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To their utter shame, the committee which oversees European Parliament business recently agreed that an alliance of seven European extreme right wing political parties (including the British BNP, the French Front National and Hungary's Jobbik) would qualify for €289,266 of EU money.
The Bureau of the European Parliament took this decision on what they considered to be the appropriate interpretation of the Parliament's Rules of Procedure, specifically the activities and legal situation of the political groups. The relevant paragraph states that European Parliament political groups shall carry out their duties as part of the activities of the Union. The political groups shall be provided with a secretariat on the basis of the establishment plan of the Secretariat, with administrative facilities and with the appropriations entered for that purpose in Parliament's budget.
In what was a very narrow and quite disgraceful reading of the European Parliament rules, the Bureau took the view that the newly formed extreme right group, the Alliance of European Nationalist Movements, qualified for funding in the same way as the other mainstream political groups.
However, the Bureau completely failed to take on board the very essence of the European Union, the values on which the EU is founded. Just to recap, these are respect for human dignity, liberty, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights. These values are common to the Member States and the societies of the Member States are characterised by pluralism, tolerance, justice, solidarity and non-discrimination.
When the possibility that the European Parliament may fund extreme parties such as the BNP is given just a short moment's thought, it becomes clear that such funding is a non-starter. The BNP and other extreme parties quite clearly contravene the EU's fundamental values. Indeed the BNP's political programme and campaigning is against equality and respect for human rights, to name but two of the values mentioned above while there is no way they respect pluralism, tolerance and non-discrimination.
Labour MEPs never accepted the inevitability of BNP funding. The European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP) went into action forming alliances with like-minded MEPs to halt the current payment and stop any payments in the future if this was democratically possible.
After a passionate appeal to Martin Schulz, the President of the European Parliament (equivalent of the Speaker), he assured EPLP Leader, Glenis Willmott, last Wednesday that he would check whether any initial payment to this ultra-right alliance could be reimbursed on legal grounds.
Furthermore, agreement has now been reached across the political spectrum of European Parliament political groupings (the Greens, the Liberals, the Centre Right as well as the Socialist and Democrat Group where Labour sits) that a "committee of wise persons from outside the European Parliament" will be set up under the European Parliament's rules to see whether this new pan-European alliance conforms to European values.
I am sure we all agree with Glenis Willmott when she said, "The BNP cause violence and hatred wherever they go. The tolerant don't always have to tolerate the intolerant. We've worked together so this is not just a socialist alliance against the far right, all parties across the spectrum are agreeing with us. The budgets committee of the European Parliament are not happy for this money to go through either. We're happy to debate and fight our corner with anyone who disagrees with us, but we can only argue with democrats."


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AMPA Dinner Honors Gay, Lesbian Military Families
By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 18, 2014 - A senior Pentagon leader highlighted the rights and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families in her keynote remarks at the American Military Partner Association's inaugural National Gala Dinner here yesterday.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy Rosemary Freitas Williams described the Defense Department's efforts in maintaining the readiness and resilience of its military, which she said is "bolstered by the strength of its families."
"Our military will no longer be deprived of the talents and skills of patriotic Americans just because they happen to be gay or lesbian," Williams said. "And now we can say of our military spouses and partners, 'Welcome aboard.'"
Whether in advocacy, education or support for modern military families, Williams said AMPA and similar groups are among the new generation of pioneers within the ranks of military and veterans service organizations.
"History will record your actions and your significance for all time," she said.
Williams also lauded AMPA's desire for "seismic change" in family programs and community outreach, which she said is directly aligned with DOD's desire for fresh dialogue on issues of concern to the entire military community.
"Throughout our nation's history," she said, "the Department of Defense has led social change and continues to foster an environment of respect for every service member and civilian professional."
Williams noted that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel recently signed a Human Goals Charter to promote diversity and inclusion in the DOD.
She reported that DOD has implemented several initiatives to ensure service members have full access to benefits afforded under the law.
"Since not all local laws are equal when it comes to marriage," Williams said, "we've modified the department's leave policy to allow service members, regardless of their sexual orientation, to be authorized administrative absence so they may travel to the nearest jurisdiction to be legally married."
Williams reported that DOD officials have rewritten the family advocacy program policies, which address issues of prevention of domestic violence and child abuse.
"[It ensures] you, your spouse or partner, and especially important -- your children -- are safe and have the resources available to ensure you are protected," she said.
She also cited policy reviews of commissary and exchange privileges, the morale, welfare and recreation program, childcare and youth programs and others to ensure access is inclusive.
Williams explained that service members, families and survivors can also access resources to help meet the challenges of military life.
"At the core of it all is Military OneSource, a centralized assistance program, available 24/7," Williams said. "[It's] a vibrant website and comprehensive program that provides confidential help and support, a call center and online tools for anything you need to navigate military family life -- I cannot overemphasize the value of this wonderful service."
While Military OneSource receives 700,000 calls a year and has 1.75 million unique visitors, Williams urged ongoing outreach to the LGBT community.
She noted that the top 100 Twitter handles that shared LGBT military spouse news each had more than 20,000 followers.
These influencers, Williams said, have the potential to reach a combined audience of more than 6.8 million Twitter users.
She added, "That is significant outreach -- join the national conversation about the unique needs of all service members, your families and survivors."
Among those participating in that national conversation is AMPA Community Hero Award recipient Tracy Johnson.
Johnson, a North Carolina National Guardsman, is an Iraq War veteran and Army widow who'd wed her longtime partner, Donna, who was killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan in 2012.
Johnson received delayed notification of Donna's death because at that time the primary "next-of-kin" were Donna's parents.
Johnson later applied for VA survivor benefits, but Title 38 had prevented the VA from recognizing her as a surviving spouse despite the Defense of Marriage Act decision.
However, "after the review of the case, the Department of Veterans Affairs has decided to retroactively recognize me," Johnson said over applause.
Johnson emphasized that there is still more work to be done, but said the decision is an important step forward toward the goal of achieving equal treatment for all military families.
"My AMPA family was there for me when the unthinkable happened and continue to be there for me and others as we serve," she said.
*Related Sites:*
American Military Partner Association-Facebook [ https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-American-Military-Partner-Association/219835711370632?source=GovDelivery ]
Special Report: Military Family Support [ http://www.defense.gov/home/features/2012/0212_familysupport/?source=GovDelivery ]
*Related Articles:*
Hagel, Dempsey Sign 2014 DOD Human Goals Charter [ http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=122138&source=GovDelivery ]
Hagel, Obama Advisor Salute Gay, Lesbian Military Community [ http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=120359&source=GovDelivery ]
Hagel: The United States Remains an Unrivaled Power [ http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=122225&source=GovDelivery ]

subset: commoncrawl


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Geneva Oval Pearl EarringsRegular price $89.00 Save $-89.00
It terms of fashion, Geneva is thought to be slightly more conservative compared other French-Swiss cities. Probably due to the number of banks and UN Agencies based in the city. Don't be fooled though, conservative doesn't mean boring. The elegant flair of casual attire sets Geneva apart from the rest.
The Geneva Oval Pearl Earrings are the epitome of everyday elegance.
- Oval Mother Of Pearl, Garnet
- 2" drop
Gemstone Meanings
Garnet-Manifesting, Self Worth, Healing
Garnets were used in the former Czechoslovakia as far back as the Bronze Age, and in Egypt more than five thousand years ago. They were used in Sumeria around 2100 B.C. and in Sweden between 1000 and 2000 B.C. They were also popular in ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Garnet is known for its utilization of creative energy. It grounds spirit forces within the body and helps in the ability to work lovingly on the physical plane. Yet Garnet is a sensual stone. It represents primordial fire, the creation of the world out of chaos, purification and love. It is a stone of strong, intense feelings.
Fredrick Prince jewelry is expertly handcrafted and quality controlled. Generally our plating does not fade. Sometimes with the use of perfumes or creams you may notice the plating darken. If you look closely, there is a good chance you might see a residue from cosmetics on the chain. This is not a cause for concern.
Every purchase made comes complete with a complimentary polishing cloth which you can use to wipe off any excess residues and bring your piece back to life.
We'd recommend not going in the ocean with your pieces. The salt water can cause a corrosion to the plating and this type of damage would be irreversible.
Some individuals have a naturally high skin PH and usually when they wear jewelry (any type of metal with the exception of precious metals like gold or platinun) they notice their skin "turns green". If you are one of these people, then chances are this has happened your entire life and will also happen with our jewelry. It's not a reflection of quality, rather just a high acidity level of your skin.
This is not to be confused with people who occasionally experience what was mentioned above with low quality fashion jewelry. Low quality metals and plating, or raw copper will tend to leave green marks regardless of your skins acidity. This will not be a problem for you when you wear Fredrick Prince jewelry..
In the unlikely event that you experience a damage to your piece, we'd be happy to repair the damage at no extra cost. The sender would be responsible for shipping charges (both ways) but the cost of the repair is on the house. We ask that you contact firstname.lastname@example.com or WhatsApp us at +1.416.735.1147 with a picture of the damage prior to sending in any repairs.
Canada: Flat rate $8.50 CAD
Orders will ship via Canada Post, which will include a tracking number. (Allow 1-7 days for delivery)
USA: Flat rate $17 CAD
Orders will ship USPS Via Canada Post Express and include a tracking number (Allow 1-10 days for delivery)
International: Flat rate $25 CAD
Orders will ship via Canada Post (Allow 15-20 business days for delivery)
All items are priced in Canadian dollars and shipped within 2-4 business days from the date the order is placed. You will be informed via e-mail once your order has been shipped. If you would like your order rushed please state that in the special instructions area of your cart. You will be informed of any additional shipping charges via e-mail.
Your satisfaction is important to us. If for whatever reason you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com and we will gladly accept unused and unworn merchandise, for a full refund within seven days from the date you receive your goods. The refund will be for the total amount less shipping charges. The sender is responsible for any shipping charges relating to returns. Please pack the merchandise in a padded envelope or bubble wrapped in a small box to ensure it doesn't get damaged on the way back. It would be wise to use a carrier that offers you a tracking number, as we will not be responsible for lost goods through the mail.


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Game #56: White Sox at Blue Jays pregame
Chicago (25-26) at Toronto (26-29)
at 1:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre
Today's lineups:
Jerry Owens, CF
Tadahito Iguchi, 2B
Jim Thome, DH
Jermaine Dye, RF
Paul Konerko, 1B
A.J. Pierzynski, C
Joe Crede, 3B
Rob Mackowiak, LF
Juan Uribe, SS
PITCHING: LHP John Danks
Alex Rios, RF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
Troy Glaus, 3B
Frank Thomas, DH
Aaron Hill, 2B
Jason Phillips, C
Royce Clayton, SS
Adam Lind, LF
PITCHING: RHP Shaun Marcum
NOTES: RHP Brandon League (60-day DL with shoulder issue) is scheduled to make a rehab appearance with Double-A New Hampshire on Sunday. … Toronto has switched up its upcoming rotation. For the Tampa Bay series, the Jays will send Roy Halladay (Tues.), Tomo Ohka (Wed.) and A.J. Burnett (Thurs.) to the mound, with Dustin McGowan kicking off the Interleague series in L.A. on Friday. Toronto wanted to give Burnett an extra day of rest, considering he's thrown 242 pitches over his past two starts. Ohka hasn't started since May 26.
2 Comments
How long before Mickey Brantley is fired? I know it isnt all his fault that the jays cant seem to hit lately (besides last night) but this is a team that has alot of proven hitters. Maybe its time to hire a new hitting coach or promote someone within. Maybe someone fresh will reignite the lumber.
It's nice to see the Jays getting timely hitting in the later innings, but if this keeps up we'll all have stomach ulcers by July…


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Sotomayor's greatest impact could come from who she is
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama hopes to put his lasting imprint on the Supreme Court with his choice of Sonia Sotomayor, but she ultimately may be remembered as much for who she is as for what she does.
While her liberal record on the appeals bench will generate a summer-long clash of ideologies in Washington and a high-decibel battle on cable TV and talk radio, her ideology isn't likely to shift the court much, if at all. If the Democratic-controlled Senate confirms her, as it's widely expected to, she'll replace retiring Justice David Souter, a moderate vote.
Her identity will have a more immediate impact.
Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic to serve on the court, a working-class kid from the Bronx whose widowed mother toiled to send her daughter to inner-city Roman Catholic schools and who choked up watching the president nominate her daughter Tuesday at the White House.
Obama said that her identity and life story gave Sotomayor, a Princeton and Yale Law School graduate, the empathy atop her intellect and judicial experience that made her his top choice.
"It is experience that can give a person a common touch and a sense of compassion, an understanding of how the world works and how ordinary people live," Obama said in the East Room ceremony.
After meeting with Sotomayor for an hour last Thursday at the White House, the president called her Monday evening with the news. He then called the others he'd met with, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and federal Judge Diane P. Wood.
He said that Sotomayor would arrive at the high court with more judicial experience than anyone who was now serving there. (Aides said later that she had more experience than any nominee in a century.) Obama also stressed her biography, noting that her parents had moved to New York from Puerto Rico.
Sotomayor, 54, called it "the most humbling experience of my life."
For all the White House drama, however, Sotomayor isn't likely to change the court's balance.
In fact, Obama may not get a chance to do that for some time. The two oldest members of the court are liberal or left-of-center votes: John Paul Stevens, 89, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who's 76 and recovering from cancer. The oldest conservative on the court is Antonin Scalia, 73.
However, as the first Hispanic and the second woman on the current court, Sotomayor will change the way the court looks.
"With eight men, one woman and no Hispanics currently sitting on the court, President Obama listened to voices like former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in recognizing that diversity on the bench is essential," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.
"Her unique perspective will help ensure that women's rights are protected and that their experiences continue to play a role in the highest court in the land," said Ellen Malcolm, the president of Emily's List, a group that supports women in political campaigns who favor abortion rights.
"With her nomination, the court is one step closer to reflecting the diversity that makes our country so great."
If Sotomayor's background will influence the way at least one justice thinks — and depending on her powers of persuasion, which some have questioned — that could play a larger role in the court's decisions. Obama also may be betting that with her strong personality and experience as a prosecutor, she'll be a counterweight to Scalia, a strong-minded conservative whose blue-collar ethnic background in some ways resembles Sotomayor's.
However, her elevation also could have a lasting impact on American politics, a factor that Obama and his aides also may have taken into account.
Hispanics are slowly but steadily making up a greater part of the vote: 5 percent in 1995, 7 percent in 2000, 8 percent in 2004 and 9 percent in 2008. They're also solidly Democratic, giving the Democratic presidential nominees a majority of their votes in the last four elections.
Those political implications will underscore this summer's confirmation hearings, and they could eclipse the debate over Sotomayor's legal qualifications.
Posting at the conservative National Review Online, writer Jonah Goldberg called Obama's move a brilliant political gambit, picking a very liberal nominee and all but daring conservatives to vote against her.
"One advantage for Obama in picking the most left-leaning Hispanic possible/confirmable is that it actually allows the Democrats to — once again — cast Republicans as anti-Hispanic," Goldberg said.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said that Republicans would oppose Sotomayor at their peril. "I think the confirmation process will be more of a test of the Republican Party than it is of Judge Sotomayor," Schumer said. "It's a test for the Republican Party because she is a mainstream justice. . . . Why would they oppose her? There's no really good reason."
Republicans in Congress held their fire, promising a fair hearing before making up their minds.
"Senate Republicans will treat Judge Sotomayor fairly," said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, his party's leader in the Senate. "But we will thoroughly examine her record to ensure she understands that the role of a jurist in our democracy is to apply the law evenhandedly, despite their own feelings or personal or political preferences."
Yet conservatives warned that Sotomayor isn't the impartial judge the White House described and said that her background would have a negative impact, not a positive one, on how she judged cases.
"Sotomayor readily admits that she applies her feelings and personal politics when deciding cases," said Wendy Long, counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network, a conservative group.
Conservatives pointed to an affirmative action case in Connecticut in which Sotomayor voted with the appeals court majority to deny promotions to 18 white firefighters although they had passing test scores. Another judge on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals criticized the ruling as sloppy.
They also pointed to comments Sotomayor has made, such as one in which she suggested that a Hispanic woman is better equipped than a white man is to judge discrimination cases.
"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life," she said.
(David Lightman contributed to this article.)
Stimulus funds begin to trickle into Alaska
Next Supreme Court's docket much broader than abortion
Obama's challenge: Selecting a truly diverse justice


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A Duke University-led study questions the reliability of the climate models used to project short-term swings in temperature and the future extent of warming.
Patrick Brown, a Duke doctoral student in climatology, and two coauthors analyzed 34 models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its most recent report, completed in November.
Most of the models probably underestimate how much surface temperatures change from decade to decade, says the study published last week in the Journal of Geophysical Research. The models also don't consistently explain why they vary, it says.
That means too much emphasis shouldn't be placed on recent temperature trends, the study warns.
"The inconsistencies we found among the models are a reality check showing we may not know as much as we thought we did," Brown said in a Duke release. He added that the findings don't mean the planet won't warm as greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere.
"It just means the road to a warmer world may be bumpier and less predictable, with more decade-to-decade wiggles than expected.... Don't assume that the reduced rate of global warming over the last 10 years foreshadows what the climate will be like in 50 or 100 years."
Global surface temperatures rose quickly in the 1980s and 1990, but have stayed relatively stable since then.
The National Climatic Data Center in Asheville reported that surface temperatures in 2014 were the warmest since record-keeping began in 1880. Nine of the 10 warmest years in that 135-year span have occurred in this century.
Martin's coauthors were Wenhong Li of Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment and Shang-Ping Xie of the University of California San Diego.
Monday, January 26, 2015
Duke scientists finds climate models inconsistent
A Duke University-led study questions the reliability of the climate models used to project short-term swings in temperature and the future extent of warming.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Environmental Management Commission chair resigns
Benne Hutson, the Charlotte lawyer who led North Carolina's environmental rule-making board, has resigned under the weight of time spent on state business.
Sen. Thom Tillis was the N.C. House leader when he named Hutson, who practices environmental law, to the Environmental Management Commission in 2012. When the Republican-led legislature wiped the board clean the following year, Hutson was reappointed as chair.
|Benne Hutson
"I can't commit the time to do the job and do it right," Hutson said. "I now have a real appreciation for the value of public service, and I have a much greater appreciation for the quality of the staff at DENR. They're just really good."
His resignation, effective last Thursday, comes as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources also roils its top management. Gov. Pat McCrory this month named longtime staff member Donald van der Vaart to replace John Skvarla as environment secretary. Van der Vaart promptly replaced assistant secretaries Mitch Gillespie, who will move to a post in Asheville, and Brad Ives, who left DENR.
Under Hutson, the EMC undertook the business-friendly legislature's mandate to review environmental rules and delete those deemed unnecessary. Most of those reviewed so far, for surface water, wetlands and dry-cleaning businesses, are in the process of being readopted. But Hutson said commission members "really started raising questions" about whether proposed rules will work as intended.
The commission also lost a court case over its interpretation of state rules on contaminated groundwater, a key issue in regulating Duke Energy's coal ash ponds. A Wake County judge last year reversed the EMC, in part, by ruling that the state can require "immediate action" to stop the source of contamination. The case is before the state Supreme Court.
Hutson said he's spent time reaching out to skeptics of the Republican-dominated state government and tried to make the EMC's work transparent to the public.
"If everybody has a chance to have their say, we may have disagreements at the end but it's not nearly as strident as it would have been," he said.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Duke Energy could recover ash disposal costs -- or not
Duke Energy's costs of closing its North Carolina ash ponds could be passed to customers if it's a statutory requirement, the state Utilities Commission chairman says.
Friday, January 9, 2015
Hellbenders survive fungus, but pollution takes a toll
There's good news and bad about one of the strangest creatures to haunt the river bottoms of Western North Carolina -- the two-foot salamander called the hellbender.
|Eastern hellbender (N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission)
Monday, January 5, 2015
Utilities panel keeps status quo on green-energy rates
North Carolina's Utilities Commission has opted not to change the way utilities calculate the rates they have to offer private developers for renewable energy.
Last week's order stabilizes, for now, the economic climate under which commercial solar farms are built. North Carolina ranks fourth nationally for solar capacity, the Solar Energy Industries Association says.
Utilities base the rates they pay for green energy on what are called avoided costs. In North Carolina's case, that's the cost of building gas-fired power plants to meet periods of peak demand for electricity.
Duke Energy says the "peaker" method results in its paying too much for solar power. Solar developers say it pays them too little. The commission took a middle ground, keeping the current method.
The order retained the threshold for standardized purchase contracts, which don't have to be individually negotiated, at 5 megawatts and smaller. Duke had argued that the threshold should be reduced to 100 kilowatts.
The commission also kept the maximum contract term at 15 years, turning aside green-energy arguments for longer contract terms and utility pleas for shorter ones.
"It looks like the status quo carried the day, which probably means it's going to be a good year for solar," said Duke spokesman Randy Wheeless. The state's renewable-energy tax credit, a powerful incentive behind solar's expansion, will expire Dec. 31 unless legislators renew it.
Said the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association: "By making this finding and rejecting the monopoly power companies' efforts to roll back the established policy, the commission itself recognized we're better off with clean energy. North Carolina customers and the economy are the real winners under the commission's order."
The Utilities Commission is now taking comments on how to relieve a congested queue of proposed solar projects. Utilities say more than 700 proposals are now before them, many of which will never be built.


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'Stocking Stuffers:' 13 Writing Tips by Chuck Palahniuk
Why is there a picture of Chuck Palahniuk wearing a Santa hat on your screen? Well, that's because Christmas is coming early this year in the form of this wonderful essay on writing.
Read 'Stocking Stuffers: 13 Writing Tips From Chuck Palahniuk'
This essay was posted here originally and was made available for all to read, as a taste for the advice Chuck was giving in these 36 (yes, you read that right) total essays on craft. We are now making it available for all again on LitReactor for a limited time.
Enjoy it while you can and Happy Holidays!


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Watercolor is a versatile water-based medium that is perfect for making free-flowing artwork. It is all about enjoying the process of creating, not just worrying about the final result. This makes it the perfect CraftJam to pair with a glass of wine! Bring a buddy and get creative in our Floral Watercolor Workshop for a fun-filled night painting beautiful flowers.
With the skillful instructions of JamMaster, you will get a thorough introduction to this classic art form. After hands-on practice and step-by-step instructions, you will use your imagination to compose a final masterpiece that is all your own.
In two hours you will learn:
- What materials to use for watercolor
- Basic watercolor painting techniques, i.e. solid wash, wet on wet, wet on dry
- Basic color theory and color blending
- How to create watercolor florals and wreaths
- How to compose a final art piece
This class is beginner-friendly; no experience necessary! We've got all the materials you'll need ready, including brushes, an assortment of paper, a range of colors to choose from and flowers for inspiration. Take home a hand painted art piece you can frame or give as a gift.
BYOB – watercoloring is paired best with your favorite drink of choice!
CraftJams are hosted in an intimate setting with a twelve attendee maximum. Make sure to purchase your ticket before the event is sold out!


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Events for August 12, 2019 › Board Games, Etc
Events Search and Views Navigation
5:00 pm
Flames of War Weekly Game Night
From the Eastern Front to the Deserts of North Africa battle across all the theaters of World War II! Flames of War is a 15mm Wargame that allows players to recreate all the greatest battles of history (or make entirely new ones)! Each Monday from 5 PM to 9 PM join gamers from the area …
Continue reading "Flames of War Weekly Game Night"Find out more »
Star Wars Legion Weekly Game Night
Battle across the Galaxy in Star Wars Legion! Each week players battle it out on the tabletop! Rebel or Imperial, you can help decide the fate of the galaxy!Find out more »


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Advisors and investors beware: Even though Bernie Madoff is gone, economic uncertainty and volatile stock markets still breed con artists itching to trap the unwary or merely desperate.
During turbulent economic times like we're currently facing, "con artists follow the news and seek ways to exploit the headlines to their advantage while leaving investors holding an empty bag," says David Massey, president of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and North Carolina deputy securities administrator.
To help advisors alert their clients of the latest scams, NASAA recently released its listing of the Top 10 financial products and practices: five of each.
"Promoters often offer investors an opportunity to get in on the 'ground floor' of new technology or ideas to help others and make a great economic return," says Massey. "Unsuspecting investors can be lured into these schemes, especially if they sound familiar. These offerings require careful research and a strong reminder that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is not true, nor will it be profitable to anyone but the promoter."
Read on for more details about these scams du jour.
PRODUCT SCAM #1: Distressed Real Estate.
Investment offerings involving distressed real estate have been on the rise following the collapse of the real estate bubble. While many legitimate investment offerings are tied to real estate, investment pools targeting distressed real estate have become increasingly popular with con artists as well as investors. Investments in properties that are bank-owned, in foreclosure, pending short sales or otherwise in distress inevitably carry substantial risks and should be evaluated carefully.
Check out this scam: In February, a Florida man pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in a scheme that solicited $2.3 million from 39 investors nationwide to purchase and refurbish distressed properties and, in turn, sell them for a profit. Investors were issued corporate promissory notes with returns of up to 12%.
PRODUCT SCAM #2: Energy Investments.
Swindlers continue to attempt to trick investors by using high-pressure marketing tactics touting the mystique associated with untapped oil and gas reserves and bountiful production runs. Even genuine oil and gas investments almost always bear a high degree of risk. Energy investments tend to be poor alternatives for those planning for retirement and should be avoided by anyone who cannot afford to strike out when trying to strike it rich.
Colorado securities regulators issued a cease-and-desist order earlier this year against a Texas oil and gas company for allegedly violating state securities registration and licensing provisions. The case came to light after a company sales agents unwittingly "cold called" an employee of the Colorado Division of Securities and offered a joint venture interest in two Pennsylvania oil wells with next to no drilling risk.
PRODUCT SCAM #3: Gold and Precious Metals.
Higher precious metal prices and the promise of an ever-appreciating, "tangible" asset have lured unsuspecting investors into a variety of scams. Many recent schemes are variations on old themes: a promoter seeking capital for extraction equipment to reopen a long dormant mine in exchange for a full refund plus interest and a stake in the mine. Despite ubiquitous promises to the contrary, there are no guarantees with gold or precious metals, even in legitimate markets.
In 2011, the founder of Florida-based Gold Bullion Exchange pleaded guilty to fraud charges in a scheme that collapsed on more than 1,400 investors who lost $29.5 million. Investors were solicited through a sophisticated telemarketing operation to purchase precious metal bullion using purported "leverage" financing. Investors were led to believe that they would need only to provide a fraction of the total cost of the purchased metals, with the remainder of the purchase price to be covered by margin-type financing, which would purportedly be extended to the investor by a "clearing firm."
PRODUCT SCAM #4: Promissory Notes.
Investors seeking safety in uncertain economic conditions or those enticed by the promise of big returns through a private, informal loan arrangement may suffer deep losses investing in unregistered or fraudulent promissory notes. These notes give investors a false sense of security with promises or guarantees of fixed interest rates and safety of principal. However, even legitimate notes carry some risk that the issuers may not be able to meet their obligations.
A former FBI agent was convicted in Alabama this year after an investigation by Alabama securities regulators revealed that he used promissory notes guaranteeing returns as high as 12% to lure investors into a Ponzi scheme. The funds were to be invested in real estate and medical technology ventures, but investigators determined that the former agent used most of the funds, more than $4 million, to pay Ponzi-style returns to previous investors and for his personal use.
PRODUCT SCAM #5: Securitized Life Settlement Contracts.
Life settlement contracts are investments in the death benefits of insurance policies that insure the lives of unrelated third parties. Legitimate investments in life settlement contracts involve a high degree of risk, and investors may be responsible for routinely paying costly premiums for policies that insure people who outlive their life expectancies. Outside the legitimate offerings, crooks are embracing new schemes to deceive even cautious investors.
For example, in 2011, two executives of National Life Settlements of Houston were indicted on charges of securities fraud and the sale of unregistered securities after an undercover investigation by Texas securities regulators determined the pair had sold $30 million in unregistered promissory notes secured by life settlement contracts. One of the executives was a three-time convicted felon with a long history of investment fraud. The promise of a safe investment with annual returns as high as 10% served as bait to lure investors into what a court-appointed receiver testified was a Ponzi scheme.
PRACTICE SCAM #1: Affinity Fraud.
Marketing a fraudulent investment scheme to members of an identifiable group or organization continues to be a highly successful and lucrative practice for Ponzi scheme operators and other fraudsters. The most commonly exploited are the elderly or retired, religious groups and ethnic groups.
A 73-year-old North Carolina man pleaded guilty this year to 19 felony counts of securities fraud following an investigation by North Carolina securities regulators that determined he had collected more than $18.5 million from more than 100 investors, many of whom he knew from church or other social circles. The investments for venture capital investments in various unspecified companies came with a promissory note guaranteeing annual returns of between 10% and 50%.
PRACTICE SCAM #2: Bogus or Exaggerated Credentials.
Since 2008, 29 states have adopted laws or rules preventing misuse of credentials or designations intended to imply special expertise or training in advising senior citizens on financial matters.
Now, state regulators are noting an increase in the use of other bogus credentials or exaggerated designations. State securities regulators have encountered salesmen pitching financial services or products with nonexistent law degrees or CPA certificates and expired or nonexistent CRD numbers.
Securities regulators in Utah came across a broker who listed "C.H.S.G." after his name on his business card. When asked, the broker told regulators the initials stood for "Certified High School Graduate."
PRACTICE SCAM #3: Mirror Trading.
The securities market is constantly evolving to provide investors with new products, different platforms and a variety of choices. The latest evolution is "mirror trading," which is promoted as an automated trading platform that ensures investors will participate in real-time transactions placed or executed by a skilled and knowledgeable third party.
Whenever the third party executes a trade in his or her account, the same trade is mechanically placed on behalf of the investor in the investor's account. Investors should not be lulled into a false sense of security, and they need to continue to objectively evaluate and carefully consider all new or popular investment platforms.
PRACTICE SCAM #4: Private Placements.
Even in the case of legitimate issuers, private placement offerings are highly illiquid, generally lack transparency and have little regulatory oversight. In the United States, the federal exemption for private placement offerings provided under Rule 506 of Regulation D continues to be abused by criminals.
This year, U.S. and Canadian authorities convicted three individuals of criminal fraud charges related to the sale of $33 million in oil and gas private placement offerings. The defendants claimed the securities were exempt from registration under Rule 506. Securities regulators also have taken civil fraud actions against private placement issuers, Medical Capital Holdings Inc. and Provident Royalties, which raised more than $500 million from investors through private offerings sold by dozens of broker-dealers.
PRACTICE SCAM #5: Securities and Investment Advice Offered by Unlicensed Agents.
State securities regulators have identified a consistent increase in investor complaints regarding salesmen unlicensed as securities brokers or investment advisors giving investment advice or effecting securities transactions.
For example, insurance agents offering securities or investment advice without a securities license have not demonstrated sufficient expertise to legally recommend that an investor liquidate securities holdings in favor of insurance products.
In 2011, an insurance agent unlicensed to sell securities and his manager were barred from working in the Missouri securities industry for five years after Missouri securities regulators uncovered a complex scheme that saw the liquidation of more than $7 million in securities investments from 180 customer accounts. Agents had moved most of these funds into proprietary fixed or equity indexed annuities.
Top 10 lists from AdvisorOne:


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AURORA, N.Y. – Junior midfielder Tyler Fischetti (Weedsport, N.Y.) scored his first collegiate goal with 1:20 left in regulation time to power the Wells College men's lacrosse team to a 13-12 victory over the Pioneers from Alfred State College on Tuesday at the North Athletic Field. With the victory, Wells improves to 3-1 overall on the season and are off to their best start in program history, tying the team's all-time record for single season victories. Alfred State dips to 1-8 on the year.
With the score tied at 12 aside with 2:51 remaining in regulation, the Express turned the ball over in their offensive zone with 2:04 left in the fourth quarter. Wells, however, regained possession after junior Hayden Shuster (Careywood, Id.) forced a turnover and collected the ensuing ground ball to regain possession.
Following a scrum behind the Alfred State cage, the ball was collected by freshman Alex Milliken (Hilton, N.Y.) who emerged from a pack of defenders and fed a crashing Fischetti at the top of the slot. Without cradling the ball, Fischetti snapped off a shot that beat the Pioneers goalkeeper for the game-winning strike with 80 seconds left in regulation time.
Milliken led the Express with eight points via five goals and three assists (5-3=8). Sophomore Connor Jansen (Horseheads, N.Y.) was second on the squad with four points, scoring three goals and one assist for four points (3-1=4) while hauling in nine ground balls and winning 15-of-22 face-offs for the Express. Shuster reeled in 13 ground balls and caused a team-best nine turnovers for Wells.
In the first quarter, Wells jumped out to a 3-2 lead as both teams traded goals before Jansen's strike placed the Express on top with 2:05 left in the stanza. The Wells offense went on to score five straight goals to capture a 7-2 lead with 9:09 left in the first half. Alfred State, however, countered quickly with back-to-back goals from Andrew Delligati and Michael Maranga to cut into the deficit. A man-up goal by Jansen established an 8-4 lead for the Express entering halftime.
Alfred State scored the first two goals of the second half of play, using goals from Delligati and John Garbowski to cut into the deficit. After a goal from freshman Cody Roberson (Clemmons, N.C.) with 6:16 left in the third quarter, the Pioneers rattled off three-straight goals to tie the score at nine aside with 12:52 left in regulation time to tie the game at nine.
In the fourth quarter, Wells was sparked by senior Alex Manley (South Buffalo, N.Y.) and Milliken who, once again, created a lead for the Express at 11-9 with 6:28 left in the fourth quarter. Not to be outdone, Keegan Phalen used a Wells face-off loss to his advantage, carrying the ball up the field only 16 seconds following Milliken's tally, cutting the Wells lead to 11-10 with time ticking down.
After a Nate Spoor goal, Milliken scored his fifth goal of the game at 4:32 of the fourth quarter to reestablish a 12-11 lead. A clutch goal from Garbowski tied the game at 12 aside with 2:51 left in regulation time, setting up the Express for Fischetti's heroics.
Wells goaltender Tyler Bischoff (Allendale, N.J.) earned his third victory of the season between the pipes, turning aside 16 shots on net that he faced. With three victories on the season, Bischoff is now tied for first all-time in single season goalkeeping victories with Wells Assistant Coach Kyle Brimm '12 and Christopher Galluzzo.
Jonathan Caton earned the start for Alfred State, allowing eight goals on 15 shots faced before yielding to Ryan Amidon at the start of the second half. Amidon allowed five goals on 13 shots to draw the loss for the Pioneers.
The Express return to action next Wednesday, Apr. 9 as they host the Mavericks of Medaille College in a 4:00 p.m. tilt at the North Athletic Field.


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Glyn Johns
He launched his career during the British Invasion and never looked back.
Producer and sound engineer Glyn Johns has worked on classic albums for such stars as the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, the Eagles, the Who, the Beatles and the Clash. You can't shuffle through a classic rock collection without finding his name in the credits.
Glyn Johns, born in Epsom, Surrey, England, February 15, 1942, has been producer or engineer of a number of rock's classic albums, including those by the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, the Eagles, the Who, the Beatles, the Clash and such singular artists as Joan Armatrading and Ryan Adams.
Trained as a chorister, and a performer in a semi-pro band in his teens, Johns left school to begin an apprenticeship in 1959 at London's IBC Studios as an engineer; a number of artists Johns worked with would spearhead the British Invasion of the Sixties. These included the Rolling Stones, Procol Harum, Traffic and much of the early work by the Who, including "My Generation," and the Kinks, including "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night." He would work with the Rolling Stones across a span of fifteen years, beginning with their earliest recording and continuing through virtually every session during that period, including 1967's Their Satanic Majesties Request and 1968's Beggar's Banquet.
He was at the board for almost all of the Small Faces' output, including Ogden's Nut Gone Flake (1968), and he also worked with the band's later incarnation as the Faces.
Johns worked on the first two Joe Cocker albums, and later the two-record live set, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, his first gold record, for Jerry Moss at A&M Records.
Johns' first major production credit was on the Steve Miller Band's debut, 1968's Children of the Future.
He worked with the Beatles on Let It Be (1970) and Abbey Road (1969), and 1969 saw the release of the landmark Led Zeppelin album debut, on which Johns engineered and shared production duties with Jimmy Page.
Johns renewed ties with the Who to produce Who's Next (1971).
On the Eagles' first album in 1972, Johns was a key to creating what would become known as a Southern California sound with such hits as "Take It Easy" and "Witchy Woman", and later "Desperado" and "Best of My Love."
Johns made three albums with Joan Armatrading, with such hits as "Love and Affection" and "Down To Zero." In between those two albums came Johns' collaboration with Eric Clapton on Slowhand (1977).
Johns' work in the next decade and beyond would include mixing Combat Rock (1982) for the Clash and producing Bob Dylan's Real Live (1984), as well as return engagements with the Who, Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane, Eric Clapton, plus work with John Hiatt, Crosby Stills & Nash, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and many others. Most recently, Johns produced Ashes & Fire (2011) for Ryan Adams, and is now preparing to record Adams' follow-up.
Inductee: Glyn Johns (producer, engineer; born February 15, 1942)


text:
Ok so here is another pano made with my G9. This shot is the same plaza
as in the other shot of the Mayan Ruins only taken from the opposite side
and up higher and is composed of just 2 shots.
The first is un altered and you can some pesky tourist stand around in the plaza
Then I decided to remove the poeple from the shot and do a little enhancement
to color and bring down the highlights some on the stone and darken the
image somewhat as it was in the middle of a rather dense forest and
I wanted to try and capture more of the somewhat somber mood I felt
as I stood there in the deep shade on a structure that was almost holy
being some 4000 years old.
I used PhotoShop CS version 8 which I believe cost me around $100,
its a much less expensive version of the software.
I used a combination of tools for this, the first thing I did was to use the
"healing" tool to "airbrush" out the people. This is a very nice feature,
you simply pick an area near where you want to work, set the brush
size and density and start to work over the area you want modify, the
tool will replace the area being worked with a copy of the area you
choose in the initial pick. As you work the area you can change the "pick"
point to reflect the changing background around the area you are
airbrushing out. It took about 45 minutes to remove all 6 people.
You have to work fairly close in and change the density and size
of the brush as you go.
Then I used the levels tools to bring down the highlights some and
then the highlight/shadow tools to bring out the shadows a tad.
Finally I used the color replacement tool to deepen the greens and
browns for the final "somber" effect.
All in all it took me a little over and hour to make all the changes.
And ALWAYS remember to make a copy before you start to work on
such a project. You can also make a new layer to work on rather than
working right on the main image layer, this the generally accepted way
to ensure you can back out of any changes without effecting the base layer.


text:
Blaine Cook isn't the only high-profile engineer to leave Twitter in recent weeks. Lee Mighdoll, brought on in early January as the startup's VP of engineering and operations, is also out.
"After three months, both Lee and Twitter came to the conclusion that the match was not perfect," Twitter co-founder Biz Stone told SAI via email. "We are seeking to fill this role with a refined search criteria that fits with our plan to scale Twitter as a company and as a service."
What's going on at Twitter? More than one thing, from what we can gather. While Blaine has taken a lot of heat in certain corners of the blogosphere for Twitter's scaling/downtime issues, people familiar with the company say his departure from the company was indeed amicable, and that he hasn't been held directly responsible for the service's stumbles and lurches.
But when Lee came on board January 8, the company described him as a "perfect match" who had "demonstrated experience creating sophisticated back-end software along with his genuine enthusiasm for building global systems that operate at scale."
We won't opine about the technical challenges that Twitter is facing, because we don't understand them -- we're happy when we can make our DVR work. But we do understand that the company is preparing to raise a Series C round, after raising some $5 million at a $20 million valuation last summer. If Twitter wants more money and a higher value, it's going to have to convince investors it has its tech talent issues solved.
UPDATE: We hear Twitter is trying to raise $15 million, at a $60 million valuation.
See Also: Lead Architect Blaine Cook Out At Twitter
Lee Mighdoll, left, accepting a Crunchie with his former employers.


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text:
Top Items:
Fox News:
Petraeus agrees to testify on Libya before congressional committees — Former CIA Director David Petraeus has agreed to testify about the Libya terror attack before the House and Senate intelligence committees, Fox News has learned. — Petraeus had originally been scheduled to testify …
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air: Breaking: Petraeus to testify on Benghazi attacks; Update: Petraeus offered testimony
Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain: Bad Memories of Bayshore Boulevard
Bryan Preston / The PJ Tatler: Petraeus Agrees to Testify
Meenal Vamburkar / Mediaite: David Petraeus Will Testify On Benghazi, Reports Say
Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit: BREAKING: David Petraeus Agrees to Testify Voluntarily on Benghazi Scandal
Robert Stacy McCain / American Spectator: 'Extraordinary Incompetence' — Tampa's Bayshore Boulevard …
Brett LoGiurato / Business Insider: David Petraeus WILL Testify On Benghazi Tomorrow
Doug Mataconis / Outside the Beltway: David Petraeus To Testify Before Intelligence Committees
Hard questions await Obama at news conference — This is not what the White House wanted for President Barack Obama's first news conference of his second term. — He won't be able to dwell much on his stronger-than-expected victory or even press his agenda for the next four years.
Discussion: ABCNEWS, Jammie Wearing Fools, msnbc.com, CNN, The Wire, TIME, The PJ Tatler, Pirate's Cove, Taylor Marsh, NewsBusters.org, Instapundit, Althouse, First Read, National Review and Hot Air
Vickey Williams / The Wire: Will Petraeus news, other events overwhelm Obama message at first press conference in 8 months?
Massimo Calabresi / TIME: The Petraeus Case: Why Wasn't Obama Informed?
Bryan Preston / The PJ Tatler: Politico Writes Fake 'Hard Questions' for Obama's First Post-Election Press Conference
William Teach / Pirate's Cove: Obama To Finally Hold Press Conference, Will Face Tough Questions He Won't Answer
Tom Blumer / NewsBusters.org: Politico Pair Goes to Pot in Listing Seven Questions It Believes the Press Will Ask Obama Today
Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit: OH, I RATHER DOUBT THAT: Politico: Hard Questions Await Obama At News Conference.
Ann Althouse / Althouse: Obama is about to do his first full-scale news conference since last March.
Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review: Conspiracy?
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air: Open thread: Obama's first press conference in five months
Noel Sheppard / NewsBusters.org:
Krauthammer: White House 'Held Affair Over Petraeus's Head' For Favorable Testimony On Benghazi — Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer on Tuesday said the White House used David Petraeus's affair to get the CIA director to give testimony about the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi …
Betty Cracker / Balloon Juice: What Am I Missing? — Semi-related to Bernard's post …
Nice Deb: Charles Krauthammer: White House 'Held Affair Over Petraeus's Head' - "The Sword Was Lowered on Election Day"
Doug Brady / Conservatives4Palin: Breaking: Petraeus will testify; Update: Jay Carney deflects questions on scandal 10 times in 10 minutes
Scared Monkeys: Charles Krauthammer: Petraeus Thought He Could Keep His Job ... White House 'Held Affair …
Ann Althouse / Althouse: Did Petraeus lie to the House Intelligence Committee in the hope of keeping his job?
The Lonely Conservative: Did The White House Hold Petraeus Affair Over Him For Favorable Benghazi Testimony?
Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs: Krauthammer: White House "Held Affair Over Petraeus's Head" for dishonest testimony On Benghazi...
Directorblue / Doug Ross: FOOD FOR THOUGHT: The Petraeus-Broadwell-Kelley Timeline
Allahpundit / Hot Air: Bill Kristol: A source tells me Petraeus wasn't completely honest in his Benghazi briefing to Congress
Doug Powers / Michelle Malkin: Jay Carney: It's a 'simple fact' …
CBS News:
Sources: Paula Broadwell warned Gen. Allen against "seductress" Jill Kelley — PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO — Gen.Petraeus Scandal — (CBS News) WASHINGTON - As Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta offered guarded support Wednesday for Gen. John Allen, new details emerged about correspondence …
Discussion: The Other McCain, Mediaite, Fox News, Business Insider and americanthinker.com
Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain: Is Krauthammer Right? — The Great Brain says the Obama …
Tommy Christopher / Mediaite: CNN Analyst Takes Gen. John Allen's Possible Use Of 'Sweetheart' Very Seriously
Kim Bhasin / Business Insider: It Was An Anonymous Email From Petraeus Mistress Paula Broadwell That Pulled General Allen Into The Scandal
Bill Gertz / Washington Free Beacon:
Sex, Lies, and Benghazi
Sex, Lies, and Benghazi
Erika Johnsen / Hot Air: Carney: Obama "wasn't pleased" with Petraeus scandal when he found out, just after the election
Ashley Killough / CNN: TRENDING: Feinstein says she'll push for Petraeus to testify
Jay Newton-Small / TIME: Senate Intelligence Committee to Probe Petraeus Affair
Paul Wolfowitz / AEIdeas:
Forget the gossip: Focus on Benghazi
Forget the gossip: Focus on Benghazi
Discussion: Weekly Standard
Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard: Remain Focused on Benghazi
Kevin Robillard / Politico:
Jill Kelley claims 'honorary' diplomatic status
Jill Kelley claims 'honorary' diplomatic status
Discussion: Associated Press, msnbc.com, Talking Points Memo and Business Insider
Dax Tejera / msnbc.com: NOW Today: The shakeup to come
The Reliable Source / Washington Post:
"Social liaison" Jill Kelley: How did she get that title? And what does it mean?
"Social liaison" Jill Kelley: How did she get that title? And what does it mean?
Discussion: WorldViews, Althouse, Telegraph, milowent, The Huffington Post and Hot Air
Jon Swaine / Telegraph: David Petraeus affair: Florida twins courted generals and racked up millions in debt
Jason Cherkis / The Huffington Post: Jill Kelley, Woman Who Sparked Petraeus Scandal, Ran Questionable Charity
Jeff G. / protein wisdom:
"Petraeus agrees to testify on Libya before congressional committees"
"Petraeus agrees to testify on Libya before congressional committees"
Discussion: alicublog
Washington Post:
FBI investigating how Petraeus biographer Broadwell obtained classified files
FBI investigating how Petraeus biographer Broadwell obtained classified files
Discussion: Power Line, Washingtonian, Politico, emptywheel, The Week, Hot Air, New York Magazine, Grantland, Wall Street Journal, WorldViews, News Desk and Capital New York, more at Mediagazer »
Paul Mirengoff / Power Line: You can't make this stuff up — The Washington Post reports …
Carol Ross Joynt / Washingtonian: Details of Paula and Scott Broadwell's Romantic Rappahannock County Getaway
Matthew Miller / Politico: FBI handled David Petraeus probe correctly
Margaret Hartmann / New York Magazine: Despite Initial Reports, FBI Is Still Investigating Security Breach in Petraeus Scandal
Chuck Klosterman / Grantland: Did I accidentally force David Petraeus to resign? No. Do people believe I did? Maybe.
John Cassidy / News Desk: The Generals and the Women: A Guide for the Perplexed
Tom McGeveran / Capital New York: How to keep writing about the Petraeus-Broadwell affair without the emails
New York Times:
Tampa Social Scene at Center of Petraeus Scandal
Tampa Social Scene at Center of Petraeus Scandal
Discussion: American Power, The Daily Beast, Guardian, Marbury and The Week
Donald Douglas / American Power: Tampa Social Scene at Center of Petraeus Scandal
Michael Daly / The Daily Beast: Jill Kelley Collected Generals
Heidi Moore / Guardian: Petraeus scandal: a readers' guide to the clandestine soap opera and its cast
Ian Leslie / Marbury: petraeus, broadwell and the human stain
Katie Glueck / Politico:
David Petraeus will testify on Benghazi
David Petraeus will testify on Benghazi
Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …
Justin Sink / The Hill:
Petraeus to testify on Benghazi
Petraeus to testify on Benghazi
Discussion: Lawfare and New York Magazine
Ritika Singh / Lawfare: Today's Headlines and Commentary
Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari killed by Israeli strike — LIVE BLOG: Israel strikes more than 20 targets in Gaza, killing Ahmed Jabari, who was behind the 2006 abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit; IDF says ready for ground operation in Gaza if necessary; Hamas …
Discussion: Weekly Standard, WorldViews, Guardian, The Long War Journal, protein wisdom, The Agonist, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit
Lee Smith / Weekly Standard: Israel Takes Out Top Terrorist
Olga Khazan / WorldViews: Israel army says Jabari had 'blood on his hands'
Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit: Ka-Boom... Israeli Airstrike Kills Leader of Hamas Military Wing (Video)
New York Times:
Israelis Launch Major Assault on Gaza, Killing Hamas Commander
Israelis Launch Major Assault on Gaza, Killing Hamas Commander
Discussion: BuzzFeed, Business Insider, The Daily Beast, Weekly Standard, Gawker and Outside the Beltway
Rob Wile / Business Insider: Israeli Defense Force Tweets Extremely Ominous Warning For Operatives Of Hamas
Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard: Israeli Army: 'We Recommend That No Hamas Operatives ... Show Their Faces'
Neetzan Zimmerman / Gawker: Israel Kills Hamas Military Chief in Opening Salvo of Widespread Campaign; Hamas: Israel Has 'Opened the Gates of Hell'
Doug Mataconis / Outside the Beltway: Israeli Airstrike Kills Hamas Military Chief
Hamas military chief killed in Gaza air strike
Hamas military chief killed in Gaza air strike
Discussion: UrbanGrounds, Atlas Shrugs and The PJ Tatler
Robbie Cooper / UrbanGrounds: IDF Kills Hamas Leader as Things Heat Up in Gaza
Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs: Israel Launches Operation Pillar Of Defense To Uproot Hamas-Led Terror, Top Hamas commander killed …
IDF Blog:
IDF Begins Widespread Campaign on Terror Targets in the Gaza Strip
IDF Begins Widespread Campaign on Terror Targets in the Gaza Strip
Discussion: Israel Matzav, Jerusalem Post, Weasel Zippers, Business Insider, The Jawa Report and Washington Free Beacon
Carl / Israel Matzav: Breaking: IDF hitting terror sites in Gaza (UPDATED WITH PICTURE OF CAR SWARM)
Yaakov Lappin / Jerusalem Post: Israeli air strike kills Hamas military chief Jabari
ZIP / Weasel Zippers: Israel Announces Military Campaign In Gaza, Warehouse With Stockpile Of Iranian-Supplied Fajr Missiles Struck...
Rusty Shackleford, Ph.D. / The Jawa Report: Israel Kills Head of Hamas Military Wing in Gaza
Nidal al-Mughrabi / Reuters:
Israel launches Gaza offensive, kills Hamas commander
Israel launches Gaza offensive, kills Hamas commander
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Banter
Investor's Business Daily:
Look Who's Refusing To Compromise To Avoid The Fiscal Cliff — Budget Talks: If President Obama wants to get a deficit deal done to avoid the fiscal cliff, his biggest challenge won't be Republicans, but his own hard-core left-wing supporters. — Two days after the election …
Discussion: The Week
Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Obama to open 'fiscal cliff' talks with call for $1.6T in new revenues
Obama to open 'fiscal cliff' talks with call for $1.6T in new revenues
Discussion: The Daily Beast and Weasel Zippers
Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast: Obama's Opening Bid
Wall Street Journal:
Obama Sets Steep Tax Target
Obama Sets Steep Tax Target
Discussion: First Read, The Lonely Conservative, The Daily Beast, ABCNEWS, ABCNEWS and iOwnTheWorld.com
Michael Falcone / ABCNEWS: At White House Grilling, Obama Will Have A Full Plate (The Note)
Mary Bruce / ABCNEWS: First Post-Election News Conference
BigFurHat / iOwnTheWorld.com: We Don't Need No Stinkin' Compromises
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Relationship between Boehner, McConnell faces tough test
Relationship between Boehner, McConnell faces tough test
Discussion: CNN, Booman Tribune and Prairie Weather
Alan Silverleib / CNN: New Senate leadership-much like the old
The Irish Times:
Woman 'denied a termination' dies in hospital — Two investigations are under way into the death of a woman who was 17 weeks pregnant, at University Hospital Galway last month. — Savita Halappanavar (31), a dentist, presented with back pain at the hospital on October 21st …
Neetzan Zimmerman / Gawker: Woman in Ireland Dies After Being Denied Abortion; Was Told 'This Is a Catholic Country'
Henry McDonald / Guardian: Ireland's abortion ban: a history of obstruction and denial
Doktor Zoom / Wonkette: Irish Hospital Lets Woman Die Because Her Life Wasn't 'Endangered' Enough For Abortion
Echidne / ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES: Meanwhile, in Ireland, Savita Halappanavar Dies After Being Denied an Abortion
Alex Massie / Spectator: Ireland and Abortion: Cruelty disguised as piety, cowardice misrepresented as principle.
Jessica Luther / Shakesville: Her Name Was Savita Halappanavar
Kathy Kattenburg / The Agonist: Hindu Woman in Ireland Denied Emergency Abortion, Dies
Kieran Healy / Crooked Timber: Savita Halappanavar and the Long Shadow of the X-Case
Jodi Jacobson / RH Reality Check:
We Are All Savita Halappanavar: Catholic Hospital in Ireland Denies Woman Life-Saving Abortion
We Are All Savita Halappanavar: Catholic Hospital in Ireland Denies Woman Life-Saving Abortion
Discussion: Guardian, Feministe, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Activism and Agitation
Jill Filipovic / Guardian: Savita Halappanavar's medically unnecessary death
Scott Lemieux / Lawyers, Guns & Money: Where the War on Women Leads
Laura Clawson / Daily Kos:
Nancy Pelosi swats down Luke Russert's 'offensive' question with a lesson on earning your job — You have to hand it to Nancy Pelosi. When emblem of establishment media nepotism Luke Russert asked if she shouldn't clear the way for younger leadership, being all old and stuff …
Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Nancy Pelosi to stay on as House minority leader
Nancy Pelosi to stay on as House minority leader
Discussion: 2chambers, Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', The Fix, Hot Air, BuzzFeed, Business Insider, The Raw Story, Taylor Marsh and Election 2012
Chris Cillizza / The Fix: Why Nancy Pelosi stayed
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air: Video: Was question about Pelosi's age out of line?
Brett LoGiurato / Business Insider: Nancy Pelosi's Press Conference Gets Testy As Luke Russert's Question Gets Slammed
New York Times:
Ryan Sees Urban Vote as Reason G.O.P. Lost — WASHINGTON — As Representative Paul D. Ryan casts about to find an explanation for the defeat of the Republican presidential ticket, on which he was Mitt Romney's running mate, he is looking to the nation's big cities for answers.
Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Washington Examiner, Taylor Marsh, msnbc.com and The Caucus
Ta-Nehisi Coates / The Atlantic Online: Beyond the 'Urban Vote'
Michael D. Shear / The Caucus: Ryan Surprised by Voters in 'Urban Areas'
Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Ryan: It 'Looked Like We Stood A Pretty Good Chance Of Winning' On Election Day
Ryan: It 'Looked Like We Stood A Pretty Good Chance Of Winning' On Election Day
Discussion: Political Watch and WISN Milwaukees Channel 12
Steve Goldstein / Political Watch: Paul Ryan admits to being shocked by election
Kent Wainscott / WISN Milwaukees Channel 12: Paul Ryan says he has no regrets
Almost 1K ballots found in Broward elections warehouse — LAUDERHILL, Fla. (WSVN) — Nearly a thousand ballots that were not included in Florida's final count have been found in a warehouse in Broward County. — Tuesday morning and into the night, there was a buzz of activity …
Discussion: Wonkette, Taegan Goddard's … and The Hinterland Gazette
Andrew Kohut / Wall Street Journal:
Misreading Election 2012 — The GOP might be out of step with some voters, but Mitt Romney was an unusually unpopular party standard-bearer. — Postelection talk of "lessons learned" is often exaggerated and misleading, and so it is in 2012. — A week after President Obama won re-election, two themes are dominant.
Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice: Quote of the Day: "Americans Remain Moderate" Says Pew Research Center's Kohut
Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute: The Mormon Financier Couldn't Connect
William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion: The lessons of 2012 may not be what Operation Demoralize says
Betsy Newmark / Betsy's Page: Cruising the Web — It's quite a shame that we don't have exit polling from Texas.
Donald Douglas / American Power: The Current American Electorate Is Hardly Stacked Against the Republican Party
Greg Holyk / ABCNEWS:
Majority Supports Path to Citizenship; Greater Division on Other Social Issues — Most Americans support a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, an issue that may be high on the agenda of newly re-elected President Obama and the 113th Congress, given the increased importance of nonwhites …
Discussion: The Hill, Business Insider, Arizona Republic and Outside the Beltway
Brett LoGiurato / Business Insider: Support For Legalizing Marijuana Hits A Record Level In A New Poll
Kevin Robillard / Arizona Republic: FONT: — POLITICO.com — Americans overwhelmingly support …
Doug Mataconis / Outside the Beltway: Majority Of Americans Support Path To Citizenship For Illegal Immigrants
Justin Sink / The Hill:
Poll: Majority of Americans support gay marriage
Poll: Majority of Americans support gay marriage
Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Right Wing Watch
Doug Mataconis / Outside the Beltway: Majority Support For Same-Sex Marriage Remains Solid
David Martosko / The Daily Caller:
White House 'secede' petitions reach 675,000 signatures, 50-state participation — Less than a week after a New Orleans suburbanite petitioned the White House to allow Louisiana to secede from the United States, petitions from seven states have collected enough signatures to trigger a promised review from the Obama administration.
Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly: The Secessionist Boom
Jeff G. / protein wisdom: "White House 'secede' petitions reach 675,000 signatures, 50-state participation"
Chris / AMERICAblog: New White House petition: Lose citizenship, face exile if you sign for secession
petitions.whitehouse.gov: Peacefully grant the city of Austin Texas to withdraw from the state of Texas & remain part of the United States.
Cara Maresca / msnbc.com: If Texas secedes, Austin wants out of Lone Star State
William Teach / Pirate's Cove: Secede Petitions Cover All 50 States, Over 660K Signatures
Meenal Vamburkar / Mediaite: Texas Nationalist Movement President Outlines Secession Goals On Hannity
Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:
Wisconsin Lawmakers Seek To Arrest Officials Who Implement Obamacare — Even though House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has acknowledged that Obamacare is the "law of the land," nine state lawmakers in Wisconsin are hoping to ensure that President Obama's health reform law won't ever be implemented in their state.
Discussion: Mock, Paper, Scissors
Patrick Marley / JSOnline:
9 lawmakers want to charge U.S. officials who implement Obamacare
9 lawmakers want to charge U.S. officials who implement Obamacare
Discussion: The Raw Story and Gin and Tacos
Katie Pavlich / Townhall.com:
Senators Call For Select Committee on Benghazi — Republican Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte just wrapped up a press conference where they called on Democrats to allow for a select committee to investigate the 9/11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi …
Discussion: BuzzFeed, The Caucus, Hot Air and The Gateway Pundit
John H. Cushman Jr / The Caucus: Republicans Seek Watergate-Style Hearings on Benghazi
Erika Johnsen / Hot Air: Graham: I'm "dead set" against promoting anyone involved in Benghazi debacle
Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit: John McCain Goes Off on Lib Reporter: "That Is One of the Dumbest Questions I've Ever Heard!" (Video)
Sophie Quinton / NationalJournal.com:
McCain, Graham Promise to Oppose Susan Rice for State
McCain, Graham Promise to Oppose Susan Rice for State
Discussion: LifeNews.com and Outside the Beltway
Steven Ertelt / LifeNews.com: Pro-Abortion Susan Rice Faces Secretary of State Opposition
Sean Kinney / MiamiHerald.com:
Death of Key West man linked to Obama's reelection — A Key West man who told his partner that "if Barack gets re-elected, I'm not going to be around" was found dead on Nov. 8, with the words "F— Obama!" scrawled on his will and two empty prescription bottles nearby.
Discussion: Mediaite, New York Magazine, Gawker and The Raw Story
Andrew Kirell / Mediaite: Florida Man Commits Suicide Over Obama Re-Election, Wrote 'F**k Obama' In Will
Neetzan Zimmerman / Gawker: Florida Man Angry Over Election Results Writes 'F**k Obama' on His Will Before Taking His Own Life
Angus King to caucus with Democrats — (CNN) - Maine's independent senator-elect announced Wednesday he would caucus with Democrats, giving the party a ten-vote advantage over Republicans in the upper chamber. — Angus King made the announcement Wednesday in the U.S. Capitol …
Discussion: American Prospect, Politico, Outside the Beltway and Daily Kos
Jamelle Bouie / American Prospect: Give It Up, John Kerry
Manu Raju / Politico: Angus King joins Democrats
Doug Mataconis / Outside the Beltway: Maine's Angus King To Caucus With Democrats
Joan McCarter / Daily Kos: Angus King to caucus with Senate Democrats
A Mormon Reporter On The Romney Bus — On the night of the South Carolina Republican primary in January, I sat near the front of a dark campaign press bus, and listened to reporters talk about Mitt Romney's underwear. — Earlier in the day, one of them had happened upon the candidate …
Discussion: GOP 12 and Capital New York, more at Mediagazer »
Christian Heinze / GOP 12: What did Romney's run do for Mormonism?
Joe Pompeo / Capital New York: John Huey to leave top spot at Time Inc.; Times union makes a deal with management


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With CodeMonkey's Teacher Kit, everyone can easily teach the basics of computer science.
Using CoffeeScript, students learn to code and then build their own HTML5 games.
Write code.
Catch bananas.
Save the world.
Using what they learn, students can develop their own apps and games.
CodeMonkey is designed as a classroom resource with fully-guided lessons plans. This means that every teacher can teach the Codemonkey courses, even though they have no prior experience in Computer Science.
With our Teacher Dashboard, we save you both time and effort when monitoring your students' progress.
It is hard to imagine life without software usage today and text-based coding is a fundamental part of this process and can better prepare children to the 21st century.
"What I like best about CodeMonkey is its engagement level, but most importantly the realistic coding students do in a text-based editor. The game-like quality makes them willing to take risks and persevere."
"I was glad to see a coding game creating equally high engagement with girls! And the linear path makes guidance easy even with large student groups."
"I'm so pleased I had the opportunity to use CodeMonkey, I think it's the best that I've seen. The lesson plans with the online and offline activities are really good, It made it easy for the children to understand our goals."
"I have been using CodeMonkey with grades 3+, the students and teachers love it! It's my first year coding at age 29. Kids can code and I can too!"
"Brilliant. The teacher reference solutions are a great tool to have, because some of my students are moving ahead of me!!!"


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Clean Automotive Technology
How Parallel Hydraulic Hybrid Vehicles Work
In a parallel hydraulic hybrid vehicle (HHV), the engine still provides power to the wheels through a standard transmission. The hydraulic components are attached to the driveshaft and assist in stopping and accelerating the vehicle. There are four main modes of operation in a parallel HHV :


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On February 21, 2013, some legendary musicians and personalities will gather at the 23rd Annual Tibet House US Benefit Concert at Carnegie Hall. The all-star lineup includes Jim James (My Morning Jacket), tUnE-yArDs, Rahzel, Patti Smith, Philip Glass, Ariel Pink, Tenzin Choegyal, Ira Glass and more. More artists are expiated to join the music-filled evening.
Tickets for the show ($35-$105) are on sale now and can be purchased here, through Carnegie Charge by calling 212-247-7800 or in person at the Carnegie Hall Box Office (57th Street and Seventh Avenue). Proceeds from ticket sales go to support the work of the Tibet House US as well as the Hurricane Sandy Relief Foundation and the Tibetan Community of New York & New Jersey.
Past benefit concerts have featured talent such as Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Paul Simon, Sheryl Crow, Moby, Sigur Ros, Bright Eyes, R.E.M., The National, Natalie Merchant, Regina Spektor, Rufus Wainwright, Vampire Weekend, Emmylou Harris, Ray Davies, Damien Rice, James, The Roots, among many others.
Tibet House US is a non-profit educational institution and cultural embassy founded in 1987 at the request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to ensure the survival of the unique Tibetan civilization, whatever the political destiny of the six million people of Tibet may be.


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A man who said he used a sledgehammer and pick ax to deface Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last month to make a political statement pleaded not guilty Friday to a charge of felony vandalism.
James Lambert Otis, 52, an heir to the Otis Elevator fortune, is due back in court Dec. 5 for a hearing. He could face up to three years in jail if convicted, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
When asked last month about his then-likely arrest for vandalizing the star at 5:45 a.m. on Oct. 26, Otis said, "I'm not frightened of jail and I'm certainly not frightened of Mr. Trump. What punishment I get is fine."
Otis said outside of court Friday that he's had time to look back on his destructive protest and now believes there would have been a better way to express his displeasure with the President-elect.
"Upon reflection after my arrest, I had said I was proud and felt very good about destroying Mr. Trump's star," Otis said after Friday's hearing. "However, now I realize I was wrong, that I shouldn't have done it. And now I'm going to focus my energies and time to fight Mr. Trump non-violently across the country as the whole country is doing this.
"While reflecting I realized non-violence is the way to protest Mr. Trump. By destroying that star, it was wrong and I apologize for that, and I hope no one else will affect and hurt the Hollywood Walk of Fame stars."
Otis previously said that he originally intended to "remove" the entire star from the 6800 block of Hollywood Boulevard, auction it off in New York and give the money to the nearly dozen women who allege they were groped or sexually mistreated by Trump, who has denied those allegations. But Otis said he was unable to accomplish the feat, so he removed a brass medallion from the star after using a sledgehammer and a pick ax to smash it up.
"It was very difficult. The stone was like marble -- hard to get through," Otis said a short time later. "It would have taken an hour."
Dressed in construction-worker garb, including a high visibility vest and hard-hat, Otis used the hammer and pick ax to hack away Trump's name and the logo indicating the star had been awarded in the category of television -- for Trump's work on "The Apprentice."
Otis, who said several members of his family had been victims of sexual assault, was arrested the following day by Los Angeles police and released on a $20,000 bond. Ana Martinez of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce said that replacing the star would cost "a few thousand dollars."
The star has remained blocked off since its destruction as workers make repairs. It's expected to be unveiled soon, according to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
Otis said he spent several nights in Hollywood preparing to carry out what he called an act of non-violent protest. He said he has been arrested about two dozen times in the past for protesting various causes.
In this case, however, he acknowledged that an act of vandalism may have crossed the line of non-violence.
"I destroyed the star, but considering the violence that has been committed (by Trump) -- I'm a little sad that I had to (damage the star)," he said. "I'm usually always non-violent. It seems in this one instance I broke some stone and marble to make a point."


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Comic-Con 2012 has begun and while Twentieth Century Fox isn't here and has nothing to show yet for their upcoming comic book movie projects in development, they do have very relevant news conveniently timed for the big event.
Chronicle writer/director Josh Trank's next film will again see the 27 year-old Californian again dealing with a group of super-powered individuals in Fantastic Four while 30 Days of Night and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse director David Slade loses his chance to revitalize the Daredevil franchise.
Since hitting it big at the box office and among critics with the low budget found footage film Chronicle, the young, up and coming Josh Trank immediately hit the top of the most-desired list among studios. Just a month and a half ago Trank signed with Sony Pictures to helm the incredibly ambitious adaptation of Shadow of the Colossus, based on artful PlayStation exclusive video game title of the same name. But before that project gets moving, Trank will working on another major project.
Deadline reports that Trank has officially signed with Twentieth Century Fox to direct the Fantastic Four reboot, confirming rumors dating back to January which pointed towards he and Fox - the same studio behind Chronicle - being in chats about the Marvel foursome. Those rumors were later confirmed by Fox CEO Tom Rothman who excitedly revealed that Trank would help develop the project, hinting that he could direct the reboot and its new cast as well.
Their report continues to explain that Fox is aiming to get the movie in production fast, much like their other Marvel flicks. The Wolverine - which just added six new cast members - begins shooting next month with Hugh Jackman and X-Men: First Class will follow with Matthew Vaughn back in the director's chair. Fantastic Four will come immediately after that.
As for the other key Marvel property Fox owns the film rights to, Daredevil, things are taking a step in the opposite direction. David Slade has been attached to the project for nearly a year and a half, teasing announcements that often didn't come to fruition since that time. Due to scheduling conflicts with his work on the Hannibal TV series pilot and Fox's need to get Daredevil into production by this fall in order to prevent the film license from reverting back to Disney, they'll have to find a replacement director soon. This is a similar situation to Fantastic Four and the reason Fox has been trying to get both projects off the ground for years.
While some fans love the idea of characters like Daredevil returning to the creative control of Marvel Studios, the contract in place may result in a rushed production on the part of Fox in order to simply maintain the rights to it rather than deliver a quality production. Hopefully Trank isn't put into a bad position where the film isn't given the time it needs. X-Men: First Class was infamously rushed as well.
As for Fantastic Four, the reboot almost happened around the same time X-Men: First Class was in its early stages, with rumors for each cast member and directors, but it was put on the back burner. With Trank at the helm, there's a strong possibility for a grounded (read: less corny) take on everyone's favorite Marvel family.
With Marvel Studios hosting an Iron Man 3 panel on Saturday where it's expected they could announce one or more new upcoming film projects, the addition of multiple Fox Marvel movies and the return of Spider-Man make this an exciting time for Marvel fans.
Who should direct Daredevil? Let the speculation begin!
Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes.
Source: Deadline
Header image edited by cover art by Bryan Hitch from Fantastic Four #569.


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To be more precise, I am interested in knowing if the intuition that a Euclidean zero vector does not have a particular direction is actually correct, and if there is a rigorous formulation that would back it up.
Wikipedia's entries on the zero vector seems to agree with that intuition, but as always, one shouldn't blindly trust Wikipedia: in one place, it is stated that a zero vector "is orthogonal to all other vectors with the same number of components," while in another, it is stated that "two vectors can be considered orthogonal if and only if their dot product is zero, and they have non-null length." Correct me if I am wrong, but these two statements contradict each other.
This question popped up in my head when I heard someone arguing that since a Euclidean vector is defined as a geometric entity that has both a magnitude and direction, and since a zero vector is a vector with length 0, then it is only fitting for a zero vector to have a "direction 0." I am personally inclined to say that a zero vector does not have a particular direction, but as I said, I would like to know if there is a rigorous formulation that would lead to this conclusion.
And to put the question in a less "discussion-inducing" form, is there an agreement on the direction of a Euclidean zero vector?


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The multi-talented visionary, DJ, founder, and CEO of Black Girls Rock!, Beverly Bond collaborates with the Kennedy Center to present Rock Like a Girl™, a signature Bond-Vision Media™ production that celebrates women's contributions to the art and culture of hip-hop. The program includes performances by a diverse group of female artists from around the world, including legendary rap artist MC Lyte, critically acclaimed lyricist Jean Grae, Grammy Award–winning violinist Miri Ben-Ari, French Chilean MC Ana Tijoux, North Carolina MC Rapsody, a special appearance by the multi-talented Grammy Award–winning MC, singer, and song-writer Ms. Lauryn Hill, and other special guests! D.C.'s own all-girl go-go band, Be'la Dona, serves as the house band with DJ Beverly Bond on the ones-and-twos. Together, these women show what it means to "rock like a girl." Please join us for a post-show discussion with artists, academics, and activists that encourages dialogue and analysis of the ways women of color are portrayed in the media. Please note: This concert contains explicit language. A limited number of free tickets will be distributed two (2) per person in line on Saturday, April 5, 2014, at the entrance to the Hall of Nations, beginning at 4:30 p.m. Part of One Mic: Hip-Hop Culture Worldwide.
The all-female D.C. band creates a hot go-go sound sure to keep its audience moving to the beat.


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When does modifying someone else's work become artmaking? What role does the Creative Commons play in preserving the Internet as a democratic medium? Selectparks is an international online community centered around creative manipulation of existing computer games, but its scope goes far beyond play. With media laboratories in Melbourne, Australia and Gotland, Sweden, Selectparks explores the conceptual parameters of the computer game - as medium of exchange, as performative expression, as virtual experience of place. The team includes founder Julian Oliver, Chad Chatterton, Andrea Blundell and Rebecca Cannon, among others, and the site is chock full of goodies for newbies and pros alike. You can download free games, tools and data, submit your own mods, check out the online tutorials, browse the archives, meet people in forums - this site takes days to explore. A few things are Mac-accessible only, which will leave some people with gaps, but other than that it's very fun and user-friendly. Didn't your mother always tell you it's nice to share? - Peggy MacKinnon
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Q&A with Sophomore Elena Inouye
Related Links
Sophomore Elena Inouye has continued to improve upon her impressive freshman season, helping the UC San Diego women's cross country team to a second place finish during the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships in Mckinleyville on October 24. The Torrance, Calif. Native finished at 23:45.1 to place 19th at the CCAA Championships two weeks ago, marking her fourth top-20 finish of the 2009 season. Inouye got ready for her showing at the conference championships with a strong performance at the Triton Classic, where she was the second UCSD runner to finish, placing 13th overall in this event for the second year in a row with a final time of 22:58.1. "Elena has been a real key racer for us this year, both on and off the course," said Head Coach Nate Garcia. "The progress she has made during the season has really helped us take the step to the next level." Inouye shed some light on her progress as a UCSD student-athlete on the cross country team before leaving to San Francisco for the NCAA West Regional Championships on Saturday.
Q: What are your
thoughts on your personal and the team's performance at the CCAA Championships
in McKinleyville last weekend? How do you hope to continue momentum heading
into the NCAA Division II West Regionals?
INOUYE: Although I was unhappy about my race at Conference, the team's performance definitely overshadowed my personal race. Getting 2nd place was quite exciting! In talking with my teammates, I feel that we took so much more than just our placing. We were all able to pick out areas where we knew there could be improvement. Going into Regionals with that awareness of our weaknesses and the confidence that we can make those changes sets us up for success.
Q: In 2008, you were
named CCAA Freshman of the Year after finishing 18th overall with a time of
23:12.4. How important was earning Freshman of the Year honors last season?
INOUYE: It was quite a surprise, but it definitely boosted my confidence.
Q: Do you set
personal goals for yourself at the beginning of each season? What goals did you
have prior to the 2009 season?
INOUYE: Nate[Garcia] talks with each of us individually during the summer to set goals for the season. This year my main focus is to minimize the gap time between me and [UCSD cross country teammate] Bre [Schofield]. I want to be within 30-45 seconds behind her.
Q: What impact has
Coach Nate Garcia had on you since joining the UCSD cross country team? How has
he helped your development as a runner?
INOUYE: Nate has helped me gain a better understanding of myself. I've shared a couple of conversations with him that have made me think about my beliefs and how they influence my actions and interactions with others. I'm grateful that he's approachable and eager to offer advice in becoming not just a more mature runner, but a more mature person as well. Under his guidance and training sequences I have developed into a stronger runner than I was in high school.
Q: Can you describe
the UCSD cross country team dynamic and how it has helped you improve your own
running style?
INOUYE: It's an interesting balance between work and play. During workouts we sometimes laugh and crack jokes, yet we don't mess around to the point where we struggle to get our work done. I think the balance is why I enjoy being on the team so much. It's not so serious and intense that you forget to enjoy the sport. Running is still my stress reliever, not stress causer.
Q: In high school,
you competed as both a member of the cross country and basketball teams. In
what way has your high school basketball experience helped you during your
cross country career?
INOUYE: High school basketball made me realize that I definitely belong out running on a course rather than up and down a court. I sat on the bench for most of my short-lived high school basketball career, and when I did play I would be so nervous about messing up that I didn't particularly enjoy playing.
Q: Describe your most
memorable racing experience.
INOUYE: Probably the 5k during the CCAA Track and Field Championships last year. Each lap I kept switching places with this one girl—it felt like a battle of who was mentally tough enough to stick it out. And then a little over halfway through, she gave up. I didn't PR or score, but I was so happy afterwards because I felt engaged and focused throughout the whole race.
Q: Do you listen to
music to get pumped before a big race? What's on your iPod right now?
INOUYE: Yes I do! On my iPod right now is "Wedding Dress" by Matt Nathanson & Owl City's Ocean Eyes album. But before races, "Oh Go" by The Pack pumps me up like no other.
Q: Can you tell us
something the average fan wouldn't know about cross country?
INOUYE: Passing someone who is only two steps in front of you is a LOT harder than it looks. So when you yell at us to go faster… it may not look like it, but we're really trying.
Q: What was your
biggest motivation for coming to UC San Diego?
INOUYE: The solid Cross Country and Track & Field programs and the strong science education I could gain.
Q: Aside from cross
country, what is your favorite UCSD sport to watch?
INOUYE: Either volleyball or basketball. Both are exciting!
Q: What is the reason
you initially started competing in cross country? What does it mean to you to
be competing at the collegiate level?
INOUYE: My third grade teacher saw me keeping up with the boys when we'd run during PE and suggested that I try out for cross country. I think she was just being nice, but I joined in high school and fell in love with it. I feel so blessed to be competing at the collegiate level. God has given me this amazing opportunity to fully maximize my talents. From improving my racing skills and sharpening my mental toughness to enjoying the close bonds with teammates and discovering more about myself, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything!
Q: You are a
Chemistry major in Revelle College. What has been your favorite class at UCSD
so far and why?
INOUYE: This sounds super nerdy, but CHEM 6BL. It was a ton of work and super stressful, but I really enjoyed making crystals and watching the titration solution turn a pink rose color. It was my first time being in an actual lab, so it had that fascination factor as well.
Q: How have your
aspirations to become a nutritionist influenced your training and preparation?
INOUYE: My aspirations have made me curious as to why we need certain foods and vitamins and how they affect performance. I'm definitely more health conscious of what I eat because of what I have learned.
Q: Which member or
members of the UCSD cross country team do you look up to the most? Which member
of the team makes you laugh the hardest? Who would you say has the best fashion
INOUYE: Nina Su's attitude and actions reflect her strong faith in God, and she just glorifies Him in everything she does. It's amazing and something I truly admire. And Bre Schofield's determination and tough mentality is incredible. That girl does not back down. Her drive to excel in this sport inspires me to work hard.
Our whole team is pretty funny, but Caprice [Thompson]'s laugh is the most infectious. I can't help but laugh when I'm around her. And last but not least, Marie [Schaper] has a stylin' sense of fashion that is Gossip Girl worthy!
Previous Q & A Articles
David Morton (Men's Water Polo) October 28, 2009
Juan Pablo Carillo (Men's Swimming) October 19, 2009
Sara Spaventa (Women's Soccer) October 10, 2009
Karen Reis (Women's Volleyball) October 2, 2009
Daniel Pavitt (Men's Soccer) September 23, 2009
Daniel Anderson (Cross Country) September 11, 2009
Peter Gresham (Men's Water Polo) September 2, 2009
Alexia Zatarain (Women's Soccer) August 24, 2009
Elaine Chen (Women's Volleyball) August 12, 2009
Jared Kukura (Men's Soccer) July 30, 2009
Dawn Lee (Former Women's Soccer Standout) July 8, 2009
Rob Mamula (Director of Athletic Performance) June 18, 2009
Garrett Imeson (Baseball) June 8, 2009
Leon Baham (Men's Track & Field) May 21, 2009
Kristyn Lesovsky (Softball) May 8, 2009
Kazumi Negishi (Men's Tennis) May 5, 2009
Laiah Blue (Women's Track & Field) April 16, 2009
Ryan Andre (Men's Crew) April 2, 2009
Josh Tanner (Baseball) March 24, 2009
Anju Shimura (Women's Swimming) March 7, 2009
Stephanie Bocian (Women's Water Polo) February 20, 2009
Lauren Chastain (Softball) February 5, 2009
A.J. Maulhardt (Men's Basketball) January 28, 2009
Annette Ilg (Women's Basketball) January 22, 2009
Steven Hardy (Men's Swimming) January 13, 2009
Frank Fritsch (Men's Volleyball) January 5, 2009
Kendall Bohn (Women's Swimming) December 22, 2008
Kelvin Kim (Men's Basketball) December 15, 2008
Michelle Osier (Women's Basketball) December 5, 2008
Sylvia Schmidt (Women's Volleyball) November 7, 2008
Denny Harper (Men's Water Polo Head Coach) October 17, 2008
Ron Larsen (USA Volleyball Assistant Coach) October 13, 2008
Jessica McGovern (Women's Soccer) October 6, 2008
Bre Schofield (Cross Country) September 26, 2008
Tony Fernandez (Men's Soccer) September 18,2008
Kimberly Carpenter (Women's Volleyball) September 12, 2008
A.J. Kotanjian (Men's Water Polo) September 2, 2008
Peter Akman (Men's Soccer) August 21, 2008
Natasha Belak-Berger (Women's Soccer) August 15, 2008
Jake LaVieux (Men's Cross Country) August 8, 2008
Dr. Penny Rue (Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs) July 30, 2008
Michelle Torres (Women's Volleyball) July 15, 2008
Jon Pascale (Men's Soccer Head Coach) July 1, 2008
Julie Ertel (Athletics) June 16, 2008
Clint Allard (Men's Basketball) June 9, 2008
Jen Myers (Women's Crew) May 27, 2008
Casey Ryan (Men's Track and Field and Men's Basketball) May 21, 2008


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Bring a medium saucepan of well-salted water to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Season fish with salt and pepper and add to water. Cook at a low simmer until fish is cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Flake into pieces.
Spread goat cheese on toasted baguette. Top one slice of the baguette with salmon, asparagus, and juice of the lemon wedge. Top with second slice.