text:
Collapsed Factory Was Built Without Permit
Death Toll Climbs, More Rescued at Bangladesh Disaster Site Where Owner Lacked Authorization From Safety Agency
DHAKA, Bangladesh—The factory complex that collapsed this week in this country's deadliest industrial accident was built without proper permission on unstable land, Dhaka city officials said, as the official death toll climbed to 275 and rescue workers continued to pull survivors from the rubble.
Rescuers digging with drills, shovels and their bare hands said many dead bodies were believed to still be under the wreckage of Rana Plaza, the eight-story building that collapsed Wednesday. Relatives of the missing, handkerchiefs to their faces to block out the smell, searched rows of corpses laid out in a nearby school.
Public anger over the collapse and reports of regulatory issues drew attention to the difficulty large Western retailers face in making sure their suppliers operate under safe conditions.
Retailers rely largely on trade association initiatives, independent third-party assessors and their own in-house auditors to monitor suppliers in Bangladesh, the second-largest clothing exporter after China.
But such efforts can fail to uncover some dangers: At least two garment factories at Rana Plaza had passed international labor and safety standard audits under a European trade organization that addressed specific safety concerns at the factories but didn't assess the stability of the building that housed them.
Hundreds of thousands of garment workers from the areas around Dhaka went on strike Thursday to protest poor safety standards, bringing production to a virtual standstill.
The owner of Rana Plaza, local politician Sohel Rana, didn't obtain mandatory permits from the municipal agency that oversees building safety in the greater Dhaka area, said Sheikh Abdul Mannan, a senior official with the agency. The building, in Savar, a commercial hub just north of Dhaka, "did not receive planning permission," Mr. Mannan said. "It could and should have been demolished."
Mr. Rana instead obtained permission from Savar's mayor to build the commercial complex, which housed five textile factories, a bank and shops. Mr. Mannan said the mayor had no authority to allow the construction.
Mr. Rana hasn't spoken publicly since the accident. Attempts to reach him to comment weren't successful.
Savar Mayor Refayet Ullah told The Wall Street Journal that his office had issued a permit to Mr. Rana without seeking required permission from the Dhaka building-safety agency.
Mr. Ullah said the Dhaka agency took too long to issue permits at a time when Bangladesh's garment industry was booming. "Hundreds of factories in this area have been built with local council permission," he said.
He said Mr. Rana was a prominent citizen who owned other buildings in the area, all built with the go-ahead of the local council. Posters showing a smiling Mr. Rana line the walls on both sides of the road outside Rana Plaza.
Mr. Rana built Rana Plaza in 2007, draining water from a pond and filling it with concrete foundations, according to local residents. Such land is prevalent in Bangladesh, which has many low-lying, swampy areas.
Such land is unstable and can be dangerous if foundations aren't properly built, said Mr. Mannan of the building-safety agency.
Bangladesh's government has promised to take action to improve factory safety. In March, the ministry of labor and employment, international labor unions and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association adopted a national action plan on fire safety. Plans included modernizing equipment, overhauling fire-safety and building-safety laws, and increasing inspections.
Canadian retailer Loblaw Cos., which said workers in the complex were making clothes for its Joe Fresh clothing line, said its factory-monitoring system doesn't check for building construction or integrity. The company plans to expand the scope of its factory audits, it said Thursday.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it hadn't authorized its suppliers to use factories in Rana Plaza. Wal-Mart was listed as a customer on the website of Ether Tex Ltd., a garment factory that was operating on the fifth floor of the building. Wal-Mart said contacts between its suppliers and Ether Tex predated the factory's presence in the building.
Two Bangladeshi factories that were in the building, and suffered worker fatalities in its collapse, had cleared an audit by the Business Social Compliance Initiative, which was set up a decade ago by the Brussels-based Foreign Trade Association, a body that comprises some 1,000 European retailers such as Adidas AG , Esprit Holdings Ltd. and Hugo Boss AG .
The group said its auditors aren't building engineers and didn't take the state of the building into account when they conducted the checks. It is up to local authorities to ensure that construction and infrastructure are secure.
"It's very important not to expect too much from the social audit," said Lorenz Berzau, BSCI's managing director. "BSCI and other initiatives contribute to improve the situation," he said. "But it's a long way we have to go."
Workers' groups complain such checks have failed to remedy poor safety standards. Over 700 people have died in factory fires in Bangladesh in recent years, and building collapses had already caused scores of deaths here before Wednesday's accident.
On Tuesday, garment workers were evacuated from Rana Plaza after a major crack appeared on the exterior wall. Mr. Rana told a meeting later that day that the building would stand "for another hundred years," according to people who attended.
Garment-factory officials asked workers to return on Wednesday. Some workers said they were threatened with docked pay if they didn't comply. Soon after, the building collapsed, with several thousand workers inside.
Early Friday, Bangladeshi authorities said 275 bodies had been recovered from the collapsed building, the Associated Press reported. Brig. Gen. Mohammed Siddiqul Alam Shikder said 61 survivors have been rescued since Thursday afternoon, the AP added.
Sharmeen Begum's daughter Sumi was in the building when it collapsed, and managed to phone her mother around 24 hours later, pleading for help before the line went dead.
Ms. Begum joined an anxious crowd outside the wreckage on Thursday, clutching a photograph of her daughter. "My daughter is alive inside!" she told rescue workers. "Please save her!"
John Sifton, Asia Advocacy Director at Human Rights Watch, said the tragedy highlighted concerns about labor rights in Bangladesh. "Had one or more of the Rana Plaza factories been unionized, its workers would have been in a position to refuse to enter the building on Wednesday morning, and thus save their lives," he said.
Labor-rights activists said laws remain weak and implementation uneven in a country where factory owners, many of whom are also local politicians or members of Parliament, maintain political clout. No factory owner has been charged over a worker death in Bangladesh.
"At least 33 members of the current Parliament own garment businesses." said Babul Akter, president of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation. "That's more than 10% of seats. There are repeated instances of MPs linked to the garment industry blocking stricter legislation."
Shahriar Alam, a member of Parliament and the managing director of Renaissance Group, a large garment manufacturer, said this wasn't the case. "It's not true that the labor law is weak," he said.
The BSCI said Bangladesh had adequate laws governing the safety of buildings, but that the laws weren't properly implemented.
—Shelly Banjo
contributed to this article.
Write to Tom Wright at email@example.com
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Ishmael [Ĭsh'mael]—god heareth.
1. The son of Abraham, by Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian maid. Ishmael was born when Abraham was eighty-six years of age, and was circumcised when he was thirteen years of age, along with his father and his servants. He received the divine promise that he would beget twelve princes and become a great nation. He died at the age of 137 (Gen. 16:11-16; 17:18-26; 25:9-17; 28:9; 36:3). Ishmael was the founder of the tribal family called Ishmaelites, sometimes referred to as Midianites (Gen. 37:25-28).
The Man Who Became an Outcast
Ishmael, who was some fourteen years older than Isaac, was not his father's heir and did not share his father's property. Abraham was tenderly attached to Ishmael (Gen. 17:18), and the casting out of the boy and his mother by Sarah was a great grief to Abraham. Such a hard transaction was necessary to keep the inheritance unbroken for Isaac's possession. "To thee will I give it" (Gal. 3:16; 4:30). Ishmael's name is a monument of God's goodness in answering prayer. "God shall hear." What did He hear? He heard the moaning of Hagar's broken heart. God said concerning Ishmael: "I will make him a great nation" (Gen. 21:18).
The names of Ishmael's twelve sons have been preserved but there is no record of any good they achieved (Gen. 25:13-16).
Paul tells us that the record of Hagar and Ishmael is an allegory (Gal. 4:24). Hagar and Sarah represent two covenants—Jewish and Christian. Hagar represents the law, and Ishmael, because he was born of the bond woman, typifies those who are under the law. Isaac, because of his super-natural birth, represents those born anew by the Spirit of God.
The casting out of Ishmael has been productive of bitter fruit, surviving in the religion of Mohammed. The wild hearts beat on in the bosoms of those who form the Arab world. Little did Sarah know, when she persuaded Abraham to take Hagar that she was originating a rivalry which has run in the keenest strife through the ages, and which oceans of blood have not stopped.
The Moslem Arabs claim descent from Ishmael. Ishmael's mother and wife were Egyptian, which differentiates them from pure Hebrew. Arabian tribes springing from Ishmael are scattered throughout the Arabian peninsula. When Ishmael received his name, the Lord said that he would be "a wild man," or "a wild-ass man" as the Hebrew expresses it.
2. An ancestor of Zebadiah who was one of Jehoshaphat's judicial officers (2 Chron. 19:11).
3. A Son of Azer and a descendant of Saul through Jonathan (1 Chron. 8:38; 9:44).
4. A son of Jehohanan and one of the military officers associated with Jehoiada in the revolution to raise Joash to the throne (2 Chron. 23:1).
5. A son of Pashbur and one of the priests persuaded by Ezra to put away his foreign wife (Ezra 10:22).
6. A son of Nethaniah, a member of the royal house of David who took part in the murder of Gedaliah. His vile conduct and character are fully described by Jeremiah (40:8-16; 41).
Devotional content drawn from All the Men of the Bible by Herbert Lockyer. Used with permission.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Mother category of the Fancy 7 tube has collected all the horny moms with nice shapes and big butts. Mothers love to fuck and when they have a chance to bang a handsome stranger, they will never miss their chance. The hottest mother sex video and porn clips will not disappoint your taste and cravings. Watch a couple of mother sex videos here and you will think of mothers from completely different perspective.


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South African Journal of Surgery
versão On-line ISSN 2078-5151
versão impressa ISSN 0038-2361
S. Afr. j. surg. vol.46 no.3 Cape Town Ago. 2008
Why is surgery cancelled? A retrospective evaluation
I. Chamisa
F.R.C.S., F.C.S. (S.A.); Department of General Surgery, Prince Mishyeni Memorial Hospital, and University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban
INTRODUCTION: The cancellation of surgery wastes theatre time and creates hardship for patients, who often plan their working and family lives around the proposed operation date.
METHODS: A retrospective evaluation of cancellations of scheduled elective and urgent operations was done using theatre records from May 2006 to April 2007. The reasons for cancellation were examined.
RESULTS: Of a total of 5 786 operations, 5.6% were cancelled or postponed. Lack of medical clearance and patient preparation (65.1%) was the most common reason for cancellation. Lack or failure of instruments and patient cancellation constituted 2.8% and 1.8% of the cancellations respectively.
CONCLUSION: Last-minute cancellation of surgery was a significant problem, and appreciation of the usual reasons for cancellations can improve theatre utilisation and avoid inconveniencing patients and their families.
"Full text available only in PDF format"
1. Dufek S, Gaucher E, Gialanella. The total quality process applied to the operating rooms and other clinical processes. Surgery 1993; 113: 255-259. [ Links ]
2. Anderson RP, Guyton SW, Paull DL, et al. Selection of patients for same-day coronary bypass operations. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1993; 105: 444-451. [ Links ]
3. Conway JB, Goldberg J, Chung F. Preadmission anesthesia consultation clinic. Can J Anaesth 1992; 39: 1051-1057. [ Links ]
4. Leigh JM, Walker J, Janaganathan P. Effect of preoperative anaesthetic visit on anxiety. BMJ 1977; 2: 987-989. [ Links ]


text:
Good Housekeeping Custom Blinds & Shades
- Good Housekeeping's Research Institute approved
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- Emphasis on style and child safety
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- Attractive, trusted and dependable
The experts at Good Housekeeping have created a full range of custom blinds and shades that have been evaluated and certified by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute for household safety and dependability. A stylish way to control light and lessen heat transference, Good Housekeeping window treatments are offered in a delightful array of colors and patterns to compliment any room. By ordering quality blinds and shades by a trusted household brand who backs their construction and operation, you can rest assured knowing that your windows are being treated right.
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I ordered these blinds without seeing a sample first. It wasn't EXACTLY what I expected based on the swatch online, but I do like the blinds. I was looking for blackout blinds and I am very happy with them with regard to keeping the light out of the room. Installation was relatively simple, but a bit tedious. The final product looks very nice. Overall I am very happy with the blinds.View this product


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Crème brûlée
Is there anything better than a creamy, scrumptious dessert that mixes all the best ingredients to make something to savor? :-) Crème brûlée is my favorite French dessert, which also happens to be one of the easiest ones to make, in a way. It's a perfect solution for leftover yolks (after making Swiss meringue or Italian meringue buttercream)—one batch of the buttercream allows making 4-6 mini bowls of the dessert!
To prepare the crusty shell on top, you will need a blowtorch—you can get a small one at some convenience stores, and however some recipes out there suggest using a broiler instead, this method is faster, easier, and allows you to control the amount of browned caramel on top.
Golden syrup chocolate cupcakes
These cupcakes have an amazing consistency all-over: the cupcake is moist and rich, and the icing is delicious, smooth and creamy. I used the swiss-meringue buttercream for the icing, and it was a hit! :-)
Cream-cheese strawberry cupcakes
Nothing compliments the strawberries like the cream-cheese icing, and you can enjoy this taste even off-season with strawberry jam! :-) You can skip limit the calories in this recipe by using lighter strawberry jam, or pulverized strawberries, and using half of the sugar in the cupcake part if you want the cupcakes less sweet.
Marshmallows for hot drinks
While the standard marshmallows are cooked to be large and sturdy on their own, the ones for hot drinks should be creamy and melting easily. Try my recipe, although similar to the basic one, to enjoy beautiful and tasty hot drinks marshmallows! :-)
Italian-meringue buttercream
Following my search for the best icing cream, I arrived to the mythical Italian-meringue buttercream — it's simply amazing, both silky and fluffy, deliciously light and creamy... You should follow my recipe to achieve this amazing icing cream with minimal effort :-)


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Today is June 23rd, 2015, and we're inclosing the newest Real Estate Listings in Richlands North Carolina. Richlands is rich in history and prides itself of being "A Great Place to Grow!" as well as home of the Onslow County Museum. It has several new subdivisions along its rural setting and charming communities for those who are looking for an "out in the country" feel while being close enough to enjoy all of the benefits that Jacksonville has to offer. Exit Independence Realty and its Real Estate agents are focused on our local neighborhoods with sales, listings, property management, rentals, and all of their home needs to live in this wonderful community.
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Editorial: The $6 billion presidential contest
No matter who wins Tuesday, this much is certain: The megadonors will get the attention of the White House and Congress.
Most people have never heard of Sheldon Adelson or Fred Eychaner. But Mitt Romney and Barack Obama surely know their names. Adelson, a Las Vegas casino magnate, and his wife have been the biggest donors — at a staggering $52.2 million — to groups favoring Romney and Republicans. Eychaner, a Chicago media executive, holds that title for giving to Obama and Democrats, at $12.3 million.
Adelson and Eychaner are among 131 people, unions and corporations that have donated $1 million or more to candidates and causes this election cycle. Whoever wins on Tuesday, this much is certain: The megadonors will get their calls returned and wishes weighed by the White House and Congress.
That, in shorthand, is what's wrong with the way elections are financed.
The floodgates opened with the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling in 2010 and a subsequent lower court decision. Just about every post-Watergate reform has been undermined, and money is sloshing around this campaign like the waters of Superstorm Sandy.
Races for Congress and the White House will set a new spending record — $6 billion. Presidential candidates hold countless fundraisers; members of Congress spend endless hours dialing for dollars. While the laws still say people can't give more than $5,000 directly to a candidate in primaries and general elections, those limits are now irrelevant. Individuals, unions and corporations can give unlimited amounts to groups known as Super PACs with innocuous names such as Restore Our Future, Priorities USA Action and Majority PAC.
They've done so with a vengeance — and often with a twist that keeps their influence secret. Groups formed in the guise of "non-profit social welfare" corporations can influence the elections with secret money. These shadowy groups have spent $350 million so far, mostly on attack ads.
What can be done? The Federal Election Commission could enforce its regulations, but it is gridlocked. Advocacy groups have asked the IRS to rein in non-profit groups whose primary focus appears to be political, but the IRS has done nothing, at least publicly.
Citizens United has left the public with only one way to protect itself against the rising tide of secret donors: disclosure. Republicans in the Senate defeated a disclosure measure in July. Perhaps when the public looks back at an election that is setting records for high spending, negative ads and secrecy, it will demand that Congress act.
But don't hold your breath. Winners tend to think the system works fine. It could take a scandal to bring about improved disclosure or, better yet, public financing.


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Spout Cover with Digital Thermometer
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text: This fall we are so excited to have Brian Ajhar join our faculty to teach Character Design! Brian's wonderful work spans a career of creating stories and the characters that inhabit them for film, TV, children's books and editorial work. His new book, No Pirates Allowed! is out to rave reviews and today, he has a piece in the Wall Street Journal. When does he sleep??!! Welcome, Brian!


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Stem cell advance yields mature heart muscle cells
(Medical Xpress)—A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers has induced human embryonic stem cells (hESC) to differentiate toward pure-population, mature heart muscle cells, or cardiomyocytes. A substrate patterned with a precisely sized series of channels played a critical role in the advance.
Published online February 28, 2014, in the journal Biomaterials, the research could open the door to advances in areas that include tissue engineering and drug discovery and testing.
Researchers currently can differentiate hESC into immature heart muscle cells. Those cells, however, don't develop the robust internal structures—repeating sections of muscle cells called sarcomeres—that enable cardiomyocytes to produce the contracting force that allows the heart to pump blood. Other cell components that allow heart muscle cells to communicate and work together also are less developed in immature cardiomyocytes.
One barrier to efforts to produce more mature cells is the culture surface itself; hESC are notoriously finicky. "It's really hard to culture stem cells effectively and to provide them with an environment that's going to help them to thrive and differentiate in the way you want," says lead author Wendy Crone, a professor of engineering physics, biomedical engineering and materials science and engineering at UW-Madison.
Recently, three-dimensional and micropatterned substrates have emerged as more accurately mimicking the cells' physiological environment. However, the majority of previous research studies using patterning were conducted using cells from rats, says Max Salick, a PhD student in materials science at UW-Madison and first author on the paper. "One of the unique aspects of our research is that it observes human cardiomyocytes' response to micropatterning geometries," he says.
Working in laboratories in the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, the UW-Madison researchers focused on finding the pattern, including the right size scale, that suits the human stem cells. "Our hypothesis was that if we could control the cell shape and how they bind to their surroundings using this micropatterning, we could coax them into forming more aligned, structurally sound fibrous structures that are more relevant in the heart," says Salick.
The researchers' micropatterned substrate consists of a series of lanes, or channels. When they put the cells into the lanes, they saw a clear differences in how the cells responded to various lane sizes—and identifying the optimal size scale was key. "If the lane was too wide, the cells weren't really able to 'feel' their lane, so they didn't align as well," says Salick. "But with lanes less than 100 microns wide, we really started to see the alignment, a stronger sarcomere structure and a more mature phenotype."
The substrate method is more effective and easy to control than others the researchers have explored in the past. And now that they know lane width is critical, the researchers can make the lanes infinitely long, which enables individual cells to link and communicate with neighboring cells. "This not only gets them to look like sarcomeres, and their internal structure starts to look like what it's supposed to and behave like what it's supposed to, but the cells also communicate with their neighbors," says Crone. "It's the closest we've gotten to pure-population adult cardiomyocytes."
The National Institutes of Health and the UW-Madison Graduate School provided funding for the research. UW-Madison collaborators on the project included Randolph Ashton, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering; Timothy Kamp, a cardiology professor; students Brett N. Napiwocki, Gavin T. Knight and Shahzad A. Chindhy; and recent graduate Jin Sha.


text:
Fox Continues Its Campaign To Make It Harder For Americans To Vote
Fox News and Breitbart.com attacked a Massachusetts effort to increase registration among eligible low-income voters. This is nothing new for Fox, which has also pushed for voter ID laws that would restrict voting rights for low-income voters.
Federal law requires states to help citizens who receive federal benefits such as food stamps register to vote. New England United for Justice, the NAACP, and others recently sued Massachusetts officials, claiming that Massachusetts was not providing registration help as required by federal law. Massachusetts officials settled the lawsuit.
The settlement requires Massachusetts officials to send voter registration forms to people who receive aid from government programs. Federal law requires states to help register citizens receiving such assistance. Agreements similar to the one reached in Massachusetts are already in effect in Georgia, Ohio, Missouri, New Mexico, Indiana, North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado, and Mississippi. The Massachusetts agreement also requires the state to run informative voting public service announcements on TV and radio stations as well as in welfare office waiting rooms.
Fox Businees Host Stuart Varney, echoing a Breitbart.com article, reacted to the ruling by suggesting that the court ruling was a "spearheaded effort by the Democrats" to buy the votes of welfare recipients. Varney further claimed the $275,000 the state was spending to send registration information to 500,000 voters is "a form of buying votes with your money." Varney failed to note that similar programs are being run in several other states.
In addition to attacking an effort to increase registration among eligible voters, Fox has promoted voter ID laws that would restrict the rights of thousands of eligible low-income voters.


text:
HIV molecular immunology database
This software is still under development and has not been fully tested. Please let us know what you think at email@example.com.
This tool takes two series of tab-delimited HLA types and compares the HLA frequencies in the two sets. For more information, see details below, and try Sample Input.
This program expects a list of HLA Class-I alleles. Each line of the input should be a unique patient ID followed by a list of HLAs, all separated by spaces or tabs. Missing data may be omitted, or indicated by a dash '-'.
HLA frequencies can be counted two different ways, which differ in how homozygous alleles are counted.
HLA types are reported with various resolutions (2, 4 or more digits). This tool provides three options for handling this.
In the results, the contingency table (column C) reports the number of subjects in each population with and without the given HLA. For each HLA, the tool computes the 2-sided exact Fisher's p-value, which represents the probability that the observed difference is due to chance. To correct for the false discovery rate caused by the calculation of multiple p-values, Storey's q-value is also provided (Storey JD: A direct approach to false discovery rates. J R Statist Soc B 2002, 64:479-498).


text:
Top Items:
Paul Waldman / Washington Post:
On Iraq, let's ignore those who got it all wrong — At noon today, President Obama issued his first statement on the deteriorating situation on Iraq. "This is not solely or even primarily a military challenge," he said. "The United States will do our part, but understand that ultimately it's …
Discussion: American Prospect, Daily Kos, The Daily Banter, Hullabaloo, AEIdeas, Politico, Weekly Standard, emptywheel and ABC News
Paul Waldman / American Prospect: Beware Simple Solutions On Iraq
Michael Luciano / The Daily Banter: Republicans Want You To Know They Have Some Great Ideas On the Situation in Iraq
Thereisnospoon / Hullabaloo: The fools who created the mess should be the last ones to speak, by @DavidOAtkins
Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico: Why Barack Obama can't get out of Iraq
Max Boot / Weekly Standard: Obama's Iraq — Mosul has fallen, and al Qaeda is on the march towards Baghdad
John Parkinson / ABC News: John Boehner Slams President Obama for 'Taking a Nap' on Iraq
Jonathan Topaz / Politico:
McCain Iraq interview gets heated — Sen. John McCain continued his blistering attack on President Barack Obama's handling of Iraq on Friday, again calling for his entire national security team to be replaced and saying his decisions have been very costly. — "The president wanted …
Discussion: ABC News, The Daily Beast, Daily Kos, ABC News, No More Mister Nice Blog and Shakesville
Shushannah Walshe / ABC News: George W. Bush Won't Weigh In on Iraq
Barbara Morrill / Daily Kos: There's no other way to put this: Sen. McCain, shut up
Melissa McEwan / Shakesville: Perfect — [Content Note: War.] — This is an actual f**king …
Fareed Zakaria / Washington Post:
Who lost Iraq? The Iraqis did, with an assist from George W. Bush — It is becoming increasingly likely that Iraq has reached a turning point. The forces hostile to the government have grown stronger, better equipped and more organized. And having now secured arms …
Discussion: his vorpal sword, The Dish, The Week, The Mahablog, National Review and The Daily Beast
Hart Williams / his vorpal sword: The GOP's Latest Act of Rhetorical Prestidigitation
Andrew Sullivan / The Dish: On Not Taking The Neocon Bait
Ryu Spaeth / The Week: Is Obama to blame for losing Iraq? Not so fast.
Greg Pollowitz / National Review: Fareed Zakaria Blames George W. Bush for 'Losing Iraq'
Leslie H. Gelb / The Daily Beast: Iraq Is Vietnam 2.0 And U.S. Drones Won't Solve The Problem
Obama: 'We will not be sending U.S. troops to Iraq' — [Adds breaking news update 12:05 p.m.] — President Barack Obama said Friday that the United States "will not be sending U.S. troops back into combat in Iraq," but that he would be reviewing a range of other options to support …
Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Liberaland, The Lead with Jake Tapper and KFOR-TV
Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo: Obama: We Will Not Send U.S. Troops Back Into Combat In Iraq
Dorian De Wind / The Moderate Voice: No Boots on the Ground in Iraq, But...
Stephen Kruiser / The Daily Caller: Lighting The GOP Unity Candle With A Blowtorch
Noah Rothman / Hot Air: CNN: U.S. preparing for airstrikes in Iraq, decision coming as soon as 'this weekend'
Parisa Hafezi / Reuters:
Exclusive: Alarmed by Iraq, Iran open to shared role with U.S. - Iran official — (Reuters) - Shi'te Muslim Iran is so alarmed by Sunni insurgent gains in Iraq that it may be willing to cooperate with Washington in helping Baghdad fight back, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.
Discussion: CNN, New York Times, JustOneMinute, American Spectator, Hot Air, Informed Comment, Bloomberg View, Blazing Cat Fur and The Dish
Thomas Erdbrink / New York Times: As Sunni Militants Threaten Its Allies in Baghdad, Iran Weighs Options
Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute: Hope From Iran On The Collapse In Iraq
Micah Meadowcroft / American Spectator: An Endless War: Sectarian Divides in the Middle East
Marc Champion / Bloomberg View: U.S. and Iran, Frenemies in Iraq
Frau Katze / Blazing Cat Fur: Militants take two Iraqi towns in eastern Diyala province, and more Iraq news
Washington Post:
Volunteers flock to defend Baghdad as insurgents seize more Iraqi territory
Volunteers flock to defend Baghdad as insurgents seize more Iraqi territory
Discussion: Rational Irrationality, Reuters, Committee to Protect …, AEIdeas, Washington Monthly, National Review, Agence France-Presse and CNN
Marc Thiessen / AEIdeas: Bush warned this would happen in Iraq
Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly: Getting Reacquainted With Iraq
TIm Lister / CNN: ISIS: The first terror group to build an Islamic state?
Washington Post:
Transcript: President Obama's remarks on the crisis in Iraq
Transcript: President Obama's remarks on the crisis in Iraq
Discussion: Los Angeles Times, TalkLeft and National Review
Washington Post:
Obama says he will not send troops to Iraq but is considering 'other options'
Obama says he will not send troops to Iraq but is considering 'other options'
Discussion: Guardian, Little Green Footballs and Weekly Standard
New York Times:
Prime Minister Maliki Panics as Insurgents Gain
Prime Minister Maliki Panics as Insurgents Gain
Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Slate, The Long War Journal, Firedoglake, Hit & Run, Daily Kos and Washington Free Beacon
Matt Daily / Politico: Gas prices to climb amid Iraq chaos
Daniel Byman / Slate: The State of Terror — We think of terrorist outfits like ISIS as nonstate actors.
Behnam Ben Taleblu / The Long War Journal: Iranian perspectives on the crisis in Iraq
Peter Van Buren / Firedoglake: Whither Iraq? What's Happening Had to Happen
Jesse Walker / Hit & Run: Sane Talk on Iraq
Georgia Logothetis / Daily Kos: Abbreviated pundit roundup: Chaos in Iraq, still analyzing Cantor's defeat and more
Paul Lewis / Guardian:
Obama 'urgently' considering air assault on targets in Syria and Iraq
Obama 'urgently' considering air assault on targets in Syria and Iraq
Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Beast, ThinkProgress and The Dish
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post: Obama isn't napping, he's surrendering
Andrew Sullivan / The Dish: Will Obama Attack? — Tragically, it seems possible:
Reihan Salam / Slate:
We Never Should Have Left Iraq
We Never Should Have Left Iraq
Discussion: Reuters, Commentary Magazine, alicublog, The Dish, AEIdeas, National Review, Hinterland Gazette, The Federalist, Hullabaloo, Telegraph, RedState, Foreign Policy, Hot Air and Washington Post
Roy Edroso / alicublog: FRIDAY AROUND-THE-HORN.
Andrew Sullivan / The Dish: The Neocons Get A War Chubby
Marc Thiessen / AEIdeas: Will Obama provide air cover to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard?
Reihan Salam / National Review: Quick Iraq Note
Janet Shan / Hinterland Gazette: George W. Bush and Dick Cheney Helped Iraqis Lose Their Country to Militants
Robert Tracinski / The Federalist: Obama's Wish-Fulfilling Prophecy in Iraq
Barney Henderson / Telegraph: Iraq crisis: al-Qaeda militants push towards Baghdad - live
Repair Man Jack / RedState: Al Qaeda On The Run - From People Even More Savage Than Themselves
Michael Knights / Foreign Policy: Iraq War III Has Now Begun
James M. Dubik / Washington Post: U.S. must act to prevent extremists' victory in Iraq
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Obama Says He Will Decide on Military Support for Iraq in 'Days Ahead'
Obama Says He Will Decide on Military Support for Iraq in 'Days Ahead'
Discussion: The Daily Beast, Politico and JustOneMinute
Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico: Obama: Iraq turmoil could threaten U.S. interests
Shane Harris / Foreign Policy:
Jihadist Gains in Iraq Blindside American Spies
Jihadist Gains in Iraq Blindside American Spies
Mario Loyola / National Review: Obama's Criminal Negligence in Iraq
Michael Knights / The Week: Iraq War III has now begun
James Phillips / The Daily Signal: The Iraq Meltdown: What Next?
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air: US intel caught by surprise by ISIS sweep in Iraq?
Lucy Schouten / American Spectator: Iraq's Deadly Geography
Patrick Megahan / The Long War Journal: Iraqi military's lack of airpower enabling ISIS's advance
Andrew Sullivan / The Dish: Iran Is Already Fighting In Iraq
Iran sends forces to Iraq as ISIS militants press forward, official says
Iran sends forces to Iraq as ISIS militants press forward, official says
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit
New York Times:
Iraqi Shiite Cleric Issues Call to Arms Against Sunni Militants
Iraqi Shiite Cleric Issues Call to Arms Against Sunni Militants
Discussion: Guardian, Gawker and Outside the Beltway
Alex Horton / Guardian: Iraq veterans: learn to stop worrying about Isis and love life at home already
Doug Mataconis / Outside the Beltway: Insurgents Continue Advance Toward Baghdad
Fazel Hawramy / Guardian:
Kurdish peshmerga seize a chaotic victory in Kirkuk
Kurdish peshmerga seize a chaotic victory in Kirkuk
Discussion: Business Insider, The Dish and RedState
Brian Umana / Washington Post:
I'm a Democrat and I helped the tea party unseat Eric Cantor — People are baffled today that Rep. Eric Cantor, the House majority leader, lost his job when he lost his GOP primary Tuesday night. A common refrain is, how could this have happened? (Sample headline: "Why Did Cantor Lose?
Discussion: TheBlaze.com
Pete Kasperowicz / TheBlaze.com: Former Dem operative says left, right conspired to oust Cantor
Kyle Rothenberg / Fox News:
Cochran campaign says senator just joking when claimed ignorance of Cantor loss — Two days after Eric Cantor's primary loss received national attention, Mississippi GOP Sen. Thad Cochran — who's caught in a tight primary race of his own — said he had no idea what happened in Virginia …
Discussion: Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Politico, The Week, WJTV and MSNewsNow.com
Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly: Sad Thad — I mentioned this at Lunch Buffet, but you really ought …
Daniel Strauss / Talking Points Memo: Thad Cochran On Cantor Defeat: 'What Happened In Virginia?' (VIDEO)
Alexander Burns / Politico: Chamber of Commerce to put up new ads in Mississippi
Courtney Ann Jackson / MSNewsNow.com: Cochran and McDaniel react to Virginia race results
Matthew Boyle / BREITBART.COM:
THAD COCHRAN: I GREW UP DOING 'ALL KINDS OF INDECENT THINGS WITH ANIMALS' — Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) provided his latest head-scratching comment in public, this time joking he engaged in illicit activities with animals as a child. — "[We'd] get back [to the Pine Belt-Hattiesburg area of Mississippi] …
Discussion: New York Times, Liberaland, The Week, The Daily Caller and Riehl World News
Dave Van Slyke / Liberaland: Senator Thad Cochran's Romantic Encounters With Farm Animals
Jordan Valinsky / The Week: Senator says he grew up 'doing all kinds of indecent things with animals'
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller: Thad Cochran Says He Grew Up Doing 'All Kinds Of Indecent Things With Animals'
New York Times:
David Brat and Jack Trammell show unease in the spotlight
David Brat and Jack Trammell show unease in the spotlight
Discussion: Daily Kos and Washington Post
Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:
The absurdity of electing Kevin McCarthy to replace Eric Cantor as House majority leader
The absurdity of electing Kevin McCarthy to replace Eric Cantor as House majority leader
Discussion: The New Republic, Hot Air, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, New York Times, RedState and Wall Street Journal
Brian Beutler / The New Republic: The Legacy of Cantor's Defeat Is Shaping Up to Be Incredibly Small
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air: The absurdity of leadership fights in an era of populism
Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly: Replacing Cantor Inside Out
Jonathan Weisman / New York Times: Cantor Loss May Temper House Leaders
Briansikma / RedState: Rep. Marlin Stutzman Running for House Majority Whip
Geoff Pender / The Clarion-Ledger:
Cochran 'indecent things with animals' creates buzz
Cochran 'indecent things with animals' creates buzz
Discussion: Liberaland, The Raw Story, Hinterland Gazette, Riehl World News, Hot Air, BuzzFeed and PoliticusUSA
Bill Schmalfeldt / Liberaland: SATIRE: (But Only Barely) Did Sen. Cochran Just Admit To ****ing Farm Animals???
David Ferguson / The Raw Story: Republican Sen. Thad Cochran: As a kid, I did 'all kinds of indecent things with animals'
Janet Shan / Hinterland Gazette: GOP Sen. Thad Cochran: "As a Kid, I Did "All Kinds of Indecent Things with Animals"
Allahpundit / Hot Air: Thad Cochran comes clean: I did all kinds of indecent things with animals as a kid
Gideon Resnick / BuzzFeed: Thad Cochran Jokes He Used To Do "Indecent Things To Animals"
IRS Claims to Have Lost Over 2 Years of Lerner Emails — f t # e — Washington, DC - Today, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) issued the following statement regarding the Internal Revenue Service informing the Committee that they have lost Lois Lerner emails from a period of January 2009 - April 2011.
Discussion: Power Line, Associated Press, Ed Driscoll, Mediaite, Wall Street Journal, Washington Free Beacon and NewsBusters
Scott Johnson / Power Line: The two-year gap — The IRS has informed the House Ways …
Stephen Ohlemacher / Associated Press: IRS Lost Emails by Official in Tea Party Probe
Geoffrey Dickens / NewsBusters: IRS Claims to Have Lost Over Two Years of Lois Lerner's Emails, Will Networks Report?
Patrick Howley / The Daily Caller:
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) claimed Friday that it cannot produce Lois Lerner's emails to and from the White House and other administration departments due to a supposed computer crash. — The IRS previously agreed to hand over all of the ex-IRS official's emails from 2009 to 2011 …
Discussion: The Jawa Report
Chelsea Clinton paid $600K by NBC — Chelsea Clinton earned an annual salary of $600,000 at NBC News before switching to a month-to-month contract earlier this year, sources with knowledge of the agreement told POLITICO. — Clinton, who joined NBC News as a "special correspondent" …
Hunter Walker / Business Insider: It Looks Like Chelsea Clinton Made $26,724 For Each Minute She Appeared On NBC
Brendan Bordelon / The Daily Caller: Report: Chelsea Clinton Paid $600,000 Per Year At NBC
Daniel Strauss / Talking Points Memo: NBC News Paid Chelsea Clinton $600,000 A Year
Paul Whitefield / Los Angeles Times: Opinion Why Chelsea Clinton is worth $600,000 to NBC and you aren't
Doug Mataconis / Outside the Beltway: NBC Paid Chelsea Clinton $600,000 For What Exactly?
Congressman Raul Labrador:
LABRADOR ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER — "I want a House Leadership that reflects the best of our Conference" — BOISE, ID - Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-ID) announced his candidacy today to serve as House Majority Leader. He released the following statement:
Discussion: Hot Air, Washington Post, OnPolitics, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, The Daily Signal, The Week and National Review
Allahpundit / Hot Air: Kevin McCarthy to lobbyists, Chamber of Commerce: Don't worry, it'll be business as usual in the House
Philip Rucker / Washington Post: Labrador considers run for House majority leader
Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo: Raul Labrador Will Challenge Kevin McCarthy For House Majority Leader
Jed Lewison / Daily Kos: Tea partier Raúl Labrador enters majority leader race, because the American people want him to
Eric Kleefeld / The Week: Tea Party Rep. Raúl Labrador running for House Majority Leader
Andrew Johnson / National Review: Labrador Officially Jumps into Majority Leader Race
ABC News:
House GOP Conservative in Long-Shot Leadership Bid
House GOP Conservative in Long-Shot Leadership Bid
Discussion: Politico and Outside the Beltway
Jake Sherman / Politico: Raul Labrador enters leadership race
Scott Walker declines to define stand on gay marriage today — For years, Gov. Scott Walker has been a rock-solid proponent of traditional marriage between one man and one woman. — As Milwaukee County executive, he opposed efforts to provide health care benefits to the gay partners of county employees.
Discussion: Metro Weekly, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Beast and Daily Kos
Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo: Scott Walker Refuses To State A Position On Same-Sex Marriage
Doug Mataconis / Outside the Beltway: Scott Walker Equivocates On Previous Opposition To Same-Sex Marriage
Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:
Hillary Clinton's Gay-Marriage Problem — Until 2013, she held a position that lots of Democratic voters now regard as deeply wrongheaded. Some even insist that it is hateful and bigoted. — Hillary Clinton didn't refrain from supporting same-sex marriage for political reasons-prior to last year …
Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, The Dish, NY Daily News, CNN, Wall Street Journal, Mediaite and The Week Magazine
Doug Mataconis / Outside the Beltway: It Doesn't Matter When, Or Why, Hillary Clinton Changed Her Mind On Marriage Equality
Andrew Sullivan / The Dish: The Grilling Of Hillary Clinton On Marriage Equality
Adam Edelman / NY Daily News: Hillary Clinton lashes out at NPR host during tense interview about gay marriage
Dan Merica / CNN: Clinton defends change in same-sex marriage position
Rebecca Ballhaus / Wall Street Journal: Hillary Clinton Interview Turns Testy Over Gay Marriage
Andrew Kirell / Mediaite: Hillary Clinton Snaps at NPR Host for Questions About Gay Marriage Evolution
Hillary Clinton: The Fresh Air Interview
Hillary Clinton: The Fresh Air Interview
Discussion: Ed Driscoll, CBS DC, PoliticusUSA, NewsBusters and BuzzFeed
Jason Easley / PoliticusUSA: Hillary Clinton Tells Karl Rove and The Republican Party To Bring It On
Tim Graham / NewsBusters: NPR Star Shocker: Ten Needling Terry Gross Questions on Gays Cause Hillary to Snap 'You're Playing With My Words'
Hillary Clinton gets testy over gay marriage
Hillary Clinton gets testy over gay marriage
Frank James / NPR: 4 Takeaways From Hillary Clinton's 'Fresh Air' Interview
Andrew Beaujon / Poynter: Hillary Clinton criticizes Terry Gross for being 'persistent'
Stephanie Simon / Politico:
The fall of teachers unions — As the two big national teachers unions prepare for their conventions this summer, they are struggling to navigate one of the most tumultuous moments in their history. — Long among the most powerful forces in American politics, the unions are contending …
Discussion: New York Times, The Daily Caller and Diane Ravitch's blog


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Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Cooking Tip - Prepare Ingredients Before You Start
I was about to get started with making my seafood gumbo and thought about this important element involved with gumbo makin' that really translate to just about every recipe.
If you are pretty new to venturing into the kitchen, I have to say that even as long as I have been cooking, I am still a big advocate of prepping all of your ingredients ahead of time. You know how when you watch a chef on television they have everything premeasured, chopped and ready to go? Well, that's not just for television folks.
Yes, this might mean that you create more dishes to wash, but it will ensure better end results with your culinary creations because it allows you to transition smoothly from stage to stage of a recipe with no bumps in the road. There is nothing worse than to be in the midst of cooking only to find out that you needed to have something prepped that you didn't realize needed to be, while at the same time you are having to also be stirring constantly on something altogether different! Yikes! So follow these guidelines and you'll make your venture into cooking much more pleasant and successful!
1. Always, always, always read through the entire recipe before even beginning to think about starting to cook anything. You may even find that you have to read between the lines a bit. Some recipe authors do a great job of explaining things step by step and telling you exactly what you need to do and when. Others, well ... not so much. So read through the recipe from start to finish, even before you start to prep the ingredients.
2. Measure out all of your ingredients in advance. Sometimes you can even combine them - for instance, flour, baking powder and salt are often combined and then whisked to "sift." So you can combine those ahead of time and have it at the ready. I still do this when I bake.
3. Try to keep the prepped ingredients at hand in the order of use. It really just makes it easier because you are not reaching over other things and risking knocking things over and spilling them, and if you use them in order and sort of put them altogether after you use them, there's less of a chance that you won't be able to remember whether or not you've already put that one ingredient in! Believe me, even seasoned cooks go through that "did I add the [fill-in-the-blank] already???" So it helps if you sort of lay things out where you need them in order of use, then scoot them to the side all together after you have used them.
4. Chop EVERYTHING in advance and have it all ready to go. Sometimes recipes call for sauteeing things one at a time, so make note of that and be sure to keep those ingredients separated as you chop. Other times you can chop and combine the raw veggies because they will be cooked together. For instance, with my gumbo, first I have to saute the okra, by itself. So when I chop that up before I start, it'll go in its own little bowl. But when I chop the onion, celery and bell pepper, I know it will all saute together at the same time, so it can all go in one bowl as I chop it. The garlic, which can burn and get bitter if overcooked, will be chopped separately and set aside on the cutting board to be added once the all the veggies are cooked and tender.
5. Once you think that you have everything ready to go, before you get started do a quick run-through, reading over the recipe once more and checking your ingredients as you mentally prepare the dish. You will often find that you've missed something crucial!
Believe it or not, as long as I've been cooking, I still follow these basic rules of cooking. It really makes for a much more pleasant cooking experience and in my opinion, successful results!
Leave a Comment
3 comments:
Good tips. An oldster like me who has been cookin' for decades has learned things like this but sometimes it's easy to forget there are some just learnin' to cook, and tips like these are invaluable. Thanks for the kind words of wisdom. Mary, Happy New Year to you and your family.ReplyDelete
Also, are you gonna post your seafood gumbo? I love gumbo.ReplyDelete
Hi Rebel and Happy New Year to you too!ReplyDelete
I love puttin' up the tips cuz I sure wish I'da had 'em when I first started out cookin' ... lot's of trial and ERROR happened with me (still does LOL)
Yeah I plan to put it up ... soon as I can type it up! It's one of the ones I just usually do and didn't have done up already. Hopefully I can squeeze it in sometime today. I'll get it up eventually though. Well, I'm off to peel some shrimp and get busy cookin'!!
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State pushes again to block hastened concealed-carry law
July 18, 2013 at 09:41 PM
ST. LOUIS -- Gun rights advocates pressed anew Thursday for a federal judge to allow firearms to be carried publicly in Illinois, arguing in a court filing that waiting months for the permit process to be outlined under the state's new concealed carry law is unjustified and unconstitutional.
The Associated Press
The state of Illinois fired back, saying in its own filing that the request from Mary Shepard and the Illinois State Rifle Association is moot and should be thrown out.
Thursday was the deadline U.S. District Judge William Stiehl set last week for both sides to make their cases in writing. While Shepard's filing asks Stiehl to decide the matter by July 25, no hearing date has been set.
Under the last-in-the-nation concealed carry law, which was passed July 9, Illinois State Police have 180 days to set up a program before accepting applications, plus an additional 90 days to process the forms.
Shepard considers that unreasonably long, arguing Thursday that she isn't challenging elements of the new permitting process "but rather the complete ban on carrying firearms that continues to exist until the permitting process is up and running."
"The delay proposed by the state constitutes an unacceptable perpetuation of the defendants' infringement of the Second Amendment rights of Ms. Shepard and the other law-abiding citizens of the state of Illinois," the filing on her behalf argued, insisting "no Wild West anarchy would ensue" if Stiehl sided with Shepard.
Lawmakers passed the concealed-carry measure over Gov. Pat Quinn's vehement objections, narrowly beating a deadline set by the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which last December ruled the state's ban on public possession of handguns unconstitutional.
In its own filing Thursday, the Illinois Attorney General's office argued that Shepard's quest for hastened concealed carry should be tossed out. The reason: Shepard's lawsuit, which first helped bring about the 7th Circuit's decision, challenged the state's blanket prohibition on carrying a loaded firearm on public - that's something the new law now allows.
Challenging the legality of the number of months state police have to set up the program, Madigan's office submits, would require Shepard and the state rifle group to file a new complaint spelling out why such a wait is onerous or illegal.
"Illinois has adopted a system that requires a permit to carry a loaded firearm in public, and that new statutory scheme is now in place," Karl Triebel, an assistant Illinois attorney general, wrote in Thursday's filing. "Whether any part of the new regime, which includes (time allotted to set up the program and review applications), violates the Second Amendment presents a separate question."
Shepard, of Cobden, was 69 years old in 2009 when she was beaten by an intruder and left for dead. She has said that had she not been barred from carrying a gun, she could have thwarted the attack.


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MEDWAY, MA -- Cybex International Inc. had $28.9 million in net sales in the first quarter of 2009, a 27 percent decrease compared to the $39.8 million it had in the corresponding 2008 period, according to the company's recently released financials. Cybex also reported a net loss for the first quarter of 2009 of $1.4 million compared to net income for the first quarter of 2008 of $1.3 million.
"Q1 sales levels were obviously weak," John Aglialoro, Cybex chairman and CEO, said in a company statement released with the financial results. "We believe that a principal cause of the sales decline is customers, particularly fitness clubs and similar facilities, delaying purchases. While this is reflective of economic conditions, generally and in the fitness market, it makes financial projections even more difficult than usual. Margins were negatively affected in Q1 by a variety of factors, including lower volume and the pricing of raw material, especially steel, compared to the same period in 2008."
Aglialoro is projecting steel prices to be lower in the second quarter, which he says should help reduce manufacturing costs.
In the meantime, Cybex's management has focused on expense reduction in response to the current economic conditions, Aglialoro says.


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New York Knicks guard Jason Kidd has retired after 19 years in the NBA.
He's leaving money on the table.
Kidd still had two years on his contract. He would have been paid $6 million if he finished out his contract.
But after a disappointing playoffs where he looked over-matched against younger opponents, he has decided to hang it up.
He also made $184 million in his NBA career, so another $6 million isn't make-or-break.
Here's his statement (via Alan Hahn):
"My time in professional basketball has been an incredible journey, but one that must come to an end after 19 years. As I reflect on my time with the four teams I represented in the NBA, I look back fondly at every season and thank each and every one of my teammates and coaches that joined me on the court."
Kidd had a remarkable late-career renaissance with the Mavericks. His first few months in New York were similarly strong, but he ran out of gas toward the end.


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Once famous for his presentations for the long-standing, clue-riddled rumor of Paul McCartney's death, Beatles expert and Delaware native Joel Glazier will discuss the history and impact of the Fab Four Sunday afternoon in Smyrna.
There are people in the world who see connections everywhere they go. For Joel Glazier, almost all connections can be traced back to The Beatles.
As a retired history teacher—He taught for more than 28 years—he still loves dissecting and discussing the context of major events. But, his filter now, as it always was, is the musical catalogue of the Fab Four: John Lennon, Paul McCartney Ringo Starr and George Harrison, known collectively as The Beatles.
Over the years, Glazier's made a name for himself, at home and abroad, as a Beatles expert. This Sunday afternoon, he'll take that expertise to Smyrna to "teach" a couple of lessons on "The History and Impact of The Beatles" thanks to a free cultural lecture series sponsored by Benchmark Builders.
The discussion will take place in The Village of Eastridge, a new 55-plus community in Smyrna. George Stewart, one of the event organizers explained that the series is a celebration of Benchmark's silver anniversary and a continuation of the sort of community outreach that the company likes to do. There's no charge for the event and while people will be allowed to tour the home or get information about the amenities within the community, it's not a hard sell for home ownership.
"People will certainly be able to tour the model home but you don't have to," Stewart explained. "If you just want to see Joel [Glazier], that's OK, too. Either way, you get to have a good experience with the new development."
Stewart has known Glazier since the mid-70's when they attended the University of Delaware together.
"His enthusiasm is infectious," Stewart said. "And, he's got a lot of stories."
Stewart is right. The stories spill out of Glazier as easily and casually as most people talk about the weather. But, it's not just a topic he's interested in. It's his life.
"In My Life"
"I'm 61," Glazier explained. "Therefore, I was in the seventh grade when The Beatles came to America in February 1964 for the Ed Sullivan Show. Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963. People had been mourning and it was a dark time for the country. When they arrived, it was something new and fresh and an opportunity for Americans to start to put the gloom of the time behind them."
He slips in and out of anecdotes. When asked about the influence of the Beatles, Glazier says that "if any band today doesn't acknowledge them, they're not being honest." That statement launches him into the litany of "first and onlys" that he says only The Beatles can claim: they were the first popular singer-songwriters following an era of entertainers who sang the work and words of others; they performed the first major outdoor concert (held at Shea Stadium in New York City in 1965); They're the only band to hold the top five spots of the "Billboard Top 100" thanks to "Can't Buy Me Love," "Twist and Shout," "She Loves You," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," and "Please Please Me." It happened in 1964 and hasn't happened since.
The list of "firsts and onlys" spawns other revelations, too, about the culture of the time. He talks about the haircuts, the clothes. He talks about the excitement he felt waiting for the next Beatles record.
"I was the right age at the right time," Glazier said. "But, I do feel sorry for young people now. They don't get the excitement for the next Beatle record like we did."
His own age makes him think of the young people he regularly encounters as a speaker with the Delaware Humanities Forum. He visits schools and can interject the Beatles into almost any lesson plan.
"Science, history, English. You name it," Glazier said with a laugh. "The lyrics are pure poetry so that's the English lessons a lot of the time. The history lessons are probably obvious."
For the science lessons, he said that he's used "Yellow Submarine" and other songs to spark a dialogue about everything from marine vocabulary and the nurturing effects of sunlight to the entire cycle of the day.
And, while countless students likely remember him as a teacher or a fun guest speaker, elsewhere in the world, his "15 minutes of fame" began with his detailed explanations and presentations of the long-standing, clue-riddled rumor of Paul McCartney's death. That's a separate presentation, though.
"Come Together"
Some of his most relatable stories are the brief encounters he got to have with the musicians. He was lucky enough to see the band perform in Philadelphia in 1966, the last year they toured together. He later met three of them in London while on a University of Delaware-sponsored history trip.
"I was a typical Beatle fan and told my friends, 'Let's go to Abbey Road to recreate the photo on the album cover," Glazier said, as he recreated the moment that he saw McCartney riding bikes with his wife at the time, Linda, and two of their children. He met Starr and Harrison later, at another location.
"Ringo was very charming and I was just in awe of George," Glazier said.
His encounter with Lennon was stateside, just up the road in Philadelphia.
"John was in Philly to help with a benefit," Glazier said. "He was doing a radio interview and would come outside and sign autographs and pose for pictures. He was the most friendly by far. Paul was the least. Not that Paul wasn't nice. He was. But, John was definitely the nicest."
Glazier doesn't have a website and Beatles fans won't find his lectures on YouTube. He prefers live interaction in an intimate setting to the impersonal nature of the internet, saying that his presentations aren't formal or stuffy. And, while he's obviously passionate about The Beatles, he insists he's "not a nut," adding that Sunday's discussion will feel like a "trip down memory lane for most people."
"I love this," Glazier said in reference to the lectures and discussions he's given all over the country and the world, including the annual Beatles Fans Convention in Liverpool, England. "It's been one happy little magic mystery tour."


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Chapin receives Congressional Citation
John Chapin, professor of communications at Penn State Beaver, is the recipient of the 2012 United States House of Representatives Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus Certificate awarded by Congressman Jim Costa and Congressman Ted Poe, co-chairs of the Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus for work on behalf of victims of crime. In the past, Chapin has received citations from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the U.S. House of Representatives for his research and volunteer work on behalf of domestic violence victims through providing domestic violence prevention and awareness programs. Chapin can be contacted at email@example.com or 724-773-3877.


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This week our bog of the week selected by Mary Kling is:
We Suggest the following poems for your reading pleasure:
Every week at Poets United we try to introduce our members and readers to a poet and poetry blog found here in our community. Poets United is about reading, writing and enjoying one another's poetry and this just one more way to show our support for one another.We would love to hear your comments on this poet's blog and poetry so please come back after visiting the blog of the week and let us know your thoughts.
We hope you enjoy visiting the highlighted blogs. Thank you for supporting your fellow poets and I am sure we will soon see your blog highlighted here.
Poets United
(This blog was selected by Mary Kling. She is currently one of our contributors and poets found here at Poets United. Her hard work and help with Poets United can be found in nearly every corner of this site and for this we are grateful. If you would like to learn more about Mary or read some of her own poetry you can visit her blog "In the Corner of My Eye" or keep an eye out for more of her posts.)


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Canada's MacNeil, Richards clinch Youth Olympic Games spot
Fajardo, Puerto Rico, December 8, 2013 – Canada's Jake MacNeil and Andrew Richards sealed their spot in the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China with a thrilling 2-1 (17-21, 26-24, 15-12) victory over United States' Louis Richards Torey DeFalco under rainy conditions at Seven Seas Beach in Fajardo on Sunday.
MacNeil and Richards, who went undefeated in their three outings during the preliminary phase of the NORCECA Central Zone Boys' Qualification Tournament on Saturday, arrived into the decisive contest after another three-set battle with Mexico's Luis Ramos and Jesus Rodriguez 2-1 (21-14, 23-25, 15-13).
"I am thrilled and speechless after this great moment," an emotional MacNeil said. "We won the trials in Canada six months ago to come to this tournament and we have been training very hard since then. The work hard has paid off."
"I never thought this thing was going to be possible," Richards said. "It is like a dream representing our country in the Nanjing Games and I want to give credit to my partner, my coaches and my parents."
Commenting about the USA Team, Richards said, "The match was even out there and could have gone either way. They are a great team and I wish them good luck in the next round so they can also get the chance to go to the Games.
In the semifinals, Richards/DeFalco defeated Puerto Rico's Sergio Figueroa and Luis Delgado in straight sets 2-0 (21-13, 21-14).
In the contest to decide third place and a last chance to Nanjing at the NORCECA Final Playoff next March, where second and third placed teams of four tournaments will be competing for two remaining spots to the Games, Figueroa and Delgado battled past Ramos and Rodriguez 2-0 (25-23, 21-19).
Boys' Results
Semifinals: CAN d MEX 2-1 (21-14, 23-25, 15-13), USA d PUR 2-0 (21-13, 21-14) Bronze Medal Match: PUR d MEX 2-0 (25-23, 21-19)
Gold Medal Match: CAN d USA 2-1 (17-21, 26-24, 15-12)
Final Positions: 1. Canada, 2. United States, 3. Puerto Rico, 4. Mexico.
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Statements by Heads of Delegations under Item 9:"Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition"
To be checked against delivery!Note that the addresses and statements are posted as provided and may differ from those actually delivered. Please consult the Webcast or Audio proceedings to ensure accuracy
Wednesday, 19 June 2013, morning
Son Excellence Monsieur Oua Saidou Ministre de l'agriculture de la République du Niger
Ms Hedwig Wogerbauer Director Head of the Division for FAO Affairs Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management of the Republic of Austria
The Honourable Felix Kiptarus Koskey Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kenya
His Excellency Vigilijus Jukna Minister for Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania
The Honourable Clement Dlamini Minister for Agriculture of the Kingdom of Swaziland
The Honourable David Tosul Butulso Minister for Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Fisheries and Biosecurity of the Republic of Vanuatu
Son Excellence Monsieur Dangdé Laoubélé Damaye Ministre de l'agriculture et de l'irrigation de la République du Tchad
The Honourable Kelihiano Kalolo Minister for Economic Development, Natural Resources and Environment of Tokelau (Associate member)
Son Excellence Madame Marie Noëlle Koyara Ministre du développement rural de la République centrafricaine
Excmo. Sr. Don Victor Hugo Vásquez Mamani Viceministro de Desarrollo Rural y Agropecuario del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia
The Honourable Oreeditse Sola Molebatsi Assistant Minister for Agriculture of the Republic of Botswana
Mr Lila Ram Paudel Director-General Department of Agriculture of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
His Excellency Charles McClain Deputy Minister for Agriculture of the Republic of Liberia
Ms Tan Poh Hong Chief Executive Officer Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of the Republic of Singapore
The Honourable Samuel Chief Ankama Deputy Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources of the Republic of Namibia
His Excellency Elmer Lopes Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Food of Guatemala
Her Excellency Milagros Carina Soto Agüero Ambassador Permanent Representative of Cuba to FAO
His Excellency Amr Mostafa Kamal Helmy Ambassador Permanent Representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt to FAO[English]
His Excellency Themistoklis Demiris Ambassador Permanent Representative of Greece to FAO
Her Excellency Mary Sibusisiwe Mubi Ambassador Permanent Representative of the Republic of Zimbabwe to FAO
Her Excellency Brave Rona Ndisale Ambassador Permanent Representative of the Republic of Malawi to FAO
His Excellency Mario Arvelo Caamaño Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to FAO
Son Excellence Révérendissime l'Archevêque Luigi Travaglino Nonce Apostolique Observateur permanent du Saint-Siège auprès de la FAO
Mr Gyan Chandra Acharya High Representative and UN Under Secretary-General Office of the High Representative for UN-OHRLLS
Mr Yukiya Amano Director-General International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
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text: Atlanta legendary Beverly "Guitar" Watkins, born in 1940, and the Meter-Tones recently entertained the crowd at the East Point Cultural Arts Festival. Watkins, internationally known and based out of Atlanta, is a female blues guitarist who is part of the all-star Women of the Blues "Hot Mamas" tour.[4] Her 1999 CD debut, Back in Business, earned a W. C. Handy Award nomination in 2000. A well-known fixture at the Underground Atlanta, Watkins, who not only had a long and continuous musical career, has worked with artists like Piano Red, James Brown, B.B. King and Ray Charles, and is well known for years within the blues community. Also, 9-year old Selah Jones of College Park, and 8-year old Naomi Hayes of East Point, danced at the East Point Cultural Arts Festival at Sumner Park that was held in East Point, Georgia Saturday, June 23. Beverly and the Meter-Tones, also performed June 27 at Sweet Georgia Juke Joint located in downtown on Peachtree Street.


text:
Poor Start To Second Half Dooms Yale In 79-58 Loss
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale stayed with ninth-ranked Florida for much of Sunday's game at the sold John J. Lee Amphitheater. All it took, though, was a brief lapse from the Bulldogs for the Gators to seize control.
Florida scored the final nine points of the first half and then started the second half with a 12-0 run en route to a 79-58 victory before an enthusiastic crowd of 2,532.
The Gators (10-2) certainly showed the large gathering why they are legitimate national title contenders.
Kenny Boynton was 8-of-10 from three-point range and finished with a game-high 28 points to lead Florida. Will Yeguete added 14 points and Mike Rosario scored 13.
The Gators shot 65.4 percent (17-of-26) from the field in the second half.
Justin Sears paced Yale with 15 points, Javier Duren scored 14 and Armani Cotton contributed 12.
"It was a great experience," said Duren, who was 5-of-8 from the field. "There are a lot of positives for us to take from this and learn from. We didn't back down. We just made a couple of mistakes."
The Bulldogs (5-11) trailed by only one, 21-20, with 5:28 left in the first half, and after the Gators quick start to the second half, Yale stayed even with them over the final 18 minutes.
The Bulldogs shot 50 percent (12-of-24) from the field in the second half and were only outrebounded by the bigger Gators 29-24 in the game.
"Take out four minutes and we were right there," said James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Men's Basketball.
Sears, a freshman, gave the Yale fans a glimpse of his potential. He was 7-of-11 from the field and added four steals in 22 minutes.
"Justin is really long and athletic," Jones said. "He does a good job of finishing at the rim."
The game capped a difficult stretch for the Bulldogs, who returned from a grueling trip to Nevada, Saint Mary's and Iowa State on Wednesday and then won at Holy Cross on Friday.
"We're better now than we were a month ago, and hopefully in a month, we'll be better than we are now," Jones said.
Long-time Florida coach Billy Donovan welcomed the opportunity to bring his team to the Northeast and play at Yale.
"The school has an unbelievable tradition," he said. "There's a lot of nostalgia in the building. It has a gothic feel. It's a special place to play basketball."
Donovan also was impressed with Yale.
"James has built a heck of a program," he said.
NOTES: The Gators outscored the Bulldogs 40-26 in the paint… Cotton had a team-high five rebounds… Yale committed 16 turnovers, and four came in the first two minutes of the second half when Florida was pressing… The Gators were the first nationally ranked non-Ivy League team to play in Lee Amphitheater since North Carolina, which was ranked 10th at the time, visited in 1974. Harvard was ranked 23rd last year and Princeton was ranked 15th in 1998… The Bulldogs are off until next Saturday when they host Oberlin at 2 p.m… Ivy League play starts Jan. 19 at Brown.


text:
Not many of us can claim to be a singer, songwriter, composer, comedian, author, poet, broadcaster and multi-instrumentalist… an impressive CV for a Lancashire lad born in the back streets of a Manchester suburb.
But Mike Harding, perhaps best known as the Rochdale Cowboy after one of his hit records, has been shooting from the lip since he made his first 'appearance' in a red-brick terraced house in Crumpsall early one autumn morning in 1944.
For his mother Eileen it was a bittersweet day… within the space of a year, she had been married, widowed and given birth. Her husband, Louis Harding, a navigator on a Lancaster Bomber, was killed on a night raid just a month before Mike was born.
The boy's journey through his childhood years, from birth 'in the shadow of a dark, satanic cream cracker factory' through a grammar school education to rock 'n' roll in 'the bowels of Manchester's club land,' forms the backdrop to a funny, warm and very personal memoir.
The rollercoaster tale of Harding's early years in an Irish Catholic household in post-war Manchester proves to be as eccentric and engaging as the man who has been entertaining us through song, comedy, the written word and film for over 50 years.
Brimming with nostalgia, stories to make you laugh out loud and some wry observations on England past and present, Harding transports us back to an age of lemonade, leapfrog, cobbles, Children's Hour, tanner 'spends' and gobstoppers.
It was a very different childhood to today's world of mobile phones, iPods, Xboxes, trainers, home cinemas, computers and foreign holidays. To travel anywhere, you walked, cycled, got on a bus or boarded a train.
A suit had to last for years, fashion was something you read about in magazines, you bought your food every day from a local shop, churches were almost full and most women were virgins when they married, 'though a great number of men did their best to correct this aberration.'
Happiness was spending your pocket money on sweets like Flying Saucers and wooden liquorice, 'which tasted nothing like liquorice,' and 'picking tar out from between the cobbles with a lollipop stick' on hot mornings.
Regular visitors to Harding's street, surrounded by other streets that 'looked exactly the same,' were the rag and bone man who blew a warning note through his bugle, the milkman and the ice cream man who all arrived by horse and cart. Young Harding's task was to collect the horse muck left behind for the single rose that grew in their 'scrubby' back garden.
After surviving years in the 'gloomy old building' which served as his primary school and a terrifying reception class teacher, 'one of the fearsome giants of the grown-up world,' Harding won a place at the local Catholic grammar school run by priests.
It was here that his membership of the Church began to lapse and he finally realised that there was a whole tribe of people who went on holiday to places like St Ives, had Aga stoves in their kitchen and 'put Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce in their soup.'
By the age of 15, the schoolboy with a passion for music was the lead guitarist for the Stylos, a beat band named after a shoe shop ('good job they hadn't picked Freeman, Hardy and Willis').
It was the start of a multi-faceted career on stage for the teenager who learned from an early age – courtesy of his Irish nanna who sang him songs and had the gift of the gab – that music and storytelling are a winning combination.
The only real disaster of Harding's formative years came shortly after he took his A-levels, an event which cost him a place at university.
How he rose to the top of his profession despite this early setback could well be the first chapter of the second book of Mike Harding. In the meantime, we'll all hang high for the cowboy's return!
(Michael O'Mara, hardback, £18.99)


text:
John K. Saichuk, Schultz, Bruce, Salassi, Michael | 4/22/2005 1:27:39 AM
CROWLEY – A Texas company may build a $75 million plant in Louisiana to use rice straw to make building material, according to an environmental brokering and marketing firm.
The company, Agriboard, already uses wheat straw, shipped from the Midwest, but rice straw is being considered instead because it produces a stronger product, said Jason Tournillon of New Orleans, a representative of GT Energy. He said the company makes a product similar to particle board and it has a federal contract for supplying construction projects in Iraq.
Two Louisiana officials are meeting with the company this month, he said, but Arkansas also is making a pitch.
Tournillon recently met with rice farmers at the LSU AgCenter's Rice Research Station to find out if they could provide the amount of straw – 35,000 to 50,000 tons a year – needed for the plant's feedstock.
Dr. Mike Salassi, an LSU AgCenter economist, said the proposal has potential because the company already is producing a marketable product.
"The one advantage of it is this company is already doing this with wheat straw," Salassi said. "The process is already in operation."
Some rice straw is baled for cattle feed, but most of it remains in the field after rice is harvested.
Salassi said if this proposal comes to fruition, farmers would have a way of making money to offset some of their costs.
Tournillon said the company would pay in the neighborhood of $30 a ton, and long-term contracts would be offered.
Engineering work should be finished by the end of this month for a plant that would use rice straw, Tournillon said, and contracts could be offered as soon as May.
Tournillon said the state is offering tax incentives for the company to relocate to southwestern Louisiana, but no site has been chosen. It would employ 75 workers, he said.
Area rice farmers agreed at the March 8 meeting that enough straw is available in Louisiana, but they listed a few possible problems, including the question of whether the straw could be allowed to remain in fields for several weeks before baling.
Requiring the straw to be baled upon harvest of the rice crop, instead of waiting until drier weather, could cause rutting problems in the fields, the farmers said. A hurricane also could complicate matters, they agreed.
In addition, questions about storage problems need to be answered, LSU AgCenter rice specialist Dr. Johnny Saichuk pointed out. The company would either have to build a large storage facility or pay farmers to warehouse the straw until it would be needed, he said.
Two days after the meeting, Tournillon had some answers – but the storage question remains.
The company requires stalk length of 14 to 18 inches, free from decomposition and mildew, he said.
Saichuk said that wouldn't be a problem for many farmers who could harvest rice, then return to the fields two weeks later to mow the remaining straw and bale it. That would delay the second crop but make it more uniform, Saichuk said.
"I think it can work," Saichuk said. "I would like to see it happen."
Contacts: Johnny Saichuk at (337) 788-7547 or email@example.com
Mike Salassi at (225) 578-2713 or email@example.com
Writer: Bruce Schultz at (337) 788-8821 or email@example.com


text:
Darren Walton
April 28, 2014, 6:50 pm
South African import Jacques Potgieter is convinced they will win the 2014 Super Rugby crown.
Oblivious to the NSW Waratahs' history of under-achieving, South African import Jacques Potgieter is convinced they will win the 2014 Super Rugby crown despite their chaotic display against the Blues.
The Waratahs committed a staggering 16 handling errors in a sloppy 21-13 loss in Auckland on Saturday, leaving Michael Cheika's men clinging to a place in the top six after 11 rounds.
The Waratahs admit the defeat has prompted some serious soul searching this week before hosting the in-form Hurricanes in another key match on Saturday night at Allianz Stadium.
"I don't know what to say, it's not a nice feeling to go out there and you know what to do and it's not happening," Potgieter said on Monday.
"We've got a lot of talent in this team, but in this competition talent won't be enough.
"We really have to work hard - and we're working hard - but we're just forcing those one or two extra passes.
"The boys, they've got all the skill but sometimes, when it's not on, I think you just have to be more patient."
The Waratahs have a habit of promising big things but failing to deliver, but Potgieter earnestly believes the star-studded class of 2014 will earn the franchise an elusive maiden Super title.
"I don't really think too much about the past. I always knew the Waratahs would be a really good team," the former Bulls forward said.
"I came here because of Michael Cheika because I really liked the style and play that Michael brought into the system, which I saw last year, and then I wanted to be a part of that.
"I just thought with all the talent that we could go a long way - and I still believe that. Otherwise I wouldn't have come to the Waratahs.
"I just want to lift that trophy and I still think we're going to.
"Just the way the guys are there for each other - maybe it's not showing yet - but the games that it will show, the boys will pull it through."


text:
Teenager Builds 130-Square-Foot House for College
As small homes go, we've covered everything from shotgun shacks to disappearing lofts, big city closets to itty-bitty bungalows. But in the annals of tiny home lore, 16-year-old Austin Hay holds his own special place. The industrious teenager spent his summer vacation building a 130-square-foot home on wheels, which he intends to live in during college.
Hay, a high school student in Sonoma County, Calif., got the idea to build the house from noted small home designer, Jay Shafer, according to FairCompanies.com. (Shafer was recently featured in a New Yorker piece on the giant growth of the small homes movement.) A shout-out to our friends at Curbed for the scoop.
Watch the full video below.
First hatched as an extension of a high school research assignment, the project has kept Hay busy for the past year. By construction's end, the home will cost approximately $12,000. So far, Hay has funded the project with two summer jobs and some help from his mom and dad.
But don't dismiss the effort as trivial. Whole families have made do -- in fact, have said they prefer -- to live in homes no larger than the "cabin" Hay built.
"It's cozy," Hay says in a video for FairCompanies.com. "Plus there's no mortgage on it."
Wise beyond his years, it seems. The median price for a home in some of the pricier metros in the San Francisco Bay area came in at around $515,000, according to the National Association of Realtors -- almost three times greater than the national median of $172,000.
Eventually, Hay plans to install a shower, eco-friendly composting toilet, kitchenette, and even a guest bed. Best of all, the home is small enough to travel with the young builder wherever he goes -- including college, and beyond, he says.
Also see:
College Town Real Estate Investments Score High Marks
Is Your House Making You Fat?
More on AOL Real Estate:
Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.
Find homes for sale in your area.
Find foreclosures in your area.
See celebrity real estate.


text:
Pusha T ft. Rick Ross - Millions (Explicit)
Music video by Pusha T performing Millions (Explicit).
Getting Out Our Dreams, Inc./The Island Def Jam Music Group
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text:
Rachel McAdams and Michael Sheen Split
(LOS ANGELES) -- Rachel McAdams and longtime boyfriend Michael Sheen have split.
The Midnight in Paris co-stars started dating after they finished filming the Woody Allen film in October 2010, but couldn't make it work, US Weekly reports.
In happier times last year, McAdams, 34, told The Sunday Telegraph's Stella magazine that "Michael and I never spend more than three weeks apart -- we rack up a lot of air miles -- but you have to be quite adaptable in this business whether you are in a relationship or not."
McAdams told Glamour magazine that she fell in love with Sheen, 44, after they wrapped the Allen film because, "A set may seem like a good place for romance, but I don't think it's very conducive; it's too distracting."
"Every relationship I've had with a co-worker has come after the fact, because you wind up actually spending a lot of time with those people promoting the movie," she explained.
Previously, McAdams dated and was briefly engaged to her Notebook costar Ryan Gosling. Sheen had an eight-year relationship with Kate Beckinsale, which resulted in the birth of a now teenage daughter, Lily.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio


text:
Minutes - 12/2/2010
Masters Track and Field Executive Committee
12/2/10 12 PM - Virginia Beach, Virginia
Chair Gary Snyder
Treasurer Carroll DeWeese
Secretary Jeff Brower
Executive Committee present: Bob Weiner, Christel Donley, Harry Brooks, Jerry Donley, Jerry Bookin-Weiner, John Oleski, Lester Mount, Max Hamlyn, Mark Cleary, Mary Trotto, Rex Harvey, Rose Schlewitz, Sandy Pashkin, Steve Cohen
Others – Andy Martin from the USATF National office was present for part of the meeting, Jeff Schaller, John Head, Gavi Swerling, Marilyn Mitchell, Tim Edwards.
Officers Absent – Robert Thomas
12:03 PM - Gary started the meeting, welcomed everyone and distributed an agenda.
Annual Meeting Expense
There is a limit regarding how much our committee can spend for Annual Meeting expenses. Carroll said administrative and officer expenses will be covered. Leftover funds will be divided among those that submit receipts to Carroll by 12/15/10 to help with the costs of this meeting. Receipts can be mailed or emailed.
Treasurer Report - Budget
Carroll – 2010 Approved Budget: $90,900. Proposed 2011 Budget: $119,800 – We have spent about $68,000 to date. An additional $5000 will be coming from the NSGA, and $12,000 has been received from a grant that will be used for the Forever Fast implementation. He encouraged the Regional Coordinators to utilize the money that is available for clinics.
Gary asked the Regional Coordinators if they had other funds available to help them put on their meets, and several raised their hands.
The budget does not include funds from other sources (special grants, etc.)
Funds to cover drug testing will come from the meet surcharge.
Marketing - Forever Fast Film Implementation
The film is ready – John Oleski had distributed a document prior to the meeting regarding implementation. Now we need to train the "trainers".
Andy discussed preparing a brochure that would work hand in hand with this film. When the film is viewed, we want USATF representatives present to be prepared for any question. John wants regional coordinators (or a substitute) to attend a meeting soon to get training. John will poll the coordinators and plan a meeting in late January or early February.
Steve and Bob are currently on this committee Tests costs approximately $800-$1000, and the USADA rep's expenses must be covered (to travel to the site where the testing will take place.)
Steve asked this round table question: Should there be an age-limit cap regarding who should be drug-tested? Most said no.
Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE) were discussed. We can recommend how some parts of this process should be handled, but Steve and his committee will have to follow USADA requirments. Rex recommended that Steve's committee have no more than 5 members.
Permanent WMA Delegates
Jeff reviewed his proposal. Bob asked about term limits.
Nominations for this position (not closed because nominations will be taken from the floor):
Jerry Donley, Carroll DeWeese, Marilyn Mitchell, John Oleski, Mary Trotto, Jim Flanik, Rex Harvey & Mark Cleary
AOY Process
The National Office wants to limit Masters to one AOY. T&F and LDR both want to have their own respective AOY. Gary wanted suggestions to resolve this:
Special recognition for the AOY in the Fast Forward magazine;
The USATF Board should hear this issue;
The open USATF membership body at this Annual Meeting should be given the issue to vote on;
Youth apparently has 2 AOY (male & female), so why can't there be one AOY from T&F & one from LDR?
Mary Trotto will help make a formal motion on this issue.
Invitational Program Review
Mark put together a binder (several were distributed) that covers the history of this program. Mark started with this program in 2001 (It was previously called the Legends program). He has been given some guidelines (such as no field events). The program had a sponsor one year, but typically athletes must cover their own expenses. Guidelines are available online. USATF leadership (outside the Master Committee) has hurt this program in multiple ways over the years (making late decisions, forcing their own chosen people into the events, etc.) Rex asked about last year, and Mark said many women had scheduling conflicts, while some men registered but didn't show up. Eventually only 3 men ran, and the women's event was cancelled. Mark has provided material for announcers at these meets, and it hasn't been used many times. For 2011, Mark is looking at the 60 Meters for women and the 60 Meter Hurdles for Men. Many records have been set at these events.
Clinic Model
Robert will discuss this at the General meeting.
IAAF Masters Candidate
Rex Harvey is the candidate we support for this postion.
Team USA Hotel at WMA Meets
Gary discussed this issue. Many informed Gary that they had less expensive accommodations in Sacramento already. The hotel Gary had been working with has offered a mediocre deal, but Gary will try to get more perks. Marilyn spoke and suggested the USA have a "headquarters", a place where athletes can socialize with other athletes. (VERY important when you're thousands of miles away from home.)
USA Championship Results
Sandy distributed examples regarding how foreigners can be reported in the results. There will be a vote on this issue during the General meeting.
NSG Agreement
Jim has been working to hammer out an agreement with the National Senior Games (NSG). The agreement includes beneficial marketing for both groups. The President of NSG will be attending our general discussion. In 2013, there is currently an overlap between the National Senior Games and the WMA meet that year. The T&F portion of the 2013 NSG meet may be shuffled to allow people to do both of these meets. Avoiding scheduling conflicts is a big reason why we're working on this agreement.
Masters Website
Gary discussed the website. Jeff reviewed aspects of the site, such as news items, a one-stop online place to ask questions, and more. How do we make it better and more useful? Bob spoke regarding the need for this website, and supported paying Mr. Clingan for services provided in the past. Carroll believes we should pay Mr. Clingan as well.
Motion by Bob Weiner – The Masters Executive Committee directs the Treasurer to submit the bill for David Clingan to be paid for website services per our agreement from early 2009. - 2nd by Rex Harvey. Vote: Eleven For, none opposed, 3 abstentions.
Discussed accepting records from certain meets (without having to go through the the typical record submission process.) If we allow a "blanket" approval for a meet, then how do we address officiating or other problems at these meets? If an authorized rep from USATF MTF is present at the meet, we may accept the results for records.
Motion to adjourn at 2:40 PM, 2nd, accepted.
Minutes by Jeff Brower


text:
The 6 problem reactors which have gotten all of the press are located within the Fukushima Daiichi complex.
However, the same nuclear power plant operator that runs the Daiichi complex - Tepco - runs a separate nuclear complex 7 miles away, called Fukushima Daini. There are 4 reactors located at the Daini complex.
On March 12th, Tepco reported:
Unit 1
- At 8:19am, there was an alarm indicating that one of the control rods
was not properly inserted, however, at 10:43am the alarm was automatically
called off. Other control rods has been confirmed that they are fully
inserted (reactor is in subcritical status)
- At 6:08PM, we announced the increase in reactor containment vessel
pressure, assumed to be due to leakage of reactor coolant. However, we
do not believe there is leakage of reactor coolant in the containment
vessel at this moment.
- At 5:22AM, the temperature of the suppression chamber exceeded 100
degrees. As the reactor pressure suppression function was lost, at 5:22AM,
it was determined that a specific incident stipulated in article 15,
clause 1 has occurred.
(Article 15, Clause 1 of Japan's Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness simply provides that there are elevated radiation levels or that "an event specified by a Cabinet Order as an event that indicates the occurrence of a nuclear emergency situation has occurred.")
On March 14th, Reuters reported:
Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc said on Monday it had detected a rise in radiation levels at its Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant.
A company spokesman said that the cooling process at the plant has been working properly and that the rise was probably due to radiation leak at the nearby Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, where cooling functions were damaged by Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami.
Today, Tepco announced that smoke was seen rising from Daini reactor number 1:
Smoke was spotted at another nuclear plant in northeastern Japan on Wednesday, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
The company said smoke was detected in the turbine building of reactor No. 1 at the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant around 6 p.m. (5 a.m. ET).
Smoke could no longer be seen by around 7 p.m. (6 a.m. ET), a company spokesman told reporters.


text: This informative website provides first-person accounts by scientists who were involved in the work that led to the discovery of nuclear fission. The audio recordings of the scientists' voices and the accompanying readings and illustrations provide insights into the process of scientific discovery. The featured scientists include Luis Alvarez, Herbert Anderson, Niels Bohr, Arthur Compton, John Dunning, Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, Otto Frisch, Otto Hahn, Lew Kowarski, Leon Rosenfeld, Ernest Rutherford, Leo Szilard, J. J. Thomson, and John Wheeler. The website contains an excellent teachers' guide that includes lesson plans, national standards, exercises, and links to original papers on the history of nuclear physics as well as links to other appropriate websites. The site would be useful for introductory physics courses and interdisciplinary courses. It is a component of the Center for History of Physics site of the American Institute of Physics.


text:
Shirley Rock
Shirley A. Rock, 80, of Herington died Feb. 4 at Salem Home in Hillsboro. She was born July 14, 1933, in Herington and raised by her mother, Helen (Reissig), and stepfather Francis D. Singleton.
She was a homemaker. She was a member of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Herington, where she was baptized, confirmed, and married. She graduated from Herington High School in 1951.
She married Cecil D. Rock on June 3, 1951, in Herington. He preceded her in death. She was also preceded in death by a son, Michael.
She is survived by three daughters, Denise Welsh of Raytown, Mo., Marcella Vega of Kansas City, Mo., and Tina Novak of Hillsboro; a son, Raymond Rock of Russell; a half-brother, John Singleton of Ellington, Fla.; 12 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren.
A funeral service was Monday at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church with the Rev. Troy Slater officiating. Burial followed at Sunset Hill Cemetery. The family received friends Sunday at Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home, Herington Chapel.
A memorial fund has been established with Salem Home of Hillsboro.