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UPDATED 4:09 p.m. ET -- The Congressional Budget Office projected Tuesday that the national debt will continue to grow over the next ten years even as the economy recovers, the unemployment rate falls, and tax revenues increase.
The report said, "At an estimated $845 billion, the 2013 imbalance would be the first deficit in five years below $1 trillion" and would be only half as large as the deficit was in 2009, relative to the size of the economy. But that improvement will be merely temporary: in the next several years, an aging population will drive entitlement spending higher at the very same time that rising interest rates increase the government's debt-service costs, the CBO warned.
Recommended: Obama calls for at least short-term fix with cuts, revenue to avoid sequester
In its annual Budget and Economic Outlook, the CBO said debt held by the public will be bigger by 2023 than in any year since 1951 and will be at 77 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2023, far above the 40-year average of 39 percent of GDP.
As a result, the CBO report said, the federal government's interest costs "will be very high" and will be rising. Interest costs will more than double by the end of the ten-year forecasting period and will be at their highest share of GDP in the past five decades.
CBO director Douglas Elmendorf emphasized to reporters Tuesday that in the past several years, the federal government has benefited from "an extraordinarily long period of extraordinarily low interest rates."
Elmendorf also stressed that the pressures on the federal budget continue to be driven by the cost of the entitlement programs for older Americans.
Even though the rate of increase in health care spending – including Medicare spending -- has slowed in the past few years, "we still see substantial growth in federal health care spending" over the next ten years and beyond, Elmendorf said.
He noted that in the next ten years the number of people eligible for Social Security retirement benefits will jump by 40 percent. Most of those people will be eligible for Medicare benefits as well.
"We are confronting now in our country changes of a sort we have not had to make in the past," he said. If one looks at the 20 years before the 2007-2008 financial crisis, he said, "we had rising spending on Social Security and on the major health care programs that was offset as a share of GDP (gross domestic product) by a decline in defense spending."
But "that's not a strategy that can be repeated at that magnitude over the next 40 years, because defense spending has come way down as a share of GDP and because the demographic pressures" that are driving up Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security outlays "are so intense," Elmendorf said.
"We have a large budget imbalance, we have large projected deficits, a debt that will remain at a historically high share of GDP and will be rising at the end of the coming decade. What that implies is that small changes in budget policy will not be sufficient to put the budget on a sustainable path," he warned.
The CBO chief said a $4 trillion reduction in cumulative deficits over ten years would result in a balanced budget by the end of the ten-year period but to get that deficit reduction entirely from spending would require a two-thirds cut in all non-defense discretionary spending.
"The gap between spending and revenues is very large, and that means that changes you would need to eliminate that gap will be large relative to either outlays or taxes. It would even require large changes even if one split the impact between spending and taxes," Elmendorf noted.
The CBO's ten-year forecast assumes that the automatic spending cuts, or sequester, required by Congress and President Obama in the 2011 Budget Control Act, will remain in place.
But if Obama and Congress cancel the sequester's spending cuts, the CBO said about $1.2 trillion more would be added to cumulative budget deficits over the next ten years.
The Budget Control Act's spending cuts, which are scheduled to begin on March 1, will reduce defense outlays by about 8 percent and non-defense discretionary outlays by about 5 percent in the current fiscal year, the CBO report said.
On Tuesday Obama called on Congress to pass "a smaller package of spending cuts and tax reforms that would delay the economically damaging effects of the sequester for a few more months" while it comes up with a longer-term alternative.
If the Budget Control Act's spending cuts are left in place, projected federal spending in the CBO's forecast will average 22.1 percent of Gross Domestic Product over the period from 2014 to 2023, which is CBO's ten-year forecasting window.
That figure is less than the spending level in 2012, but it is high by the standards of the past 30 years, during which federal spending has averaged 21 percent of GDP.
The CBO estimates that tax revenues will increase by about $260 billion, or 11 percent, in the current fiscal year. About half of that increase in revenues is due to the Social Security payroll tax reverting to its normal 6.2 percent rate at the start of this year, after being cut to 4.2 percent as an economic stimulus measure in 2011 and 2012.
Elmendorf said the economy is growing stronger. "The good news is that the effects of the housing and financial crisis appear to be gradually waning," he told reporters, predicting "a virtuous cycle of faster growth in employment, income, consumer spending and business over the next few years."
But the tax increases enacted at the end of last year and spending curbs in the Budget Control Act will depress economic growth this year.
The CBO said the economy will grow at a real, inflation-adjusted rate of 1.4 percent this year and 3.4 percent next year, with the unemployment rate remaining high through 2014.
If the CBO forecast is correct, 2014 will be the sixth consecutive year with unemployment exceeding 7.5 percent, "the longest such period in the past 70 years."
But the CBO forecast assumes that the jobless rate will fall to 5.5 percent by 2018. It was last at that level in the summer of 2008.
Each January, the CBO issues its budget projections for the next 10 years. The forecast is intended to guide Congress as it designs fiscal policy. The CBO projections assume that current law remains in place and that no new tax increases, spending cuts or fundamental restructuring of federal programs such as Medicare are enacted.


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Please join me in celebrating the Cover Reveal of Uprising (Children of the Gods #2) by my good friend Jessica Therrien.
Release Date: February 19, 2013
Publisher: ZOVA Books
Paperback & Ebook
We left everything but the weapons. Clothes, food, toothpaste. There wasn't time for things that weren't essential to escape. The five of us went on foot in a direction that was meaningless to me. I had never seen what was outside of the edges of the safe haven, not since I'd been here.
When Mac stopped abruptly after our fifteen-minute trek into the woods, we all froze at once, bodies poised and ready to attack, eyes searching for threats.
"We're here," Mac announced. "What should we expect Marcus?"
I had never heard Dr. Nickel called by his first name, and it made me realize he wasn't as untouchable as I had imagined. Just because he was here, didn't mean we were safe.
"I don't know," he answered. "Maybe an army, maybe nothing. Depends on where they are."
"Everyone best get down on the ground just in case," Mac decided with a nod. "Weapons ready."
As I lay belly down in the dirt, I noticed Dr. Nickel pull a gun from his belt, and my stomach gave a heave.
"When I remove the haven walls, there will be a van. Everyone get in back. If anything goes wrong…" Mac paused, uncomfortable at the thought. "It's been nice knowin' ya."
And now... The Cover!
You can add Uprising to your TBR list on goodreads.
Jessica Therrien is the author of the young adult paranormal fiction series Children of the Gods. Book one in the series, Oppression, was published by ZOVA Books in February of 2012 and became a Barnes & Noble best-seller shortly after its release. The second book in the series, Uprising, will be available in February of 2013.
Aside from her Children of the Gods series, Jessica's work can also be found in a published collection of flash fiction stories called Campaigner Challenges 2011. Out of over 350 submissions her story, The Soulless, won first place for people's choice and fourth place in the judging round of Rachael Harrie's Writing Campaign Challenge. Her story, Saved, is also available as part of the anthology.
Jessica spent most of her life in the small town of Chilcoot, California, high up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In this town of nearly 100 residents, with no street lights or grocery stores, there was little to do but find ways to be creative. Her mother, the local English teacher, inspired her to do all things artistic, and ultimately instilled in her a love for language.
In 2003, Jessica attended California State University Long Beach where her passion for language found her studying Chinese, and in 2005 she moved to Taiwan to study abroad. From 2005 to 2006 Jessica was fully immersed in the Chinese language as she attended National Taiwan University, and in 2008 she graduated from San Diego State University magna cum laude.
Jessica currently lives in Chula Vista with her husband and is working on book three in her Children of the Gods series.
If you haven't read Oppression (Children of the Gods #1) here's what you've been missing:
Elyse knows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her whole life. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than the average person, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's closer to eighty. Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal. For Elyse, these things don't make her special. They make life dangerous. After the death of her parents, she's been careful to keep her secret as closely guarded as possible. Now, only one other person in the world knows about her age and ability. Or so she thinks. Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets. There are others like her all over the world, descendants of the very people the Greeks considered gods. She is one of them, and they have been waiting for her for a long time. Among so many of her kind, she should not be very remarkable--except for the prophecy. Some believe she will put an end to traditions, safeguarded by violence, which have oppressed her people for centuries. Others are determined to keep her from doing just that. But for Elyse, the game is just beginning--and she's not entirely willing to play by their rules.
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Cover Reveal of Uprising (Children of the Gods #2) by Jessica Therrien
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Technophiles have been playing around with 3D printing for years, but mostly just to make things like little statues or plastic trinkets. Now, however, it's possible to print items with the potential to leave more of an impact.
Items like guns, for example.
Such is the goal of Austin, Texas-based Defense Distributed, a company that makes gun parts using 3D printers and publishes the designs online for anyone to download. Now, co-founder Cody Wilson said he has received a federal license to distribute and sell firearms. And last week Wilson also announced he's trying to raise $100,000 to launch a new search engine called Defcad, which would let people share 3D printing blueprints for things like gun parts.
It's a thorny subject considering the current debate over gun control in the aftermath of a mass shooting at an elementary school in Newton, Conn., in which 26 people—20 of them children 7 years old and younger—were murdered.
Yet at SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas, earlier this month, Wilson shared Defense Distributed's vision for the future—one in which anyone can easily access the technology to print gun parts themselves, so that eventually the 3D printing of firearms will become so advanced and widespread that it will make gun control laws meaningless.
Here's what he said in a recent Q&A with PCWorld/TechHive about using 3D printers to make guns.
I understand you just got a federal license to distribute and sell firearms?
For me, the new thing is that we're doing a search engine right now. In fact, we're fundraising for it. So yes, it's true that we have a license, that's related to [the company] Defense Distributed. I'm trying to get the search engine off the ground in the next 30 days so development for the next three or four weeks will actually be ramped back down for Defense Distributed.
Speaking of your search engine, it looks like you've raised more than $20,000 so far. What kind of people are supporting you?
Well, I can't trace the money back because I haven't been watching individual transactions but I'm seeing a lot of support on the Ron Paul forums and people that use Bitcoin… Redditors, really a lot of people who might self-describe as Internet people and civil libertarians.
How did you become the poster child for 3D-printed guns? What's the backstory?
I think we came up with the idea of printing gun parts on 3D printers at around the same time a couple of other hobbyists in the country did, as well. We didn't know about each other so at the time we thought "Well, no one else is doing this, let's see what we can do." But almost immediately the thought was also "Oh, it's not just enough to do it, we should open source it as well, because this would have real political import."
My cofounder and I are pretty … how to say it… we're extremely political people and in the Arendtian sense so I don't care anything about retail politics…shaking hands, all these things, that's ridiculous and a simulation of the real thing to me.
I think real politics is something much more fascinating. In fact, I'm interested in projects that might bring ideology and real politics back into the world. This seemed like if we could make a technical proof of the impossibility of gun control in a new technology, it would be something worth doing. And I think my instincts are right though, a lot of people realize the vision in either its optimistic side or its terrifying side.
Can you describe what you've been printing? Is it just gun parts? Entire gun assemblies?
Right now we've just been doing gun parts, like receivers. Our three main things we've been doing are the lower receiver for the AR-15, that's what we've been doing for the longest. Standard capacity magazines for the AR-15. And then we've recently been doing AK-47 magazines.
We've been doing other minor parts as well but mostly we leave that up to other people so we started a hub for gun parts called Defcad and that's where people share and upload parts. We've actually kept it down to a pretty small range of gun parts and it's just been tweaking those designs and testing them in the different 3D printing technologies that we have access to, which is quite a few now.
How many users do you have on Defcad?
The forum has over 1000 registered members. The forums are pretty busy. Lots of uploads. We have over 100 files.
What would you say to the people who fear that bad guys are going to use 3D printers to make plastic guns that can't seen by metal detectors?
That's a step away from what we're doing, although it's part of our prototyping process. We're not legally allowed to do it yet. So complete guns out of 3D printers is not yet, as far as I've seen, demonstrated to be a feasible thing. I'm not sure it's technologically achievable with the current materials or printers, although we are going to try to find that out.
To that point then, in this world where let's say 3D printers can print out Saturday Night Specials and that bad people or terrorists will use them, this is, of course, possible. This is the problem with liberty, that it can be abused.
But I think the tendency is to blame people like us for creating a world that by and large already exists. So these nation states and these government bodies already fund armies and paramilitary groups and give them arms around the world. I'm not exporting hundreds of thousands of rifles all over the world for people to use in genocides. This is already being done by our democratically elected leaders.
I think there's nothing wrong with what we're doing in a moral sense. We're pursuing what we think is a step toward liberty and even if it scares people, well, that's our world view—liberty is scary and increasingly there's less and less you can do about controlling the way someone can fabricate a gun.
What about the federal license that you received to distribute and sell firearms?
It's a federal firearms license and there are different kinds you can get, but the one I got was one to manufacture firearms, and manufacturing has a specific meaning under the law. Before I was already making guns and gun parts, which is legal to do in America. You don't need a license to do it.
But if you want sell them or if you want to make a wider range of guns you need to get licensing to manufacture. So that's what we applied for at the end of October, and we finally got it.
It's kind of like step one toward being able to make whatever we want, without the need to pay a tax on every prototype, without the need to do a lot of paperwork and wait three months between innovations. We can just operate our own laboratory and workshop without regulatory constraint because we've been licensed.
Do you actually see yourself selling things to people?
Of course. Maybe not a business of actual printable guns because those aren't competitive with the kinds of prices compared to traditional commercial guns. But I can already begin selling, if I serialize, the components we've already printed. Perhaps people just want them as novelties or it's a slightly better piece of merchandise than a T-shirt. It can offset some of our costs in the previous months. It just allows another access point for monetization.
And I can do firearms transactions now so if someone wants to support our nonprofit, for example, they don't just have to send us money, they can do little things like, well, if I'm going to choose to ship a rifle out of state or in state, maybe I'll ship it to Defense Distributed and give them a few extra dollars. It just allows people to spend their money on us.
Is your company, Defense Distributed, a nonprofit?
Yeah, we're pursuing 501(c)(3). I put in the app for that back in October, as well, and I haven't gotten my determination letter yet. I think it's still being studied. But I fully expect we'll get 501(c). It seems pretty cut and dried, although I know it's a unique application.
I understand you spoke at SXSW last week. How were you received?
I expected it to be a little more contentious, actually. But what can I say? It was a pretty friendly atmosphere. I gave a talk and the Q&A was not in the least contentious. People were asking interesting ethical and philosophical questions but nobody was rude or anything. Everybody I think was just there to participate in a real conversation.
Speaking of people being rude, do you have haters out there?
Oh, of course. The reason I expected a more hostile environment in the first place is I've been before some hostile crowds presenting on this topic in Europe and other places where you might expect more of that. I just have come to expect with a more general audience that people would be more against it. I guess the Southwest crowd is younger, they're more into tech, and I think even if they have ethical reservations, it's simply outweighed by the pure spectacle and fascination of it all.
Is there anything else that people should know about this subject?
I think it's one of the more intrepid uses of 3D printing right now. We're learning a lot about the materials, a lot about the limits of this technology, from higher end to maker hobby level machines. We're really straining these things and seeing what they can do.
It's a pretty intense application. A gun part either works or it doesn't. It's somewhat different from just printing out a trinket. You're creating functional parts. In that respect, I think people should take 3D printers and start to make functional useful devices.


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Recently by Gerald Celente: The Bailout Bubble – the Bubble to EndAllBubbles
The natives are restless. The third shot of the Second American Revolution has been fired. History is being made. But just as with the first two shots, the third shot is not being heard. America is seething. Not since the Civil War has anything like this happened. But the protests are either being intentionally downplayed or ignorantly misinterpreted.
The first shot was fired on April 15, 2009. Over 700 anti-tax rallies and Tea Parties erupted nationwide. Rather than acknowledge their significance, the general media either ignored or ridiculed both protests and protestors, playing on tea bagging for its sexual innuendo.
Initially President Obama said he was unaware of the tea parties. The White House later warned they could mutate into something unhealthy.
Shot #2 was fired on the Fourth of July, when throngs of citizens across the nation gathered to again protest taxation without representation. And as before, the demonstrations were branded right-wing mischief and dismissed.
The third volley, fired in early August, was aimed point blank at Senators and House members pitching President Obamas health care reform package to constituents. In fiery town hall meetings, enraged citizens shouted down their elected representatives. It took a strong police presence and/or burly bodyguards to preserve a safe physical space between the politicians and irate townspeople.
The White House and the media have labeled protestors conservative fringe elements, or as players in staged events organized by Republican operatives that have been egged on by Fox news and right-wing radio show hosts.
In regard to this latest wave of outbursts, health industry interests opposed to any reform are also being blamed for inciting the public. But organized or spontaneous is not the issue. While most protestors exhibit little grasp of the complex 1000 page health care reform document (that nary a legislator has read either), their emotion is clearly real and un-staged.
Rightly or wrongly, the legislation is regarded as yet another straw on the already overloaded camels back. A series of gigantic, unpopular government-imposed (but taxpayer-financed) bailouts, buyouts, rescue and stimulus packages have been stuffed down the gullet of Americans. With no public platform to voice their opposition, options for citizens have been limited to fruitless petitions, e-mails and phone calls to Congress all fielded by anonymous staff underlings.
Now, with Congress in recess and elected representatives less than a stones throw away, the public is exploding. The devil is not in the details of the heath care reform, the devil is the government mandating health care. Regardless of how the plan is pitched or what is being promised, to the public the legislation is yet another instance of big government taking another piece out of their lives and making them pay for it; again telling them what they can or cannot do.
Though in its early stages, the Second American Revolution is underway. Yet, what we forecast will become the most profound political trend of the century the trend that will change the world is still invisible to the same experts, authorities and pundits who didnt see the financial crisis coming until the bottom fell out of the economy.
Trend Forecast: Conditions will continue to deteriorate. The global economy is terminally ill. The recession is in a brief remission, not the early stages of recovery. Cheap money, easy credit and unrestrained borrowing brought on an economic crisis that cannot be cured by monetary and fiscal policies that promote more cheap money, easy credit and unrestrained borrowing.
Nevertheless, Washington will continue to intervene, tax and exert control. Protests will escalate and riots will follow.
Fourth Shot of the Second American Revolution: While there are many wild cards that could light the fuse, The Trends Research Institute forecasts that if the threat of government-forced Swine Flu vaccinations is realized, it will be the fourth shot. Tens of millions will fight for their right to remain free and unvaccinated.
Editorial Note: The power of the Internet and new technologies is inexorably fermenting the Second American Revolution. However widespread and emotionally charged, had the tax rallies, tea parties and healthcare reform protests occurred in years past, they might have been covered by the local media, but might not have made national headline news and thus would have died stillborn.
Thank you for supporting LRC with your online orders
Now, with the ubiquitous camera-equipped cell phone, universal access to YouTube, and millions of twitters and tweets, the uprisings cannot be ignored, contained, managed, spun or edited down. The revolutionary fervor will prove contagious.
Can anything stop it?
Trend Forecast: Before the momentum of the Second American Revolution becomes unstoppable, it could be derailed through some false flag event designed to deceive the public, or a genuine event or crisis capable of rallying the entire nation behind the President. In a worst-case scenario, according to Trends Research Institute Director, Gerald Celente, Given the pattern of governments to parlay egregious failures into mega-failures, the classic trend they follow, when all else fails, is to take their nation to war."
A false flag attempt, a genuine crisis, or a declaration of war, may slow the momentum of the Second American Revolution, but nothing will stop it.
Gerald Celente is founder and director of The Trends Research Institute, author of Trends 2000 and Trend Tracking (Warner Books), and publisher of The Trends Journal. He has been forecasting trends since 1980, and recently called The Collapse of '09.


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Miralago (Utoring)
卧室 1
Description of the holiday rental
"Apt. B13", 2-room apartment 73 m2, south-west facing position. Bright, comfortable and cosy furnishings: open living/dining room with dining table and satellite TV (flat screen). Exit to the terrace. 1 room with 2 beds (90 cm, length 100 cm). Exit to the terrace. Small kitchen (4 hot plates, oven). Shower/WC. Heating. Patio partly roofed, south facing position and west facing position. Terrace furniture. Very beautiful panoramic view of the lake, the mountains and the countryside. Facilities: Internet (WiFi, free). Please note: non-smokers only. NL-00003588 Piazzogna 19 km from Locarno: Modern, comfortable residence "Miralago (Utoring)", surrounded by trees and meadows. 4 houses in the residence. 39 apartments in the residence. Above Vira (3 km), in the district Gambarogno, in a quiet, sunny, elevated position on a slope, along the wooded area, 3 km from the lake, in a cul-de-sac, south-east facing position. For shared use: lawn for sunbathing, swimming pool angular heated (depth 170 - 170 cm, seasonal availability: 15.Apr. - 31.Oct.) with internal staircase and shutter cover. Outdoor shower, terrace, garden furniture. In the complex: reception, lounge, WiFi, central heating system, washing machine (for shared use, extra). Motor access to the house the grounds. Parking. Grocery, restaurant 300 m, bus stop 50 m. Minigolf 4.5 km, walking paths from the house 100 m. Nearby attractions: Parco Botanico, Piazzogna 300 m, Mercato Luino IT, Mercato Ponte Tresa IT, Bellinzona Unesco-Mercato, Swissminiature, Melide, Schokomuseum, Caslano. Well-known lakes can easily be reached: Lago Maggiore, Lago di Lugano, Lago di Como, Lago Orta. Hiking paths: Gambarogno, Indemini, Monte Tamaro und Splash and SPA, Rivera, Locarno - Ascona Cardada. The 4 typical Ticino houses offer a magnificent panoramic view of the lake. 1 parking space per apartment is included in the price, each additional space is CHF 35/week.
- Swimming pool/ Indoor pool
- Cable TV / Sat. TV
- Parking space
- WiFi
- Washing machine
6579 Piazzogna


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The copy of "Tamerlane and Other Poems" had been estimated to sell Friday for between $500,000 and $700,000 at Christie's auction house in New York City.
The previous record is believed to be $250,000 for a copy of the same book sold nearly two decades ago.
The 40-page collection of poems was published in 1827. Poe wrote the book shortly after moving to Boston to launch his literary career.
No more than 40 or 50 copies of "Tamerlane" were printed, and only 12 remain.
The record-breaking copy is stained and frayed and has V-shaped notches on the outer and lower margins.


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Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found some great articles on having a clean place without cleaning, giving memorable gifts without going into debt, and spending your tax refund wisely.
11 Ways to Have a Clean Place Without Cleaning — To have a clean place without cleaning, reduce the amount of stuff you have. [SavvySugar]
6 Ways to Give Memorable Gifts Without Going Into Debt — Give a memorable gift without going into debt by spending time instead of money. [PT Money]
How to Spend Your Tax Refund Wisely — Consider using your tax refund to pay down debt or fix up your home. [Generation X Finance]
3 Ways to Increase Your Financial Savvy as a Female Entrepreneur — If you want to increase your financial savvy as a female entrepreneur, surround yourself with like-minded entrepreneurs. [Careful Cents]
5 Essential Steps to Prepare for Tax Season — Asking the right questions and getting organized will help you prepare for tax season. [Joe Taxpayer]
Traditional IRA vs Roth IRA: Which One is Better for Young Adults — Did you know traditional IRAs are tax deferred while Roth IRAs are tax exempt? [20's Finances]
4 ways to experience fine arts on the cheap — To experience fine arts on the cheap, check out community and college art organizations. [Living on the Cheap]
Garage Sales 101 — The best time to have a garage sale is on a weekend in May or June. [The Dollar Stretcher]
Who Should Pay on Dates? — Do you think going dutch on a date is a bad idea? [Young and Thrifty]
8 Tips for Preparing a Birth Plan — When preparing a birth plan, use clear and assertive language. [Parenting Squad]
Disclaimer: The links and mentions on this site may be affiliate links. But they do not affect the actual opinions and recommendations of the authors.
Wise Bread is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.


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8MM Faceted Edge Tungsten Ring w/ Black Inlay
8MM Faceted Edge Tungsten Ring w/ Black Inlay
The 8MM Faceted Edge Tungsten Ring features faceted edges and a black resin inlay that looks amazing when it catches light. This ring is an ideal example of what a wedding band should look like as it is made with Tungsten Carbide and is extremely scratch resistant. The shine will last a lifetime!
Like all of our Tungsten Rings this ring is Comfort Fit and is 100% cobalt free (we use a nickel binder to make a 100% hypo allergenic ring). This ring is engravable, please check our custom engraving page for font samples.
Buy with confidence as this 8MM Faceted Edge Tungsten Ring comes with our 21-day satisfaction guarantee and is backed by our Lifetime Warranty.
** Please note that while engraved rings cannot be exchanged under the 21 day satisfaction guarantee, a claim can be made under the lifetime warranty. Therefore, we encourage our customers to ensure proper fit before having their rings personalized or engraved. You can select 'Try Rings On First' to receive your rings without engraving, and receive a return shipper to send them back for engraving and size changes (USA only for return shipper, engraving must be pre paid for return shipper option) **
Retail Price: $249.99
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Greci, Italy Cousins Site
Is a place where all "cousins" who can trace their roots back to a small city in Southern Italy called Greci can come and share information about their family's history.
Much work has been done by different people so that the information on this site could be made available. Nick Norcia, John Mazzarella, Jerry Boscia, and Dick Vara all have contributed information that is included on this site. Additionally, over forty other "cousins" also have contributed information.
John Mazzarella's 1988 Visit to Greci, Italy
Everything you will see here started after a visit to Greci by John Mazzarella in 1988. He decided to make copies of all the microfilm indexes of births, marriages, and deaths to take them back to Greci since the original records had been lost in a fire. In order to reach this goal he asked for help from other "cousins" he connected with during his family history search.
John Mazzarella returned for a visit in 2000 carrying three large binders, each contained copies or 100 years of birth, marriages, and deaths indexes.
John Mazzarella's return visit to Greci, Italy in 2000
The next part of the work, the largest part and the part that makes this site what it is, was the work of many years spent by Nick Norcia. He translated and formatted the indexes for all the birth, marriage and death civil records for the years 1809 to 1910.
Once the indexes were complete, Nick then entered all the data in a Master Genealogist program, which took several more years.
John Mazzarella takes database of records to Greci in 2004
John Mazzarella then merged other information contributed by "cousins" into the database and in 2004 installed the program on a computer in the Townhall (Comune) of Greci, Italy.


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Hilliard Lakes Golf Course
Rates & Specials
Course Layout
Directions & links
Matthew "Memo" Zaleski
Hilliard Lakes is a Family Owned Golf Course That was Established in 1967 by Matthew Zaleski and has Received a Four Star Rating from Golf Digest Magazine.
Northeast Ohio's Lil' Augusta is a Challenging 6985 Yard 18 Hole Layout with Tree Lined Fairways and Strategically Placed Water Hazards. The Large Greens and Manicured Fairways are Guarded by Over 60 Sand Traps. These Subtle Design Features Should Bring Out Every Club in Your Bag.
A Ten Station Driving Range Will Help Sharpen Your Swing and Dial Your Putting on a Convenient Practice Green. Along with Our Practice Facilities, We Offer a Snack Bar and Lounge Where You Can Embellish Upon the Day's Game.
Our Goal is to Provide Our Golfers with the Best Possible Conditions for Their Golfing Experience. We Hope You Enjoy Your Day!
- The Staff at Hilliard Lakes Golf Course
Hilliard Lakes Golf Course - 31665 Hilliard Road - Westlake - Ohio - 44145


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Alcoa Online Privacy Notice
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HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Penn State's board of trustees and president focused on repairing the school's tarnished image and braced for financial backlash in the immediate aftermath of the child sex-abuse scandal that erupted two months ago, going so far as to recommend reminding any outraged donors that they wouldn't get their money back, according to internal memos obtained by The Associated Press.
Four memos sent Nov. 14-18 and released to the AP this week describe the school's scrambling response less than two weeks after former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested on child molestation charges. Two Penn State administrators also were charged with lying to a grand jury and failing to properly report suspected child abuse.
In the first memo, issued nine days after the charges were filed, new school president Rodney Erickson told the 47-member Board of Trustees that the public relations teams of the university and the athletic department had met to "align our messages" and that he had received positive feedback after two network television interviews.
"This is another indication that we are taking control of the narrative of our story," Erickson wrote.
The scandal led to the ouster of Graham Spanier, Erickson's predecessor, and the firing of venerable football coach Joe Paterno, a decision by the trustees that triggered rioting in downtown State College.
A Nov. 18 note from Erickson also included an attachment with "talking points" for donors, including that the school had not changed its policy that gifts are not returned.
"The overwhelming majority of our leading donors have made public statements affirming their faith in the university and its future," according to the university's talking points. The document named a couple who gave $88 million to launch an NCAA ice hockey program, and another who endowed the position of head football coach.
Both the number of donors and number of gifts to Penn State increased in November, compared with the same month a year earlier. Total donations to Penn State were $3.1 million in November, compared to $1.1 million in November 2010, according to the university.
Another positive sign for Penn State was last month's announcement of a $10 million gift from an anonymous donor to bridge engineering research projects with other fields of study.
Erickson told the board he had participated in a conference call with a fundraising committee.
"Our volunteer leaders remain committed to Penn State, and my message was well received," Erickson told the trustees.
The records were obtained through a public records request filed Nov. 22 with the state Department of Education. Penn State, which receives hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer support annually, is largely exempt from the law and has declined requests for certain information as its internal investigation continues.
University spokeswoman Annemarie Mountz said Erickson's memos continued after Nov. 18, but she declined to provide them to the AP.
The memos also reflect close monitoring of the widespread publicity surrounding the scandal. Erickson noted on Nov. 14 that "blogs, tweets, news stories, Facebook postings, YouTube videos, etc." had declined 50 percent from the previous day and 90 percent over the prior four days.
"Review of Top 20 search terms on Google today shows no Penn State terms on that list for the first time in nine days," Erickson wrote.
On Nov. 15, Erickson told the board that the Penn State Marketing Council was asked to help identify pressing needs, naming admissions as one area that required attention. He said the school was developing a video and "more symbolic game day experiences" for the Ohio State football game on the following weekend.
Also Nov. 15, the two top-ranking members of the Board of Trustees wrote to other board members to say that debate among the full board, including emeritus members, had become too cumbersome in the eyes of many trustees.
The board has 31 voting members, including Erickson, Gov. Tom Corbett and members of Corbett's cabinet, as well as 16 emeritus members. Although board membership is concentrated in Pennsylvania, some members live in other states.
"We need to streamline the communications among and with members of the board," chairman Steve Garban and vice chairman John Surma wrote, days after media reports surfaced of eroding support for Paterno and Spanier. "First and foremost, there have been serious breaches in confidentiality of our discussions and we will take the necessary steps to address these. Second, a smaller group will be more effective to provide feedback to President Erickson."
The executive committee was designated to serve that function, Garban and Surma wrote, adding that no major policy steps would be taken without appropriate participation by the full board.
The third update from Erickson said the school's vice president for university relations, Bill Mahon, had asked Penn State deans and chancellors to emphasize "remorse, humility and resolve."
"It is critical that we show that we are moving forward under the leadership of President Erickson," Mahon told the administrators. "Please be sure that there is broad understanding that he is the president, not the interim president."
Mountz said Tuesday that the internal memos show the president and board working "to reinforce all the positive elements" of Penn State while addressing the scandal.
She said the documents showed Erickson "focusing on improving communications, reaching out to students, faculty and alumni and the public, and appointing new leadership."
The school's public relations challenges continue, with a permanent successor to Paterno still not named and a couple of football recruits revoking verbal commitments to play for the Nittany Lions. Former players and other alumni have criticized how the university treated Paterno, the winningest coach in the history of major college football.
Erickson plans to meet with alumni to discuss the abuse scandal next week in town hall-style meetings in Pittsburgh, near Philadelphia and in New York.
Messages left for Garban, Surma and several other trustees were not returned.
Sandusky has been charged with sexual abuse of 10 boys over more than a decade, charges he has denied. He is free on bail while awaiting a trial in Centre County, where Penn State's main campus is.
Charges against two administrators, athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz, were sent to county court in Harrisburg for trial after a daylong preliminary hearing last month. After being charged, Curley was placed on administrative leave at his request, and Schultz retired.
Curley and Schultz deny the allegations that they lied to the grand jury investigating Sandusky and did not comply with a state law that requires suspected child abuse, in certain circumstances, to be reported to higher authorities.
The day the charges were announced, Spanier released a statement expressing unconditional support for Curley and Schultz and predicting they would be exonerated.


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An Internet Chat Prank: The Chicken Of Seeing
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So, it's the middle of the night and I'm finishing up a conversation with my friend of mine on GChat. Out of the blue, I get messaged by a girl I don't know on Facebook. The pic's attractive — which is odd. It's odd because I know a lot of attractive women and one thing I have found about them is that they don't just blindly introduce themselves to you late at night on Facebook. Life just doesn't work that way unless your name is Brad Pitt.
So, I look at her profile. The Facebook chick's name is "Marry Anne," she has 30 friends, and 20 of them are guys named "Jeff." There's very little info. A few attractive pics. Long story short, it smelled.
I told my friend that she was probably a cam girl (They try to get you to look at their nudie website) and I figured I'd talk to her for a few moments to see if I was right. As I got into it, I figured out she was a different type of scammer: A send me money scammer. Long story short, how this works is they build up a relationship with guys who have no social skills, convince them that they want to spend some quality time together, and get them to wire out some money for the trip or some sort of emergency. Of course, at that point, they disappear.
Now here's something you may not know: Way back in the day, when I ran a humor website, I used to do internet chat pranks. Whether it was screwing around with spammers or convincing Brazilians that I was an Iraqi soldier, it was always a good time. So, once I figured out I was talking to a scam artist (probably from Nigeria or Eastern Europe), it was on like a pot of neckbones. What follows is a transcript of our chat that I copied and pasted from Facebook chat. I did clean it up a bit, but before you ask, yes, I really did say all that stuff.
Marry: Hi john
John Hawkins: Hi
Marry: How are you, John?
John Hawkins: Good. How are you?
Marry: I am fine….where are you presently?
John Hawkins: NC, at the beach. How bout you?
Marry: Whao…sound nice. I am at home in CA. How I wish I can join u there now to feel the fresh breeze?
John Hawkins: Cali's nice, too.
Marry: Yeah its nice…how many times have u been there?
John Hawkins: Cali? Never. I have friends there tho. So, Marry Anne: How can I help you?
Marry: Tell me more about you?
John Hawkins: Well, before I do, tell me more about you. Why are you messaging me at 2:15 AM Cali Time, I think? Just wondering…
Marry: I live in Santa Maria, CA presently. But, I am originally from Fresno, CA. I am an artwork dealer. I buy and sell artworks and antiques to museums and art galleries. Do that answer your question?
John Hawkins: Sort of. Do you know me at all? It's kind of unusual to have women I don't know IM me just to chat in the middle of the night.
Marry: I must confess that I dont know you. Neither have I seen u before. But your picture and profile caught my attention.
John Hawkins: Oh yeah? Why's that?
Marry: I cant believe am saying this…I'm seeking an established, mature, dependable, fun, and genuine man who has a great sense of humor. Trust and honesty are extremely important to me. Who have either have or no children, but I am willing to be flexible if the right person comes along.
John Hawkins: I do have to admit, you are an attractive woman. Are those pictures recent?
Marry: I took this one couple of months ago….Maybe 5 to 6 months to be precise. Why do you ask this?
John Hawkins: Well, once I was on an internet dating site. I met this girl. Gorgeous. But she kept putting off the meeting. I mean this girl? She looked like Britney Spears. Then I met her in person and wow. She looked like a midget Janeane Garofalo. It was horrible! Why do people lie in their pics?
Marry: Ohhh that is bad. I would never do that. Why would she do such thing…it shows she does not believe in herself. I will never go to such lenght because I wanted an attention. I am proud of who I am and I want someone who's gonna love me for who I am. Are you married now?
John Hawkins: No, divorced. My last wife had this big problem with…this may sound a little odd, but…I did some Peace Corp work down in Haiti when I was younger and I practice voodoo now. It's my religion. Sigh….most women hate that…
Marry: So, thats why she left you?
John Hawkins: Yes. I mean, I understand it. She was a devout Muslim and she wanted me to convert. She insisted on wearing a burka around the house and everything — and she did it all the time. Even in bed. Can you imagine?
Marry: Ohhhhhhhhhh..I can imagine that myself, because I cant even allow my husband to wear shorts to bed. I was married once but I lost my husband 6 months after our marriage to cancer of the brain….he was diagonised of the cancer two weeks to the wedding date. I love him so much and ive really missed him alot. He died three years ago and since then I've not had any relationship and that has been a lonely life….no one to say sweet words to and no one to whisper I LOVE YOU into my ears.
John Hawkins: That is so sad. To honor your husband, I am going to sacrifice a chicken in his honor tonight.
Marry: Ohhhhh that is kind of you ..how I wish am there to honour him together…u make me cry.
John Hawkins: I can tell you're a good woman. What would it take for us to get together? Would I have to pay some kind of dowry?
Marry: Ahahahha..no need for that. What do you do for a living?
John Hawkins: I am one of only a half dozen people in the world who takes used chewing gum, reprocesses it, and then makes it so people can rechew it again. Have you ever had Wrigley Chew Gum? Half that stuff has already been chewed before.
Marry: And your work is paying your bills well?
John Hawkins: Honey, I make a lot of money. You would never think you could make that much off of rechewed chewing gum, but there's a lot of cash in the business. It's tedious actually. All these politicians hitting you up for donations. Relatives wanting to borrow money. Voodoo priests asking me to build them cow sacrifice pits because I have deep pockets.
Marry: That's alright as long as you find pleasure in what you are doing. I like your gap tooth….you are an handsome man. How old are you?
John Hawkins: 53. That's too old for you, isn't it?
Marry: Seriously? You dont look it.
John Hawkins: I look younger because I had facial reconstruction surgery a few years back.
Marry: You look 30.
John Hawkins: I was cleaning used chewing gum off the bottoms of desks in an old school and I didn't realize it was condemned. The wrecking ball hit the side of the building and it nearly killed me. They had to rebuild my whole face. The good news was that I looked much younger after the surgery. Oh, I'm too old for you, huh? Sigh….
Marry: I dont think you are too old for me……age is just a number. Thank voodoo for sparing your life till now…lol.
John Hawkins: OMG. You don't practice voodoo, too do you? Have you ever been to Haiti?
Marry: No, I've not.
John Hawkins: What religion are you?
Marry: I was born into a christian family so, I think am a christian.
John Hawkins: I hear a lot of bad things about Christians in the media. I mean, you guys are always like shooting up abortion clinics and putting pictures of Jesus in urine in stuff. You don't do that kind of thing a lot do you?
Marry: I will never do such…..I dont believe in all that I believe in plain concience. Thats what matters. John, to be candid…you are charming and am even scared of staring at your picture any longer because u making my heart beat faster. I cant believe this is happening to me.
John Hawkins: Me either. I think I'm falling in love with you. We've got to get together. But, we're all the way across the country.
Marry: John, pls stop this am scared.
John Hawkins: Don't be scared darling. We'll be together soon! Can you just wire me $5,000 so I can book an airplane flight out to see you? I know it seems odd for me to ask for money to see you, but I accidentally sent some used chewing gum with lice in it to Wrigleys, they're suing me, and I am going to be cash poor for a while.
Marry: I am sorry about that. I dont think we should be talking about meeting now.
John Hawkins: But, but…..honey! I love you! We need to be together!
Marry: Lets take our time to know ourselfs well
John Hawkins: You…you hate voodoo don't you?
Marry: I don't honey.
John Hawkins: You are prejudiced against my religion!
Marry: I love you for who you are. But pls just give me a little time…thats all I ask for.
John Hawkins: I am going to sacrifice a chicken tonight all right, but it's going to be for a curse! The itching curse!
Marry: Wait a second. Itching curse?
John Hawkins: I just sacrificed a chicken to see your location. You are not in California at all. You don't look like that either. You think you can play these games with a high voodoo priest? Apologize now! It's your only hope to save yourself from a curse worse than you can imagine!
Marry: John…what is the meaning of all this you're saying?
John Hawkins: What I mean is this: You have trifled with the feelings of a voodoo high priest. I have sacrificed the chicken of seeing and have found out that you are deceiving me. You are not in Caifornia. You are not even in America. You do not look like the pictures either. I can see you now. And tonight unless you apologize for playing with my heart, I will send the itching curse upon you.
Then you can just call your local Voodoo priest up and ask him to take it off of you and…oh wait, you don't have a local voodoo priest do you? That means you will have to go to Haiti to have it taken off! No more of your deceptions! The chicken of seeing never lies!
Marry: No one has never said this to me…why cant you trust my words…youre not making me feel confortable around you….why are you toying with my heart?
John Hawkins: Prepare for an indescribable itchiness that goes right down to the bone. Do not say I never gave you a chance to avoid the curse! Oh, many say they do not believe…right up until the moment their uglies begin itching and NEVER STOP AGAIN.
(Marry goes offline)
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Start:03/06/2019 18:00
To invite your friends and comrades on Facebook click here.
Place will be Wilhelminakade 20, Oranje Huiskamer again :)
From the lignite mines in the Rhineland to the port of Amsterdam or the streets of Paris during the World Climate Summit, the struggles for climate justice are fought at more and more fronts. Beyond the red lines is the story of a growing movement that says "Enough! Here and no further!" and commits civil disobedience taking the transition towards a climate just society into its own hands.


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Please visit our Open House at 10 1060 Tillicum RD in VICTORIA.
Open House from Saturday, March 28, 2015 to Sunday, March 29, 2015 12:00 - 15:00 You can still customize these "Luxury Town homes". Well located beside the Gorge Waterway Park and waterfront. Stunning modern design. 3 beds/3.5 baths. Quality finishing by Quality builder. Bright, sunny parkview. Under construction. Tours 12-3 Sat/Sun
UNBEATABLE FEATURE LIST. A new 10 home complex BESIDE beautiful Kinsmen Park and the Gorge waterway. The features and benefits are so numerous please request the full information pack to really appreciate these unique homes and setting. Even though these homes are of a luxury design and finishing early owners will have, for a limited time the chance to customized to your preference, including appliances, colours, flooring, lighting, kitchen and bathroom fixtures and anything else that strikes your fancy. First complex ever to include electric car chargers in each garage. Triple pane sound limiting windows, maximum rated sound transfer between homes. Site sales centre open only SAT/SUN 12-3 OR by appointment. PLUS GST.


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"In the News," Ensign, Apr. 2013, 78
In the News
Apostles Attend Presidential Inauguration
Elder L. Tom Perry and Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles represented the Church at the 57th Presidential Inauguration at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Monday, January 21. They attended with their wives, Barbara D. Perry and Mary G. Cook.
Elder Holland Dedicates New MTC Buildings
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated three newly renovated buildings at the Provo Missionary Training Center.
The dedicatory prayer was given as part of his devotional address on January 15, 2013, to missionaries at the center—including new MTC presidents and visitors' center directors.
"We have just completed the Matthew Cowley Instructional Building, the Addison Pratt Residence Building, and the Dan Jones Residence Building, as part of the upgrading and renovation going on at this center," he said. "In those three names we celebrate three of the greatest missionaries that have ever served in this dispensation."
Church Pageant Schedule Released for 2013
Following are the dates and locations for 2013 Church pageants. Admission to all pageants is free, but reservations may be required. More information can be obtained at www.lds.org/locations/pageants.
Mesa Arizona Easter pageant, "Jesus the Christ": March 19–21, 26–30; 525 East Main St., Mesa, Arizona.
Martin Harris Pageant, "Martin Harris, the Man Who Knew": August 2–3, 6–10, 13–17, 11000 N. 8400 West, Clarkston, Utah.
Hill Cumorah Pageant, "America's Witness for Christ": July 12, 13, 16–20; on Highway 21 between Palmyra and Manchester, New York.
Manti Utah pageant, "Mormon Miracle": June 20–22, 25–29, at Manti Temple grounds in Manti, Utah.
Nauvoo Pageant, "A Tribute to Joseph Smith": July 9–August 3, Tuesdays through Saturdays, two blocks west of the Nauvoo Temple in Nauvoo, Illinois.


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As debate erupts on the Web over Obama's visit with Chavez—was it an embrace or a blowoff?—Matthew Yglesias says that everyone's missing the point: The more photo ops with our "enemies," the better.
The Summit of the Americas is a periodic meeting of heads of government of countries located in the Western Hemisphere. The United States is located in the Western Hemisphere. So is Venezuela. Barack Obama is president of the United States. And Hugo Chavez is president of Venezuela. So when the Fifth Summit of the Americas was held in Trinidad, Obama was there and Chavez was there, and when they met, Obama gave him a warm handshake and they appear to have made small talk. This is, as anyone who has attended a conference can tell you, pretty much what people do at a conference.
Fifty years' worth of embargoing Cuba have accomplished what exactly? It's hard to think of an example of foreign-policy initiative that has failed this badly.
Naturally, the right wing went bananas. Now we're being subjected to close reading of the handshake video to discern the precise degree of appeasement involved. Newt Gingrich, who in the moment of the GOP's political misery is making an improbable comeback, feigned weariness with Obama's appeasing ways. "He has made life easier for the Castro dictatorship in Cuba," Gingrich observed, "why not embrace or at least be cheerful and friendly with Hugo Chavez? I think it sends a terrible signal to all of Latin America, and a terrible signal about how the new administration regards dictators." Sen. John Ensign, a Republican from Nevada, deemed the handshake "irresponsible," saying Chavez "is a brutal dictator."
It's true, of course, that the Chavez regime has some issues. According to the State Department's latest human-rights report on Venezuela, there are even some indications of torture, which remains a bad thing no matter how much Gingrich and other conservatives deny it in other contexts. But the image of Chavez as a "brutal dictator" is absurdly overblown. It was easy to detect authoritarian aspirations in a package of constitutional reforms that were put up for vote in a referendum last December. But by the same token, surely the fact that the people of Venezuela voted "no" on the package and it therefore wasn't implemented ought to be taken as a sign that Chavez is no dictator. Indeed, the very same State Department report that details some real abuses by the Venezuelan government reached the much more restrained conclusion that the election Chavez won in 2006 was "generally free and fair" with "some irregularities."
More broadly, the mention of Cuba should be all that it takes to discredit Gingrich's point of view. The past 50 years' worth of embargoing Cuba have accomplished what exactly? It's hard to think of an example of foreign-policy initiative that has failed this badly. A policy aimed at keeping the Cuban people as poor as possible has succeeded in helping to make Cuba desperately poor (Fidel Castro's economic policies haven't helped), but does nothing to make Cuba's leadership feel a sting.
The theory that such sanctions would inspire the population to rise up and overthrow their government never made sense, and surely five decades is enough time to declare this experiment a failure. A warming in relations with Cuba might succeed in undermining the regime in Havana by increasing person-to-person ties to the Cuban population and giving Cubans more access to information. But even if it doesn't do this, it will make Cubans somewhat less poor and do nothing to prolong the inevitable end of communism in Cuba.
As for Chavez, the Bush administration's bizarre treatment of Venezuela—from reportedly trying to sponsor a coup in 2002 to treating Venezuela as a rogue state—represents a very strange decision to attempt to apply a failed Cold War approach to Latin America even though the Cold War itself is long gone.
In the decades following World War II, the essence of American strategy in the region was to bolster pro-American regimes and undermine pro-Soviet ones. This was the inspiration behind the embargo of Cuba, coups against Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala and Salvadore Allende in Chile, and our sponsorship of Contra terrorists in Nicaragua and death squads in Honduras. One can argue about whether or not this was smart or moral policy. But without question, the point of all of this was to counter the threat that the Soviets would open up a "southern front" and undermine our system of containment.
Nowadays, the Soviets are long gone. And with them, all rationale for looking at the region through this lens. There's just no way to imagine a military threat to the United States emerging from Latin America. For all the rhetorical heat generated by Chavez's clashes with the American right, all he really wants from America is for Citgo to sell us oil and gas. And guess what? All we want from Venezuela is the ability to buy oil and gas. Latin America is close by, and, over a century, American meddling in its affairs has generated a lot of ill will. That ill will generates a certain number of movements powered by America-bashing rhetoric. The absolute worst thing we can do is respond by entering into a downward spiral of recriminations and cold shoulders that only builds more ill will. The best approach is to recognize that our interests in Latin America are limited in scope, so we should just do our best to be polite—cooperate with those governments who want to cooperate with us, and shake hands with the rest while perhaps making some small talk.
Instead, conservatives would have us double-down on decades of failed Cuba policy by extending the same treatment to Chavez and perhaps others such as Bolivia's Evo Morales, Ecuador's Rafael Correa, and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega. Realistically, all such a policy can achieve is antagonizing other Latin American leaders who don't have the luxury of imperiously "isolating" their neighbors to create a self-fulfilling prophesy of an anti-American bloc. Look around at reviews of Obama's performance at the summit, and outside the fever swamps of the American right the only criticism you hear is that the administration isn't going far enough toward improving relations with Cuba. And that's about right. After all, what was achieved by excluding Cuba from the meeting of hemispheric leaders? Citizens of all the countries of Americas should hope that the Obama-Chavez greeting won't be the new president's last controversial handshake.
Matthew Yglesias is a fellow at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. He is the author of Heads in the Sand: How the Republicans Screw Up Foreign Policy and Foreign Policy Screws Up the Democrats.


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(CNN) -- No stranger to controversy, U.S. retailer Abercrombie & Fitch has come under fire for offering a push-up bikini top to young girls.
Its "Ashley" bikini -- described as "padded" and a "push-up" -- was posted on the Abercrombie Kids website earlier this week.
The company declined to comment Saturday but noted it has since updated the description of its bikini online.
The product is now being offered as a padded, "striped triangle." Bottoms are sold separately.
"How is this okay for a second-grader?" asked Rebecca Odes in a recent post on the Babble parenting blog.
"Playing at sexy is an inevitable and important part of growing up. But there's a difference between exploring these ideas on your own and having them sold to you in a children's catalog," she wrote.
Gail Dines, a sociology professor at Wheelock College in Boston, similarly slammed the top, saying it would encourage girls to think about themselves in a sexual way before they are ready.
"It (also) sends out really bad signals to adult men about young girls being appropriate sexual objects," she told CNN affiliate WHDH.
This is not the first time the company, known for its sexy style of marketing campaigns, has found itself in hot water with consumers.
In 2002, the retailer pulled controversial T-shirts after complaints they were racially insensitive. One shirt showed Chinese laundry workers with conical hats and the phrase, "Wong Brothers Laundry Service: Two Wongs Can Make It White."
In 2003, the company -- under pressure from some consumer groups -- said it would stop issuing racy catalogues and halt the publication of its holiday book, which featured nude young adult models in sexually suggestive poses.


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"Feminism is a socialist, anti-family, political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians." — Pat Robertson
I figure my first brush with sophistication came on a summer night in, oh, 1966, when I was ten.
The windows would be open throughout my family's Natchez Avenue bungalow. If the wind were blowing just right, I'd be able to hear the clatter of a distant el train on the Lake Street line.
My father would be comatose in his recliner, his toes covered by his half rolled-off socks, an occasional snort emanating from his open mouth. Ma was already in bed. It'd be about 12:45am or so, and I'd be laying on the living room floor on my belly, craning my neck to see the TV screen, free as a bird.
In those summer vacation days, no matter how late I'd get to bed, I'd be sure to be able to wake up the next morning before the sun even climbed over the trees on Nagle Avenue, a block to the east. But I still had more TV watching to do. "Night Beat," the WGN-TV late news show sandwiched between the 10:30 movie and the Late Show would be on.
The old anchor, Carl Greyson, would sign off and then the strains of the most adult music I ever was happy to hear would come on, the intro to that late, late movie. See, WGN would run a fairly recent movie at 10:30, something not too moth-eaten, like "Marty." Then, after Night Beat's house fires, shootings, and obligatory clips of Mayor Daley (the first) butchering the English language, there'd be a really old movie, often a hard-boiled detective feature from the '40s.
For some odd reason, "The Dark Corner" sticks in my mind. Made in 1946, it starred Lucille Ball as a private eye's hot tomato secretary who insists on helping her boss with his cases because, natch, she's in love with him. It opens with shots of the big city, probably New York, but at that age I didn't know the difference between The Loop and Broadway; so I dreamed of growing up and having my own office in some downtown Wabash Avenue building, where I could smoke, banter with pretty dames, and occasionally pull out my shoulder-holstered pistol just to see if it was still loaded.
Lucille Ball's Got It For The Boss In "The Dark Corner"
That image gets mixed up with the intro strains of the Late Show, a jazzy thing, very subtle and smooth. A sax and a piano, mainly. In my dream it'd be playing repeatedly throughout my day in that office after I'd grown up.
It was Dave Brubeck's "Take Five."
That was sophistication. That's what I had to look forward to as I reached manhood.
For a while there, nobody screamed hard-boiled Chicago like David Mamet. The author of many plays including "Sexual Perversity in Chicago," "American Buffalo," "The Water Engine," "Speed-the-Plow," and "Oleanna," he copped a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1984 for "Glengarry Glen Ross."
Mamet's dialogue was the thing. Loud, profane, often (too often, some have groused) obscene, it was the dialogue of men without the company of women, men who say the word fuck again and again simply because it sounds as good as it feels to blurt out. His characters are known to converse (or, more accurately, orate past each other) in something that has come to be known as "Mamet-speak."
The only consideration of morality in Mamet's plays is his obvious assurance that no one is moral, merely exigent. The whole gang of office brutes in Glengarry is as likable as a pack of stray dogs.
The Original Broadway Cast
In recent years, Mamet's stage output has fallen off and he's turned his attention to TV commercials and cop shows. He also has decided that this holy land needs straightening out because it's become immoral — remember, he would know immorality or the lack of it. He released a book in 2011 entitled "The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture."
The book documents the handbasket-to-hell America has become, mainly because liberal Hollywood stars are actually press agents for some nefarious cabal, or something.
I tried to read "The Secret Knowledge" but I couldn't get past the first three pages. It's as hysterical as a Glenn Beck book without any of the charm. When your prose is less seductive than that of a borderline lunatic, your worldview is grim indeed. This comes as no surprise from a man for whom the effort of smiling appears agonizing.
Mamet this year got back on Broadway with a new play called "The Anarchist." He lined up Patti Lupone and Debra Winger to play a radical leftist convict and a nebulous corrections department nabob, respectively. The two parry for a little more than an hour over right and wrong and those who managed to stay awake through the closing curtain reported it to be less than riveting. One reviewer called it "a short, brittle, stripped-down debate-club exercise on a stopwatch."
And that was among the less crushing pans of the production. Accordingly, "The Anarchist" is closing after a little more than a month of performances, including 17 previews.
And how soon will Mamet begin blaming the critics for the show's demise (which would be like blaming a restaurant patron for suffering food poisoning)?
But isn't that the way with the Right? Radicalized Republicans, Me Party-ists, Libertarians, and other such creatures crow about self-reliance and responsibility every chance they get but the moment they screw up they point fingers in 360º sweeps.
I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Mamet asks for a federal bailout now.
Mamet, like so many in the Nouveau Droit is made itchy by feminists. For instance, he battered Gloria Steinem for applying feminist criticisms to the idolatry of Marilyn Monroe. Steinem wrote that Monroe was essentially forced to play the infant and Mamet responded that Marilyn was the second coming of Madame Curie.
Mary Elizabeth Williams writes in Salon that female celebs from Katy Perry and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy to Marissa Meyer and Melissa Leo are climbing all over each other trying to proclaim to the world that they're not feminists.
I suppose it makes sense that Perry, for one, a woman who relies upon the size of her breasts for much of her fortune, would be less than Susan B.-ish about things. But why are so many other accomplished women willing to eschew the tag, feminist?
A Different Kind of "Firework"
Is it merely ego? As in, I did it all on my own and I never needed Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem to fight any battles for me. It reminds me of the righteous indignation of newly-muscled baseball players after they're accused of using performance-enhancing drugs; hey, I'm good — I don't need no stinkin' drugs.
Yes, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds were good. That didn't mean they didn't think they needed a pick-me-up now and again. Same with the female CEO of Yahoo!. Marissa Meyer is talented, sure, but she is standing on the shoulders of giants.
And wouldn't it be the coup de grace for Ashley Judd to oust jowly, humorless, and philosophically flatulent Mitch McConnell from Washington?
Out With The Old, In With The New?
Not only would the Republicans have to rethink their stance toward Latinos, but toward women as well.
According to a number of sources, the former actress is doing her due diligence in preparing for a possible US Senate run from Kentucky.
Fingers crossed.


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First Course in Philosophy
Choosing a First Course in Philosophy
One of the following courses constitutes an appropriate first course in philosophy, as well as serving as a prerequisite for 200-level courses that are required for the philosophy major: PHILO 101, 103, 104, 106, and 204. PHILO 106 is recommended for students considering the Philosophy, Politics, & Society concentration. Note: none of these courses count toward the major requirements, though one is a prerequisite for declaring a major.
Course Prerequisites
ENGL 120 and one previous course in philosophy are prerequisite to all 200-level courses, except where otherwise noted. Two courses in philosophy, at least one of which is at the 200 level, are prerequisite to all 300-level courses. The department especially encourages students majoring in or interested in philosophy, both with less than 6 credits toward the major in philosophy, to consult with a departmental adviser about courses and their prerequisites at this stage of their academic stay at Hunter.
Hunter GER and Common Core Requirements include:
Writing Intensive courses:
Philosophy majors should note that a large number of courses offered by the department are W courses and can therefore be counted toward that requirement. While any foreign language offered at Hunter College can be used to fulfill the requirement, languages particularly appropriate for philosophy majors are German, Greek, French, Latin and, to a lesser extent, Arabic and Chinese.
Courses for Plluraism and Diversity:
In fulfilling the pluralism and diversity requirement, philosophy majors should note the following courses in the department that meet this requirement: PHILO 219 and PHILO 221 for Group A, PHILO 226 for Group B, PHILO 230 for Group C, and PHILO 106, 201, 204, 212, 214, 215, 218, 225, and 228 for Group D.
For Students who started at Hunter in Fall 2013 or later:
Presently PHILO 101, 104, 205, and HUM 110 satisfy the Individual and Society - Humanities category and PHILO 106 satisfies the Individual and Society - Social Sciences category.
For Students who started at Hunter prior to Fall 2013:
General Education Requirement (GER)
PHILO 101, 103, 104, 106 or 204, or HUM 110(W) may be used to fulfill Broad Exposure/Stage 2, Group C beyond the introductory level, PHILO 201(W), 212(W), 214(W), 215(W), 216, 218(W), 219, 220(W), 225(W), 226(W), 228(W), 230(W), 244(W), 256(W), 258(W), 262(W), 320(W), 360(W), 362(W), 364(W), 366(W), 380(W), 381(W), 383(W), 384(W), 386(W), 387(W), 388(W), or 389(W) may be used to fulfill Focused Exposure/Stage 3, Group A. PHILO 246(W), 248(W), 250(W), 252, 254(W), 268(W), 270(W), 275, 279, 375, 376(W), or 379(W) may be used to fulfill Focused Exposure/Stage 3, Group B.
Recommended GER Courses for Philosophy Majors
In general, students should follow their interests in selecting courses to satisfy the GER. However, some courses are recommended for philosophy majors satisfying the requirement. In satisfying Stage 2, Group B (social science), courses in history are particularly appropriate—for instance, HIST 201 for those interested in ancient philosophy or HIST 121 or 122 for those interested in modern philosophy. In addition, since research in psychology and anthropology is frequently relevant to issues in contemporary philosophy, courses such as PSYCH 100 or ANTHC 101 are recommended. Prospective majors should note that all of the courses that are prerequisites for the major (PHILO 101, 103, 104, 106, 204) also satisfy the Stage 2, Group C (humanities) requirement. In satisfying Stage 2, Group D (visual and performing arts), courses related to debates in aesthetics, such as ART H 111 or MUSHL 101, are especially recommended. In satisfying Stage 2, Group E (natural science), courses in physics or biological sciences are particularly appropriate—especially PHYS 101 or, for those students with the relevant prerequisites, PHYS 110 and 111 or BIOL 100 and 102. In addition, SCI 101 and 102 may also be a good way to fulfill this requirement, particularly for those who are intending to become teachers. While a number of courses in philosophy may be used to satisfy the Stage 3, Groups A or B requirements, these may not count toward the philosophy major and so must be taken in addition to courses that satisfy major requirements.