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Blue Devils Conclude Duke Nike Classic with 2-1 Loss to No. 2 UCLA
Sept. 8, 2013
DURHAM, N.C. – The 12th-ranked Blue Devil women's soccer team closed the 2013 Duke Nike Classic on Sunday with a 2-1 loss to second-ranked UCLA at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C.
The Blue Devils dropped to 3-2-1 on the season prior to heading into ACC action on Thursday against Miami, while UCLA moved to 5-1. North Carolina claimed the Duke Nike Classic title with victories over UCLA (1-0) and West Virginia (4-2).
Earning classic MVP honors was North Carolina's Crystal Dunn (Offensive) and Kelly McFarlane (UNC), while Dunn, McFarlane, Caitlin Ball (UNC), Kealia Ohai (UNC), Christina Gibbons (Duke), Kate Schwindel (West Virginia), Rosie White (UCLA), Megan Oyster (UCLA), Malinda Allen (Duke), Frances Silva (West Virginia) and Katelyn Rowland (UCLA) were selected to the All-Tournament team.
"I am disappointed with how we started the game," said Duke head coach Robbie Church. "I am really, really proud of our young players we put in and they saved us – they gave us a chance to win in the second half. They brought a lot of energy. We obviously had a double-overtime game on Friday night and it wasn't easy to come out and play a team in this heat with it to. We didn't go after it as a group and a unit. We went after it individually. They just shredded us apart early in the match."
For the first time this year, it was a Duke opponent that came out on the attack and the pressure resulted in the earliest goal the Blue Devils have allowed this season as Taylor Smith found Rosie White for a one-v-one breakaway and beat Duke redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Ali Kershner at the 7:08 mark.
Duke's best chance in the first half came at the 28th minute as freshman midfielder Toni Payne took the ball away from a UCLA player and beat two defenders to get an open look at the goal but Bruin goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland made a diving stop to her left to keep the Blue Devils off the board.
The Blue Devils showed signs of being tired from the double-overtime match on Friday and Church decided to rest many of his starters at the end of the first half.
UCLA outshot Duke, 9-3, in the first half with redshirt senior Kim DeCesare leading the way with two.
"I am very proud of them [Duke] to regroup," said Church. "I thought we dominated the second half. When we get a build-up we are not finishing and being rewarded for some of our nice plays. I think there were some really positive spots over the weekend even though we were 0-1-1. Some of the play of the young players was really, really positive."
Duke came out in the second half with better energy and created a great opportunity in the 61st minute as Payne found DeCesare in the box and she blasted a shot that was saved by Rowland with another diving stop to her left.
UCLA added a second goal in the 78th minute as Kershner tried to go after a ball outside the box, but UCLA's Darian Jenkins beat her to the punch and rolled in a long shot into the left side of the wide open goal to go ahead 2-0.
Duke's Katie Trees was taken down in the box with four seconds remaining to give the Blue Devils a penalty kick chance for the second straight match. A senior product of Durham, N.C., Mollie Pathman stepped up and connected on her second consecutive opportunity. The goal for Pathman was the 17th of her career and second this year.
The Blue Devils just couldn't get anything in-between the posts, which continues to be a theme this season as Duke owns only five goals in six matches, including two penalty kicks.
Kershner totaled four saves in the net for Duke over 90 minutes, while Rowland added four saves for the Bruins.
"We are a very good team and we are going to be a very good team," said Church. "I know the character of the girls in that room. We just have to regroup. It is the end of the first segment – the non-conference portion. Now we have to get moving to the most important part, the ACC play."
Duke will next kick off ACC action on Thursday, Sept. 12 as the Blue Devils host Miami at 7:00 p.m. The match will be aired live on NSCAA.com.


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Correcto | 05/10/07
Ladies and gents,
Domino is proud to release the debut single, Joni, from Glaswegian based four piece, Correcto, on November 12th.
Correcto are Danny Saunders on vocals, Patrick from The Royal We on bass, Richard Wright on guitar and Franz Ferdinand's, own Paul Thomson on drums. Inspired by fact, fiction, surrealism and the mundane; and with sounds reminiscent of the Buzzcocks, Kinks, Fall, Ramones, 'all the good stuff' as Danny puts it, Correcto is the best art school punk band that we've come across for some time.
Written by Danny before dashing out the door, his brain fizzing with Substitute by the Who, guilt and TV show I'm Celebrity Get Me Out Of here ('I would eat a fish eye, to have you by my side'), Joni is an instant classic - a direct, unhampered and infectious tune which will have you singing along in no time.
Catch Correcto live at the following shows:
Friday 9th November - Barfly, Cardiff (Domino Night with Sons and Daughters, and Eugene McGuinness - part of SWN festival)
Saturday 10th November - Get Up, Use Me club night, London (venue tbc)
Monday 12th November- Durrr, London (Single Launch)
Correcto's self-titled debut album is expected for early 2008.

subset: commoncrawl


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Pittsburgh's lively Cultural District contains plenty of memorable photography spots for your engagement picture shoot. Located roughly in the city's northwest section, it has historic buildings, quiet & secluded corners and a modern vibe that's defining the Steel City in the 21st century.
To get your photography schedule started off on the right foot, why not try the home of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, the redoubtable Benedum Center? Located at the heart of the Cultural District, this building contains a stunning replica of the Palace of Versailles's famed Hall of Mirrors. Outside, the structure doesn't disappoint, especially when it's well-lit façade and decorative details come to life. Nighttime photography can be a bit tricky with the theater-going crowds; if you don't mind the hustle and bustle, however, the Benedum Center offers an elegant background for your photos any time of year.
Heinz Hall, named after Pittsburgh's famous family of the same name, is also not to be missed. Located at 600 Penn Avenue, it's just a short stroll from the Benedum Center. Be sure to take a couple shots from the corner of Penn and 6th Streets. Your photographer will be able to include more of Pittsburgh's impressive architectural highlights, with Heinz Center as the centerpiece. Again, early evening works best in this area; crowds tend to overwhelm the entry of this world-class concert hall.
After Heinz Hall, head toward the Allegheny River on 6th Street for a few snapshots at the Byham Theater. Once know as the Gayety Theater, it boasts a glorious past with legendary vaudeville and stage performances. It'll serve as a great photo background for your engagement pictures. Try some black & white photography for some historical detail, or let loose and show your expressive sides – the Byham encourages a whimsical attitude any time of day! One of Pittsburgh's oldest continually running theaters, the Byham underwent recent renovations and exemplifies the Steel City's proud theatrical past. This edge-of-town locale has long been a favorite spot for engagement photography.
Find quiet solitude and natural surroundings at nearby Allegheny Riverfront Park, between the 6th and 7th Street Bridges. This long, narrow slice of grassy area along the Allegheny provides interesting possibilities for your photographer. Gain unique perspective with either of the aforementioned bridges as your background. Better yet, use their wide walkways for great shots above the water. Anywhere in Allegheny Riverfront Park lends endless opportunities for trademark Pittsburgh engagement photography. Facing south, you can capture PNC Park, home to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Facing north, the Steel City's modern & traditional architecture presents a wealth of depth, texture and color to your snapshots. Early autumn offers especially picturesque detail – Pittsburgh's rolling, wooded hillsides show bright, blazing tones as the leaves turn color. Make sure to include this park on your engagement picture itinerary.
Head back into the Cultural District along Seventh Street, then turn south along Penn Avenue. Here you'll find Pittsburgh's new O'Reilly Theater, designed by highly regarded architect Michael Graves. The theater's bold block lettering suggests a style similar to the great New York and Hollywood playhouses of the mid-20th century. Glamorous & glitzy photos are easily achieved at the O'Reilly Theater. Penn Avenue's wide, spacious sidewalks are roomy enough for prime pictures, even during crowded evenings & weekends. Attempt a few black & white snapshots directly in front of the theater. Weekends & evenings fine the O'Reilly Theater bustling with crowds & revelry, especially during the summer and autumn.
For a contemporary take on your memorable moment, don't overlook the 7th and Penn Parklet. Created by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to house large & open art exhibitions, this space holds interesting sculpture, artwork, presentations and much more. Centrally located in the Cultural District, it's a great spot to regroup or relax. The current exhibition is Palazzo Nudo by Alexandr Brodsky. Resembling a house, this structure is nearly 65 feet high and brings outsized scale & scope to your photography session.
A few other Cultural District highlights with album-worthy architecture include a pair of corner art houses, the Wood Street Galleries and SPACE. The former shows visual artists from around the world, while the latter includes contemporary, "technological" exhibitions from local & regional artists. Each building brings a different and exciting vantage point and offers unique perspective of the City of Bridges. You'll also want to snap a few shots in front of the Harris Theatre, situated at 809 Liberty Avenue. Pittsburgh's civic leaders consider this a crowning revitalization landmark, as the theater grew out of downtown refurbishment initiatives. You can consider it the perfect way to warp up your Pittsburgh engagement photo shoot. This intimate theater has bright neon lights and a charming retro style that will enhance any picture.
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Appraisal: Zuni Jewelry, ca. 1945
Clip: Season 20 Episode 24 | 30s
Check out Linda Dyer's appraisal of Zuni Jewelry, ca. 1945, in Vintage Miami.
Aired: 08/15/16Video has closed captioning.
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Table Tennis Gym
Table Tennis Gym
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text:
Yeeah (Aiight) [repeat 7x]
Ol' stankin ass (Hoe) Jank ass (Hoe)
Suck my dick you (Hoe) Ol' fat ass (Hoe)
But aiight! We finna get these lame ass niggaz
You see a hoe ass nigga, call his ass out. Aye! Aye!
[chorus 4x]
Fuck nigga yous a (Hoe) Pull a trigga on that (Hoe)
Stomp his ass like (Hoe) Ol' lame ass (Hoe)
[verse 1]
I'ma tell you how it is nigga you betta get the fuck back
cause a nigga like me don't give a fuck
A nigga suppose to gon leave yo ass choked
if you know you ain't ready you gonna get drug
Off in the club you claimin yo set
I'm strapped wit my vest I shot in the air
You sound like a bitch yo ass I'ma hit
you tyin to go hide cause we gon be there
You ain't from that Wood you ain't from my click
you ain't from my row you neva could hang
You labled a duck we ready to buck
we don't give a fuck cause you is a lame
Step right here homeboy you bout it
he won't swing I know I doubt it
One hitter quitter yo ass get popped
so watch this parkin lot get rowdy
Watch this parkin lot get rowdy, watch this parkin lot go (ohhh)
Pop wit a glock and I stay wit a K
If you come my way I'ma act a fool
I walk in the club and I see me a nigga
Back the fuck up 'fore I show you who reala
Whats up wit ya fuck nigga
Crime Mob the niggaz who labled some killaz
[chorus 4x]
[verse 2]
Ol' sucka ass, busta ass, cryin to yo momma ass
I'ma keep up drama I'm a muthafuckin plum ass
See you just a dumb ass go on wit yo young ass
Try me like a sucka but I know you just a lame ass
Nigga how you figga that you reala than the MIG
Step off in my turf that Ellenwood gon be backin me
In my section they glad to see a nigga that don't give a fuck
Stomp you to the floor and tell you get yo pussy ass up
Pick that nigga ass up, tear his lame ass up
Niggaz representin Ellenwood time to mass up
Buck up out that M.O.B., said that my name is MIG
Throwin blows like Johnny Cage, you think you wanna fuck wit me
Let a damn nigga know, we can brang it to the door
Do this shit like Pastor Troy Uuh Huh I'm outside hoe
Swervin in the Tahoe, if you wanna try hoe
Take my fuckin word I ain't got no reason to lie hoe


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Open Government Program
All Resources
Search a listing of Government of Alberta open datasets and publications. Can't find what you are looking for? Suggest a resource.
Views: 253
January 16, 2019
This archaeology paper presents several technological resources available to practising archaeologists in culture resource management and academia. The paper discusses how remote sensing methods can enhance documentation of archaeological sites and their interpretation.


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Andy Jex is an executive creative director with Saatchi & Saatchi London.
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/andy-jex-6419a231
A global effort designed to influence, affect and involve creative communities in the development of a world standard for inspiration, particularly in the fields of advertising, design and film. More »
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EXETER — The death of a woman whose remains were discovered inside a burning building in Exeter Thursday has been ruled a homicide, according to the results of an autopsy.
The New Hampshire attorney general's office identified the victim Friday as Amanda "Amy" Warf, a 36-year-old Hampton woman. Police are not releasing Warf's cause of death, pending further investigation.
Warf's body was found inside an abandoned concrete plant at 2 Hampton Road on Thursday. Her remains were located by firefighters after the building caught fire shortly before 7 a.m.
The state's chief medical examiner, Dr. Thomas A. Andrew, ruled the death a homicide following an autopsy Friday morning.
An employee of the Hair Excitement salon at the Fox Run Mall in Newington said Warf previously worked at the business. She described Warf as a "very caring and loving person," and said she was the mother of a young son.
"She's just an awesome person, and we'll all miss her," said the woman, who asked not to be identified.
Exeter police, the state fire marshal's office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are now participating in the homicide investigation into Warf's death, along with state police and the attorney general's office.
Warf's body was found inside a roughly 3,000-square-foot concrete plant that has been vacant for at least two decades, according to the town assessor.
Early on Thursday, police focused their attention on a suspicious vehicle that was also found on the 11.8-acre property. A gray Hyundai sedan was parked in the entryway to the grounds.
Caitlyn Lussier, an employee of nearby Access Sports Medicine & Orthopaedics, remembered seeing the car from her office window before the fire began in the morning.
Police surrounded the Hyundai with crime scene tape after the fire was extinguished. They eventually covered the vehicle with a tent.
At about 10 a.m., police were seen speaking with a man in a brown jacket inside the parking lot of Access Sports Medicine, which is located across the street from the concrete plant. He was searched by two officers, though it remains unclear why. Senior Assistant Attorney General Susan Morrell has declined to comment on whether the man is under investigation.
Members of the State Police Major Crime Unit collected evidence inside the concrete plant throughout the day Thursday, and also searched parts of the Exeter Recreation Complex next door. They inspected a dumpster on the grounds of the recreation complex at least twice.
Two state troopers also investigated a black Honda sedan that was parked in the Access Sports Medicine parking lot. They inspected the car for more than 40 minutes, taking photographs of the interior, exterior, trunk and undercarriage.
Police returned to continue processing the scene on Friday, according to multiple published reports.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact New Hampshire State Police at 603-271-3636.


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The defensive force the Ravens applied to the St. Louis Rams Sunday wasn't a surprise to the members of that proud unit.
"It's what's expected," inside linebacker Ray Lewis said after the Ravens' thorough 37-7 shellacking of the Rams at the Edward Jones Dome. "We've been battling for a long time, and we have a veteran defense, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's kind of our thing. You go into last week's game, and you don't get off the field on third downs. You go into this game and you do get off the field on third downs. You don't turn the ball over on offense, which is always the best security for your defense. Overall as a team, I think we came out and played pretty well today."
That may be an understatement. The defense smothered St. Louis, especially in a near-perfect first half that saw the Ravens enjoy a 27-0 advantage at halftime.
The Rams could manage just 81 of 244 yards of total offense and six of 17 first downs in the first two quarters. The unit went three-and-out four out of seven possessions over that same span.
"Our defense got after it and stopped the run, which is what you have to do with these guys," coach John Harbaugh said. "They also kept [St. Louis quarterback Sam] Bradford on the run. So I am very proud of our guys."
It was a much-needed reversal from last Sunday's 26-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans when the defense surrendered 432 yards and 21 first downs and allowed the Titans to convert two third downs during their victory-clinching drive.
"I'm very proud of our unit," defensive end Cory Redding said. "We had a very disappointing week last week. The leaders stepped up and said what they had to say, and that was the end of it. We got back to work on Monday and prepared very hard for this game."
The Ravens were spurred by their usual leaders. Lewis led all players with 10 tackles, and his sack of Bradford in the fourth quarter led to defensive tackle Haloti Ngata scooping up the fumble and returning it 28 yards for the team's final touchdown of the contest.
Outside linebacker Terrell Suggs raised his team-leading sack total to four, and he finished with two tackles-for-loss and two quarterback hits.
But the defense got contributions from others, too. Redding recorded a sack, three quarterback hits and two tackles-for-losses, inside linebacker Jameel McClain and rookie defensive end Pernell McPhee each posted a sack, and cornerback Lardarius Webb killed a Rams drive at the Ravens' 3-yard line with an interception.
Putting a lock on St. Louis' passing attack was particularly significant after Tennessee quarterback Matt Hasselbeck torched the secondary for 358 yards and one touchdown on 30-of-42 passing.
Ngata said the defensive players were intent on not repeating those results against Bradford.
"I think you saw that we wanted to make sure that we would pressure the quarterback and stop the passing game," Ngata said. "We were able to do that. We were able to get to Sam Bradford and get him off his mark, and we were able to make plays. I think we got to him enough that he was wondering where we were coming from."
Bradford, who threw for just 166 yards on 16-of-32 completions, acknowledged that the Ravens defense bullied the Rams offense.
"We just weren't very effective throwing the ball," Bradford said. "I think it comes from a lot of things. I've got to do a better job of making reads, getting the ball out quicker. And then when we do have one-on-one matchups, we have to win. We have to take advantage of that when people make plays like that."
The only miscue for the Ravens was being unable to cement the defense's first shutout since Nov. 16, 2009, when they blanked the Cleveland Browns, 16-0. That mission ended when Bradford floated a pass over cornerback Cary Williams to wide receiver Brandon Gibson in the back of the end zone in the third quarter.
"We wanted it," Suggs acknowledged. "But this is the NFL. We tried our best and we work hard every week to play perfect, and I think what happened was we made our DBs cover too long on that one play and one guy snuck past us, and they scored one."
The defensive force the Ravens applied to the St. Louis Rams Sunday wasn't a surprise to the members of that proud unit.


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Over the years, islanders have feasted on clams, hunted for deer, picked berries, dug bulbs, and fished waters teeming with salmon. They have plowed fertile valleys, seeding their fields with peas, oats, wheat, and barley. On gentle slopes they have planted large orchards with pears, plums, apples, and cherries. Their sheep and cattle once roamed at will.
Even today, island living is bounded by the seasons and centered around an easy-going sociability. It also signifies what it is to live in a climate of mutual respect and tolerance, however begrudging and hard earned. These are the qualities that bind us to one another and the land.
Islanders agree it is important to ensure that the distinct character of life in these islands will endure. As one way to do this, in 1990, they created San Juan County Land Bank. The program is guided by the San Juan County Ordinance (Chapter 2.120 SJCC by Ordinance 21-2008) and has been reauthorized twice since its inception, now extending to 2026.


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"Live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever." - Mahatma Gandi
Why does one read? I read for a multitude of reasons ranging from the compounding knowledge it produces, the great (one-sided) conversations that are available to be had with brilliant past thinkers, idea generation, molding a system of personal beliefs, learning from past mistakes and emulating triumphs, seeking worldly wisdom, and simply the relaxation, enjoyment and mind stimulation reading produces. The pursuit of knowledge is an obsessive hobby, some may even call it an addiction, others a simple way of life. The preparation reading disciplines one with is intangible and may be attributed to quick, accurate, definitive answers or actions that are produced by consistent readers.
I have wrote numerous blogs Here, Here and Here about various books that I have found interesting in the past few months and what general knowledge I had pulled from them. Well I am back again with a smaller and more refined list, recommended throughout Berkshire Hathaway Chairman letters over the years by yours truly, Warren Buffett.
1) The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success by William N. Thorndike Jr.
This book is about eight CEOs of various companies, ranging from The Washington Post's Katharine Graham to Teledyne's Henry Singleton and their iconoclastic ways of operating business and allocating capital.
Amazon Book Review:
"It is impossible to produce superior performance unless you do something different." — John Templeton
What makes a successful CEO? Most people call to mind a familiar definition: "a seasoned manager with deep industry expertise." Others might point to the qualities of today's so-called celebrity CEOs—charisma, virtuoso communication skills, and a confident management style. But what really matters when you run an organization? What is the hallmark of exceptional CEO performance? Quite simply, it is the returns for the shareholders of that company over the long term.
In this refreshing, counterintuitive book, author Will Thorndike brings to bear the analytical wisdom of a successful career in investing, closely evaluating the performance of companies and their leaders. You will meet eight individualistic CEOs whose firms' average returns outperformed the S&P 500 by a factor of twenty—in other words, an investment of $10,000 with each of these CEOs, on average, would have been worth over $1.5 million twenty-five years later. You may not know all their names, but you will recognize their companies: General Cinema, Ralston Purina, The Washington Post Company, Berkshire Hathaway, General Dynamics, Capital Cities Broadcasting, TCI, and Teledyne. In The Outsiders, you'll learn the traits and methods—striking for their consistency and relentless rationality—that helped these unique leaders achieve such exceptional performance.
Humble, unassuming, and often frugal, these "outsiders" shunned Wall Street and the press, and shied away from the hottest new management trends. Instead, they shared specific traits that put them and the companies they led on winning trajectories: a laser-sharp focus on per share value as opposed to earnings or sales growth; an exceptional talent for allocating capital and human resources; and the belief that cash flow, not reported earnings, determines a company's long-term value.
2) Investing Between the Lines: How to Make Smarter Decisions by Decoding CEO Communication by L.J. Rittenhouse
Amazon Book Review:
Investing Between the Lines introduces a revolutionary method for evaluating the financial integrity of a company. You don't need special access to "insider" information or a degree in accounting to figure it out. In fact, the secret is right in front of you—in black and white—in the words of every shareholder letter, annual report, and corporate correspondence you receive.
Investing Between the Lines shows you how to:
• Decipher the "FOG" of confusing company communications
• Decode the real meaning behind corporate jargon and platitudes
• Separate the facts from the fluff in annual reports and quarterly earnings calls
• Safeguard your money by investing in companies that steward investor capital
Too often, corporate executives and investment professionals are expected to deliver short-term results. As a result, they are compelled to turn to accounting techniques and unclear language to meet these expectations.
In Investing Between the Lines, L.J. Rittenhouse lays out her time-tested approach for recognizing at-risk businesses before trouble hits. This is the same method she used to predict the collapse of Enron and the fall of Lehman.
From comparing the statements of Ford, GM, and Toyota to revealing why FedEx and Wells Fargo have been so successful, Investing Between the Lines shows that Rittenhouse's system is one of the most powerful tools a corporate leader or investor can have. Once you learn the clues to decode CEO communications, you will be able to invest between the lines—to figure out exactly what a company's CEO is or isn't telling you.
3) The Clash of Cultures: Investment vs. Speculation by Jack C. BogleOver the course of his sixty-year career in the mutual fund industry, Vanguard Group founder John C. Bogle has witnessed a massive shift in the culture of the financial sector. The prudent, value-adding culture of long-term investment has been crowded out by an aggressive, value-destroying culture of short-term speculation. Mr. Bogle has not been merely an eye-witness to these changes, but one of the financial sector's most active participants. In The Clash of the Cultures, he urges a return to the common sense principles of long-term investing.
Provocative and refreshingly candid, this book discusses Mr. Bogle's views on the changing culture in the mutual fund industry, how speculation has invaded our national retirement system, the failure of our institutional money managers to effectively participate in corporate governance, and the need for a federal standard of fiduciary duty.
Mr. Bogle recounts the history of the index mutual fund, how he created it, and how exchange-traded index funds have altered its original concept of long-term investing. He also presents a first-hand history of Wellington Fund, a real-world case study on the success of investment and the failure of speculation. The book concludes with ten simple rules that will help investors meet their financial goals. Here, he presents a common sense strategy that "may not be the best strategy ever devised. But the number of strategies that are worse is infinite."
4) Sam Walton: Made in America by Sam Walton with John Huey
This book is an absolute must read and the Amazon review is very brief, but this book takes you through the life-long journey and pursuit of building an enduring business based on the fundamentals of low costs passed to the consumer. Walton goes through many trials and tribulations when building Wal-Mart but ultimately ends up in his (un) intended position of global leader. Walton stated 10 rules to adhere to when aiming to run a successful company, of which a few rules should resonate with any manager or business owner. Sharing profits with business partners (associates, shareholders and customers), motivating your partners, communicating everything you possibly can to your partners, appreciating everything your associates do for the business, celebrating success, and listening to everyone within your company are six of the 10 crucial rules Walton had proposed that lead to business success.
5) The Farmer from Merna by Karl Schriftgeisser
A must read for anyone with an interest in the insurance industry and how State Farm came to be the giant it is today. Some of the terminology may be repetitive within the book. Here is what Warren Buffett had to say:
"State Farm was launched in 1922, by a 45-year-old, semi-retired Illinois farmer, to compete with long-established insurers ¾ haughty institutions in New York, Philadelphia and Hartford ¾ that possessed overwhelming advantages in capital, reputation, and distribution. Because State Farm is a mutual company, its board members and managers could not be owners, and it had no access to capital markets during its years of fast growth. Similarly, the business never had the stock options or lavish salaries that many people think vital if an American enterprise is to attract able managers and thrive. In the end, however, State Farm eclipsed all its competitors. In fact, by 1999 the company had amassed a tangible net worth exceeding that of all but four American businesses. If you want to read how this happened, get a copy of The Farmer from Merna."
I think of reading as a movie in which I am my own director, choosing to pause and rewind when applicable, choosing a personal narrative, pursuing my own interests and discerning the lessons I deem important at the time. As times change and new experiences are learned, new lessons may be drawn from re-examining books previously read. I have found numerous times through past acquisitions of Berkshire Hathaway (like Claymore Homes), Buffett simply based his decision on public finances and a previously read book. Two famous quotes always come to mind when people ask me how I find the time to read so much or why I enjoy reading. One of them is from a household name, Mark Twain. The other an unconventional name, the French philosopher Rene Descartes.
"The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest men of past centuries." – Rene Descartes
"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." – Mark Twain
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"When you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." - Mark Twain


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- Format:Paperback
- Subject(s):French
- Qualification:IB Diploma
- Author(s):Ann Abrioux, Pascale Chrétien, Nathalie Fayaud, Jenny Ollerenshaw
- Available from: November 2015
Tailored to the 2013 IB Language B syllabus, our full-colour coursebook, Le monde en français, contains everything you need to succeed in your two-year French B course.
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This coursebook prepares students thoroughly for the requirements of the 2013 French B syllabus (first examination 2015), at both Standard and Higher Level. It is totally international, offering authentic materials from a variety of French-speaking countries. The texts and topics have been chosen because of their intrinsic interest to young people, and to enable students to develop a genuine intercultural understanding. The exercises are carefully designed to develop students' linguistic abilities, while encouraging them to develop critical thinking skills and allowing them the opportunity to interact personally with the material.
- Contents
Offers a lively and stimulating choice of authentic texts and engaging activities, with an attractive, student-friendly presentation. Culturally relevant visual prompts facilitate oral discussion in the classroom and help prepare for the Individual and Interactive Oral tasks of the examination.
Text types are explored in depth in a specific chapter: model texts, detailed analysis and practical checklists are provided for different text types and registers.
Suitable for both Higher and Standard Level, with links to ToK and CAS throughout the book and literature fully integrated into every chapter. All Core and Optional themes are fully covered.
The coursebook offers guidance and ample practice for the writing and speaking tasks of the examination, with a full chapter dedicated to the Written Assignment, now updated to match the 2013 syllabus requirements (first examination 2015).
- Avant-propos
- Part 1. TRONC COMMUN - Relations sociales
- 1. Moi et mes proches
- 2. Moi et les autres
- Part 2. TRONC COMMUN - Communications et medias
- 3. Derrière le petit écran
- 4. Le monde vu par les medias
- Part 3. TRONC COMMUN - Questions mondiales
- 5. Planète bleue, planète verte
- 6. Égalite, fraternite
- Part 4. OPTION - Coutumes et traditions
- 7. Voyage en francophonie
- 8. Pour un monde meilleur?
- Part 5. OPTION - Loisirs
- 9. Place a la culture!
- 10. Vive les Vacances!
- Part 6. OPTION - Sante
- 11. Sante et bien-etre
- 12. Sante et societe
- Part 7. OPTION - Diversite culturelle
- 13. Quelles langues parlez-vous?
- 14. Émigration: à la recherche d'une vie meilleure
- Part 8. OPTION - Sciences et technologie
- 15. Science et societe
- 16. La science en debat
- 17. Le travail écrit (niveau moyen)
- 18. Les types de textes
- Remerciements.
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BCG's Commercial Excellence Health Check helps logistics companies get a clear understanding of their operation.
With the Commercial Excellence Health Check, BCG is helping logistics companies assess the state of their current operations, understand existing problems, and prioritize ways to improve results and enhance operational excellence. The health check is run in four steps:


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Even if the low-carb diet craze ended up being a bit of a bust, the attention it focused on protein is a good thing. Researchers are taking a closer look at this often ignored nutrient and discovering its hidden health potential.
Eating enough of the right kind of protein may help curb appetite, improve heart health, and keep blood sugars in check.
The gist of the latest research: generous amounts of the right kinds of protein --still within recommended levels but closer to the top of the optimal range experts recommend -- could curb appetite, improve heart health, and help lower risk for a laundry list of chronic ills. The key to unlocking benefits starts with taking a closer look at the quality and quantity of protein you eat.
The right kind of protein
Sure, a juicy T-bone steak will net you plenty of protein, about 53 grams for 8 ounces. Thing is, that protein package comes weighted down with 52 grams of fat, 20 grams of it the artery-clogging kind. To net the health-promoting benefits of protein, experts recommend tapping into lean, high quality choices: fish, skinless poultry, lean meat, egg whites, low fat dairy, and legumes. Real Simple: Make nutritious snacking choices on the go
How much protein is good? Government MyPyramid guidelines talk about eating about 15 percent of calories (68 grams for someone eating 1800 calories) from protein, a figure that is in line with what most Americans currently eat. The Institute of Medicine suggests as much as 35 percent of calories from protein is safe. Real Simple: 9 Healthy Predinner Snacks
Protein benefits
It's that upper end of the recommended range, in the neighborhood of 25-30 percent, that's keeping the scientific world all abuzz. At these higher levels, researchers find protein does everything from quench appetite to rev up fat burning to keep blood sugar and insulin levels on an even keel. A study from Johns Hopkins Medical Center finds that just shifting your diet to include a little more high-quality protein and a little less potatoes or rice could dramatically impact heart health. MyRecipes: 7 ways with black beans
Working on the Optimal Macronutrient Intake Trial to Prevent Heart Disease (Omni Heart), researchers found that people who replace just 10 percent of carb calories with protein (or a healthy fat like the monounsaturated variety) can significantly lower blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels. RealSimple: 6 Ways to save on groceries
So far, this new thinking about protein is a work in progress. It doesn't change the fact that protein plays a role in grown and repair of all kinds of body tissues, including bone and muscle. These newer findings simply suggest the impact of protein on health is more far reaching than health experts first realized, and that perhaps protein is a key player in keeping the heart healthy, the blood sugar level, and appetite and weight all under control. As scientists debate the merits of all these provocative new findings, it's almost certain the 2010 Dietary Guidelines will include new advice about protein. MyRecipes: Go lean with protein
Protein advice
For now, don't worry about playing percentages or counting grams of protein. Instead, the best advice is twofold. Focus your fork on lean, high-quality sources of protein. And make sure to include them at every meal. Oh, and if weight loss is your goal, a little bigger serving of high quality protein is definitely in order. MyRecipes: 11 Simple ways to cut calories
Get a FREE TRIAL issue of Real Simple - CLICK HERE!
Copyright © 2009 Time Inc. All rights reserved.
All About Meat • Healthy Eating


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As bubble-gum pop, Miley Cyrus' "Breakout" succeeds, and with her massive Hannah Montana fan base, there's little doubt it will sell. But for more discerning music fans, it might be a little too elementary (or junior high, as the case may be).
Let me preface this by saying that I am probably not the best person to be reviewing the new Miley Cyrus album, for two major reasons:
1) It's not my type of music, and
2) It's difficult to separate her from her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus. Many of you may know him as the host of some network TV reality music show that I clearly don't watch, but those of us a few years older know him for what he truly is: a former Chippendale dancer and author of the truly ridiculous country song "Achy Breaky Heart."
That aside, however, "Breakout" isn't a terrible record, with the notable exception of an ill-conceived cover of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."
The opener and title track is high-energy pop-rock, sparkling with glossy touches and a driving, harmonized chorus ("Break out/Let the party start/We're gonna stay out/Gonna break some hearts/We're gonna dance 'til the dance floor falls apart/Oh, all over again") that makes the best use of Cyrus' limited range.
"The Driveway" sounds a little like vintage Avril Lavigne, as Cyrus laments the loss of a boyfriend ("I guess the driveway will be the end of the road/for us, it's too late/Let the credits start to roll") over slow-rolling guitars.
But there are more than a few rough patches. "Fly on the Wall" sounds like it should be an Offspring song (and the melody actually reminds me of one of their songs, though I can't think of it at the moment), and "Bottom of the Ocean" belongs on a Phil-Collins-era Genesis record.
But even when it's good, it's hard for a more-mature music fan to enjoy. The simplicity of the songs makes them easy to listen to, but Cyrus's vocal limits keep most of "Breakout" a little too simple. Where a more-experienced singer like Mary J. Blige or Christina Aguilera might use the plain song structures to stretch out vocally, Cyrus just seems to sing louder, and the natural husky quality in her voice takes on a strange, almost-alien quality in a few places.
As bubble-gum pop, "Breakout" succeeds, and with Cyrus' massive Hannah Montana fan base, there's little doubt it will sell.
But for more discerning music fans, it might be a little too elementary (or junior high, as the case may be).
Sussex Countian


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Atlanta (CNN) -- Zhanna Arshanskaya Dawson's name is etched on the wall of a stark underground memorial in Ukraine, next to that of her sister, Frina, their parents and grandparents. She was presumed dead, like the 16,000 other Jews from Kharkov who perished under the Nazis in the winter of 1941.
Only, Dawson survived, as did her sister.
They lived through the Holocaust, saved solely by their musical genius. Dawson's son Greg believes his mother and aunt are the only two Jewish survivors from Kharkov.
He came upon their names at the memorial in 2006 when he visited Ukraine to write a book about his mother, "Hiding in the Spotlight." After the war, she made a successful life for herself as an accomplished pianist in the United States and had kept silent on her history for many years until her sons had grown up.
Seeing her name came as a shock to Greg Dawson. He remembers his finger freezing upon the Russian lettering; shivers shooting up his spine.
How narrowly she had escaped death, he realized.
On this Friday evening, Greg Dawson, a writer for the Orlando Sentinel, is visiting his mother in Atlanta. The city's Oglethorpe University is honoring her Saturday with a doctor of letters. She will don a cap and gown and march down the aisle along with another honoree, CNN founder Ted Turner.
It is recognition for a woman who played the piano in the vein of Vladimir Horowitz but with the modesty of an unknown. Recognition for a triumph of spirit amid the worst of humanity.
Zhanna Dawson was selected for "her indomitable spirit, courage, honesty, and sense of purpose," says Oglethorpe Provost Denise von Herrmann.
Dawson hangs up a pair of creamy yellow pants freshly dry-cleaned for the occasion. She is excited that finally, at a youthful 85, she will earn her first degree. War kept her from high school; marriage drew her away from the prestigious Juilliard School.
But her love of music has always been with her.
It has been more than a decade since she last put fingers to a keyboard. She developed carpal tunnel syndrome and when doctors told her that surgery could, at best, bring her strength back to 70%, she refused and decided at that moment to give up what she loved most in life.
Eventually, when she no longer taught students she believed had potential, she disposed of the baby grand and upright that occupied a chunk of her condominium's living room, the space now occupied by glass-front cabinets bearing family photographs and mementos. None gives away the suffering she endured.
She has nothing left of her past, save a handful of family photos given to her many years later by a relative, and the one thing she managed to rescue from her house when the Nazis stormed in.
'Just live'
Dawson's love affair with the piano began when she was 5. A year later, she performed Bach's Invention Number 1 in public.
Her father, Dimitri Arshansky, a candymaker by trade, ordered a shiny new Bechstein piano from Germany and encouraged both his daughters to study music at the local conservatory. A professor there introduced little Zhanna to Chopin's "Fantasy Impromptu." She was determined to perfect her playing of the piece.
But life as she knew it stopped with World War II. The Nazis invaded Kharkov in 1941. Only 14 then, Dawson remembers seeing bodies of Jews hanging from lampposts.
On a frigid December day, German soldiers stormed into the house at 48 Katsarskaya Street, rounded up her entire family and shoved them into a long line of Jews forced to march out of the city.
It was the last time she saw her house. The only possession she was able to take with her was the sheet music sitting on her piano. "Fantasy Impromptu."
"I couldn't have possibly left it," she says, thinking back to that wretched day. She didn't need the written notes to play it; she knew it by heart. But it had her teacher's scribbles on it. And it was her favorite piece of music.
The Nazis forced Kharkov's Jews to walk 12 miles outside the city in the bitter cold and snow. Occasionally, a mother would push her young child toward the crowd watching the exodus, in hopes that someone would have sympathy and rescue the child. If her actions were detected, the Nazis shot her on the spot, Dawson remembers.
Her family was taken to an abandoned tractor factory designed to hold 1,800 people. The Nazis forced 13,000 Jews into the barracks without warmth or food. Many people died there.
"It was inhuman," she recalls in her son's book. "The sight of women the age of my mother and grandmother made me shake in shame for the Germans."
The day after Christmas, the Jews were ordered to prepare for transportation. Dawson says her father knew they were all going to die when he saw the trucks go north. There was nothing to the north. It was a road to Dobritsky Yar, a road to the unthinkable.
Dobritsky Yar had two giant pits like the ones at Babi Yar near the city of Kiev, where the Nazis killed 34,000 Jews in two days, most machine-gunned in the back.
Dimitri Arshansky pulled out his gold pocketwatch and flashed it in front of a young Ukrainian guard. He told the guard his family wasn't Jewish; to please let his little girl go.
Dawson says her father realized that he could not save both his girls -- two of them running would be too much commotion. He knew Zhanna, the adventurous, free-spirited one named after Joan of Arc, had a chance to survive. As the guard took the bribe and looked away, she fell out of line and ran like the wind.
"I don't care what you do," her father told her. "Just live."
Playing for the enemy
A few days later Dawson was reunited with her sister. To this day she does not know how Frina escaped the death march. Frina has never spoken of it or about anything else from that time. Dawson believes her sister was too traumatized to talk about it.
With the help of friends, the two girls made it to an orphanage and were able to obtain fake, non-Jewish identities. For the rest of the war, they were no longer their father's daughters.
"My name is Anna Morozova. I am from Kharkov. My sister Marina and I are orphans. Our father was an officer on the Red Army and was killed in action. Our mother died in the bombing of Kharkov."
Dawson said it so many times during the rest of the war that it echoed endlessly in her head.
A piano tuner at the orphanage heard her play one day and offered her and Frina jobs with a musical troupe that entertained the Germans. It was a frightening prospect but Dawson kept thinking of her father's last words -- just live. They played for Nazi generals and in front of German audiences in the city of Kremenchug. Bach, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Brahms, Chopin.
Years later people asked her how she could have done what she did. Was it not like the musicians who played as Jews walked into gas chambers in the concentration camps?
"I was playing for the memory of my parents," she says. "I was playing to survive."
And her music, she says, was the only spot of beauty in that bleak atmosphere. Music provided a psychological cocoon. Without it, her spirits might have broken.
There were moments when she feared they would be found out for who they really were and shot on the spot or sent to a gas chamber. One time, the German soldiers put the onus of proof that the girls were Jews on the people who ratted them out.
"We were a precious commodity for the Germans," she said. "We were more valuable alive than dead."
Months turned into years of hiding in plain view.
When the Germans began retreating, they took the musical troupe with them, back to Berlin. There, the Jewish Arshanskaya girls walked past Gestapo headquarters and even Adolf Hitler's bunker after the Allied bombing began.
When the war finally ended in 1945, they were taken to a displaced persons camp run by a young American officer, Larry Dawson, who had a passion for music. Dawson's brother David was an accomplished viola player.
Larry Dawson arranged for a concert. Zhanna and Frina were to play for survivors of Dachau, the notorious concentration camp near Munich.
Zhanna Dawson remembers how nervous she was on the evening of April 13, 1946. After years of playing for the enemy, she was finally going to perform for her own people.
"These were such special people."
In front of the stage at the Landsberg Yiddish Center, sat 1,200 Jews.
Gaunt. Ragged. Weary.
They exploded with applause and bravos, even though Dawson knew that technically, it was the worst she had ever played.
"This was a celebration," she says. "It was the only time I didn't care how I played. I thought again of what my father said. 'Just live.' Just play."
Soon after, Larry Dawson put the Arshanskaya girls on the first U.S.-bound ship of refugees from Germany. They arrived at Manhattan's Pier 64 on May 21, 1946, to begin their lives anew. By then, Zhanna was 19; Frina, 17.
Both won scholarships to The Juilliard School. Zhanna fell in love with David Dawson, married him and left Juilliard before finishing her degree to join him in Bloomington, Indiana. She began performing and teaching music at the university. She had two sons and raised them without ever uttering a word about her past.
Precious pieces of paper
Greg Dawson had no idea that he was Jewish until he was grown up.
His mother says she never spoke of surviving the Holocaust because she wanted her sons to experience normal, carefree childhoods. She didn't want to burden anyone.
But in the spring of 1978, when Greg Dawson was working as a reporter at the Bloomington newspaper, NBC began airing a four-part miniseries called "Holocaust." Until then, many Americans knew little about one of the world's grimmest periods of history; perhaps they had read "The Diary of Anne Frank."
Dawson wanted to write something for the newspaper and asked his mother to tell him more about her memories as a Russian who lived through the war.
"What she gave me was a life and death story of epochal dimensions that left me in disbelief," Greg Dawson wrote.
He was getting to know his mother all over again.
In the 1990s, his daughter, Aimee, asked the same question of Zhanna Dawson. Aimee was 14 then, and for a school project, she wanted to know what her grandmother's life was like when she was that age.
Zhanna Dawson penned an eloquent letter from Atlanta, where she had moved after her husband's death. After that, she began speaking publicly about her life and no longer kept secrets. Except one.
She had lied about her date of birth all those years ago so that the orphanage would take her in -- Russian orphanages did not accept children over the age of 14. Instead of revealing her true birthday of April 1, 1927, Dawson had changed it to December 25.
Her sons celebrated mom's birthday on Christmas day, until 12 years ago, when she came clean.
"I thought it was an April Fool's joke at first," Greg Dawson says.
"But I never changed the year," says Zhanna. And proud to share a birthday with pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff.
She has recordings of her own concerts. And she loves to listen to music. She has expanded from classical to jazz and even popular piano music. Liberace, she says, can play like the best of them.
She cannot stand to watch television or movies with violence. She has never seen any movies about the Holocaust, not even "Schindler's List" or "The Pianist," Roman Polanski's film about Polish musician Wladyslaw Szpilman's survival in the Warsaw Ghetto. Too painful to watch, Dawson says.
However, she participated in The Shoah Victims' Names Recovery Project which aims to memorialize each Jew killed in the Holocaust by recording their names and stories. On her family's page are photographs of her mother, Sara, and father, Dmitri, and also of Prokofiy and Yevdokia Bogancha, the couple who helped Dawson and her sister after they escaped the death march.
Now, she has another validation of her life and the music that saved her: an honorary university degree. She will keep it as she has the other pieces of paper that matter. The five sheets of music of Chopin's "Fantasy Impromptu" that she tucked under her clothes and survived with her.
"How she preserved five sheets of music is beyond me," Greg Dawson says. "You know how perishable paper is."
The sheet music was Zhanna Arshanskaya Dawson's treasure; it kept her going all those years when there was so little hope for survival. It is safely locked away now in a bank safety deposit box, something for newer generations of her family to look at -- and remember a survivor.


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How a young girl deals with her life with constant...
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If you think you've been discriminated at work or while applying for a job, there are laws to protect you.
What is discrimination?
Discrimination refers to a situation in which you are treated unfairly because of who you are or what you stand for.
Under the law, an employer cannot discriminate against you because of any of the following:
- Gender
- Age
- Sexual orientation
- Gender identity
- Religious belief or activity
- Political belief or activity
- Marital status
- Industrial activities (or lack of industrial activity)
- Race or colour
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding
- Parental status
- Carer status
- Disability or impairment
- Physical features
- Personal association with someone who has, or is assumed to have, one of the above personal characteristics
Discrimination in employment can take many forms, including:
- Being sacked from your job
- Interference in your ability to do your job
- Changing your job role to your disadvantage
- Treating you differently from other employees
- Refusing to employ you
- Being offered different terms and conditions from others doing the same job
Taking action
There are both state and federal agencies that can assist you in taking action if you believe you have been discriminated against.
The first thing you should do is get some advice. Speak with an expert from one of the following organisations - they will be able to recommend the next steps.
- The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission offers a free telephone advice service and receives complaints
- Job Watch specialises in issues for workers in Victoria, and offers free and confidential advice
- The Australian Human Rights Commission works to protect and promote the human rights of all people in Australia.
- The Fair Work Ombudsman gives advice and helps people understand their workplace rights and responsibilities.
For more information about discrimination and harassment, check out our Discrimination and harassment page.


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Last week I attending the INTEROP conference in New York, I was somewhat surprised that they actually had an SOA track, with sessions, such as "SOA: Hype or Happening" and "Security and Governance of Online and B2B SOA Traffic". While I attended both sessions, I wanted to focus on the "SOA: Hype or Happening" discussion as a follow-up to my article SOA the Platform: Part 1.
This fast-paced, lively session included a panel of very senior-level technologists: Phil Fritz, Program Director SOA Management, IBM; Michael Stamback, Director Product Marketing, Oracle; David Pawloski, Vice President, Strategic Alliances; Prabhjot Singh, Vice President, APM Technologies; and Andreas Antonopoulos, Senior Vice President and Founding Partner, Nemertes Research (moderator). The agenda was simple but effective, and followed a standard question and answer format.
My main objective was to gain insight into the status of SOA, not just from the vendors, but also from individuals attending the conference. While the panelists, for the most part, represented organizations that sold cutting-edge SOA products, I did not hear any statements which attempted to tout one vendor's product versus another, which I thought was rather magnanimous.
Since all panel members supported the SOA platform, I did not quote individual members, but tried to state the essence of their responses. I believe that if there was any take away value to this session, it was not in the individual product strengths the panel member company's possessed, but their corporate philosophies on how to use, when to use, or why to use SOA.
Moderator: What is SOA?
Panel: What do you think SOA is? [At first I though this was a flippant remark; but, after some further elaboration, it was clear that the definition of SOA depended on an individual's interpretation.] SOA is a style of development, which includes application management and service reuse. Most importantly, SOA represents broad industry acceptance of a few common technologies.
One panel member stated that SOA is more of a methodology that promotes organizational change (CA). To define and disseminate what SOA is, he bought copies of SOA for Dummies for his staff.
While IT clearly looks at SOA as a product stack, the definition differs depending on who you speak to, with some individuals looking at it as more of a methodology than a product stack.
Moderator: How many people in the room were implementing Web services and SOA?
While the session was well attended, a minority of people raised their hands to indicate that they were involved with SOA-type projects. But then again, this was a sample of users paying to attend a session at a conference on SOA in order to gather information on the subject, not an SOA users group.
Moderator: Is SOA the glue, an integration mechanism, EAI 2 so to speak?
Panel: No, it is not the glue; it is pieces and parts of applications orchestrated differently, that is, business process management.
SOA is a different way of building applications, such as, the ability of a non-ABAP programmer to access an SAP application, which is wrapped in a Web service or a programmer using Google Maps API, which emit binary instead of XML.
Some financial organizations may have 47 different ways of integration with a single application. SOA can provide a smaller set services that can be reused and orchestrated both for internal and external consumption.
Of course SOA can support non-classic uses cases, such as, moving data between heterogeneous databases using an ESB, but there are alternatives to this type of requirement.
Moderator: At what point do you think big SOA, instead of small?
Panel: A large financial company started a project around the design and development of one Web service. This project required governance meetings regarding architecture, security, resources, design review, etc. By other subsequent projects, using the same model, it reduced the governance and planning phase, because they were essential reusing the same methodologies and technologies, this process began to move the organization into a more enterprise-wide approach.
In some organizations, trying to get funding beyond pilot projects can be difficult. SOA is clearly an area where business and IT need to be in alignment. SOA kept in a strictly IT context will go over the head of business leaders.
On a positive note, if you understand the business pain, establish an SOA project and are successful you will get sponsors. You need to talk to the business on their terms and understand their objectives, essentially a bottom-up approach.
It was recommended that a portal project is a good way to go from a small project to a large one. For example, a portal that includes affinity partners is a good project to start small and go big. Essentially, other than the portal itself, all portal services can be external Web services. You would also need to dictate SLA to your development partners, but they would be responsible for developing application (Web service) functionality. Also, security policy must be discussed with the affinity partner. In the absence of concrete security model at design time, it was further recommend that Observer and Decorator design patterns be used to drive out security behavior and serve as a marker interface or temporary stub solution until the concrete security model is specified. [Basically, the Observer design pattern is used to observe the state of an object and used mainly for distributed event handling, whereas the Decorator pattern allows new behavior to be added to an existing class dynamically.]
A SOA project needs to be iterative in its approach, but always include an interim working solution, until agreement on standards and policies can be established. The SOA project and possible COE should be multi-disciplined and include application support, since they have the budget and impact on shared infrastructure.
Today, CIOs are much more focused on cost than technology. SOA needs to be funded as a strategic investment, not a cost of doing business.
Another case study described an organization that did government regulations related processing where their software system needed to be significantly modified periodically. Reengineering the product using SOA reduced time to market by 50 percent. In this case, the business did see an immediate reduction in cost, because of shorter development lead times.
Moderator: Is server virtualization and consolidation (of web service) components onto virtual machines related to SOA adoption? Are there synergies between these technologies?
Panel: In general, there was agreement that this would be an ideal physical SOA architecture and that there are synergies between the technologies.
Audience: SOA is a way to align applications within an organization. However, isn't performance an issue when you need to rely on HTTP when there are other protocols inside the firewall you can use?
Panel: It is important to remember Moore's Law -- that computing performance per unit cost is expected to improve as the size of transistors shrinks, and that the speed at which machines operate will also increase. Additionally, from a time to market standpoint, flexibility usually wins out over performance expectations.
From an SOA perspective, you do not need to rely on HTTP:
- Google Maps API is a form of SOA and does it not rely on HTTP.
- The Navy is using an SOA model and methodology (without using SOAP) to build remote and distributed computing applications. WSDL and XML representations are created as design artifacts with the resulting implementation being delivered in a binary format.
- For organizations that have been using (IBM) MQSeries enterprise-wide, SOA conceptually is not a new concept at all.
Moderator: So, is SOA Hype or Happening?
SOA has been happening for quite some time now. It's not a silver bullet, but built on solid XML standards, which have a long history of proven industry usage.
Prima facie evidence of SOA's maturity was established by citing the shear number of SOA technologies already in use (i.e. ESB, BPM, etc.).
A recent SOA survey indicated that adoption rates were up 7 percent, with only 10 percent of the organizations surveyed indicating no consideration to moving to SOA.
With SOA appliances and advanced Business Process Modeling for SOA already in play, we may have already moved into SOA 2 even without necessarily broad acceptance of SOA.
For More Information
Reinventing Enterprise-Wide Security: Dispatches from an Embedded Journalist at the Edge of SOA: Part I, II and III
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Straight Out Of Flint: Girl Boxer Aims For Olympics
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.
And I'm Audie Cornish.
In this part of the program, we're going ringside. Boxing has been an Olympic sport since the time of the ancient Greeks, but only men have taken part. This year, that changes.
SIEGEL: For the first time, women will step into the ring at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Earlier this month, two dozen of the country's best amateur women boxers competed for three spots on the U.S. team. One of the contenders was 16-year-old Claressa Shields, a junior at Northwestern High School in Flint, Michigan.
CORNISH: For the past few months, Sue Jaye Johnson and Joe Richmond of Radio Dairies have been following Claressa as she prepared for the Olympic trials. They also gave her a tape recorder to keep an audio diary of her life. This is her story.
CLARESSA SHIELDS: All right. Well, we're going to start with my name is Claressa Shields. I'm 16. I've been boxing since I was 11. My record is 19 and 0. Yeah, undefeated.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce...
SHIELDS: I have this dream, I'm in England, London, and it's the finals in the Olympics. I can hear the announcer - I mean, they're going to say, like: And the first woman Olympian at 165 pounds is Claressa Shields.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Claressa Shields.
SHIELDS: And, in my dream, I was looking around and I would think to myself like, how did I get here.
SHIELDS: Hello. Testing. Testing. Good morning, this is Claressa again. That's my alarm.
(Singing) Whoa-ho, chasing dreams got me all over the world...
When I'm sleeping on the couch at my aunt's house - I just moved in probably about a month and a half ago. She has three kids and me and my little brother live with her. So, it's like she's got five kids, really. We all live in the same house.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: Come here.
SHIELDS: Hold on. My second little cousin crying.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: Here, OK. Shhh. Tanasia(ph). Where's Tanasia at?
SHIELDS: Why do I live with my aunt? Well, my mom, you know, she has her own problems. You know, more bad days than good days. It just wasn't helping with my boxing, so I just - I had to move out.
SHIELDS: Crack my neck. Wash my face real fast and head out. Peanut. Later.
SHIELDS: Sound of footsteps. It's snowing. Out here look all pretty. Like white Christmas trees. Today is 30 days before the Olympic trials.
SHIELDS: Wow. (Singing) Today is a new day and there is no sunshine.
I think there's a time in everybody's life where no matter if you've got good parents or bad parents, it's your time to decide if you want to go left, or if you want to go right. Before boxing, my goal was to have 10 kids before I was 26. I wanted to have a big old family, a lot of kids. I thought I would have been a good mom, too. But, no, I ain't thinking about that now though.
SHIELDS: Yeah.
CLARENCE SHIELDS: What's up, champ?
SHIELDS: We're at my dad's house and we're about to watch the DVD of him boxing.
SHIELDS: I think I've got about eight now on DVD.
SHIELDS: And he's going to talk trash.
SHIELDS: Watch how he's going to come now.
SHIELDS: Oh. OK.
SHIELDS: You see, with no jab, no action. Watch how he's going to come now.
SHIELDS: You see how she was wasting punches?
SHIELDS: Yeah, she's wasting energy.
SHIELDS: For those who didn't know, my dad was a boxer. They say he was real good. They used to call him Cannonball.
SHIELDS: I had a career as a underground fighter. We go from state to state, here and there, fighting guys. I fought in barns, closed army bunkers. You understand what I'm saying? You know, we was dirty fighters, you know. You fought until one of y'all couldn't stand no more. You know, and...
SHIELDS: This is illegal?
SHIELDS: It's totally illegal. You know, I, one time, could have turned pro, I think. But I started winding up in and out of prison. And when I came home from prison that was the first time I seen her since she was two.
SHIELDS: Yeah, you had braids in your hair. That's what I remember.
SHIELDS: Yes.
SHIELDS: My dad, he went to prison when I was two and got out when I was nine. You remember the first conversation we ever had about boxing?
SHIELDS: Yeah. One day, we was riding in my van, I think it was. And we was kicking it.
SHIELDS: Mm-hmm.
SHIELDS: I told a story about the fact that I used to fight, and that none of my children or no one else in my family had picked up the torch and became a boxer.
SHIELDS: So, I was like, OK. Maybe you can kind of like live your dream through me a little bit.
SHIELDS: And about a week later, you know, you asked me could you box. And my answer was, hell no.
SHIELDS: Do you remember the exact words that you said? You said boxing is a man's sport. That made me so - it made me so mad.
SHIELDS: And you should have took it that way. That was a chauvinist statement...
SHIELDS: ...that a girl cat do it. So, you know, you was right.
SHIELDS: And I've been at it ever since. I'm still proving people wrong.
SHIELDS: Truth be known. I just think, little momma, you are awesome.
SHIELDS: Hello, this is Claressa again.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Come on. Come.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: There you go.
SHIELDS: I'm at Berston Field House right now. And it is 17 days before the Olympic trials.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Get ready, Ress. Hurry up.
SHIELDS: OK, hold on. Coach?
JASON CRUTCHFIELD: Yeah?
SHIELDS: Can you explain to me what's going on right now? Mr. Jason Crutchfield - Coach Crutchfield.
CRUTCHFIELD: You're going to spar with them two guys right there. Come on, y'all. Get ready. Ready.
CRUTCHFIELD: Box.
CRUTCHFIELD: Good shot. Let him go. Right there, Ress. There you go, right there.
SHIELDS: To me, the gym is a beautiful place. You know, as soon as I walk in there it was like all stress just - it just leaves you. If they would let me live there, I would. I mean, we got a bathroom upstairs for showers. I bring my clothes, pillow, a nice size cover, probably make me a pallet in the ring. Cut the light off and just go to sleep.
CRUTCHFIELD: That's a good shot there. Come on, Ress. Let's go. Stay into it. Sloppy. Sloppy. Don't get sloppy. Keep yourself together. Come on. There you go.
Well, I could remember her dad brought her down to the gym. She was 11 years old - 11. And so, he told me, he asked me, say: Hey, my daughter wants to box. A week after that, I noticed how she was punching aggressively, fast, and her fire, her hunger. Man, a coach always wants a champion. That's why we coach. We want to help the kids and stuff like that. But the first thing is to have a champion. Now, look, I think I got one.
CRUTCHFIELD: I just never thought it was going to be a girl.
CRUTCHFIELD: All right. Come here, Ress. You got to do 15 minutes of ice, 15 minutes of heat. You got me?
SHIELDS: Yeah.
SHIELDS: Hello.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Hey, Ress. Ress - whateverâ¦
CRUTCHFIELD: Hey, Ress. Turn that phone off.
SHIELDS: I'm (unintelligible).
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: All right.
SHIELDS: All right.
CRUTCHFIELD: Who is this boy?
SHIELDS: Ah.
CRUTCHFIELD: What did you - I mean...
SHIELDS: Ain't no big deal. Dang.
CRUTCHFIELD: So, you'd rather talk to the boy than be at the Olympic trials?
SHIELDS: Come on now. What kind of question is that?
CRUTCHFIELD: You know how close this thing is?
SHIELDS: Mm-hmm.
CRUTCHFIELD: Real close. You don't need anything that's going to take your attention somewhere else. Nothing.
SHIELDS: Whatever. I like boys - can't help it.
CRUTCHFIELD: That's cool, but just keep it platonic.
SHIELDS: What that mean?
CRUTCHFIELD: Nothing but a friendship. If you like him, drop him.
SHIELDS: Me - ooh. Nothing.
CRUTCHFIELD: Claressa, you're up against a lot. When we go to these Olympic trials, you're going to be up against grown women that are stronger than you. They ain't got to go to school. They ain't got homework. All they got to do is box. These people are hungry.
SHIELDS: Mm-hmm. It makes sense.
CRUTCHFIELD: You're gifted. You're real good. But you're not ready yet. We're almost there. We're not there yet.
SHIELDS: Well, I'm strong minded. I'm not going to let nobody lead me off in the wrong direction.
CRUTCHFIELD: Claressa, look at me. Just stay focused. You got all your life for boys. This is a once in a lifetime thing right here.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #4: (Singing) Glory. Glory. Hallelujah...
SHIELDS: Right now, we're at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. I came to talk to them about supporting me in Spokane, Washington for the women Olympic trials. And every little bit helps.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #5: This young lady here got an opportunity to go to the Olympics. Ain't you undefeated?
SHIELDS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #5: She's undefeated.
SHIELDS: Hi. I would like to introduce myself. I'm a female boxer at Berston Field House. I've been boxing since I was 11 years old. I've been training very hard, and I do believe in God. I'm just asking that, if you want to give anything, it all helps. That's all.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #5: Congratulations.
SHIELDS: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #5: There's so many young girls out there. They fight, but they're not fighting for the right reasons. You know what I'm saying? We really do need people like you in this city.
SHIELDS: Yes, sir.
CRUTCHFIELD: If she won this, that would really do a lot for our city, Flint, the murder capital, the highest unemployment rate. Everybody looking at Flint like Flint is just a ghost town, like we don't even exist, you know. If we can pull that off, oh, my God. This will show them that, through all that, something good came out of Flint. Claressa Shields. And the things about it is, I think we going to do it. I feel like it was meant for us.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #5: Amen. God bless you.
SHIELDS: Hello?
SHIELDS: So what's going on with you?
SHIELDS: Doing all right. How you doing?
SHIELDS: Oh, I'm all right. I'm all right.
SHIELDS: My dad was going to come to the Olympic trials in Spokane. Dad, where you at right now?
SHIELDS: Huh?
SHIELDS: Where are you at right now?
SHIELDS: Down at the county. Now, look...
SHIELDS: He called me and he had been arrested. The back taillight of the car was messed up and he got pulled over. And he had - a warrant is out for his arrest. I don't know what he did to get the warrant.
SHIELDS: So, I just wanted to call you and tell you I love you.
SHIELDS: And good luck and make sure, of all the things you do, make sure you say your prayer.
SHIELDS: Yeah, all the time.
SHIELDS: OK, baby. Bye-bye.
SHIELDS: Bye. Why (Unintelligible) hang up for?
SHIELDS: I wanted to hear your voice last.
SHIELDS: All right. One, two, three. When I say three, go. Hang up.
All right. Ready? One, two, three, go. Everything in life that I've ever wanted, I've always got it. I mean, besides money or besides - yeah - besides a lot of stuff. But out of everything I ever wanted, I've always got it. But at the end of the day, I'll just think to myself. I don't know what's going to happen. So, good night.
SIEGEL: We find out what happens to teenage boxer Claressa Shields and her Olympic dream in just a moment.
CORNISH: You're listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News.
CORNISH: From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.
SIEGEL: I'm Robert Siegel.
And we continue now with the audio diary of 16-year-old Claressa Shields, vying for a spot on the first ever U.S. Olympic Women's Boxing Team.
Earlier this month at the Olympic trials in Spokane, Claressa beat three nationally ranked boxers to reach the finals. There, she faced two-time national champion, middleweight Tika Hemingway. Our story picks up with Claressa preparing for the big fight.
SHIELDS: Hello. Testing, testing. OK. This is Claressa again, and I'm just getting my mind ready to get warm, jab and pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, jab right hand, poo, poo. It's about to go down.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #6: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the U.S. Olympic Team trial for women's boxing.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: Good evening, everyone. Good evening, boxing fans. Thanks for joining us on this historic occasion. We are set to begin the action. Championship...
SHIELDS: When I step in the ring, it's like I step into a whole different dimension, like everything outside of ring is black. Can't nobody else get in there and help you. Your coach - he ain't getting in the ring and fight with you. You don't have your dad, mom. When we get in the ring, you don't have nobody but yourself.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #6: Let's get it on. Round number one.
CRUTCHFIELD: This is it. This is it right here. Let's go. Everything there. Go get them. There you go. Beautiful jab. That jab's looking good.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: A sound start for Claressa Shields. Lots of speed on that jab.
CRUTCHFIELD: Come on, Ress. Keep your hands up. Hands up. Come on, baby.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: Claressa Shields (unintelligible) the right hand to the body. But Tika Hemingway is, trying to muscle Claressa backward now.
CRUTCHFIELD: Come on, Ress. You're getting pushed, Ress. (Unintelligible), Ress. Ress, do you hear me? Let's go.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: Claressa Shields, moving back to the corner, trying to keep her opponent off of her.
CRUTCHFIELD: Go. Come on, Ress. Go. Go.
I'm like, man, I don't want her to lose no fight. But being a fighter is all about coming back. That's when you find out the true character of a person. And if she can come back, then we'll know.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: And that's the end of the round.
CRUTCHFIELD: Come on, show me something. Look alive.
SHIELDS: I got it.
CRUTCHFIELD: No. You ain't tired. Don't you ever say you tired.
SHIELDS: I said I got it.
CRUTCHFIELD: Come on.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: So, you heard Claressa Shields' coach telling her to look alive and Claressa answers with, I've got it.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #6: Final round, round number four.
CRUTCHFIELD: Come on, Ress, last round. Everything on the round right now.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: Big right hand and a hook from Claressa Shields.
CRUTCHFIELD: There you go. Work it here. Work it here.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: Now, she's bringing the uppercuts right up the center. Claressa boxes her way off the ropes.
CRUTCHFIELD: Nice. That's how you break it off.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: Claressa Shields very comfortable now. She's going heavy leather.
CRUTCHFIELD: Oh, there you go. Oh, there you go.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: We're heading into the final seconds. Claressa Shields waiting for Tika to come forward. That's the end of the round.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #6: What an outstanding bout.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #6: Ladies and gentlemen, I have your winner. With a score of 23 to 18, boxing out of the red corner, Claressa Shields. Claressa Shields is your United States of America team champion.
CRUTCHFIELD: (Unintelligible). You hear me? Don't (unintelligible) on it. OK. Good.
SHIELDS: Wow. My name is Claressa Shields. I always knew I was going to be something. I just didn't know what.
CORNISH: Claressa Shields is now one of three women on the first ever U.S. Olympic Women's Boxing Team. She faces one more hurdle when she fights in the world championships in China in May. If she succeeds there, she will represent the United States at the Olympic Games in London this summer.
SIEGEL: Our story was produced by Joe Richman, Samara Freemark and Sue Jaye Johnson of Radio Diaries with editors Deborah George and Ben Shapiro. It's a collaboration with WNYC's Women Box Project. You can find photos and more about Claressa Shields and many other women boxers at NPR.org.
Copyright © 2012 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio record.


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The first results are in from the Kepler orbiting observatory, the world's most powerful planet-searching telescope, and according to MIT planetary scientist Sara Seager they show that the instrument should have no trouble detecting "alien Earths" — planets that are about the size of our own.
After its launch on March 6, Kepler began taking test data for engineering purposes. It was this engineering data, before the official inauguration of science operations, that produced the observatory's first published results, appearing this week in the journal Science. Seager, the Ellen Swallow Richards Associate Professor of Planetary Science and Associate Professor of Physics, is part of the Kepler science team but was not personally involved in this initial paper. She appeared at a NASA press conference on Thursday, Aug. 6, to comment on the significance of the results.
"These are very exciting times for exoplanets," Seager said, because for the first time astronomers are getting enough data to be able to answer basic questions about the composition of planets orbiting other stars, and how they compare to the familiar planets of our own solar system.
The new data prove that Kepler's capabilities are as great as the astronomers had expected and that the telescope is now fully operational. Kepler was designed to be the first telescope capable of discovering many Earth-sized planets around other stars, and the new data "show that Kepler can indeed do this," she said.
The Kepler telescope is designed for nonstop monitoring of a field of view containing 100,000 stars, staring at them continuously to observe the slight dip in brightness that occurs whenever a planet passes in front of a star.
A video animation of the smooth rise and fall of the light output between transits caused by the changing phases of a planet.
The details from the new observations provided "a truly spectacular measurement of what we call the 'thermal phase curve' of a hot Jupiter," Seager said. "Hot Jupiters" are planets comparable in size to the giant planet Jupiter, but located so close to their parent stars that they are strongly heated by the star's radiation.
In the case of this previously observed planet, called HAT-P-7, the new data show the planet is "tidally locked" so that it always has the same side facing towards the star (just as our own moon always shows the same side toward Earth). As a result, that side is extremely hot, while the opposite side remains much cooler. The thermal phase curve is a graph that plots the varying brightness from the planet as it revolves around the star once every 2.2 days, getting brighter when the hot side faces us and dimmer when the cool side faces us.
"I am personally very excited about this result because it comes from only 10 days of Kepler data," Seager said, adding that over Kepler's expected operating lifetime of 3.5 years, there will be so much more data that it should become possible to learn many additional details about the nature of this planet, as well as many others.


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Risks of Children Viewing 3-D Fading Into The Background In Time for Nintendo's Handheld Launch
With less than a week to go before Nintendo launches the 3DS in the U.S., safety concerns about whether children should view the three-dimensional images have largely disappeared–right before our eyes.
As recently as January, safety warnings about the new handheld gaming device were dominating headlines after the company issued warnings that the 3-D screens shouldn't be viewed by children six or younger because it may harm their vision.
Now, U.S. eye specialists are even welcoming the technology, saying it could help catch vision problems that are hard to detect.
"The 3DS could be a godsend for identifying kids under 6 who need vision therapy," Dr. Michael Duenas, associate director for health sciences and policy for the American Optometric Association told the AP.
Nintendo has a lot riding on the new handheld gaming device since it is the only new hardware it has coming in the near term. The device has already launched in Japan, and will go on sale in the U.S. on Sunday for $250.
The clamshell device is similar to the original 3DS that has been a long-term hit among children. In the new version, it has two screens with the top one having the ability to display 3-D images without the need for special glasses. The 3-D images can be turned off with the flip of a switch. When on, they look somewhat like a hologram.
Many of the device's capabilities are similar to features found on the iPhone and other smartphones.
For example, the new 3DS has an online store, called the eShop, where users will be able to download games. It also has three cameras and a built-in gyro, so the device can be tilted and turned to affect game play. It will also have location-based features, where users can elect to receive new content from Nintendo or other 3DS users as they travel around.
The device can connect to Wi-Fi hotspots, even when in sleep mode, to collect this content or to function as a pedometer, which counts a user's steps.
Some features won't be available at launch, but will be released later through a software update.
At one point, the warnings that Nintendo issued about concerns over children viewing 3-D images seemed like a major impediment for the device.
Now, it's being viewed as a potential way to identify early signs in kids who may have a vision disorder such as amblyopia, or "lazy eye," which can cause problems with reading.
In an interview with CNBC in January, Nintendo's President and COO of North America Reggie Fils-Aime downplayed the concerns: "The fact that the younger consumers are not to view 3-D images is not a big deal for us, and you can manipulate the device to only have 2-D visuals shown, so it will cater to all consumers. The 2-D screen is dramatically better than our current DS."
Last week, Amazon.com said preorders of the 3DS have been robust. It said the best-selling game titles are Capcom's Super Street Fighter IV, followed by Nintendo's Pilotwings Resort and Sega's Super Monkey Ball.
However, even with the upcoming launch on deck, the top handheld game releasing next week with the most preorders is not for the 3DS, but for Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP). The game is Dissidia duodecim Final Fantasy by Square Enix.


text: McFarlane Toys has long recognized the rabid popularity of the NHL in Canada and the United states. However a lot of exceptionaly talented players needs recognition. Therefore in 2007, McFarlane Toys decided to reduce the player count per series so that everyone can enjoy them better. Mcfarlane Sports Pick Series 15: Eric Staal, Dion Phaneuf, Roberto Luongo, and Darcy Tucker.


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janMato wrote:janTe wrote:Is there any reason that men's underwear isn't available?
Mi wile e len anpa pi sitelen pi toka pona.
ma pi toki pona la jan meli taso li len e len anpa. palisa meji li wile kon. a a a.
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I did not actually come up with that title - The Government of Fiji did on their blog.
(The following statement was issued by the Ministry of Defense, National Security and Immigration)
The Republic of Fiji takes very seriously the protection of its pristine environment, specifically with regard to the sustainable preservation of its waters and fisheries.
Government is currently working with local and international conservation organisations and the fishing industry, which are assisting the Fijian Department of Fisheries with monitoring, education, and awareness. Together with these partners, Fiji is committed to sustainable development policies that aim to protect the country's marine resources, while taking into account the socio-economic needs of Fijian citizens, in order to ensure sustainable livelihoods.
Radical international groups, such as the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, any similar organisation or any other related party, which seek to sensationalise esoteric fishing practices, including on so-called "reality television," do so for purposes of self-promotion at the expense of disrupting legitimate conservation work. These groups are not welcome in Fiji and will not be tolerated by Government.
Short, sweet, and to the point - the message could not be any clearer. For a complete synopsis of the situation read the following posts:


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Archive for Friday, April 4, 2014
Kansas House advances 'clean' schools bill as session winds down
April 4, 2014
Topeka Late Thursday, the House Appropriations Committee approved a $129 million school finance plan that authors of the bill said would require approximately $51 million in new funds, presumably from the state's reserves.
The full House was scheduled to vote on the measure Friday.
Committee leaders changed the bill significantly from one that was debated earlier in the week. The panel restored nearly all the cuts in various funding categories, such as virtual education and the cost of transporting students to school.
"A wise decision has been made to basically hold our schools harmless," said Appropriations Vice Chairman Marvin Kleeb, R-Overland Park.
The new House bill appeared to have the backing of Gov. Sam Brownback. That's because the district-by-district impact estimates came directly from Jon Hummell, the governor's budget director, rather than the Legislative Research Department or the Kansas State Department of Education.
According to those estimates, the Lawrence school district would see a net increase of $1.1 million for its general fund, mainly due to a small increase in base state aid that lawmakers approved last year.
The bill also allows districts to raise more money through local property taxes to supplement their general fund, which would yield another $1 million for Lawrence, if the school board opts to take full advantage of that.
Some committee members opposed the changes. "We are spending a significant amount of taxpayer dollars," said state Rep. Virgil Peck, R-Tyro.
Unlike previous school finance proposals, this one lured some Democrats.
"There were significant changes to areas that were really important to people," said state Rep. Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence, a member of the Appropriations Committee. "I think it also addresses the guidance the court gave us in terms of how do we work with equity," she said.
More Senate action
But it was a different story in the Senate, where conservatives tacked on numerous amendments to their spending plan, which would result in a net cut of $1.1 million to the Lawrence district's general fund.
Early in the evening, the Senate overwhelmingly approved an amendment by Sen. Forrest Knox, R-Altoona, to prohibit spending any money to implement the Common Core standards in reading and math, or to pay for administering statewide tests that are aligned to those standards.
Later, Senate President Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, pushed through an amendment to authorize tax credits to corporations that donate money to fund scholarships for low-income students and students with disabilities to attend private schools
That measure has been referred to as a kind of "back-door voucher" because, although corporations initially fund the scholarships, they are partially reimbursed by the public in the form of tax credits equal to 70 percent of their donations.
The bill as it came out of committee already included a property tax credit available to real estate owners who choose to home-school their children or send them to private schools. Qualifying taxpayers could receive a $1,000 credit against their tax bill for the first child home-schooled or enrolled in private school, and $2,500 if they have more than one child in such a program.
One of the most heated discussions of the night centered on an amendment by Sen. Tom Arpke, R-Salina, that would repeal tenure rights for teachers with three or more years experience.
"The thing we need to keep in mind is, if a school is going to fire a teacher for cause, then we're really protecting the kids, not the teacher," said Sen. Julia Lynn, R-Olathe, who supported the amendment. "We're putting the education of our kids ahead of the status quo if a teacher is not effective."
Democrats Anthony Hensley of Topeka, a teacher in the Topeka school district, and Tom Hawk of Manhattan, a former school administrator, said it isn't true that schools cannot fire ineffective teachers who have tenure.
"I can speak from my own experience of having dealt teachers who didn't get the job done," Hawk said. "I had no problem going through due process for those teachers. I believe they deserve due process, and it does work."
The Senate is expected to take final action on the bill Friday. If the House also passes its bill Friday, the bills would be sent to conference committees, and the two chambers may work through the weekend to finish work to send a final package to the governor before the Legislature adjourns the regular session.
Friday was initially scheduled to be the last day of the regular session. Lawmakers will return April 30 for the start of a wrap-up session to deal with any bills or spending items vetoed by the governor, and to make final budget adjustments in line with new revenue estimates.
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