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Dem super PAC made dollars count
Democrat Elizabeth Warren and Republican Sen. Scott Brown made a highly publicized pledge in Massachusetts: Neither candidate would allow super PACs or other outside groups to dump unlimited — and anonymous — money into their hotly contested Senate race.
But one Democratic super PAC got into the race anyway.
Story Continued Below
Majority PAC, founded by several operatives close to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid — along with several allied organizations — ended up spending about $2 million in the final weeks of the race on direct mail, a field operation and other under-the-radar activities to help Warren, a liberal icon, defeat the well-funded Brown.
It was just a fraction of the $60 million-plus that Majority PAC and its nonprofit sister organization Patriot Majority — which does not disclose its donors — would raise for Senate races nationwide.
The two groups' involvement in these key Senate battles — despite the public disapproval of super PACs and secret money by Democratic leaders — would prove critical in the stunning Democratic Senate sweep in last week's elections.
"No matter what people think about super PACs, their role in protecting the Senate majority was undeniable," said Susan McCue, a former top Reid aide and co-founder of the Majority PAC. "We had to go into the states and serve as a firewall and hold ground."
Majority PAC was created and run by a small group of Reid loyalists seeking to counter Karl Rove's high-spending American Crossroads and other Republican super PACs that fueled GOP wins during the 2010 midterm elections.
It's also a window into the brave new world of virtually unlimited campaign fundraising, in which anyone with a checkbook and a lawyer can create his or her own super PAC and flood the airwaves with attack ads. The Center for Responsive Politics tracked more than 1,000 super PACs that raised $660 million-plus this cycle, most of it pro-GOP money.
For much of 2011, Majority PAC — like House Majority PAC, which backed House Democrats, and Priorities USA, a pro-Obama super PAC — had trouble getting off the ground. Skeptical Democratic senators and liberal donors despised the rise of super PACs following the Supreme Court's January 2010 Citizens United decision.
But one by one, Democratic senators started to jump on the super PAC bandwagon.
Reid and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer for months cajoled big donors to pony up, and the Senate super PAC landed huge personal checks from the likes of Wall Street billionaire James Simons and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), as well as Richard Blum, husband of Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Reid's leadership fund kicked in $255,000, and California Sen. Barbara Boxer's gave $205,000. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner's Forward Together PAC gave $200,000. Democratic Sens. Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Chris Coons of Delaware, Al Franken of Minnesota, Mark Begich of Alaska and Tom Carper of Delaware shelled out tens of thousands more in campaign funds.
Even former President Bill Clinton helped out, headlining a late September Park Avenue luncheon fundraiser for the House, Senate and Obama super PACs at the home of New York philanthropists Donald and Shelley Rubin at which about 30 donors gave millions more to the group's war chest.


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Long Beach Medical Center and Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach
2801 Atlantic Avenue
P.O. Box 1428
Long Beach, CA 90806
(562) 933-3800Fax:
(562) 933-3888
- Monday through Friday, from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM
- Check-In/Out Hours from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM
House staff parking is the employee parking structure of 27th St. and Pasadena Ave. Medical Students and Observers may have access to the fenced parking lot off Spring St. and Pasadena north of the Buffum Pavilion. Please ask for the current access code.
We are located on the basement level of LBMMC, adjacent to the Medical Library.

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text: We are a leading manufacturer and wholesale supplier of Coveralls. Our Dr. SMARTH ™ Coveralls are high quality and advanced formula that is clinically proven and well tested by industry experts and quality assurance team. Being as an ISO certified and USFDA listed company, our cGMP compliant modern manufacturing facilities provide the customized solutions for superior quality private label and OEM (contract manufacturing) at affordable price across the world.


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Gold Coast Skydive are the only Tandem Skydive operation on the gorgeous Gold Coast! Boasting an excellent safety record, state of the art equipment and a pristine beach-side location. They have a great team full of fun and professional tandem masters who will take passengers through all the necessary training and go out of their way to make sure it's a truly amazing experience that you will never forget!
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Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is taking advantage of federally funded research into topological data analysis (TDA) to find new ways of extracting and using information from data sets that are too large and complex to yield to traditional analytical techniques.
The lab is collaborating with Ayasdi Inc., a commercial spin-off from research at Stanford University that is funded through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation. Ayasdi's Insight Discovery platform is a software suite already being used by private- and public-sector organizations, including the intelligence community, to glean insights from large and varied data collections.
"Big data challenges are a part of our mission," said Anantha Krishnan, director of the lab's Office of Mission Innovation.
The lab uses high-performance computing for modeling and simulation in areas of energy, climate change, biological defense and national security. "For many years the lab has had to rely on homegrown technology," Krishnan said. "We have developed our own set of data analysis tools and modeling and simulation tools."
But the lab also is looking at commercial tools that have emerged as big data has become a mainstream subject in IT. "Our sense is that topological data analysis could be a big contributor to the things we do," Krishnan said.
Topology is a branch of mathematics dating to the 18th century that studies shapes. In the 21st century it has been expanded to apply to problems beyond physical shapes and surfaces to include the very large and high-dimensional data sets that constitute what is called big data. Data has shape, and shape has meaning, said Krishnan. The lab's work with Ayasdi, announced in November, is an effort to extract that meaning.
"We are going through the evaluation phase now," said Krishnan. "Our hope is that in the next few months the value will become clear." The challenge in working with big data is not just volume. Big data is more than small data made large, said Ben Mann, Ayasdi's vice president of federal operations. "Big data, done right, is completely different."
How it works
Traditional topology assumes that what is being studied exists in a metric space in which the distance between points can be measured. In three-dimensional space, this can be used in tasks ranging from computer graphics to statistics to infer features or relationships. Using TDA, data points from more complex data sets can be put into a multidimensional framework and relationships identified based on the distances of the points from each other.
"The fundamental idea is that topological methods act as a geometric approach to pattern or shape recognition within data," says a September 2013 article in the journal Science co-authored by Ayasdi CEO Gurjeet Singh. It allows "exploration of the data, without first having to formulate a query or hypothesis."
That is, researchers can find things they did not know they were looking for. For instance, in a database of billions upon billions of phone records scientists could make sense of who was talking to whom. TDA could show these patterns across multiple databases without being queried about specific relationships.
At a high level the concept is simple. But it is difficult for people living in a 3D world to make sense of the n-dimensional space in which data lives, Ayasdi's Mann said. "It is very hard for anyone to picture in his mind what that complicated shape is."
Another difficulty is picturing relationships not just within a data set, but between data sets that have differing formats. TDA can identify and display shapes based only on the notion of distance between points regardless of the specific dimensional framework of the data set.
The software developed for the Insight Discovery platform analyzes the data to produce dimensional shapes, then uses algorithms to extract relationships shown in them. The platform does not query the databases. "We let the data speak to us and illustrate features we might not have been looking for," Mann said.
Although the practical use of topology in big data analysis is new, the roots of TDA date back to research begun in the 1970s at Stanford University. In 2003 the university received $10 million from DARPA and NSF to develop TDA into a practical tool, and Ayasdi was founded in 2008 to commercialize software developed from that research.
Government uses of TDA
"We plan to be ubiquitous," Mann said. The software is being used today in the pharmaceutical, energy and financial services sectors, as well as in government agencies including the Agriculture Department, where it has been used to study E. coli bacteria; the Director of National Intelligence's Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity; and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The resources required to use the software depend on the amount of data being analyzed. It can be run on a laptop computer for small jobs, while some agencies with a tremendous amount of data use supercomputers. "Our software is massively scalable," Mann said.
Ayasdi offers its TDA platform as a cloud-based service, although intelligence agencies prefer to license the software and keep their data in their own clouds, Mann said.
Mann called the Lawrence Livermore partnership "a huge opportunity for us," because of the technical expertise of the lab's staff, its access to many types of data and its advanced computing power. The lab, in Livermore, Calif., is home to two of the fastest supercomputers in the world. Its Sequoia was ranked the third fastest at 17.2 petaflops (quadrillion calculations per second) in the most recent TOP500 listing, and Vulcan was in ninth place at 4.3 petaflops.
The collaboration arose from personal connections between the lab and people at DARPA familiar with the research, Lawrence Livermore's Krishnan said. "Many of us became convinced this could have a major impact on what we're trying to do. One of the things we saw immediately was its ability to go into complex, heterogeneous data sets and extract patterns in a way that is query free."
An agreement was reached in February 2013. The software is being made available to Lawrence Livermore researchers who are looking at ways to use it. So far, "feedback has been positive," Krishnan said.
Lawrence Livermore is a national leader in modeling, simulation and big data computing, working in areas ranging from climate change to national security. One of the principal areas in which Krishnan hopes to bring the Ayasdi platform to bear is public health, a growing area that fits into the lab's biodefense portfolio.
"Biodefense has been a mission of the lab for 20 years now," Krishnan said. In that time the field has moved from simply deploying biological detection devices and into the clinical space. Now biodefense is entwined with public health. The large volume of personal medical data being gathered by public health agencies is "a very rich target for us."
The lab is at the forefront of the area of bioinformatics, which deals with the storage and analysis of biological data, and hopes to bring the power of topological data analysis to bear in this research area.
"We're talking about terabytes of data or probably more," Krishnan said. "If you want to get a handle on the global problem, you are looking at a pretty big data challenge."
About the Author
William Jackson is a Maryland-based freelance writer.
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SKF Microlog Analyzer AX
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The Microlog AX offers simultaneous triaxial or four-channel vibration measurement capabilities and, with fast real-time rate and display updates – all viewed on a vivid 6.4" VGA colour display for easy viewing in any light.
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The Crimson improved to 31-6 in Lavietes Pavilion since 2008-09 with its 69-57 win over Rhode Island (Gil Talbot).
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Christine Clark led a trio of double-digit scorers as the Harvard women's basketball team picked up its first win of the year, 69-57, Tuesday night at Lavietes Pavilion.
Clark scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds, falling one board short of recording her second career double-double. The sophomore went 8-of-9 at the free-throw line, where she has now hit on 17 her last 19 attempts.
Elle Hagedorn and Elise Gordon each notched a new career high, with Hagedorn netting 14 points and Gordon 10. Hagedorn was 5-of-7 from the field with three assists and two steals while Gordon connected on 4-of-7 attempts. All nine Crimson (1-3) players who saw action on Tuesday scored at least one point.
Harvard's win improves the team to 31-6 at Lavietes since 2008-09 and is the Crimson's third straight victory in home openers. Harvard finished the game shooting 41.0 percent from the floor while converting 13 Rhode Island (1-4) turnovers into 20 points. The Crimson also held advantages in rebounds (43-33), points in the paint (30-10) and bench points (27-10).
Ashley Rivera led Rhode Island with 17 points while Emilie Cloutier and Sherrie Session each added 11.
Harvard opened the game on a 12-4 run as Clark and Victoria Lippert each netted five points through the first five minutes. A fastbreak layup by Clark pushed the score to 18-8 before back-to-back baskets by Hagedorn and Emma Golen gave the Crimson a 22-9 advantage.
Harvard closed the half on an 11-0 run, holding the Rams scoreless for the final 4:52 to take a 44-22 lead into the break. Clark led all scorers with 16 points and six rebounds in the first half, shooting 5-of-7 from the floor and 6-of-7 at the line. A total of seven Crimson players scored in the frame as Harvard shot 56.7 percent while holding Rhode Island to a 27.3 percent clip.
URI opened the second half on a 9-0 run to cut its deficit to 44-31, but four straight points by Hagedorn regained a 17-point lead for the Crimson, 48-31. Harvard continued to keep the pressure on and went up 54-35 on a Brogan Berry jumper before taking its first 20-plus point lead, 56-35, on a Hagedorn drive. The Rams never got closer than 12 points down the stretch as Harvard secured its first victory of the year, 69-57.
The Crimson return to action Sunday, Nov. 27 at 2:00 p.m. versus Holy Cross at Lavietes Pavilion. Fans who can't make it to Cambridge for Sunday's game can watch all of the action live through GoCrimson.com by clicking here.
GAME NOTES: Elle Hagedorn scored a career-high 14 points in a career-best 26 minutes … Elise Gordon scored in double-digits for the first time in her career, also setting a career-high with 10 points … Christine Clark (18 points, 9 rebounds) fell one rebound shy of her second career double-double … Christine Clark has scored in double-digits each game this season and in six straight dating back to last season … Harvard has had three student-athletes score in double-digits each game this season … The Crimson are 31-6 at Lavietes Pavilion since 2008-09 and have won three straight home openers.


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BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The Birmingham-Southern women's basketball team moved to 2-0 on the young season Monday evening with a 77-39 victory against Oakwood University in Bill Battle Coliseum.
The Lady Ambassadors scored the first basket of the game for what would be their only lead of the game. BSC proceeded to score 17 straight points to pull up 17-2 and never looked back, leading by 23 at the half, 39-16. The Panthers used several more small scoring runs in the second half to build on their lead, eventually winning by 38.
Junior Diamond Elston and sophomore Ashley Curry led the Panthers with 13 points apiece, and senior Elizabeth Bromirski had 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Freshman Jasmynn Batts also led with five assists.
For Oakwood, Christy Harris led all players with 25 points, while Simona Nappier led on the boards with 11 rebounds.
BSC shot 46.7 percent (28-60) from the field, 38.5 percent (10-26) from three-point range, and 47.8 percent (11-23) from the free throw line. Oakwood struggled offensively, shooting only 21.3 percent (10-47) overall, 15.4 percent (2-13), and 68 percent (17-25) at the line.
The Panthers out-rebounded the Ambassadors 50-31, and committed 16 turnovers, seven less than Oakwood.
BSC travels this weekend to face Piedmont in Demorest, Ga., Saturday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. Eastern. The Panthers will return home to host Maryville on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 6 p.m. in Bill Battle Coliseum.


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Operation Clean Sweep, Georgia State University Police, 2008
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Gabriel Landeskog will not play for Lake Erie
[media-credit id=237 align="alignright" width="495″][/media-credit]
I talked with the Avalanche captain (still feels weird to say that) Gabriel Landeskog today. He was part of a group of players skating at a local rink, a group that included Jan Hejda and former Avs Ben Guite and Steve Reinprecht. I'll have a fuller story on what these guys are up to in the paper soon, but for the blog here, I'll pass along the news:
Landeskog will not be playing in the American Hockey League this year, at Lake Erie. While some young NHL stars such as Ryan-Nugent Hopkins will play for the Oilers' AHL affiliate, Landeskog won't.
He wouldn't get into the reasons for that decision – whether it was his alone or a joint decision with the Avs. All I know is Landeskog said he won't be playing there.
Landeskog won't be playing for any team in the next few weeks, in fact. Unless, of course, there is a miracle and the CBA is settled soon and he plays for the Avalanche.
Landeskog's plan is to stay in the area until at least the middle of October. He is in the process of looking for a new house in the area. If the lockout looks nowhere near being settled by then, Landeskog said he will "consider my options", which could include playing for a team in Europe. There have been rumors that Landeskog might play for Djurgardens of the Swedish League, in the second division. While top Swedish teams have said they won't allow NHL players to sign unless they commit to a full season, that applies to only the top, first-division teams.
*Update: The Swedish Elite League just today reversed its decision that would have banned players from signing temporary deals.
Djurgardens is the team Landeskog once played, when he first started out at as a pro in Sweden. So it makes sense that's the one he'd go back to.
I shot a little video today. First up,
Landeskog scoring a nice shootout goal on Curtis McElhinney, who signed recently with Columbus. McElhinney still lives in the area, having played four years at Colorado College.
But to be fair to CMac, here's him making a nice stop on another Landy attempt:
Finally, a snippet of the action from their game of shinny today. Several DU players were part of the group, including Nick Shore.


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Hockey teams wearing darker-colored jerseys are more likely to be penalized for aggressive fouls than teams wearing white jerseys, according to new research. Teams wearing black jerseys in particular get penalized the most, according to an analysis that may offer a window into the hidden psychological dynamics of the ongoing NHL playoffs.
"Teams that wore black jerseys were penalized more, significantly more, than teams wearing other colored jerseys," said researcher Gregory Webster of the University of Florida, Gainesville.
The psychologist said that teams that wore darker colored jerseys were penalized about two minutes more per game. The finding is based on an analysis of more than 50,000 NHL games over a quarter century. Players spend nearly a million minutes in penalty boxes in those games.
While the link between jersey colors and penalties is correlational, Webster said it's likely to be more than mere coincidence: A 2003 rule-change by the NHL that affected whether teams wore white or colored jerseys for home and away games allowed researchers to conduct a quasi-experiment.
Before 2003, teams typically wore white jerseys at home and colored jerseys for away games. After 2003, teams wore colored jerseys at home and white jerseys for away games. There were some exceptions, but the change in uniforms meant that the researchers could disentangle the influence of the jersey-colors on penalties from the possibility that teams were being penalized more or less depending on whether they were playing in front of a home crowd.
Why The Increase In Penalties?
It is not entirely clear what's driving the link between darker colored jerseys and increased penalties. But Webster said there could be a handful of different explanations.
One possibility is that players wearing darker colored jerseys are more visible on the ice than players wearing white, allowing referees to spot fouls more easily. The trouble with that theory is that players wearing black jerseys in particular got penalized more than players wearing other dark colors — it isn't clear why black would be so much more visible on the ice than other dark colors.
A second possibility is that wearing dark colors somehow makes players more aggressive, which lands them more often in the penalty box.
A third possibility, Webster said, is that players were not doing anything different, but that the referees had unconscious biases against black and other dark colors.
"There is this very strong cultural association that comes through in how we think about colors in terms of white being associated with good and black with bad," Webster said in an interview. "Many of us are raised from childhood with some of these associations. And over time, we develop a kind of cognitive bias. That's been shown time and time again in social psychology."
In an earlier study, researchers at Cornell University also found a similar pattern of increased fouls among NFL teams that wore darker colors. The researchers conducted an experiment where they had high school and college students run two versions of identical football plays, wearing white uniforms in one version and black uniforms in the second version. Referees who later watched the identical version of the plays called fouls more often when the players wore black.
The research is to be published in the May issue of the journal, Social Psychological and Personality Science. Webster's co- authors are Geoffrey R. Urland of Boulder-based Toravner Research and Design, and Joshua Correll at the University of Chicago.
And from the rough and tumble world of British media, we move to hockey. Last night, the Washington Capitals knocked the defending champion Boston Bruins out of the National Hockey League playoffs in a dramatic game seven overtime victory. This opening playoff round has been filled with upsets and also penalties. Nine players have been suspended so far for violent play. Now some research shows that hidden psychological factors play a role in how hockey penalties are doled out. NPR science correspondent, Shankar Vedantam, joins us often to talk about curious sorts of social science research. Welcome.
SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: Hi Renee, how are you?
MONTAGNE: Pretty good. So, what is this new research about?
VEDANTAM: So, as a word of background, Renee - when a hockey player commits an aggressive foul, the referee can penalize a hockey player by putting him in the penalty box, and typically, this is for two minutes. And during that time, the player's team plays with only four men on the ice, while the other team plays with five men on the ice. This is called a power play and it's a significant scoring opportunity for the team that has more players. Now there's this new research by the psychologist at the University of Florida, his name is Gregory Webster. He's found that the color of the uniforms that the players are wearing plays a significant role in how often the teams get penalized. And in particular, he's found that one color gets teams penalized the most.
GREGORY WEBSTER: Teams that wore black jerseys were penalized more - significantly more - than teams wearing other colored jerseys.
VEDANTAM: And Webster has found that teams wearing black get an average of about two minutes more, per game, in the penalty box.
MONTAGNE: What would cause certain colors to get more penalties?
VEDANTAM: The short answer is, I don't think anyone knows. This was a very large study that has an empirical finding. It wasn't necessarily designed to answer the question why. That said, Webster has a few theories. The most obvious theory is that hockey is a game that's being played on the ice, and so teams that wear colored uniforms, the referees are more able to spot fouls because players wearing colored uniforms stand out more clearly on the ice. Now, one problem with that theory is that teams wearing black uniforms got penalized significantly more than teams wearing other dark colors. There's another explanation, which is that wearing dark jerseys simply makes players, somehow, more aggressive. That they're actually committing more fouls when they wear the darker colored jerseys, and that's why they're ending up in the penalty box more often. And finally, I think there's a third explanation. And that is that the teams wearing darker jerseys are the victims of, you know, unconscious biases on the part of referees. Hears Webster again.
WEBSTER: There's a very strong cultural association that comes through in how we think about colors, in terms of white being associated with good and black being associated with bad. Many of us are raised, from childhood, with some of these associations. And over time, we develop a, kind of, cognitive bias. And that's been shown time and time again in social psychology.
MONTAGNE: Time and time again, not, obviously, only in hockey then?
VEDANTAM: So, this has actually been demonstrated in several sports. Several years ago, there were researchers at Cornell University who conducted an experiment. They had high school and college football students, essentially run the same football plays. In some cases, the teams wore white uniforms, and in other cases, they wore black uniforms. And when the researchers showed the videos of these plays to referees, it turned out that the referees penalized the team significantly more when they were wearing the black uniforms, even though the plays were completely identical.
MONTAGNE: That's Shankar Vedantam, who joins us regularly to talk about research on topical issues. Tell him your theories about hockey jerseys on Twitter @hiddenbrain. And while you're at it, you can follow this program @morningedition. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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By now, you know that the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs fired their respective coaches. Grantland's Bill Barnwell did a nice job of explaining why both of these firings were essentially CYA jobs by each team's respective GM. The Dolphins are a particularly baffling case because they are remaining loyal to GM Jeff Ireland, despite Ireland's lousy track record when it comes to both winning and keeping his foot out of his mouth. Chiefs GM Scott Pioli at least has a Super Bowl pedigree to bolster his argument that he deserves to hire a second head coach. Ireland has no similar accomplishments to his resume.
Regardless, both men have retained power over their respective organizations, and so both will be allowed to hire a new coach. In both cases, that means no big-name ex-coaches like Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden, the kind of coaches who would demand say over personnel matters. In KC, interim coach Romeo Crennel is already lobbying for the job full-time, and Josh McDaniels' name has also been mentioned, just in case Chiefs fans didn't already feel like committing mass hanging suicide. And the Jeff Fisher Super PAC has already made inroads in Miami.
Every one of these rumored candidates is a crummy idea. Crennel and McDaniels are both established head coaching failures. And if Pioli again goes with an ex-Belichick assistant, he's basically conceding that he isn't willing to work with new people who might challenge him. And Fisher is a bad choice for a Miami team that should never again let a big-name coach use their job as a semi-retirement gift, as Jimmy Johnson did.
Both teams require the same kind of coach: experienced, levelheaded, and unfailingly intelligent. I have that coach, and his name is Mike Zimmer.
Look at that man. So handsome! Such strong hair! So football coachy looking! This is a man who lost Jonathan Joseph in the offseason AND Leon Hall in November and has still been able to make the Bengals defense look competent. That's not easy to do when Marvin Lewis is your boss.
Plus, Zimmer is a perfect fit for both Pioli and Ireland because he's a former assistant to Bill Parcells, who both men know and revere, but he was an INHERITED assistant of Parcells, which means he wasn't just some lackey following Parcells around all over the place. Zimmer is also widely admired in coaching circles for the graceful and dignified way he handled coaching in the face of his wife's sudden death two years ago. Zimmer is 55 years old, experienced enough to know what he's doing, but with the hunger of a newly minted head coach. He's the perfect candidate for both teams, and he'll likely end up coaching one of them.
The only question is, will Pioli and Ireland have the stones to bring him in? Or will they demand their own personal Norv?


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Rieder: Another digital operation puts its money on print
Last summer, when Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post and Boston Red Sox owner John Henry snapped up The Boston Globe, a couple of key figures in Alaska journalism took notice.
Alice Rogoff, majority owner and publisher of Alaska Dispatch, and Tony Hopfinger, executive editor and co-founder of the local news website, had been looking for ways to expand their reach. An idea was born: Maybe they could collaborate with, or even take over, the state's largest newspaper, the Anchorage Daily News.
So they made the pilgrimage to Sacramento, home base of McClatchy, one of the nation's largest newspaper companies and owner of the Anchorage daily. When the dust settled last week, the six-year-old start-up had gobbled up the Pulitzer-winning, 68-year-old legacy news outlet for $34 million. Alaska Dispatch takes over the paper, which has a circulation of 58,000 on weekdays and 72,000 on Sunday, on May 3.
It's a vivid sign of the new order of things in journalism. Yet it raises a big question: Why would people running a hip, happening digital operation want on take on the challenge of running an old-school newspaper, with all the printing and delivery costs that go with it and print advertising plummeting pretty much everywhere?
Hopfinger, a former Daily News reporter, isn't underestimating the degree of difficulty of what lies ahead. "It's definitely a big task," he says. "We hope our agility and our start-up culture will translate into breathing new life and taking the paper in a new direction."
It's generally agreed that competition is good for journalism, and this takes a major independent player out of the game. But Hopfinger says he believes the takeover will mean better content.
Combining the two staffs, each with 10 to 12 reporters, will result in more firepower, in his view. No longer will two reporters have to cover the daily meat-and-potatoes, courts, cops and schools. That will free up more journalists to pursue the enterprise stories and accountability journalism the Dispatch was created to pursue.
"The point is not to take news out of the market," says Rogoff, a former CFO of U.S. News & World Report and onetime assistant to Donald Graham when Graham was publisher of The Washington Post. "The point is to put more news in the market."
Hopfinger sees another way to bring about more ambitious local coverage. He anticipates a Daily News of the future with far less national and international news. By saving on the cost of syndicated material and eliminating the need for editors to focus on it, maybe that allows the paper and website to put a couple more reporters on the street.
The Daily News is in the black, Hopfinger says, and the new owners hope to increase circulation by distributing once again in areas of the far-flung state the Daily News has abandoned. He says the Dispatch would be profitable as well if it didn't keep reinvesting in the news operation, as Rogoff insists.
The first task is merging the two websites, which Hopfinger hopes to achieve within two months.
Alaska Dispatch was launched on a shoestring in 2008 by Hopfinger and his then-wife Amanda Coyne, both freelancers at the time. It gained serious traction after Hopfinger's fortuitous meeting a year later with Rogoff, who had moved to Alaska in 2001 and rapidly fell in love with the beauty of the place and the people.
Hopfinger desperately needed an angel. Rogoff, who is married to billionaire financier David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group, wanted to better tell what she calls "the greatest untold story of resources and opportunity in the world."
Over buffalo burgers and beer, Rogoff agreed to open up the exchequer in what Hopfinger calls a "cocktail napkin deal." Their partnership developed against the backdrop of a steady decline in the news gathering capacity of the Daily News.
Rogoff and Hopfinger, who grew up outside of Chicago, love doing journalism in their adopted home state. Hopfinger says Alaskans seem to be more engaged readers than elsewhere. There are big, meaty issues to cover: the dominant oil industry, the isolated native population, climate change in the Arctic. And the locals seem to eat up the long-form approach that is the Dispatch's metier.
Alaska, he says, "is a very cool place to do journalism."


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Want to hear some good news?
On the heels of a year so completely immersed in negative news headlines, it's time for some solid, bonafide positive news: The 2009 U.S. summer camping season seems to have exceeded expectations in many cases, especially for parks that aren't located in remote locales. That's the message from several articles in the upcoming issue of Woodall's Campground Management, sister publication to RVBusiness and RVBUSINESS.COM.
"Reports that the economy still stinks are in direct conflict with what our members are telling us," said Mark Anderson, chairman of the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) and a veteran New York State campground owner. "Of course there is legitimate concern, though many of our members are reporting average to good business."
Leisure Systems Inc., franchisors for the Yogi Bear Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts, reports revenues up 5% for the season. In fact, several resorts that added waterparks to their facilities saw revenues soar more than 50% this year, reported Dean Crawford, LSI vice president. Some franchisees posted business gains of as much as 10 to 20%, while others reported flat business. On the other hand, Jellystone parks located in out-of-the-way locations tended to register more disappointing results.
Jim Rogers, chairman of Kampgrounds of America Inc., declares in an article in this same issue that the Montana-based park network is seeing a strong resurgence in all types of camping — tents, cabins and RVs – and that camper occupancy this year is on par with 2007, the best year in KOA's 47-year history."
All told, the great American outdoors has never looked better to U.S. travelers.
The statistics bear this out.
Nationally, campground reservations in the first six months of 2009 rose 8% over last year, according to the Wall Street Journal. The sale of fishing licenses nationwide is up 7% this year. Outdoor equipment store REI reported sales of family tents up by 20%.
The national park system, spurred by three "fee-free weekends," is headed for a record-breaking year in 2009 if current travel trends hold up. Nearly 232 million people have already visited national park sites this year with recreational visits in '09 up almost 5% vs. the first nine months of 2008, ABC News reports. If visitation stays strong through year's end, in fact, the parks could see more than 288 million visitors for '09, topping the previous records of more than 287 milllion in 1987 and 1999, the National Park Service (NPS) confirms.
Yellowstone National Park, in itself, had a record number of visitors in July, with over 900,000, up from about 800,000, in July 2008.
Camping in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was up this summer for the first time in almost a decade. Smoky Mountain visitation so far this year was up 6.2% over last year at press time. The park's strongest month of the summer was June, which registered a whopping 11% increase over June 2008, according to the Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel.
Glacier National Park just finished its busiest summer in 15 years, tallying 1.47 million visitors through its entrance stations in June, July and August, according to the dailyinterlake.com — the highest summer visitor total since 1994, when 1.5 million visitors entered the park during the peak season.
What's up with all this good news?
"Generally, in times of economic turmoil, national parks are seen as being a great value, and people really connect with the parks as a place to go," says Jeffey G. Olson, a spokesman.
Meanwhile, WCM Contributor Bob Ashley, sampling private campground owners across the nation in his monthly "On Campgrounds" column, finds a consistent pattern. For instance, Ozark RV Park in Mountain View, Ark., owner Andy Rutledge tells Ashley that his 73-site park had the best summer season since he bought the park nine years ago.
Yellowstone Park KOA in West Yellowstone, Mont., experienced a good year, too, although people are being more frugal. "Occupancy has been quite high this year," said manager John Dutton. "But store and auxiliary sales are not there. People are not going into the restaurants as much and not buying as many souvenirs. People are traveling, but they aren't spending their dollars."
Even with a challenged economy and bad weather early, Dan Adams, owner of Lake Bohoseen Campground in Bohoseen, Vt., was pleased with the results at his 140-site park. "I think we did quite well," said Adams, whose park also sells travel trailers and recreational park trailers. "We were way down in May and June, but July and August turned around when the weather got better. We ended up about even with last year."
Even in two Midwestern states hard hit by the recession, there were encouraging signs. Michigan park operators seem to have held their own in 2009, reported the Detroit News. Many destinations reported little change from last year, a small victory for resort operators who feared the state's escalating unemployment rate – now at 15% – and fallout from the auto industry's collapse would keep budget-conscious consumers away.
Ohio State Parks data from mid-July show camping has increased by over 15% from last year, and getaway rentals – ranging from platform tents to camper cabins – also are up by almost 5%.


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Strong winds catch out top seeds again in Melbourne
Australia, February 11, 2014 - For the third time in two weeks Australia's
top-ranked male beach volleyball team has been found wanting in windy
conditions, beaten in straight sets on the St Kilda beach stop of the Renault National Beach Volleyball Tour.
Isaac Kapa and Chris McHugh were beaten by former Dane Bo Soderberg and 212-centimetre Dutchman Michiel Van Dorsten 2-0 (21-13, 21-18). Two weeks ago on the Gold Coast the Europeans ended McHugh and Kapa's perfect two-year record.
Last week McHugh and Kapa exacted revenge, beating Soderberg and Van Dorsten on Perth's Scarborough Beach.
Gale-force winds on 'Super Sunday' which blew sponsors tents away and pushed the ocean into the VIP tent, did not phase top seeded women Louise Bawden and Taliqua Clancy.
Stung by a shock loss, their first in two years, on Scarborough Beach one week earlier, Bawden and Clancy made short work of surprise Manly Beach finalists Pip Soulsby and Katie Bartoli, winning in straight sets 2-0 (21-16, 21-13).
Event organisers had toyed with pulling the plug on the event as ferocious winds made it almost impossible for players and completely unbearable for spectators.
But battle-weary athletes refused to concede, and as the conditions improved – marginally – the crowds returned.
As far as grudge matches go, the locking of horns of two former Olympic partners on a St Kilda beach volleyball court on Saturday did not disappoint.
Back in London in 2012, Louise Bawden and Becchara Palmer proudly wore the Australian colours together as they took on the world.
It did not really go to plan, and a disillusioned Palmer walked away from the
game, leaving her Victorian partner to find someone else to share the sand
with. But Palmer has since had a change of heart, and is back for the
Australian summer vowing to unseat her former partner as Australia's number one
player and to earn a ticket to Rio in 2016.
Such a match deserved a much bigger stage, but cautious organisers with one eye on a brutal weather forecast wisely decided on an early start.
Few of the early morning beachgoers who stopped to watch could have understood the enormity of the match unfolding before them. It certainly was not lost on the players, or the coaching staff – one who received a reprimand for badgering the chair umpire.
Of course, there were two other players on the court; Bawden now plays with Queenslander Taliqua Clancy, and the two spent last year plying their trade on the international stage.
And Palmer now calls former Youth Olympic silver medalist Zina Stone her partner, the Adelaide natives almost living in each other's pockets. There are plenty of similarities in their new partners. Both are feisty, focused and already showing they will not back away from a fight.But it was really the Bawden/Palmer show. When the latter and her partner stormed to a 21-11 first set win, the talk and the walk came together.
The intensity grew in the second set. Suddenly umpire calls that were met with a shrug of the shoulders in the opening set were being openly challenged, and in that environment it was the worldy-wise heads of Bawden and Clancy that remained cool, holding on to win 21-19 and forcing a third set.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the damage was done. Bawden and Clancy raced out to a 5-0 lead, a gap that is almost impossible to run down in a shortened third set, eventually winning 15-7.
They will meet again, probably on numerous occasions, between now and Rio but it did not happen in the St Kilda finals.As of the weekend, Louise Bawden and Taliqua Clancy are Australia's premiere women's beach volleyball team.
The final round of the Renault National Beach Volleyball tour will be played in Cronulla from February 28.


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Girl gang-raped, filmed and thrown out of moving car in Punjab
Bathinda, Jan 21 : Another incident of gang rape came to light in north India when a woman was thrown out of a moving car after being forced upon for two days in Punjab.
A man and two women kidnapped the victim, who had gone to Chandigarh for a job interview, on Friday (January 18) on the pretext of asking directions, after which she was drugged and raped at a deserted location.
The accused then drugged her again and threw her out of a moving car near Bathinda on Sunday (January 20), where she was found and taken to a local hospital.
The traumatized victim recounted the horror she had faced, alleging that two women had helped the rapists.
"I had just got off at the bus stand in Sector-43, Chandigarh, when a man approached me asking for help with an address. As I started telling him, two women dragged me into their car and gave me an injection after which I lost consciousness. I do not know where they took me, but the next day I was raped and they made a video of it," she said.
Bathinda''s Superintendent of Police, Dharamveer Singh, said that the victim''s statement had been recorded and a probe has been initiated.
"A man named Rohitash found her on the roadside near Bathinda. She said that she had gone for an interview on January 18, and had been kidnapped and kept in captivity for two days, after which she had been thrown from a car. She has been admitted to the hospital and her statement has been recorded. She has alleged rape and the doctors are examining her," Singh said.
The incident is the second gangrape reported from Punjab this month, the first one being of a 30 year-old woman who was abducted by a bus driver and his conductor, and raped by them and their accomplices.
Anti-rape agitations and protests had broken out across India in December, after the brutal gangrape of a 23 year-old on a moving bus in New Delhi, who died a fortnight after the incident. (ANI)


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The voices of Joe Flacco and Dean Pees were audible from a football field away — Flacco barking out line calls and Pees providing instruction and encouragement to his young defense.
Standing about 10 yards behind his quarterback, Ravens offense coordinator Jim Caldwell did more observing than talking.
Wearing all black on a steamy Baltimore afternoon, Caldwell sporadically looked down at his play sheet but quickly returned his gaze to the action in front of him. When he spoke, he did so in measured tones, opting more for individual conversations than loud lectures.
"The one thing, he's always calm, cool and collected and smooth in the way he talks to us in the meeting room and how it relates on the field," Ravens tight end Ed Dickson said. "You can see the results."
When he replaced Cam Cameron as the Ravens' play caller last December — a move many Ravens credited as a big factor in the team's Super Bowl run — Caldwell was adamant that the team's offensive philosophy would not change.
There were only three regular-season games remaining, so even if Caldwell felt the need for it — and he clearly didn't — there wasn't enough time to implement such a drastic shift anyway.
But after spending significant time this offseason studying the Ravens' offense, Caldwell acknowledged that the team's attack could feature a few changes and his imprint could be more noticeable.
"It's different because, obviously, right at the beginning of the offseason, we had a chance to sit down and look at everything that we're doing [and] make the adjustments that we think we need to make," Caldwell said Friday after the Ravens finished up the second of three weeks of organized team activities. "Really, there aren't that many, for the most part, but we are changing a few things here and there, adding a few wrinkles, so it's been good. This is a little bit different than when I took over in December because we've had an opportunity to kind of think through a lot of things."
Caldwell was predictably vague about any specific changes. No NFL head coach or coordinator is going to unveil those plans through the media, especially not two months before training camp is even scheduled to begin and three months before the regular-season opener.
Still, Caldwell clearly recognizes the need for offensive improvement, despite the Ravens averaging 410.3 yards of total offense and 31 points per game in the playoffs on their way to the Super Bowl title and Flacco having one of the best postseasons for a quarterback in league history with 11 touchdowns and no interceptions.
"The big thing is we're just trying to get better in every phase," Caldwell said. "We averaged a little over 4 yards a carry just in terms of the running game. In certain situations, first and second down, we want to be a bit better. We want to be more consistent in terms of our passing game. We have that big-play capability, but we also need to be really precise in terms of our deep passing game. So we're working on a little bit of everything."
While the Ravens defense was overhauled this offseason, Caldwell's offense returns mostly intact. The only piece missing from last year — and it's a big piece — is veteran wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who was traded to the San Francisco 49ers. Caldwell called Boldin a "void" but repeatedly praised the team's younger receivers and some of the playmakers at other positions.
Versatile rookie fullback Kyle Juszczyk, a fifth-round pick from Harvard, was added to the mix and he could provide a different dimension.
But overall, the Ravens didn't think much offensive change was necessary, not with Flacco enjoying a breakout season, not with so many of their younger players, like wide receiver Torrey Smith, tight end Dennis Pitta and running back Bernard Pierce, coming into their own, and not with Caldwell growing more comfortable in his new role by the day.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," said wide receiver-return specialist Jacoby Jones, who will see an increase in offensive snaps with Boldin gone.
It's not that Caldwell, who called plays for the first time in the NFL in the Ravens' Week 14 loss to the Denver Broncos, inherited a bad offense. At the time of his dismissal, which came during his fifth season with the Ravens, Cameron's group ranked ninth in the NFL in points per game (25.5) and 18th in yards per game (344.4).
But the offense was still too inconsistent.
Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice disappeared from the game plan too many times, and the players — mainly Flacco — never felt they had enough say in what the Ravens were doing on game day.
However, under Caldwell, who was hired as the team's quarterbacks coach in January 2012, the Ravens ran the ball more. Flacco moved out of the pocket more frequently, threw more deep passes and wasn't as hesitant to use the middle of the field.
The results were immediate. In the final seven games, including the playoffs, the Ravens averaged 400.6 yards per game and 27.3 points per game. Several of the Ravens' top offensive players believe that was just a start of things to come.
"We're going to continue to get better on offense, and I think Jim is a great leader for our offense," Pitta said. "He's efficient, he's detailed. Everybody knows what is expected of them, the standard that is expected. So that's the great thing about it. You come onto the field and you have to try to meet that standard. I'm excited about our potential offensively with Jim at the helm and the talent that we have. It should be a good year."
Said Smith: "I think obviously we're confident in it. It's our second year with him. It's the same offense for us, some minor tweaks in the way he calls it. We're all excited about it. I don't think there's a better teacher in the league as an offensive coordinator. We're definitely lucky to have him."
As he surveyed his offense Friday, Caldwell, 58, was wearing sweatpants, a long-sleeved workout shirt and a Ravens' hat. Still, when he spoke, he sounded more like a reassuring professor than a hard-to-please football coach.
Caldwell certainly understands the expectations of the offense for the coming season. Just don't expect his demeanor to change too much, nor the accountability that he'll demand.
"Your responsibility changes a little bit," he said. "There are certain things you are responsible for, so you have to take care of those, but in terms of overall change in demeanor, or anything of that nature, no. There's not a whole lot of change there. But just in terms of getting done what we need to get done, that's my job. When they don't get it done right, guys lose their job, right? So we have to get it done right."
Latest Ravens
Baltimore Sun reporters Aaron Wilson and Matt Vensel contributed to this article.


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For tonight's fun, Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings has proposed that we play the game "Two Truths and a Lie." Here are three statements about my family history:
- Mayflower passenger James Chilton is my tenth great-grandfather.
- Morgan Spurlock (of "Super Size Me" fame) is my 3rd cousin.
- My great-grandfather served in both Confederate and Union forces during the Civil War.
Let me know in a comment which statement you think is a falsehood! Tomorrow evening I'll post the answer.
© 2011 Denise Spurlock


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Diabetes occurs when there is a higher level of glucose in the blood than is normal. Glucose comes from the breakdown of the food you eat. It travels through your body in the blood. A hormone called insulin then helps glucose move from your blood to your cells. Once glucose is in your cells, it can be used for energy. A problem making or using insulin means glucose cannot move into your cells. Instead, the glucose builds up in your blood. The build-up is called hyperglycemia.
Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that occurs or is first recognized during pregnancy. The extra glucose can affect the mother and the baby.
Large Baby Due to Gestational Diabetes
Copyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc.
Gestational diabetes is caused by reduced sensitivity to insulin during pregnancy.
Gestational diabetes is more common in women who are 25 years and older. It is also more common in women of Hispanic, African-American, Native-American, Asian-American, Indigenous Australian, or a Pacific Islander descent.
Factors that may increase the risk of gestational diabetes include:
Also, hormones that help the baby's growth may interfere with insulin.
This condition usually does not cause any symptoms. If symptoms do occur, they may include:
As part of prenatal screening, you will be tested for gestational diabetes. If you don't have a history of diabetes, the test will be done at 24-28 weeks of gestation. If you have any risk factors, the test may be done earlier in pregnancy. You will be given a drink that has a special glucose solution in it. The level of glucose in your blood will be measured. Other tests may be used that require fasting (not eating or drinking anything). If you are high risk for gestational diabetes or have symptoms, you will be tested earlier in the pregnancy.
The goal of treatment is to return blood glucose levels to normal. Treatment may include:
A dietitian can help develop a healthy meal plan. Guidelines include:
Do not gain more weight during pregnancy than advised. Excess weight can increase complications in pregnancy. It will also make it more difficult to control diabetes.
Physical activity can make it easier for the body to use glucose. There are some precautions and certain exercises that should be avoided.
A blood glucose monitor will help check glucose levels throughout the day. The glucose level will help plan meals, activities, and medication. Record the results. Discuss them at doctor visits.
Insulin injections may be needed to control diabetes. For some pregnant women, oral medication is recommended.
After delivery, glucose levels usually return to normal. Your glucose levels will be checked to make sure that you no longer have diabetes.
The following may help prevent gestational diabetes:
American Diabetes Association
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Canadian Diabetes Association
Women's Health Matters
Gestational diabetes. ACOG practice bulletin No. 30. Obstet Gynecol. 2001;98:525-538.
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). EBSCO DynaMed Plus website. Available at: http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T116237/Gestational-diabetes-mellitus-GDM . Updated June 29, 2017. Accessed September 7, 2017.
Hillier TA, Pedula KL, Vesco KK, et al. Excess gestational weight gain: modifying fetal macrosomia risk associated with maternal glucose. Obstet Gynecol. 2008;112:1007-1014.
How to treat gestational diabetes. American Diabetes Association website. Available at:
...(Click grey area to select URL)
Updated April 29, 2014. Accessed September 7, 2017.
2/5/2009 DynaMed Plus Systematic Literature Surveillance http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T116237/Gestational-diabetes-mellitus-GDM : Cheng YW, Chung JH, Kurbisch-Block I, Inturrisi M, Shafer S, Caughey AB. Gestational weight gain and gestational diabetes mellitus: perinatal outcomes. Obstet Gynecol. 2008;112:1015-1022.
4/1/2011 DynaMed Plus Systematic Literature Surveillance http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T116237/Gestational-diabetes-mellitus-GDM : Dhulkotia JS, Ola B, Fraser R, Farrell T. Oral hypoglycemic agents vs insulin in management of gestational diabetes: a systematic review and metaanalysis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2010;203(5):457.e1-9.
3/17/2014 DynaMed Plus Systematic Literature Surveillance http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T116237/Gestational-diabetes-mellitus-GDM : Luoto R, Laitinen K, et al. Impact of material probiotic-supplemented dietary counselling on pregnancy outcome and prenatal and postnatal growth: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Br J Nutr. 2010. Jun;103(12):1792-1799.
6/9/2014 DynaMed Plus Systematic Literature Surveillance http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T116237/Gestational-diabetes-mellitus-GDM : Qin JZ, Pang LH, et al. Obstetric complications in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2013;11:56
10/13/2014 DynaMed Plus Systematic Literature Surveillance http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T116237/Gestational-diabetes-mellitus-GDM : Zhang C, Tobias DK, et al. Adherence to healthy lifestyle and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2014 Sep 30;349.
Last reviewed September 2018 by
EBSCO Medical Review Board
Beverly Siegal, MD, FACOG
Last Updated: 10/13/2014


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I'm intending to use the default "post tags" taxonomy to provide a common set of tags across posts and 2 custom post types (to allow for collection/aggregation by tag).
I'd like to rename the "post tags" taxonomy to something else - like "general tags' - to make it a bit clearer, especially when this taxonomy is attached to other custom post types.
So, is there any way of doing this within Wordpress, or do I do it via SQL. Also, anyone know if there is an expectation that this taxonomy exists with the nane "post tags"


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Java Draw Created Jul 10, 2011 460 x 640px Unless noted Copyright 2011 brokenrose.
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Adorable and sweet draw! Such a cute kitty!
gorgeous & very sweet draw.. the beads are a great touch :0
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This is sooo adorable and soooo cute! The pearls are a nice touch. 5/5


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CARSON, Calif. (Friday, December 14, 2012) – The LA Galaxy announced today that the club has traded forward Edson Buddle to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for allocation money and Colorado's first round pick in the 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft. Buddle, who re-joined the Galaxy in February 2012 after spending a year with FC Ingolstadt in the German 2. Bundesliga, scored three goals in 28 appearances for the club in all competitions, helping LA win their second straight MLS Cup championship.
The fourth leading scorer in Galaxy history, Buddle originally joined LA in June 2007 and spent three and a half seasons with the club, scoring 42 times in 87 regular season appearances. An MLS All-Star in 2008 and again in 2010 when he scored a career-best 17 goals despite missing more than a month of games while representing the United States at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Buddle left MLS in January 2011, signing with FC Ingolstadt. The only player in MLS history to score 40 or more goals for two different clubs, Buddle scored 10 goals during his time overseas before re-joining the Galaxy in February.
Buddle, who has 93 goals in 250 career regular season games with the Galaxy, Columbus, New York and Toronto FC, scored in the Galaxy's regular season opener against Real Salt Lake on March 10, but was limited to just two more goals the rest of the year. He missed two months of the season while recovering from surgery on his right knee and appeared in five of the club's postseason games, making three starts. Buddle leaves the Galaxy having scored 45 goals in 106 regular season appearances for the club, as well as two goals in 12 postseason appearances.


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Lisa Van Allen
About the Author
Lisa Van Allen is the author of The Night Garden and The Wishing Thread. Her writing has been published in many literary journals and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She currently lives in northern New Jersey with her husband and their pet hedgehog.


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The Last Stand Feature Trailer (2013)
Feature trailer for The Last Stand.
Action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger makes his much-anticipated return to the big screen in Korean director Kim Jee-woon's hard-hitting US directorial debut, The Last Stand.
After leaving his LAPD narcotics post following a bungled operation that left him wracked with remorse and regret, Sheriff Ray Owens (Schwarzenegger) moved out of Los Angeles and settled into a life fighting what little crime ta kes place in sleepy border town Sommerton Junction. But that peaceful existence is shattered when Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega), the most notorious, wanted drug kingpin in the western hemisphere, makes a deadly yet spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy.
With the help of a fierce band of lawless mercenaries led by the icy Burrell (Peter Stormare), Cortez begins racing towards the US-Mexico border at 250 mph in a specially-outfitted Corvette ZR1 with a hostage in tow. Cortez' path: straight through Summerton Junction, where the whole of the U.S. law enforcement, including Agent John Bannister (Forest Whitaker) will have their final opportunity to intercept him before the violent fugitive slips across the border forever.
At first reluctant to become involved, and then counted out because of the perceived ineptitude of his small town force, Owens ultimately rallies his team and takes the matter into his own hands, setting the stage for a classic showdown.
2 min 21 sec
Posted On
November 07, 2012
Kim Jee-Woon
Andrew Knauer
January 18, 2013
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Zach Gilford
Forest Whitaker
Luis Guzman
Rodrigo Santoro
No Music Available


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The scorned wife of LeAnn Rimes' reported boy toy broke her silence about the country singer's rumored fling with the married father of two.
"He's just somebody I don't know," Eddie Cibrian's wife, Brandi Glanville, told People.com. "I don't understand. You think you know one thing and you wake up and it's all been a lie."
Cibrian's wife of eight years said she's spoken to Rimes twice recently and told the country starlet that she can have the father of two.
U.S. & World
"He's all yours," Glanville fumed.
Cibrian, 36, was first linked to Rimes in March after allegations surfaced that the two were having a steamy romance. He and Brandi have split a short time after LeAnn and her hubby called it quits this year.
The "CSI: Miami" star was spotted with LeAnn at a Kings of Leon concert in Los Angeles this weekend just after they went golfing at Valencia Country Club two days earlier, the People reported.
Glanville said one of the most difficult parts of the split has been telling her two sons, Mason, 6, and Jake, 2, what's happening between their mom and dad.
"There is one side of him that I absolutely love and always will," she said, "but that side of him is not the side I'm divorcing."


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Google Page Creator is awesome – anyone can build a good looking website in minutes using the built-in templates or they can write pages externally (say in Dreamweaver) and upload them to Creator.
And everything is free – there are no ads on your pages and Google takes care of all the web hosting bills. But as they say, all good things come to an end, and so is Google Page Creator getting replaced by Google Sites.
Compare Google Sites with Google Page Creator
While Google Sites and Google Pages have common feature (like the WYSIWYG AJAX editor), they are still quite different. For instance, you can't upload HTML pages to Google Sites and are therefore limited to using one of the built-in themes for your site design.
The second issue is that if you make a Google Site public, the associated 'site activity log' also becomes public – most website publisher will have reservations sharing this data with unknown visitors. Lastly, all external hyperlinks are 'nofollow' if that means anything to you.
Free Alternatives to Google Page Creator
Here's a roundup of some website building services that are free and non-technical.
1. Office Live Small Business – While the name may suggest that the service is only for small business owners, just about anyone can create their website here.
Website Builder inside Office Live Small Business
Office Live is easy and filled with goodies – you have tons of professional web templates and color themes to choose from, there're ready-made modules for common tasks like web forms, photo galleries, live maps, email newsletters, etc. plus you can also upload office documents to the website.
Everything is free including web hosting and server space. See a sample site.
2. Weebly – This is powerful but very user friendly and easy web page builder where you start with a blank canvas and build the page by dragging elements that include text, videos, pictures, maps and more.
Geeks can write their own HTML and add them to Weebly pages. There's support for Google ads as well so you can even monetize sites created inside Weebly. Another advantage – site publishers download their full site with pictures and CSS as a zip file. Free users gets 100 MB of free storage space and there're no bandwidth limitations. See sample site.
3. Snap Pages – This is Flash based website editor that is very beautiful and may be a perfect place if you looking to create a small website for sharing some photos and your calendar. The options are slightly limited for non-premium users as they can't create new pages. See sample site.
4. Edicy Pages – It's a new website creation tool that is just perfect for the techie crowd who wants more control over their site layout.
Start by picking a design from the template gallery and then you may completely change the look and feel of your site by editing the blog template similar to WordPress themes or Blogger template. It also supports JavaScript code and like Google Sites, Edicy tracks all changes made to a site. See example site.
5. Synthasite – This is again an easy yet very powerful tool for building websites but unlike competition, Syntasite is completely free. Images uploaded to Synthasite can be diretly edited in Picnik just like you have in Flickr. The tool also lets you embed Google AdSense ads in web pages much like Weebly. See example site.
Some more site builders worth checking out are WebOn, WebSketch, Viviti, Wix and Webs.


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I know I should be really shopping for my loved ones now that Christmas is around the corner, but I can't help picking out a few things for myself! (Hey I work hard too! LOL). Thank goodness for online shopping, I pretty much have dad and the BF done. :)
I had a huge headache today and couldn't even function to post as much as usual. I bought the Silver Pigment as well (which I haven't had time to swatch), but I will be posting a picture of ALL the pigments I currently have (request by a reader).
I have so many posts lined up just haven't had time to really divulge myself into it. (i.e. videos), hopefully soon once the holiday chaos dies down...
I went to the mall after work since I had to pick up an order and picked out a few things, I have a company Christmas party December 14th, so I wanted to wear RED and bought a nice slinky tube top dress and shoes to match.
I love these shoes!
I bought this cute little ring, I collect rings! I love big, chunky rings...
I am obsessed with cuff bracelets, I ended up buying 3 colors!
I also was in need of a bigger toiletries bag as the XOXO one I had was a tad bit too small for all my things, it even came with 2 smaller cosmetic bags, travel bottles, and a loofa!
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Monday, November 26, 2007
Shop 'til you drop...
I know I should be really shopping for my loved ones now that Christmas is around the corner, but I can't help picking out a few things for myself! (Hey I work hard too! LOL). Thank goodness for online shopping, I pretty much have dad and the BF done. :)
13 comments
- maya said...
I love red, the color is so sexy! But the design of the dress is even sexier. The shoes is really cute! What kind of makeup are you going to do for this outfit? I hope you'll post pictures when you go out with this. Anyway, I emailed you about the pigment samples when you posted you were taking orders again.
- November 27, 2007 at 12:14 AM
- Anonymous said...
Hello from Spain, I read all days your blog. I´m learning a lot with you, thanks.
Your new shoes are very pretty.
- November 27, 2007 at 3:19 AM
- RenRen said...
oh la la..check out all the cutesies! you're going to be the hottest one at the x-mas party, red is a great holiday color...i love that ring by the way...reminds me of rainbow eyeshadow...i can see you doing a pic with it for inspiration ;)
and i swear i saw that cosmetic bag somewhere...i can't put my finger on it though
- November 27, 2007 at 6:33 AM
- Kiki said...
The red dress and heels are HOT!! I've seen another color heel in that style from wet seal and i think they are just to die for. I'm sure you'll look gorgeous in your new outfit.
When i saw the makeup bag I thought it looked familar as well. is it from target/walmart?
We are anticipating your new FOTD with your new Metal-X collection. =)
- November 27, 2007 at 10:43 AM
- Vanessa said...
Ren and Kiki, the bag is from good ol Wal-Mart!
- November 27, 2007 at 11:12 AM
- Tracez of my Lipstick.... said...
o0o0 love the dress and shoes...i'm lookin for somethin to wear to our xmas party, but am soo stuck because snow is on the ground!!!! you have inspired me to keep lookin, i was givin up!!!
- November 27, 2007 at 11:50 AM
- alien man?! said...
photo invalid until i see you wear your haul!!! c'mon, nessa, girl, show us your fine bootay ;)
btw, let's do a blog challenge
next week, we should all post photos of ourselves wearing face masks and peels :D
- November 27, 2007 at 11:59 AM
- Vanessa said...
I am SO DOWN Alienman! Let's DO IT! I love hiding behind those peel-off masks hahaha
- November 27, 2007 at 12:01 PM
- Divine Blackness said...
OMG, girlfriend you got one hell of a hauuuuul. OK, what mall are you shoppin' at? Wowsers. I absolutely love the dress and shoes. And the jewels are just fab!
I wanna be in the challenge too! Yaaaay!
- November 27, 2007 at 2:25 PM
- karen, makeupandbeautyblog.com said...
Vanessa, I hope you are feeling better!
BTW, those shoes = AWESOME!
- November 27, 2007 at 4:45 PM
- Jellyn said...
I have that same dress in purple! hahaha... I'm also wearing it to my company Holiday Party. Unfortunately, no matching shoes. =( Anyway, have fun at your party!
- November 27, 2007 at 6:31 PM
- yummy411 said...
feel better! great haul!
- November 27, 2007 at 6:50 PM
- Mrs. Lynne said...
The red dress and shoes are so seexxxaayyy! I hope you post up a pix of this lovely outfit and your makeup for that night :)
- November 28, 2007 at 2:15 PM


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Nearest Town: KunaSite Size: 485,000 acres
Highlights: Raptors, Shorebirds, Songbirds, Upland Birds, Waterbirds, Waterfowl
Access: Year-round. Access free of charge.
Directions: Follow a 56 mi loop tour beginning at Kuna Visitor Center, to Swan Falls Dam, Celebration Park, and back to Kuna. I-84 Exit #44; S on Meridian Rd (ID 69) for 8 mi; as you enter Kuna, Swan Falls Rd turns to the L (S); S on Swan Falls Rd 20 mi to Swan Falls Dam (stop at mi 3, 10.2, 11.5, 15.5, 17.7, 20, 39); backtrack on Swan Falls Rd N 8 mi to Victory Ln; L (W) on Victory Ln for 3 mi; R (N) on McDermott Rd 1 mi; L (W) on Spur Rd 2.5 mi; L (S) onto CanAda Rd 1 mi; R (W) on Victory Ln to Celebration Park (mi 39); visitor center on R; admission charge at Celebration Park.
Description: The Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NCA) was established by Congress in 1993 to protect a unique desert environment that supports North America's highest density of nesting raptors. More than 700 pairs of raptors nest each spring along 81 miles of the Snake River Canyon, including 150-200 pairs of Prairie Falcons (highest breeding density in the world). Other nesters include American Kestrel, Golden Eagle, Northern Harrier, Osprey, Peregrine Falcon, Red-tailed and Ferruginous Hawks, Barred, Burrowing, Great Horned, Long-eared, Northern Saw-whet, Short-eared, and Western Screech-Owls. Mid-March through end of June is best time to see the raptors. Riparian bottomlands provide nesting habitat for Lazuli Bunting, Say's Phoebe, and other songbirds. Celebration Park is located on the western boundary of the Snake River Birds of Prey NCA. North of parking area, look for flight displays of Long-billed Curlew. Nesting Killdeer, Bullock's Oriole, and Lazuli Bunting can be seen around the visitor center. Look for Black-chinned and Rufous Hummingbirds, Eastern and Western Kingbirds, 6 swallow species, Rock and Canyon Wrens, and Loggerhead Shrike. During the fall and winter, American White Pelican can be seen. Year-round species include Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Chukar, California Quail, Northern Bobwhite, Common Nighthawk, gulls, and terns. 20 species of raptors can be seen, including nesting Golden Eagle on Guffey Butte. In March watch for eagle flight displays; in May for chick feeding; and the first week fo June for fledging of the young.
More Information: BLM (208) 384-3300Kuna Chamber of Commerce (208)922-9254 www.birdsofprey.blm.gov/ www.canyoncounty.org/parks/
General Services:
Handicapped Services:What do these icons mean?
Select a species from the list to view other sites on the Idaho Birding Trail Sites this species may be observed.


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A catastrophic biological event, such as a terrorist attack with a weapon of mass destruction or a naturally occurring pandemic, could cause mass casualties, weaken the economy, damage public morale, and threaten national security. Biodefense includes measures to prevent, detect, respond to, and recover from harm or damage caused by microorganisms or biological toxins to humans, animals, or the food supply. In January 2010, the bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism (now known as the WMD Center), which was established by the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act (Pub. L. No. 110-53, § 1851), gave the nation a failing grade in its efforts to enhance capabilities for rapid response to prevent biological attacks from inflicting mass casualties.
According to the head of the WMD Center, there are more than two dozen presidentially appointed individuals with some responsibility for biodefense. In addition, numerous federal agencies, encompassing much of the federal government, have some mission responsibilities for supporting biodefense activities. However, there is no individual or entity with responsibility, authority, and accountability for overseeing the entire biodefense enterprise.
According to Homeland Security Presidential Directive 10, published in April 2004, successful implementation of the nation's biodefense enterprise requires optimizing critical cross-cutting functions such as information management and communications, research and development, and acquisition. In 2004, GAO reported that interagency and intergovernmental activities can benefit from the leadership of a single entity with sufficient time, responsibility, authority, and resources needed to provide assurance that the federal programs are well coordinated, and that gaps and duplication in capabilities are avoided. GAO also reported in 2001 that complex interagency and intergovernmental efforts can benefit from developing a national strategy.
Biodefense is organized into four pillarsthreat awareness, prevention and protection, surveillance and detection, and response and recoveryand multiple federal agencies have some biodefense responsibilities within them, as shown in the figure below. Each of these pillars comprise numerous activitiessuch as controlling access to dangerous biological agents used in researchthat generally require coordination across federal departments as well as with state, local, and international governments, and the private sector. Deterrence of bioterrorism rests upon the ability of the nation to mitigate the effects of an attack.
According to the WMD Center's January 2010 report, Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism Report Card, there is no national plan to coordinate federal, state, and local efforts following a bioterror attack, and the United States lacks the technical and operational capabilities required for an adequate response. The report goes on to say that these technical and operational capabilities are each links in a chain, critical to the strength of the attack response, and that weakness in any capability leads to a diminished response, and diminished effectiveness in deterring an attack.
Pillars of Biodefense and Examples of Associated Federal Departments
GAO's past work has highlighted fragmentation in the surveillance and detection pillar, which indicates the need for strategic oversight mechanismssuch as a national strategy and a focal pointacross the entire biodefense enterprise. In June 2010, GAO reported that an activity in the surveillance and detection pillar known as biosurveillance is fragmented and that the decision makers responsible for developing a national biosurveillance capability are spread across multiple agencies and departments, as it is with the rest of the biodefense enterprise. Yet, strategic oversight mechanisms, such as a focal point or national strategy, had not been established to coordinate and lead efforts across the multiple federal departments with biosurveillance responsibilities. GAO recommended that the Homeland Security Council, which was established to serve as a mechanism for ensuring coordination of federal homeland security-related activities and development of homeland security policies, should direct the National Security Staff to establish a focal point and charge this focal point with the responsibility for developing a national biosurveillance strategy. The National Security Staff did not comment on these recommendations.
While some high-level biodefense strategies have been developed, there is no broad, integrated national strategy that encompasses all stakeholders with biodefense responsibilities that can be used to guide the systematic identification of risk, assessment of resources needed to address those risks, and the prioritization and allocation of investment across the entire biodefense enterprise. Further, neither the Office of Management and Budget nor the federal agencies account for biodefense spending across the entire federal government. As a result, the federal government does not know how much is being spent on this critical national security priority. However, a private sector analysis of the fiscal year 2011 federal budget for civilian biodefense estimates that the U.S. biodefense effort will total $6.48 billion across 8 of the more than 12 federal agencies with biodefense responsibilities. GAO's work noted that having a strategy in place to guide development of a national biosurveillance capability could potentially help agencies address challenges that are complex, inherent to building capabilities that cross mission areas and agencies, and not easily resolvedchallenges that are also present in the larger biodefense enterprise. A national strategy could define the scope of the problems to be addressed, and in turn could lead to specific objectives and activities for tackling those problems, better allocation and management of resources, clarification of roles and responsibilities, and, finally, to integration of a biodefense strategy with other related preparedness and response strategies. In addition, because responsibilities and resources are dispersed across a number of federal agencies, the nation's biodefense enterprise could benefit from designated leadershipa focal pointthat provides leadership for the interagency community.
Because none of the departments has authority over the entire biodefense enterprise, the Homeland Security Council should consider establishing a focal point to coordinate federal biodefense activities, including biosurveillance, consistent with GAO's previous recommendation for the Council to establish a focal point for biosurveillance. The overarching biodefense enterprise would benefit from strategic oversight mechanisms, including a focal point such as a national biodefense coordinator and a national strategy, to ensure efficient, effective, and accountable results. Reduced fragmentation in the biodefense enterprise could enhance assurance that the nation is prepared to prevent, detect, and respond to biological attacks with potentially devastating consequences in terms of loss of life, economic damage, and decreased national security.
The information contained in this analysis is based on the related GAO products listed under the "Related GAO Products" tab. GAO also has work under way on threat and risk assessments and countermeasure development, which focuses on issues of integration and coordination across multiple agencies and expects to report on its results in spring 2011.
For additional information about this area, contact William O. Jenkins at (202) 512-8777 or email@example.com.
The U.S. government has a history of employing health surveillance to help limit malady, loss of life, and economic impact of diseases. Recent legislation and presidential directives have called for a robust and integrated biosurveillance capability; that is, the ability to provide early detection and situational awareness of potentially catastrophic biological events. The Implementing Recommendat...
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Bush administration developed and published seven national strategies that relate, in part or in whole, to combating terrorism and homeland security. These were National Security Strategy of the United States of America; National Strategy for Homeland Security; National Strategy for Combating Terrorism; National Strategy to Combat Weapons...
As concerns about terrorism have grown, Executive Branch responsibilities and authorities have received greater attention, which led to the 1998 appointment of a national coordinator in the National Security Council. Both Congress and the President have recognized the need to review and clarify the structure for overall leadership and coordination. The President recently requested that the Vice Pr...


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Fire blazes at Dutch firelighting block factory
AMSTERDAM (AP) -- Authorities in the Dutch city of Oisterwijk say a fire has broken out at a factory that makes firelighting blocks for barbecues and campfires.
The city of Oisterwijk, in the southeast of the Netherlands, said on its website that the fire is proving difficult to extinguish.
In an update mid-morning Thursday, the city said the fire was still burning â€" or at least producing large volumes of smoke â€" several hours after it began in the pre-dawn. "The fire is under control, but we cannot yet give the signal that we have mastered it," the statement said of the situation at the "Fire-up" factory.
No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is still under investigation, the city said.


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In 2011 what was supposed never to happen, did. The SNP won a huge overall majority in the Scottish election. One of their promises was to hold an independence referendum. Despite the party's apparent electoral popularity, the referendum did seem like a bridge too far.
But they pressed on with plans to hold a referendum in the 'second half of the parliamentary term'. In the Edinburgh Agreement on how the referendum would work, Alex Salmond wanted three possible answers to the question on independence which were Yes, No and Increased Powers. This option became known as Devo Max but was rejected by the Westminster government. It was to be a simple Yes/No option to the question 'Do you think that Scotland should be an independent country?'
I wonder in his quieter moments if David Cameron now regrets vetoing the third option? In recent days he and Messrs Miliband and Clegg have been falling over themselves to offer de facto Devo Max if Scotland votes No..
And despite the fact that I have decided to vote Yes, I wonder if Devo Max is still the most likely outcome in the event of a close vote either way?
There are only two possible reasons that Alex Salmond could have wanted the third option. One was that he maybe felt that he couldn't deliver a Yes and the other was that he maybe thought that this was the best option. I suspect that it was a combination of the two.
Whatever their choice I wish my fellow Scots well and understand the difficulty for some people in making a choice. Whatever you do though, please vote and please choose.
I have avoided going into the issues of the referendum here. Suffice to say I am aware of the scare stories, the exaggerations, the doubts and the uncertainties. They have been well rehearsed in recent days, months and years and everyone has had an opportunity to hear them. It's now down to the judgement of the electorate and who they trust.
I'll give my thoughts on the outcome on Friday. In the meantime, here is a picture of 'Independence House' in Helensburgh adorned with a quote from Nelson Mandela
Filed under: Scotland | Tagged: scottish independence referendum | 2 Comments »


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Yes, please!
It's an unfortunate reality that not everyone in the Universe can know Jaime Lefcovich. Those of us who do have the pleasure miss her awfully, as she has escaped the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave for the adventure of discovering Thailand, where she can master the art of ayurvedic medicine (which is not Thai in origin, but is what she's practicing there) while eating all the เนื้อผัดพริก she can fit into her purdy mouth.


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She helped catch a corrupt Victorian fraud squad detective, but a woman recruited by an international crime syndicate to help steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from Melbourne businesses has been jailed for at least 21 months.
Hundreds of counterfeit credit cards from countries including the US, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Korea, Albania and Yugoslavia were used by the gang in what County Court judge David Parsons described as a highly sophisticated fraud.
Julie Lim, 29, was one of a number of "shoppers" paid up to 12 per cent commission for goods they bought using the fraudulent cards.
She used 65 credit cards on 46 shopping trips to buy goods such as laptops, iPads and cigars from December 2010 to January last year. The goods were later sold for $117,634 and the money transferred to Malaysia.
Lim pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one charge of conspiracy to defraud.
She was jailed for two years and nine months with a non-parole period of 21 months.
"People who take part in frauds of these dimensions will inevitably go to jail for a significant period of time," Judge Parsons said.
But the judge praised Lim's assistance in prosecuting a corrupt police officer, saying her actions had reflected well on her character and resolve.
When Lim was arrested after police raided her Glen Waverley home in January last year, fraud squad detective Trevor Adair stole $9120 from her purse, which was sitting on a chest of drawers in a bedroom.
After Adair left the house, Lim told police her money had been stolen. The police Ethical Standards Department was contacted and the money was found in Adair's backpack.
Adair, who had been a police officer for 22 years and later resigned, was given a suspended three-month jail term last year after pleading guilty to theft.
Magistrate Elizabeth Lambden accepted the crime was committed in "a moment of madness" and Adair was genuinely remorseful.
Two of Lim's co-accused – Kenny Lim, and his wife, Sok – were jailed in November for their part in the credit card fraud.
Kenny Lim was sentenced to three and a half years' jail with a non-parole period of two and a half years. Sok Lim was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of nine months.
The trio had transferred in total more than $285,000 to Malaysia from the sale of goods bought using the counterfeit credit cards.
This story Administrator ready to work first appeared on 苏州美甲美睫培训.


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The British are notoriously bad at accepting compliments the correct way. Whilst it can be seen as an endearing quality, we Brits often use self-deprecation when it comes to receiving compliments. When someone admires our work we'll say, "Oh well, it was nothing, no trouble at all" or perhaps expresses a like of our clothes, "This old thing? No, I worn this many times before". But correct form says that when on the receiving end of a compliment, we should just accept it with a gracious, 'thank you' and move on. There's no need to waffle on and argue with the complimenter: that wastes time. Just say thank you and make a note to return the compliment to them in the near future: complimenting them back straight after looks silly.
Then there's the art of men complimenting women. More often than not, men will sound like a bit of a leach when doing this. The important thing to remember is maintain eye-contact with the woman when giving the compliment. Don't go for the obvious compliments, such as 'Nice shoes' or 'Nice colour', show your softer side with, 'that's a nice neckline on the dress'.
But there's also etiquette when it comes to replying to compliments, don't ever say 'Well, thank you, yes I love this top too, it's good, isn't it?'. We should never actually brag following a compliment, even though we may wish to inside.
William Hanson
Tutor, The English Manner