you check the details on your ticket on receipt. Should anything be
incorrect please contact us on 01535 603284 or email [email protected] for
further assistance.
7.1 You may cancel an Order provided that you send us notification in accordance with condition
7.2 within 72 hours of receiving the Order Confirmation.
7.2 To cancel a contract, please contact us in writing by sending an email to
[email protected] You may wish to keep a copy of your cancellation notification for your own records. Your cancellation is effective from the time you sent us the email.
7.3 You will receive a full refund of the price you paid for the Tickets. We will process the refund due to you once we have received the returned Tickets [and, in any case, within 30 calendar days of the day on which you gave us notice of cancellation as described in condition 7.2.
7.4 If you wish to cancel your Order, you must return the Tickets to us immediately.
7.5 You will be responsible for the cost of returning the Tickets to us.
7.6 Please note that you have an obligation to keep the Tickets in your possession and to take reasonable care of the Tickets while they are in your possession.
7.7 For the avoidance of doubt, this condition 8 does not apply to the purchase of M-Tickets and Tickets purchased on a Transdev Service. These tickets are non-refundable.
8.1 We may have to cancel an Order before the Tickets are delivered, due to an Event Outside Our Control. We will promptly contact you if this happens.
8.2 If we have to cancel an Order under condition 8.1 and you have made any payment in advance for Tickets that have not been delivered to you, we will refund these amounts to you.
9.1 Subject to condition 9.3, the price of the Tickets will be as shown on our site at the time we confirm your Order. Our prices include VAT. Our prices may change at any time, but price changes will not affect Orders that we have confirmed with you.
9.2 Any promotional prices or deals are subject to availability and may be withdrawn at any time.
9.3 The price of the Tickets excludes delivery costs, which will be calculated and added to the total amount due and notified to you before you place your Order. Payment of the total amount will be taken when confirming your Order.
9.4 It is always possible that, despite our best efforts, some of the Tickets we sell may be incorrectly priced. We will normally check prices as part of our despatch procedures so that, where the Tickets' correct price is less than our stated price, we will charge the lower amount when dispatching the Tickets to you. If the Tickets' correct price is higher than the price stated on our website, we will contact you to tell you and for your instructions. If the pricing error is obvious and unmistakeable and could have reasonably been recognised by you as a mispricing, we do not have to provide the Tickets to you at the incorrect (lower) price.
9.5 We accept payment by VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Maestro, and Electron. Any charges for paying by credit card will be added to the total amount and notified to you before you place your Order.
10.1 If your Ticket becomes damaged, illegible or defective, we may, entirely at our discretion, replace it free of charge on return of the Ticket.
10.2 To apply for the replacement of a Ticket purchased online via our site, return the Ticket to the Metro Travel Centre, Keighley Bus Station, Bow Street, Keighley, West Yorkshire BD21 3PB.
10.3 To apply for the replacement of a Ticket purchased at one of our travel centres, return the Ticket to any one of the following sites:
10.3.1 Harrogate Bus Station, Station Parade, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 1TX;
10.3.2 Keighley Bus Station, Bow Street, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD21 3P13;
10.3.3 Travel Centre, York Railway Station, Station Road, York, YO24 1A13; or
10.3.4 Duty Managers Office, 28 Penny Street, Blackburn, BB1 6HL;
10.4 This condition 10 does not apply to Tickets purchased on a Transdev Service.
11.1 In exceptional cases where we deem it appropriate, and entirely at our discretion, we may replace a Ticket which has been lost or stolen. We shall only supply one duplicate Ticket in a 12 month period.
11.2 Notwithstanding condition 11.1, we may at our discretion issue a second duplicate Ticket if after issuing a first duplicate Ticket the original Ticket is subsequently returned within one month of that Ticket being reported lost or stolen.
11.3 We will not issue more than two duplicate Tickets within a 12 month period under any
12.1 We only supply the Tickets for domestic and private use. You agree not to use the Tickets for any commercial, business or re-sale purpose, and we shall have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity.
12.2 Subject to condition 12.3, our total liability arising under these Terms and Conditions shall in all circumstances be limited to the amount which you paid for the Ticket.
12.3 We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability for:
12.3.1 death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our
employees, agents or subcontractors;
12.3.2 fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
13.1 We will not be liable or responsible for any failure to perform, or delay in performance of, any of our obligations under these Terms that is caused by an Event Outside Our Control.
13.2 An "Event Outside Our Control" means any act or event beyond our reasonable control, including without limitation strikes, lock-outs or other industrial action by third parties, civil commotion, riot, invasion, terrorist attack or threat of terrorist attack, war (whether declared or not) or threat or preparation for war, fire, explosion, storm, flood, earthquake, subsidence, epidemic or other natural disaster, or failure of public or private telecommunications networks.
13.3 If an Event Outside Our Control takes place that affects the performance of our obligations under these Terms:
13.3.1 we will contact you as soon as reasonably possible to notify you; and
13.3.2 our obligations under these Terms will be suspended and the time for performance
of our obligations will be extended for the duration of the Event Outside Our
Control. Where the Event Outside Our Control affects our delivery of Tickets to
you, we will arrange a new delivery date with you after the Event Outside Our
Control is over.
13.4 You may cancel the contract if an Event Outside Our Control takes place and you no longer wish us to provide the Tickets.
14.1 We are a company registered in England and Wales. Our company registration number is 02605399 and our registered office is at Prospect Park, Broughton Way, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG2 7NY. Our registered VAT number is [ ].477029820.
14.2 If you have any questions or if you have a complaint, please contact us by emailing usemail at [email protected]
14.3 If you wish to contact us in writing, you can send this to us by email, or by post to Transdev Blazefield Limited Prospect Park, Broughton Way, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG2 7NY. We will confirm receipt of this by contacting you in writing. If we have to contact you or give you notice in writing, we will do so by mail.
We only use your personal information in accordance our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. For details, please see our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy which are contained in our Terms of Use. Please take the time to read these policies, as they include important terms which apply to you.
16.1 We may transfer our rights and obligations under these Terms to another organisation, and we will always notify you in writing if this happens, but this will not affect your rights or our obligations under these Terms.
16.2 The contract is between you and us. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of its terms.
16.3 Each of the paragraphs of these Terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.
16.4 If we fail to insist that you perform any of your obligations under these Terms, or if we do not enforce our rights against you, or if we delay in doing so, that will not mean that we have waived our rights against you and will not mean that you do not have to comply with those obligations. If we do waive a default by you, we will only do so in writing, and that will not mean that we will automatically waive any later default by you.
16.5 These Terms are governed by English law. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.


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This month I became a part of the foodie pen pals. This is, yes, another food (blogger) community that I became a part of; it was started by Lindsay from The Lean Green Bean. It is a group of bloggers (or non-bloggers) who are paired up to receive and give a foodie package and letter. This month, I was paired up with and sent goodies to Erika from MCM Mama; head on over there to see what I sent her! I got paired up with a non-blogger, Mandy, who sent me goodies from Louisiana.
Mandy sent me a little card with the package describing what was included. She sent two mini pumpkin nutella loaves, coffee from Cafe du Monde with chicory and an alligator shaped cookie cutter. She says, "Since I moved here last fall, I've been hoping to happen upon a gator (while in my car of course) but it has yet to happen." Thanks again, Mandy!
I'll have to make some cookies soon because I now have an alligator shaped cookie cutter and a camel shaped cookie cutter. What type of cookies do you think I should bake? Maybe these funfetti cookies?
I also now want to make coffee ice cream and try making coffee bacon. Funny, I sent coffee in my package as well, thinking about all of the things you can bake with coffee. Just in case, like me, they don't drink coffee. Now to find a way to brew coffee without a coffee maker…anyone know how? Or just find recipes that use the coffee beans/grounds. If you have any recipes you'd like to share, post them (or a link to them) in the comments!
Looking forward to using the goodies from this month and receiving new ones next month! Check back to find out what I get in June!


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Moviegoers were held captive by "Taken 2" at the box office this weekend, as the Liam Neeson sequel had a superb No. 1 debut.
The kidnapping action-thriller opened to a strong $50 million, according to an estimate from distributor Twentieth Century Fox. That's double what the first "Taken" launched with back in 2009, when its $24.7-million start surprised on the historically slow Super Bowl weekend.
While the Neeson flick met the highest of industry projections, the stop-motion animated "Frankenweenie" fell short of even its studio's modest hopes. The Walt Disney Studios 3-D film collected a lackluster $11.5 million during its first weekend in theaters, marking another disappointing debut for writer-director Tim Burton this year.
Meanwhile, after an excellent start in limited release last weekend, the a capella comedy "Pitch Perfect" expanded to theaters nationwide and brought in a respectable $14.7 million. The film has now sold $21.6 million worth of tickets in 10 days.
It was a good weekend for Hollywood, as weekend ticket sales were up about 46% compared with the same three-day period last year. This year's ticket sales are still up about 3% vs. 2012, while attendance has lifted 2% since last year.
While critics were lukewarm on "Taken 2," audiences enjoyed it, assigning the film an average grade of B+, according to market research firm CinemaScore. That's also the same grade that "Frankenweenie" — which was beloved by reviewers — received from opening-weekend moviegoers.
Co-financed by Fox and French writer-producer Luc Besson's EuropaCorp for roughly $45 million, "Taken 2" follows Neeson's former CIA operative as he is kidnapped. In the first film, Neeson's character had to rescue his daughter when she was taken hostage.
The movie did brisk business this weekend largely because it appealed to a broad audience, appealing only slightly more to males than females (52% compared to 48%) and both young and old (56% were over the age of 25).
The robust opening for "Taken 2" further solidifies Neeson's draw as an action hero. After "Taken" grossed $226.8 million worldwide three years ago, the 60-year-old actor landed a handful of roles in other action flicks that performed well at the box office, including "Unknown" and "The Grey."
"Frankenweenie" struggled to lure moviegoers away from another animated film at the box office this weekend — "Hotel Transylvania." After topping the multiplex upon its debut last weekend, the 3-D monster film only saw its ticket sales drop only 38% to $26.3 million, raising its overall total to $76 million.
In May, Burton's expensive Johnny Depp vampire film "Dark Shadows" underperformed, grossing around $80 million domestically against a $150-million production budget. "Frankenweenie" is the filmmaker's third stop-motion release, following "A Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Corpse Bride" — neither of which were hits.
Disney spent $39 million to produce Burton's latest film, which was spawned from a 1984 short he made about a boy who revives his dead dog through a Frankenstein-esque science experiment. About half of those who saw "Frankenweenie" this weekend opted to shell out a few extra bucks for 3-D tickets — a higher-than-average percentage for an animated family film. (Last weekend, for example, 35% of the business for "Hotel Transylvania" came from 3-D receipts.) The movie appealed equally to men and women, and 53% of the crowd was under the age of 25.
After receiving an A CinemaScore upon its debut last weekend, "Pitch Perfect" benefited from strong word-of-mouth as it expanded into 2,770 theaters. The film about a competitive college singing group should be a financial winner for Universal Pictures, which co-financed the movie for $17 million with Gold Circle Films. It's unclear if the movie will perform well overseas, however, as it launched in New Zealand this weekend and came in No. 4 at the local box office.
[Updated 11:39 a.m. Oct. 7: Overseas, "Taken 2" got off to a good start as well. Playing in 50 foreign markets, the movie grossed $55 million this weekend. The movie performed best in the United Kingdom, where it raked in $12.1 million, but it also did well in Besson's native France. The picture has yet to debut in nine international countries, including Germany and Italy.
Here are the top 10 movies at the domestic box office, according to studio estimates and Hollywood.com:
1. "Taken 2" (Fox/EuropaCorp): Opened with $50 million. $55 million overseas in 50 foreign markets. International total: $67 million.
2. "Hotel Transylvania" (Sony): $26.3 million on its second weekend, down 38%. Domestic total: $76 million. $13.1 million overseas in 22 foreign markets. International total: $29.3 million.
3. "Pitch Perfect" (Universal/Gold Circle): $14.7 million upon its nationwide expansion. Domestic total: $21.6 million. $480,000 overseas in one foreign market.
4. "Looper" (Sony/Endgame/FilmDistrict): $12.2 million on its second weekend, down 41%. Domestic total: $40.3 million.
5. "Frankenweenie" (Disney): Opened with $11.5 million.
6. "End of Watch" (Open Road/Emmett/Furla/Exclusive): $4 million on its third weekend, down 49%. Domestic total: $32.8 million.
7. "Trouble With the Curve" (Warner Bros.): $3.9 million on its third weekend, down 47%. Domestic total: $29.7 million.
8. "House at the End of the Street" (Relativity/FilmNation/A Bigger Boat): $3.7 million on its third weekend, down 48%. Domestic total: $27.5 million.
9. "The Master" (Weinstein Co.): $1.8 million on its fourth weekend, down 31%. Domestic total: $12.3 million.
10. "Finding Nemo 3D" (Disney): $1.6 million on its fourth weekend, down 61%. Domestic total: $39 million. $600,000 overseas in 21 foreign markets. International total: $11.6 million.]


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Nourish the Children
Nourish the Children® – a unique concept
Nourish the Children® (NTC) applies the rigour of successful business practices to provide a consistent and growing supply of nourishing food to the world's most needy children. In August 2016, the NTC initiative surpassed 500 million meals purchased and donated to malnourished and hungry children around the world, since the initiative was established. Today an average of 5 million meals is donated each month on an ongoing basis, feeding more than 150,000 hungry children around the world.
Why Nourish the Children?
With NTC, you have confidence in your donation. You know what your money will buy: nutritious VitaMeal. You know how your money will be used: to nourish destitute children. You know that your donations will be leveraged: with matching donations and through education and disease prevention programmes. And you know that you are making a difference: with more than 150,000 children being nourished every day.
It is easy to nourish one more child
Purchase and donate one more bag of VitaMeal each month or encourage a friend to do so.
Recognised Around the World
The American Business Awards recognised Nu Skin®'s NTC with a prestigious "Stevie Award" for the Best Corporate Social Responsibility Programme in 2007.
Audio Clips
Nourish the Children Song – written by Brenda Burch
Video clips


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Google has apparently contacted at least one website that was hosting a Google parody and demanded that they take it down (another site claims to have been contacted, as well). A Belgian parody of Google (cached here) was apparently unfunny to the Google Team, who sent a takedown notice claiming that the parody diluted the value of their trademark.. Google argued that the parody site was violating its trademark because it has a similar domain name (goegel.be), similar layout, and acts as a search engine. Of course, its acts like a search engine only to the extent that it actually passes a user's query on to the real Google, which then takes control. The sites themselves are humorous because they have plenty of inside jokes on the page and, more importantly, are written in dialects that are not known by many. The Belgian example, for instance, is in Flemish.
The takedown notice was rather curious in its use of American law, given that the site is at a Belgian web address, but it appears as though the server itself is hosted in Houston, Texas. Google's demands were also curious. They insist not only that the parody stop, but that the domain be transferred to Google. See, it's all fun and games until you make a parody of a Google site.
If Microsoft did this, half of the planet would explode. Don't be evil, mm'kay!


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Baby makes 5
Sam Taylor-Wood and boyfriend Aaron Johnson had their baby today, a girl. Taylor-Wood has two daughters from a previous marriage bringing the child total to 3. That's quite the brood, a 5 person family, considering their relationship is just over a year old and Aaron recently turned 20.
The baby is called Wylda Rae. I love this name. It's romantic and exciting – Wylda Rae is someone who adventures, destined for a big life. And there's a sweetness about her too. That's the Rae part, I think. Am obsessed with her already, like I am with her parents.
Here are Sam and Aaron a month ago at the UK Glamour Awards. I watched Nowhere Boy again on a plane recently, and those of you who have as well will likely have already remarked on the similarities – Johnson plays John Lennon who has a troubled relationship with his biological mother, Anne Marie Duff, at an age very similar to Sam Taylor-Wood, and at times, at least to me, their relationship goes right up to the line of intimacy... Or is it interpreted that way because I know about their personal lives?
All those blurry arty boundaries...
Photos from Wenn.com and Splashnewsonline.com


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Longitudinal Study of HAART, Social Networks, & Adherence
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00272220
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : January 4, 2006
Last Update Posted : November 7, 2007
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Our study is a randomized controlled trial that aims to evaluate the effectiveness of modified directly observed therapy (mDOT) to (1) increase both short and long term adherence to HAART treatment, and (2) improve clinical outcomes associated with HAART therapy.
Our hypothesis is that modified directly observed therapy (mDOT) during the initial 6 weeks of HAART, supervised primarily by HIV-positive lay activists, will improve adherence and clinical outcomes compared with those that do not have supervised mDOT. We also hypothesize that the benefits of mDOT will be achieved through a variety of mediators that will result from the social interactions the patients will have with the activists. These mediators include improved social support, improved knowledge about HAART, reduced stigma, and improved self-efficacy.
|Condition or disease
|Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
|Behavioral: modified directly observed therapy (mDOT)
|Not Applicable
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|350 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Parallel Assignment
|None (Open Label)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Study of Modified Directly Observed HAART in Mozambique
|Study Start Date :
|October 2004
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|June 2006
Experimental: 1
receive 6-week intervention of peer-delivered mDOT
Behavioral: modified directly observed therapy (mDOT)
Peers individually administered the 6-week mDOT intervention at the Beira Day Clinic to mDOT participants during their morning weekday dose. Evening and weekend doses were not observed. Nighttime and weekend doses were self-administered. As part of the daily interaction with participants, peers provided social support, information about the benefits and side effects of HAART, how to address stigma's effect on adherence, and encouragement to participate in community support groups. The peers also provided an important link between the individual and other members of the HIV clinic team and the community.
|No Intervention: 2
- Self-report - 7 & 30 day recall [ Time Frame: at 6 months and 12 months ]
- Change in CD4 count [ Time Frame: from baseline to 6 months and 12 months ]
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- HIV+ persons initiating HAART
- Adults and children over the age of 18
- Reside in or around Beira Mozambique
- Willing and able to provide consent to participate
Exclusion Criteria:
- Physically or mental incapable to make daily clinic visits
- Psychotic or demented
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00272220
|Beira Day Hosptial - Central Hospital
|Beira, Sofala, Mozambique
|Principal Investigator:
|Cynthia R Pearson, PhD(C)
|University of Washington
|Principal Investigator:
|Stephen Gloyd, MD, MPH
|University of Washington
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00272220 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|First Posted:
|January 4, 2006 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|November 7, 2007
|Last Verified:
|November 2007
Keywords provided by University of Washington:
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active
Randomized Controlled Trials
Treatment Naive
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Immune System Diseases
Virus Diseases
Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Slow Virus Diseases
Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
HIV Infections
Lentivirus Infections
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New tech gives Va. officers crucial info quickly
By Kristin Davis
NORFOLK, Va. — The victim speaks only Spanish. The officer who responds knows only English. A dispatcher scrambles to find an available, on-duty officer fluent in both.
Chesapeake police say that's the old way of doing things. Starting next month, all patrol officers will be able to instantly access such information on laptops inside cruisers.
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Goi Xoai Recipes
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Vietnamese Green Mango Salad Recipe: Goi Xoai
05.18.11 by Jackie
Vietnamese salads are usually made with the same dressing. A blend of lime juice, garlic, sugar, red Thai chiles and fresh mint leaves bind raw vegetables into a flavorful and healthy salad course. Today, I made green mango salad, called gơi xoài xanh. I create long, thin strips of mango that I mixed with similarly sliced carrots. It makes a very tasty salad thanks to the tangy, sour and sweet flavors.
I made it vegetarian, but you could pair the raw vegetable salad with boiled, shredded chicken (gơi gà), boiled shrimp, dried shrimp (tôm khô) or fire-roasted shredded dried squid (khô mực), which is my favorite.
Full Recipe...


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Got an ugly or boring car? Don't trade it, get a pro artist! Here's 10 cars that have potential
Why is it that certain cars seem to be built over and over, only to overpopulate every car show and most car magazines? What makes 'em so popular? One simple answer: charisma and machismo. It's true. Think of any popular, lusted-after hot rod or muscle car and its great bodylines. They all have a certain style and presence that reaches across the boundaries of differing tastes and just ooze cool.
So what's a rodder to do when he wants to stand out, but still gather envious stares? Look for something boring and give it a makeoverjust like the phantom '72 LeMans GT in the paint and body story in this issue. Similar boring cars are cheap and plentiful, and whether you love 'em, or never notice 'em, some hold awesome potential. To spotlight some ripe designs for the rodding, we reached out to a few artists who are well known for their imagination to see what they could envision. The choices vary widely, but one thing they all have in common is that they lack that certain something from the factory that makes them hip. We contend that all they need is the right treatment to put 'em on par with the superstars.
Chevrolet Corvair
Is there any other way to describe this chic little ragtop? Despite slick styling that actually heavily influenced the original Camaro, Corvairs have always remained well off the radar of most rodders. Not because of Ralph Nader really; no, it's because of the severely anemic and generally leaky rear-mounted, air-cooled flat six-banger. That's not a problem for this 'Vair, though, which runs an LS1 with LS4 accessories and water pump mated to a Porsche 911type 930 transaxle, thanks to a Crown Corv-8 conversion kit (CorvairCorsa.com).
As for the look that Steve Stanford created, it's really all in the paint and materials for this deceptively stock-looking rod. The only significant mods are the tasteful louvers in the decklid, which are also mirrored in the rear roll pan. Even the interior is mostly stock, but custom door panels that mimic stock with additional polished stainless trim were created. The seats also get a trim upgrade and are re-covered in elegant tan leather. Poor man's Porsche? No one will be looking down his or her nose at this Corvair!
From the Imagination of Steve Stanford Stanford Design
Fullsize Chevy
The slab-sided '69-70 iteration of the fourth-generation Impala has long been shunned by rodders in favor of their more flashy and muscular predecessors. Most nice examples we've seen were either stone-stock grandma cars or leaned toward the lowrider persuasion. The formal roofline and blas bodylines are usually considered stumbling blocks to getting these cars on par with more brawny GM offerings like the Chevelle. To make it happen, Steve Stanford decided to once again leave the body alone, but blend elements of '60s customs and the vaunted '59 Chevy.
The long, arching flames are paint, but that's not airbrushed trim; to break up the bland body, Stanford reached back a decade and used the iconic trim from the radically different looking '59 Impala, as well as its rear-mounted antennae. Surprising how well it works, isn't it? Dig those pipes! Inspired by Bellflower-style customs, Stanford kept the long, straight chrome tips under the body, but low enough to be seen, and added a subtle trumpet tip.
Getting it low is really the key. Plan on Air Ride from RideTech. Rather than modern large-inch wheels, Stanford went for traditional Supremes with spinners. For rolling stock, he applied whitewalls on modern rubber, but did you happen to notice the rear tire is a drag radial? That's because there's a blown LS3 powering this beast. Inside, think 1959 meets 1969 again, with door panels, seats, and steering wheels la '59, while still retaining the stock dash. For the kill, have the gauges redone in the appropriate style by Redline Gauge Works.
From the Imagination of Steve Stanford Stanford Design
AMC Hornet
This Hornet's sting is set on kill. Call it a late-night, no-excuses, full road-race AMC with a tag! No good parts you say? Make it happen with a tube chassis, custom IRS, and SLA-style front suspension, road-race 'cage, and force fit a 392 Hemi, or maybe a twin-turbo 360 underhood. Why not?
To clean it up, Brian Stupski's AMC body gets a mild shave, a flush-fit windshield, molded driprails, a narrowed, tucked, molded, and drilled front bumper, a chin spoiler and splitters, and the hood gets the centersection of a new Challenger hood. The factory grille bar is painted, and the stock parking light holes now serve as ducts to feed the turbos. Modern halo lighting resides in the stock lamp housings. Hornets already have a bit of a flare to the wheelwelljust exaggerate it a bit to fit a set of Forgeline ZX3Rs with big, sticky rubber.
For the paint, the trick here is using all of the uncool stock junk in a fresh way. Douse it a bright yellow with matte black hood accents, and lay down a cleaned-up version of the factory side stripes.
From the Imagination of Brian Stupski Problem Child Kustoms; www.ProblemChildKustoms.com
1963 Plymouth
Brian Stupski's first encounter with vintage AF/X Funny Cars in his youth ruined him. Ever since then, he's envisioned taking a mundane Mopar and giving it the altered wheelbase, the stretched nose, huge meats, a blown mill … and functional doors. Crazy, right?
Maybe, but take a look at this awe-inspiring '63 Savoy. To get the look, move the rear wheels up tight to the doors like any good altered-wheelbase car, and stretch the front fenders a good foot or so. If you can't commit there, don't bother; that's the jaw-dropping magic of this build. Despite appearances, this Funny is for more than straight-line fun. Think custom chassis setup for handling, and 17- to 18-inch Schott billet rollers up front (which retain the vintage look), and some giant Real Rodders wheels out back. Mammoth-sized meats are a requisite! As for the power team, drop in a blown Hemi (what else?) with EFI, and back it with a six-speed so you can freak out everyone on the freeway.
Red-tinted glass and the mild panel paint set the vintage vibe, and that Moon tank up front? It'll be a dual-compartment piece, and hold coolant on one side, and reserve oil on the other. Interiorwise, think modern seats for comfort and control, covered in vinyl with vintage cloth inserts. Crushed velvet diamond tuft? Hell, yes!
From the Imagination of Brian Stupski Problem Child Kustoms; www.ProblemChildKustoms.com
SportsRoof Mustang
Here's a boring dream car that's actually going together. The '69-70 SportsRoof Mustang is the it car right now, so to avoid looking like they were joining the bandwagon, Goolsby Custom decided to bring some life and coolness to the otherwise forgotten and somewhat undesirable '71-73 Mustang. The goal was to blend the '11 Mustang with the '71, so Goolsby tapped Ben Hermance to make the disparate designs integrate seamlessly into something that felt like a ready-for-production concept car.
To make Hermance's beautiful rendering a reality, the lengthy front end is getting shortened by 6 inches, and the whole wheelbase loses an inch. The body line, which typically fades to oblivion right behind the door, will now wrap down and around to form a more traditional Mustang body cove that ties into the stock lower body line. Up front, a custom grille modeled after the '11 Mustang GT will be created and use '11 headlights and marker lights. The bumper gets reshaped and tucked, and the lower air dam is custom formed. In the rear, the tailpanel is pushed in a couple inches to create a more dramatic look to the '71's ducktail. The taillights, however, are custom pieces that harken to the '69 and '70 Mustang. Did you notice the rear glass? It'll be sunk inward to roughly '71 coupe proportions, which will transform the fastback into flying buttresses with a pass-through spoiler. Slick, huh?
The body will be mated with the Roadster Shop's Fast Track Mustang chassis riding with 19- and 20-inch Nutek wheels and Pirelli tires. The heart of Pegasus will be a Coyote 5.0 worked over by Sean Hyland Motorsports paired with a six-speed automatic trans. Keeping with the concept vibe, the interior will rely heavily on factory '11 Mustang parts with custom pieces to blend everything together. Watch for the debut of Pegasus in an upcoming issue of PHR.
From the Imagination of Ben Hermance
Hermance Design; www.HermanceDesign.com
Chevy Monza
Wait a minute, that's a Monza? Shockingly, yes. We don't ever recall it ever occurring to us that a Monza could be a great basis for a handling machine, but now that we see Ben Hermance's artwork, we picture it as an autocross king, thanks to its lightweight, short wheelbase that makes it easy to toss an aluminum block LS underhood.
For the look, Hermance went for something that was a combination of stock Monza and IMSA for the frontend treatment. Hermance's more graceful version would require custom forming, but '70s road-racestyle IMSA body kits and fiberglass parts are still available from VFNFiberglass.com and Showcars-Bodyparts.com. The IMSA-style headlight covers are a must, but lose the square stuff and use BMW halo-style headlights.
To get suitably wide 18-inch wheels and sticky rubber underneath calls for a bit more flair and reshaping to the wheelwells; we're actually thinking that the lip from a 1999-2005 Audi All-Road wagon could be close.
Rather than bare bones, this little Monza gets the upscale treatment with gloss and flat black two-tone paint, and a red leather interior with recovered racing buckets. Will you ever look at a derelict Monza the same way again?
From the Imagination of Ben Hermance
Hermance Design; www.HermanceDesign.com
AMC Javelin
This is one we're surprised we haven't seen yet, since it works so well with only subtle revisions. Eric Brockmeyer based this AMC on the most recognizable and distinctive '71-74 Javelin. This car is a '73, but any of those years could carry Brockmeyer's subdued design. For this one, think American muscle car meets high-end European touring car. Elegance, plenty of gadgets, and comfort in abundance. It's for the man who wants that upscale cruise-control-set-on-150 on the autobahn, but is true to his love for muscle cars. It's not just bench racing either. This one is a real project at B Rod or Custom, and for now, the plan calls for an Aston Martin V-12 from a Vanquish S, which is legit for an American Motors car, since it was actually designed by Ford Research here in the United States.
The body stays stock, including the integral roof spoiler, though sculpted side pipes now grow from the Javelin's rockers. Brockmeyer took full advantage of the distinctive fender bulges, which were actually designed with the idea of accommodating oversized race tires on very low cars, and filled them up with three-piece 19- and 20-inch wheels and supercar spec rubber. The chassis is full custom, however, with new framerails and front suspension by B, as well as an Aston Martin IRS. Now we've gone from eccentric to eye popping.
From the Imagination of Eric Brockmeyer
Brockmeyer Design; www.BrockmeyerDesign.com
Plymouth Valiant
The name Flat Bastard may or may not be the eventual name for Jon Clark's '68 Valiant street Trans-Am car (as envisioned by Tavis Highlander, the same ingenious automotive doodler who penned the concept for our Max Effort project car), but he made the mistake of calling it that while we were on the phone, so that's what we're going with!
Clark says: It's flat, because of the flat finish paint, and bastard for the fact that it will be meaner than hell. Matt Delaney at Delaney Auto Design is the man who has to make sure it lives up to that statement in time for its scheduled public debut in Cherry Bomb's 2011 SEMA booth, and in print here in PHR.
The bastard's meanness comes from a 688hp 528ci Wedge based on a World Products aluminum block with Mopar raised-port Max Wedge heads. Providing perfectly metered fuel is a Holley HP EFI system with a Dominator flange to work with a converted Edelbrock intake. It's Trans-Am inspired, so the beast has to handle. Up front that'll be handled by an AlterKtion tubular K-member, rack-and-pinion steering, and coilover suspension with tubular control arms. In the rear it's a four-link with coilovers from Street Lynx. Both ends get huge Wilwood discs and monstrous adjustable rear sway bars. Inside, it'll be spartan, but with full instrumentation from Marshall Instruments mounted in a dash insert from Redline Gauge Works.
As for the flat, want to know what that color is? Mercedes-Benz Designo Magno Alanite Grey matte finish, Code 044.
From the Imagination of Tavis Highlander
Highlander Concept Rendering; www.TavisHighlander.com
Chevy Caprice
We're not the only ones who think the boxy '70s and '80s Caprices are destined to be future hot rodder fodder, as we forecasted in Tomorrow's Classics (Jan '11). Kristina Albrecht sees the potential as well.
Starting with a '78 Caprice coupe, Albrecht opted to accentuate the positive attributes of the squared-off body by liberating it from the easily removable stock gaudy trim and emblems. The rest of the brightwork around the windows gets a darker satin color complementary to the Dark Bronze body color to make it blend away. The wheel arches are subtly flared to cover the wide 18-inch BBS wheels and 285/40R18 and 335/35R18 tires. The large flat real estate on the hood gets a little heat extracting personality via five large-to-small Porsche-inspired louvers on each side of the centerline.
Up front, the egg crate ugliness makes way for a mesh grille treatment set in a custom grille shell. One-piece headlamps take the place of the double squares, and the bumper gets cut, shaved, and smoothed with matching mesh in the inserts and a mild chin spoiler beneath. Amazing how much that helped!
There are plenty of good bolt-ons for these cars, so the suspension stays simple with Hotchkis goodies, Belltech drop spindles, and KW coilovers with tubular control arms. As for the engine, drop in a 5.3L boneyard motor with an LS6 head and cam upgrade. Trust us, swapping in a manual in one of these is a pain, so go with a 4L60E.
From the Imagination of Kristina Albrecht
Hot Rod Kristina; www.HotRodKristina.com
Nash Rambler
Is it just us, or do you hear that song by the Playmates about the little Nash Rambler trying to pass the Cadillac in your head every time you see one of these? Nashes are a bit comical, but with the stuff artist Murray Pfaff has in mind for this concept, he'll show everyone that a Nash Rambler is not a car to scorn.
Pfaff fully plans to build this wagon once he has debuted his Imperial roadster, but for now it's still in the planning stages. He does have most of the body mods mapped out though. Up front the bumper will get smoothed and recessed while the grille will get cleaned up and refitted with a custom crossbar. The lights look totally at home, but are actually '56 Oldsmobile headlights and '66 GTO marker lights. The Olds lights will require some reshaping and peaking of the fenders to match perfectly, but the GTO lights will simply be frenched into the sheetmetal.
Up on the cab area, the windshield gets blacked out, while the trim on the side window gets removed. Speaking of removed, the C-pillar gets the ax as well, which of course means custom glass for the greenhouse. Some surprisingly appropriate side trim comes via a '56 Chevy. As for power, it's still up in the air, but we're thinking a nice Gen III Hemi would keep pesky Cadillacs at bay.
From the Imagination of Murray Pfaff
Pfaff Designs; www.PfaffDesigns.com
Did our artists miss any dreary cars with potential? Are you building something slightly off the radar? Let me know about it by dropping me an email at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Astrosmack is a clone of "Astrosmash," which was a game that was popular on the Intellivision game console of the early 1980s. The objective is simple: Earth is being bombarded by asteroids and various enemies, and your goal is to shoot them all! Features music, sound effects, customization, keyboard/joystick control, and high score tracking. Created with Game Maker.
What's New in Astrosmack
Version 18.104.22.168: Release notes were unavailable when this listing was updated. No longer distributed as a package.
Requirements for AstrosmackMac OS X 10.5 or later
Similar Software
Suggest other similar software


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As numerous Benghazi-related scandals and even talk of impeachment swirl around the Obama administration with increasing ferocity — fiddling with talking points, deliberate lies, failing to defend U.S. personnel, and more — analysts and lawmakers say the real issues in "Benghazigate" that should have the American people outraged are largely being kept out of the discussion. Questions about U.S. government gun-running to radical Islamists from Libya to Syria, for example, or the wisdom and constitutionality of overthrowing foreign governments, have yet to be seriously addressed by the White House or Congress.
Of course, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., claim to be up in arms about the Benghazi attack — especially Republicans, who have been all over the media promising to find out what happened. "The goal here is to get to the truth," House Speaker John Boehner claimed at a press conference last week. "Four Americans lost their lives. Their families want to know the truth. The American people want to know the truth. And I believe it is Congress' obligation to get to the truth."
The truth Rep. Boehner is talking about, however, seems to be mostly focused on whether the administration lied in the aftermath of the attack; it did, and everybody knows that now. But while public pressure is growing for Congress to create a select committee to investigate all angles of the attacks, the top Republican in the House has steadfastly refused to create such a group, for reasons that are not entirely clear. Nonetheless, GOP lawmakers seem to be fixated on finding out how the administration changed its now-debunked talking points after the attack — hardly the real issue, according to critics.
While deliberately lying to the public is certainly a major problem, former GOP Congressman and two-time Republican president candidate Ron Paul of Texas says the whole discussion on Benghazi has become a "sideshow." According to Dr. Paul, each side in the uproar is just seeking to score political points instead of "asking the real questions" about the deadly attack on U.S. facilities and personnel in Libya — an assault that ultimately killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans.
In the liberty-minded icon's weekly analysis, posted online at the recently formed Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, the longtime critic of foreign interventionism lashes out at both Republicans and Democrats. GOP politicians, he said, "smell a political opportunity" in evidence that the Obama administration edited the initial talking points to protect the president and the State Department — something Paul said was "standard operating procedure" in Washington.
Congressional Democrats, meanwhile, have offered an "even less convincing explanation for Benghazi" by claiming that Republicans did not appropriate enough funds for security at overseas U.S. government facilities. "With a one trillion dollar military budget, it is hard to take this seriously," Paul wrote, demolishing Democrat talking points that almost always claim more and much more taxpayer money would solve all problems. Even the establishment media has ripped the manufactured Benghazi-security funding assertions apart.
The real scandal, Dr. Paul and others argue, is the one that is not being talked about: The fact that Obama's decision to bomb Libya and overthrow its government ultimately led to the attack in Benghazi. Even former CIA chief Michael Hayden has now publicly stated as much. "The Islamic radicals who attacked Benghazi were the same people let loose by the U.S.-led attack on Libya," Paul wrote. "They were the rebels on whose behalf the U.S. overthrew the Libyan government. Ambassador Stevens was slain by the same Islamic radicals he personally assisted just over one year earlier."
Republicans, of course, cannot talk about that scandal, because most of them either supported the administration's lawless and unconstitutional war — or at the very least did nothing to stop it. GOP politicians also helped Obama hype wild and clearly bogus claims about Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi while backing the Islamist rebels — many of whom, even among the leadership, were openly affiliated with al-Qaeda and had previously battled U.S. troops in other countries.
"Neither side wants to talk about the real lesson of Benghazi: interventionism always carries with it unintended consequences," Paul explained, blasting Republicans for focusing on talking points rather than the far-more explosive real scandals. "The U.S. attack on Libya led to the unleashing of Islamist radicals in Libya. These radicals have destroyed the country, murdered thousands, and killed the U.S. ambassador. Some of these then turned their attention to Mali which required another intervention by the U.S. and France."
Dr. Paul also highlighted the other elephant in the room that has barely been discussed on Capitol Hill or by the establishment media: U.S. government arms given to Islamists in Libya, and probably to similar-minded radicals in Syria currently being supported by the Obama administration. Now that it is widely known that much of the "revolutionary" coalition in Syria is affiliated with al-Qaeda as well, "The U.S. is now intervening to persuade some factions of the Syrian rebels to kill other factions before completing the task of ousting the Syrian government," Paul wrote.
"The real lesson of Benghazi will not be learned because neither Republicans nor Democrats want to hear it," the doctor-turned-lawmaker-turned-political icon concluded. "But it is our interventionist foreign policy and its unintended consequences that have created these problems, including the attack and murder of Ambassador Stevens. The disputed talking points and White House whitewashing are just a sideshow."
While most of the Republican-versus-Democrat squabbles on Benghazi focused on comparatively trivial issues, Dr. Paul's son, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), has been among the few openly discussing the gun-running scandal for months. During Senate hearings with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in late January, for example, Sen. Paul asked whether the U.S. government was "involved in any procuring of weapons, transfer of weapons, buying, selling, any how transferring weapons to Turkey out of Libya?"
Echoing well-founded suspicions that have been raised by top American military officials, analysts, journalists, Middle Eastern security officials, and others, Sen. Paul tried to get answers. He failed. Clinton acted surprised — almost as if she did not realize Sen. Paul was referring to the administration's scheme to arm Islamist "rebels" in Syria via the Islamist Turkish government, similar to Obama's lawless schemes in Libya.
"To Turkey?" asked Clinton incredulously, face contorted. "I will have to take that question for the record; nobody's ever raised that with me." She later backtracked slightly, saying the question would have to be raised with "the agency" that ran the annex in Benghazi — presumably she was referring to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Despite the lack of answers, Sen. Paul has continued to pursue the issue, talking about the alleged gun-running in TV and radio interviews. "What are they covering up?" Sen. Paul asked during a March interview on talk radio. "I have a feeling that it had something to do with the CIA annex. You know, a week before the ambassador was killed in Libya, a ship left Libya and docked in Turkey and it actually interviewed the captain of that ship who said there were arms on board and that he actually witnessed the rebels taking the arms and disputing over who got what. That there were grenade launchers; that there were significant arms being transferred." He brought the issue up again as recently as last week on CNN.
Even in the establishment press, hints of the gun-running scandal are starting to emerge. "I believe, and my sources tell me, that they were to round up those shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles," talk-show host Geraldo Rivera said during an interview on Fox and Friends last week. "They were going to hand those missiles over to the Turks, and the Turks were going to give them to the rebels in Syria. It was like Iran-Contra. It merits a gigantic investigation."
Other experts, including former Pacific Fleet commander Adm. James Lyons (Ret.), have gone even further, suggesting the possibility of a massive coverup to conceal something even more incredible than arming violent Islamists. With lawmakers and much of the press focused on edited talking-point lies and scoring political points, however, the truth about Benghazi — and the real scandals behind what happened — may be swept under the rug, unless there is a massive public outcry demanding the truth.
Related articles:
Benghazigate: The Disaster That Should Have Sunk Obama — and Still Could
Intervention in Libya Led to Attack on U.S. Consulate, Ex-CIA Chief Says
Benghazi Report Ignores WH Lies, Obama Gunrunning to Jihadists
Clinton Testimony on Benghazi Leaves Real Questions Unanswered
Benghazi "Whitewash" Report Still Damaging to Obama
Obama vs. the Brass: Benghazi Cover-up, Agenda to Gut Military?
Benghazi Whistleblowers Allegedly Threatened by Obama Administration
Benghazi Backfire: Was Obama Arming Jihadists?
Sen. Rand Paul: Is Obama Administration Hiding Arms Trade to Jihadists?
Obama Scandals Around Libya Attack Keep Growing